Baby 3.0: 20 Weeks + WE HAVE A NAME!

Pregnancy in the second trimester can be so dreamy when compared to the first and third trimester experiences. Typically for me, the first trimester is full of morning sickness and nausea while the third trimester is full of aches and a hard time sleeping at night. So I really don't have a whole lot to report at the moment as there isn't too much action here lately. I'm feeling good. I'm sleeping good.

I was walking around Aldi last night with a big jar of pickles on my hip and realized how much of a stereotypical pregnant lady I must've looked. The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant with Presley and ran into my friend Jaime while shopping. She was like, "Oh lord could you be more pregnant?" because I was headed to the checkout lane with a huge jar of pickles in one hand and a tub of ice cream in the other!

And yes.. I just bought this yesterday and it's mostly gone.

It still feels surreal we're having a boy and a little crazy we'll have to wait 4 months before we get to meet him. I have a whole long list of boy names I like but my top four favorites at this point are Luke (mosty because of Luke Skywalker!), Walter (for the one and only Walter Elias Disney), Crosby, and Jude. I like the names Andrew, James, and Charlie but my husband has vetoed those. (I love Charlie, James & Andy even as girl names, too!)

Presley was not a fan of a single name we were suggesting. When we originally told her our frontrunner name, she told me absolutely not. After a minute or two of thinking it over she said, "Okay mom. If you want to name him that, you can." I asked her what changed her mind and she said, "I don't know any other boy names." So cute and a little bit sad, too, for some reason. I told her I'd help tell her some more names so she could find one she liked... but she told me we already knew his name...

Crosby Thomas

And once Presley accepted the name she would hear NO other suggestions - that is his name! "His name is Crosby Thomas and just Crosby!" So we definitely have a name and we are absolutely excited about it. We thought about keeping his name to ourselves until we announced his birth, but our Presley girl is SO excited she can't help but tell people. Thomas is my husband's middle name and I absolutely LOVE it. It was also his grandfather's middle name. If you were as obsessed with the show Parenthood then you might recognize the name Crosby from the show (played by Dax Shepherd). All of our names end in the "y" sound - Tony, Ali, Presley, and Molly - so we definitely wanted to keep that going. (Yes, we've thought it through. No, we won't be changing our minds.)

Crosby has his Great Great Aunt Brenda to thank for his first name, too! A couple weeks before finding out the gender of our baby I posted on Facebook how I had no great ideas for boy names and felt like I had a million ideas for a girl and my friends really came through with some awesome boy name ideas and Aunt Brenda's was one of them. So thank you for suggesting it, Brenda!!! You helped name our baby!

Don't ask me why, but it just dawned on me today that I won't get to put this kid in any cute dresses. Actually, I think I was looking at one of the girls' dresses on the floor in the laundry room and it hit me all of a sudden. Holy moly... I'm not having another girl. It's these little tiny things that creep up on me every day and has taken a little while to really sink in.

Also, if you aren't a member of the Disney Movie Club yet, I suggest you give it a second look. I love it and everyone else we know in the club loves it too. Right now you can get 5 Disney movies for only $1 plus FREE shipping when you join! You get the choice from over 1,000+ titles and there are some really great ones out of the vault right now. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I'll try my best to answer them. If you sign up through our referral link, our kids will get to pick out two free movies! (And each time you refer someone to the club after joining you will get to do the same.)

These movies make for great gifts for grandkids, friends, family, adults, ANYBODY! I have a hard time thinking of someone who doesn't love Disney.

If you'd like to sign up through our referral or learn more - check it out here.

23 Week Pregnancy Reflection {baby two!} & baby's name!

How far along?:  23 weeks along in my second pregnancy!  And I'm so excited to have made it this far in good health with no detectable complications.

Which only means we have less than 17 weeks to go!

I'm feeling:  very excited about Tony & I choosing our little girl's name!  We've had her name in mind and have been tossing it over in our minds and between each other for the last several weeks, but finally we've both agreed that Miss Molly Lou Duggan will be joining our family this summer!!!  It is a family name - the name of Tony's Great Great Grandmother - Molly Lou Duggan Ward.  We had been considering Molly for some time and it wasn't until Granny (Tony's paternal grandmother, Alma Lou) said the following that I really started campaigning this for her name:

"...that makes me so excited that you would even consider it. She was my Grandmother and Duggan was her maiden name. She was one of the most beloved people you would ever hope to meet or know. She left quite a legacy in the Duggan-Ward family and was so loved by so many and never met a stranger or anyone that she didn't she the good in. I'm sure that would make a lot of people in the Ward clan happy. Ma, as she was called by everyone, related or not was someone you would haved loved too. I'll keep my fingers crossed because there's a little bit of me in that name also."

