Fridays

Well like I have said this has been a more emotional pregnancy than before. There is definitely a recurring theme....Fridays. For some reason it seems like Friday is my breaking down day. I'm not sure if it is just that I am so tired from the whole week or what it is, but it is definitely the day I turn crazy!

Two Fridays ago was the first day that Zach was gone to Jamaica for his brother's wedding. I was doing good most of the day, but then around 6:30pm it all came crashing down. Zach had called and we were trying to skype. Let me first say that I hate skype so I wasn't thrilled about it, but I wanted Zach to see Chloe and Chloe to see Zach while he was gone. We got it all set up and then it kept freezing which made me frustrated. So after Chloe said Hi I decided to just quit Skype and talk to Zach on the phone. Right when I called Zach back my mom came home so she could play with Chloe. This all seemed great, except my phone conversation was cut short by the pizza man. Mom and I had ordered pizza and it wasn't suppose to be here for another half hour or so, but it was early. Normally I would be happy but I was sad I had to end my conversation with Zach. So I slowly got up to go get the pizza and then I heard my mom call out for Daisy. I flew down the stairs threw the gate on the floor and ran out the door. Mom and Chloe were talking with the pizza guy, Buster was in the yard and Daisy was no where to be found.

My mom said she went to the right. It was dark out so I couldn't see her. I put my hands in the air to try to figure out which was was right but I was just so overwhelmed I couldn't figure out if the L meant left or right...I know I know you are thinking how crazy that was.
So I asked...in a crazy lady panic voice to just point. She pointed to the right and this crazy big pregnant lady started running (a slow run) down the road. A few houses down there was Daisy. A family was outside and Daisy went right over to them. So after saying thank you to the family for holding Daisy this big pregnant lady tried to hold on to her 110 pound dog and drag her back to the house. Any by drag I mean Daisy was dragging me! We got back to the house and I put the pizza on the table and just started crying. I was just so overwhelmed with the last 15 minutes that I just couldn't take it and cried because that is all I could do.

The next day I was telling my sister about this and we were laughing at it with my mom. Crazy Friday pregnant Jenna had gone to bed and had a good night sleep and realized how silly it all was. Mom said she heard the loud footsteps running down the stairs and the gate crashing to the floor. She thought she was in deep trouble, but she wasn't. I never thought or blamed mom because Daisy doesn't normally run out and we got Daisy back so no big deal. We had a good long laugh.

This last Friday nothing too terrible happened, but by about 8pm I was done. I was in bed by 8:30pm and didn't wake up until 7:30am today. Before I had gone to bed I told Zach that I just needed to go to bed because I had the Friday pregnancy grumpies and just needed to sleep it off. So Saturday came around and I was back to happy pregnant lady. At least it is predictable :)

New Developments

There have been quite a few new developments with Chloe. She is 15 months now and we went to the doctor this past Monday for her check up. She weighs 20 pounds and is about 30 inches long. The check up went good and her doctor said she was perfect. My big concern was that Chloe wasn't really walking. She would hold on to everything and walk, but just not by herself. Her doctor said that it was nothing to worry about and that it was a sign of intelligence. He said she doesn't want to walk because she doesn't want to fall and hurt herself. I laughed a little and obviously agreed because Chloe is the smartest 15 month old in the world. :) The laugh was more because I think this is her doctor's go to answer. A few months ago my sister was talking to the doctor, the same one as Chloe, and she was talking to him about her son's anxiety. His answer was similar. Anxiety is a sign of high intelligence because he is thinking more into things than most 6 year olds. Obviously as a parent of course I like to hear that my daughter is smart, but I still think that is the doctor's go to answer. Just an answer to stop any worry.

So the next day was Valentine's day. We got the best Valentine's day gift. Chloe started walking on her own on Tuesday! Every Tuesday we go to my sister's house so Chloe can play with her cousin Allie for a few hours. When we were over there Chloe just started walking around. She would walk to get a ball or walk to a toy like she had been doing it forever. Ever since she hasn't stopped. She can't really stand from a sitting position yet without grabbing on to something for help, but she is getting close. As soon as you put her on her feet she is go go go....

So after that excitement we then discovered some new teeth. She has a tooth that has broken through at the top back of her mouth and then we can also see a few other teeth trying to poke through. When my mom was here Chloe had a runny nose and she said maybe Chloe was teething. I thought she was crazy, but now I think she was right.

