Morgan's Second Birthday

Yesterday, my first baby turned 2! We did not have a paw-ty for her like we did last year, but we still celebrated her birthday all week long. Everyday last week, she got a special treat and yesterday, the grand finale was a trip to the dog bakery where I ordered her cake from last year.

So many choices!

 Morgan is checking out the treats..

Yum, she thought the Salmon bite was good!

 This is what we ended up with: a halloween petit fours, a peanut butter/cream cheese cupcake, and a carob covered dog bone.

Random week 18 bump

Happy birthday Sweet Mo!  I had a talk with her last week before we found out we were having a boy, because I always call her "my best girl" and I said she might have to share the title if she was having a little sister, but I guess not!  To my best girl, I love you and happy 2nd birthday!

Week 18: Sweet Potato

Dear Bun,

We had our big ultrasound last week, and found out that you are a BOY!  Apparently, you are very proud of that because you flashed us your boy parts first thing and kept your legs open for most of the ultrasound.  You are now 8 oz and measuring right on track to the day of where you should be!  You were moving around like crazy, the ultrasound tech had a hard time getting pictures of you!  One time, I put my hand behind my head to get a better look at the screen, and we saw you do the exact same thing, it was so neat!  Then we saw you clapping, and you got the hiccups too.  I have been feeling you more and more, especially at night.

Here you are at 18 wks:

And here I am:

This is the last ultrasound we will probably have of you.  They will only do one again if for some reason you are not growing or are growing too fast.  Some people choose to have 3D/4D ultrasounds done, but we decided not to.

I have started thinking about your nursery this week and have some ideas for what I would like to do.  Sorry mister, it will not be sports related.  You will probably have some sports theme in your room for the rest of your childhood once you are old enough to care, so I decided not to start that now!  I also selected and booked your photographer for your 1st year photoshoots.  I am really excited about her!

One of my biggest surprises so far (besides not getting morning sickness) has been my lack of emotional swings.  I always heard that pregnancy will make you cry one minute and be a raging witch the next, but so far, I have just felt this overwhelming excitement, joy, and desire to be more introspective with my thoughts and feelings.  It seems like I am always in a good mood and feeling great which I am so thankful for.  I warned John about the pregnancy hormones I keep reading/hearing about but so far, I think I have done pretty good :)  I know, I still have some time, but wanted to record my feelings as of now. 

My biggest complaint (so far) has been the amount of unsolicited advice that we both recieve regularly.  I want to belive that people have the best intentions in sharing thier experiences and opinions, but there are so many personal choices to make and everyone's situation is different.  I have actually enjoyed navigating the land of baby things and, while it is overwhelming at times, there are so many wonderful resources available that it has been pretty easy for me to determine what is right for us and what is not.  I am thankful to be going through pregnancy in the age of the internet, so reviews and comparisons are so easy to see.  I am also lucky to have a network of trusted mommy friends here that I can reach out to whenever I am trying to decide between a video monitor or a motion montior for example.  In the end, we all want to make the best choices for our children and I am confident on our ability to research and plan every choice so we can do just that.

Love you bun!

Mom

PS I think your dad will be writing some to you too now!

Fall colors and apple orchard

Today, we headed up to the NC mountains to pick some apples and take in a hike.  We went to Chimney Rock, which is where they filmed Last of the Mohicans and it was really beautiful.  I thought we were a little late to see the foliage, but lots of the trees were still green!  Occasionally, we would see a really vibrant orange or red one, but most had not changed yet.  We took Morgan along, and the first part of the hike was all stairs, she got so scared that John had to carry her for part of the way.  The second trail we took was a little flatter so she was much better then.

 Some of the stairs we had to go up..

 Morgan got a little scared...

 We had a gorgous day- it was 77 degrees!

 17 weeks

After a hike, and some BBQ in the cute town of Chimney Rock, we headed to a nearby apple orchard.  There was only 1 variety available for u-pick, but we ended up with a bushel of fuji, granny smith, cameo, and mutsu varieties that were already picked.  Also had to sample the apple cider doughnuts, apple pie, and bought some applewood chips for Thanksgiving turkey smoking! 

We took Morgan through the orchard and thought she might be interested in the apples, as you can see, she was not really interested...

Until John took a bite of the apple (she always wants what we are eating)...

 We have so many apples now that John is taking 3 to work a day!  I think I will stick with 1, I don't need any more digestive issues than I have!

Week 17: Onion

Dear Bun,

17 weeks and you are about the size of an onion.  Your skeleton is busy changing from cartilage to bone and you are growing some fat too- finally it's not just me :)  Your umbilical cord is also getting thicker and you are starting to develop sweat glands and the beginnings of fingerprints.  Last week, we went to Philadelphia and today we took a trip to the NC mountains to see the fall colors and visit an apple orchard.  More on that later, but the whole time, I was thinking about how you were going to be along with us next year!  This is the week we have been looking forward too since we first found out about you- we get to find out if you are a little boy or girl!  We also get to take another peek at you during the ultrasound.  I can't wait for Wednesday!

