Christmas Eve-Pictures with Santa

Our December has been crazy.  We moved the first weekend, but didn't even get everything.  We attempted to get settled and move more on the second weekend.  It was our birthdays the third weekend and then before we knew it, it was Christmas.

I did get our trees up, and even decorated our new mantel.  That is about all that got done in the Christmas department.  I had a list of things I wanted to do with Olivia, but unpacking (while pregnant and constantly needing breaks) took over much of my time.

We knew we wanted to take her to see Santa.  Our options were Sunday the 22nd or Christmas Eve.  We decided to go on Christmas Eve, hoping that most people would still have to work.  Of course, this was not the case.  The line was super long.  Michael stood while Olivia and I went and ate.  By the time we got back he was pretty close.

We had been prepping her all morning.  I didn't think she'd have an issue with him, because she has been good around dressed up characters lately (Curious George, Clifford, etc).  Thankfully I was right!

She knew who he was and was pretty excited to be seeing him.  The issue was getting her to look at the camera and smile!

She has this little piece of skin hanging on her lip and every once in a while she starts picking at it.  That's what she decided to do in this moment.  Not the best timing, but she's not screaming bloody murder so I guess we'll take it! :)

We had to prep her a bit on the "asking for what you want" bit.  If you asked her what she wanted she would say, "I don't know".  So we started giving her options.  All things she was already getting, of course. :)  She decided she wanted a cat.  Perfect.  She was getting a toy cat.  But then she decided that since purple is her favorite color that it needed to be a purple cat.  OK.  So that's what she told him when he asked.  Then she laughed at herself.

She was thrilled to get a candy cane at the end too.  She keeps talking about sitting on Santa's lap, getting a treat, and telling him she wanted a purple cat. :)

After the pictures we decided to go out and take a quick peek at the huge tree.  She is in love with Christmas trees, so we told her she was going to get to see the biggest tree she has ever seen.

While we were there we took a quick look at the nativity and the trains.  It was SO cold though, and her legs were practically bare with those thin tights so we just stayed a minute.

Overall our outing wasn't too bad.  We had to wait about an hour and a half to 2 hours to see Santa.  We probably won't be going on Christmas Eve again, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! :)

33 Weeks, Baby #2

How far along: 33 weeks

Size of baby: for weeks 33 to 36 (month 8) the baby is the size of a honeydew

Average size is 17.2-18.7 inches and between 4.2 and 5.8 pounds!!

Total weight gain/loss: +12

Even though I didn't do a blog for the last 2 weeks, I did weight myself.  Two weeks ago I was up to 11.6, but then last week I dropped down to 10.6.  I'm guessing the pound loss had to do with the move?  This week I gained back the pound I lost and some! :)

Maternity clothes: Yep, every day! 

 Gender: It's a boy! 

Movement: I feel him multiple times daily.  I don't really do kick counts.  I just make sure that I have felt him moving.

Sleep: I have actually been sleeping pretty good since moving!  I still wake up a few times a night to pee, but I don't have as much trouble falling asleep like I was.

What I miss: Being able to bend over!  There is a lot of that going on since moving (trying to unpack boxes or pick up stuff from the piles that have been made on the floor).  It is just not working for me.  In same cases, I have literally resorted to crawling around to move the items and then trying to get everything in one grab before standing up.  It is ridiculous!

Cravings:hmm... nothing that I can think of

Symptoms: heartburn/acid reflux, general feeling of being uncomfortable, back pain, and some cramping/pain/pressure--especially after walking too much or pushing myself too far.  My mind tends to think I am invincible and can do everything that needs to get done.  Unfortunately, my pregnant body disagrees... but by the time I realize I've done too much, it's generally too late.

Fun Purchases: I ordered a few baskets and some burp clothes with a Kohl's coupon that I had.  There is still so much more to get and be done before Logan's arrival.  It is sort of stressing me out.  But so far Christmas and moving to a new place have taken precedence.  Hopefully once we get past the holidays I will be able to focus more.

Surprises: nothing this week

Best Moment this week: It's not really baby related, but Michael and I were able to go out on a date for our birthdays.  Our friend Laurie offered to babysit and we jumped on it.  We haven't been out since a year ago on my birthday, and that was to his work's Christmas party so it wasn't even really a date.  It was nice to get out, but also a little strange because Olivia is just always with us!  I think she enjoyed our date night as much as we did.  She LOVES Miss Laurie!

Milestones: I am starting my 8th month!!!

Things I am looking forward to: I have a doctor's appointment today.  I'm always interested to see how things are going.

Happy Two and a Half Years!

Since I don't do the monthly updates on Olivia any more, I thought I'd go ahead and do a post today since she is technically two and a half now!

