First Comes Love...

Hi Baby, Welcome to your first Month of Bumps installment! We're more than half way there (24 weeks) and the idea that you'll be here sooner than we think is starting to settle in (it's exciting!)  This month you had some down time (easy on the kicking for about a week), and while I know this is normal, it worries even second time Mommas.  But thankfully you're back in high speed, kicking away each day, waking me up each morning, and reminding me of your beautiful presence. Waiting to find out your gender has been a different experience for me, but has helped me bond with you in different ways than I did with Abigail.  In the beginning I felt like you were a girl, but I'm starting to think you're a boy. I posted a picture of you, me, and Abigail on Facebook (I'm sure you'll have no idea what that is by the time you read this), and everyone thinks you're a boy.  I'm sure that persuaded me, but at least for this month that's my vote too...

Yesterday was full of goodbyes. It started with Abigail's last day of preschool for the year.  With the baby coming in September, I'm looking for a new co-op that will offer infant care, so yesterday was her last day of class and we celebrated with a field trip to the zoo! We bundled up for the crazy weather (rain coats and sunglasses!) and spent the morning with Teacher Charlotte and our preschool friends. Bitsy Girl's first school field trip.  Rockin the field trip vest  :) Abigail could have spent all day watching the penguins (she would sing every time the water rushed out from the rocks) and loved watching the penguins swim by or waddle on shore. After peeling her away from the penguin tank, we continued on to see the jaguar, lions, monkeys, elephants, and giraffes. It was such a fun day; Abigail was so interested in watching the animals (and people, of course). I think a zoo membership is in order! Abigail wins the "spot" compe...

Abigail came down with a fever yesterday afternoon, and while I'm pretty certain it's just an intense bout of teething, I'm using this as an excuse to get lots of snuggle time with my baby today. We've been watching Kathy and Hooda (Abigail even said "Hooda"....I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing...!) But through it all she's kept her little smile. Here are a few more adorably tragic pictures from yesterday :) (poor baby girl) Hope everyone has a great weekend! Lucy and Oscar are coming over for a slumber party tomorrow night and each time we remind Abigail, she breaks out in smiles and laughs.  She sure loves her cousins!

While going about my daily life, it dawned on me how many Mommy truths I was so sure of pre-baby, yet so wrong about in reality. Just for fun, here are a few of mine: "I'll wean my babies by a year." -Abigail self weaned at 20 months.  I never dreamed I'd be the Mom who nursed while pregnant with my next, and little did I know how much I'd miss it. "co-sleeping is for hippies" -If getting a good night's sleep is for hippies, then a hippie I am!  We co-slept with Abigail until she was 6 months old, and I still love family nights when she's sick (although she's quite the bed hog). "There's nothing more annoying than a screaming child" -True, but that doesn't stop them from being yours... "I want a natural birth" -After laboring 6 hours with little progress, what a really wanted was an epidural! "My kids will have limited TV time" -TV is my sanity, but I limit it ...

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend.  Whether celebrating or being celebrated, I hope it served you well! We spent the weekend celebrating Mom's each day: A Mom-athon, lasting Friday through Sunday! Friday night we went to Anne and Ian's for a Mother's Day BBQ to celebrated Mamie! Abigail had a blast playing with her cousins and having a slumber party with Lucy at Mamie and Papa's.  Highlights include black and blue burgers, 3 bags of fries (...it's what happens when the pregnant lady is put in charge of carbs), and watching Charlie and Abigail share their meal (we sat their highchairs next to each other, so they enjoyed grabbing off each other's trays) We left around 9pm to Abigail biding us farewell "G-eye" while eating Cheetos, drinking milk, and watching Shrek 3 with Lucy.  She thought she was pretty cool  (we agree!) Saturday was spent celebrating my Mom! We met my parents Saturday morning and headed to L...

Abigail made this for me at school last week. A picture of her picture on the front, and a note on the back. (it's so fun to see her little handiwork) Happy Mother's Day, Moms!   I hope you get all the fun, royal treatment you deserve today.

Abigail, Last week you went to lunch with Grandma & Nuna Soula and came home with this drawing: Dad and I entitled it, "Visions of my Hair", by Abigail Lauckner We love you Bits  :)

Here are some adorable pictures from Baby's 20 week ultrasound! They ( I use the term "they" instead of "it"... not to be confused with the twin "they"! ) were moving around so much that the appointment took 20 minutes longer than usual.  But we really enjoyed getting so much face time with Baby. Well, I did anyway.  Kevin told me afterward that he was fighting to stay awake after 15 minutes.  Such a guy! Everything checked out great, and we stuck to our guns to wait and find out the gender, so it looks like your due date will be the next time we see you, Baby! (18 weeks and counting..!) Since my parents watched Abigail during our appointment, we went downtown for dinner at Local 360 . The food was good, but I give it a rating of "meh" .  We were thinking more farm-to-table-fresh, but it was a heavier style comfort food.  Still good!  Just not what we were expecting. Post ultrasound Happy Hour at Hard Rock Dinner ...