The VanSickle Family

Baby Linley is Here

2012-02-28T10:40:00.004-06:00

We welcomed our precious baby girl into the world Saturday February 25th at 4:39am. She was 7lbs 4 oz 20 inches long and absolutely gorgeous. We are so thrilled with her and so in love with her. I am working on her birth story and will post it soon. I am so proud of this little girl. She has our hearts and is the most wonderful little girl we can imagine. We are enjoying our week at home as a family of four.

Our beautiful newborn baby girl

My two beautiful babies

Big brother meeting his baby sister

Linley Brooke VanSickle

So precious and wonderful

39.5 Weeks Pregnant

2012-02-21T07:44:00.005-06:00

I am due to have this baby girl... this week! Official due date is the 25th although I have been saying the 26th since Sunday was an easier day for me to remember as far as the due date. Silly, I know but for whatever reason I remember the 26th on Sunday better. Anyway. This little girl is officially due to arrive this Saturday. With the way things are going, I don't see her coming this week. I went to the doc yesterday for our 39 week checkup and no changes in the last few weeks. Still 2cm, somewhat effaced, and everything else looks right on track. He could tell she had dropped some, but other than that, nothing new to report. Blood pressure was fine and her sweet little heartbeat was easy to find. The doc did bring up starting non stress tests twice a week if we want to go past the due date, which I plan to do if she needs it. I am content waiting on her timing as long as nothing seems like it is unhealthy (fluid levels, her size(which IS a concern since I have had an almost 10lb baby before), and her continuing to receive all she needs from me). I am confident she will come in her own time and that timing will be perfect. So I sit and wait. and wait. and wait. I will say that I have been having more and more contractions lately so that could be a good sign that labor is getting very close. Can't be too far away with how far along we are!

The past few days I came down with sickness. Not sure if it is/was the flu or a bug, but it has been rough. I spent all day Sunday in bed after being up all night Sat night throwing up with fever, cough, and runny nose. I was MISERABLE. Throwing up gave me contractions and I just sat in the bathroom floor crying and praying to not go into labor feeling how I was feeling. Sunday was the same along with Sunday night. Yesterday I felt better and was up and around more but still sick. Today, I feel even better, yet still runny nose and sore body. Greg is back at work now so it's just me and Gavin. Hoping for a rest filled day. I can't imagine laboring feeling sick. It would be much harder than the huge feat it already is. If I can just have another day to heal up and get my energy back I will be okay. Greg is starting to feel sick now and woke up feeling bad. Gavin has a little cough, major runny nose, and little sneezes. Just a cold, but just a cold for him or me is quite hard at this point. Doing all we can to get better as fast as humanly possible.

Hoping for a few more days or healing and resting and then labor this weekend. That would be wonderful. I am so excited to see this little girl who has been torturing my ribs and pelvic bone. She is getting quite heavy and making Momma quite uncomfortable in the process of her growing. I feel like it is her time to come out, but she will let me know when she is ready. If she comes on the same schedule as Gavin, she will come on the 29th... which if you have read this blog before you know I REALLY DO NOT WANT. I just don't want a leap year baby. So confusing to a child to explain why they don't have a birthday that year. As an adult it's not a big deal, but as a kid it would be so confusing. I would just prefer her come another day, but she can determine that. Patience is not my strongest quality, but I am learning it and working to embrace it more and my little Linley love is surely helping me with this by giving me no choice but to wait. Thanks for the lesson, sweet girl :)

39 weeks and 3 days. Excuse the swollen face, but I have been sick and blowing my nose so my face is quite red and swollen from that along with being almost 40 weeks pregnant. I am one puffy Momma this week.

19 Months Old

2012-02-19T08:00:00.003-06:00

Our precious Gavin is now 19 months old. Physically, he is wearing size 2t clothing, size 7 shoes now, and size 5 diapers. He now has a mouth full of teeth and I have lost count as to how many he actually has. He has been cutting 2 new teeth this week alone. He is the best teether I can imagine and it has never really bothered him badly at all. He is still the most drooling little boy for his age. We still have to put multiple bibs on him daily as he drools non stop. He looks funny still in bibs at his large size, but if we don't do it, he would be soaking wet all day long. He has the bluest eyes in the world, just like Daddy. His hair is still blonde, but getting darker in time. His look is maturing from baby to big boy more each day. He looks more like his Daddy each day too. He is still a great mixture of both of us, but I for sure see more of Greg as he gets older.

I know that I am a typical parent who wants to brag on their kid, but he is so smart. I am constantly amazed at how fast he picks things up. He loves books and his language is really taking off. He says many 3-4 word sentences now. Example: "Daddy, up please." "Momma, tissue please." He adds please to most everything and now says thank you after most everything. I work very hard with him to make him be so polite and I enjoy seeing it pay off. He makes us very proud. We are working on colors and shapes now, and while he isn't quite getting them yet, I think he is picking up more than he lets on and one day soon he will show us that he actually does know them all. He loves doing animal sounds too. Animals are a fav of his.

He loves to play blocks, read books, do his puzzles, eat pretty much anything and everything under the sun other than veggies (he is on a bit of a veggie strike right now), take baths, clean up his toys, go for car rides, go to the grocery store (since he gets a cookie now), and spend every waking second with Daddy. He is a Daddy's boy through and through. He loves music and wants to play his flute and dance all the time. He really enjoys it. His flute sounds more like a whistle right now since it is a toy one, but he has a blast with it. He has gotten much more interested in tv and now watches a couple of shows daily. This is mainly as I am exhausted 24/7 and this entertains him when I can't at the moment. He has also gotten better at entertaining himself and he will play alone for a little bit now which is going to be essential to me when Linley arrives this week (hopefully as we are due this week now!). He is a constant joy in our lives. I really can not imagine loving anything more than I love Gavin.

Working on our Valentine's Day art project

He loves being pulled in the laundry basket still. He crawls in and says "vroom vroom" asking to be pulled.

Helping me cook

Snuggling with Daddy watching Mickey Mouse

Very excited to get a brownie after lunch

My little buddy

This is the mess the boys had made by 7am one day. They can really make a huge mess in no time at all. Luckily, Gavin is now an expert at picking up his toys. He does it every day on his own when instructed to.

Hugs for Momma

Reading his new favorite book about kangaroos. He is OBSESSED. We read this literally 20 plus times a day.

