Pregnancy Update - 26 weeks

I thought I was about due for a pregnancy update since...well, I have yet to have one and I'm 2/3 of the way done baking my little baby burrito. The first trimester went so smoothly and it was way easier than the first time around but I knew it was too good to be true. This 2nd trimester is kicking my butt.

Current pregnancy happenings:

• The most horrifying, severe, debilitating hip pain!!! Not that I'm complaining or anything...

• Baby enjoys using the womb as her trampoline 24/7. We like to party at midnight. She is 100 times more active than Payton ever was. 

• Way more emotional this time around. Damn you pregnancy hormones! Luckily hubby has been so understanding and sweet.

• My appetite has slowed down a bit. I went through a phase where I wanted to eat all the time and I ate A LOT. I was putting my husband to shame, but now I am only hungry or in the mood for certain things.

• No stretch marks or anything yet - crossing my fingers since I am so huge this time around! 

• Weight: 130 lbs.  +15 from pre-pregnancy (114-115 lbs.) Eeek!!

• I feel as if time is speeding by while simultaneously dragging on...

• I nap almost any day that I get a chance! I have really been struggling with fatigue. According to my doctor its probably from my anemia but I also chalk it up to my two lovely ladies. They are so worth every ache, pain, and sleepless night! 

• AND I have almost everything we need I just need to clean and set everything up. The only thing I have to get is a toddler bed or another crib (But I have a bassinet for the first couple months anyways), some winter newborn clothes, newborn diapers and more cloth diapers. :)

Celebrating my birthday

Not only did I have one of the best birthdays this year thanks to my husband, but he even made sure I was a happy preggo the day before by surprising me with some maternity shirts, cleaning, and of course just being the awesome daddy he is.

Last Saturday (My birthday) Layne woke up with Payton and let me sleep in! Mornings like that are a rare occasion so I was more than happy to oblige to his request. That was honestly one of the best birthday gifts he could've given me as a mom.

And how lucky am I for my sweet hubby to surprise me with this in the morning?

Around noon we ventured up to Apple Hill to spend the day. Apparently so did everyone else. I guess thats what gorgeous weather on a Saturday gets you! It took us 45 minutes from the exit to go 5 miles. Totally worth it though! We happily wandered through craft booths, food lines, and settled into a day of people watching, playing, and eating delicious apple goodness.

Gorgeous right?



People watching at its best



Yep, it's officially fall and I'm loving it! 

It's another GIRL!

Miss Rylee Alayna is due January 22, 2012! We can't wait to meet her!

Payton - 1 year

What a wonderful first year it has been! 

She had a great time at her party a few weeks ago, but the poor baby got sick afterwards and ran a fever all weekend. Turns out she had gotten an ear infection! I spent hours baking a million cupcakes and a small cake for her that ended up melting in the heat (still tasted yummy though!). We had so much fun with all our family & friends who made her very 1st birthday so special. :) 

We love you, baby girl. 

12 month stats:

Weight: 19 lbs. 14 oz. (25th-50th percentile)

Height: 28 and 3/4" (75th percentile)

3 weeks to go

Until Payton's first birthday! I can't believe my baby girl is about to be a year old. She is walking all over the place now and is about to officially be a toddler. It's a bittersweet feeling watching her grow up into a little girl now!

For her party we are going to our local park, which has a Water Play area to keep cool.

It's going to be so much fun throwing and planning her party.

We are doing a Hello Kitty theme with red and teal colors.

And the party would not be complete without good friends and family, pizza, and....SNOWCONES!

An Update...and BIG news!

It is June 1st...when and how did that happen?! I'll tell you what though, this weather has me thinking it's February. Chilly, rainy, and windy. This not the summer weather I signed up for!! I just bought Payton the cutest little bathing suit and I am dying to see her in it. She loves to be outdoors and this dreary weather is kind of putting a damper on our summer activities.

In other news, Payton is over 10 months old now. That means her FIRST birthday is in less than 2 months. Holy bajeezus! I'm in desperate need of doing some party planning. I am thinking of doing a Hello Kitty theme because she is obsessed with cats. She has even learned to pet them "gently" and not tear all their hair out now. She doesn't watch any t.v. so there is nothing else she is really interested in.

At 10 months old she is now a little drama mama. If she is not happy about something or wants our full attention she will throw a little fit and then smile. Ha Ha! She loves to look at books, close and open things, be held and cuddled, and can put herself to sleep now at night with just a little help from mama. She even sleeps through the night now. {A big YAY!!} She finally has her first tooth and her other bottom one is about to come in. Basically she just makes everyday more wonderful.

She is also going to be a BIG SISTER!!!


