14 weeks!

HERE is my 14 week update with Elliot.

How far along? 14 weeks 3 days... that is going off my old due date. At my ultrasound last week, the baby was measuring over a week ahead, so I could actually be 15 weeks. They aren't officially changing my due date until my next ultrasound, though, so for now I'll stick with the old one.
Baby’s Size: The size of a lemon, 3.4" and 1.5 oz.
Total Weight Gain: 3 pounds.
Bellybutton: innie.
Stretchmarks: no way!
Maternity Clothes: Nope, still wearing all of my regular clothes.
Gender: Although I'm still thinking it's a girl, at my ultrasound the tech very hesitantly guessed boy... but she said it was still too early to tell. So who knows.
Movement: I finally started feeling movement! I usually feel the little one moving while Elliot is getting a bottle (and cuddling my belly) and when I'm laying in bed.
Sleep: Elliot has been sleeping through the night reliably, which means I'm getting a full nights' sleep for the first time in over a year. It feels amazing.
Symptoms: I'm seriously feeling GREAT!
Food Aversions: Meat, mostly, and for some reason I couldn't eat the pudding that I made last night... and I LOVE pudding.
Food Cravings: French fries and dark chocolate!
Best Moments this week: Seeing the baby on the ultrasound, hearing that everything looks normal so far.
What I miss: Not missing a thing!
What I am Looking forward to: Finding out the gender on the 11th!!!!!!
Milestones: Well, Elliot, baby, and I went to our first Tastefully Simple party last night, and we will be hosting one next month.


sorry for the bad quality!

Christmas recipes!!

Blame it on the holidays, or the little one growing in my belly, but I have a SERIOUS sweet tooth lately. So I thought I'd share some of the recipes I want to try this Christmas season!

Peppermint oreo meringues:

Source: nestofposies-blog.com via Jess on Pinterest

Cake Batter Cookies:

Source: chef-n-training.blogspot.com via Jess on Pinterest

Mint chocolate cupcakes:

Source: annies-eats.net via Jess on Pinterest

Little Christmas tree cookies:

Source: bhg.com via Jess on Pinterest

Peppermint Bark:

Source: domesticgoddessadventures.blogspot.com via Tina on Pinterest

Swirl Cookies:

Source: ouritaliankitchen.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

One word: YUM!

a quick visit from Florida!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. My mother-in-law called us about a week ago, wondering what we had planned this month. I told her our calendar was pretty much wide open, other than doctor appointments and Elliot and I heading home on the 26th. Not too long after, they hopped in their Prius and drove all the way here from Florida!


Elliot and Grandma Karen.

It was a good visit. We took Elliot to the mall to see Santa, beneath our tree is now bursting with presents, and Grandma and Grandpa even babysat Elliot for us so Aaron and I could have a rare date night!


Elliot after seeing Santa. He didn't cry at all. In fact, we even got a little smile out of him. He was delirious because he missed his afternoon nap, but surprisingly too distracted to be fussy.



We even managed to get a few quick family shots of the three of us. We have very few family pictures since Aaron was gone for so long, I'm usually behind the camera, and we don't have anyone else to take pictures for us!






presents!

baby #2 update (after nt)

I had my NT scan today, and it went wonderfully! The first thing they noticed, right away, was that the baby was larger and more developed than they expected. Originally, my due date was June 8th (based on my LMP). Then, after my first ultrasound, they changed it to June 10th. By that due date, I am 13 weeks 4 days pregnant. On the ultrasound, however, the baby measured between 14 weeks and 14 weeks 3 days. In addition, the NT fluid was already dissolving and almost gone... which doesn't happen until the fourteenth week of pregnancy. I have a follow up ultrasound in four weeks, so they will probably change my due date (to the beginning of June or even late May) based on that.

What was left of the NT fluid measured normally. Once the ultrasound technician was done, she brought the doctor in and told him that our son had gastroschisis. After hearing that, he also closely examined the brain, heart, and facial features, and everything looked normal, as far as he could tell. THANKFULLY, the belly was also properly closed with the intestines tucked safely INSIDE. :)




14 weeks (ish) belly!

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas...

It was a rainy, cold day, so we decided to finally decorate our tree. I had visions in my head of all of these beautiful pictures with Elliot in front of the tree... but as it turns out, he wasn't in the mood. He was WAY too distracted by the tree to sit still for any pictures. So far, he hasn't tried to pull it down, thankfully. Since he isn't standing or walking on his own yet, all he does is crawl up to it, sit down, and touch the branches. He likes to take the ornaments off, though. He broke two of them. We since moved them all out of his reach, hopefully solving the problem.

This morning is my NT Scan. I am 13 weeks 3 days, so at the very very end of my "window." Hopefully they can still get the measurement. I'm not looking forward to getting my blood drawn again {last time they took EIGHT vials!}, but I'm dying to know what's going on inside my belly. I've been praying this whole time for a healthy baby and a smooth, "normal" pregnancy. This will be our first chance to screen for any birth defects. Please pray for good news! :)

EDIT:After we got Elliot set up with a sitter, drove all the way to main post, circled the hospital parking lot(s) for 15 minutes, walked from the furthest parking spot ever in the freezing cold, we arrived at my appointment just to be told that there was a "scheduling conflict" and my NT scan was rescheduled for tomorrow morning. Wow, would've been nice to know that ahead of time...

And now, for a few festive pictures! I hope to get much better ones in the next week or two.

Bellies pop much sooner the second time around...

13 weeks 1 day belly... definitely starting to show a lot sooner with the second pregnancy!

