24 Weeks

I've been feeling great this past week. Claire has been showing more interest in the baby frequently pointing to my belly saying, "There's a baby in there." She also likes to feel Paige kick. Just today for the first time she asked to kiss my belly without any prompting.

Weekly weight change = +2.5 lbs.
Total weight change = +22.0 lbs.

Claire got in Andrew's face to say, "Cheese!" to the camera. She actually wanted her photo taken.



For this photo Claire stood in the same place I stand for my photo and said, "Claire's picture. Cheese."

"Twinke, Twinkle Little Star"

Claire enjoyed singing several songs on our way back to Berea, but "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" was her favorite. (I filmed this through the crack underneath the passenger headrest.)

Visit with Uncle David and Aunt Jennifer

David and Jennifer were staying at the Beaumont Inn (Harrodsburg, KY) for their 11th wedding anniversary, so we met them for a quick breakfast this morning.

Trip to the Pool

Our trip to the pool did not go quite as well as we had hoped, but I think that was a combination of Claire getting sunscreen in her eyes and her being tired (the pool doesn't open until 11:00am which is late for a 2 year old).










Andrew took the photo above of me today and the photo below last July. A lot can change in a year.

Happy Father's Day!

23 Weeks

Not much has changed this past week in terms of pregnancy. Paige is still quite active and I enjoy every jab. I've been a little stressed out with work, but am trying to keep that under control. (Someone should really dispel the myth that all teachers get the summer "off.")

Weekly weight change = -0.5 lbs.
Total weight change = +19.5 lbs.

Claire has been sleeping in her big-girl bed for a week now. It has gone very well. We figured out that in the middle of the night she is going to her blanket drawer, putting one back and getting another. Apparently this happens a couple of times each night because we checked in on her the other night and noticed she had a different blanket than when we put her to bed. Then, the next morning, she had yet another one.

So Responsible

Claire hasn't made any noise all week sleeping in her big girl bed. She has been so easy (not that she was ever really difficult) to put to bed because she loves climbing into her bed and getting the covers pulled up over her. Every morning when I open the door, she climbs out of bed ready to start the day. This morning, when Andrew went to get her she had taken her pajama pants off and placed them in the dirty clothes basket and was trying to take off her button-down pajama shirt. What a big girl. We think that she might do some exploring this weekend, but I guess we'll see.

For those who are curious, potty-training did not take off like we thought it might, so we are just giving it a break and will try again when she wants too. It's kind of hard to teach a child to recognize when they have to go to the potty. She would sit on the potty and clothes her eyes and try to go, but nothing would happen. She'll get there eventually and if we end up having two sets of diapers to change come October, then so be it. We'll just play it by ear.

First Night in Big Girl Bed

Claire spent her first night in a big-girl bed last night and it went perfectly. She was pretty exhausted from the weekend with her cousins, so that helped. After Andrew read her a book and put her to bed, she didn't make a peep. We didn't hear here walk around at all either. Later that night Andrew and I quietly slipped into her room to drop off some books to entertain herself if she woke up early and I took a picture of her sleeping. This morning when I went to get her she slowly sat up, looked at the pile of books and said, "Oh, my books." We hope tonight goes as well.

22 Weeks

I still haven't seen much let up from my exhaustion, but that may just be how it goes for the 2nd baby. Not only have I been tired, but I've been having some frequent Braxton Hicks contractions in the evenings which have made me a little uncomfortable and have bothered my lower back. I'm still drinking lots of water (at least 80 oz. a day), but I may just need to relax more. This is difficult with all of the deadlines I'm currently under, but Andrew helps out as much as he can. Other than those issues, I feel pretty good. Paige is very active. I don't remember Claire moving around this often. I enjoy all of the movements though. It's very comforting.

Weekly weight change = +2.5 lbs.
Total weight change = +20.0 lbs.

Big Girl Bed

Claire is spending the weekend at her Aunt Laura ("Yaya") and Uncle Chris's ("Kis") house with Wesley and Alex ("Ax"). She has had a wonderful time at gymnastics, watching Wesley's t-ball game, and visiting the Cincinnati Zoo. While she has been away, Andrew and I have been able to accomplish a few things around the house. One item on the to-do list was to convert Claire's crib to a toddler bed. Here are a few photos of her room now.



Andrew also painted Paige's room, but I'll save those "before" and "after" photos for tomorrow's post. Besides house work, Andrew and I enjoyed a dinner out and a movie. Yay for date night!

Hypnosis

Claire was trying her hand at hypnosis Sunday night. After her bath, we sometimes watch "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (her favorite show), but it was getting a little late to start an episode. She was sitting on Andrew's lap and said to him, "Want to watch Mickey Clubhouse" over and over. Andrew and I were still deliberating when Claire started slowly petting Andrew's beard and with long pauses said, "Want....to.....watch....Mickeyyyyyyyy.....Clubbbbbbb......houssssssse...." It was so adorable, we couldn't resist. Because we have several episodes on DVR, we just fast forwarded through the first half and Claire didn't seem to mind or notice at all.

21 Weeks

This week I've gone into extreme nesting mode. Not only do I want to paint every room in the house like it's new, but I also went out and bought three new area rugs today. One for Claire's room, one for Paige's room, and one for the living room. We've started the painting process for Paige's room and will hopefully get to some other rooms completed in July. I taped Paige's room yesterday and Andrew primed today. I'll post complete before and after pictures when it is complete, but until then, I have a couple of photos of Andrew beginning to prime and Claire, anxious to help. The color will be green. Her rug is similar to Claire's, but with blues, greens, and yellow. Paige has been every active this week. She must be getting excited about her room.

Weekly weight change = +2.0 lbs.
Total weight change = +17.0 lbs.

Claire helping Andrew prime Paige's room.


Claire's new rug.

The new living room rug. We'll paint the living room next. We're thinking a light olive color, or a taupe shade....we'll see.


Andrew and I were working on this puzzle during the nights last week. The leaves were challenging, but we had fun.