24 weeks!

Due Date: January 3, 2015
How far along: 24 weeks! Second trimester is coming to a quick end. I thought I would be more 'on it' with blogging this pregnancy but that is certainly not the case. I'm amazed at how quickly it is going by!
Baby is the size of a: (Long as): An ear of corn!
Maternity clothes: We are in full swing into maternity pants. I have started to bust out the maternity tops (as it turns out I only have ONE, yes, one short sleeved top!) With it being so hot and humid down here, still, I can't even be outside in my jeans. So my clothing of choice are still dresses that I fit into or comfy workout capris. Thankfully it looks like the weather is, hopefully, making a turn for the cooler side and I just might be able to start wearing some of my maternity tops. Although, I am pretty shocked at how little maternity clothes I have. I'm thinking some more shopping is in order...
Anything make you queasy or sick: Nope!
Food Cravings: Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate.
Miss anything: Just tonight as I was reading Zach his bedtime stories, it seems like we are starting to lose sitting space on my lap :( My little guy also loves to jump on me and 'wrestle' which I miss not being able to do with freedom.
Weight Gain: +10. The numbers are starting to look very big :/
Boy or Girl: BOY! I'm so excited to have two little boys running around. I also have been going through old pictures of Zach and I am excited for this little one to wear his cute little baby clothes!
Movement: He seems to be getting more powerful everyday. At around 20/22 weeks I started feeling him consistently in the evening. Around 22 weeks (I think) I could start seeing movement from the outside. The kicks are becoming more powerful and can be seen more prominently on my belly. I generally feel him more in the evening, when I am finally laying down and relaxing and not chasing after a toddler all day long.
Best moment this week: Having Justin's mom visit for a whole week! We got a lot of quality time with her and Zach loved having his Gramma around!
Worst moment this week: With the busyness of this past week, a certain little boy's nap and sleep schedule has been majorly thrown off, which has led to not-smooth bedtimes. I feel like we regressed in the sleep department to 8 month stage.
Looking forward to: Going to Asheville this weekend to celebrate my sister's birthday, apple picking and having our fall extravaganza with my sisters and mom!
Other tidbits:

• My husband and I went out on a date last night and the waitress at the restaurant was the first stranger to comment on my pregnancy this time around. I guess I have officially reached the bump stage and not just the 'I look overweight' stage. 
• I am having major nesting urges. Mainly to do Zach's 'big boy' room (which is currently our guest room). I am not ready to lose the guest room yet, and we have not bought anything for his room either, so it's going to wait a little longer. I have also been wanting to pull out all of the newborn baby clothes, but since I don't have anywhere to put them just yet, they are going to stay nicely folded in the giant storage container in the closet. My sister is also having nesting urges for me too because she has suggested painting the nursery like four times now! I will take her up on it one of these days!
• It was in the 70's here yesterday so I decorated for fall today! 
• When I ask Zach where the baby is, he either pulls up his shirt and points to his belly and says, 'Baby!' or pulls up my shirt to see my belly. He loves to kiss the baby (my belly) and then pull my shirt down and say "Buy bye!" I think he is going to make such a wonderful big brother :) 
• My next doctor's appointment is my glucose test :( I failed it during my first pregnancy and had to get the 3 hour test done, which was not fun! Please pray that I will pass the test the first time around! 

18 weeks!

 *I am actually 23 weeks in a day and STILL have not posted this 18 week blog. I don't know why it it is so hard for me to get my act together this time around. I actually write the blog posts on time but have a really hard time taking a picture, which is the main reason why this hasn't been posted. Since I am now 5 weeks past taking a picture for this post, I have given up. Hopefully I can snap another picture soon!*

Due Date: January 3, 2015
How far along: 18 weeks
Baby is the size of a: Bell Pepper
Maternity clothes: Pants are really getting to be too small so I've been sticking to dresses. A little shopping trip to the maternity section might be in the works.
Anything make you queasy or sick: Not really, still having some problems with protein.
Food Cravings: None this week.
Miss anything: Sleeping on my back.
Weight Gain: +6
Boy or Girl: Maybe we'll make a little announcement here soon :)
Movement: I think I've been feeling some little jabs here and there some days.
Best moment this week: Getting to see and spend time with some of my family at the beach.
Worst moment this week: Having a sick toddler with ear infections in both ears, teething with molars, whose sleeping has been terrible, thus making my sleeping terrible. On top of that, I got sick too, which I have never been sick and had to take care of a little person. It's been one rough week.
Looking forward to: Celebrating our 5 year Anniversary with the hubs!

