A visit with Ho Ho / Week 23

There aren’t many days left before Christmas, so we’re trying to cram in every bit of holiday fun before the big day arrives.  Last year we took Anna to Bass Pro Shop for pictures with Santa, but after arriving and seeing a mile length line, we opted out.  So, yes, Virginia, I have no pictures of my child with Santa Claus for 2010.  Not wanting a FAIL repeat this year, we made plans to get there much earlier than last year and were expecting a long wait again.  Fortunately, Bass Pro got their act together and handed out time tickets for pictures.  So, our wait time was cut in half as we now had an appointed time for the big visit with Santa.

Anna behaved like an angel for most of the day.  That is, until 30 seconds prior to meeting Santa.  Core melt-down time began, and mommy stress was through the roof.  I can’t say as I blame my child.  I mean, we were there for two hours before we got to see Santa.  She had played on every toy, begged for every piece of candy in the store, ran around and had her fun.  Since she takes after me when she gets hungry, my sweet child turns into Sybil on speed. 

I’m so glad there’s a name for our disorder now. It’s called hangry.  Lots of people suffer from this disorder. 

The legal definition: When you are so hungry that your lack of food causes you to become angry, frustrated or both.


I should have this one tattooed on my forehead:


We were up next for our pictures, and Anna decided at that moment to pitch a fit when I told her to put back on her sweater.  Then she ran away and wanted to play with the stuffed animal fish that they stupidly displayed right where all the kids were standing.  She was absolutely frenetic, and I was absolutely panicked that we spent all this time, made all of this preparation for her to miss out once again. 

But, just like that, she went from a total psycho back to her cute and well-behaved little self.  It’s quite impressive how she can turn it on and off like that.  It’s also quite scary.  Is my child insane?  Perhaps so, but at least she got a good picture with Santa this year.

Here’s video of Anna’s big Santa meeting (I apologize for the shakiness of the video – FLIP camera kinda sucks):

Anna’s visit with Santa

And here’s a cell phone shot of the event (the original photo hasn’t been scanned in yet because I’m too lazy, but I actually like this version even better).  Anna tends to really cheese it up in photos, and while it’s cute, it’s not necessarily the most photogenic approach to take.  Her Christmas photos are no exception. 


My nephew’s Santa photos were taken at a local mall the next day.  When my sister posted them on Facebook, I must’ve laughed for a good minute at how ridiculously hilarious and adorable they turned out:



I’m still perplexed about Santa’s green Grinch hands.  What was he thinking?  No wonder Jackson was so scared!

I digress…

After the photos were finished, we high-tailed it out of that madhouse and went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse.  Anna had a few more melt-downs in the restaurant which always makes for a pleasant dining experience, but she finally got herself together and defeated the hangry disorder.

We left the restaurant and went to see our new baby cousin (Joe’s first cousin’s baby girl Ellie).  She’s 4 weeks old and is the most precious baby ever.  It was so fun watching Anna interact with her – especially since we’ll have our own little one soon!  Anna is going to be such an amazing big sister.  She’s gentle, quiet, and she’s totally willing to change poop diapers and feed the baby.  SCORE!  It’ll be like having my own little elf around to help me out!

Here’s the big sister in training – she’s a pro already:


The next day we spent the day at Anna’s grandmama’s house (Joe’s grandmother) watching the Saints beat some Titan tail while dining on chili and hot dogs – perfect cold weather/football game day food. 

It was a wonderful, non-stop weekend with lots of memories and fun.  I wish all of our weekends could be like that!

How’d your Santa photos turn out?  Link ‘em up in the comments section!

How’s Christmas shopping coming along for you?  I’m proud to say that since my child has such easy requests (a blue watch and puzzles), I managed to get way with spending $83 total on her gifts this year!  I’ll post next week what I got her since this post is getting to be ridiculously long. 

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23 weeks and counting…

Here’s where we are this week: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.


Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 23 weeks

Total weight gain: +13.0 total.  This is –.5 from last week.  I am on a two week trend of no weight gain.  In fact, I lost .5 lb. this past week.  I have no idea how that happened considering the amount of chili and hot dogs I ate on Sunday (oh, and honey rolls from Texas Roadhouse on Saturday).  Pig, I am.  According to the pregnancy weight gain calculator, I am a bit below average, but I don’t think it’s any concern at this point.  The baby is shifting things around in there, so my stomach is getting pressed up.  I’m going to assume this means my appetite is a bit less or my fear of heartburn (which I’ve been getting a lot) surpasses my desire to eat as much.  

Sleep habits: Sleep is great.  Yes, I have multiple pee sessions/night, but I quickly fall back asleep after.  My stomach is starting to feel a bit heavier, so when I do wake up on my back, it feels…off.  I’m not really sure how to counter-act this back sleeping deal since we only have a queen bed with zero room for any other pillows other than what we currently use. 

Maternity clothes: Unfortunately, I have no belly shot to show you this week because I’ve had zero time to do anything creative like I wanted.  Or even to take a random photo.  My bump is starting to really pop, so most of my regular shirts that I was able to wear this whole time are starting to fit very snugly.  I thought that boy bumps were supposed to be rounder and more basketball like.  This isn’t the case with me.  Like with Anna, this bump is more wide-set and extends around my entire mid-section, so instead of looking pregnant, I just look like I’m wearing an innertube around my waist.  Not a flattering look, people.  Thankfully, it’s winter, so I can wear lots of bulky stuff to cover up this uncomfortable part of my pregnancy before the full bump is here.  I definitely want to embrace my bump and wear form-fitting stuff, but now is not the time.  Maybe in a few more weeks when things round out a bit (if they ever do).

Best moment of the week:  Taking Anna to get pictures with Santa (Ho Ho – as she calls him), spending the weekend with my in-laws and also getting to meet my new baby cousin Ellie. 

Food cravings: No real cravings this week.  I’m still on a baked potato kick.  Oh, I did crave some macaroni and cheese, so I made some last night, but it didn’t satisfy my craving at all because it was basically disgusting.  I know I’ll be eating some delicious baked macaroni on Christmas day with my family, so I can just wait!
 
Symptoms: I can actually feel things shifting around in my belleh, so I know it’s only a matter of time before there’s no doubt to anyone who sees me that I’m indeed knocked up. I officially popped around 24 weeks with Anna, and I think the same will happen this time.  I lovingly refer to this feeling as “innard shifting” which is exactly what’s happening.  This is a really cool representation of what happens to your organs during a pregnancy:

Click here

With innard shifting comes lots of weird cramps and jolts.  Some are miserable, most are tolerable.  I find myself having a hard time standing up quickly or getting out of bed quickly – there’s lots of pulling and stretching going on in the inside when I make quick movements.  It’s kind of unsettling.

Other than the innard shifting, I’ve been having some serious heartburn.  I don’t remember having this issue with Anna, but it makes sense since my stomach is behind my boobs now.  If I lie down after eating – even a few hours after eating – I pay for it dearly.  I haven’t caved and eaten any Tums yet, but now I think it’s time.  They’re just so disgusting that I’ve avoided them thus far. 

Movement:  Some days little Joe moves most of the day, other days he’s not as active (which always makes me worry).  I realized in the middle of the night that I hadn’t felt him move in quite some time, so I touched my stomach and felt a firm area.  Once I pressed on it, he moved away and then woke up and kicked me the rest of the night.  Never wake a sleeping baby, yo.   

What I’m looking forward to:  Christmas at my mom’s house and a nice, relaxing NYE at our house with the in-laws. 

What I miss: I want to say that I miss feeling thin, but I’m scared that will come across the wrong way.  I love growing a child, but I do admit that it’s hard to see your body gain weight in such weird places and not really be able to do anything about it.  It’s totally worth it, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard sometimes. 

Next appointment: January 5th