a vacation in iphone photos.

we obviously have about eleventy billion "real" photos from our recent vacation, but they are locked tight on 7 of jb's memory cards.  so, it may be a couple of days/weeks/lifetimes before we get those onto a computer and into the blog.  but when i do that, i will chronicle our trip for real.  for now, here are a gazillion pictures of emme's tour through the northeast.  lots of nap pictures because she's SO cute when she's sleeping, but i promise she was awake most of the trip.

the single paragraph overview is that we flew in to boston, drove up to vermont (stowe), spent a few lovely days there, drove back down to boston and spent the rest of our trip frolicking around the big city.  we hiked, ran through a corn maze, rode a gondola up a mountain, visited the ben + jerry's factory, walked through boston's public gardens and common, saw cemeteries and the old north church, went to a red sox game, went to the aquarium, rode a tall ship, and much, much more.  emme was a champion traveler - i could not have been more proud/impressed/shocked at how easy and fun she was.  we can't wait for our next vacation....someday!

this is her new ham n cheese face when i tell her to smile for the camera.  this was around 5 a.m. before our flight out.  

snacks/dinner at a great place in concord, new hampshire.

 c'mon mama!

 ek wanted us to buy a seat on the plane home for this monkey.  

 on top of a mountain in stowe.  

 the groundhog we discovered right outside our place in vermont.

 a little chipmunk hanging on our neighbor's wood pile.

first taste of ben & jerry's. 

she had to take a seat to fully embrace the ice cream experience.

 ben & jerry factory was a dream land for kids.

 shoes off in the stream on a hike - she ended up completely soaked on this adventure.  

 brought her into a toy store where she promptly grabbed a basket and started filling it with gear.  hilarious.  

 first day in boston with daddy.

 make way for ducklings!

 breakfast in the promenade before our aquarium visit.

 crashed on the floor on a mat (she refused to stay in the pack n play).

 in front of our boston hotel.

 people on the street paused to laugh at this position.  

 a stop in franklin square park after breakfast at flour.

 go red sox!

 time to head home...if only she would wake up.  

 antics with daddy at logan airport.  notice the matching red sox caps.

ultrasound pictures.

the ultrasound machine at my practice was different than the one we had for emme, so i think the pics of this bebe look a bit different (grainier, maybe?), but we got some pretty decent shots of the little one yesterday.  s/he had his/her arms up in front of face for a lot of it, but the profile shots were really good, i thought.  i really think this muskrat looks much different than emme did, lending further credence to my boy speculation.  but then, i swore ek was a boy the whole way through too, so how's that for mothers' intuition?  heartbeat was 153 compared to emme's 146 at this point. 

anyway...here are the 15 shots we have of baby b numero dos.  there is one face shot in here that is super creepy and looks like skeletor.  i'm optimistic the bebe will be much cuter than that in real life...

 this is the baby's knuckles - kind of random, but you can see 5 fingers.  yay!

this is a face picture, but it's kind of hard to tell.  you can see baby's lips and chin...

 creepy skeletor face.  but hey, love to see those eyes!

19 and 20 weeks.

so, we spent a week and a half (almost) in the northeast on a ridiculous and awesome family vacation.  this is the first vacation we've taken as a family of three where we picked the destination, itinerary, etc.  it was phenomenal.  i will post all about it - pics and stories - but i can say we're seriously contemplating a move to the mountains of vermont, where we will sell woven goods and also probably farm goats.  

for today, though, i just need to post a prego update, since we all know how 

week: 19 (and 20!)

baby stats: baby dos is the size of a banana in week 20.  we start measuring head to toe now, which is fun.  we also had an ultrasound today, so i can tell you definitively that bebe weighs 11 oz and is measuring right on track (19w6d). 

symptoms: i have an anterior placenta again (i knew it!), so that explains the lack of huge movement i feel.  i was much less tired while vacationing...i'm thinking it had something to do with not working and taking naps when emme did and being in a place that wasn't 100 degrees....

aversions: nothing at all these days.  food is delicious again.  i'm going to try to keep that in perspective this time....

bump: growing right along.  i'm starting to get the comments about how big i am - haha.  my new response is "just you wait".  i don't mind it nearly as much this time for some reason.  maybe because i know what to expect now?  in any case, i also still feel like i'm a little smaller than i was with ek, so it just makes me chuckle that people already think i'm big this time. 

