24 weeks and deep thought

As I start week 24, I look forward to being at the end of this pregnancy and meeting this little man. Sadly, the reason I am so excited is because that means I will be done with this school year and done with this terrible group of 7th graders. Don't get me wrong, I am SO excited to meet son #2, but I am also ready for an extended break away from school stress.

So far throughout this pregnancy, I have so many mixed emotions about having a second child. The first trimester (before a bump was even visible) I kept thinking "Can we seriously handle a second child? What the heck are we thinking?!" Once I got past that thought, I got really excited. I cant wait to see Karsen as an older brother. We have already been moving some things from his room to "brothers room" and he loves helping with it! We even hang out and play in brothers room and I am hopeful that helps him understand a little more when the baby is actually here.

Most recently, my attitude of this pregnancy has been one of some guilt. How can we be having a second kid when Karsen is SO awesome?! How will we ever share time between them so that neither feels neglected?! I want to give Karsen as much attention and time as he currently receives, but I just dont know if that will be possible. I dont want him to be upset towards us when he doesnt get quite the same amount of attention...

Below is the bump pic.

How far along? 24 weeks. The baby is as long as an ear of corn.

Total weight gain: The scale still reads up 9 pounds. Since it has been warmer this week, I have gotten outside and gone on a walk a few times. I hope to maintain the weight a little better if I can get out and walk more.

Maternity clothes: Maternity jeans and tops...and elastic pants!

Sleep: Sleep has been rough this week...and primarily because I have had quite a bit on my mind. These kids seem like such turds at school, and I was part of another parent meeting where the parent attacked my character. This time I was much more blunt and forceful in my response to her. All of this coming from a parent of a kid who is on a behavior plan. REALLY?! I took all of her "suggestions" and hurtful comments with a grain of salt, but for her to even feel that comfortable to say them to me just shows the type of person she is. One word...Karma. I just hope Im around to see it...

Best moment this week: School was rough again this week. Thank goodness next week is a 3.5 day week. And I am hoping we have a snow day too!

Miss anything? Still wine. We were watching one of our cooking shows and all I could think about was the wine they were drinking. Haha.

Movement: Stronger kicks!

Food cravings: Id say my cravings are sweets. Cant get enough of them...

Symptoms: No real symptoms. Occasional stomach tightening with stress, otherwise feeling great!

Belly button in or out? In. 

Wedding rings on or off? On and comfortable.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy to be home with Karsen and Bruce...moody at school...

Looking forward to: Hopefully a snow day next week!

23 weeks

We had Monday off school for the holiday, but that of course made this week at school feel SO. LONG. On top of that, many students were issues so it just made for an all around tough time. Needless to say, I was happy when the weekend showed its face! This week there were a few stints of snow, but of course none of them produced a snow day, so I am sure that is what made this week feel even longer than normal. Below are some pictures of Karsen from the week and then a belly pic!

A blanket over the garden makes for a nice fort!

Practicing more selfies. 

"Move quicker on breakfast, mom!"

Animal crackers.

Discovering static electricity!

Never enough tub wall space for all the letters.

Bath time is so much fun!

He loves to read.

"Im taller!"

He was too distracted by the snow on his shoe to even care about the soccer ball. Mom and kid were SO glad it was nice outside!

How far along? 23 weeks. The baby is the size of a mango.

Total weight gain: I am up 9 pounds from the start of this pregnancy. Yikes. Clearly it has been a stagnant winter for me. As it starts getting warmer, I plan on going out to walk a lot more. Let's hope that helps curb the added weight.

Maternity clothes: Still the maternity jeans and I've started incorporating more maternity tops into my wardrobe for school. And like last week, still squeezing into my tshirts!

Sleep: Sleep is ok. It is getting better. I have stopped drinking water too late at night and that has helped me sleep through the night.

Best moment this week: School was AWFUL this week, so my best moments were coming home to spend time with K...and Bruce!

