13 Weeks

Gender Poll

Now, we are about 75% sure that we are going to find out the gender of our baby, but you never know. I have started a POLL on the top right column for you all to take a guess! Right now it is scheduled to end on Valentine's Day but if we chose to wait until delivery to find out, I will bump that up. Feel free to wait a little while to read more of my updates on this pregnancy. So far...

• No morning sickness
• Lovely pregnancy acne
• Craving spicy and sweet things

I had these three symptoms with Brooke as well.

12 Weeks

I will try and do these every two weeks unless there is something big to report! Also, pictures will come once I actually start showing!

Pregnancy: 12 weeks

Weight Gain: Pretty sure it is still 2-3 but I bet it goes up after the Holidays!

Sleep: I'm doing okay, just some trips to the bathroom.

Gender: We'll know in February, unless we decide to be annoying and not find out.

Names: We probably will not share but that could always change.

Feeling: Great! This has been a great pregnancy. I had an awesome pregnancy with Brooke and was always nervous at my lack of symptoms. Now that I have seen it can produce a healthy baby, I am feeling good.

Health: Doing great.

Movement: Nothing yet, and I don't expect it for a little while.

Belly Button: Still in, but it never popped with Brooke.

Next Appointment: January 8th. Right after the Holidays. I have a feeling my doctor will be lecturing me on weight. :)

Indiana

I do not do this often, but I feel the need to share.

I am fed up with Indiana.

Dustin graduated college before I did and for awhile was working down in Muncie, Indiana, which is just south of Taylor University. The year we got engaged he took a job with a construction company in his home town. His job has been good to us and I am grateful he can work at a place he loves and in such a wonderful environment.

So, I was going to be living in Indiana. MUCH different from Philadelphia but I spent 4 years here for college, it was like my ice breaker. Things would be okay. We would be okay. Well, as Dustin puts it, I got pregnant "30 seconds" after we got married and for someone who is more literal than anyone I know, I hold this statement against him! Though not planned, we were thrilled and decided that me finding a teaching job was counterproductive and I would just stay home while pregnant, and after the baby arrived.

Sounds great right?! It turned out to be a curse. I had never felt so lonely. I had no friends in Indiana and spent the majority of my time doing things around the house, wandering the local Target, and being with Dustin in the evenings. I know that couples do this all the time and can make it work, so why couldn't I? I craved adult interaction and suddenly wished I had gotten a job of some sort, just to be around others.

Now we have our beautiful baby girl and have a second on the way. I have made two great friends who also have beautiful little girls and have found my times out with them encouraging and a relief. Still, on the days where I am home with Brooke and have no where to go, I feel lonely all over.

I am fed up with Indiana.

I guess I can't really blame the state. This could happen in any state we lived in, so perhaps there is something wrong with me. I wish I could figure it out but until then I am left with this crushing feeling in my chest. It hurts a little more that there are people in our town I could hang out with, but they have no interest in me. The feeling of being left out is one I am all too familiar with these days.

Thanks for letting me express my complaint.

Time to take a deep breath!

Hot Dogs

Apparently all this baby wants to eat are hot dogs! I had four on Thursday, one on Friday, and three on Sunday! I have also noticed a pick up in my appetite and I have been able to devour full plates of food. I am trying to cut back a little because if I don't stop soon, bad things are going to happen.

Did I mention my doctor only wants me gaining 20 pounds?

Surprise!

Well, if you saw my last post you know that I am PREGNANT! Whew, what a surprise for us but we are excited all the same. Baby Miller #2 will be arriving in early July, around when Brooke is 21 months, so we are officially part of the "two under two" club.

I found out the end of October, and as with my pregnancy with Brooke, decided to keep it a secret until we heard the heart beat on the doppler. Our close friends and family have know for awhile but we are glad to be able to share with every one! I had my second OB appointment this afternoon and it took my doctor 30 short seconds to find the heart beat, a strong 166 beats per minute!

How far along? 10 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I think it is 3 pounds, but the doctor only has it noted as 1 since I gained 2 before my first appointment!

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but I am sure it is close.

Sleep: My sleep is actually going great! Every now and then I need to get up and use the bathroom, but my biggest problem is Brooke. For the past week or two she has been waking up in the middle of the week.

Best moment this week: Hearing the heart beat!

Food cravings: Hot dogs! Seriously, I had 4 yesterday (two of them cheese dogs) and 1 today.

Gender: Right now I think girl only because this pregnancy has become a complete repeat of my pregnancy with Brooke. No morning sickness or anything! Last time I didn't get a good feeling until later on so we will see what my instinct tells me in a few weeks.

What I am looking forward to: A snuggly little newborn

What I Miss: Margaritas! Dustin had one at dinner tonight and it was such a tease.

Words Of Wisdom: Hot Dogs are delish!

