21 Weeks: It's a...

How far along?

21 weeks

How big is baby?

An Endive 10.5" and 12.7 oz

Weight Gain
10ish lbs depending on the day/scale

What's baby up to this week?
Lil man's digestive system is prepping for the outside world. He is making the tarry black substance that we will experience with the first dirty diaper...and let me tell you AJ can't wait for this again ;)

Symptoms?

Just a few backaches here and there, but nothing crazy. I'm a little more winded these days and it's getting a little trickier to bend down quickly and pick things up.

Maternity Clothes?

Maternity pants mixed with regular tops. I really popped starting about 17 weeks; which was much sooner than with Benny. I feel like I definitely look pregnant nowadays...which is great because it's shortened the "is she pregnant or has she been eating a lot of donuts" stage.

Sleep?

Sleep has been pretty good for the most part. I have had a few sleepless nights due to a sick dog and some moving/life anxiety.

Missing Anything?
With the stress of the move I would really like a glass bottle of wine or a beer

Craving?

Still craving sweets, but not nearly as much as I was before, and my appetite has actually slowed down a bit (THANK GOODNESS)...but I am thinking about Pepsi A LOT. I completely avoided caffeine when I was pregnant with Benny and it didn't bother me at all...but this time around I have given into my cravings here and there. 

Aversions?

Nothing really...I am still having a hard time drinking enough water, but it's more because I am not thirsty or thinking about it.

Emotions?

I have been a bit anxious the last few weeks with the upcoming move...which has then transferred over to anxiety about the baby. Leading up to the anatomy scan I was super duper anxious about something being wrong with baby's health. I didn't have any anxiety leading up to Benny's...but for some reason this time around I was so anxious...I think I can contribute some of that to the move and all the other things going on in life right now :)

We had our scan on Thursday and I held my breath the entire time. When we met with the doctor afterwards and she said "baby is growing right on track, anatomy looks good, and everything looks perfect" I let out a huge sigh of relief and started to cry. I'm so so so grateful and relieved! 

Movement? 

YES! Finally I am feeling some consistent movement. I have been feeling little flutters for the last month, but nothing very consistent or strong. I had one day where I didn't feel the baby move at all and let's just say I was in panic mode...but now I am feeling little pokes throughout the day every day...and that makes me so happy!

I also found out at the anatomy scan I have what they call an "anterior placenta" which means the placenta is in the front and explains why I felt movements later, lighter, and less frequently than with Benny.

Best Moment(s)
So many great things this month...#1 was seeing our sweet, healthy, baby BOY!!! I went into the scan feeling like it was a boy, but I had been SO wrong with Benny I wasn't sure. He was a modest little guy and kept his legs clamped tightly shut for quite awhile which made me think it might be a girl...because with Benny his goods were the first thing that flashed on the screen lol! While we would have been THRILLED with a baby girl, we are both so excited that Benny is going to have a little brother. I think there is just something so special about a same gender siblings and their relationship as they grow up.

We also closed on our house on Tuesday and moved in this weekend. This process has been a whirlwind of craziness and it's so nice to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now it's just time to add our own personal touches and make it our own.

Finally, crossing the finish line of the Rock the Parkway half marathon was pretty darn incredible. I have had my doubts over the last month that I would be able to run 13.1 miles at 20 weeks pregnant...but I did it, and I am SO proud!

Pregnancy Brain Moments

Words...words are so damn hard these days and it's frustrating to say the least. I can't even laugh at myself right now because I am so frustrated. 

Looking forward to?
Getting unpacked and settled into our new house and celebrating Easter with Benny and our family. 

Projects/Baby Gear purchased?

After our anatomy scan I went to Target to get peeps for our little "reveal" and as I walked through the baby clothes (I couldn't resist!) I grabbed a pack of cute little newborn sized onsies <3

Running?
Running has been AMAZING! I was able to complete several long runs leading up to Rock the Parkway half and then complete the half relatively easily. I had some soreness in my pubic bone/pelvis immediately following the long runs and the race, but I felt fine the next day. And on top of that I was able to run the half marathon in 2 hours and 29 minutes...which was slower than my other half marathons...but it was still only 25 minutes slower than my slowest; and at 20 weeks pregnant I feel like that is an accomplishment.

