Baby Moon

For Christmas this year I gave Paul a weekend getaway to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.  We have not been on a vacation together (just the 2 of us) since Brady was born.  It was a much needed break, and I know we won't be able to do it again for a while with the new baby on the way.  We were supposed to go about a month ago, but Brady got sick the week we were supposed to leave.  We just knew we wouldn't be able to enjoy ourselves worried about him.  So, we crossed our fingers that he would stay healthy for our rescheduled trip.  My dad and stepmom were kind enough to keep our little booger all weekend.

I was tempted to pack him with us...

On the way there we drove through a good bit of snow around the Greeneville/Spartanburg area.  The funny thing is as soon as we got to North Carolina, there was no snow in sight.  I was kind of hoping there would be a little snow on the ground in Asheville, but it sure was cold enough there!  We did get some flurries one night and a light dusting, but it was gone by the morning.

View from our room- beautiful!

The first day we got there about 3 so we checked into the hotel and then drove to downtown Asheville and walked through some shops.  The first place that drew me in was a chocolate shop of course.  They had the best fudge I have ever had.  I wish I had bought more while we were there!  I decided I was in the mood for Italian, so we googled Italian food in Asheville and came across a little family owned place called Vinnie's.  OMG it was soooo good!  Paul and I are still talking about how good it was.  Paul even mentioned driving there one night just for dinner...haha, that may be a little extreme.  But, it really was that good.

Me and my love at dinner!

My mouth waters looking at this photo...so yummy!

Apparently our little boy had Italian for dinner too, his favorite- spaghetti!  Of course we spent most of our time talking about Brady and wondering what he was doing.  I think he was having a great time being spoiled at his grandparents' house.

After dinner we sat by the fire and Paul got me some hot chocolate.  It was delicious and the perfect ending to a great night together.

The next morning, we got up and decided instead of spending a fortune on breakfast at the hotel we would venture out to another local breakfast spot.  Paul had been to this place once before and suggested we go there.  There was a 45 minute wait, but we decided we would just wait it out.  I am so glad we did, because again the meal did not disappoint!

26 weeks!

We decided to buy tickets to go to the Biltmore that afternoon.  It was a little crowded to say the least, but we still had a good time exploring the mansion.

Monday morning I had booked an appointment at the spa for a prenatal massage.  I was so looking forward to this as I have heard their spa is amazing.  It was nice, but would have been much nicer if I had more time to hang around and enjoy all the indoor pools, etc.  However, after I got done I had a text message from my stepmom to call her.  I knew that was not a good sign.  She said that Brady was burning up with a fever and very fussy.  So, we pretty much packed up immediately and headed back to Columbia.

Bye bye mountains!

The doctor could not see us until 7pm that night, so here I am trying to entertain a very sleepy, very sick little toddler.  (Excuse my appearance as I had not even had a chance to take a shower after my spa appointment...)

We had a great weekend together other than spending our first night back home at the pediatricians office.  Our poor boy had tonsillitis and a fever of 103.5.  Thank goodness we got some antibiotics in him, and he is feeling much better after missing a week of daycare.  I am glad Paul and I were able to spend some quality, relaxing alone time together, but now we are back to the races. There is so much to do and so little time before this baby will be here!

24 weeks

24 weeks!

This pregnancy is flying by.  I think by this time with Brady I had most of his furniture, his room painted, crib put together.  This time...I gotta crib, not put together yet, but we have a crib...that's about it.  I need to get on the ball with getting her nursery put together for her, because she will be here before we know it!

I am still feeling great, and everything looks great with me and the baby.  So far, no signs of early labor.  But, I really had no signs with Brady until around 30 weeks or so.  Of course, at our ultrasound today she was in breech position, taking after her brother already.  There is still plenty of time for her to flip, but with Brady once we got to the third trimester, he was pretty snug and not moving. I learned last time that you just can't plan everything to go the way you want it.  So, if I have to have a repeat C-section I will, but my "plan" is to have a VBAC.  But, we all know it is really what HER plans are.  As long as everyone is safe and healthy, that is all that matters.

 How big is the baby? About 1 foot long and a little over 1 pound. (About the length of an ear of corn)

Weight Gain: Up about 10 pounds from my starting weight

Gender:  GIRL!

Maternity Clothes? Mostly...still wear some of my normal clothes

Sleep? Sleeping pretty well.  I do have to get up to go to the bathroom pretty much every night which is annoying.

Food Cravings/Aversions:  Eating A LOT these days.  I am always hungry, and if there is dessert around, I'm not turning it down.  Hey, gotta take advantage while I can, right?

Movement: She is a wiggle worm.  You can actually see her kicks from the outside now.

What I miss? I still really don't miss too much.  Honestly, sometimes I forget I am even pregnant.  Oh how I know too well that will change soon!

