16 months

This past Friday my baby turned 16 months and my hubby had a birthday too!!

To celebrate, we went to the Baton Rouge Festival of Lights downtown and enjoyed walking around, listening to live Christmas music, and touring some places decked out for Christmas.

Some Stats:

Hair: Blonde with hints of strawberry
Eyes: Hazel

Favorite Toy:
Food: Bread and fruit! I'm having to ration out the bread so he'll eat more nutritious parts of his meals.

Clothes: 18 months. Packed up the 12 month clothes last week
Diapers: This week we're using the last of the 4s and then it's on to size 5!
Sleep: Sleeping through the night.
Teeth: 4 on bottom, 2 on top, 2 molars breaking through on bottom, and 1 on top.

New Skills: Saying more animal sounds! Or at least animal names. Before he's only say quack for all animals. Now he is saying Og for all dogs, and Baa for sheep. Sometimes he'll say moo for cows as well.

Favorites: Dancing while squatting and grunting. It's hilarious!

It's a....

Baby!! We're not finding out this time, so it's a surprise for everyone!

 And I'm half way through!

This week marks 20 weeks of pregnancy with baby #2! It's crazy how quickly this time has passed.
Baby #2 is right on track and looks perfectly healthy!

I lost a little bit of weight, so I'm up a pound from pre-pregnancy weight.  I'd say about half of my wardrobe is maternity now. My maternity jeans are more comfortable but keep sliding down. As long as my shirts are long enough they're fine and don't need to be maternity.  I'm sleeping pretty good and started feeling the baby really kick last week. Since about 12  I've felt flutters(much earlier than with Conall), but got some good strong movement this last week. 

Even though we aren't finding out the gender this time, I'm pretty convinced baby's a girl. This pregnancy has been so different and I've had all the midwife tales for a girl this time around: super nauseous, bad skin, wanted more sweet things to eat, color of urine, and super hormonal. Last time all the signs pointed to a boy and they were right! So we'll see. I'll be happy either way... but a little girl would be great :)

Baby #2 at 20 weeks

With Conall at 20 weeks

Here are some pics comparing my two pregnancies.

15 months

Eating a special Halloween donut treat

Conall is 15 months old, and I love watching my sweet boy learn new things every day. He is so curious and increasingly more independent. Looking back at pictures from last holiday season, it's amazing to see how much he's grown in about a year!

Some Stats:

Height: 30.75 " (25-50%)
Weight: 23.1lb  (25-50%)
Hair: Blonde with hints of strawberry
Eyes: Hazel

Favorite Toy: Maybe his toy guitar. He loves to carry it around making it play music while he sings  along. Cutest. Thing. Ever.

Food: Bread. He's a carboholic. But he'll eat other, nutritious, food too. He loves fruit, especially bananas.

Clothes: Still mostly 18, some 12 in shirts/pjs. 18 is slightly big
Diapers: 4

Playing Peek a Boo

Singing

Sleep: Mostly through the night. We had a period of time last week where he'd wake up crying hysterically, so I'd bring him to bed with us. Then that got to be a habit and we had to break it so we'd both sleep better.

Teeth: 4 on bottom, 2 on top, although he is about to cut his 1 year molars

New Skills: Singing. He LOVES music and will sing along with his musical toys, music we listen to, or music on tv. He's totally my kid cause I was quite the singer/performer when I was little...still am :)

Favorites: Being independent, walking everywhere if allowed, singing, giving hugs, playing with his toys on our new floor!

16 weeks and 14.3 months

 Shortly before Conall's first birthday party I noticed some symptoms that I had when I was pregnant with him, and took a test... SURPRISE! #2 is coming beginning of April!  While we definitely wanted another baby, the timing was less than ideal. I had JUST signed up for a half marathon (which I can defer to 2016) and I was just finally feeling the fittest I'd been, in a long time (if not ever).   But the weeks before the surprise came I'd been reading through the books of Psalms/Proverbs and kept coming back to the theme of whole-heartedly trusting God. At the time I thought it was in reference to just a general sense of what to do and his purpose. Little did I know he meant in this!  So while we maybe didn't plan for this to happen at this time, I 100% believe that this was God's plan. And we're excited!

