{26 weeks!}

How far along? 26 weeks! (+1 day)

How big is baby? on average, weighs one pound and two thirds, and measures 14 inches

Weight gain: almost 15 pounds

Maternity clothes? rockin' em.

Stretch marks? notta.

Sleep: baby has decided that sleep time is play time.

Best moment this week: I finally cleared out the spare bedroom for him! All of the clutter is out, and furniture is set up and in :) His diapers are all prepped and waiting for him on his new changing table- though one or two might be in use by Aldon's Teddy. Big brother was practicing how to put a diaper on and off ;)

Miss Anything? seeing the floor when I walk. 
Movement: Naturally, baby is very active at night, right when I want to (try to) go to sleep.

Food cravings: hot fudge. hold the sundae, just give me the fudge. healthy, right?
Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm back to where I can't stomach the idea of red meat. uck.

Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: are a long ways away!

Symptoms: heartburn, sore back & feet. 

Belly Button in or out? half in, half out. it never popped out with Aldon, but I'm thinking it's unavoidable this time around...
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  

Looking forward to: next week! I'll officially be in my third trimester :) 

apparently baby has the proportions of a basketball.

one of my all-time fave tee's- from one of the first times I saw Every Avenue live :) I figure it's never too early to infuse baby with an appreciation for good music. Oh, you've never heard of EA? Get. On. It.

Teddy modeling a bumGenius Newborn AIO! The other bear on the right is modeling a Kissa's size 0 fleece fitted :)

the finishing piece on baby's room- his name on his door! Yes, we FINALLY agreed on a name. Baby Hartman will be Liam Allen :)

4th of July Festivities

Here's a picture re-cap of how the Hartman's spent our holiday:

We made some new friends at the zoo! I wanted to take him home, but they frown upon that.

Hesitantly petted a snake...

Made some goat friends...

By the way, pregnant me waddled around the zoo for three-ish hours, in 100 degree weather. Not my smartest move.

Waited patiently for the fireworks show...

...ok, sort of patiently...

was amazed at the glow sticks and other various light up toys other patrons had.

and to top it off, fell asleep about halfway through the fireworks :) Not sure how he managed that, since we were so close we could see them being lit & feel some of the "booms". Basically, we were sitting directly underneath the show. It was a pretty intense experience.

 Oh, and of course crossed off "stay up past my bedtime" off our our SBL!

{25 weeks}

How far along? 25 weeks! (+1 day)

How big is baby? 13 1/2 inches, weighing about a pound and a half (according to BabyCenter)

Weight gain: almost 15 pounds

Maternity clothes? rockin' em.

Stretch marks? notta.

Sleep: the minute I lay down, I get horrible heartburn. There's Tums all over this house.

Best moment this week: Aldon loves to use my belly as a pillow, but baby decides that whenever he does that, it's time to kick and roll. Aldon kept getting so irritated, and finally got up, yanked up my shirt, pointed at my belly and said "Stop, Lum!" (note: we are considering Liam as a name, however Aldon's toddler pronunciation is "Lum")

Miss Anything? Fall weather. It's above 100 today. 
Movement: Naturally, baby is very active at night, right when I want to (try to) go to sleep.

Food cravings: so far all I've wanted are healthy snacks, but now I've developed the biggest sweet tooth and love my gummy bears and chocolate!
Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm back to where I can't stomach the idea of red meat. uck.

Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: are a long ways away!

Symptoms: heartburn, sore back & feet. 

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: setting up the rest of baby's room! We have the crib put together, still have to get the changing table in there & dressers set up how we want. Oh, and remove all of the clutter from moving, I suppose... 

please excuse the mess behind me, Aldon destroyed our "office corner" and I have yet to have the motivation to re-organize it

As mentioned, baby 2's new bedroom furniture is here! We put the crib together last night, and I experienced first hand how ungraceful pregnant women can be. Basically, after about 5 minutes I just let Keegan do it & delegated myself to "supervisor." It works out better that way ;)

Side note: This little illustration greeted me when I opened the instruction manual for the changing table... Thanks, Carter's, for clearing it up that indeed, two people are NOT included in the box...

Oh, and Aldon isn't the only one who loves to use baby as a pillow:

This little mongrel's face greeted me this morning. At times like this, I almost (almost) forget she's a devil in a 12 pound fur package. 

 

This weekend it's supposed to stay near 100 and above, send good thoughts that hopefully I won't melt into a pile of pregnant mess! 

 

20's.

My son is officially in his 20s.

20 months old.

Holy crap.

Ok, it's not like I didn't know he was getting older, but to for him to be out of his "teens" and just four short months away from being 2... wow. 

Just wow. 

This has been such a fun month, though! Aldon is learning at least a new word a day, and loves to mimic everything Keegan & I do (which will undoubtedly come back to bite me in the ass. For now it's just cute).  

Here is, of course, All Things Aldon from the past month:

Favorite Food(s): peanut butter; cheese, cheese, and more cheese; kale chips (seriously. he ate about half a sheet tray that I made the other night for dinner. by himself.); corn on the cob; peach or banana yogurt- no other flavors, please; and just about any kind of pasta.

