Park Day!

Today Ava and I went to the park. In the past few weeks she has become a slide'aholic. I love this age---talking, playing, running.---it's just so much fun! :) I took a few pics with my phone and then a couple of videos of the little lady. Enjoy! 

Priceless little face....

Love and Ava hugs,
Rachel

More sliding!

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas! 

I have to say that this has got to be one of the most FABULOUS Christmas' I have ever had. It was so much fun to watch Ava open her presents this year. She would open one, play with it for 10 minutes and then come back for more. We didn't finish opening hers until about 7pm tonight. While I was cuddling her before bed she told me that Christmas was fun and that she wanted to open more presents. After I told her we had opened them all she said "wrap them again mama." Sure kid, sure. :) 

We started the Christmas celebration like we always do---Christmas Eve at Nanny's house. Ava had a blast playing with Zach and Josh and being with the big kids. She stayed up til about 10pm and was so ridiculously good the whole time. When we left she asked if we could go to "more parties." 

Pretty girl ready for Christmas Eve at Nanny's house! 

Checking her hair before we left! 

This morning Ava was kind enough to sleep in until 9:30am. It was nice to have the whole family there when she woke up so they could see her cute little face when she realized it wasn't just another Sunday. Here are some pictures from today. I got spoiled with an external flash for my beautiful camera (along with a million other fabulous things for my camera) so this blog may be a bit picture heavy. :) 

Our tree...someone is "blessed"

Ava in her pedal car fire truck! Amazing! 

Opening presents is fun! :) 

I fly helicopters like Pop Pop!!! 

New "Chuggie" trains---a definite winner! 

A happy girl in her cool fire truck! 

Sara and Richie

Silly little Christmas elf! 

Boys being boys----playing with the train! 

The most beautiful girl in the world. 

Ava eats M&M's for breakfast....

Just adorable.

A little tv watching in the fire truck before nap time! 

I LOVE POPSICLES! 

Happy! 

What a face! :) 

Pure Popsicle joy. 

We hope you all had a wonderful day full of friends, family and love. I know that we sure did. 

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

22 weeks tomorrow! Merry Christmas!

Hi Everyone! 

Merry Christmas Eve Day! :) So tomorrow is going to be ridiculous i'm sure so I decided to do my baby boy blog today so that on Monday I can focus on trying to get some pictures of Ava's 3rd Christmas up on here. :) I was also bored the other day when Ava slept in and decided to get creative with my bump picture this week since everyone keeps asking for them. I've decided it's really hard to take pictures of yourself with a big camera. Here's what I came up with! :)  PS those are not stretch marks just bad lighting. I'm sure there will be a whole post about those if they decide to show up this time! 

So now onto the star of our show---the little man. At 11 inches (a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, he is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. I'm kind of hoping for little brown eyes like his Daddy this time...and if you were around for week 22 of Ava's baby blog then you know I was definitely hoping she would get blue eyes like me and Mike's dad. I just want a little mini Michael....though Michael would be just as gorgeous if he had blue eyes too. We will see!! One of life's fun surprises! :) 

The little man also has  fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily. What a busy week for the little guy. Half an inch in a week? Don't slow down buddy---i'm banking on a 10lb baby this time. :) 

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas, I know that Michael Ava and I will. We are so blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives and wish you could all be with us on the BEST holiday of the year. 

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel, Michael, and Ava 

Bailey and Ava

Today Ava and I went to the park with our neighbor Lisa and her fabulous dog Bailey. All morning Ava kept saying "time go play Baiwey at the park now?" because she was so excited. She LOVES Bailey. She will randomly talk about him throughout our weeks and when we walk to the mailbox she always points at his house and says "Baiwey walk get mail too?" What a blessing to have such a nice dog (and family) down the street. 

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

Twinkle twinkle...Ava style!

Right before I taped this she was actually singing along with the music. I guess Mommy has to be faster to pull out the camera from now on. :) At least you got some cuteness and some dancing! :) 

A little talking....

Ava was being a little chatter box tonight so I decided to tape a little of what our conversations are like. Usually when I ask her how Santa gets into the house she says he knocks on the front door. :) 

Enjoy! 

