Beach Bum(p)

25 weeks.   I actually forgot how far along I was a few days ago, thinking that this week would be week 24, but no...its 25.  Which means Luke weighs between 1.5 and 2 pounds and is approximately the size of an eggplant at this point...although I will be honest and say that I can't quite imagine the size of an eggplant unless I pay a special visit to the produce section.  

Also...in case you were wondering where we are in comparison to the beach?  See the below picture.  I KNOW, RIGHT?! Amazing. 

For all the pregnant mommies...this dress was on clearance at Target...GO NOW!

Stats:

Weight Gain: No idea.  Vacations are notorious for weight gain, so we will see the damage at the my next appointment mid-July.

Movement: Luke is much more relaxed in there than Jack was I guess, or maybe it is because I just don't have as much time on my hands, but I have to really be laying down to feel him move very much. 

Cravings: Nothing new.  Cold drinks, fresh fruit, tortilla chips and salsa.

Gender: Boy! Little brother is on his way!

Milestones: Being on vacation with Luke in my belly! He enjoyed the ocean yesterday, and was kicking around while I was floating around! Apparently we both enjoy the sensation of weightlessness!

I just can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is going, and while it got off to such a rough start, I feel very blessed to have a healthy little guy in there, and overall, I really do feel great! My back and legs get sore and my feet are inevitably swollen at the end of the day, but for the gift of a sweet child in utero, those things are nothing!

Beach Baby

Oh yes...he is THAT cool.   And can you believe the difference a year makes?

 This was Jack in Florida last year, and while we had a great time, I have to say that seeing a toddler enjoy the beach is a whole new experience.  Between the sand and seashells and the boats, the excitement never ends!

Morning in Florida

We woke to an unexpected visitor on our deck this morning. I excitedly took Jack outside to see him, only to find ourselves stuck outside when he decided he would rather be inside, and then waited at the door for someone to let him in.

I wasn't zoomed in at all...he was just THAT brazen.

 It's not that I was afraid of him (I totally was...do you see that beak?!), but I had no idea how to get my enormous self and my toddler past the bird and into the house before Mr. Bird let himself in to get a cup of coffee. 

Check out the look Jack is giving Mr. Bird!

Thankfully my sister Bethany shooed him off with a box...for at least long enough for us to get inside.  Our friend did make a break for the door after that, but we managed to shut him out and simply observe him from behind the glass doors.  

We're definitely not in PA anymore! 

P.S. Thank you all for your travel tips, our flights were switched and delayed but Jack did WONDERFUL.  Even the other passengers told us how well-behaved he was (which makes me laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME).

My Nephew

My sister Emily has always been able to look at me, not say a word, and make me completely self-conscious.  I will find her staring at me - on purpose - and despite my best efforts I completely unravel to the point that I eventually freak out and beg her to stop.  She finds it hilarious, and used to do it quite frequently when we lived together.

Two years ago she had a baby boy...and HE CAN DO IT TOO.  He has mastered the look.  I don't know how, but he has got it down. I will say something silly to him, and the next thing I know he has me in a pool of jelly apologizing to the two year old because I said something so foolish!

Luckily I was not the recipient of this particular 'look', I believe it was reserved for my sister Ashley. Good thing too, 'cause I'm not sure I could have handled it.

Harsh, no? 

It's Here!

Can you feel it?  It is officially here! Summer, it all it's sticky, sweaty, BBQ glory is officially here.  Although we got a head start two weeks ago with Matt's official last day of the school year, we are still happily greeting the arrival of this season.  Dusting off our inflatable pools and our 4th of July flags, breaking out the freeze pops and the sidewalk chalk, slicing into juicy watermelons.

Although I relish the new life growing inside of me, I can't help but be aware that this is the last summer that will be just the three of us.  It doesn't make me sad, but it does help me to remember to drink in every moment, every push of the swing and every jump in the pool.

I know how blessed we are to have this time together, to all get so much time to simply be us.  To head off to the park, the library, the market, or the petting zoo at the drop of a hat (after we have packed a diaper bag of course!).  We have our little pool set up on the back deck for the days that are too hot to do anything more than soak one's diaper (or in my case - feet) in some cool water.  We have bubbles and chalk, we have laughter...a lot of laughter (and - let's be honest - some tantrums).

 I try to remember to let go of the little things that don't matter.  Sure Jack might be up past bedtime, sure he might be outside in nothing but a diaper, but the important thing is that my boy is learning to dance in the rain. To enjoy the precious moments that God gives us each and every day.  Some days, we have to really look for those moments, other days they are abundant.

This week finds us in the the throes of vacation packing.  Two glorious weeks in Florida, one with my family, one with Matt's.  We have been making last minute trips to the store for sunscreen and bugspray, juice boxes and fruit snacks.  It's chaotic, it's stressful, it's ohmygoshdidwegetJacksmedicineyet?

But I am remembering to cherish it.  So, to you Summer, WELCOME.  I am glad you came, please stay a while. 

Now...anyone have any toddler travel tips?  'Cause for the first time, we will be (eek!) flying.

Happy Father's Day!

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.  ~Author Unknown

To my husband, the father of my sons:

And to my Daddy:

 I am blessed by your presence in my life.

23 Weeks

I feel like the last few weeks have really shown a growth spurt for Luke, which is reflected in the size of my belly.  I went from feeling like I had just a little baby belly at 21 weeks, to feeling downright unwieldy at this point.  Still, aside from feeling large, I feel really good physically.

 

Stats:

Weight Gain: 11 pounds at this point.  So yes, for all of you crunching the numbers that means that I gained around 10 pounds since my last appointment.  My eyeballs just about fell out of my head, but my midwife assures me that my body was just making up for the hyperemesis, and that my weight gain is on track. 

