20 wk/5 day Appt

Baby. Is. PERFECT! And so adorable. ;-) During the u/s, the baby was wiggling all over, kicking it's legs, swinging it's arms and scratching it's face. It was such a fun thing to watch. The baby looks healthy, all the measurements were pretty much dead on. Baby is about 12 oz and had a heart rate of 154 bpm. Baby is even head-down, which I know means pretty much nothing at this point but it was the first time I had a baby in that position, lol! I'm up exactly 10 lbs and my blood pressure was great for once. So, for all of this, I am so thankful! Here are some photos of our sweet little pumpkin....(sorry, sex is still a surprise!)

A week to be thankful.

I was hoping to post daily this week about what in life I'm thankful for (like I could even scratch the surface on that one). I wanted to start posting yesterday but it was a busy/eventful/sad day. It was my mom's birthday so me and the girls wanted to take her to lunch and just hang off since she had off work. Then I started having a crazy rapid heart rate that lasted about 20 minutes. This made me nervous even though I've experienced episodes like this before b/c I've never had it happen longer than a minute or two. So I ended up with an appointment at my doctor's and hopefully we will get to the bottom of this, one way or the other.

Enough about that.

The evening got worse when it was time to take my sweet Belle to the vets. I'm not sure I even remember the drive there or home. It was horrible. It doesn't seem like she's really gone. Except when I went into the basement this morning to do laundry and no one was there to greet me with a "meow" that can only be interpreted as, "Hello, mother. Now, feed me!". I will be able to pick up her ashes next week and I imagine that will certainly make it more real.

Today I have my 20 week check-up and ultrasound. It's hard to get that excited about it since I'm feeling so crappy and down. Hopefully once I see the little bugger, my mood will improve. I already know I'm up to 138 lbs because of my appt yesterday, a total gain so far of 10 lbs by the half-way point of my pregnancy. I don't think that's too bad. I'll update once I get home.

So, anyway, what I'm thankful for....the many fond years with my kitty!

We are putting our cat, Belle, to sleep on Monday. She's been sick with Feline Leukemia ever since we found her, when she was just a kitten. Six years later, she lived longer than the Vet suggested she might, so we are thankful for that. But over the last two years, we've seen increasing symptoms of her illness. Over the last few months, it's gotten worse than ever, including seizures, pooping all over the house and pulling out huge clumps of hair. Unfortunately, at this point, it is not within our financial means to take her to endless Vet appointments for testing and medication. It's still painful to give up on her but we really have no choice.

It's also the only source of conflict between Kevin and I. He obviously has cat duties because of my pregnancy so he's the one cleaning five piles of diarrhea off the floor every morning (which is why Belle spends her days in the basement...what kind of life is that?). I feel horrible for him, but at the same time, I didn't want to face what I knew was happening to her. I can't remember one argument we had in the last year that wasn't related to the cat somehow.

Anyway, I explained to Rylee that Belle has a serious disease and the vets will be keeping her because we can no longer care for her. I didn't actually tell her Belle will die because what difference does it make? She understands that she won't be coming home again and that's all that matters, I guess. Kevin offered to be the one to take her and said he would stay with her, if that's what I wanted. I certainly don't want her to be alone and it really should be me, but I don't think I could handle it. Pretty crappy excuse so hopefully I find a way to suck and up and be there for her.

Did I mention?

My house is decorated for Christmas?? Last weekend, Kevin went to Pittsburgh to watch Notre Dame lose play so I took it upon myself to drag up the boxes of decorations from the basement (this turned out to be a bad idea upon waking up the next morning...ouch!). My little elves had a blast stringing up the lights as we blared A Charlie Brown Christmas cd! All we need is to hang the wreaths on the windows and get a tree, which we will most likely get the day after Thanksgiving...we always get a real one and it's so fun to take the girls out and let them pick the one they think is perfect. And I just LOVE the smell!

Ok, who wants to see a real baby belly this time??

I even have a popped out belly button already, lol! I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow, and over the last week or so, I've definitely grown rather quickly. I always seem to expand around this point of a pregnancy and then level off for a while. Hopefully this trend continues b/c I am not ready for an enormous belly yet. Especially while chasing/carrying Maddie (but somehow I managed this last time around, lol). I am loving the belly though and really loving the little kicks and movements going on in there..ahh! Pregnancy rocks. Nuff said.


See my secret to wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans while pregnant? That little button contraption that I purchased during my first pregnancy has been the best investment ever! Although, it was only like $10, lol! It's just amazing I haven't lost it during all this time. Maternity jeans drive me bonkers! They make me feel like peeing every 30 seconds, lol!


My next appt is on Tuesday, less than a week away! I get to see the little bugger since they will be doing the usual 20 week anatomy scan. Hopefully I'll have some fun u/s photos to share next week. Rylee always asks if I'm going to bring home some of "the weird baby pictures of Tail" from the doctor, referring to the u/s shots, lol! And although she's certain Tail is her baby brother, she attempted to purchase an adorable pink sleeper for him at Target the other day...clearly she's confused! She's not the only one. I am getting boy vibes this time around, but I did with Rylee too. But maybe since I'm more experienced in gender guessing now (I was right with Madge!), I'm on the right track (or not, lol). Either way, I can't wait!!!

Miss Moo's Christmas Eve outfit....

Help. Me.

I'm fairly certain my angelic little Maddie has been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a defiant child who can easily function on little to no sleep, no matter what the costs to her parents. I seriously do not recognize this girl, at all.