I look terrible. It's been rainy and cold here so... I haven't put much effort into my appearance lately. Aaron also has a SIX DAY weekend, so we've been lazing around the house. :) Even Elliot is staying in his jammies all day today.

Click below to see our updated name list.

My favorites are Ada, Elsa, and Eden.
Aaron's are Aurora, Willow, and Sawyer.

13 weeks, new names, & my Ellie belly.

First of all, thank you for all of the suggestions and votes on our names yesterday. I also asked for help on facebook {if we're not already friends, you can add me here.} By the end of the night, my status had 65 comments! In all, Aaron and I have over FIFTY new names to look over. I like a lot of them, but I'm sure Aaron probably won't, so it should be easy to narrow it down a little. I'll be updating our name list within a day or two- I'll let you know. :) Some of my favorites, off the top of my head, are Ada, Lenora, Loralie, Eden, and Elyse. I'm also toying with some of the really unique ones, such as Ender, Monroe, and Finn + Sawyer (as girls' names).

Second, today I am 13 weeks pregnant! Almost in the second trimester! Praise God! If you know our history with miscarriage, then you understand why I am so happy to have those first 13 weeks behind me.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, some pictures of Elliot. Can't forget about him!


{excuse the nose crusties. He has a cold, HATES getting his nose wiped, and I didn't even notice how gross his nose was until AFTER I put the camera down, of course}




His new favorite toy. Thank you, Target!









I haven't asked in awhile. Could we get a vote? Comment that you voted and I'll vote back!!

The Great Name Dilemma

Naming another human being is a big responsibility. I mean, he/she will have this name for the rest of his/her life. It makes them who they are, it defines them, it is an identity. To be honest, picking the perfect name stresses me out!

Like I said before, I'm fairly confident that we're having a girl this time. Either way, we've already narrowed down our boys choices and are happy with them (Finn & Sawyer). It's the GIRL NAMES we are having trouble with. Everything I like, Aaron hates, and vice-versa. I literally FELL IN LOVE with the name Ruby, I had dreams about a little girl named Ruby, and everything... but Aaron shot it down and said we could only use it as a middle name.

What I want in a name:
- a shorter name that cannot be turned into a nickname
- we really love vintage, classic, beautiful names
- easy to pronounce and spell
- most importantly: NOT POPULAR!! (preferably not in the top 200)

Our name list is below. Please read, vote, comment, etc. Suggestions are also welcome.


We have an elective/gender ultrasound scheduled for January 11th, 2012!!

My {almost one year old|} baby boy...

You haven't seen or heard much of Elliot lately. Bad mama, bad blogger... I know. So let me tell you a little bit about what he's been up to lately.


He's a very silly little guy. And yes, I do mean little. Those jeans literally fell off of him (he kicked them off the rest of the way). They were size 6 months, and Elliot is about to turn 12 months old. So, yes, he's small. Honestly? I love it. I get to hold onto my "little baby" for longer.


He's a typical boy. He loves to play in the dirt (see his dirty face there?) and he loves to throw things. His hair is getting much longer, and it's very blonde. Neither Aaron or I have blonde hair, so don't ask me where he got that from.


He still likes to play with things he's not supposed to, like my laptop, for example. His favorite toys are his gumball machine toy (a recent purchase from Target), his Melissa & Doug wooden blocks, and his wire bead maze (a mini version of the kind in doctor's offices).


He is absolutely OBSESSED with this book. He will let you read it to him 2, 3, or sometimes even 4 times in a row. He has an extremely short attention span (we usually only make it halfway through Dr. Seuss books) so this is a big deal.


He also really likes to pull all the books down off his bookshelf and take all of his diapers out of their bins. He does this at least three times a day... which means I put them all back three times a day, too.


He likes clapping and waving. We also like to blow kisses back and forth.

Remember THIS?



Our cat Charlie and Elliot are still really good friends. Elliot loves to kiss, hug, and lay with him. We actually brought another kitten home recently, but Charlie still follows Elliot around most of the day.


Above all else, he is a HAPPY and LOVING little guy. I've never met a little boy who laughs, smiles, or gives kisses and hugs as much as he does. I love him so gosh darn much. ♥ I'm not sure how I'll be able to feel so much love for TWO! :)

12 weeks!

Okay, I decided to do one of these every two weeks. :)

How far along? 12 weeks 3 days.
Baby’s Size: The size of a plum, 2.1" and .49 oz
Total Weight Gain: 1 1/2 pounds.
Bellybutton: innie.
Stretchmarks: not yet!
Maternity Clothes: If I was wearing maternity clothes already, something would definitely be wrong. lol!
Gender: I still think it's a girl, and pretty much everyone else agrees. Even my OB told me that she "bet it's a sister."
Movement: Still not feeling anything yet. Looking forward to it!
Sleep: I've still been sleeping great, except when I have to get up to pee. Bedtime is my favorite time of day.
Symptoms: I'm feeling MUCH better now! The only thing I can really complain about is that I don't have much of an appetite and nothing really sounds good to me...
Food Aversions: Soup. Yes, I think it's weird, too. And above all else- the smell of charcoal, or ANYTHING cooked on a charcoal grill. Ugh. It makes me want to vomit just thinking about it.
Food Cravings: Mozzarella sticks, pumpkin pie, ice cream.
Best Moments this week: Hearing that nice strong heartbeat at my OB appointment, and cooking (and eating) a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.
What I miss: Right now? Nothing, really. Just loving being pregnant again.
What I am Looking forward to: Getting closer to the second trimester! Can't wait to be out of the first!
Milestones: Second Thanksgiving in a row where I was pregnant.