25 Weeks + CHRISTMAS!!!

25 weeks is here- I quizzed Paul the other morning while we were getting ready to see if he knew how far along I was and his guess was 3 weeks off. I was slightly disappointed for a split second but realized I even have a hard time keeping track of what week, let alone day, I'm at in pregnancy. It was also a good time to remind him of our to-do list of things that need to happen before baby #2 makes her entrance into the world :) Feeling good still, with a minor slip up- decided to take all my prenatal vitamins on an empty stomach first thing in the morning last week, and they ALL came back up after showering- including the fish oil and garlic. Haven't had that happen in a long time... Think I'll just stick with taking them at night.

Hope you had a WONDERful time celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, with your family, friends and loved ones. Christmas was more special this year because we had the opportunity to "re-live" it through the eyes of a two-and-a-half year old. This post may be better captured through pictures rather than words and I know it will be fun to look at this next year when we're gearing up to celebrate Christmas again. A highlight this year was talking to Sophia about the big birthday party we were having at our house for Jesus with a cake, candles, dinner, family, presents...! We sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus" all day!We're making new traditions and carrying on others...

We did some Christmas shopping @ the Galleria--stopped at People's Organic for a special gingerbread man treat...

Paul + I took Sophia to the 8th Floor Macy's display after music class last Friday. She absolutely  loved it!

Excited to meet Santa for the 1st time ever--!

She told him she wanted "a purple present".

 Out to lunch with Daddy afterwards...

Making cookies for Santa...

 

 

 

Paul + Sophia were part of an "impromptu" Christmas pageant at church on December 23rd.  

Sophia was a little lamb, Paul was a shepherd. She was fearless and loved playing a part in the story- Luke 2:1-20!

Ringing bells again- same place at last year- Macy's @ Ridgdedale

Christmas Eve with Papa!!!

...and Mama!!

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus with her two very special aunts and cousin!!

Another exciting part of Christmas was the surprise of Santa coming to our house- he brought a pretty cool new car and baby bear hat...!

Hope your celebration of the birth of our Lord and King was special and memorable too! Here's to a happy, healthy, NEW year! Looking forward to the many exciting things the Lord has in store for us as we grow to FOUR. Wow. Blessings!

24 Weeks

Another week has flown by! Did I mention that the 2nd pregnancy has gone by so much faster?! It's amazing how one day turns into the next and then a week goes by and it only feels like a day. I am enjoying every day of this pregnancy and trying to take it all in because it's flying by! By the way, I don't think I mentioned this before, but I have three close friends that are also expecting! (One expecting her 2nd, one her 3rd and one her 4th!) It is so great to have that support and prayer system to journey through the ever-changing pregnancy high's and low's together. It is a gift!

The last prenatal visit went very well- we chatted about the results of the ultrasound- everything looked good and baby is in the 52nd percentile for her size and weight at this gestation. All things looked great from the ultrasound including brain, heart, amniotic fluid, etc... We discussed the dairy sensitivity, and it actually is pretty much no longer any issue, praise the Lord! The next prenatal in January will include blood draws for gestational diabetes. This time around, I have to fast for 10 hours and then go in the next morning to drink the sugary beverage and wait 1 hour to have blood drawn. I'm planning on working on bible study while waiting in between the bloodwork, and Paul is going to take Sophia to music class that morning!

In other news, we are preparing for Christmas! Last Friday, my mom, sister and sister in law all got together to spend a day baking Christmas cookies and treats. It has become a tradition that we started a couple years ago and we look forward to every year! We each bring ingredients for 2 recipes and make a huge mess and have fun. We made chocolate peanut butter cups, nut/ seed bars with chocolate topping, gluten-free almond thumbprint cookies, peanut butter blossoms, chex mix, gluten free banana bread with walnuts, fudge, and wreaths with M&M's. While the cousins were playing, we were baking away in Santa's workshop in our elf hats and red/ white aprons courtesy of Suzy and Katie! It was such a fun day and I just treasure that time together. It is such a joy!

We quadrupled each recipe to send everyone home with lots of goodies to share!

