Harper: 21 Months

 Get ready for photos galore!!!!

This little lady is 21 months old!

Height/weight: No idea :) Next Dr appt isn't until her TWO YEAR checkup!

Health: I'm not even commenting on this one...we've noticed a pattern haven't we?

Clothes: Comfortably in a 2T with some 3T's sprinkled in here and there

Sleep: Big Girl Bed SUCESS!!! Every time we head into a transition I hold my breath, cross my fingers, expect the worst and pray for the best.  Let me tell you little girl surpassed my wildest expectations!!  I think the biggest part of our success was that we have a very set nap and bedtime routine.  She knows what to expect and because of that when we put her down it was business as usual and it didn't seem to matter that it was in a different bed.  When we showed it to her for the first time she was very excited and couldn't wait to test it out.  From the beginning she's been told that the bed is only for sleeping so we don't let her up there to play and also that when she wakes up she has to call for one of us to come get her.  Miracle of miracles we haven't experienced any Houdini action as of yet but we'll see if that changes once she's able to get up on the bed on her own.

This is MINE??

Milestones: Her vocabulary is really starting to take off! We haven't quite progressed to using alot of phrases yet but her use and recognition of new words is amazing!  She has always been a lover of Pixar movies (who isn't?) but we've noticed recently that instead of simply watching parts of the movie she reacts to them.  If it's funny she laughs, scary she hides, when the prince kisses the princess she smooches whoever is lucky enough to be close by.  It's hilarious to watch.  

She's also developing quite a sense of humor... When she is given something if she doesn't say/sign Thank You on her own I prompt her with "What do you say?" she'll typically respond with "Nah New" (thank you) so I follow up with "Thank you mama?" and without fail she'll laugh and say "No daddy!" If I ask again "No! Thank you mama?" She gives me a deep belly laugh and says "NO! Thank you Dada!"   21 months old and she's got jokes....

Baby gear love:  Our idea of baby gear these days is a sand bucket to collect rocks on our daily walks but I can say that Harper is fascinated with the baby gear that is slowly coming up out of the basement and being set up around the house.  There has been a different doll in the rock n play every day this week.  She's going to be awfully upset when they are evicted when Bruce gets here :)

Nana bought this for Bruce but Harper thought she should maybe break it in for him :)

We don't go anywhere without our backpack these days.

Outtings:  We've been to the East End Beach (Harper LOVES the dogs!!) 

 Deering Oaks playground and bridge where Shaun and I had our wedding pics taken

Daily walks to the pond below our house to look for frogs and other creepy crawly things

Mabel I Wilson playground

                                                  

 Of course we took some time to stop and smell the roses daisies

First trip to the DENTIST!!! She wasn't so keen on them sticking their hands in her mouth....until they offered her a shiny new toothbrush, after that they were BFF's

The Easter Bunny came to visit!! He didn't bring me any candy but I got lots of other fun stuff!!

Diapers: Still size 5 pampers, no changes there

Diet:  Still hit or miss depending on the day but we're having many more hits than misses as of lately (knock on wood).  I've found that she's more apt to eat the food in front of her if it's in interesting shapes.  Maybe it seems silly to some but I'm willing to take the two minutes to use her sandwich cutter if it means she'll eat it.   I've mentioned before that I'm not going to force her to eat.  My pediatrician (as well as Shaun and I) strongly believe that if she's hungry she will eat BUT that little bugger will sometimes turn down food (something nutritious) and ask for something else (something delicious)  Not that I can blame her, I want animal crackers over a hamburger sometimes too but sorry little girl that's not going to fly.  She's at an age where I can reason with her in the "one more bite department" so when I notice she's up to these shenanigans and legitimately not declining all food I ask her "Do you want animal crackers? Yes? Ok one more bite of (whatever) first" Works like a charm...this I"m sure will change just like everything else lol :)

Likes:  Backpacks, ice cream, rocks (obsessed actually), necklaces, birds, baking with mama, dogs, playgrounds, any kind of flower....basically see all the above pictures :)

We've also discovered that Harper prefers the men in the family to women (mama is the obvious exception to this rule)  If given the choice she will go to Grandpa, Uncle Greg, Grampy Rick etc etc  before she'll go any of the lovely ladies in the family and of course Daddy is the ultimate apple of her eye. What can I say she loves the boys....this could be trouble...

