High hopes...low expectations

That title means that I am going to do my best to start writing weekly updates for this pregnancy, but I am sure I will let time slip by and miss a few weeks again.

I am currently in the middle of my 15th week of pregnancy. Once I got out of the first trimester, I started to notice that I had a little more energy throughout the day, and I definitely started feeling more like myself in terms of eating. Like I had mentioned before, I was VERY nauseous with Karsen, and this pregnancy hasnt been nearly that bad, but I still felt some of those side effects every once in a while.

Every doctors appointment is such a great visit because I love hearing the heartbeat. I had an appointment the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the doc found the heartbeat with no problem, and said that everything else looked good. My next appointment wont be for 6 weeks when I will have an ultrasound to confirm proper growth (and gender...another boy!) and another check in with the doc.

Bruce and I still try to talk about a baby around Karsen but all he says is "Baby" and then moves on. Of course he doesn't quite get it, but once my belly starts growing, we will probably continue to talk about it so hopefully he is a little prepared.

Karsen has been doing so great lately! Over Thanksgiving break, he dropped to one nap a day so that means he is going down for the night around 7p and doesnt wake until after 7a. The one nap is a nice long one (2-2.5 hours) so it is an overall good change. I am also struggling to be creative with his meals. We have gotten in the habit of doing what is easy and I can tell that he is starting to dislike the food because it is the same thing over and over. I attended one of those freezer workshops a few weeks ago where we prepared meals that are kid friendly, and I finally made one of the recipes. I have really enjoyed the flavor so I look forward to giving Karsen some of that this evening for dinner. He is really loving spaghetti and pasta meals so I know it'll be a hit.

Here are some recent pictures of the kid. His vocabulary is growing so much by the day. It is so fun to finally be able to have a little conversation with him. Even though we dont understand everything he says, it has made life a little easier. We have also noticed he has started to throw small tantrums here and there. Nothing major, but he will be fine one minute, and then we offer him some milk or something, and he says "NO!" and starts crying and rolling around on the ground. SERIOUSLY KID?! Haha. Luckily, those are few and far between.

Just a boy in his wagon...thinking about life...

He is working on catching but hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet.

He was so ready for Thanksgiving dinner!

Helping mom fluff the tree.

Go Chiefs!

12 weeks

Yesterday (and some today) we finally let the cat out of the bag with family and friends that Bruce and I are expecting another peanut! Oh yeaaaaaa!!!

Truth be told, I have to wonder how I will manage a toddler and an infant, but people manage it every day, so if they can do it...so can I!

Here is the picture we text people!

Today I go back to the doctor to get some blood drawn. The doctors office has started offering blood testing to test for the presence of an extra chromosome; otherwise know as a trisomy. The doctor said there is no concern based on my age or family history, but it is something we can do to give us a heads up if we would like. We decided to go ahead and do it just so we can be a little more prepared. This test will also tell us the gender of the baby so that helped us make our decision. We will have the results back in a few weeks. We definitely plan on knowing the gender and will share when we know!

MB

11 weeks

Tomorrow marks 11 weeks!! Bruce and I have known of the pregnancy since about week 3. I had a feeling very early on that I might be pregnant and took the test fairly early. From the beginning, the test had been positive so I was very excited!! The only thing I wasnt looking forward to was the nausea and fatigue. Some nausea hit at about week 6 but it has not been near as intense as it was with Karsen. I am still able to eat things without being totally disgusted. While I havent been able to eat as much, to be able to eat is a positive thing so I am going with it. I havent lost near the amount of weight I lost with Karsen (because of the nausea) but I have lost a few pounds which I know will only help me later in the pregnancy. I have still been quite tired and have gone to bed fairly early most nights. The nausea really tapered off around week 9 and while I have bouts of it from time to time, I am starting to feel like my regular self again.

