27 Weeks Pregnant

I am now 27 weeks pregnant and am still feeling good. Fatigue is my biggest problem and I am hoping it will subside once baby girl is born. I feel her move everyday and it is such a relief. She has poked me rather uncomfortably a few times, to the point where I actually yelled out in pain. Leo asks to kiss his sister everyday and he always says, "mommy, she's kicking." He calls her by name and even sings a little theme song we made up about her.

Speaking of singing, Leo has been our little song bird. He loves to belt out the "good guy" and the "bad guy" theme music to Star Wars. When I say belt out, I am not exaggerating. He is LOUD!!! He is also way off tune, but that's part of the charm. Also, Leo's knowledge of Star Wars has surpassed mine (not that that is saying a whole lot).

Leo also made up his first joke. There are these giant walking robots in Star Wars called At-Ats. Leo's joke is the following: "Where are the At-Ats at?" He tells this joke to anyone who will listen.

Leo now talks exclusively in sentences. His command of the language has grown leaps and bounds over the last few months. He still confuses a few phrases such as " Mommy hold you," when he wants me to pick him up. It is so endearing. Another very cute Leo habit is holding my face. He loves to cradle my face with both his hands, especially when it is nap time or he just needs some extra love. It melts my heart.

We just had Joe's brother come to town from Colorado for OSU's orientation. He stayed with us a couple nights and Joe accompanied him to the orientation for 2 days. Leo had a blast hanging with his cool younger uncle and was really sad to see him leave. Luckily, Aaron will start attending OSU is the fall and we will be able to hang with him more often.

25 Weeks

Leo lining up all his cars (he categorized them too).
Could he look more mischievous?

I am now 25 weeks pregnant and feel great! This is the best period of the pregnancy because I am through with all the morning sickness, headaches etc, but I still haven't gotten too big yet. I also get to feel her move everyday. She is definitely more mellow than Leo (yeah!). Instead of violent Leo style kicking, she tends to roll around more, as if she is somersaulting in there....so sweet! I hope she is a calm and serene baby, because I am terrified about caring for Leo and a newborn. I know I can do it, but the sleep deprivation is a scary thought too.

Leo is adorable as ever, but quite the little dickens. He is always testing his limits. He will attempt to do something naughty and look at us beforehand with mischief written all over his face (see the last photo for a visual aid). We are having a big problem with Leo throwing when he shouldn't.

Leo constantly asks to see the baby. He likes to kiss his sister, but can get a little rough with my stomach (a sign of things to come?). I think he will be a good big brother though.

May the force be with us!

Leo LOVES Star Wars

At the Children's Museum.....so cute!

Presenting his mommy with a flower

Leo in his war paint

He loves the water feature

23 weeks with baby girl!

Well, I am now 23 weeks pregnant and am feeling pretty good. Baby girl is active, but seems more gentle than Leo was (yeah)! I am hoping she will be a bit calmer and more easy going than Leo. I love him more than anything, but he has been a challenge!

Leo is definitely testing our limits. He throws and hits when he knows he shouldn't. We have talked endlessly about the differences between being a good boy and a bad boy and he wants to be a good boy, yet he keeps acting out. We have taken away his favorite things as a form of punishment (cars, Star Wars viewing, cheese crackers, Gymboree etc.) I refuse to hit him, so this is our best bet. Since he wakes up around 6 a.m. every morning, I am completely drained by the time he goes to bed, which is around 8:30 p.m. Yep, this kid doesn't sleep enough!

Leo became obsessed with Star Wars when he saw it for the first time in CO. He LOVES it and talks about the "robots, space ships, crash," etc. I think he is way too young for such interests, but I don't think it is doing him any harm.

Leo is also talking almost exclusively in simple sentences. It is amazing! Over the last few weeks, his language skills have improved dramatically. He uses words like "it," "that" "where" etc. He is one talkative cookie. He also loves talking to his sister and blowing raspberries on my belly. Well, she better get use to it with a big brother like Leo!

Trip to Colorado

21 Weeks

Playing with Celia from next door. He often begs to go over there.

I am now 21 weeks pregnant and starting to show a bit. People still don't ask if I am pregnant, but I think it's becoming somewhat obvious. The big news in the pregnancy is that I think we have come up with a name!!! I checked out a book from the library and while Leo was napping, Joe and I were relaxing in the backyard. I stumbled across a name and Joe loved it. I still have my apprehensions, but I do LOVE the name. It's very unusual, but the nickname isn't. Joe and I have had a heck of a time agreeing on anything, so I think this will have to be it...unless I chicken out. In any case, all of you will have to wait until she is born. I hope that someday, when she reads this blog, she will say, "good job mom and dad, I love my name!"

In Leo news, he said his longest sentence ever this week. He told Joe, "If I hit a boy with a block, that's mean." That's correct Leo. You are learning social norms and sentence structure all at once. Well done.

In other news, Leo has been potty training quite successfully. He actually went #2 in his potty for the first time a few days ago. It was such a big deal, that I promptly took him to Target to buy him a car. We were so proud!

Self Portraits

This afternoon, I saw a flash of light, but thought I might have imagined it. Joe walked into the room and caught Leo red-handed with the camera. Turns out our little guy was snapping photos of himself. He took about 5 photos, but I only have 3 displayed. I am still amazed that he figured out how to take these photos on his own.

Leo has recently started introducing himself to kids and adults he meets, "Hi, I'm Leo!" What a friendly and confident young man we have. It is so CUTE!!!

In other news, our baby girl is moving a ton. She almost always moves around during Leo's pre-nap story time. How cute is that?

We have yet to come up with a name. I think we will keep it a secret until she is born, but picking a name has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated. Unfortunately, I am obsessing over the matter. I really loved being able to call Leo by his name while I was pregnant with him.

Baby Girl!

Our little girl has Joe/Leo's cute little "ski-jump" nose

To my surprise, we are having a girl! I was convinced baby #2 was a boy. Words cannot express how thrilled I am....a daughter!!! Yesterday, Joe and I went to the big ultrasound. At first, our baby girl was not cooperating, so the tech did the rest of the scan. We saw her heart's 4 chambers, her brain, her spine, hands, feet...everything but what we needed to see if she was a girl or a boy. The whole scan, my heart was pounding, I was so anxious and Joe held my hand. Finally, the tech said, "it looks like a girl!" I started crying and Joe kissed me. We were both so relieved that she was healthy and so happy to find out we were having a daughter. Now we just have to come up with a girl name. Any suggestions?

Leo didn't seem too interested to find out he was having a sister. When I said we were having a girl, he replied, "Race cars?" At least he has his priorities straight.

Speaking of Leo, he is a talking machine. He often says, "Look at that car Daddy/Mommy." My personal favorite is when he said, "I eated the hot dog Daddy." The funny part is that he had just chewed it up and spit it in his bib. What a boy.