Drum roll please....

So we went to the doctor yesterday for an ultrasound. Yeah, that's right, we got to find out if baby number two is going to be a boy or a girl! We were pretty excited! It was lots of fun being able to see the baby! We got to have an ultrasound at 9 weeks with Veja which made everything more real right from the beginning. With this one it's taken me a little longer to really grasp the reality that I'm pregnant, despite the fact that I had morning sickness for the first couple of months and I now have an undeniably pregnant belly growing that I can't hide any more. The most exciting part is that I felt the baby for the first time a couple of weeks ago! :) I was holding Veja and rocking her to sleep when I felt some movement, like the baby was trying to say hello to it's big sister!

Are you dying to know what we're having yet?! Here are some pictures that we got of our baby:

And for the sake my baby's privacy I'll just tell you what it is! We're having another little girl! And yes, we've decided on a name (all we've been able to agree on are girl's names, go figure). Our next little baby will be Natalia Jean Zuniga. Yes, Natalia is another Slovak name. :) And Jean is a family name on my side. It's my grandma's middle name and the inspiration for my mom's name, Jeanele.

The doctor said that everything looks good, the baby is growing right on schedule and is healthy. However there is one problem...her placenta is covering my cervix, a condition known as placenta previa (click here to learn more about what this is and what it means). My heart dropped as soon as the doctor told me this because I knew right away that my plan of having this baby at home with my mother-in-law delivering was flying out the window. I also knew that this meant I will have to have a c-section. I've gone through a  lot of emotions since then...sadness because I don't get to deliver at home, scarred out of my mind, and just plain worry. I know everything is going to be OK though because I have the Lord on my side, He has comforted me to help me know that it is all alright. Not only do I have the Lord on my side, but I also have Jon by my side! I can do anything as long as my Jonathan is there by my side holding my hand! :) It will take some time to accept it all and really come to terms with it, but It will be OK and I will have to oportunity to VBAC for my next babies (which will be a little further apart than these first two :P ). Here are the pictures we got of my cervix and placenta, notice that it's the same view... (the first time the red flag went off for me). Don't ask me where the cervix ends and the placenta starts...your guess is as good as mine.

On a happier note, today is Veja's birthday! I can't believe it was a year ago today that we brought her into this world! She has brought us so much JOY this year that I can't even imagine my life without her! She is the sweetest little thing too! Yesterday after the doctor told me the news Veja reached for me, once in my arms she gave me the sweetest little hug and gave me a big kiss. She could sense that I was having a hard time and wanted to comfort me! What a sweetheart! She has the cutest little wave, it's more of a princess wave, I love it! She's learning how to blow kisses and to clap her hands. She'll give her little dolly loves and then hand it over to me so I can give it loves too. :) She loves to eat and is very much a social eater! Anytime anyone has food she doesn't beg for it, she demands we give her some! We've completely weaned her as well. Meaning no more nursing...I've come to terms with this seeing as how it has helped me to have so much more energy than when we were still nursing. Also Veja seems to enjoy eating even more than she enjoyed nursing. Those struggles are over for now. She adores her daddy and gets a huge smile on her face every time he enters the room. She's started to say "mama" and "dada", and sometimes even "daddy", but she doesn't say them very often. I'm convinced that "mom" means food to her. We are still rocking her to sleep every night, some nights I have a hard time and am ready to give up, but she's so sweet cuddling into me and playing with my hair that I quickly forget about it most days. We're working on getting her used to Jon being able to put her to sleep as well. We're going to have a birthday party for her on Saturday so I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and blog about that. :)

Walking

So last week Veja decided that she did NOT want to crawl any more and that walking was SO much better. So now my baby girl, who is now 11 months old, is walking. She's starting to get pretty good too. I'm excited, but at the same time scared because now she is even more mobile which equals even more trouble. :)

Other baby news, I'm 15 weeks pregnant now, which means I'm into the second trimester, wahoo! I'm not feeling as sick and tired, which is good. I'm really enjoying it. Oh, and I'm "starting" to show. I say starting because only the kids, my little brother and sister-in-laws are the ones that bring it to my attention. Yes, Chaim, Jaedon, and Ariana have all called me fat...some even before I felt like I was starting to show. For some reason it's not quite as exciting the second time around. Maybe it's because I know what's coming, the huge belly and uncomfortableness. Or maybe it's because I was finally starting to feel like I was getting my pre-pregnancy belly back and now it's gone again. I don't know. But despite not being as excited, I am still very excited! :) It's all starting to become more and more real!

