Preview of our Christmas photos

We took family pictures with my Mom yesterday. We got a couple of proofs back last night and this one is my favorite so far!!

31 weeks 2 days

We had another check up for little Miss Brooke today. All is well! Her heartbeat is strong and was very easy to find. I've been having a lot of rib pain on the right side and was asking the doctor for ideas on how to relieve that pain. He said it's pretty common for the baby to be pushing toward the right side because the bowels tend to move to the left. He thought she might have a foot or something stuck under my rib. And because I am carrying her very high, there really isn't a lot to be done. When he went to measure me to make sure she's growing appropriately, he couldn't. Apparently I'm carrying so high, that my uterus and child are actually under my ribs. Not just a foot, probably both feet and part of her legs too. No wonder I'm in pain. You can visibly see my right ribs sticking out as compared to the left. The good news (or bad depending on how patient I can be) is that most babies begin to drop by about 34 weeks. So I have roughly 3 more weeks of this and then she should drop enough to relieve the pressure. I might even be able to breathe a bit and eat a normal meal without heartburn. But the trade off will be more bladder pressure (can I really pee more than I already do?) and possible pelvic pain.

Oh well, it's all worth it in the end. And I am so grateful to have this little one doing so well. I've really had a pretty good pregnancy all things considered. It has been more difficult than Lainey's, but hers was really a walk in the park. They are all different! Less than 9 weeks to go!

On another note, Lainey got to feel Baby Brooke moving around last night. She was really active while Lainey was brushing her teeth. I stopped her and had her put her hand on my belly. Her eyes lit up when she felt Brooke move. I don't know if she really understands what it means when I say Baby Brooke is in my tummy. She may have had a small epiphany last night. She keeps telling me that Brooke is getting ready for her birthday. She sure is!

T-minus 67 days to Brooke's due date

Holy cow this pregnancy seems to have flown by!! Am I ready? I've been asked that several times and the answer always seems to be the same. Yes... and no.

Am I ready physically? Yes. I'd love to be done with the pregnancy induced fatigue, the weird hormone swings, and the heartburn. I know that without pregnancy fatigue, I'll have new baby fatigue, but somehow that seems more fun. :)

Am I ready materially? Pretty much. We do still need a crib, but if she came today, she'd be in the pack'n'play anyway. Other than that, we really have all we need. I'm being blessed with two baby showers in the next few weeks and I'll be so thankful for the extra stuff. It will be nice to have some new things so that Brooke has some things all her own, but we really don't need much of anything.

How am I not ready? I'm not really ready for the prospect of managing a toddler that is used to being the center of attention and a newborn. When I hold other people's babies, she gets jealous and that's only for a few minutes! How is going to work when her sister is here all the time? She's also in the lovely stage of being a 2 year old. Meaning she doesn't listen to pretty much anything I ask her to do... or more specifically things she's told not to do. She's a good little girl most of the time, but she's really been testing the limits in the last few days.

I know that all of these things will work themselves out. And I'm not really too terribly worried about how, but it is on my mind. I just keep thinking about how fast 67 days will fly by, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas in the mix. Ready, set, go!

Lainey's Birthday

I've been very behind with this blog. Lainey's 2nd birthday was October 31st. We had a wonderful party with lots of little kids here. It was a Rainbow Happy Birthday! Lainey loved having all of her friends to play with and of course, the balloons. She's asked me for "another Happy Birthday" almost everyday since the party. Here are a few pictures from the big day!

Decorations and yes, the World Series. :)

Appetizer spread- Rainbow veggies and rainbow fruit kabobs. We also had rainbow goldfish crackers, 7 layer dip, and blue chips. :)

M&M Rainbow Cake and rainbow cupcakes.

Making rainbow necklaces with Froot Loop cereal.

Happy Birthday dear Lainey, Happy Birthday to you!

Yummy cupcake!

The inside of the cake is rainbow too!

And finally, a video of the super awesome balloon drop!

Lainey's Ninja Skills

"I be a good minja!"