Gavin's Thoughts On the New Baby Before Delivery

2012-02-17T08:41:00.007-06:00

Well, I have been asking Gavin all week, "Do you want Momma to have a baby today???" to which he always replies a firm "No" and shakes his head. Yesterday he finally started agreeing to me having the baby tomorrow when I would ask. I would say, "Should Momma have the baby today or tonight?" and he would say "no", but when I asked, "Should Momma have your baby sister tomorrow?" Gavin said, "okay." I asked this same sequence several times and he always agreed to me having her today but not yesterday. I am hoping this is a sign I will go into labor today. That would be a funny story to tell in the future.

To occupy our time waiting on baby Linley, this week I have been trying to work with Gavin on his colors. He is not picking them up quickly. Everything is "geen" aka green or "wello" aka yellow. We will get there. I have also been teaching him how to jump. Not sure which is funnier, his little attempt at a leap when he bends his knees then straightens them, or me at almost 39 weeks pregnant jumping to show him how to do it. Pretty sure they are equally entertaining to watch.

We have only had two outings this week since I just don't feel like getting out much and for one of them we went to put gas in the car, to the car wash, and to pick up some papers for Daddy. Well, the car wash was the worst idea ever. I have taken him through the automatic ones before and he was okay, but this time, he was TERRIFIED. I mean, full on in fear so bad that he couldn't breathe. It was horrible. He was trembling. I did my best to crawl over the back seat to hold him and comfort him from the drivers seat which resulted in me pulling my groin. Yes, it is 3 days later and it is still extremely sore. It was a sight to see for my 9 month pregnant self to be hurdling the seat to get to him, but he was more upset than I have probably ever seen... including meeting Santa. Anyway, moral of the story, don't take your almost 19 month old through the car wash unless someone is holding them or right by them because it can be a terrifying experience. From now on, my trailblazer will just have to be dirty as I will NOT be cleaning it again for a long time.

To top off the week, Gavin woke up with a nasty little cold today. Lovely timing huh? Hoping it passes in a day or two. I do not want to catch it and I really don't want to bring Linley home to a sick big brother. He is pitiful today with a runny nose and cough. I think the cough is from drainage in his nose down his throat. He keeps saying "tissue momma. eeeassse" (eeasssee is please) to which I suction his little nose out and he says a prompt "thank you" for me doing so. I love having a polite and sweet boy. Even sick he is polite. Pretty amazing kid. Even sick he is dancing in a circle right now cheering himself on saying "go go go!" He always keeps me laughing.

This is the sad face I captured when the car wash first started. It got much worse, sadly.

We sit on our exercise balls 24/7 in efforts to encourage Linley out.

When not on our exercise balls, he likes to snuggle my belly. It warms my soul when he does this. Sweetest thing in the world.

He got a cookie at the grocery store for the very first time this week. He thought he was so cool getting it.

My sick boy this morning. That face is pitiful. He can't breathe well and his nose just runs and runs. He didn't sleep well last night either. Hoping it passes very quickly.

38 Weeks

2012-02-14T09:34:00.003-06:00

38 weeks and a few days along now. Feeling every single bit of it. This past week has been full of ups and downs. I spent last Friday in the hospital due to some bloody show and contractions, but nothing came of it. I went to the doctor this morning for my weekly check in and I am still 2cm dilated. No other changes. My doctor asked about if we would want to be induced due to my discomfort, swelling, and everything and we said no. He said he preferred that and he wouldn't mention it again until we are at at least 10 days past the due date and then we could discuss it. We have no plans at all to induce though as long as she is a healthy weight, still moving tons, and getting what she needs from me. I think it is best to let babies come at their own time as being induced ups your chances of a c-section and nursing issues a ton. I wish more people would be confident and calmer in waiting it out a little longer but I won't start on that one. My weight is at 159, so I have gained close to 40lbs this time around. Eeek. I know I will lose it all and nurse it off, but it's still alarming to see those numbers on a scale. Blood pressure was great. We heard her precious little heartbeat and every time it makes mine race faster. It never gets old hearing that sweet sound. We love her so much and are so anxious to meet her.

Physically, I am exhausted, achy, and just uncomfortable. It has been a lot harder this time around with Gavin since I can't rest during the day at all and I am always lifting him still. Linley is sitting very low so I have a ton of pressure and pelvic pains. My back is achy too, but that is normal for me. I get contractions all the time, but nothing ever really painful or consistent. I wish they would pick up.

Mentally, I am feeling ready. Ready for the work that is to go into labor. I am also feeling overwhelmed and sad to leave Gavin for the first time. I have never spent a night or full day away from him and I am nervous about it. I will miss him so much. I know he will be safe and having fun with my mom, but it still worries me to leave him and how I will handle it. I am hoping we can be discharged from the hospital at the 24 hour mark to get home to him asap. I also plan to labor at home as long as possible.

Just sitting and waiting on this baby girl. My thoughts are consumed with her these days. I am so excited to see her and kiss her sweet face and to hold both Gavin and her at the same time. Just the thought of it makes me so happy. Any day now...

38 Weeks

Waiting on Baby

2012-02-13T08:27:00.005-06:00

Yes, I am still pregnant. 38 plus weeks along now. Just waiting as patiently as I can for our baby girl's arrival. I am on edge all the time and so anxious to get this show on the road and meet her. I have had lots of signs that her arrival will be sooner than later, and these signs have me curious all the time if today will be "the day" or not. I want my mobility back and want to start life as a family of four. I have been very laid back up until now, and now... well, I am wanting to have her right. this. minute. I am ready for labor. The work, the pain, the recovery. Ready for the up all night nursing sessions. Ready to see Gavin touch her for the first time. Ready for the diapers. Ready for it all. Sure, it is going to be VERY hard with Gavin just turning 19 months in a few days, but I am feeling ready to take it all on. The problem is, Linley apparently isn't ready to meet us face to face yet. She is just like her big brother and they both clearly love their time with just their Momma in the belly so they tend to stay as long as possible. Can't really blame them. I make a fantastic habitat. So, while we are all ready to meet her, we will wait. Wait until she is ready too. Until then, more days of being lazy with my little man. He gives me tons of snuggles and love and his comfort is what gets me from one day to the next. Gavin is the absolute love of my life along with his Daddy and I am so thrilled to add another little love very soon. Any day now...in the mean time...

I will gladly accept any and every hug this precious little boy wants to give me. They are the best hugs in the entire world.

And when we aren't hugging, the kiddos can watch cartoons together so Momma can rest some on the couch.

