So, Joe and I came to a very sad realization today.  Carnival Cruise lines doesn't let women who are further than 24 weeks pregnant aboard their ships.  I will  be 29 weeks at the time of the cruise. : (  So, we just made an expensive mistake since we had already bought my mom's flight and my flight (Joe's work didn't cover my airfare).

I was really looking forward to some quality time with my husband, sitting poolside enjoying the warm sunshine and some R&R before having an all consuming newborn.   Uggg.   Well, the good news is that I'll get to spend some quality time with my mom while Joe is gone.  Side note... Joe will be going on 6 business trips in the next 6 weeks (including the cruise).  Yep, it would have been nice to have some time with him in the midst of the craziness.

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This will be Joe and I next month (just pretend that the cartoon version of me has a large bump in her midsection).  We get to go on a 4 day cruise to Cozumel with Joe's work.  I'm so excited to have some one on one time with Joe before we become a family of four.  

My mom is coming to our house to watch Mia.  It's going to be hard to leave Mia for 5 days since I've never even left her for the night, but there's a first time for everything.  Now, I just need to decide if I can rock a bikini while 32 weeks pregnant...it'll definitely be a sight to see!

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My church congregation got a sneak peek at my little miss last Sunday.  My Pastor asked if I would do an ultrasound at church for everyone to promote a ministry called, Alternatives Pregnancy Center.  It was great to be able to see my baby and give everyone at church the ability to see the power of an ultrasound.  I think the statistic was that if women sees their baby on an ultrasound, the are 82% less likely to have an abortion. These pictures are not very good as Joe took them in a dark auditorium with his cell phone, but you get the idea.  The way she was positioned, we actually got to see the details of her face.  Joe thought she looked like Mia and had pudgy cheeks.  Oh, I can't wait to meet her! 

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I've been researching double strollers for several weeks now and finally bought one!  I actually went to Babies R Us yesterday with the intention of buying the Chicco double stroller that works with the car seat I have.  After pushing Mia and an empty car seat around the store, I knew that the Chicco was not for me.  I seriously felt like I was pushing a Costco cart full of groceries!

Much to my surprise, they had a phil & teds stroller on display (Babies R Us usually only sells this brand online) and were selling the floor model at a discounted price.  After going home and doing more research and realizing that the brand new stroller was at least $150 cheaper than Amazon was selling it for, I was sold.  So, Mia and I went and picked up our new stroller yesterday afternoon and I absolutely love it!  I can't review how well it works with two until my second little lady makes her appearance, but Mia is kind of obsessed with it, so that makes me happy. : )

 In the above picture, the baby would be laying down in the black area behind Mia.  I should have taken a picture from the back view to give you a better idea but it's a super cozy baby bassinet.

 This is the position for two toddlers.  Surprisingly, Mia loves the back.  

I can buy a connector piece to safely secure the car seat and Miss Mia can happily ride in the back.  This stroller can also be used as a single stroller by simply removing the second seat.

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 On Friday night, we went to Little Monkey Bizness with our good friends, Hillary, Joe and Kennedy.  It was family night which meant a cheaper admission and free pizza!  It was pretty crazy!! Haha.  Mia did have a ton of fun and I think Joe did too. : )

I think Joe was a tad bit too big for this slide but it was quite amusing to watch him pretend like he was a small child.

Mia's face in this picture explains it all.

Baby Kennedy even went down the giant slide!

Whee.

Sweet, baby Kennedy.

What a fun night!

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I came across this article today and it was just what I needed to hear.  Maybe it will be meaningful to someone else as well...

Click on the link- To the Mother With Only One Child

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It's amazing how life can change so quickly after having a baby.  When I first met these girls, we were newly married and going to a new church.  Having babies and becoming stay at home moms has brought us so much closer.  It's so great to enjoy this crazy ride with other amazing women.  Now we are 3 mommas that find a day at the zoo a really fun time!  

Laura (baby Bennett), Hillary(baby Kennedy) and Me (Mia)

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I'm not going to lie, this pregnancy has been messing with my body hard core.  I feel a uglier, bigger and totally unmotivated.  I'm making a point to shower, do my hair and put on make-up every day to make myself feel better.  I think teaching helped me overlook a lot of the pregnancy symptoms I had with Mia (either that or I've forgotten).  The good news is that even though I'm growing (and for some reason my face seems to try and keep up with my stomach) I am not nearly as nauseous as I have been and haven't thrown up in over a week.  I do feel my energy coming back so instead of napping when Mia naps, I've been able to be productive (most days).  In the end, I know I'm making a baby and feel so blessed that my body is able to accomplish such an amazing feat.   It's definitely the most important job I've ever had and I will do everything I can to be sure that my baby gets everything she needs.

