21 Weeks

"You are halfway there!"  That's what my weekly e-mail told me this week.  It's seems like we just found out that we were having another baby and now I am 5 months along.  The end of March seems like a long time away, but it also feels like it is right around the corner.  So with only four months to go, I have been feeling really good (with the exception of my allergies that are always bad this time of year).  I remember how great the second trimester is - you know, when you can still move around relatively well, you can still see your toes (well, barely see your toes) and your energy level picks up a bit.  I have been feeling the baby move like crazy, but everytime I try to get someone else to feel her (like my husband or my children), either she stops moving or they can't feel the movement.  It is a bittersweet time for me because, while I want them to share in the excitement of the baby's movements, I still like being the only one that can feel it.  It is like a special bond that only the two of us share.  In the next few weeks, she should grow enough that Brock and the girls will be able to feel her kicks and flips; and I will be so happy to be able to share it with them.  For now, I will treasure each movement that I get to experience solo.

"Ghostly Girl" and the "Viking Princess"

From the risen dead to the plundering vikings, our Halloween was full of fun!  Audrey searched and searched the costume catalog for the perfect costume.  When she found "Ghostly Girl" she knew that was the one.  She loved the idea of being one of the "risen dead" on Halloween.  It was a spooky, but not scary costume.  She appeared to be floating down the street with her long, tattered gown.  Her favorite part of the costume was the wig and hat.  Claire, on the other hand, went back and forth between several costumes until she finally decided on the Viking Princess.  Her costume did double duty since she had to dress up for her school's International Fall Festival, where each child had to choose a country to represent.  Claire chose Sweden and went back into their early history to represent the vikings that pillaged and plundered through parts of eastern Russia.  She wanted to be a princess, but not your everyday Disney princess.  The Viking Princess costume was the ticket!

We had a great time trick-or-treating through a few of the houses in our neighborhood before joining Audrey's friends and their family for candy-seeking adventures on their street.

Below are some photos of the girls in their costumes... Enjoy!

"You are next!"

 "Stop!  Give me all of your gold and jewels!"

And of course, it wouldn't be Halloween without some silly photos... :)

 Hope everyone had just as much fun on Halloween as we did!

It's a GIRL!!!

We went to the hospital on Friday for my second trimester ultrasound.  The tech told us that everything looked great - the baby was just the right size for the due date and all of the parts were there and in the correct places, oh, and she also told us that more PINK was in our future! :)  Baby Ballard #3 is Baby Girl #3!  While most people have thought that we might be disappointed that we are having another girl, we are actually very happy.  We would have been happy either way, but having another girl just goes along with what we already know what to do.  Other plus is now we do not have to rename the boat! ;) 

(note the name at the back)

Audrey and Claire are very happy about having a new sister.  Claire wanted a sister all along and declared, "I was RIGHT!" when the tech told us it was a girl.  I think 'being right' is something that means a lot to a little sister!  Audrey, who really wanted a brother, was still excited about a new sister.  The fact that this means that she will get her own "big girl" teen room when the baby moves into the room with Claire probably had a bit to do with that.

Okay, for those of you who are wondering, we do not have any names at this point but we are putting our thinking caps on and getting started with the process.  Audrey's name was relatively easy.  We knew that we wanted "Grace" as the middle name and when we found the name "Audrey" in the family tree we just knew that was the perfect combination.  Claire's name didn't come quite as quickly, mainly because I put so much pressure on myself to come up with a name that was equally as perfect as Audrey's.  We knew we wanted "Claire" (another name from the family tree) but we struggled with another name to go with it for quite some time.  The doctor scheduled my induction for the 30th of December and that put the name selection into high gear.  We found "Natalie" which means born on/near Christmas, which worked great since Claire was born on Dec. 30th.  With that we had an equally perfect name for our second baby girl.  So we have "Audrey Grace" and "Natalie Claire"... and now we have to come up with another girl name that is equally as perfect as those two.  I have no doubt that we will, but I know that it will take some thought. :)

16 weeks

16 weeks -- Photo by Claire

Claire wanted to take a picture of my ever-growing belly, so I thought I would share. :)

So far this pregnancy has gone well. I had a bout of morning sickness for a couple of weeks, but that is over now! Yes, I know that my belly looks quite big to be a four month belly, but I haven't gained a lot of weight... yet... I know that I will pack on the pounds from here on out, but this is the good kind of weight gain -- the weight gain with a "pot of gold" at the end! I gained 33 and 31 pounds with my previous pregnancies and that seemed to be a good amount of gain for me. The doctor told me I should gain between 30 - 35 pounds this time around as well. So that's the goal! Healthy weight gain = Healthy baby, so it's really a win-win... I am also trying to stay active and keep up with a regular exercise plan. I started a prenatal Pilates class a month ago and I LOVE it! I did regular Pilates for about a year before I got pregnant and it was very beneficial. Now, with the ever-growing belly, Amy (my Pilates instructor) has modified the exercises to accommodate my needs. I feel fantastic after each class and look forward to seeing if there is a difference in delivery -- my doctor said that Pilates is a great exercise, along with walking and swimming, for moms-to-be. So time will tell...