3 Feet Tall

2012-02-10T08:04:00.002-06:00

Out of boredom and curiosity this morning, I measured Gavin to see how tall he is. His last measurement was 35 inches tall at the doctor's office about a month ago. Well, our little guy hit a growth spurt and is now 36 inches tall. Yes folks, my 18 month old is 3 feet tall! He is such a tall little guy. He is very skinny weighing right at 25lbs, but is very tall. I can tell he is in a growth spurt as he has been eating tons and sleeping tons lately. He is in size 7 shoes and 2T clothing. His socks are 4t-5t. Whoa big boy! He is just a tall and skinny guy just like my dad was, my brother is, and of course, just like Greg is. I think Gavin will be taller than Greg and more like my dad and brother at 6'2 or taller. Time will tell but I am in shock at how tall he is at this age. I feel like he is going to be taller than me and carrying me around in no time at all... okay maybe not that soon, but one day :)

I love my sweet, tall little boy

Phone Photos

2012-02-09T09:23:00.007-06:00

This is a random dump of photos from my phone from the past week. I have gotten so bad at taking pics with the camera because I snap them with the phone all day. I MUST get better at getting the ole camera out and putting the phone camera away more. Anywho, this is what our little guy has been up to the last week or so, via my phone. Be prepared for lots of photos. I simply can not stop taking pics of him. He is so adorable to me.

"cheese"

Feeding himself his oatmeal in the morning. He is getting better at self feeding, but it is still a huge mess and he usually gives up and reaches his hands in most the time.

Why pull your toys out of the bin to play with them when you can just crawl in the bin to play with them?!?! Saves time having to clean them up after you are done. Smart kid.

Giving Momma lots of snuggles

Laughing at me playing peek a boo with him

Reading

Hugging Teddy

We go to the park to swing on nice days

Caught in his toy bin after a nap. He found it funny.

Getting a brownie. The entire time he eats them he says, "Mmm mmm mmm." He will say it after every bite for the entire brownie. Guess they are a hit with him.

He STILL makes a nightly mess when I cook

Practicing walking in Momma's shoes. He is getting pretty good at it :)

Facing forward.

Checking out the flamingos at the zoo on a nice day.

Watching Mickey Mouse with Daddy before Daddy heads to work each morning. Daddy is stealing a kiss. They are so sweet together. Gav loves Daddy so very much..

37.5 Weeks Pregnant

2012-02-08T09:13:00.002-06:00

Hello full term. I am gladly welcoming you. I am now 37.5 weeks pregnant and READY to meet this baby girl. I had my check in at the doctor today and I gained about 5lbs this week, most of it is swelling like crazy. I can no longer remove my rings and I feel huge all over. Retaining water like a mad woman. My blood pressure was perfect and everything else looked great. Linley's heart rate was a perfect 152 beats per minute. I am now 2cm dilated and thinned out more. The doctor said my bag of waters is bulging so I would not be surprised to have my water break early on again, just like with Gavin. Guess we will see. The doctor stripped my membranes today to see if that would help speed things along. Here's hoping.

I am not sleeping hardly at all anymore due to discomforts and am exhausted all day long. Gavin definitely adds to the exhaustion. I am officially wearing yoga pants, even out and about, 24/7 now as nothing else fits or is comfortable. My stomach has grown so much that the pants with the belly panel don't go over my belly anymore, and the pants without the panel fall down due to the weight of my low belly pushing on them. Thus, yoga pants are my savior from here on out. There was a full moon last night that I was hoping would entice our little girl out of my belly, but she missed the memo. Maybe she was just confused and will come tonight instead... I would be happy to welcome her at any given point. If I haven't said it enough, I AM READY.

Until she decides to start her entrance into this world, I spend my days playing with my little guy. He is a wild man these days testing boundaries and pushing my buttons all day long. He is so much fun though. I love how his personality gets stronger and he learns new things all the time. He makes the days much happier for me. I love him so very much and can not wait to see him with his little sissy any day now.

37.5 weeks and one swollen Momma

37.5 weeks belly

8 years

2012-02-05T14:50:00.002-06:00

8 years ago today I lost my father to ALS. While I think of him every single day and miss him all the time, I am so comforted by the two men he has brought into my life since his passing. I fully believe that he and God were sitting together and said, here you go Tracey. This life is for you. Thankful for my two boys today, and the little baby girl still in my belly. To which I must say, I am ready to meet face to face as soon as she is ready. We are officially full term now and I am READY to hold her without my ligaments being pulled on. Excited to see her when she decides to come out. No huge rush, and no delay. Any day now... Until then I will be thankful for my boys. I love them so much.

My Breaking Point

2012-02-03T09:59:00.002-06:00

I am right at 37 weeks along now and already hitting my breaking point. It is not even 10am and I have already cried twice today from the discomforts. Once at 2am after hours of reflux making me sick and another time around 9am due to backache and being sleepy. I have had extreme reflux the last 3 nights to the point of getting sick on myself in bed. Lovely. My throat is on fire and I am exhausted. I remember feeling this way with Gavin, but not until right at 40 weeks. This time, this whole breaking point hit fast and hard. Earlier this week I felt wonderful. Went to the zoo and walked for 3 hours with Gav like it was no big deal. Enjoyed the whole week and then slowly but surely it got harder and harder. Honestly, I still do feel great overall and really shouldn't be complaining too much, but I am feeling ready. Ready to have this little girl. I get contractions all day every day and my poor stomach is always sore from being knotted up so much. I have also swollen up this week to where I can't get my rings off anymore. I figure, whatever, just leave them swollen on at this point. I feel huge and a ton of pressure down low due to my little lady sitting so low. I'm achy all over. Point of this whole little rant. I. AM. READY.

With this said, I know I am only right at 37 weeks and probably have a solid 3-4 weeks to go, and this is okay. I will wait, impatiently, on her timing because I know that is best. I surely would not mind if she wanted to make her grand entrance anytime from here on out though. Being that she is already over 7lbs and her lungs are fully developed, which we saw via ultrasound 2 weeks ago, I know she would be fine to come out. Pretty sure she is quite content in Momma's belly, but I promise to her daily that I would make life on the outside pretty wonderful too if she would like to give that a try too. So far, she isn't listening well. Thus, Daddy and I plan to start operation get baby out this weekend. We plan to do the 3 S's (sex, spicy food, and shopping)( Sorry to my mother in law reading this, but you have been there so you know. hahaha), lots of walking, eating pineapple, and raspberry leaf tea. Hoping these entice her to come out sooner than later. If not, no biggie. I also plan to clean the house like a mad woman today so that if she does come, she can come home to a perfectly cleaned house. See how nice I would make life on the outside for her?!?