21 weeks---feelin' fabulous

Hi everyone! :) 

I don't know if it's Christmas coming up but I am feeling what I can only describe as the 2nd trimester second wind. I don't feel like napping non-stop and i'm enjoying my new found roundness a little more. I'm excited for next weekend but i'm also stoked about all the things that will be happening come January. For one---I get to start decorating the baby's room (it is currently holiday central in there). I have a lot of ideas and hopefully they will transfer from my head to the walls. We shall seeeee! 

Maya is also visiting in January which is super ridiculous fun. For those of you who don't know--she is the little girl I took care of in NYC. She was 10. She's now 18 and in college. Sigh. 

AND Ava will be starting school on January 10th for 2 mornings a week. I think she will really enjoy it and i'm not worried about her. I am however worried about me and my hormones. :) Emotional mama---hopefully my years in childcare will help with all that, but hey if you have to cry you have to cry. :) 

Ohhhh and i've also been given the go ahead to do prenatal yoga---classes start January 4th and i'm soooooo excited. It's not running, but it's something. :) Bring on my inner zen. I'm ready. :) 

Notice the energy in this post---I'm either on a sugar high from all the cookies Mike and I made this weekend or i'm feeling better. I may also be nesting. This could be fun. :) 

So now onto the reason we are all here---our little BOY! 

So at 21 weeks here is what baby center says is going on...He now weighs about 3/4 of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long---the length of a carrot.  I can feel him kicking a lot lately and Mike can too if he is patient enough. My doctor was listening to his heartbeat on the doppler at my appointment last week and the little man kicked him. He doesn't want to be messed with---I don't blame the little monkey. We are still looking for a name for him....boy names are a lot harder then girl names. We just aren't in LOVE with anything. Mike says we have tons of time but if time keeps flying the way it has been it'll be here before we know it. This nesting mama wants to get a few things monogrammed too!!!! :)  

I think that's it for this week. 

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

Since I have no bump picture this week here are a few of my little lady who is currently laying in bed saying "choo choo---mama come play trains with me." It's naptime kid....sleep! 

Eating a "bar" in her thomas shirt....this and milk is usually breakfast. Thank goodness for yogurt cereal bars. :) 

Ava eating one of her new favorite items---popsicles! Now if only they made these with vegetables. :) 

Check out Ava's face after a purple popsicle. Yikes! 

Mike and Ava asking to watch one more "chuggies" (A show on disney called Chuggington---it's about trains if you can believe it!)  before naptime. This is  Ava's new  negotiation tactic.  One finger up and her sweetest little voice saying "one more chuggie please mommy" 

20 weeks and ROUND!

Well hello there 30 week---oops I mean 20 week belly. Holy cow this has happened so fast this time! :) So we are officially 20 weeks along which would be halfway there, but luckily for us our c-section made the halfway point last week! :) I can't believe I still have 18/19 weeks left but time is flying so I hope that it continues that way after Christmas. I go to the doctor on Wednesday for my now every 3 week visits. I feel really good---no back pain, no cramps, no spotting---and I think I'm finally in a happy place with this no exercising nonsense. (Well as happy of a place as you can be when you just wanna run). I hope little man likes the stroller because this mama is going to be DYING to run by the time we are all healed from the c-section. Some may call me weird, but I totally miss sweating. I love him more though so I can do it. :) I'm also super emotional this pregnancy. The littlest thing can make me start to cry. I'm a pretty emotional girl to begin with, but I'm not a crier in my normal world. I'm blaming all the testosterone this little guy is making. :) I just feel bad for Mike who has to deal with it pretty much daily. Sorry bubs....this too shall pass.

So now onto our little MAN! He weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now and is 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and 10 inches long from head to heel. About the length of a banana. He is swallowing more these days and also producing meconium, which is a black sticky by-product of digestion, and will become his first dirty diaper. I can feel him kicking daily now and if Mike is lucky and fast enough he can now feel him on the outside as well. I forgot how magical it is to feel these first really strong movements. I've been feeling flutters since about 13 weeks but now he is definitely dancing inside there. 

What a blessing it is to be a mommy...

20 weeks 1 day! 

I hope you all have a fabulous week. I'll update this if anything fun happens at the doctors office but other then seeing the number on the scale I'm hoping there are no surprises. 