Glamma's little helper making the thumbprint cookies :)

The cousins!!! Sophia (2 1/2) Emmett (9 months) Ethan (19 months)

After church this morning, we spent the afternoon with Paul's parents, sister and great, great aunt celebrating Christmas a little early. We had a wonderful time relaxing and in fellowship. His great, great aunt is 97 years old and shared some of her favorites Christmas memories and traditions. We concluded our time singing several Christmas Carols: Away in the Manger, Joy to the World, O Holy Night, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Angels We Have Heard on High and I Saw Three Ships. It was a special time and loved that it really set our hearts in the Christmas spirit!

We're excited to continue our family tradition of bell-ringing for the Salvation Army and will ring on Christmas Eve at the Ridgedale Macy's in the morning. We were tuckered out and went home and immediately got into our pajamas and spent the rest of the day relaxing fireside. It was a still quiet evening and end to the week. Beyond thankful for a day such as this :-) We are blessed.

22 Weeks... and counting!

 Overall, the pregnancy is status- quo and things are continuing to go really good, thankfully! In the last two weeks, however, I've developed a dairy sensitivity to cow's milk, cow's cheese, and cream. It all started when I noticed some red dots on my stomach, right over baby bump- which because itchy and irritating to the point where I decided this was something food-gut related if it was showing up on my skin. The wonderful Meg muscle tested me at Rev for a food sensitivity that might be causing this reaction. She tried all sorts of foods, because originally I thought it may have been from our Thanksgiving meal where we ate a ton of food we don't normally eat, however not the case. Turned out to be cow's dairy- I'm off all cheese and cream. Which actually isn't hard at all because I don't really drink milk to begin with and am substituting cream for soy milk and coconut milk and regular cow cheese for goat cheese. I've also been taking activated charcoal to bind the toxins out and a weed botanical (Usnea Lichen) to get rid of the associated mild blood infection it caused. I can see a difference already as the red spots have pretty much completely diminished. The hard part about this sensitivity is that it came right in between the holidays, so I can't indulge in the heavy whipping cream with coffee and pie like I was hoping to :-) But thankfully there are a lot of wonderful alternatives!

Thanksgiving in Taylors Falls- enjoying the Lighting Festival!

Activity wise- still going on the usual LTF journey 1-2x/ week. I'm hoping to try a prenatal yoga class in January, after Christmas is over to get into the swing of that on an occasional basis. I'm also hoping Paul and I can register for Hypnobirthing at Blooma or take a refresher course. I've been listening to Rainbow Relaxation every night and it has brought me back to some good times and memories! For anyone who has listened to that CD, you will understand :)

I have to admit that I'm feeling a little more tired these last couple weeks- I don't know if it's because it's the holidays and a busy time of the year that would make anyone tired- or if my body is just wanting extra sleep. Two naps this past weekend were splendid and I'm thankful I was able to lay down without feeling guilty like I should be getting other things done. I am one to struggle with listening to my body on when to slow down and rest, I'm usually pushing to the max.

We're slowly but surely starting to gear up for baby-- Paul finished a project he started last month of storage racking in the lower level to make room for me to move my office downstairs in with his. We'll be using what was my office for the nursery and need to start furnishing, unpacking the baby gear, and decorating to make it into a bedroom. The girls rooms will be just 2 doors away from each other, making it super convenient.

We're thinking of names and have our favorite, but we're not 100% sure on it quite yet. Still praying about that since it's a very big decision and would love some confirmation in our Spirit about it. The next prenatal visit happens this upcoming Tuesday afternoon- just a routine appointment and will go over the findings of the ultrasound. Will definitely update on any highlights!

On a side note, Sophia's finger is completely fine now but she does tell me everyday that "a door closed on my finger and it hurt...but it's just fine now!" She also loves giving the baby kisses, hugs- and even tried to share her hot cocoa with her today after sledding! It's pretty cute. We are excited to see her as a "big sis"!

Our little powder pink puffin- she LOVES snow!!!

Sledding fun in our backyard- can you tell who is having more fun?!

