Our Wonderful News....

Most of you know now, but just in case...

We are expecting baby number TWO!

(I started this post 2 weeks ago and did not finish, but here you go...)
At week 13, we found out that it is a boy and I was 31 weeks. This pregnancy has been different than with Laela. With Laela, I did not even know until the first trimester was complete. With him, I knew on week 2. Crazy, I know. But trust me...this has been a long, long 7 months. I was tired from the very beginning and I don't know if it was just in my head or due to the fact that I have a 3 year old! I did get sick one morning on the way to school. (Oh thank heavens for Ro. He came to take my car to get washed, and the poor carwash man, probably hated his job that day. Sorry guy!) I was never sick with Laela. The weight gain has been more with baby #2. I know, I know. It is the second, but seriously! It could be worse, so I try not to complain too much. Let me also note that this has been the HOTTEST summer since the Earth started to revolve!

Between you and me...I am a little worried about baby boy. When we first found out, the first thing that popped in my head was..."oh no, he has a little weenie. I don't know about those things." I do know about girls, and bows, and dolls, and painting fingernails. I don't know much about dirt, and trucks, and how things work. I have kinda grown used to it now. Maybe due to the fact that he has BEATEN up my insides and I just know that I have to live with it. Literally, I tell people that I feel like there is a mini carnival in my belly! This baby is so different than Laela. Hmmmm...I hear that boy's love their momma's. Let's hope so, because I just realized that I can not take another strong-willed, fiesty (with a personality just like her momma) Laela Grace. :)

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 31 Weeks
Size of baby: Little over 4 lbs. I found out on that week that he was measuring at 34 weeks. YIKES! Big boy that I am growing this go round!
Maternity Clothes: I wear maternity bottoms but the tops are a mix of maternity and regular.
Gender: It's a boy!!!
Movement: He is VERY active - especially in the afternoon and at night. Much different than Laela. She would move at night, but nothing like this big guy!
Sleep: I am sleeping okay. I toss and turn a lot!
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach!
Cravings: For awhile I was loving La Madeleine chicken caesar salads. Now I will eat most anything.
Best moment this week: Seeing him during the ultrasound appointment this week. I love to watch and see exactly what he is doing in there!

Now...we are up-to-date...
Here I am currently. Obviously, I am not excited about pictures, but I do love to look back at the ones I took when I was pregnant with Laela. Laela was feeling left out and wanted to join, so of course I welcomed her into the picture! Look how she posed...too funny!!!Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 33 Weeks
Size of baby: About 4.5 lbs. I found out last week that my belly is back on track. He may still be big for the number of weeks, but the measurement was just right for the week. YEA! Also, I didn't gain any wait. :)
Maternity Clothes: I wear maternity bottoms but the tops are a mix of maternity and regular.
Gender: It's a boy!!!
Movement: Still crazy in there!
Sleep: I am tired!!! First week back with kids at school and it was exhausting! I had no idea what a big belly will do to you when you teach and are up on your feet all day.
What I miss: Being able to breathe without huffing and puffing. I need to start running again as soon as this big guy is delivered!
Cravings: Nothing. Actually eating less since being at work so much. Plus the heat has really gotten to me these last two weeks.
Best moment this week: Laela kissing my belly good-bye one morning before I left for school.

This summer I was able to work on his room. I did not complete it like I thought I would, but here are a few pictures to get you in the know. It took me forever to choose the fabrics, but once I did...we were good to go! Thanks to Jana for making the bumpers and quilt, as well as advising some of the other room ideas. Thanks to Jana's sister, Emily, for helping with the fabric choices and thanks to Jana's mom for giving her wonderful sewing advice! I will show completed room pictures soon. I just have one more little project, otherwise the room is complete. Here are two art projects that I made. If you look closely at the fabric, there is one with giraffes, so I put a few giraffes in the room. I saw these prints online and I made them into my own! I am absolutely loving the nursery! I love the gray. I love the giraffes. I love the different fabrics. I love it!

Bowling...

I forgot to post about going bowling back in mid-July. We joined The Garcia's (minus Joel) and The Hodges' (minus Will) to have a little fun! Laela absolutely loved it! She used one of the little ramps and did awesome. Laela toted the ball over, count to three and RELEASE! A few times she said it helped to watch it from down low. We need to go bowling more often and Ro will have to join us, because Laela says that she needs to go bowl with her daddy!

(Sorry for the bad picture quality. I used my phone and there was a lot of movement! Better than nothing.)

San Antonio!

This year, we did not plan a big summer vacation. It was just too hot, I had a ton of projects to do, and Ro was busy at work. However, we did end up plan a long weekend in San Antonio...just the three of us...and we had a blast!
We flew down, just because we found GREAT deals on tickets and it was more convenient. So...of course we had to stop and eat in the airport! Laela was such a good helper with the bags and she did great at the check point, so she was able to talk daddy into getting her a KitKat bar. (Funny thing is...I was in the bathroom while this purchase was made. hmmmmm.)After getting in and check-in, we looked around the resort. (We stayed here . Oh man! We would recommend this place to anyone!) Then we headed to the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio. The first thing Laela saw were the tour boats going through the canal and she had to go on them! It was pretty warm out, but we had a blast! She was all smiles the entire ride. Then off for mexican food where she was starting to go coocoo!The next day we did a little shopping and then hung out at the resort pools. It was fantastic! All of the pools were kid friendly, but there were also plenty of adults. There were intertubes to go down the lazy river and Ro even went on the big "adult" slide. He said he was a little scared, but he made it out alive!Of course we made it to Sea World too! We got there when they opened and it lasted a good four hours. I thought that was pretty good time for the three of us. We got to see the Shamu and sea lion show, as well as ride several rides...like the Shamu roller coaster! (Oh...Laela did not like that one too much.) It was an awesome day and the girls got a nap during the car ride back. :)The rest of our time there was spent at the pool relaxing. We all enjoyed it so much! Laela even took my picture one afternoon. I looked like a beached whale, but oh well. No one cared. We were on vacation. Oh! I almost forgot! The resort made smores every night at 7:00. Seriously. You would just get in line to get your marshmallows, roast them in the fire pit, and then go back to get your graham crackers and chocolate. YUMMMMM-O. I will tell you that we enjoyed those two out of our three nights! Excellent summer, family trip. We WILL go back!

