A Letter to My Little Girl

Baby Girl,

You don't really understand yet but your world is going to change.  You will no longer be the center of Mommy & Daddy's world, our sole focus.  You will have to share us with a new little one.

I want you to know this does not change anything.  We won't love you less.  You will always be our baby girl.  The one who made us parents.  Who changed our lives for the better.

We are so excited for you to have a sibling.  We hope you will love having a playmate so close in age to you and will see this as a great gift to our family.

Baby girl we are so excited for you to have a sister or brother.  I can't wait for the day where you two will meet.  I know you will be so loving and caring.   You are the sweetest little girl and I know you will smother this new baby with hugs and kisses.

You will be the best big sister little girl.

We love you!

Mommy & Daddy

5 Weeks with Baby #2

The time seems to be going by a little quicker with this pregnancy than with Mara.  I am still feeling pretty good for the most part but have been experiencing a few first trimester symptoms.  I have serious insomnia at night sometimes sleeping like a rock and others tossing and turning.  The vivid dreams have also come on already.  It's nuts what your mind comes up with!

I have also been feeling a little nausea at night.  For the most part I feel pretty good till about 11 am then I seem to hit a wall.  Usually I push through to Mara's nap where I either nap myself or just sit on the couch.  At about five I'm pretty done and usually am starting to feel kind of crummy.  This is when I get the nausea and a lot of bloating/stretching in my abdomen.

But overall I can't complain.  I know I have it much better than most.  This week I shared with a few of my friends here.  Although we're waiting to tell family (sorry guys we want to do it in person) it's hard to keep it from friends....especially pregnant friends. ;)

On that note, we've decided how we're going to tell our family.  We'll likely get some family photos taken of us with Mara wearing a Big Sister shirt.  Then we'll print them out and give them out saying here's an updated pic of us.  We'll see how long it takes people to notice!

I'm not sure it's completely set in that we're going to have another one yet.  We've started thinking about some things regarding the new baby such as certain things we need to get before our move and what certain things will be like with two instead of one.

With Mother's Day tomorrow, I feel so blessed to have not one but two little blessings who call me Mommy.  It just blows my mind every time I sit down and really think on it.  I mean if this is all I do in my life wow.

For comparison 5 weeks with Mara!

4 Weeks With Baby #2

We are so excited to be expecting a new little baby.  Even though this babe was semi-planned, I am still in disbelief that we are expecting again.  It's so different having Mara running around and being pregnant again.  With her I was so focused on my pregnancy but now I have a toddler running around.  I feel like I've barely let the news sink in.

I really struggled with how to tell Josh.  With Mara I got him a shirt that said dad.  This time I thought well maybe I'd get him a shirt that said, "Dad2" or maybe get Mara a shirt.  I looked and looked and just didn't find anything.  Finally I settled on a card and threw the pregnancy test in there for good measure.  I think it turned out great as it was actually a really busy day for him.  He got home late and Mara was already in bed.  

We're still not sure how we are going to tell family or when.  I actually told a few of my friends yesterday as we got on the topic and I just couldn't lie.  Since we are in the US (unlike with Mara) and planning a trip to see family soon we may just wait till we're there in person.  We haven't had that opportunity yet and it might be really fun.  We'll probably tell my mom first as she gets here early June when I'll be about 9 weeks along.  

We are so thankful and so excited that the Lord has entrusted another little life to us.  We pray that he or she continues to grow and develop.  Little one we love you so already!!

For comparison 4 Weeks with Mara!

A Little Announcement...

We are so excited to announce that we are expecting
 Baby Bast #2! 
Due just after the first of the year.  

Mara is super excited to be a big sister 

(well as much as she can be lol)

We are thankful for this new little life and feel so blessed!

say "Jen's Pregnant!"

Mara-21 Months

Wears: You are still in a mix of sizes.  You are wearing 18, 24 and 2T.  Most of your 18 month pants don't fit anymore so you are wearing 24 or 2T shorts instead.  Your shirts are mainly 18-24 months and the few 2T ones you have are doable but a little long.

You are still in size 3 diapers but once we are done with all the size 3 we are going to switch you to size 4.  We went into the doctor for one last check up before we move and you were 22.8 pounds (20%) and 31.8 inches (25%).

Health:  No major illnesses this month to report.  You are almost over your runny nose.  The doctor said that maybe you have minor allergies.  You also have small patches of eczema on the backs of your legs.  You had this when you were younger too.  It doesn't seem to bother you much during the day but you do itch it at night.  

Says:  You've almost doubled your vocabulary this month.  You try to count but just say, "two, two, two".  You also say dirty, Minnie, Papa, and the end.  Mommy and Daddy have also been able to figure out what you're saying more this month too.  I don't know if you're clearer or we are just able to understand better.

Watching cartoons

she loved crawling in this drawer

Favorite Foods:  You still continue to try most things.  However, if you decide you don't like something it is SO hard to make you try it.  I think you may get this from me (hangs head).  You really love Chipolte and chips this month.

