IT'S A BOY!

We are thrilled with the news that our little baby is a boy! I have always dreamed of having one boy and one girl. I just really never thought it would happen! I thought we were going to have all girls, since that is what I have grown up around! I am just so so happy and can not wait to meet our little man!!
I think Elle is going to love having a brother. She gets along best with her boy friends and I think this was all practice for her baby brother. What a joy this will be to watch!

Lucky

I feel so blessed to have my playgroup friends. These girls have been in Elle and I's life since she was 8 months old. We spend most days of the week together. Candace and Carissa have become dear friends of mine. Our kids LOVE to play together while we catch up on what is going on in our lives as mommies. They both have infants as well, so it has been great watching them get in the routine of having two little ones. They are WONDERFUL at it! I am sure I will be calling them lots once our little arrives.
Last night we had their families over for an impromptu cookout/swim party. It was a great time! We hope to do it again soon. Here are pics from the night.


Daddy and Elle






Bob and Miles


Miles doing stunts with daddy


Sweet Ryder










Finley with her diaper booty


Eating and dancing

Boy or Girl?

We find out this Tuesday if we are having a bay boy or baby girl! I can not wait to know for sure what this sweet baby is. I really thought the last 3 weeks were going to be sluggish but they have flown by. Probably how the rest of this pregnancy will be. I need to start cherishing my time with my number one girl. It can be difficult at her age :) but I hope to have lots of wonderful moments with her before baby arrives.


Uncle Dave captured this pic of Elle...this is so her personality!

Toddler moment

Elle was a pistol today! We went to the Nature and Science Museum for our Scribbles and Dribbles class. Miles' mom was sweet enough to sign us up for this fun class. I was really looking forward to this one-on-one time with E. We are together all week but we spend most of our time with friends (which is a blessing!) Elle was a little apprehensive when she walked in and thought I was just dropping her off. Once I put her in my lap and we started to sing along with the others, she got a lot more comfortable.
Circles and dots was the theme this week and Elle had a ball with all of the art projects. She had fun with the dot pens, easel painting, and glitter paint. She followed directions very well! She was bummed when it was over so we stayed a little longer at the museum and played. She was an angel!
Then it was time for lunch. We headed to Chick-Fil-A and she was excited to eat at a "restaurant." We had our lunch and then she wanted to play in the toddler area. She played for about half an hour and then I told her it was time to go. Holy cow those few words threw her into a huge screaming, kicking fit. What just happened..where did my sweet angel go? She was on the floor at Chick-Fil-A kicking and screaming "no home mommy! no home mommy" I walked out of the play area after attempting to pick her flailing body up in front of 6 other moms. I said, "I am going Elle. See you later!" She ran after me then threw herself on the floor in the entry way. I picked her up and was holding her like a football. She was a mess. I was humiliated and wanted to just scream. We got to the car. She kept telling me "I want to cry mommy." I am LIVID at this point and just turn up the radio and drive home while she is SCREAMING. She finally calmed down once we got home and we talked about her disappointing behavior. I know she did not get it but it helped me to calm down. The good thing is she wore herself out with all that crying and is conked out in bed. Thank you Lord! Let's hope this afternoon is a happy one :)

17 weeks

Not much different from last week :) I am feeling lots of stretching and pressure but I have heard that is all normal, especially the second time around. As soon as I wrote that I was not getting up in the night to go to the bathroom, it starts again! I have been up A LOT the past few nights. I am craving fresh fruit, mainly pineapple and cherries. Still craving salty foods which resulted in making myself a big plate of nachos for an afternoon snack yesterday! Delish! No scale at my house to know how much I have gained which is fine with me. Will wait to see what the scale says at the doctors office on Tues. Next Tues is the day we find out what this little peanut is! Can not wait! I am ready to shop!
Elle is really sweet about the baby. I ask her where the baby is and she says "in my tummy mommy." She kisses my belly and tries to pull up my shirt to "talk" to the baby in public places :) She is going to be an excellent big sister!

Happy Father's Day Miles!

Miles is an incredible daddy. He is so in love with Elle and gives her so much of his time and love. It is really awesome to watch. He was meant to be a daddy and I can not wait to see him with our second baby! Love you babe!

