24-weeks!

6 months down, less than 3 months to go! It has flown by so far. I cannot believe that in less than three months we will be holding our baby girl in our arms. We are still no where near making a final decision on her name. I fear it will be an endless discussion - that is, right up until the last month when I'll put my foot down and say we need to come to an agreement. :)

Happy 7 year anniversary Mommy & Daddy!

Today Ben and I celebrated 7 years of wedded bliss. :) The time has flown by and both of us attribute that to all the fun we've had together over the years. We feel so blessed with the wonderful family and friends we have and look forward to what the future holds.

Ben usually cooks me a gourmet 3-course dinner for our anniversaries, but this year since Owen just started back at daycare last week due to my new job and brought home a summer cold, we opted for a semi-homemade chicken noodle soup. Yup, we both caught the cold. It was the perfect comfort food and as we got ready to sit down at the table, we were serenaded by Owen over the monitor singing a song he made up with the lyrics "Daddy, Mommy, Daddy, Mommy". He wasn't calling out for us, just singing our names over and over again. Such a sweet anniversary present from our precious baby boy.

Adventures in potty training - part 1

We recently purchased Owen's very own potty. He has been going pee-pee in the potty for awhile now, standing up on a step-stool before and after his bath. But we were having some trouble getting him to sit down on the potty for longer than 3 seconds. We thought he might sit longer if he had a pint-sized potty more his size.

This weekend we took him to the potty several times during the day. He sat down and asked me to read his potty book over and over again. No poop was produced, but that is okay. Baby steps. We'll keep working on it.

Reston Zoo

This morning we decided to check out the Reston Zoo for the first time. It's right in our backyard, so instead of driving all the way to DC to see animals, we drove 20 minutes to Reston to enjoy the wildlife.

Reading with Mommy

Tonight when I got home from work, Owen and I decided to read some books. Then Owen did "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes". It was a fun night. :)

Prunes are yummy!

Owen was having a little trouble staying regular, so we had a snack of prunes. He loves them!

Sarah Catherine's 2nd Birthday Party!

Today we attended Sarah Catherine's 2nd birthday party at the SplashPark in Maryland. The kids had so much fun running around in the fountains for the first hour. Then it was time for pizza! Owen loved the cheese curls - he ate a ton of them! Before we knew it, we were singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday girl and enjoying ice cream cake and cookies. Afterwards the kids ran around on the mini-golf course and played with balloons. It was such a fun way to spend the day with great friends celebrating a big milestone. Here are some pictures from the party ~

Fun times with Aunt Hillary

Aunt Hillary stayed over last night so that Ben and I could go out to dinner. This morning she built a really cool fort for Owen on the couch. He had so much fun with his Aunt Hill!

Pool playdate with Kayla

Today we hit up the pool with Kelly and Kayla since the weather was so beautiful. The kids had a ball in the shallow end and in the baby pool. I forgot to take pictures while we were at the pool, but here are a few from when we got home and had some playtime after lunch:

Playdate with Cooper

It's been so long since we got together with our friends Kamber and Cooper - they now have Max who is about 4 months old and so cute. Today our schedules worked out, and they invited us over to play. The boys had a tough time sharing, but by the end of the playdate, they were doing great. We look forward to the next time we can hang out.

Wagon ride

This afternoon the weather was nice, so after Owen's nap we ventured out in his Radio Flyer wagon to the park behind our house. I snapped some pictures of him since his hair was looking so stylish. Might have to get it cut soon, as sad as that makes me. :(

Yet another truck book

We went to the library on Sunday and Owen picked out a small book about trucks. Ever since leaving the library, he has barely let the book out of his sight. It is the first thing he asks for when he wakes up in the morning and from his afternoon nap. I never knew a kid could get so attached to a book! Wonder what is going to happen when we have to take it back???

Happy Birthday Mason!

Congratulations to Tim, Andrea and Olivia Hertel! Today they welcomed baby Mason into the world!

Mason Wayne Hertel born at 6:23am CT

7 lbs, 8 oz

20 inches

We can't wait to meet him!!!

Tribute to James

"A bacon salad/pasta just becomes a hunt for bacon."

- James Hoffman

Owen's pet frog

When I got home from pilates last night I noticed a tiny little frog on the front steps. I came inside and asked Ben if he wanted to catch it for Owen to have as a pet. Ben grabbed a tupperware container and picked up the frog. He then jumped online to google "caring for your pet frog". :)

He gave the froggie a little bowl of water and I cut holes in the top of the tupperware container to give him air. We left it on the island in the kitchen to show Owen when he woke up.

