Great Expectations II: 23 weeks

How Far: 23 weeks

Weight/ Clothes: Looking and feeling very pregnant ...haha... gotta love how it all happens so easily the second time around. Oh muscle memory! I am also however getting a lot of walking in now that the weather is nice and we've started grilling more which makes for healthier dinners with WAY more veggies because I LOVE grilled veggies!

Cravings: nada...I wonder if I'll ever be that pregnant woman who wants pickles and ice cream or some weird combo. Never really happened with Levi and I don't see it happening this time around either.

Gender: There's a funny article going around about being a boy mom...oh the things to look forward to...though most of it I was somewhat already aware of from watching and talking to other boy moms. You just have to embrace the messiness, the love of bugs, dirt and bodily sounds/functions. Thankfully Levi does enjoy bathtime which I'm sure will be come all the more important the dirtier/smellier he gets as he gets older. Hopefully Jellybean loves the bath too! Levi is a pretty good eater...so with two boys I'm sure our grocery list will also be growing in the months and years to come! It is exciting that Levi will have a built in playmate when his brother arrives...though it will take a few months to get there, but I'm sure time will fly like it continues to do and they'll be rough housing before we know it.

Movement: Adam felt the baby kick for the first time this week. Jellybean is rocking and rolling a good bit these days.

Symptoms: Nothing new this week...eye twitch, and heartburn and feeling a little tired since we've been keeping pretty busy.

OH and the big one...HUGE pregnancy brain here...I tried to take Levi to his first music class this week and thought we were right on time at 3:30pm when in reality the class had started at 3pm, so we were locked out. The silly part is it was in my calendar correctly and everything. I was SUPER bummed and emotional over it (may have been teary on and off for the next few hours) because I was really excited to take him. He of course had no idea what we were going to or in the end what we were missing.

Mental State: Just pondering the importance of family this week as we celebrated the life of Adam's grandpa. I am so thankful to be blessed with such a wonderful family. Even though we don't live close by, I am grateful that all the grandparents are willing to travel pretty regularly to see us and be a major part of our boys lives. I also love that we live close enough to New York to visit with my aunts, uncles and cousins there as well as my sister and Chris while they were there the past two years, and that we get to see tons of Adam's family at the cabin every year because I love that our kids will grow up knowing a huge portion of our families. It's always fun to see Levi play with the new generation of cousins and hopefully there'll be some more opportunities this summer when we're visiting Virginia.

While we were in Northern Virginia for the memorial we also had a chance to catch up with a group of our college buddies and meet Madison and Austin, the McCormick twins. It's mind blowing that Levi was once that small and that the new baby will also be tiny as babies tend to be. Levi also had an interesting time with us holding the twins. If I was holding a baby, Levi would want up and if I handed said baby off to Adam then he would switch to wanting him. In fact I got a picture where Levi literally climbed up in Adam's lap while he was holding a baby on the couch. Can we say there was a touch of jealousy?! I wasn't surprised because even in Chicago he'd occasionally get jealous if I was holding James, my Godson. Oh boy...he has not idea what's headed his way. We try to tell him about his brother and the baby in mommy's belly, but at this point he has no concept. I want to tell him to trust me, it'll be his best friend and a built in playmate right here at home soon enough.

Appointment Updates: I have a midwife appointment scheduled for next week. Otherwise nothing new to report.

Best Moment of the Week: My sister announced her pregnancy this week! Can you believe we're expecting at the same time. It's mind blowing and so cool. With our age gap (7 years) I would have never thought we'd be in this same season of life and yet here we are...how cool! She's due in November, so our little Jellybean will have a very close in age cousin, little nugget. We'll see a few weeks from now if we'll be adding another little fellow or little lady to the family mix. I already have shower plans and gift ideas in the works since I've known since she was about 5 weeks along...can you tell I'm a very excited Auntie (or Tati)...wonder what her kiddos will call me?!

Great Expectations II: 22 weeks

How Far: 22 weeks

Weight/ Clothes: Feeling about the same as last week weight wise. Trying to eat plenty of salad and well balanced meals. I also got out for a nice long walk this week with my friend Laura, we estimated it was about 4 miles. I'm trying to keep the walking up now that the weather has warmed up.

I got a really cute polka dot maternity dress from Adam and Levi as my Mother's Day gift. It was super thoughtful because I had shown it to Adam earlier in the week to see if he even liked it. I'm on the look out for a great maternity dress to wear to my cousin's wedding in June. He said it was cute but probably not formal enough for the wedding, so I didn't get it that day. It was so thoughtful of him to get me a dress plus I always like when he surprises me with clothes.

Cravings: Nothing fun to report.

