My Favorite Little Model

I'll be honest - I think I did a great job taking photos of Gavin throughout his first year.  I got a nice DSLR camera and editing software...took monthly portraits...attempted to capture every milestone and holiday on film.  I created beautiful Shutterfly books for 0-3 months, 4-6 months, 7-9 months, 10-12 months, and Gavin's first birthday.  I seriously treasure those books and love looking back at special moments from my darling baby's life.

And then he turned one, and for some reason, I've had a harder time remembering to take photos.  Maybe it's because it's winter and we're not going out as much (trips to the zoo, football games, etc).  Maybe it's because, beyond the first year, changes aren't happening at the same rapid pace.  Maybe it's because life just feels busier with a second baby on the way (and let's face it, it's not going to slow down anytime soon).

That being said, I am still working on a Shutterfly book to capture Gavin's second year, and occasionally I'll remember to get my camera out and document cute moments like using utensils at mealtime or being silly in the bath.  When Baylor comes, I'll have to make even more of an effort to make sure I capture her important moments too, and that I don't just lump them together with Gavin's.  (I plan on creating a book to capture my pregnancy and the first few weeks following her birth, a 0-6 month book, and a first birthday book...beyond that, starting in January 2014, I'll start doing one family yearbook rather than individual books for each child.)  

Here are some recent photos of Gavin, since I realize it's been awhile since I've posted any!  I may be biased, but he gets cuter by the day.

It doesn't matter how many loveys we buy for this baby -- he only wants Old Ratty!

It's a...GIRL!

Two weeks ago, Stephen and I found out that our next little nugget will be of the ruffles-and-bows variety!  We are very excited, particularly since my brother and sister-in-law will also be welcoming a little girl.  We chose to find out the gender early -- we found out at 16 weeks with Gavin, 17 weeks with this baby -- so I always remain a BIT nervous and always hang onto receipts until my OB/GYN confirms the health and gender at my anatomy scan (in a few weeks).  The ultrasound tech was 100% confident it was a girl, and the picture below definitely verifies the lack of "boy parts" -- but still, you hear stories all the time about people finding out they're having one gender only to pop out the other.  I suppose, then, that it's a good thing we actually had chosen the same name for a girl OR a boy!  Our little princess will be named Baylor Kate Dowd -- Baylor Isaac was our choice for a boy -- and we think it's just perfect.  We wanted something unique but not weird.  Something easy to spell and pronounce.  Something that could morph into whatever type of person our little girl becomes -- ultra-feminine, tomboyish, etc.  She'll most likely go by Baylee as a nickname, but Stephen and I just loved the name Baylor from the moment we thought of it and knew well before we got pregnant with this baby that Baylor would be the name.

So there you have it!  I can't believe I'm already 19 weeks along -- I have an appointment this afternoon to hear the heartbeat again, and then we'll schedule our anatomy scan.  It is FLYING the second time around!  

17 Weeks

It's almost gender time!  Wahoo!  (Stay tuned -- we're trying to brainstorm cute ways to share the news when we find out, assuming the peanut is cooperative at our gender scan!  Gavin had his stubborn little legs crossed, haha.)  My sister-in-law is having a little GIRL, so the pressure is off for me, since my parents will now have grandsons AND a granddaughter either way, and Stephen's parents already have one of each as well!  :)  So we'll be thrilled, boy or girl, and can't wait to see our newest addition again.

In non-pregnancy related news, I've been fighting a pretty bad cold this week.  Ordinarily, I would've taken a day or two off from work to rest and get better -- but when you're a mom, taking a day off from work means you're home with your baby, meaning you're just as active and have a way greater chance of getting your little cutie sick too.  So, off to work I went, where I was basically followed around with a Lysol can like I had the plague.  (And I work in a doctor's office, so it's not like people have never seen sickness there before.)  Stephen's been taking great care of me, but I'm sleeping so terribly and can't take anything to help this cold pass, so I have a feeling this thing'll be sticking around for a few more days.  Boo.  Anyway, poor Gavin's been teething pretty hardcore and finally popped through his two top molars earlier this week.  He has a much harder time with top teeth than with bottom, so hopefully the bottoms (coming next) won't cause him as much pain.  We've been managing it with regular doses of Ibuprofen and even more regular doses of good ol' fashioned cuddling.  Gavin's usually not a very cuddly baby -- he's always super active and on-the-go -- so it's actually been pretty sweet to get some extra love from him.  If you have to be sick, it sure helps to be sick while watching the Wiggles with the cutest baby in the world on your lap.

Mommy and Baby are having a hard week -- here's hoping next week is better!

M-I-C-K-E-Y...

We're going to WALT DISNEY WORLD in March!  Eee!

When Stephen and I first got married, we made a goal to take a vacation each year.  It could be something as simple as a few days in Gatlinburg, or something as extravagant as a few weeks in Hawaii, but we wanted to find a way to fit travel opportunities into our budget and work schedules.  So far, we've been blessed enough to make it happen.  We've been to Mexico several times, Stephen has been to Las Vegas, and now we're heading to the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!

To preface, I love Disney World.  I always have.  If Stephen had agreed to it, I really wanted to get married there.  I have such fond memories of our family trips when I was younger and always dreamt of taking my own family there one day.  So when deciding where to go for a special family vacation before Baby 2 gets here, Disney was at the top of our list.  

