Having a girl

My mind had started wandering, waiting impatiently to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. For a while there I thought I wasn't "connecting" the way I did with Madeline. With the help of friends, I have realized it's not the gender of the baby that connects you, but when you first lay eyes on the beautiful miracle you brought into this world. Although, I must say, buying all of these tiny little outfits is helping too. Then a lot of people will say, "Just find out, what's the big deal?" & "why are you even waiting?"...then that makes you doubt your decision. But, today a friend (you know, the one with 3 kids and the rockin' body) at the gym said, "I found out with one and was surprised for two of them. I had a better labor with the surprises, it seemed as though that's what pushed me through". Not that I would know what labor is like...well, I did go through 12 hours with Joshua, just not the real part...but you know, it made me think. I'd also like to add, I made Anthony promise after we found out that Madeline was a girl that our next would be a surprise since we've had boys and a girl.
I have been wondering if I really have a preference and I don't think I do...not that it matters anyway. I've heard that boys are easier than girls, but being in (only) the beginning of teenage-hood with Joshua (the 'ua' is no longer acceptable to him), I'm starting to doubt my sources. He was a pretty easy toddler/kid though. Although I had to play Mom & Dad, so that had its challenges...but nothing that wasn't easily fixed. I think it was almost like he realized I was doing it on my own and he grew up fast. But now that Mom & Dad are in the picture, he likes to challenge EVERY.SINGLE.THING. Yeah.
The only teenage girl experience I have are the ones that talk to Josh, so that kind of makes me want to lock Madeline away from age 10 until about 25. [[Side note: Mothers of teenage girls, MONITOR EVERYTHING, but don't worry, if you're not, I am. Yeah, I'm THAT Mom, I read every message that is sent and received, like a CREEPER. I'm glad that I do...enough said.]]
Back to my point, what would I rather have? Eh, I guess a sister would be nice for Madeline because they eventually become best friends, but isn't there that competition feeling between them since they would be so close in age? And I'm not sure if my husband would survive two girls... I do love me a rough and tough little boy that could follow in his big brother's baseball footsteps and be that cute little brother that his sister would want to take care of. Oh, but the little girls clothes, I just love shopping for a girl...that could get expensive with two though. I do love the meaningful name [I think] we have picked out for a boy. HAHA. I am going to be in love with either one, so it doesn't really matter.

Having a girl has taught me quite a few things....
- She will always make you feel like a princess because if you're wearing a dress, you are a princess...bonus if she sees a wedding picture, then you are a pretty or beautiful princess.
- Yanking rubber bands out is horrible and cutting with scissors is just scary. So, not only does my seam ripper correct my sewing mistakes, it is the easiest way to remove a rubber and no hair.
- Speaking of rubber bands, styling fine, baby/toddler hair looks easier than it actually is.
- She can never, ever have too many of those cheap bead necklaces.
- She will notice your accessories and compliment how pretty they are.
- Making her toys kiss just must be some natural girly instinct.
- She will get emotional over any situation where someone is sad...even the Very Hungry Caterpillar when he has a belly ache.
- Screams and squeals will comes out of her that make your ears ring.
- It will melt your heart when she grabs your face and says, "I like your eyes", "I like your hair", and keeps the compliments coming.
- You are like the fashion expert, "this pity (pretty), Mommy?.
- You don't know it, but in your jewelry box, you have diamonds and jewels that a queen would envy. [And letting her wear a diamond (cz) necklace of yours for a day, causes her to show every person she comes in contact with that she has on diamonds....causing them to look at you like you would really give a two year old a diamond necklace.)
- Again, since you are her fashion expert, she will want to wear anything you have on...even that head wrap you sweat on at the gym.
- She will imitate every girly thing you do...so always act like a lady.

Having a girl is fun. And so is having a boy. That's the fun of the surprise!!

Did I trick you with the title? I meant to.

She really wanted to wear my Valentine's Day gift!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, here's what Madeline made for Anthony...

hehe.