Chloe also loves raisins now and she loves to have her snack at her own little table. It is really cute. We can just tell her to go to her table and she will go and sit at her chair. We have also been going to the park more often and she loves to go down the slides with her daddy. She goes down a slide climbs back up the stairs and picks a new slide to go down. She smiles the whole way down. When we are at home she has a new toy. We bought her a new chair for her room and it came in a big box. So the box is now Chloe's new play house. She has such an imagination!

Chloe sitting at her own table having a raisin snack.

Chloe's new playhouse

We had a baby doctor appointment this past week too. The heartbeat was great. When my doctor would try to get a reading for the heartbeat the baby would move around and kick so she couldn't get a reading, but it sounded good and she estimated it was about at 150. Zach said it was crazy because while I was laying there he was watching the baby move around and it was like an alien trying to get out of my body. He has felt it before, but I think the fact that I was laying down made it look even more like an alien. The other thing we found out was that the baby is NOT head down yet. The baby should be head down by 36 weeks so he has 2 more weeks to make the turn. I'm hoping that he down turn head down because I do not need to worry about that for the next 5 1/2 weeks!

All About Levi & This Pregnancy

Well we finally finished Levi's bedroom! It has taken a lot longer than expected. Zach finished painting a few weeks ago, but we hadn't purchased or put together any of the furniture until the past few weeks. So now we finally have it ready. Not, that I'm ready for him to come, but at least he will have a nice room to come home to when it is finally time.
I realized that I haven't really done a whole lot of blogging the past few months about Levi and the pregnancy. I think it is partly because we've been a little busy and partly because I just haven't been in a "blogging" mood. So now I'll go through a couple things about this pregnancy.
Energy
I've definitely been lacking on energy this pregnancy. I don't remember being this tired when I was pregnant with Chloe, but I was also able to take naps and sleep in on the weekends. Now I can't come home and take a nap after work because I have Chloe to play with and I don't sleep in on weekends because Chloe is up at 8am. So my energy has definitely been zapped.
Size
I feel HUGE! I know that with each pregnancy you start showing sooner, but I just feel so big. Every doctor's appointment I'm measuring right on track, but I just feel huge...did I mention I feel HUGE! My hands and feet also swell all the time. I can't walk around for long periods of time with my arms down at my side because my hands swell really quickly. So I always have to push the stroller or the grocery cart just to keep my hands from hanging down at my side. Chloe has also found my belly button. She likes to pull up my shirt to see my belly button and poke it with her little finger. Then she laughs. It is really funny!
Cravings
I crave all things sweet. There are these wonderfully glorious yummy treats that I like to make, but I have had to stop making them because of how "healthy" they are. You take crescent rolls or biscuits and flatten them out a bit then stuff them with marshmallows and cinnamon sugar. Then you wrap them up and pinch all the sides together and put more cinnamon sugar on the outside. I even sometimes put honey on the inside...YUMMY...see they are just too "healthy" to eat all the time. I am allowing myself to have them instead of my birthday cake, but that will probably be the last time for awhile. I also crave Kool-Aid, oranges and McDonald's cheeseburgers.
Moving & Grooving
Levi moves and grooves all day long. Chloe moved around a lot, but normally she would move around just during certain times of the day. Levi just moves all the time. I like it, and he doesn't hurt me like Chloe did when she would kick back towards my back. I've even started feeling some of the Braxton Hicks contractions. I first thought my pants were just too tight and trying to suffocate me, but then it occurred to me that they are actual the "fake" contractions.
Emotions
I'm not normally a very emotional person. I'm really not great at consoling in times of need and I would rather make a joke than sit in awkward silence. While being pregnant with Chloe I was a bit more emotional, but nothing terrible. This time around it is just ridiculous. I have been so very emotional. I couldn't even watch the movie trailer for War Horse without fighting back tears. I cried when I accidentally put a virus on my computer because I first put the virus on and then because all of our videos since Chloe was born were on my computer. I did get the virus off and all the videos are safe, but it was a rough few days. I cried because one Sunday I didn't think I would get to have lunch with Zach, which is common because we only get to have lunch together once or twice a week. I cried when Zach received his paperwork from the travel agent for his upcoming trip to Jamaica for his brother's wedding. This has actually been a big easy trigger. In the almost six years we have been married we have only spent a total of 2 days apart and that was at 2 separate times. He's only going to be gone for 3 days, but just the idea of him being out of the country while I'm HUGE and pregnant and at home with Chloe has been hard. Being together is one thing that we have always taken very seriously. It isn't a trust issue just a fact that we are best friends and one of the topics we talked about before we got married as neither of us wanted it to be habit to be apart overnight. It is just how our marriage works so whenever this emotional basket case thinks about all the crazy "what ifs" like a plane crash or a strange kidnapping I just can't help but shed a few tears. Luckily my mom is coming in town to help with Chloe and to help time fly by while Zach is gone. For a normal Jenna this wouldn't be as big a deal, but for pregnant emotional Jenna it has been hard.
These are just a few examples as when I asked Zach about the ridiculous times I cried he just laughed and said he just blocks it out and doesn't take it too seriously.