Send lots of comforting thoughts this way. I am needing the support. With an 18 month old who never stops and me not sleeping and feeling huge and achy, the days are creeping by. I'm ready to have my body back not only for me, but for Gavin. I feel like a bum not being able to play with him like I used to. I know he misses piggy back rides and things like that. I miss doing all of that with him.

36 Weeks Pregnant

2012-01-31T09:05:00.005-06:00

I am now 36 weeks and 3 days along. I am feeling really great for 9 months pregnant. No major complaints. Sure, little backaches and discomforts but overall I feel amazing. I went to the doc today for my weekly checkup and everything still looks perfect. Linley's heart rate was a strong 155 and she was squirming around. My weight had actually dropped a pound or two this week, which can be normal at the end of the pregnancy. My blood pressure was great as well. I was dilated a solid 1-2cm now and she said she could easily touch the baby's head. Very cool. I am still anticipating a late Feb delivery or even early March if she decides to come late, but who knows. She could very well come at any given point now so I am always on the watch for contractions or my water breaking again. With Gavin, I never expected my water to break before labor started and this time I am always on edge that I will be out and it will break again. Guess we will wait and see. I have been having a lot of contractions lately, but that again is totally normal for late pregnancy. Overall, an excellent visit and I am getting more excited as each day goes on. As of this coming weekend we will officially be considered "full term" so she is free to come whenever she would like, although, being that my doc is out until the 14th and I am seeing another doctor for the moment, I would much prefer that Linley wait to come until Link is back for the delivery. It's just a waiting game at this point. I can tell that everyone I am around looks at me like I am a ticking time bomb ready to explode. I think I make people on edge since they know the baby is due so soon. I'm pregnant, not sick. It's fine :)

Big ole belly at 36 weeks along

The pink shirt is actually a maternity shirt that has gotten too short as my belly sticks out so far. So I have to wear another maternity shirt under it to keep it covered. Definitely getting larger by the second.

January Weather??

2012-01-30T14:03:00.002-06:00

Today is the 30th of January, but you would not know it by the weather. It is over 60 degrees and sunny today! Amazing. Tomorrow is supposed to be around 65 and sunny. We are heading to the zoo tomorrow to enjoy the nice weather, but for today, I took Gavin to our local neighborhood park to play. He had a blast running around. All he wanted to really do was slide, but being 9 months pregnant and climbing a slide with an 18 month old to go down is less than easy to do. We did go down once, but the rest of the time was spent climbing, running, and swinging at the park. He had a blast soaking in the fresh air and sun, as did I.

The images are kind of blurry since they are from my phone and it was very sunny out, but you can see how happy he was to be out and about having a fun day.

Look Who's Facing Forward

2012-01-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

We installed Linley's car seat this past weekend and when we did this we moved Gav from the middle back to the side and turned his car seat around. I am all about safety and leaving him backwards as long as possible, but with him being so tall, it is now safer to turn him around. So far, he seems to like it, but really be indifferent. He just looks around and seems peaceful. Such a big boy.

Officially a mom with two car seats

Daddy buckling him in for his first forward facing car ride!

So grown up!

35 Weeks Pregnant

2012-01-24T14:24:00.003-06:00

I am now 35 weeks and 3 days along. I went to the doc today for my checkup and everything looked perfect. I have thinned out quite a bit and am dilated 1cm. I never dilated with Gavin at all until I went into labor so this was a surprise to me. Linley is head down and very low as well. We had an ultrasound and she measured right on track. Gavin measured very large at this point, and he was! Linley is about 6lbs right now and just perfection. I am hoping she will be a sweet 8lbs at delivery rather than the 9 1/2 that Gavin was. Time will tell. My blood pressure was great and I have gained 30lbs total. This is more than I would have liked, but I'm okay with it. The doc said I am free to be up and around as much as I want to be now and to exercise as I would like. Everything looked wonderful. We pre-registered at the hospital too so we are all set to go. I plan to pack my hospital bag in the next few days so it is mainly ready just in case she decides to grace us with her presence a little early (doubtful).

Physically, I am feeling lots of pressure below since she is so low. Lots of backache and normal pregnancy things at this stage, but just like with Gavin, I feel pretty great for 35 weeks along. No complaints. Happy to be uncomfortable at this stage since it just means I am growing a perfect baby. Thankful for a healthy pregnancy, even with our little scares. Now it is just a waiting game. No real indication that she will be making her arrival in the next week or two, but who knows. I am still anticipating a late Feb. baby. We will see when she decides she is ready to meet us face to face and until then I will savor every little kick and jab she is throwing my way.

35 weeks

Pregnancy Nightmares

2012-01-20T08:48:00.003-06:00

I never had any anxiety nightmares when I was pregnant with Gavin in regards to taking care of him. My nightmares were mainly weird stuff chasing me, etc. With Linley, I have now had two nightmares that were the same thing just different nights. One was last night. I dreamed that I was so busy with Gavin that I forgot to feed her for like 2 days. Horrible! Why would I dream such a thing?!?! Clearly I have anxiety in me about taking care of two children, but that is the thing. It's just two. It will be okay. I have recently been pondering the whole newborn thing again and even though my son is only 18 months old, I will be honest and tell you I have forgotten what it is really like to have a newborn. You tend to forget about the up all night and crying all day things and how demanding a newborn is those first few days, weeks, even months unless you are in it. It goes by so fast, I think we just blur it out in order to ever want to do it again with future children. I have been trying to think back to those days and remember what all goes into it, but I just can't. I am so programmed to have a toddler now. He is much easier in many ways but overall way harder to handle. I am nervous about having to meet the needs of both a newborn and young toddler and apparently this is coming out in nightmare form.

