Pregnancy Update and First Belly Pictures!

Today I am 16 weeks pregnant!  Baby Shack is the size of a large avocado now.  In three weeks we will have our anatomy scan and find out if we are having a boy or girl.  That will be a super fun day!  I am officially a few weeks into my second trimester but my first trimester symptoms have really hung around for a few extra weeks.  I still have days where I get tired and sleepy but I can tell I am finally pulling out of the first trimester fog.  When I was pregnant with Lena I didn't take very many belly pictures.  I didn't even look pregnant until I was in my third trimester.  My belly is finally popping a tiny bit now..barely...  Here are two pictures to compare:

6 weeks - 189 Pounds

16 weeks - 194 pounds

If not to compare my belly size I can at least use them to keep track of my weight.  With my last pregnancy I gained about 50-60 pounds (and I only made it to 36 weeks).  So far I have gained five pounds through the first sixteen weeks.  At my OB appointment a few weeks ago I got the okay to get back to exercise.  Hopefully I can make some wiser choices with my food and exercise this time around so I don't have to work so long and hard to lose my baby weight this time.

Lena: 27 Months Old

Lena announcing that she is going to be a big sister!

Miss Lena is growing up fast!  She is talking up a storm and has moved on to sentences now.  Like all language learners she has her own way of pronouncing certain things:

"peesh" is a sheep
"nook" is milk
"shish" is fish
"not" means no
"Is good?" means she likes what she is eating
"try!" or "some?" means she wants to eat some of what you have

Snuggle time with Daddy; Look at that pose!

Snuggle time with Mommy (and Minnie)

Lately she likes to snuggle into our laps or in bed and then declare herself "cozy".  So much of what she says comes from listening to me all day.  We are on the verge of potty training and she has been successful on the potty before bath time each night.  We are also getting Lena's big girl bedroom ready.  She won't move into it until after Baby Shack arrives in August but I want her to get comfortable being in there without having to actually sleep in there yet.  We have been talking about the baby with Lena and she knows to some degree that there is a baby in my stomach.  We tell the baby "I love you" and we tell it to "grow big".  

First time making cookies..I left her alone for a few minutes and she had some fun the the flour..yikes!

Making..um..rather eating brownies.

Lena is still a very picky eater.  Some days she will inhale her food and others barely touch it.  She still won't do veggies and fruits.  She likes the taste but as soon as any sort of texture gets in her mouth she freaks out and makes a panicked sound while sticking her tongue out.  I just bought a juice extractor so that she can get some nutrition from fruits and veggies without the texture.  We will see how that goes.  She still loves Chick fil a nuggets, mac n cheese, quesadillas, pizza, bread, cheese, and scrambled eggs the best.  

Lena's new fish - she LOVES watching them.

She still LOVES animals and as a fun treat we bought some fish to put in a small tank system a friend gave us.  She stands in front of the tank for at least an hour every day talking to the fish, watching them eat, etc.  We are taking her to the Santa Ana Zoo this week and will be getting a family annual pass so that we can visit the animals all year long.  

Getting ready to watch Frozen at the drive in.  She watched the whole movie!

Enjoying a surprise home visit from Daddy while on duty.

Having fun with her new play dough!

Lena is still a passionate visual artist as well.  Recently we began painting and she enjoys that a ton!  Thank goodness for Crayola Color Wonder!  She is really beginning to sing a ton as well.  She sings will Daddy every night before bed and also knows her Baby Signing Times songs pretty well now.  She seems to have a pretty good ear and can match pitch.  Her favorite songs right now are "If you are happy and you know it", "The Wheels on the Bus", "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Jesus Loves Me".

Dress up fun with cousin Andrew

Fun with the cousins at Knotts

Balloons, ice cream, and a visit with cousins makes for a happy Miss Lena! 

Lena is still very dramatic and very friendly.  She befriends everyone and gets particularly excited when there is a group of kids playing.  She wants to jump right in and play with everyone.  She will say hello and hug just about anyone and she almost never cries when Dan or I have to leave her.  She never did get that separation anxiety that other kids seem to get.  I think it is Lena's special gift that she makes everyone feel included and loved.  

I caught Lena on the nursery cam putting her socks on her hands and talking to them.

Lena still takes one nap per day usually from around 2:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon.  Once in awhile she won't fall asleep so she just lays in her crib singing and talking.  She never ever did cry to sleep (which I am deeply thankful for).  Sometimes it is pretty entertaining to see what she does in that crib when she is trying to pass the time.  Lately she takes her socks off and puts them on her hands and then her hands become various characters that she talks to.  

Nevermind that it was night time and 55 degrees outside; this California girl insisted on wearing her new shades!

Lena is one special girl.  It is incredible just how alike and at the same time how different she is to Dan and I.  I am thankful for each and every day that I get to spend with this energetic, compassionate, friendly, dramatic, and fun little girl.  Here are few more Lena moments I just couldn't leave out...

Fun on her weekly Daddy date to Chuck E Cheese

Bath time is always a favorite.

Coloring with Daddy on our Valentine's date at Papachinos

Lena making her "cheeeeeese" face

A fun beach day at Crystal Cove.  Lena loves the beach a ton!  Lucky for her we live near the beach.

Shopping at Costco

Maui 2014

Watching the sunset on our balcony.

We recently returned from a relaxing vacation in Maui - our last big vacation as a family of three before Baby Shack arrives in August.  This time my Mom came with us which just made the trip extra special and fun!

Mom watching the big surf on the north shore.

Our first stop on the island of Maui was in the south shore of Wailea at the Wailea Marriott Resort and Spa.  We spend five days enjoying the beautiful rocks shores and tropical landscape of this part of the island.  Dan and I went kayaking one day and were able to get really close to some humpback whales.  We also to a little road trip to the north shore and took a little hike to some waterfalls.  Our room looked out over the Marriott luau so we got a free show on three of our nights there.

Lena did great on the airplane!

My Mom and I enjoyed a relaxing walk along the coast in Wailea.

Pool time with Dad!

Having fun with rocks after our hike to the waterfall.

A view of one of the waterfalls we saw.

Daddy and Lena enjoying the beautiful gardens and koi ponds in Wailea.

Before our morning kayak adventure.

 After our stay in Wailea we drove up the coast to Lahaina and Kaanapali where we stayed at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club for nine nights.  We had an ocean front villa that gave us a great view of the volcano and a full ocean view with a nice look at Lanai across the way.  We were able to do a lot of whale watching from our balcony which was really fun!  The surf was very high the whole time we were in Maui so we sadly were not able to snorkel at all this trip which means we will just have to go back in the summer sometime!  We did spend lots of time at the beach and pools, took a nice drive up the coast to see the Nahale Blowhole, took a fun whale watching boat ride, and went to the Old Lahaina Luau which was spectacular!  On our last day in Maui we were able to celebrate Dan's Seahawks as they took down Denver in the superbowl!  Lena was a great cheerleader.

The view from our balcony at he Maui Ocean Club.

Surf fishing with Daddy

Dan caught some beautiful fish!  We released them back into the ocean.

Watching the whales from our boat.

Sand castle time!

Breakfast in Lahaina at the Pioneer Inn: Check out those mac pancakes!

Enjoying the Old Lahaina Luau!

Go Seahawks!!!

Lunch Date at Leoda's Kitchen and Pie Shop

A beautiful view at the Nahale Blowhole

Relaxing with a bowl of mac n cheese on the balcony