We find out if we are getting a boy or girl added to the family at the end of the month! Audrey and Claire are so excited, although they each want something different. Audrey wants a brother because she "already has a sister" and Claire wants a sister because she "wants there to be three sisters in our family". I can relate to Audrey because I wanted my baby brother to be a girl because I already had a little brother. Unfortunately, I didn't get what I wanted. And while I wasn't very excited at the beginning, I learned that having two little brothers was actually a lot of fun! Claire is very adamant about the baby being a girl. She isn't open to having a brother, but if it turns out to be a boy, I am sure that she will come around to the idea and love him just as much as she would have loved a sister. Brock and I are actually neutral on the whole gender issue - healthy with 10 fingers and 10 toes is what we want. So my next baby post will be a big announcement - Boy or Girl! Stay tuned...

Family Time

Okay, I know it has been a while and I promise to catch you up with all of the happenings with our crazy bunch... but that will be the next post (or two)... this one is about our "family time" day.

Brock's travel schedule has been quite hectic lately and it doesn't look like there will be much relief anytime soon.  So while he is home, we try to make the most of our family time together.  This morning we got up and had breakfast (Mom's omelets and cinnamon toast... yummy!) and then a boat ride.  The weather has not been very cooperative this summer so there haven't been as many boat rides as there normally would be.  But today the "stars aligned" and we took advantage.

There's not much that is better than being on the boat early in the morning before the river gets crowded and the sun heats everything up.  It is cooler and quieter and in one word - great!  We went to Bird Island and explored for a bit, but the vegetation had grown so much over the summer that our normal exploration paths were a bit too tight for my comfort zone.  The thought of spiders and ticks kept jumping through my mind.  After a bit of time on the island, we decided to go back to our "regular" island, which is actually a sandbar, just down the canal from our house.  The water level has been unusually high so the sandbar never surfaced.  But the water was clear and cool and the girls had a great time swimming.  Another family was there with their dog, so Duke had a playmate.  The two dogs splashed and ran, and ran and splashed.  Needless to say (but I will anyway), Duke was one tired pup when we got back to the house.  Audrey and Claire swam with the other family's daughter and the parents all enjoyed some chit chat.  We left the island and headed back down the canal to our house.  We cleaned up and went to Grills (a local seafood grill) for lunch.  It was a fun day just being together as a family.  Now, we are gearing up for a family game of Scrabble!  Should be interesting...  I leave you with a photo from today...

The girls on the boat

(with Duke in the background)

After-School Special

Part of being a stay-at-home mom, in my mind at least, is having the ability to welcome your children home from a busy day of learning with a fun, healthy after-school snack.  I have wanted to do this for a long time and just haven't kicked myself into gear to get it done.  Well, that all changed this week.  Each day my goal is to have a different snack ready for the girls when they get home from school.  The snack is something small (as we eat dinner around 5:30 or 6:00), easy to make (a must for me) and healthy (I was aiming for an alternative to cookies and candy).  I wanted to post this on Monday, when we started, but life got in the way. :)

Monday - Ants on a Log

Audrey loves raisins, but Claire did not want them on her snack.  "Just on a log for me, hold the ants" was her request.   So it was one "Ants on a Log" and one "On a Log"... I love that they make me laugh every day.  I love being a mom... and most importantly, I love being their mom!

Tuesday - Apple Slices and Peanut Butter

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures (but I'm sure you all know what apples and peanut butter look like)...

Wednesday - Fruit Skewers with Cinnamon Dip

This was a snack that took a bit of preparation but was quite easy.  Audrey loved the dip, but Claire passed.  The main reason for that was because she saw that I put sour cream in it and she got it in her head that it would be sour, which it is far from being sour.  But once she gets something into her head, there is not much changing her mind at that sitting.  I'm sure she will try it next time without any problems.  The cinnamon dip recipe is below for those of you who might be interested.

Cinnamon Dip

Mix 1 cup sour cream and 2 tablespoons each brown sugar and lime juice.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Mix well.  Thread fruit on skewers and serve with dip.

This made a good bit of dip.  For small children, you could easily cut the recipe in half and have plenty for a snack.

Claire's First Day at VPK

Today was Claire's first day of VPK, which is, for those of you not familiar with the program, a pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds designed to help get children ready for Kindergarten and the beginning of their school career.  The program is three hours a day, five days a week.  Claire is very excited about getting to go to school five days a week (just like Audrey).  Last year, the Mom's Day Out program that we enrolled her in was only two days a week.

This morning, after we dropped Audrey off at her school, we packed Claire's lunch box.  She picked a very healthy lunch - peanut butter and strawberries wrap (no jelly for this child), some carrots and a cup of applesauce.  She was very pleased with her selection and Mom was too. :)  Claire is in the afternoon class which starts at 11:20.  This allows her to have lunch at school with her classmates, something she was quite happy about.  At carline, parents do not get out of the car.  We pull up, put the car in park and the teachers come out and help unload and load your child.  When Claire left the car today, she didn't give saying goodbye a second thought.  "Bye Mom!" and a quick wave and she was inside her "new school".  I love the fact that she is so independent and doesn't need me as a security blanket when she starts something new.  She is a big girl and we are all very proud of that!

 At home with Duke before her first day at VPK!