What I'm Looking forward to? Well, since Paul and I had to reschedule our trip to the Grove Park Inn for President's Day weekend since Brady got sick before we were supposed to go last time...I am still looking forward to that!

Paul made this sweet little card and emailed it to me at work after our ultrasound today.  I can already tell that this little girl will have him wrapped around her finger.  She STILL didn't want to show her face at our ultrasound today.  She had her hands and feet in front of her face the whole time.  We managed to catch a little glimpse, and I am just so in love already.

Lastly, I got so excited to find these in my mail box today.  My sister-in-law hosted a Kelly's Kids clothing show, and I ordered their first matching outfits.  I can't WAIT to see my two babies in these this summer.  How freakin' cute are these??  Love!

Brady at 16 months

Our baby boy is growing up way too fast!  He has grown and changed so much in the past month or so.  He recently had his 15 month well check when he was really almost 16 months.  Everything looked great!  Other than the constant sickness he catches from daycare (ugh!), he is a healthy, growing boy.

Here is what he is up to these days:

He went from still crawling at 15 months to now basically running around the house.  He has the most adorable little walk/waddle I have ever seen, and he is so proud of himself!

He says a few words and his two favorites at the moment are "uh oh" and "shoes".  If something falls down, it is "uh oh".  If he throws his sippy cup off of his high chair, it is "uh oh".  Shoes pretty much encompass anything that goes on your foot.  If he sees his shoes, my shoes, or Paul's shoes, he will try to put them on while saying "shoes".  He came running up to me with a pair of Paul's socks when  I got home from work today, "shoes, shoes, shoes".  It is about the cutest thing ever.  Other words he says are duce (juice), momma, daddy, wiwee (Riley), ello (hello while holding any object that resembles a phone up to his ear, or more like behind his head).

He is still a great eater.  His favorite foods are bananas, strawberries, pears, pineapple, sweet potatoes, cheerios, yogurt, toast chee crackers, spaghetti, applesauce, plum organics pouches (still give him these, because liquid veggies are better than none at all!)

He loves to be outside!  And specifically riding and/or pushing his 4-wheeler outside.

He still loves for mommy to carry him around, and I am trying to ween him off of this as he is getting HEAVY, and soon we will have another addition that may not allow me to carry him around as much.

He can point to his nose, ears, belly, belly button, foot, and toes.

His teachers have taught him how to say please in sign language.  If he wants something and you tell him to "say please" he will put his hand on his chest.  Sometimes he bangs both hands on his chest if he  is really excited.  It is too cute.

He still loves his dog and Riley is not quite as fond of him these days.  Brady doesn't exactly know how to be gentle all the time.  But he tries to give him hugs all the time, and it is so sweet.

He is still an excellent sleeper.  He goes down around 7 and wakes up between 7 and 8.  He usually plays in his crib for about 15-30 minutes before we go in and get him.

He has started to throw some temper tantrums, but he is still his happy self most of the time.  The tantrums are usually when we take something from him he is not supposed to have, or if I won't pick him up when he wants me to.

He loves music and will start dancing if he hears it.  So much like his daddy!

Here are some pictures from the past month or so.  We LOVE YOU SO MUCH Brady!  You have the best personality, and we could not have dreamed up a more perfect baby.

We went to the zoo after his 15 month well visit since it was a beautiful day and "Free Fridays" for Richland County residence.

Brady's "uh oh" face.

His favorite "hiding" spot.

Walking around at Baskin Robbins for an afternoon treat with Papa and Daddy.

The 4-wheelin' fanatic

Going down the slide!

Playing at the park!

Sometimes pushing it is more fun than riding!

15 months:Weight: 25 lbs 4 oz (55th percentile)
Height: 33 inches (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.75m (59th percentile)

20 weeks, already?!

20 weeks

Am I really already half way through my second pregnancy?  That is really hard to believe.  It is going by much faster this time for sure.  We had our big ultra-sound appointment on Monday and everything looks great with the baby girl!  She is right on track size wise and passed with flying colors.  She was moving and kicking the whole time.  The only bad part was that baby girl did not want to show her face!  She had her hands covering her face, or would turn away from us every time we tried to get a look in 3d.  The upside of this is that they scheduled me for another ultrasound at my 24 week appointment for a "re-check" since we couldn't get a good view of the face.  I am getting spoiled this time around since I have had an ultrasound at every appointment so far.  I get so excited to see her!

I am doing great as well.  Since Brady was born premature, my doctor suggested I get a weekly injection of a drug called Makena (a chemical compound very similar to progesterone) that has been proven to significantly decrease the likelihood of preterm labor in women with a prior history.  There are no known side effects to mother or baby, and it is said to decrease the odds by 50% or more.  While it is not fun getting a shot every week, I would do anything to make sure to protect this baby and make sure she is ready before she enters the world.

How big is the baby? About 6.5 inches long and 13 ounces head to heel. (About the length of a banana)

Weight Gain: Up about 3 pounds from my starting weight

Gender:  GIRL!

Maternity Clothes? Mostly...still wear some of my normal clothes

Sleep? Sleeping great

Food Cravings/Aversions:  I still like anything with cheese and also chocolate :).

Movement: Feeling lots of movement now!

What I miss? Nothing significant..

What I'm Looking forward to? Paul and I are going to the Grove Park Inn for a weekend getaway just the two of us in a couple of weeks.  I can't wait!  It will be our first vacation by ourselves since Brady was born.

Final Christmas Celebrations in Charleston

Christmas is like a never ending event around here.  It typically spans at least a week.  But, that's ok, because it is a good excuse to take a break and spend time with family which is my favorite thing to do.

After Christmas we took one day of rest at home and then headed to Charleston.  We stayed at my mom's house with my brother and grandparents.  The first stop we made was to see my paternal grandmother that lives on James Island.

Helping Mimi open her present.

Friday my brother left us to go see his friends in Atlanta before heading back to San Fran.  I am always sad to see him go, but it was great to get to spend a whole week with him.  Excuse my appearance in the picture below...I hadn't exactly showered yet.

Mom, Dustin, and I before heading to the airport.

Friday night Paul's sister was nice enough to host dinner at her house for Paul's brother and his family and his parents.   It is always so fun to see the cousins play together.  It is slight chaos with 6 kids under one roof, but fun none the less.

Henry (13 months) and Brady (15 months) playing kitchen

Caroline (16 months) and Brady

Uncle Paul counts as the 7th child...playing video games with Walt.

Brother and sister Caroline and William

Brady and Henry with Papa.

Daddy stealing a kiss!

Love that sweet grin! 

Paul will probably kill me for posting these pictures, but Brady and Emmie were too cute playing with her new Barbie Dream House that Santa brought her...and then pushing the baby stroller.  It's just practice for his baby sister :).

I promise this is the last Christmas post, but I had to make sure to document everything!  As always I enjoyed the holidays, but I am looking forward to getting back to our normal routine.  Brady heads back to "school" tomorrow.  Pray for the germs to stay away!!

19 weeks

19 weeks

Here we are at 19 weeks, and this will be our last picture in front of the tree.  It is going down today!  I am always kind of sad to take down the Christmas decorations.  The house looks so empty once they are gone.  I laugh as I look at this picture of our tree noticing how there are no ornaments about half way down.  Someone may have pulled our Christmas tree down at one point, and we had to move everything out of toddler reach :).

I am still feeling great and my bump is probably about the same size at this time with Brady.  You can see that picture here.  However, I was overall bigger with Brady.  I started off weighing less this time than I did last time. (Those jeans I am wearing snugly in that picture literally still fall off of me now.)  Apparently chasing a toddler around in the best weight loss program there is.  Especially when you have one as busy as ours!  The boy NEVER stops.  Thank goodness for naps and a good nights sleep.

How big is the baby? About 6 inches long and 8 1/2 ounces head to bottom. (About the size of a heirloom tomato)

Weight Gain: Still don't think I have really gained any weight.

Gender:  GIRL!

Maternity Clothes? I just started wearing some of them and am not sure why I did not sooner.  I am so much more comfortable!

Sleep? Sleeping great

Food Cravings/Aversions:  The other day I was really craving CHEESE- so random.

Movement: Feeling more and more movement.  They are still just little pokes here and there, but you can see them from the outside if you look closely.

What I miss? Nothing significant..

What I'm Looking forward to? Our 20 weeks appointment next week where we have the big anatomy scan ultra sound done.

Christmas Day 2012

Our little boy was so good this year, and Santa was good to him!  He was so excited when he woke up to see all the gifts under the tree.

"Look what Santa brought me Mommy!"

He really loves this giraffe pull toy and "The Belly Button Book" as he loves to point out our belly buttons these days.

...and he loves his table and chairs from Pottery Barn Kids.

This was a definite favorite, the Batman battery powered 4-wheeler Nanna and Papa got him.

He has his own chair now!

 We spent the morning at our house just relaxing and playing with new toys.  After Brady's nap, we went over to my dads house.  My brother, step-sister Katie, her boyfriend, and my dad and step mom were all there.  We had a wonderful meal and opened some more presents!

My big boy!

The new book Waldo and Frankie got him to keep at their house.

My brother and I (...and my big 'ole cup of water)

Love this one :).

Waldo and Brady!

Who needs toys when you have a box?

This was such a wonderful Christmas.  Brady had a blast!  It is hard to believe that next year we will have another baby at Christmas time.  We are so blessed, and I am looking forward to a wonderful 2013!