Maya - 15 Months

My little girl is growing up so quickly. I am seriously loving this age. She is starting to talk (10-12 words including animal sounds), walking all over the place, making the funniest facial expressions, laughing at herself, and constantly learning new things. 

She is a pro at going up and is starting to go down now too. Helps me rest easier when I know she's on the stairs. 

She likes "dressing" herself. She picked this hat and wore it for a long time. 

With walking comes spills. She had her first face plant on the concrete this past week, hence the lovely bruise on her forehead. She recovered quickly. 

She's no longer a SERIOUS Mama's girl. She gets so excited when her daddy comes home. It is so adorable to hear her screech and want to play with him right away. 

She got some shots, and one was the dtap. I remember it making my arm super sore when I got it. Maya was quite sad and only wanted to be held all afternoon after her shots. It was really sweet but sad at the same time. 

Her face and funny personality make me so happy every day. She's my sunshine. 

She is also growing! Imagine that! She gained almost 2 lbs and grew 2 inches since her first birthday, which is more than usual between appointments (for her). I was so excited. Doctor says she's perfect and I totally agree.  

Half way!

This pregnancy is already half gone! It is going so fast! It probably helps that we found out so late to begin with. 

There have been a few differences between this pregnancy and my last:

1. I feel absolutely fantastic. I also felt pretty great when I was pregnant with Maya, but this is on a different level of greatness. And while I am thoroughly appreciative of that, it also makes it oddly surreal that we will have another baby in just 4 1/2 months. 

2. I can't feel this baby move as much. I found out yesterday that it is because the placenta is in the front of my uterus, acting as a pillow between me and baby. The doctor said it's great if I feel her move once every day or two at this point. Kinda bums me out. That was my favorite part. I hope it will change as the pregnancy progresses and baby girl gets bigger and stronger. 

3. Oh my word the Braxton Hicks. I started having them at the end of the first trimester and get them several times a day. Never hurts, but they're sure uncomfortable! With my last pregnancy I didn't start noticing them until I was like 30 weeks or something. 

I am incredibly grateful that Ryan and I are blessed with the ability to have children, and that my journey in doing so is such a breeze (so far). I hear horror stories and have to just smile and nod because I really don't relate. I'm probably jinxing myself now. Oh well. 

But seriously. Pregnancy is awesome. 

29

This past Saturday I turned 29! Whoo-hoo, last year of my twenties!! It better be awesome.

I had a really great birthday. I took no pictures. Sorry.

On Thursday my mom came down and we had Silver Mine Subs for lunch (yummy) and then we went shopping for maternity clothes. For me. Not her. It was so fun!

Then on Friday my mom came down again but this time she took Maya home with her to spend the night and Saturday-day. I'm pretty sure they had a blast!

Friday night Ryan and I went to The Happy Sumo for sushi with our good friends. I know, I know. Pregnancy and sushi do not mix. I got a roll with nothing raw so I could still enjoy it though. Oh how I love sushi.

Saturday morning we went to brunch at a cute local joint in Louisville called Huckleberry. It was delicious! Then we went to DSW because I was desperately wanting new heels. Ryan helped me pick out 4 pairs to take home! Clearance shelves at DSW are awesome. Then we went to Fort Collins to make homemade noodles for the lasagna my dad was making. And then we ate it and played games for a couple of hours with my parents and Holly.

We headed home that night and were taken surprise by some heavily falling snow! I didn't enjoy THAT part of my birthday. But the rest of it was so fun!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Posts without pictures are always so much less fun to read. BUT. Here is one picture that might make up for the lack of other pictures:

This is our new baby. We had the ultrasound on the morning of the 21st (happy birthday to me!). And this sweet baby... she is GIRL #2! (And if you look at this post, you will see that she and Maya have similar bone structure!)

Lately

We haven't done too much lately.

Ryan has had a deadline at work and has been working late every night for a couple of weeks (so I have too).