News!

There's a reason I haven't been keeping up to date on my blog...I've been busy, extra tired, and frankly a little sick in the mornings (and sometimes throughout the entire day)! Veja is going to be a big sister! :) Morning sickness has hit me a lot harder this time around and it's not as easy to deal with because I can't take care of my needs first. I found I have a lot more energy since I weaned Veja down to two times a day though. Veja is taking it very well and is absolutely LOVING eating big food! :) Our only issue is that we're working really hard on getting her to sleep all the way through the night. She's getting better but she was eating every 4 hours, day and night, and so we had a couple of hard nights. She's getting better now. She'll at least sleep until morning (she wakes up at least once anywhere between 3 and 6 in the morning) so I can't complain. I am due on August 19th. Veja and her little sibling will be 17 months apart! I'm excited! I'm still getting used to the fact that they'll be so close. I have to keep reminding myself that Veja WILL be older and will be able to do more on her own. I keep picturing her the size she is with a new little baby and start stressing out. We're really excited! :)

captured moments

I've taken a couple of pictures lately when I wanted to capture the moment forever! Let me share some of those moments with you.

such a happy girl!

We heard her hollering one day when she was crawling around. She got stuck when she tried to get the computer chords...

Her pacifier is a teething ring most days...therefore she chews on it backwards

I couldn't resist taking this picture...She's just adorable!

She was playing with grandma! Don't you just love her? I know I do!

One of my favorite pictures! These two make me so happy! How in the world did I get so lucky?!

While I was working on homework my little troublemaker was getting into trouble :)

see those cute teeth?!

how can you get upset at this adorable happy face? I can't

we were walking together and she smiled up at me like this!

I told her she could play with it as long as she didn't eat it... 

...and she ate it

just enjoying being outside...

...her favorite place to be!
She ALWAYS stops crying when we go outside...

An update on our crazy, but wonderful life!

Just a fair warning before you start reading...it may take you a while because this is a long post!

Alright, I know...I've been slacking majorly! I can't believe I haven't posted in 3 months! But in my defense life has been kinda busy. I signed up for an English class at CGCC and I'm staying very busy with homework (which by the way consists of writing...blah! If you know me you know I don't like to write). Jon's also been very busy with school! He's taking 4 classes...3 of them are science classes, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, and organic chemistry. So far he's getting all A's! I'm so proud of him! He's worked hard to get those A's! He studies hard...which is why I haven't posted in so long, he takes the computer with him to school, and then is using it to study when he's home. The only time I have the computer to myself is when he's at work...and then I have to take care of Veja. Today she's sleeping, we woke her up too early to get Jon to work and me to school, plus I'm sure she's exhausted with all the growing she's doing!

Veja is now 7 months old! She's crawling all over the place and is working on getting tooth number 3 and 4! (she got her first two teeth back in September) I couldn't believe that her cute little smile could get cuter...but it did! Those little teeth are adorable! Although they aren't very adorable when she bites me while she's eating. This is new...ever since she's been working on her newest teeth. I'm hoping she'll get over it when they finally break through the gums but I'm not counting on it.