Well only about 9 more weeks until Levi should be here. Maybe this last trimester won't be so emotional and I won't feel so huge, but more than likely my belly will grow larger and larger and the tears will continue to roll.

Happy New Year!

Chloe enjoying a ride in her swing

Chloe going down her slide Chloe and Zach launching smoke bombsChloe sitting like a "big" girl at Subway

Levi's Room

Levi's Room

Our new year has started off great! We have had a lot of great family time and spent a lot of time getting ready for Levi's arrival (which is only about 11 weeks from now!). We have been able to spend a lot of time outside playing on Chloe's playset and swing, going for bike rides and walks. Chloe has really enjoyed the time outside and will now go to our back door and say "outside" because she wants to go out and play.

I feel like for the past few months we keep saying that Chloe is "almost walking" and she is still almost walking. She loves to walk through the house and when we go out, but she doesn't want to let go of our fingers. She's taken about 2 or 3 steps tops and then kneels down and looks up at us like "how dare we let go of her". She's becoming quite the little drama queen sometimes. Surely she must get that from Zach :)

We've finally weaned Chloe off of her formula and onto regular milk and regular food very slowly as she didn't take to milk right off the bat. We started mixing her milk and formula together until finally we are on milk only and no more formula! She has also started really picking up on eating regular food. She likes ham, chicken, turkey, hot dogs, mac n cheese, green beans and all kinds of fruit. The only things she isn't too fond of are hamburgers and french fries. Which really isn't a bad thing. She's also started talking a lot more. She says words like "outside, ball, shoe, socks, birdie and uh-oh". She is also starting to say please, grass and rocks. When Zach takes Chloe out on a bike ride she points at everything and asks what it is and so he is teaching her all the outdoor things.

Zach has been working very hard on Levi's room. We started out with a completely clean slate. The walls and the ceiling were all white and we had cleaned out the room and the closets. It took us (mainly Zach) 3 weekends to get all painted, but it is finally done. I am always amazed at how great of an artist Zach is. He free handed the car and dog on the wall based on a few pictures and then painted it all. He also has such an eye for what will work. I am very much a symmetrical kind of person so I had to have him plot out where the squares would be on the wall for me to paint as if it was up to me they would all be in the same size and in a straight line. Zach laughs at me because of this all the time. Everything needs to be symmetrical or centered or I just can't grasp it. So I tell him if he doesn't want it to be centered and symmetrical then Zach has to do it while I'm not watching as once it is done how he wants it it always looks great, but I can't picture it in my mind. He's normally always right.

So we have about 11 weeks left. I had my glucose testing a week ago and I was pretty proud of myself. Which Chloe the glucose test was just one hour and one sample of blood from each arm. This time I had to fast for 12 hours and then get my blood drawn 3 times for a total of 5 tubes of blood over 2 hours. Last time Zach came with me, but this time I didn't want to make Chloe sit for 2 hours and do nothing so Zach stayed home with her and I sat by myself. I was really dreading it, but then it turned out pretty good. I was able to sit and get my blood drawn by myself and without passing out! I didn't even have to lay down while she drew my blood. While I was waiting in between times they had to draw my blood I just sat and read my book. It was very relaxing.

The pregnancy has been going good. I've definitely been more tired this time, but that is probably because I've been taking care of a one year old and working. I've also been craving McDonald's cheeseburgers and anything sweet. The pregnancy has gone by so fast. I think because the holidays went by so fast it was like 2 months just went by in a blink of an eye. Because it has been going by so fast I have really realized how far behind we are from when we were pregnant with Chloe. By this time with Chloe her room had been long done and ready for her arrival, but with Levi we just have the room painted and we are still trying to get everything ready. I know you are thinking 11 weeks to go, but it will fly by!

Merry Christmas!

