Gaga

It all started at around 14 months.  Svea started calling Grandma Beth "Gaga" and we're not sure why or how she came up with it, but she did.  Gaga she has been ever since.  I think I heard the name "Gaga" about 100 times last week as Svea demanded Gaga's attention almost constantly.  She didn't even want me for very much the first two days!  Thank you Gaga for coming to stay with us while Dan was away.  It turned out it was for the best that you were here.  I'm not able to do as much around the house and with the little girl or else I end up having contractions so we are SO thankful you were here.  Svea loves you and we do too.  It's crazy to think that the next time we call her to come visit will be because we are in labor!  Eeek! 

35 Weeks With Baby D #2

Pregnancy Highlights
How Far Along: 35 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain:  23.5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yep-I literally wear my capri yoga pants every day.  Don't tell anyone that they maybe get washed once a week!
Best Moment this week: My Mom came to visit and help me out while Dan was gone on his Boundary Waters Trip.  I was SO thankful that she was here especially since I had two different episodes of light contractions and needed to just lay down and rest.  We had so much fun going on walks and playing in the backyard with all of Svea's water toys.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: The little guy's movements are getting less punchy.  You can tell he's running out of room as I'm feeling more of the rolls instead of jabs. 

Food Craving: Fruits/Veggies, turkey burgers, turkey bacon, chicken salads, water.....it must be a hot summer thing....or maybe a pregnant in the summer thing!
What I miss: Being able to roll over in bed without feeling like a beached whale.  I am trying so hard to not wake up Dan, but let's be honest......I'm like a 6.5 earthquake in the middle of the night.

Sleep: I have been experiencing a little bit of insomnia.  It's either hormones or when I do wake up my mind starts to race with anxiety about being ready for this baby.  I keep waking up early and not being able to get back to bed. 

What we are looking forward to: Meeting our little boy!  Having the ultrasound last week and getting to see his face made me super excited to get to bring him home.  I am very nervous about how we are going to balance two children, but I know we will fall in love with him the second we meet him and hopefully we'll get used to the extra work load and less sleep quickly.

Symptoms: I've started having some contractions!  This is something I never experienced with Svea until after they gave me pitocin on the day she was born..  They are uncomfortable and are low in my stomach.  I've had to drink a ton of water and lay down on my left side.  Within two hours they usually subside, but it's happened twice now.  The second time they were actually hurting for a few minutes and then subsiding.  Kind of scary!  I'm just going to take it easy more and mention it to my dr. at my appt. next Tuesday.

20 Months Old

Clothes:You wear a mixture of size 18 months and 24 month clothes.  It all depends on the brand.  Most of your pants and shorts you wear are 18 months (little legs) and most of your shirts are 24 months (long torso). You are still in your 18 month pajamas, but we have the 24 month ones ready to go!
Shoes: Size 4
Diapers: Size 4 diapers during the day and we bought some nightime size 4 diapers that are supposed to hold more at night since we've had a few mornings where you've leaked through. 
Sleep:We've been getting to bed a little bit later this summer.  You are in bed by 8:30 or 9:00 and sleeping until about 8:00 am.  It varies everyday and sometimes it's 11 and sometimes you get 12 hours of sleep.
Teeth: 12! No new teeth this month.
Traveling: We have not gone anywhere this month.  Mommy 's belly is keeping us close to home.
Talking: I can't even begin to think of some new words this month.  You really can't count them anymore.  I can introduce 10 new words to you in one day and you'll repeat all of them and then start using three of them.  You repeat everything we say and it's amazing what you are able to communicate with us. You are using three and sometimes four word sentences quite regularly.

