Bumpdate: 17 weeks!

I hit the 17 week mark on Monday meaning the little baby nugget inside me is now the size of a turnip! (To compare the bump with Brayden's bump, just click on the "Belly" tab at the top of the page!)

Hubby and I had to go to orientation for his new job (YAY!!) and I was told to wear something "business casual." Well that turned out to be pretty difficult! I am not working in an office or classroom environment so I have never had to purchase work maternity pants. Thankfully I could still wear my black dress pants from college...just unbuttoned! I am now very thankful that I don't have to get dressed up for work every day. I much prefer my jeans and t-shirts!

Here is the list for the week!

-Due Date: Septemeber 11

-Weight Gain: still the +2 from pre-pregnancy. We don't have a scale I can use at home (it says pregnant women should not use it) so I just wait until I see the doctor. I really like not fussing about it and not even being able to check. I feel good and that is what matters!

-Overall Feeling: Again I have been feeling pretty good. My left hip has really been starting to hurt while sleeping though. I have tried putting a pillow between my knees but so far, nothing is helping. Also, my headaches have gone away!! For now at least. I am so happy. I have definitely been trying to drink more water and I really think that was the solution.

-Gender: The wait is KILLING me! We still have another week and a half before I go back to the doctor to hopefully find out the gender. I am so impatient and every time I think about it, I get all excited. I don't have a strong feeling either way so I think I will be surprised no matter what the doctor says. My husband on the other hand, says "I only produce kings" and refuses to believe that he is capable of creating a little girl so I think he would have the shock of a lifetime if we are in fact having a girl. 

-Movement: I have still been feeling movement, especially when I drink something cold. I can't wait to see a little elbow poke out!

-Clothing: My maternity shirts are starting to fit which is a good thing. I like my maternity shirts and my choices have expanded so that's always a plus! I am still wearing my regular pants with the help of the BeBand and a hair tie. We will see how long those last!

-Cravings: I finally got my chicken walnut sandwich fix from Paradise Bakery. My whole family went to the Angels/ Dodgers game last Saturday for my Grandpa's 84th birthday and my Aunt, who owns the bakery, brought all of us our food. I was so beyond happy! I haven't really had any new cravings this week but I can say I am pretty excited about the breakfasts danishes my mom gave to me. They are delish!

On a side note, my husband will be working on the day I visit the doctor for  the gender reveal so I am trying to think of a way to "show" him when he gets home from work. I don't want to just tell him over the phone. So boring! Currently I am thinking balloons all over the house in the color we are having. We will see what other ideas I can come up with before then! Any other ideas are obviously appreciated!

Easter!

Every year our whole family gets together for Easter. It's one of my favorite holidays for this very reason. We start off the day with opening easter "baskets" and then we usually do the Easter egg hunt. We didn't hide any eggs for Brayden at my parents house this year because we knew he would be hunting eggs at the family party and we were already pressed for time. Also, he doesn't really care about the eggs. Once he gets them, he likes to open and close them but he really doesn't care about anything inside (and he doesn't eat any candy so most eggs are a total bust for him!). 

He didn't get an actual basket this year. I reused one of his birthday presents from last year and as you can see, the box was much larger than any basket. He also got a bubble gun, sidewalk chalk with a holder, and some cookie cutter shapes that will be great to use with our Moon Sand.

We quickly opened the bubble gun and he loved it!

Then after the hubs put together the bubble mower, Grandpa 

helped him learn how to use it.

After opening and playing with his presents, it was time to head over to my Aunt and Uncle's house. It was the first time anyone had been there and they have done so much work to the house since they bought it! It was so fun to see all the changes from the "before" pictures.

There was a huge pile of dirt in the backyard at my Aunt and Uncle's house and it was Brayden's favorite part of the day.

Brayden hunting for eggs with Grandpa!

Auntie Sam was a great bag holder!

We knew he was done hunting eggs when he started taking eggs out of his bag and putting them in the cup holders of this chair. Ha!

He opened all the eggs and we took all his candy. Aren't we so mean?!? 

Did I mention that this party took place during Brayden's naptime? Yeah...the party started at noon and Brayden usually goes down at 12:30. I wasn't really worried about him being grouchy or anything because as long as he is entertained, I knew he would be happy even without his regular nap. He was great all day, got filthy playing in the dirt, took a bath and then hunted for eggs. I would say it was a fantastic Easter!

Wordless Wednesday

I am trying to get back to our routine of going on a daily walk. When I first became pregnant, I was told to take it very easy which meant no working out and no lifting heavy items. Well after taking it easy for a few months, I have found it very difficult to get back to my regular walks. 

The thing is...I really miss the way they made me feel. I was always so productive on those days and had so much energy. So we have started our walks again! Bonus: it gets Brayden out of the house and away from the TV. Then he gets this face when a show he likes comes on....

He gets so excited when one of his favorite shows comes on. I just love his little smile!

Bumpdate: 16 weeks!

Whelp, another week has come and gone. All at the same time I feel like this pregnancy is taking forever and flying by. Is that even possible!? I think maybe the waiting to find out the gender is making it seem like everything is just creeping by. Then I realize that in less than 6 short months, our new baby will be making us a family of 4! Crazy!

