Surprise surprise!

Elise is going to be a big "tister"!

*Sorry, this post is way out of order but if I try to cut stuff and paste it in a new location, it disappears... weird. I uploaded all the pictures last week and I don't have time to edit it so I'm just going to post it like this. Maybe I'll go back and fix it later, maybe not :)

11ish (edited: 12 weeks) weeks at our photo shoot with Melody Clampet (www.melodycphotography.com)

9 weeks with Elise (at starting weight)

9ish (edited: actually 10 weeks) weeks with baby #2 (Yes, I am a nerd and put on the same outfit to take this picture! I had lost 5 lbs at this point. Belly is already protruding (albeit slightly)!)

Positive test!

Pics from the "You're going to be a big sister!" day (late August)!

"When are you due?"

I am 12ish weeks pregnant and we are guessing that my due date will be in the second week of May. The Army does not schedule initial ultrasounds to date a pregnancy, but with a little begging, I am scheduled for an NT scan on November 8 that should result in a pretty accurate due date. I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat last week at my first appointment and it ranged from 170-179 beats per minute.

"How are you feeling?"

The first trimester has been rough! It is very hard being nauseous and tired while chasing an active toddler around. The nausea was constant from 6-8 weeks and since then, it comes and goes and is generally worse in the evening. I don't have any long-standing aversions (except for nutella, graham crackers, and frappuccinos, yuck!) but I generally have a hard time figuring out what I can/want to eat. Something that was delicious a few days ago is all of a sudden disgusting, and vice versa. After the really bad nausea passed, I was able to continue running a few times a week. Yesterday was the first day that I felt pretty good all day long, so hopefully that will continue!

"Have you gained any weight yet?"

I actually started this pregnancy at the same weight as my pregnancy with Elise. Thanks to the nausea, I've lost about 8 pounds, but I am not sure where it has come off from! My lower abdomen is definitely rounding out but I can still comfortably wear (and button!) all of my jeans. We'll see how long that lasts! Ha! I will take another picture at 13 weeks/3 months.

"Who made Elise's adorable shirt?"

I asked my friend Shannon over at Jelby's to make this for a friend of mine... and when she finished it and gave it to me, I knew that I had to keep it for Elise to wear. Sneaky, I know :) Hopefully it still fits her in May!

"Where did you get the pregnancy test from?"

Ok, so this is kind of weird but I think it might benefit some of you so I want to pass along a little secret! You can buy really cheap pregnancy tests online from amazon.com... and they work BETTER than the more expensive tests that you buy in a store! I ordered a bunch of them and tested randomly in the afternoon one day because I was feeling "weird". I was planning to wait a few more days before taking a test. Well, the cheap strip (that you dip in a cup) showed a definite positive. Just to make sure, I ran out and bought a box of First Response Early Result tests from Walmart and stuck it in the same cup and it was negative. So, if you are trying to get pregnant, save yourself some money and order the cheap tests online! If you really want to know the specific brand I used, I can probably look it up for you.

The next two weeks are jam-packed with visiting grad schools, packing, moving, and celebrating Thanksgiving early with our families. I am very thankful that I am feeling better and should actually enjoy eating at our upcoming Thanksgiving dinners. I will try to check in once with a 13 week picture and an ultrasound picture from the NT scan. Happy Halloween!

Picture sneak peek!

We had our family pictures taken by Melody Clampet last weekend (http://www.melodycphotography.com/index2.php) and they turned out great! She did a wonderful job of chasing Elise around. Here is our sneak peek! I wanted to get the pictures taken in the fall instead of around her birthday so that we could use them for Christmas cards and take them outside. Thanks, Melody!

Here is the link to the sneak peek:
http://www.melodyclampet.blogspot.com/

21 months

*For some reason, when I try to cut and paste, it will cut but not paste... so the pictures and text are a little out of order. I've also realized that for some reason, the edited versions are showing up on my computer but not after I upload them... weird things are going on. Sorry!

Tea party with Gram and Grandpa

Walking at the zoo

Halloween preview: I was cheap and decided to use her ladybug pajamas with a cute ladybug bow (all of her bows are made by Aileen of Lillian Layne Designs). I like the way it turned out and she is very comfortable wearing pajamas.

