Baby KO2! First Trimester Life Savers.

1.  Grapefruit was practically the only thing I could eat during the first few weeks of babyKO2.  Filled with nutrients, I didn't feel bad eating 2 of these a day:)

2.  Ok, I have to admit that the smell of this African Shea Butter was too much to handle at times during trimester uno, but in my quest for no 'new' stretch marks this time around, I've heard it's the best.

3.  One cannot live on grapefruit alone, I quickly found, and this cereal was an absolute go to.  Stays crunchy.  Packed with protein.  Just bland enough for the tummy, and just barely sweet.  

4.  These bottles helped me remember to drink a ton of water.  I could throw it in the diaper bag and fill it anywhere.  Also, when you can smell everything, things start to taste differently, too, including tap water.  The filter helps with that!

5.  You can ask anyone who saw me in Canada.  I lived in these Roots sweats. If they weren't so expensive, Andrew and I would've gotten them for the whole family for Christmas presents.  Along with those comfy sweats came loads and loads of SLEEP.  Made fantastically possible by my toddler's blessed hour long afternoon nap, as well as my amazing husband's ability to somehow wake up with Lua in the morning, giving me an extra hour or two in bed:)

6.  Later in my first trimester, when Shea butter was smelling too awful to slather, I turned to Bio Oil and have liked it so far!  It has a very unassuming scent and even the smallest bottle has lasted a LONG time.

Have a great weekend!

First Trimester, Back Home.

The months of November, December and January have come and gone by like nothing I have ever experienced.  I will try to be brief, as this was a 'trimester' packed full of ups and downs and in betweens and if I tried to elaborate on each and every happening, we would surely be here all day;)

- In late October, we found out we were pregnant with baby Cao #2! (YAY!!!!).  What then proceeded was 8 weeks of puking every day and generally feeling like I could smell EVERYTHING and EVERYTHING made me want to vomit.  This feeling was so much worse than I had with Lua.  So much worse, in fact, that I'm debating ever getting pregnant again.  It sucked.  Especially with a two year old that just wants to play :( Andrew was really the captain of the ship and took over everything,  from cooking to cleaning to taking Lu to play.  I dare anyone to show me a better husband and father ;)

- Canada got cold.  Fast.  Thank goodness for good neighbors, playrooms and indoor swimming.

- Tragically, we did not get to make a Holiday video this year.  We promise to do something before next year, though!

- Andrew had all of 3 days off the entire time we were in Toronto.  Between that and my grossness, we pretty much abandoned all "exploring".

...and that, my friends, sums up our Canadian experience.  Pretty fun, no?...

- Now that we're back, we have been furiously looking for a new apartment.  And while staying with uncle Buster is pretty fun, we're totally ready to have our own space.  It's proven to be much more difficult finding a two bedroom in our budget, in a good neighborhood than we'd previously thought.  We're actually supposed to hear today about an offer we put in on a place.  So, cross your fingers and toes that our search can be over!

- It's COLD here, too!  Uncle Buster had a broken boiler and we were out of heat and hot water for a few days, which was actually kinda fun?.....but - I'm not a huge fan of the winter months and am really looking forward to the spring.  I know it could be a long while yet, but a girl can dream...

- I'm feeling 200% better.  Whew.  Still don't know if I want to go through that again, but man, does it feel good to be hungry again!

- Andrew starts rehearsals again on MONDAY.  Where did January go?

I think that's a recap!  Hopefully, as we get settled back into our NYC lives,  I'll be back here more often, too ;)

Happy Halloween!

What a great Halloween!  I played Betty CreamCheese Homemaker this year and did some at-home decorating this year.  I had planned for some mommy daughter craft time and that lasted about 5 minutes, so most of what you see (up at the top there) was done my Andrew and me after midnight ;)

With the show starting previews TOMORROW (what?!?!), I was surprised when the cast invited all us mamas and kiddos to come trick or treat at the theatre on their dinner break.  I expected to go around to each dressing room and take a piece of candy, but they had gone ALL OUT!  Everyone was wearing some type of costume,  each dressing room was decked out in Halloween goodness and there was loads and loads of candy and toys (Lua nabbed playdough and a Mickey Mouse doll!).

Lua was given her awesome Sully costume by her uncle Buster and everyone thought she was cuter than cute.  She has been watching some of the Aladdin promo videos and is still a bit overwhelmed and starstruck when she meets everyone in person, so all of the ROAR-ing and TRICKORTREAT-ing we had practiced kind of took a back seat to fingers in mouth, but she warmed up after a little bit.  I'm sure by the end of our time here, she'll be ordering everyone around!

As for our everyday, we've been trucking right along!  It's hard to believe we've been here for two weeks and are going to be here until January.  I feel like I'm missing so much of my 'normal' life back home and yet, I'm glad for the change of scenery, the new friends and the three month 'vacation' I feel like I'm getting.

Lua continues to be a chatty Cathy (when she's not meeting Jasmine and Aladdin;) and is entering the phase of "no mama, i do it".  Everything from cracking eggs, to putting on socks and shoes, to playing at the playground, to swimming - she wants to do it all herself.  She misses her daddy a lot when he has to leave for work and insists on saying goodbye with hugs and kisses multiple times before she lets him out the door.  Some cute phrases lately:

"No, mama.  I'm good." (when I tell her we need to get her coat on)
"Come'on, Soph! Come'on Soph!"(asking to nurse in the middle of the night)
"Hold on.  I'll be riiiight back"
"Thank you/I love you SOOOOO Much!"
"Yer funny Dadda(Mamma)."
"Whater ya doin dehr?"
"Whole mouf? Whole mouf?"(EVERY SINGLE bite of food she picks up, she asks if she can put the whole thing in her mouth)

I guess that's all for now!  Happy Friday!

Hope everyone is having a fun and safe Halloween!!!