I was pretty surprised to find out I was having a boy, so it’s taken me awhile to get to the point where I’m ready to start thinking nursery themes and boy stuff!  This morning I was looking at dinosaurs, I love them!  Here are some favorites from Etsy:

Rawr!  Dinosaur Theme

Top left:  Dino Dudes Learning Lovey
Top right:  Dino Baby Mobile
Lower left:  Eco-Friendly Wood Dino Teething Toy
Lower right:  Minky Plush Dinosaur Softie

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Top left:  Dino Dudes Diaper Cover
Top right:  Dino Roar Sweet Pea Onesie
Lower left:  Little Boy Dino Baby Booties
Lower right:  Dino Knit Infant Hat

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What are your baby boy nursery themes?

I am not affiliated with these shops in any way – just sharing some of my cool finds!  :)

And in case you didn’t see my previous post, it’s a BOY!   :)

I have to share my ultrasound experience!

Not that it was anything very out of the ordinary…  I mean, if you’ve had babies before then you’ve probably shared nearly the same experience.  But it was still a big turning point in my pregnancy, and I want to remember it – both the good and bad.  :)

Plus, it’s fun to talk about and compare stories!

First, I was worried about drinking enough water.  I gulped down a 24-ounce glass of water on the drive over to my friend Erin’s house (she sooo sweetly watched Emma for me during my ultrasound and appointment), and then drank almost a whole Pepsi (12 ounces) as well.  I was determined that this child would be moving while I was in the room, no being lazy and hiding his gender!  I shouldn’t have worried, though – he is John’s child, he will be an active child (like Emma).

Apparently I drank more than enough because by 10 minutes to the appointment time I was DYING.

I waited for about 4 hours (slight exaggeration) in the waiting room with a very very very very VERY full bladder to be graciously admitted into the ultrasound room.  I finally was called (about 20 minutes late) and hobbled into the room hoping I would make it to the table before… something exploded (have you ever seen What About Bob?).  I lay on the table and prepared for the torture of having pressure applied to my bladder, but the baby must have been very well visible because she didn’t have to apply much pressure at all.  Thank You, Lord!

My one disappointment with the ultrasound is that there were no monitors for me to look at for the 10 minutes or so that the ultrasound tech spent taking measurements.  I had to watch her poker face (man, they have that down well!) and my husband’s confounded expression and tilted head as he tried to make sense of “the blob”.

That man.  They joked that it was an ink blot test.  I wanted to smack them.  lol  What is kicking me inside my tummy does not feel like a blob!

After the measurements were taken, I finally got a glimpse of my little peanut.  The problem is I really don’t remember a lot of movement – and I think because she was late she was in a hurry to get me out.  Frustrating!  But I did get some pictures.  A foot, his bottom (Because I must show people evidence of his gender? I know not.), his face, and his spine.

Our hospital wants you to see the doctor immediately after the ultrasound, so another hour or so of waiting.  She was half an hour late, then had to go deliver a baby and left again so I saw a midwife.  I loved the midwife I saw, and my husband liked her, too.  She was really nice.  Maybe if I ever get pregnant again I’ll see a midwife.  But right now I don’t really want to change… and I’m not sure it matters so much who delivers the baby as long as I get my prize in the end.  :)

Share your ultrasound story!

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Yesterday was Emma’s 2-year doctor appointment.  You know, the one where they ask you to fill out a huge questionnaire on your child’s development?  Emma is doing very well and hasn’t given me anything to worry about for the most part – in fact, she has been ahead in many areas including being able to count to 20 and swing on a big kid swing all by herself.  She’s strong and isn’t afraid to do anything.  A blessing, but I do have to watch her like a hawk!  :)

There was one little thing that gave me a mild cause for worry, something I was hoping would simply go away on its own but hasn’t yet.  I noticed that when Emma was feeling tired one of her eyes would kind of turn inward a bit.  My husband and I thought maybe she was doing it on purpose, like trying to cross her eyes or something, because it would go back to normal after a few seconds.  It looked like she was staring into space and then snapped back to reality.  I thought I should mention this to her pediatrician just in case, and I’m glad I did because she knew exactly what it was.

Strabismus

It scared me at first – of course I don’t want my daughter to have any conditions with a forboding name like that!  But it’s basically “lazy eye” or the muscles of that eye being weaker.  I don’t know the cause, but  I was told that if it went untreated it wouldn’t be fixable, so it was good that I told her early.  We’ve been referred to an eye doctor and there are ways to treat this that include eye exercises and having her wear a patch over her good eye a couple hours a day.  The patch sounds doable to me – trying to get my 2-year-old to cooperate at an eye appointment is not something I look forward to, though.

Oh, and I also found out that my mom has a lazy eye, and I read that this is something that runs in families.  The eye doctor told her that it is something that could have been treated when she was younger but not now.  I’ve never noticed it so it can’t have been too severe, though.  Like with Emma, it must only happen intermittently.

Have any of your children ever had this?