I guess this is a normal thought to be having at this stage since we are almost 35 weeks and this baby is coming very soon. I am so excited to meet her and show her all of the love in the world, but am nervous about splitting time between her and Gavin. I know it will be an adjustment phase, but I think it will go smoothly. After all, like I said, it's 2 kids, not 20 and Gavin will grow to learn to love and help with her too. He will be a wonderful big brother. He loves bringing me things now when I ask like for my water bottle, a tissue, etc. Adult things. I think he will feel proud to help bring her a diaper or burp cloth. He loves to help and it makes him feel important. My goal is to involve him as much as possible with anything I do with the baby so that he constantly feels like he is still getting the attention too. We will see how it works out, but I am confident that in no time at all he will be proud of "his baby" and love her very much. My friend came by this week with her 5 month old little girl and Gavin kept laying next to her saying "hi baby." He was gentle with her bringing her toys and was happy to just stare at her. This makes me feel even more excited about giving him a playmate. I think he will exude pride in his baby sister as she grows since he will feel like he has been a part of it all. Here's hoping :)

18 Months Old

2012-01-19T11:00:00.002-06:00

Our precious Gavin is now 18 months old. Happy Half Birthday! This past month he has done so much. First off, we said goodbye to his crib. He hasn't slept in the crib in about 3 weeks now. Not even for naps. It was rocky for a week but he made the transition so well to his big boy bed. We are so proud of him for doing so well with this. This past month he also has started combining words to make small sentences. He will say, "night night Momma", 'hi Daddy", "eat please", "up please" and "help please". These are just a few. I love hearing him combine words, and I really love that he says please so often. We try very hard to help him to learn manners and he is doing great with it. This makes us very proud to have a polite little boy.

This past month his favorite toys have changed. He now loves puzzles. We got him one for Christmas and another this past week and he really enjoys them. He does them on his own and is so proud to show us when he completes them. He also loves playing with cars now. I knew this stage was coming with a little boy, and it is here. He has the best time playing cars with Daddy. He is still obsessed with books, which I love about him. He enjoys reading and pointing out things in books. He can point out almost every animal you point to and he will tell you what they say. We are working on getting him to do colors now, and so far, everything is "yewwo" (yellow). He enjoys pointing out body parts too on him, momma, and daddy. He constantly amazes us with his intelligence and how quickly he picks things up. He still loves to dance and does many times daily to whatever is on. Especially the hot dog dance on mickey mouse.

Gavin has really picked up an appetite this month. He eats 3 eggs for breakfast along with oatmeal, toast, milk, and fruit. He can really eat. We joke that Daddy will need a second job when Gav gets older to be able to afford to feel him! He can really put down a meal. He is very skinny since he plays non stop and runs non stop so I figure let him eat as much as he wants as long as it's healthy... well, with the occasional cookie for dessert when he finishes his food. He has taken a liking to sweets, so I limit them to once every few days, other than fruit. We do fruit as a dessert and he likes this. Blueberries are baby candy to him and he can not get enough still.

I am loving this age so very much and watching him explore and be curious about the world around him. He is such a joy to us. I have tried to savor this past month with him because he might be meeting his baby sister before his 19 month birthday. I am trying to soak in my time with just my little guy. He is the absolute joy of our world right now and the center of our everything. We love him so very much.

Stats at his 18 month doc visit today:
Weight 24lbs 15oz 45%
Height 34.5 inches- 97%
Head circumference was in the 50%
And he passed the questionnaire with flying colors. He did everything it asked, for once. Usually there are a few things that he has yet to do, but this time he did it all, and well! Go Gav Go!

18 months

Sleeping in his big boy bed. Backwards of course.

Sitting on his sissy

Loves Nova

Future Nashville Predator??

Our little hockey player makes Daddy VERY proud. He likes to say "hockey" too. Daddy is thrilled with this.

Gavin has had a cold pretty much the majority of the last month. Snuggling with Daddy seems to make him feel better though. He is a Daddy's boy as much as a Momma's boy now. He has clung to Daddy for the last couple of months. Daddy is his best friend. They have so much fun together and love each other madly.

So grown up

I take my hugs and snuggles when he will give them.

He loves these awesome wooden puzzles. They are really nice! He can do each puzzle in about 1 minutes flat. He impresses me!

This is his "I just got caught doing something I am not supposed to do" face. Hard to get mad at him when he looks so cute :)

34 Weeks Pregnant

2012-01-18T08:00:00.002-06:00

I am now 34 weeks and a few days along. I am on week 2 of bedrest and it is driving me insane. I have so much I want to be up and doing and I can't do any of it. I feel like such a slob after laying for a week. I hate this lazy feeling. I can feel my energy draining day after day of laying all the time. I am very anxious to be back up and try my best to gain back some energy before labor and delivery in a few weeks. I can't imagine taking care of a newborn and 18 month old toddler with the energy level I have right now. I need to perk up asap. I go to the doctor next Tuesday, the 24th, and I am hoping for a good report and being able to resume normal activity. I have so many things I want to do once I am released from the couch. I have only left the house one time in the last week now and I am really feeling stir crazy. Literally only going outside one time in seven days. Not fun feeling helpless. Greg was home for the long weekend which is nice since I have had help with Gavin. I am back to just me and Gavin since yesterday. I try to lay as much as possible, but find myself up quite a bit with him. I am definitely doing my best to lay and recline as often as I can.

Due to this whole sitting all the time for a week and also being 8 1/2 months along when weight gain picks up quickly, I put on a few pounds this past week. Yuck. Not a good feeling. I hope to burn it off with my turbo charged nesting I will be doing as soon as I get the okay from the doc. Greg keeps joking that we will have her within a few days of my bedrest release since I will be on the go non stop once allowed. I am still thinking that we have a good 5 weeks before she will arrive, but who knows. We are almost totally prepared. I have my birth plan printed and ready to go, her room is set up and we are stocked with diapers and necessities, we have the carseat (just not installed yet), and I plan to pack my hospital bag next week. I keep saying this but I really am almost in disbelief at how quickly this pregnancy has gone by. I felt like it crept by with Gavin and has flown by this time. I blink and I swear another 2-3 weeks have passed. Very different the second time around in many aspects.

Other than bedrest, reflux is the most annoying thing lately. I am still enjoying her rolls and kicks. I can tell she is very cramped for space now. She gets the hiccups at least once a day now and I love feeling them make my belly jump. I keep trying to picture what she will look like, and I can't. I just see baby Gavin. Meeting her and getting to know her apart from Gavin will be wonderful. I always compare her to him with everything, and I while I know she will be her own person, for now, I see a little Gavin. It will be very interesting when we see her face and she becomes real to us. Looking forward to meeting her in just a little over a month, if not sooner.

34 weeks

34 weeks looking down

Gavin's First Week Video

2012-01-17T19:01:00.001-06:00

I made this video for Gavin about a month after his birth. I was looking back on it this week and it made me all the more excited to be welcoming another sweet baby into our world very soon. I tend to forget how sweet those first few days are with a newborn. I am so excited to experience these moments coming up in just a few weeks.

