A Sunny Summer Afternoon....

called for a new water sprinkler toy! I thought Ginger would love it, but she kind of just stood there, looked at it, ran her hands through the water for a minute, and then pointed to the pool like "what's the point of this when we have that huge pool over there!?!" So mama and Ginger went swimming in the pool. Oh well, she sure looks cute in her little bathing suit!

My big girl...

I've been posting a lot lately about pregnancy #2, so I thought I would share a few pics I took of big girl (17 months) Ginger today. These were taken during her afternoon snack (her favorite- string cheese) right after her nap, which means she had the funniest bed head that was too cute to resist.

I love how she's posing here- a little hip swing that's too cute!



Still working on filling out the 18 month clothes...


Her best "it wasn't me, Mom!" expression...


she gets VERY intense with her artwork (just like Daddy...)


Caught on the table!!! Look at that smile, she is fully aware that she doesn't belong up there (and yet Mom is snapping photos...probably not the best way to help her get the message)

First pics of our little nugget

Drs appt #1 with baby #2

I still think it's just CRAZY that I am starting to talk about baby #2. Some days I feel completely unprepared for what is to come, and all I can do is focus on all of the wonderful, positive emotions and experiences we had with Ginger as a newborn.

Today, my doctor's appointment finally arrived and I got to go see our little nugget. Dr. Basu waits until at least 8 weeks, unless you are high risk, so it was killing me to wait so long! I actually thought I was 9 1/2 weeks along, but it turns out I am 8 weeks, 4 days. So our due date has been pushed back to December 16th. Yes, folks, just 9 days before Christmas we will be having our child (more or less!) Pure craziness...

Dr. Basu is the most wonderful doctor, and if you've read my blog from the start you'll know I've gone through 3 OB/GYNs due to job changes, and preferences. But she, my friends, is wonderful! She came into the office and HUGGED me, and said she couldn't wait to see the little one so she asked if we could start with the ultrasound first. UM, YEAH! I said, of course! She is just so friendly, and positive, I feel like I'm talking with my friend (who happens to know everything about everything!) She said the baby looks fantastic, no visible issues (of course, this is only 8 weeks) and gave me the low-down on everything I'd half-forgot about since going through this pregnancy the first time around. She approved my approach of 2 children's multivitamins with a side dose of folic acid (I'd read it cuts down on the 1st trimester nausea, and as noted earlier I have has MUCH less nausea). Later in my 2nd trimester I'll need to add a few more supplments, which she specified.

All in all, I left the hospital almost skipping through the lobby. I called Paul and shared all the news, and he can't wait to see the ultrasound pics when he gets home. While this all is still a bit surreal, being back at the 3rd floor of Kaiser made it a bit more real today. I am such a happy girl! (Oh yeah, but still tired!)

First trimester- must not forgets!!

So, although last time around I felt like I blogged pretty frequently, I realized that as I am going through this for a 2nd time, I can barely remember certain things about the 1st time around. I figured it might make sense to jot down a couple of notes based on what I'm dealing with now, especially as it seems so differnet than the first time!

Week 5- I was actually convinced week 4 that I was pregnant, but waited just a few days to deal with it. So during week 5, I didn't really feel different, other than the fact that I had a LOT of anxiety that AGAIN, this was not planned. I went through a pretty easy pregnancy the first time around, but my life around me crashed and took a different direction than I anticipated- I switched jobs at 5 months (mistake) and I was laid off the day I was leaving for maternity leave (mistake 2). So this time around, I am cautious to make sure I don't make any huge and/or rash decisions- hence the anxiety!

Week 6- ok this is for real. I am starting to feel tired and have begun to feel nauseous. But it's a different type of nausea than with Ginger- much lighter, and more dizzy than feeling like I need to puke. Plus it's one day on, one day off it seems, but I am tired every day. I'm also already thinking about Ginger, and how she is not going to be the center of our world anymore. Of course, we'll make sure the impact is minimal, but let's face it- her world is going to change BIG time. She'll adjust, and will come to love her new brother or sister, but I just reveled in the thought that she doesn't know how good she's got it, right now (and probably that applies to US as well!!)

