Stats: I have no clue. She has one more month until her next appointment.  I swear she hasn’t gained any weight because she runs around like a complete psycho.

Favorites: Stickers.  She loves to put them on everything, including herself.  She loves to go outside and especially likes slides.  She loves to eat chocolate and sneaks it when I hide it somewhere.  It is all about “da-da” right now.  She always asks about him when he is gone.  She loves birds and dogs and is always looking for them when we drive around or go on walks.

Lifesavers for Mom and Dad: Anyone who is willing to babysit! I especially am extra grateful knowing that adding another one to the mix is just going to make me more exhausted.  This girl has a ton of energy and its only going to get worse!  I found a lot of counting games on my IPAD and those are great to use in waiting rooms and train rides.  She loves to color, so it gives me a little break when I need to do something.

Dislikes: Eating in general.  I was so happy when she wasn’t picky, but now she feels like play is more important than food.  While we are here in Chicago, I have to latch her into her stroller to make her eat.  Otherwise, she would run around and not eat.  Toddlers sure know how to change things up!  I just asked Mike what he thinks she dislikes right now and he said “sleeping in”.  She definitely does not let us sleep in.  Also, when we tell her no, she gets soooo upset and closes her eyes.

Facts: She loves the ABC’s and is learning the letters (not in order).  She knows random letters like C, X and O.  She also likes to count and can point out numbers like 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Sleep Habits: She was doing so awesome at home.  I really just had to lay her in bed and wait a few minutes and she would be out cold.  I am guessing because of change in environment and the fact that we are in a cool hotel, she thinks she has to wake up at the crack of dawn.  She naps for three hours a day though really well.

Doctors Visits:  None so far.  I’m sure as I type this, she will get some kind of sickness from going to all of these museums and public places.

Eating Habits: Like I said, she is more into play than eating.  I can get her to eat the Target brand squeeze pouches and crackers. For meals, I usually hide vegetables in a smoothie or squeeze form.  She does like to eat cucumbers and likes a good mac and cheese. She also loves chicken nuggets a lot. She is definitely a choc-o-holic like her mom.

Milestones: She is learning SO much.  She is catching on to ABCs and numbers, which is really cool.  I have yet to get her to learn her colors, but I know it will be really soon. She is repeating words I say.  She says “I’m gonna get you!” and “Hi dada” and “Hi mama” and definitely can communicate mostly in two to three word sentences.  It’s cool to see how excited she is to learn and is taking everything in.  She knows her animals and animal sounds really well and most of her basic body parts.  It’s nice that I can ask her to get things, because I will be using her when the baby is born!

Looking Forward To: Her 2nd birthday!  That means we are back and home, and better yet, Mike is back home!

I will spare you the belly pics and show you the ultrasound from this week!

How far along: 19 Weeks

Movement: A little fluttering still, but nothing big. He is still the size of a really large mango which is still a wee thing!

Food cravings: Apples. I eat them every day!  I have been craving chinese food too.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Olivia’s toddler meals I make for dinner, any pasta like spaghetti or mac and cheese, the smell of squash or broccoli…

Have you started to show yet: Yes.  Too much!

Gender prediction: Boy.  The pictures will prove it too!

Labor signs: No

Belly button in or out: Flat and weird.

Wedding rings on or off: Off…but even when I wasn’t pregnant I had the problem of forgetting it when I went to work out or bike.

Happy or Moody most of the time: A little of both this week…it’s definitely been an improvement.  I am very anxious about little boy being healthy!

Looking forward to: Watching him get bigger and develop more.  he still was so small in his ultrasound and I wish I could have seen more detail!

I got a little behind because of the chaos of my life…so here are the last two months!

Stats: I’m thinking she is around 25 pounds. She hardly eats…so it could be less. (Dang kid..  She is a busy thing!) She is tall and is borderline 6-7 in shoes…which is big! Poor girl!

Favorites: Paw Patrol…I bought her a shirt and some pajamas and she is extremely proud of them.  She always talks about them and chants “Go! Go! Go!”.  She loves to slide and has accomplished her little slide with no help finally!  She can go up the stairs at the park and goes down by herself too.  She loves bikes and bike races.  She wants to touch the bike wheels all the time and makes bike noises when she sees our bikes in the garage. She loves junk food (thanks to all the people who spoil her)…hence the reason why I am having a hard time getting her to eat her veggies! She still loves to carry her Monks around, even though I cut the pacifier off the original Monks…I like that she is sentimental.

