Our Girls

Two weeks ago, we welcomed this little beauty into our family






Luciana Marie Moorhead
Born September 30, 2011 at 4:16 a.m.
7 lbs, 3 ounces; 19.5 inches long

Born at 36 weeks and 3 days, she was an early bird just like her big sister and spent 10 days in the NICU (that's a story for another time). We brought her home earlier this week, and she's been eating, sleeping, pooping and gaining weight like a pro. And we are just so in love with her sweetness.







As for the big sister of the house? She's totally smitten, too and loving her role as big helper of the house. Also? She decided to pretty much potty train herself while we were dealing with Luciana's NICU stay. With some enticement from Grandma A, she switched to big girl panties and has been staying dry ever since.



These days we are feeling extra blessed to have these two beauties in our lives. And I'm so over-the-moon happy to be able to refer to them as "our girls." There's just nothing sweeter.

Big Girl Bed

That's our little "Big Girl" you see all sprawled out by her lonesome in her new big girl bed. About two weeks ago, Maribelle made the big move from a crib to a twin-size big girl bed, and she's been doing great ever since. We only had a few issues the first night with her popping in and out of bed before she feel asleep, but ever since, she's stayed put. And in fact, she still calls for us to get her out of bed in the morning like she did when she slept in her crib. I'm sure this won't last for long, but we're pretty happy with this new arrangement while it lasts.

Next on our list? That soggy diaper of hers you see fastened to her little bum. This Thursday is our hard and fast launch date for Project No More Diapers. I'm terrified, people. TERRIFIED. I have this fear of potty training and wish some magical fairy would swoop in and instantaneously teach Belle how to use the big potty and save me from all the accidents in between. I'm not looking forward to cleaning up pee and poo. I'm not looking forward to the extra laundry, and I'm not looking forward to the power struggles. But, we've gotta start sometime.

Somebody hold me.

33 weeks and Counting

It's hard to believe that I'm already 33 weeks into this pregnancy, and that last time, Belle was born about two weeks from this point. The doctors have been keeping a close eye on my progress, and at my appointment this morning, I found out I'm already 1 centimeter dilated. The doc wasn't worried though, because she said it's common for second-time moms to be dilated by this point. If I can juuuust get to 37 weeks, heck even 36 weeks, I'll be one happy camper.

Here are some updated 4D ultrasound pics from a growth scan I had at 31 weeks. The baby is measuring about a week ahead and was weighing over 4 pounds at the time of the scan, which puts the baby around 8 pounds at 40 weeks. Throughout most of the ultrasound, Baby M II had his/her hands covering his/her face, but this first picture was the perfect money shot that we got right at the end of the scan. The face looks a lot like Belle when she was first born, but everyone who sees these pics still thinks we're having a boy.

So on the home front, we're in full-on "prepare for baby" mode. We've been making small advances in the nursery, and I've been slowly washing baby items like sheets, diaper rags and clothes. And yes, my hospital bag is pretty much packed, as it was by this point when I was pregnant with Belle. Thank you, Type A personality. Overall I just feel big. And round. And full. And tight. And tired. Really, really tired. Which is why these belly shots are of me in my pajamas. It's how I would like to be dressed pretty much 24 hours a day.

Nursery Rhyming with Belles

We do lots of singing 'round these parts. Whether it's before naptime and bedtime, on our way to and from daycare, or just any old time of day, you'll catch Maribelle singing a tune, and we're usually right there singing along with her. While she enjoys making up her own songs about mundane things (she entertained Jeremy and me with an impromptu song about bleeding knees the other day. I'm not kidding. And? Her knees weren't even bleeding), she has quite a repertoire of nursery rhymes. At the moment she's stuck on the sequence of Yankee Doodle, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and the Itsy Bitsy Spider as a naptime/bedtime routine. But below you can catch a performance of some of her other favorites.

And yes, sometimes we like to sing without our pants on (and by "we" I mean "she").


Nursery rhyming with Belles from Gina Moorhead on Vimeo.

Summer Recap

(Warning: Loooong post ahead)

Our summer? It's been a blast, people. Full of f-u-n, FUN and pretty much jam packed with all the things that toddler dreams are made of. Trips to the neighborhood swimming pool? Check. Ample time outside on large play structures? Check. Water balloon fights, lots of ice cream and popsicles, and a sleep schedule that has gone way, way, way out of wack? Triple double check. It's been our first summer in a while sans a summer vacay, so we've been busy creating memories in other ways, and lucky for us, great family and friends have been a major part of our summer. 

The summer started off with a bang, when this pretty puppy was installed (by professionals, thank the Lord) in our backyard. It's pretty much the bee's knees in Belle's eyes, who loves spending time on her swing set every evening, after the summer sun has cooled down. For the longest time, she would wake up, look out the window and say "My swingset! It's still here!" Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa A and Aunt Tina and Uncle Jim for very generously helping us buy this for our little Belle. 

We also took a quick overnight jaunt to Bethany Beach to spend time with some great friends. Belle loved the ocean and sand this year, but especially liked the small inflatable pool that someone thought to bring along. Genius idea!

Something Jeremy has been wanting to do for quite some time is take Belle to her first baseball game. She got her first dose of the major leagues at an Orioles vs. Indians game, and she also got her first dose of mascot meltdown. Let's just say she was NOT thrilled that the Oriole Bird sought her out and stooped down to her level to say hi.

Another first for Maribelle this summer was that she saw her first movie at a movie theater. We decided the new Winnie the Pooh movie was the perfect speed and length for a tot her age, and Aunt Jamie and Laura accompanied us to make the occasion extra special (although, am I the only one who just does not have a soft spot for Winnie the Pooh? Talk about a snoozefest, and they're all just kind of depressing characters. I'd so rather watch Yo Gabba Gabba over that whiny bear any day). Maribelle STILL asks me if I remember when we went to see a movie, and she recalls the entire afternoon, right down to what she had for lunch afterward.

My family has spent a lot of time trekking back and forth from Ohio to Maryland this summer, especially my dad, whose been here probably five times between May and August. I've spent more extended time with my sisters this summer than I have in a really long time, and it's been great to have all the extra help on hand. Plus, Maribelle loves all the doting attention, extra playmates, and unfamiliar purses through which she can rummage and inspect the contents (seriously people, she has a thing for purses and bags. Anyone she sees with a purse, backpack or briefcase catches her curiosity, and she salivates at the idea of getting her hands on the junk inside anyone's bag. The other day she even asked us what was in some guy's pocket! It's out of control.) 

On an especially beautiful day, we took an afternoon trip to Annapolis to take a boat ride and grab some lunch. It really was the perfect summer outing, although Maribelle could care less about the boat and concentrated more on what was in Tara's purse.

We've got a bit more of summer left, and a few more family members coming to visit, so we're hoping to continue our streak of awesomesauce summer outings. Because with a baby on the way, fall is sure to be a bit more challenging, but in a good way.

Sweet Land of Liberty

Happy Fourth of July! We're hoping to celebrate the day with some pool time, picnic food and maybe a bit of fireworks (although Belle at the moment thinks they're scary, so we might be watching them on tv).

23 weeks

I figure it's time to post a belly pic, since I really haven't given much of an update on my pregnancy with Baby M II. I'm 23 weeks today, and I actually dried my hair for the first time in probably three weeks this morning. So, that calls for a photo.

The belly is definitely bigger this time around, and I'm pretty sure it did most of its growing last week. The entire week I felt stretched and pulled, as if my skin possibly couldn't spread any more. And I have potentially 17 more weeks to go. Oy.

For the most part I'm feeling pretty good. It's such a different experience the second time around. I'm not worried about every little ache and pain, nor am I reading a massive stack of pregnancy books like I did the first time. And I actually feel like I'm sleeping better this time, but that probably has to do with how unbelievably tired I am at the end of the day. Chasing a two-year-old adds a whole new level of fatigue to this whole pregnancy thing. I'm definitely not eating as well as I did when I was pregnant with Maribelle. Fruits and veggies?

Ha.

Hahahahaha.

Ha.

Not a big part of my diet unless I come across them at the bottom of a bag of chips or Dairy Queen starts pureeing them into their ice cream or something. So sad, but it's what the baby wants these days. (FYI, I just ate a bowl of strawberries. So it's not dessert ALL the time.)

We haven't lived near a DQ in seven years, and now we have one about 10 minutes away. I'm making up for lost time and enjoying a Banana Cream Pie Mini Blizzard as often as possible. Maribelle is more of a chocolate-vanilla swirl girl.

I've been getting progesterone shots weekly to hopefully (fingers crossed) ward off the pre-term labor I experienced with Maribelle. Other than the hassle of going to the doctor's office every week, it hasn't been so bad, and I actually think the extra boost of hormones has made certain aspects of pregnancy easier.

In terms of preparing for baby, we haven't really DONE anything yet. We've had maybe one conversation about baby names (my least favorite part of the whole process, for reals. So. Much. Pressure.), we haven't done any crib or baby furniture shopping, and the baby's future bedroom and closet are filled to the brim with junk. But we've got some guests who will be crashing our pad for a few weeks in July, and I'm hoping to put them to work (ahem ... Laura and Jake). Hopefully we'll be able to make more progress soon!