Cousin Time!

Mama, Dada and I came to visit Uncle Dave, Aunt Mica, and Mallory on Wednesday. We are here to celebrate Mallory's 3rd birthday! Yesterday the Dadas went to Washington D.C. to watch a baseball game so we had a girls day. We were very busy and had a great day!

We went shopping at Wal-mart to buy ingredients to
make spaghetti for lunch and pizza for dinner.
We had a super big shopping cart!

Mallory eating her spaghetti.

Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!

Cheese!

Walking to the playground.

Time to swing!

So much fun!

Enjoying Mallory's new sand and water table.
We got messy!

The pool in Frederick that we went to.

Splish splash!

Swimming!

Mallory tried too.

"Ready for a hug?"

"Here I come!"

"I love you!"

Phew! What a long day!

Here are some videos from our swimming adventures:



Fun with Aubrey

I got to spend an entire day with Aubrey today! Her Mama, Daddy, Aunt, and Uncle went to Carowinds for the day and dropped Aubrey off at my house for an awesome play date! We had fun playing with my baby doll strollers, dancing in my room, going to the playground in the double stroller, eating lunch, making sugar cookies, and so much more. We were really good and shared a lot. The only thing that we didn't do was nap, but who can blame us? We were having too much fun! ;-)



Enjoying our ride in the double stroller.

Swinging.

Lunch time!
Chicken nuggets, rice, and lima beans. Yum!

Sugar cookie time!

We both spelled our names with Mama's help.

Our cookie names.

Ready to put some frosting on our names.

Aubrey and I both wanted pink frosting.

Check out that concentration!

Here are two videos from today. The first one is of us dancing in my room and the second one is of us singing while swinging. 

Thanks for a great day, Aubrey! I miss you already!

16 Weeks

How far along: 16 weeks
Total Weight gain: 9 pounds
Maternity clothes:  Mostly yes. 
Stretch marks: Unfortunately there are some "left over" ones from Ayla around the belly button and they are becoming more and  more visible. I'll need to get some coco butter for that!
Sleep: Still pretty good but the belly is starting to make it a little harder to get comfortable.
Best moment in the last week:  Ayla kisses my belly every night and sings songs to the baby....ABCs, Rain Rain Go Away and You Are My Sunshine. I must also share that Ayla went to the bathroom twice yesterday. She's very stubborn about it and it's one step forward and two steps back for her but we are working on it. :-)
Movement: I have felt some random flutters but nothing consistent.
Gender: Right now I am thinking boy because I get ravishingly hungry at night time. I don't remember that with Ayla but that could also be "baby brain". Hee hee!
Ayla's current sibling wish: Baby sister. Although when you ask her what's in my belly she'll say "two babies." Nope, just one...sorry, Ayla.
Ayla's current name choice when asked "What should we name the baby?": Six (she's very consistent about that one!)
Food Cravings: I've devoured almost an entire bag of Cajun Trail Mix. I should add that it's a big bag!
Belly Button in or out:  In
What I miss: Would it be bad if I said beer again? I tried a tiny sip of Bryan's yesterday and it tasted really good!
What I am looking forward to: More consistent movement that should be coming soon.
Weekly Wisdom: Take naps whenever you can. The sleep only gets worse the further along you get and once baby is here, well, there is hardly any sleep. :-) I certainly am enjoying my daily naps with Ayla.
Milestones: Baby should be able to hear other sounds soon (mostly loud noises like the doorbell and a dog barking), not just my voice. I hope baby enjoys Ayla's singing. I sure do!
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: I can never seem to remember them! I really need to start writing them down when they happen.
Labor Signs: Hopefully not until the end of December!
Weekly Belly Pictures:

I have to add some cute pictures of Ayla that I took on my phone over the last couple of days:

Looking super cute in  my shirt from my Great
Great Aunt Thea.

Out to dinner with Mama and Daddy.

Stylin' and ready for the pool!

Peanut butter face!

Snoozing with Mama in the big bed.