Lifesavers for Mom and Dad: Taking her to toddler classes and outings are definitely lifesavers.  She is always asking to go “Bye Bye”, especially in the morning.  She loves story time and we started to go to classes at the science museum and gym.  She loves to play in her toy room by herself and I enjoy doing arts and crafts with her at home. She loves to color, which takes up some time too.

Dislikes: She hates nursery at church. She cries and cries at the door when I leave. She does love the last part of class where they have singing time and will dance along.  She hates being told no and has been throwing tantrums when that happens…a lot! The other day I wouldn’t put more toothpaste on her toothbrush so she spun around on the floor screaming and then starting to pound her head on the wall.  Oh, the terrible twos!

Facts: She is fascinated with the ABC song and Wheels on the Bus. She loves to point out ABC’s everywhere.  She knows the numbers 6, 8 and 2 for some reason.  She loves to play with dad and watch nursery rhymes with him or throw the ball.  We all like to walk down to the park in our neighborhood and go sliding.  She loves play dates with other kids and is starting to warm up to socializing. She loves to read about animals and loves nursery rhyme books too.

Sleep Habits: She is actually doing MUCH better now that we have been at home (just wait til we go to Chicago!). She doesn’t like to co-sleep anymore at all, which is nice, and sleeps all night in her crib.  I might have to get up once or twice a week in the middle of the night to talk to her, but she goes back to sleep.  The only problem now is that she wants to wake up at 6am on the dot, so I have been trying to get her to go to bed earlier. Weird kid.

Doctors Visits:  Knock on wood. None. Last month made up for it with the ER and quick care!

Eating Habits: It’s sad, but she isn’t as much of a good eater now. She grazes a lot during the day on goldfish, apples, grapes, and other things like that. I want her to eat more, but she gets so distracted by everything!  She eats more at lunch than she does at breakfast and dinner.  She has to be in a room with no tv or music to distract and definitely wants us to eat with her.  She loves graham crackers and yogurt.

Milestones: She jibber-jabbers a lot. I find her sitting in her toy room a lot talking to herself.  She says a lot of one word to two-word sentences and like I said, loves the ABCs. She loves to run everywhere.  I definitely see a runner in the future.  She has the cutest little bouncy run too.  She loves to swing and slide and play with her toy cars.  She loves to make animal sounds a lot too.  Climbing is a new thing. She is always climbing up on the furniture. Fortunately, she has a pretty good fear of heights, so going down the stairs and jumping off things aren’t in the cards yet.  She loves to sing in the car and does hand signals to a lot of songs too.

Looking Forward To: This month is going to be crazy in Chicago, but I look forward to taking her to the Children’s Museum and Aquarium and watching her have fun in new places!

Stats: 23.5 pounds (I know this because she has been to the doctor TWICE in the last week!)

Favorites: It’s funny how her tastes are changing a little bit.  Bubble Guppies have now been replaced by Paw Patrol and now she is all about her slide rather than her Klip Klops.  Don’t get me wrong, she still plays with them, but it seems that she likes to switch it up a little more! She is definitely all about the swings and slides right now.  She loves to go outside and asks to go out every day.  She loves stickers! I have found them all over the house.  She likes to put them on Mike’s arms and legs.

Lifesavers for Mom and Dad: Her Christmas presents are definitely lifesavers and have helped to keep her entertained.  She got a new chair, a car ramp, a slide, some church books, Wiggles DVD’s….she will be a busy thing!

Dislikes: After being sick for a few weeks, she is really not liking being around people right now.  She got so clingy! She is getting a little better, but it is so frustrating!  She hates ear drops and taking medicine.  She spit her medicine out at the nurse in the ER!

Facts: I say this a lot lately, but she is definitely talking and communicating a lot more.  She tells me when she is done with her food.  She asks for things with one or two word sentences.  She has a lot of new words to her vocabulary and loves to make animal sounds.  We will ask her “what does a chicken say?” or “what does a cow say?” and she will answer. She knows at least 8-10 animal sounds.  My favorite is when I ask her “what does a slide say?” and she goes “Weeeeeee!”.