Favorite Activity: babies, cars, anything outside (water table, your pool, sidewalk chalk, painting the sidewalk with water, running up and down the block, and stroller rides).
Favorite Books: Mommy took you to the library the other day and you got hooked on a book with a bike in it.  You still love Danny and the Dinosaur, but you also love this book with shapes, colors, and numbers in it.  It has a ton of different pictures and you love that!
Favorite Foods: string cheese, veggie pouches, BROCCOLI, mac n cheese, strawberries, and grapes.
Foods Dislike: You have quite a few....you are very apprehensive about trying new foods.  Lynda, at daycare, made you a fruit smoothie the other day and you would not try it.  She knew you would like it so she forced some on your lips so you had to lick it.  Of course you loved it and drank the rest silly girl!
Favorite Songs: I don't know if you have a favorite song, but Daddy sings to you Jesus Loves You and Amazing Grace before bed. Mommy sings to you Pistol Packin Mama, and Adelveise before bed and you will instantly shut your eyes and snuggle with us in your chair.
Dislikes: Getting dressed or not being able to communicate what you want to us. Some days when you are crabby you scream when you get frustrated or don't get what you want.  We first tell you no screaming it hurts our ears.  If you do it again we get more firm with you and let you know a time-out is coming/no screaming.  If you scream a third time we put you in your crib with no toys, paci's or bunny for a little over a minute.  It usually does the trick.

  Favorite Word: I don't think you have a favorite...you just love talking and saying all kinds of words. When Gaga was here this past week I think I heard her name about 100 times.  You were very excited she was here.
Things we are learning: We tried potty training and you did great with the part of telling me you were about to go, were in the process, or had just gone, but when I hurried you to the potty you got really upset about sitting on there.  We'll try again when you show more of an interest in wanting to sit on the potty for longer periods of time.  You still tell us almost every time that you have to go or have just gone.  When we say it's time to go and change you, you'll lay on the floor and request to watch Bubble Guppies or Mickey Mouse.  You say "Bubble Gee's or Mickey"!  Your favorite character if Goofy. (We watch tv for five minutes when we change your diaper to get you to sit still). You also learned your name this month!  So much fun!  When we ask you tell us your name is "Bi-ya"! You can also identify circles, count to three, and with 90% accuracy identify the colors blue and pink!

Svea....who is cute=Me

Svea....who is smart=Me

Svea....who is funny=Me

This is a little game we play with you and it's so cute.  You are starting to have so many different facial expressions and silly faces when we converse with you.  You are the sweetest thing and love to laugh, giggle, and play.  We love you sweet girl!

Glow Stick Fun!

 I had a Mommy day yesterday and ran to the cities to get my haircut, do some shopping, and have lunch with my best friend Pam.  I came home with some glow sticks for Svea!  She stayed with my mom (thank you Mom!) and I was able to get the last few things we needed for the baby's room.  (a nursery pic coming soon!)

 We had the lights off, but the pictures didn't turn out so well.  She liked them, but for to suck on than the actually "glow" effect.  I'll try them again in a couple of months and she if she likes the lights off with freaky glow things better!

I overdid it yesterday....whew!  I came home and was having quite a few Braxton Hicks that were a little bit painful.  After putting Svea to bed I drank a ton of water and laid down on the couch.  It took quite a few hours for them to finally subside, but I did get a little nervous.  You know, husband is off the radar six hours away an there is NO way for me to contact him.  I promised I'd stay pregnant while he was gone so I was a bit nervous.  All is well today....I feel back to normal, but no more day long trips for this Mom.  I'm so glad I'm not working right now.  Maybe that's why I went into labor early last time.

Daddy's Excursion

 Daddy is going on a trip to the boundary waters for a few days with some men and teenagers from the church. Mommy and Svea are staying home, but since it's so close to when I went into labor with Svea, my Mom is here to help out and be available in the off chance that what happened last time happens again.  If I were to have this little guy when I had Svea it would only be a week and a half from today!  That scares me SO much!  Dan will most likely be off the radar so hopefully he'll arrive home this coming Thursday with our baby boy still in my belly!  Svea has been wanting to wear my hats when I have another one on too.  "Bi-ya's hat", she says, and points to it for us to get it for her.  I think we were on our way to go on a walk when these pictures took place.

We love you Daddy......be safe and don't stand up in any canoes!