Favorite Toys/Games: He is obsessed with animals & trains, so most of what we do all day revolves around those things. He still loves his pull along train, and will bring it around the house for hours all day exclaiming "choo choo!" to anyone within a 10 mile radius, I swear. He also loves spelling his name and learning his letters, so we spend a lot of time playing with alphabet blocks.The past few days it hasn't been completely hotter than Hades here so we've logged some serious time in outside blowing bubbles and decorating the patio with chalk- and the trees and bushes and grass, too. Because nature just wasn't beautiful enough.

Favorite Books: 101 First Words: Animals. And yes, he knows just about every single animal on every single page. 

New words this month: It would be impossible to list all of them! I read online that toddlers his age should be speaking 10-50 words, on average. That seems incredibly low to me. Keegan & I keep a running list of words Aldon can say, every time he learns a new one we add it on there. So far he's up to I think 112 words, that he can say and, more importantly, use correctly. Sure he can repeat just about anything you tell him, but it only makes the list if he consistently uses the word correctly. No, I'm not trying to say he's a genius (cause that goes without saying ;) ), but I don't see how a 19/20 month old child could only say about 50 words on average. 

That being said, his most favorite words this month have been "poop" and "potty". If you read about how he recently went potty on the toilet, you can guess why. We still haven't had any success with him going "like a big boy", but he loves to tell whoever will listen that he just took a poop....

New/Other Developments this month: He is so proud of himself for learning how to jump! Sure, he only gets about 2 inches off the ground, but if we're on a carpeted surface- be prepared to watch him jump and cheer for at least 20 minutes. And I mentioned it a little bit above, but he can recite the letters in his name! We've always had his name written on his bedroom door, and spelled it for him since he was an infant, and then one night he spelled it back for us! If anyone asks him what his name is, they get: "A....L....D....O....N....Aaaaaaaldoooon!" :) 

What he really does not like: Bedtime, though nap time is perfecly fine & fuss-free. Juice, surprisingly. We've tried giving him a cup or two here and there, and he gets So. Mad. It's milk all the way... And he also hates when you try to clean off his hands or face- instead you must sit there and wait while he does it, even if you're running late and he keeps missing spots (because that always seems to happen).

Here's a couple candids now that big boy is 20 months old: 

His best friends, Tigger & Pooh. This is a regular sight in our house- wherever Aldon is they must be as well.

Somewhat less than thrilled to be riding the carousel.

However, totally thrilled for his first Sno-Kone!

He must put his own shoes on now- and you cannot fix them if they're on the wrong feet (which happens more than when they wind up on the right feet). Also, crocs are appropriate to be worn with any outfit and any occasion, because they are the bomb (per Aldon).

The fact that he is so close to being 2 means this momma (or, if you're Aldon, "mommom") really needs to get her butt in gear and start planning his 2nd birthday party! More on that, later, though :)

{24 weeks!}

How far along? 24 weeks! (+3 days)

How big is baby? just shy of a foot long, and over 1 pound! About the size of a grapefruit.

Weight gain: almost 15 pounds

Maternity clothes? Went maternity shopping for the first time today, couldn't put it off any longer. Amazingly, I actually found jeans that were small enough to fit! Aaaand, they were only $5.91 :)

Stretch marks? notta.

Sleep: is getting harder to accomplish. I've always been a half-stomach sleeper, and up until recently I could sort of sleep the same way as before. Not anymore. Baby decides it's SO much fun to kick and push against the side of the bed all. night. long.

Best moment this week: Everyone received their gender reveal packets!

Miss Anything? Sleep, wine. The usual.
Movement: Naturally, baby is very active at night, right when I want to (try to) go to sleep.

Food cravings: frozen grapes. Love, love, love. And they're perfect for this 100 degree weather 
Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm back to where I can't stomach the idea of red meat. uck.

Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: are a long ways away!

Symptoms: lower back pain and my feet are always killing me at the end of the day. Just an excuse for some pampering from Keegan, though ;) 

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: we bought baby's new furniture for his room, and bed sets for both boys! looking forward to setting those up for them :)

I had a doctor's appointment this week, and I am So. Sick. of the looks I get when people ask "This is your first??" and I explain nope, second. The receptionist at the office felt the need to explain the end of pregnancy to me, and I commented on how I remembered from my first time around, instant eyebrow raise. And then the inevitable, "Oh, well....congratulations..." in a snarky tone. 

I don't get it. It's nothing new- Aldon's pediatrician's office in Big Rapids was always a trip, peppered with "wow, you're actually good parents!" comments at nearly every visit- but I still don't get it. Yes, we are "young" ish, I suppose. But I still don't see how that sets the tone for what type of parent I will be... whatever. 

Apparently I'm a big mama tho- the doctor measured my belly and was a little shocked and mentioned how I was bigger than he thought I would be. Awsome for the ole ego ;) I'm measuring about a week ahead of schedule, so baby must be a big boy! 

24 weeks!

We had a very long, very fun, but very long weekend these past few days. This mama is looking forward to eating a bowl of frozen grapes and catching up on some Kindle reading before it's Monday again! 

:)