24 Weeks!

We have made it to 24 weeks!  Only 16 weeks left to go! 

This week was a busy one.  Michael, Akuna, and I spent most of the week at my mom and dad’s house since Aaron was working long, crazy hours (16 hours, 14 hours, 12 hours, etc) throughout the day and throughout some nights. 

At the end of the week was Aaron’s birthday.  So, I took the day off to celebrate with him (after he woke up from his nap since he worked the night before).  For his special birthday dinner, we drove down to a pizza place owned by one of his co-workers.  We both ordered some wings for a starter.  I ordered lemon pepper flavored wings, and they were so good!  They were massive wings, and I felt like Henry VIII chomping on a turkey leg. J  For my dinner, I ordered a Buffalo Chicken personal pan pizza.  It was wonderful!  I know we will be heading back to this restaurant for future date nights although it is a 45 minute drive.  After we ate, we headed to a frozen yogurt place in Prattville.  It’s one of those places where you fill up your cup with as many flavors of frozen yogurt as you’d like (they have about 12 flavors), and then you put as many toppings on as you’d like, and then the cup is weighed and that determines the price.  This doesn’t have to be an expensive date if you monitor the amount of frozen yogurt you swirl into your cup.  I got three flavors of yogurt:  peanut butter, cheesecake, and Nutella.  I topped it with Reese’s, chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles.  Yum. 

 

This week, I’ve had some interesting cravings:

·       “Homey food” like chicken & rice, chili & cornbread, hashbrown casserole. 

·       Salty things

·       Peanut butter spoon (my breakfast of choice for the past couple days)

·       Coffee (Folgers makes a Hazelnut Decaf.  Along with the French Vanilla decaf my mom got for me, I am feeling pretty set.  One cup of decaf with a little fat free milk and poured over ice makes a great breakfast drink!)

·       Broccoli

 

And I don’t think I have announced the gender of our new sweet, baby-to-be.   We are very excited to announce that we are having another boy!   His name will be Noah Scott Petersen.   The story of Noah in the Bible has always been one of my favorites.  Noah is mentioned again in the New Testament as an example of one of the most faithful men of God.   Faithfulness is very important to me.  When we were thinking of baby names, the name Noah popped into my mind for this reason.  I pray that our little Noah grows up to be a faithful man of God.   Aaron chose Noah’s middle name to reflect his own.  Since Michael is named after his grandfathers, we thought it was important for Noah to carry his father’s middle name.   So, come January, little Noah will arrive on the scene and add to the number of boys in our household.  I am feeling quite out-numbered.  J

 

This week, Noah is the size of a cantaloupe! 

 (Source: serenityacresnow.com)

And I think my belly reflects that size quite well!

We are always thankful for your prayers as we continue in this pregnancy journey!

Much love, Reba

Cravings Thus Far

So, like in my first pregnancy, I have had my share of cravings.  This post will recap my cravings from weeks 3&4 until now (week 22).  I forgot to write down my cravings each and every week, and some weeks I really didn't have an overwhelming craving, but overall, this is still a good synopsis.


Weeks 3&4:

• the grouper sandwich from 2 Al's At the Beach Cafe.  I haven't been able to give into this craving yet.
• fried pickles-- I ordered some from Sonic one evening as my side item to the Bacon Cheeseburger (hey, I'm pregnant after all).

Week 6:

• Bratwurst with LOTS of yellow mustard and grilled carmelized onions on a bun.  I told this craving to Aaron and he said "You want a bratwurst??? You don't normally want bratwurst."  I replied "I'm not normally pregnant either."  His response:  "I love you."  :) 
• salty foods
• Coffee Toffee Bars-- this was my first "sweet" craving.
• sour things like Pixi-Stix

Week 7:

• anything with yellow mustard
• sour things
• dill pickles

Week 10:

• Savory things.  If I got too much of a sweet taste in my mouth, I would guzzle water. 
• dill pickles
• lemonade

Weeks 14&15:

• water-- I was SO thirsty!  I could not get enough water!

Week16:

• Broccoli!  I could not get enough! 
• Pizza! I could eat it every day!
• Non-food item:  I was ready for Fall!  Ready for Apple cider, pumpkins, crisp air, picking up pecans in the yard, going to the Pumpkin Patch with Michael and my nephew! 