Summer Fun

Here's just a little update of some of my most recent pictures. It's been pretty rainy so Mama and I have only had a chance to go swimming once. On Thursday we went to visit my BFF Aubrey and we had planned on going swimming but the weather did not cooperate. We played outside instead and even got to enjoy an ice cream sandwich. Yummy! Yesterday we went to Carowinds with Pappy and BeBe. We didn't go to the waterpark but I did enjoys lots of rides with Pappy in Snoopy land. Here are some pictures from the last couple of days.....

Hanging out with my Great Aunt Geri and Great Uncle Tom
and their doggies, Chloe and Sophie.

Kisses for Chloe!

Taking a midday snooze on Daddy.

Loving my homemade headband from Oma Waltraud.

I insisted on wearing the matching sweater
even though it was hot out. Hee hee!

Pool time!

BFFs.

Yummy ice cream!



We listened to some books in Aubrey's big girl bed.
Pretty soon I will have one too. That's going to be a
summer project for Mama and Daddy.

Train ride with BeBe and Pappy at Carowinds.

Waiting to get on the helicopter ride.

Pappy and I are in there.

Enjoying the boat ride.

Hi, Mama!

Stay tuned for more pictures from our summer adventures. Hopefully the weather gets a little better soon!

15 Weeks

How far along: 15 weeks +1 day
Total Weight gain: According to the doctor's scale....7.8 pounds. I even got a compliment for only gaining 3 pounds since my last visit. :-)
Maternity clothes:  Some yes, some no. Pants are a definite yes, but some maternity tops are still way to big! I'm in that awkward "in between stage".
Stretch marks: Unfortunately there are some "left over" ones from Ayla around the belly button.
Sleep: Still pretty good but the belly is starting to make it a little harder to get comfortable.
Best moment in the last week:  Hearing baby's heartbeat today. Nice and strong at 158!
Movement: I have felt some random flutters but nothing consistent.
Gender: I had a dream last night that the ultrasound said it was a boy. We'll find out on August 9th.
Ayla's current sibling wish: Baby sister AND baby brother. Sorry, Ayla....not happening. There's only one in there. :-)
Ayla's current name choice when asked "What should we name the baby?": Six (and that is the name for baby brother AND for baby sister. ha ha!)
Food Cravings: I've been drinking a lot of the lemon tea that I brought home from Germany. Michelle might have to bring me some more when she comes to visit. ;-)
Belly Button in or out:  In
What I miss: Being able to lay down on my stomach. I don't normally sleep on my stomach but when you can't do something all of a sudden you want to.
What I am looking forward to: More consistent movement that should be coming soon.
Weekly Wisdom: Take weekly belly pictures. I'm so glad that I did it with Ayla and am doing it again now. I am looking forward to comparing weekly pictures.
Milestones: According to my "What to Expect" app. baby can now hear my voice. I hope he/she doesn't mind listening to "Llama, Llama" books because they are Ayla's current favorite.
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: Where do I begin?!? I wrote the wrong date for my doctor's appointment on the blog last week. It was today, not on the 11th. I've also had several "baby brain" moments over the past week that I wanted to document on here and of course I can't remember any of them....I think that counts as it's own "baby brain" moment. Oh dear!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not until the end of December!
Weekly Belly Pictures:

Ayla joined in on the fun again and all I can think of
when looking at this picture is....Hello belly!! Oh my!

Before I forget to add these, here are baby's "first pictures". The first one was the initial ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy at 8 weeks. We heard the heartbeat for the first time then....179.  I had an extra ultrasound at 11 weeks because during my doctor's visit they could not find the baby's heartbeat on the doppler device because he/she was moving so much. The doctor just sent me over to the  ultrasound  to make sure everything was okay. The heartbeat was nice and strong at 180. It amazes me of how much growing baby did in those 3 weeks!

8 weeks.
Hello, baby!

11 weeks.
Side profile.

11 weeks.
Baby is looking at you. :-)

11 weeks.
Side profile. Do you see the little foot and the arm and hand.
I'm in love already!!!