Lately

It has been quite a while since I posted last (relatively speaking).  I am just so tired lately...the first symptom to hit me when I was pregnant with Svanja was exhaustion, and it seems it's the same with this pregnancy.  I take a nap almost each day, sometimes sleeping up to 3 hours. Thankfully, Svanja sleeps about the same during her nap.

I wish I could sleep more at night, but no matter how late or how early I go to bed, I wake up just before 6 due to the sun and birds.  I finally put up two blankets over the window, since even with the light-reducing, insulating shade it still gets too bright for me to sleep.  We'll see if that helps me sleep in later.

God has been so active in my life lately.  Well, actually, that's the wrong terminology.  My eyes have been opened to see how God has been working in my life lately.  I can't wait to share where God is calling Jordan and I!  Pieces are slowly falling into place, pieces of confirmation.

There is so much I want to write about - how to fight as a couple (to get things resolved, not worse), the New Heaven and New Earth (one of my favorite topics EVER - looking forward to eternity!!), how much I love my new iPhone 5, what I'm planning on doing for Svanja's birthday party....

OH.

Svanja is one! She turned one on Tuesday!!!  And she is taking more and more steps and really enjoys the risk of walking.  She looks like a toddler, acts older, and I seriously don't know how Jordan and I lived before we had her.  I can't imagine life without her now!

But bed is calling me. Or vegging on the couch with the remote or a book...something where I don't have to think. Haha.  *yawn*

Mommy Five Link Up

Heather over at A Different Kind of Woman has started a really cool link-up with Sarah from Tealography! This is the first day of the link-up, and I'm excited to join in. Oh, and it's Heather's 22nd birthday!! Happy birthday to you, Heather! Today's question is:

What is your Mommy's top five can't go with outs?

My top five are:

1. Pacifier:  Svanja was nursing me dry and raw before I introduced the pacifier to her around 2 months, and even now it keeps her much calmer than she would be if she didn't have it.  Her favorites are this pink camo one and this funny lips one we bought at a tourist trap in Kentucky. 

2. Ergo Baby Carrier:  I have absolutely NO clue how moms survive without a carrier of some sort! I use mine ALL the time; it's the best way to keep Svanja content and out of trouble while I get things done.  I've had 5 different carriers, and this one is my favorite. Svanja loves it, and it doesn't hurt my shoulders or back even if I wear her for 3 hours at a time. It's designed so much of the baby's weight sits on your hips, instead of all on your shoulders (like other carriers do).  I also loved the Moby Wrap when she was smaller.  Here I'm using it at church during band practice.





3. Earth's Best Organic Blueberry Banana Baby Food Pouches: Svanja's favorite flavor of baby food. She sucks these pouches dry super fast!  Baby food pouches are one of the best inventions for on-the-go feeding. They're super easy, super quick, and virtually mess-free! I make my baby food at home, but for on-the-go, I can't recommend baby food pouches enough!

4. Boogie Wipes: Much better than Kleenex for wiping Svanja's nose, these keep her nose moisturized, plus they grab those long, ucky, stringy green boogers really well.  Pair them with a suction bulb and you've got the upper hand on a snotty nose!




5. Bobux shoes: These are really expensive, unfortunately, so I can only get one or two pairs every six months, but Svanja wears them all the time. They are the only shoes I've found that stay on her feet (and that she can't pull off, even while wearing socks!), probably because they are made of soft leather and elastic.  They are flexible, too, and specially made for babies' feet to grow correctly.  Closest thing to going barefoot, which is best for babies and toddlers, but can't happen when leaving the home.

Sunshiney Days

Spring is upon us.

I took Svanja out last week to play in the grass. She was quite fascinated - it was only the second time she's played in the grass!  She also stood up a little by herself. She's getting much better at standing up by herself, and she's even taken a few steps! So close to walking :)

This is more of a picture post to make up for my last all-words post, hehe. Svanja's dress and barrette are from Target.

Big News, Pt. 1

On Monday I decided to run a 5k and start a diet, and a friend was going to let me borrow her copy of Insanity so I could try to get fit over the next couple months.  I should have figured from those three things that I was soon going to find out...

I'm pregnant!! (and of course can't do any of those three things)

I found out the very next day, on Tuesday, actually! I took a pregnancy test on Monday because that was the day my period was supposed to come, and I just had a feeling...but the test was inconclusive. I say inconclusive because if I looked really hard, I thought I could see a line, but I could have been imagining it. Even Jordan wasn't sure.  We both figured we were just trying so hard to see it our brain was making it up. So I tried again Tuesday morning, and it was VERY positive!

I figure I should be due on December 30. (Jordan was very excited about this - big tax break next year, if I don't go late!)

I'm going to try to find a midwife, and I wish there was a birthing center nearby.  There is one about an hour and a half away, but I feel that is a little too far, and I definitely do not want to give birth at home (but props to those of you who do!).

So Svanja will be a big sister. And she will make a fantastic one!

I would put some pictures in, but my computer is being very slow from a stupid task that is taking 113% of CPU usage (how does that even work?) and causing everything to freeze up and uploaded pictures to show up black and asdflk;ajef....*insert deep, calm breath* I don't get road rage; I get computer rage.  Slow drivers who go 10 miles beneath the speed limit? Not a word.  Slow computers that take longer than 5 seconds to do anything? Crazy impatient guttural sounds that sound like "grrrrrr" and "hurry up, you dumb thing."

As for the big news, pt. 2? Not yet. Patience, my young Padawan. We've got some things to work out first.  But it is almost as exciting as this piece of news!  I cannot wait to see Svanja and her little brother/sister interact, and experience a second pregnancy and labor/delivery, and breastfeed again, and have another little tiny human to love on!

