Chunking Up

Julianna went to Dr. M's today for a weigh-in. It has been 6 weeks since her 18 mos check-up when Dr. M said she was concerned for Julianna's lack of weight gain (actually she had been losing). Since then we have been adding extra calories to her meals on both Dr. M's and the dietitian from Eastgate's advice. We were actually told that most toddlers her age need 1000 calories a day, but we were supposed to try to give her 1500 a day!

So how have those extra calories affected her weight? She gained exactly 1 pound in the last 6 weeks! Actually that's the only weight she's really gained since January! (She also grew 1/2 in in those 6wks!)

So we are very excited that she is finally making her way back up the chart. She had fallen all the way to the 6th percentile for weight, but is now up to the 9th percentile. Way to go Julianna! Keep up the weight gain!

She also got her flu shot. They said they are starting to give them early this year due to the prediction of a bad flu season. Great.

Yummy Chocolatey Deliciousness in Under 5 Minutes

You know how when your pregnant (guys remember when someone you know was pregnant) you sometimes get these cravings? Some cravings are crazy, like strawberries and pickles with cream. But some are perfectly normal, brought on simply by seeing a commercial or an ad for a food. When I was pregnant with Julianna, I had an unending need for cheesecake balls from Sonic. Cheesecake rolled into balls, covered with crushed graham crackers and deep fried to excellence. To top it off, you dipped them in melted caramel sauce. Soooooo gooooood!

I hadn't had any cravings this pregnancy...until today.

While planning September's menu today, I was looking for some new recipes online. I checked out Abbie's Food Blog, because she's always full of great simple recipes. While scrolling down I stopped at "Minute Chocolate Mug Cake". A recipe that would give you homemade chocolate cake from your microwave in just 3 minutes. Hmmm, warm chocolate cake sounded good...really good.

So tonight after Julianna went to bed, I decided to try it. It took all of 2 minutes to mix, and within 3 minutes of popping it in the microwave I had a hot, fresh, homemade chocolate cake. That smelled SOOOOO good. I could have probably enjoyed it just like that, but don't forget I'm "eating for 2" so I need more calories (don't judge me!). So, I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled it all with some chocolate syrup. Mmmmmm.

HOLY COW IT WAS GOOD!!

I wasn't able to finish the whole thing, partially because it is a kind of heavy cake, but also because it was very rich. I now know what I am going to crave this pregnancy. So to my pregnant and non-pregnant friends you should so try this recipe!! It was super easy and dee-licious!

Train Ride

Julianna decided it wasn't fair only her animals got to ride on her Amazing Animals train, so she took matters into her own hands.

What's in Your Trash Can?

Today, mine had a book, a big soft block, a pair of Julianna's jeans, an unused diaper, a whole box of kleenex, a sippy cup and an assortment of small toys. Can you tell who discovered the fun in throwing things away? Now, I just need to teach her what items do and don't belong in the trash.

The BEST Difference

It's amazing how quickly I've noticed differences already between Julianna's pregnancy and this one. I had absolutely no "morning sickness" with Julianna, but have a nagging slightly nauseous feeling that continues on and off all day with this one. I wasn't even sure if it was "morning sickness" since I didn't have it with Julianna. I shrugged it off for a few days as just not feeling good due to my horrendous allergies, but after almost 5 days, I figured that has to be what it is.

There have been other slight differences, but I think the biggest is our lack of blissful ignorance. When I was pregnant with Julianna, everything was fabulous. I mean it was our first baby, I wasn't experiencing any negative symptoms, and I spent a few hours each week reading about how she was developing and changing. I would often skip the sad chapters that said everything that could go wrong. I do remember reading the signs of preterm labor (not that reading about it helped me recognize it). But mostly I read the happy things. And I would frequently have vivid dreams about when my beautiful baby girl would be born and how wonderful it would all be. I would plan her nursery, but not get around to working on it, because we had plenty of time, 9 months actually. We were blissfully ignorant about what could happen.

This time, I know what can happen, unfortunately from first-hand experience. Every little twinge I feel, I try to remember if I felt it with Julianna this early or if something is wrong. I am planning for a 6 and a half month pregnancy, at least then I'll be prepared, just in case. I read my pregnancy books each week, but this time I don't skip anything, especially the preterm labor stuff. And my dreams, they are very vivid again this time, but not as pleasant. Last night, every dream I had ended in a premature delivery of this baby. We are no longer blissfully ignorant about pregnancy. We know what can go wrong.