Milestones: We are 1/4 through the pregnancy and half way to being able to find out the gender!

Brooke has news!

Christmas Decorations

As promised, here are some pictures of our Christmas decorations. I tried to post them last night but I couldn't get them to load on Blogger. We put the tree and outside lights up Sunday, and then yesterday I put all the little trinkets out and hung garland.

Christmas lights. I last minute threw the red ones up last night! We need some color.

Over toward the garage

Christmas tree!

I found this adorable "M" at Hobby Lobby

The ornament Dustin got me last year

Brooke's first ornament

Our nativity set

Entertainment unit. It is dark, but you get the idea. The stockings are hanging on either side since we don't have stairs OR a fire place.

And of course you need the singing Hallmark set up!

Christmas Cookies

I know I have two more weeks before the cookies really need to be baked, but I am already planning. Today we decorated the house and Dustin is currently outside hanging lights (I will make another post tomorrow with pictures!) so I am in the holiday spirit! I made a mental list of what I want to make this year, and it seems like a lot, but it will be fun.

First and foremost, I cannot have a Christmas without Spritz cookies! I deliberately registered for a cookie gun for our wedding and was glad to get it.

Second, I plan on making Russian Tea Cake, also known as Walnut Balls and Mexican Wedding Cakes, I think. Oh the names!

I think I am going to try 5 layer bars as well. Just a small batch since I am really the only person who likes coconut, but it sounds fun.

And finally Snickerdoodles for Dustin's mom, since those are her favorites.

I am also toying around with making sugar cookies and using an amazing icing recipe to decorate them, but that may be overkill! I look forward to baking. :)

Christmas is in the air!

I know that is a long post title but I mean it! As you can see I have updated my blog layout to look more Christmasy. Hopefully this weekend Dustin will be putting up the Christmas lights (we were in Philly last weekend) and I will get the decorating done. There are just 3 short weeks until Christmas and our house still looks like Fall. I plan on keeping the Christmas decorations up through January anyway.

Anyway, a week or so ago I took some Christmas pictures of Brooke and I thought I would share them. I need to order our Christmas cards this weekend as well!

We are back!

We are back from Philly in one piece! We got home around 5:15 last night so a very cold house. Dustin made me turn the heat completely off before we left and as a result it went down to 50 degrees in our house. Brrr! We still have not started unpacking but all of the bags are in the right rooms. Maybe this weekend...

Meeting my nephew Luca for the first time

We had a great time in Philly and I wish we could have stayed longer. One of my favorite things about visiting there is the food! It is the first thing I think about when we are out there and I normally have a food itinerary made ahead of time. Wednesday morning I waited patiently for lunch to arrive so I could have a hoagie from Lee's Hoagie House, we ate at the Cheesecake Factory at the mall, we had Buffalo Chicken Pizza for lunch one day, and of course we had Cheesesteaks!

Heating hot fudge, which I failed at

Franklin Institute

Dustin and I running up the Rocky steps

Thanksgiving was a blast with family and we even braved the crowds on Friday to go shopping. Saturday we took Brooke down to the Franklin Institute in Philly for something fun to do. Dustin and I even ran up the Rocky steps! I wish I could go into detail about each part of our trip but that would probably bore you!

Family!

Philly Bound

The day is here! Tonight after dinner Dustin and I are packing up the car and heading East. I have not been home since March so I am excited to see family and friends, plus eat some good Philly food. I even sent my parents a food itinerary so we can all be on the same page. I am also excited to be around good malls for Black Friday!

New Moon

I am a big Twilight fan. I have read all the books several times and own the first movie on DVD. So, when a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go see New Moon at Midnight I was THRILLED. I get a night out, sans baby, and with a bunch of other girls. We are going to have pizza all together tonight, watch the first movie, and then head over the theater to wait in line for the movie to start. I will have to let you know how it goes. :)

Wish List Wednesday

Sorry for my lack of posting. You would think I would have hundreds of pictures to post with my new camera but I did not pull it out all weekend! Brooke was at Grandma and Papa's all Friday night and for most of the day Saturday, and Sunday we had church and vegged on the couch all day. So basically.... I am lazy.

But I always have time for Wish List Wednesday! This week my focus is some new music CDs I would like for my car.

Robbie Seay Band. I really need to update my worship music!



Fee. Another awesome Christian artist. In fact, I think I would like more than just one of their CDs.



Kutless. Yes, another Christian artist. Can you see a pattern emerging?



And lastly, Jeremy Camp. I used to listen to his music all the time and I eventually got behind on his CDs. I have some catching up to do!

Brooke has serious moves!

I am updating my last post with an even better video. Watch it. Trust me!

Dancing Brookie!