You are still eating all the time and always ask for more.  You have drastically cut back on your nursing this month (not by choice).  Your latch is horrible now-a-days so I only let you nurse for a bit.  Right now you nurse at most 3 times a day and at least once.  Mainly these sessions are at night or when I am putting you down for your afternoon nap.
  

Mr. Bear had to wear the sticker before Mara wanted to

Not the best month shot but we tried so many times

Sleep: This month has been hit or miss for sleep.  I think it has been hard on you to move to another place.  The majority of this month you have been sleeping regularly: going down at about 9 and waking at about 6.  At that point we bring you into bed with us and you sleep till 8.  We did have a few nights that you were up every two hours.  This was really hard but I honestly think you had a bad dream.  You were really hard to console and just out of yourself.

Best Moment:  My favorite moments this month has just been watching you really love on those you know.  You seem to have deepened your attachments to some people.  You especially love on your daddy and ask where he is constantly.

playing with the water bowls

Milestones: You had your first ballet recital.  Grandma, Mommy and Daddy came to watch.  You did great!

You give fist bumps, high fives and kisses out freely when asked.

You count but only say two as you point to each object.

You play the copy cat game.

You have cut back on nursing.

You pick your scabs and fingernails.

You moved for the first time.

You can push play on multi media devices.

getting in some park time

these two 

Loves To:  You love to chase buddy around. You are terrorizing him girl!

You love to be outside and play at the playground.

You love when daddy copies what you do.

You love to tell us you have stinky feet.

You love test your limits.  You push back every time Mommy and Daddy say no.

You love to be in the water.  Swimming and playing with water filled mixing bowls.

ballet recital time

Favorite Toys: books, mickey mouse, tea set, plastic mixing bowls filled with water

grandma came to visit

Dislikes: bath time, getting in trouble, not getting your way

My Birthday

This year my birthday was really low key as we were preparing to leave North Carolina and Josh was recovering from surgery.  Despite these factors, Josh and Mara managed to make turning 28 really special.

I really love surprises but usually somehow manage to ruin most of them for myself.  I don't do it on purpose but I usually find out.  This time, however, I was completely in the dark and just went along with what Josh told me in the minute.

The first step was a pedicure for each of us at a local salon.  I've made a comment on and off about how I need a pedicure for awhile and I love that he listened to that and made good on it.  I also love that he got himself one.  One it's always more fun with a friend and two I think he really needed it too. lol.  We even got to be Mara free for it as Josh arranged for her to hang out with friends.

Afterwards we picked up Mara and went out for dinner.  Again he didn't tell me where we were going and I was pleasantly surprised when we pulled into a Mediterranean place downtown.  He's surprised me with this place before and it is a special treat!

Overall it was a great time.  It wasn't huge or extravagant but I sure felt loved and appreciated.  28 is going to be another amazing year!

Road Trip

Before heading to Georgia we're taking some time to visit family in Wisconsin and Illinois.  Normally we would fly up here and then rent a car but we are selling our car to family so we needed to drive it up here as well.  We've only made the trek from up north to North Carolina twice so we were not looking forward to the long drive.

The trip is close to 15 hours of driving which is one thing with two adults.  Add in a toddler and the picture changes drastically.  We got up Monday morning and finished packing the car.  I had done most of it the night before but we had those last minute things to throw in. We originally wanted to get as early of a start as possible but I am thankful that we were flexible enough to know that that wasn't a reality.  At 6:30 we pulled out of the parking lot officially on our way!

Mara did great initially.  She fell back asleep and slept for most of North Carolina.  When she woke we stopped and stretched our legs a bit.  We indulged in donuts and hit the road again.  At this point Mara was still doing great.  We put on her music and she just hung out in the back seat on her own.  Quickly she fell asleep again and we didn't stop till out stomachs told us it was lunch time (this was somewhere in West Virginia)!

After lunch Josh switched to the back seat and we kept going.  I really wanted to get somewhere in western Ohio before stopping for the night.  Along the way we did hit some weather but thankfully we avoided the majority of the storm driving just south of the pocket.  I'd say at this point Mara was starting to become a little restless and thankfully decided to take yet another nap.

Normally we would have taken full advantage of a sleeping baby and drove but Josh was having problems with his work at the same time.  I, having driven all day, was also done so I started looking for somewhere to stop.  After about 40 miles of shady hotels or camp grounds we crossed over the border into Indiana.  It was there that we found a place for the night.

The next day we decided to take it easy again.  We were out the door by 8:30 and had breakfast at Crackerbarrel to fill our bellies.  By 9:30 we were on the road.  Indiana went slower than I thought and it wasn't till about Noon that we hit Illinois.  Thankfully there was little traffic around Chicago and we were in Wisconsin.

We decided to stop for a small lunch right outside of Racine.  After that it was a quick 40 minutes and we were in Waukesha!  I'm not exactly sure how long we were on the road in total (and I'm not sure I want to know) but overall it was a good trip.  Road trips are rough but Mara did really good.  I am also super proud of Josh and I in keeping our cool throughout too.  Sometimes being cooped up can be stressful but I think we managed it really well.

I'm just thankful to be here AND to NOT have to repeat the drive on the way back!!