Week 7: TIRED. All I want to do is sleep, but it's totally different this time around. With Ginger the world doesn't stop because I feel like taking a nap. Even with Paul picking up some extra duties, I just can't lounge in bed whenever I feel like it, and it's hard to make this adjustment! Luckily, as soon as we realized this was real, Paul agreed that we would hire a permenant housekeeper to clean and do laundry which I am so thankful for!! The nausea is now a daily thing- I can't eat dinner, or really anything after 3pm for fear of how it makes me feel. So I eat a hearty breakfast, and early lunch, and then make the best of the rest of the day. I decided to tell my boss because I can't seem to make it through the 3-5pm time period some days. He is amazing- tells me to nap, rest, take care of myself, and to work when I'm up to it. He even send me a card, and wrote the following inside:

Wendy,
Just wanted to let you know how excited I am for you and your growing family. Thank you for all of your hard word and tenacity to find great Rx talent for Target. Take care of yourself and make sure you amintain balance when things get stressful. We are SO lucky to have you on our team!

I wanted to write this out, so that I never forget how it feels to have a supportive, understanding boss. He's just the best!!!

Week 8-Did I mention I am TIRED? That's all I can say about this first trimester, it seems, I am not really naseous anymore (whereas with Ginger it lasted a good 5-6 weeks, so I feel SO blessed!) but now I am taking a quick nap after lunch, and again before I go pick up Ginger at 5:00. Luckily I can pick up the slack (as far as work) once she goes to sleep at 8pm. I feel like I am already showing, the top of my abdomen is already slightly bulging, and when I push on it I can already feel my uterus and it's just crazy. Note to self: if/when we have our 3rd child, I will PLAN when it will happen, and I will also be in GREAT shape in preparation. I still have 15 pounds I've hung onto from Ginger, so I'm going to have to be VERY careful this time around with gaining weight. Story of my life, sheesh!

Mommy and me day...

So, Ms. Maureen has been under the weather and called out sick today. Which means that I got to stay home with Ginger today (and Paul will take tomorrow, if neccessary). Ginger is FULL of life these days, so I knew that being couped up all day in the house would get pretty boring for the both of us!

I've always been a little jealous of my stay-at-home mom friends that get to take their children to story time at the library, so I set out to find what time our local branch held storytime. We were in luck- it was hosted today, at 10:30am. So, off we went!

Can I share a little secret, between you and I? Ginger was the (and I say this in the most loving way!) monster of the class. Out of 8 children, she was the one running around, trying to climb on the chair, not excited about giving back the musical instruments, and no interest in sitting on the mat to watch as the librarian read the story. Now granted, the other children were either 3+ years old, or under a year (not walking) so she was the only one really in that stage where she does NOT sit still for every long.

But here's the best part- I loved EVERY minute of it. As she ran around the community room, shaking her maracas while it was quiet story time, I smiled and had a hard time resisting laughing. Sure, part of me wished that she could have understood the intent of the 30 minutes, but this girl had no fear in exploring, smiling, laughing, and skipping around the room filled with books.

Afterwards we stopped by Paul's work, where proud Daddy walked her around and showed off how much she'd grown up since our last visit. She has a few women there who ADORE her, so we left for lunch with a few new little toys.

Paul, Ginger and I enjoyed a quick lunch at Rubio's, then headed back to drop Paul off, and then G and I headed home. Take a look at this priceless shot as we pulled into the driveway- clearly this girl had a GREAT day so far!

Down to 1 final bottle!