Dislikes:  Still not a fan of the word no or being told to wait although she really tries her hardest.  Won't eat anything with red sauce and really really wishes mama would let her bring all the cool rocks she finds inside rather than being told "Rocks stay outside" all the time.

See you next month!!

29 Weeks

How far along:  29 weeks 2 days

Gender: Boy

Weight gain: -.2 lb for a total of 18 lbs.

Maternity clothes: over it....seriously.  Every morning I look in my closet and groan.  I feel like I recycle the same outfits over and over and over again.  I have bins upon bins of my regular clothes downstairs calling my name....

Stretch marks: none thank you very much.  I laugh when I think about the $$ I spent on fancy lotions that would supposedly prevent me from getting stretch marks...this time around? Good ol' Jergens every day with the same exact result....ahhhh what a rookie.

Belly button: Outtie 

Sleep: Sleep is fantastic (minus waking up with this hacking cough I can't seem to shake)

Worst moment of the week: Well this is more like a best/worst combo.  Saturday we celebrated the life of my grandfather.  Let me just say that in my experience funerals + pregnant lady hormones = hot blubbery mess.   Isn't it sad that I actually have experience with this?  I will say that I did remarkably well this time holding it together...until they did the military honors.  That ceremony always gives me goosies and tipped me over my hormonal edge and tears were shed.  It was a lovely service filled with god awful singing (we Damon's are not known for our vocal prowess).  He will be very very missed <3

Best moment of the week: Also a best/worst combo.  Due to the bereavement time given to me by my company I had 1/2 Wed, and all of Th and Fri off last week.  This gave me some good quality time with the munchkin and also time to visit with my mom and Rick who happened to be in town from Texas to open up their new lake house.  
**Side note: SAHM I don't know how you do it.  I am now convinced I am a better mother for working.  Enough said.

Miss anything: Endless clothing options (Breton, pity party of one)

Cravings: Cheerios and strawberries...every night please and thank you.  

Anything making you sick or queasy:  Still trying to shake the last remnants of the cold Harper gave me last week.  

Looking forward to: Picked up some fabric for my sister to make "Bruce" some baby blankets (seriously they're amazing, if you want one let me know!) Can't wait to see them!

Running: 16 miles this week including a "long" run of 5 miles!  Now many of my friends are gearing up for marathon season and 16 miles is like one days worth of running for them but let me assure you running 3-4  miles at a time while toting nearly 20 extra pounds,  constantly needing to pee and getting karate kicked from the inside is quite a feat!

Different this time around:  As I was answering the sleep category above it occurred to me that my ability to sleep well this far along in the pregnancy is VASTLY different from last time.  I believe at this point pregnant with Harper the hubs has perfected the art of pillow nest making so that I could get a few hours sleep at night.  This time around?  My head hits the pillow and it's lights out!  This is a very very very welcome change :)

Weekly comparison:

28 weeks

How far along:  28 weeks 2 days --> Hello 3rd trimester! So good to see you for the last time!!

Gender: Boy 

Weight gain: 1.8 lbs.  I'd like to blame it on poor water intake but I'm pretty sure it has more to do with Easter..oops.

Maternity clothes: Yes, starting to pull out the spring/summer stash

Stretch marks: nada

Belly button in or out: Out, which Harper finds hilarious and keeps poking at it making me feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy

Sleep: Pretty good for the most part although turning over in my sleep is starting to require more effort (read more grunting)

Worst moment of the week:  Harper sneezing....which means here we go with yet another cold.  We've taught her to share so well that she even gave it to me, isn't she nice?

Best moment of the week: The Dr called with good/bad news this week.  Good news is that I passed my glucose test...yay Easter candy *ahem* boo 1.8 weight gain.  Bad news is that I'm anemic which simply means more leafy greens and steak for me (mmm steak!).  
Shaun and I also hosted our first holiday at the new house! My mom and her husband are up from Texas for the week so we had a nice quiet Easter dinner.  Living so far away we don't often get to see them for holidays so that was a nice treat :)

Miss anything: Being able to take medicine when I'm sick 

Cravings: pretty sure I indulged in them all this week

Sick/queasy: Rocking a nice head cold

Looking forward to: I have some unexpected time off this week due to bereavement days so I intend on using them to spend time with my mom while she's here and other family.

Different this time around: I've been so busy with Harper, work, the house, running that this 3rd trimester has totally snuck up on me! I'm excited and a little panicked at the same time....I have work to do!!!