Capturing the moment with a 'Bou in hand :)

20 Weeks

20 weeks is here!! -- Let's start with the EXCITING good news! Today we had our 20 week ultrasound and discovered the little babe inside is a GIRL!!! Needless to say, I was super excited while Paul asked the ultrasound tech if she was sure it was a girl. I think he had the slightest twinge of sadness it wasn't a boy for all of a split second. I on the other hand was very, very surprised it was a girl considering how I am carrying, the lack of nausea, etc... So was thrilled to find out that we're having a girl, and that Sophia will have a sister!!! Having a sister myself is one of the most cherished relationships that I am always thanking the Lord for- and so this was a desire of my heart for Sophia to one day have a sister. It is an answer to prayer. We are SO thankful that we have a healthy, little girl inside-with two little arms, legs, ten fingers and toes, that we are just overjoyed to know there is a little SHE kicking around inside. God knew all along who He was creating because He is Sovereign and knows the plans He has for our family. I told Paul that we'll just have to go for baby #3 for a boy :) One fun fact is that this little one's "guess date" is right around Sophia's birthday and so since I saved 99% of her baby clothes, we are going to be set on having ample clothes for her. (One concern I had was if it was a boy we'd have to start fresh buying all new boy clothes!) I see the Lord's hand at work already in providing for her and taking care of all the details!

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.My frame was not hidden from you     
when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 
 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be. 
-PSALM 139:13-16

 
After our appointment, we were going to run some last minute errands for Thanksgiving- and poor Sophia- I took her out of her carseat and was moving too fast and closed the door on her little finger... Ohhhhhhh my goodness, that has never happened before and she toughed it out. It was instantly black and blue and has to ice it plus take a trip up to Rev to have it looked at. She was using it to color and eat snacks by the time we left, so it was a praise moment that she didn't break it. When your little one gets hurt like that, it is like an extension of yourself and you just wish there in the moment it was you and not them getting hurt. Thank you Lord for having your protective hand over us in that moment!

Aside from that incident, we've had a repairman out at our house working on a slow water leak coming from a toilet and shower leaking into the ceiling below it (!), the washing machine that decided to break down on Sunday- but luckily we have another one upstairs we can use in the mean time. Everything happening right before Thanksgiving and we are hosting it at our house! We are thanking God for His provision for our family and for always taking care of the details in our lives. This past week we studied Abraham's life, and I was encouraged that even when His family faced unwanted circumstances that God faithfully kept His promises. It reminded me to get my eyes off the circumstances and focus on who He is and what He can do.

Writing this with a heavy but joyful heart tonight because one of the families that my bible study group has been praying for lost their baby girl this past week at only 38 days old. Juliet "Jules" Faith is now dancing with Jesus and she has an incredible story.  Read Juliet's story on her mama's blog. The Lord is strengthening and sustaining this family, and please keep them in your prayers for the Lord to carry and comfort them in this season.

19 Weeks

Alas! It has been a long, long time coming and I'm excited to finally start blogging away. I think the 'tipping' point is being pregnant for a second time, and wanting to capture all the wonderful (and not so wonderful!) changes that take place during pregnancy. I have yet to spend a ton of time and energy 'designing' this blog and although aesthetics are important to me, tonight I need to unload and unpack the pregnancy thus far. My hope is to share pregnancy highlights by the week all through labor and delivery to be able to encourage others!

Today marks 19 weeks, 1 day-- which puts the "guess date" to April 7th, 2013. So far, this pregnancy has been light and easy, which is a major praise! This week the babe is about the size of an heirloom tomato. Based on how much my tummy has popped out the last few weeks, many have been noticing the baby bump, which is fun to share the exciting news every time someone comments!