worries: feeling good after seeing that sweet bebe today.  organs and palate and feet and digits all look good and normal, so we are super thankful.  the baby does have slightly higher than normal dilation in the kidneys, so we will have to do another ultrasound in about 6-8 weeks.  the u/s tech and our midwife assured us this is very common and will very likely be nothing as time goes one.  i'm choosing to be excited that we'll get another chance to see the little human instead of being all weird and anxious about the dilation. 

looking forward to: kicks that everyone else can feel.  emme is starting to give my belly kisses and i can't wait to see her face when she feels someone moving in there....

boy or girl?: the picture of this little one looks completely different than emme did, so i think that's what's making me stick with my prediction of boy.  i feel like it has a squarer jaw, maybe?  anyway...i am still undecided, really, but i think i'm just going to set my opinion as boy and stick with it.  i am pretty shocked/amazed that we didn't break down and find out this morning.  when we looked away and then got to turn back around, i looked at the tech and said "so you know right now?" and i almost made her tell me but we held on.....

missing the most: sushi. it's always sushi.

pregnancy milestone: halfway there.  crazy!!

what's different this time: it was really much harder to not find out the gender this time.  but beyond that, i am really feeling very excited and comfortable with this pregnancy this week.  emme is in such a cute, loving phase right now, which makes me wicked excited to see her as a big sister.  yay for babies!  

18 weeks.

week:18

baby stats: baby dos is the size of a bell pepper, crown to rump.  s/he weighs about 7-9 ounces and is busy flexing arms and legs.  

symptoms: this was a pretty uneventful week as far as the pregnancy was concerned.  i had a massively stressful week at work - tons of fires and ridiculousness to deal with.  have i mentioned sometimes i really hate the business world?  anyway...it kept me distracted and exhausted all week, so nothing big on the prego front.  

aversions: not much right now.  i'm starting to get a little bit more of an appetite, which i think is a good sign right about now.  

bump: still getting bigger.  i'm convinced i'm not as big as i was at this point with emme, but justin thinks i look the same.  my pregnant belly is all out in this mound shape - i don't get the cute little low or high bump like some women.  oh well.  

worries: still a little anxious, mostly because i want to feel more movement more consistently.  i have to keep reminding myself that i hadn't even felt ek move yet at this point last time.  because i felt him/her so early this time, i was thinking i might have a posterior placenta instead of anterior like i did with ek, but now i'm not so sure.  in any case...2 weeks till the big viewing, so we shall see then!  

looking forward to: big kicks and rolls.  the u/s.  finishing ekes toddler room.  

boy or girl?: i had a dream the other night that it was a girl and that justin refused to hold her.  this is clearly a ridiculous dream.  but, i always always dreamt that ek was a boy, so i think dreaming that this one is a girl means it's a boy.  right?  haha.  

missing the most: sushi. it's always sushi.

pregnancy milestone: i'm starting to get the belly glances that indicate that people think i'm carrying a human child and am not just letting myself go.  always a happy time.  

what's different this time: i think i'm more nervous about a lot of things this time, which i wasn't expecting.  i kind of thought it would be old hat this go-round.  not really, but i thought i would be less concerned about all the crazy stuff i flip out about since i'd done this before.  so far, not the case.  and, i've got the added stressors of trying to think about how we're going to integrate this little person into our busy lives and the dynamic with ek, which will be fun and joyous (of course) but also a LOT to think about.  it doesn't help that every single person asks me what we're going to do about child care (i still don't know and may not know until december or january) and that i am constantly reminded by the universe at large about how much harder/crazier/etc. it is to have two than one.  i appreciate the heads up, universe, but i also feel like it's the kind of thing you can't even process until you're living it.  which we will be doing...