 At this point with Benny I was running no more than 4-5 miles at a time due to soreness...hoping this is a good sign for things to come!

Big Brother Moments
Oh this boy keeps us laughing every.single.day! His "terrible twos" have created a lot more drama and tears in our days...but for the most part he is still pretty happy go lucky, and I am hoping once the chaos of moving is over we will all be feeling a lot less stressed. At his 2 year check-up he was super cooperative (and quite the ham) and let Dr. Foss check his teeth (which he never lets me do!) and she said his bottom molars were coming in...so I am wondering if that has also contributed to the increase in drama ;)

We have been asking him for weeks if he is going to have a baby brother or a baby sister and he will just look at us and say nothing. He refuses to answer the question and changes the topic quickly. When we ask him if he is going to be a big brother he responds with "No thanks" soooo...we are adjusting to the news quite well ;)

After our anatomy scan we wanted to tell Benny in a cute way that we could video tape and send to our family members. So, I bought some Peeps and put them in an Easter egg for him to open....and let's just say it went a little awry. He was more interested in his candy and now he is convinced he is getting a purple Easter Bunny come August lol! This kid is in for a heck of a surprise ;)

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Happy Birthday Benny! {TWO}

And just like that...we have a TWO year old!

It's so clique...and I swore I would NEVER be that mom, but here I am saying "Where has the time gone?"

 Seriously, people tell you it goes fast...and they are not lying. It feels like just yesterday that he was born. I guess time flies when you are having fun, right?

Luckily, this year Bennett's birthday was on a Saturday so we got to spend all day long celebrating! A nice change of pace from last year when we had to pick him up from daycare early with a fever.

We started off the day with going into his room with balloons and singing him happy birthday. The smile on his face was amazing...and when he looked at us after we finished singing he said "Hey, what's going on?" we both died laughing.

After that we took him downstairs so he could have his birthday presents. The gift I was most excited about was his Paw Patrol Lookout Tower! I spent weeks scouring the internet and swap sites for a used Lookout Tower because the new ones are $100 and I couldn't bring myself to spend that on something we weren't sure he would even really play with.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about because this kid is OBSESSED! We had a few other presents for him and he started opening one but stopped immediately to go back and play with his lookout tower lol! 

Still days later he will come downstairs after nap and light up and say "MY LOOKOUT TOWER" I think it's safe to say his birthday gift was a success! 

After we convinced him to open his other presents we then got changed out of our jammies and headed to IHop for breakfast with Grammy and Papa. 

Even though it was his birthday, he insisted on paying the bill ;) 

After breakfast my parents came back to the house to give Benny his presents. They wanted him to be able to open him before the chaos of his birthday party that night. 

He was much more enthusiastic about these presents...but it could have been because they were all Paw Patrol...well all except one...

My dad ended up making an impulsive purchase at the Disney Store a few weeks back and has been SO excited to give Benny is very own animatronic Chewbacca toy.

This kid was VERY unsure of this growling creature. He definitely kept his distance and always had an eye on him...it was so funny!

After lunch it was time for nap and this boy was TOO EXCITED to sleep. He jumped around in his crib, sang songs, and even managed to snag one of his books off the ladder next to his bed. I was sure we were going to be dealing with "no nap Benny" but he finally settled down after about an hour.

After nap we headed out to my parents house for a family pizza party. I'm so grateful my mom agreed to host, because our house is currently in the process of being packed up for the move.

This kid loves his pizza and a pizza picnic with daddy and his big cousin "Nona" was even better! 

He waited patiently for his birthday cake, and his face lit up when he finally got to see the Lion King cake he has requested. 

Seriously, my very favorite part of the day was seeing his face light up as we sang happy birthday to him. It was like he was in disbelief that no only was he getting cake but we were singing to him! 

 

These two little sweeties waited SO patiently for their pieces of cake!

Two peas in a pod!

After cake we opened presents and this guy was a total champ! He obviously wanted to open each present and play with it immediately, but he got through the mountain of presents eventually!

It was the absolutely perfect day spent with our little guy and our family <3 I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to spend the whole day celebrating not only his birthday, but the joy he has brought to our family over the last 2 years. 