I’m wondering about TV and if it could make it worse right now.  It’s something I’m going to ask the eye doctor and I’ll definitely be limiting television. I was already doing so anyway, but now I have a really good reason to keep her away from it.

I’ve been doing some research on the advantages and disadvantages of jogging versus all-terrain baby strollers.  I have a jogging stroller that was purchased for me as a gift when my daughter was born two years ago and it has held up very well – it’s a Baby Trend stroller.  BUT, I’m not a hard-core jogger and it has mainly been used for taking walks and the occasional light jog.  It was not very expensive and I don’t think it will hold up through both of my babies, so I’ve been shopping around for other types of strollers.

Since I love the three-wheeled look and the way these strollers maneuver, I thought I would look into other types of jogging strollers.  Then I discovered that there are two types of three-wheeled strollers:  Jogging and All-Terrain.

What’s The Difference?

The main differences I’ve found between them are that jogging strollers are made for serious joggers and all-terrain strollers are made for people who like to power walk or hike on all different terrain.  Jogging strollers are also lighter and most of them have a fixed front wheel, a deeper child seat, shock absorbers, and even hand brakes.  All-Terrain strollers have a swiveling front wheel for easy maneuverability, are heavier than jogging strollers, have more cup holders and other convenience features, and have tougher tires.  Of course, special features depend on the stroller you’re looking at.

I started looking into other people’s experiences with these strollers and this Baby Jogger Performance Series Stroller review caught my eye.  Yes, I am dreaming – this is not something we can afford at this time, but it is a NICE stroller for jogging!  I almost can imagine that if I owned this it would be enough to get me outside and jogging every morning without fail.  Think of how quickly I would get into shape after this baby is born!  I have no doubt that jogging with this stroller would be a completely different experience than what I have had with my Baby Trend.

As long as I’m dreaming, an all-terrain stroller I love is the Bumbleride Indie All-Terrain stroller.  Not only does it come in gorgeous colors, but I love the fact that the child’s seat is upright so that he or she can see everything while you’re walking.  I don’t know about you, but my daughter wants to see what is going on – she doesn’t want to be lying down while I run.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all own strollers for every situation in life?  I would own a jogging stroller for jogging, all-terrain stroller for hiking, an umbrella stroller for shopping, and a tandem double stroller for taking my soon-to-be-two little ones out on a leisurely walk.

I was compensated for placing specific links in this post.  All opinions are 100% mine!

In fact, our due dates are exactly a week apart!

I hadn’t shared this yet, but it’s awesome and makes me laugh at the same time.  You see, our first little girls are both born in May 2008, too.  How weird is that?   And we didn’t know each other back then so it was so not planned.

But then this time it wasn’t planned, either… although we both started talking about wanting more kids at about the same time.  And, naturally, we talked about it to each other.  Next thing we know?  “I’m pregnant!” “I’m pregnant!”  (She found out first.)

I have to say that it is FUN being pregnant at the same time as a really good friend.  We’ve gone shopping for maternity clothes together and talked together incessantly about baby names, how it feels to be pregnant again, and how well our husbands and little girls are handling everything. We’ve empathized with each other about morning sickness, having no energy, and mood swings.  It’s been so nice to have someone you are close to know exactly what you’re going through when you’re going through it.

The only bummer is that we’re not going to have the babies at the same hospital – think of the opportunities!  We could carpool to appointments, get our ultrasounds at the same time, and even induce at the same time!

Bet you thought I was serious there.  ;-)  Actually, I would rather not induce… (please shoot me first).  And the idea is kind of a crazy one anyway, though I’m sure it’s been done!

Right now we’re both waiting impatiently for our ultrasounds – the ones that will tell us whether we’re carrying a boy or a girl.  We both kind of feel like we’re having girls, but who knows?  It would be funny if we both ended up with little girls again.  :)

Have you ever been pregnant at the same time as a friend or family member?  Was it planned?

Emma is going through another new and delightful stage of the Terrible Twos.

Nobody told me that there would be stages!

We went to a church campout this weekend – we didn’t camp, just visited during the day.  At times it was fun, and at times it was the opposite of fun!  I know that any outing with a two-year-old is going to be a little bit tough, at least part of the time.  Especially an all-day outing.  Missed naps, overstimulation, being tired or hungry, and the weather (in this case it was in the 90′s) can make an otherwise fun trip into a stressful time.

Especially if mommy is pregnant and tired and hungry, too!  ;-)

But Emma is going through this new stage in which the word “NO”, no matter how it is said, is the enemy.  Even if I just try to detour her and she wants to go a different way, there is a meltdown.

I had to walk away from conversations because she wanted to go somewhere else this weekend, and if I tried to stop her, ask her to wait for a moment, or pick her up – she cried or fell down on the ground with a strangled cry of traumatized disappointment. Frustrating!

She even started biting today, and she NEVER does that.  Not hard, not even hard enough to make a mark – but it’s a behavior that needs to be nipped in the bud.

Oh my goodness, my cute little girl… the one who cuddles in my lap and hugs me and wipes my tears away with her blanket when I cry – she bit me! That is so sad.