Weekly comparison: 

27 weeks

How far along: 27 weeks 2 days

Gender: Boy

Weight gain: 1.5 lbs this week for a grand total of 16.5 lbs (.5 less than last time so I'm right on track)

Maternity clothes: For sure

Stretch marks: Still good in that department

Belly button in or out: sigh....out.

Sleep: I am sleeping remarkably well.  I make it through about 5 min of Gray's Anatomy on Netflix before I'm out for the count

Worst moment of the week: I'm pretty sure every time I do a monthly update on Harper and comment how "Hooray she hasn't been sick for awhile" BOOM she gets sick.  We battled her latest cold for about a week and had a one or two AWFUL nights (where no one got any sleep) but she's back to feeling like her spunky self again.

Best moment of the week: I had the unexpected opportunity to spend an extra day with Shaun and Harper...no plans just the three of us.  Sadly this doesn't happen that often when your husband works as much as mine does so we enjoyed every minute.

Ok so maybe Harper doesn't look all that thrilled but Shaun and I were clearly having fun!!

Miss anything: My old clothes....my old body....my old bladder

Cravings: My thai food craving has reared it's ugly head again this week, still having my nightly bowl of cheerios with banana

Sick or queasy:  Interesting I woke up one morning this week and felt like I was going to be sick.  It didn't feel like your run of the mill pregnancy nausea rather it felt like it was because I was hungry.  I did end up getting sick but was fine after I had breakfast.  Thinking back to the night before I had skipped my pre-bed snack....guess I won't be doing that again (twist my arm)

Looking forward to: My Glucose test being over with today so I can enjoy ALL the Easter candy!

Busy weekend coming up again! Hurricane Claire (my mom) is set to touch down this Saturday for about a week as well as a triple birthday celebration this coming Saturday for my nephew and my friends twins and of course EASTER on Sunday!  Rarely do I get to celebrate holidays with my mom so this holiday will be special and our first one hosted in our new house! 

Can't wait to see Harper in all her Easter egg hunting glory!

Different this time around: The growth of the *ahem* girls is a little bit out of control, I've gone up 3 cup sizes since October :/

Running related: I remember at this point in my pregnancy with Harper I was finding running to be increasingly difficult.  My belly was heavier and I was having alot of BH while running and would be sore after.  This time around I'm finding it not as difficult.  Sure I'm rocking a 10:30 min/mile pace but I can still knock out 5-6 miles without feeling like I want to die the next day or so and I give total credit for that to the upgraded maternity belt I've been wearing this time around.  It sure isn't sexy but it's obviously doing the trick.  One more race on the calendar in 3 weeks and then I think my "race" days are over until "Bruce" arrives although I'll keep running as long as possible.

Weekly comparison:

Um yes...bigger

26 weeks

Race the Runways 2012 and 2014, I'd like to try this race again NOT pregnant!

How far along: 26 weeks 2 days

Gender: B.O.Y

Weight: Roughly a pound for 15 pounds total

Maternity clothes: Regular clothes yes, running clothes no --> making due with bigger sizes

Stretch marks: No and hush your mouth about any

Belly button in or out: Outtie when I cough

Sleep:  Still no issues sleeping (thank you lord).  Working full time, running AND chasing around a toddler has an amazing impact on your ability to crash at the end of the day

Worst moment of the week: Friday night before my half marathon Harper started sneezing.  For any other child this is not a big deal. Mine? Well that's another story.  Shaun and I looked at each other and thought "ugh great".  Sneezing for Harper is an indicator that she's coming down with something.  Sure enough the next morning (half marathon morning) she was a hot mess.  We got some tylenol onboard and headed out for the race and hoped for the best.  As always she was a pretty happy kid regardless of being sick and running a 102 temp but it can make for some long nights and of course we're back on the inhaler/nebulizer again.

Best moment of the week: This week was Shaun's annual lay off week from the Post Office.  He typically works such long crazy hours six days a week that it  was a real treat to see how the other half lives ;)  As always he was very productive and got his whole "Honey do" list done and as an added bonus I didn't have to pick up/drop off at daycare ONE time and dinner was always ready.  He'd make one heck of a househusband I tell you, but I think he's going a bit stir crazy and is ready to go back to work :)

My other best moment would of course be my successful completion of the Race the Runways 1/2 marathon (recap below and pics above)

Miss anything: I would LOVE to be missing the back pain I'm having

Craving anything:  Shaun found a recipe for avacado deviled eggs so of course I am craving those now...

