Baby Burke at 15 Weeks

Most of you guys are just finding out I'm prego. I know it's kind of weird that I waited so long to really tell people, but I've just had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I'm going to have two kids, even though this baby was very planned and very wanted. Plus, moving kind of screwed up my prenatal visits, and  I wanted to hear the heartbeat before I really came out and told everyone. I didn't have a prenatal visit until I was thirteen weeks, after the move and my trip to Alabama. My due date is April 23, which was also J's due date. So HOPEFULLY this kid will not wait until May to make his/her grand appearance. Early April would be much appreciated. Really, any day but my birthday because I'm selfish and don't want to share.

The beginning of my pregnancy was awful-but not from actually being pregnant. I knew I was pregnant as soon as you can know from a pregnancy test. I was doing tests everyday, and in the middle of my testing spree, the three of us got horrible food poisoning from Boston Market. It was so bad that I lost eight pounds of fluid in one day. J's diapers were so disgusting, we had to switch to disposables for a few days. And for some reason, my husband doesn't get the effects of food poisoning until three days afterwards, but it works out well for us. He takes care of me, then I get better and take care of him when he becomes ill. The nausea from the food poisoning went straight into nausea from pregnancy, and I had to deal with that until just a week or two ago. I also had so many food aversions, that I didn't really want to eat. I would only eat if I was starving because I didn't want to deal with food. 

about two months along in this picture, practicing with two kids :)

According to Baby Center, Baby Burke is 4 inches long, 2.5 ounces, and about as big as an apple.

Weight gain: -4 pounds

Food aversions: MEAT

Food cravings: nothing really

Hoping for: a girl!

Movement: feels like popcorn popping

I've lost weight, but don't let the scale fool you. I look HUGE. I look like I've gained twenty pounds. I would like to say that I've been eating super healthy foods, since the most critical time for a child to be given healthy food is in utero, but...I've had such problems with food aversions, that I just eat whatever I can. It's better to eat Cheez-Its for lunch than to have no lunch at all. But my aversions and nausea are abating, so hopefully I'll be able to start eating well soon.

I'm reaaaaaally hoping for a girl so I can do a beautiful nursery and buy tons of pretty clothes. My husband may have to get a second job. If it's a boy...that poor kid is getting nothing. I'll just buy a double stroller (used off of Craigslist) and call it a day. I haven't even scheduled my sonogram yet, but I'm definitely going to have one in the next five weeks because I don't know how much longer I can hold out. Whatever it is, I know J is going to HATE him/her. When I visited my sister and nephew in Alabama, J got so mad whenever I held my nephew. He would run over to me and push the baby out of the way. However, he did enjoy bottle feeding his cousin. So we'll see how long it takes him to adjust.

"Auntie Bekah and Uncle Jason" Come to Town

I'm trying to catch up on posts. I'm two months behind, so...sorry. We got a nice visit from "Auntie Bekah and Uncle Jason" for my friend Rebekah's birthday in August. They got the whole LA experience:

the zoo,

Beverly Hills,

a (window) shopping spree on Rodeo Drive,

being soooo close to celebrities, except not really (Rosie Pope's maternity store),

being stuck in traffic for three hours on the way home from Rosie Pope's maternity store,

chillin out, maxin, relaxin all cool on our celebrity home tour,

and The Aquarium of the Pacific.

Here's the five of us at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I'm so glad they came because we all had a great time (excluding the time we sat in traffic for hours and Rebekah wanted to beat me with a baseball bat).

J at 17 Months

Weight: 22 lbs
Height: 30"

Teeth: 11

Words: still not talking

Favorite game: tag/hide and seek

Favorite book: Goodnight, Goodnight, Constuction Site

Favorite toy: his plastic golf bag/club set

Favorite TV show: Backyardigans

Favorite activities: anything outside

Favorite food: fruit

Favorite thing ever: trucks/planes/dogs/cats/horses

J getting his FOURTH haircut. Sheesh.

Here are little tidbits about J:

• He is still nursing.

• He can point to his ears, belly button, nose, and toes when asked where they are. He also likes to find other people's belly buttons. He loves to lift up his grandmother's shirt and my shirt so he can see them. I also caught him lifting up a stranger's shirt (a three-year-old) in a store so he could find the kid's belly button. 
• He doesn't talk, but he does communicate in other ways. He puts his hand to his ear when he hears a phone ring. He waves hello and bye. He blows kisses. He points to what he wants. He claps. I also taught him to open his mouth and put his hand over it whenever he hears the work "yawn" (I did this so he could be more interactive with his "nite nite books.") He finds his shoes and gives them to me when he wants to go outside. I know that even though he won't say anything, he still understands everything I say to him. He obeys me (most of the time) when I give him a command. When he doesn't obey me, he still knows he is supposed to do it, but he's just being bad.

• J went back to two naps a day = hard to get out of the house and do anything.
• He is getting better with forks. He can now spear a pancake piece, dip it in syrup, and put it in his mouth.

• We are sleep training J. It sucks. I hate hearing him scream and know that I shouldn't go to him.   We need to do this because J isn't sleeping well with us anymore. The slightest movement wakes him up, and he gets a lot more sleep if he is by himself with no one moving or making noise. Plus my husband thinks it's time to cut the umbilical cord. My husband puts J to bed because if I do it, he will expect to be nursed to sleep. So now we have to train him to fall asleep on his own. My husband brushes his teeth and takes him to the nursery. He holds J on his lap and reads until he's drowsy, then he puts J on his mattress and waits for him to fall asleep to creep out of the room. 

• J is obsessed with playing outside. As soon as he is done with breakfast, he will go find his shoes and look longingly out the windows. I bought him sidewalk chalk and am debating on whether to get him more outside toys now or wait for spring, as it's already pretty nippy here.

J in his natural habitat