Chloe with her bag from Santa full of toys
Chloe and Zach out on their first bike ride courtesy of Grumpy & Grammy
Cousin Allie pushing Chole on the pricess car

We had a fantastic Christmas! I love Christmas and am one of those annoying people that have their shopping done weeks in advance and wrapped under the tree the beginning of December. I love everything about Christmas. This year was even more exciting because the older Chloe gets the more she will learn to enjoy Christmas as well.

This year there was lots of talking "to" Santa. Zach and I both had different experience with Santa so we had to decide, along with Santa of course, how Santa was going to deliver gifts to our children. My Santa would pile up a stack of our gifts in nice little piles with our stockings in front so on Christmas morning each of us three girls would know which pile belonged to who. Zach's Santa would spread the presents around the tree and then on Christmas morning they would be handed out to everyone. So because each of us thought the other person's experience was ridiculous we came to a compromise and decided that Santa would put Chloe's gifts in a big Santa bag with her name on it and leave it by the tree. This way the gifts are all stacked nicely in one area like I wanted, but it was something different from what each of us had growing up. Then after Christmas we would "mail" the Santa bag(s) back to the North Pole so Santa would have them next year.

My parents came in town for a bit to have an early Christmas. We celebrated Christmas with them on December 17th and then had a great visit with them after that. We picked dad up from the airport and of course Chloe would not look at him. I don't know what it is about him but she has always been a Little resistant when it comes to my dad. It didn't last long because by the first night he was able to play with her and hold her, which before would take a few days. Chloe had lots of time to play with my parents and her cousins. She liked to ride on a little princess car that cousin Allie had while Allie would push her all over the house. She also learned more of the motions to pat-a-cake as she will throw it in the pan by putting her hands up in the air. She also was getting better at walking. She still has only taken one step at a time without holding on, but her balance has gotten much better when we walk with her and she is down to holding on with one finger. Hopefully she starts walking before this baby comes!

After we had a great visit with my parents it was time for our Christmas. Each year we have done something a little different depending on where we are at and especially since we had to think about Chloe. This year on Christmas Eve we went out for a good lunch and had this amazing strawberry dessert. Chloe even tried to dig into it a little bit. Then we came back put Chloe down for a nap and when we woke her up we opened up gifts from Zach's side of the family as well as my grandparents and aunts and uncles. Chloe wasn't too interested in opening up the gifts, but she did like to see them and if they were hers she wanted to open and play with them immediately. After we had our nice time opening up some of the gifts we went out and looked at Christmas lights. We would say "ooohh" and "ahhhh" and "how pretty" and then Chloe would make noises too and stare out the window. Then Zach passed down a few houses and said that they were grinches because the houses had no lights on them and it was right at that moment that Chloe decided to blow raspberries. It was perfect timing as it was like she was telling the homes that she didn't like them either. After we went around looking at lights we came home and played a little bit then put Chloe to bed. After Chloe was fast asleep we watched Christmas Vacation as you just have to do that on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas morning we all woke up opened up our gifts from each other and then went to my sister's house and spent some time with them opening more gifts and watching the kids play with their new toys. It was a great Christmas!

As much as I love Christmas and everything that it includes I am also ready to take down the tree and decorations just as quickly. Now it is time to start looking ahead to the new year and the new BABY!

Bring on the holidays!

Chloe dressed up in an outfit from her Grammy & Grumpy

Zach and Chloe at our Flagstaff Hotel

Chloe "eating" the table at the swanky Flagstaff restaurant

Cousin Allie giving a cheesy smile after "eating" her fries and ranch

Zach's masterpiece

Chloe helping with the decorations
The finished product

We've had a great and busy few weeks. After all the visitors were gone and Chloe was a year old it seemed liked a lot of things clicked with her. She started clapping, which I was very excited about as we've been trying to get her to clap for at least a month. Then she finally started saying "Ma Ma". This was huge as all she would ever want to say is "da da" or "daddy". She has also started giving kisses out and blowing the occasional kiss. Chloe isn't walking yet, but she is so close. She is pulling up and starting to let go from everything. Her hair is also finally growing. We still can't decide what color her hair is as sometimes it looks blond and other times it has a red tint to it, but I'm sure just like my hair it will change colors the older she gets. We did notice after her hair air-dried after a bath there were a few curls starting to form at the back of her head. Who knows what her hair is going to be like.

