This time around hasn't been as much fun.

My pregnancy with Lacey was pretty average. I had a crappy first trimester and then things started to look up for me. I started feeling better, I got my energy and appetite back, I could feel her squirming around. This time it has been so different. I'm still a little nauseous most days. Some days are worse than others and I occasionally have a great day but I still don't feel like a normal human being.

I'm beyond tired these days. Maybe it's because I am chasing after my crazy 1 year old all day, maybe it's because I'm not sleeping well at night, maybe it's because I'm not eating enough because nothing sounds good.

I'm almost 19 weeks and still haven't felt this baby move. Maybe once or twice, while wearing some tight jeans... And bending over, I might have felt some movement. Stupid anterior placenta! I started feeling Lacey move around 17 weeks and I loved it.

Dr. Appointments are more of a hassle this time around. Am I supposed to get a babysitter for Lacey? Do I take her to all of my appointments? It was exciting with Lacey to hear the heartbeat and get all my questions answered. This time I don't really have many questions and those 5 minute appointments are cramping my style.

Apparently, my face hates me being a mom. I broke out pretty bad when I was pregnant with Lacey, and it didn't get any better after. Probably because I was breastfeeding. Then I got pregnant before I stopped breastfeeding. So I guess this mess of a face is sticking around until I'm done having kids.

Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited and can't wait to have this baby in my arms but I'm not really digging all these pregnancy side effects.

I can't do it.

I've come to the realization that we just have too much stuff. Some of it I have kept for sentimental reasons. Other things I don't want to throw out or give away because maybe I'll need it some day. I know that I need to debunk, but I don't know how to do it. I don't know where to start. I wish I could live a clean organized minimalist lifestyle, but I just don't think that is an option for me.

Occasionally I will get in the mood to throw everything out. I just hope one of those rare moods comes along soon, before baby #2 comes.

She's a little artist

Lacey has recently decided that she loves to draw and color. Before she was more interested in sucking on her marker or eating her crayon. Now she spends a good 10 minutes coloring when given a crayon and some paper. She still takes a bite out of the occasional crayon, but now she also likes to color.

Today she was coloring and then she went into her bed room. We were watching another little girl too and I could hear them playing with some toys. Then it got kind of quiet. Then I could hear the sound of crayon being dragged back and forth on the wall. She was so proud of her artwork when I ran into the room to stop her. Luckily crayon really isn't to hard to get cleaned off the wall.

Driving through the night

Lacey was a champ on the drive out to Arkansas, but I think we scared her. Every time we got in the car she fought to get out of her car seat. we were a little worried about doing another 10.5 hour drive with her. Last minute we decided to pack up and leave right after dinner. That meant driving through the night and then getting home close to the time that Lacey would be waking up for he day. Scott has a talent of falling asleep anytime, anywhere. He insisted on driving the whole way home, and I didn't want him to try to push through being super tired. That meant I was awake the entire time, asking him questions, talking to him, singing to music just to make sure he was good to drive. I don't have that problem, it takes a conscious effort for me to fall asleep. Even when I am super tired. I haven't ever accidentally fallen asleep somewhere. I offered to drive multiple times, but each time Scott said he had it covered.
Lacey was actually awake for a good portion of the drive home. I am so grateful that we loaded a couple movies onto the iPad and that we charged the iPad before we left.

She would watch a show for a bit and then she would doze off. Every time she woke up she wanted me to come back and sit by her. I just wanted to get home as fast as we could so I didn't want to have to pull over everytime she woke up. I took the headrest off of the passenger seat and got pretty good and crawling back and forth between the front seat and the back seat.

I didn't want to have to pee a million times so I made sure not to drink anything after we decided to drive through the night. Scott on the other hand downed a couple monster energy drinks which went straight through him. He had to pee every hour. He didn't actually stop every hour, he would just let me know we would need to stop sometime soon. We made it back home with only making 3 stops . 

She was a trooper and because she missed some sleep it meant that she slept for a couple hours after we got home. Scott and I survived the day on only about 4 hours of sleep, taking different shifts with Lacey. It was such a fun trip. I'm so glad that we were able to go visit Heidi and Steve and show them how cute our little girl is.

