Meet Jerry!

Miss Em continues to be a chatterbox and it's hilarious. She now has a new imaginary friend named Jerry. At first she told me she met him at the salon, but now apparently they met while she was out to lunch at Panera Bread. She tells both Andy and I that he is very nice and SO funny, but that we haven't met him before. She makes this part very clear. She calls him on the phone all the time and his parents names are KK & Mark (which happens to be what she calls Corey's parents) but not CC's KK & Mark, different ones. Their relationship seems to be progressing because for the past few days she keeps telling me that she and Jerry are getting married and would I like to be there. When I say yes, she tells me it's a really long ride and that we'll go another day. Today she started up on the Jerry topic so I tried to secretly video tape her - she'll usually stop me if she notices, but I think today she was humoring me.

Here was the outfit for the wedding!!!

Baby Update - 24 weeks!

All is great on the baby developing front. I am officially just over 24 weeks and feeling good. I am starting to have some lower back pain but I'm pretty sure a lot of that comes from carrying around a 34lb child for the majority of the day. I'm really trying to encourage her to walk because I know once the baby comes she's going to have no choice. The baby's heart rate has continued to stay in the low 140's which is exactly what Em was. This would lead most to believe perhaps it's another girl, but the first time all my mid-wives thought boy, so now I'm really not sure, except for the fact that I think it should be a boy, just because I never pictured myself with 2 girls, but heck, I never pictured myself with a girl first, so I guess I shouldn't really go with my gut.

I still haven't managed to let Em feel the baby kick yet even though they come fast and furious. She will hold her hand there for about 1 second and that's it. This morning though after I tried to get her to feel my belly, she took my hand and put it on her belly and said do you feel it kick? She has now decided in the past few days that she also has a baby in her belly. Just 1 baby though, not 2 like our friend's are having. Thank goodness for that, not sure I could handle it!

I went to my review birthing class on Sunday as I'm trying for a VBAC this time around and it was really great to hear birth stories and talk with the other women, who are both first and second time moms. It was also a nice wake-up call for me that I really need to get my act together and start thinking about a birth plan, baby names, a plan for the day of the birth etc. I know I still have some time, but it's already going fast and with a busy spring I know that's only going to continue. For now though I'll enjoy the quality time with my little lady!

Shower Time!

Lately, we have really been into showers at our house (I'm referring to Em, thankfully, Andy has been taking them for years!). She loves to feel like a mini mommy and has even taken possession of my hair wrap, which actually comes in quite handy to keep her warm on these cold nights. After this particular shower, I couldn't help but grab the camera and have a nice photo shoot!

Dancing Queen!

We've been taking a Mommy & Me Dance Class for a few weeks now and Em loves it. I finally was able to get a cute video of the girls!

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Being 2 and Loving It!

A little Emmy Update:

• Not only is Miss Em loving being 2 1/2, but we are as well. She is hilarious, sweet, caring and very smart (spoken like a true mother, I know!) She will now come up to Andy and I at completely random times, give us big hugs and say I love you! It just melts our hearts. She loves when the two of us match, even if it's just our pants and says, "Mommy, we match, we're best friends!"

• I am so very proud to say that she has been in underwear now for a little over 2 weeks. We have been potty training off and on for quite some time now, but just recently we made a trip to Target, picked out some really cute underwear and I guess she was finally ready. She insisted on wearing her underwear around the time we were traveling for the holidays, which made it a bit challenging, but I didn't want to stop her. She has been doing GREAT and has only had a few accidents and I believe none in the past week. She is really learning control, doesn't have a fear of public places (even though I cringe every time we go in and she goes to touch something) and is doing amazingly well. Never thought I could be so proud of pee & poop!

• We have been taking a Mommy & Me Preschool class since September, with her teacher, Mrs. Smith and she loves it. It's through the Jewish Community Center in Southbury and where she will be taking preschool next year 3 days a week. In class the kids are learning to be able to recognize their name, so now she points out the letter "E" whenever she sees one. While in Florida she saw a huge sign that said "BOSE" while at the outlet mall. She immediately yelled out, with a huge smile on her face, "Look, that's my name!" As if it was written in lights in the sky. So cute!