Sleep Habits:Well. I had her trained.  Then going on a vacation and getting sick happened.  We are currently working on the sleeping through the night thing.  I usually just have to go in and say “Lay down” and she will plop down and stop crying.  She’s just checking so see if I am there.

Doctors Visits:  Sooooo many this month.  Quick care and ER.  I will never brag about her not being sick anymore. I feel like I jinxed myself.  She started of with an upper respiratory, then a stomach bug, then an ear infection.  Winter stinks!

Eating Habits: She is still a a pretty good eater. She loves herself some graham crackers and milk.  Her dad taught her to dunk the crackers so she is definitely all about the dunking. She loves chicken and baked beans.  She has been eating a lot of soup lately too.

Milestones: More talking. More communicating.  She finally started saying “Barney” which is “Narney”.  She wants to brush her teeth ALL the time!  She is obsessed with toothpaste and carries it around all the time.  She uses the spoon and fork like champ now. She helps me put toys in and out of the bath. She wipes her face and hands after each meal and cleans her own high chair.  It’s nice to start her on doing chores.

Looking Forward To: Going to Chicago with her and hearing new words out of her mouth!

Stats: 23 pounds and 32 inches (50th percentile); 75th percentile for head.

Favorites: She loves cars/bikes (anything with wheels) and still continues to make car noises constantly. Even when she is mad, instead of crying or yelling, she will make a high squealed car noise to let us know she is upset.  I’ve been buying her hot wheels and she loves to park them in a row. She loves STARS.  Anytime it is night-time she will point to the sky and say “Star” (future astronomer perhaps?). She loves to stack and line up things in a row. She loves to stand on her books and is really getting into climbing this month. She loves to make woofing sounds when she sees a dog or cat.  She loves animals.

Lifesavers for Mom and Dad: Of course, Bubble Guppies are a lifesaver.  Her toys keep her pretty busy.  She is beginning to like puzzles and likes to paint with water.  She is a great eater, which is awesome for us.  Going to nursery at church is awesome for us.  And Monks will always be on the list of the lifesavers.

Dislikes: Being left in nursery, having her face wiped, not being able to climb up on the couch, being left alone at all, sleeping through the night (still..)…

Facts: It was crazy to see her change to a “kid” this last month. More words starting coming out of her mouth like “again” “stairs” “slide” “swing” “boo-boo” “night-night, dada” “apple” “please” “cheese” “pumpkin” and the usual mom and dad and many more.  She is starting to go down the slide by herself and is sitting in chairs better.  She is still very hyper in her toddler classes, but loves to do the finger plays and songs (not really liking the books being read to her). She likes to talk on the phone and says bye-bye every time I hang up the phone with someone. She is good at going down a single step, which used to make me nervous.  She is a great road tripper.

Sleep Habits:I feel like this will always be the issue we have.  At least she goes to bed at 8 and doesn’t start freaking out til midnight or even two in the morning.  When I finally get her back to sleep, she gets up at 7.

Doctors Visits:  Just had it and nothing to report. The doctor said that there is no sign of the fracture she had from birth.  Crazy that now it goes to just going to the doctor every year now.  She is so grown up!

Eating Habits: She loves her milk! She’s been really into dunking her graham crackers in milk.  She is pretty good with the spoon and fork too.  She loves mexican food and tried out some new things this month like mushrooms and cucumbers and didn’t seem to mind.  She doesn’t like the same food over and over again for meals.  She wants variety, which I find funny.

Milestones: More talking, more understanding, the climbing increased this month, and she is more coordinated with running.  She is really good at cleaning up when I ask her to clean up her toys.  She also is getting good at puzzles if I point to where the piece goes.  I can ask her to go get things and she will bring them to me from the other room.  She wants to mimic everything I do when it comes to housework and laundry.  My little helper! SHE STARTED NURSERY AT CHURCH! She cried, but she lasted the whole time.  I had to go in during snack time and help out, but after they went outside for play time, I knew she would be okay (she LOVES the outdoors).

Looking Forward To: Thanksgiving and Christmas and teaching her words like “Santa Claus” and “Christmas tree”. Also, teaching her how to draw and color more…