34 Weeks With Baby D#2

Well, mine and the baby's bags are packed ready to go!  I am not going to be caught off guard this time around!  With Svea poor Dan was scrambling to pack up a baby he hadn't yet met, his wife (who was in active labor), and himself.....all over the phone.  Not good! On another note I got a little bit scared at my last appt., but everything is fine.  According to the dr.'s scale I hadn't gained any weight (according to mine I've gained two lbs. in the last two weeks, which is perfect) in the past couple of weeks. I was also measuring behind by two weeks as well so the dr. sent me to an u/s.  I had to wait about 45 minutes for my ultrasound so I ran and got some lunch and ate double! I was so nervous that little boy had stopped growing and something was wrong.  However, he is measuring in at the 52% for his gestational age and just fine.  The dr. said he's either just hiding in there and/or my stomach muscles are just hanging on for dear life and not letting go as much.  Whew!  Glad he is ok and it was so fun to see him.  His face is quite filled out and he was opening his eyes and sticking out his tongue a bit.  He's still a boy....if you had any doubts:)

Oh, I could just eat her up!  This was the first time I did my weekly pregnancy pictures that she wanted to be in them.  We cannot wait to see what her little brother will look like.  Will they be completely different or look like twins.

 Such a silly girl!

Curly Haired Girl

Before we left the house last Saturday morning....we had to play with out little people.

And suck the swallow safe toothpaste off the toothbrush. There was a few brushes up and down those pearly whites.

There was a request for more.

But, the rule is only two doses of toothpaste and then we're done.

This was Svea right after a bath when her hair is the curliest.  I had hair just like this, but it went away as I got older.  I hope hers stays.  It's so much fun!

Wordless Wednesday (Love Her!)

Random Moments (Birthday Recap)

My husband is still only 6.5 years older than me, but for some reason he said this birthday it's hit him that he feels old and much older than me.  I think it's just the fact that I'm huge and pregnant and I'm still running circles around him!  Ha! Totally kidding sweetie:)  Father's day night we had a huge storm and the tornado sirens went off right after we'd laid Svea down for the night.  We had the best time, however, snuggling together downstairs on the couch in the pitch dark (Svea stayed sleeping).  We whispered and watched the weather radar on our phones.  With a baby on your shoulder and your husband right next to you, it can't get much better than that!  These pictures are from a few days ago when we tried painting the sidewalk again. She loves this!  Dan's birthday recap below:)

 -We had a great day on Monday for Dan's birthday.  It is the little things such as just being together that make a day special.  I was giving Dan a big hug after he woke up that morning and Svea came over and gave us both a hug too. I love how loving she is...hopefully she gets it from us right?

 -We tried making a gluten free cake with a can of diet cherry coke (yep, that's it) and it turned out REALLY good.  I couldn't tell the difference between that and a cake with eggs, oil, and water.  Less calories...yeah! I will never follow the box again!

-We also had Dan's infamous barbecue chicken pizza (gluten free of course) and it was amazing!  I'm sure it's something to do with those caramelized onions:)  We both had quite a few days of eating like crazy, but we are back on www.myfitnesspal.com  Did I tell you Dan looks so good and his pants are fitting better.  I keep getting bigger though...I don't get it:) Happy Birthday sweetie!  You don't appear any older!  With his birthday money Dan is going to purchase a large tool and organizer type thingy for the garage.  I couldn't be happier that he wants to organize our garage.  I love organizing!

Playing Dress Up

 We had a busy and exciting week last week.  It was Town and Country Days in Paynesville, as they like to call it, and we took advantage of a few fun activities. 

 Tuesday afternoon there was a pet parade outside at the nursing home down the street.  Svea and I walked the five minutes down there and enjoyed puppies, kitties, goats, turtles, ponies, and chickens as their owners paraded them down a long side walk.  Svea loved it and I heard quite a few giggles from her.