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

Playin soccer at the park!

Today Ava and I went to the park. The weather was gorgeous and I  wanted to make sure she got to run around before it started raining this afternoon. :) And run around she did....

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

Candy Canes and Trains!

We took Ava Mae to meet Santa yesterday. We went to Bass Pro Shops because not only is it a fun family outing, but the picture with Santa is also free. :) Ava was very excited to tell Santa that she wanted trains and cars for Christmas but as we got closer she got a little standoffish. She did however see the kids before her get candy canes from the big man so she sat on his lap with no tears. She asked for a candy cane and trains but would not smile for us. I'm pretty sure Santa will bring her everything she wants even if she wasn't the happiest little Christmas elf while sitting on his lap. She's definitely on the nice list....

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

19 weeks...

BOY oh BOY---we are almost halfway there. Well actually, we are past halfway since I will be having a repeat c-section sometime in my 39th week. :) So congrats! You made it! :) 

I will be going back to the doctor next Wednesday since I am now being seen every 3 weeks. :) Thanks placenta---i love you too! No really--it's not all that bad. I feel good and i'm just thankful the words bed rest haven't come out of the doctors mouth. (Knock on wood) Our next ultrasound isn't until January 6th so until then I will be willing my placenta to move by talking to it and praying. Please feel free to add my placenta to your prayer lists for the next month. 

Now, onto Baby BOY V! :) 

First--our little man's sensory development is exploding. His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research says that he can now hear my voice which makes me excited. (Hi buddy---Mommy loves you!) They say he weighs about 8 1/2 oz and measures 6 inches from head to bottom or the size of a large heirloom tomato. His arms are now in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now and hair is now sprouting on his adorable little head. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is now forming on his skin to help prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid. What a busy week he is having! :) 

I haven't taken any bump pictures this week yet, but rest assured it is still there and growing by the second. :) 

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

Our practice Christmas morning....

 Mike and I decided to buy the family a Christmas train this year. We hope it will be an investment that will be loved and cherished for many years to come. Especially since Ava loves trains more then anything.  Last night after Ava went to bed we set it up around our  fabulous Christmas tree so that when she woke up it would be there waiting for her. It was almost like a practice Christmas morning because honestly I don't see how we will ever be able to top this. She is the happiest girl. It's now 2 hours later and she's still in there playing with it with her Daddy. :) 

PS: notice Ava's pjs. They're Thomas the train Christmas ones. 

Ava see's her train! 

Someone is happy! :) 

I love my train! 

Learning how to make it the train go.....

Thank you daddy! :) 

Ava thought that for buying the family a train that Daddy deserves a few marshmallows for breakfast. She of course did not eat any of them....

We feel so blessed this year. Healthy family, healthy baby boy on the way....life is good.

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

I just love this face!!

Happy Friday! :) 

Our baby boy---18 weeks! :)

Happy 18 weeks! :) 

Here is what baby center is saying about our little man this week. He is apparently about 5 1/2 inches long and weighs about 7oz. From our ultrasound a week ago we know that he was already over 8oz so while babycenter says he is the size of a bell pepper, i'm guessing he's a BIG bell pepper.

He's busy flexing his arms and legs -- movements that i'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. 

I'm feeling good this week. I think i'm getting used to being more lazy and Ava is adjusting to our less crazy schedule for the time being. I feel ridiculously round this week. Just all of a sudden i'm huge. It's all belly, just like it was for Ava, but i'd say i'm about the size I was when I was 24 weeks pregnant with Ava. It's amazing what changes between a 1st and 2nd child. Oh well--this too is temporary and i won't even remember being round once I see his little face. 

18 weeks 1 day. :) 

Love and Ava hugs,

Rachel

1st trip to the dentist!

Today I took Miss Ava to the dentist for the 1st time. Since being on iron/vitamins I've noticed the plaque on her bottom teeth has gotten a little worse. So I decided to take her in just to have it looked at. They did a full cleaning and the dentist checked her teeth for cavities. Ava did amazing. She didn't fuss once. She was a little unsure of the chair at first, but once they started she was a pro. She now has ridiculously white sparkly teeth. :)  

My big girl! :)

Love and Ava hugs,
Rachel