3/17/10 - PART 2

First of all...our Poll has officially closed, and it seems the majority has agreed with me, 10 to 6, that we will be having a boy!! YAY :) Now, I've put up a new post...PLEASE VOTE!! We have until 3/26 to decide if we're going to find out baby #2's sex, let's see what everyone thinks!

Now, being that I really don't care about St. Patrick's Day, I forgot all about it this morning! Once we all got home for the day, I remembered I'd picked up some headband thing from the dollar spot at Target for Olivia, so we had to snap some pics. That was the extent of our celebration, but I thought I should share them!!

Also, Olivia had officially outgrown her boots, her ONLY pair of shoes, so Grandma walked her over to the shoe store today and surprised us with her first pair of tennis shoes!! And Olivia LOVES them, she things they are very cool and was very excited to show them off :) Had to include a pic of those as well!!

3/17/10 - 21 Weeks!

Here we are, another week down, and just as unbelievable as the last! 21 Weeks...whoa. I was thinking this morning...it is 19 week until my due date...it sounds like a lot, but in 10 weeks, my weeks will be in single digits already. That's just crazy to me. I remember with Olivia I didn't think January would ever come...it seemed like it was just some mysterious month that didn't really exist. This time, I swear July is right around the corner, and it just comes faster and faster.

Still feeling good (other than the extreme lack of sleep). Baby is getting VERY active, way more active than Olivia ever was. Monday morning, as I was trying to sleep in, baby had different plans for us! It's such an amazing feeling though, I will gladly take as many kicks, punches and tumbles as I can in this short amount of time!

We still haven't had a good "name talk" yet or anything like that. We're taking a much more laid back approach this time. I do have a list of names that I like, boy and girl, so I guess first step is seeing what Christian thinks of those! I think we are pretty set on a girl's name though...even though there are others I like, Christian seems pretty stuck on our second choice name for Olivia. For a boy, we do know that the middle name would be Samuel, after Christian's dad. Either way, I'm sure there will be many discussions about it :)

3/16/10 - Sleep is for Losers!

Yes, that is what I say to myself to get through the day...sleep is for losers, for the weak in fact! Seriously, who needs it?? OK, really, *this* lady needs it, badly!

Olivia started sleeping through the night really early on, at 6 weeks old. She was like clockwork, for months. She stopped when she got to the point of needing real food to fill her up, so once we started her on baby food, she again went back to sleeping through the night. But, the last few months have been really touch and go. She'll go a few nights, without a peep, then all of a sudden give up on it. We are in the midst of a REALLY bad stretch right now. I think what's most frustrating about it is that Olivia doesn't cry...she SCREAMS, at the top of her lungs. You just cannot leave her to soothe herself, because it's literally torture, and she won't stop. And, with her "needing" me to put her to sleep, that means I'm the one getting up dealing with it, and I need some serious R&R! I'm at such a loss, I don't even know what to do. The only thing I can do is pray that it's her molars trying to poke through, and hope that it happens soon. I'd like a few weeks, maybe a couple months, of real sleep before baby gets here, that's all I know!

So, sleep gods, if you are listening by chance...please send some sleep dust our way, soon! Until then, Diet Dew will remain my best friend!

Here is a picture from spaghetti dinner tonight...even with the lack of sleep, this lady puts a smile on my face every day!

3/15/10 - Busy Monday!

Today was a busy day all around!! Work was busy, home was busy....busy, busy, busy!

The day got off to a REALLY bad start. Olivia seems to have given up on sleep. In addition to that, Christian is usually the one who puts her to bed, and gets up during the night if she wakes, but for some reason she seems to only want me to put her to sleep these days. So, we had a late night putting her down, and a really long middle-of-the-night wake up call. I was so exhausted, I ended up calling into work for a few hours so I could sleep in a little bit. I REALLY hope this doesn't become a regular thing for her!

I didn't get a chance to do my weekly Target shopping yesterday (plus, it was way too nice out to do it anyway!), so I was off to Target right away after work. Then, we took Olivia out for a nice little walk. It was a little chilly and windy by the time we got home and outside, but it was nice to get her out for a while. There were a couple true Minnesota Geese on the lake by our house...the lake that is half ice/half REALLY cold water. That didn't keep them from going for a swim! And, Olivia was very interested in them :)

3/14/10 - It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Yes indeed, it was officially BEAUTIFUL outside today, and we did get out and enjoy it, for a while anyway. Olivia had a pretty rough night after a long, late evening last night. She was up, VERY upset, a few times, and up early (even with daylight savings time...), so it was a pretty crabby morning for her. She ended up getting VERY upset because she wanted to go outside, but us being her mean parents, weren't prepared to get her bundled up and go out. Oh man, she threw the biggest fit to date. I ended up getting her calmed down and down for a nap...which lasted 3 WONDERFUL hours. We each showered and got ready for the day while she napped of her anger. Once she was up, we were off to Christian's parents' house for the afternoon. They were grilling, and we don't pass up free food :) Also, his sister and her girls were going to be there, and Olivia just loves them to pieces. She spent most of the visit running around outside with Aliana, it was pretty exciting for her. She is definitely going to love spring/summer and being free and wild outdoors!

Of course she was KNOCKED out as soon as we started on our way home, and napped a bit once we got there. As you can see from the picture below...she seems to be growing on Rico, because he couldn't help but snuggle up and nap with her (must have missed her while we were out!). Too cute.

