23 1/2 Weeks

Things haven't changed a whole lot in the last 2 1/2 weeks for me other than this baby is definitely growing. The disappointing thing for me is that depending on what I'm wearing it's not always possible to tell I'm pregnant especially if you don't already know. Three times in the last 10 days or so when I mention I'm pregnant people are amazed and tell me I don't look pregnant at all. I wonder at what that means I look like because I feel big and pregnant and think it's odd that people wouldn't make that assumption. I mean the pictures above definitely show a pregnant lady to me!

The exciting thing that has changed is Luke was able to feel the baby move for the first time on Monday. I didn't see his face when he felt it because we were lying on the couch together and he had his hand on my stomach but he said very excitedly, "Mom, the baby kicked me!" Luke was thrilled to share the news with Troy when he got home from work.

Also evident in the pic above is that he is still very happy and excited about the new baby. It still depends on the day as to whether he wants a brother or a sister but it seems to me the answer is swaying more toward brother. Luke has also started to include the baby in his everyday conversation which I think is great. We talk about the baby numerous times throughout the day and Luke will ask me about whether the baby is moving or not. We also talk about all the things that Luke will be able to help me with and how he'll be able to help the baby too.

Oh, one more thing to mention. The fact that I haven't done a whole lot to prepare for this baby yet is starting to make me a little nervous. Maybe it's the fact that this is my second child or because cleaning out closets isn't exactly my idea of fun but I need to get my rear in gear and get some stuff done for this kiddo. Volunteers for closet cleaning would be appreciated though :)

Grammy Visits

Last week my mom was here from Monday through Friday morning. We didn't do a whole lot but it was really nice to have her here for a while. Luke definitely enjoyed the time with Grammy. Monday afternoon we swam in the neighbors pool; Tuesday morning I had a doctor's appointment so Luke stayed home with Grammy and then Tuesday night mom and I went to my monthly bunko night; Wednesday we did some damage at the new outlet mall here in OKC (it's a pretty good outlet mall) and Thursday we ran a few errands before spending the rest of the day at home. Friday morning I left early (7:30 is really early for me actually) to go to Tulsa for a scrapbook convention and then mom left after she had breakfast with Luke. Mom told me that as Luke was giving her a hug good-bye he said, "Squeeze tight Grammy." That's my sweet boy :)

Recent Pics

Dinosaur Party on the coffee table--August 9

Ashley and I took the boys to Tulsa to visit the aquarium on August 10. The boys had fun looking at all the fish and especially the sharks. They even touched starfish, shrimp and a horseshoe crab. The best part of the day for me was our picnic lunch outside. The temperature was in the low 80's and Ashley and I decided we could have sat there all afternoon relaxing. The boys were definitely tired on the way home.

Maggie doesn't look too thrilled in the picture but she has started to let Luke love on her and pet her more which Luke enjoys. He also rarely calls her Maggie but usually Mags, Puppers or Magger Moo all of which are my nicknames for her. Luke has also started to show some bossiness and Maggie gets the brunt of that although she doesn't seem to listen too well. August 22

A Little Joy

Okay, so I have two totally different items to share but I'm combining them in one post so they get recorded. The common denominator is that they both make me smile and bring joy to my heart. And, of course, they both involve Luke but you probably already guessed that one.

The First

My child absolutely loves his sleep. He has been an excellent sleeper since he was about 3 months old--this is such a blessing for me because let's face it I like my sleep a whole lot too. Luke still sleeps roughly 11 hours a night and will usually nap for at least 2 hours. The other factor in this is that Luke does NOT like to be awakened before he's ready to get up (another trait from me).

This past week we had several mornings that Luke had to be up before he was ready. Let's just say I'm never sure what these mornings will bring. These mornings go something like this: I go upstairs and turn on a low light in Luke's room; I go over to the bed and start rubbing Luke's back; Luke tosses and turns and grunts at me and makes sure to pull the sheet up as far as it will go; I usually hear, "Mom, I still sleeping," or "Want to sleep more Mom," or "Go back downstairs Mom." These phrases always make me smile and sometimes even laugh. I gently try to explain to Luke that we have somewhere to be or something to do. It definitely goes better when it's an activity that Luke is excited about. I figured out this week that it works best if I wake Luke up and then tell him I'm going back downstairs and he can come down when he's ready. That can take up to 10 minutes but Luke comes down in a better mood than if I get him out of bed and make him come down with me.

