17 weeks again....

So, yes, Stella is getting a new little sibling!! I am sixteen weeks along, with a due date of March 29.   I am one of five teachers in my building adding to their families this year, among them my "roommate" Sarah, who is due in December.  It is very fun having pregnant friends at work to talk to, as opposed to my extended group of friends from the year of Stella.  Questions gets addressed daily, and yes, we complain together too.

So I was catching up in my pregnancy book, and it tell sme that last week  Baby Delite is the size of a gerbil, and I have this funny picture of a hamster wheel in my belly. (Sixteen weeks also could be described as the size of an avocado.)

Obviously, I am falling behind on the blogging, but c'mon, being pregnant again, with a toddler, and a full time, high-energy job is TIRING!!We are still documenting Stella's life, as well as the baby belly, we just don't have the time to upload them to any websites.  Plus, we have been away and busy for the past few weekends, so the time we have to play catch-up in the 48 hours between Friday and Monday have disappeared.

But enough whining!!  It is very exciting to think that soon Stella will be a big sister.  She'll be moving bedrooms so she can have a girly-girl room with a big closet, once the baby arrives.  Yes, she is super excited about this.  Yes, Papa is too, he can't wait to get started on painting another room and putting together more furniture!

Blue

This week's Shutter Love theme is "Blue."




Go Big Blue!!

Cake

This was taken at Stella's birthday party in August.

Month 12 / One year

Month 12, originally uploaded by Madame Kno.

Ah, yes, Month Twelve- the Big One Year- has arrived. With it, walking, babbling, and babyproofing!! It's really hard to believe that a year ago, I was larger than life, not knowing exactly how much life would change, how unprepared I was for the immense feeling of love for someone you've never met, and who has never done anything for you, but who means the world to you anyway. And how I can't remember life before.

And I have to say it again - exercise before and during my pregnancy was THE main reason everything went so well - no swollen ankles, easy recovery, ability to keep my energy up, ease of which I could return to physical activity, and even getting my body back into decent shape. (I won't say it's perfect, but I fit into my pre-Stella clothes, which I was afraid wouldn't happen!)

This being said, Paul from Mike Arteaga's was a huge motivating force for me. Without him, I would not have been so prone to get to the gym and work my butt off so much!! He got me to the gym when I really didn't want to go, and he made me forget how tired I was by the time the hour was up. He was a driving force behind my ability to work out both before and after Stella's birth. Thanks, Paul!

So, I put some of my technological skills to work and made a lovely montage of my daughter's life. If you really love Stella, you'll watch the video below... warning, it's long (15 minutes) and a bit cheesy, but it's worth it!

Quick, Look at Me before it's too late!!

I'm eleven months - but I'll be a whole year on Sunday!!

Momma's been slacking on the posts - hopefully my birthday will be enough to kick her butt into gear and post a little montage of my life so far!!

Shutter Love Top Ten!!

My submission for this past week's Shutter Love Tuesday was a top ten!! Woo hoo!! Thanks, Trendy Treehouse!!

Shutter Love Tuesday

A blast from the past... still one of my favorites of Stella. I took this in October, just after her two month birthday.

Ten months

Better late than never.... sorry for the delay in posting, but it's been busy around here!

I'm standing up and "cruising" along the baby prison - ahem, I mean, safety gates. I'm also babbling a lot about "Mamamama" and "Dadadadada." I'm doing really well with picking things up, I am very interested feeding myself soon! I love my straw sippy cups. And today, I enjoyed the baby pool with Momma. I think she enjoyed it too, considering it was 100 degrees around here today!!

9 Months Old

(ps I didn't win my contest, so I guess Momma's gonna have to continue working on her photography skills!)

Vote for me!!

You can vote....

HERE !!!

Papa took a picture of me, and Mommy entered it in a contest. If we win, I get a photoshoot!! Yay, camera on me!!

Please vote for me - I'm photo #5!!

Eight months - time to reflect

Easter


Hangin' with Nonno.


Fine, one more!!


My alter ego, Chiara Deveraux. At rehab.

So, here I am. Eight months already. I have my check-up next week, so unfortunately I don't have my official stats yet, but I am long and Mama is sure I weigh at least 25 pounds!! I am FINALLY crawling - it's an army crawl, but boy, between that and rolling, I get around quickly!!

AND my top right tooth is popping out! It was a long and terrible time with this one, but I'm doing a lot better now that I'm cutting that tooth. And it appears that its next-door neighbor is not far behind. I'm eating more solids each week, and I've experimented with lots of finger foods, too - chicken, avocado, teething biscuits, and puffs. I LOVE puffs.

Mama had a great time talking to her friends at Papa's rugby game last weekend: one who is ready to have her baby boy any day now, and one who has a daughter about my age. These meetings brought on some very interesting feelings in Mama's head: the nostalgia for pregnancy, that happy stretched belly that first occasionally and finally often moved and kicked, before my arrival; and enthusiasm about getting into a routine that makes time for both mom and daughter, including exercise!! The gym is a place that does not get used very often lately, and this has to change. Maybe it will be swimming with me at the pool, or leaving me at daycare a little bit longer, but Mama started exercising a bit before school in the morning, and gee, she is more energetic all day now!! Time to get back in that groove!!

Mama is also really excited to get back into photography. It's been hard, trying to work, care for me, and use that camera! But with a new lens and some steady, consistent photo sessions with me of course, she is starting to fall in love with her DSLR all over again!!

--Stella

Seven month update

I can sit all by myself - without falling over!I laugh hysterically at Mama!


I sit around naked in the living room!

Did I mention that I'm seven months old??

Two months gone by... here's some pics for you

Mommy's been REALLY busy with work and all, but click my pictures for a look at my last two months. Lots of stuff in the past couple months, including Christmas, my baptism, and my two bottom teeth! (Oh, and Mom wants me to add that she barely has any time to upload photos anymore, let alone edit them, so these are not as pretty as she would like!)

Baby + sick = not so hot.

Yes, I got the flu shot. Yes, I even got the H1N1 shot. Yes, I have hand santizer EVERYWHERE I go at school, and use it often, along with washing my hands every time I see a sink, because elementary children don't realize they just sneezed and then touched your stuff.

And I still got sick. Not just a cold, but a bug.

Now, I don't get sick often. Maybe a little cold here and there, usually sinus infections in the winter. Headaches. THIS is my worst nightmare.

And then you add a baby to the mix.

Yes folks, it gets doubly harder when you have a little one to care for on top of yourself. I should have had a clue last night when I went upstairs to feed Stella and I was shivering in a 70-degree room. (Yeah, I know it was 70 because we have the temperature-telling monitor; I had a huge fear of either her cooking to death, or freezing to death.)

I woke up feeling. like. poo. I was shivering all. day.long - up until I woke up from a major nap with a fever and now I can't stop sweating. All I have eaten today are 2 scrambled eggs (probably a bad idea, but earlier I thought I was just dehydrated and hungry, since I ate dinner early and didn't drink a ton of water in the evening), a cup of broth, a couple small glasses of OJ, a couple sips of water, and a couple glasses of bubble-less ginger ale.

I am currently eating a big cup of homemade chicken soup that my husband threw together for me. He. Is. Awesome. Hands down. He didn't tell me to suck it up, he totally took care of me all day. He let me nap; if I was awake and Stella was hungry, he brought her to me so I could feed her, and somewhere in there he found time to chope wood and keep the fire burning AND make chicken soup out of leftover cacciatore and a handful of pantry items (end of the week = nothing to eat until I go to the store tomorrow or Monday). He even took it upon himself to decide when Stella was tired and even put her to sleep for the night.

Honey, I LOVE YOU!!

Here's hoping I feel better tomorrow. Let's pray it was a short-term bug.