• She is learning to ask questions and can now hold a real conversation with you. We have gotten passed the point where we would just talk to her and ask her things, to now she will ask them back. She loves to sit at the dinner table and ask us about our day. She will even ask follow up questions depending on what you said you did that day. She'll ask if you had fun, if it was hard, if you are tired, etc. Where does she learn this stuff?!?!

• Emmy has really been into getting herself dressed lately and I am all for it, well for the most part! I mean I have to put my foot down sometimes, but I also don't want to stifle her creative expression (if you can call it that). We rearranged all of her dresser drawers yesterday so she could have an easier time picking out shirts, pants, etc. This morning was a great example, as I spent a few minutes on the phone with a friend, she told me she was going to pick out her clothes. When I told her she had dance, she immediately knew there would be a skirt as part of the outfit and it went from there! Picture below explains it all...

• She is really starting to come out of her shell as well. She of course can still be shy at times, but is starting to talk to people in public, loves to order her own dinner at restaurants and will even shake hands and say "nice to meet you!" That's my favorite because people are always so surprised to see the polite manners - makes me so proud! She even told the pilot on the plane as we were leaving to "Take Care!"

• Emmy refuses to let me do her hair unless I pretend I am Leah. her hairdresser. She LOVES Leah and asks to get her haircut at least once a week, if only I were made of money. I realized the only way I can do it is if I set her little chair down in front of my full length mirror and pretend I am the hairstylists, but I need to do it just as Leah does. I guess next time we go I'll have to take notes.

Ultrasound picture!

Finally got a chance to upload the ultrasound picture from our Anatomy Scan. When we had our ultrasound with Em, she was sucking her thumb. This baby skipped right over the thumb and went for all 4 fingers instead - hilarious! The baby also had the hiccups during the ultrasound and I actually felt them for the first time the other night, it was crazy. I thought I was going insane and couldn't believe I was feeling them this early on, but after some reading found out that people pregnant with their second can feel hiccups this early on in pregnancy. It was very exciting.

I find myself still in denial that we are expecting baby number 2. People ask me all the time if we have thought of names, nursery decor, etc. and my answer is always no. I know logically that we are having a baby, but life has been so busy that I don't really have time to process of think of anything other than whats going on in the moment. Maybe this is one of the reason I don't want to find out the sex, so I can leave all that planning until the last minute; which for people who know me, is totally against the way I normally lead my planned out life. I guess everyone likes some spontaneity in their life :).

When I do have a quiet moment in the late evening or in the early morning when I baby is especially active I love to just sit and wait for the kicks and punches, it NEVER gets old. I am still just as fascinating that I have a person growing inside of me as I was last pregnancy. The whole thing is truly a miracle and I am so lucky to experience it all!

Anatomy Scan!

We went on December 28th before we jetted off to Florida for our 20 week Anatomy Scan. I'm actually only 20 weeks now but that's just what they call it. Anyway, I was so excited to see the little peanut again, but to also have more reassurance that everything is developing as it should be. I'm happy to report that is all is GREAT! I mean of course, as the doctor, told us, nothing is 100%, but he was very happy with what he saw - beautiful baby as they told us! The baby was measuring to be due on May 26th, so I'm sticking with my "end of May" due date, since I have heard everything from May 24th - May 28th.

I have started feeling the baby more and more and Andy actually felt the baby kick for the first time last week while we were away. I tried to get Em to also feel it but her attention span to the subject is lacking and she didn't have the patience to sit there. I guess we'll have to wait until the kicks and punches are more apparent. She did put her hand on my belly for 2 seconds, say Hi baby, give him/her a tickle and then run off. At least she is grasping the concept a little bit more. She actually asks me about every few days if the baby in my tummy is gone yet and I keep explaining when the baby is gone from my belly that he/she will live with us, this usually results in a blank stare! She also keeps referring to the baby as her sister, which I hope doesn't result in disappointment if it happens to be a boy, but we'll deal with that when and if the time comes.

My belly at 19.5 weeks!