Father's Day Delights!

I was a cooking & baking fool on Father's Day weekend!



It all started after work on Friday with these very interesting yet delicious cookies... I saw these in my Rachael Ray magazine in the Father's Day section & knew I wanted to make them for the fathers of the family. Sweet & savory.. what a perfect combo! Click here for the recipe.



Saturday morning I did a huge amount of cooking & prepping since we were hosting Father's Day. I made Mike the ham & cheese omelet he had a taste for & I was pretty darn impressed with the outcome if I do say so myself. And I do!



My two boys enjoying their Saturday morning breakfast!



Next it was time to bake Melanie's birthday cake! I made a blueberry crumble cake & it was an absolutely perfect summer cake!



Complete with a streusel topping!



Then I made Chipotle's spicy corn salsa recipe. I got the idea when I saw the copy cat recipe in my Food Network Magazine.



Finally I prepped all the ingredients for our special Father's Day club sandwiches. I saw these when watching Giada on the Food Network a couple of years ago. They're always a hit with my family & two sandwiches easily feed six people with room to spare. Click here for the recipe. Giada cuts them into appetizer size bites but I do wedges for entree-sized portions.



It's a prego sized bite just for me!



Since I did so much prepping on Saturday, Father's Day ended up being very low-key & relaxing. Melanie loved her birthday cake & so did the rest of the gang!



Especially this guy! Hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day!!

Hop over to Cam's blog to see more pictures from the day!

19 Week Update

I'm now 19 weeks pregnant & Reese is the size of a large heirloom tomato weighing about 8.5 oz with a length of 6 inches from head to bottom. Some research shows that she can now hear so when we read Cam his bedtime story last night, it was nice to think that both of our babies were hearing the story!

On a side note, I apologize about my get-up in the picture below! Since Monday through Friday you'll find me wearing nothing other than scrubs, gym clothes or PJs, I had no choice but to take my weekly picture after my shower tonight since I forgot to do it this past weekend.



How am I feeling? I've been feeling really great this week with lots of energy. Good thing too because I had a very busy weekend with lots & lots of cooking & time on my feet in general. By the end of the day on Sunday my lower abdomen was really achy. I was relieved to see that this is common at this point in pregnancy & it's called round ligament pain since the ligaments surrounding the uterus are stretching. Yes, I have been pregnant before but apparently I needed a refresher!

Any new changes this week? I had my monthly doctor's appointment yesterday & it was uneventful which is always great. The doctor had a really hard time getting Reese's heartbeat on the doppler since she was moving around like crazy. Maybe we'll have another super active baby on our hands just as Cam was? And since I have a clotting disorder called Factor V Leiden I have to see a high risk doctor on July 11th for a detailed ultrasound. I'm really looking forward to getting a close look at lil Reese & praying that all is well!

Weight gain? Nope but I am officially even with my starting pregnancy weight. The nausea & vomiting thankfully remain a thing of the past so I've been eating normally again!

Prunes, Prunes & More Prunes!

Ever since this little boy has been potty trained, he's had issues with constipation. He never ever had an issue when he was in diapers but now that he actually has to stop what he's doing to go poop, he chooses to hold it instead, causing constipation. Never have I been more obsessed with poop or lack thereof as I am now! Last night was awful; it started when Cam sat on the potty for nearly a half hour and had no outcome. We resorted to using a Pedia-Lax glycerine suppository but even that did little good (and in the past it's worked wonders within minutes).

Cam insists on privacy during #2 and who can blame him, so after we gave him the suppository I hung outside the bathroom door until I heard him crying in pain. My heart broke & I felt totally helpless since other than hugging him, there was little else I could do. Finally we pushed both of his knees towards his chest since I had seen that there was a major something trying to come out & it finally passed after we did that. After seeing him in so much pain, we decided we really need to do something to prevent that from happening again. Since the kid will barely touch a fruit or vegetable, we're left with high fiber cereals which he will eat & we're trying prunes & prune juice as of today. Luckily he loves both so we're praying this helps him!

Why did I decide to dedicate a blog post to my child's BMs?? Because, like I said, this constipation issue is making me obsessed with poop!! Poop was on my brain so I decided to put it on paper! Any one else have experience with toddler constipation? Find anything that helps?? Any input would be appreciated!! Keep in mind, he adamantly refuses to eat most fruits & vegetables... And yep, we continue to try & try & try some more to no avail!

18 Week Update

I'm 18 weeks & Reese is now the size of a bell pepper, weighing 7 ounces with a length of 5 1/2 inches!



How am I feeling? This has been a really rough week since Cam was sick with a cold, fever & cough. We called the doctor & they said a virus was going around & as long as he didn't have a fever for more than five days (his lasted 3-4 days) & his temp wasn't over 104 (his never went over 103), we didn't need to bring him in. Luckily he's feeling so much better after spending the week with my mom, getting tons of rest & TLC & staying out of daycare. Unfortunately, I now have his cold. I have no fever or cough, but my sinuses are a disaster & I feel like there's a brick on my face. I've also been WIPED out this weekend with absolutely no energy. I'm going to lay low again today in hopes that I'll have more pep for work tomorrow otherwise it's going to be another long week.

Any new changes this week? I feel Reese every now & then but nothing very strong yet. I'm still really comfortable with my sleep, working out & just moving about in general. I know that will majorly change by the end of my pregnancy since my torso is so dang short. With Cam, I felt like my ribs would bust open & I was so incredibly uncomfortable the last couple of months.

