A Weekend Of Fun

Nearly 2 months ago (yep, I'm behind) we had a super fun overnight vacation in Galveston.  Since having William I haven't been to Galveston.  We decided to take advantage of Gordon having a 2 day work conference right on the beach.  So, William and I made our way down to Galveston on Thursday night.  William was so excited to see Daddy, stay in a hotel and to see the beach!  We had to explain to him that this was the "Texas beach" since it's so different from the "Florida beach" he is used to.  Regardless, baby boy was in heaven!  He sure didn't mind the murky water and seaweed filled beach.  :)  

We had dinner at Gaido's Thursday night and then took a little walk on the beach.  The next morning Gordon went to his meetings while we spent some time playing at the beach.  It was really cloudy but luckily didn't rain.  William had so much fun playing in the sand!  He was not a happy boy when we had to leave to meet Gordon for lunch.  Luckily, we had our upcoming Florida beach vacation to bribe him with.  We had a fun lunch at The Spot before William and I headed back home.  Their black bean burger was still as yummy as I remembered.     

Our weekend was filled with lots of fun celebrations!  We had a baby shower at our house for one of my close friends and then went into town, on Saturday afternoon, for Britton's third birthday party.  Thankfully, we had absolutely nothing scheduled for Sunday.  :)  That evening Gordon felt baby girl moving around in my belly for the first time.  Although, this pregnancy has caused us some worry and stress it really is going by quickly!!!       

{17.5 weeks with baby girl}  {Hanging with his first love}  {Bounce house fun}

{Baby bump}  {Playing at Memorial Park after dinner at Beck's Prime}  {The best pic we got!}

22 weeks pregnant

How far along? 22 weeks 
Maternity clothes? Jeans, shorts and a few tank tops.
Exercise:  Still can't.     
Belly Button:  It's pretty much out!  William told me one morning that he wanted his belly button to "pop" too.  #preggoproblems
Best moment this week: Getting lots of cleaning done on Houston's "flood day"  The Tuesday after Memorial Day Houston got too much rain, too fast.  Water was everywhere!  So, no school meant daycare was closed which meant mama had to stay at home with baby boy.  
Movement: Still lots!  Although I feel her throughout the day I feel like she is the craziest at 5 am!  
Food cravings: Not feeling super hungry this week.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Happy.  Had a fun dinner date with a girlfriend on Wednesday night but was sad to come home to a sick baby.  I took him to the doctor the next day (more on that in another post) and he was started on antibiotics for a sinus infection.      
Other pregnancy symptoms:  I woke up Monday morning at 3am with the worse pain on the left side of my abdomen.  I turned over to the other side thinking that would help....it's didn't.  When I got up that morning, just moving caused it to hurt more.  Luckily, it started feeling better around noon.  I'm guessing it's just round ligament pain?!?!  It's happened a few more times since then, but never as bad as that morning.   

Baby weighs about 1 pound and is the size of a spaghetti squash.

Memorial Day weekend in Texarkana

21 weeks preggo

How far along? 21 weeks

Weight Gain:  From 16 weeks preggo to now I gained 9 lbs (8 of those happened in the first 3 weeks!).  Total weight gain with baby girl so far = 14 lbs.  I saw the nurse practitioner this week and the first thing she said was my weight looked great.  I guess if the doctors happy, I should be happy too.  :)      
Best moment this week: Feeling rested from vacation.  Took William to the zoo to see the new Gorillas!  
Movement: She moves so much that the poor nurse has a hard time checking her heart rate.  She is always on the move!  Her heart rate was 156.  
Food cravings: Trying to cut out my morning cereal (I'd eat Lucky Charms all day long if you'd let me)....changing it up with eggs, PB toast and grapes.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Happy.   
Other pregnancy symptoms:  This was probably one of my best weeks.  No pregnancy acne, no weird leg pains, sleeping good, and good energy.  I did have quite a few contractions while we were walking around the zoo (nothing painful, just a lot of tightness).  Still up to bathroom once a night.  
From the doctor:  Not too much news from the doctor.  They were happy with my recent weight gain, since I didn't gain much at first.  I'll go back to my OB in 4 weeks for a check up and the yummy glucose test.  I finally started my progesterone IM injections on May 21th (at almost 22 weeks).  Better late than never I guess.  I was really nervous about this!  Number 1, I hate giving and getting IM injections.  Number 2, I heard this injection, in particular, hurts pretty bad (during and after).  I'm happy to say, I was pleasantly surprised!  It wasn't bad at all.  :)

Baby's fingers are fully formed and can grasp things.  She is the size of a banana.