And Baby #2 is a.....

BOY!!

Zach will be having a little brother and I will officially be outnumbered by boys (not that I'm already not outnumbered!) I am so excited! I was kind of hoping that #2 would be a boy. I have two older brothers, which I love and I think is really fun. I also wanted it to be a boy so that Zach could have a little buddy to grow up with. It's fun to think of two little boys running around the house, wrestling, sharing a room, and always on the go together. I know that I will definitely have my hands full but I am so thankful for another little blessing.

I kind of had a feeling that it was a boy, although I wasn't sure if I was biased since I already have a boy and am completely consumed in all things boy already. We actually found out it was a boy 6 weeks ago at my 13 week ultrasound. The ultrasound tech asked us if we wanted to know, and we were both shocked and were like, "Can we find out this early?!?" So we have known that it is a little boy in there for several weeks now and have been sharing the news with family and friends. Today I had my 19 week ultrasound to confirm it and he's still a he!

Here is a snapshot of the little dude. The tech had a hard time getting a profile shot of him because he had his arm right over his face for a large portion of the ultrasound. Someone doesn't like getting their picture taken like their daddy ;) And then he decided to curl up into a tight ball and not show his face. I think this picture is so sweet with his little foot propped up in the air.

 

We are excited to meet you, little man. You have a Mommy, Daddy and big brother who love you so much already. Your big brother likes to say, "Baby!" and come over to my belly and give me a kiss. You are one loved little boy.

16 weeks!

 16 weeks 6 days.

Due Date: January 3, 2015
How far along: 16 weeks
Baby is the size of an: Avocado
Maternity clothes: Normal clothes but I have had to do the handy ponytail holder trick on the button of one pair of pants and shorts to make the waist more elastic-y. The maternity pants might make an appearance soon. The baby bump has definitely started to make its appearance.
Anything make you queasy or sick: I've been doing a lot better! Sometimes water makes me a little queasy.
Food Cravings: Cheesecake Factory Avocado Egg Rolls.
Miss anything: My occasional cup of morning tea and goat cheese. Hubs ordered a salad on my birthday with goat cheese and I had a tiny little taste and it was so. good.
Weight Gain: +2. My appetite has made a comeback!
Boy or Girl: Family and some friends know. We will hold the suspense a little longer for the cyber world!
Movement: Last night I might have felt the tiniest little movement.
Best moment this week: Traveling safely to and from Ohio with a happy and good- traveling toddler, spending quality time with lots of family, seeing Zach interact with his cousins, meeting my niece Hannah, and surprising a dear friend at her baby shower. Oh- and an answer to prayer for our family!
Worst moment this week: 12 1/2 hour car ride each way to Ohio, but it was worth it.
Looking forward to: Beach trip with some family next week!

14 weeks!

Seeing how I will be 16 weeks tomorrow, I figured it might as well post this entry. I've had it written since 12 weeks and have edited it, but never published it because I was wanting to take a picture. Well, here it is with no picture! Hopefully I'll have a snapshot for 16 weeks :)

Due Date: January 3, 2015
How far along: 14 weeks-- 2nd trimester! I have a feeling this pregnancy is going to go by a lot faster than my first. 
Baby is the size of a: Lemon
Maternity clothes: Still wearing my normal clothes.
Anything make you queasy or sick: Most food, mainly any source of protein, and some smells. I also have not wanted anything to do with cupcakes this pregnancy. 
Food Cravings: The one thing that is consistent and that I can stomach every day is apples. Last week I craved s'mores. Early on and still I was wanting fruity gum and candy. 
Miss anything: Eating and having food sound good.
Weight Gain: Should we say loss? -2.5. I've been eating such small amounts with my crazy nausea. 
Boy or Girl: We did actually find out at our last appointment on Monday. The ultrasound technician said it is 90% accurate. We were wanting to find out anyways and it was kind of a shock that we could find out this soon. We are not publicizing it yet. Although if you do ask me personally, I will tell you :)
Movement: No movement yet. I think since it is my second pregnancy I know what to expect and I know that I for sure haven't felt the little babe yet.
Best moment this week: Having a good report from the doctor, seeing the little babe on the big screen, making the news public, meeting my niece Juliana for the first time and learning that I have another new niece, Hannah!! It's been a good week :)
Worst moment this week: Having the vomit count go up to 4, 5, 6 :( I am so over not wanting food.
How have I been feeling: At first I was feeling great. No nausea, no eating problems. Besides feeling a little bit more tired and maybe a tad more hormonal, I was great. For the last month or more I have completely lost my appetite. Nothing sounds good to eat and if I try to force myself to eat something I either start gagging or throw it up. My vomit count is now up to 6 :( With my first, at this point I think I was up to 8, which is better, but I was really hoping with this pregnancy it would be 0. Smells and feeling too hot or claustrophobic also seem to trigger my nausea. My portions have also gotten very small. I'm really hoping that things kick back to normal within the next week or so.
Looking forward to: Celebrating my birthday this weekend with a nice, romantic getaway with my husband, going to Ohio and seeing family and meeting my newest little niece!