What is not to love about that?!  Sounds great with Presley and with Duggan, her initials (MLD) aren't anything significant or offensive, and it has a strong family background... so it fits perfectly with what we're looking for.  Tony pointed it out, "Isn't it funny that we went with family names from both of our father's sides of the family for our children so far?" And according to ancestry.com, this could be a picture of the first Molly Lou Duggan - though we'll have to get Granny to confirm it:

Movement:  We've got a major kicker on our hands.  She kicks most in the wee hours of the morning, around bedtime, and occasionally throughout the day.  And her movement has gotten a lot stronger over the last week... I can definitely tell she is getting bigger.

Size of Baby:  This week, Molly is a papaya!

Roughly 8 inches and 1.2 pounds!

What I miss most:  Sleep sleep sleep.  This pregnancy is tampering with my sleep and that is just not entirely favorable for someone who LOVES to sleep.  I don't like that I can't seem to catch my breath or take a deep breath because she must be right on my diaphragm!  All things I can deal with and are entirely temporary.  Like I've said before, I don't feel like this pregnancy hinders me from doing anything I need to do.  I have to slow down and take it easier at times, but I never hesitate to pick up and carry Presley as needed - which is something I had worried about minutely early on.

What I'm excited about:  I'm excited about becoming homeowners this month - I HOPE - as long as everything goes as planned.  I'm soooo beyond excited to get Presley into her big girl bed and to start setting up the nursery.  I'm excited for every possibility this home offers our family!!!

24 month old Presley & my 23 week old baby bump!

Cravings:  warmer weather, ice cold water, a warm bath in an over-sized bathtub full of bubbles, a back/foot rub, a vacation, donuts, to go swimming & feel weightless momentarily, to no longer live out of a suitcase, and coffee.

Pregnancy Number Two.

Milestone moment for pregnancy #2:  Last night (March 5th, 2014), Tony felt our 2nd baby girl kick for the first time!  Just so happened to take place directly AFTER we finished our conversation about name choices... coincidence?!  I THINK NOT.  I think that #1 she loves her daddy's voice and #2 she likes the name we have tentatively agreed on!  (I say tentatively because we haven't chosen her name yet.  It's just the top name that we are liking but aren't 100% on it.)  It was a really sweet moment, though, and to see Tony's face light up when he for SURE felt her kick was awesome!!!!  It's really incredible how much more prepared I feel we are this time around or at least that we know what to expect.

It's definitely a new experience for me to not have a name for my baby by now... which may seem silly to other folks considering I am barely halfway through this pregnancy.  I know I've been talking about it so much lately... I am usually not so "type A" about things but this - naming this baby - is something I just can't not think about.  Tony and I have a great conversation about baby names last night.  He looked over my long list and starred the names he liked and could envision for this baby.  And then one by one we went through those 10 names and started marking them off one by one for different reasons.  "Oh, but Violet doesn't sound good with Presley..."  "Addison is nice.  But then we would call her Addie, right?  I don't know that I like her having two names..."  you get the picture.  So we narrowed it down to one name complete with a middle name that we both love - it's got family history, goes well with our last name, the initials don't spell anything offensive, and sounds great with Presley.  Plus, Presley can say it and it sounds adorable.

Another thing that is different about this pregnancy?  I don't remember feeling so sappy when I felt Presley moving around.  Maybe I did and I just don't remember (highly likely)... but I just really marvel in it here lately.  Especially thinking this could be my last pregnancy.  It's also weird to me to think that I am 26 and this could be my last time carrying a baby.  I don't regret starting our family when we did whatsoever, but it just feel like such a young age to be done expanding our family.  I like the idea of having three kids, but at the same time, I think it would be a lot less strenuous (in so many ways) for our family to stay at 4 members.  It's all very surreal to talk about at this point, anyways.  So anyways, I just bring this up to say that this pregnancy is different for me in small ways.  I guess the true test will occur when the baby's hiccups start!!!  (If you don't recall, I was thoroughly annoyed by those last pregnancy!  Sorry Presley!!!)

I also can't wait to unpack baby #2's baby book and start writing in it!  I got it several months before we got pregnant from Hallmark when it was on clearance for somewhere between 70-90% off!!!  It had a circus theme - which we are not fans of the circus - but we LOVE animals and it was just beautiful.  The colors were very neutral (mostly the color red) so I felt it would be perfect whether we would have a boy or girl.  Tony thought I was ridiculous at the time for buying it but I bet now he thinks I'm a superstar!  And my mom will be happy... she likes Hallmark baby books.  Plus, she bought us a baby book just before Presley was born last time because "she has to have a baby book!"  Which, I am so glad she does have one and I love Presley's baby book so so much!!

Update on the home buying:  The seller has signed the contract and the inspection is scheduled for the beginning of next week!!!!  SO EXCITING.  I hope to feel more at ease after the inspection is over... just one more big step towards owning our home!  I went through our list of wants for this house - and it literally had everything we were hoping for minus ONE optional aspect - which was our preference for a flat driveway.  It is definitely not flat... it's actually pretty steep.  What makes me a bit more comfortable is the fact that there are stairs right next to the driveway AND there is plenty of room on the street for friends and family to park if they are not comfortable in the drive.  Can't wait to talk more openly about the house once plans become more concrete!!!!!!

That's all for today... it has taken me all of Presley's nap just to write this much!  I'm not sure why my brain is moving so slow today.  Looking forward to a relaxing weekend and hope it'll turn out that way!!

Life with a TWO year old.

It's been quite a while since my last Presley update. 

Negotiations are very popular right now... trying to get her to eat, to do something she doesn't want to but has to do, etc.  She has become extremely picky when it comes to eating.  Her new thing is stuffing food in her cheeks and never eating what's in there.  Oh and screaming, crying, and kicking.  For example, we went to Chick-fil-A today for lunch.  She was in SUCH a wonderful mood and ate so great - we celebrated by going to the play area!  After about 15-20 minutes of playing, it was time to head out.  I was coaxing her gently but really, no matter what I said, the tantrum was unavoidable.  Cue the kicking, screaming, and crying in the middle of the restaurant.  I just have to pick her up and force her out of there... which makes me feel and look like I'm stealing someones kid... awesome!

Moments before the breakdown...

 Want to know one area Presley is still a ROCKSTAR at?  Sleeping!

No fits when it comes to naps and bedtime.  We can fluctuate her bedtime and it doesn't affect her and she sleeps for a long time.  Unfortunately, she's starting getting up SUPER early (6:30-7am) no matter what time we put her down!  That is new for me but it is what it is!  Maybe once she's back on a real mattress and in her own room perhaps it will get better... just in time for a new baby to show up and throw a wrench in the sleeping all together!  Ayeeee yii yi! 

Presley still sleeps with a bunch of her favorite buddies and Tony & I sing to her every night before bed - usually the one her nighttime puppy used to sing before it crapped out and also twinkle twinkle.  We've also added Happy Birthday to her bedtime routine because she just loves that song.  We've also started singing a song about rubbing her hands and feet (to the tune of "row row row your boat") and rub her feet then hands before covering her up.  She LOVES it and it seems to really calm her down before bed.

Presley's currently liking mandarin oranges, chicken, fish sticks, cheese, cheese tortellinis (sometimes), apples (no peel), honey + PB sandwiches (no crust), milk (she's drinking 2% now), chips (oh my word! every flavor!), noodles, corn, green beans, french fries (the only potato she will eat), turkey + cheese sandwich (usually warm), and SOMETIMES cheese pizza... to name a few of the things that we can count on her eating regularly.

She just turned on me with grapes... she has been loving grapes for the longest and now she tells me she will eat them and then doesn't, ever!  

Oh goodness, and Presley has been such a little daredevil lately.  She loves standing up on the arm of the couch at Chris & Kristen's and jumping/falling off onto the couch among other things.  She's fallen off the couch several times lately and I just have to let it happen so she learns.  I can only tell her "no" and ask her to get down and redirect her only so many times.  So, I keep a close eye on her and stay close in case anything goes wrong and let her be the little adrenaline junky she is.

I love having her repeat the baby names we like right now... just hearing her say the name that will potentially belong to her little sister makes my heart melt into a puddle.  I have just two favorite names that I can't get out of my head... and really, if it were up to only me, I would have her name picked out right now because one name sticks out over the rest!  But, we will just have to be patient and keep talking about names together (Tony and I) and see where it leads.

Also?  Presley is starting to look a heck of a lot like her dad right now.  And she loves him in the sweetest ways.  I don't think I'll ever get over the way she runs to the front door when he gets home from work.  Or the way she talks about him throughout the day.  I love our family dynamic and I am so happy we have each other.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it much on the blog, but about a month or so ago Presley and I stopped nursing.  With the pregnancy and sleep changes and everything else going on, it just felt like the right time to stop breastfeeding.  I was 110% ready to be done but once it was over and there was no going back, I did have somewhat of a hard time with letting that part of our relationship go.  I was telling a friend recently that it also had to do with wanting some time between breastfeeding babies.  This way we will have about five months until breastfeeding the next one.  My concern here is that I may have burnt myself out with breastfeeding so long with Presley - I hope that's not the case - but I am mildly concerned with that right now... especially how taxing breastfeeding a newborn can be.  I am encouraged by other mothers telling me how much smoother it went the second time around because you already know what you are doing.  I have every intention and hope of breastfeeding throughout baby 2's first year of life just as I wanted for Presley.  I - CAN - DO - THIS.

SO, this is what life with our two year old looks like lately.  There are so many times throughout the day where I stop and text Tony, "She really is such a sweet girl."  Because she absolutely is.  We have our moments - good and bad - and we're all learning.  I love being a mom, especially to Presley, and I can't imagine where my life would be without her.

My Baby Names.

I know this story has been told once or twice before, but really, who gets sick of talking about a love story?  Especially when it's their own?

I'm linking up with Kathryn from Team Whitaker to talk about part of our love story that includes a baby girl and how we ended up choosing a name that was just for her. 

First, lets start with the mama.  My name is Allison Michelle and I love my name.  My name is unique and something my parents seemingly agreed on together.  My name has no family ties and was picked purely out of love for those two names.  How cool is that?  My two sisters have family ties in their names (Amanda Marie - Marie is hugely popular in my family - and Ashley Merideth - Merideth is my mom's maiden name), so you could imagine as the middle child, I had a complex about this.  When I realized I was the only one who was different out of us, I took it personally.  Then I got over it and realized how cool it was to be different and that even though they each had family names, theirs were different too.  To fast foward a couple years...

My husband and I found out that we were carrying a girl about halfway through our first pregnancy.  I was ECSTATIC and so relieved to be having a girl.  I don't know if it was because I came from a family of three girls or what... but I just felt like having a girl the first time around was perfect for us.  And I was totally right.

Our daughters name was discussed long before we ever got pregnant or were even married.  I was one of those girls who often thought about baby names throughout different times in my life and it's something Tony and I would discuss together.  I wanted our first baby to honor my dad and also utilize family names if possible and that's how we landed on Presley Rose.  Apologizing in advance for everyone who has heard this story a trillion times... but since I'm linking up with a whole bunch of new blogger pals, I must tell the story once more!

To say my dad was an Elvis Presley fan may be somewhat of an understatement.  He straight up loved the guy and his music!  And I remember his Elvis impressions were just great.  I also remember nearly every Christmas he would load the family up into our station wagon (aka, chick magnet or "chick mag" as it was lovingly known) and we would drive passed Graceland to see the blue lights on the house while listening to a little "Blue Christmas."  My dad was a fan before the family even moved to Memphis, Tennessee and I'm sure the admiration he felt for the King of Rock & Roll just got better after moving here for dad.  So Tony and I went with the king's last name for our child's first name.

Presley's middle name was handed down from my paternal grandmother - Elinor Rose.  It's a beautiful, timeless name and my grandmother is someone who is very interesting, open-minded, witty, and someone I have always liked spending time with - so many qualities I appreciate and would love bestowed upon my daughter.  Tony hugely loved my Gramma's middle name for Presley and he really pushed to use that name.

