Jenna 1.5

Age: One year and five months
Milestones:  Overhand throwing!  She's pretty good at it, we have a lot of fun passing the ball back and forth, either rolling or throwing.  None other than that, but we brought her to a park and she started climbing around all the equipment which felt like a milestone!
My Favorites: Her faces!! Every day she cracks me up with her reactions to everything around her.  The other day, we were trying to feed her carrots but she was not having it.  Jacob put some taco meat on top and mixed the carrots in to try and get her to eat them...it worked for a little while but then she took a scoop with her spoon and only got a piece of carrot.  She stared at it, shook it off her spoon, and then TOTALLY stared me down with her eyes almost completely squinted and her mouth pursed up really small.  Her face sooo clearly said, "I can't believe you tricked me!! Don't. Do that. Ever. Again."  It was amazing.  I love her excited face too.  Although really, it's more of a whole body thing.  She gets total happy feet and she shakes her hands band and forth or pushes them under her chin.
Her Favorites: Rocking out in the car, putting keys in and out of locks, Frozen, her koalas ("kla-la"), taking naps, dancing around, snuggling up under blankets, FaceTiming with her cousin Asher, and coloring!  She really hasn't done that much of it...I had her draw with a pen in a card a couple of times, but that's it.  Still, she asks to color almost every day.  We definitely need to get her some crayons!  She also LOVES reading.  It's the first thing she does every morning and honestly how we spend most of our days.  At one point I was making dinner in the kitchen and things were suspiciously quiet in Jenna's room so I went in to peek at her...she just was reading.  She just sat quietly and read for a half hour.  It warmed my heart so much I actually got a little teary...I just really felt like she was such a kindred spirit.  
Surprises: How much her personality is coming out!!  She is so silly and loving and playful...she loves tickling us (a.k.a. saying "tickatickatickaticka" while putting her hand on our arm/leg/back/etc.,) she loves feeding me and making me drink water, she peeks around corners and under tables at us giggling the whole time, she picks all of the nuts off of banana nut muffins and says "ucky" each time, she imitates us if we're being silly, she pats her baby doll on the back and goes "shh shh shh shh," and she decisively greets everyone we pass in grocery stores and restaurants ("LELLO.")  She's such a little person!
Other Notable Moments: She's been clicking her tongue when she's really excited about something, like Jacob coming home or eating cottage cheese.  She also tried to change her own diaper.  Miss independence!

"Bi-per"

Looking Forward To: Her half birthday!  We decided to give her birthday presents on her half birthday instead of her real one since she was born so close to Christmas...we're getting her gymnastics lessons and some coloring books and I think a little Jenna-sized table for her to color at.  Either that or a little bookshelf because all her books are currently precariously stacked in a little basket.  I'm so excited!!!! It's going to be fun for mom AND baby!

"Peek!"

"Mom, stop trying to turn everything into a photo op."

Look at that face!!

18 Weeks

I'm going to kick off this post with some facts about pregnancy that also happen to sum up my week.

You know you're pregnant when...

      ...your belly needs its own pillow

      ...you pull a stomach muscle because you were laying on your side and sneezed

      ...you absolutely MUST wear a tank top under your t-shirts, otherwise the underside of your belly gets a nice little draft

      ...you can't tell the difference between pregnancy symptoms and the stomach flu.  Apparently.

And now you know a little more about pregnancy.  You're welcome for the education.

How far along? 18 weeks...baby is the size of a sweet potato!

