::crickets:: um hi!

So, I fell off the face of the Earth. Sorry about that. Last you heard from me we were going to the anatomy scan. Well, turns out Tommy was to be a big brother to a boy! We were super excited! I love having a boy so two boys could only be better!

It's a boy!!!

Since then, I've finished up the school year and spent some amazing time with Tommy this summer. Being a teacher is kind of amazing in that I get weekends, holidays, and summers to spend with my family! We bought a summer membership for My Gym and Tommy has really enjoyed that. We have gone twice a week all summer. It was really great for me since we had a pretty hot July and My Gym is air conditioned! It was a way for Tommy to run off some energy, spend some time with other kids, and get out of the house.

Ball pit!

Jump jump jump!

Caterpillar swing

Before we knew it, it was Tommy's second birthday! It's amazing how quickly time has flown. My baby is 2??? He's obsessed with anything Mickey Mouse or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so we decided that would be the theme of his small birthday party. I was 38 weeks pregnant on his birthday and wasn't up to throwing a huge party, plus I don't believe in throwing a huge party every year. Birthdays are important to me but parties aren't. We invited our parents, grandparents, and siblings over for some pizza and cake the weekend before his birthday which fell on a Wednesday this year. Tommy loved being the center of attention and had a blast opening his presents and eating cake.

Mickey boy!

A pinterest inspired treat

Opening presents (my belly is huge!)

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake made by my friend Erin

Mmmmmmm

On Tommy's actual birthday, we started the day with a birthday donut and went to a bounce house place nearby. It was great because other than one 3 year old and his mom, we had the place to ourselves! There are 3 bounce houses, one giant obstacle course inflatable, and one giant slide. Tommy had so much fun running around and jumping!

Weeee

Jumping with dad

So brave to go down such a huge slide!

Me and the birthday boy!

 We came home and Tommy took a nice long nap. He opened presents from us and we ate dinner. The plan was to take him to get ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop but during dinner I started to have some contractions (more about that later) so we pulled out a leftover cupcake from the party the previous weekend and stuck a candle in it. I don't think Tommy minded much!

So there's an update. That brings us to the night of Tommy's birthday, 12 days before my due date with baby boy #2. I'll end here so I can dedicate a whole post about that part of the story!

Jealousy and Anatomy Scan

Our anatomy scan is scheduled for 2:30 this afternoon! Eeeeeeeeee

Ok, anyway. 

My cousin DJ and his girlfriend Jennie had a baby boy, named Keaghan, in February. They brought baby Keaghan to Easter dinner at my parents' house this past Saturday and it was Tommy's first introduction to him. He ran right over to the carseat while DJ was taking him out. Tommy kept pointing and saying baby! 

When my mom was holding baby Keaghan, Tommy watched. When I held Keaghan, Tommy stood close by and watched. When my dad held Keaghan, Tommy freaked. He went up to my dad and cried "Pa! Up Ommy! No baby!" 

Eventually, DJ, Jennie, and baby left to go home. Tommy excitedly waved and said, "bye baby!" no less than 20 times. I think he was excited to have the attention back on him!

The funniest part was the next morning. When he woke up, Tommy called for me like usual. When I went in to get him he looked at me and asked "bye bye baby?" I cracked up and assured him that the baby wasn't there anymore. I think Tommy is going to have a tough adjustment to having a new baby in our house in 4 more months!

Ees boy or ees girl?

I can't believe I'm 20 weeks pregnant already! This pregnancy seems to be flying by, especially now that I'm not dealing with all day morning sickness. This Wednesday is the anatomy scan! When I made the appointment 4 weeks ago, it seemed like it would take years to get through those 4 weeks but we've been so busy that the time flew. 

This morning, Tommy was sitting on my lap and I was talking to him about a few things. He pointed to my belly and said, "baby!" and ripped up my shirt, proceeding to blow raspberries on the "baby." I told him that in two days we would find out if the baby is a girl baby or a boy baby. I've asked him before what he thinks it is and he's completely ignored me, I'm sure he had no clue what I was asking. This time, however, he looked at me and said, "ees girl. Ees Abby." (Tommy adds "ee" or "ees" to the beginning of a lot of sentences and phrases) I quick turned to Bill and asked if he heard, he had and we both laughed! 

My mom is convince it's a girl and has been since we told her I was pregnant. Now Tommy agrees apparently! The funny part is that while Abby is the name of his favorite daycare teacher and presumably where he got that part from, Abigail is one of the names Bill and I have casually thrown around as a girl name for a future female baby. 

Well, I guess we'll find out if Tommy is right in less than two days!

19 week check in

How far along? 19 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: +6lbs total
Maternity clothes? Most. I still have two pairs of nonmaternity pants that I can wear and one pair of jeans that I can wear using the hair tie trick. I'm still trying to wear my looser tops. For some reason, maternity clothes seem so frumpy to me this time, even the ones I loved last time around.
Sleep? I'm sleeping pretty hard lately. I have been falling asleep on my left side and only moving once or twice all night.
Best moment this past week? Feeling the baby moving like crazy!
Sex: The big scan is set for April 3, 4 more days!
Belly button in or out? In, but there's a big bump on one side.
Movement: Lots of flutters, rolls, and the occasional kick or punch.
What I miss? I really want a drink.
What I'm looking forward to this week: The anatomy scan!
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "Your favorite womb-hijacker is suddenly huge, at 10 inches in length!"

Picture: 

Trying to be thrifty

I haven't written a post besides a pregnancy check in in quite some time. My friend Lauren over at Our Little All-American Family is a financially savvy momma and she has been posting tips on how to live more frugally. She has inspired me to take a closer look at our finances. With baby #2 on the way, finances are going to become tighter between daycare, diapers, etc. We have been putting extra money on our mortgage each month to try to pay that down more quickly plus all of the extra costs we are going to be faced with, it's time to start being more aware of our spending. 

Food: This is the area I chose to focus on first. Bill and I have never been very good at making shopping lists aside from the items that we were out of. We would grab a few things for meals in our weekly shopping, but run to the store close to our house to get items for dinner, or take out, multiple times a week. I've decided to start meal planning. It took some convincing but Bill has agreed with me. He's used to eating whatever sounds good on that particular day and deciding our meals a week in advance was foreign to him. 

We discuss meals on Saturday and Sunday for the week and I go to the store to buy the ingredients on Sunday. We've decreased our food bill by A LOT. Between meal planning and buying food for Bill to take lunches with him. We have cut our food bill by almost 40%. Bill is a delivery driver and works long days. He would grab a coffee before work (still does, that was our compromise) then stop once or twice for food throughout the day spending between $10 and $15 each work day (4 days per week). Now I buy sandwich meat, bread, and snacks for him at the store weekly at a cost of less than $20 per week. 

One positive side effect we didn't plan on, was the fact that having a meal plan takes away a lot of stress each night. We know what we're eating and one of us will make the meal without the back and forth conversation of "what do you want for dinner?" "I don't know, what do you want?" There's less time spend running our for ingredients and more time spent as a family. 

This has been GREAT for our finances and good for our family too. 

18 week check in

How far along? 18 weeks 5days
Weight gain/loss: +6 pounds total
Maternity clothes? Most of my pants are now maternity but I've been trying to wear loose tops without needing to go to maternity yet. Most of my maternity clothes are pretty stretched out from last time. I bought one new pair of pants. 

Sleep? Needing slightly less lately.  

Symptoms? Lightheaded in the mornings. Eating a little snack or drinking some OJ helps.
Best moment this past week? I've been feeling lots of movement and Bill has felt it too!

Food cravings: Nothing in particular. 

Sex: We will be finding out April 3, I keep going back and forth on whether I think it's a boy or girl.
Belly button in or out: In but puffy. I actually think its cute!
Movement: Lots!
What I miss? Being able to hold Tommy for longer than a minute or two. The muscles in my stomach start to feel strained very quickly.
What I'm looking forward to this week: Keeping this baby growing!

18 week check in from last pregnancy. 

Check-in (16 weeks)

How far along? 16 weeks 5days
Weight gain/loss: +5 pounds total
Maternity clothes? Most of my pants are now maternity but I've been trying to wear loose tops without needing to go to maternity yet. Most of my maternity clothes are pretty stretched out from last time. 

Sleep? Needing slightly less lately.  

Symptoms? Lightheaded in the mornings. I've started needing to eat a small snack before getting up again.
Best moment this past week? I got to hear the heartbeat this week! I'm also feeling more movement lately. 

Food cravings: Sweet potato chips...mmmm

Sex: We will be finding out April 3, I keep going back and forth on whether I think it's a boy or girl.
Belly button in or out: In
Movement: Sporadically
What I miss? Clothes that fit well. Regular clothes are too tight, maternity clothes are too big.
What I'm looking forward to this week: Keeping this baby growing!