Wordless Wednesday: Stuffed Animals...

Don't leave home without them.  ALL of them.  :)

Check off #9, 22, 41, 48, 80, 82, 99, & 101...Whew.

I really need to be better about a lot of my 101 list.  So this week I'm taking steps in the right direction.  I'm going to write three posts regarding this list this week: one about what I have completed since I last updated, one about goals that are "in progress," and one about the things I hope to start/complete this summer.

Here is a short summary of things I've completed since my last update.

#9: Move to a new place.
As you probably know, in January, me moved into our current apartment.  We still aren't really settled, but now I'm kind of putting it off because we are thinking about starting to look at buying our first house! We did paint Kayla's room a much nicer grey/green combo (as opposed to the double shade of pink it was before...yuck.)  We have a ton of space and a storage space which is nice.  I like it here, but I'm looking forward to settling into something that is our own.

#22: Take surfing lessons.
I posted about this way back when I was doing my Hawaii updates.  Here is the post on our 7th day in Hawaii complete with surfing photos.  I'd like to try surfing again one day, and I'd love for it to be in Hawaii again. :)

#41: Complete a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
I have absolutely no idea if I posted about this or not, but around Thanksgiving, Lauren and I started this puzzle Justin and I bought on our Midwest road trip last April (2011).  It was an M.C. Escher puzzle.  If you don't know this artist, look him up.  He's got some pretty neat stuff.  Needless to say, the puzzle was a rough one.

Here is the picture the puzzle was based on:

The puzzle was hard.

#48: Have a picnic.
Yesterday, when I got home from my haircut, Justin and I decided to make some sandwiches and snacks and have a picnic lunch outside on the grass with Kayla.  (Well, more so on a blanket on the grass since we all know how much Kayla loves the grass.)  It was a beautiful day outside.  Kayla really loves being out there.  We took her shoes off to strategically keep her on the blanket.  You should see her avoid stepping off the blanket into the grass without shoes.  This was such a simple goal to accomplish, but such a fulfilling one.  Hopefully, we can have more picnic lunches as a little family.

#80: Donate money to a charity.
I asked many friends and family to donate to the National Down Syndrome Association around Kayla's first birthday, but Justin and I also made a donation to his Aunt Shirley's Relay for Life team.  It feels so great to be able to even make a small contribution to better our lives.  You may recall that I rode 100 miles on my bike for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of Shirley in 2010 when I was 7 weeks pregnant with Kayla.

#82: Avoid Facebook for 1 week.
I honestly can't even remember the week that I did this.  I think it was in January of February of this year.  It really helped me re-focus on what was important in my life.  I still spend time on Facebook because I have a great group of friends and I love to be able to keep up to date on friends I rarely get to see or talk to but I still consider great friends.  It was hard to not be able to check Facebook for a week, but in the end, I think it helped a lot.

#99: Have Kayla baptized (and future babies.)
I did this in November around Thanksgiving.  Read about it here.  Now I just have to make sure to get Baby Hales #2 baptized at some point. :)

#101: Back up my photos and music. (On going).
This goal is very much ongoing, but the Hales bought us a large external hard drive so I did back up a large portion of my photos to that around Christmas time.  I need to get caught up with most current photos, but this is a huge step.  So many things to do, so little time.

Week 25 Update

Sorry this is a week late.  I'll just do 25 weeks then 28 weeks and get back to every 2 weeks after that!

• Baby is the size of a:  23 weeks: large mango; 24 weeks: ear of corn; 25 weeks: rutabaga 
• Total weight gain/loss: Officially done talking about this as it makes me depressed.  I may start to stand backwards on the scale at my midwife appointments so I don't even know how much I've gained.
• The bump: I'm apparently huge to many strangers.  One actually OUT LOUD asked me if I was sure it wasn't twins.  What happened to tact??
• Symptoms:  Some Braxton Hicks and some mild cramping which I went to see the midwife about today.  It was sharp stabbing pain that felt like the pain I used to get when "they" told me I got ovarian cysts.  The midwife wasn't too concerned but said to keep an eye on it and see if it went away or came with any other symptoms.
• Food cravings: Nothing really.   
• Anything making me queasy/nauseous:  I think I'm now ok on this front.  Although, I wasn't a big fan of fried food with Kayla either and I feel the same now.
• Sleep:  I'm resigned to not sleeping well for at least another year.  It's ok.  I've accepted it.
• What I miss:  My previous body shape...like previous to Kayla.
• Wedding rings:  I'm wearing them on and off.  I can still get them on for sure but sometimes it's more comfortable and easier not to bother with them.  I still love you Justin.
• Maternity clothes:  I've gotten some shorts and a few more t-shirts and tank tops for the summer.  I'm still able to wear a few normal pants and shirts (amazingly) but mostly wearing maternity stuff...it's more comfortable.
• Labor signs: Not really.
• Best Moments: Kayla being very "mommy-centric" right now.  It's a little frustrating sometimes but I love the extra loving I'm getting before this baby comes.  
• What I am looking forward to:  The third trimester...minus the increased midwife visits.
• Worries?:  Going to work on this on Friday probably.  It's going to take a while to get all my thoughts down in a semi-organized manor. 

25 week belly photo (+2 days):

Wordless Wednesday: Loves.

We had a very busy vacation (which is a word you can no longer use when you have kids by the way) so I didn't have a chance to blog.  I'm going to try to get some stuff written up today!  Sorry for the radio silence!

Leaving on a jet plane

We are heading to VA Beach and North Carolina tomorrow for the week.  I need to try to write a few posts for you all while I'm away.  I was too busy packing for a family of 3 and getting ready to leave to write today.  :)  Here's what I'm going to try to get done:

22-24 Week update
I have a 16 Month old!
Molars
What no one tells you about your second pregnancy

I'll do my best but no promises.  :)  I hope everyone has a great week!

"Kayla, do you want to go outside?"

Kayla loves going outside.  I mean, if you say outside or in the car, she's sort of like a dog in that she gets all excited and points at the sliding door to our deck.  She loves different toys and different textures with her toys, but I'm not kidding you, the kid hates all the textures outside.

While we were in Hawaii, she hated everything about that sand.  I guess I should have been happy she wasn't eating it.  But when we were having surfing lessons and my mom and dad were watching Kayla, my mom said she put her on a towel on the sand and every time a grain of sand came near her she screamed bloody murder.

Last week, when I took her out to walk around our building, I got tired and wanted to sit down.  I put her down in the grass (she had shorts on) so she was still running around.  I wanted to sit so I sat her down in the grass.  I WISH I had gotten a photo of this but honestly, I was laughing too hard.  She lifted both legs off the ground so she was doing this sort of balancing ab workout on sitting only on her butt.

Something along these lines:

Except clearly less calm and composed.  Imagine hands flailing and legs kicking.

Daddy got this photo today when he sat her in the grass:

She'll get over it eventually.  Right?!?

Wordless Thursday: Nature Walks

I know it's a day late.  Busy, busy, busy. :)