Adelyn Pictures Updated

I bet you were wondering when you get an update on Adelyn. Well, for those who don’t know, I have a “Watch Me Grow” page where you can follow Eli and Adelyn as they get older. Today is the day when I finally updated it with 4, 5 and 6 month pictures for Adelyn.

As far as her progress, Adelyn is very mobile nowadays. She loves to crawl around, sit up on her own, move from crawling to sitting, and is starting to pull herself up (although not quite successful on that last one yet). Eli is becoming the loving big brother who takes care of his sister. When we are reading books together, he will always get a board book for Adelyn so she doesn’t feel left out. My little boy is growing up. Awww.

 

Mother of Two Not Easy

I bet many of you are wondering what happened to me. Did I fall off the face of the earth? No… well, not yet any way. For me raising two children is a FULL time task. That means very little time for me, which in turn means very little time for me to write to you. So there you have it; Kids first, me second, and you last. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

To demonstrate how far behind I am in things, I just finished making the official birth announcements of my FIVE month old. Other than the fact that we are WAY behind schedule, let me know what you think of them.

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

 

VIDEO: Adelyn’s First Babbles and Laughs

It’s always adorable when you catch a baby’s “first” on camera. Here Adelyn is “ooh-ing” at Daddy and then laughing with Mommy. I love being a mom.

 

Eli Speaks!

Hey All. Thought you would like to know that Eli has gone digital and now shares some of our favorite speaking moments on Twitter. You can follow him (username: Eli_Speaks) or you can see his updates on the right side bar on the home page of my blog.

 

One Month Photo: Adelyn

The last month with two kids has been hard, and totally worth it. Adelyn is now a month old and we are all starting to sink into a routine with a new one. As per tradition, I will take photos of her every month until her first birthday.

For those of you who are still waiting for the birth story, it is coming. Until then, please enjoy a few of Adelyn’s one-month pictures here or look at all of them in our One-Month Flickr page. As you can see, Eli had to get his picture taken too.

Adelyn, One Month

 

 

Pregnancy Pictures: Week 40 (-2 days)

40 Weeks (9 months)

It’s actually 2/16/12; just two days before my due date. So far I feel great and I don’t “think” I am having real contractions yet. In fact, sometimes I forget that I am at full term. I guess that is a good sign, but I wouldn’t mind having Adelyn come soon. So excited to have a baby girl. I did gain a TON of weight in the last two weeks (6 lbs) so it looks like I am on the same track as I was with the first one. O-well. I guess I will just have to stay motivated after the baby and get to the gym often. Here are some updated pictures for you all. Note: I am not having a contraction in the second one. Josh just got a really good candid shot.

2nd Pregnancy, 40 weeks

2nd Pregnancy, 40 weeks

To see pictures from previous months, go to the Watch Kim Grow: 2nd Pregnancy page.

Here is a picture from the last pregnancy (with Eli) at around 38 1/2 weeks. Looks pretty much the same with shorter hair.

38 1/2 Weeks, 1st Pregnancy

 

Pregnancy Picture: Week 36

Being pregnant is finally starting to take it’s toll. Lately, I have less energy and I am starting to feel the stretch in my belly. In fact, I am starting to lose my “innie” belly button. Sad. With Eli it was always an innie but this one seems to be pushing it out. Soon I will have an outie belly button like Eli. The nice part is that I am still doing great with the weight gain. So far I am at about 18 lbs gained. My goal is to stay under the weight I gained with Eli. Looks like I am on track for that goal.

Here’s my 36 week picture:

2nd Pregnancy, 36 Weeks

2nd Pregnancy, Week 36

How does it compare to the last pregnancy?

1st Pregnancy, Week 34

1st Pregnancy, 34 Weeks

 

Wish List updated

Having a baby is not the easiest thing to afford. Thankfully, with number two we have a few items already in storage and we have received some girly hand-me-downs from my brother and sister-in-law. Some people have asked us what we need, so I have updated my “What I’d Like” and “What I Have” pages.

 

Pregnancy Picture: Week 31

I am getting further and further along. I can’t believe I only have two months left. I feel great right now. Today I went to another Zumba class and subbed for a class the week before. I think STAYING involved in exercise is really helping me this time around. So, without further adieu, here is my photo at 31 weeks (7 months). As a side note, my hair is really getting long. Should I cut it?

31 Weeks, 2nd Pregnancy

 

How does it compare to the first pregnancy?

29 Weeks Pregnant, 1st Pregnancy

 

Cloth Diapers… Am I Crazy?

So every time I have to buy a new box of diapers I am appalled at how much diapers are costing me. So I have now decided to try something new… Cloth diapers. Haha. I never thought I would ever say those words, but here I am thinking it actually might be worth it.

When Eli was born, I remember thinking I would never do cloth diapers because of two reasons. One, I didn’t want to wash all those diapers so frequently. Two, I could never deal with the poopy diapers. Gross. Now, I am fully submerged into motherhood and neither one of those issues bother me. Now the annoying thing is paying for more diapers and throwing so much trash away. (Poor environment).

Luckily, today’s version of a cloth diaper are a lot more plush than the ones my mother grew up with. Now, I can purchase one-size diapers that will fit the newborn AND my two-year old. And to think, I could use these again with the NEXT kid (yes I plan to have more than two kids). After talking with a lady about all the different types of diapers, I opted to try a few. My favorite at the moment are the BumGenius 4.0 One-Size diapers and the Tiny Tush Elite diapers. Josh prefers the snaps because they last longer than the velcro ones. Others like the velcro because they are more adjustable and will ALWAYS fit around the waist, whereas the snaps only have so many options. We have a total of three so we are not using them 24/7 but it is enough to see that it’s something I want to do.

What are the downsides to cloth diapers, you ask? I will say there are a few. First of all, for the little babies they would seem a little bulky. They do have newborn sizes, but I am not sure those are really worth it. Secondly, you have to wash every two days (to have enough and to keep odors from staying). I would have to get into a routine, but I think I can do it as long as we have a washer and dryer. The third and most troubling downside is the amount of money you have to fork out up front. For a typical stash of diapers and all the accessories, you can spend around $400-$500. In the long run, it ends up being less than disposable diapers and you aren’t throwing GOBS of trash into our landfills, but it is still hard to spend that much at the beginning.

With this new discovery, I have updated my “What I Have” and “Wish List” pages to include cloth diaper items. Also, thanks to my brother and their baby girl who is exactly a year older, I have inherited a lot of baby girl items that I have put on the list as well. I have noticed a few people have been looking at those pages lately so I thought I would update it.