And then there were Four {almost!}

Happy Mother's Day!

I found out that I was pregnant with our second baby on Mother's Day [5.11.14]. I did have some suspicion that I was pregnant beforehand and my husband thought it would be fun to take the test on Mother's Day. Here are some clues that we had that I was pregnant:

1. Hot Dogs. I hate hot dogs and have probably only ate 3 in my whole life. But one of the first indicators that I must be pregnant is when hot dogs start smelling really good to me. It happened with Zach and it happened this time around again. My sister even asked me if I was pregnant in April because I said a hot dog sounded good. I told her no because I honestly thought I wasn't (I had taken a pregnancy test in March and it was negative).

2. Strong Sense of Smell. We took a family trip to the zoo either at the end of April or beginning of May and I got one whiff of the elephants and almost threw up. My husband looked at me and said, "Are you pregnant?" Again, I thought no- after all, we were at the ZOO which smells of animals and other lovely scents to any person. Although my smell continued to grow throughout the weeks with other things setting me off and making me nauseous. Big indicator.

3. Late. I nursed Zach until he was a little less than 13 months old. I had not been regular since I gave birth to him and only had a total of 2 you know whats. Hence, why I took a test in March because I was also late then. I was late again in May, but wasn't really banking on that as a clue that I was pregnant.

4. Change in Appetite. I had noticed little changes to my appetite but a big change was on Mother's Day, which was ultimately that last straw that changed my mind to take a test. For Mother's Day, my husband (I mean Zach) got me a beautiful box of a dozen Sprinkles cupcakes. Now normally I love cupcakes. After all, I am the Sweet-toothed Wife. But that day, after lunch, I took a bite of a red velvet one and I just couldn't stomach it. I ate half of it and I was done. In fact, I was done with all of them. That box sat around our house for some days and I didn't touch them. I took about half over to our relatives' house, then Justin had to eat the other half. He calls it the biggest flop of a present :( Normally, it would have been the perfect gift for me, but what can I say, pregnancy does some crazy things to a woman.

So with the cupcake making my stomach churn, I gave in and decided to take the test on Mother's Day. And what do you know, this is what we saw :)

[unlike last time I only took 1 test compared to 4!]

Justin likes to say that it wasn't a shock and that it was planned. I was still kind of in shock. We had talked about waiting until Zach was a year old and then start talking/trying for baby number 2. Since I hadn't been regular since giving birth the first time, I really didn't know what would happen. I still think whether you are trying or not, seeing the positive or pregnant sign on the test is always a little bit of a shock! In an instant you realize that your entire life is going to change in a few months!

We are very excited for our family to grow, for our second little babe, and for Zach to be a big brother! I had always wanted out kids kind of close in age, so that they could grow up together and be buddies (hopefully!) We are so thankful to the Lord for blessing us with our children. They truly are a gift from Him!

first haircut

This past weekend we hit a new first with our little man... the first haircut! Zach has been proudly displaying a mullet for some time and his hair officially hit his eyes in the front. After much talking, we (more like I) finally gave in and we took him to Snip Its.

Zach didn't have a very good morning nap that morning, and then combine that with him not liking to be constrained and sit still for more than 3 seconds, it didn't go as smoothly as I anticipated. I think he was also a little concerned with having a strange lady really close to him and touching him. It took much toy distraction, book reading, pacifier sucking, cell phone playing to keep this little one happy and distracted. But he we made it through and actually did a good job all things considered.

I wasn't really emotionally ready for this haircut. I didn't realize that he would lose his 'baby' look and really look like a little boy. I got a little teary eyed during the haircut and it still takes me back when I see him walking around with his big boy haircut.

before & after 

 

 before & after

 here we go!

 I love this picture because it looks exactly like his ultrasound picture at 20 weeks!

 what the experience was really like for him. 

 zach's first selfie. 

 certificate.

except wrong date. 

should have been June 7th.