Scott was so wonderful. He drove the entire way without a single complaint. He slept for 4 hours then he got up, unloaded the car, unpacked everything, picked up the house, and then let me nap while he played with Lacey. I'm telling you, I got lucky with this guy.

Lacey loves her animals

Heidi and Steve have a little dog named Oscar. Lacey loves to chase him around their house all day. The only problem is that she is a much bigger fan of him then he is of her. He is okay for the first few minutes and then he starts to growl at her. She is slowly starting to learn to back off when he starts growling.

Neither Scott or I are pet people so odds are were ably won't ever have any pets for her to love on. Lacey called Oscar "offk" it was so cute. She would hear his tags on his collar jingle and call out for him.

Animal Fun

Today we went through a drive through safari park.  We got to drive through and see a lot of cool animals.  It was a lot of fun and Lacey got a kick out of seeing all the animals.

After the drive through part we were able to go to the petting zoo part.  It was so much fun.  We got to pet a cow, goats,  llamas, and tortoises. We got to see wolves,  birds,  kangaroos, snakes, and monkeys. We even got to feed a giraffe.  Scariest thing ever,  haha.

Still figuring it out

Sometimes I feel like I have the whole mommy thing down. I get on a schedule, make healthy meals, keep up with laundry, and both Lacey and I are happy campers. Then there are days like today where Lacey wakes up a couple hours earlier then her normal wake up time. She took a nap around the time she would normally just be waking up. It throws everything that I thought I understood out the window. Meals get pushed back, extra patience is needed, and I have to figure everything out as the day goes on.


Lacey wasn't wanting to take a second nap, but we all know that she needed one. She ended up falling asleep while sitting up on the couch. She wouldn't let me move her to the crib, but I could pretty much move her anywhere else. She cuddled with Scott for a bit, and then me, and then we put her in the recliner to finish up her nap.

It is crazy how strong-willed such a tiny person can be. She knows what she wants and doesn't give up. Right now, I don't really appreciate that she wants to make her own decisions and stick to it no matter how many times I say no or try to distract her. In the future I think that it is always a good thing to know what you want and be willing to go for it.

I'm going to get fat...

We have gone out to eat so many times during the lady few days!  I'm seriously going to get fat before we leave.  I've done pretty good about eating well since getting pregnant,  but I'm on vacation and I'm eating like I'm on vacation.  

Today I ate the yummiest deep fried chicken stuffed avacado. It was so yummy.  I kind of have a thing for avacado.  I could eat avacado with every meal. Now I need to learn how to make deep fried stuffed avocado at home. 

Our first day out here we ate some amazing Thai food. I love coconut curry, and it was the perfect amount of spicy. We are probably going to back again while we are here.

We ate gourmet grilled cheese on Monday. I love not having to cook! I hate what eating out is doing to our wallet. I seriously think I've gained a pound a day since we have been here. Pregnant or not that is too much weight to gain.

Warmth and wind

Today it was in the 60s! It was sunny and beautiful! Heidi and Steve took us to a gourmet grilled cheese place in Fayetteville. It was pretty good,  but I think I like just a good ol' regular grilled cheese better.
It was sunny and warm when we finished eating.  We went and played a little mini golf. Once we were outside for a bit the wind really picked up.  I'll take the wind of its going to be sunny and warm. I thought I played pretty well,  but I got last place.

Lacey was pretty cute as she chased down balls,  sat on the rocks, and tried to jump into every fountain she saw.  It was a lot of fun,  but Lacey sure can be a handful sometimes.

Arkansas day 3

Heidi and Steve have a little dog named Oscar. Lacey LOVES dogs,  so all she wants to so all day is run around chasing him, and shouting.  It's actually really funny to watch.  Oscar does well for the first 5 minutes but then he is a little overwhelmed by her and starts growling. 

I love that lacey is so adventurous but I don't want her to learn the hard way that when I dog gets annoyed he might bite.  He nipped at her once,  but I don't think he really got her.  It's sad to see her get so excited and then have Oscar get grumpy.  He has been spending more time outside and locked in a room so Lacey can rub around freely. 