Linley's Nursery

2012-01-17T08:00:00.006-06:00

Linley's nursery is really coming together. It is on a bit of a hold since I am on limited activity now for the next couple of weeks, but for the most part, it is done. I still have a ton of organizing in the closet to do, but her crib, rocker, clothes, and everything are all in their place and ready for her. Her room really doesn't have a theme, but it is more just pink and blue. Lots and lots of pink with light blue, brown, and white accents. Because we are still trying to move, we left the walls neautral and didn't hang much as to keep the room clutter free. We did hang some art that we made for her above her changing table and we have her name above her crib. We also have a cute painting that my mom did hanging. Other than that, it is a simple room that screams little girl. Lots of pink, stripes, polka dots, and girly touches. It is simple. Easy and relaxing. I really like how it came together. I feel calm the second that I walk in there (as long as I stay out of the closet and ignore the HUGE mess that is in there). I love having more pink and girly things in the house now. It is still dominated by little boy toys, but I can tell that she will be evening out the blue vs pink battle very shortly. I love it.

The picture quality is not good. The lighting was weird the day I took these, so this is the best I could do. Just an idea of what her room looks like.

The one messy spot. The closet. As soon as I am released from bedrest you better believe I will be tackling this ASAP as it is driving me crazy to have this mess in there.

Crib. We are trying breathable bumpers this time. We didn't use them with Gavin and used the regular kind which were a waste since he began rolling over at 2 1/2 months and getting up against them so we had to remove them early. I am hoping these last longer for Linley.

Changing Table Area

Art Greg and I made for her hanging above the changing table.

The bedskirt I made. I am pretty proud of it. It came out great and I was able to make it, her valance, and the matching pillow for her chair for under $20 total. Not too shabby :)

I made her window treatments as well

Cute decal above her crib for only $8 on etsy

My mom painted this and it looks great in her room

The chair I spent 10000 hours in with Gavin and will spend 10000 hours in with Linley. Now it is very pink and pretty.

The bassinet we used for Gavin looks completely different with pink accents. Very delicate and precious. She will be so adorable in it. We plan to let her sleep in our room the first 3 months like we did with Gavin. It makes late night feedings much easier.

The valance I made.

Blessings Apparel Style

2012-01-16T11:00:00.003-06:00

My friend, Brienn, has a friend who lives out of the state who has a little girl who has outgrown her baby clothes. I suppose they are done having kiddos since she has decided to ship two HUGE boxes worth of baby clothes to Bri to look through for Delaney. So far, many of the clothes shipped have been newborn to size 12 months and Brienn has been kind enough to give those all to us. I am completely overwhelmed at how many outfits Linley has already. These are awesome clothes too! Name brand in PERFECT condition clothes. From sleepers to dresses with bloomers to any type of outfit for any season I would need, we have it. This has been a tremendous blessing to us. With me being a stay at home mom and our family relying fully on one income, we are very thankful for anything that is sent our way as we are definitely on a strict budget. Our little girl seriously has enough outfits for the first 3 months of her life to never have to wear the same thing twice. This is the complete opposite from Gavin. Sure, he was and is well dressed and has plenty of clothes mostly courtesy of Grandmothers who spoil him rotten because he deserves it (THANK YOU so much to the three grandmas who all I have to do is say that Gavin needs more sleepers, shirts, shoes, etc., and they show up at our door... trust me when I say that Greg and I appreciate this so much and it is a huge help to us), but Linley is on a whole new level of style and selection. It is fitting with a girl after all to have more to choose from clothes wise... since girls will be girls from the very start. With Gavin, we didn't know anyone with a boy that would pass down clothing and have had to buy most everything, so to have all of these clothes passed on to us is just amazing. I know that God knew that we could totally use the help, and he provided. I am so thankful for this girl who has been so generous to send the clothes our way, and I do not even know her at all. Just goes to show that there are really wonderful and kind people out there if you hang around the right crowd. I plan to pass the clothes on to another friend who is due to have a baby girl just a month or so after Linley is due. I know she is excited and thankful to have them coming her way too.

Moral of the story: If you have something great given to you, be sure to pass it on and pay it forward! I am so thankful for this I can not even begin to say. Between this girl passing these huge boxes of awesome clothes our way and my amazing family and friends who have showered Linley with so many cute outfits, bibs, burp cloths, and blankets we are getting close to being all set to meet our sweet, adorably dressed baby girl in less than 6 weeks. I am so excited!

Bibs and hats

short sleeve onesies and pants

So many sleep n play outfits the drawer won't close easily. These are only the 0-3 month size too. We have about 15 newborn sized ones in the closet (pending she ever even wears that size since Gavin never did) and we have a few in 6 month in another drawer

Just one row of her hanging outfits

And finally, what little girl doesn't need an entire drawer full of bloomers and leg warmers?!?! I love leg warmers and can't wait to use them on her. I never bought any with Gavin because they seem girly to me, but Linley will be living in them. We have about 8 pairs :)

Uh Oh!

2012-01-15T12:42:00.001-06:00

This conversation happened between Gavin and Daddy:

Daddy to Gavin: "What is in Momma's belly?" Gavin gives blank stare. Daddy says, "A baby. Your baby sister is in Momma's belly." Gavin replies, "uh oh!"

Laying- Day 4

2012-01-12T11:25:00.003-06:00

Day 4 of bedrest. I am doing okay with it. I have to be honest, the first day I didn't have help and ended up standing most of the day with a fussy baby who wouldn't eat all day. He cried all afternoon so I held him, we walked, and I tried to hold him while he napped. The complete opposite of what I was supposed to do. Days 2 and 3 went better as my mom came over for about 5 hours both days to play with Gavin. I still had him by myself about 4 hours both days so those hours are not spent laying as he requires me to sit at minimum so I can keep up with him. Yes, we have a playroom that is "baby proof", but you moms with mobile babies know that doesn't mean too much. They will still climb and figure out ways to get into things that they shouldn't. Especially with Gavin being almost 18 months, he is very into climbing lately so I have to watch and chase him constantly to keep him from standing on tables, etc. He is a fun boy and I don't want to deprive him of that, but I am trying to do more tv and things that I usually don't let him do to keep him sitting more. As soon as I am allowed up, the tv is going off for a long time. I AM NOT THAT MOM THAT PUTS THE KIDS IN FRONT OF TV FOR HOURS. I am much more into doing anything else. I think at his age, tv should be just one or two shows a day, if even. He is only 1. Day four of bedrest hasn't been super successful. I am on my own today with Gav so I laid down while he napped and I am trying to sit more and just stay off my feet while we play. My doctor was specific about me staying below a 45 degree angle to keep pressure off my cervix, but doing this while taking care of a toddler is impossible. I am working harder to just not run around as much and sit more than walk during the day. I think this will be helpful too and is the best I can do for now. I am not too worried about her coming early, and I think everything will be just fine. Trying to listen to the doc and keep my feet off the floor and my head on the pillow though. 4 days in and about 12 to go until I am hoping the doctor gives me the okay to resume normal activity since I will be close to 36 weeks at that point. Until then, this is what I am up to for much of the day:

