Halfway

This pregnancy is seriously going way quicker.  I'm at that awkward in-between stage; regular clothes aren't looking so hot, but maternity clothes are still too big.  Gotta love the trusty Lulu yoga pants!

I'm feeling like I have much more energy these days, and I don't really have any complaints.  That wasn't really the case with my first pregnancy.  It was one thing after another last time; tooth pain, ear pain, fainting, Dr appt after Dr appt....

I really believe that I'm feeling better because I'm not spending as much time obsessing over (and Google-ing) every tiny little symptom and expecting the worst!  I'm not going on those silly message boards like I did the first time, all they really did was put thoughts in my head and scare me.  Plus I'm chasing around a toddler now, so I don't have nearly as much time to think about everything that could go wrong.

So here we are at the halfway point, folks!

First Haircut

We had no idea how Gwen would react to her first haircut, usually she won't even let me brush her hair.  She has a little bit of a natural wave, plus a cowlick in the back so it can be pretty out of control at times.  I didn't want to cut bangs because there's no way they would lie flat, so all we needed to do was even out the back to avoid mullet status.  I searched for a kid-friendly place for as much distraction as possible during the cut. Gwen seems to do really well with reasoning, so on the way there, we explained to her that she would sit in a big chair and she would have to stay still while the lady cut her hair.
Once we got to Snip-its, there was a 45 minute wait, so we took advantage of the Starbucks located in the same shopping center.

Getting ready to head out the door

killing some time, and looking adorable while doing it

She actually stayed totally still, we were super proud!!

a shot of the back, all curled up again but much more even

so proud of her "First Haircut Certificate" that include a lock of her hair <3

It's a...

BOYYYYYY!!!!!

More importantly, the ultrasound looked just perfect and our little guy is looking great at a whopping 9oz. I think his HR was around 150-160bpm :)

Can we talk about how great I am at guessing?!!!  Yes, there's a 50/50 chance but both times I just had these gut feelings about the gender, which to me is just amazing.

Justin and I are extremely excited to have a little boy join our family.  Of course, all we wanted was another healthy and happy baby, but we both had our fingers [slightly] crossed for a boy.

I have to say that ever since we found out, I've been feeling like I need to buy more pink for Gwen.  I've always tried to stay away from the whole girly-pink-overload, but now, knowing that she'll probably be our only girl I'm feeling like I need dress her in tutus and tights every day - it's going to be a dressy spring!
We made a quick trip to Target to check out the baby boy clothing and I was a bit disappointed.  All of the baby girl stuff was so much cuter, but I'm thinking he'll just be living in onesies for the first few months and by the time fall and winter roll around he'll be a bit easier to dress, and we'll have more options.

I love knowing now that he's a boy, it just makes me feel so much more connected to him.  I'm starting to feel him kicking and rolling and I love being able to call him "HIM" instead of it :)  We've also been throwing around some names.  We have a few that we're leaning towards (sorry, not sharing them here), but I'm so fickle, I'm sure we'll wait until the very end like we did with Gwen.

I picked up some blue balloons to surprise Gwen with the morning we found out.  She's super excited for her baby brother :)

Personality

I love that we can now rationalize with her when she's upset.  We've found that if Gwen is throwing a tantrum, she responds best to calm reasoning.  It calms her down immediately when we speak softly to her, and she'll say things like "no cry, big girl".  Justin has become really good at this, and it's really sweet to hear how patient he can be with her.

She loves her "Famwee hugs" and it always melts my heart when she asks us for them out of the blue.

Cuddling has become an after-nap ritual, she also asks for tickles on her arms, legs, neck, and feet.  One of my favorite things is when I ask her for a kiss but I lean back so she can't reach me - she'll giggle, wrap her arms around my neck and kiss my nose.  These are the things that I need to write down because I know that they won't last forever but I never want to forget them.

B2 Update

I started feeling baby #2 kicking right around 16 weeks.  Last night (18 wks), Justin felt him/her kick for the first time!! It was really exciting - I almost forgot what this was like!

We can hardly contain ourselves over here; gender ultrasound is on Tuesday!!