Week 19:

• apples!
• Steamed veggies!  I could eat my weight in broccoli

Week 20:

• spaghetti
• Apples-- especially granny smith
• Steamed veggies

Week 21:

• cottage cheese
• apples--granny smith or gala
• peaches or nectarines
• Chicken spaghetti-- I made this last night for supper because it was such a dominant craving this week! 

This week marks Week 22.  Little Baby P. 2 is the size of a papaya!

Photo Source

 

 



Today, I went to the doctor for my monthly check-up.  Little Baby P.'s heart-rate was 141, and he earned himself a "Perfect Heartbeat" award, just like his brother.  Next month, I will have the glucose test, where I am screened for gestational diabetes.  That means super healthy eating this next month!  In addition, we will have an ultrasound at our next appointment.  It's always fun to see Little Baby P. 2 on the ultrasound screen, so we are excited to have this next ultrasound.  :) 


Prayers are much appreciated!  Much love, Reba

Through the Produce Department (ie, Baby P.2's Development Thus Far)

When I read sites that discuss the development of babies in utero, I like to know how big babies can be at each week of pregnancy.  It's a way to help me connect with my little one on the inside.  Although some of this is review for me, since I was constantly up to date on Michael's development during that pregnancy, I still like to know how big this new baby is, and what new developmental milestones have taken place. 

Although we waited quite a bit to announce our pregnancy publicly, I have been keeping track of this baby's development.  As the weeks progress, we graduate to bigger pieces of fruits and vegetables.  Here is a size recap so far starting from week 3&4 and ending up where we are this week, which is 21 weeks.

Weeks 3&4:  Poppy Seed

 

Week 5: Apple Seed

 

Week 6: Sweet Pea

 

Week 7:  Blueberry

 

Week 8: Raspberry

 

Week 9: Green Olive

 

Week 10: Prune

 

 

Week 11: Lime

 

Week 12: Plum

 

Week 13: Peach

 

 

Week 14: Lemon

 

 

Week 15: Naval Orange

 

 

Week 16: Avocado

 

Week 17: Onion

 

 

Week 18: Sweet Potato

 

 

Week 19: Mango

 

Week 20: Banana

 

Week 21: Pomegranate

 

 

Photo sources in order of weeks:  lookieloophotography365.blogspot.com, Glassjarsoupcompany.com, Youngbloodcoaching.com, Floridahillnursery.com, leanraspberryketone.com,  weelittlez.wordpress.com,  wisegeek.com,  tasty-dishes.com,  harvesttotable.com,  blog.johnstonhealth.org, healthylivingguy.com, parkseed.com, whatscookingamerica.net, onion-router.net, home.howstuffworks.com, tasty-dishes.com, jezebel.com, theguardian.com.

 

I will write a post soon about all of my pregnancy cravings so far, as well as a post describing Baby P. 2's development during this week of pregnancy.

 

Much love, Reba

 





Michael: One Year Old!

Dear Michael,

Yesterday, you turned one year old!  At times, it doesn't seem like it's been a year since you were born. And at other times, when I think about all the growing you've done, it seems like it must be longer than a year!  Your Daddy and I are so proud of you and all that you've done and learned in the past year!  Every day and every stage is my favorite.  I love waking up each day and wondering what new things you will learn! 

Yesterday, I took the day off of work to be with you.  We had a very relaxing day.  Daddy woke you up so that you could come with me to take him to work.  After breakfast and a nap, you spent the rest of the morning crawling around, drinking from your straw cup, taking self portraits on Mommy's phone, laying around with your "Mommy blanket," and playing with Akuna.  You ate some pears and shredded cheese for lunch while I finished up some decorations for your party.  After lunch, you took a VERY long nap!  When you woke up, we went to Target to buy some last-minute things for your party.  In Target, you ate a sticker. I took a picture to commemorate this monumental event.  You were quite proud of yourself.  After we finished shopping at Target, we went to pick up Daddy from work.  When we came home, you had your afternoon bottle and a short nap.  Your Uncle B, Uncle K, Aunt B, Cousin G, Grandpa Randy, Grandma Chips, Grandma Dana, Grampa Bill, "Aunt Julie," Mr.Greg, and Friend Chuck.  You enjoyed playing with your friends and family and eating some cake!

