Brooks and Batia Baby # 2 - Week 22-25

Well it's time again for another Batia Blog update! I swear the weeks are flying by and before I know it a month has gone by without an update! So here is what we ALL have been up to for the past four weeks!
Let's start off with Baby C-C. I am now 25 weeks pregnant and Baby C-C is doing great! He/She is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him/her at just over a pound and a half which isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange the long, lean look for some baby fat.!

Head to heels, the baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. The brain is also growing quickly now, and taste buds are continuing to develop. The lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help the air sacs inflate once he/she hits the outside world. Baby C-C's wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and will start to look more and more like a newborn. Our baby is also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. I've had enough heartburn this pregnancy to be pretty certain that Baby C-C will have some hair...Brooks surprised us with a head full so maybe we will be surprised again! The baby continues to be very active! You can actually see the movements he/she makes sometimes! About two weeks ago Baby C-C got the hiccups and I was able to feel them and know that is what was going on! It is a very regular occurrence these days...it's kind of feels funny, sort of like a rhythmic tickle in my belly!

I continue to feel great. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful pregnancies. I'm still able to run a few times a week but I have started power walking the days I don't run. I still haven't had any crazy cravings yet. It's funny, I tend to go in spurts with what I eat. Some days it's Italian then the next few days it will be Jimmy John's Subs! Weird I know! My belly really "popped" about two weeks ago. My regular shirts are now not working for me...I find myself constantly pulling them down over my tummy! These two pictures are from week 22 and week 25...you can definitely see the difference! :)

Our summer seems to be winding down but we have been too busy the past few weeks to notice! We've had company come to stay, lots of fun playdates, a weekend away with old friends and a few special birthday celebrations!

A few weeks ago Audrey and Andrea came to stay with their growing families...it was 5 kids total and SO much fun!!! We only had a few days together but we made the best of our time...lots of play time and we even pushed the kids to the max by taking them to IKEA for over 3 hours! They must be the most wonderful kids in the world because they actually lasted that long without ONE single meltdown! :)

We all went to Lake Eola park to have a picnic breakfast and let the kids play. We were also celebrating Ny's birthday! We had a great time and it actually wasn't too hot that morning. Here's a pic of most of us enjoying our yummy breakfast!

After our time at the park we decided to let the kids feed the ducks. Here are Brooks and Ella heading down to the lake where the ducks are...



And SPLASH!!! Here is Brooks after he took a spill into the lake!!! I guess he got a little over excited while throwing cheerios to the ducks! Good thing he decided to dive into the shallow end! I still had to go in tennis shoes and all to get him out...here are a few pictures of the moment! I think he was more upset that we had to strip him out of his wet clothes than he was when he actually fell into the water!



After a quick wash off in the bathroom things were all good...we laugh about it now...it was quite an adventure!



Here are some pictures of a playdate here at our house. The kids don't seem to mind the endless heat and love to play outside for hours! Brooks, Ella, Evie and Will make for some cute kids, huh?



We got to help some friends celebrate their new baby boy at a fun couples baby shower. Brooks, Ella and Andrew had a great time being the center of attention...just wait until baby Noah gets here...he's going to steal their thunder!!!



Here are all the expectant moms...Sarah (the mom in the middle) is due first and is expecting Noah mid October, Ny is due to have Tiago at the end of October and Baby CC will be here early December! It's going to be baby central around here!



Just the thought of all of those babies wears B out...phew...he is worn out! :)



The daddies and their kids...what a cute pic!



Mid-August we were off to Disney agian...I'm not sure what we were thinking except that Ny and Ella's annual pass was expiring and we wanted to get just one more day in! We definitely won't miss going to Disney in August but we will certainly miss going with our friends.
We had to go and watch the Disney Playhouse show...which the kids LOVE.



And here they are coloring on a huge piece of paper...a toddler's dream!



Last weekend our friends Mike and Caroline Smith came down to Florida to vacation at the beach and celebrate Cooper's first birthday. We were lucky enough to get to go over to Palm Coast and stay with them and both of their families for the weekend. It's always good to hang out with good friends!

Here are a few pictures from our time with the Smiths...Coop and B had a good time together...two precious and very busy little boys!



Here are a few of my favorite pictures from one of our walks on the beach...Brooks loves the beach and the water...it was so much fun to watch him play in the surf and sand!

Last week Mark and I got to go on a special double date with Ny and Chris and it included seeing Jack Johnson in concert! We had a great time with great friends and great music!

We hosted a "happy hour" last Friday night at our house for a few friends and their families. It was a good time to be had by all...the kids had a great time playing outside (despite the afternoon rainstorms) and the parents had a great time socializing and relaxing after a crazy work week!

Then on Saturday we got to help my mom celebrate her birthday! Brooks had a great time helping me decorate the house and making his PG a special birthday card. Here he is working hard on his creation!

Here's the finished product and a very proud artist! PG was very impressed!!!

After an awesome steak dinner we finished off the day with cake! Brooks helped his PG blow out her candles and then clean her plate! He was up a little later that night due to all the sugar but he had a great time helping everyone celebrate!

I think we can officially call Brooks a toddler...I know that he's been a toddler for a while but here lately I've noticed that he is doing more toddler like things such as playing by himself, getting into certain types of toys more than others (we won't call them obsessions yet!), using his imgination and just doing more big boy things.

Here are some recent pictures of him playing...he loves to build "towers" with his blocks and after reading his Bible story one night they are all the Tower of Babel! :) He LOVES to play with his tool set that was a hand-me-down from an old co-worker of mine...you would have thought he had died and gone to little boy heaven the day I pulled them out of the closet! I had to sit on the floor and "feed" him his breakfast because he was too busy "fixing" things to stop and eat! He took a bath with his tools that night and he even tried to convince me that he "needed" his hammer and screwdriver to come to bed with him! :) He is all boy, what can I say!

Brooks also love to play outside...a lot! It's been so hot lately and I feel terrible because we can't get out as much as he would like...thank goodness for fun inside toys like blocks and tools! We have been taking advantage of the "cooler" temps in the mornings and going on lots of bike rides and walks. He loves to go to the park and explore the playgrounds...swinging is a favorite as well as climbing all over and around the jungle gyms...it makes me a nervous wreck sometimes when he is so daring and wants to go to the top without me!

B's vocabulary continues to grow every day. He is taking in sentence form a lot more these days and he can definitely express what he is feeling...good and bad! He has a few certain expressions that make me smile every time I hear him say them...things like "Oh boy!" when he get's excited, or "see ya later alligator" when he tells something goodbye, or "Daddy went to work...he's bringing home the bacon!" or just plain "hey mom!" when he needs me or when he just wants to make sure I'm there...it melts my heart! He is so talkitive and expressive...I just love this age!!!!