SUPER (secret) Excitement and Some Cool Pinterest Pics

I'm only writing this because I have to say something. I have to let it out. and later today I will probably write another post on an entirely different topic. But.

TWO BIG CHANGES ARE COMING TO JORDAN'S AND MY LIFE!!!!!

Unfortunately I can't say what they are yet.

But suffice it to say, we're pretty excited. and nervous. But God has been leading and working in really awesome ways, answering prayers and setting things up for us.

Don't worry; I won't hold you in suspension too much longer, a couple days at the most.

In the meantime, *squeeeeeeeeeeeee*

Oh, and please enjoy this collection of some of my favorite images from Pinterest.

Manic Monday Morning

I was feeling quite motivated this morning. The sun woke me up around 6:15, as it usually does, and I was super hot and not feeling like going back to sleep (I honestly thought it was about 8 AM).  The sunrise was gorgeous, the temperature was about 40 degrees, and I decided I'd had enough of couch potatoing.

So I went on a mostly-walk-with-a-little-run jaunt.  I did my BSF lesson first, then used the exercise to pray.  Let me tell you something - God is SO good! He has been answering our prayers like crazy lately!  (as in, "Lord, please have this person e-mail us back today," and they do, or "please give us confirmation in ****," and He does!)  I am really looking forward to my prayer time with God every day a lot more than I used to (not that I didn't before).  I have started praying very specifically, and I think that's part of the reason why I enjoy it so much now, because I start looking for those answers to my prayers.

I also realized this morning that I would like to be able to do a 5K in the fall, so that gives me some motivation and a goal to work towards, instead of just a general "I want to be in shape."  And it was a good little jaunt. I just think I'm going to go earlier, because by the time I got out there, there were kids waiting for the bus, and people heading off to work, and the local marathon/Ironman (Ironwoman?) lady doing her daily run, and I am slightly embarrassed about my jostling tush as I run, haha! So tomorrow I'll go right at 6 or 6:15.

But I feel really good now.  I also started the 3-day military diet.  Supposedly you can lose up to 10 lbs in 3 days, which doesn't seem very healthy, but I doubt I'll lose even close to that, since I have been eating fairly healthy.  You do actually eat food on this diet, too...it's not just a crash diet that severely limits your calories.  Breakfast consisted of a half grapefruit, a piece of toast with 2 tbls peanut butter, and a cup of black tea.  It was actually pretty filling, more filling than the normal bowl of cereal I eat.  And 2 tbls peanut butter on one slice of bread is a lot.  Almost too much!  So on Thursday morning, I'll weigh myself and see how much I lost (I'm only counting on maybe 3 lbs at the most).  I currently am at 148 lbs (and I'm 5'2", BMI 27.1, which should be lower than 25).

Skirt from Gordman's

I took in a maxi skirt's waist by hand, as well. I just got it for my birthday, and I LOVE it, but the waist is a little too big!  Now it fits really well, and I love it even more. So comfortable and cute!


Then Jordan and I went to Verizon to get my phone upgraded, while my mom stayed at home as Svanja napped. My phone's battery had conveniently swelled up and died this weekend, and we became eligible for upgrades last week.  I'm planning on switching from Droid to iPhone, while Jordan will keep his Droid so we can compare and decide in the next two years which we like better.

Well, we pulled in, and we locked and closed the doors to our car.  And then we realized our key was in the car!!  We only have one key, and the remote lock/unlock on it stopped working a while back, so we have to manually lock the doors, which is why we didn't have the key in our hand.  Thankfully, my dad saved the day and brought a whole bunch of tools for unlocking car doors and easily unlocked ours. (Who knew that a white-collar executive could break into cars so easily? He said he keeps them around because people at work lock their keys in their cars often)

Manic, but good, Monday morning!

By that time, we had just about run out of time before we had to be back home so my mom could make an appointment.  So I still have a definitely dead Droid.  But hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow we can make it back out to Verizon.

It's a gorgeous day today - partly sunny and a high of 66. Jordan and I plan to take Svanja and go for a walk or hike this afternoon.  I wonder what adventures the next couple of hours hold?

P.S. I apologize for the webcam pics. I don't feel like pulling out my camera and taking real photos right now, haha!

I'm on the way to a suburb of Chicago with my mom and daughter right now! We're going to visit the Chicago Botanical Garden for an antiques & garden show.  I had wanted to go into downtown Chicago and visit the Children's Museum but Svanja just came down with a cold, so the idea of her crawling all over things with other babies didn't sound appealing, considering the current state of her immune system.  So we'll make another trip this summer. I am seriously in love with Chicago. I love the sense of smallness I get as the skyscrapers tower over me, and my imagination runs wild as I see the crowds of people and think about their stories and what they are doing. Are they corporate spies? FBI? Pilots, journalists, budding entrepreneurs, foreigners? I'm sure most of them are just normal working people, but I love the intrigue of big cities. Not to mention, Chicago is extremely corrupt so that is why my imagination tends to run on the wild side there. I also love the cultural diversity. All the different ethnicities and backgrounds and yummy food. And the airport, oh! Busiest airport in America. Filled with beautiful planes, and the world is available from this one piece of land. I just need to go in and buy a ticket, and I can go anywhere in the world! The possibilities! And the people and their stories! Honestly, probably the biggest reason I love Chicago so much is because I love to people watch so much. It just fuels my imagination.

This is a bit of a rambling, unplanned post...I'm typing on a phone so I can't see everything all at once. So I apologize for any weird sentence structures or misspelled words lol!