Weight gain? Nope, still a pound down. I looked back at my pregnancy with Cam since I had documented my weekly weights in my planner & I was the same way with him. Lately as long as I take my vitamin/DHA supplement on a full stomach, I haven't had any nausea or vomiting so that will help. Some days my appetite is just pitiful though, especially when I'm working & stressed, but I make sure to eat well on days I have a good appetite.

P.S. I cannot express just how thankful I am that Cam has such amazing grandparents. Having my mom here all week was such a blessing! Not only did she take awesome care of Cam but she washed all of our laundry, made our coffee, did our dishes, etc. It would have been a nightmare without her! Thanks, Mom, you are the best!!

Weekend Happenings

We headed down to Venice (Florida, not Italy) for our niece's combined birthday party on Saturday & it was great to spend time with family.



Here we are as we spent time around the pool.



Cam had an absolute blast swimming with his daddy & his cousins. You can hop over to his blog to see more pictures of him & his cousins.



Even though Cam looks super happy in these pictures, we could tell he was coming down with something on Saturday morning when his voice was very hoarse. I'm thinking he may have croup after reading up on it. Luckily Mike stayed home with him today since there was no way he could have or should have gone to daycare.



I always feel so heartbroken & helpless when my little love is sick. Especially when I'm stuck at work & unable to be there for him. Mike took great care of him today & I gave him lots of TLC when I did get home. His fever has gotten as high 103 today so I'm praying he begins to feel better tomorrow. Motrin brings it down but it still freaks me out. My mom will be coming up in the morning to spend the day with him which I am very thankful for. He's been such a trooper today & not at all fussy or irritable. If he doesn't seem better tomorrow, we'll be taking him to the doctor.



I love this picture my dad took of Cam kissing his baby sister, Reese. He knows there is a baby in my belly but I don't think he fully understands. Saturday I showed him a picture of me VERY pregnant with him & asked him who was in mommy's belly. His answer? Baby Taylor, Lauren & Josh's baby who is 5 weeks old! But he'll surely get it once she's born & he needs to share the limelight! I just wonder how he'll feel once it truly sinks in that this baby is in our lives for good?

BIG UPDATE!!! 17 Weeks!

I'm officially 17 weeks pregnant & Baby Perno is now the size of a turnip, weighing around 5oz with a length of 5 inches from head to bottom!



How am I feeling? Overall I've been feeling really good! Although once in a while I still have nausea right before bed which makes me throw up.. isn't that pleasant? Otherwise my energy is mostly good & I really cannot complain. I'm going to try & enjoy the second trimester honeymoon from discomfort!

Any new changes this week? Well, we had our elective ultrasound on Friday where we found out that Baby Perno is a girl!! When the ultrasound tech started, she said it might be difficult to tell at this point since the baby is still small so I was nervous that she was going to say she couldn't tell. Then at one point I thought I saw a boy part even though my gut instinct told me we were having a girl. But, eventually she told us that Baby Perno is a girl & we were both beside ourselves with joy. I haven't had an ultrasound since I was six weeks along & the baby was only a small blob on the screen at that time, so it was absolutely amazing to see a fully formed baby! Even though this is our second time around, it still blows my mind that there is a human being growing inside of me. Unreal. We feel so positively blessed & never take it for granted. We only pray that she continues to grow to be a strong, healthy girl!

We didn't want to put too much thought into names until we knew the gender, so after our ultrasound we had lunch & narrowed down a list of considerations. This afternoon, we decided for sure...



Meet Reese Elizabeth Pernecky!



Here's her hand waving hi!



And though this picture may look a little scary, it was absolutely adorable to watch her move & yawn! Growing into a human can be exhausting!



Seeing our baby girl & picking a name makes things so much more real. We are so thankful & excited!!

Savoring the Moments

I am adoring the current stage Cam is in as a two & a half year-old! He is so sweet, loving, caring, hilarious & changing every single day. I am really trying to savor this time since I know it will pass so quickly; he is growing up too fast.



Every single night Cam & I lay together on the couch in his room & hands down, this is my favorite time of day. We snuggle, talk, sing, laugh & just enjoy each other with no distractions. Listening to him jabber on is awesome; I love hearing his sweet voice & am amazed by how well he's talking these days. I give his sweet head a million & one kisses & appreciate every second of it. I am going to miss it so much when he gets older & no longer wants to snuggle with mom.

Sure Cam has his moments & melt-downs but I'm so proud of the person he's becoming. The way he is so gentle with our pets, talking to them in a high-pitched, lovey voice while petting them. The way he reacts when one of us hurts ourselves; he comes over with such concern, puts his hand on my cheek & says, I'm sorry, Mommy, I'm sorry. And then he always kisses our boo-boos & tries to make them all better. He has such a good heart.

I'm also trying to soak up this one-on-one time we have before Baby Perno arrives in November. It's hard to imagine sharing my time with another baby since Cameron has always gotten 100% of our attention. I know this baby will only add joy & love to our lives but I'm savoring these last months of Cam as our one & only.

Tomorrow we go for our elective/gender reveal ultrasound & I'm just praying all looks well. Granted, this isn't a clinical visit, just one for fun, but I always get so nervous before my ultrasounds, especially since I haven't had one since I was six weeks pregnant. Seeing the baby will make everything so much more real. I have to say, I've been a little paranoid this pregnancy & fearful that something will go wrong. When I was pregnant with Cam, I wasn't involved with any blogs & had little exposure to the amount of people who have experienced loss during pregnancy. I never take things for granted though & am thankful for the many blessings we've been given. I will truly be thrilled no matter what gender Baby Perno happens to be, as long as he or she is healthy.

I know that Cameron is going to be an amazing big brother! I'm sure we'll all go through a big period of adjustment when Baby Perno arrives, but he or she will be given just as much love as Cameron has been given.