Today was still cold outside.  I'm so ready for warm weather! It's supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow, which will be wonderful.  I just looked at the weather for Milwaukee and it isn't really supposed be over 50 until the end of April. I hate winter.

Vacation

Every time I think about going on vacation I think of having a warm breeze and spending a lot of time outside. We were so excited to come to Arkansas where it would be nice and warm. I guess we brought the cold weather with us when we came. It has been cold and rainy since we got here. It is supposed to warm up into the 70s in the next few day and we are so looking forward to it. Lacey has been so cooped up and she has no idea how much fun it is when the weather finally starts to warm up for the summer. She has gotten a small taste here and there but it's been mostly chilly even when we say it "warm" outside.
Arkansas, don't disappoint us please! We want it to get warm soon!

First day in Arkansas

Lacey's schedule is all thrown off.  She took a couple naps yesterday,  which was great for the car ride,  but she didn't go to need until late.  She woke up early,  napped early and was just cranky today.

We did get to go eat at a yummy Thai restaurant! Of course we also had to go to Walmart... where else would we go after driving 700 miles to the home of Walmart?

Lacey's first road trip

What a LONG day!  Lacey was great,  very few tears were shed. We had to make a couple stops to get out and stretch our legs. We had a lot of different toys for Lacey to play with. She  spent a lot of time coloring and playing with her baby doll.

Pain in the neck

I don't remember being this sore and tired when u was pregnant with Lacey.  I hate not being able to take anything for the pain.  I'm so ready to not be pregnant anymore,  but I'm not ready to have two.

Stress

I'm stressing about our trip. Do I have enough to keep Lacey busy? Are we going to make it there with our sanity? Can I get the house cleaned up before we go? Ahhh.... So much to do.

Bows bows bows

Now that we know we are having another girl I've been really wanting to make bows.  Lacey finally has enough hair to clip bows in but all the bows we have currently are on head bands.  I can't decide if I like bows with tails or just the plain bows.  I bought like 10 different fabrics,  so maybe I'll make different style bows in all the fabrics.

Oops...

I forgot I'm teaching tomorrow at church.  So I will be forgoing the blog post tonight.

Be still my heart

If you couldn't tell, Lacey is my whole world. There is just something so powerful about being a mom.  Something I never knew would happen when I had a cold of my own.  I love this little girl in a way I never knew existed.  The cool thing is that she loves me back.  I can comfort her when she needs comfort. I can kids her ouches all better. That's really cool.  I love being a mom.  It's so different then I imagined.  So much harder and tiring then I ever dreamed.  It's also the biggest blessing.  Being a mom has changed me,  in a good way.

She's an animal lover...

Today we made a quick stop at Petco because it was right next to Target. Lacey went crazy in there. She was running around looking at all the lizards, birds, mice, hamsters, and ferrets. She was pointing at all of them, and then she would try to kiss the glass cages. I'm just not a huge animal person, but I'm glad that our little trip was so much fun for her.

And we have food.

So... I don't know where our food stamps money goes sometimes.mlast month we ran out with almost 2 weeks to go. We have been trying to live off of the random odds and ends we have in our cupboards. Today our balance reset, which means that I got to go grocery shopping. I love having real food. I love having fresh and healthy snacks for both Lacey and I. I love having fruit everyday.

Towards the end of the trip Lacey was getting ready to be done. A sweet employee stopped and asked if she could give Lacey a cookie. What a life saver! She happily chewed down on that cookie the remainder of the trip.

Her favorite part about this store is the mechanical horse up front. She loves that thing. It runs off pennies and makes her smile every time we come.

Mean GirlI

Today while Lacey and I were waiting for the kids we pick up from school we decided to play on the little playground by the school. One of the things is a little metal thing that some of the kids like to hang upside down on. Lacey loves it for some reason. 

I picked Lacey up and let her sit on the yellow bar while she held onto the blue one. She thought she was so cool sitting up there.

