Bump Update: 20 Weeks

20 weeks.  That means we're at the halfway point!  As much as it feels like this pregnancy has flown by, it also shocks me that there is still so much time before we'll be bringing our little friend home.

Well into the 2nd trimester, I'm feeling pretty darn fantastic.  The tiredness of the 1st trimester has been replaced by the desire to eat (and eat and eat).  There's a balance between eating the extra necessary calories and eating the Halloween candy that calls to me.  

It's true when they say you feel the baby kick faster with each pregnancy. At first, I could just feel kicks moving in the evening when I finally sat down.  Now it's more frequent and throughout the day.  Each time I like to pause and see what else may happen.   By 18 weeks, it was even noticeable to family members.  Harper figured out when the baby was active, she could coral her by poking one side of my belly.  Tormenting her younger sibling in utereo.  

I have three different pregnancy apps on my phone (each has things I like, but none is perfect).  They disagree slightly about things like the size of the bambino.  The middle ground seems to be about the length of a banana.  That seems huge!  

That does not look comfortable!

We announced (finally) to our family and friends the gender of our baby.  The big sisters came with us to the ultrasound so they would be the first to know.  The ultrasound technician was very patient with their badgering about the gender.  Apparently, Georgia & Harper were less interested in knowing about the anatomy scan.  Mama and Daddy were happy to hear everything looks great!

So...pink or blue?  I posted the question on Facebook, and was amused by the number of boy votes.  Probably just an assumption that after two girls, we'd for sure be having a boy.  Not this time, ladies and gentlemen!

We'll be inviting one more to the girl party!  It's all princesses and tutus here, and we can't wait to meet the little lady!

We took a zillion pictures, but the silly ones turned out to be my favorite.  

Balloons make her so happy, and so did finding out she's going to have a second little sister.

Keeping Baby's Gender a Secret...for Now

Call it Grandma Torture, but we know the gender of our baby...and we're not telling yet.

The normal schedule at my OB is to schedule an anatomy ultrasound around 18 weeks.  During this appointment you can find out the gender if you're interested.  We had an ultrasound at 12 weeks, and I thought it couldn't hurt to ask if I should start buying pink or blue clothing.  Of course it was too early to tell.  Because of swelling, boy & girl parts all kinda look the same that early on.

But then the magic happened!  We went into Before the Stork in Anaheim, and Terry was able to tell us definitely the gender even though I was less than 14 weeks pregnant at the time.  The total appointment lasted about 10 minutes, but during that time she checked the parts from every imaginable angle.

The Gender Special package is advertised on their website for $59.  Here's what it includes:

• 10 minute 2D ultrasound
• 2 black & white photos
• DVD recording of your session
• GE Voluson 730 EXPERT System (don't exactly know what that is, but it sounds fancy!)
• Viewing for all of your guests
• Hearing baby's heartbeat
• A sneak peek at a 3D ultrasound

We had previously visited Before the Stork to get a sneak peek at our older children.  Technology is crazy!  In addition to being able to see their sweet faces, we got to see some mannerisms and positions.

Baby Harper 

So now, what are we waiting for?  Call me crazy (or hormonal...I can blame all kinds of things on being pregnant that really aren't related), but I wanted the announcement to be just that, an announcement.  Getting everybody together has been a planning dilemma.  I'm still planning, and driving everyone crazy in the meantime.

Boy or girl, we're thrilled!  Just a little big longer, and I promise I'll spill the beans!

A New Sibling Scavenger Hunt

If you haven't heard the news, we're having a baby!  Everybody is super excited, especially our older children.  My husband and I were so excited about sharing the news with them, and wanted to make it a very special day.

Since our Scooby Doo Mystery Party, the girls have been pretty excited about mysteries and scavenger hunts, so we thought it'd be a fun way for them to find out they are going to be big sisters!

The Hunt:
Harper found the initial clue & instructions taped to her wall.

After solving each clue, they were rewarded with a letter (they spelled out BABY).

She wasn't sure what was in store, but it didn't matter she was thrilled!

Each clue was read by my husband.  They were very simple rhymes so that both girls (they are 4 & 5) could help solve the mystery.

After they found the next letter!

This was the final clue that the girls found.

Georgia's reaction was priceless.  She stared at my belly for a good five minutes.  Her first statement was, "Congratulations!  Thank you!"  

We felt like there needed to be a gift for the new big sisters.  Honestly, when isn't a gift a good idea?  So the girls both got new Mickey Mouse ears, but instead of their names we had "Big Sister" embroidered on them.

Dancing for joy at the thought of a baby joining our family.

Adding a new member to the family is such an exciting time.  I'm so grateful for the reaction both of the girls had when finding out the news.  By making it a special day for them, we are letting them know how big of a party it will be when there's another member of our family.

Hello Kitty Ladybug Mantle

Our house has this odd extra room that was originally built to repair marching band equipment.  It's a super fun space for parties.  Part of the charm is the fireplace so the birthday girl and I decided it needed to be decorated for her Hello Kitty Ladybug Party.  Here's what we did for next to no money and very little time.  

We printed a picture of the birthday girl on the day she was born and then a picture for each year.  Since she turned 4, using 4 pictures would have been logical...but there are 5 hooks!

The cost:  The boards were leftover from her 1st birthday party, so I didn't have to buy anything new there.  The red & black scrapbook paper was part of my collection so that was free too.  Colored ink can be costly, but I printed them at grandpa's house (score!!!).  

