Pregnancy, 10 weeks down

We will see how long I keep with weekly pregnancy posts.... I don't know if I'll have new things to report each week, but this one should be pretty good since it's the first one.

Symptoms:

So far this week, there hasn't been much reprieve to the queasiness. It's usually worse in the morning, and yes, eating something does help--but it doesn't disappear. It comes and goes at various times. Often, I do find myself snacking to keep the queasy feeling at bay, but then I feel really bad about myself because I'm eating way more calories than necessary.
I suppose I am just getting used to the tiredness, because it hasn't been as bad. I've not even taken a nap since Sunday.
I'm craving salt like a maniac--which I know means I need to drink more water.... I'm trying! The ever-present sweet tooth is actually under control with a once-a-day treat that's pretty much been my norm since my first pregnancy two years ago.
My face hasn't seemed as oily, but last time that didn't peak until the third trimester--I've also skated by with only a few blemishes.
All in all, I feel less pregnant than I am...which I suppose is nice. Although, sometimes I over-do it because I think I'm non-pregnant-Wonder Woman and then I feel like crap for half a day.

Thoughts:

I think the baby is a girl. I just can't convince myself otherwise because all trends point to a baby sister for G. I really want a boy, as I did last time, but we LOVE having a girl and will LOVE having another one. The main reason for wanting a boy is for a change of pace. I don't want two girls close in age...they will drive me batty, not to mention compete with each other. I feel like having a girl and then a boy would be nice for both of them. G could be the bossy big sister I know she will be...and a second-born boy would either A)ignore her or B)put her {nicely} in her place. My husband, of course, just really wants to minimize the future boyfriend encounters / wedding costs. ;-)
I still think 12/18 will be the baby's birthday; so that means there are about 29 weeks left. WHAT??? Doesn't that sound like a small amount of time?? I know some of it will go by very slowly, but this pregnancy already seems to be flying by because there is G to take care of.

Anticipation:

Now that everyone knows, I can freely admit that I am very excited to have another baby. I am a realist, though, and can remember every.single bad time that occurred when G was younger. Breastfeeding started as a nightmare, we got puked on more times than I could count, 8 pm sounded like a crazy late hour, I was emotional and hormones are crazy, I had painful physical issues to contend with for months, G turned into a crappy sleeper, I felt overwhelmed with parenting at times, our marriage took a bit of a back seat, I had an uphill battle getting back into shape...the list goes on.... But a lot of that we know how to handle now. Being a first time parent is really, REALLY, hard; but we have cliche-ly weathered that storm and have earned our stripes.
I love new baby snuggles and the lack of mobility that keeps their life pretty simple. I enjoy all of the firsts--like smiles, accidental waves, rolls, winks, etc... I promise to try just as hard to capture, record, and share all of the new baby's milestones because I don't want him or her to feel like #2. I know that will be hard, but as a daughter to two second-borns...I've heard plenty about feeling minimized. Though, I have to say my dad seems to have had a lot easier time because he was the first (and only) boy. See, another reason to hope for a boy. Long story short, while we didn't find out the baby's sex last time...I really want to this time. I really wanted to last time too, though, and my husband convinced me not to. I see both sides to knowing/not knowing, so I guess we'll just see the first week of August.

Baby:

New Baby (no nickname has been created yet) is the size of a kumquat, which is barely bigger than a bouncy ball. He or she is now officially a fetus and has fingers/toes. Nails are forming and little hairs are starting to cover the still translucent skin. His or her spine has started to really develop and the head is huge in comparison to the rest of the body. New Baby is apparently kicking up a storm, but I don't feel anything yet.

G:

She is fascinated with babies, and loves pointing them out. She takes great care of her dolls and gives them kisses and hugs. I've tried to tell her about the new baby, but I doubt she understands. As time moves forward, I'm not going to be able to pick her up all the time...so that will probably be the biggest change for her, and I anticipate it being ill-received. Being a pregnant mom to a 15 month old is tough, especially when I feel absolutely miserable, like I did yesterday. I pray for help and muster through.

New Camera Food Photos #WW #Linky

If you've read my recent posts, you've probably seen that the quality of my photos has increased significantly. My camera that I got for Mother's Day is AWESOME!!! I've always been a food photographer...but now I can better reflect the delicious items we see and taste.

Fresh CA cherries

Our Three Day Weekend

My husband had three days off, in a row, and it felt like a real vacation. We had planned to do some outdoorsy-naturey things, but G ended up getting sick...such is life.

We did go for a jog and to the park on Friday afternoon, because my husband got home from work a few hours early. We went to a new park on Saturday morning on our way to the Farmers' Market. I made my cheesecake in the afternoon and the other two played. We had awesome grilled steaks for dinner that night.