This time around?  We totally prepared our hearts for a boy.  At first, all I could think about was having another girl.  That's what I wanted.  But somewhere along the way I started to brace myself in case we would be bringing a boy into our family this time around.  So I prepared myself ahead of time so I wouldn't be disappointed or anything.  (I know that sounds awful - I can't think of another way to put it!)  And then bracing myself turned into neutrality which soon turned into hoping for a boy!  How that happened, I'm still not sure.  We came up with a boy name that we both agreed on right away: Benjamin Anthony!  (That should've been sign enough that we wouldn't be having a boy... agreeing on a name so easily!!!)

As you may know, this 2nd baby Duggan is a GIRL and we are so overjoyed.  And of course, we are having a very difficult time agreeing on a name that feels right.  I can think of dozens of names that work well with our last name, sound good with Presley, and names that have meaning to us.  My husband, on the other hand, is having a harder time finding one that fits his criteria - a criteria he even has yet to discover.  Meaning, he doesn't know exactly what he's looking for or expecting, but it is no doubt going to be a magical moment when he hears THE name.  [insert sigh here]

So, it might be a while until we come up with a baby name this time around.  Tony wants it to have as much background and meaning and purpose as Presley's, but I told him the important thing is that we focus on THIS baby and that what's special is her parents coming up with her name together.  And he agreed.  But here we are.  My mother-in-law suggested getting a book full of baby names - and we have a great one... in storage!  Just another thing being put on hold until we find a place to live...

23 week Pregnancy Reflection!

How far along?:  Twenty-three weeks & two days along in my first pregnancy!  (About 17 weeks to go)

Me & Tony dressing up for Halloween as characters from the movie Juno!  Me @ 23 weeks!

Size of baby:  Baby Duggan is the size of an EAR OF CORN! :)

8.5 inches & 1.5 pounds!  (making me hungry!)

Gender:  She's a GIRL and we've decided on her name:  Presley Rose! 
Presley - because it's a beautiful name we both love and mostly got the idea from Elvis Presley -- my dad was a huge fan and since he's no longer with us I've often wanted to name one of my kids in honor of him... perfect!
Rose - it's my Gramma Elinor's middle name... she is such a wonderful, incredibly strong, intelligent, passionate, and peaceful person that I think the world of.  I'm going to make sure Presley knows who she was named after and why.  Not to mention, she has a BEAUTIFUL middle name that I am going to be happy to carry on.

Movement:  Presley has been consistently kicking for the past few weeks now.  They're getting a lot stronger and to the point where they make me laugh!  Tony FINALLY felt a big, strong kick this past week after so many weeks of thinking he might have felt a kick.  I was so happy and so was he!  He definitely thinks this journey is a really cool one.

Cravings/Aversions:  Oh my word, have I ever had a severe craving this week:  CARROTS and ranch!  Of course, milk nog, like always.  And I've also been eating a lot of peanut butter crackers!  Not very many aversions at this point, though.


I am feeling:  I've been feeling so ready for this baby to get here!  I can't wait to see her and meet her and hold her and get to dress her up.  I know we've got so so so many things to do in the time before she arrives, but just hearing about fellow-blogger, Sharon's, BEAUTIFUL baby girl getting here... it definitely makes me anxious to meet our little one. 

What I miss most:  The usual -- being able to lay flat on my back.  I miss not having to worry about what I am doing, what I'm capable of, what I put in my mouth, etc.  I miss being able to do all things and definitely dislike when people tell me I "can't" do something.... HUMPH!

Best moment of the week:  I had a blast hanging out with everybody at the Halloween party last night.  The best costume was BY FAR Elisabeth & Jeff who dressed up as Chaz Bono & Lacey Schwimmer from DWTS!  It was fun to see what everyone decided to dress up and neat to see the effort everyone put into their costumes.

Here I am with "Chaz" :)  So hilarious and awesome

What I'm looking forward to this week:  I help coach a middle school cheer-leading squad and their first game is this week - so that will be a fun time!  Tony and I are also going to get our Christmas pictures taken this Thursday and I am really looking forward to that.  Also, looking forward to NOVEMBER being upon us;  Thanksgiving, my birthday, Breaking Dawn, beautiful weather, one month closer to the holidays & visiting family, etc.  I'm also looking forward to revisiting our baby registries and adding things to them in preparation for our first shower in December down south with Tony's family!  


Alright... everybody have a great week!  Just five more days until the weekend, right?