This Week in Mommyhood

I survived this week! I feel good about my paper and my test and, more so, I feel good about being able to accomplish everything while caring for Cati. Alex was on vacation but he had a presentation to do for work so he might as well have worked for how un-vacation-like this week was for him. I hate that this vacation was so busy and stressful because we didn't really get to do anything fun as family. Cati still went to school because of all the work we had to do, so I feel bad that we didn't do anything new and exciting. She did, however, get a daddy-daughter day on Friday so that was new and exciting for her (and Alex!).

Here are some fun Cati developments from the last few weeks:

Language Explosion. Cati is in the repeat everything stage of her language development. It's so amazing to see how much her vocabulary has grown in the last few weeks. It's not just the new words, but also her putting little phrases together. I love that she is learning more and more words, but at the same time I get sad because she is learning how to properly say certain words, cat for her used to me "meow meow" and now it's actually "gato."

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip. Last year we went to The Little Farm pumpkin patch but Alex couldn't go because he was on call. This year, I order Cati's costume early and it got here on time for us to make a trip out to the pumpkin patch. It was so cute to see Cati actually know what animal was what. We tried to get her to ride on a pony but she was having none of it. We also tried to get her to take pictures in the pumpkin patch but the straw freaked her out and, again, she was having none of it.

Speaking of Costume. I felt pretty uninspired with the costume choice this year. Last year Cati had two costumes, poodle and cupcake. This year, nothing stood out or really excited me. I ended up buying her a Pebbles costume because it was cute and she does look pretty adorable in it. The only problem is that she would rather see the bone hair clip in my hair than hers.

Here are some fun Baby D developments:

Karate Kid. If it weren't for the back pain and the rounding of the belly I wouldn't think I was pregnant. That is, up until the past week or so. I didn't feel the flutters or bubble gum popping this time around and at this point with Cati I was feeling her move a lot. This baby seems to be calmer and is definitely not afraid of taking jabs at me.

A Proper Child. I have had two anatomy ultrasounds and this kid is refusing to let us know the sex. The technicians have told us what they think it is, but until I get a clear shot and a 100% confirmation of the sex we're staying mum on the sex. Our immediate family knows what the sex may be and that's it. Surprisingly enough, I haven't been as stressed out or as anxious as I thought I would be. I figure we'll have or get everything we need in time. With that said, I still hope the baby is more showy when I go back for another ultrasound in a few weeks.

A Healthy Child. Other than not showing the goods, the baby is healthy and looking good. There is something going on with me which I'm trying not to get too bummed about or stressed out over until it's confirmed. Having a baby is a blessing and having a healthy baby is a double blessing so I'm trying to focus on that right now.

Baby Weight. I don't know how because I certainly don't look it but I gained 10lbs between appointments. No wonder my back has been hurting so much! I'd like to think that it's because I'm making up for all the weight I lost in the beginning and that most of the weight is in the ever growing boobs, but I know better. It's all that pizza! The doctor reassured me that it was ok so now I'm trying to be more mindful of what and how much I eat. I don't remember how much I had gained with Cati at this point but here are some belly pictures of me at a similar time in both pregnancies:

Baby D

Cati

Definitely more of a belly this time around. Or at least more of a rounder belly.

Here's to surviving the past few weeks and to surviving the upcoming weeks. It's still shocking to think that I will be a mom of two next year!