Second Time Around

I am in my 27th week in pregnancy, and it is unbelievable how quickly the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday we were telling our family we were pregnant and now each day I am feeling more pregnant (aka larger) and more anxious to meet this new little one.

This pregnancy has been different from Charly. Since my eighth week of pregnancy I have gone two weeks in a row without throwing up...every other week I am usually sick, and it is almost always on a Tuesday! I have less cravings. The only things I have craved are iced tea, apples, apple juice, tomato soup, and chips on cheese sandwiches. I have been more tired but that might be due to appeasing and soaking up every single morsel of our 21 month old. I am carrying the baby lower, but this baby is in a different position than Charly was. This baby also moves and kicks twice as much as Charly did. She was a little swimmer and this one is a little fighter!

However there are some similarities. I have terrible heartburn just like the first time around. I just started getting leg cramps, and they bring me back to the sleepless nights I shared while I was pregnant with Charly. All of these similarities and differences can only mean one thing...we are having another baby!!!!! Another little bundle to love and cherish and create a lifetime of memories with.

As I was sitting on the couch with Charly nestled up to my side, rubbing my hand, watching Curious George, A Very Monkey Christmas, I couldn't help but get sentimental. I have always dreamed about cuddling up with my children and watching Christmas movies together. Now knowing what that feels like, it is absolutely amazing. And the best thing about it is that I get to this all over again with our second baby. All of the "firsts" I get to relive, each new month I get to experience all over again, and uncover this baby's personality each day.

 

Maybe I am also getting anxious about meeting this baby because I see Charly growing older each day. She now can point out certain letters of the alphabet, she can count ("1, 1, 1, 1"), she knows all of her colors, she does the "Itsy Bitsy Spider", she repeats parts of books, she knows how to run the iPad, when I light a candle she wants to sing "Happy Birthday", she likes to clean and pick up her toys, she wants to drink from a cup and not a sippy cup, she picks up pizza to eat it instead of getting cut into bite size pieces, she gets snacks out of the cupboard when she is hungry, when she sees a heart she pats her chest and says "beep, beep", she says a lot of three word phrases...our favorite "There he (she) (it) is" and "Where'd it go", and she sleeps in a big girl bed. But the reason she seems so grown up is because I keep picturing her as a big sister. Each day Charly shows me how loving and caring she is going to be to her baby brother or sister. She rocks and pats her stuffed animals. She puts them to sleep in her bedroom and gives them her pacifier as she quietly and sweetly tells them good night. She covers her animals with her blanket, so they are tucked in just right. She kisses my belly and wants to watch the DVD of our baby every night. I can't wait to see Charly take on the role of a big sister. I am going to have one helpful hand with this new baby.

Life will be busy with a second baby, but we will have twice as much love in this family, and we all can't wait!

30

Well this is the 12th birthday we have celebrated together as a couple! It is amazing how 12 short years ago you were turning 18, and we were planning our future together and imagining our lives at the age of 30. Well here we are, and I couldn't have mapped it out any better! We have a happy home, a beautiful little girl, and another miracle waiting to meet us. I can 't wait to start this next chapter in our lives! Here's to our 30's...may these be the best years ahead of us!

Thanks for always being our rock, putting our family first, enjoying the simple things in life, being an honest man, always having a smile on your face, never pointing out my faults, being an involved dad and a nurturing husband. You are amazing and I am honored to be your wife!

Happy Birthday!

Watch Me Read the Book!

Mo Willems is a genius. He's this generation's Dr. Seuss. If you've ever read his books Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, or Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, then you know what I mean.

I love children's literature but don't get around to reading much that's out there for early readers. Recently, I was advised to check out Willems' Elephant & Piggie books. I bought a few "for Charly" and became obsessed. They are hilarious. Even Uncle Taylor, a junior in college, laughed out loud when he reached "the twist" of There's a Bird on My Head!

And they're the perfect size for Charly. She loves sitting in her new big-girl bed and flipping the pages. She laughs at Elephant and Piggie's hijinks on each and every page and sometimes we wonder if she actually is following what's going on in each story.

Reading books has become Charly's favorite thing to do. Drawing and coloring ranks not too far behind. I think she's going to have a creative soul. Both being teachers, Kelli and I couldn't be more excited to watch her begin learning new things through books and expressing herself in creative ways like drawing.