this pregnancy

this pregnancy has been so different than my last, it was no surprise to me that it was a boy. i had a brief moment of panic after the words, "it's a boy" set in. this could be largely due to the fact that i have four sisters and no brothers. i wondered what we are going to do with a boy...and i couldn't help but fast forward to the teenage years - yikes! i took some deep breaths, reminded myself that thankfully boys come as little newborns, just like girls, and thought of all the little boys i know who love their mamas. that last part really got me. our girl is a bit of a daddy's girl, so the thought of having a little boy who thinks his mama is extra special makes my heart melt a little bit.

this has been a pregnancy of fruit. there was a brief phase near the end of the first trimester where it was all about cereal, but it didn't take long before i moved onto fruits. first it was grapes. i think that was around week twelve. all i could think of was grapes - green ones, not red. i went to the store three times that week to buy more organic green grapes. i just couldn't get enough of them. next it was clementines. then grapefruit. oh grapefruit - i would eat one every morning with breakfast and then sometimes even snack on one later in the day. last week it was strawberries. this week it's oranges. i don't mind all of this fruit eating - better than some things i could be wanting to eat. there is a pineapple ripening on the counter and i have a feeling that might just be the next target of my fruit obsession! i have a feeling this baby might just be a fan of fruit when he hits the solid food stage.

last night i finished up our daughter's baby book - something that was on my list to do before this baby arrives. i know that usually all of the kids after the first one get less photos and memorabilia to look back on when they are older. i am determined to give this baby a baby book. it might not be as detailed or as beautiful as his older sister's, but it will be a baby book nonetheless.

that's another funny part of this pregnancy...i have been in nesting mode since before i even knew i was pregnant. once i got that positive pregnancy test, i thought, "OH, this is why i've been sorting and cleaning every cupboard in our kitchen". this is great news for our house. i've been decluttering and reorganizing like crazy. it's not great news for my husband who has to put up with my impulsive ideas about what furniture must be rearranged "right at this very minute because i can't stop thinking about it and it's driving me crazy". thankfully, he is very patient and helps me out as he is able.

while i was finishing the baby book last night, i was looking at photos of my first pregnancy. i thought that i was carrying this baby about the same way that i carried our daughter, but i realized that is just not true. i definitely show a lot more with this baby and he also seems to be higher. by the end of my first pregnancy, i still thought i looked pretty good. i have a feeling i won't feel the same way about this one.

also, i've had an extra sensitive nose this time around. the other day when we were driving home from our travels, i suddenly smelled flavored coffee. it was such a strong smell, but jeremy was sitting right next to me and said he didn't smell anything. finally, a little while later he said that he did smell something that kind of smelled like flavored coffee.

speaking of my extra sensitive nose, as i was sitting here i started smelling something that smelled like it was burning. turns out, it was our computer charger. it recently started fraying and we taped it with electrical tape, but i have been worried about the fire hazard ever since. i looked down and the part with the electrical tape looks like it's splitting and i smelled it and that is definitely what i was smelling. don't worry, i unplugged it. i guess we'll be getting a new charger.

catching up.

i haven't been blogging much lately...life has been busy and full. but, i have missed blogging and hope to start spending more time in this space again.

we got home last night after over two weeks away. we were in wisconsin for a few days visiting my family and then we left our little one with my mom and headed out for a three night getaway with just the two of us. it was wonderful. we stayed at a bed and breakfast located just outside of a small town about an hour away from where my mom lives. we had quite picky standards when i was looking for a place for us to stay - we wanted a place that didn't allow kids, where we wouldn't have to eat breakfast with a bunch of people we didn't know, and that had a fireplace and jacuzzi in the room. the place where we ended up going had all of those things as well as comfy bathrobes for us to wear, a very comfortable bed that had silky sheets, and our own cabin where a hot, gourmet breakfast was delivered in a picnic basket to our porch each morning. we enjoyed our time together, had intentional and uninterrupted conversations, slept in, played yahtzee, read books, went out for dinners, and even went bowling together for the first time! we returned refreshed and very ready to be reunited with our little one, who did really well while we were gone.

our cabin

breakfast: day 3 (they were all this amazing)

 bowling!

the next day, we left for california for a visit with family. it was a fun, loud, crazy memory-maker of a trip. our girl had a great time seeing her papa and playing with her cousins, and we enjoyed family game time, warm weather, laughs, and being together with all of jeremy's siblings and his dad.

our girl and her papa.

 

and her daddy. such a daddy's girl.

 

love this little face.

this morning we woke up to a snowstorm! we had already planned to stay home from church because our girl is quite under the weather with a cold ("vewy sick" as she would say), but we did have to go out to get groceries as our fridge was literally stocked with wheat germ, a few eggs, a sweet potato, an old garlic clove, and maple syrup. we did the water float test with the eggs to make sure they were still okay, and they were, so we had those for breakfast with some bread that was in the freezer. we waited out the snow and then stocked up on groceries. we had delicious roasted vegetables with roasted garlic-yogurt sauce and a simple salad for supper. yum.

a few other recent photos...

baking with grandma. a favorite event.

sledding with daddy.

and our little kicker keeps growing. 

oh yeah...and we found out that is it a BOY!

we have heard from several people that now we are going to have the "perfect family". we think that our family would have been just as perfect with another little girl, but we are excited to add a boy to the mix. i'm 25 weeks along and am starting to finally feel pregnant. i can tell that the third trimester is right around the corner! i am again delighting in the kicks of a little baby growing inside of me - i love that part of this experience. he is very respectful with his kicks - so far he kicks a lot when i lay down to go to sleep, but settles right in and falls asleep when i do. let's hope that pattern continues outside of the womb. our daughter frequently talks about her "baby bwodder" and today she was finally patient enough to wait with her hand on my belly - and she felt him kick - that resulted in big smiles!

tomorrow morning jeremy begins his final semester of seminary. eek! i'm trying not to be anxious about what the future holds for our little family.

january

january has been a slower month for us, which has been really nice.

we've had several days of unseasonably great weather. the other day it was in the 50s, so we headed to the park for the afternoon. the next day we were hit with a winter storm...you just never know. yesterday we took the little one sledding for the first time. who knew we could be running around in light jackets at the park, and then a couple of days later bundling up for sledding?!

last week i had an afternoon all to myself. what a gift! i went to a local bookstore/cafe and ate lunch while i read and wrote in my journal. i don't know the last time i ate lunch out all by myself. it's something that i would have hated to do in the past - before i had a husband and baby. it was such a treat, but by the end, i was eager to get home to my little family.

today my love and i are headed out for a get away. just the two of us. ahhhh.