15-17 weeks

I haven't updated since Thanksgiving and Christmas is this week. Sounds about right. 

In early December, we went to the Pittsburgh Zoo to see the Penguin Parade. This is exactly what it sounds like. They bring out about a half a dozen of the penguins and rope off an area (about 20 yards or so) and the penguins walk down and then back up. Luckily they're lead by Santa (and some trained zoo employees), so they don't get any crazy ideas and go running off.

Emily enjoyed it immensely! It was pretty adorable.

Unfortunately, a lovely little stomach virus was going around Emily's daycare, and she got hit with it. It wasn't too bad, thankfully. She got sick on a Wednesday night one time and then was a bit tired with a slight fever on Thursday, but that was it. She was able to return to school on Friday.

On our "day off" when Em was sick, we stayed in PJs and watched movies all day!

We've also been doing a lot of things to get ready for Christmas. We have multiple countdowns around the house, just to make sure we don't accidentally miss the big day. We've been listening to A LOT of Christmas music, which is fun for everyone, really (despite what Paul may say). Also, we've baked Christmas cookies a couple of times. The first time we used sugar cookie dough that we cut into Christmas shapes (e.g., snowflakes and Christmas trees), and then decorated them with sprinkles. The shapes expanded a bit in the oven, however, and were basically unrecognizable after baking. So, we've been going with the classic standby. The dough that's already divided into the appropriate size per cookie and pre decorated with a tree or other festive character. 

Here Emily is helping me "make" Christmas cookies!

This past Sunday, Emily, Paul, and I were asked to light the advent candles at church. I'm always a fan of lighting things on fire, so this was super fun. No pictures to share from that, but just use your imagination. We successfully lit the first 3 advent candles, followed by the Peace candle for the fourth week of advent. 

Emily's grandmother (Gaga) was in town this weekend so Paul and I took the opportunity to sneak out for a couple dates. It was nice being husband and wife, rather than mom and dad. Saturday night we went out to a fancy dinner at Altius in Mt. Washington. The view is incredible, overlooking the city at night. This was our view, but on the point they had a Christmas tree made of lights.

On Sunday, after church, Paul and I went to the Steelers-Broncos game which was a lot of fun. It was a bit chilly, but not too bad. Just good football weather.

I've also been continuing to grow this human. So below you'll see a couple of pictures. I've mostly been feeling OK, just incredibly tired. I feel more tired this go around, but it could just be because I'm chasing a toddler around this time. Otherwise, feeling pretty similar to how I felt with Em!

15 weeks and 17 weeks. Definitely getting much bigger!

I think I've gained somewhere between 7-10 pounds at this point. I'm not entirely sure, because I'm not sure exactly how much I weighed beforehand. But it's somewhere in that ball park. I feel some kicks or flutters every now and then; nothing to strong and nothing too constant, but it's always a nice surprise when I do feel them! 

We're headed to Richmond later this week to spend the holidays there, as well as partly in Topsail. We can't wait to get back home to friends and family! 

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! 

Thanksgiving

This past week(end) we celebrated Thanksgiving and {officially} kicked off the Christmas season! Although we missed being home with family for the holiday, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends here in PA. 

On Friday we went out and got our Christmas tree! Emily had her class "pet," Waldo the penguin this weekend and he helped us pick out a beautiful Fraser Fir. 

Emily and Waldo in front of our tree. 

Being adorable, posing in front of some fresh decorations. 

Someone was very pleased when we got home and set the tree up! 

On Saturday, we went to see Santa! While we were waiting for him to arrive, we visited with these nutcrackers. 

Emily made fast friends. 

We got to see the big guy, and it went over rather well. This is Emily's "smile."

Later Saturday afternoon we decorated the tree. I had explained to Emily we needed to let the branches fall overnight before we could decorate it. The next morning Emily was concerned the branches were still on the tree. Should've been more specific, I guess. 

