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.