28 Weeks

Helloooo third trimester!
(I love Owen's photo bomb in this one!)

Along:  28 weeks!  I can't believe I'm this far along already... I feel like I am saying that all the time, that and how much I can't believe Owen has grown up!  Time just goes by too fast...

Size of Baby:  Baby 2 is now 17 inches long and about 3 pounds.  He is almost as long as he will be at birth, but not quite there in weight.  He will start to really pack on the pounds in these last two months.

Gender:  BOY!  We have not decided on a name yet, but have decided that we are not going to share the name until he makes his arrival!  

Sleep:   I am still sleeping like a rock and rarely even wake up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.  I know, I'm lucky!

What I Miss:  Being able to move around easily.  With this big belly sticking out it is hard to get in and out of the car when another car is parked close, or just move around in general.  I'm in the middle of packing up my classroom, so moving around to do that has been annoying too.  Luckily I have some super sweet boys in my class who help me out a ton!

Cravings:  Milk, chocolate, ice cream... anything sweet.  I craved the same things with Owen.  This pregnancy my cravings/food aversions have not been as intense as they were with Owen.  I don't have any weird cravings or severe food aversions that I had with him... yet!

Symptoms:  Eating more... which is fun!  A little heart burn here and there, which is one thing I never had with Owen.  My back has not been hurting nearly as much as it did with Owen.  I think this is somewhat due to my weight gain.  I gained more with Owen by this point than I have with Baby 2 so far.  Overall, this has been a super easy and enjoyable pregnancy!  

Best Moment this Month:  We are almost finished with Baby 2's nursery.  Jimmy surprised me one day and when I came home from work he had already painted the room!  He said he knew I would have tried to help and didn't think I should be painting at 7 months pregnant.  We also got the furniture, hung curtains, and put up some cute decals.  There are still some things we need to buy before we are fully ready, but it's a huge start. 

We are doing a green and sea turtle theme.  We painted one wall green (Owen has one wall blue), the exact green that is on the bedding, and hung up these wicker turtles I found at Pottery Barn.  Then I put turtle decals on the walls.

I didn't find any sea turtle themed bedding that I really liked, so I am doing a green and white theme.  I LOVE Pottery Barn Kids, and found his bedding there.  His crib sheet is a green and white chevron pattern.


We wanted to mimic Owen's room, but make it his own too.  So, he has the same color furniture, but a different style, and the same wall in Owen's room is painted blue, and they both will have the cute decals on the walls!  The jack and jill bathroom adjoining the two rooms is a sea theme, so we thought sea turtles would tie everything in!

I hope everyone is enjoying their start to the summer.  I know we are!

Love,

Judi

Owen is 11 Months Old!

He does NOT want to sit still - typical boy!

It probably makes him more mad that I am laughing at him the whole time!  Haha!

Okay, this is the best I could get!

Sleep:  Owen still sleeps about the same as he has been for awhile now.  He is starting to phase out his later afternoon nap and transition to just one nap a day, but every day is different and sometimes he still needs that nap.  So we go with the flow...  

Size:  I'm going to guess he is about 25 pounds and 30 inches long.  He is wearing all 12 month clothes and some are even a little tight.  He is now in the size 4 diapers too.  I just love dressing him in all the cute summer outfits!  He's got some super cute outfits that make him look like a STUD!

Special Trips/Visits:  About two weeks ago we took Owen to the Leesburg Animal Park.  This place is so adorable!  It has all kinds of animals from different parts of the world that you can pet and feed.  They have giant turtles, monkeys, deer, goats, chickens, ducks, cows, horses, a camel, and many more... Owen was a little weary of all the animals at first, but once he got comfortable he was reaching out to touch each one!  There is a contact area you can go into where you can walk around with the animals.  He loved the baby cows and lambs in the contact area.  They also had the smallest goats I have ever seen, so cute!

Let me in there!

Touching her nose!

He liked the lambs.

For Mother's Day we took my mom to Effe's Frozen Treats which is an adorable little ice cream shop down the road from us.  They have such delicious ice cream and these cute red tables to sit at outside.  A perfect summertime spot!

Enjoying some ice cream with my boy!

Owen knows what ice cream looks like and will not stop grunting and squealing for some when we go out to get some.  We don't really go out for ice cream that often, and I don't eat it in the evenings until he goes to bed, but I guess he has caught on to the delectable sweetness of ice cream!  Just like his Mama!