Miss anything? I could have really used a glass of wine this week...

Movement: Still kicks throughout the day. The kicks are even getting stronger! 

Food cravings: Id say my cravings are sweets. Cant get enough of them...

Symptoms: I didnt feel as much stomach tightening this week as I did last. I remember that same thing happening when I was pregnant with Karsen. Things I have read say around this time in pregnancy, the body starts preparing for labor so I would feel tightening. Guess it all happened as normal. 

Belly button in or out? In. 

Wedding rings on or off? On and comfortable.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy to be home with Karsen and Bruce...moody at school...

Looking forward to: Spring break! :)

22 weeks

This week seemed to be a pretty standard week. I had hoped this week would be our first shot at getting back into a full blown routine after Christmas break, but when I went to pick Karsen up from daycare on Monday, I noticed his eyes looked really tired and he had some discharge coming from both eyes. Both are signs are pink eye. UGH! AGAIN?! He just had it a few months ago and it looked like he had it again. Luckily, once he hit the 18 month mark, he was big enough to be taken into Urgent Care at CVS, so I brought him home, gave him dinner, then headed to CVS. Bruce met us there to get us "in line" but luckily there was no one ahead of us, so we walked right in. Karsen clearly knew this was a place he had never been before, because he was very agitated and clinging. One might assume it was because he wasn't feel well, but once we left CVS, he wanted to run around and play. Either way, we got a prescription for his pink eye and an ear infection. I have to wonder if he REALLY had an ear infection because he was acting totally normal with the exception of his eyes. No tugging at his ears or anything. Oh well. We are still giving him the meds for both just in case. He stayed home from daycare on Tuesday so the hope of getting back into a full swing routine, was shot. Oh well. He returned to daycare on Wednesday and stayed all week. His pink eye is gone and I am assuming so is the ear infection.

Because the weather was so nice on Wednesday and Thursday, I made sure to get him outside to play a little. Thursday, we even went to the park. Here are some pics.

He would get in the tunnel that lead to the curly slide, but never went down that slide. 

Another slide he enjoyed sitting on top of, but he never made his way down. The only slide he would go down had the waves in it. 

Our little daredevil started to climb this, but only made it up those first few rungs before he realized he was in over his head. Haha. 

And below is the bump picture. Hopefully the white background makes it easier to see it grow. Yikes! It's getting there!

How far along? 22 weeks. The baby is the size of Spaghetti Squash.

Total weight gain: I haven't weighed myself since last week. I wouldn't be surprised if I gained a solid 5 pounds this week. I've been eating sweets like they're going out of style. Sheesh.

Maternity clothes: Still the maternity jeans and I've started incorporating more maternity tops into my wardrobe for school. And like last week, still squeezing into my tshirts!

Sleep: Sleep is ok. The last few nights I haven't slept the greatest but neither has Karsen...so I think we are still all trying to get back on the rockin sleep schedule we had before Christmas break.

Best moment this week: I got some more things for #2's room. A cheap car mirror and breathable bumper. Both brand new but bought at a discount. It's the small things...

Miss anything? Still missing booze.

Movement: Still kicks throughout the day.

Food cravings: No crazy cravings...although maybe I should say sweets since I've been enjoying them quite often this week.

Symptoms: Like last week, I can feel when my stomach tightens. A few days this week it was super tight, but today it feels fine. Clearly some days are more stressful than others.

Belly button in or out? In. 

Wedding rings on or off? On and comfortable.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy to be home with Karsen and Bruce...moody at school...

Looking forward to: Spring break! :)

21 weeks

Saturday marked week 21 of baby number 2. What an exciting week it was!

I have been feeling this baby kick as early as week 13. Since I knew what to feel for, it was easier for me to distinguish between a baby kick and a growling tummy. From that early, I only felt kicks from time to time, but around week 19 I was feeling kicks ALL. THE. TIME. With Karsen, I always looked so forward to doctor appointments so they could get out the doppler for me to hear his heartbeat. With this kid, yes it is nice to hear his heartbeat, but at least I know he is alive and well because of all the kicking!