Yesterday (Thursday, October 29) Bruce, Karsen and I went to my 10 week OB appointment to hopefully hear a heartbeat. I have been so anxious this time around to hear that heartbeat. I dont know why, but I kept making myself nervous of whether or not we would hear anything. The doc put the doppler on my tummy and was searching around for a few minutes. There is obviously a reason I am not a doctor because I could have swore we heard the heartbeat a few times but he kept moving the doppler and said he couldnt find anything. He said "Not to worry. 10 weeks is really the earliest we should be able to hear anything and many times, we dont, but that doesnt mean anything is wrong." He then left the room to get the portable ultrasound machine. He had no problem finding my uterus and the little peanut. Within seconds he had moved the screen towards me and said "That little flash of white is the heart." And I said "Since it is flashing white...that means the heart is working?!" He kind of laughed and said "Oh yea. It is all working." WHEW! So, while we didnt get to HEAR the heartbeat, we at least could see it on the ultrasound and that gave me a sense of relief. I am already anxious for the next appointment so we can actually hear something.

I have told Bruce from the beginning that I just have a really strong feeling this little person is a girl. I am mainly feeling that way since I havent had near the "terrible" first trimester that I had with Karsen. But who even knows. Like last time, we will find out the gender because I want to be as prepared as possible!

And not to forget the first child...here are some pics of Karsen!

THE ROYALS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!

When the Royals won the last world series, I was Karsens age. A little over 1 year old. Of course, it is nothing I remember, and I know this is nothing Karsen will remember, but I made sure to take plenty of pictures so we will at least enjoy looking through them some day and telling friends "My mom took me to the parade!" Below are some pictures from the parade. Poor kid was all energized and excited about it, but we stood around too long and he ended up getting tired. BUT, he was SO GOOD even though he was tired and hungry. Such a trooper.

Karsen laid on either my dads shoulder or my brothers shoulder most of the duration of the parade. He was so tired but so calm and not whiny at all. Love that kid!

There is Ned with the trophy!!

MB

Halloween

I have never been a big fan of Halloween. I was never the creative kid who had rockin costumes. Mine were always whatever I could find lying around the house and it usually consisted of me wearing my soccer uniform. Haha. Not my strength. I knew once having kids, I would have to step up my game, but lucky for me, I have been gifted a few costumes and they sure have come in handy! Last year, Karsen was a cow for Halloween and this year, he had the cutest dinosaur costume! The festivities started on Friday, October 30th where my parents picked up Karsen from daycare and brought him to school so he could partake in the halloween parties here. Here are a few pictures from school. Keep in mind, this was the first time he had the costume on, so I think he was a little confused...

The other middle school teachers and I were dressed up like dominos. 

After a while, he got warm in his costume so we took it off and he played with a soccer ball in the hallway until the kids were dismissed for the day.

Later that day, Karsen and I went out to Bruce's work because they were hosting a halloween haunted house type of thing. Of course, Karsen hasnt quite gotten down the "trick or treat" phrase yet, but he still had a good time walking around checking out the place. 

On Halloween night, the Royals were playing so Bruce got the TV outside and we set up a few fire pits, and enjoyed watching the game while trick-or-treaters came up the driveway. Karsen hung in pretty well with us for a little bit but by 730p, he was exhausted. 

I would say overall, that Karsen had a good weekend!

MB

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch!!

A yearly visit to the Pumpkin Patch is a must in the Summers household. We went to a small local patch last year since we knew Karsen wasn't too mobile, and we weren't quite sure what to expect. This year, we made the 30 minute drive down to Lawrence to visit Schaakes Pumpkin Patch. It was a good time and worth the drive! Karsen was so distracted by everything going on, that the pictures to follow aren't the greatest. He was too busy checking everything else out, to stop and smile for the camera.

Again, too distracted to even look in my direction. 

He loved checking out all the pumpkins!

He was loving the BIG pumpkin!

At this point we had picked out our pumpkins and were on the tractor ride back to the main building to pay for them!

Loved this measuring stick! That'll be fun to see how he grows over the years.

This was no petting zoo, but he did like checking out the animals. 

Summer photo dump

In preparation for the school year starting, I have yet again been slacking on the blog update. Oops. 

Below are some pictures from the summer Karsen and I spent together! I was a little nervous going into summer break because I was worried I would not provide enough excitement for the kid. Daycare is a super exciting place and I was only one person! :)