We don't go back to the doctor for another 6 months, but here are her at home stats:

Weight: 34 pounds

Height: 37 inches

She is wearing mostly 3T clothes.  She still has some 2T items from last year that fit. Most of the 3T fits well and has plenty of room.  Some fit "just right".

She is wearing a size 9 shoe with plenty of room.

She has declared her favorite color to be purple. She knows the favorite colors of mommy, boppa and Miss Laurie and likes to point them out frequently.

When asked her name, she likes to give her full name.  She also knows both Michael and my name (she says "Befame"), and when she found out Logan's middle name was going to be Michael she immediately commented on him and Boppa both having the same name.

She is very interested in our family numbers and dynamic.  It doesn't matter what we are talking about or where we are, she picks out the biggest item--could be a rock or a box or a Christmas tree--and names it Boppa.  The middle size is mommy and the small one is her.  We try to encourage that she adds Logan to the mix.  Sometimes she does, sometimes she does not.

Her stuffed animals are her favorite toys.  (Although, she does NOT NEED ANY MORE!)  She makes stories up for them, tucks them into bed, carries them all around, feeds them, and on and on it goes.

She is also still a lover of books.  She loves being read to, but she will also still just sit and read to herself for very long periods of time.  She spends the majority of her days "reading" books.

Not only does she love to read her books, but she loves to stack them.  She will flip through the pages of the book one page at a time from front to back.  Then she lays it on the stack.  All the books must be facing up and turned in the same direction.  If you lay a book upside down on a stack or sideways, she WILL let you know what is up (and then promptly fix your 'mistake').

All things animal and nature are still dear to her heart.  She clearly does not get this love from me, but I try to encourage and go along with it the best I can.

Her talking and verbal skills are still her strong suit.  There were 3 people at Thanksgiving that made a comment about how well spoken she is for her age and how clearly she speaks. Cashiers often comment on this as well.  Of course, her verbal skills and size mixed often makes people think she is at least 3 and they sometimes expect more from her than is appropriate.  (For example, asking questions that no young 2 year old would be able to answer, etc).

We have been working on the motor skills.  This last month or so we have really been focusing on jumping.  It started at The Little Gym.  I would encourage her to bend her knees together an jump with both feet off of the balance beam--of course, while holding her hands.  We kept up that momentum and practiced when we could.  All on her own one day she started saying "Bend your knees together and jump!".  She is getting better and better daily!  She can jump with both feet some of the time, but is still perfecting the skill. :)

Along those lines, I think I have mentioned it before, but it seems that one of her strongest love languages is words of affirmation.  She is definitely not one for physical touch!

She gets to watch a show are 2 a day.  She got spoiled while we were staying with her Grandma because we were able to DVR some of her favorites.  We will be' back to the old school ways now. :)  (Although we still haven't even moved our TV over yet, so she hasn't watched anything for 2 weeks.)  I let her choose what she wants to watch from a small list of choices.  She goes through phases, but some of her favorites are Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, Word World, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, and Super Why.  As you can see, it's all basically choices that come from PBS.  Therefore, she isn't into the princesses, Dora, or Doc McStuffins yet (which are what half of the toys are in her age range these days).

Her eating can be summed up in four words: She is a toddler.  She would eat pasta every day if I let her.  She loves it any way it can come--with pesto, red sauce, alfredo, etc.   She also loves bread.  Ok, pretty much any carb! :) Hummus remains a favorite as well.  Everything else can go either way.  She will love it and ask for more and then the very next time she will say she doesn't like it.  She also will refuse to try many things that I make for dinner.  She loves applesauce, pirate's booty, and smoothies.

She still drinks almond milk.  She does get cow's milk when it is mixed into baked goods, but she has never had any to drink.  We have given her yogurt made with cow's milk, but she is very picky about it and much prefers the coconut milk yogurt.  She loves mac and cheese, but that is about the only cheese she will eat.  Even then it has to be certain kinds.  We got her baked ziti at a restaurant once and she picked off all of the strings of cheese.  She won't eat pieces of cheese or cottage cheese either.  I made her a grilled cheese for the first time a few weeks ago and she ate the crust, but not the cheese part. I guess since she didn't have dairy for 2 years she just doesn't like it.

She pretty much gave up her nap soon after we moved back to Ohio.  It makes me very sad.  I didn't expect her to nap until she went to Kindergarten, but I was hoping it would be until she was at least 3.  We still do a quiet time every day though.  Mommy needs it!

I know I said in the past that she was a very easy toddler.  Well, that all changed after she turned 2.  She started getting feisty.  It got exponentially worse after we moved to Ohio.  I'm not sure if this is the typical 2 year old phase that everyone goes through, or if this is just her true personality coming out.  I guess time will tell, but in the meantime we are doing our best to come up with the appropriate disciplines for her. I'm sure this is only going to get worse after Logan arrives.  So far, two isn't our favorite age. ;)

Even though she has become extremely strong willed and opinionated, she is still fun loving and silly.  She loves making people laugh and once she gets a reaction out of you she just keeps on going.  We thought we knew her personality and what/who she was going to be like, but she continues to change and keep us on our toes daily.

