Some Snapshots From Our Week

Another Friday, another donut date with the J-man.  This time we did it drive-thru style and brought it home since spring is officially here and it's super rainy. And of course Jonah ate it the best way possible- frosting first! And 30 seconds later, there was even more chocolate on his face, including his nose.

Someone loves to copy his big sister and put on all her accessories (which recently have been super hero accessories), and then he says "I'm so fancy!" Yes, yes you are, Jonah.

Another Wednesday, another day with Holden. After Heather dropped him off around 7:00, we did our usual running around in the morning to take Ellie to school, make a quick run to the grocery store, and then back to pick up our favorite girl. And then another quiet afternoon at home while he took a three hour nap. Love this little munchkin!

Another day, another shot of the growing bump! 27 weeks (and 3 days today!) and growing bigger! I feel like a whale, but still have SO much growing to do. And I'm so thankful to do so! I've been feeling lots of movement the last few days, which is so much better than earlier in the week when I wasn't feeling much at all and even busted out the heart doppler in the middle of the night one night because I was so stressed about baby. Grow, baby, grow!

Our Monday morning started with an early play date, picking up Holden for a few hours, and picking up my neighbor's son from preschool. We played, ate lunch, gave Holden a nap, and then drove him home to his daddy. Then, since it was SO beautiful out, we stopped and played at the train playground for a bit. While we were there, a train went by, and every single kid on the playground stopped playing and ran over to the little field to watch it go by. It reminded me of my childhood when my dad would take us down to the train station and we'd put pennies on the track to get flattened by a train.

And Jonah just loungin in his Thomas the train robe that he insists on wearing to bed almost every single night- mostly as a delay tactic.

Snow Day and the First Day of Spring

We had our first (and hopefully only!) "major" snowstorm early last week. Our weather alerts kept telling us we would get 6-12 inches, but probably got more like 4 inches of ice/snow. Schools were out for the day on Tuesday, but only a two hour delay for the next two days. I say, let's get this snow/ice melted and bring on spring!

Noelle made it outside twice for 5 minute increments before deciding it was too cold and coming back in. Jonah was out twice for at least a half hour each time, mostly just playing on the back deck while I watched from inside. We baked chocolate chip muffins, watched the Little Mermaid, and ate snow popsicles after dinner.

On Wednesday last week I had the ultrasound for baby at the maternal fetal medicine place. The sonographer spent about 40 minutes looking over baby, and then the doctor came in for about 15 minutes. Baby had completely flipped and was butt down with his or her head and legs over to my left side. I think this made it so much easier to get  good measurements, and baby was measuring right back where he or she was at 20 weeks. Praise the Lord! AND even though they were being careful to tell me when to look away, I thought the doctor said something about little guy?? But I couldn't hear her very well because she was talking quietly to the sonographer. But maybe it's a boy!

And we got a cute little shot of baby's hand. LOVE!

For this first day of spring on Monday, I took the kids to Rita's for our free Italian ice. Our local Rita's had two other people there when we arrived, so we didn't have to wait in any kind of line, which was perfect! Then my parents texted me in the evening asking if we wanted to meet them at Dairy Queen for the free vanilla ice cream cone. And again, only a few people in front of us. Double the sugar, double the fun!

Eating Rita's in the car

Baby and the Dentist

As of today, I'm 25 weeks pregnant! I catch glimpses of myself and still cannot believe I'm pregnant sometimes. I am SO SO thankful, and I'm trying to soak it all up. Like for real, I've taken far more "bump" shots with this baby than with the other two. I just want to capture it all and hold on to it!

20 week shot!

I had my 24 week appointment last Tuesday and we did the second part of the anatomy scan since baby wasn't super cooperative at the 20 week check. Baby's heartbeat was pumping along at 155, and everything anatomy-wise looked good. The sonographer tried like 5 different measurements of the head, hoping to get a bigger size, but overall baby is measuring about 2-3 weeks small. I saw one of the nurse practitioners after the sono, and she was concerned because baby's percentile went from the 33rd percentile at 20 weeks, to the 15th percentile at 24 weeks. She looked back and saw that Noelle and Jonah both measured around the 25th percentile at 20 weeks, and she said it could be possible that baby had a growth spurt right before the 20 week check, and is now settling into more of the general growth curve he or she will be on. Or there could be something more going on, so she referred me to the maternal fetal medicine place (aka high risk) to get monitored with another ultrasound which will also look at the flow of blood through the umbilical cord to see if baby is getting everything he or she needs through that.

