39/52

We have been enjoying some gorgeous warm autumn weather. I have been trying to soak in all of the sunshine I can. We made a trip to one of our favorite playgrounds and when it was time for us to leave, Sophia decided she needed a nap in the tube. I love toddler stall tactics!

"A portrait of my little lady, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Thrilled to be linking up with Jodi for The 52 Project.

Baby H2 Week 20 - Halfway there!

Size: about the size of a banana.

Total Weight Gain: about thirteen pounds.

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing a few regular items, but mostly maternity pieces.

Gender: Surprise! We will find out in February!

Cravings: My appetite increased big time this week. I ate my way through all of the chips and sweets in the house. No real cravings, just a bit too much snacking.

Symptoms: Back and hip pain, but nothing lasting, dry skin, and lovely veins.

Movement: I freaked out a bit this week when the little peanut wasn't moving around as much as normal. After drinking caffeine and laying still without feeling much, I decided to visit the doctor for peace of mind. Thankfully, all is still well - just me being a bit paranoid.

Sleep: Overall good this week.

Moment of the Week: Hearing a strong little heartbeat at the doctor.

What I Miss: Caffeine, although I wasn't a big drinker of it recently. (I know caffeine in moderation can be okay during pregnancy, I just choose not to drink it.)

What I'm Looking Forward to: Seeing our sweet little one during our anatomy scan - not too much longer!

Big Sister: Sophia still doesn't fully understand that I am pregnant, but we have been talking about the baby more and more. Right now she is treating the baby like an invisible friend. She does a lot of pretending involving the baby. She also named the baby - Sunshine.

Looking Back: My belly is much larger this time, but I am happy to see that my weight gain seems to match when I was pregnant with Sophia.

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We visited one of our favorite parks where I captured so many fun pictures. This picture shows a bit of Sophia's inquisitive and serious side. She was confused as to why there weren't any boats on the river (since we usually see them while there).

Overlooking the Ohio River and Kentucky.

"A portrait of my little lady, once a week, every week in 2014."

Thrilled to be linking up with Jodi for The 52 Project.

Baby H2 Week 19

Sophia insisted on being in charge of the camera for these pictures so most of my pictures ended up out of focus.
She was quite proud of herself.

Size: about the size of a large heirloom tomato.

Total Weight Gain: ten-ish pounds. I don't like what our home scale says, so I'll wait for our doctor appointment for a more accurate reading.

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing a mix of regular and maternity clothes, although I've given up on squeezing into regular pants with the bella band.

Gender: Surprise! We will find out in February!

Cravings: Crunchy food. I am forcing myself to eat more apples and carrots than potato chips.

Symptoms: Sinus discomfort which is causing some shortness of breath and painful veins.

Movement: Yes!

Sleep: Overall better this week. I am still waking frequently, but I have found it easier to fall back to sleep. I think the cooler temperatures help.

Moment of the Week: I have been loving taking time to feel the little peanut moving around in there.

What I Miss: Carrying the toddler without losing my balance.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Two weeks until our anatomy scan!

Big Sister: Sophia has been talking about being a sister a lot. She requests to wear her 'big sister' shirts frequently. At my last doctor appointment, Sophia and I were looking at a magazine that showed a woman breastfeeding her baby. I explained to Sophia how the baby was drinking milk from her Mommy. Sophia will now randomly come up to me and pretend to drink milk from me. I can't wait to see what she does when the baby arrives!

Looking Back: When I was pregnant with Sophia, most of the movement I felt was on the right side at this point. Now it is the complete opposite - all of the movement I am feeling is on the left side.

Insta-matic Summer

Here are are of my favorite instagram pictures from June, July, and August.

As always, obsessed with my little lady.

Proud of herself for splashing Mama.

Riding the train with Lovey.

Nothing better than a playground and blue skies.

Date night with Daddy.

Teaching Max to bark like the big dogs.

People watching at the splash park with no desire to get wet.

Beautiful morning high above Cincinnati.

Best part of the zoo in the summer - the misting fans.

Taking a snooze on Daddy.

Conquered her fear of the fountains.

Dinner date with Mama and a giant bowl of noodles.

The toddler didn't "know its not bacon". Luckily she prefers the real thing.

Favorite day of the week.

Cooling off with a hat full of water.

Her favorite place to be: a swing!

Jumping around.

Wearing Mama's shoes.

Feeling all the emotions.

Making new friends.

Super Sophia takes on the farmers market.

If you are on instagram...follow along @jenhimmel!

The 52 Project: Weeks 35-37

I am playing a little catch-up on this little photo project. Between packing, cleaning, visiting with family, and sharing our news I am a bit behind.

Week 35: I didn't take many camera pictures this week, so I tried to take a few sleeping pictures of Sophia, but she caught me. I love her sleepy little eyes and grip on her Lovey.

"A portrait of my little lady, once a week, every week in 2014."

Week 36: Nothing better than a giant cone with rainbow sprinkles. Great way to celebrate the closing of summer and one of the last hot days.

"A portrait of my little lady, once a week, every week in 2014."

Week 37: Little helper in the garden. She carried all of the tomatoes to the house after Nanny picked them.

"A portrait of my little lady, once a week, every week in 2014."

Thrilled to be linking up with Jodi for The 52 Project.

Baby H2 Weeks 13 through 18

16 weeks

Size: from a lime to a bell pepper.

Total Weight Gain: about ten pounds.

Maternity Clothes: I just recently started wearing more maternity pieces. I have been living in the in-between jeans I bought after Sophia was born.

Gender: Surprise! We will find out in February!

Cravings: Mexican, especially Chipotle veggie bowls, Sweet Leaf Green Tea, any form of potato, but mostly french fries. I am surprised that the ice cream and pickle cravings haven't shown up yet.

Symptoms: Things haven't been awful since getting out of the first trimester. I have so much more energy and am not as moody. The sinuses have been giving some pain but my veins are the only real problem. I opted to not wear the compression tights this time and have been trying to keep the toddler lifting to a minimum and make time to put my feet up. Luckily the weather has cooperated and not been too unbearable.

Movement: Yes! Feeling lots of little movements as of week 17.

Sleep: Sleep is not great. I toss and turn a lot at night and have had trouble napping in the afternoon.

Moment of the Week: Finally telling our families. We wanted to tell our parents in person. I am so glad the news is out. I hate keeping secrets!

What I Miss: Sleeping through the night and having a stronger bladder.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Getting settled from our trip and our ultrasound in a few weeks.

Big Sister: Sophia still doesn't really understand. She talks about the baby in my belly and then tells me about the baby in her belly. She loves playing doctor and checking on Mommy and Baby.

Looking Back: I started blogging when I was about seven months pregnant with Sophia. Even though I was not posting weekly updates, I was sending them to family to keep them updates with the pregnancy. I am reading over those updates now that I am pregnant again and I thought it would be fun to compare the two pregnancies. When I was pregnant with Sophia I craved dairy; I want very little to do with it now. Even though my belly is much larger this time around I have gained about the same amount of weight.

13 weeks

14 weeks

16 weeks

18 weeks

Guess What!