Looking forward to: This weekends main event is the baby shower for my friend Steph and her little girl Avery due to arrive mid May :)

Different this time around: I'm closing in on the end of my second trimester so the big thing I'm noticing is how fast time is flying!!

Race recap: A HUGE big thank you to my girl Melissa for running this race with me.  Despite my best efforts sometimes I tend to forget that 26 weeks pregnant is NOT the time to be aggressively pushing oneself in a race so she was there to keep me in check.  I'll save you the mile by mile replay but the bottom line is that even with two porta potty breaks and four 30 second walk breaks I still finished in 2:12:23 -->4 minutes FASTER than in 2012! I only have one more official race in the books, the Mother's Day 5k  (another pregnant racing tradition, I will be 31 weeks pregnant) but am more than happy to be retiring double digit mileage until after Bruce is born :)

Weekly comparison: 

Harper 20 months

Look who's 20 months old!!

Height/weight: No earthly idea.  She's eating and I'm having to buy new clothes so it would be a safe bet to say she's growing!!  

Health: The stomach bug has made it's rounds through our house twice this winter and we've landed ourselves in the Dr's office once or twice but compared to the MULTIPLE times (we're talking double digits) we had to last year I won't complain.  

Harper's daycare has been plagued by illness for most of the winter so honestly I think we lucked out (knocking on everything wooden ever known to man kind).  It got so bad I showed up to daycare one morning to find this on the door: 

...Balls.  The daycare was down to HALF their normal providers which is obviously under state code so they had to shut down for the day and disinfect the ENTIRE facility.  Nothing like scrambling to find child care coverage when you're also trying to make it to work on time (Grandpa to the rescue!!!)

Clothes: It's the strangest thing...I hold up size 2T and I think to myself "that's WAY to big for Harper" and then I put a pair of 18 mo pants on her and they're capris?? Seems I might just have to face the facts and pull out the 2T bin of clothing. (See? proof that she IS growing!)

Reese's 2nd birthday party

Sleep: Like a champ.  7:00 it's two books and a little bit of a show then at 7:30 it's hugs, kisses and LIGHTS OUT...see ya at 6:00am.  Let's hope this continues when we transition her to a BIG GIRL BED this week...

Milestones: This little girls independence never ceases to amaze me.  She has weekly chores that she does: cleans her room, puts her dirty laundry in the basket, takes care of her own dishes after mealtimes and gets the mail every day (we train em young in the Breton household).  Her language is exploding (both signed and spoken) she is now spontaneously using "please" and "thank you" appropriately without prompts which says to me she "gets it".  She's starting to run and jump and makes attempts at skipping but..well we're still working on that one.  Her tibial torsion kind of gets in the way of her running but the dr is keeping an eye on it feels that it will straighten itself all it needs is time and gravity.

Little miss independent decided that while I did my hair she would finish her breakfast while watching a show.  She didn't spill one drop! Att girl :)

Baby gear love: I'm kind of at a loss for this section this month.  There isn't any particular gear that I'm loving right now aside from the usual things we use, stroller, backpack, sled etc etc.  I'm thinking we're about to enter the season of OMG I LOVE HER NEW TRICYCLE!!! though and I'm sure the cozy coup is about to make another appearance!

Outings: As per the norm Harper and I are always out and about.  This month she had her very first haircut (bye bye baby mullet) My mom asked me if I cried and I laughed and said "no! do people really cry about that??"  I've never been one to get weepy when big milestones hit or when we move out of one phase and into another.  Who has time to cry about it when the next thing happening is so exciting and fun to watch??

Tin snips was great and Harper was enthralled by all the things to look at but $12?? The appointment lasted all of 2 min, long enough for me to get her to look down and SNIP! They gave me her hair in a packet and took her picture but $12??? 

Diapers: Size 5 Pampers.  I've tried them all and am a die hard Pampers fan.  They don't leak, they don't feel cheap, and at Sam's club I get the most bang for my buck.

Diet: Toddlers are fickle.  Some days we struggle and the next day I'll try the same food and she gobbles it down and asks for more.  I've learned to look at the big picture of the whole week instead of focusing on the day to day.  One of my biggest mistakes was that I was presenting Harper with her entire meal at the same time.  She would (of course) go straight for the carbs/starches and fruit and then say "all done" without touching most of the veggies or any meat/protein.  I was getting reports from daycare that she was eating all of her lunch (veggies and protein included) so I asked them to PLEASE share their secret.  They said the rule at lunch time is "nutritious before delicious" so they are served the less popular items first and then they move on to the delicious stuff.  GENIUS!!! Following that rule has been a game changer at meal times. (Why didn't I ask sooner?)