My husband marinated and grilled our fancy steaks.

thought my dad would enjoy a photo of our Bean Crock :-)

Sunday is when the illness struck. She had a runny nose when she woke up and church was borderline-WWIII. It actually started out really nice and I thought we were going to have an easy time....HA. Starting around the Sanctus she started having a meltdown, so I stepped to the side with her. I tried to go back to kneel...fail. My husband took her to the back and returned around the sign of peace. We made it to communion as a family but then I took her out because she started screaming. She kept screaming, despite me letting her walk around the fountain area outside. It was clear something was wrong. I blame her Prevnar shot that she got on Thursday. She always has a reaction to that shot. Always. And it's always a few days afterwards. I'll be writing a post about it soon. Long story short, Sunday was pretty much a bust. We all took a long nap in the afternoon and then went out to eat. Dinner out is always a treat, but this wasn't as much of a treat since she wasn't in the greatest mood.
Monday was going to be our day to hit up a regional park or see Mt. Diablo...but G was in a royal mood all morning. We considered ourselves lucky to get in an afternoon jog. We grilled out again and watched the latest episode of Mad Men (which was one of the craziest they've ever made, in my opinion).

does not like cheesecake, even if it has strawberries in it!

It was a really relaxing weekend...until G started being super crabby and sick. Hopefully she kicks it soon because I'm doing solo parenting at the end of the week while my husband has a business trip. I had plans to fill our time, but if she is still sick....let's just say I might go crazy from being home-bound with an irritable 15 month old.

Memorial Day Cheesecake {or 4th of July}

This past weekend I made a Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake to honor those who died while serving our country. Annndddd because my husband and I love a good cheesecake. G, we found out, scoffs at the very sight of cheesecake--too bad for her.

When God Knows Best...We're Expecting!

G will be getting a little brother or sister for Christmas this year! They will be 22 months apart, which is a bit closer than I'd prefer, but it's really something God had his hand in.

The long and short of it is that this baby was neither planned nor unplanned. We left it up to God and we couldn't be more excited now. We'd like 3 kids and are glad to be young parents. G loves babies and other kids, I know she will be a great big sister. She's nearly weaned (just went down to 1 feeding--before bed--today) and will probably be potty trained by the end of the summer. She really doesn't seem like a baby at all. Her lack of real-word-talking is really the only thing that reminds us just how young she is at 15 months.

Fifteen Months old

Many times moms will reflect on how old their kid is and say.... 'where did the time go?'
Not me, not this month. It seems like G should be a lot older than 15 months--it seems she's been around a lot longer than a year + 3 months.

She's a regular part of the family, and only if I try very hard can I imagine life before her. Because I stay home with her every day, she feels like an extension of myself. I don't often worry about her, because it seems like I've developed a sixth sense. I can almost always tell what's wrong with her, even though she's not great at talking. I can hear the difference in her words, even though they probably all sound like 'da-da' to anyone else. I guess it's just a mom thing.

Anyways, she's growing right along and the official measurements from her well-child check-up are:
Height: 30.5"
Weight: 21.5 lbs

Tooth Count: 4 top, 2 bottom, 1/2 of a top molar (the outer half is clear of her gums, but the inner half is still covered), & G has been cutting a bottom tooth for a few days now. I'm not sure if it's sharp (and clear of the gums) yet, because I don't want to get bit! She also has bulging gums at the site of the other 3 molars.

She still wears a size 4W shoe (regular fours DO NOT fit her) and size 18 month clothes. The doctor, whom I do not like (I miss our KS doctor so much), said her numbers are very average, despite many peoples' comments that she is very small.

Here are some facts about 15 month old G---

Mother's Day 2012 Adventures

This Mother's Day was my best one yet (though only my second one ever). My husband was off work on Saturday, so that was a nice treat in itself. We went for a long bike ride, played at a new park (and met another toddler family), went to the Farmer's Market, and went to mass in the evening. Sunday we went to Stockton (apparently the Foreclosure Capital of the country) to check out what the medium-size city in the central valley had to offer. We went for a nature walk and chased geese at a regional park, ate a delicious patio lunch, saw some nice yachts at the downtown marina, and {my personal reason for heading to Stockton} got Sonic happy hour drinks.

Thirsties Duo AIO winner

Another successful cloth diaper giveaway has ended. Thanks to the 187 people (3099 total entries) who entered, it is great to see so many people entered in the new all-in-one offered by Thirsties.

The winner is:

Surprise Visitors {photos}

We has surprise visitors last week--thus my lack of pre-scheduled blog posts to cover my absence while playing hostess.

My grandpa, his wife, and daughter (my half-aunt who is several years younger than me) have been on a cross-country road trip for well over a week now. Last Wednesday they called me from 3 hours away, wondering if they could stop by for a visit. Thankfully, my mom had given me some clue that this might happen...so I wasn't completely thrown off guard. I also have a clean-house complex that kept me from having to run around making my house presentable right before they walked in.

It was lovely to spend time with family, and G reallllllyyyy enjoyed hamming it up for her new friends. She's met them a few times before, but not in her recent memory. My husband didn't get any time off work, but he did spend the evenings with us. I took them into the city on Friday and we saw the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf.
Here are the highlight photos (taken with my new camera):

Dirt: Wordless Wednesday #linky

Until recently, G wasn't interested in mud or dirt. She seemed pretty content to play in the grass and pick up leaves or smell flowers. All of a sudden, dirt is her new favorite exploration site. There's not much I can do to stop it, aside from keeping her indoors...so I just let her go......