What to expect when you're exercising while expecting

I have been trying to be healthy this pregnancy, although I tried with Madeline too and that soon turned into being so exhausted after work that I would come home and retire to the couch. I also may have had that "I'm pregnant and can eat what I want" mindset, to a point. But, this time, I wasn't at my ideal weight to start with, so I've been a little more food conscious, which also includes staying active and exercising. It's not "eat for two", it's actually "drink for two". So I drink so much water that I spend most of the day running to the bathroom...maybe that will help with Madeline's potty interest? eh, I think it will take more than that. I don't limit myself too much, obviously you can tell that by looking at me, but I do make myself stay active. I take Madeline swimming and I am in  BodyCombat and Pilates classes a few times a week,with the exception of the couple weeks I wasn't allowed to do anything, then I was on light duty (so I modified in those classes) to now, where I'm back to listening to my body. In my mind, I also think these things will help me prepare my body for the actual labor (that I pray every night I will be able to experience).
As you can imagine, there are not many pregnant women in the classes...actually, there are none, it's just me. Yep, it makes for an interesting hour out of my day when I'm just trying to work on ME. I often feeling like I'm having an out of body experience or that being pregnant may be looked at as some disease everyone is going to catch.haha. No, really. During Body Combat today, I came up with a list that may be beneficial for those of you that are thinking about working out while pregnant.


What to expect when you're exercising while expecting:

- The main one, be prepared for people that will stare at your belly SO hard they actually lose their focus and miss what's going on in class

- There will be a person that suggests you SHOULD be taking a prenatal yoga class instead of where you are

- The person approaching you, in between sets while you're out of breath, with a sympathetic look, WILL ask you, "How are you feeling?", as if you have a terminal disease

- Be aware that if everyone didn't notice you already, they will after the instructor looks directly at YOU while shouting out how to modify a routine

- There just MAY be that person that says, "I hope your water doesn't break during class" in which you WILL respond without thinking, "I hope it doesn't too, jackass, considering I'm only 25 weeks".

- The lady that has a knock out body and tells you about her 3 children ALWAYS shows up for class and has new advice for you

- You just MAY get lucky enough to be next to the lady that passes gas in a quiet Pilates room and every one looks at YOU because obviously that's all pregnant women do

- People WILL say, "Good job!" to you after class, which even though you didn't do anything incredible, is kind of a confidence booster, so I guess that's not so bad

- This is kind of everywhere you go, but a sweaty gym makes it worse... there will be THAT hand coming toward your belly you have to kindly divert

- There's a possibility you will HAVE to make a bathroom break in the middle of class, only drawing more attention to yourself

- But then there will be THAT woman that looks at you admiringly and makes you forget all the dumbass comments, remarks and looks

All true stories...even the gassy lady. And I'm sure there have been/will be more!

Guess that's what I should expect with ALL of this. ;)

THIRTY-ONE

I was going to have a Shamrock Shake for lunch today after my OB appt, but then I was told I only gained a lb, so I came home and had a salad. I'm usually not told numbers, my weight conscious anxiety cannot handle it, so maybe there have been other times I only gained a lb, but I wouldn't know. It was a different Dr today, the Dr known as the "anti-vbac Dr" by the other two that I see. I went in today and confronted her with my fears, straight-up, no BS,"I heard you're anti-vbac and I'm scared you're going to be on call when I go into labor". It felt so good to get that off of my chest. She reassured me that she would support my birthing decision, even if she didn't agree with it, as long as there was not a medical reason not to. But, not before she explained the risks of vba2c. I thanked her for the insight and that was that. I feel like a huge weight had been lifted off me.
Well, since I'm talking about that, I should mention that our last u/s showed that my placenta has completely healed itself, the tech couldn't even find any sign of where the detached placenta used to be. The high risk Dr was amazed, she kept checking and checking, laughing that the baby is now measuring a week ahead. I knew we had a fighter....well, maybe I needed a little reassurance there, but that doesn't matter now. There's another check at 32 weeks, March 22, to make sure they didn't miss anything and it's the home stretch after that! WOW. Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. God does listen.

In other news, I turned THIRTY-ONE a few weeks ago. I really didn't even have any time to let that sink in, but honestly, thirty is the new twenty, so I'm not feeling bad about it one bit. I did kind of feel bad on the day of though because NO ONE called me.seriously. I'm usually not one to need a phone call, but I thought, darn, not even a phone call? I thought that maybe since it was a Saturday everyone was just busy and would remember eventually. But, Anthony did not even want to take me out to eat, he said we would go out on Sunday, and didn't get me a cake. Then, he went to pick up a pizza for dinner and left me there, feeling a little bummed. Madeline was standing at the window, waiting for him to return, and she started yelling, "Pap!, HI, PAP!", I laughed and said she was silly the first few times, then I got up to look... My whole entire family was standing outside with Anthony, bearing cake, decorations, presents!! I couldn't believe it and of course I started crying, hello, I'm pregnant! My husband really knows how to coordinate a sweet surprise. I'm so lucky to have him. So, if this is my thirties, I'm loving it!

