Catch Up

Pregnancy has not been kind to my body and therefore I have not had the energy or time to keep up with our blog!  For that I apologize and I hope that it's not a continuing trend post-baby.  Instead of trying to crank out ten posts today, I am going to attempt an abridged version of our household goings-on these last few weeks.


Holidays
I fear I'm even less likely to write post-holidays since it takes me about two weeks to recover and about two months to upload photos.  That said, we had a fantastic and family-filled Thanksgiving and Christmas and Ava loved getting some time away from home.  She has become quite the flexible traveler and now does very well in new situations, with new foods, people or sleeping arrangements.

Christmas was especially delightful as this was the first year Ava really understood the full excitement of the Christmas morning tradition.  She waited quasi-patiently at the top of the stairs for mom and dad to get dressed and ready and then tore into all that the day had to offer.  Besides the expected new lesson that not all gifts are for her and the lessons of patience and gift-giving, what a joy it was to watch her open her presents with awe and wonder and trembling hands.  She kept saying things like, "What is it?!  What could it be?!" and "Woah, cool!  I'm so excited!"  Experiencing Christmas through her eyes really was a thrill.

Ava waiting patiently on the steps on Christmas morning

Moving Day
Blair has had some time off between semesters and his schedule has been substantially lighter.  I have of course capitalized on this and given him a lengthy honey-do list to complete before mid-January!  As my belly has become increasingly more inhibitive, I've enjoyed having him around to not only to carry loads of laundry downstairs and pick up things off the floor, but to also do many of the preparations for our "moving day" which took place last week.

Our upstairs bedroom is to become the nursery and guest room, and we moved our master bedroom to the finished basement.  I spent the weeks prior to moving day painting a design on one of the walls down there (a task much more difficult than I originally imagined) which though exhausting, has really helped to transform that room into a much more luxurious space.

The "hand-painted wallpaper" that I finished for our new master bedroom

Moving day also involved setting up Ava's new bed, dresser and nightstand which she couldn't have been more excited about.  She has loved having a bigger bed, has done very well with no bed rails, and is slowly adjusting to having mommy and daddy a little farther away.  I've also overhauled the orientation of the rest of our furniture, storage and layout to better suit our incoming arrival.  Ava has been a good sport though she'll be glad when mommy's all done moving things and throwing things out while she's asleep (especially her things).  While we still have a lot of work to do around here of the big and the small variety, it feels very good to finally have a space that is capable of welcoming a baby!

Ava's new big-girl room

The Ava Girl
Ava has really been a trooper with all of the changes going on around here.  She's lately been a bit more clingy and "mopey" as I like to say, but she's fairing pretty well.  She is growing so much and is still as sharp as a tack, always thinking, always asking questions and astounding us with the connections her little brain makes.  Today I made chili for the first time in awhile and she said, "Mom, there are two chili's.  That up there (pointing to the stove) and then how it's chilly outside!"  Genius.  All day long she asks what everything means, why things are the way they are, and is into classifying her vast amounts of knowledge.  For instance, a regular conversation at the table for us goes something like, "I like oranges.  Are oranges healthy?"  "Yes, very healthy."  "Are they healthy for your baby?"  "Yep."  "Broccoli is really healthy.  Is mac & cheese healthy?"  "No, but it's ok to eat every so often."  "It's not healthy?  But it tastes so good?  Is candy healthy?"  And so on!  This girl loves to learn and I know will give us a run for our money in the coming years.

Though she doesn't understand the full extent of what's to come in March, Ava is very excited for her baby brother's arrival.  I think she is mostly excited because it will mean mommy can actually chase her and be tackled by her again, but she's also looking forward to giving the baby his pacifier, singing to him and rocking him when he cries (so she says).  Today she felt him really move for the first time and it was such a precious moment.  Every time I've asked her to touch my belly in the past she either misses a kick or refuses all together.  But, today baby boy had the hiccups and I ushered her over to feel.  Her eyes lit up and she said, "Is he knocking?!"  She was fascinated when I told her he had the hiccups and showed her the movement that she was feeling.

Pregnancy
Just shy of 32 weeks, I'm definitely feeling the end is near... but not near enough.  I've thankfully remained healthy and without any major issues, but my body would beg to differ.  It likes to remind me daily that it doesn't approve of my choice to get pregnant and therefore refuses often to do what I want it to do.  Since entering the third trimester I've become much more nauseous again and have had to deal with a lot of anxiety which was a surprise.  With Ava I had the expected amount of over-emotional to deal with but with this little guy I've been a bit of a wreck!  Thankfully, I have a loving and caring husband and a healthy dose of perspective that I didn't have the first time around.  I am doing my best to just take it one day at a time and get through the next two months with as much enjoyment as possible!

Hopefully it won't be another month until I post again.  In the upcoming weeks, check back for photos of Baby Two's nursery!