Well, it's taken me longer than I anticipated, but this morning we went for it and decided no more morning bottle. In my mind, she was going to lose it, so I continued to give her a few ounces of milk to get her morning started, but after learning that a friend from work has a baby 3 months younger than Ginger, who is just weaning from the final bottle, I knew I needed to get the show on the road.

As in most cases, it was all in my mind. She did just fine! She rubbed her eyes and tried to grab my hand, looking for the bottle, but we went straight for the high chair, where I had preset a bowl of cherrios, and dropped some milk into the bowl. I gave her the spoon, and she was looking at me with a "HUH?" expression on her face. But one bite and she was smiling, awake, and happy girl.

Now, onto that final evening bottle. I hope to cut that within a week at most- my doctor tells me she really has no need for a bottle anymore, but it's comforting to the both of us! But I know better, I need to help little one grow up and be a big girl. :)

Zin-Zer!!

Ginger surprised us the other night with a new word- she can say her own name now! We play this little game where I point to Dad, and she says "dada" and then point to myself, and she says "mama", and in the past, I would point to her and Daddy would say "Ginger!".

Well, two days ago she wanted to show off her skills. So when I pointed to her, she responded with "Zin Zer!" Paul and I looked at each other with HUGE smiles on our faces. Again, we pointed to her, and even more clearly she said "Zin Zer!" We played this game a few more times, then she became bored with it and ran off. We were cracking up! It was so cute!

So yesterday, it's all she wanted to do. Zin Zer, Zin Zer, Zin Zer!! Ms. Maureen even said that all day long, she was running around saying her name (and pointing to her playmate Brianna, and saying "Na Na".)

Our little girl is growing up! Such a smart one!

SURPRISE!! (...again....)

I just knew it. As early as my birthday, April 3rd, I knew I was pregnant. See, I was at the mall having Ginger's spring photos taken, and something felt different, or vaguely familiar, should I say. Everything was fine until the moment we went back to view the photos and make our selection. I started feeling a bit nauseous and crampy, and was alone with Ginger, still having to walk through the parking lot, get her strapped in, and get her home. On the day before Easter.

Needless to say I was sitting in traffic, dialing Paul on my cell and telling him "get ready for me to fly into the driveway- I'm feeling terrible". As I got out of the car, Paul stated "well don't you always feel a bit off this time of the month?" as I shot a glaring look back. Yep, I knew I was pregnant.

I still waited faithfully for my monthly friend, and alas, she never came. On the 6th I was nervous, on the 7th anxious, and on the 8th I just couldn't take it anymore. So at 7:55am I was off to the drugstore. And the pregnancy test sat in my car, while I distracted myself with errands (I took a few days off work because we were thinking about taking a vacation, and it never worked out, but I kept the time off anyhow). Here's some irony for you- I went to grab a terriyaki bowl to eat while my car was getting an oil change/car wash, and you won't believe the fortune I got in fortune cookie. It said "An unexpected visitor will bring you good blessings". Really?!?!? I just couldn't wait any longer, that was toooo telling for me- I knew, just knew that I was pregnant.

So, I come home, race to the restroom, and take the test. I sit and watch and for about the first two minutes- I see nothing. Not one line or two, I saw NO line at all. But, by the 3rd minute, there it was. That second pink line. No denying it.

Yet again, this was not "planned". Although my mom points out that I can't really say that if I'm not on birth control, which I have not been. I had an IUD inserted and removed a few months ago- I was one of those statistics that got the nausea, cramping, and my body rejected the IUD. After that, I wanted to just be free for a little bit. Well, here you go with "a little bit".

We are experiencing a range of emotions right now, mostly due to the fact that we didn't take control over deciding when we would take this next step. I mean, since finding out I was preggo, I've read a TON of women who have a 5, 6, 7 month old baby and are already preggo. God Bless them- I think I would faint if that had happened to us. So we can't complain, Ginger is 15 months old, and will be just shy of 2 years old when baby #2 is born. A little younger than we had planned, but we'll take it.

Ginger's Spring Pics