 Wednesday night there was a parade at 7 p.m. that night.  We were invited to some congregation members home a few blocks away to watch.  We walked down there and Svea did pretty well, especially when we let her try a mini Mr. Freeze....then she was all about sitting still and watching. Dan hurried downtown before it started to try an infamous pork chop on a stick.  He's a fan to say the least:)

After the parade it was fun to watch Svea weave in and out of people at this party on the sidewalk She was having a blast.  When we got home and got her ready for bed an hour late she all but collapsed on Daddy's shoulder and was sleeping in no time.  By this day we were all better from our flu epidemic and were so happy to rejoin the real world.  These pictures were from that afternoon when Svea was playing dress-up with some articles from my closet.  She's quite the fashionista!

Father's Day 2012

 Happy Father's Day to Dan and all of our Dads!  We were able to skype today with Papa and Grandpa Ron, but we couldn't get a hold of Grandpa D.  We'll have to try again:) We hope you all had a great day!  A bummer thing about Father's Day is Dan will almost always have to work:(  He made it home by about noon though today and we had a great day together just hanging out at home.  Tomorrow is Dan's birthday and we're just excited to get a chance to spend it together again on Dan's day off. I'll post more pictures later this week from the past week, but here's a sneak peak of Pastor Paul's ordination service day.  Svea wore the cutest little red dress.  Below are my two loves reading a new book Svea got for her Daddy!

33 Weeks With Baby D #2

Pregnancy Highlights
How Far Along: 33 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 21 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: All maternity except for my yoga pants.  Someone gave me a cute pair of Gap maternity pants that made me feel like I didn't have any maternity pants on.  I have a few events that I can wear them too as well.  It's exciting to feel normal for a couple of hours:) 

Best Moment this week: Our air conditioning was an easy fix!  Ha!  I am starting to feel overly warm.  Dan has even commented a few times how cold he feels in the house and I'll have a tank top on.  The other great moment was having a great appt. and baby is doing well!

Gender: Our sweet little boy!

Movement: The same as two weeks ago!  I like feeling him a lot off and on all day.  The other night after getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom I laid back down and he went crazy!  Fun!

Food Craving: Fruits and veggies. We've been grilling a lot and having salads.  We've tried out quite a few different types of salads too.  If you've got any great ideas let me know!
What I miss: Being able to move quickly.  I'm really starting to feel awkward when I try to stand up from being down on the floor. 

Sleep: I'm needing the two pillows now to snuggle so my hips don't hurt at night and I'm having to turn from side to side more often.  Other than that sleep is still pretty good.  A few times I've woken up at six a.m. to go to the bathroom and haven't been able to fall back asleep.  If I drink a ton of water before bed then I wake up around 2 or 3 to pee and I can easily go back to sleep.

What we are looking forward to: Crossing things off my list (Dan, this is what we are looking forward to....you will have a very happy wife and you will look forward to this too I bet). It's just a few things I want done so that I can put the rest of his things in his room such as finishing his closet, installing car seat bases in our cars, etc.  Stuff like that:)  I'm going to post my list on the fridge so we can look forward to this being done together!  ha!

Symptoms:Feeling big, movement, and having a hard time breathing on certain days when I sit in a certain way when baby is floating up high. 

Easy Toddler Activities

I'm always looking for good ideas for unique activities to do with Svea that are easy to pull off and inexpensive.  So far we've made homemade play dough, we play with dry noodles, and lately we tried "painting the sidewalk with water"!  A glass of water and a child's paintbrush and we had ourselves a nice time.

 This was the morning before she got sick last weekend.

 After we did this for awhile we walked up and down the sidewalk.

 I should have known something was up when she wanted me to carry her.

 That rarely happens, as she usually just want to run!

We'll try this one again!

32 Weeks With Baby D #2

Ok, so I know I'm way late, but that's what happens when the flu ravishes it's way through your house.  Svea is finally starting to get an appetite back, although she's still pretty fussy.  She keeps pulling at her mouth so teeth might also be an issue right now.  I got the flu too, but it only lasted 24 hours.  That's 24 hours I never want to relive pregnant again.  I got hit at 5:00 am Sunday morning and when you're texting your husband to send over "anyone" to the house after church on Sunday and "please help me", you know it's bad.  Thank goodness Dan didn't get hit with the flu until Monday when I was feeling better.  It's now Tuesday and he's staying home one more day.