Look who was happy for a photo session.  This little boy loves Anna Grace!  He loves to lay on my belly, kiss the belly, touch the belly, talk about the big belly.....we're praying he loves her just as much when she's actually here!!
 

20 weeks preggo

How far along? 20 weeks
Weight Gain:  Things are not going good in this department.  LOL.  They weighed me at my anatomy scan appointment and I'd gained 8 lbs in 3 weeks.  Yikes.  I can honestly say that nothing has changed in my diet to cause an 8 lb weight gain in such a short time.  So, it is what it is.  My body must've thought I needed the extra 8 lbs.  :)   
Maternity clothes? Same. Jeans/shorts and tank tops (I love how long they are).
Exercise:  I really enjoyed riding our bikes around town all week and getting some walking in on the beach.  I'm sad to say that just this little bit of exercise made my calf's sore.  Getting back into shape after she arrives should be fun....but well worth it!   
Belly Button:  Half out...it won't be long!   
Best moment this week: Being at the beach all week long!  It was great to get some rest and spend so much time with William and Gordon.  
Movement: She's still a wiggle worm (she seems to be up and moving more than William ever was).  It was fun to lay back on the beach, watch her dance inside my belly, while Gordon and William built sand castles.  
Food cravings: Trying to keep it healthy and resist the Cheeto cravings.  I was really into applesauce this week and sour candy.  Having a candy store right down the street all week was perfect! ;)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Happy, although I did wake up really grumpy from a nap on Sunday.   
Other pregnancy symptoms:  Happy to say the pregnancy acne that made it's appearance at 12 weeks was finally clearing up.  Still up to bathroom once a night.  

Baby is the size of a small cantaloupe

He loves giving Anna Grace kisses.  He's going to be the sweetest big brother!

William's Three Year Stats

Here's what our little buddy is up to at THREE years old!

Weight: 29 lbs (up 6 lbs in one year) 16% on growth chart (up from 4% last year)
Height: 36 inches (up 3.5 in in one year) 16% on growth chart (up from 13%)

Eating- William is still a pretty good eater.  He'd rather eat veggies and fruit over meat but he sure does love Chick Fil A nuggets!  He loves tomatoes (he calls them "mimi's garden" since he picks them in Texarkana).  Squash and green beans are his favorite veggies but he also loves asparagus and brussel sprouts (he's so my child!).  His favorite fruits are watermelon and grapes.  He finally got burned out on oatmeal....if I'd let him he'd eat mini pancakes every morning.  For breakfast he usually eats peanut butter toast with banana, vanilla yogurt, ham and cheese wrapped in a crescent roll or oatmeal.  Unfortunately, he still doesn't like eggs. His favorite dinner foods are soup, mac 'n cheese and spaghetti.  Ranch is his new favorite dipping sauce.  