I will update later on with some pictures of your party, and a blog post about our family vacation (where you had two pre-birthday parties!)

I love you forever, my little one year old boy!  You are such a wonderful addition to our lives!
Love, Mommy

Michael: 11 Months Old

Dear Michael,

Yesterday, you turned eleven months old!  Oh my goodness!  Only one month to go until your first birthday!   You are a sweet, smiley boy with a wonderful personality.  Each day, you find something new to do and I am so amazed by how much you've changed since the day you were born.  You are very much a toddler; I can hardly call you a baby anymore!  I know you'll be walking on your own before we know it!  You have a magnificent demeanor and you can always find something to laugh at.  You are proud of yourself and the new things you learn to do.  You are always seeking ways to do something new and exciting.  It is such a joy to watch you learn each day. 

Here are some of your stats:

Sizes:  Still in size 4 diapers.  Wearing 18-month onesies and 12-month pants or shorts. 

Drink:  You take four bottles a day: breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and bedtime (shortly after dinner).  You take sippy cups of water and/or unsweetened fruit juice made for toddlers.

Eat:  You eat baby oatmeal for breakfast, fruit for lunch, meat/veggie and a baby yogurt for dinner.  For snack, you can have baby cookies or cut up fruit or Nutri-grain bar, or pieces of biscuit or banana bread.  Even if you've eaten and had a bottle within the last 5 minutes, you still think you should be able to eat anything that your Daddy and I have on our plates.  You will crawl up to us, pull yourself to stand, and stand up beside us with your mouth wide open like a baby bird!  You're too cute for us to ignore, which means that you've been able to try some "grown up" food this past month to include:  a tiny bite of chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream, grain of rice, cheese sauce from mac and cheese, tiny bite of egg drop soup broth, juice from a clementine wedge, etc. 

Sick:  This month we've traveled back to our doctor to check out a cyst on your eye-lid.  You are almost done with a 10-day dose of oral antibiotic (orange flavored, which you love), and an eye ointment (of which you're not quite a fan).  The positive side of going to the doctor's office is that you got to be weighed.  You currently weigh exactly 22 pounds. 

Milestones:

• You clapped your hands!  Now, when I hold up one finger and say "One!" you clap your hands.  Whenever you randomly stop what you're doing to clap, we say "yay!" which makes you clap more.  When you get excited about something, you'll pause to clap your hands. This is the sweetest thing to watch!  Your daddy will say in a sing-song voice "Michael likes to clap his hands: clap clap clap clap" and you'll clap along to his song. 
• You pet Akuna!  You LOVE to sit down beside Akuna and give him a belly rub.  I remind you to be gentle by saying "Gentle gentle; nice nice,"  which makes you laugh and clap your hands.  You think you are such a big boy when you can pet Akuna and Akuna just soaks it up!  We love watching you interact with your sweet puppy.

 

 

I love being your Mommy!   You are such an adorable, precious boy and your Daddy and I are very blessed.

Love you forever, 

Love, Mommy

A New Addition

Aaron and I have always enjoyed the age gap between us and our siblings.  Being born in years close together, we have both really formed good bonds with our brothers.  Aaron and his brother, Andrew, are 18 months apart.  My older brother, Keith, and I are 17 months apart.  And my younger brother, Bryan, and I are 26 months apart.  Aaron and I knew we wanted to have children close together in order for them to be able to create a bond like we had with our brothers. 

Well, ta-da!  We are expecting our 2nd baby!  We found out a few days before Mother's Day that Little Baby P. 2 was on the way!  We are so thrilled and are so excited to begin another pregnancy journey!  Michael will be about 16 and a half months when Little Baby P. 2 arrives, so their age gap will be perfect and I hope they will form a strong bond as they grow up together!

I've heard it said that the first child usually gets his or her baby book filled out completely, and that the 2nd child might get a few pages filled in, and the 3rd child etc. might only get their name in the book!  :)  I am going to try my absolute hardest to fill out every baby book for each of my little kiddles.  I am also going to try my absolute hardest to provide weekly updates during this pregnancy.  Due to the time contraints of caring for a wiggly, mobile, and at times very loud little boy, I will most likely update the blog on Friday nights or Saturday mornings.

