15 weeks!

How Far Along: 15 weeks!

Size of baby: about the size of an APPLE (thanks, BabyCenter.com!)

Milestones: Baby can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, baby is likely to move away from the beam. (thanks again, BabyCenter.com!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I had an appointment today and according to the office scale I'm up 5 lbs! (Granted my appointment was first thing in the morning...I'm still claiming 5 lbs though!)

Maternity Clothes: I caved and unpacked my maternity clothes last weekend; I washed them all but am only wearing the tops. I'm still rocking the BeBand with my normal pants (when not in sweats of course!)

Gender: Don't know yet...ultrasound will be the first week of May!

Movement: Still waiting.... when my midwife was listening to the heartbeat she said the baby was moving around a lot! :) So hopefully soon!

Sleep: Not too shabby...crazy dreams still but I can handle that:) I still nap almost everyday too!

What I miss: Not much:)

Cravings: Recently: good grapes (not the watery kind), salads, good brats and steak...mmmm good thing we have steak planned for dinner tomorrow!

Symptoms: my growing bump (and growing other places...whoa!); my nausea is pretty much gone (fingers crossed); SLEEPY! *still waiting for my 2nd trimester burst of energy!

Best Moment This Week: Hearing the heartbeat of our little babe this morning!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Setting up our ultrasound! And eventually going shopping for SUMMER maternity clothes! I wore long sleeve and 3/4 sleeve with both my pregnancies (worked in A/C for one and delivered the other in Dec.) so I need to add a few 'summer-y' pieces to my collection - hooray for shopping! Now if only I could get over my $10 rule...*I have a self-imposed rule that I will not spend more than $10 on a single item of clothing; let's see if I can stick to it with in-season maternity wear*

Map

We were given a wonderful floor-sized puzzle of America and Ethan LOVES it! We've done it a few times for 'school' and I decided to document it this time:)I put together the edges for him and then he followed the 'map' (ie: the box) to figure out where to put each state!

He always starts with Texas; the 'boot' state as he refers to it and works his way east...

Checking his 'map' frequently to see where each state goes - I LOVE watching his brain process!

After he fills in the east coast Ethan moves over to the west coast - quite the system!

Finished with the west coast and filling in the mid-west...he saved Minnesota for last! (I'm sure it was pure coincidence though..)

Ethan with his completed puzzle! We pull this out every few weeks for school and talk about the states and the pictures on the states:)

OF COURSE if Ethan's doing a puzzle...Judah has to do one too:) Always wants to be like his older brother!

Transition

I call the time between finding out your pregnant and the time you're fitting well into those maternity clothes "Transition Time". My last 2 pregnancy I managed through "Transition Time" by wearing pants the next size (or 2) up and sweats. It worked I guess...but I really didn't like the super-baggy butt/thighs and extra length with wearing up sizes. I always felt frumpy but didn't think I had any other options.

UNTIL....

I discovered the BeBand! I had heard about them in the past but never thoughts much about them (who knows why) BUT then a friend from college used one with her pregnancy (thanks Sarah!) and I thought to myself, "if it works for her - I bet it would work for me!"

And it totally does. :)

I did research on how to wear it (I know, I'm a dork.) and this is what I landed on: I step into it, pull it up over my tummy, pull up my jeans on top of the lower portion of Band, then fold upper portion of Band over unbuttoned/partially unzipped jeans. TMI? You decide. *I figured if there's any newly prego or maybe prego in the future readers I'd save them some time figuring out how to work it!*

All that to say I'm LOVING my BeBand! I don't know how long I'll be able to rock it (with my quickly growing bump) but I know I've gotten great use out of it the past few months!

p.s. I am sooo excited for my appointment with my midwife next week:)

14 weeks!

How Far Along: 14 weeks!

Size of baby: about the size of a lemon (thanks, BabyCenter.com!)

Milestones: My baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! (thanks again, BabyCenter.com)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: We don't have a scale at our house so I'll guess on this one...I would guess 4-5 lbs (I was up 2 lbs at my 10 week visit). I have an appointment next week so I guess we'll find out then!