As I said above I'm so glad that Luke sleeps well and enjoys it. It does worry me though about the school days we have ahead and a grumpy, sleepy boy not wanting to get out of bed and ready to go.

The Second

Troy and Luke have really formed a much stronger bond over the last few months. Now I'm not saying that they haven't always shared a bond, they are after all father and son, but I'm just saying I've seen it grow so much stronger the last few months and that definitely brings joy to my heart.

Luke will most often ask me in the morning if not the very first thing whether or not Dad is home. After I tell him Dad's at work he usually says something along the lines of I miss Dad or I want Dad to be home. On the mornings that Luke is most upset that Dad isn't home we call him before coming downstairs and that makes Luke feel better. It is also quite common for Luke to ask if Dad will be home soon at lunch time (the association of dinner and Dad coming home is strong) and this often can trigger another phone call to Troy. Obviously it is hard for Troy to hear how much Luke misses him but at the same time it brings joy to Troy's heart because it reinforces the love between them.

Now I get to brag on Troy a bit. He went to Barnes & Noble today to get a FFL magazine which is definitely not brag worthy but the other item he purchased most definitely is--a chapter book that he and Luke can read together! It was completely Troy's idea and I absolutely LOVE it! The name of the book is "How to Train a Dragon." Troy didn't realize when he picked it out that there is now a movie based off of it but I think that will be great fun for them both to watch when they finish reading the book. The book is probably beyond Luke but that's okay. Troy read a chapter before dinner and then at bedtime he read another chapter and a half. Luke is so far loving it. What an awesome activity for them to share! I hope this is a trend that continues for a long time. Way to go Dad!!!

A little joy in my heart--that's the best gift any wife or mom can have :)

21 Weeks

On Sunday I was 21 weeks pregnant. That means I only have 18 weeks until the scheduled c-section date. It seems like the last few weeks have gone by so fast. I'm hoping that continues to be the case.

So what's pregnancy like at 21 weeks? I'll tell you :)

*The baby is moving more and more every day or rather I feel it more and more every day. The last few days I've really been getting some good jabs. Troy was even able to feel a few of them over the weekend. I can also see my stomach move a little bit if I'm watching at the right time. I have even begun to notice a pattern of activity. The baby is definitely doing a happy dance right after I eat and also between 9 and about 10:30 at night. Early morning when I'm still lying in bed is another very active time.

*I've finally started to gain some weight. According to my scale, I've gained about 5 pounds at this point. I'm completely okay with this because it means the baby is growing as it should. I also feel like I've been doing a relatively good job at eating healthy food. I do have the occasional bad craving that I indulge but it doesn't happen too often.

*I am still having a pretty hard time dealing with the heat and can only be outside for about 20 minutes before I get overheated and have to come in (the exception to this is being in a pool in the shade). I also still get light-headed occasionally through the day and have to make sure I eat regularly.

*My dreams have become very intense the past couple of weeks. I would say that about 5 nights a week I wake up from much too vivid nightmares. I've always had weird dreams but I've never experienced such intense nightmares before--I don't like it because they often involve Luke and him getting hurt in some way that I am unable to prevent :( The nights I wake up from these nightmares I don't sleep too well because it is so hard to go back to sleep.

*I'm happy to report that Troy and I have chosen a girls name that we both agree on. The boys name is still a bit up for debate although Troy is definitely pulling hard for a name I like but I'm just not sure I like the combination of first name and middle name. I guess time will tell.

Dallas Weekend

Last weekend we went to Dallas to visit Todd and Georgia, Troy's brother and sister-in-law. We had a relaxing weekend just hanging out and swimming in their pool. Luke was thrilled to have a pool right in the backyard. I was surprised to see how well Luke remembered his skills from swim lessons. Troy was also very impressed with how well Luke was swimming and his lack of fear of the water. Luke spent most of his time in the water just hanging out on the top step into the pool. He would walk up and down the steps and put his head under water and blow bubbles; he also really enjoyed jumping in the pool and squirting us all with his water gun. Thanks to Todd and Georgia for letting us come for a visit--it was great to spend time with you both :)

Some Random Tidbits

**I feel so out of touch this week. I really enjoyed WITL last week but it was nice to not have to document this week; however, I feel like something is missing since I haven't posted since Monday. I'm happy to report that I have started working on my actual WITL album although it's not going as fast as I would like. I think I way under estimated the time it would take to go through all my pictures and pick out which ones would go where and get them printed out. I'm still excited about getting it all put together which I'm taking as a good sign because sometimes I fade on projects like this. I hope to show you some completed pages soon.