When you eat nutritious you get a delicious OREO for dessert

Loves loves loves her daddy

Likes: Daddy, Playdoh, Bubble guppies, tinkerbell (ugh hate that little fairy), being outside and phones..oh lord does she love phones.  She brings a phone to bed with her (we only allow one) and god forbid it fall out of the crib...it's the only thing that will wake her at night.  We'll hear her sobbing "Noooo....nooooooo....phone!" it's kind of comical.  I'm not quite sure where this love of talking on the phone comes from, if she was obsessively texting I'd totally take the blame but I'm not a big talk on the phone person and neither is Shaun.

Exhibit A: 4...count em FOUR phones that travel with us daily

Exhibit B: "talking" on the phone to daddy

Dislikes: Well....she's a toddler.  We have meltdowns about things unbeknownst to me...perhaps the wind is blowing East instead of NorthWest  who knows.  She hates having dirty hands which makes playdoh a double edge sword for her.  LOVES playing with it but doesn't like it when it sticks to her fingers.  She's still not a big fan of being told "no" but I'm not a big fan of letting my toddler run the house so she's going to have to get used to it :)  

These sunglasses, totally Zsa Zsa Gabore but they're the ONLY pair she will keep on so miami socialite it is!

See you next month!!

25 weeks

How far along: 25 weeks 2 days

Gender: Boy :)

Weight:  Slow and steady with just shy of a pound

Maternity clothes:  I'm finding that my shirts are all too SHORT!!! Since I'm not one to walk around with my belly hanging out I had to make a pit stop into Gap this weekend to pick up some purebody tanks, by far my most favorite underlayer (bonus when they're 40% off!)

Stretch marks: none thank you very much

Belly button in/out: threatening to become an outtie :(

Sleep:  Shaun says I remind him of our old dog Bishop these days.  Takes me a few rotations to finally settle into a comfortable spot but when I do it's lights out.  So happy to hear I remind him of our dog..

Worst moment of the week:  My unfiltered moment of the week...instead of recreating the wheel I'll copy and paste the story as I told it to my friend V....

Saturday I hit up Old Navy to buy Harper some tshirts and leggings that daycare could send home ruined without me almost losing my schmidt (we've lost three good shirts in the past two weeks and I'm like ugh!)

Old Navy is at the mall and parking is TOUGH! They have 3 prime parking spots right in front of the entrance to the store for expectant mothers (Holla!)  I never use these spots before I'm actually showing because I feel like a fraud.  Even when I'm with Shaun I tend to not use the spots because I feel like someone else should get to.  But if it's just Harper and I? Yes maam I'll take it!

So anyway we arrive to Old Navy and I can see there's one "mama" spot left but the car in front of me takes it...dang!!! I drive around and find another spot further away, unload Harper and off we go to the store.  As we're walking up to the store I see a DUDE getting out of the car, no pregnant lady with him,  just a dude and a toddler.  SAY WHAT!?!?!

I did what any logical pregnant woman shleppping a 20 month old into the store would do... I unzipped my jacket so the baby bump was on full display and I walked in front of his car right next to the "EXPECTANT MOTHER" sign and stopped....pointed to the sign, pointed to my belly... and said "Would have been really nice if I could have parked here"  and walked away.

Dink

Best moment of the week: might have also been my unfiltered moment above :) 

Also Sunday we drove down to NH for a good friends baby shower.  Shaun dropped me off and he and Harper spent the afternoon with our friends husband and son.  Great times were had by all.

Miss anything:  Sunday morning we were fixing a light in our bedroom and Shaun asked me to reach something under our bed...and I couldn't.  If only I could have laid on my stomach.....

Craving: Strawberries in my cereal, yummmm and oh by the way is it grilling season yet?

Anything making you sick/nauseous?  I think we may be able to put a permanent  nada down for this one.  The past 5-6 weeks have been glorious!!

Looking forward to: Saturday, period.  

Oh and the hubs has his annual "layoff" week this week so I suspect a whole lot of projects are about to get done around the house!

Different this time around: Back pain...oh mylanta the back pain....

Weekly comparison: