16 weeks tomorrow!

Here's a picture for 15 weeks:

And here's one from about 10 weeks:

15 weeks!

Surprisingly, I can use a lot of the answers copied from last time :) 
I'm going to try and put up some back-dated updates put together from some emails to friends. I even have an old pic to post from about 6 weeks ago. 
(Today's pic to come-- I could only get it to post sideways for some reason!!)

How far along? 15 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Just like last time, I fluctuate a good 4-5 lbs throughout each day. Unlike last time- I am gaining a lot faster! According to my scale at home, I am already up almost 10 lbs. My midwife's scale is not as friendly!!
Maternity clothes? I have some, but haven't worn them yet. Wearing the belly bands daily though!
Sleep: Pretty normal, get up once a night to pee most nights, and/or because I'm thirsty.
Best moment this week: Hmmm... I have no idea. Pregnancy-related not much happens, but I guess it was nice to get the prescription for our anatomy scan (ultrasound), so that we can schedule it.
Movement: I have definitely felt movement every now and then over the past week! It's nice this time to know what it feels like. 
Food cravings: Nothing this time either!
Gender: We haven't decide whether or not to find out. There are definitely pros and cons both ways. If it were up to me alone, I'd wait again... but I don't feel as strongly this time, so Mr. Beaver *may* be able to convince me to find out. We'll see. 
Labor signs: n/a
Belly Button in or out? I realized that my childhood umbilica hernia never closed up completely, so last time I was pregnant it actually opened back up... and never closed again. So my belly button has been out since I was first pregnant. 
What I miss: Drinking! It hasn't been that hard, but a drink would be nice now and then. From last pregnancy, I miss being able to nap!!! I can't believe how much I napped last time, and how much it helped! 
What I am looking forward to: Riley understanding more about what is happening! 
Weekly wisdom: Hmm... enjoy the freedom of being pregnant with #1? I feel like I was able to enjoy it so much more! 
Milestones: Not this week, but making it to 2nd tri, telling everyone, etc. 

Baby Beaver is TWO!!!

(She loved the outfit I got for her zoo-themed party, but thought the tutu and boots were necessary additions...)

I can't believe our baby is TWO!!!

We no longer have a baby... she doesn't even seem much like a toddler anymore. Her communication is amazing! She's been using full sentences for a while, and they are becoming just as frequent as single and double word talking. She is very observant, and seems to have a decent memory for a 2 year old! Hopefully she gets her memory from her daddy, so far so good :) She is learning things so fast, already able to sing her ABCs (minus pronouncing L-M-N-O-P, and sometimes leaving of W-X-Y-Z, but still impressive), she knows her colors, can count without mistakes to 11 or 12, and knows most shapes, even hard ones like triangle and hexagon, and weird ones like crescent. She loves to run and is pretty fast, but even though she tries so much every day, she hasn't mastered leaving the ground when she jumps. She still loves to dance and will do it even without music, but will also ask us to put music on if she's in the mood. She sleeps in a giant big girl bed, and likes to try and get dressed all by herself.

Riley is on the small size -- still under 25 lbs and only about 20th percentile for weight (50th for length), but she will taste almost anything, and eats like a champ! Her favorite foods are even quite sophisticated - she loves Indian cuisine (which is what we had for her birthday), Thai food, she'll even eat salad- especially if it has red onion and lots of goat cheese. Pasta is her absolute favorite though, but she'll eat so much she doesn't want it again for at least a few days :) She likes puzzles and blocks, and playing mommy to her baby dolls, but she still seems to prefer playing with things other than her toys for the majority of her time. She is starting to like to help out with cleaning, cooking, and laundry, which is sweet even if it makes things take a little longer. Her favorite thing, though is to be outside. We are so happy that the weather has finally warmed up enough to spend a lot of time outside! We've got a fenced in area for her to play, a huge deck, a great back yard, and we live in a park- and we have been taking full advantage of all of the spaces. It's a little scary though, she will run away from us into the woods if she realizes we are heading home from a walk. We've let her go for a while before to see how far she will go, and so far we don't know- because she never stops! Even if she can't see us -- she doesn't even look back. Luckily we have bolts on all of our doors that we keep locked, because I don't know what would happen if she learned to open the outside doors and got out on her own...

The gang of fashion students she met at the park on our street:

We think these next six months are going to be a lot of fun. We plan to spend a lot of time outdoors just enjoying our little girl and giving her our full, undivided attention until she has to learn to share us with her new little brother or sister - due October 15! While she seems to be very excited when we talk to her about it, I'm not sure how things will actually work out once reality hits. Luckily we still have a lot of time to prepare and just enjoy the nice weather and fun summer! Maybe I'll even post more to do pregnancy updates, because I already feel a little like I'm slacking with #2!

Some more party pics: I am so bad at thinking to take photos, but here are a few:

Tempted to start the party early with a cupcake...

Poor girl had way more grown-ups than same-age friends at her party!! Though she seemed to enjoy all the attention...

Happy birthday big girl!!!