Wednesday, March 27, 2013

2nd Time Around - 12 Weeks

Twelve weeks down and feeling pretty good! My nausea has gone way down this week which is so nice. I still get some in the morning before I eat and sometimes my stomach hurts when I haven't eaten in a while but other than that I've been feeling pretty good. I'm still really tired in the evenings but that's to be expected. I've been trying to keep up with workouts a few evenings a week as well which really wears me out. But I really want to try to keep up with that so hopefully the 2nd trimester energy boost kicks in soon!


I think I'm officially showing. I can definitely tell a difference in my tummy. They say that you show earlier with the 2nd one but I think this is about on target for how I was last time. My size 10s are still fitting fine so that's good. They are not as loose as they were 2 weeks ago though so I think I can officially call it that I'm showing now.


I told my boss this week and that went over really well. She was very excited for me! She's really sweet. I told a few coworkers as well and they were all super excited. So yay! I think we are officially "out" with the news. It feels pretty good to be able to be honest with people if they ask or notice. Everyone's been really happy for us so that's great too.

We started cleaning out the spare bedroom this weekend to convert it to Steven's big boy room. That wasn't too bad to do since I had recently cleaned it out. That led to cleaning out the basement office so some of the spare bedroom stuff could go down there. Now that is a project (mostly for my hoarder, I mean husband ;). I am trying to sell my old furniture that's in the spare bedroom but no one is wanting to buy it so far. Now I'm thinking it won't be the worst thing in the world to keep it in there because if Steven messes it up I won't be mad about it. The walls are also a lovely lavender color so that has to go!


We let Steven play around in the spare bedroom and asked him if he would want to have his bedroom in there. He was pretty excited to have a big bed to jump around on. Hopefully that transition will go well once we decide he's ready. In other transition news we had some #2s in the potty this weekend so I'm hoping there's potty training progress in our near future! (Cross your fingers!) I told him there's no diapers in the big boy room. He paused like he was thinking about it...Smart kid.

So 12 weeks down! Showing a bit more and we've told pretty much everyone. Planning to make some progress on Steven's big boy room. Getting excited!

Friday, March 22, 2013

2nd Time Around - 11 Weeks

*Catch up post from 2 weeks ago*

Already 11 weeks in! It seems like its going fast and slow all at the same time. We told our family and some friends last weekend and that was great. But its still counting the days till we can tell everyone. I hate secrets, probably because I suck at keeping them. I'm also counting down the days till we are out of the woods so to speak and I'm at 12 weeks. That will be a nice little relief. :)

*Excuse the no makeup in these pics. It was a work from home day ;)

This week I actually feel much better than I have been. The past 2 weeks or so I've just been SO tired and rundown. I'm exhausted just taking a shower in the morning. And I was really nauseous. Like all day long. Yuck! With Steven it was like a sour tummy feeling all day but this time its like that barfy feeling in the back of your throat (you know the one). Yuck. Ok that's more than you wanted to know.



But luckily this week that feeling and my over tiredness have subsided a bit. I still feel pretty tired at the end of the day but not extremely exhausted like I was. I even had energy to deep clean my house this weekend so that's a good thing! Of course I took a 3 hour nap on Sunday but whatever.

Another thing that's been really strong this time around is cravings! I had some cravings with Steven but this time it seems like more. At first I really wanted orange juice. I went through 2 containers of OJ in like a week. Then I was craving cherry sprite. How random is that? I never drink that but it just tasted so good. I was also craving brownies so I made them when we had family over this weekend. Delicious.

So all that eating hasn't been good. I really want to try not to gain too much this time around. With Steven I gained way too much weight and I was just so miserable and huge by the end of it. It was also really hard to lose afterwards. I've built up my endurance and strength in the past few months and I really want to have a healthy pregnancy this time. Luckily so far it seems that I'm not gaining weight yet. I've continued to workout at the gym, although not as intensely as I was. So that is a good thing. My clothes are still fitting and actually a bit big still so that's a good thing!