A little update...

It's been a while, huh?  We've had a little bit of an eventful week or two.  That's just the way we do it. :)

We got the keys to our new place on the 6th.  Unfortunately, the not so wise homeowners had turned the gas off back in July.  Even though we called a week ahead of time, the gas company couldn't come out until the 9th.

We did our walk through of the house (marking down and documenting every little scrape, mark, and stain) in the cold on Friday morning/afternoon. 

We moved all of the big stuff and most of the boxes on Saturday.  It was 24 degrees outside, so you can imagine how cold it was inside.  A big HUGE thanks to my friend Laurie for helping us out!

We didn't do much on Sunday, but we decided that Michael needed to sleep at the house. The gas company was to arrive sometime on Monday and he really needed to already be at the house and set up for work as to not miss a day.  So Olivia and I dropped him off with his work computers, blankets, and a space heater.  He stayed in one room the entire time and made it through the night just fine.

The gas company arrived first thing on Monday morning, which was great.  Unfortunately, there was a piece in the furnace that was broken/missing.  The property management company couldn't come and fix it until Tuesday morning.  (Believe me when I say we will be getting those 4 days of rent credited to us!).

We finally had heat on Tuesday and were able to start moving around the house and unpacking.  We sold a lot of our furniture before moving, so we are having to figure out the logistics of things.  As of right now, Olivia's room is mostly done.  Logan's furniture is in place, but that's about all for his room.  The bathrooms are clean and the kitchen is clean (thanks again to Laurie) and unpacked.  Our family room/play room is mostly in order.  We haven't brought the TV over yet and are still needing to pick up the TV stand that we picked out.  Other than that, everything is coming along slowly but surely.  I just hope to have things in place before Logan gets here.  We shall see....

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In other news, I had my doctor's appointment last Monday.  I was 31 weeks at the time.  I was anxiously awaiting this appointment, because it was at my 31 week appointment with Olivia where things started changing.  It was the first indication of blood pressure issues and it was also the first time I started measuring ahead.  I was curious if we were going to have a repeat.

My blood pressure was "perfect" according to the nurse.  I can't remember the exact number, but I think it was something like 112/78 or something like that.

I measured at exactly 31 weeks, which was also good.

Logan's heart rate was 150.

Then my doctor dropped a bomb on me.  She is making me take yet another gestational diabetes test.  To say I am annoyed by this is putting it mildly.  I have gained half the weight that I had with Olivia at this point.  My blood pressure and fundal measurement were right on track.  There is absolutely NO indication that I am going to have issues OR that I am even having a big baby.

She is seriously stuck on the fact that Olivia was a big baby.  She is convinced that I had undetected late term gestational diabetes last time (even though it was never once mentioned last time).  She is also convinced that I am going to have a large baby that I can't fit out. UGH!

Obviously, if I do have gestational diabetes, or if I do develop it late, then I want to address it and do what I can to have a healthy baby.  I just think she is taking one piece of the puzzle and is fixating on it.

For the record, with my doctor's office in TX, they made me fast for the 1 hour test.  I passed "with flying colors".  My doctor here told me to eat a protein before my 1 hour.  I ate eggs and failed.  When I fasted for the 3 hour, I passed fine.  They took my blood 4 times and not one single number was elevated.  I'm pretty sure if I would have fasted for my 1 hour this time I would have passed.  It's so frustrating!

So... I have to go in, have my blood drawn to check my fasting number, drink the juice and then leave and eat breakfast.  Then I have to come back two hours after eating and have my blood drawn again to see how my numbers are.

Hopefully I will pass.  If so, this will be the last conversation we have about it.  Seriously.

30 Weeks, Baby #2

**I am going to try my best to get a picture today and add it later.  I never have anywhere to go on Mondays, so I don't usually get all done up.  Clearly this is becoming an issue. :) **

How far along: 30 weeks

Size of baby: for weeks 29 to 32 the baby is the size of a squash

Average size is 15.2-16.7 inches and between 2.5 to 3.8 pounds

Total weight gain/loss:+9.8

Maternity clothes: Yep.  Still rocking the same old rotation. :)  Some of my shoes are starting to get a little tight.  This was the nice thing about having Olivia in the summer.  When my shoes got too tight, I went out and bought some bigger flip flops for $5.  I don't think that is going to work this time.  So far, I've just been jamming my feet in the shoes I have.

Gender: It's a boy!

Movement: Daily as it should be.  He's even started moving around while I am on the move.  It use to be just when I was sitting/laying.  Although, I will say that he moves less than Olivia did, so I do tend to worry more with him.

