#29weeks & a Sweet Mommy/Daughter Day

All of the sudden it seems like this baby is almost here! About 11 more weeks to go and I know that time is going to fly by and I'm going to be holding my sweet Waverly in my arms.

I may or may not be crying like a baby while I type this.

On Wednesay's I like to stay away from making plans and just enjoy spending time with my big girl. Especially since her days of having mommy all to herself are numbered, I've been trying to make sure we have plenty of cuddle time, playing together, coloring, and her new favorite watching mommy put together puzzles!

Today for lunch we decided to go out for some soup and rice (i.e. Sake Blue). We got there and sat in a booth together, she thanked the hostess for the menu and "color" (the sushi menu and pencil, haha), and we looked over the lunch menu together. I asked her what she'd like to get and she emphatically said, "RIIIICCEE!!". The waiter came to take our order and then brought us some waters. I got out a little fun pack of crayons, a coloring book, and some stickers for her to play with and she immediately placed the stickers all over me. We colored for a minute and then our soup and salad came. She usually loves soup but it didn't seem appealing today, she just kept signing "Rice, rice, rice, riiicee, please!". Finally her rice came and she gasped with delight! I scooped some on her plate and she dug right in, at first with her chopsticks, but then that wasn't doing the job so she switched to a fork. She was shoveling it in as fast as she could and every once in a while she would just stop and smile the cheesiest grin. Sometimes I just watch her, in awe of how smart and big she is. When she was ready for more I loaded her plate back up as she danced around waiting to get back to her yummy lunch. Finally, after she just about polished off the entire thing, she said she was finished and wanted to color some more. I continued eating my lunch and all of the sudden I found myself wrapped up in the sweetest little arms. She squeezed my neck and shouted with so much love, "Mommyyyy!". I almost cried.

It's nothing out of the ordinary for her to shower me with hugs and kisses and more love that anyone could ask for, but it hit me in a different way today. A way that happens often - but not often enough. In that moment, nothing else going on around me mattered at all. Not work, finances, heartburn, the cold weather... nothing except being present with my precious daughter. Soaking up this time I have with her while she's still the only one I have to take care of (well - I mean, I am obviously doing plenty of work growing the other one but it doesn't take nearly as much conscious effort), and while she's still so little. I feel like she is so big, and old, and mature, but really she's still just little and precious and amazed by the wonders of every small detail in life. She think Mommy's kisses have instant healing powers and she doesn't doubt or question my love for her. She knows. And she loves me back in the same unconditional way.

For anyone that's not a parent, or maybe just anyone that isn't filled with pregnancy horomones, I'm sure this is this most boring story ever but I just want to remember every bit of this special day with my girl. I already feel like the past 27 months have flown by and I am completely aware that the next 27 months will no doubt pass just as quickly... if not more so with my hands even busier with two!

After lunch, we went to Target to look for some more jeans, because there never seems to be a clean pair that actually fits her. Because she ate so well at lunch, we stopped by Starbucks and picked up a cake-pop for her, and a decaf frap for me. Today she wanted to sit and the table and enjoy her treat, so we did. Even that little "tradition" we seem to have established is so special to her and I love it. I love that we both look forward to these simple little things that we do together.

When she finished up we loaded up in the cart and went off looking for the things on our list. We found some new black boots for her, some sunglasses (which she's been asking for for weeks!), and a few pair of jeans (they were on SALE - woot!) and then we finished our way through the store, hand in hand, to the register. We headed home and then went straight upstairs for a nap and after crying and arguing "I'm not tired!", she quickly fell asleep. She's so funny, that girl. I'm so grateful for my sweet Auria - every single day.

Now that I've recorded this in the memory book, I'm going to head back upstairs and snuggle with her while she finishes her nap. And when she wakes up, I'm gonna give her tons of kisses, and we'll play until I have to leave for class tonight.

What a blessed day ♥

Baby W - 22 weeks down...

Well obviously I haven't been doing well keeping up with this blog like I planned but I'm really going to make more effort because I love having the memories to look back on from my pregnancy with Auria and I know future me would appreciate the same for baby W!