A few of my favorite iPhone pics...

Sometimes I just snap random pictures with my phone, but I don't ever do anything with them. Well, I was just thinking that I would post them...with no explanations...and you can come up with your own stories. :) Here are a few of my favorites from this summer! Happy Wednesday!

Changing diapers!

Laela has been talking a lot about being a good helper and changing diapers, so I was not surprised the other morning to find her...changing one of her babies' diapers on the changing table. Then, as I watched for a minute longer, she even gave the baby a paci to calm him during the changing process. (she found a stash of new paci's in a drawer and has now taken over them!) Oh man...she is going to be a WONDERFUL BIG SISTER!

Circus time!

It is so amazing to see how Laela changes each year that we go to the circus. The circus has just been something fun that Ro and I have done and now we have gone the last 3 years with Laela. I love this tradition!This year's circus was not the best that I had seen, but it was definately fun for Laela! She sat and enjoyed almost the entire show. Of course she was very interested in every animal, but she really noticed the clowns this year. Funny part was...she was very bothered by the "big, tall people"...AKA clowns on stilts. I don't know why, but she did not like them and she continues to tell me that she does not like them! Oh well. We made it through. We were so proud of Laela for not asking for anything while we were at the circus. Some kids will want everthying they see and throw a fit if they don't get it. Well, Laela play with and checked out every toy they had to offer, but she did not demand to have any of them. I love that about her! Just after intermission, we did ask if she would like to go look and pick out something and she said sure! Her and daddy came back with a cool elephant snowcone cup. She enjoyed the many colors!Overall, great experience and we will be there again next year!

Barbie's hair!

Ro and I have a running joke that Laela is going to be a hair stylist when she grows up. Nothing wrong with that, we will support her in her journey through life. She is just so serious when she "plays" with her doll's hair (or even mine). Well, last night she said, "Look mom!" Then in about 5 seconds flat, she put Barbie's hair in a ponytail. WOW! I was impressed and she was so proud of herself!

Soccer!

This has been a long awaited experience for me. I used to love playing soccer and I wanted Laela to try it. She has been practicing at home with Ro and does fairly well, so we enrolled her in this little 4 week summer class. Well, the first class was on Saturday. It is nice because it is located indoors and we didn't have to worry about the heat (even at 9:00 on a Saturday morning!). We get there and Laela seemed to be enjoying herself. The dads were all out helping, so of course Ro went too. The coach was working with one at a time just to get a feel for each kiddo. When he first set up Laela to make a kick, he planted her left foot so she could kick with the right. HA! Not Laela. She kicked with her left foot!!! Coach was shocked and Daddy was very proud! :) Me...I don't really care as long as it is what she is comfortable with and we are not pressuring one way or the other. It was amazing to see what they practiced in 45 minutes and we quickly learned that 30 minutes was Laela's "okay are we done yet" breaking point. She did well. She toughed it out and got a little upset during the "game" time. (There was one little girl who is going to be a track star. She just ran up and down the field with the soccer ball in-tow. Crazy how good and fast she was for a 3 year old.) Laela and daddy are continuing to practice and she is going again on Saturday morning.
If soccer is not her love, then we will find something that is. I just want her to be involved and feel like she is a part of a team or group. I feel very strongly about getting kids involved in team sports (that may be the teacher side of me.) HA!Oh yes! She scored a couple of goals too!
She was so excited with anything good that she did. Laela would run over and give Ro a high-five EVERY time. We will have to work on saving the high-five for the end! (Blurry picture, but love it anyway.)

Bed is finished!

The trundle to Laela's daybed came today! I am actually glad she was home when it got delivered. The men took all of 3 minutes from the time they knocked on the door until I signed for it. They must have places to be and people to see!Anyway, after they left, we checked it out. I showed her that it can hold a mattress or it can hold other special goodies. I was about to shut it and she said wait! Dog, Tinkerbell, stamps, mommy's necklace and my purple slippers need to go in there. Now they are safe!We closed it up, walked out of her room and she said, "WOW Mom. That is awesome!"

3 year old Wellness Check...

Monday, July 11th, Laela went for her 3 year old wellness visit. I just like to blog the stats on these so I can look back and see weight/height/etc for each year. Laela was not a happy camper at this visit. I don't know what happens when I take her to the doctor, but I have now deemed Ro "PARENT TO REPORT TO ALL DOCTOR/DENTIST APPOINTMENTS". I don't know if he liked that or not, but that is just how it will need to be so I do not go insane. Let me note that she did okay about 80% of the time the doctor was there. It was the female nurses that she did not like! (She is weird like that.)Either way...here are her stats:
Weight: 36 lbs (90%)
Height: 3' 2" (70%)
Blood Pressure: 124/66 (Not bad considering that she was screaming like crazy!)Laela has gained 4 lbs over the last year and grown an inch and a half. It is funny because I thought that she maybe gained one or two pounds this year. She seemed to be thinning out and growing up. I would have guessed that she was at least another inch or two taller. So many people comment on her height and size compared to other three year olds, so obviously she has not taken after her daddy yet! Maybe the nurse did not get the correct measurement because Laela was screaming! The doctor also checked her vision and said that it looks good so far. (Thank goodness because Ro and I have horrible eyes.)