I am of course really nervous that there will be something wrong. But also doing lots of praying and trusting that this baby is in God's hands. I keep reminding myself that Noelle and Jonah were both on the tinier side, though there weren't concerns until later on in my pregnancy with each of them. The nurse practitioner suggested I drink two protein shakes a day to help up my calories. I'm not sure I can handle two a day, but I figure between at least one shake, and then copious amounts of peanut butter, that should help get some good, healthy fats and protein into me and baby.

 Last week Jonah had his first trip to the dentist! We ended up having to find a new one because the one we've been going to for the past few years stopped taking our insurance, which was really sad because we love Dr. B! But the new dentist seemed really nice, and I also got my mouth checked while we were there because I've been having some sensitivity here and there. Based on some general 2nd trimester approved guidelines, they were able to take an x-ray and saw that an old filling needed to be replaced. That took about an hour, and thankfully both kids contentedly sat and played on tablets while the dentist worked on my mouth. Then Jonah sat in the chair like a big boy, opened his mouth, and took the fluoride like a champ. Definitely a world of difference from Noelle's first time when we basically held her down so the dentist could take a quick look in her mouth.

It's hard to believe we're already halfway through March, but I am looking forward to some consistent spring weather!

Four Things

one // Last Monday Noelle had a ballet presentation for the end of a little winter ballet session she did. The girls did a few ballet moves, and then each one was presented with a certificate of completion. It was President's Day and Luke had off work, so we ended up spending the afternoon with Luke's parents and sister. We ate a delicious lunch, did some shoe shopping (successful for Luke!). and then all of us headed out to Noelle's ballet presentation.

two // As of today I am 23 weeks and 1 day along! I cannot believe it! I mostly feel the baby move when I'm laying in bed reading at night or occasionally if I sit down long enough. I of course worry that the baby isn't moving around enough, and the other night at like 2 a.m. after not feeling the usual amount of flutters, I pulled out the heart beat doppler and listened for that reassuring thump thump. I'm pretty sure we just have another lazy baby on our hands like his/her sister! And baby Holden will be 7 months on Saturday!

three // Jonah and I pretty regularly head to Dunkin Donuts on Fridays after we drop Noelle off at school. My sisters got me hooked on the iced caramel coffee, and it's always a chocolate with sprinkles donut for Jonah. One Friday my mom friend from Noelle's school happened to show up with her two year old, so we all sat together, and she and I got to chat while the boys ate their donuts. I do love that between preschool and MOPS, I've actually found mom friends who live nearby!

four // Jonah woke up with a fever in the middle of the night last Friday and fought it most of the day Saturday. Even though he was completely fine through Saturday night, we kept him home from church on Sunday. But as of today, he seems to still be struggling with something, and spiked a fever again. And of course we have Holden here, and went to MOPS this morning. I really hope we didn't infect anyone else! And sickness season just needs to end.

Spring Weather in the Winter

The past two days have included temperatures in the 70's, which means we've been getting more outside time than usual. And I love it! (Aside from when Noelle complains about it being too sunny and how's she's so sweaty.) Yesterday the kids didn't even watch TV until 7:00- huge win for us in the winter time!

After we dropped Noelle off at school yesterday, Jonah and I headed to MOPS at our church, where thankfully he didn't cry when I dropped him off in MOPPETS, and I got some time with a few of my mom friends. Once we picked Noelle up, we took our picnic lunch to a nearby park and enjoyed the playground and sunshine for a bit.

After a quick stop at home, we headed to the library for a library time play date with our other MOPS group. The librarian who lead it read some silly books, sang songs, played with bubbles and shaky eggs, and we made a kite for the craft. I loved hearing Noelle and Jonah laugh at everything- I want to remember their little voices and laughs from this stage of life!

After checking out some new books, we headed home to meet our neighbor getting off the bus. The kids ate popsicles and played outside for over an hour until dinner time. I am most definitely looking forward to being able to do this daily in the spring and summer!

And we had Holden with us on Wednesday and got to enjoy some time outside with him. I love that little baby SO much!! So thankful for this little nugget!