So we're 22 weeks in and it's funny how much I'd forgotten about life in the second trimester. Looking back at a blog entry from when I was about this far along with A though, it seems like everything is pretty much the same. It's funny how many similarities there are between my two girls already. From my pregnancy cravings/aversions to the way they move in my belly. It's going to be such an interesting thing to see from the outside ;)

On that note... I'm constantly trying to wrap my little brain around what life will possibly be like once miss W arrives. Just the same way that I couldn't really comprehend how things would be before A joined us, I cannot fathom how things will be when we have TWO little girls to chase after! How will I find enough time to show them both the love and attention they deserve? How will I ever have time to shower?! Will I ever sleep again? Will Auria love being a big sister or hate sharing Momma & Dadda? Am I still going to work part time or will we find a way for me to stay home with the girls? Will this house ever be clean? I guess it's just one of those things in life that we'll figure it out as we go but some days the uncertainty is overwhelming.

I already find myself having a hard time balancing spending time with Auria and focusing on the new life growing inside me. These are the final months of Auria's life as an only child. But these are also precious moments for me with baby W - cherishing our special bond that no one else can see of feel or ever know.

And then there's the rest of life. My part time job, teaching childbirth classes, trying not to drown in our finances, my constant struggle to keep the house "clean"
(or at least clean enough), figuring out a new arrangement for the girls' room, clearing out the office for a play room, finding a way to make our basement functional, keeping up with laundry, figuring out what to eat and what to feed Auria several times each day (one of the most difficult jobs EVER), preparing for all of the Christmas festivities ahead.... Oye! Obviously today is one of my more overwhelmed feeling days.

At the end of the day though --even the most hectic day-- I crawl into bed with a loving husband, my precious toddler, and a sweet baby-girl-on-the-way! I am blessed beyond measure!

Until next time....

By request...

I wasn't aware of a difference between "co-sleeping" and "bed-sharing" before I read Mayim Bialik's blog about it.
Technically we are bed-sharers,too, but out of habit I still call it co-sleeping. Whatever the label, it works great for us & I wouldn't do it any other way!

Hi there.

Geez, didn't I say I was going to be more diligent about blogging? I guess I lied. Not on purpose, of course, but life has just been too busy for me to sit still long enough to collect my thoughts.

Since my last post (over a month ago - gasp!) so much has happended. At some point in the near future I will post "official" 6 (& soon 7) month Auria update but for now I'll note that she is now crawling and climbing like a pro! I'm pretty sure she would love to be running too but lucky for me she is still lacking the strength and coordination for that skill... for now. She's just so motivated to move and I'm amazed at everything she is able to do (and get into)! We have yet to baby-proof the house - partially because of being so busy, and if I'm honest it's probably also a little bit because I'm still in denial that my baby is big enough to need the house proofed of her ;) I'm planning on hitting up BRU this weekend to get gates and things so we can get to work though. It's exhausting chasing Auria around, pulling her off of things before she falls and/or brings something crashing down with her.

Last weekend Josh & I had a wedding to go to (which was absolutely beautiful, by the way) so Auria had her first sleep over at Oma's. It was difficult for me to be away from her for so long but all-in-all it was nice to have fun at the wedding with our friends we don't see much of anymore. I almost made it through the night without tears but I just couldn't handle going to sleep without my little cuddle bug curled up next to me. I know Josh thought I was being ridiculous but I think that's the difference between mommy's and daddy's. Anyhoo, we all survived that experience and I'm already preparing myself for July. I'm so excited for G's wedding but I'm really going to have to psych myself up to spend another night away from my sweetness.

Moving along...

You may or may not know that, pre-pregnancy, I was a vegetarian. I was also gluten-free (wheat-free aka G/F) and casein-free (essentially dairy-free aka C/F). Because I had such extreme nausea in my first trimester, I threw my special diet out the door and ate anything that sounded even slightly pleasant and/or would stay down. I've been lacking the motivation to get back to my previous diet but today, for no particular reason, I've decided that it's time to start easing back into it. I'm going to start with the easiest element - no meat. I've never been a big meat eater anyway so the veg thing is pretty simple for me. After a few weeks of that I will begin cutting out gluten, and eventually I'll cut out the casein. I'd love to eat completely organic too but at this point I'm just trying not to overwhelm myself with the thought of everything I'll be cutting out so I'll just leave that be for now.

I'd really love to start a small garden in our backyard but I have not the slightest clue about that stuff. Theoretically I would love to plant some cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini, maybe lettuce, and some hot peppers. I'm going to have to do a little research to see what my options are and how to go about getting started. This will probably be a project for next year as I'm assuming I've probably missed the planting window so... stay tuned.

Oh yeah, one final note: I'm still waiting for the motivation fairy to wave her magic wand over me to get me to start to C25K program I've been saying I'm going to start. If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her! :p