We also took our first road trip with Owen.  We went down to Virginia Tech (4 hour drive) for my brother, Miles', graduation.  Owen was pretty good in the car, he had his moments and I had to crawl in the back to entertain him a few times.  But, overall it went pretty well.  I was worried about him being irritated by being strapped in the car for so long, but it didn't seem to bother him as much as I thought it would.  We took him with us to the graduation ceremony and he did AWESOME!  He sat on my or Jimmy's lap for over two hours and didn't fuss one time, and the entire ceremony was during his nap time.  He was clapping along with everyone when people's names were called and even drank his bottle just fine.  He was a trooper!  I'm so glad that we could be there to celebrate such a special moment in my brother's life!  We are so proud of you Miles!

Firsts:  Owen has started to really use words in context.  He says Mama, Dada, Doggy, and Uh-Oh... maybe a few more words, but I can't remember right now!  He will come into the room and see Lola or Skyler and say "Doggy!!!"  He also says "Uh-oh" when he drops something on the ground or finds something that he knows shouldn't be there.  He also squeals "DADADADADADA!!!!" when Jimmy comes home, or even walks into the room!  He can understand a lot of what we say as well.  I can tell him to come here, go get it, I'm going to get you, and of course, no!

He is still cruising around furniture and I think walking will be in the very near future.  He will let go of the piece of furniture and stand without holding on, but I don't think he is ready for that first step yet.  It will come soon enough.  :)

He is really getting good at drinking out of his sippy cup, which I am so happy about because next month he will switch from formula to whole milk.  We are excited to not have to wash bottles anymore and buy expensive formula.  He will be fully transitioned to sippy cups before baby 2 comes... I'm NOT going to wash bottles for two babies!  Luckily, I don't anticipate this being an issue for him.

He also got to swing on a swing for the first time at the park in our neighborhood.

He loves it!  So, Jimmy got him a swing for the house and attached it to the underside of our deck.  Now we can just go out back in the evenings.

I told you he is a squealer!

Likes:  Owen loves crawling around and exploring his surroundings.  He loves crawling on top of people when they are sitting on the floor with him.  Everyone is his jungle gym!  He loves getting out of the house and running errands with me, he loves walks, he loves our dogs and other animals, and he loves eating!  We are very lucky that he is not a picky eater and will eat just about anything we give him.  It makes life so much easier.

Yes, he crawled up there himself!

Exploring the cabinets.

Dislikes:  Owen does not like to be fed.  He wants to feed himself.  So, we are over the Gerber squares, cereal, and baby yogurt.  He wants to eat anything he can pick up on his own.  Today he tried pasta with red sauce for the first time!

Every kid needs a messy spaghetti picture!

Do you want some?

He always tries to share his food with us.

We went to Cracker Barrel last weekend and Owen got to eat some apple sauce, green beans, biscuits, and strawberries while we were there.  I absolutely love the high chairs there, they look like normal sized chairs!  I just get a kick out of him in these pictures - I swear he looks like he is 3 years old!

So grown up!

Family Update:  We are doing really well!  I'm counting down the days until this school year is over (15 more days!) and I am really looking forward to a relaxing summer!  I have started planning Owen's birthday party and it will be a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme!  I'm so excited to celebrate him turning ONE!  I can't believe it has been 11 months since he was born... 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!

Love,

Judi

24 Weeks!

6 months pregnant already... where has the time gone?!

Along:  24 weeks!  Baby 2 will be here before we can even blink.  I swear time goes by SO fast lately.

Size of Baby:  Baby 2 weighs more than a pound and is the size of a standard letter.  He can hear all kinds of noises and recognize voices.  Hopefully he will be used to Owen's squeals when he is born!  (Man that kid can squeal!)  Baby 2 will gain about 6 ounces each week for the next couple of weeks.

Gender:  BOY!!!  We are so excited to have two boys.  The bond between brothers is so special, and I'm sure will be even more special being as they will only be 14 months apart.  Jimmy and I have already started saying 'the boys' and 'our boys.'  I LOVE it!

Sleep:   I sleep like a rock and haven't even had to start getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night yet.  

What I Miss:   An occasional alcoholic drink.  We had happy hour last night with some friends and I couldn't indulge... only a few more months though.  :) 

Cravings:  Right now I really want some Chick-Filet nuggets... good thing I convinced Jimmy to go there for lunch while we are out running errands today!  I also crave ice cream, which I did with Owen as well.  Sweets are my weakness.  Thankfully I am doing really well with my weight.  I started a few pounds heavier than I did with Owen and I've not yet reached the weight I was with him at 24 weeks.  I think I've only gained about 10 pounds so far.

Symptoms:  I get tired sooner and easier, but other than that, nothing else bothers me.  This pregnancy is super easy.  Besides the obvious growing belly, I wouldn't even realize I'm pregnant.  