Movement: Oh indeed, but it is so different from the movement I felt with Jack.  Luke is laying very low, so all of his kicks and wiggles are very low and more towards my back. 

Cravings: Not really, I am just thirsty all the time.

Gender: Boy!

Milestones: Watching my belly move around at night before bed has become one of my favorite activities. Also, as you can kind of see in the picture, my belly button has made a public appearance.

Just for fun I put together a little comparison between my 23 weeks belly with Jack, and my 23 week belly with Luke.  For whatever reason, with Jack I took all of my belly pictures and cropped off my head...so it is a little hard to compare them.  

Jack on the left, Luke on the right.

As I mentioned before, I am clearly carrying a lot lower this time around, which I think makes me look a little bigger. 

So there you have it, 23 weeks with baby brother!

Also, can we all give props to Matt for taking all of my belly pictures this time?! It's nice to not be headless isn't it?

Family Photos

For Christmas last year we (along with Matt's brothers) gave his parents the gift of a family portrait session with Trinity, our amazing photographer friend.  We wanted to wait to actually have the session until the weather warmed up a bit, and Memorial Day weekend ended up working for everyone.  Trinity took some wonderful photos of the whole family, as well as pictures of each 'little' family.  There are so many wonderful pictures from the session that I want to share with you, but this first one definitely has my heart.

It is so very...US.  Also, what a photo session with a toddler really looks like. 

Hey...it's REAL life people! If we were always honest this is what a LOT of our moments turn into, we just laugh it off and keep on livin'!

The Art of Cheese

I have always loved pictures of toddlers when you can tell they have just figured out that they are supposed to smile at the camera, their little bared teeth and their scrunched up noses speak straight to my heart.  I had wondered how long it would be before my little boy started to say 'cheese'.  Apparently?  19 months. 

My boy is a master at the art of cheese.  His crooked little smile shows off his chipped baby teeth, his squinty little eyes look just like his Daddy's, and he gives me almost a full second of 'cheese' time to snap off at least one decent picture.  

Sometimes he forgets to make eye contact with the camera, but I don't mind.  The kid is cute, regardless.

I call this one the 'Chicken Corn Soup Cheese'...which actually sounds like a really disgusting recipe, but in reality, it is one of my favorite pictures of him. 

If you have a little one in your life, is (s)he mastering The Art of Cheese?  Or maybe they have had it down for years?

Things That Only Happen to Us

Well hey! It's been a week or so since I last updated, but I've had so much to tell you guys.  Our internet is down at the moment, but hopefully we can get that remedied this week.  Matt had his official first day of summer on Thursday, and we have already been having a great time, we have been swimming and playing and yesterday we even get to hit up the aquarium with some friends. 

But here is the cool news.  You remember all the crap that went down with our old house?  Some of you may not have been reading this here blog at the time, so I will give you a really brief rundown.  We bought a house, the house had poisonous levels of black mold under the floors and in the walls.  The seller agreed to fix it, until we got an estimate of the cost of repairs, and the seller backed out, leaving us unable to cover the costs of repairs or to live in the home (we lived in my moms basement for several months).  After dealing with the lender and a realtor, the only option was to try a short sale, and hope that the house sells before a foreclosure takes place. 

And that was the last time I updated on that house.  Since then, we have accepted an offer, only to have it refused by the lender, who is not accepting the offer because they feel the house should never have been approved in the first place.  Well yeah, we wish it hadn't either, but their appraiser didn't find the problem any more than we did, that is not our fault! We waited a while, and then on Thursday we accepted another (higher) offer! We weren't overly hopeful, but it was nice to know that there was sincere interest in the house. 

Thursday night, there was a storm here in PA.  And a tree fell on the house.

A big one. 

Yeah, that really happened. 

We are thankful that we weren't living int he house when the tree fell, and that it didn't fall on any or of neighbors there, but I mean, REALLY?

Oy.  It's almost just funny at this point, because what else can it be, you know? 

Stripes and Fundraisers

When I was younger, I read that horizontal stripes can make your waist look wider...I committed that little vain fact to memory, and it wasn't until this past year that I finally bought a really cute black and white tunic that was striped.  To my surprise...I loved it.  If it weren't a sweater, I would wear it all the time.  Since then I have found that I really like stripes.  Sure they may not be the MOST flattering thing I could possibly put on my body, but you know what?  I don't really care anymore.  I am shaped the way I am shaped, and no amount of stripes or no stripes will ever change that fact.  

That little diatribe really has very little to do with this post...aside from the fact that I love the dress I am wearing in this picture...21 weeks.

Stats:

Weight Gain: I haven't been weighed recently, and have no desire to be! I feel pretty good, so I think that is what matters at this point!
Cravings: Fruit, mainly strawberries and watermelon...but if it's fruit, I will eat it.  Remember last week how I NEEDED tacos? Well, I folded and got one at Taco Bell...and remembered that Taco Bell makes me sick. 
Movement: Oh yes. Although I think he is a little less wild than Jack was at this point. 

Gender: All boy!
Milestones: I wore my bathing suit for the first time last weekend at my in-laws pool.  Homegirl NEEDS a tan...but got a burn. 

I also want to make sure to mention something really cool and really important.  I have this blogging friend, her name is Shandell, she is pretty much awesome.  She has a little guy named Malakai, and just like me, she is also expecting another little boy in October! Just a few weeks ago, her son Malakai had to have surgery to repair a hernia, and thankfully he is a champ and recovering very well.  The point of me mentioning this is that although their prayers for a safe recovery for Malakai haven been answered, they are also facing some hefty medical bills.  She is currently running one heck of a giveaway to raise some cash to cover those medical expenses (remember...they will also be having a baby this year...and we all know those aren't cheap!). Hop over to her blog and check it out!