17 weeks.

week:17


baby stats: #2 is the size of an onion, growing right along.  s/he weighs about 5 ounces and has fingerprints now.  the skeleton is also turning more bone-like and less cartilage-like. 

symptoms: this week, though awesome in many ways, was pretty tiring.  i got a stomach bug on tuesday and my tummy has just not been 100% since then.  clearly i or this baby (or both) have different opinions on what is/is not acceptable to eat these days.  very different than miss ek.  i'm wondering if i might be anemic this go-round, since i cannot seem to shake the intense tired-ness.  i thought surely by now i would be in the fun second-trimester swing, but it's all i can do to lie on the couch and doze off in front of the olympics every night.  this is not helping my to-do list at all. 
cravings: really i'm just craving stuff that doesn't make my stomach angry.  so, i guess i have more aversions than cravings.  lame.  i want ice cream and french fries, but both of those make me feel like i might hurl in short order very soon after eating, so i'm trying to (mostly) stick with salads and bland fare. 
aversions: everything and nothing.  i'm averse to food after i ingest it.  ha. 

bump: getting there for sure.  we had a babysitter friday night so we could go to a party and i told her we wouldn't be too late, while patting my belly.  she asked how far along i am and i said 17 weeks.  she said "WOW.  i'm 22 weeks", and which point i asked her "where is your baby?".  seriously - not a hint of a baby in that girl's insanely long torso.  sigh.  i don't mind being an early show-er, though, no matter how much i pretend to complain. 

worries: higher than typical levels of anxiety this week, what with all the bad stomach stuff.  but, 20 week ultrasound is scheduled for august 28, and i am super excited to see this little bug. 

looking forward to: more movement.  the big u/s.  nesting. 

boy or girl?: still feeling boy, although i walked in to baby gap the other day and saw all the ridiculous baby girl clothes and thought well....a girl would be a blast.  haha. 
missing the most: sushi. it's always sushi.

pregnancy milestone: this was the week, with emme, we went to st. thomas for vacation.  i don't think that's really a milestone, but it's fun to remember that trip. 
what's different this time: i haven't gained any weight yet!  woo hoo.  actually, i've lost a pound, but that doesn't mean much.  by this time with emme, i think i had gained almost 15 pounds.  yikes!  so, i'm just being a little more careful this time and trying not to be a total glut.  i must admit it feels MUCH better to see all the growth in my body happening in the belly region instead of in my neck/arms/face. 

31.

yesterday was my birthday, which means, despite all logic and sense of the time/space continuum, it is also now august.  i am 31, and it was a really great birthday.  i got sick on tuesday (barfing, always a ton of fun.  thought it was food poisoning, but i think it was more likely a little stomach bug that lots of co-workers' kids have had), and it latched on to my wednesday a bit as well.  but, we went to bed super early wednesday night, and i woke up feeling much better on my birthday. 
justin made breakfast for the three of us.  i had a busy day at work but had lots of great distractions with calls and texts and facebook posts.  i left work and picked up emme and we headed to meet jb for an early dinner at contigo, a rad restaurant we've been wanting to try.  there was a brief setback at school when ek decided she wanted to pick up all the crumbs and gross leftover food on the floor and eat them before coming with me to get in the car.  no, thank you.  anyway...she made up for that by being the sweetest little bug at dinner and singing happy birthday to me many, many times.  her version of happy birthday sounds like this: happy....day!...yooooouuuuu.  in the right tune, but she leaves out a few syllables here and there.  she also prefers to say happy birthday to emme, but we did get a couple of mamas out of her.  hilarious.  the food was delicious - lots of taster plates - and dinner was topped off by dark chocolate peanut homemade ice cream.  it was heaven.  justin spoiled me as usual (how am i such a terrible gift-giver, married to such a fabulous one?), and we spent the remainder of the evening being ultra-lazy laying on the couch and watching the olympics.  a very different kind of day than my 21st a whole decade ago (whoa), but exactly what i was looking for. 
anyway...i snapped a couple of pics of emme yesterday and today that i love.  she is such a sweetheart these days, and i can't get enough of her little voice and her hugs and her insistence that we read "green ham sam" 54 more times. 

16 weeks.

week:16

baby stats: #2 is the size of an avocado now, which makes me want guacamole.  but let's face it, i always want guacamole.  s/he weighs 3.5 ounces, and has started to grow toenails. 

symptoms: feeling a little tired, but i think i've been pushing a little too hard (and staying up a little too late reading novels).  the heartburn that plagued me for all of emme's pregnancy is back in full force (it was only sporadic before this week), so i'm guessing we'll have another head of hair on this kiddo.  in any case, as i have always said, of all the pregnancy-related stuff i could have, heartburn is just fine with me! 

cravings: still nothing much.  i like milk a whole lot.  and seafood.  and veggies, which i hated most of the time last time.  i want to drink coca cola all the time, which i never EVER drink in real life, so that's super weird.  fortunately, i can usually convince jb to drink one and a little sip seems to satisfy me.  