Update 1/20:
Oh, I should've mentioned that I *think* this one is a boy.  Before I was pregnant with Gwen, I thought we were going to have a boy.  Then as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I just had this feeling and I knew she was a girl.  I couldn't even picture her being a boy, it really didn't even seem like a question for me.  This time around, I don't feel as strongly...but I can picture it being a boy.  Either way, we'll be thrilled.  I'll just be happy to stop calling it an "it". :)

Party Girl

We had our playgroup friends over on Tuesday for some pizza and cake.  We went with a Dora the Explorer feel.  Even though Gwen isn't really interested in watching the show, she loves looking at Dora and asked for the decorations while we were in the store.  The morning of the party, we went to the grocery store to pick up some balloons, which she was super excited about!  During the party, I'm pretty sure that Gwen knew everyone was here to celebrate her birthday, she was excited, smiling, and super energetic the whole time.

the setup

    

making pink icing the night before

dancing with Connor

 

playing with her friends

  

I was so happy that her birthday fell on a Wednesday this year.  DANCE CLASS!  She is obsessed with dance class, and I think she felt extra special with all of her friends wishing her a happy birthday.  And, bonus, Gram was able to meet us for class and do some dancing with the birthday girl.  That night we sang and had some leftover birthday cake.

our beautiful 2 year old

birthday hugs from her friends Cece & Callie

On Sunday, we had our family party.  We had a nice dinner, and of course her lovely Dora cake!  We were happy to be able to FaceTime with Annie Annie, Aunt Kris, and Nana & Papa.  Amazing what we can do these days with technology!!

The making of Gwen's Dora cake (what a good daddy):

By the end of the week, we had so many little birthday celebrations that Gwen would sporadically sing "Happy to me..." and ask for cake.  haha

2

2.  She's TWO, people.  She is SO awesome as a 2 year old.


Some updates:

SLEEP - I think I've taken this for granted, thinking that all kids go to sleep as easily as Gwen does, but I don't think that's the case anymore.  When she was 6 months old, we made [what I believe to be] a life altering decision to let her "cry it out".  After that, 99.9% of the time we put her to bed, she falls immediately to sleep, and sleeps 12 hours on average.  That has not changed for the past 1.5 yrs, and I have all of my fingers and toes crossed that it will remain the same when the new baby comes.  She's also an awesome napper, and for the most part naps 3-4 hrs a day.  As amazing as that was, I knew it couldn't last, and it's starting to fizzle out these days - I'm lucky to get a 2-3 hr nap.  I have to say, it was terrible timing as it coincided with the first trimester of my pregnancy - when all I wanted to do was sleep! :)
EATING - Gwen's pediatrician warned me at her 18 month visit that she was going to become more picky.  And she has, but I still think that she's more adventurous with her taste than a lot of other toddlers.  We haven't given into making separate meals for her, and if she doesn't want to eat during a particular meal,  she doesn't have to - we'll give her a couple of chances but we never force her.  Her Dr reassured me that she'll get what she needs over a period of a week or so, for some meals she'll eat a whole bunch, and others she doesn't have to eat hardly anything at all and that is perfectly fine.

2 year stats:
Weight: 26 lbs 4 oz - 45%
Height: 33.2 in - 34%
Head Size: 18.5 in - 36%

For comparison, below are her 12 month and Newborn stats:
12 month visit:
Weight: 19lbs 6oz - 22%
Height: 30.5in - 89%
Head Circ: 17in - 7%

Newborn stats:
Weight: 7lbs 3oz - 39%
Height: 20in - 72%
I don't have her newborn head circumference measurement.



I always tell people she's the official greeter when we're out, saying [yelling] "hi, hello!!!" to anyone within hearing distance.  Passing shoppers in stores, waiting at check out lines, turning to talk to anyone who will listen while we're eating out.  This is when she's the happiest - if she's eating something yummy, she's all "HI's" and smiles and waves.  After a while we just have to tell people to ignore her because once she gets their attention, she's pretty persistent about keeping the relationship going throughout the duration of the meal.

She is ALL girl. Still obsessed with dolls and babies, trying on jewelry and asking for the mirror to see how beautiful she looks all dolled up.  But we may be taking it to a new level now.  She got a pocket book for her birthday, complete with cell phone, keys, wallet, credit card, sunglasses, and.....a lipstick and compact.  So she takes out the lipstick, opens her compact and pretends to apply the lipstick while looking in the mirror.  For a visual, I have attached a video.  Is that not the most adorable thing you've ever seen?

Happy Happy Birthday to my beautiful little lady!

Birth Day

1 Year Old

2 Years Old

Happy New Year, 2013!

We had an awesome NYE dinner out with our friends, and then invited them back to our place for dessert.  They're a part of our playgroup and have a daughter, Audrey who is a few months younger than Gwen.  What a great way to ring in the new year!