26 weeks

Sunday, January 23, 2011 - 26 weeks!

So we're in the 3rd trimester now. It's official - I'm bumping people in the face with my belly as I clean their teeth (that's embarrassing). Trying hard to commit to a name. I've been noticing that baby #2 moves A WHOLE LOT more than Wendy did. He never stops in there. They say it will be the same after he's born. I'm just slightly terrified to have a boy. I don't know if I can keep up with all that energy. Maybe it seems scarier because I'm SO tired right now (being pregnant and all). Good thing I have a pretty okay sized backyard for him to play in and get all of that energy out.

Pregnancy #2 - fun facts:

NAMING

Today, the front runners are:

Harvey (a family name and our favorite... I think)

Milo

August (Gus for short)

Felix

Dexter

Any suggestions?

Princess, shmincess

... I thought I was above the whole princess thing. I remember running into a friend at the mall on a Black Friday. She has a daughter about Wendy's age and excitedly told me about the great deals they were having at the Disney Store and showed me all her princess paraphernalia. I really hate to admit it, but deep down (or maybe more in one of my more shallow areas) I turned my nose up. MY daughter is't into cheesy things like princesses, I thought. Boy have I eaten those thoughts now. I should probably apologize to my friend. My daughter is obsessed (and you can bet I was one of the first people at the Disney Store this last Black Friday).

I've come to realize there is "a whole new world" out there when it comes to princess culture. Letting Wendy wear her cheesy princess dresses to Disneyland and ignoring all the rides just to get a moment with one of the princesses, I can't help but melt when I see the way she lights up. I don't fight it anymore. Now my only dilemma is planning a princess party. Dang it. I don't want to, but she's been talking about it for 6 months. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve to make this party not cheesy and fun for the boys. I hope it works.

And so it starts again...

Anyone wanna buy a beautiful pair of cockatiels? Ryan has his eye on yet another new bird. I thought we were done with this. But he's used my own "bird conditions" against me. (1. They're not in the house, 2. We only have ONE bird cage - a cool vintage looking one of my choice, and 3. I never ever EVER have to deal with them). Nowhere, he reminded me, did I mention which type of bird has to be in the cage. So now that I actually kinda, sorta don't mind the birds we have, he's gone and found another one he likes better. Apparently, this new bird is "so chill" it would hang out in your pocket all day at work, if you wanted it to. I highly doubt the Target Corporation would be down with that.

SO... does anyone want to buy some birds? Seriously. They come with a cage and a perch. They are beautiful. You will love them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Lately, I've been thinking about how the last 365 days that have flown by and all that I've been blessed with this year. Ryan and I have been reminissing about what we each think the highlights of the year were. These are my top 5:

1. Our trip to Paris

2. Mommy-daughter dates to Disneyland



3. Antoine Dodson

(he cheers me up every time)






4. Growing this little guy and the fact that he seems to be healthy and growing properly

5. Ryan going back to school, pulling A's & B's and actually enjoying it!

As for my new years resolution... of course there's the "lose weight" thing (for me it's more like, "Don't gain as much weight as I did when I was pregnant with Wendy and lose it faster than I did"). There's also the generic "Be more optimistic and patient," which I also want to do. But my cousin Cambi makes a REAL, do-able and measurable resolution each year (in 2010 she didn't drink any soda). So, this year, I think this year I'd like to do that. For 2011, I'm going to give up rated R movies. I haven't seen one in a long time, but I'd like to see if I could do it for a whole year. Then, who knows, maybe for the rest of my life.

GUESS WHAT?

*told ya she's been clingy.

she's also got her pacifier in her mouth & her "white blankie" in her hand - just like I said

It's a... BOY!

We are SO excited! We just aren't so sure what to name the little guy.
Any suggestions?

Where have I been all your life?

...Or, should I say, the last couple weeks. I've been sick. And tired. REALLY tired. Creating a human will suck the energy right out of you. Throw a 2 year old into the mix and there you have it, I'm gone. Luckily I'm into the good phase now (2nd trimester = no longer nauseous + not TOO uncomfortably fat... yet).

*how I told Ryan

I love telling Ryan, "I'm Pregnant." His face lights up so instantly and so genuinely that I know he feels the same excitement as I do. Maybe even more so. It makes me feel so close to him to know how much he loves our kids, even when they're not born yet.

*how we told our families

I'm trying to mentally prepare Wendy for what's going on, but I'm not quite sure how much of it she absorbs. I'd love to have her potty trained and off the pacifier before this baby comes, but I'm not sure it's gonna happen. She tells me she has a baby in her tummy too, a girl she is going to name "Princess Tinkerbell." When the waves of nausea hit me pretty bad, I sit down and close my eyes and take deep breaths. I've seen her do it once or twice and I wonder what she thinks is going on. She's very concerned. She'll put her hand on my shoulder and ask, "You got tummy hurts mom? You need some medicine?" She's been EXTRA clingy to me, her blanket, and her pacifier. Once or twice, out of nowhere, she's put her mouth to my stomach and talked to the baby. So I think she understands a little. If she treats this kid anything like she treats her dolls, she's going to be a great big sister.

Pregnancy #2 fun facts:

CRAVINGS

broccoli cheese soup

cottage cheese

chef boy-r-dee beef ravioli (nasty, I know)

homemade fruit smoothies

1 cup simply orange juice

1/2 cup silk vanilla soy milk

1 cup fat free vanilla frozenyogurt

1 over heaping cup of frozen fruit- usually strawberry, pineapple and mango chunks

Sometimes, if I crave this smoothie late at night after Wendy's asleep, I'll take the blender in the garage and plug it in there so I don't wake her up. To be honest, I'm probably out in the garage blending smoothies most nights of the week. That's how much I love them.

The Wendy of Oz...

One of Wendy's loves is The Wizard of Oz. You'd think a little girl of 2 years old would be afraid of that movie, but not her. She'll watch the whole thing and sing along with every song (she knows the words better than Ryan). So when I asked Wendy what she wanted to be for halloween this year, I wasn't surprised when she said "I wanna be DOROTHY!"

My incredible mother went all out and whipped up these coordinating costumes for the family. Wendy had been telling them this is what their costumes were going to be for the whole month of October. My mom surprised her and when we showed up to our church halloween party, it really made Wendy's night to see them all as Wizard of Oz characters. Her mouth was hanging open and she couldn't take her eyes off my mom.

(Some of our family is missing... Wendy didn't forget them. She wanted Aunt Vanessa to be the little mermaid because she has red hair, aunt Rachel to be Belle because she has brown hair, and uncle Aaron to be Muno because he's really tall).

;lk

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!