So that's 11 weeks for you! Can't wait to tell everyone and feel a bit better.


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Exciting News!!

Secrets are hard to keep! Especially if its a happy secret! If you haven't heard already...Steve and I are expecting baby #2 this September! We are so excited!! I wanted to keep it quiet for a little while longer but it seems that silly cat just won't stay in the bag and a few more people than I thought knew (I'm guilty of spilling it a few people too...oops). I haven't told my work yet and I plan do to that soon.

Its crazy the amount of people having babies this year. I already know 4 people just in my family having babies within 3 months of me! Isn't that nuts? Must be something in the water!

Steven is really excited to become a big brother. He loves babies. If we see babies when we are out, he loves to play with them and talk to them. I think its probably my fault as I'm guilty of freaking out everytime I see a baby. But its pretty super cute when he does it. When we found out for sure we asked Steven if he wanted a little brother or sister and he said "Yeah". When we asked him if he would share his toys with the baby his eyes got really wide and it took him a minute but he said "Yeah." ha ha! We'll see on that one!
So we had our first ultrasound on February 18th where we actually saw the heartbeat so that was a great relief! I was worried we might be too early to see it but we weren't. I was about 8 weeks then and the doctor calculated the due date of September 30th. Which puts me super preggers in the summer...yay!

So how am I feeling? Pretty ok. I wasn't feeling pregnant at all for the first month to 6 weeks which was sort of weird for me because I was so sick with Steven. Big Steve even started doubting if I was pregnant, and wanted me to take another test. No thank you! I'm too cheap for that! ha ha!

Right around 7 weeks I started feeling yucky though. Just super duper tired and worn out and nausceous all day. So that's been fun. A few weeks after that we had a stomach bug in our house which did NOT help at all.

But since about 10 weeks I've been feeling better. I've got some energy back which is nice. I'm looking forward to the last few weeks of the first trimester so I can really start feeling better.

Well that's my news! We are excited and I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Steven at 21 Months

Catch up post, February 2013, 21 Months

Favorite Things:
  • This month we got a big snow and you loved playing in the snow. I was working from home that day and you had to come home early from daycare. You came up to me and said "mommy snowman." It was SO precious. Of course I wanted to go outside and play with you right then!
  • You still love to dance when you hear music. This month you have figured out how to turn on the radio in our bedroom (and at Grandma Gooden's house). You'll start moving and groovin as soon as the music comes on. You do a little shake of your shoulders and its pretty adorable.
  • You've been really into the movie The Lorax this month. We watched it one day on Netflix and you've requested to watch "lax" everyday since then. You love to get up and dance during the songs and even know some of the lyrics.
  • You are super into your Chapstick this month. You will request "my stick" and want to put it all over your face. Its hard to get that back from you without a fight!




New Skills/Tricks:
  • A very frustrating new trick you learned this month is you will spit out your food half chewed, usually on the carpet. Very annoying! (The dogs love it though.)
  • This month you have really been testing your boundaries and seeing what you can get away with. We've had an increase in bad behavior and timeouts. You sometimes are so good at cleaning up your toys and you will sing the clean up song. Other times you will throw a fit and refuse to clean up. I think you are really testing your limits (already!?).
  • You learned how to unbuckle your car seat and that has been no fun. Most of the time you will just keep your hand on the buckle until we get home but you always have that mischievous look in your eye...



Vocabulary:
  • This month your vocabulary is really growing. You seem to repeat everything we say. You will often say 3 word sentences and string small sentences together such as "Hi Mommy. How are you?"
  • You've started saying "Aw niiiiice" LOL
  • You've really started paying attention out the window when we drive. You will yell out things you see like "truck!" or "big truck!" "snow" etc.


Big Events this Month:

  • We have loved playing in the snow this month. Not too much else going on with the cold weather outside.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Steven at 20 Months

*Catch up post, January 2013, 20 Months

Favorite Things:
You still love to sing songs. We've caught you singing to yourself in the car a few times. You're favorites are Old McDonald and Itsy Bitsy Spider.