aversions: still nothing, at least not before i eat it.  certain foods make me gag if i think about them too much (eggs).  but i'll still eat all of it...

bump: growing more and more human-baby-like every day. i have no shot at wearing non-elastic-waisted pants at all. 

worries: the usual, as usual.  i have my 16 week appointment monday and i always feel huge waves of relief (however temporary) after hearing the heartbeat and talking to my awesome care providers.

looking forward to:  bigger movements and a bigger belly.  i know lots of women fight this, but i love the big belly and a bebe rolling around in there.  getting emme's toddler room set up so we can figure out what we want to do with the nursery. 

boy or girl?:  i'm still feeling boy.  i don't know if it's because i am feeling more movement so much earlier, or what, but i'm pretty convinced we've got an XY in there.  

missing the most: sushi.  it's always sushi. 

pregnancy milestone:  movement.  i think i felt a little last week, but this week i am 99% sure it's baby.  still very much the feeling of a big goldfish in there flipping around, but i am almost positive that's not just my intestinal tract. 

what's different this time: the earlier movement is very different (and very awesome, since it assuages my worries just the tiniest little bit).  i think i'm carrying more in front this time, less in my face like i did for emme - although, definitely still have a pregnant face.  ha.  i haven't read a single pregnancy book (and probably won't!), which is unlike me, but i have such a crazy memory for that stuff, i think i can get through these 40 weeks without inundating my poor brain. 

15 weeks.

i have seen these pregnancy journal posts on some blogs that i follow, so i thought i'd give it a whirl this time.  i have not really documented/done a thing for this bebe yet, so this is as good a time as any to start something.  i certainly don't want him/her to think we weren't SO thrilled about his/her impending arrival...i'm just a slacker.  


week:15

baby stats: nino (still trying on nicknames for size.  not sure nino is the winner.) is the size of apple or a navel orange, depending on which random baby site you read.  crazy that s/he is already that big (crown to rump)...s/he weighs about 2.5 ounces and has bendy limbs and eyes that can detect light through closed eyelids.  nice job, baby! 

symptoms: feeling great after a semi-rocky and tired first trimester.  i seem to finally be over this stupid cough i had that prevented me from sleeping in my bed/through the night for 10 nights.  yeesh.  starting to show in less of a she's-really-let-herself-go way.  i've felt some movement but i'm not 100% convinced it's baby (maybe like 85%), which is way rad and my favorite part of being pregnant.  

cravings: none, really.  it's weird.  i was hungry - like, ravenous - from day one with emme.  i find myself forgetting to eat/forcing myself to eat at regular intervals this time.  

aversions: none really.  i was averse to everything for a couple weeks in there, but now i can kinda take or leave all food. 

bump: growing.  i really have no torso at all so this belly just pops right on out. 

worries: the usual - is it ok, am i ok, yadda yadda.  i took robitussin a few times (and a couple of benadryls) when i was coughing my face off and it's made me a wee bit neurotic.  doctors/the internet said it was fine, and i passed on the extreme prescription cough syrup that they said i could take, but i still just worry. 

looking forward to:  for real feeling movement/kicks.  working on the nursery.  finishing his/her quilt. 

boy or girl?:  i'm really feeling boy for this one.  it just feels like a different pregnancy than ek, but then, my life is super different now, so how could it not?  i love the idea of a boy, but also love the idea of another sweet girl (sisters!), so i guess that is a good sign.  justin is 100% sure this is girl #2. 

missing the most: sushi.  it's always sushi. 

pregnancy milestone:  i don't really know what this category means...i guess telling co-workers is a milestone?  sure.  being out of the first trimester (even thought that was a couple weeks ago).  

what's different this time: as i said before, i feel like a slacker mom this time.  it is SO hard to focus on a pregnancy when a toddler lives in your house.  it's really lucky that i have pregnancies that are easy enough for me to forget that i'm pregnant, even if that makes me feel guilty.  we haven't taken a single belly pic yet, whereas we were consistent with it every week from 9 on with emme.  i'm also much more curious about gender now than i was with round 1.  i still think we will be surprised again, but my will is not as strong as it was last time - probably because i now have a context and am trying to imagine emme with a brother or a sister. 

i press this.