Ben woke up first, as he usually does, and got Owen up when he woke. I slept until 8am and when I came downstairs asked Ben if he showed Owen the frog. "The frog wasn't there when I came downstairs," he said calmly. I immediately looked into the container and saw the frog dangling from the edge of his little swimming pool. He had apparently gotten out through one of the holes I cut and jumped off the island onto the hardwood floor. Ben found him up against the sliding glass door probably hoping he could somehow hop through the glass to escape.

We took some pictures with the froggie, but ultimately decided it was best to set him free. We didn't think Owen was ready for a pet frog. And mommy wasn't ready for one that escaped. :)

Day 2 with Grandma & Poppie

Today we relaxed at home all day. The weather pretty much dictated that. But it was fun to hang out and read books with Owen, who stayed in his jammies all day. Mom and Dad headed out after he went down for his nap and I miss them already.

Grandma & Poppie come visit with Teddy

This afternoon Grandma & Poppie Killi came to visit from Hershey. They brought their new puppy, Teddy, who is just too cute for words. Owen was napping when they got here so Poppie volunteered to babysit while Mom and I went to a fabric store to pick out fabric for baby girl's bedding. After a couple of hours of debating over fabric choices, I finally settled on several and we headed home.

Owen was up and he and Poppie were playing away! We left soon after we got home to meet Ben for dinner at Sweetwater. It was a lovely meal out together but we all got pretty wet on the way out since it was pouring.

When we got home Owen took his bath ~ Grandma helped to save Mommy's back. Then it was off to bed for the little guy. We had such a nice time together today and I'm sad they can only stay until tomorrow. :(

Upside-down

21 weeks!

Baby girl is kicking and flipping around ALL THE TIME. It is a really cool feeling. But not so much when you are trying to go to sleep and you keep getting kicked from inside. Oh well, I guess it comes with the territory.

I started feeling queasy again this past week but it's nothing I can't handle and otherwise I feel good.

We're starting to talk a little about names, but have not yet decided on one name in particular. If it's like when Owen was born, we'll have three picked out up until the last month and then we'll make a final decision. Again we're keeping the name a secret until baby girl arrives.

Number puzzle

This afternoon we had some fun doing Owen's number puzzle. I think he's really starting to learn his numbers.

Cereal

Got this post idea from my friend Andrea who took an adorable picture of her daughter Olivia eating Cheerios for breakfast. Owen has been working more and more on using his utensils and lately is doing such a good job! He still occasionally says "Mommy help!" and I have to help him take a few bites, but then he'll say "do it self!" and he'll take over again. :) Here he is enjoying a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast:

Trucks are his favorite

Game night

Tonight we had Kel, Matt and Kayla and Molly, Tim and Nate over for game night. Ben made three different pizzas and I put together a big salad, and we ate and hung out before the kiddos started taking over the night. Little Nate didn't take a nap during the day, so he was really tired and Mol and Tim decided to forgo the games in order take him home to put him down.

Kayla and Owen had fun watching Shrek for awhile. Owen made himself really comfortable on the couch:



Kelly and Matt stayed to play a round of Catch Phrase before heading out since it was getting late. We had to pause our game towards the end to catch the kids on video:



It was a really fun night with great friends and we hope to do it again soon. (Maybe with babysitters so we can actually play the games.) :)

The half-way point

Twenty weeks down, twenty (or less!) to go! :)

Here are the pictures from yesterday's ultrasound. She's healthy and strong and so far is about 13 ounces. It looks to me like she's got Owen's profile.



I'm feeling good other than a sore back from time to time. At last visit to the OB I had only gained 3 lbs, but I'm sure this month I've added at least 4 or 5 to that number. I really want to start exercising more, so I'm going to work on that. The pilates class has been great and I really am enjoying it. Haven't really been craving much in particular but I do get thirsty for water in the evening which doesn't really help my problem of getting up numerous times a night to pee. Oh well.

Here's what I looked like at the half-way point with Owen. Tonight I had Ben take a couple of pictures of my belly for comparison.



I'm still getting used to the thought of having a daughter. I guess I always pictured us with all boys. But I think it will be fun to dress her up, play with dolls and go shopping together when she's older. Ben (although he did think we were having a girl) is pretty nervous about having a girl, but I'm sure he'll adjust. I'm really looking forward to seeing him hold his "daddy's little girl" for the first time. And I think Owen will be a protective big brother.

My ticker says that the baby is the size of a cantaloupe. I asked Ben to pick up a 13-oz cantaloupe at the store on his way home to try to use as a visual aide when taking my belly shot tonight. He came home with a 4-pounder saying that was the smallest one he could find. Guess the ticker is a little off.

PINK!!!

Owen has a little sister on the way!

Tomorrow we find out

If the baby cooperates, that is. My guess is boy, Ben's guess is girl. What's your guess??? We'll know in about 12 hours. Stay tuned!