You will "read" books to yourself now too. For a few months you would turn the pages and look at them yourself but now you will point to the animals and make their noise. You'll also point to random objects on a book and shout out the name (probably bc that's what we do with you when we read those books.)

You love to wrestle on the bed now. You love to roll around and pretend to steal "daddy's pillow!!". You learned how to pull out a container we have under the bed to get yourself up there. You'll sit up there and say "daddy's pillow!!" and wait for him to come in and find you. Its so cute!

You've gotten obsessed with a new Disney movie this month, The Lion King. You love the intro and will stand with your hands above your head for the part where they hold Baby Simba up. Its SOO cute!

New Skills/Tricks:
You are getting so smart. You can remember things that we are so surprised you even notice! Mommy dropped a stocking holder on her foot in front of you one day (and managed to not cuss!). A few days later you saw that stocking holder on the table and said "mommy hurt".

Another thing you've started noticing when I'm in my gym clothes you put together where I was and say "mommy gym".

You've started to engage in some pretend play this month. You'll put your toys to "night night" and give them kisses and a blanket. You like to play with a kermit pez dispenser you got for Christmas and put it to bed too (kind of random).

Vocabulary:
You've started saying more 3 word sentences such as "Where are you?"  "How are you?"

This month when we call your name sometimes you'll say "huh" or "yeah". LOL

You've bumped up your pretend phone conversations this month. You'll say "uh huh grandpa play hello bye". Or one of your favorites is to walk around the house with daddy's phone at your ear saying, "hello yes, hello yes".

When you want to be picked up you'll say, "mommy hold you". Its so cute!

When we are leaving often you will say, "bye bye later" for bye bye see you later.

Big Events this Month:
Its been so cold this month we've been staying inside most days. You love hanging out with family and we've gotten to see a lot of them lately!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Steven at 19 Months

*Catch up post,19 months, December 2012

Favorite Things:
You still love to sing. With the Christmas season we've added a few more songs to your singing repertoire. You love to sing Jingle Bells and know most of the words. You also like the "S-A-N-T-A" song to the tune of BINGO.

You are obsessed with Finding Nemo. You call it "Fish!!" and love to watch it everyday. You will sit there and watch it for a good 30 minutes at a time.


You love to paint and will ask to paint all the time. You are bad about putting the paint brushes in your mouth so we usually just stick to water with a bit of food coloring for now. But you still love it.

You absolutely love putting on chapstick. You will sit there and smear it on your face and grin from ear to ear the entire time.

New Skills/Tricks:
You are able to pull up your own pants after diaper changes/potty attempts. You are taking off your own shirt now too.

You've started saying "no" when we ask you a question and you'll shake your head too.

You've started to match pieces of puzzles to the right spot in the puzzle

You are learning to jump this month. You've gotten it from watching mommy do a Jillian Michaels workout video. You love to "help" mommy doe the video and for a while you would try to do the moves with mommy. But you got tired of that by the end of the month and just climb on mommy the whole time :/

You have started walking around with one hand in your pocket. So funny!

You love to take off your socks and wear them on your hands. We have started calling you "sock hands" when you do that.

I think our discipline measures are paying off because when you do something bad (like biting us) you will say "timeout!" and walk yourself to the corner for a timeout.

Vocabulary:
You can now count to 10 on your own and get all the numbers every time!

Daddy taught you when he says "We are the knights that say..." you respond with "neat!!" (I think its from Monty Python lol) You love to do it in the bath.
You are able to say "Luv you" when we say "I love you" and you give kisses all the time now. Sometimes spontaneously when we aren't asking for one and that is the cutest!

Big Events this Month:
We went to Purina Farms with the Gooden Grandparents this month. They had a really cute (and free) Christmas Carnival for kids going on. You loved it. You got to see a ton of people there with their dogs. You had a great time running around and petting the dogs. You're head was spinning from so many dogs in one room. LOL

You also got to ride the little train they had which you just loved. It was a great time!


