12 Weeks

How Far Along?  12 weeks! So exciting to be in the last week of the first trimester :). 

Size of the Baby? A plum! Coincidentally one of Evan's new favorite fruits. Baby is over 2 inches long and about half an ounce. 

Sleep? This week has been pretty great for sleep, in large part because I've been Evan free! I'm out in Alabama visiting my wonderful friend and living the kid free life, staying up until after 11 and sleeping in until 8 or 9. I haven't had any insomnia this week, *knock on wood*, so we'll see if that lasts. 

Eating? How funny - I just looked and apparently last time I was also really in the mood for Indian food. No wonder Evan loves indian - hopefully this baby does too! The morning sickness has kicked up a little this week, and I think it's because I've been spending less time outside. Or morning sickness is just fickle. Unlike last time, proteins have been the winning foods for me, so I've really been enjoying steaks, among other things. Still not eating as healthily as I should, but I blame vacation :) 

 What I Miss? Not pregnancy related, but I miss my boy :(. It has been 4 days since I've seen Evan and I miss him so much! It has been such an amazing time here in Alabama, but it definitely reinforced that I wouldn't change my life with my sweet toddler for the world. I just love being a mom and I can't wait to get home and I can't wait for this new little one to arrive and complete our family. 

Best Moment? Getting to share our news with my friend and celebrate her upcoming baby boy!

Milestones: I had my first appointment with a midwife and am excited to be able to use midwives a second time. She seemed optimistic about my having a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and was reassuring about my not having pre-eclampsia again (only a 20% chance). I also got all my bloodwork done for the 12 week scan and am looking forward to the actual scan in a couple weeks. I also have been identified as pregnant by three strangers since arriving in Alabama, so I think I'm definitely showing. 

Mommy Update: Once again, I am feeling very happy about life. I am so thankful to have the overlap of summer and the first trimester so that I can soak in these early days and get extra rest when I need, plus time with family and friends. 

Baby Update:

Baby can now react to pokes on the outside. It's almost done developing all the major body parts and is moving into the "growth and maturation" phase. This is considered a turning point in pregnancy, as the organs will now start to work and just work on getting stronger. Baby is also opening and closing its fingers and curling its toes. It's brain is also developing quickly. So exciting :)

11 Weeks

How Far Along?  11 Weeks! 

Size of the Baby? A lime. This seems so much bigger than last week :). Over 2 inches long and a third of an ounce.

Sleep?  It was a rough week for sleep last week, but it wasn't the new baby's fault. We were out of town and Evan never sleeps well away from home. On the plus side, because I've been so tired, I haven't really had much insomnia. 

Cravings? Sour food has still been a go to, especially for all the traveling. I've gotten to enjoy indian a couple times, which has been super yummy. I also keep wanting sushi, which so far I've been resisting. 


 What I Miss? Just feeling like an energetic mom. I am officially on SAHM duty, and I feel a little sad that I just don't have the same energy I used to. I was still able to do most of what I wanted with Evan in Santa Cruz, so I'm glad for that at least. 

Best Moment? Being in Santa Cruz for the 3rd summer. It's so special to have a place that we've gone every year since Evan was born. We also shared the news with Ed's coworkers, which was really special. 

Milestones: Another quiet week, but I have my next appointment tomorrow! I am excited to meet one of the midwives and check on the little one. 

Mommy Update: I've been afraid to jinx things, but I am, in general, feeling better! Still super tired, but the nausea has definitely faded a bit. Last time I felt really sick until 18 weeks, so I'm really thankful to have had such minor morning sickness this time around. 

Big Brother Update: Evan's language has really blossomed this week! It's been amazing to hear him speak complete sentences, play pretend, and just be so much more interactive. His current biggest love is "choo choos" and it was so fun to get to take him on a steam train while we were in Santa Cruz.

Baby Update:

Baby is moving around a lot in there, which I can't wait to be able to actually feel. It's growing hair follicles and fingernails and is looking much more like a little person. It also has no more webbing between fingers and toes, so goodbye to amphibian baby. It's getting tiny toothbuds and bones are hardening. Keep growing, little one!

10 Weeks

(written 6-27-16)

What they say about the 2nd child is already coming true - I'm starting these posts a whole 4 weeks later than with Evan. But, hopefully I can make up for lost time. I love being able to look back on my first pregnancy, so I am going to do my best to keep the record going on here again.

How Far Along?  10 weeks! Double digits feels exciting and much more real :). 

Size of the Baby? A kumquat - 1.25 inches and a little less than a quarter of an ounce

Sleep? Just like last time, insomnia is hitting me about half the nights. It doesn't help that I have a toddler who hates sleep, especially when we travel, so I'm up a lot between him, having to go to the bathroom, and insomnia. On the plus side, I'm so used to being tired now that I'm finding it less hard to adjust than with the first pregnancy. 

Cravings? Not cravings so much, but this time around sour things are helping me feel less nauseous. I've been using jolly ranchers, especially on car trips, and am liking drinking orange juice. I also have been liking watermelon, since I read that it helps settle the stomach too, and it does seem to help a bit. 

 What I Miss? This pregnancy really has felt a bit easier, which I'm so thankful for. What I mostly miss is feeling in control of what I'm eating. This time around, lots of snacking seems to help, but that means I'm eating more than I probably should. But, I'm counting myself lucky. 