The first trimester: The first 12 weeks were not as bad as they were when pregnant with Sophia. I threw up every morning for the first 12 weeks with her- and this time around I had some nausea but nothing to compare to last time. Think I only threw up 2 or 3 times, which is nothing.What got me through was keeping a carbonated Zevia nearby- in the frig at home and work. Gingerale and Lemon-Lime were the most relieving. Coffee was repulsive and couldn't even take the smell of it until recently. I didn't deal with cravings last time around but strangely enough, there were major cravings that took place this time: Chinese food and pizza was what my body wanted. Think we ordered take out 3 times one week and made the family drive all the way to Richfield to a pizza parlor my family used to eat at when I was a little kid! I think we ate out more in those first 12 weeks than we have in the last year! For whatever reason, I was sick of homemade everything- and took a brief hiatus from meal planning and preparation. Which, when you're the mom and the meal preparer, throws everyone into a tizzy about what to eat. I just knew that making meals didn't sound appetizing- I just wanted to go straight to the eating part! With both pregnancies, I have had a couple food cravings from childhood. With all these cravings, self-control kicks in and most of the time it was a craving that eventually passes because I didn't give into it. It's just funny that cravings come out of nowhere- and cost of them always outweigh the benefits! It's important to me to eat more good, clean, nutrient rich foods now more than ever because there is another life inside that is eating everything I eat! I want this little one to be as healthy as possible- and anything and everything I can do, I will! The key in curbing all the cravings this time around was to always keep lots of healthy protein-packed snacks on hand- in the car, purse, at work...

Thankfully the cravings have completely subsided, for the most part, and we're back in the swing of meal planning and making most of our meals at home again. Right now, some favorites snacks are:

• hard-boiled eggs with salt
• cashews+ nuts
• goat cheese + Mary's Gone crackers
• Greek yogurt with berries
• celery + peanut butter

I haven't always loved eating in the morning, but lately making scrambled eggs with cream cheese and Ezekiel whole sprouted Cinnamon raisin toast for breakfast. At lunch I take Vessel Care- which is HUGE- for energy levels. If I don't take it at lunch, then I get tired - exhausted, can no longer think, tired- by 8pm. If I take it twice in a day, I'm good to go until 11pm and can get stuff done or spend time with Paul, work on bible study or read... It's amazing what Vitamin B can do for folic acid AND energy levels! Double bonus! Fish oil, genesis juice, and prenatal pack + Vit D all taken before bed. It's just what works for me to get them all down.

Physically, I feel like myself, just with a baby bump! (Although I've had my share of pregnancy brain moments!) Carrying this little one straight out rather than growing out and around, like I did with Sophia. The maternity clothes are already being worn (and have been since about 14 weeks!)! I probably could get away with doing the Bella Band on most of my jeans and pants, but it's way more comfortable to wear stretchy elastic pants- leggings and jeggings are key right now! Heartbreaker (of all places!) has a lot of basic stretchy solid staples like leggings, long tanks, and tee shirts that have been great to pair with maternity and non-maternity clothes. I just bought the next size up, and since their store is so inexpensive may go back and get another size up as I grow. Paul loves the baby bump and seeing my belly/ baby grow-- and Sophia likes giving baby kisses and hugs!

I feel little flutters or "quickening " movements of the baby when in bed at night which is new within the last 2 weeks- we are going to schedule the ultrasound in the next week... and will find out whether the little babe is a he or she! We've already chatted up names and are praying for our little one's name. Stay tuned...!

I've been able to maintain my exercise regimen thus far- which is burst training (running at 100%, then breaking and resuming) and free weights 1-2x/wk, although bursting puts more pressure on my bladder and I feel like I need to pee while running- I guess you just have to do what you have to do! Towards the end of summer/ fall we did a lot of bike rides, trail walks, and I ran outside whenever I could- but now will have to stick to the gym. It was around 5 months in last time around that I stopped my regular workout routine and strictly did prenatal yoga at Blooma weekly. It's just not going to be realistic to get there as much and I want to stay active all throughout pregnancy so LTF it is, for now. Prenatal yoga for 1st time mom's is especially key because you learn how to get comfortable and find relief in your ever-growing body and connect with baby. I brought much of what was learned in prenatal yoga into the delivery and don't know what I would have done without it!

In addition to studying Genesis this year in BSF, I'm reading The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller, A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming, and Infant + Child in the Culture of Today- a classic from the 70's that focuses on child development.

We've already started getting out the baby gear and rounding up what was lent out- as well as planning the nursery which will be a work in progress over the next few months. We visited Baby Grand to check out double strollers and attachments- and will phase Soph from her crib to toddler bed in the next couple weeks. There's still so much that we need to do before baby #2 enters our family- with potty training on the top of my list. Now is definitely the time to put these things into high gear! Thankfully, there is still another 5 months or so to go...!