And please excuse my make-up free face and undone hair! Don't judge :)

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I went to the doc on Thursday and I am +2 from my starting weight. Not too shabby.

-Overall Feeling: I have been feeling pretty good again this week with the exception of headaches! Ugh. Right behind my eyes and lasting all day long. Killing me! Besides those, I have been feeling good. Any natural remedies for getting rid of headaches?!!? Please leave any suggestions in the comments section below!

-Gender: I was really hoping to find out at our appointment on Thursday but the baby was being very stubborn. The head was down and the butt was up so we couldn't see a dang thing! Does a stubborn baby mean we are having a girl?! Or a stubborn little boy just like my husband?! The anticipation is absolutely killing me!! Again, we don't necessarily care if we have a boy or a girl as long as the baby is healthy...clearly he/she is already taking after his/her father.

-Movement: I had felt some movement in the last week and a half or so but I thought it was way too early to be feeling anything. When I went to the doc she asked about movement and confirmed that it is normal to feel movement much earlier for a second pregnancy. Our little one is already moving around like crazy! I can't wait to feel the movement on the outside as well. That was my favorite part about my pregnancy with Brayden... I just loved feeling him move and kick inside me. It's amazing the things an unborn child can do!

-Clothing: Still fitting into all my regular clothes just fine along with some help from the BeBand. I tried on a maternity shirt from my last pregnancy and I literally laughed out loud! It was so baggy in the front...but I know that wont be a problem for very long! Oh and Brayden and I are starting the Mommy and Me swim class next month so now I need to find a bathing suit. The ones I already have still fit but I definitely need either a one-piece or a tankini of some kind.

-Cravings: I am still waiting to satisfy my chicken salad sandwich craving (can't wait for Saturday) but other than that I don't have any new cravings. I have been eating a lot of trail mix because big meals are very unappealing. I mostly just snack throughout the day and I love the mix of sweet and salty with the trail mix.

Chocolate Veggie Muffins!

Today I finally made a recipe I found on Pinterest. I have been trying to find ways to get Brayden to eat more vegetables. He has his few favorites like green beans and carrots but everything else is a "no-go" for him. I whipped up these Chocolate Veggie Muffins while Brayden was napping in hopes that he wouldn't notice that they were full of broccoli and zucchini. 

Clearly, the muffins were a success! He didn't make any funny faces or refuse to eat the muffin at all. I was one happy momma!

So here is the recipe for all those mommas desperately trying to get their picky toddler to eat more veggies!

Chocolate Veggie Muffins

-2 eggs

-1/2 cup vegetable oil

-3/4 cup of brown sugar

-1 cup broccoli(the original recipe said finely grated but I just chopped the heck out of it)

-1/2 cup zucchini (same as the broccoli)

-1 cup self-rising flour

-3 TBSP cocoa powder

-1 tsp baking powder

-3 TBSP milk

Mix the first three ingredients in a bowl until combined and then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and then pour into a well greased muffin pan (I used a regular size muffin pan because I don't have a mini muffin pan but I would prefer the mini muffins). Place the muffin pan in a 325 oven for 15 minutes. Obviously, let cool before feeding them to your toddler!

Brayden was snacking on the missing muffin!

Here is the link to the original recipe. I did not create this recipe and I do not take any credit for it! Chocolate Mini Muffins by Mummy Musings & Mayhem!

Wordless Wednesday

I feel bad that I haven't been keep up with these easy posts each week. Once I got pregnant, the blog was definitely put on the back-burner. I was just so tired. Now I really don't have an excuse and I don't want to let the blog fall away even before #2 is born. I know it will take a huge hit once I have #2....newborn mommy haze doesn't leave much time for blogging I imagine. Anyways, my #1 will be my only one for only a few more months so we are taking in all the Brayden time we can get! I can't ever get enough!

Leaning on me to watch Tangled...with some nice bed head!

Short story about the Elmo picture: I heard Brayden waking up from his nap so I headed into his room. This is how I found Elmo. Brayden decided to share his pacis with Elmo and it could NOT have been any dang cuter! And then it got cuter...Brayden would say "aww sleepy Elmo" and then put the paci in Elmo's mouth! I swear I could have died at that very moment! So adorable. My sweet baby boy.

Linking up with Jenni from the Blog and Three in Three!

Family St. Patty's Day!

We had a great St. Patty's Day this year and it was mostly because my husband was actually off work and got to celebrate with us! He has missed out on so many celebrations because of work so we were all very excited that he was able to join in on the festivities this year. 

Brayden got to play with some vintage toys that have been in my aunt's attic for 18 years!

Of course he much prefers to be outside!

Running is his favorite!

Running with Grandpa!

Writing letters with spa water!

The bushes were obviously comical...who knows!?

And a very happy 84th birthday to my grandpa!!

It was seriously the best St. Patty's Day yet and I can't wait to eat my corned beef and cabbage tonight! (My aunt hates it so we didn't eat it yesterday. Clearly I can't go a year without eating it so I am making it for dinner tonight..delish!)