Sleep: Shockingly, I have actually gotten a few good nights of sleep this week! Woo Hoo!

What I miss: ease of movement


Cravings: nothing in particular

Symptoms: This week it has been an aching back.  There is just one spot that has a kink in it or something.  No matter what I do, I cannot get it to go away.  I've also just had a general uncomfortable feeling.  Oh, and some Braxton Hicks too.

Fun Purchases: Nothing for baby Logan.  He has gotten put on the back burner for the last few weeks.  We had to put a deposit on the house, and we know we are going to have to buy some items for it when we move it, so we have been trying not to spend anything.  The only things that were purchased this week were Christmas related items for Olivia.

Surprises: I am pleasantly surprised that I am not swelling as much this time around.  At this point with Olivia, I had already been without my wedding rings for a month due to swelling.  I think part of it has to do with the season (hot vs cold), part of it has to do with the fact that I've gained half as much weight, and *hopefully* part of it has to due with the fact that I am not going to have high blood pressure issues this time. :)

Milestones: 10 weeks to go! 70 days to be exact.  Of course, that is if he comes on his due date.  I am anticipating that we will not go that long.  Either way, that is not that long at all.  A lot of the normal baby planning has been put on hold because of our current situation.  So as soon as we move I feel like I have a TON of stuff to get done--decorate a room, make meals to freeze, finish buying needed items....  Ahhh! He is going to be here so soon!!

We plan...

... and God laughs.

Yeah.  Ever hear that one?  It pretty much sums up the last 3 years of my life.  As a side note, please do not use the cliched line that "God is testing me".  I may vomit on your shoes.  If I had a dollar for every time someone has said that to me in the last few years--all of Olivia's medical bills would be paid off.

So, if you remember, the "plan" was to stay at Michael's mom's house until after Logan arrived.  I didn't really want to move twice in one pregnancy and we didn't have the opportunity ahead of time to find a place.  Also, it would have been great to save some money.

Fast forward a few months and we have decided to move.

(source)

There really are multiple reasons why we came to this conclusion.  However, the thing that pushed us over the edge was a talk I had with a friend.  I was trying to be OK with all of the sacrifices that would have needed to be made to bring a baby home here (no nursery, shuffling visitors around others schedules, etc).  She reminded me that the newborn stage is a very special time that only happens a few times (twice, in my case) in your life.  Not only is it a special time, but it is also a very emotional time.  It is important to come home from the hospital to my own space.  The farther along I get in this pregnancy, the more I realize that this is going to be important to me.

That led us to looking for a rental house.  The nice thing about Michael working from home is that we weren't limited to a specific location.  We were able to find something that was within our budget and will meet our families needs nicely.  It's a little farther out that we wanted to be, but the extra space was worth the drive.

We will be moving on Friday.  Yes, I will be 30 week pregnant.  Don't worry.  The only thing I will be doing is packing up some clothes and toys that we unpacked, and then unpacking at the new place.  We sold a lot of our furniture before our move back, so we will slowly have to piece the house together one room at a time.  We are both excited though.  It has 4 bedrooms, two living spaces (which we really wanted), two and a half baths, a two car garage, and LOTS of room for storage.  It will be so nice to be "settled".

Wildlights at the Zoo

We knew that we wanted to hit up the zoo for the wild lights.  We decided to go ahead and do it this weekend before it gets really cold out.  It was cold enough as it was.  It was hovering right around 40 degrees while we were there.

We made sure to bundle Olivia up.

She was SO excited.  She is really into Christmas this year (mainly the decorations at this point) and started talking about the lights as soon as she got a first glimpse.

We headed to the aquarium first.  There were all sorts of fun fish and water creature lights that were right up Olivia's Nemo loving alley.

We finally got inside the aquarium and it was PACKED. People were just sitting/standing everywhere instead of moving through as usual.  We quickly found out that Santa was going to be diving in 5 minutes.  We were waiting off to the side and some kids had to leave, so Olivia was able to get right up to the window.  We waited for a bit, and then Santa came down the ladder right in front of us.

He even came up to the window and gave he a high five.

It's hard to tell, but Santa is feeding some fish in front of her.

We saw a few more animals and then headed to the food court for some dinner.  I packed Olivia something to eat and Michael and I shared a sandwich.

We headed to the other side of the zoo to see some favorites, but stumbled upon a light show along the way.

The lights around the pond were synchronized to music, so we stopped for the show.

Then we just ran into Mr. Polar Bear

I am pretty sure the Polar Bear was trying to sign language to comment about Olivia's cheeks. :)

She gave him a hug, but once again I was a little slow with the picture.

We saw some of Olivia's favorites, oohed and aahed at the lights, and have a fun family night.

Let the festivities begin!