Thursday we had our sonogram. With Karsen, we had a scan early in the pregnancy (10 weeks) as well as the 20 weeks scan, but with this one, Thursday was the only sonogram we have had. It was such a fun appointment! Not only did we get to see the kid moving his arms and legs all over the place, but the sonographer got him yawning as well as drinking some amniotic fluid. SO COOL! She also confirmed that he is a boy. Below are some pictures she sent home with us.

Here is a standard profile picture. Cute nose and big head!

He kept pressing his foot against the wand she put on my belly, so the lady got a good pic of his cute little foot and toes!

Kind of hard to tell but he has turned his head and is looking right at us. 

Saturday we had people over to watch the Chiefs kick butt then we went out to the Missouri Comets indoor soccer game. The soccer game was a total bust but it was fun to watch the Chiefs win. Here are some pics of Karsen in his Chiefs gear. He always knows when mom is taking a picture so he doesnt look at the camera too easily anymore. 

He spent some time reading Saturday morning.

Helping mom put the mobile up on brothers crib.

Karsen with his foam finger from Papa Ken! He was ready to cheer!

The Chiefs family hanging out on the couch. 

Finally, here is the bump picture for the week. Not quite sure where this belly came from but YIKES! I took this picture after school on Friday and I have noticed that it gets quite tight after a school day so it was a little swollen from that. Since we painted the bathroom walls, it has been hard to actually SEE the bump against the dark background, so I will need to change up my picture location. Bear with me. 

How far along? 21 weeks. The babe is the length of a carrot.

Total weight gain: According to my doctor scale, I have gained 6 pounds since the first appointment. During the first trimester I lost some weight but now I am gaining.  

Maternity clothes: The maternity jeans are feeling a little more like they should. I have also started wearing more of my maternity tops to school. I still try to squeeze into my tshirts. Haha.

Sleep: Sleep is still pretty good. Still getting up to go to the bathroom but I have started to realize that if I cut myself off of water around 7p, then I can sleep through the night.

Best moment this week: The sonogram and seeing this kid move!

Miss anything? Still missing booze.

Movement: I am feeling more kicks throughout the entire day, but still most numerous at night.

Food cravings: No crazy cravings.

Symptoms: I have started to feel my belly getting tighter throughout the day. So by the end of the day, I am tired just from tightened muscles.

Belly button in or out? In. 

Wedding rings on or off? On and comfortable.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy to be home with Karsen and Bruce...moody at school...

Looking forward to: Spring break! :)

I bought a cheap dresser this week from $10 from Craigslist for #2s room. Unfortunately, it is white and that just wont work so I have been talking with my friend Erin to get her expert advice on how to refinish it. Ive gotten all the materials I need to make it happen so I hope to get a start on it soon. Obviously I want it done as soon as possible so I am not worrying about it later on this spring. 

MB

First haircut

On our way to Salina, we stopped in Topeka to grab some lunch.We had planned on going to Buffalo Wild Wings but they didnt open until 11a and the time we got to Topeka, it was 10:50a. As we pulled into a parking spot on the lot, Bruce noticed a Sports Clips right next to BWW was open and there was no one inside so we decided to finally get Karsen a haircut! Below are some pictures of the experience. He did GREAT! No tears! The stylist suggested one of us sit in the chair with Karsen, and since I wanted to take pics, Bruce agreed. As you can tell, there is a lot of reservation on Karsens face, but like I said, he did great!

Bruce had to get a good hold on him when she brought out the razor to touch up the edges. 

Stylin and ready to impress the ladies.

I hope every haircut experience is as positive as this one!