Best Moment? Being in Yosemite! It was Evan's first time going, and we all had such a great time. We talked a lot about booking a trip for next summer as a family of four. There were lots of little babies in the valley, and it got me excited about our new little one. 

Milestones: Next appointment is 7/5 - coming up soon!

Mommy Update: Even though I'm sad to be feeling not so hot on all of our trips, and it makes all the driving especially hard, I am so glad I'm not teaching for most of the first trimester. It's so great that I can be "off schedule" when I need to be and take it easy. Looking forward to 2nd trimester in just a couple weeks. 

Big Brother Update: Evan is so cute with the baby. He either calls it Baby Tiger or Baby LyLy (Lion) depending on his mood. We aren't 100% sure where baby tiger came from, but we're encouraging baby lyly since it does go with our last name :). Evan usually points to his own tummy if you ask where the baby is and he loves looking at the developmental image of the baby on one of my apps. 

Baby Update:

Baby is definitely in the fetal stage now - all the major organs are developed. It's getting little nails and hair, which just seems so tiny and amazing. It can also move all its limbs. 

Lovely Saturday

Ed was working, so Evan and I got to have a mommy and me day. I'm not sure why, but Evan was in a wonderful mood today. So silly and sweet and exactly how you dream an almost 2 year old might act. The only negative was that he wouldn't nap, but since he was so happy, I didn't push the issue.

I had the lofty idea to take Evan to the lake in the hiking pack. I hoped he'd nap and I could enjoy sitting by the lake and reading.

However, I'd totally forgotten how heavy the hiking pack was. Sheesh. It was a fantastic workout, but the weight, plus the warm afternoon, meant I felt like I could barely keep going. 

But, it was beautiful, if hot, so I pushed on. 

Thankfully, after only 20 or so minutes of hiking, Evan finally passed out. 

So, as soon as we reached a bench under an oak tree, I pulled Evan off and took a break. 

I had a beautiful view and spent a lovely 15 minutes reading my book. 

It came to an abrupt end when I looked up to see this little guy literally about to crawl onto Evan's face!

Such a pretty caterpillar, but not something I want on my child's face. So, I decided we should move on. Evan ended up waking up, for the shortest nap in toddler history :). 

This wasn't an entirely bad thing, since we were debuting Evan's brand new big twin bed tonight. Evan was beyond excited about his rockets. This ended up being a bit of a problem as he was so wound up - he kept wanting to visit his rockets and couldn't stay laying down. 

Evan also loved the moon sheets. Hopefully the bed gets less exciting after a few nights, but it sure was cute to se how happy he was. And, hopefully sleeping on a bed that's actually soft, plus big enough that he can roll around without falling onto the floor, will help him sleep better. 

One can hope at least! No matter how tonight goes, though, I'm so thankful for my little boy.

Spring on Mount Tam

Ed asked me during the week if he could take us away for a surprise trip. I wasn't too shocked that he brought us to Mount Tam. 

Evan has gotten so into hiking lately - he was excited to get up on Dad's back and get going. 

Evan especially loved all the water crossings that are still trickling for a little while longer. 

When he saw this, he kept saying, "Woah! Woah!"

The first part of the hike was all under the forest canopy. And then, we stepped out into this. 

Rolling green hills. Bright blue sky. And flowers. 

Thousands and thousands of flowers. 

We've been here so many times, but I've never seen wildflowers like this. 

We decided to try a new off-shoot that took us to a bluff overlooking the ocean. We could even see a glimpse of the golden gate. "Bridge! Bridge!"

There were so many happy people sharing the trails. 

One little girl saw the cloud bank and exclaimed, "Mommy! We're in heaven!"

We took a break to take in the view and give Evan a snack. 

Then it was time for him to explore. He loved the "purple flowers"

And he loved hiking. All by himself. We couldn't get over how grown up he's getting. We also realized that he may need trail shoes sooner rather than later - his play shoes don't have nearly enough traction :). I love how you can see the hill where Ed proposed on the left, and the point where we got married on the right. Such a special spot. 

Once we got back to the main trail, it was back up for a little bit more. This is my favorite open trail on Mt Tam. Hills to the east and ocean to the west. What more could you ask for?

We headed around one more bend before turning around and heading back to the car. 

Once we arrived, we sat down for a well deserved lunch. Our little hiker did such an amazing job!

Our Kitchen

Next up, the kitchen! Before, it was intense - very low ceilings (with a grapevine trellis wallpaper thing), all tones of brown, and a macrame window cover. 

I actually sort of liked it, in a very retro way, but with super outdated appliances, it had to go. 

We kept the cabinets themselves, the fridge, and the ovens. Everything else was out!

It was amazing how different it felt once it was gutted! Scary, but exciting. 

And here it is, after. 

We are in love with this space - so bright, with out beautiful quartzite countertops and glass cabinets.

The old appliances look so much better in the new space, and the added ceiling height makes such a difference. 

Our favorite detail is probably the backsplash - a hand painted ceramic from local Heath Ceramics. 

This room took a while, but was worth the wait. 

Our Family Room

Now that phase one of our renovation is done, I want to show off the results! First up, the family room/Evan's play nook.

As a reminder, this is what we started with, in all its paneled glory.

And this is it now!

 

We love our new space :)