On either side of the mantle I placed spray painted flower pots with flowers I cut out on my Cricut.  The flower pots were leftovers too, but I did have to buy the red spray paint.  But since I begged grandpa to paint them for me, it saved me time (double score!!!).  

Harper was super happy looking at pictures of herself.  She made me transfer the newborn picture to her room, but she carried it around for a few days talking about how cute she was.  This momma agrees!

Build-A-Bear is like HGTV

For her birthday, Harper received gift cards for Build-A-Bear, a workshop where guests stuff and accessorize their own cuddly best friends.  There's one located at Downtown Disney, and every time we go to Disneyland Harper asks if we can go into Build-A-Bear.  She was super stoked to have the answer be "yes."

Watching your child pick out a bear is like watching House Hunters.  How?  Build-A-Bear is like House Hunters for three reasons:  the least desirable option is picked, there's edited info, and the audience is hooked.

You Picked What???  Once you see all of the options, you're confident you know the one they'll pick.  Build-A-Bear had a Hello Kitty bear, a My Little Pony, a Minnie Mouse, the list of perfect options for her goes on.  What does she pick?  The white bear with hearts & peace signs that wasn't even on our radar.

What?  Why?  I've perfected my House Hunters guessing.  If the most logical choice is #2, I know that won't be picked.  If #3 seems absolutely insane, that'll be the one the hunters purchase.  I'm sure it's all in the editing.  HGTV editors are cutting out the scene of the couple gushing about the house reminds them of Grandma's house or how they could imagine spending the rest of their lives there.

So what's up with Build-A-Bear?  Why does the birthday girl pick the bear that seems the least likely?  An unknown factor (well, forgotten factor) was that the last time we went to Build-A-Bear, Harper made an almost identical bear.  This is the HGTV editing, but done by my overly-stretched mom-brain.  She picked the bear that reminded her of the bear she loved (and then totally forgot about).

Let's Try This Again I don't doubt my real estate wisdom when watching House Hunters.  Even if my choice doesn't match the new homeowners, I picked the best choice based on the information provided by the show.  Perhaps it's a ploy to get me to keep watching...producers hoping that I'll improve my accuracy.  Who knows...maybe that's what my daughter is doing.  She's picking the worst bear (in my opinion) so that I'll keep bringing her back until she picks a good one.

It's all a good ploy on her part.  After seeing how happy the day made her and how sweetly she cares for the bear, maybe I will bring her back sooner rather than later...right after I'm done watching House Hunters.

Pros & Cons of Goodie Bags

We celebrated Harper's 4th birthday over the weekend (pictures coming soon), and I decided to forego goodie bags this time around.  I didn't send guests home empty-handed, of course.  Since the birthday girl is obsessed with flowers, we decorated terra cotta flower pots and allowed our little gardeners a chance to plant their own flowers.

As each of my tiny guests was departing, it felt strange not to hand them a bag full of goodies to take home.  It got me thinking.  Are goodie bags necessary for kids' birthday parties?  Then I started thinking of the pros and cons of goodie bags.

Pros:

• Everybody Feels Special It's hard to understand, as a child, that there's only one star of the show.  Why does the birthday girl get all of the presents?  I know that this is an important life lesson, but I feel like it's one that can be eased into.  The birthday girl received piles of presents, and everybody else gets one smaller gift bag.  
• Fight the Birthday Beast  On a day where the birthday girl or boy is being showered with attention and gifts, it can be easy to turn into a birthday beast.  Goodie bags allow an opportunity to stop, say thank you, and give (rather than just keep getting).

Cons:

• Expectations  Isn't going to a party enough?  We have gotten to a point where kiddos expect to get something every time they go somewhere.  We go to Target, they want an icee.  We go to the doctor, they want lollipops.  Every errand ends in a reward for not making me pull my hair out.  But at a birthday party with fun activities and yummy treats, do they really need more?
• I Don't Need Any More Junk in my House  I'm sure you put together fantastic goodie bags.  Mine, however, are normally full of things like candy and novelty toys.  The kids play with them for two minutes, and then they break.  I've got buckets full of tiny, assorted toys that we just don't need.  So save the money and skip it.

As you can see, I'm torn.  What are your thoughts?  Are goodie bags necessary?

Multiple Party Themes

In just a few short weeks, my younger daughter will be turning four.  In honor of her birthday, we are having a Hello Kitty/Ladybug/Ninjago/Lilo & Stitch Party.  Not joking.  That’s the theme she picked.

It began with a Hello Kitty Ladybug party, and that will remain the main theme.  In a sweet concern for her boy cousin, she added Ninjago.  This allows the boys at the party to have their own theme.  I tried to narrow it and leave off the Ninjago part, but to no avail.  She won’t let it go. 

Now, Lilo & Stitch…that’s totally random.  She’s not a huge fan of the movie, we haven’t read that book recently, and we certainly haven’t been on an island vacation.  She saw a Lilo & Stitch balloon and decided that we needed to include this element as well.

I’m having an internal struggle between embracing all of the themes she’s picked and making her party what I consider cute and well-planned.  The main point to remember in this inner battle is that it is not my party. 

So Hello Kitty/Ladybug/Ninjago/Lilo & Stitch it is.  Happy Almost Birthday, Little One!