Maternity clothes? Not yet! (double fist pump!!) Although, as stated above, it's imperative for me to layer long tank tops under everything due to belly updraft.
Sleep:  Sooooooo goooood.  I slept soooo soundly this week.  I don't why, I don't know how, but I absolutely loved it.  Sweet sweet week of thick and thorough unconsciousness.
Best moment this week:  Lots of time with friends that was centered around good food!  Between Mother's Day brunch, date night, and having various people over, it's been a red letter week.
Miss Anything?  Eating dough, a little bit but...honestly I really haven't been missing much!
Movement: Kicking like crazy!  Although all the kicks are really low.  Suuuuuper low...like, below where the actual baby bump is low.  Makes me wonder why I even have this bump after all, if the baby is apparently never even UP there! [from eating an entire package of Pinwheels singlehandedly? Maybe...]
Food cravings: Sweet things!  Well...I guess I can't really tell if I'm CRAVING sweet things or if I'm just always eating them because they're always around.  Darn my husband and his giant sweet tooth and his ultra fast metabolism.  And mostly...darn my compulsive baking and lack of self control...
Anything making you queasy or sick: No!! Thankfully, that weird heartburn/acidity went away and now that I think about it...the fact that last week began and ended by Jenna throwing up probably means I just had the flu.
Have you started to show yet: Yes!  
Gender Prediction: Girl!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? Still mostly out!  I've gotten a lot of people asking me about why I want my belly button to be an outie so badly...first, because it's funny that Jacob is so grossed out by it.  Second, because when else am I going to have an outie?! Third, I told this story during one of my blogs the last time around but...when I was a little kid, I had an outie. Then one day when I was around 6, I was sitting around playing with my belly button because why not?  And I accidentally pushed it in!!  It was so completely alarming and I was so afraid to tell my parents because I thought for SURE I would get in trouble and that it would probably pop back out eventually.  Well, it never did.  It took me until I was 25 to confess to my parents that I pushed in my own belly button (I didn't get in trouble...phew) and now at almost 27, it's my last chance for my belly button to pop out again.  I've been waiting 20 years for this to happen.  This is my moment.
Wedding rings on or off? On!!!! Oh please please please fit for my whole pregnancy!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  This was a happy week, for sure!
Looking forward to: We're hosting a parenting bible study on the book Entrusted this summer...it starts on Wednesday and I can't WAIT!   It's such a good book and I really want to dig into it this summer to make sure Jacob and I are equipped for some full-scale parenting.  I know what you're thinking...haven't you already been parenting?  And the answer to that is no.  It's pretty much just been about making sure Jenna stays alive, which we have been doing splendidly, I might add.  But now that she's mobile and getting opinions and a sister and stuff...it's bound to get more complicated.

17 Weeks

So, the good news is I am AMAZING at gaining weight.  By Wednesday, I had already gained three more pounds, which I attribute largely to all of the delicious peanut butter and bacon sandwiches I ate.  Not peanut butter sandwiches and bacon sandwiches...peanut butter/bacon sandwiches.  Don't judge me.  It probably wasn't EXACTLY the kind of high-protein snacks my OB meant for me to eat and I probably shouldn't have put on 3 pounds in a week and a half, but they were delicious and I have zero regrets and you should go make yourself a peanut butter/bacon sandwich.

The bad news is my stomach is AMAZING at producing acid, and from Thursday morning until...now, my stomach has been in absolute turmoil and I'm a little afraid to eat now.  The only thing I've been able to eat without my stomach feeling absolutely agonizingly painful is cereal.  If I drink lots of milk, I can eat things like bread too.  It's been fun.  I'm hoping this is temporary because cereal is boring...although, I love any excuse to drink more milk!

How far along? 17 weeks...the size of an onion!

Maternity clothes? None yet
Sleep:  Rrrrrrrrrrrough.  Very rough.  I've had to get up a couple times in the middle of the night to pee, but the WORST was that nausea/stomach acidity thing I had going on in the second half of the week.  I literally woke up in the middle of the night once because my stomach hurt so bad.  I couldn't tell if I was queasy or hungry or having heartburn or what, and I was too tired to find a solution so I just laid there for hours. Ugh. Ewww plus, I started grinding my teeth again.  That happened when I was pregnant with Jenna too, but at least I know I stop doing it once I'm not pregnant anymore!!!
Best moment this week:  Jacob set his alarm and woke up early on Saturday morning, JUST so that he could clean the kitchen for me before I woke up.  He is a total star.
Miss Anything?  Not having a super acidic stomach...
Movement: Yes!!! I'm pretty sure those little twitches are baby kicks.  I love it!
Food cravings: The first half of the week, it was basically anything chocolate and of course the peanut butter/bacon sandwiches.  The second half of the week however...I think I really went off the deep end.  The ONLY thing that I wanted to eat was a fruit and yogurt parfait from Espresso Royale.  Specifically.  The trouble is, Espresso Royale is in Champaign, IL while I am in Texas.  But I was so desperate...I just wanted to eat something that didn't make me want to completely die so I sent a pleading e-mail to the Espresso Royale company.  