I had an appt. last week and I'm measuring right on target and baby's heartbeat was in the 140's.  All is looking well.  I lost a few lbs. when I was sick, but it's almost all back on now.  Svea is still enjoying playing in her brother's room.  All I say is let's go to your brother's room and she goes running and yelling "baby, baby"!

The little boy is also having hiccups regularly now every day and not just sporadically on some days.  He probably gets them anywhere from three to seven times a day.  It's very fun.  Remember, they do not bother a baby inside so he is in no way in any discomfort:)

Svea Update

 Svea is a little better, but still sick.  I took her in and the dr. thinks it's just a viral bug that needs to take its course.  I was at least glad to have them check her lungs and ears and help rule out another constipation issue.  She only had one bout of diarrhea and one time where she threw up today.  Otherwise she did hold down a tiny bit of dry cereal this morning and saltine crackers throughout the day.  Dan came home early, which was very nice and just in time to help with the aftermath of her getting sick.  Here she is taking it easy tonight after her bath.

Svea is Sick

 Svea has had a cough for almost a week and a runny nose, but today she started throwing up and having diarrhea as well. She has been really cuddly today, which is always fun, but my heart just hurts that she's sick.  She literally is not keeping down any food. I have an appointment to bring her in tomorrow morning.  I'm hoping it's just a bug and not what she had two months ago again.  Dan is at Synod Assembly and I'm guessing just trying not to fall asleep:)  The above picture is from yesterday when she took a moment to stop and smell the flowers.

Here she is in her "big girl" underwear that only stay up because of her diaper.  We've been putting them on here and there so she gets used to the vocabulary and concept of what big girl underwear actually are.  She looks so crazy tall and grown up in this bottom picture.  Makes me want to cry....but a lot of things are making me want to cry.  I'm blaming pregnancy hormones.  Speaking of pregnancy I'll have to post a 32 week picture later tomorrow night or Sunday since Dan is gone and my arms aren't long enough to take one myself:) I'll let you know how she does tomorrow.  Pray for a good night of sleep for her and no waking up to get sick.  She had a bunch of water right before bed (our girl does NOT know how to sip) and I'm hoping it stays down.

Black and White

 Playing with Play dough this past weekend in her new little outfit.

 A play dough snowman!

 That's SO funny!

I just love all of her little expressions!

Weekend Recap

We've had another fabulous weekend!  Svea has been talking up a storm and such a character.  My Mom came, which is always fun for all of us especially Svea, but it also gives me a chance to get a few more things done around then house and lets Dan off the hook when I'm sad if he has to work because then I have company.  We were also able to have a whole "date day" as we like to call them on Saturday.  Thanks again MOM!  We drove down to the cities and first, had lunch at PF Changs!  It's always a treat and they have a great selection on their gluten free menu. Then we hit IKEA and found a dresser for the little guy.  We also picked up this for Svea....

Brockie, Brockie, Brockie she cried when we got home and gave him a big hug.  Dan said the other day that she was picking her broccoli out of her rice and eating it plain!  The girl loves broccoli and we are very ok with that! Then, we did a few errands at Target before heading over to Matt and Lacee's for dinner.  It felt very strange to go and visit them without Svea.  Lacee and I squeezed in a photo of us as we are pretty sure this will be the only time we will be pregnant together.  Here we are at 30 and 31weeks pregnant.  Lacee is due just six days behind me.

Then we raced home.....because we missed our little girl:)  Sunday was a beautiful day outside, Dan got in a nap, and it's just fun spending time with my Mom and watching Svea interact with her.  Here they are playing with the puppy outside.

When I went to get Svea from her crib on Sunday morning she popped right up and asked for Gaga.  "Where's Gaga", she said and then signed "more".  Thanks again for coming Gaga....I'm able to get so much done and it's making me feel more sane and less nervous for our new baby's arrival.