Maternity Clothes: Not yet! I bought a BellaBand this time around and am LOVING it! I can wear *most* of my pre-pregnancy jeans with the band:) I'm in the next size up shirts or empire waist shirts. Disclaimer: As much as I love the BellaBand and LOVE my sweats more; as soon as I am home the jeans are off and the sweats are on.

Gender: Don't know yet...Ultrasound will happen during the 1st week of May!

Movement: Not yet - hopefully soon though!!

Sleep: Give or take depending on the night; some nights I fall right asleep and others I toss and turn. CRAZY dreams though...whoa.

What I miss: Not a whole lot! I love my bump and I love that my clothes are getting small! I definitely DON'T miss the ALL DAY nausea from my first trimester - I may feel sick in the morning before I eat but I can handle that:)

Cravings: hmmm...they vary day to day. Most recent: Cinnamon Ice Cream (which my wonderful hubby surprised me with!), a good cheeseburger, spinach salad.

Symptoms: MY BUMP:) Little nausea in the morning sometimes (which I am sooo fine with since it's not all day anymore!!), super tired and just starting today: round ligament pain (ouch)

Best Moment This Week: Starting the SECOND TRIMESTER!! Woo-hoo!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Hearing the precious heartbeat again next week! I could listen to that thump-thump all day!

Waking Up Slowly

Ethan has this super cute habit in the morning. Every.single.morning (literally every) he gets up - comes out of his room and lays on the living room floor. He peeks his cute little head over at me and says: "Mommy, I'm waking up slowly." ok bud:)

Since he does this every.single.morning I figure I should document it with some pictures! Sadly, the flash was on and after two pictures he was done 'waking up' :)He tucks his legs under him, curls his head in and just lays there! Too Cute. It reminds me of what a baby looks like in the womb:) I hope he doesn't outgrow this adorable tradition any time soon! It's such a sweet way to see him wake up:)

If You Give A Mom A Muffin...

Have you ever read the book "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie"? We love that book in this house! We've also read "If You Give A Cat A Cupcake" - equally as adorable! All that to say..I was forwarded a spoof off those books about Moms - I read it and laughed so hard! (I don't know who wrote it as it was an email forward)
******************
If You Give a Mom a Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
So she'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With a Pound of
Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for the checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring. (Of course!)
Her five year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on
Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

************
oh.so.true. There are many mornings I make myself a nice cup of hot chocolate (or something similar) and never get to drink it!

Sounds like the mom in the poem has 3 kids; soon enough I'll get to write a poem about my 3 kids!

Watch me grow...

I've kept it in long enough so it's time to spill the beans...WE'RE EXPECTING AGAIN!

We kept quiet for a while due what happened last summer. Now that I'm safely past 3 months we're spreading the news!

In February, we heard the BEAUTIFUL heartbeat of this babe (at 10 weeks) and I've been growing (and sick and tired) steadily!

I'm now almost 14 weeks - due in mid September:) We've been taking pictures of my growing belly since we found out in January (sadly, something I never did with my 2 boys. I totally wish I did!)

I'll stop my jibber-jabbing and show you the pictures!

4 weeks:
6 weeks:
8 weeks: buttons getting tighter...
10 weeks:
12 weeks: 3 months! Hooray!
13.5 weeks (I totally popped...guess my body knows what to do!)
So, here we go again on this wonderful journey called pregnancy! Good thing I enjoy being pregnant:) (minus the sick part - which was horrible for the first 3 months...Yesterday and today were the first days I didn't feel sick AT ALL!) Hooray for 2nd trimester!!

Check back for updates:) I'll be posting 'em!

School Today...

This morning when it was school-work time Ethan informed me that HE was going to be the teacher today and he was going to teach ME. Sounds like fun - so we went with it!