At church on Sunday we had a visiting reverend who gave Emily a pretty star ornament, which she immediately hung on our tree when we got home. 

We also baked some Christmas cookies on Sunday. Emily "called" her dad while the cookies were baking. I guess she was concerned. 

And that brings us to the baby update. I'm about 14 weeks now. This past week I actually started feeling some movement. I was about 17 1/2 weeks when I first felt Emily. I remember I was listening to Christmas music (specifically, BandAid's "Do They Know it's Christmastime") when I first felt Emily. I've heard it happens sooner with subsequent children, but I didn't expect it to be this soon. I'm starting to worry this child may be quite large... Previously in the week I thought I might have felt something, but I wasn't sure. By Friday and Saturday I was feeling quite a lot of movement, that was unmistakeable. I guess this little one was as excited about Michigan State's win as we were!

Emily is super excited this week. Even took a break from "shopping" to take a picture with me. 

And now it's back to real life after a lovely holiday weekend. I think this coming weekend we might take Emily to have breakfast with Santa! We'll see how the week goes...

We're pregnant... again!

It's been over a year since I posted, but we've been busy. Since I last posted, I finished my PhD at Michigan State and packed up my little family to move to Pittsburgh to begin a postdoctoral position at the University of Pittsburgh. On a less positive note, our sweet Layla had severe liver failure and had to be put down last December. But we know she's once again chasing flippy-floppies on a beach somewhere!

Oh, and we found out we're pregnant again!

It's not the same not having Layla to keep watch during my weekly photos, but this go around I have a pretty adorable big sister helping!

And yes, we do match.

A friend of mine back in Richmond, VA took our family portraits for our Christmas cards this year, and we snuck a few "announcement" style pictures in as well. (In case you're wondering, it's Anika Colombo Photography and she's amazing. http://anikacolombo.com)

This is the picture we posted on Facebook to "announce" our pregnancy. Emily is mostly on board for this whole thing, but we'll see as the time draws nearer.

We didn't use this picture to announce, but it's another one of my favorites. Anika captured Em's mischievous grin perfectly. This one is trouble.

I am now about 13 weeks along and doing pretty well. I was extremely exhausted during the first trimester, per usual. The doctor did notice my iron was a bit low, which could be contributing, so she put me on an iron supplement on top of my prenatal vitamins. I had one really rough week where I felt absolutely horrible, and it was the week before we were heading to SPAIN for my best friend's wedding. Luckily, I felt much better during the trip and after returning. Must be that Mediterranean air!

I'm pretty sure I posted this last time during my pregnancy, but just as a refresher. It's pretty on point.

We have since done our first trimester screening, which includes an ultrasound and more blood draws. The amount women get poked and prodded during pregnancy is borderline absurd. But anything to make sure our little gummy bear is healthy!

A nice profile shot. 

This past weekend we headed to Philadelphia where I ran/waddled the half marathon and my friend crushed the full marathon. In April I had registered to do the full with her, but after finding out about our little gummy bear, we decided it was best not to push it. The half was more than enough. Even though I know exercise (including running) is incredibly beneficial during pregnancy, I found myself freaking out over every little twinge I felt. A slight cramp and I worried I may be pushing myself too hard. I didn't break any course records obviously, but gummy bear may have won his/her age group. I've yet to confirm this.

I had a "Baby on Board" sticker, but that fell off around mile 5. So the rest of the race I just looked like the weirdo holding her belly. Cool.

So that's where things stand right now! I'll try to update this thing somewhat regularly. For my first Mother's Day after Emily was born, my mom took my updates with all my bump pictures and made a photo book for me. It's one of my favorite gifts I've ever received. Emily and I have been looking at it recently to get her more prepared for what's going to happen. Thanksgiving this week. This is where a pregnant woman does some serious work. I'll be making my Nanny's mac and cheese, a traditional southern delicacy. I plan on eating the whole pan.