For the record, I have not heard back yet.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Apparently coffee, anything that is rich, has chocolate, has citrus, or is spicy.  And whatever else ups the acid level in your stomach.  Things that help me NOT be sick: sleeping upright, drinking tons of milk, and the essential oil mix my wonderful friend AK mixed up for me. 
Have you started to show yet: Well I would say yes, but at the church BUNCO night I mentioned to a few people that I was pregnant and they kept saying they couldn't tell!!  Which...I really have no good response to. "Well...I am."  or  "Yeah well, I'm trying to make my baby really skinny."  or maybe  "Thanks, it's because the baby is snuggled so closely with my organs that my stomach acid is hanging out in my esophagus and sometimes my mouth.  Nice to meet you, by the way." 
Gender: A little girl!!  Jacob and I have been trying to narrow down some names this week...so fun!!!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? It depends how I'm sitting or standing, but it's usually at least 50% out...sometimes almost all the way!
Wedding rings on or off? On! Hooray!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, except for when my stomach was blugh
Looking forward to: I know this is a little further off, but June is going to be full of so many fun visits!!  I keep thinking about it and I absolutely can't WAIT!

16 Weeks

Well, something happened this week that I NEVER dreamed would happen...my doctor told me I need to really try to gain some more weight.  Yep.  Try. To GAIN.  Apparently I've only gained about 3 pounds this whole pregnancy!!  :-/ Now, to be fair, the first time they weighed me I was wearing jeans and boots and I've been wearing yoga pants and shorts for every weigh-in after that so...let's take that into account and add a few extra pounds on for that.  But still!!!  She said I should shoot for gaining 15 lbs. over the whole pregnancy and that she thinks I'll have a tough time doing that.  Um...15?!  Did I or did I not gain 40 POUNDS when I was pregnant with Jenna without batting an eye?!  My first thought was obviously...cha ching!!!  I can definitely do more high-protein snacks throughout the day!  Ice cream has protein, right?  I'm all over this!!  But then for most of the week I've actually been feeling really guilty.  I don't want my baby to be malnourished!  And I didn't really realize it but I think I've been struggling more with the idea of weight gain during this pregnancy than I ever thought I would.  I've NEVER been a "watch-what-you-eat" kind of girl, but I guess I subconsciously became that a little bit.  I mean I ate plenty at meals and obviously didn't hold back on the Easter candy or anything, but I would get hungry around 10 or around 3 and would tell myself to hold off until lunch/dinner.  I mean you only need an extra 300 calories a day and I was pretty sure I was eating enough at meals to fulfill that but I guess not.  Anyway, I'm snacking a lot more this week and drinking more milk.  I definitely want my baby to grow big and strong and really have no reason to be afraid to gain weight....I lost it the last time, I can lose it again!  And I love to snack so I'm really looking forward to that part!

How far along? 16 weeks...my baby can hear this week!!  Hello baby!!!!!!!