TWO

How is it that I have been writing these monthly recaps for 2 years now? It doesn't seem quite possible to be honest with you. Kids have a way of putting life on fast forward! 

Every month I think I am going to stop with the updates, but they are just so much fun to go back and look at...and honestly, once baby #2 comes I have a feeling my memory will be even worse...so at least this way I will have a written account of our sweet little guys' baby and toddler years. 

This month he seemed to change SO much. His little personality and the funny little things he says kept us laughing all month long...and at times it has us shaking our heads and wondering where he picked that up...and the answer is always us...of course...so that makes it all the more funny.

His newest phrase has been "I not..." followed by whatever activity he isn't wanting to participate in. He will say "I not wearing that" when he feels extra picky about his clothes (or pjs) he will say "I not eating that" if he isn't feeling something we put on his plate...and my favorite by far is "I not tired...AT ALL" when we tell him that it is bed time. His cute little voice makes his opposition to these things less frustrating and more cute :) 

He also loves to overuse the phrase "No tank you" We tried teaching him that to avoid the hateful "NO" that we were getting, but now it seems to have backfired on us. When we tell him "let's go upstairs for bed" he will politely say "No tank you" 

Brushing his teeth is another situation where we get a lot of "no tank yous" and you would think we were trying to torture this kid all in the name of good oral hygiene. Once we get started he is fine, but I think he knows that brushing his teeth in the evening leads to bed time, so he isn't the biggest fan. 

He had been fighting us pretty hard core at bed time and yelling "Guys, wait" and putting his hand in the air when we would go to leave his room...but lately he has been a lot more cooperative. Even when he isn't crazy about bedtime he settles down and usually falls asleep pretty quickly. His bedtime is still around 7:30PM and we still wake him up at 6:45 during the week and he will sleep until 7:30ish on the weekends. He is a great sleeper and we are continuing to thank our lucky stars (and stocking up on sleep before August!)

He is still a little picky with his eating, but still eats quite a variety of foods. Some days he will refuse to try anything new and other times he surprises us by eating all of his grilled green beans. We continue to offer him new foods, and foods he has previously rejected, but we don't worry to much if he decides to eat or not. If he skips a meal (or just eats a piece of cantaloupe and a few spoonfuls of ranch dressing) he will often make up for it at the next meal...so we aren't too worried. We have also started giving him a daily multi-vitamin, which he calls his "bitamin" so we feel a little better about him getting what he needs. 

His favorite foods are still mac and cheese, peanut butter, fruit snacks, and gold fish. He loves any and all fruit, but when we asked what his favorite was he told us cantaloupe. Whenever we ask him what he wants for lunch, he will get very serious and say "Ummm....how bout....mac and cheese" 

Now that the weather has FINALLY gotten nicer we spend most of our time outdoors and all he wants to do is color with chalk. I swear this kid would spend his entire day coloring if we would let him. He still likes his puzzles, but he doesn't ask for them 24/7 like he used to...which is good because I was getting tired of them ;) 

He is also still VERY into Paw Patrol. He likes the show...but really prefers to listen to "exa" play the theme song and the "pup pup boogie" and for his birthday he got a Lookout Tower and a couple of the cars and characters so he spends most of his time playing with that. 

His favorite movie has been Lion King up until a few days ago when we let him watch a little bit of Star Wars and now all he wants to do is "watcha star wars" lol! I can't say I mind that one bit!

Other than coloring and Paw Patrol he doesn't play with many toys. He likes his trains and Mr. Potato Head quite a bit, but would prefer to play with things that aren't toys. He loves to build forts and then dive-bombs onto the blanket from the couch. We have to watch closely because this kid has no fear and is going to break his neck if we aren't careful. My mama heart stops every time that little daredevil tries out one of his new tricks. 

This last month seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, and while I am still in denial that he is already two...I am enjoying this age/stage SO much! His interactions, his personality, and watching him learn new things has been SO much fun. He does have more of an opinion these days and a few fits here and there, but all in all he is still our easy going, happy go lucky kid and he is pretty much guaranteeing us that baby #2 will give us a run for our money ;)