My camera was broken

and it prevented me from posting photos and blogging lately. I'm back with a repaired Nikon camera and a new Canon SD780 point and shoot camera. Now I have no excuses for not blogging except the fact that we've had SO much stuff going on. The girls started swim lessons, we still had dance class going on until this last week, and playdates almost 2x a week. Crazy! I'm going to post some photos of our adventures the past few weeks.

If I didn't know better....

I would think the baby is moving/kicking. It might be gas, but I swear I am feeling movement. I can't wait to feel the constant kicks and see the belly moving. It's one of my favorite things about being pregnant.

New clothes

It's about time for maternity clothes. I can still button up a few items, but every day something else in the closet doesn't fit. I have been so lucky that Karen, Holly, and Misty gave me some of their hand-me-down clothes. Most of them aren't maternity, but some will fill the gap until I need the really stretchy waistband items.

I don't know....

if it's this age of 2 1/2 year old toddlers or if we just have bad luck, but we can't get a decent family photo of the 4 of us. Someone is always looking away. It never fails--3 of us are looking at the camera and one is doing something random. I was looking through our photos and wishing we had a photo of the 4 of us all looking at the camera. It happens once a year when I hire a professional to take our photos. Here's a few family shots that were recently attempted.

This one below is random--Reese is giving knuckles to the camera. Hilarious!

Little pet

Ryan was Haley's little pet the other day. She dressed her up head to toe. Ryan looks less than thrilled in this photo, but she actually really enjoyed herself. I love the cat ears.

We're baaaaack!

We've been out of town for a week and I've been a slacker about posting (thanks for the reminder, Mystique :) We had a great time in San Diego, as usual. We took the girls to Sea World for the first time and they had a great time. They loved Shamu and now they are saying that they know how to swim on their back like Shamu. Ryan's favorite animals were the manatees and Reese loved the polar bears. Here's a few photos from our wonderful trip:

Ryan (above) and Reese (below) with the tropical birds on their shoulders. I am so terrified of birds, so I was standing far enough away to be safe, but close enough so I could get a good photo. Notice that Cory is right there helping them. I was so freaked out and kept telling my mom that they're not my children if they let birds sit on their shoulders. I guess I'm glad they don't have my weird phobia.

Ryan, the fashion diva--loves her bows and Dora sunglasses. She looked like a rock star this day we went out.

The girls and I at Sea World. It's the end of our day and we're all a bit tired.

13 weeks is a Nutter Butter

Your Baby
Your baby can make a fist and even suck his or her thumb this week—both skills that are über-cute during infancy ... and not so much at the age of 9. If you're really lucky, you might catch a glimpse of baby's thumb sucking on an ultrasound photo. That's a framer! Other exciting developments include:

Your baby's eyelids are fused shut to protect his eyes as they develop. His bones and skull are solidifying and soon itsy-bitsy ribs may appear. (Baby ribs! How cute is that?!) Baby's intestines are finally right where you want them—in his or her belly instead of poking out into the umbilical cord. Baby's tooth sockets are all loaded and ready to pop out baby teeth six or seven months after baby is born (causing baby a lot of pain and you a lot of lost sleep).

Who's that singing? Elton John? Could be your baby: His vocal cords and larynx are completed now.

Your baby-to-be now weighs about 20 grams and is nearly 3 inches long, or about the size of a Nutter Butter, covered in chocolate. OK, it doesn't have to be covered in chocolate, but isn't everything better that way?

12 weeks is a Vienna sausage

Your Baby
Baby's face is looking more human as his eyes have moved to the front of his head and his ears are in place. Hooray! Other amazing fetal highlights this week:

Your baby is able to swallow this week and practices on the amniotic fluid he or she floats in. (And you thought baby food was kind of nasty!) And in case you're wondering how your kid can breathe in all that fluid, here's your answer: Fetuses get oxygen from the blood pumped into their bodies by the placenta and don't breathe with their lungs. Mystery solved!

This is kind of gross, albeit fascinating, so feel free to skip ahead: Your baby's intestines are well under way, but they aren't all where you'd expect them to be. Instead of all being locked away in the body cavity, some are dangling on the outside, in the umbilical cord. Ewwww.

Don't forget to put a baby nail file on your registry—your little nugget's finger- and toenails are forming this week. The chin and nose are also becoming more defined.

Junior has doubled in size over the past two weeks and now weighs almost ½ ounce. He's also now around 2 ½ inches long, about the length of your pinky finger or a Vienna sausage, which, in a few months, will be indistinguishable from one another.

Last summer

I found these photos on my mom's camera and they were taken last 4th of July when we were in San Diego. I didn't think the girls had changed that much, but their little faces look so chubby in the pictures and they just look like little babies to me. Hard to believe how much things change in one year.

Riding the carousel. Cory was with Ryan & I had Reese.

3rd of July Picnic in the park

I love that chubby little face and the short curly hair.

We LOVE our hats!

Our new Dr.

We visited the Dr. Layton today and it was our first appointment with him. I hadn't been to the doctor since I first found out I was pregnant at 4 wks, so it was very exciting to be there almost 2 months later. I weighed in at 119.6 lbs, up 3lbs. from the 4 week appointment. The doctor came in to talk to us and introduce himself and then we went into the room with the ultrasound machine. Dr. Layton did the full pelvic exam and then time for the ultrasound. It was so fun to see the little peanut on the screen. He or she was floating around and you could see arms waving and legs kicking. It was so sweet and I loved seeing the baby at that size. Our first ultrasound with the girls was at 15 weeks, 5 days and this one was done at 11 week, 5 days. You can see a big difference in size in one month.