With Christmas coming up, there's been a lot of talk about Santa. You are very interested in Santa and like to talk about him. We took you to see Santa a few times and you screamed your head off and didn't want to go near him. Then afterwards you said "Santa, How are you?" all day long...

Another big event this month was daddy's graduation from UMSL. We are so proud of him! You got really into cheering for him. It was a great day!



We had our 2nd Christmas this year and I had high hopes for you to be more aware and enjoy it. Unfortunately you got a nasty stomach bug the weekend before Christmas and were not feeling well at all during Christmas Eve/Day. You were whiney/crabby and cried the entire time. You hated opening presents and slept during much of the celebrations. Oh well, I guess there's always next year!

This is you on Christmas morning. Presents??! AWFUL!!
At least you were excited about the train set your father and I stayed up until midnight on Christmas Eve putting together for you.


This is you during Christmas dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Gooden. More presents!?!? Horrible!!


We also got to celebrate Christmas at the Riegerix's, which is always a lot of fun. You had a great time playing with your aunts/uncles and cousin, Willow.



Another big event this month was our first real snow!! It was the first time you'd really seen snow since you were old enough to pay attention. I think you were pretty excited. We had a good time playing in it together!

I love you so much, Steven! We had a great 2012. Here's to an even better 2013!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Steven at 18 Months

*Catch up post 18 months, November 2012

Favorite Things:
Interested in the little potty we got you, although mommy made the mistake of letting you lose with no diaper after you "tried" on the potty and you peed on the couch! (You thought that was so funny.)

Started playing "hide seek" with daddy although you aren't very good at finding hiding spots, or waiting to be found...you jump out as soon as daddy comes for you! You'll go to the same hiding spot over and over too. But its still so cute!

Talking on any kind of phone you can find. Your pretend conversations usually go like this "hi mommy. bye bye luv you." :)

New Tricks/skills:
Going up and down the steps on your own. You have done this various ways (sitting down, scooting, turning around, etc) before but this month you mastered actually walking down the steps holding onto the handrail. You're getting so big!
You're coordination is improving this month. You've definitely mastered throwing a ball. Its pretty impressive how well you can throw for being so little. You loved throwing the ball outside with your grandparents dog, Daisy.
 

 
You're also getting really good at kicking a ball. We have a little sports player on our hands!
Vocabulary:
You're getting pretty good at counting. At the begining of the month you were counting from 2 to 7 pretty well but now you can count 1 to 10 and get all the numbers! You're so smart!

You say a lot of 2 word phrases this mont and even some 3 word phrases such as "please milk daddy" "please more milk".

You are such a polite boy! You always say please and thank you when we remind you and almost always remember yourself! You'll say them together often too, "thank you, welcome" ha ha!

Big Events this Month:
You're half birthday! It seems like it came so soon! Slow down!

This month you got your first haircut! You had the cutest little curls growing in the back but after more than 1 person called it a "mullet", I knew it had to go. You were not a fan of getting your hair cut. But you did pretty well. You sat still for the most part. And a sucker at the end definitly helped!


 

This month your uncle Tim came back in town from Australia. You were wary of him at first but quickly warmed up to him and even learned his name really quickly. He is great with you and I'm so glad you are able to spend some time with him while he's back in town!




This month was also Thanksgiving. We had a great time celebrating with your extended family at the Riegerix's. Here are the 3 generations of Steven Riegerixs!
 
We also got to celebrate with the Goodens. Your grandparents moved this month which you had no problem adjusting to. You love their new place and have already discovered all the nooks and crannies (and trouble) you can get into.
 
This is a picture of us at Thanksgiving dinner. You  might notice you aren't at the table. You will hardly sit still for dinner anymore. Too busy!


Family pic! Yes we had to hold you down to get you to stay. LOL
Love my boy!