23 weeks

There I am. Me and my belly full of donuts, cookies, de-caffe lattes, and chocolate milk. Oh yeah, there's a baby in there too...apparently 11 inches long and the size of a mango. The baby and I are currently arguing over oxygen and mobility at the moment. I had my first embarrassing situation when Mike had to use all of his strength to help me stand up the other day...that was a shining moment. Seems as if this pregnant girl needs to ramp up the workouts.

One thing the baby and I DO agree on? Sugar. But this is no surprise to many of you.

All joking aside, I am feeling pretty great. Anything is better than bells palsy. Sure, as of last night, I've literally been fighting for oxygen and I feel like I gained 10 pounds overnight but I know this is a temporary feeling and I'm just having one of those days. Overall, I've felt good and we are trucking along. Baby Boy #2 and I go to prenatal yoga twice a week so that has helped us feel great.

Mike's focus has been on semi-important things like his increasing work schedule and transferring over our utilities (more on that later) while my mind has wondered over to even MORE important things like crib bedding!

Practice Makes Perfect!

Mike and I know all about having one kid...the ups, the downs, the ins, and outs....the poop. But two? That's uncharted territory for us. So we've taken the opportunity to sample what life will be like juggling two little ones.

I was fortunate enough to hang out with the Terjesen clan a few weeks ago in their hometown of Phoenix. Erin is one of my closest and bestest friends...and was my roomie in college. She juggles motherhood of two and her contract work beautifully and manages to laugh along the way. So I'm not at all surprised that her baby boy Tyler (previously referenced here and here), and beautiful girl Sydney are equally as charming and hilarious.

And this is me attempting to juggle the two of them. Tyler wouldn't stop laughing at me (probably for good reason)...

Mike did a little better than myself. He managed to get two boys on his lap AND get them to focus. I'd say he's pretty much a baby whisperer. I will remember this come early 2011. Here he is with the famous Cavin and his BFF Lucas.

Coincidentally, this is what happens when I try to put the same two boys on MY lap just a few weeks earlier....

Looks like I'm going to need more practice! In my defense, Cavin had just woken up (still super sleepy) from a nap and Lucas, trying to make him feel better, ended up hitting him in the chest.

Lesley, Lucas' mommy, is one of my closest friends out here in the bay area and so we love to get our boys together to play....even better when one of our hubbies takes full reign of the two crazy toddlers so we can sit back, relax, and chat about what's new!

Bonus points go to all the boys when the entertain us with a game of chicken fight.

The Galbraiths visit the bay!

Last weekend, my sister, brother-in-law, and niece came to visit for a long weekend. It was great having some of our favorite Houstonians in our neck of the woods to visit. And Cavin was super excited to hang with yet another member of Team Cousin. After all the boy drama in Colorado, it was refreshing to hang out with the only girl cousin he's got. Plus, Grace has almost 5 years on him so he was able to chat about mature stuff like politics, the weather, and Disney characters.

We toured the Galbraiths around the bay area, stopping at the Golden Gate bridge for some pictures:



We also visited Ghiradelli square for some ice cream for Grace (coincidentally, everyone else ordered - and finished - theirs as well). I left the picture off the blog b/c it was an ugly, ugly sight to see.

Cavin and Grace enjoyed playing in the dirt outside.

And on Sunday, we hit up Fairyland in Oakland where Grace enjoyed all things princess-y and Cavin pretended he was too cool for all of the fairies (but secretly, he really enjoyed it).

The scariest part of the day was at the pirate ship. I was watching Cavin when he decided to play near the ropes. Innocently, I thought it would be cute to watch him grab it with his hand and shake it back and forth. What I wasn't prepared for was his insane ability to climb up it like a fast monkey!

At this point I had started yelling over to Mike "he's an advanced climber!! getoverherethishasgottostop! iampregnantandheissuperclimberthisisdangerous!" Mike, Andy, and Amy kept looking at me like i was nuts.

Instead of running over to save Cavin, Mike took a picture of the concerned mommy and monkey child...

Meanwhile, everyone else was concerned with Grace who ended up stuck at the very top and could not get down.

After Mike reluctantly came to "save" Cavin from his inevitable broken bones, Andy had to climb up himself to rescue Grace.

Don't worry, all cousins are safe and sound.

Another fun part of the weekend was that Jason, Grace's God-father happened to be in town for a conference. He made the treck over to Lafayette to hang with us for a night. It has been 5 years since Grace was with her two God-parents in the same room. For those unaware, we were all in Louisiana to 1) baptize Grace and 2) party in New Orleans, when Hurricane Katrina hit and we had to quickly evacuate (the city and our grand plans of partying on Bourbon Street). I think we had 3-4 cars headed down I-10, along with Grace (a newborn at the time), fighting everyone else evacuating New Orleans. I jokingly refer to that as the Cajun caravan back to Houston.

Anyways, here's a picture of Grace and her two God-parents...the first since her baptism, otherwise known as the day Hurricane Katrina hit.

And another one of Grace and Cavin...after I told Cavin that the Galbraiths were headed back home.

It was a really fun time!

Backing up: Father's Day

Back in June, Mike and I found ourselves out in Colorado for Father's Day weekend. It was a bunch of chaotic events that ended up working out to where we were able to spend the weekend with Mike's entire family...including all siblings and their spouses (who live in 4 different states I might add).

I was in Denver for a month working on a project. As it turns out, during the same time, Mike had to be in Washington DC for a week for work. Against Cavin's wishes, we decided he was not fit to be babysat for a week by Sandy, so Mike came out for the weekend to visit and drop him off with Cavin's two sets of grandparents to be watched while I worked. The next weekend, I flew Cavin home. That's our side of the story. I have no idea how all of his siblings and spouses ended up there the same weekend too...I was just excited to see them.

And of course, the FOUR boy members of Team Cousin were ecstatic to hang out for the first time since Jameson joined the clan!

At first, Hunter was picking on Cavin. He poked him in the ear after stealing his sippy cup.

He stole the ball and his CD player (Cavin's favorite toy) away from him:

And when Cavin tried to reason with him, he still couldn't get his sippy cup back!

It was touch and go with those two at first....that is until they joined together as a team to conspire against little Jameson:

Eventually, Cavin got tired of the mind games and decided to 'cheer' on the big boys while they played some real games!

Meanwhile, Hunter, Jameson, and James posed for the camera.

After all the fun outside, it was time for the boys' bath!

And a little nap for Jameson...

The next morning, the boys got some quality time with their aunts and uncles!

And we all enjoyed a Father's Day brunch together.

After brunch, the clan headed to the park where they played, ate, and hung with Grandma and Grandma Spruiell!

Auntie Amy and Uncle Bryan goofed around...

...while Cavin climbed into mommy's lap because he was so tired (the look I have was for Mike b/c of something he said)...

It was a long, yet fun-filled weekend full of lots of family time. I'm glad we were able to turn the chaos into quality time with the Colorado crew!

It's been a while: Allow #2 and I to catch you up...

Baby Boy #2, Numero Dos, Little Squirt, or the Evil Incarnate (that's Jerry's nickname for him)...whatever you want to call him...wants you to know he is alive, well, and a growin'!

First Row: Weeks 4, 5, and 6

Second Row: Weeks 8, 9, and 10

Third Row: Weeks 12, 13, and 14

Fourth Row: Week 21

As you can see, I was a bit busy between weeks 14 and 21. Between having family in town, work ramping up for both Mike and myself, and my best friend Bells Palsy visiting...Mike and I couldn't find the time to throw on the pink tank top, stand in front of a stark white door and ugly door knob, and take the belly shots. We promise to be on the ball from now on...