Best Moment this Month:  Jimmy can now feel baby 2 moving around!  It's so special for him.  I also love hearing his heart beat each time I go to the doctor.  They say the same thing each time - very strong heart beat!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!  I'm so excited for my first real Mother's Day.  Jimmy has some special things planned!

Love,

Judi

Owen is 10 Months Old!

Happy 10 months little man of mine!

Sleep:  Owen still sleeps about 11 hours at night and never wakes up.  The only time he will wake up is the first night he starts cutting a tooth.  He will wake up crying in the middle of the night.  We give him some teething tablets to stop the pain immediately, then some Motrin to keep it at bay for awhile. Luckily he only does this the FIRST night he starts cutting a new tooth.  He is a pretty good teether for the most part, it only tends to bother him a day or two.

He takes 1-2 naps a day now.  A long morning nap from around 9 to 12, then an afternoon nap anywhere from 3-5.  Sometimes he is really tired in the afternoon and sometimes he only takes a short nap.  I think the afternoon nap will be his next nap to phase out...

Size:  He is at least 24 pounds and 28 inches long.  He is still in the 90th percentile for his weight and height.  When he stands up he looks like he is a 12 month old and should be walking/running around! He is wearing all 12 month clothes now and is still in size 3 diapers, but could move to size 4.

Special Trips/Visits:  Our big special trip this past month was our trip to California, which I posted a whole blog about earlier.  Other than that, we have been taking nice long evening walks every night and Owen LOVES it.  He sits back in the stroller and crosses his legs and sings to himself as we walk.  We have a 1.5 mile loop we do in our neighborhood each night.  It's great because it gets him out of the house and he gets to see new surroundings and get some fresh air.

Jimmy took this picture of all of us taking a walk at my grandparents house in California.

At my grandparent's house... Owen discovered grass for the first time... he did not like it!  It scared him and he clutched me.  He got a little more used to it, but you can tell by the look on his face that he isn't too pleased!

Took a walk to the donut shop in California!

We got a double jogger stroller for Owen and baby 2.  Our nanny uses it to take both Owen and her daughter, Kenzie, out for walks sometimes.  She sent us this picture one day!

Firsts:  Owen has started to pull himself up on furniture and cruise along.  Today I saw him let go of the coffee table for the first time and stand on his own!  I'm sure his first steps will not be very far off.  He has also started to climb on everything... and he has discovered the stairs!

 Everyone always says "Oh, wait until he starts crawling, then you're in trouble!"  or "Just wait until he is walking, it's the worst!"  But, I don't feel that way at all.  I'm so excited for every little new moment and I love seeing the joy on his face when he accomplishes something new.  He gets SO proud of himself, it just melts my heart!  

Yayyy!!!

Climbing on his stool!

Owen says "Mama," "Dada," and calls Lola "Yaya."  He loves Lola so much, and she really likes him too!  Every time he sees her he crawls over to her squealing and smiling.  She lets him pull on her and pet her.  She is very patient with him.

Owen has also started to make the 'kiss' noise!  I'm not surprised, I've been giving him kisses all the time since the day he was born!  I say "Owen, can you give me a kiss?" and he will smack his lips!  He also gives me a hug every night before I put him in his crib.  It's become a little ritual.  I carry him upstairs and he puts his head down on my shoulder and grips me until I put him in his crib.  He even makes a little relaxed sound  "Aaahhh..." when he puts his head on my shoulder!  I never want to put him down when he does this!

Likes:  Owen's favorite activity is still, you guessed it, EATING!  He has started to eat a lot more solid  food like Cheerios, graham crackers, apple sauce, peaches, pears, bananas, green beans, and peas.  We are continuing to try more and more "big people" foods.  Some he likes more than others, but there is really not much that he doesn't like.

This was by far the messiest thing I've ever given him. Thanks goodness for dogs!

He also loves playing hide-and-seek.

Where's Owen?!?!?

There he is!!!

Dislikes:  He does not like when you put him in his high chair and his food isn't ready immediately (imagine that?!?).  He will get a little irritated with you!  He doesn't like when you take something away from him that he shouldn't be playing with... typical things a 10 month old doesn't like!

I saw this website called "Reasons My Son is Crying" and it had pictures of this little boy crying with an explanation below, like "I wouldn't let him eat candy off the floor" or "We are flying to Disney World."  Jimmy and I were cracking up, this is totally Owen right now.  Lately he cries because I wouldn't let him chew on the lamp cord, or I wouldn't let him climb the stairs.  Honestly, it cracks me and Jimmy up each time!  I guess it's a good thing we just laugh it off and don't let it bother/stress us.  So far he responds well to us just ignoring the crying and he stops after a minute or so on his own, or with another distraction.