Playing with Daddy on the swing

Showing off her new hair "trim" (the ladybug, zoo, and tea party pictures were taken before the hair cut)

Visiting with her great grandma

Cuddling with Daddy

I'm actually going to be on time with the monthly update! Elise had a doctor's appointment earlier this week and she measured 35 inches tall (95th %) and 28 lbs (75th %). She has been in those percentiles for height and weight for a long time, and if they stick, she should be at least 5' 10'' as an adult. What a big girl! She wears a 7.5-8 size shoe and 2T/3T clothes. Eating and sleeping habits haven't changed much from last month. She still sleeps 12.5-13 hours at night and takes a 2-3 hour nap. She eats very well and loves her fruits, vegetables, beans, and cheese. She is still reluctant to try "adult" meals (basically, anything that looks like it is combined together) but since she is eating healthy food, I don't mind fixing extra things for her.

She regularly says 4-5 word sentences that begin with a subject and then a verb and then the rest of the sentence. She has an amazing memory and often remembers things from weeks or months ago. She really pays attention to details. She is starting to understand consequences. The other day, she hit Boss with her purses. I told her that it wasn't okay and put her purses on top of the refrigerator. About 30 minutes later, she asked for her purses and...

Me: "Why did mama put your purses on the refrigerator?"

E: "Elise hit Boss."

M: "That's right. We don't hit Boss because it hurts Boss. I will give you the purses back but we don't hit Boss."

E: (walks over to Boss while carrying purses): "Sorry Boss! Sorry Boss!"

Her counting has also developed more this month. She really understands what it means to count something and initiates counting quite frequently. After she is finished counting, she usually keeps saying the numbers until she reaches her limit (right now it is 13, but sometimes she skips 9). She has known uppercase letters, numbers, shapes, and colors for a long time, so now I have decided to teach her lower case letters. I just bought the LeapFrog magnetic word builder and we plan to start using it (a few letters at a time) as soon as I get the upper case letters out of the storage unit. She loves to fasten buckles and she is able to place the correct key in the correct door on her Chicco Animal Cottage. She can easily take her shoes on and off but sometimes puts them on the wrong foot. She is pretty accurate with identifying "left" and "right" body parts. She often says "please ____" and "thank you _____".

She asks for a new diaper every time she pees or poops and rarely gets distracted by anything else until the new diaper is in place. A few weeks ago, she accidentally peed on herself after a bath and freaked out. The girl is TERRIFIED to be diaper-free and insists on getting a new diaper the second she gets out of the bath tub. This should make potty training rather interesting. Anyone have experience with this particular issue?

Mike's change of command ceremony is on Friday (hallelujah!) and then we'll begin a whirlwind two weeks of spending time with friends and family, visiting grad schools, and getting our house packed and moved. Thankfully, the Army does all of that for us and we'll just need to pack the items that we want to drive in the cars. We are closing on our house on November 15 and planning to start the long drive on November 16. Of course, we will miss our friends and family in Central Texas, but we are very very excited about this next stage in our lives. Visitors are always welcome!

Pumpkin patch and other pictures

I have been TERRIBLE about uploading pictures, but here are a few from the last week. I also added a few funny lines at the end. Enjoy!

Here is Elise's first successful attempt with pigtails... she actually left them in until Mike got home. I think she looks so much older.


This is what she does when you ask her to smile.




Boss also likes to play in the playroom with us. He is a much easier subject to photograph.


Here are some pictures from the pumpkin patch. Elise had fun running around for 15 minutes and then wanted to be held the rest of the time. She refused to participate in the group pictures. Thank goodness that I had the Beco baby carrier in the car... otherwise my arms would have been killing me after holding her for an hour.




And this was the last picture I took... little drama queen!


She's been saying some really cute things lately, like "How ya doin mama? I'm great!" She is very interested in the bathroom and follows me in all the time. Our typical bathroom dialogue goes like this:

E: "Mama pee pee potty?"
S: "Yes, Mama is gonig pee pee on the potty."
E: "Mama need new diaper?"
S: "No, Mama doesn't need a new diaper because Mama goes pee pee on the potty. Do you want to go pee pee on the potty?"
E: "No!" (at least this is her response most of the time... occasionally she will want to sit on her potty too but she hasn't done anything on it)

A couple of weeks ago, I walked in to get her after her nap and she said...

E: "Hi mama!"
S: "Hi sweetie, how was your nap?"
E: "Mmm good!"
E: "Big poop! New diaper!"
S: "Okay, let's get a new diaper."
E: (laying down on the floor with her legs in the air) "Big poop! Don't touch it!"
E: (after I changed her diaper) "Tank yooooo mama!"