Baby No. 2: Pink or Blue?

After much deliberation, 

I have finally decided that we ARE going to find out the gender of Jellybean #2!

While it was super-fun to be surprised with Max,
the planner in me just could not wait another 20 weeks (or so)
to find out who else will be joining our family. :)

So, what are your guesses?
Will we be seeing some pink in our future - or more blue?!

Some fun facts to help you guess:
I had a dream not long after we found out we were pregnant
that I was holding a brand new baby girl.
However, the heart rate of this baby has measured lower just like with Max.

We find out one week from today! :)

13-14-15 Weeks

Seasoned mothers have said it to me many times,

but I never really realized just how different each pregnancy is!

 The list of differences is (already) endless...

but I'm slowly learning that I don't have to compare every little detail

(like how cute and perky I looked in the belly pics last time).

It is definitely true that you start showing earlier!

Here's the bump at 13, 14, and 15 weeks:

 I am going to copy this little questionnaire from my friend Katie,

which she used while she was pregnant. Otherwise, I tend to ramble. ;)

How far along? 15 weeks and 4 days

How big is the baby? According to my pregnancy tracker app, this little jellybean

is roughly the size of an avocado, so about 5 inches long and 4 ounces.

Are you in maternity clothes? Some of both, but maternity pants for sure!

I am trying to hang onto normal clothes as long as I can. Plus, I think they're more flattering 

on me right now (case in point: the middle pic above. yikes!).

How do you feel physically? Much better than I did in the first trimester! The constant nausea

seems to have passed, for which I am grateful (and so is Clay, because that means I'm cooking more)!

I still tire easily, but for the most part I feel good.

Sleep? I try to nap most days when Max does. At night I usually have trouble getting comfortable,

even with my giant Boppy preggo pillow! But I usually only get up once to pee,

and I'm thankful there are no other interruptions. :)

Miss anything? An occasional glass of wine with dinner, especially when Clay and I go out.

Feeling movement of the baby? Not yet, but it should be any day now!

Food cravings? Mexican food or anything savory/ salty. Sweets generally gross me out.

Gender of the baby? We don't know yet! And we're still not sure if we'll find out this time.

The sonogram is scheduled for February 6th, so we have until then to decide!

Mood/ thoughts? At my appointment last week, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time!

(130-140 bpm, the midwife said.)  The pregnancy is not really real to me until I hear that heartbeat - and what a beautiful sound. :) These days I am also trying to savor each moment with just Max, and at times it makes me sad to think this baby will not get the same kind of attention from me. I am definitely cherishing this time I get to spend with Max - but I'm also looking forward to getting to know this jellybean and forming a special bond with him/ her. :)

19 Months

I have had this dilemma for a while now:

is Max still my baby or is he my little boy?

 

 

 

 

These pictures seem to confirm it: he is more boy than baby!
(After all, cute little babies don't have boogers hanging out their nose. 
 Also, what is up with this new weird cheese face?!!)

At 19 months, little man weighs in at 30 pounds and measures 34 inches tall.

At our visit with the endocrinologist earlier this month

(who apparently has some kind of program to predict adult height), 

we were informed that we will most likely be looking UP to our 6-foot son

(once he's done growing and all)!

I'm sensing some basketball in his future... ;)

Our appointment with the endocrinologist didn't reveal anything specific.

We are increasing Max's meds and will go back in six weeks for another blood test.

Hopefully this will help us get to the bottom of his high TSH levels.

ASIDE: I absolutely hate going to take little man to get his blood drawn - 

and he does too! He starts crying as soon as he sees the chair, poor kiddo.

At his last blood draw, I overheard myself saying, "Mommy, it's okay,"

instead of "Max, it's okay." I guess I needed some reassuring, too!

Max's eating seems to have rebounded (in some ways) this month.

Sometimes he still doesn't eat everything we put on his plate,

but at least he's trying it before he refuses! Eventually we'll get there.

It is so funny to me that Max loves bikes so much

but only wants to ride his for 10 or 15 minutes at a time.
Especially since the first word we usually hear him say in the mornings is "bike" -
and he talks about bikes all day and wants to read his bike books over and over.
But this kiddo is easily distracted by a neighbor walking their dog or a passing car,
so we usually don't get too far before he wants to turn back.
I'm sure that will change in time!

We have started having little man sit on the potty before bathtime in the evenings,
just to get him a little more used to the idea.

  He has only successfully "used" it a handful of times, but we praise him anyway!

We have also started incorporating room time into our daily routine
as playpen time was, well, not working as you can see here:

Little man is still learning how to handle this extra freedom but is doing really well!

Max is really curious about the things that Clay and I do,
and often wants to do exactly what we are doing.
So we have started putting a "makin" (napkin) in his lap for mealtimes.
It really does nothing to contain the mess as you can see here

but it makes Max so proud to point out "Mommy's makin"
and "Daddy's makin" and "Mac makin." :)
He also knows to fold his hands to pray before we eat
and always adds an enthusiastic "amen!"