Currently I am 16 weeks pregnant, just into my second trimester. And wow is this pregnancy nothing like with Conall. With him I felt a little nauseous for a couple of weeks, had a horrible four day bout of sickness with the flu and then felt great the rest of the pregnancy.  This little munchkin is making me feel nauseous most of the time, up until recently where it's randomly now. I fortunately haven't actually thrown up (although there have been gagging moments) but I just wont eat or drink. I think it was all the throwing up I did with Conall and the flu that has me determined to keep it down. I'm also prone to dizziness and headaches. But it could be a lot worse and I'm thankful that everything appears to be healthy now. I've already started feeling the baby move, a little flutters early on around week 12ish and then more consistent flutters around week 15. No big kicks yet, but baby is small. We're also not finding out the gender this time, but my gut feeling says 90% sure it's a girl. We'll be happy either way.

My first baby is 14.3 months old!
Conall is walking everywhere and is constantly learning. He loves learning new words (asking what it is and then repeating the word) and he LOVES being outside.

Weight:  Heavy :)
Length: tall
Hair: Blonde with hints of strawberry blonde
Eyes: Hazel, bluish gray brown
Favorite toy: He's really enjoying his mega blocks. And he makes any object into a phone and pretends to talk on it. He also loves rubber duckies and brings them to us saying, "Ucky! Ack Ack!" or... Ducky! Quack, quack!
Food: He loves bread and fruit. But he also like to eat jambalaya (a true Louisianan), potatoes, chicken, pizza, and more
Clothes: Mostly size 18, but some 12s. The size 12 pants are short though
Diapers: Still a size 4. I have a feeling if I buy a big box of size 4s he'll immediately grow out of them.
Sleep: Sleeping through the  night!! Regardless of how much sleep he did or did not get, or when we put him to bed, he consistently wakes up at 7ish
Teeth: 4 on bottom, 2 on top
New skills: very good at walking everywhere, talking more and more, and trying to be more and more independent (feeding himself, or throwing a fit if he doesn't get to feed himself)

Favorites: Being outside, being independent, reading books, bath time, trying to love on the dogs, playing with Daddy.

Catching up

Wow, I'm not doing so good at keeping this thing updated! It's been about 2 months since the last post and a lot has happened!

August

My baby turned 1 on August 5!! It's crazy to think he's a toddler now! We had a big monster bash party for him and many of our wonderful friends came to celebrate with us. I went a little overboard with the theme, but it was fun (and he only turns 1 once!).

Conall got a lot of toys, books, and clothes but wasn't the biggest fan of opening up the presents. He wanted to play with each thing he got and became frustrated when I would make him move on to the next present.  We had the cutest monster cake for Conall and he was completely uninterested in eating it, it was way more fun to play with!
Overall it was a really fun time and he had a blast! Thank you to all who were able to take part in celebrating his birthday!

The week after his party Jordan's parents (Poppy and Dorie) and sister came for a visit. Conall loved playing with them and getting all their love and attention. It was a short visit, but a fun one! At the end of August we visited them and spent a little more time together. Conall was just starting to take a step or two. He loved torturing loving on their dog Aida. She is a sweet dog that will literally let Conall do anything to her. Our dogs at home love Conall, but would rather not have him tug at them or attack them (out of love, of course).

September

This month has really flown by!  Our mommy/play groups started back up this month which has provided some much needed structure for our weekly plans.

 

Conall has also started walking! It's taken a few weeks but he's pretty good at it now! He' mostly walking everywhere, but will occasionally crawl too. His nickname at the gym nursery is Conall the Destroyer, because he gets into everything, all the time! And it's true. He's just recently really begun to climb up things (such as the fireplace) and really keeps us on our toes.

Family Fun Part 1!

He's a rock star already

The end of July/beginning of August is super busy with family visits and my sweet little baby's BIRTHDAY party. Oh my. How can he be almost one?!

Anyways... Last week my parents (Mimi and Grandfather to Conall) came to visit. We had a great time, and Conall loved all of their attention. He is such a happy and loving baby, and he showers his love on his family, even if he doesn't get to see them that often.  During their stay we went to Avery Island where Tabasco is made, which was a first for us.  Every time my parents visit (or at least in summer when there's not much to do cause it's so stinkin hot) we visit the Tanger Outlet Mall in Gonzales. Conall also got to show off his splashing skills in his baby pool that Dorie got him. We had a great time and look forward to not only his birthday party but Jordan's family (Dorie, Poppy, and Aunt Sarah) coming the next weekend. We're busy, busy!

 

Tabasco peppers

Pretty Buddhist shrine on Jungle Grounds Walk

Conall and Daddy playing with the new toys Mimi and Grandfather got him

I might be a bit crazy (a fitness update)!