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16 weeks

I figured I better start documenting this pregnancy since life seems to fly by these days. I did not document my pregnancy with Elle very well. I wish I had more to look back on.
Sleep has started to get better over the last few weeks. I was not sleeping well in my first trimester. I got up a lot at night to go to the bathroom. The 5 times a night has dwindled down to only once a night so no complaining here!
I have felt the little flutters a couple of times but nothing consistent yet. I am so ready to feel this precious baby move everyday. It gives me piece of mind!
I am much more tired this time around than I was with Elle. I remember having a ton of energy second trimester with Elle. I just don't want to do much of anything with this one. I hate that. I feel like Elle is suffering because I am so unmotivated! I have also started to get headaches again. I had this problem my first time around as well. It is nothing I can't handle right now. I just hope they stay that way.
I am craving salty and spicy foods. I really haven't given in to too many of them just because I try to buy healthy food for the house. It is getting harder to fight the urge to eat fried chicken or french fries though. I am obsessed with Popsicles and SERIOUSLY have 5-6 a day. They are so good!
I have gained 8 pounds so far which is more than with Elle. I started to show at 5 weeks and I look about 6 months pregnant right now. But I am embracing it :) I feel much more pregnant than I am. It is strange!
Belly measurement this week- 31 inches

What a personality!

Elle is quite the little drama queen these days! She has so many funny facial expressions and hilarious little one liners. She cracks us up on a daily basis and keeps me worn out everyday! I have to be on my toes with this one! When she is upset, it is quite the spectacle. I have no room to complain though since she gets her attitude from me, not her laid back daddy! Right mom :)

16 week sonogram

While in Abilene, Marsha was sweet enough to give me a sonogram so we could see our precious baby. The last time I had one was at 8 weeks and Miles was unable to be at that visit. So, he got to see baby for the first time and it was much more exciting than the 8 week sono! He/She looked like a baby this time and boy is he/she active. Moving all over the place! Loved it. We also think we are pretty sure what the sex is but waiting until our 18 week sono (2 weeks) to confirm!!!!

Abilene weekend

We had a great time seeing family and friends in Abilene this weekend. We arrived Friday morning. Drove out to Cade and Stacy's new house, dropped off Miles and picked up Stacy for a girls lunch. Elle, Stacy and I went to Hickory Street Cafe to meet Kim, Sherry, Misty and Jill, as well as their kiddos, for a yummy lunch. I have to say that place has the best chicken salad EVER! Elle was a crazy women after being in the car for 3 hours and definitely was not on her best behavior. I guess that place is not too child friendly and we got lots of looks from other customers. But we all laughed it off and had a great time catching up!
After lunch we headed back to Cade and Stacy's to hang out. Their new house is gorgeous and Stacy did an amazing job at decorating. If you live in the Abilene area and need an interior designer, Stacy Riley is your gal! Crew woke up from his nap just as Elle was going down for hers, so I we got to play with him for a couple hours. What a precious little boy he is! So adorable and funny funny!!
After Elle woke up we headed to my dad's house to meet up with my sisters and their families. It was wonderful to see everyone and spend the weekend relaxing. My dad and Marsha bought a gigantic water slide that the kids were on ALL weekend. It was so fun to watch the cousins interact. Elle just worships Aidan and he was so sweet to her. Ally and Elle played really well together. As we were packing up on Sunday I heard lots of giggling upstairs. I went to see what was going on and Elle and Ally were jumping on the guest bed, having a ball. I just couldn't bear to break it up since they were having such a good time so they continued being little monkeys while we finished up.
Grandmother came out for a little while on Saturday. It was wonderful to see her and I could tell she loved seeing all of the kids play! My good friend Kim also came out on Saturday, with her sweet baby Emma! Emma is too cute and such a ham. Loved spending a little while with her.
Thank you Dad and Marsha for an awesome weekend. We loved seeing you and hope to come back real soon! XXOO



Emma Rose


Aidan and Elle swinging


Silly girl!




Jake getting some lovin from Elle




Aidan and Emery


Aidan on the slide


Precious Ally


Elle's idol!


Sweet Aidan helping Elle


Big girl!


Whoa!!


Warn out!


Elle and Emery