As I mentioned before, Max traveled quite a bit this past month and did really well in the car.
(When you have a carload of personal entertainers, that makes it much easier!)
He also started Thursday school this month and loved his first day!

These days Max is into bikes (of course), buttons, books, dinosaurs, trucks, and rocks.
He loves to listen to The Laurie Berkner Band,
and is really good at doing the motions to some of the songs.
It is hilarious is when he puts out his hand and yells "minute!" (as in "wait a minute").

I am amazed at all the things our little man is soaking up. He is truly a sponge!

It is a joy and a wonder to watch him learning about the world around him. :)

Weekly Wows

SO much has been going on lately!
Seems like we started this new year without time to catch our breath - or to blog. :/
So here is my attempt to catch you up on
what's been wowing us over at the Rich casa.

WE GOT A DISHWASHER, Y'ALL!!!
It's a portable model, mind you (which means teeny tiny), but still...
it's better than washing everything by hand!

 Now that I know what I've been missing, I feel like
we've been living the past five years in the dark ages or something.
Also, I have never seen Clay so excited as he was
to load or unload the dishwasher as those first few days we used it. ;)

Sunday night our dear friends the Allens invited us over
for a Downtown Abbey watch party!
We love Chad and Katie (and their two precious kiddos) for many reasons,
 but the fact that they are DA fans is just one more star in their crowns to us. ;)
Katie even fixed yummy blueberry-almond scones
and English tea for us to enjoy while watching the premier.

(Yeah, she's pretty amazing.)

 Little man's first day of what I'm calling Thursday school was this week!

(It's a mother's day out-type program at our church.)

While part of me is SO EXCITED to have 5 hours each week to myself,

another part of me cannot believe we are already here.

I mean, I know it's not really "school" ...but it sure feels like it!

He's got the personalized backpack, the lunchbox, and nap mat -

 with all his gear in tow, he looks SO big! Be still, my heart. :)
He had an awesome first day and didn't want to leave come 2:00!
I am so grateful.

After much debate, we have finally decided to pave our driveway!
The workmen started in this week digging up LOTS of dirt and leveling it off.
They even had to bring in a digger, which Max loved. 
Seriously, that kid could watch construction equipment all day!

 Hopefully they'll be pouring concrete this afternoon
and we'll have a nice mud-free place to park and play!

Those are just a few highlights of the first weeks of 2013 for us.
More to come on little man and the jellybean!

Buh-Bye 2012, Hello 2013!

We finished out 2012 strong with the month of December,
always a fun and festive time of the year. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 What a year 2012 has been!
It was full of many unexpected things - 

and some we should've seen coming too. :)

I am glad to have a successfully completed Photo A Day Challenge
to look back on this year in the Rich family.
(I know - I can't believe I did it either!)

Here's to an even more exciting 2013!

This Christmas

This Christmas was...well, not what we thought it would be a month ago.

Due to some last-minute changes, we ended up doing more traveling than we planned.

But it all resulted in some quality time with the fams!

The Friday before Christmas, we hopped in the car as soon as little man was up

and hit the road for Abilene. We got to spend a whole 36 hours with the whole Rich clan -

opening presents, playing games, taking pictures and watching the little boys play 

(or trying to keep them out of trouble).

Let's hope it's not two more years before we all get together again. :)

Saturday morning after a quick breakfast we hopped back in the car and headed home,

where we did a quick suitcase switcheroo and my parents and sister joined us

for the trek out to Flint, Texas (near Tyler). 

We met up with my mom's family (whom we hadn't seen since last Christmas!) 

and spent three lovely days together.

It was great to look at lights, make an insane gingerbread house, and sing carols.

 

Christmas morning was oh so fun and little man loved all his presents!

We went with the want/need/wear/read route this year and it was perfect.

Max really WANTED a bike. So we got him one! He knew just what to do with it. :)

It's a balance bike which means it doesn't have pedals - he just pushes himself along with his feet.

I am so surprised how good he is at it already!

After a scrumptious Christmas brunch, we loaded up the car and headed back to Fort Worth.

Who knew we'd have to travel through a snowstorm to do it!

(Admittedly a Texas version of a snowstorm, but lots of big white flakes nonetheless!)

My parents and sister headed back to her place to get ready for another trip the next day,

so we spent the afternoon admiring the snow and unpacking.

As dinnertime approached, I realized our fridge and cabinets were bare. 

Seriously nothing to put together for a meal (other than cold cereal - with no milk). 

So we set out to find a restaurant that was open on Christmas Day...

After several failed attempts (our nearby Chinese super buffet was even closed!), 

we decided to stop in at El Rancho, a hispanic grocery a few blocks from our house, 

for a "scrumptious" frozen pizza (which Clay burned) and some milk.

 All in all, it was a very unusual Christmas for us in many ways. 

But we spent it together and made some fun memories!