3/13/10 - Fight Night

It was Saturday as usual around our house. Still not the best weather, so we were yet again stuck inside. Christian decided to order a big boxing match that was on tonight, so we had some friends over to watch it. Of course that meant frantically cleaning up the house and making it presentable before anybody showed up. So, that's how we spent most of the day...dishes, laundry, picking up toys, cleaning up the kitchen...the usual "guests are coming" tasks in our house. Everyone showed up around 7:30, we had some YUMMY Papa Murphy's pizza and watched a pretty un-thrilling fight. No knockouts, and the main event was very boring and predictable. Oh well, hanging out with friends, and watching Olivia with her BFF was all the excitement I needed anyway!

It's so fun to watch the girls together...they just get more and more interactive, and I love it. They laugh at each other, follow each other around, copy each other....it's so great. They are also just about complete opposites, which I find very entertaining as well. It's funny how two little ones, so close in age, can be so different! I'm excited to watch them grow together.

After a LONG night, Olivia started to get pretty sleeping (admittedly, way past her bed time), so she snuggled on the couch with me, eventually passing out. I love snuggle time :)

3/12/10 - Just Another Girls Day

It's Friday, my Friday off, meaning it's Girl's Day in our house. Today was a good day...Olivia decided to be nice and let me sleep until 8:00, which was great! We spent the morning eating, playing and just hanging out. She was very clingy today, which is not like her. Wonder what that's all about....After Christian got home, we had some family time and put her down to bed like usual. Then we caught up on some TV time :) We are finally caught up on this season of 24...man I love that show...I never want it to end. One reason it's nice to have a few episodes to watch at once...it's SO addicting. Other than that, it was a pretty relaxed day. The weather was OK, but still not quite where I like it to take Olivia out. With her past ear infections, and my ear history, I'd rather not take the risk of her getting sick. So, hopefully some time this weekend it's nice enough to get out!

For today's picture....one of Olivia's favorite past times. Playing with the humidifier. Of course, it drives us CRAZY, but it's just oh so funny. She'll push all the buttons until she gets it going full blast, then she puts her face over it and laughs and laughs. It really is hilarious. Eventually we just have to unplug the dang thing because it gets so noisy, but it's fun while it lasts!

3/11/10 - It's the Weekend Baby!

Today was my Thursday/Friday...YAY! My weekend is officially here, and we have another low key one planned, which makes it that much better! The weather still sounds pretty iffy all weekend, but, we only have a few small snow piles left around the house, so I'm guessing the snow will be all gone, very soon. It's crazy...not even two weeks ago the snow in our yard was piled up almost higher than us, and now it's almost gone completely. The change sure does come fast around here!

Well, just like every Thursday, I don't have much to report, so on to today's picture! Olivia is obsessed with the iPod...of course. She managed to get ahold of it, and would every so often look up with this innocent angel face, making it harder to take it away from her :) She is a smart cookie, that's for sure!

3/10/10 - 20 Weeks!!! Yippie!

Another big milestone...officially halfway there! 140 days down, 140 days to go! Here we are, 20 Weeks! I can't believe I'm in my 5th month already...5th! I feel really good these days...I think I have my headaches under control, I am "tired", but I have more energy than I have for a while (maybe it helps that Olivia isn't waking as much during the night....) and I'm still not grossed out by myself! YAY. I'm feeling really good about this pregnancy. While I'm still really nervous about the big change from 1 little one to 2, and having two so young, with every day the nerves are replaced with excitement. Every time I hear the heartbeat, makes it more real, every kick and tumble I feel, makes it more real. I know once we see our little one on the 26th, it'll make it WAY more real, and if we end up finding out the sex...I think that will take over any last bit of nerves I'm feeling! I can't wait to go shopping and buy some stuff for the new baby...some special little outfits, a special little blankie, the crib and bedding...all of it! It's hard to believe we're thinking about all this stuff again!

Since I'm feeling so UP, and had such a great appointment yesterday, I feel like I don't have anything to rant about this week! I'm just going to enjoy this weeks happiness today :)

3/9/10 - Long Time No See!

Well, today I FINALLY had my 2nd prenatal appointment. With Olivia I had them every 4 weeks, this time I appear to be on a 6 week cycle. Maybe since I've been through it already? Not sure.

Anyway, the appointment started off great with Ann telling me how cute I am! YAY :) My blood pressure was NORMAL, which was great news. My weight gain is still going well, up 5lbs at ~20 weeks...go me! Then, it was heartbeat time!!! My favorite part. Baby decided to play hide and seek with the doppler, so it took her three good tries to get a solid read. In the end, she got 148, so nice and strong!! Then, it was time to schedule the ultrasound...March 26th, and we can't wait to see our little peanut! It will be a nice birthday present for Christian :) So, I'll be counting down the days for the next 2+ weeks!

We spent most of the appointment talking about VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) stuff. There are a lot of risks involved, and I've been researching everything VBAC since I had Olivia. It's very important to me to avoid a repeat c-section, and Ann still thinks I'm a good candidate, so I have my fingers crossed. As I get further along, I get more and more nervous about it, but I know in my heart it's what I really want. I'll be very disappointed if I have repeat c-section, but in the end, healthy is all that matters! Ann is a midwife, so I have to see an actual OB at my next appointment (in 6 weeks) to discuss all the risks and get checked out. Then, I'll be switching between the two for the remainder of the pregnancy to watch my progress and be monitored. The hospital also offers a VBAC preparation class, which I think we'll be taking. Can't be too informed!!

Christian was in charge of dinner tonight. He grilled a ham my mom gave us, and made some potatoes (and I made some veggies). YAY for yummy grilled food :) The rest of the night was as normal as could be. Playing, some TV time and just hanging out! Here is our yummy ham (I'm loving food more than ever these days, so don't be surprised to see more food pics!) :)