Christmas

This Christmas break has been so great! If we remember, Karsen was sick virtually all of break last year with his breathing issues but this year, the most he has had is a runny nose. I certainly dont want to jinx anything but he seems to be growing out of his breathing issues that he had the first year of his life. If we do breathing treatments, they are minimal and only once or twice per day.

Our yearly Christmas routine always begins at Great-grandma and great-grandpas house. Karsen LOVES the chickens! Obviously not something we have at home, so he really enjoys his time there. Here are some pics from the visit.

Helping mom and grandma put lights on the live tree.

Checking on the chickens.

Great-grandma had this great pull toy at her house. that was clearly well played with and Karsen enjoyed dragging it around the kitchen!

Four generations picture! 

Saying "bye bye" to the mules.

On Christmas Eve, we went over to my parents house to open gifts, have a Christmas meal and then we headed to church.

Grandma enjoyed helping Karsen open his gifts!

He has one of these toys at daycare and loves it!

Time for another present!

A family picture after mass with the grandparents and uncle.

Christmas mass. Family of 3!

Now that Karsen is a year older, I would really like to be home on Christmas day so he can enjoy coming down the stairs to see his presents under the tree. The pictures below are from Christmas morning at home. 

Got a mower for Christmas!

Dad helping Karsen open a gift. 

The day after Christmas, we got in the car and headed to Salina to celebrate Christmas with Papa, Grammy and the Kitchens clan. Cousin Simone LOVED helping Karsen open his presents.

It was a great Christmas break! We did have one day of snow, but I did not take Karsen outside to play in it. Some sleet fell prior to the snow so I didnt even want to deal with the possible ice. I am hopeful we have a snow day or two this second semester so we can get outside to play!

20 weeks

Half way through this pregnancy and things are great! Everyone continues to ask how I have been feeling and I have been blessed enough to tell them that I am feeling good! Truthfully, I hardly feel pregnant. I have been feeling kicks since about week 13 which continue to be more numerous and a little stronger as the weeks progress, but otherwise, I feel like I am still capable of moving at my normal pace and keeping up with Karsen.

Our next appointment is on Thursday and this is our ultrasound appointment! Surprisingly, we havent had an official ultrasound yet (we had one at week 10 but it was one of those old machines that the doc rolled into the exam room) so I am anxious to see how things are going and to get some pictures!

This week my parents took Karsen so I could paint and prepare #2s room. Here are some pics.

We decided to paint one stripe in this room so that took a while to tape off, but once it was done, the painting was super easy. 

Gray stripe and a blue wall! It is ready! I also got the crib set up. We plan on moving the changing table and glider chair into this room, but that wont happen until May.

How far along? 20 weeks. The babe is the length of a banana.

Total weight gain: I havent weighed myself lately. I FEEL like I have kept things really well under control but I will get an official weight gain at my appointment on Thursday. 

Maternity clothes: I have been wearing my maternity jeans occasionally but it is clearly too early because they are still pretty loose. I can feel my stomach getting bigger so I know the maternity clothes are close. 

Sleep: Sleep is good. I've been getting up once or twice per night to use the bathroom, but otherwise, I have no complaints.

Best moment this week: My mom and dad took Karsen for a few days this week so I could paint the baby room for #2 and so Bruce and I could enjoy a child free NYE!

Miss anything? I dont remember missing the booze this much with Karsen. Not saying I am a lush, but I could stand a nice pour of some chardonnay. 

Movement: I feel kicks from time to time during the day but they are most noticeable at night. 

Food cravings: During the first trimester I wanted nothing to do with anything sweet, but now, I cant seem to get enough. Ugh. I really need to tone it back because Ive got the dreaded Gestational Diabetes Test coming up...

Symptoms: No real pregnancy symptoms quite yet, since the nausea has subsided.

Belly button in or out? In. 

Wedding rings on or off? On and comfortable.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy to be home with Karsen and Bruce...moody at school...

Looking forward to: Our ultrasound appointment on Thursday!

Here is a belly pic!