**I know that I'm not the only one but I am so sick of this heat!!! Summer is supposed to be a time for playing outside, swimming and grilling yummy dinners. We're not doing any of those things. I'm very grateful that Luke will most likely not remember much about this time in his life because it's pretty boring staying inside all the time. Let's just all pray for an early fall season with lots of super nice days to catch up from this summer.

**I never did a post about our weekend with Kristi and Wesley. They were here two weekends ago and we had a great time. Luke loved the cardboard city Kristi made for his cars and all 3 of them had fun racing cars. We also enjoyed the Science Museum for the first time. I'm looking forward to a return trip.

**Luke has had a rough week as far as listening goes. I've said it before but I think the three's will be more challenging than the two's. It's beyond frustrating to constantly repeat yourself only to be ignored. The worst is when Luke looks me right in the eye and does exactly what I've asked him not to do. I realize that this is part of being a toddler but man it's no fun for mom or dad either.

**On a positive note, Luke's imagination is going through the roof even more if that's possible. He's constantly entertaining me with his stories and I love to listen to his conversations with his animals, cars and trains. It's awesome to hear him talk about actual events while putting his own spin on the event.

Okay, so I feel better now that I've shared those few things. Enjoy your weekend!

WITL--Sunday

The final day--I made it!!! I'm really proud of myself for at a minimum completing a Week In The Life on my blog which I guess is what I originally set out to do. My hope is to start on the actual album part this afternoon while Luke is napping. This morning is a relief to not be worrying about taking pictures and writing down our activities but I do still notice myself taking notes in my head. Maybe an overall lesson from last week is to just remember to make some more mental notes about what we are up to and to pause a few more seconds to enjoy the small moments as they happen. I have learned several things about myself and my life during the last week and I plan to incorporate those lessons into my album (maybe I'll do another post about them later this week).

But this is a post about yesterday. So, yesterday. It was another fairly relaxing day for all of us. Troy did have to go to work in the morning but he was home again by 10:45--much earlier than expected. After a quick shower for me, we all went to the mall for lunch and some shopping. We all enjoyed another afternoon nap and then we just hung out as a family for the rest of the day. Troy and I took 77 pictures total.

My favorite moments of the day: We got Luke a hot dog and french fries from Sonic for lunch; he ate it all and looked like such a big kid with his hot dog and hat. I also really enjoyed putting puzzles together with Luke before Troy got home from work (Luke has really gotten into puzzles lately). Because it has been so ridiculously hot we haven't seen too many birds and squirrels in the backyard lately. Luke and I were very excited to see 4 cardinals flitting around the backyard after nap time. I love watching the creatures in the backyard with Luke.

A few quotes:

L: "Mom, are we going over the train tracks?" Luke asks this question every time we get in the car.

T: "Vroom him over to me," playing shake n go cars with Luke.

A: "Maggie, you got hair on my cheese." While I was having some cheese and crackers Maggie walked by and of course she managed to get some hair on the cheese.

T: "There's a Pteranadon on your bottom!" (referring to a sticker on Luke's bottom)

One other overheard note for the week: I absolutely love, love, love to hear Luke laugh and giggle. His laugh is so infectious and just pure joy. No matter what the situation he can always brighten my day with his smile and laugh.

A few other tidbits: Luke was Mr. Grumpy Pants until Troy got home from work and then it was the most perfect day (yep, I felt really loved--j/k); yesterday I was 20 weeks pregnant which means I'm halfway through (hooray!!!); I found it very interesting to realize that as the weekend progressed Troy seems to lose some of his authority with Luke just like I do on a daily basis; I am very grateful for a husband that will do some laundry and also that irons his own clothes without complaining--thanks babe!

Today's side note: As I was typing this blog Luke was playing with his dinosaurs and small plastic animals. He lined up all the animals (not sure how I missed getting a picture of cars in a line this past week) and then they all went for a walk around the family room. Luke told me that the zebra was telling him about her day. I asked what she had been up to. I got the following story:

The zebra was at home when a bear started to come in the house. The zebra and her mom and dad were all scared but they ran really, really fast and escaped but it made them very sad. The bear chased them to the lake and the zebras had to swim to get away. The bear couldn't swim so the zebras were able to get away for good.

I love my munchkin and his imagination!