Bedrest

2012-01-09T09:15:00.003-06:00

My doctor referred to it as "limited activity", and this is what I am looking at for the next couple of weeks along with no heavy lifting and pelvic rest. Sunday night I had a little spotting so I called the doc to see if I needed to do anything. I was a very small amount. I am 33 weeks along now. I came into the doctor to have him check it out this morning and while he feels that it is nothing to worry about and was probably a busted capillary or something like that, doing a cervical check he noticed that Linley has dropped pretty low, she is putting a lot of pressure on my cervix, and I have effaced about 50%. This is probably nothing serious, but he suggested that I go onto very limited activity for the next 2-3 weeks as to not deliver early. This is a little concerning for me because with my pregnancy with Gavin, I never dilated or effaced at all until my 40 week checkup in which I was only a little bit effaced and dilated to a 1. I went into labor the next day. I HIGHLY doubt this little lady is coming early and I would not be at all surprised if she waited till after the due date to make her lovely appearance, but in our best efforts to make sure she stays in, my doctor feels it best for me to get off my feet until a safer point in the pregnancy. I have noticed this week that she has dropped some as I feel a ton of pressure down there making walking very uncomfortable. I have been having tons of braxton hicks contractions, but these are totally safe and normal at this point.

Everything else at my appt looked good. Blood pressure is great and my stomach measured 34cm. We did my group b strep test which I should get the results back shortly.

Laying on the couch is easier said than done with a 17 month old who is non stop action on the go. I am going to do my very best to put my feet up and lay down as much as possible throughout the day while he naps and plays contently on his own (which doesn't happen a lot), and I will limit my trips to the store, etc and try my hardest to let Greg take over in those areas more for the next 2-3 weeks. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks and at that point I will begin my weekly visits. After the next visit and checkup, I should be fine to resume normal activity and get off the couch and until then I am hoping that my mom and Greg's mom can step up and help me out with Gavin, and myself, some for the next few weeks. They both work full time and are busy so their help is limited as well, but hopefully they will be able to step in and help us out for a little bit.

So, if you are looking for me the next few weeks, check the couch in my playroom and you will surely find me there. Send prayers for my sanity as I go from up all the time playing with Gavin to trying to lay as much as I can. This will be a challenge, especially since I have 1000 projects that I am hoping to get to work on before our little lady arrives. Maybe I can use the next 2 weeks to plan them out then after that I can get off the couch and get started on the remainder of baby projects and nesting things that I am currently consumed with.

Maternity Photos

2012-01-06T15:57:00.006-06:00

We did our Maternity Photo Session with OI Photography last week when I was 31/32 weeks along. Here are a few of the photos that came from our session. I love them!

Big Boy Bed Mission Complete

2012-01-05T09:42:00.002-06:00

It just clicked. On day 7 of operation big boy bed, it just clicked for him that this is where he is to sleep and he needs to stay in bed and enjoy it. It began after his morning nap that I stayed with him for. For his afternoon nap, I put him in bed and was VERY firm on stay in the bed. I put him in bed, said "night night stay in bed" and left the room. Every time he would get out, I would go back into his room and put him back in bed. It took about 10 times of this and then BAM, he was terrified of me having to come back in to put him in. Not sure why, as I never spanked him (we don't do spanking in our house as I can not for the life of me see how hitting your child shows them to change bad behavior and in our experience thus far, he is much more afraid of stern looks and timeout), and I never raised my voice at him (we don't yell at him either as this teaches nothing but bad things like to raise your voice when you are upset so we get down to his level and make him look us in the eyes to discipline which seems to be working well for our family) but suddenly he would cry and shake in fear knowing that I was unhappy and coming to put him back in his bed. He finally, after about an hour, fell asleep in his bed on his own. Since this nap time learning session in which it just clicked for him, he has been completely fine and happy putting himself to sleep for both naps and bedtime! All we have to do is put him in his bed, say "night night and stay in bed" and he does. He will play, in his bed, for a while, but he doesn't get out of his bed. He plays for a few then falls asleep. He has been taking better naps and sleeping all night in his bed. He is still on two naps a day, one around 9am and another around 1:30pm. They each last about an hour. The one exception to his good sleeping for the last few days is a night of bad sleep because he has strep throat, but even then, he would just sit and cry in his bed asking for us rather than getting out. Poor kid had a 103 fever that wouldn't break with motrin or baths so I took him to the doctor and he tested positive for strep. After only one night of meds he is feeling much better and sleeping great again. Hoping to kick that horrible strep out of his system by the weekend. It was very hard to see him so sick. NO clue where he picked up strep throat from, but it was very hard on his body. He is recovering well now though.

I am so happy that he is finally getting it. This is day 9 or 10 and he is fully sleeping in a big bed, no crib at all for a total of 10 days now. He is happy when he wakes and comfy when he sleeps with all of the extra room to roll around on. I am so proud that he has done so well with the transition! I hope we can keep it up! I know not every night or nap time will be perfect, but I am very pleased with how fast he has picked this up and how well he is doing with taking instructions at 17 months old. It's bittersweet that he is already in a big boy bed and no crib. He is growing so very quickly and I feel like time is just passing before I can even realize it. It's great to know that he is growing and independent and capable of doing things like listening and taking instructions. He is a wonderful little boy and we are so lucky that he is ours. He definitely makes us very proud of him day in and out. It will be nice to have this transition phase settled well before Linley arrives too. I hope she enjoys the nursery and his crib as much as he did.

32 Weeks Pregnant

2012-01-03T10:46:00.003-06:00

I am now in my 32nd week of the pregnancy. I had my 32 week checkup with the doc on Thursday and everything was looking great. Blood pressure was great and I had gained 2lbs from the last visit putting me at about 24 total. Linley measured right on track and everything seems to be progressing perfectly for a mid to late February delivery.