Sleeping-  Since moving to a big boy bed this department has gotten a little tricky.  He's been waking up between MN and 2am and coming down to our room.  Luckily, he doesn't put up a fuss and goes right back to sleep.  Depending on the day, William is in bed between 8:00-9:00.  Most mornings he's awake by 6am.  Nap time is still 12-2.  Most weekends we run behind schedule and don't get him down for his nap until 1 or 1:30.  Thankfully, this little guy is pretty good about rolling with the punches!  Give him his lovie and blanket and he's a happy man.        
Development- We were able to answer yes to all the questions at his yearly checkup.  William can tell you his name, speak in 3+ word sentences, climb stairs (using alternating feet), he can hold a crayon, he washes/dries his hands on his own and uses spoon/fork well.  William knows all of his colors (his favorites are orange and blue).  He knows almost all shapes (oval, octagon, triangle, heart, moon, star, circle, square).  His favorite is an octagon.  Any time he sees a stop sign he says, "It's an octagon, has 8 sides!"  He recognizes that he and daddy have blue eyes and that mama has brown eyes (he thinks Anna Grace will have either brown or pink eyes!).  He knows, remembers and recognizes family/close friends faces in pictures.  He knows that Nana and Papa go together (along with "Fifi") and then Mimi/Grandad.   
William still gets words mixed up like shut the door when he means open the door.  It's pretty cute.  
His imagination is growing leaps and bounds.  Shadows are now dinosaurs, squash looks like snails and he can make up some funny stories!      
Personality- William is still a sweet cuddly little thing but age 3 has brought with it many challenges.  And by challenges, I mean emotional breakdowns over nothing.  Something as simple as sitting down next to him can set him off?!?!  We usually take him to his room and tell him when he calms down he can join us again.  This usually helps a ton.  He loves telling us stories and talks about his family all the time.  Overall, he's a happy little boy who follows most instructions without a fuss, will sit still and cooperate during a doctor visit and will do anything for a MandM and chocolate ice cream.               
Clothing size- As I type, we are in the active stages of potty training.  Before now William's been in a size 5 diaper, but we are now onto pullups and big boy underpants.  William is wearing a size 6/7 shoe right now (up from last years size 4).  Most of his shirts are still 2T but 3T works too.  3T shorts/pants fit pretty well length wise but he has some room to grown in the waste.  
Things mommy loves- 
Everything!  He may have his toddler melt downs but overall he is just precious to us.  I love the little serious face he has, while holding perfectly still, for a hair cut.  When he gets out of the bath he likes for me to dry his hair with the hair dryer while he brushes it....when we're done he yells, "It's dry now!"  
William tells me often "I'm happy, mama."  Those three words make my heart want to explode.  He is such a joyful little soul.        
I love that he wants to hold my hand when he's laying down for a nap/bedtime.    
When Gordon or I am away from him he's always asking where we are.  If we are both gone he refers to us as one person "mamadaddy".  The love he has for us, and vice versa, is immeasurable.   
Mommy stuff- Although a lot of things have calmed down over the past year (no moving, unpacking etc)....things have been hectic.  I am happy to say that we really started getting into a healthy routine since moving to the burbs.  We were both loving the YMCA (until pelvic rest started in March) and our weekly trips to Little Gym are super fun.  
Since William's second birthday I've basically been pregnant.  There's been lots of doctors appointments, a couple surgeries, sad news, happy news and most recently a "big belly" (those are William's words!).  William found out he was going to be a big brother to a little sister and has welcomed 2 new cousins.      
Things WJG loves- This little guy still loves being outside.  His favorite thing to do is "help" daddy.  He loves pulling weeds and watering the flowers.  With all that being said he also really likes to be clean.  If he falls down and gets muddy he wants to be "cleaned up" ASAP.  He hates for food to get on him and he always wants his hands clean (he's a bit OCD likes his mama I guess).  
He loves riding his truck to the park and swinging and climbing on his new playset.   We finally started letting him watch some TV after his second birthday.  This little guy is a movie lover just like his mom and dad.  Luckily, he prefers to be outside playing but he is definitely a kid that will sit and watch a show while you cook dinner (I'm so thankful for that).  Mickey Mouse and The Avengers are his favorites.   
He loves cooking in his pretend kitchen, playing with trucks and coloring.  Currently, his favorite books are  One Fish, Two Fish and The Duckling Gets A Cookie.  He is still obsessed with vacuuming.  He has his own little one that he gets out while I'm vacuuming....it's a team effort. 
Riding on Gordon's shoulders (which he calls doing "Giraffe") and getting a horse back ride on daddy.    
Things WJG doesn't like-  There really isn't too much.  He still doesn't like eggs.  Some mornings he'd rather just stay home with me rather than go to school.  What can I say, some days I don't want to go to work either!    
Favorite Things To Say- These are some of the things I wish I could keep trapped in my mind forever!  "Again" and "Why" are probably his favorite words.  "School again?" "Night night again?" "Oh no!  Not again!"  
William has excellent hearing....he'll hear a dog barking far away and immediately stop and say, "what's that?"  With that excellent hearing comes "It's too loud for me!"  Sometimes that means he can't hear the radio or TV (and he's trying to say it's not loud enough) but most of the time he really does mean that something is too loud.  It could be Gordon hammering something or even me talking too much and he wants some quiet time.  :)  haha.  
He's always telling us, "Look at me!"  He can be super proud of his big boy skills.
My favorite is "I'm happy!"
"It's a match!" He says this whenever colors match, pictures match, he sees two bugs on the side walk, etc. 
"Yee-haw!!!"  I'm not sure where he got this from, but it's hilarious!  If he's excited to go somewhere he'll let out a Yee-Haww!!!   
Every morning the first words out of his mouth are "The sun's up!"  He's always sad when the sun goes down.  He'll say, "The sun went bye bye again?!?"  He quickly moves onto saying he wants to see the moon.
Thankfully he's learned to say "excuse me" when he burps or toots.  Hopefully I can catch it on camera one day because the way he says it is too cute.  Being the true boy he is, after he burps he'll laugh and say, "I wanna do again!"  
He's turning out to be quite ticklish.  I'm always hearing "It tickles me!"  :)  
Funny Dad Moments- Watching Gordon be a horsey every night before bed is truly priceless.  My two boys warm my heart!  William is so lucky to have such an involved, attentive daddy.    
Here are a couple funny conversations I've overheard recently:

W: I want choc milk!!  (in a much too demanding voice, at the end of a long day) 
G:  I need a whiskey drink. 