No, you cannot have my glass of water.

No, you cannot climb onto the end table.

Family Update:  We are doing really well!  I'm about 22 weeks along with baby #2 and everything is going super well.  We found out it is another boy, so I've begun the shopping for all the nursery items!  I can't believe I'm doing this again already!

Jimmy is doing well at work, and had been very busy lately.  He's been out of town at least once a month the past few months, so that is always a little hard for me to do everything on my own... but nothing I can't handle.

Work has been stressful for me... SOLs are coming up (Virginia's state assessment) so there is this huge push at work for all the struggling kids to pass these tests.  Pressure, pressure, pressure... which equals stress, stress, stress.  Ugh, I'm exhausted... Only 7 more weeks and school is DONE!

I just became a Stella and Dot stylist, which I'm so excited about!  I absolutely love their jewelry and bags, so it's actually been really fun for me.  With me leaving my job in a few weeks, I wanted to do something that was just for myself and would get me out of the house.  This seemed like the perfect fit.  If anyone is interested in hosting a party and earning free jewels, please let me know!  You can always order online (www.stelladot.com/judiblankenship) and the order will ship directly to you.  You don't have to order through a hostess!

So, as you can see, we have a LOT going on!  But it's all good and all fun (for the most part).

Spring is my favorite time of year, I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather and sunshine!

One more picture!

Love,

Judi

IT's A BOY!!!

That's right, IT'S A BOY!!!

We had our ultrasound on Sunday and Baby 2 is looking very happy and healthy.  No issues at all!  Baby 2 was not as active as Owen and was much more cooperative in getting the images she needed.  He was all snuggled up and sucking his thumb!  Owen's 20 week ultrasound took about an hour where as this one took only 20 minutes.  I can already tell a difference in their personalities!

This past Sunday night we had all of my family over for a gender reveal.  We had pizza and enjoyed each other's company for a little bit, then it was time to cut the cake!  

Boy or girl?!?

Jimmy and I chose not to find out until we cut the cake with everyone else, so it was a surprise to us also.  I'm SO glad that we did this little get together and revealed the gender this way.  It made it so special, and I'm so glad that my family could be a part of the surprise too!  It was really so much fun to find out the gender this way.  I had tears in my eyes when we cut the cake!

BOY!!!

Jimmy and I are so excited to have TWO little boys running around the house!  I'm so happy that Owen is going to have a best friend so close in age.  Brothers have such a special bond, and I'm so glad that Owen gets to experience that.  It's going to be a wild ride!  Now we just have to figure out a name... 

Thank you so much to all of my family for coming over and making this so special.  Part of the reason it was special is because you were all there!  It meant so much to Jimmy and I that you all could be there to share in our joy.  We love you!

P.S.  I have the whole thing on video on my phone, but haven't had a chance to upload it yet!  I will do it soon!

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Judi and Jimmy

20 Weeks!

Half way there!

Along:  20 weeks!  I can't believe I am half way through this pregnancy already... it feels like just yesterday we found out about this little surprise!

Size of Baby:  Baby 2 is the size of a large banana weighing in at about 11 ounces and 7 inches in length.  Baby 2 has been practicing swallowing and has developed taste buds!  He/she can taste the things that I eat through amniotic fluid.

Gender:  We do not know yet... but we will know tonight!  We are doing the cake reveal this evening with my family.  We have our ultrasound this afternoon (can you believe they have Sunday appointments?  Yay for not having to take time off work!)  The ultrasound technician will write boy or girl on a card and put it in an envelope for us.  Then we are giving the envelope to the baker and they will attach the receipt to the correct cake (yes, we had two made, we didn't want to wait a few days for the bakers!)  All of my family is coming over this evening and having pizza, then we will cut the cake!  The inside of the cake will either be blue or pink!  Jimmy and I will be finding out along with everyone else this evening when we cut the cake.  I am so excited to do this!  We really haven't been doing anything special for this baby yet... no belly pictures every week, we haven't bought a single thing for him/her... So we thought this would be a nice thing to do and include in the baby book!

Sleep:  Still sleeping good!  Starting to get slightly uncomfortable because of the belly, but I sleep like a rock.

What I Miss:   Having more energy.  I am getting tired pretty quickly and I'm not able to do as much as I did before because of it.  

Cravings:  Ice cream, fruit smoothies... That's about it for the last couple weeks!

