I love the Ask Me! box. It gives me topics to talk about on the blog and gives me an idea of what my readers want to know about me. So keep them coming!
Do you have any names picked out for the new baby?
Yes, we do! In fact, we hopefully have the name for baby girl. Dustin is not as fond of it as I am but I cannot picture having a little girl and naming her anything but this name. I told him he needs to get comfortable quick because I am hoarding Michael's coupons to get the wood letters for above her crib.
If you have a little patience, you too will learn the name of our baby girl, most likely before she makes her arrival. If [or should I say when] Dustin comes around to our awesome baby girl name, we will be telling our families. I have a neat idea planned for telling and it involves our moms and Mother's Day. I know that seems far away but it will come fast!
Are you keeping Brooke in her crib when baby comes? Or does baby get her crib?
In honor of this Formspring question I thought I would dedicate a post to Brooke's big girl room. Right now we have plans. I put it in italics because we all know how plans work when it comes to toddlers. We would like to have Brooke in a toddler bed sometime before, or soon after, the baby arrives but it is going to be up to her whether or not she is willing to make the move. Our hope is that the baby can use Brooke's crib rather than us needing to buy a new one. We already bought her new bedding set and decorations and plan on getting a white toddler bed in the near future. Here are some pictures to help you visualize.
A white toddler bed. We haven't picked an exact one out just yet but I kind of like this one!
This exact white dresser, and matching mirror, for all her clothes. Made by Sauder.
Her adorable bedding. We also have an adorable little pillow to match, as well as canvas wall art and vinyl stick ons!
And I would love to have one of these canvas book slings for her reading corner. Wood would be white instead of espresso though.
And of course her PBK Anywhere Chair as well. Hers is hot pink with her name in white lettering.
I am not going to do a whole update, just a picture. Like I said before, I will do the survey every two weeks until my third trimester. :) And see that pack and play in the background, we are apparently using it as a hamper. No baby sleeps in it so I have no idea why it is set up.
I don't have much to say in a post, and I haven't had my camera out all weekend. So, instead I bring you two questions from my Ask me! box.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of life, (job, Brooke, appointments, etc) in what ways do you and Dustin maintain a strong relationship? (For example, do you have a set date night through the week, etc?)
Oh man, this is something I can finally admit we need to work better on. We do like to sit down and watch TV, or play video games, after Brooke goes to bed but obviously our night revolves around her. Every few weeks we manage to sneak out to dinner and/or shopping while my mother-in-law watches Brooke. We would like to do this once a week but alas, life gets in the way. Good question!
How old will Brooke be, when the baby is born?
If the baby comes on her due date [how often does that happen?] Brooke will be a week away from 21 months.
This picture is of her on the go, which I found appropriate.
Brooke turned 16 months on Monday! I will add my normal "I cannot believe how fast she is growing!" line here. As I type this blog post she is stretched out on the couch watching The Wiggles. Her feet are up on the arm rest and her head is resting on a large pillow. She has such a cute personality and is so fun to spend the day with.
Weight: 22lbs 10oz Height: 30 1/2 inches
Brooke loves to play and play and play! She goes through all her books, types on her laptop, pushes her lovies in the stroller, stops for a snack, plays with her piano, and so on. She does say too many words yet but she will stand on her step stool and tell animated stories. She is getting so smart and seems to understand a lot of the things I ask her to do, which amazes me each and every day.
If you click on the "formspring.me JessMill" above the question box it will take you to my profile. There you can see all of the questions I have answered!
How many kids do you guys want?
Dustin has always wanted two while I have always wanted three. Now that we found out we are having another girl, he is already talking about trying for a boy. Victory!
how did you do this?! :D so cool.
I signed up at formspring.me and found a widget to put on my Blog! It was pretty easy and I am hoping people actually use it. :)
Are the girls going to be in separate rooms, or will they be sharing the nursery?
They will have separate rooms for now. We have a three bedroom house so we will be sacrificing our guest room, but I think it is important for Brooke to have her own space right now. Someday they may share bunk beds though!
I am half-baked! [which sounds worse than it means :)] Dustin and I were talking about this and technically with Brooke, I was half-baked in my 18th week, so we'll see when this little one decides to make her debut!
How far along? 20 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss? Eh. It was 3-4 lbs when I went in last week but this is the part of pregnancy where it usually jumps dramatically. I remember this time last pregnancy I had a BIG jump in weight at 20 weeks, so we'll see.
Maternity clothes? Sometimes. I wear a belly band over my jeans, but my shirts are starting to get short and tight. I have some clothes coming in the mail from Old Navy this week!
Sleep: I haven't been sleeping well but I don't think it is because of the baby. I can still sleep on my belly though!
Best moment this week: Relishing in the fact that Brooke is going to have a baby sister! :)
Food cravings: Hm. BBQ chips and pizza. NOT helping my weight gain goal.
Gender: Girl!
Movement:I feel her sporadically through out the day and I can even feel, and see, her movement from the outside.
What I am looking forward to: Decorating the nursery.
Okay, you may notice a new little box in the top right column of my blog. It is a website called Formspring that allows people to ask anonymous questions and, hopefully, have them answered. So if you have any questions, give it a try! Of course you can always post them in the comment section, and either way I will put them here with answers as well as on Formspring.
I read this birth story last week and really wanted to share it with anyone who happens to read my blog. I would like to extend a warning to make sure you have tissues on hand because there is a good chance you will cry, especially if you are a mom. For those getting really worried, there is no tragic ending to this birth story... just raw emotional and honesty. Trust me, it is well worth the read.
I don't really have much to say this week. I was feeling hope that Spring would be on the way soon but then we got dumped on with snow again. Now, it is nothing compared to what my friends and family in Philly got this week, but it was enough to cancel school yesterday! A small bit of my happiness was sucked away with the sunshine.
