IT'S A .......!

BOY!

For Baby #2, we are evening out our numbers and joining the blue team!

Although we truly wouldn't be surprised if we found out next month it was a girl. The boy parts looked like an umbilical cord to me and Johnny swears he saw three lines. We can't verify this because the technician forgot to record the gender part of the ultrasound. So we are pretty sure (and excited) about a little boy, but thinking there is a very slight chance for girl :).

I'll scan in the ultrasound pics so you can see for yourself.

Anyways,we are pretty excited about Baby Boy Parker. I already have a list of boy names at least a page long and I am only to the H's in the name database. I actually had more boy names that I liked this time so it will be fun to put one to use!

Here are a few tidbits about the pregnancy so far:

• Everything looked perfect on the ultrasound! He is even measuring one day ahead of schedule.
  
• I have more cravings this time around. They change every day. The list includes: mustard (which I have always hated), strawberries, and bacon.
• I am 19 weeks and I have only gained 4 pounds. (very excited about this, but I didn't start at my ideal weight anyway so I am not supposed to gain as much)
• This little guy is a mover! He likes to kick Lily. Hopefully he is just saying hello, and it isn't a sign of things to come.
  
• My blood pressure is staying low! Woohoo!
• Between my research study appointments and my regular appointments - they have gotten my blood on the first try at least half of the time - major miracle for me. (I have been drinking water and exercising like crazy to enlarge my nonexistent veins!)
  

Menu Plan Monday

With a new baby on the way, I am making more efforts to become better organized. I realized that if I am this scatter brained with one - I am going to be in trouble with two! For about a month I have been doing weekly menu planning with the help of orgjunkie.com and savvyshoppdeals.com. I am happy to say that we are eating better and, surprisingly, for much cheaper! Planning our meals around the weekly sales has been pretty fun. For the first time I stuck to our food budget and we've actually started to build our food storage. I decided to put my weekly meal plan on line (if only for the easiness of having all the links in one place). Undoubtedly, we probably won't stick to it 100 percent, but I'll let you know what we like!


Breakfast
Honey Nut Cheerios and Strawberries
Oatmeal
Toast and scrambled eggs and yogurt
Tropical Banana Nut Parfait


Lunch
Egg Salad Sandwich
Zesty Corn Quesadilla
Rice and Lentils
Sante Fe BLT

Dinner
Stove Top Easy Brunch Casserole
Peach/Strawberry Fruit Pizza with Veggie Eggs and Bacon
Stawberry/Mozzarella Salad with Seasoned Chicken
Cheeseburger Pizza (we love this one and it is slightly healthier than it sounds)
Pasta and Vegetables with Cilantro Sauce

For more great recipes go to orgjunkie.com

At least one of us looks cute!

I am almost 19 weeks and still haven't gotten my cute baby bump yet! However, Lily seems to have given herself a cute little bump of her own. We have been talking to her about the baby growing in my tummy and I guess she decided that she was going to have one of her own :). She likes to talk to my tummy and the baby. I asked her what we should name the baby and she has changed her mind from Bruce and moved on to Elmo, Goofy, or Minnie.


And this is how I found her sleeping the other day. She had fallen asleep on the couch and slipped partially off. She slept that way for another ten minutes!

Cousin Adventures, Activities and Valentines Day

I haven't posted many real updates since the New Year. It seems we just get busier every day. But as you can see from the above pictures, we've managed to find some time to relax and have fun, too. Here are some of Lily's updates from the last few months.
1. We're starting the big girl process ... step #1 = sleeping in her big girl bed. We found a cute Tinkerbell toddler bed at Toys R Us on sale. Hopefully it will tempt her, right? If I weighed less than 50 lbs I would definitely want to sleep in it. Step #2 will be potty training wish us luck. She already loves to sit on it, we juts need to start!

2. Lily has started talking in short sentences. I need to post some of them. She like to tell me, "I know. I do," especially when we are doing something that she wants to do herself.

3. We've finally hit the hard core teething stage. We are at 13 and counting. It seems like they all came at once. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night crying, "Ty en ol" (Tylenol). Poor little girl!

And here are some picture updates of our latest adventures!

Lily and I made sugar cookies for Valentines Day. It was our first cookie adventure together and she LOVED it. We were going to make them for her cousins, but as you can tell, Lily had a little too much fun with the dough. I am not sure how much drool ended up in it!

We also made our second trip to Discovery Gateway downtown. This is the first time we have been since she could walk so I was excited to see her explore. Much to my surprise, she spent the majority of time playing with the baby dolls. She carried the baby doll in the picture around for two and a half hours. She had several others that I convinced her to share. The baby went with us to the water feature (the worker let her give the baby a bath) and to Lily's other favorite activity -the balls!

Lily is a Trost girl through and through - she loves her chocolate!

Cousin Titan came to visit us while his parents had a Valentines getaway. We had too much fun! He is such a good baby. Lily thought he was there just for her. She was obsessed with his belly button. The next day we had to dress him in a buttoning onsie to keep her from getting to it. It definitely taught me a lot about preparing for number two!

We figured Lily was safe for the cousin picture since she was sleeping. Titan is not so sure.

Sugar and Spice or Snails and Puppy Dog Tails?

Our big ultrasound is coming up on March 5th so I thought I'd take an informal poll on what the gender of Parker Baby #2 will be. A few details to help you with your vote ....

1. Myself and just about everybody else was convinced that Lily was going to be a boy. I remember telling Johnny the night before her ultrasound that I was 95 percent sure. And according to the Chinese calendar, heart beat theories, etc. .... she was supposed to be a boy, too.

2. I am almost as convinced that this baby will be a boy. For that reason I am voting girl because I do not trust my motherly instincts :).

3. There are more boys than girls in Johnny's family. No family has had two girls in a row. Will we break the trend?

4. The girls are winning out in my family. 3 girls to 1 boy.

5. And now for a little about the baby. This baby is a MOVER :). I felt the first movement at just over 15 weeks. Johnny and I had been hoping for a calm child to even out our exciting times with Lily (which we do love :) ). I have the feeling that we will have no such luck. The baby's heart rate has typically been in the 160s. The baby also loves Lily. Whenever Lily is leaning against my tummy is when I can feel the baby the most. Either the baby is saying hello or "move it. I am on my way!"

6. Lily's vote is for a baby boy named Bruce.

A Giveaway :)

My First Give-a-way!

Lucky you!

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought that it was a fun idea! So here it goes:

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.
It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. (this was written on the post I copied and pasted here...I'm not sure I'll be able to think of something extremely strange).

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

99 Things

Things I've done are in bold. It's fun to see what is left to do!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6.Given more than you can afford to charity (what’s more than I can afford?)
7.Been to Disneyland
8.Climbed a mountain
9.Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14.Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20.Slept on an overnight train
21.Had a pillow fight
22.Hitch hiked
23.Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24.Built a snow fort
25.Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

If you haven't already been tagged - be BOLD - post your own list. :-)

So what should I do next?