W:  But why? (why is his other favorite word)
G:  Because someone's got to do work around here.
W:  I do work!

W:  I want my shoes off first.
G:  You want a small fish????
Me:  laughing 
W:  It's not funny, Mama!

First time- I can't really think of too much.  He is now a cousin and soon to be big brother!
From the Doctor- William did great at his 3 year check up.  They took his blood pressure for the first time since he left NICU.  He wasn't too sure about that.  He kept telling me, "It squeeze me, Mama."  He does such a good job when the doctor examines him.  He holds really still and follows all instructions.  They did an eye exam on him at the end of the appointment.  He lost interest pretty quick.  From what we could tell he has great vision.  In my rush to get William dressed and out of the doctor's office I forgot to button up his shorts.  When we got to the parking lot William started saying, "Oh no, what happened mama?"  I looked down and his little shorts had fallen down to the ground and were around his ankles.  I couldn't help but die laughing.  A month later, William and I still laugh about his pants falling down in the parking lot.  

There are no words to properly express my love for this child.  He is our everything.  Even when he's driving me crazy I adore him.  When he says,  "I love you, Mama" everything in my world sparkles a little more.  I'm so proud to call him mine.

19 weeks preggo

How far along? 19 weeks
Maternity clothes? Still just jeans and tank tops (I love how long they are).
Best moment this week: Getting to see baby girl wiggle around on the big screen.
Movement: Feeling her move all the time.  I'm starting to think she's going to be our "wild" child.  She already seems to have a lot of energy!  During the anatomy scan the doctor said, "This baby's spinning around like a top."  She wasn't very cooperative!  
Food cravings: Carbs, carbs, carbs
Anything making you queasy or sick: Headache and tired on Thursday.  Our upcoming vacation was just what I needed 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Excited for our trip to the beach but super busy!  Got my nails done and went to Ruth Chris for APHON dinner on Wednesday night.  
Looking forward to:  The beach!
Doctor Appointments:  We had the anatomy scan with Dr. Carpenter (maternal fetal medicine doctor) on Friday, 5/8.  Baby girl looked good (and he confirmed that the blood test was right....she is a girl!).  There was no cleft lip noted, her body measured right on time with my last menstrual cycle (due date September 25th) and her heart looked good.  She does have an echogenic focus, white calcium spot on heart, (which is considered a "soft" marker for downs).  The genetic test that we had done at 12 weeks came back good so most likely this is absolutely nothing to worry about.  I'll be following up with the MFM doctor at least every 4 weeks as well as my OB, so we have lots of opportunities to continue to monitor baby girl.  My uterus is still separated by the septum.  It's the first thing Dr. Carpenter noticed when he started the scanning.  We knew that the surgery I had wouldn't completely fix the issue.....it'll be interesting to see how long I carry this baby girl compared to William.  

Baby is the size of a heirloom tomato.
 I was alone in this picture because of this....

.....we should really do these pictures before bedtime!

Anatomy Scan Time

Working in the medical field I see all kinds of crazy things.  It definitely adds to my pregnancy anxiety.  Getting good news at the anatomy scan is such a blessing from above.  I consider this and making it to 26 weeks two of my biggest hurdles.  One down, one to go.  :)
  

Week 16 = Birthday Weekend

"Week 16" was a weekend full of happy celebration!!  On Tuesday, this super fun swing set was delivered to our house.  It has been so nice to have this in our own backyard!  It was especially nice when all of William's friends were over for his birthday.  Once Anna Grace is here, and it's cool outside again, it will be so much easier to sit outside with her while William plays away.

Swing Set Fun  |  Being The Hulk On His 3rd Birthday  |  Shopping At BassPro Shop  |  Birthday Dinner at Lupe Tortilla (sand for our buddy and a virgin drink for me)  |  Not Too Sure About Flan  |  A Special Breakfast Pancake  |  A Boy and "His" Dog  

Our week/weekend was jammed full of errands, dinners out and lots of time with family.  There's nothing better than celebrating this little boy!