Symptoms:  Other than being more tired, I don't have any bothersome symptoms.  This pregnancy has been super easy... I feel lucky!  I thought it was easy when I was pregnant with Owen, but this one is even easier.  

Best Moment this Month:  I felt Baby 2 move for the first time about two weeks ago.  They say that when you have your second baby you can feel it moving a lot sooner than you did for the first, and I certainly did.  I have been feeling flutters and little kicks for a couple weeks now.  This baby has not been moving to the extent that Owen did.  As soon as I started to feel Owen move he did NOT stop.  This baby seems a little more laid back in there!  We'll see though, that could change.

I'll post something tomorrow letting everyone know if it is a boy or girl!  I hope everyone has been enjoying this wonderful warm weather!

Love,

Judi

California Trip

We just got back (well, last weekend) from an amazing trip to California for my Oma and Opa's 50th anniversary.  I don't have a ton of pictures, but wanted to do a little recap for those who were interested...

Our flight out there went pretty well.  The flight was the smoothest flight I have ever been on, no turbulence and the seat belt sign was only on for take off and landing!  Owen was pretty good on the flight.  He just wanted to get down and move around so much, so we had a lot of entertaining to do so he wouldn't get upset that he couldn't crawl all over the place!  He only slept for about 45 minutes... but it turned out to really help him adjust to the time change better.

We were only in California for about 4 days.  With baby 2 coming, Jimmy needed to save his vacation days for his/her arrival, AND we are going to Myrtle Beach this summer.  Lucky for Jimmy he got Good Friday off so he only had to take 1  1/2 days off.  I was on Spring Break!  :)  We spent most of our time just hanging around the house with my grandparents, cousins Colby and Shelby, and Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Jason.

It was so awesome to see everyone.  I have such a close relationship with my family out there, so it felt wonderful to see them and spend some time with them.  I am SO incredibly glad we made the trip.  We took walks each day, colored eggs, went for smoothies one day, went on a walk to the local donut shop the next day, played chicken foot, and had so much fun doing it all!  Oma also cooked some amazing meals and we stuffed ourselves!  Colby and Shelby are the most amazing little kids and we love them to pieces!  Just today Colby texted me saying "I miss you!"  Just about broke my heart!  I miss you SO much little Coco!!!  We had so much fun just hanging out with them.

Oma and Opa's party was just amazing.  It was at a golf club pretty close to their house.  My Mom and Aunts did an amazing job decorating and adding so many little personal touches.  I know they worked so hard to make it special and it really showed!  They had a band that sang a few special songs, some that brought tears to my eyes.  To see a love that began so quickly last for so long is truly inspiring.  I think about how my Oma had to endure two children (14 months apart) all by herself while my Opa was deployed and that devotion and strength is so amazing.  I have always admired my Oma for being such a good Army Wife (among many other reasons).  They moved every two years and my Mom always spoke about how my Oma would have everything set up in their new house as quickly as she could so it felt like home for her family.  I can't imagine moving every two years... but I hear so many great stories, maybe it was worth it!

The best picture I was able to get...

My boys at the party!

Just about every family member was at this party, and it was so great to see everyone.  A lot of my cousins I had not seen in years.  I remember growing up in California we would see them all so much, but when we moved to Virginia, everything changed.  My Mom's side of the family is very close, so when I was growing up her cousins always felt like aunts and uncles to me, and her aunts and uncles felt like my aunts and uncles too!  I have so many great memories as a child spending time with them.  Not to mention all my little cousins who are now adults.  I still can't picture Shawn about to graduate college!  Now there is a new generation of cousins who all love seeing each other and spending time together, and they are all around Colby and Shelby's age.  Seeing everyone again just made me miss everyone so much!

Owen was a little trooper throughout the party.  He loves being passed around and dancing with the ladies!  I think I only had to hold him for 15 minutes the entire night because everyone wanted a piece of him!  He was so good with all the new faces, never once cried!

I was very excited to see my Great Great Uncle Bob.  He is my Oma's uncle, although he is only a few years older than my Oma.  Bob is the youngest of 8 kids my Great Great grandmother had.  Here is a picture of all 5 generations:

The party was the last night that we were there, so we flew back the next morning.  The flight back was not as good as the flight there.  A little more turbulence, and Owen was a little more cranky.  This time he did sleep for about two hours on me, thank goodness!  We were glad to be home, but also so sad to be leaving. I always miss everyone so much... it is always so emotional for me when I leave California.  Why does it have to be so far away?!?

To all my California family - I love and miss you all so much!  I'm so glad we made the trip and got to see everyone.  It meant to the world to us!  Most importantly, I'm so happy everyone got to meet Owen!

Love,

Judi