Sharing a Room and Weekend Fun

The littles have now been sharing a room for a week and a half. And not only that, Jonah was evicted from the crib and now sleeps on the crib mattress on the floor. He now has a lot more freedom, and a partner in crime to stay up late with. And an older sister to emulate on everything- including the whining and phrases she uses ("you're taking too long to come check on us", "actually mom, I'm going to miss you".)

We're hoping that 4+ months will be enough time for them to get used to sharing before the baby takes over Noelle's old room.

It seems that if one of them goes to sleep, the other is still awake. Last night, Luke and I were both in bed super early because that's normal for me and Luke's been sick. Jonah wandered in and just stood there looking at us. When I walked him back to his room, Noelle was conked out. Another night last week, Noelle kept coming into our room while I was reading and eventually she said "mommy, Jonah's not talking to me when I say things to him because he's asleep. I'm going to go wake him up." I quickly told her no, but of course she went into their room and started yelling his name. Thankfully, he slept right through it, and she eventually went to sleep!

Their typical stall tactics and excuses for not being asleep: cold water, I miss you hugs, we need a flashlight (how they seem to have misplaced all 10 they got for Christmas, I do not know!), the sound machine is too loud, Jonah took the night light out of the socket, using the potty, too hot, too cold (Jonah's been requesting to wear his Thomas the Train robe to bed), and Jonah's nightly request- "I need something from downstairs."

We keep telling ourselves the novelty will wear off eventually, they'll get used to it, and will hopefully be getting to bed at a decent time by the time baby gets here!

The last two weekends have been full of fun things! This past Saturday, Noelle had a birthday party for her little boyfriend at school at a trampoline park, and then more fun and food at his house afterwards. When we first got there, she played shy, but once the kids were all out bouncing, she joined right in with her pre-k buddies. Meanwhile, Luke stayed home with Jonah and attempted potty-training. All six pairs of underwear were soaked through in the first part of the day, and the next morning, Jonah wanted a diaper, so that was the end of pushing that for now.

The Saturday before, Noelle and I had a date with some other mommies and their girls to see Disney on Ice with all the princesses. We carpooled into Baltimore with one of our friends, found our seats, and pointed out all the princess dresses that all the little girls in the audience were wearing. Noelle chose to wear a little pink dress she has with Belle, Tiana, and Cinderella on it.

The show was well-done and incorporated some of our favorite songs from the different princess movies. Most of the second half was devoted to scenes from Frozen, and you could tell that Elsa and Anna were the most popular princesses in the room. Noelle was cheering and clapping her hands, and you could hear so many little voices singing along with all the songs. I enjoyed it, and was thankful for some one on one time with Noelle!

Valentine's Day 2017

Valentine's Day started with the kids waking up just as I was finishing getting ready for the day. I hugged them tight while saying "Happy Valentine's Day!" And that was just the reminder they needed about it being a "holiday." Noelle said, "you know who I love mommy? Aunt Lyd!" And then Jonah chimed in and said he loved Aunt Lyd, too. I love the little moments of hearing their hearts.

They told me they wanted to go to Chick Fil A, and since I'd been planning on taking them somewhere and we hadn't used our Chick Fil A calendar deal yet (which happened to be a breakfast item this month), I told them we could go. We got them dressed in their Valentine's Day outfits and headed out for breakfast (chicken minis and lemonade!) We had fun sitting and eating, and then they played in the play area for a bit.

After we were done, we headed to Walmart to buy our supplies for the day: chocolates, flowers, balloons, strawberries, and streamers. At one point I knelt down and asked Jonah if he wanted to "buy" his sister some flowers, which of course he went and picked some out, and then wanted his own little bouquet. Hopefully he'll grow into loving on his sister as he gets older! Once we got everything home, Noelle was so excited to help me decorate. We strung up pink and red streamers, threw a pink tablecloth on the table, and made heart shaped sugar cookies to give to our neighbors. I also used a cookie cutter to cut their peanut butter sandwiches into the shapes of hearts. Not super creative, but they liked it!

Luke picked up some Frank's pizza for us on his way home from work, and brought roses for me and carnations for Noelle. So sweet! We sat down to our yummy cheese (and tomato- don't tell the kids!) pizza, with a carton of strawberries to split between us. The kids were excited to eat their Paw Patrol Valentine's Day chocolates, and they ran around the house with their heart shaped balloons (and continue to do so!) Definitely a successful 2017 Valentine's Day!