Maternity clothes? Still no!  I gotta say, this is very convenient.
Sleep:  Good, but I have had a few vivid dreams...I actually woke myself (and Jacob) up because I was laughing so hard in my sleep one night!  It was a suuuuuuuuper weird feeling, but the dream WAS really funny.  Stacy was wearing a pink and purple luchador mask and dancing around....you know what?  Maybe you had to be there.
Best moment this week:  Hearing Baby J's heartbeat!  I always love that!! Jenna and I also had a lot of fun with some friends at the zoo on Friday.  Jenna completely freaked when she saw the cheetahs...she's obsessed with cats right now and one walked right by the fence while we were there.  The first thing she said when she woke up from her nap afterwards was "RAWR!!"
Miss Anything?  Nope!  Jacob and Dan have been working on brewing their own beer, which you would think would mean I would want to at least try some, but it totally made the house smell like sweat.  They're denying it and blaming it on my crazy pregnancy nose, but I know what I smelled!!!!!!
Movement: I think I've been feeling her move!  Just little nudges here and there, but I'm pretty sure it was the baby!
Food cravings: DESSERT!  I'm finding EVERY excuse I can to bake...by the end of next week I'll have made about 6-7 different things in a 2 week period.  I wish I was exaggerating.  Also, burgers and fries!  We found a really yummy place this past weekend that wasn't too expensive...I'll definitely be back soon!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!  Sometimes I feel a really vague queasiness after I eat, but it's really so slight it's hardly worth mentioning.
Have you started to show yet: Yep!  I think strangers should be able to tell I'm pregnant now!  Or at least they'll wonder enough that they'll want to say something but will still be too afraid to accidentally offend me if I'm simply chubby so they won't actually say anything in the end...
Gender Prediction: Girl!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? It's starting to pop out! 
Wedding rings on or off? Still on
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy!
Looking forward to: More reasons to make dessert!  We have a ladies BUNCO night on Friday and a small brunch on Mother's Day and I'm bringing dessert for BOTH! (and naturally, I have to be the one that brings the dessert so that  I can leave a large portion of it at home to snack on before and after the event...nomnomnom)

Jenna 1.4

Age: One year and four months
Milestones:  She's trying to say so many more words now...she'll even try to repeat ones she hasn't heard before.  It's so fun!!
My Favorites: Getting hugs, when she brings me books and then sort of waddles in a 180 and then sits on my lap so I can read to her, when she dances, and when she "sings" along with her Frozen cd...she'll sigh with Olaf and sing "ba-da-ba-da" during "Summer," sing "door" and "go" when they come up...it makes me smile EVERY time.  I also like hearing her say "belly button" which usually ends up sounding more like "bee-beep-bo-tee-beep"
Her Favorites: All things Easter! Hunting eggs, sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap, opening her Easter basket...oh my gosh, that was all SO much fun!  Sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap was definitely a HUGE highlight.  We weren't planning on doing the Easter Bunny thing originally, but went to the aquarium and the Easter Bunny happened to be there with no line so we just went for it.  We weren't sure how she would take it, since most kids are terrified.  We told her it was a bunny, put her on it's lap, and hoped for the best.  She had a totally blank face.  She slowly looked up at his face, slowly looked down to the furry paws around her waist, and when she looked up at us she had the BIGGEST grin on her face!  She had this look on her face that SO clearly said, "I am being held by a REAL! LIVE! BUNNY!  This is the BEST day of my LIFE!!!!!"  It was amazing. 

She's still obsessed with animals, and makes animal sounds ALL the time.  She doesn't always get them right (dog, cat, and horse are pretty interchangeable) but I just love hearing her excited "MEOW MEOW!" even if she's looking at a dog.  She also LOVES music and usually can't help but to dance around a little bit. 
Surprises: She has gotten really fearful! Particularly of any sort of vehicle...we'll be on our front porch and a loud-ish car, truck, or airplane will go by and she runs to me like it's coming after her.  It's equal parts sad and ridiculous.  Sometimes it happens if we're inside and it's something very loud like the garbage truck.  It even happened when we had the door open and a train several miles away blew it's whistle.  I mean, she's always been sensitive, particularly if she's tired.  She has been known to cry if one of us sneezed or yawned too loudly.  It makes me sad seeing it turn into full-blown fear though!  Hopefully she grows out of it soon?  Anyone else have experience with this?
Other Notable Moments: We went to some German Fest up in Tomball and they had a petting zoo, which was obviously a big hit.  Jenna was beyond excited to be surrounded by all the animals but it was almost like she was TOO excited to bring herself to actually pet any of them, which was hilarious. My personal favorite part was when she started moving her head forward and back like the chickens.