And there is NOTHING you can do when it happens out in public.  I mean, I tell her no and blah blah blah, but words are not really an effective disciplining tool for a two-year-old.

So my husband and I came home from this outing and had a good talk about how we were going to deal with this.  Emma still isn’t talking in complete sentences although she understands pretty much everything now, is VERY smart, and has a very good vocabulary.  She just doesn’t want or need to talk because mommy and daddy read her mind.  But up until now we’ve mainly been distracting her from her bad behavior.  We put her in time out when she’s especially naughty or throws a tantrum, but beyond that we haven’t been as consistent as we plan to be from now on.

Wow, having your husband team up with you to help and support you is so great.  :)  And then there won’t be any, “I can get away with this with daddy/mommy around” behavior.

So feel free to pray for me while I’m dealing with this over the next few weeks… I would really like to be able to take my child out in public and have her sit on my lap for a short time while I’m talking with someone without having to bribe her with candy!

I would love to hear your experiences and what worked for you in dealing with this type of toddler behavior!

All pictures in this post are the property of http://kindredspiritmommy.com.

I’m starting to feel good in this pregnancy for the first time!  Up until now it’s been all-day morning sickness, extreme exhaustion, and just a general feeling of BLAH.  (In my last pregnancy post I shared all of my misery…)  Now I’ve hit the 16-week mark and am feeling better.  YAY!

I didn’t want my memories of my entire second pregnancy to be negative, especially when I keep hearing about how happy other pregnant moms are.

I want to share in that happiness!  I want to feel good, too!  After all, I’m having a baby, a joyful and momentous time in my life – I want to feel joyful about it!

The only thing dampening my mood right now is that I’ve gained more than I’m happy with.  Seriously, I’ve been really sick but I couldn’t stop eating!  I was picky about what I ate but being sick didn’t stop me from being hungry.  I didn’t throw up, either – it all stayed inside me.  Healthier for the baby, but I’ve “grown” a bit more than I wanted to.  I must not be quite over the edge though because I can still fit in some of my pre-pregnancy pants.  But still, I’ve gained in more than just my tummy.

I’m SO thankful that I’m not quite as picky in my eating now.  I’ve been eating salads for the past two days and choosing healthier snacks (carrot sticks, whole wheat cereal, etc).

I think what really put the weight on was how much fast food I was eating since I was too tired to cook.

I can keep things more balanced now, and keep my prenatal vitamins down, too – so I think I’m on a healthier track for the rest of my pregnancy.  That makes me feel good about myself… at least I have the energy to try to have a healthy pregnancy now!

I’ve also had more energy for exercise and have been walking and working out with my Wii Fit and EA Sports Active More Workouts almost every day.  I feel a lot better after I work out so I know it’s a good thing.  And I’ve been staying accountable with the Wii Mommies on the forum (they have weekly check-in posts that you can update every day with your progress – it’s great for staying accountable!).

If you are or have been pregnant, did you feel better in your second trimester?

I’ve been using Swap-A-DVD a lot lately – ever since we canceled cable and I found myself without my daughter’s favorite programs.  No more Winnie the Pooh?  Oh NO!

So I started pricing the DVDs online and was really unhappy with my finds.  Children’s DVDs are SO expensive!  At this rate, I would never have a good collection of my daughter’s favorite cartoons.  I was discouraged.  But suddenly I remembered that my favorite website, PaperbackSwap, where I swap books regularly (I shared information on that here), had a sister site called Swap-A-DVD that allowed members to swap their DVDs for free!  So I headed straight over to see what they had available.

And I was SO delighted to see that they had quite a few different Winnie the Pooh and Little Einsteins DVDs available!  I didn’t really have any DVDs I wanted to swap out (it’s easy and free, though!) so I purchased DVD credits instead.  I bought 3 for $14.85.  Note that it is much cheaper to send out DVDs (thereby earning credits) since all you pay is shipping – you can even use the printable wrapper to wrap your DVDs and that saves money on shipping materials.  It’s SO easy. And 1 credit = 1 DVD.

Oh, and did I mention that if you have a DVD you really want, you can put it on a wishlist and eventually you will get it?  It’s really a great program, one I’m so happy to be a part of.

Sweet Deal: When you sign up, after you post 10 DVDs to swap you will automatically receive 1 free credit!

Are you ready to sign up?

You’ll love it!  Feel free to friend me, JohnsGirl, and let me know in a comment how you like it!  If you have any questions, let me know.  :)

Sign up HERE!

Note:  I am not working with SwapaDVD in any way; however, this is my personalized link and I will get a credit if you sign up and post 10 DVDs.  If you do use my link, THANK YOU!  You are awesome.  :)  But you don’t have to, of course.  Either way, it’s a wonderful site and I LOVE IT!  I hope you do, too!

It’s the little blessings in life that make me so thankful.  :)

Like seeing the daddy/daughter bond.

And a little girl so content to be close to her parents, helping with important things.  ;-)

John was listening to praise music in his headphones… Emma heard it and started dancing around, it was so cute!