Belly pics - 37w

There must be something about being 37 weeks pregnant that makes me want to see myself from all angles. Weird, I know. I was curious so I took pics all around just now and then checked back to see when I did the same thing last pregnancy and it was right at the same time!  I'd say I look different from the back (wider than when not pregnant) but not bad.  Front...well, I look big.  Side? Yeah. Definitely preggers. I feel big.  And less comfortable than my last pregnancy when I took THESE. The baby must be sitting right on my sciatic nerve or something cause man oh man, I've had to wonder if my hip is still in joint countless times since last July. But hey...I am super pumped to be carrying baby #2 and very very thankful that the pregnancy has been basically free of complications.  Praise the Lord!  Neither of these things is something I take for granted!  Now we're just praying for a safe delivery and healthy baby...countdown is on!

belly pic...8 months.

Only one month to go til due date!  So excited to meet this little rib-kicker.  We put up the crib in Levi's room yesterday.  Yes, we still have plenty of time but we wanted Levi to get used to seeing some baby stuff around the house before this little one just moves in and takes over all of his territory.  We talk about the baby alot with him and I think he understands about as much as a 2 year old can.  He could tell you that:
- there is a baby in mommy's tummy
- mommy's tummy is going to be owie after baby comes out
- baby is going to sleep in mommy and daddy's room and also in Levi's room
- mommy is going to feed baby (no hot dogs and noodles for the baby)
- Levi will get to sit on mommy's lap again when baby comes (when mommy's tummy isn't owie anymore)
- little brother or sister
 We've also done some shopping for things that we know we'll need like diapers (newborn size, for before cloth fit), wipes, infant Tylenol, etc.  It's made it all feel so much closer to see baby stuff re-entering the house.  Since Levi was potty trained back in summer, we really haven't had much evidence of a baby living here.  There is PLENTY of evidence of a toddler (toys, books, shoes, pots/pans all over the floor, potty seat in bathroom) but that is very different than a baby!  I'm starting to second-guess how much I actually remember about newborns.  I'm sure I know about as much as I knew when we had Levi and maybe even a little more this time around so we should be fine.

Since we're getting so close, anyone care to guess baby gender, birth date, and baby size?  Feel free to leave your comments!  I'm curious what people are expecting us to have! (I've also created a poll on the right hand side of the screen so you can easily log your guess, though it is anonymous so if you want credit for being right, leave your guess in comments too)

Picture Post

I don't have much to write so I thought I'd share a few pictures with you...since it's been a month since ANYTHING has happened here...

Levi's first sled

Levi loves his "white playdough" aka "moon sand" (flour and baby oil mixed together)

Levi loves our Christmas tree...and "nice" game aka "dice" game...he'll cook with dice, put them in and out of containers, hide them, find them, etc.  No matter how much I try to get Levi to say "dice" instead of "nice" it just doesn't happen for him.  "D-D-Nice!"  haha

We have our tent set up in our basement right now.  Levi loves it, though I think the novelty might be wearing off...time to take it down so that it's special again when I need a great "new" toy once baby is here!

Levi isn't always a fan of winter wear.  He has gotten MUCH better at being ok with being bundled than he was in fall though!

Sorting pom poms by colour

Lennox is forced to stay on this blanket after he comes in from the snow until he is dry so Levi has taken full advantage of him not being able to run away.  I'm starting to think that Lennox doesn't mind Levi as much as he used to though...he gets many hugs and kisses each day!

Where did Levi go?!

And for those who aren't on facebook, here is the latest belly shot.  7 months down, 2 to go!

Picture Post

Levi's "cheese" smile.  Except he doesn't says cheese...it's just the smile we get when we ask him to smile.

"Levi, do you want a picture with Lennox?" "YEAH!" (Lennox will never sit any closer than this to Levi so I had to get creative with camera angle)

Levi was a little leery of my camera angle choice, not sure how I would get both him and Lennox in a picture at once.

There, both boys looking at the camera.  We'll save smiles for next time...

Levi LOVES to play guitar with Daddy.  And I don't think Daddy minds sharing...!

More "cheese."

Levi gets this facial expression from his Daddy.  I laugh every time I see it.  It's their "I know I'm being silly but I'm going to pretend that I'm serious and not smiling" face.

And last but not least, here's a picture of how the latest "project" is coming along.  I started this pregnancy being about 6-8 weeks ahead of last pregnancy in terms of how big I was.  I'm happy to report that growth seems to have slowed and I'm within 2-5 weeks of where I was last time with size.  And I'm weighing less than I did last time at this point!  Crazy, no?  I think it must be thanks to all the toddler activity that keeps me busy day and night cause I sure know it's not thanks to me resisting my sugar cravings...  Sleep is getting a bit more difficult these days (bring on the PILLOWS!) but mostly I'm still really comfortable and enjoying this pregnancy.  What an incredible blessing this little one is.  It's absolutely unbelievable to be expecting #2 when 3 years ago we were past the 3 year mark of infertility and wondering if we would ever even have one...THANK YOU, JESUS!  May I never forget the blessing that these little ones are!

