The Big 4.5!

This November, Court and I will celebrate our 5th year wedding anniversary. Number 2 will have arrived by then and we know that a weekend getaway - sans kids - will be hard to do. So we decided to celebrate our 4.5 year anniversary instead.

No kid (except for #2 in my tummy - which seriously hindered my wine drinking ability), no family, no friends. JUST US!

It was a great trip. We did absolutely nothing. We slept. We read. We ate. I got a prenatal massage. (I never got one when pregnant with Grace. Felt too guilty to spend the money on me when there were cribs and strollers to buy I guess...but it was HEAVENLY! Worth EVERY SINGLE PENNY! If I can scrape together the cash AND a babysitter, I will definitely get another one before #2 decides to show up.) And yes we missed Grace but not as much as I thought I would - especially once I heard she was having a great time with Grandma, Boppa and Kodi - the gigantic Malmute.

Did I mention we ate? Here is me below shoveling two desserts into my face. Yes, I said TWO!

I tried to get Court to take a picture of the bump but I think he was a bit more enamored with the view. Bump or view? Bump or view?

He chose the view.

After such a marvelous getaway, we've decided to make this an annual trip. As the kids get older, we hope to leave them with the Grandmas and Grandpas a little bit longer each year so that someday we can have a whole week to ourselves. A whole week! I get giddy at just the thought!!

One Thing I NOW Know for Sure...

I will never mess with my kid's hair again! The day after Grace's first haircut, I attempted to "style" it.

First, a little background. I am no good with hair. Not my own hair, not my friend's hair, not even Barbie's hair. I never learned to braid. French braiding might as well be equivalent to landing on the moon for me. So when it came to styling my own daughter's hair, I was a bit nervous. Do I brush the bangs down? To the side? What on earth am I supposed to do with all these barrettes and clips I seem to have acquired over the last several months?

Without fail, I failed. Pieces of her newly cut hair just didn't seem to fall quite into place and I had the "brilliant" idea to trim them - myself - with the only pair of scissors I could find. And yes, they happened to be old and rusty. "Perfect" for hair trimming.

Well, folks...this is what I did to poor Grace.

She looks like Jim Carey in the movie Dumb and Dumber.

Never again folks. Never again. I am leaving her hair - and the hair of #2 - safely in the hands of professionals from now on. Lesson learned.

Beauty is Pain

Today, we skipped story time at the library to do something REALLY important. Grace got her very first haircut. It's never too early to learn "beauty is pain," right?!

Here's the before:

A thrilling video capturing 3.5 minutes of her first haircut. WARNING: EXTREMELY BORING TO THOSE UNRELATED and potentially to those that are.

And here is the after. Lesson learned.

The parting gift of a ballon and a new baby were not enough to keep her in the salon a second longer. She was ready to get out of there.

All's well that ends well, right?

Not Fair

Yesterday, I had a doctor appointment. Everything looks perfect with #2. It was a good visit - for her. My nurse, not my doctor, MY NURSE, made several comments about my weight gain. Many of them accompanied by a sneer. Apparently, I gained 10 lbs. since my last appointment six weeks ago..... "A lot" according to this woman who looked like she was going to blow away in the breeze. The nurse who broke this news told me I needed to watch it - walk more, eat less, NO DESSERTS! Apparently, she hasn't been listening to me at all during my many appointments (she was my nurse while pregnant with Grace). I get sick if I exert myself too much, get too hot or eat anything that my stomach even slightly disagrees with. It was like she thought I was on this mission to gain as much weight as possible while pregnant. Little does she know, I'm just trying to survive. Just trying to get through each day, hoping that will be the day I finally feel normal again. I mean really...give up desserts?!?! Now she's just talking crazy.

In other news, #2 is kicking and moving and wiggling up a storm. So much so, that I feel like this kid is going to be running before she can hold her head up. I started feeling her movements a few weeks ago but Court was able to feel them for the first time last night. It will be interesting to see how Grace reacts to the kicks when the get strong enough for even her detection. She still has no comprehension that I'm pregnant, that she will have a little sister or that that little sister lies safely in my tummy. Grace is just infatuated with my ever expanding bebo.

After receiving the confirmation from my medical professional that I am indeed huge, UGH, I woke this morning to find this on my Facebook page.

Molly is in Egypt - amongst the pyramids!!!!!

Here it is again a bit zoomed...

Pyramids...pregnant....pyramids...pregnant!??!?! At least someone is having a good day! Yay Molly!

Uh Oh...We've Created a Monster

Grace got a taste of her first cookie. 

Not the best decision by mom and dad because guess who wants only C-O-O-K-I-E-S now?!? And yes, we've already had to start spelling out words in front of her that we don't want her to hear.

PS I think it's time for a first hair cut. I can't take it anymore!!

Some Thoughts (Not My Own) on Mother's Day

Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.  I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. 

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. 

Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night 

watching a baby sleep. 

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom. 

Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, 

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom 

Before I was a mom, I didn't know that sappy email forwards with pictures of tiny newborns would stop me dead in my tracks and make me cry. 

And if you haven't shed a tear yet....

Happy Mother's Day!

20 Weeks with #2

Here I am at the half-way point with #2! We are in the home stretch now! wooo hoooo (Yes that is our new life size poster of Grace at age 9 months in the background. I figure her cuteness might offset my scariness juuuuust a bit.)

And just for comparison - here I am at 20 weeks with Grace. (Notice I am wearing the same shirt to make it easy to compare the size of my stomach.) Like I said, I am fully prepared for #2 to weigh more than 9 lbs. 3 oz.