I was NOT trying to recreate the Beyonce Baby video in any way, this is just the only music video she will dance to. I have tried others, believe me! :) I was watching it one day and she came running over to see it, so since then we have small dance parties. Today she was really shaking it.

Wish List Wednesday

With Christmas coming up quickly I cannot help but start a mental list of a few things I would like. Of course, I already got a camera so I doubt I will get anything more from Dustin, but I still like to hope.

Uggs. I heard these are very comfortable and I would not mind a pair



A video monitor. I really wish I could watch Brooke while she is "napping" and see what is really going on in there.



A treadmill. My only form of working out is walking when Dustin gets home but since it is now dark when he pulls up, I have not taken a walk in weeks. And it is starting to show.

Some Pictures

I have much to learn with my new camera but I had a lot of fun playing around with it this weekend! I am very thankful for my awesome portrait lens and LOVE it so far. My biggest problem is having a very mobile subject.

This is a little dark but I think it's cute.

My wish came true!

Today I got two very, very wonderful things in the mail.

A Canon Rebel XSi with kit lens.

And a portrait lens as well.

If you remember, these things were on two of my Wednesday Wish Lists (which I have slacked on recently) and I finally own them! I have wanted a professional camera for a long time now and Dustin said, "In the Fall". I have much to learn about this camera and will be doing various photo shoots with Brooke to get the hand of all the features. My big goal is to learn about shutter speed, ISO, and aperture.

"Uh Oh"

Whenever Brooke drops something off her highchair or out of a shopping cart we say, "Uh oh!". Well recently she has been beating us to the punch and saying "Uh Uh" whenever something hits the floor.

She dropped her book out of a shopping cart yesterday. "Uh Uh"

I accidentally knocked the TV remote off the counter. "Uh Uh"

And then she did this..... "UH UH"

Swag Bucks

I recently signed up for something called Swag Bucks.



I am not sure how many of you have heard of it, but so far I am loving this site! It is free to sign up and there are simple things you can do to earn "Swag Bucks". The easiest way is to use the search engine! The search engine is powered by Google and Ask so it is legit. If you are a frequent googler like me, then you will truly benefit from this.

You can also earn Swag Bucks from shopping online. Shopping! I am an avid online shopper so I was excited to see some of my favorite stores on their list.

You also earn Swag Bucks by referring friends. For every Swag Buck your friends earn, you will earn one too! How awesome is that?

So far I only have 5 swag bucks but I earned them all within 20 minutes of being on the site. You can exchange Swag Bucks for gift cards to certain stores/sites. Amazon.com is a big one and I look forward to getting gift cards for Christmas shopping!

So sign up!

Happy Candy Day!

We don't really "celebrate" Halloween and this is what Dustin calls it. Today we headed out to the Outlet mall to get Brooke some clothes from Carters. They were having major sales and if I hadn't been on a budget I could have gone crazy in there! The main purchase was Brooke's Christmas dress and I loved two so much that Dustin let me get them both. You can look forward to pictures of her in them later.

Our big mistake of the day was stopping by the mall to find a sweater and see if any trick or treating was going on. There had to be 500+ kids there! Never again! And unfortunately, by the time we got Brooke in her costume she was cranky so we did not get any good pictures. This is about it.

Chocolate

Ever since her birthday party Brooke has declared herself as a lover of all things chocolate. If she sees someone in the room eating anything that resembles chocolate, she will hurry over to them and proceed to beg for a bite. This girl can hear a chocolate wrapper open across the house! Today we had our first "chocolate tantrum".

As with every year, I dipped into the Halloween stash and opened up some bize size hershey bars. Within seconds Brooke was across the room and climbing my leg to get onto my lap. Being the nice Mommy I am, I allowed her to take a bite and then popped the rest into my mouth. Apparently the world ended at that exact moment because tears flooded Brooke's eyes and she began to scream. She pushed away from me and screamed to the Heavens. If she could speak I imagine it would sound similar to this, "WHY GOD?! WHY DID MOMMY EAT THE LAST BITE OF CHOCOLATE?!"

5 minutes and a hug from Daddy later, all is right with the world. Now how do I eat these last two hershey bars with out her seeing?!

Just so you know...

Brooke told me that the Phillies are going to win the World Series.

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we headed up to a pumpkin patch in Michigan with our friend Matt and Randi, and their little girl Teagan. It was a little cold outside but we still had a great time. There were animals to look at, a corn "ball pit" to play in (basically, a pit filled with corn kernals), a lots of pumpkins to pick from. All Brooke wanted to do was run around so when we tried to pick her up for a picture she cried, but we got a few good ones! Enjoy...

First we went to Brylee's birthday party. Excuse my face but this is the best picture we could get of them together!

She loved sticking her head through these

Running around the pumpkin patch

Checking out the pumpkins



Pumpkins her size

Corn pit!