despite my good intentions, i think the days of posting monthly emme updates have fallen by the wayside.  my original, unstated intention was to do every month up to 24 (when i swear i will stop counting her age in months...or at least i will try!).  but, with as busy as we are these days, and as incredibly active as she is, the time for portraits and organized photo shoots has not been a priority.  i'm going to work harder at posting/writing about the everyday pictures and activities instead of the formal monthly posts.  this is how i will rationalize my shortcomings in this department...

anyway.  emme is a little over 20 months now.  insanity.  i had to go to san diego for work at the end of june, and i came back three days later to a little monkey who was speaking in sentences.  it literally happened that fast.  her language has exploded over the last several weeks and it is so. much. fun.  she is really kind of a hilarious person.  the most common sentence we hear is "i [verb] this".  i press this; i taste this; i push this; i close this; i open this; i turn this off; the list goes on.  we also hear i did it! a ton.  i got her a babydoll (her first) in california and she is obsessed with it.  it has a beanie that goes in its mouth, so she will try to click it in there by herself (something she does with increasing ease and frequency, even though that baby's head is wily).  when she is successful, she stands back proudly and says i did it!  this also happens with coloring, putting on articles of clothing, etc.  so cute.  yesterday, i picked her up from school (wednesday is water play day) and i asked her if she had played in the water.  her response was "i played in the water" - instead of "yes" which was her response every week before now.  i am just so amazed at her correct use of pronouns and subject/verb agreements.  haha.  i'm also a huge dork.  what else?  oh!  she has this little toy remote control thing my mom got her.  it has eyes and you can push a button and close the eyes.  she was showing it to me one day and explained to me "he closes his eyes".  who knows where she gets this stuff?  it is amazing to me.  her vocabulary is growing daily, too.  she is always trying to sound out new words and then uses them again when i'm least expecting it.  i am obsessed with the way she says yogurt (her favorite breakfast option).  she still needs reminders to use words sometimes, especially when she gets upset or reactive about something, but i mean, she is a toddler.  it's just SO nice that she is capable of/knows the words to use now instead of the frustration of a couple months ago where she understood so much but couldn't say most of it.  anyway...i hope this isn't coming across as braggy - i am just literally stunned and awed watching/experiencing the development of language.  it's endlessly rewarding, and makes me feel like i have a much better glimpse into her little world. 

ek is also absurdly busy these days.  her default pace is running, which she lets us know by announcing "running!  running!" as she's running.  she wants to climb and subsequently stand on every surface known to man.  one of the most frequent phrases heard from me/justin is "ON YOUR BOTTOM".  her response is usually a mischievous grin followed by a slow descent back to her bottom.  i am only beginning to anticipate all the testing we're going to get from this little bug.  we are working really hard on staying consistent with certain manners/expectations, and for the most part she is doing well with these.  the stuff that i'm focusing on right now is:

• saying please and thank you (please is nearly perfect, thank you is still a work in progress).
• putting dirty clothes in the hamper (this involves opening a hatch thing, so she is pretty into it).
• staying at the table until everyone is done eating (this is from the french parenting book i read - we still have work to do, but she is MUCH better than she used to be...she will ask to get down, but doesn't flip out when i remind her that others still have food on their plates).  
• gentle touches (with us, the dogs, her buddies, her body).
• understanding where/how to play with certain things (i.e. we color on paper, not the furniture; we dig in dirt outside; we eat only at the table, etc.).  this is a definite work in progress, and likely will continue to be. 

i feel like there are others, but a lot of that is stuff that i am working on for me/me and jb.  stuff like watching my tone when she gets testy and being responsive when she asks for hugs/to be held instead of just assuming she's being needlessly clingy.  slowing down, in general, especially with her.  letting her be independent and encouraging her to do hard things.  the list goes on...

so i guess this is kind of rambly, but will suffice as an update.  i love this age - she is so sweet and curious and fun.  i love when she chuckles at some random thing and says "haha, funny mama".  i love the expressiveness and the endless fascination with everything.  we went for a walk with the pups last weekend after rain all week and there was mud everywhere...she stopped every 2-3 steps to stick her fingers in the mud and squeal about it.  i love that she has a very clear nurturing side but can be tough too....i hope she keeps that up.  she is hardly ever still these days, but we have great cuddle time before bed every night and during the slow wake up period in the mornings.  i love her little singing voice and we are endlessly amused by her obsession with the lalala elmo song and the birthday song (and birthday videos justin has made).  we really do love this girl.