Yep, I am pregnant again. 6 weeks along and we are thinking this one will be a boy! Although we would be equally happy with either. I haven't seen a doctor yet but I'm pretty sure I am due at the end of January. Which makes my babies about 18 months apart. I am so nervous, scared, and happy! Thankfully the only pregnancy symptoms I have are just being more emotional and at times fatigued. I had a pretty easy pregnancy with Payton so I am hoping for the same thing with this little cupcake!

I know that having my babies close in age will have its many difficulties and blessings, but I'm hoping the best part will be that they grow close to each other and become each other's best friend and playmate.  The thought of my first precious baby not having us all to herself in 9 months kind of hurts my heart. We have already discussed that we will make special time with each so they both always feel special. I love being a mommy and I can't wait to go on the adventure again...as scary as it seems!

A recap of my sick day.

After a week long hiatus from the blogging world...and the internet in general {most of the time}, I am finally deciding it is time to update. I got sick earlier in the week and that drove me into a lack of motivation to do anything online. I spent my down time relaxing, napping, getting ready, or doing chores instead of browsing the web or blogging. I kind of like it that way.

To start at the beginning -

I had a urinary tract infection a couple weeks back that I was waiting out. They have gone away on their own before but this turned for the worse. Friday morning I woke up to a horrid pain in my side and back. I was tired and just not feeling it that day. When I put Payton down for her morning nap, I resided to the couch for a nice long nap. When I woke up I just didn't feel right. I took my temperature and it was a low-grade fever of 100 degrees. I had no energy. I wanted to cry because of how little energy I had but I had my 9 month old baby to chase around all day. Layne had work but he surprised me when he came home early to take care of me and the baby. Best. surprise. ever. He got me sushi and he took Payton with him so I could lay on the couch and relax. It was weird having a whole night of no parenting responsibilities. Of course I kept insisting, because that is what we do as mothers. We don't get sick days. But this is what I needed. I ended up having to put Payton to bed because she just doesn't go to sleep when dad tries. Afterwards, I passed out. Literally right on the couch at 8:30 pm. I probably looked dead to the world.

The next day I got to sleep in because Layne took care of P in the morning. I thought I was feeling better, but I still had a little fever. After Layne went to work and I woke up from another nap, I was feeling worse than ever. I was so dizzy, could barely move, and having chills. My fever reached a 103.5 and everyone was telling me to go the doctor despite my many protests. Don't they know I'm stubborn? I went to the E.R. and lo and behold...I had a kidney infection. I always hate going to the E.R. The endless wait, sick people, and outrageous costs. Apparently it was a good thing I went though because if a kidney infection is not taken care of it can lead to serious illness. In most cases you actually have to be hospitalized for a couple days, but I caught it early. Go me, right?

The Tylenol and Motrin they gave me brought my fever down and I was already starting to feel more like myself. I am so thankful I have such a wonderful and sweet family to take care of me. The worst part of being sick was not being able to give Payton my all. I have been making up for it this week though now that I feel back to my fabulous self.

expressions.

Tell me that is not cute!

She has a new love of making faces at us..and we totally eat it up. I'm pretty sure she knows it too.

First official word.

So as I leave our bedroom today to go get Payton's paci, Layne comes running after me... "BABE! Payton just said her first word!!!" Now Payton is really good about mimicking...something we are going to have to really be careful about now it seems. As she was getting into Layne's guitars, he picked her up and told her 'No No No'.

Her reply?

'NO!'.

That's right. My darling, sweet angel looked right into her daddy's face and flat out told him 'NO'. Clear as day. I kid you not. What proud parents we are. Ha Ha. I know it's not particularly good that she has already learned this word, but I could not stop laughing nonetheless. She sure is a character our little one.

She has babbled 'mama' and 'dada' and even made sounds that sound like 'hi' and 'kitty'. But this is her first word that was "clear as day" and used properly. We are usually pretty good about trying to use other vocabulary to tell her she shouldn't be doing something or to divert her attention. Lately though, she has been so grumpy, clingy, and just plain difficult. Sometimes that is all I have the effort of saying when she is throwing a fit constantly. I usually have A LOT of patience, but when I can't even get something to eat or go pee I am a little disgruntled. I thought this behavior was out of the norm for her and sure enough, as I felt her bottom gum line today I felt a little tooth about to pop through! My daughter is over 9 months old and still has no teeth yet. we're overdue.

I guess I am going to have a baby attached to my hip awhile longer until she feels better. Luckily Layne was home today and we were able to take her to the park for awhile which made for one happy baby {at least for more than 5 minutes! Wahoo!}

First Easter with baby girl.

I know that it's already been almost a week since Easter but with all the sleep I have been lacking and the quality time I've been spending with my family away from the computer, I am finally finding the time to post about it.