So, I give you some pictures I took while I was holed up inside yesterday.
I realize that lately I have been creating post after post of pregnancy related thoughts. I am sure it is riveting to all of you (don't tell me the truth) and I love to talk about the changes I am going through, and to share in this journey with readers.
But, somewhere in there I have forgotten a very special little girl. Well, not forgotten...
It is amazing to me how much Brooke has grown since her first birthday party. She has such an awesome personality and is one busy little girl. Her hair is growing like a weed and is very curly when wet, so I have a feeling she is taking after her momma there! We go tomorrow for a well visit and I cannot wait to see how tall she is now. Don't let that fool you though, our little peanut can still wear some 9 month clothes.
She has several words; Dada, Papa, Dog, Uh-oh, Mama, Baby (bah-beh), Ball, are her standard words. Even though we cannot understand her she likes to stand on boxes and tell animated stories using facial expressions and arm movements. Sometimes we leave it up for interpretation, sometimes we commentate. She can point to several of her body parts and is absolutely thrilled when we ask to see her "Bee-boo" (belly button). She likes to lift her shirt high and show it off.
She loves to sleep in and take long naps during the day, which her momma is thankful for. She will try almost any food you put in front of her but will definitely let you know if she doesn't like it. Her staples are chicken, cheese, and applesauce!
Yesterday morning Dustin and I got up bright and early to head to our ultrasound. The machine is actually IN our doctor's office so I had an appointment as well where the doctor did a normal check up and looked over our ultrasound pictures.
Anyway, I was too excited to eat anything but I did take a few sips of Diet Pepsi to give the baby a little boost. We got there on time, checked in, and were called back pretty quickly to start the ultrasound. Now, one thing I must mention (and something I love) is that our office does not require you to drink 32 ounces of water before they start. She even had me go to the bathroom right before hand so I was comfortable!
She entered my information in and got started right away, pointing out different body parts. At one point she took a picture of the umbilical cord insertion and I swore we could see right between the legs. I knew at that point, we were definitely having a little girl. And sure enough, a few minutes later, she said she was able to look if we wanted and she is 99.9% girl! (She isn't allowed to say 100%)
The rest of the ultrasound was spent taking the necessary measurements and watching our baby girl move all over the place. She was wild! She started face up and breech, which is how you see her in the picture above, and ended face down and head down! The best part was that every time she moved on the ultrasound I felt her kicking me and bouncing around.
Now some more somber news, but don't get worried! Baby girl has a cyst on the left side of her brain and we are told it is very common in babies. Almost all of them will be reabsorbed before the baby is born but just in case we will go back around 30 weeks for another ultrasound. I felt very peaceful about the situation and just know our little girl with be perfect.
So if you guessed GIRL in the poll, you were right!
Pregnancy: 18 weeks [plus a few days]. Can you believe it?!
Weight Gain: 3-4 pounds at the last weigh in, I will know better tomorrow.
Sleep: Horrible! I have been sick for over a week now and this past week I slept a total of 4 hours over two nights. Not to mention that I woke up a few times last night to get sick in the bathroom.
Gender: Will know tomorrow!
Feeling: Sick.
Health: Sick. Sick. Sick. In the past week I have had an ongoing sinus infection, an ear infection, a sore throat, pink eye, and now a stomach bug.
Movement: S/he moves a lot these days and we can even feel it on the outside!
Belly: I only look pregnant in the evenings. I'm getting there though!
Notice that my Gender Poll has 1 day left! 1 day! Technically it is more like 1 and a half days but we won't blame the technology. I chose to have the poll close at 12:01am Friday "morning" because our ultrasound is at 8:30am and I will have no energy to shut it off myself.
Today is the day I wanted the ultrasound. I should be thankful that it is so soon, and already here, but I really wanted it to be on Dustin's birthday. When we found out with Brooke we found out on my birthday so I thought it would be special to do the same for him. And I mean, how often can this happen!?
In the end, it has been a good thing it is on Friday because that is when we will celebrate his birthday with family. Also, I am currently recovering from pink eye and my eyes look like Vaseline dispensers. Yeah, apparently when you are pregnant they cannot prescribe you the normal eye drops, so instead I am left to put cream in my eye lids.
Moral of this post: Get your votes in! Oh, and expect an 18 week post tomorrow!
We spent the weekend in the Wisconsin Dells with Dustin's family. We stayed at the Wilderness Resort and were able to visit several indoor water parks. Brooke has a blast and I got pretty tired chasing her everywhere, but it was well worth it!
One of the parks.
Dustin and Brooke floating on the lazy river.
Check out the curls!
She was turning blue from the cold but didn't want to get out!
A mom, wife, friend, Christian, chef, maid, and nurse. I love reading, walking, drinking tea, and watching old TV shows on Netflix. My most recent passion is photography and though I do not do it professionally, I am having a blast practicing this hobby with my girls. I love crafts of any kind and have an Etsy shop for hair bows and head bands.
Dustin
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Brooke
Also known as Brookie or Boo. She is a sassy, fashionable 3 year old with a love for all things pink. She is into Princesses, painting her nails, and putting on pretend make up. She likes to pick out her clothes each morning and which shoes she'll wear. She is also my sweet and sensitive girl, and loves a good cuddle at night.
Molly
The newest addition to our family! Our little Molly Moo is learning and growing by the day. She has stunning blue eyes that she got from her Nonna, and everything else comes straight from her Daddy. She is such a flirt and will smile at anyone who glances in her direction. She may look just like Dustin but she is definitely a Mommy's girl. She always finds me in a room of people just to make sure I am still there.
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