Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving! A day early, sure, but it is never too early to give thanks for the many things we have to be grateful for. Most importantly, the health of our family and friends. This is somewhat of a scary winter, with the whole H1N1 thing. I struggled whether or not to get the vaccine and did end up doing it. Only time will tell if it was the right decision. We haven't decided whether to get one for Isabella. She is generally a pretty healthy kid, despite her constant "daycare cold". She has literally had a runny nose that started exactly one week after she began daycare and has never gone away. It ebbs and flows though (pun seriously not intended). The past couple of weeks it has been mild but this weekend it picked back up again, along with a cough. She is a trooper though.

She had her 2 year doctor's appointment the other week, did I write about that yet? No, I don't think so. She is 37 inches and 34 pounds, off the charts (still) for both height and weight. She was very good at the doctor's office. We love our doctor, actually she is a PA, at Northwest Peds. She is very calm and gentle with Isabella and always takes so much time to listen and respond to our questions and concerns.

I had another appointment the other day, to see if we could see Bailey's face. She finally cooperated, although I was on that table rolling this way and that for about half an hour. I have included some of the many ultrasound pictures for your viewing pleasure (or confusion).

This one is the only time I will ever show you (or that you would ever want to see) a spread eagle shot of my naked baby! :) A second reassurance of the gender is always a plus. The three white lines mean girl!

This one is her cute little foot. Awww, I love baby feet!

This one is my favorite. I love how you can see her little profile and her little hand balled up.

This one I am including as a tribute to the ultrasound technician. This is her favorite. She just loves the "skeletal grin" in this picture. I just think it is creepy. If you are having trouble "seeing it", she is looking right at the camera. You can see her eyes, her nose, and her mouth is spread wide in a big "smile".

I am feeling well lately. The nausea was horrible in the first trimester. I figured out that dairy was making me nauseous so I gave that up. Once I was fully out of the first tri, I was able to start eating dairy again, much to the excitement of Nick, who was getting tired of dinners that did not include cheese. I have been pretty tired most of the time, although that comes and goes too. I am not yet "feeling pregnant", but as I get bigger, that feeling is coming!

I have always thought to myself, "I'm not going to fall into the stereotypical trap of taking fewer pictures of my second child". I have always heard that about 2nd children, how their baby books aren't as well filled out and how there aren't as many pictures of them. So of course I aspire not to fall into that trap. But here I am, 22 (or am I 23?) weeks pregnant and I haven't taken a single belly shot! I was taking weekly ones with Isabella by this point. So Bailey isn't even born yet and the pattern has begun. Sigh. I will try to get a belly shot on here soon. I am starting to show more, even though there are certain outfits/shirts I can wear where it isn't completely obvious. And, there are two pairs of my pre-pregnancy pants that I can still wear! Ha ha, that is more a testament to the fact that I lost some weight after Isabella and never went clothes shopping...those pants were unwearable without a belt before I got pregnant, so this doesn't mean that I haven't gotten bigger. But it is nice to have a couple of things I can wear that are NOT elastic! My maternity pants are too big but most of my regular pants are too small. Thank goodness for the belly band! A stretchy elastic tube that will hold up my big maternity pants or my unbuttoned regular pants. That was the best $17 I have spent in a while!

Isabella is finally starting to come out of her shell a little bit at school. She is interacting with the other kids more and starting to talk to the teachers some too. The other day when I picked her up she went up to each of the kids individually and said "bye bye Haley" "bye bye Zachary" "bye bye Aiden". That was a big step, because I had never seen her personally talk to the other kids before. One of her classmates had a birthday party last weekend and invited the class. It was fun to see her interact with the other kids, especially her best buddy Sydney. They were giggling and chasing each other around the mat and dancing. It was a hoot! Sydney's mom is also pregnant with a 2nd girl and she is due around the same time as me. Isabella had so much fun at that birthday party! It was at Little Gym. They alternated between free play and a group activity. Isabella just ran around smiling and dancing and jumping. After awhile she didn't really play on any of the equipment, she just did laps. It was a fun afternoon!

Her little personality just continues to develop. At some point during each day we both just find ourselves looking at her thinking "that is OUR kid! She is amazing!" She is starting to understand more and more and bring that understanding into her language, which continues to develop in leaps and bounds. I have some fun videos but gosh that takes more effort...hopefully I'll find some time this weekend to post some of them for you.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this is a time of health, happiness, and peace for you and yours!