 Then a little girl comes up and say "she needs to move or I'm going to kick her."  Okay... I took Lacey down, which she wasn't very happy about but I didn't want her to get kicked. She was standing by the side watching the girl hang upside down then the girl drops down and comes over to where Lacey was. Then say again, "she needs to move or I'm going to kick her." Then she swings her legs up and kicks her. I was shocked and pretty peeved that some 6 year old just kicked Lacey on purpose. I picked Lacey up as she started to cry and I said "some girls are just mean" loud enough for that girl to hear me. I didn't know what else to do. Go find the girl's parents? 

 

On our way back to the car Lacey wanted to carry the girls lunch box and hold her hand as they walked. She is so much fun!

Yes!

Today it was in the 50's! It was the perfect day to go to the zoo and spend some time outside. I was even warm enough to take my jacket off. I am so excited for the weather to get consistantly warm. We can go out and play in the sun instead of being cooped up inside all day. Lacey is a huge fan of being outside, and I'm a huge fan of her learning and exploring.

Today she was loving the zoo. She was pointing at all the animals, waving hi, and blowing them kisses. She had a little fall and scratched up her lip a bit too.

Man I missed that girl

Lacey is finally getting back to normal. She slept through the night. She was super happy and smiley. She was back to being silly and being playful. She was less needy. She ate during all her meals. I love being this girl's momma! Even when she is sick I love her and her cuddles, but then when she is healthy I remember just how truly amazing she is. I couldn't have asked for a better little girl.

It's a...

Today we went on to an elective ultrasound place and found out the gender of baby number 2. I don't really know what I was expecting, but we are pretty excited to be having... Another girl. Scott is a little anxious that we won't ever have a boy, but we plan on having at least one more, so we still have a shot at a boy.

Screams

The last few nights Lacey has decided to wake up and scream in the middle of the night.  Scott will go in and try to help her but all she has wanted was her momma. She was doing so good with the whole sleeping through the night thing,  so this really wasn't something I expected or wanted.  Last night she was up every two hours.  Then it would take me a good 45 minutes of rocking before she was ready to go back to her crib.  It is so exhausting getting up that many times.  I was just hoping I would have 6 more months of a full nights sleep before I had to start getting  up again at night.
This morning she woke up with pink eye  so we got her in to see the doctor. Turns out she has a pretty bad double ear infection. Luckily we decided to go in today, and hopefully she stays feeling better (and sleeping through the night) again soon.

The bed to myself

For the past 3 days Scott has slept on the couch. He decided that was the best way for us to both get sleep. He has been coughing all through the night,  so I really appreciate him not ĺying next to me while he does that.  I'm a really light sleeper,  so everything wakes me up.

Most nights I go to bed a couple hours before Scott does.  Growing a baby is exhausting. It was weird going to bed knowing that he wasn't going to be joining me.  It felt more lonely than normal,  even though I am used to going to bed alone.  I'll be happy once he is all better and things go back to normal.

I was even tempted for a bit to go get Lacey and bring her into bed with me. I'm glad I didn't,  we all know how that would turn out.  She would wake up and want to snuggle.  Her idea of snuggling is getting as close to your head as possible. I know I wouldn't have gotten a wink of sleep if I attempted that.

Such a Tease

Seriously,  what is up with this weather?  I'm sick of the snow.  I'm sick of the freezing wind.  I'm sick of not wanting to leave the house because it's too cold.  I'm sick of being cooped up all day every day. Last week we had a couple beautiful days,  lacey got a taste of what it is like to have the option of going outside. Now,  it's back to being too cold.  Lacey stands at the door and begs to go outside but it's just too cold. Why can't it just be spring already?

Prepping

In a couple weeks we are taking a road trip down to Arkansas. That is where Scott's Sister and her husband live and it has been too long since we have seen them. I've got about two weeks to come up with my gander plan for the trip.  Should we drive through the night? Split the drive into two days? How can I keep her (and us) sane during the drive?  How to I get lacey to sleep in a pack n' play? I'm just trying to brace myself for the trip. Prepare myself for the worst.  That way of things go well I will be pleasantly surprised.