This week, we reached the 14-Week mark and are starting our 2nd trimester!!! Yay!  I look forward to the 2nd trimester because it brings the hope of more energized days and less nausea.  During the pregnancy with Michael, I didn't notice a significant change in fatigue levels during any of the trimesters.  I have been sooooo tired during this pregnancy that I'm really hoping this trimester brings some energized days.  Although, I will understand if I continue to be tired throughout this pregnancy since Michael takes up most of my free-time and work takes up the rest! 

I made the promise to myself at the beginning of this pregnancy that I was going to savor it and enjoy it.  So often during the pregnancy with Michael, I wished away the days.  I was constantly so ready to have my baby in my arms!!! When August 2012 rolled around and it was finally my turn to have my baby, I couldn't believe that it had actually arrived!  This time, I'm trying to really enjoy the time I have with Michael while he's still an "only child on the outside of the womb."  :)  I'm also trying to savor the pregnancy and enjoy all the milestones that come with it.  It's fun to read about Baby 2's development and remember how I felt at that time during my first pregnancy.  And now that I know what baby kicks feel like, there have been a couple days when I've even thought that I've felt this baby kick!  It's fun to think about what life will be life when this baby arrives.  I know that January will be here before I know it, so I'm trying to soak up all of the memories to be made in the meantime.  Also, BIG HUGE BLESSING, Michael has been sleeping through the night for about a month!  So, I've been able to get some really great nights of sleep and I'm focused on enjoying those nights before the new baby comes and brings me back into the middle of the night feedings and diaper changes.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on this journey! 

Much love, Reba

10 Months Old!

Dear Michael,

Today, you are 10 months old!  I can't believe that we will be celebrating your very first birthday in just 2 short months! I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head for how to make your first birthday a fantastically fun one! 

You get cuter every single day and your Daddy and I absolutely LOVE being your parents!  

Here are your "stats":

Sizes: 

• Clothes: Size 18-month onesies because your torso is so long!  Your waist is still small and you could probably wear 9-month and 12-month pants, but it's Alabama and summertime, and it's HOT.  So most of the time you spend your days in a onesie--and sometimes with some shorts on. 
• Diapers: Size 4.  Costco brand during the day, and Huggies Overnights at nighttime (LOVE these!)

Sleeping: You go to bed between 7 and 7:30pm, and you sleep til around 5:30am when Daddy or I give you a 4-oz bottle.  Then you go back to sleep until anywhere from 6:30 to 8:00am.  You usually take a short morning nap (less than an hour) and a longer afternoon nap.  Most of the time, you'll also take an evening nap that can last from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. 

Milestones and Funny Things:

• standing on your own for a few seconds at a time
• Your comprehensive skills blow me away!  If you start to crawl into the kitchen and we say "Michael, stay in the living room," you will turn around and crawl back into the living room! 
• If we ask you "What does Akuna say?" you will pant like a puppy. :)
• You can switch your toys from hand to hand and bang them together. 
• You like to participate in yelling matches to make sure you can be the loudest!
• You will belt out "ahhhh" in church when we sing loud songs-- you like to join in!
• You can reach the switch to turn your ceiling fan on and off and your Daddy and I will hear you flick the switch up and down if you're refusing to take a nap

Favorite Toys:

• x-box controller (without the batteries in it)
• TV remote control (without the batteries in it)
• little plastic toy car
• Baby Einstein's Activity Balls
• Baby Einstein's piano
• Winnie the Pooh laptop
• walkers

Your favorite sleep item and comfort item is what we call your "Mommy-blankie"-- a cloth diaper that you hold up to your face with one hand while you suck your thumb with your other hand.  Even if you are actively playing in the living room, when you catch a glimpse of your "Mommy-blankie" you will pause what you are doing, pick up the blanket, and suck your thumb!

Here are some photos:

You are pleased with yourself for kicking off a shoe:

 

 

Your latest attitude expression:

Sitting up so big and tall and holding your favorite "Baby Einstein's Activity Ball":

 

 

Visiting Grampa Bill and Grandma Dana and Uncle Bryan at the campground on Memorial Day:

Playing with water on your high-chair tray at Grandma Chips' house:

You are such a joy!!! And we love you so much!!!!

Love, Mommy