17 Weeks & Growing!

It's hard to believe that we are 17 weeks along already with the new little one. Bub the hub and I decided that from now on, we shall refer to this sweet new arrival on the blog as Baby Bub. And I am super excited because we are going to find out whether baby bub is a boy or a girl in two short weeks! Everyone around me seems to think that this one is going to be another girl, but I'm leaning more toward boy this time. Of course, I would love either one, but we sure do have the wardrobe for another little girl!! And for some reason it's much easier for me to come up with girl names that I like than boy names, although nothing official yet.

I like to put lil'bub's hand on my belly and ask her if she thinks baby bub is going to be a girl or a boy, but she just gives me a mischievious smirk and refuses to say. Here is a photo of my bump from a few weeks ago, it's already so big in my eyes!! I'll take another one soon.

I decided to fill out the pregnancy questionnaire that I always see on other blogs, it's kinda fun:
How far along?  17 weeks and 2 days
Total weight gain/loss?  6 pounds already!
Maternity clothes?  Yes, I seriously threw on the maternity jeans at about 8 weeks. Now I'm just wearing all of my regular dresses. I am also eagerly anticipating my first pair of maternity shorts this week from oldnavy.com.
Sleep?  Sleeping is already tough- waking up a lot in the middle of the night
Movement?  I have been feeling little flutters and kicks for about two weeks, I love that part!
Food cravings?  Bub the hub is still taking me to get the fried pickles once a week, and I'm still craving a lot of fruit. Last week I had to have jellybeans and then I totally overdid it. No. more. jellybeans. 
What I miss: Walking up the stairs without getting tired!
Milestones:  This week the baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone...so important :)

I still need to post some photos from our Houston Rodeo visit. I think Avery had a good time. It was also nice because Bub the hub got to come with us this year. I think he had fun too. I know I did because I got to eat an a-mazingly gooey cinnamon bun, ha! It's all about food now.

Giggling Fits

Lil'bub has has been on spring break this week, along with everyone else, so not a lot of time to blog! I've been wanting to share this silly video for awhile though. I can't help but laugh again every time I watch it.

Sometimes there are certain words that send lil'bub into giggle fits. Weird, I know, but I think it's similar to when we hear a certain word and think that it's a funny sounding one. Like the word "finagled," for instance. At least, I think that's a funny word. Or "bulbous" perhaps? Anyway, one day she was cuddling in my lap and I asked her whether she wanted a snack. Yep, the word "SNACK." Fits of giggles ensued!

Re-assess and Re-adjust

For almost nine months, my mind had been super focused on selling our house and moving closer to Bub the hub's work. Although we really enjoy living in our area, and love many things about this house, we knew that eventually we'd like to add another bedroom and a bigger backyard. We weren't necessarily in a hurry, but as time went on, I  (especially) got more and more involved in planning for a new, bigger home: I was constantly online looking around at houses, and my garage slowly began to fill with new junk decor and furniture items for our next home.

So I had to make a huge brain adjustment recently when our situation changed, and we had to reassess our priorities. Back in January, we found out that we were not going to able to afford Avery's private school for very much longer. It was more of a shock than I anticipated, but we'd always meant to eventually transition her into a public early learning center...so it wasn't like there was absolutely no plan. But throw in the fact that we had just found out we were pregnant AND that lil'bub was showing the best progress ever at her private school...yes, we needed to reevaluate.

Moving to a bigger house meant that we were going to have to spend more money and definitely not be able to afford the private school. Bub the hub and I talked and talked about what to do, but there was no way to make it all work. So we made a decision. Our next step was taking the house off the market and refinancing in order to afford the tuition payment. The bigger house and backyard will have to wait.

It was really strange to be intensely focused on moving for so long, and then all the sudden revert back. I definitely took a while to adjust. A month or so later, I feel so much more at peace with our decision. It's pretty impossible to put a price on the peace of mind and confidence in your child's care and education, and most especially when lil'bub needs so much more of it at this point than other children! We have a gorgeous home that I feel lucky to have, and definitely room for another munchkin....so it's like, live and learn. Sometimes what you think is the typical next step is not what's the most right for your own family. Plus, I get to continue enjoying my closet that's as big as a normal bedroom. So there's that.

Fried Pickles and FroYo

As some of you may already know, Bub the hub and I are expecting a new little bub at the end of the summer! We are over the moon about it, of course, and can't wait for Avery to have a little brother or sister. I talk to her about the baby all the time, but I can't imagine she has any idea what's in store...I'm sure neither do we for that matter! Two babies (because Avery is still my baby!) is going to be quite an adjustment, but one we feel ready to take on at this point. We are both thrilled and admittedly a bit terrified to start this new journey.

I am now starting my second trimester, and it's been so absolutely different from my pregnancy with lil'bub. First and foremost, the nausea has been way more under control. While at this stage of my pregnancy with Avery, I was about -10 in the weight department, I am happy to report that I have definitely not missed a meal nor lost any weight AT ALL. Pretty sure it's about +5 actually. The way this little baby bump popped out around week 8 was very shocking to me, to say the least, but I'm happy that my body sure knows what to do :) The cravings have definitely already started for me, which have lately included what you see in the title of this post, along with a whole lot of fruit and salad. My guess is the baby is requesting the latter, while it's probably just me seeking the fried pickles and fro-yo!! (not together) Yum.

I am also happy to report that we know the new baby does not have the condition Avery carries, which is a huge load of our minds, and makes our pregnancy a much less stressful one. I can't really explain how nice it is to focus instead on important things like, for instance, will this baby look as much like Bub the hub as Avery did when she was born?

And then magically morph later into looking more like her momma ?

Or perhaps will it be the other way around? Well we are excited to find out! And so unbelievably thankful to be able to wonder about these things instead :)