Things that make me happy this week... Mia has started playing independently in her playroom.  Mia has a new sleep schedule- 7:30pm-6:30am. Feeling my baby girl kicking and flipping in my tummy on a daily basis. Having meals planned for every night this week. Not throwing up in over a week! My energy is coming back. American Idol starting tomorrow. 

Here are some pictures from the last week...

 I love these two.

 Mia loves her baby.  She feeds her, changes her diaper and pushes her all around the house.  

 This girl is so imaginative.  She loves to play in her kitchen from my Aunt Jackie.

 Her favorite spot in her playroom, her reading area.  We LOVE books at our house!

This girl loves her daddy!  We both missed him terribly when he was gone on a work trip last week.  Mia just kept kissing, hugging and touching him when he got home; it was the sweetest thing.

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After 69 degrees on Thursday, yesterday was cold and snowy.  There is something about snow falling that is so magical!  I decided to let Mia experience the joy of a snowy day and she loved every minute of it.

One thing I miss from teaching is children's literature.  Mia walking in the snow yesterday reminded me of the book, The Snowy Day.  Wouldn't Mia be cute on the cover?

 Mia loved the snow.  She just walked all around and making tracks wherever she went.

 She loved feeling the cold snow blowing on her face.

 Notice how the houses on the other side of the street don't have to shovel their driveways. At least that warm sunshine shines through our windows on the back of our house.

 After being outside for over 30 minutes, I was cold.  Mia would have stayed outside all day if I would have let her but...

I didn't and she was NOT happy!

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Baby #2 is a... GIRL!!

We had our '20 week' ultrasound yesterday even though I'm only 19 weeks and 3 days but since Joe will be gone next week, they fit us in early.  It was so great to see our baby girl and wonderful to see that all of her organs and body parts are working properly.  The details of this ultrasound were amazing.

 Who doesn't love some tiny baby feet?!

 We are not a family that uses the middle finger but we literally laughed out loud when we saw the above picture!

This precious little peanut likes to move...a lot!  I told the Doctor that it feels like she is doing somersaults  in my lower stomach and he confirmed with, "that's exactly what she is doing".

Now, we need to come up with the perfect name for this sweet baby because I have a feeling that the next 20 weeks will go by really fast!  I know she has a lot more growing to do but I am already so excited to meet her.

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My Aunt Jane and Uncle David got us a zoo membership for Christmas (such an awesome gift), which included free passes to the Zoo Lights.  We enjoyed getting bundled up and looking at the pretty light displays.  Being that it's suppose to be close to 60 degrees later this week, we are going to enjoy the zoo during the daytime on Thursday.

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2011 has been an amazing year!  The highlight of the year was watching Mia grow from a 2 month old- 14 month old.  We are in awe by all that she has learned in such a short amount of time.

This next year is going to be an adventure with the birth of our second baby, Joe continuing Grad School, Joe going on a two week international trip and me being in my friend, Kari's wedding.  I know 2012 will have a lot more in store for us and I can't wait to see what's on the road ahead.

Here is the Jones family top 10 of 2011: 
(Click on each to be directed to the corresponding blog post)

10. Joe winning a trip for both of us to go to Vegas (for being in the top 2% at work) and being able to have my mom join us there to help with Mia.

9. Mia's Dr. Seuss themed 1st birthday party.

8. Continuing to lead a young marrieds group with our church.

7. My sister, Karla getting married.

6. Mia learning to walk.

5. Becoming a stay-at-home mom.

4. Joe getting into the Executive MBA program at Daniels School of Business and being the youngest person ever admitted.

3. Seeing the Eiffel Tower with my loves.

2. Going to London.

1. Getting pregnant for the second time.

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Since pictures speak more than words, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking in this post.  Overall, we had a wonderful Christmas in MN and loved spending time with family and friends.  Mia was a bit overwhelmed by all of the Christmas parties but loved being at Grandma's house.

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