We've also decided on a theme for the new baby's room. I told Zach that I let him off the hook because with Chloe the minute we found out we were having a girl I put him to work on setting up her room. We've decided it will be a car theme, not the movie Cars but actual cartoon like cars and trucks. It took a lot to decide as there really aren't a whole lot of really cute boy themes that don't have monkeys in the theme. Once the holidays are over I will really start to get the room in order and paint on the walls. The baby has been moving around a lot more and Zach has been able to feel the baby a lot more. We have been slowly gathering some outfits for the new baby which makes it all seem more real to actually shop for him. Now when we go to the mall it is filled with stops to children stores and the baby department rather than for us.

With all the new things going on with Chloe and the new baby the holiday season has begun. Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love to listen to Christmas music and I love all the decorations and just the feeling in the air. For Thanksgiving we went up north to Flagstaff to spend a few days with my sister and her family. We stayed at a nice hotel that had hot breakfast and dinner for free as well as an indoor pool. We went to the pool the first day and Chloe was clinging onto Zach as it was too cold for her. The pool may have been indoors, but the cool outside was in the pool. After about 10 minutes Chloe started shivering so she and Zach moved to the hot tub. The hot tub wasn't too hot, but we still just had Chloe put her legs in to and splash around. She had fun and was much happier than what she was in the cold cold pool. The Friday after Thanksgiving we went to this swanky restaurant right next to the hotel. When Adam first checked out to see if it was open he didn't notice how swanky it was. Luckily it was not busy at all because I'm sure if the normal crowd saw a table with 2 six year olds and 2 one year olds they wouldn't have appreciated us. After looking at the menu and realizing there was no kids menu we kind of all looked at each other and wondered if we should just get up and leave. We ended up staying and all had great food. We then left and did a little Christmas shopping/browsing at the local mall. It was a very small and old mall, but you have to go out the day after Thanksgiving to do at least a little bit of shopping. Then on the Saturday on our way home we went out to our local mall and stores and got ALL of our Christmas shopping done!

Finally the Christmas decorations are up! Normally they are up the day after Thanksgiving, but I was a little slow this year. Zach had up the lights in perfect timing, but it took me about a week longer than normal to get the tree done. We've moved the tree upstairs to hopefully help Chloe and the dogs keep off of it during the day. We also switched out the old glass ornaments with the shatterproof plastic ornaments. Now it is time to wrap wrap wrap!

Grandparents Visit

Chloe, Grumpy & Grammie Round 2 w/Grammie & Grumpy. Don't let the mess fool you, she still didn't eat the cake! I just couldn't resist posting this :) Grammie & Chloe on the Carosel We've reached our destination on the hike...the waterfall?

We just had a great two weeks and over those two weeks Chloe's grandparents came out for a visit. Steve and Ermine came in late in the evening on Chloe's birthday to spend a quick weekend with her over her first birthday weekend. We went out for a walk/hike in the nearby mountains, had a picinic at the park, visited the Phoenix zoo and had a belated (only by a few days) birthday cake/celebration for Chloe and an early (only by a few days) birthday cake/celebration for Zach. Chloe also actually enjoyed some Texas Roadhouse bread for the first time. She normally isn't too fond of breads, but she actually took some. She also started saying "Thank You", not necessarily at the right times or all the times, but we are working on it.

Chloe, Mamaw & Allie

Chloe, Sabrina & Allie on Santa's lap at the National Adoption Day Event
All of us with the Judge at Allie's adoption finalization
Chloe and Mamaw on Mamaw's last day

A few days after Steve and Ermine left my mom came for a visit. It was suppose to be just a few day lay-over on her way back from Bankok, but the trip was cancelled so she just came out anyways. It was a busy and great trip. I'm always shocked to see how well Chloe takes to my mom, especially since she has some issues with my dad, but this trip was like all the rest. Chloe would crawl right up to mom for her to pick Chloe up. The first morning Chloe was a bit timid and playing shy, but after she had some breakfast she was ready to play. We went out to dinner with the Fischer clan at a great BBQ place for Zach's birthday (well really for my mom because it is her favorite). My mom also offered to watch Chloe for an evening so Zach and I could go out to a movie. That is always a nice surprise! Then on Saturday we spent the morning at the football field to watch Calvin & Wes win the flag football championship and were able to go to the courthouse to watch Allie's AZ adoption be finalized on National Adoption Day. Then we did some shopping and playing in the park with all the kids.

Both grandparent vists were great and I'm sure that Chloe enjoyed visiting/playing with her grandparents as much as they enjoyed it. We also enjoy watching the interaction and seeing Chloe get to know her grandparents since they all live so far away!

Next up....Thanksgiving!!!

Chloe all tuckered out after her two big visits with her grandparents