Time for another post?

I think the tiredness and sluggishness that comes with third trimester has hit me early this time around.  I just can't seem to catch up with sleep.  I can sleep 9 hours at night and nap for 2 hours in the afternoon and still just feel pooped.  Oh well.  I really can't complain because otherwise I'm feeling excellent and anticipating the arrival of this little one VERY eagerly!  And because I know how hard it is to keep track of someone else's pregnancy (never mind your own after the first!), I'm currently at about 23 weeks.  So 3 more weeks to go before 3rd trimester officially hits.

Aside from being tired, let's see what else has happened in the past week?  OH!  I chose which diaper bag I wanted and bought it.  Nathan gave me a coupon for a new diaper bag for my birthday last month and after doing a bunch of research and looking around, I decided on the Lug Hula Hoop bag in purple:

I also spent my birthday money and bought a sewing machine:

(my, what a purple theme I have going today...purple shirt, purple bag, purple (and white) sewing machine!)

As a result of the new machine, I have been doing a bit of sewing:

And of course, I have been busy crocheting too.  I don't have any pictures of what I'm working on currently, but if you follow my shop on FB, you'll see pictures of the latest soon!  With the chillier weather, people are thinking about Christmas gifts and keeping their kids warm, two things that keep me in business!  And I'm very much enjoying all the creating that I get to do as a result :)

Well, I'm not sure what else is new so I think I'll leave it at that.  Besides, the pizza that's in the oven is READY!  Time for some supper!  Yum.

Bump

The bump is definitely growing.  Shall we compare this bump with my Levi-bump at this point?  Sure, just for fun...

Yup, with #2 everything is stretched out already and it just grows and grows and grows some more.  But I'm still really comfortable.  So thankful for that...

It's a boy!

or a girl...one of the two. :)

We had our halfway ultrasound yesterday and the biggest and best part is that baby is growing normally and looks healthy.  And was moving around TONS!  Levi always moved around alot too during ultrasounds and while the doctors tried to find his heartbeat so it wasn't a huge surprise to see baby squirming and shifting and kicking and turning away from the ultrasound wand when we were trying to get a good picture.  The ultrasound technician said that I'm 17w2d according to the size of Baby which is exactly where I would put myself.  My doctor keeps saying that I'm about a week ahead of that but I'm not expecting Baby until closer to the end of February if nature decides when he/she comes.  That said, I'll gladly and graciously welcome Baby earlier than the due date if that's when he/she wants to make his/her appearance! (Man, I've got to come up with something other than typing his/her and he/she all the time)  Here's a sneak peek of Baby...isn't he/she cute?? (baby in in top half of picture, head on left, body on right...profile shot)

Oh, and because some of you aren't on fb, here's the latest belly shot too:

This was taken at the end of August at about 15 weeks.

forgotten...

I just realized today that I completely forgot to show you some pictures that we took while I was still pregnant!  I had forgotten about them myself, because we had them hidden away so that nobody would accidentally find them on our computer, and just today I remembered and am having some printed!  Yay!  I love finding things like this!

Levi's nickname pre-birth was "McBaby"

McBaby kicked the "Y" off of my tummy while we were taking these shots...apparently "McBab" was better?

Though we didn't have a name until the next day when Levi was first born, we had been talking about the name "Levi" for years and, at the point these pictures were taken, we thought we were decided.

and counting...

41 weeks - don't I look impressed?

Today marks 41 weeks of pregnancy.  I never would have guessed that I'd make it to due date, never mind go over-due.  I don't know why I'd be exempt from the many, MANY first-time moms who go over-due.  But hey, it's really not so bad.  The most tiring thing is feeling like I'm being constantly watched.  I feel like a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment, and everyone is watching carefully to see when I finally explode.  I kinda wish I could just blend in.  I guess as soon as baby does arrive, though, I won't have to feel like that anymore...I can just sluff that attention onto baby and fade conveniently into the background!  It can't be too much longer now.  Whoo-hoo!

Oh, and everyone's baby arrival date guesses have passed, so I guess the winner will be the one who comes closest with gender/weight/length.  Apparently there's still time to put in your guess if you haven't already!  Just scroll to the top of the page and click on the link.

p.s-I do feel like I should add that, as tiring as being "watched" is, I am so thankful for everyone who is thinking of us and praying these days.  Thank you!

full term

feeling big

feeling great

feeling patient

 but hoping, nonetheless, that baby decides to come sooner rather than later

40 weeks today

And counting...

39 weeks

I am officially 39 weeks pregnant today and feeling pretty good.  Interestingly, I am enjoying being pregnant far more right now than I was even a couple weeks ago! (Is it possible to feel progressively more comfortable instead of less as time goes on?!) Around 36-37 weeks I was just ready to be DONE.  Today I am feeling quite good and, though anxious to meet this little one who pummels my insides 24/7, surprisingly patient.  That said, feel free to come any time you want to, Baby.  I'm not holding out for my due date if you want to come early!

360 degrees.

I usually don't see myself these days from, well, any angle (except top down as in, from my eyes down to my belly).  And when I don't look in the mirror, I don't really feel that big.  But then I take a picture or walk by a full-length mirror and I am shocked by how big I look!  Wow.  So today I decided to see my 37w5d body from all four sides and I'd say I look pretty good, if I do say so myself. : )

Of course, Lennox had to get in on the pics.  Those eyes of his in the last picture are just pleading me to play with him.  If he didn't insist on my coming down onto the floor to play with him, he would probably be in for more of a treat.  Unfortunately, my trips to the floor these days are carefully thought through and completely necessary when they happen.  There's nothing like sitting down on the floor and then wondering how I'm ever going to get back up again...  LOVE IT!

FINALLY...our new home.

You know how, when you move into a new place, you want everything to be clean and tidy before you take the "after" pictures that everyone is anxious to see?  Well, we missed our first opportunity to take those "perfect" pictures right after we moved in and now life has taken over.  Dog toys are rarely put away as Lennox seems to find new interest in them as soon as they're nicely corralled in a corner or basket.  Homework takes over the dining room table and the nursery is a catch-all of things that are not yet being used and therefore just put in the crib on on the glider.  But hey...this is our life.  And so I decided to take pictures today, just as it is, so that those who are curious can see where we're living these days.  Enjoy.

When you first walk in, this is the entrance that you see.  Normally the washer and dryer would be back a couple feet so that there is more room, but we have some leaking pipes back there that we're waiting for maintenance to come fix so we've been living in some cramped entrance quarters for the past couple weeks.  I am thankful, though, that we do have a decent sized entrance and that we have our own laundry.  Makes up for a little inconvenience now, I'd say!

Pause the tour...little side note.  These are Lennox's dishes.  You'll notice that we have a bowl of water on the left as well as an ice cream pail of water on the right.  We're doing a little experiment with Lennox starting today.  See, we usually fill up his water bowl once every day or day and a half.  And it's not a huge bowl.  But yesterday we were at my parents' place and he drank an entire 4 liter ice cream pail full of water between 4pm and bedtime.  We'd also heard that he drank alot while staying with the people who took care of him this winter while we were in California and Nathan thinks they had water for the dogs in an ice cream pail.  SO, the big question is...do we have a picky dog who prefers drinking from an ice cream pail over a dog dish?  We found it kinda funny, so now we're experimenting with having both available to him and watching to see which one is empty first.  Maybe it'll just make him confused, but we're curious to see if he actually prefers one over the other!  Silly dog.  Back to the tour...

Kitchen.  Basically the same as the picture I took before we moved in except now there are actually things behind the cabinet doors.  Or at least on the bottom two shelves.  The top two shelves almost all the way around are empty because I can't reach them anyway.  These days, with the belly, I find it a stretch to even reach beyond the bottom shelf!

Nursery.  I think it may get re-arranged before baby comes yet.  And I haven't really "organized" as much as I'd like.  But we still have 6-ish weeks before baby is due to arrive so I think I'll be safe if I allow myself AT LEAST 3 more weeks to have everything ready to go. : )

Dining room.  That clutter on the table?  That's a laptop and three stacks of books, each 1.5 feet high.  Nathan has been busy...

Living room.  Pretty self-explanitory...

Storage room.  Because the basement is so humid and "dank - disagreeably damp, musty and typically cold" we've decided to store our not-quite-empty boxes upstairs.  Perhaps, if you come to visit, you will be lucky enough to have this pile of stuff watch over you while you sleep...it is also our "spare bedroom."

And, last but not least, the latest progress on the baby-growing project.  This is McBaby at about 34 weeks.  Not a great picture as far as pictures go, but there's definitely a baby in there.  The belly growth seems to have slowed down in the last few weeks as I'm measuring about the same as I did a couple weeks ago (whew!) but Baby is definitely packing on the pounds!  The numbers on the scale climb almost daily.  Look out!