I have started waking up at 6 AM to work out and shower before Maya wakes up. I was trying to make time for it during the day, but since she only naps once now I need all of that time to work. I was running with her in a jogger so I could exercise while she was awake, but then it got cold. One day I said, "I need more hours in the day!" And then Ryan said, "You have them! Just get up before her!" What a brilliant man. It has really helped me feel like my day goes more smoothly and I love being showered in the morning instead of staying grubby until the late afternoon. One morning there was a beautiful sunrise.

I try to work a little in the mornings for as long as Maya will let me (or until I feel bad enough for "ignoring" her). This morning she was making a huge mess of papers next to me, like always, and then I hear her giggling a little and I look over and she's sitting in a box of old textbooks. She was excited she managed to get in there on her own!

We also went to the library for a little while today. She was having fun walking through the aisles and exploring. I so enjoy watching her curiosity.

That is a little of what we have been up to lately. Next week... Maya is modeling for the company I work for, we are shopping with my mom, we find out the gender of baby #2, and it's my birthday! Hopefully there is a little more excitement than sitting in a box.

Library Days

Lately I have just wanted to get out of the house. I think Maya has been wanting out too because she sometimes just stands at the window by the front door tapping the glass and talking. 

So today we went to the library! It was the best hour I've spent with her all week, and I am thinking it should become a weekly trip. 

The library here (2 minutes driving time; we walked the 1-mile several times in the summer) has a cute little play area for little kids. We had never gone before when she was old enough to enjoy it. 

Not too long after we got there several other people came with their kids. Boys. All boys! Which is fine but it definitely made her stand out - not to mention how small she looks! She did great at "playing" nicely.

Of course there was a little time spent looking at books. 

And a drink break was necessary. 

Pardon the bathroom shot, but how cool is this seat?? Maybe they aren't a new thing, but I appreciated it. 

And so did she!

After an hour of fun at the library, we were both content to head back home. Boredom cured for one day. 

Yum yum

I haven't blogged about food in a long time (I guess my new obsession with a child has something to do with that), so I thought I would tonight!

My in-laws, Cindy and Berne, got me a pasta roller and cutters for my KitchenAid for Christmas. I. Love. Pasta. So this gift was perfect! 

We decided to try it out tonight. I had to add a lot more water to the dough than it called for, but we got it. The whole process was actually pretty easy! The recipe I had made a lot, so we dried and froze half

and ate the other half. 

I made homemade Italian bread to have with it, and the meal was perfect. And so fun to make! I look forward to doing it again and again!

Crazy Spectacular.

The last time I nursed Maya was on November 9th, her 11 month birthday. It was a hard decision for me, mainly because she and I both enjoyed that time together. But several factors led to the decision of weaning her. 

On November 26th I had a suspicion that something had happened. My suspicions were later confirmed:

I knew I was further along than just a few weeks because (warning: TMI) I took this test at 4 PM using very diluted pee. The line showed up right away, but it had only been 17 days since Maya was weaned. I hadn't had a period since before I got pregnant with Maya so I couldn't know for sure. 

My first reaction was, "Wow. Ok. That was fast." And then I was sad for a moment for Maya. Maybe that's silly, but it happened. 

Actually, it took me a few weeks to really accept it. Not because I didn't want it (it was planned), but because it just didn't seem real. My symptoms are very minimal. If I hadn't taken that test I would have had no idea until my pants started getting tighter. Which is AWESOME but made it seem even less real. 

My first OB appointment was January 2nd. We went in hoping to see a cute little bean with a rapid and strong heartbeat. This is what we saw:

That is not a bean! Haha! At my appointment I was 11 weeks 4 days, which means that I took that test when I was a little more than 6 weeks. Our little lime was twitching its tiny arms and looks great so far. I couldn't believe I got through the first trimester without knowing!

Our new baby is due on July 20th. Ryan thinks it is a boy, but I haven't a guess. I imagine we will know around the beginning of March! 

Now that I have a due date, it is much more real. And my baggy pants aren't so baggy anymore. We are so excited to add to our family!

Here I am at 14 weeks. (Jan. 19th) 26 weeks to go!