As of this morning, we are all booked for our 5 night/6 day vaca!  We'll be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside resort on the Disney property.  Now, we obviously know Gavin won't remember this trip.  I mean, let's be real, he won't remember our trip to Mexico either -- yet that didn't stop him from having an AMAZING time.  Plus, Stephen and I will never forget how Gavin blissfully slept the entire flight or the look on his face when he dipped his toes into the ocean for the first time.  He won't remember how much fun he had floating around in the pool with Grandma and Grandpa -- but you'd better believe that we will.  And just as we were sure we'd visit Mexico again when Gavin was older, we're sure we'll visit Disney again -- and then, we'll make it the "Disney trip of our dreams" and stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge with views of the serengeti from our balcony.  But this trip is about making memories as a family of three, before our three expands to four!  And as far as that goes, you can't really beat nonstop flights to a Disney resort with 75 degree weather and Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes.  Sooooooo excited.  :)

We're thinking future trips will be of the weekend-trip-to-Indianapolis variety once Baby 2 arrives (at least for a year or two) -- so we're very much looking forward to traveling the 'World with our favorite little man!  Now I'm off to research fun restaurants and attractions to explore with a toddler...

Catching up on 14 weeks...

One of the most interesting things about being pregnant again has been comparing this pregnancy to my pregnancy with Gavin.

FIRST TRIMESTER:
With Gavin, I was sick the entire first trimester.  I was so tired I actually thought I had mono.  I had sinus headaches every single day.  There were some days where I stayed in bed the whole day, drinking vanilla milkshakes and icing my head.  (Thank goodness I was finishing up a semester at Xavier and only had class every other day!)  I finally started feeling better around week 14, but had a huge resurgence of symptoms from 17-20.
With Baby 2 (who has a name we're not sharing quite yet), I have felt great.  I've been tired, sure, but no more so than I have been since Gavin was born.  I've had mild nausea here and there, but it's been easily handled by having ginger ale and crackers on hand.  Headaches have been comparable to pre-pregnancy.  And that's it!  I've been so worried about my lack of symptoms that I'm fairly sure I've kept home pregnancy test companies in business.  For the record, every single one has had a positive reading and Stephen has since told me I can't buy any more.  Boo.

CRAVINGS:
With Gavin, I wanted cheap Mexican food, anything with melted cheese, filet, vanilla milkshakes, and cheeseburgers from McDonalds.  (Gross, I know.)  I knew he was a boy from the start, because my sweet tooth disappeared.  I couldn't stomach eggs or ground meat (turkey burgers, chili, etc), but other than that, anything was fair game.
With Baby 2, I've had WAY more aversions.  Nothing really sounds good, and most things sound terrible.  Even Chipotle, which I LIVED ON while pregnant with Gavin, makes me cringe.  My sweet tooth is in full force, and a lot of times I truly consider having ice cream for dinner just because it's the only thing that doesn't sound awful.  My aversions change daily, and it's pretty rare that a craving strikes (though Stephen did drive me all the way to Hamilton last night to get Coldstone).

PHYSICAL CHANGES:
With Gavin, I bought my first pair of maternity pants at 17 weeks and really started showing shortly thereafter.  By 20 weeks, it was obvious that I was pregnant and not just eating too many tacos (though I was doing that, too).  My hair and nails became brittle (despite everyone telling me that prenatals would do the exact opposite), and I had terrible acne.  Hot mess.
With Baby 2, I'm showing SO much earlier.  While I can still squeeze into my pre-pregnancy pants, it's way more comfortable to whip out the maternity jeans.  Because my pregnancies are close, I was told that I'd show about a month earlier -- but still, I'm surprised.  My face hasn't broken out yet, thank goodness, so maybe this time my hair and nails will grow nice and strong too!

ULTRASOUNDS:
These are just of Baby 2...  Gut feeling says it's a girl, but I've had several dreams of boy-girl twins.  There is definitely only ONE in there, so my dreams must be reflecting that I really want a boy AND a girl, haha!  I'd love for Gavin to have a little brother.  He's soooooo active and is SUCH a boy, so I think he'd have so much fun with a little brother to play with.  But I'd also love a little girl (more for selfish reasons).  Tutus and ruffle-butt onesies are pretty darn cute.  We'll see!

Alright, so I think that essentially sums up the past 14 weeks!  It'll be interesting to see how this baby's personality differs from Gavin's -- I'm having such a calm pregnancy so far, I can't help but feel that this baby's personality will take after Stephen's more.  Gavin is headstrong like Mommy.  :)  Maybe this one will be a better sleeper too?  Haha, wishful thinking...

GUESS WHAT?

We are expecting ANOTHER BABY!  Now that I'm finished with my first trimester and have heard the baby's heartbeat twice, we feel more comfortable announcing that a new little bundle will be joining our family in early July, smack dab between Stephen's birthday and mine!  We couldn't be more excited and just know Gavin will be an incredible big brother.

Honestly, I've felt strangely protective of this pregnancy and truly believe I could've gone the full 40 weeks without ever really confirming my pregnancy to others...but 14 weeks in, I'm starting to show and got called out at work today...so once my cover was blown, we knew it was time.  :)  So here's to a happy, healthy pregnancy!  July will be here before we know it!  AHHH!

Winter Wonderland!

Second time was the charm for our little snow angel!  With his brand new snowsuit on, Gavin was ready to tackle the white stuff (while Daddy tackled him!)