Gender: It's a boy and Adam used the baby's name in my Mother's Day card. I really like the rare times when we use it and it just feels right. That card is hidden away so curious friends and family won't come across the name prematurely.

Movement: I feel the baby every night and occasionally during the day nowadays. It's still pretty subtle and nothing that can be felt externally, but the baby makes his presence known on a regular basis.

Symptoms: Heartburn, eye twitching and the occasional sciatic nerve pain...but nothing really new thankfully. My face had gotten a bit broken out, but it seems to finally be clearing up, phew!

Mental State: Adam was gone for four days doing his Airforce Chaplancy work, which makes for pretty long days for me and Levi since it's just the two of us. I don't know how single parents do it and I so appreciate having my husband to do this whole parenting thing together. We take turns getting up with Levi early in the morning and I love the break I get when Adam gets home from work at the end of the day. He comes home itching to play with Levi and I'm ready for a breather after a busy day keeping Levi out of danger...he likes to climb up on things and doesn't understand the whole time out thing yet. He thinks it's a game of come and get me! Plus I really enjoy the adult interaction which can go missing some days when it's just me and the baby (more like toddler these days). It's got me thinking about how days when he's away for reserve time and the missions trip will become even more interesting when I have both kiddos, but champions adjust, so I'll figure it out and hopefully have time to ease into it as well.

Appointment Updates: No appointments for me this week. Levi did have his 15 month appointment and he only has one more set of vaccines until he's 4! Wow! We'll be done with shots just in time to start over with the new baby.

Best Moment of the Week: Adam surprised me on Friday with a Mother's Day lunch. He asked me if I thought we just weren't going to do anything together since he knew I had lunch plans with friends on the actual Mother's Day. I said I figured we were going to but not until after we'd gotten through the next couple weeks since they are pretty darn busy between his Airforce time and travel to DC for his Grandpa's memorial.

This was such a sweet surprise. He had gotten me flowers, the dress I mentioned earlier and ordered a delicious Thai lunch. My favorite moment from lunch was probably when he asked me what my favorite part about being a mom has been thus far? I thought about it for a minute because there are so many fun moments and I love seeing Levi learn and grow, but right now my favorite thing about being a mom is the special bond I have with Levi...that bond where he comes to me for comfort when he takes a tumble, his baby snuggles and how he loves it when I hold him in my arms quietly singing to him as I rock him to sleep. It's just such a sweet time with my baby boy.

Great Expectations II: 21 weeks

How Far: 21 weeks

Weight/ Clothes: I've felt heavy this week, but the doc said I was right on course with my weight gain and I believe I'm still behind my weight gain with Levi.

I have been enjoying my new maternity items. I had an excuse to  buy a new dress for a 30th birthday cocktail party over the weekend. I really love it and can't wait to wear it some more. The nice thing is it's dressy enough to wear to nicer occasions but casual enough to wear for church. I also got a couple cute pairs of linen maternity pants, a great cotton maxi dress and a few more tees. Thanks Mom for always spoiling me!

Cravings: salad...perhaps because I feel so full after I eat and salads feel lighter.

Gender: It's funny to get people reactions now to the fact that we're having another boy meaning two boys pretty close in age. I pretty much get the feeling that they wish us luck as there'll be a lot of energy to burn as the boys get bigger and of course they'll probably eat us out of house and home. But I also know they'll be great for each other when it comes to being playmates. I know it will be chaotic a lot of the time, but God knows what He's doing.

Movement: Definitely feeling the baby move on the inside each day...mostly at night when I get ready to go to sleep because I'm finally still and the baby isn't being rocked to sleep by my being in motion. My placenta is on the front, so it's still too hard to feel anything from outside. Sorry Adam... hopefully soon.

Symptoms: I've been feeling super full when I eat this week...must mean my stomach is good and squished! Otherwise more of the same...eye twitches, heartburn and the occasional headache.

Mental State: We've left Levi with a baby sitter a couple times in the past few weeks...the gender reveal and our friend's birthday party this week...it was nice to get out for some adults only occasions. I know we need to enjoy these opportunities while we can over the next few months because there will surely be a period after the baby is born when we're limited again and now it's bound to get a little more tricky and expensive getting a babysitter for two kiddos.

Appointment Updates: I had a good appointment with my midwife. She was very pleased with how everything is going and says I'll probably continue to just skate right on through this pregnancy.

Best Moment of the Week: Getting all gussied up for my friend's 30th birthday celebration. I felt super cute in my new dress and even wore dangly earrings since Levi wouldn't be pulling at them all evening. The icing on the cake is that she's expecting too, so there were three different fun mocktails to enjoy at the party, which was truly enjoyed and appreciated by this preggo. We had such a fun time!