I love Easter. I can't believe it's already come and gone. I would love waking up on Sunday mornings to a full Easter basket and hunting down those easter eggs as if it were my job. Being hopped up on marshmallow peeps, chocolate bunnies, and jelly bellies was even better. Obviously I don't do that anymore, but that is what is so great about having a kid. You get to experience those childhood memories all over again, in the eyes of your child.

I still have another year or two for one of those Easters, but I can't wait. Our Easter this year was spent with family and friends. No hunting. No candy. And yet perfectly wonderful.

We went to our friends' family gathering and of course as soon as we get there Payton starts crying hysterically and screaming in ranges only dogs can hear. There were people everywhere and everyone was coming up to greet us. Poor thing was so frightened and overwhelmed. She finally settled down in our arms and carefully watched the kids play and adults converse. We enjoyed company in the midst of some perfect spring weather and basked in the sun while we took Payton to play amongst the other kids.

Layne's best friend, "Uncle Peter"

My little loves kids and babies. She will intently watch their every move, cooing and laughing to herself...completely enamored with them.

And for the cherry on top to the evening - a nice Easter dinner with my family, and me even throwing a frisbee with Layne outside. Good 'ol family fun. Couldn't have asked for a better first Easter with my sweet baby girl. My sister, who is an aspiring photographer took our Easter family portraits so I don't have those yet.

9 month stats.

We took P to the doctor for her 9 month well baby check-up and all is good! She is right on track developmentally. She is still going through some stranger anxiety though, you would have thought the nurse and doctor were ripping her arm off the way she was screaming. If you even look at her the wrong way she freaks. Drama!

Height: 27 and 1/2" - 58th percentile
Weight: 17 lbs. 15 oz. - Between 25th-50th percentile.

She had to get 4 shots on Monday because we had some catching up to do. Ever since then sleeping has been a nightmare, I'm not sure if that is just a coincidence or not.  I have read up a lot on baby sleep patterns and it looks like Payton is going through the dreaded 37 week, or 9 month sleep regression. It usually occurs when they go through some big developmental spurts that you can't see...on top of teething, and some possible separation anxiety that all negatively affect sleep. {Understatement of the century!}

Normally, she goes to sleep around 7:30 PM and wakes up at 6:30-7 AM, with 1-2 night-wakings. The past few days though she has kept mommy up for hours in the middle of the night. The worst was 2 nights ago when I was up until midnight getting her to try and sleep longer than 10 minutes, and then up from 3:50-5:30 AM. Fun right? She doesn't believe me when I tell her I need sleep.

I can't be up partying with you all night little girl.

Oy, Bring on the coffee!

Happy 9 months!

My little girl is 9 months old today! Wow. 9 months old. So much has changed in that short amount of time. With her, with us, with our lives. Everyday our hearts grow with love even more, if that is even possible. When she was a newborn it was hard to picture 9 months, now I can't picture anything but my laughing, smiling, crawling -but wants to run - sweetheart of a child. She is not a little baby, nor a toddler. She is in-between. She is the best part of each. And the best part of our life. 

She is standing tall, crawling fast, and walking if she can hold on to something. She can stand on her own for a short period of time because she has balance and strength. And when she falls, she gets right back up again because she is determined. We are a little behind in the teeth department and still don't have any, but that's okay because I don't particularly like teeth marks on my skin. 

The girl is a born to be foodie. I was blessed with a non-picky eater and I pray it stays that way. She currently eats 3 meals a day of solids, and loves to snack on cheerios, fruit, and whole wheat bread. She is just now starting to sleep good at night and I probably just jinxed it. She has only been waking 1-2 times and will sleep the rest of the night through. Yes, I still rock her to sleep at night and in the middle of the night feedings, but she can put herself back to sleep with her paci if she wakes up. She takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap, both usually over an hour long. 

She is the happiest baby I've ever seen. She is ALWAYS smiling, laughing, and talking in her secret baby language; And my day is complete when I can get a big 'ol belly laugh out of her. 

Now that she is mobile and exploring her environment, we are experiencing lots of bumps and bruises. No fun! She can say "mama", "dada", and I swear she says "kitty." And speaking of kitties...she's obsessed. She is definitely our child.  

She loves to wave at everybody. Even the wall.

 I secretely love when she's tired because that is our snuggle time. After naps she likes to just lay on our chests, and those are the moments I love. She gets into every. little. thing. because that's her job now. I have recently just discovered that she likes to 'sway' back and forth to music, her form of dancing. Girlfriend can move to a beat. And she has the brightest, sweetest personality. However, she is very impatient (gets it from her dad) and very sensitive (gets it from her mom). Her hair is a golden light auburn brown, and her eyes are a grayish blue with specks of green and brown. As you can tell I'm still guessing on the eye color. 

Happy 9 months Paytie Pie!