I've set myself a new GIGANTIC goal-more than just a 10k (which to me is already is a big goal). For my birthday I bought tickets to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Catch that? HALF MARATHON. 
I might be a little crazy.  It's not until February, so I have a long time to train, thank goodness. Last night after I bought the tickets, I ran 3 miles and it was the hardest 3 miles I've ran in a long time. It was all a mental block- how am I going to be able to run 13.1 miles if I can barely run 3??!?!?!  But I have time. And I'll have Jordan running besides me and Disney characters throughout the course to encourage me on.   So I'll probably do more updates about my preparing for this humungous goal. 

This will be me in February!! Well, not quite- I'm definitely not going to be the first one to finish!

But anyways, here are a few stats:

In 10 months I've:

• lost 25.4 pounds
• lost 0.5" around my neck
• lost 1" on my arm
• lost 5.4" around my waist
• lost 5.2" on my hips
• lost 3.2" on my thigh
• lost approximately 5.1% body fat

In addition to that I'm also the strongest I've ever been. I'm strength training three days a week and cardio (running) three days a week. From about February to June I had an off and on again relationship with running. I had nothing really to train for except two 5ks in April and May. So at the end of June I decided to push myself further and train for a 10k. I'm only three weeks into my training, but I've run 3 miles a couple of times now- a feat which I could never have done any other time in my life. I've ALWAYS hated running and could barely do the two laps around the football field in band during high school. I'm still not fast and not in love with the sport, but I do love pushing myself and seeing my body rise to the challenge. I love meeting a goal, and pushing myself to the max to make that goal. So maybe if I'd been better about running the first half of this year, my stats would be a bit different.     

For the first time in a long time, I feel comfortable wearing shorts or being in my bathing suit. My legs are leaning out and I'm more confident in my body mainly because I'm working it hard. If I don't work out for a few days I start to feel lethargic and frumpy. I need to release some energy and have some mommy time apart from Conall (he loves the gym nursery).

I'm not writing this to brag, because A)I'm nowhere near perfect or at my goal weight/fitness level and B)who wants to read a post of someone bragging on themselves? Not me. When I get frustrated with trying to stay healthy, because I'm sure it will happen, I can come here and remind myself of these accomplishments. If I can do this, anyone can. Seriously!

11 months

One more month and my baby will be a year old! Well actually less than a month cause I'm a little late in writing this.

Some quick stats:

Weight: 21lbs
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair: blonde and a lot of it!

Favorite toy: his little car (and his big car too), pretty much anything he can push, especially with wheels.

Food: He's pretty much mainly eating table foods now. For breakfasts he loves pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, mashed bananas. For lunch he likes string cheese, lunch meat, avocado, fruit/veggie puree, crackers, etc. And for dinner he likes chicken, fish, pasta, pizza, sweet potato, mashed potato, broccoli, asparagus and more! Some days he will be picky with eating and only want one type of food, and other days he'll eat anything.

Clothes: Size 12 and a few size 18 (but just in pjs since we have limited size 12 pjs)

Diapers: solid size 4

Sleep: Mostly better. He'll have exceptions with teething or growing but right now it's waking up once a night usually around 11 or so. We're also transitioning to one nap a day. I'm not so excited about that- for some reason I thought toddlers slept through 2 naps a day. Sad reality. 

 Teeth: He is VERY SLOWLY getting his top front teeth in. This is taking forever!

New skills: confidently walking around anything and everything. Opening any drawers and cabinets (that he can) and taking everything out in them. Taking everything off his bookshelf. He used to wave at people with a floppy arm, and now it actually looks like he's waving! He has also started pointing at things.

Words: He talks all the time but the only words he can say are mama, dada (which he says all the time) and baba, which I think might be Piper... not sure.

New experiences: Although not NEW, he went to the beach again, flew to Tulsa on an airplane, and swam in a pool. He went to his first wedding and was only minimally loud. From our trip to Pensacola he got hand, foot, and mouth disease, which could not have been worse for timing. He also got promoted at the church nursery to the toddler class because he's much too active for the baby class now. 

Favorites: Honestly his favorite thing is to get into anything and everything he can. He LOVES water and playing in any water he can (dog bowl, toilet bowl, tub). He still loves his dogs and loves to feed them his food, he thinks that's great (me, not so much). Conall loves to read his books!