It was a Tinkerbell party :)

"That's my happy birthday party!"

Madeline LOVES Jake & the Neverland Pirates, so that meant a super fun pirate bash for us this year!! She walked around for a couple weeks, looking at every single thing I was making, saying "That's my happy birthday party!". 

Here's my lame attempt at trying to catch some pictures of the decor and food. You know how you want to share it all and you completely forget to take pictures of most of it? No? Well that's what happened to me...so I guess it's pregnancy brain.

Of course the baby has to participate! 

Madeline made sure that everyone knew there were swords!

Time to become a pirate!

Joshua was an awesome help with streamers

The birthday girls chair

hehe

dessert table ... perhaps I should have taken one when it was actually set up

Tattoos & Pin the eye patch on

Fire pit! 

Something for the kids to draw on in the garage....but it was too cold

Treasure chests!

Awesome pirate ship my dad made!

On the menu:

Sword kabobs (Cheese & Pepperoni)

Ships & dip

Jewels (grapes)

Shipwreck sandwiches

Golden nuggets (chik fil a)

Grilled parrot (wings)

Seaweed Salad

Fish & Chips (wink, wink)

Pirate booty

Canon balls (meatballs)

Chicken salad sandwiches (thanks, Me-mom!)

It was a lot of fun watching every one read the food names.

And my favorite.....

Madeline left Anthony mid present opening!

TWO

We have a TWO year old!! Terrible twos...NO WAY!! This is such a fun age of forming sentences, opinions, favorites and routines. 

Madeline,

"I never knew I could love so much,
until the day I felt your touch.

I softly kissed your tiny cheek,
and from under your lashes I saw you peek.

Your beautiful eyes so small and blue,
my sweet little baby just brand new.

I cannot wait to watch you grow,
from your little head to your tiny toes.

My daughter my love, my little joy,
my little angel, my baby doll toy.

I promise to love you with all my heart, 
I'm here for you from the very start.

I'll comfort you when you cry,
I'll answer true when you ask me, Why?

While you grow be sweet and kind,
and show all others how much you shine."

~Martha L. Sheridan

It's hard to believe how much personality this little girl has and we just adore her. 

She wakes up with the biggest smile on her face, ready for a day of fun! Loves to go "play with friends" at the gym, go swimming, play with her toys, chase the cat, paint, pretend, dance and sing. She surprises me every single day with something new, whether it is a song she has made up, a sentence I didn't think she knew or just the way that sparkle in her eyes can make my heart melt.

It is the cutest thing when she takes our hand, says "Show me", and pulls us to her destination she is eager to show us and when she giggles at her own little jokes.

It is amazing how she has this extensive vocabulary, uses her imagination with her toys and picks up on anything we teach right away...I almost can't believe it sometimes, as she rattles off shapes, colors, counts and tries to sing her ABC's.

It makes me beam with pride over how much love she has to give, when she uses her manners or says, "I sharin, Mommy!" or "I listen, Mommy".

It is hilarious when she makes up songs just like Daddy, even tonight she was singing about wanting more cheese. She definitely has Anthony's fun loving personality....and possible impatience too.

Actually, I find everything she does is cute, amazing, hilarious and makes me proud.

Our baby is growing so fast. How does it happen right before our eyes? One minute, they are completely dependent on us and the next they are saying "I do it, Mommy" and "No thank you, Daddy". It is so much fun to watch and enjoy, but it is also sad that these years go by and they never come back. If I've said it once, I'll say it a million more times. That's why I take the time to sit and stare, admiring every little thing she does. The look on her face as she's playing, the way her tongue comes out while concentrating, the pride after her concentration pays off, the look in her eyes as she watches every thing I do so she can imitate, the frustration when she doesn't get her way, the smile when she does, the way she says her words. I could watch her all day long...and I am so lucky to have this opportunity that I can spend every day doing just that.

Waiting for party guests

Enjoying a piece of her treasure chest cake

Enjoying herself to the fullest!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TO OUR BABY GIRL!!!!

I will do another blog for some more party fun.