She was dedicated at our church.  Child dedication is basically Jacob and I promising in front of the church to raise her knowing Jesus.  We're trying to do that anyway, but it's nice to have the extra accountability!  We read Psalm 119:10-11, which says, "I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you," and talked about how we wanted that to be true of Jenna as she grows up.

 Looking Forward To... More words!! It's just my favorite favorite thing hearing her talk!

First Easter basket...contributed to heavily by grandparents

Chilling in bed reading

15 Weeks

It was practically impossible to get a picture without munchkin in it, so she's got a cameo this week :)

How far along? 15 weeks
Maternity clothes? Still no!  Although I did have to use a rubber band on one of my pairs of shorts this week
Sleep:  Pretty good this week!  No weird dreams, no waking up at 4 a.m.,  and no getting up in the middle of the night to pee...although as soon as I wake up, it is GO TIME
Best moment this week:  Oh man...to be perfectly honest, I can't remember a thing that happened this week.  Baby brain.
Miss Anything?  MY HUSBAND!  He's been traveling and had meetings until late for the last two weeks and I feel like I've barely seen him at all.  One more week of traveling and then I think things should settle down?
Movement: Not yet...
Food cravings: I haven't been as into food this pregnancy as I was with Jenna, so no official cravings, but I did eat several s'mores pop tarts
Anything making you queasy or sick: I get queasy/dizzy if I don't snack between meals, but other than that I feel pretty good most of the time!
Have you started to show yet: Yes, and it's starting to look more and more like I'm pregnant and less and less like I need to hit the gym.  Hooray!
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? Sometimes it gets pretty close to popping out!  Jacob hates it, but I love it and really want it to be a full outie...this pregnancy is my last chance!!
Wedding rings on or off? On still!  Hooray!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy mostly, but with the occasional ugly mood swing...poor Jacob
Looking forward to: My OB appointment tomorrow!  I just love getting the confirmation that I'm pregnant...especially since I haven't had that many symptoms and am still wearing all of my old clothes and such. I mean, am I actually pregnant or not??  It feels hard to tell sometimes!!

14 Weeks

I know that it was over 80 degrees today, but our church is ridiculously cold so I was wearing a sweater

How far along? 14 weeks
Maternity clothes? Not yet, I'm still hangin' in there!
Sleep:  I've been having the weird pregnant wake-ups at 4 in the morning.  Slightly annoying, but apparently I'm very productive when I can't sleep.
Best moment this week:  Finding out that Jenna is going to have a little sister!!!!!  I'm so excited about matching outfits and putting on shows and copying each other and reading pioneer books and bike rides and dance class and t-ball games and church Christmas pageants and summer library programs and...I know I could do these things whether we were having a boy or girl, but it's just really fun picturing specifically doing all these things with our two girls!

Miss Anything?  No, actually. ...alright fine, I did sneak a little bite of a turkey sandwich, but I felt really bad about it, ok? 
Movement: I don't think so?  But I want to be so badly that I convince myself that any little stomach gurgle or heartbeat is actually the baby kicking.  I actually had a dream this week that she was moving around so much I could see her whole foot pushing out of my stomach.  And then she pushed her hand against my stomach and Jacob started holding it.  Super weird, but it was also kind of sweet?
Food cravings: I thought a lot about pancakes this week.  And grapes.  And I started eating bananas again, which only happens when I'm pregnant
Anything making you queasy or sick: Noooo, thankfully!! I've felt great this week!
Have you started to show yet: Yes.  Jenna always wants to lift my shirt and hug my belly...I don't know if she understands that there's a baby in there or if she just really likes bellies, but it's pretty cute.
Gender: Girl!!!  Woo hoo!!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? Half of it is extremely out and half of it is extremely in.......I don't know what's going on.
Wedding rings on or off? On!! Score!! I've officially made it longer than I did when I was pregnant with Jenna!  I'm crossing my fingers that I can keep it on this whole pregnancy!! (Not crossing them too hard though, obviously.  I wouldn't want to cause any unnecessary swelling)
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy!
Looking forward to: Having the gender confirmed with an ultrasound.  It'll be a while, I know, and I know the blood test is supposedly super accurate but it'll be nice to have the confirmation