21+ weeks

I finally broke out the maternity clothes today, so I thought it would be a good time for the first belly shot. I've been feeling the baby move now for about five weeks, and it's kicking as vigorously as Jack was by this time, especially when I lie down to go to sleep at night. We were pleased to see an active, healthy baby at our ultrasound this morning.
We've decided to get our prenatal care through the Midwife Center, which we heard about from our friends, the Wards and the Tomans. They recently went through the Midwife Center for their pregnancies. We really like the atmosphere of the center-- it's very child-friendly, and I've brought Jack to almost all of my appointments. We have yet to meet two out of five midwives, but so far, they have all been very accommodating and personable.
This pregnancy has flown by, and I'm sure that's due to the fact that I now have an almost-toddler to keep me occupied all of the time-- but I wouldn't change my occupation for a thing in the world. I'm just looking forward to my further promotion come June, when I get to be the full-time mommy of two sweet babies.

Our other love

At our ultrasound this morning, it appeared that our little peanut (now a little more than 7 inches long) likes to play peekaboo as much as Jack. We'll give people one more chance to guess what we're having before we divulge it here (just because I get excited when I see there are more guesses). http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyRyan2

Weekend trip

On Thursday, Jack and I packed up and drove to Maryland to visit with family for the weekend. Jack loved chasing my parents' kitty all over the kitchen (and banging on the glass door when the cat was on the other side). He got to meet Lee (the 8-month-old son of my middle school best friend, Cindy), who is the first little boy he's ever played with outside of playgroup (and also the closest in age and size). It seems that all of his other little playmates are girls.
We had a nice visit with Jack's great, great grandmother, Gigi and other family, but it was good to be back in Pittsburgh and see Mike again this afternoon.
We'll upload some more videos and pictures soon.

10 months

This was by far out most active photo shoot. Jack was very excited that his old friend and photo companion was back. He looks like such a big boy to us now-- especially when we see him next to all of the newborns we've been meeting lately! He's been getting more and more personality every day, and already we can tell that his sense of humor fits right in with our family.

Jack's new room- take two

Perhaps I should do a before and after of the blue room we "completed" in October. That was before we knew how soon Jack would be occupying its blue walls. One of the projects I am getting ready to start on is the baby's room, and I don't want Jack in there when I am renovating. So we went ahead and readied the room for him- though he'll still sleep in his current room at night (and when there are not fresh paint fumes). I'm so pleased with how it turned out!

Hi!

This week is becoming a week of milestones for Jack. This morning, when I went into his room to get him, he was standing at the edge of his crib, and I said, "Hi." As I lifted him out, he said, "hi" right back. I got excited, but I kind of just thought he was making a sound- just because he had never done that before. This afternoon, we were headed into Trader Joe's to get some groceries, and as I buckled him into the cart, a woman coming in stopped and smiled at him and said, "Hi." He looked up at her and greeted her back- "Hi." She looked at me and asked if he was talking. I said not until today. She laughed and said, "Well, he just said hi to me!"
I thought this was funny because a friend recently blogged about her daughter doing the same thing-- saying her first real word, "Hi," to a stranger in the grocery store!
(Jack's standing all by himself in this picture)

Conquering the steps

I think the most steps Jack has crawled up before today has been three- before he gets tired and crawls back down. Today, he got all the way from the basement to the kitchen all by himself (And pretty quickly)! I thought this was worth documenting.

New things we love...

At the start of the year, I made some simple resolutions. Though I haven't intentionally enforced them at all, somehow, the answers to the clutter of our house, the unstructuredness of our days and the exhaustion of yours truly, found us.
That last issue- of my own health- has been resolved by the fact that I am almost halfway through the pregnancy, and now have the energy to crawl out of bed without a resentful scowl on my face. Sleep still doesn't come easy (even though I am loving that Jack now has a regular sleep-through-the-night schedule), but the sleep I do get is more quality, and I feel more chipper while awake, so there is time exercise and prepare healthy meals involving more than two or three ingredients (or a box).
As for the other two issues, I have mostly one of our friends to thank. I was introduced to flylady.com by my friend Kaethe, and love the uncluttering advice Flylady gives. I shined my kitchen sink until I have a list of house projects I would like to complete before June (and baby #2). We are just about finished the bathroom (it just lacks a door-- Mike is going to reverse the hinges so it no longer opens in to the room). But the new paint job is an improvement to the iridescent rose border.

Before:
After:

Now we're trying to complete the sanding of the stairs so we can refinish them (a monotonous ongoing job!).
I've been afraid of boring Jack to death with my sluggishness these past couple of months, so another suggestion (thank you again, Kaethe) has come to the rescue in enlivening the days of my dear little boy. On Friday, we joined Kaethe and Jack's friends Amalia and Brinnly at the Toy Lending Library in Shadyside. We ended up playing with the toys and equipment there for almost two hours, and Jack didn't want to leave when it was time to go. He had the most toys in the sanitizing bucket by the end (for putting them in his mouth), but I was glad to not have to fight that the entire time. By the end, he was chasing Mali around on hands and knees all over the library, squealing. I'm surprised he could pick her out of all of the other children that were there, but they have become good playmates over the last couple of months.
Of course, there is no quick fix making a household run more smoothly, but I definitely feel like there is more balance now and that we are at least on the right track!

Guessing game!

A couple of our friends used this guessing game before their babies were born, but they were patient and held out to find out the gender at the birth. We are planning on finding out the gender at our ultrasound sometime at the end of the month, but we went ahead and guessed because we like games and are competitive in that way (it's guessing more than just the gender). And once we find out, we might just tell you if you're right or wrong if you guess too :)
Click here to enter a guess.

Giveaway

Kim the owner of thebabymarketplace.com - a great online spot for Baby Clothing, Shoes, Toys, Gifts and Cloth Diapers is hosting the January Gift Card Give-Away @ mommyknows.com go on over and comment and be entered to Win one of two $100 Gift Cards!

Christmas 2007

Here are more pictures from Jack's first Christmas, which we spent in Wisconsin. He loved all of the attention, good food and presents (especially the bows and packaging). He also started something new while there-- standing completely on his own, which he's been practicing since we've been home, and he's gotten quite good at it.