I have to make an effort to block all those thoughts and just enjoy being pregnant. That is much easier to do when I play with Julianna and see how wonderful she is. When she laughs, I get very excited about the thought of her laughing with her new brother or sister. When she is running around the house, I imagine her being chased by her little brother or sister. I lose all anxiety, no matter how temporarily, whenever I think of how much this baby will add to our family. It's not us starting a family like before, but adding to it. And that is the best difference between my pregnancies so far.

Ladies & Gentlemen...

Here is the announcement I have been waiting few weeks to make...

Our family is growing

and Julianna will be a big sister come April!

We got a glimpse of our little bun (in the oven) today when I had an ultrasound. There was a teeeeny tiny little pulsating dot (the baby's heart beat). And it measured all of 0.32cm. Wohoo, what a whopper! Haha! I am due April 17, 2010...just 2 years and 3 days after I was due with Julianna. Although my OB and I are working to see this baby makes it A LOT closer to its due date than Julianna did.

Joe and I are super excited and happy! Be sure to check back and get all the great details as we make our way to April and the enlargement of our cute little family!

Sweet Corn...It's an Ohio Thing...

...or so we were very often told when we lived in South Carolina. Unless our friends were also from Ohio (many of which were), they didn't understand our love for this sweet yellow vegetable. They thought all sweet corn was the same...so. not. true.

Joe's family planted lots of sweet corn this year and we picked a dozen...or three or four...this weekend and it was some of the best sweet corn I have ever had. I decided it was time to just hand an ear over to Julianna. She loves corn, and has taken a few bites from mine or Joe's ears, but this was the first all to herself. She ate most of the kernels. She did so good and now Julianna has joined the "I Love Sweet Corn Club".

Say Ah...Ew...Oh

Julianna had her speech evaluation today and passed with almost flying colors. She tested in the 15 month old range...which is great since she is just now 16 months adjusted. So she isn't too far behind.

Here are some of the markers she met:
*She has a vocabulary of about 8 or 9 words
*She can follow one step directions
*She can identify at least 3 objects by name (if I say ball, she'll get the ball)
*She can imitate sounds and their inflections/tones
*She "talks" at appropriate times (babbles when looking at books, sings to music, has "conversations")

The only major thing she didn't do was initiate social games...like pat-a-cake. She'll play if I start it, but she doesn't initiate them. There were a few other things she didn't have mastered, but was showing signs of improvement. Her evaluation went so well, that she was not recommended for speech therapy! Yay! I was given activities for Joe and I to do to bridge her small language gap, but overall she is doing fine, but I knew she was a genius anyway ( I may be a little biased).

Quick Update

After a loooooooooong stretch of having no internet access and several days having internet, but being held captive in the basement to use it, I am finally able to sit in my comfy chair and check e-mail, update my blog, and check out Facebook.

You may be wondering what I have been up to during my internet absence. Well here's a quick update on all things Lindsay, Joe & Julianna:

*Julianna is doing fabulously, but what else would you expect from such a wonder child?!? She enjoyed her first time on a slip-n-slide (well, it was on a hill and she used it more like a waterslide). She finished up her swim lessons last week, and is now a lover of water, but that doesn't surprise us. She even jumps off the side of the pool and will go under water (I hold her hands of course!) She also sees a speech therapist this week to evaluate her and a dietitian next week to help out with her weight gain.

*Joe has had the last few days off and we have managed to finish moving out of our apt (all except our bed-too big for me to help), get all our rooms in the house painted and new baseboards in the bedrooms. We get carpet installed in the bedrooms Wednesday. We have stayed 2 nights in our house(on an air mattress thanks to our bed not being moved yet). But as of Wednesday night, we will be sleeping on our big comfy bed again!

*Me, well I haven't been up to much. Just spending time with Julianna and Joe and trying to stay cool in this very hot weather.

I have plenty more to write about, but now that I have internet access I can post it whenever I want. Yay!

Yay for Slackers!!!

I logged into my blogger account just now for the first time in almost two weeks. I was expecting to read up on all my friends and their exciting lives, but to my surprise of all the blogs I am a follower of, not one had posted in the last week!! It gave me such a rush of joy I could barely contain myself! It was as if the blogging world (at least my blogging world) had stood still for me. It knew I wasn't able to get online, and waited so I wouldn't feel like such a slacker all by myself. Thank you to everyone out there who was a slacker over the past week and hasn't posted to their blog! You make me feel much better about my current blog posts (or rather, lack there of).