Veja started crawling about 3 weeks ago! It is so fun to watch her crawl from place to place and be able to get to where she wants to go. With crawling came standing...she pulls herself up on everything! In fact just today I was washing dishes while she was playing and turned to check on her and she had pulled her self up to the couch and she was standing on our tent that was laying next to the couch! I might have slightly freaked out...but all is well, no bumps this time. Oh, that's another thing that has come with crawling...bumps and bruises! Since she can get to wherever she wants and can pull herself up on pretty much anything she gets to learn how to not fall...every little bump is a tramatic for her. It's cute how she starts crying after every little bump. It gives me the chance to cuddle her and comfort her. :) But I don't like the big bumps either. She had a bruise on one cheek a week or so ago and now that one has finally faded she has another one on the other cheek. Oh well...she's learning how to be tough, right?

We moved over Conference weekend! We are no longer living with my parents! It's fantastic to have a place of our own again! I love my family, and I enjoyed the time we got to spend with them, but we needed our own space to be our own little family. We are now living in the apartment that Jon's parents built off of their house. (yeah I know, we moved out of one family and into the other...but it really is better I promise! At least now we have our own space to decorate and cook and be alone). Ben and Heidi were living here before us, but seeing as how they're expecting their second (this month!) they needed a bigger place. It took a while for their new place to get finished, Heidi's brother built an apartment over his house and that's where they are now, so that's why we stayed at my parents for so long. I'm really enjoying having my own space and thinking of all the ways I can decorate...on a budget...I have fallen in love with www.pinterest.com! Thank you Jessica for introducing me to it...I now have a place that I can go to and look at a ton of different ideas for anything I can think of! :) Did I mention that I love it?!

I spent last week making our Halloween costumes (which we only wore for the ward party and not actually on Halloween). I decided that since Veja is so adorable with a little pony tail on top of her head she would make the cutest Pebbles Flintstone EVER! But I can't just dress her up and not dress up myself! So Jon, Veja, and I became the Flintstones for Halloween. I had fun making our costumes. :) We're planning on dressing up again today and taking pictures since we didn't get very many. So I'll be posting some more pictures soon...hopefully. Until then here are a few that Jon's dad took of us at the party:

A good picture of Veja with Jon's dad

Family picture! :)

We are now officially new used car owners! :)

Guess what! Jon and I bought a car! It is a 2007 Toyota Corolla. The best part about it is that it has air conditioning!!!! I can't believe I've survived this long in the summer without an air conditioned car! I'm most excited about being able to take Veja out with me when I have errands to run. :) We also finally sold the Camry. I'm so happy that it's not just sitting out in front of my parent's house anymore!

I started feeding Veja rice cereal when she turned 4 months old and ever since then she has been VERY interested in food! Today during lunch we had her in her bouncy seat in the middle of the table. Well she decided she wanted some of Grandma's food and so she leaned over the side and was trying so hard to get it! She's getting pretty darn good with those cute little hands of hers! She's so strong! I can't believe she lifted herself up like that! I decided then would be a good time to feed her some cereal. :) She loves it! I thought it might help her go longer between her "meals" but it doesn't...maybe helps her go 1/2 an hour longer. It's so funny! She needs her food to keep  those cute chubby cheeks supplied!

This is her new trick...look at her trying to grab the camera! She's so strong!!!

For some reason the computer won't let me post the video...So sorry to all those who wanted to watch it. Hopefully I'll get it figured out soon.

4 months

Veja is 4 months old today!! I can hardly believe it! She's gotten so big! We went to the Dr's this morning for her check-up. Here are her measurements:
Weight 14 lbs 9 oz 75%
Height 25 1/2 in 90%
I can't believe she's so big already! The 90th percentile on height kind of surprised me, at her 2 month appointment she was in the 75th percentile in height, weight, and head circumference, this time she's in the 75th percentile for weight and head circumference.

Some highlights from the past two months:
She can now turn over from her belly to her back!
She's almost ALWAYS happy! (She has the cutest smiles!)
She started laughing. Not much, but she's starting to more and more.
We fed her rice cereal for the first time today and she liked it!
She's getting better at controlling her hands. She can now at least bat at anything that's in front of her.
AND her hair is long enough now that we can put little ponytails in it! Here are some pictures: