Baby Little - 18 Weeks!

(By the way, I'm still waiting to look like a pregnant supermodel in one of these pictures . . . I believe I'll be waiting a while :)  These pictures aren't flattering, but I'll be glad I documented the experience, I guess?)

How far along?  18 weeks

Gender:  It's a BOY!!! 

Name:  Yikes!  We still don't have a name other than "Baby Brother" or "New Baby"!  I'm starting to panic a little, not because we don't have time to pick out a name, but because I feel like we may never agree on one!

What is baby up to?  He is about 5 1/2 inches long - about the size of a bell pepper - and weighs about 7 ounces.  He is busy flexing his arms and legs, which I can feel very faintly every now and then - so exciting!  His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position.  A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born.

Total weight gain:  I went to the doctor on Monday, and I believe the scale still showed a 6 lb. weight gain.

Maternity clothes:  I can still wear a couple pair of pants that aren't maternity (they are low enough that they don't smoosh the belly), but mostly it's maternity jeans and maternity tops with a few non-maternity tops mixed in.

Stretch marks:  Nope!

Sleep:  I've been sleeping very well lately, so hopefully this keeps up for a while!

Best moment this week:  Still love thinking about my boys together!
From last weeks post:  I've had so much fun thinking about my two little men growing up together and all the fun they'll have, matching outfits (when they're little - eek!), baseball games, etc.  All the things that will make having two little boys so much fun and such an adventure :)  

Miss anything?  Not really!

Food cravings:  Nothing fun to report here!

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Feeling hungry

Exercise:  I haven't done too well on the exercise this week :(  I'm going to try a new tactic:  get up and go before Jack wakes up.  We'll see if this actually happens.  I have great intentions at night and then morning comes, and I think, "what was I thinking?!?"  So, we'll see.  I'll report back :)

Labor signs:  None

Symptoms:  Feeling queasy when hungry and tired and out of breath sometimes - ok, a lot.

Most looking forward to:  Getting Jack's big boy room ready and the nursery ready for Baby Brother!

Baby Little #2 - 17 Weeks!

How far along?  17 weeks

Gender:  It's a BOY!!! 

Name:  We have a very short list of names, mostly consisting of family names.  I would like to do a little more research though into names on both sides of our families before we pick one.

What is baby up to?  He is about 5 inches long - about the size of an turnip - and weighs about 5 ounces.  Baby Brother's (his name until we pick one) skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the placenta is stronger and thicker!  He can move his joints, and his sweat glands are starting to develop.  

Total weight gain:  Last I checked at the gym it was 6 lbs. . . 

Maternity clothes:  I have uncovered a couple pair of regular pants that are low enough that they don't squoosh the belly, but my maternity jeans are most definitely my go-to pants these days.  Still rocking both regular and maternity shirts, although some of my regular shirts are getting to be a little short.  Last I checked, mid-drifts aren't too cute on pregnant ladies, or on anyone for that matter.

Stretch marks:  Still no sign of any, thank goodness!

Sleep:  Still sleeping pretty well!  Although sometimes I'll wake up in the night and not be able to fall back asleep, which never used to happen.

Best moment this week:  I've had so much fun thinking about my two little men growing up together and all the fun they'll have, matching outfits (when they're little - eek!), baseball games, etc.  All the things that will make having two little boys so much fun and such an adventure :)  

Miss anything?  Not missing too much this week!

Food cravings:  I had a delicious turkey sandwich yesterday in Vail Village with lettuce, tomato, cheese, sprouts, and avocado on it that fulfilled my deli sandwich craving for the week. I asked the girl to toast the bread and heat up the meat, and man, it. was. good.

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Feeling hungry

Exercise:  I went to the gym twice last week!  

Labor signs:  None

Symptoms:  Just feeling tired most days, chasing after Jack-man :)  And also feeling hungry.  Very hungry.  They said Baby Brother would be having a growth-spurt soon, and I believe he most definitely is!  

Most looking forward to:  Getting Jack's big boy room ready, the nursery ready for another little boy, and getting a few matching outfits for the boys.  I think matching siblings are so cute!

Vail Vacation

We left this past Saturday for Vail, Colorado!  We are still here, and we are having a blast!

The plan was to surprise Brett and Sarabeth and not let them know we were tagging along on the trip.  They pulled a similar stunt on our trip to Beaver Creek a few years ago and successfully shocked Jonathan and I, so we felt like this would be the perfect opportunity to get them back.  I think we pulled it off - they seemed pretty surprised, and pretty excited - as were we :)

So, after a VERY long travel day, which ended with a two-and-a-half hour shuttle ride from the Denver airport to Vail, during which Jack belted out exorcist-sounding screams for the last hour of the trip, we made it to Vail and checked into our condo at the Montaneros!  Oh, and did I mention there were ten people on this shuttle?  And it was night-time?  And it was snowing?  Fortunately everyone on the van was very nice.  I apologized profusely and explained that he "never does this" (which I'm sure they all believed).  Just one of those moments in parenthood that you'll never forget!  I'm sure those seven other passengers will never forget it either . . .

Anyone with kids knows it can be difficult to get out the door some days.  So when you have cousins who are on two different schedules, it can be challenging to say the least!  For the first couple of days, we didn't make it out of the condo until late in the afternoon.  Breakfast, then naps, then lunch, then another nap, and there you are, it's three o'clock already!  We still had a lot of fun, and actually made it out for lunch today!  Mummi and I are the only ones not skiing at all, and Sarabeth is only skiing a couple of days.  The boys - Doc, Brett, and Jonathan - are doing their usual hard-core-all-day skiing and snowboarding, which gives the girls a lot of time to hang out and play with the babies :)

Speaking of the babies, we took them sledding yesterday, and they had a blast, Jack especially.  Here are a couple of pictures from the trip thus far.

One from the plane.  He really did well on both flights, thankfully.  Ok, so maybe I did bribe him with five twizzlers a twizzler and some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but it worked like a charm!  

Sledding and playing in the snow yesterday afternoon

Two-man bobsled :)  I love this picture!

Everyone took their turn on the sled with both boys.

Dinner the first night at El Sabor

Lunch today at Moe's BBQ!  We didn't intentionally sit at the table with all of the Alabama paraphernalia, but I sure did love looking up and to my surprise seeing pictures of both Nick Saban and The Bear :)

Nothing like some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to get the day started :)

Like I said, we are having so much fun!  Yesterday, Mummi, SB, the boys, and I all took a bus over to Vail Village and did a little sight-seeing and a little shopping.  We are going to take the boys sledding again this afternoon and will probably go out to eat tonight.  Oh, how I love family vacations!

Baby Little #2 - 16 Weeks!

How far along?  16 weeks

Gender:  It's a BOY!!! 

Name:  We have a very short list of names, mostly consisting of family names.  I would like to do a little more research though into names on both sides of our families before we pick one.

What is baby up to?  He is about 4.5 inches long - about the size of an avocado - and weighs about three and a half ounces.  BabyCenter says that in the next few weeks, he'll have a major growth spurt, doubling in weight and adding several inches in length!  Right now, his legs are much more developed, and his head is much more erect than it has been.  His eyes have moved closer to the front of his head, and his ears are close to being in their final position.  

Total weight gain:  I believe it's still 5 lbs., although it feels like 50!

Maternity clothes:  Maternity jeans are a must!  Still wearing both regular tops and maternity tops.  I can still squeeze into some of my dresses, although pretty soon, I'm thinking they're going to look a tad inappropriate.  I can't wait for spring and summer, so I can pull out some of my maternity clothes that I wore when I was pregnant with Jack!

Stretch marks:  Nope 

Sleep:  Still good! 

Best moment this week:  Finding out that we have another precious little man on the way!

Miss anything?  My smaller clothes, my smaller body, and clearer skin 

Food cravings:  Haven't had many recently . . . If I think of something that sounds good though, I have to have it . . .  you just can't ever really tell what's it's going to be though. 

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Feeling hungry

Exercise:  The goal is to go AT LEAST three times a week, and I'm bound and determined to make this happen!

Labor signs:  None

Symptoms:  Skin issues - although I did switch makeup and moisturizer, and that seems to have helped.          

Most looking forward to:  Choosing a name and getting his nursery all ready for him :)