Since her birth, Maddie has been the type of sleeper that new moms love to brag about. When I wanted her to sleep, she slept, no questions asked, no cries of protest. She would wake to nurse for a few minutes then back to sleep she went without so much as a sigh.

Of course, I credited this all to my fabulous parenting skills...the bed-time routine I kept for her (that I never did for my piss-poor sleeper, Ry), the way I put her to bed at the same time every night...certainly I was responsible for molding this child's laid-back personality and sleeping style. Right? Right???

The change in Madge's sleeping habits seemed to coincide with the time change. So I figured she needed a couple days to adjust to everything and we would be back to normal in no time. So far, that is not the case.

She will not go to bed at night. And, honestly, she doesn't even seem tired like she used to. It's an odd thing. So we fight and we struggle until eventually she gives in. I must admit, night-time goes much better than nap-time. Just thinking about it gives me a headache....

It has been exactly one hour since I put Mad in her crib for a nap. She is still screaming at the top of her lungs for mommy, daddy, Rylee, the mailman...anyone who will rescue her from the hell that is nap-time. She will stop at nothing to get out of napping, and I mean nothing. Usually this involves tossing her beloved "Pwil" or her cup out of her crib so I will come up and give it back to her, in-turn opening an opportunity for her to beg me to let her come downstairs. I leave the room only for her to undress, remove her diaper and toss it out of the crib. Today, she took this a step further, and after removing two diapers, she pooped on her comforter. Oh. My. Gawd.

The only thing I can do is keep her in her crib until she gives in and naps. But her 3-4 hour naps have now shortened to 1-2 hours, if I'm lucky. So not only is she expending all this energy fighting me, she's sleeping less, robbing her body of the rest it really needs (especially this time of year).

It's frustrating and exhausting, especially considering I'm pooped by the afternoon and just want to rest for an hour myself! Wait, silence, could it be? Whew.

First Family Shoot!

I've had such a fun year so far "practicing" on all the wonderful people who allowed me to. I can't believe it's been almost a year since purchasing my D200 and starting on this journey to teach myself photography. It's been great and frustrating all at once. I'm just glad to have at least some "real world" experience now. Although I need much more!

My SIL mentioned her brother wanted to have some shots of their kids done and maybe a couple family shots. I've shied away from family stuff because I don't know anything about posing adults. But they didn't expect much so it worked out fine, lol!

Just wanted to share some of my favorites:

*added settings* ISO 200 and varying SS

f/4.0

f/2.5

f/3.5

f/3.2

f/3.2

f/3.5

f/2.2

f/2.2

f/3.5

A Rylee-shoot.

18 Weeks and a little something for me.

Just about half-way there already! I'm feeling really good, just excruciating hip-pain after a day in the life, lol! I don't mind waddling...things could always be worse. I'm starting to get a belly which is really fun. Maybe now my butt will take a hint and stop expanding.

Anyway...

I still don't feel movement but I know it will happen very soon which is very exciting. My next appt is on November 24th at which time I will get to have another u/s. At this point, Kevin we have decided to not find out the sex. Let's hope we can be strong!

I also splurged a teeny tiny little bit and bought some new (maternity) clothes. I don't know if I mentioned this but, over the summer, I accidentally donated 95% of my winter wardrobe. I was cleaning out the attic and had a bunch of black trash bags filled with things and clothes we didn't use or need. Unfortunately, the bag I stuffed my winter clothing in when I packed it away ended up in the pile of stuff Kev took to donate. I didn't realize what had happened until months later. The good news is, I never packed any of my jeans away so I at least had every pair safe and sound. It still makes me sick to think about it. We don't have much extra spending money, especially this time of year, with the holidays, the girls' birthdays, heating costs, etc....so I wasn't sure how I was going to replace my stuff. And with the pregnancy, I don't want to buy too much b/c who knows what size I'll be wearing. I still fit all my regular jeans at this point with relative ease. Most I can't button, some I can. I just wear a belly band and call it a day.

So here's my 18 week belly shot, taken today in some of my new stuff...thermal top, skinny jeans (if there is such a thing for pregnant women, lol) and my new Emu boots! And, yes, I intentionally covered my face, lol!

Rylee <3

She's been neglected in my posts lately because, well, she really wants nothing to do with my camera and I don't find her doing the cute and adorable things that Maddie does, lol! I swear she's three going on thirteen but it's kinda nice to have her that way...she's so mature and helpful. She also thinks the new baby is her responsibility and had a complete meltdown at the suggestion of me putting the baby in a any room other than hers. Maybe I'll take her up on that come 3am! We play endless games of "baby" where she forces me to stick a baby doll in my shirt and give birth, at which point she takes over as sole care-taker, changing diapers, giving baths, bringing baby to me to nurse...all the while, I lie motionless on her bed taking full advantage of how draining delivery can be. Ok, totally just an excuse for me to rest and be LAZY while she plays happily. Great plan though, eh?

Anyway, my post about Maddie growing up got me thinking that I don't think that much about Rylee getting older. Maybe because she already seems so old? (I mean, not only does she act older, but she looks older than she is...someone thought she was six the other day, lol!) But then it hit me. In two months she will turn 4. She will most likely be going to preschool next year. Sure it would only be three days a week for a few hours but she would be leaving me for the first time ever. EEK! How odd that will feel. For her and me.

For now, I'm trying to enjoy the time I have with just them because I know how quickly it will change (even though it feels like forever sometimes). Love you, Ry!