We're going through that reading book I talked about and Ethan was going to 'teach' me my lesson this morning. We both work out of the same book so he's very familiar as to what happens first, second and so on....it was precious! I wish I thought ahead to set up the video recorder or something because he was so stinkin cute:)

E: now mommy, do you know what this sound is?
Me: teacher, I forgot. Can you teach me again?
E: of course. I am the teacher. This sound is "ssssss"
M: thanks.

and on and on. When it came time to sound out words he 'taught' it to me just like I taught him!

E: now mommy, first you say it slow. Then you say it fast. Watch me....ssssss-aaaaa-mmmm. Now say it fast...SAM! Mommy, mommy I know a Sam!!!
*when he refers to saying something fast he says it fast and LOUD! oh my.

We made it through our lesson (and I wonder if he learned even MORE because he 'taught' me) and we got ready to go outside.

Now that we're out of the arctic blast known as winter I'm ALL about being outside. Anything over 32* we're out there. We went out this morning (low 40's) and the boys drew with chalk and stomped on snow for a while. Then we headed out for our 'adventure hike'! Judah chilled in the stroller and Ethan walked. I let Ethan decide which way to turn when we came to an intersection and we observed as we walked.

We talked about everything we heard and saw. We heard cars and airplanes and LOTS of birds! We would stop everytime we'd see a bird in a tree or in the air (lots of stopping) and almost every one Ethan would exclaim "It's a Harpy-Eagle!" (none of which were; he learned about Harpy-Eagles on Diego)

Ethan would also stop at every puddle (lots of those too) and tell me what it looked like. Wow, that kid has an imagination.

We found every drain and talked about how the snow was melting and flowing into the drain; then going into a lake. Ethan was happy that the fish got more water to swim in!

Highlight of the walk was spotting a beautiful red bird in a tree; we stopped and admired it for a while:)

Then is was lunch time, then rest time. Oh how I love rest time:) After rest time we went outside again (high 40's at that point) and the boys drew with chalk, ate a snack and we explored the yard together. The snow had melted a lot so we jumped from grassy patch to grassy patch.

Inside for dinner prep, ate dinner, read some books then ready for bed. Ahh what a day:) I love that we can start going outside more and more! I am soooo looking forward to summer where we can literally stay outside ALL day!

There's a little look into our Thursday school day: a reading lesson, little adventure hike with some science and nature, art in the driveway and of course story time! Oh the joy of schooling at home:)

And just because it's cute..here's a pic of my charming boys eating lunch the other day: I love Ethan's 'what's up?' pose! Totally not on purpose; I think he was showing me his food:) I love these guys!

Happy Pi Day!

Today is March 14th..aka pi day! (3.14)

In honor of pi day Joe picked up a pie for us to enjoy tonight! Mmmmm Lemon Meringue:)
For you viewing pleasure (or to appease my dorky-ness) here is that wonderful pi I'm talking about:


3.14159265358979323846264338327950288....

Grab yourself a piece of pie for pi day!

Great Book!

For part of Ethan's schoolwork we've been working through the book "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons" at first I was a little skeptical but I had heard a lot of good things about the book...
...Ethan is getting it! Absolutely amazing! I may be biased because I'm his mom but I think he's doing wonderfully:) We're only a few weeks in but he is sounding out simple words; I LOVE the proud look he gets on his face when he successfully sounds out a word!

There are mornings when his attention isn't all the way there or he gets easily distracted..but he's still learning it somehow!

I would totally recommend this book - hooray for reading!

LOVE

I love this guy:)

Tent Fun

A while ago Joe brought his tent out of storage (aka our garage) and set it up in the living room for the boys to play in. It was such a hit! The boys loved it:)They played in it for a long time...had snacks in there...and even watched a movie! It's amazing what a change of scenery can do for kids! They played with their normal toys in the tent for such a long time - the joy of forts:) The next morning Ethan convinced me to have him do some of his schoolwork in the tent:) (it wasn't that hard to convince me!) Here he is practicing some 'threading' of beads on a string:Sadly, the tent could only stay up for 2 days. We have a small living room and the tent took up a good portion of it! I'm sure we'll pull it out again for some rainy day fun;)