I have been feeling great- I have energy and have been sleeping so well at night except for a few trips to the bathroom.  One weird thing that I have never read about, but am experiencing, is that certain foods taste so much better to me than I remember before pregnancy.  It is usually something very basic too, like last week I had a piece of pizza and it was amazing, I also went through this with cottage cheese and pineapple, and a granny smith apple and cheese.  Nothing crazy, but when I took I bite, it was like the best thing I had ever eaten. 

I also think I have felt you move a few times!  It usually happens at night when I am finally laying down.  I am looking forward to that first kick so maybe John can feel it too, but for now, I love the little flutters I get before I fall asleep (which does not take me long these days).

Here I am at 17 weeks:

Love,

Mom

Week 16: Avocado

Dear Bun,

Here we are at 16 weeks and you are about the size of a avocado, which makes me want some guacamole!  The biggest development for you this week is that you can now start to pick up on our voices.  I hope you appreciated the Whitney Houston that I was singing along to in the car yesterday. Also, your eyebrows and lashes are starting to fill in and you are starting to grow toenails.  Can't wait to paint those little piggies if you are a girl.

I had another doctor appointment last week, your heartbeat was at 158. While I was there, they made me get a flu shot.  I really did not want one, since I have never had the flu and that vaccine is so new, but I got it.  And now, I feel like I have a mini case of the flu, so I look a little sick in the picture below.  I hope it goes away soon and I hope I made the right decision.  I know we will be faced with lots of hard decisions regarding you and your health and I just want to do the right thing. 

Tomorrow we are off to Pennsylvania for 1 night and then we will stop traveling so much.  So far, you have been to or through Denver, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, Grand Rapids and Tampa.  Not too bad for 16 weeks!  There are so many wonderful places that I can't wait to show you when you are old enough.  I love to travel and I think it's important to expose you to as many places and people as possible. so we will go, see, do, baby!

Here I am, so far I have gained 7-8 lbs which may be a little high, but I'm not too worried. 

Love,
Mom

Pumpkins

Dear Bun,

Every fall, we will go to a pumpkin patch, go on a hayride, get some cider and pick out pumpkins!  It's my favorite time of year and I hope you love it too.  Usually we get two, one for your dad and one for me, but this year I got one for you too.  I searched hard for a pumpkin that was about the size of you, or the size you will be on Halloween.   Most of them were squished looking, but I finally found the one. 

 I think you fit in perfectly!

Can't wait to have you along for the pumpkin patch trip next year!

Week 15: Orange

Dear Bun,

We are at 15 weeks now and you are the size of an orange.  You are continuing to even out in proportions, your legs are now longer than your arms and you are about 4 inches long.  Your eyelids are still fused shut, but they say that you can sense light now so you would know if I was shining a flashlight at you.  You are forming taste buds, but you can't taste anything yet, which is a shame because I have been on a fall baking kick, and just baking my 3rd loaf of pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

I am doing great, starting to wear some maternity clothes now (like the top below) and am much more comfortable in them than my regualar clothes.  I still have alot of shopping to do, but I have some things to get by with now.  On Friday, we visited our first daycare.  We are on a waiting list and I really hope you get in.  It is part of a church in our neighborhood so you would be there with some neighborhood kids.  It is one of the few 5 star facilities in North Carolina though, so it is highly competitive to get in.  We will work on a back up plan just in case. 



Love,

Mom

Shopping...

Dear Bun,

Last week, your dad went up to Michigan to go to the MSU vs Wisconsin game.  He picked out 2 onesies for you and they are actually the first things we have bought for you!  Once I laid the clothes down to take a picture, Miss Morgan jumped up on the bed.  I think she is already starting to be protective of you!  I can't wait to see you in these next fall.  I promise if you are a girl, you will have cute green and white bows or a headband on too!  Now we just need to work on some Broncos gear...

Week 14: Lemon

Dear Bun,

This week, you are the size of a lemon, a whole 3 1/2 inches long! Wow.  We are offically in the second trimester now and your biggest milestones are that you can now suck your thumb, wiggle your toes, and make facial expressions.  Your kidneys have also started producing urine and you have lanugo (thin, tiny hairs) all over you for warmth.  I hope you grow extra warm lanugo since you are related to me and I have thin blood and am always cold!

I have gained about 5-6 lbs so far and have a baby bump for sure.  This weekend, I went through everything in my closet and put away stuff that will not fit me for the next several months to make room for exciting maternity clothes.  I have a feeling I will be living in dresses, tights, and tunics this pregnany since the maternity pants don't fit too well- they are all too short! I bought some stuff this weekend and I had to try on a fake belly to see how everything would fit.  Wow I looked huge when I had that thing on!  Then I tried to bend over and I could not reach the shirt on the ground.  Guess it gave me a tiny peek into the future!

I have been feeling great and have had a surge of energy lately.  Not nesting, but definitely wanting to put my energy towards domestic things.  Like today, after cleaning my closet out and cleaning the house, I made potato soup and chocolate chip pumpkin bread.  As far as cravings go, I still don't really have them much, there are just certain things that don't sound good at all.  Meat being one of them.  I am eating chicken because I know I need protien, but it never sounds good.  Forget about red meat- even a steak (my favorite) sounds bad.   

Love,

Mom