The past 2 weeks I have really begun to feel very pregnant. I am uncomfortable, I find it hard to breathe often after eating even small meals, and I have body parts stuck all over my stomach and ribs. I am finding myself digging feet and hands from ribs often. Linley has been getting the hiccups frequently so that is amusing to me. Gavin, still is unaware that he is going to be welcoming a baby soon. I am sort of sad that he doesn't realize, but it is also nice that he is just enjoying his time with me and nothing is bothering him. It's hard, physically, now to do as much with him. I find myself getting stomach cramps and contractions if I lift or carry him for too long. This is very hard since he is only 17 months and needs to be carried or lifted much of the time. Other than Momma being boring and no longer being able to crawl around on the floor with him on my back, etc., he is blissfully unaware of the fact that his life is about to be completely turned upside down when his little sister arrives next month.

I am still craving tortillas, which works out well since Gavin's new favorite food are quesadillas. We eat a lot of them in this house lately. I am trying to bounce back from the last 2 months of a food binge during the holiday season to get back on the health wagon. This week will be rough as I know my stomach has stretched out and I need to get back on healthy portions, not holiday portions. I will admit though, it was a lot of fun to be pregnant and not sick in the holiday season. I enjoyed myself this time around endulging in the holiday meals.

32 week photos:
Gavin and I comparing belly sizes
I am LOVING the shelf for him to sit on. Very convenient.
And a big ole belly at 32 weeks along

Operation Big Boy Bed- Week 1

2012-01-02T18:30:00.001-06:00

This past week, we have been working on transitioning Gavin from his crib to a big boy bed. He is only 17 months, but we want to give it a try. We want to have him used to his new room, and new bed by the time Linley arrives in about 8 weeks. His new room is the former guest room so the whole thing is new to him. New area and new bed. He has never even slept in our bed, so this transition from crib to bed is a big deal for him. We have a full size mattress and box spring on the floor right now for him so he can easily get in and out of it. I didn't really see the point in doing a toddler bed since they outgrow them so fast anyway, so he is moving straight to a full size bed. He looks so tiny it it! We made him a padded headboard (thanks Pinterest for the idea) so he can rest against it and not hurt his head too when he moves around a ton. We are doing both naps and night sleeping in the bed. We changed the crib over to newborn height for Linley, so that is not even an option for us to go back to at the moment which is good for me since I will be the one enforcing the naps during the day and those are a huge struggle at the moment. I think if the crib was an option, I would give in to it pretty quickly so by taking the option away, I have to try harder at the transition since he has no other sleep options. So far, this is how operation big boy bed has gone:

Night 1: Daddy slept with Gavin in the bed all night. Gavin took about an hour to fall asleep and had to be held down to finally go to sleep in the bed. Lots of crying and waking in the night to get up. He got up for the day at 5:30am after falling asleep around 9pm after much fuss and fight.

Night 2: Daddy slept with Gav again all night. He took about 30 minutes to fall asleep as he was exhausted from the day and night before of poor sleep. He slept better waking only a few times in the night to get up, in which Greg told him no and he laid him back down. He was up for the day at 5:30am.

Night 3: Greg laid down with Gavin again to put him to sleep. Once Gavin fell asleep, Greg left the room coming to our room leaving Gavin alone. He slept from 8:30 until 5 am in his room all by himself! Big jump in progress this night. With that said, he was still up and out of the bed at 5am for the day. He was exhausted by 8am and ready for an early nap.

Night 4: Again, Greg stayed with Gavin until he fell asleep. It took over an hour to get him to go to sleep, but once he was asleep, he was fine from 8:30pm until 2am when we heard a loud thump and a scream. Gavin had fallen out of the bed in his sleep. Since the bed is so low to the floor, he wasn't hurt, just scared. Greg went to his room and comforted him until he fell back asleep about 30 minutes later and then slept all night by himself in the room until 6:20am. Minus the falling out of bed, this was a huge success.

Night 5: After over an hour of fighting it to fall asleep, Gavin finally gave in and fell asleep around 8:45. He woke up for the day at 5am and got out of bed not going back to sleep at all. He only napped for a total of about 30 minutes during the day during the two naps combined. He was not a fan of the big boy bed this day.

Night 6: We put Gavin in his bed, along with Greg laying down with him as we have been doing, and it took about 30 minutes for him to fall asleep so Greg could leave the room. He was exhausted from the day before, and stayed in bed sound asleep from 7:45pm until 6:20am the next morning. This was great! He didn't even get out of bed in the morning. He called for us and waited in his bed until we came to get him.

Day 7: So far, Gavin has had two naps in the big boy bed today. One was about an hour and 20 minutes! He won't nap unless we lay down and stay with him. This is a huge struggle that I dread since that is when I usually try to get things done, and not having any alone time during the day is exhausting at 8 months pregnant.

This is how week one of "operation get gavin to sleep in a big boy bed" is going. If you have any tips or tricks send them this way! I am hoping we can slowly work at us not having to get in bed with him before he goes to sleep and work on getting him to stay in bed once we put him there over the next few weeks to get this locked down. I know he can do it, but he is still only 17 months so we are fighting battles that we probably wouldn't have to if we waited longer to move him over. I think he is ready though.

Daddy and Gavin reading books before bed

Gavin's face waking up after his first night in the big boy bed. It was 5am when I snapped this.

Daddy and Gavin napping together

New Years Resolutions 2012

2011-12-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

My new year resolutions are as follows:

1. Focus more time and attention on my husband, rather than just the babies. Greg is beyond an amazing husband and he deserves more of my time and attention. It is hard with young babies to balance this, but I think it is best for our marriage to put more time into him. He is so incredible, he will make it easy.

2. Be a better friend. I value my friendships and want to see them grow through the years. The past few years I have grown a few and many have stayed the same or sizzled down due to change in lifestyles, i.e., having kids. I want to make a bigger effort to be involved with friends and help out more.

3. Stop using the words "I can't wait" in reference to my children growing older. Linley is still in my belly and I find myself saying "I can't wait till she is here and her and Gavin are playing together." I want to SLOW DOWN, and focus more on today and enjoying right now rather than always looking to the future. Sure, the future is looking incredible for my little family, but we are only promised the present so it is important to value it more and not spend so much time looking forward. I can wait. I can enjoy today with Gavin and the bouncing baby in my belly. I am in no rush for them to grow up. I know this baby phase goes by much faster than I would like, as Gavin is already a toddler and not a little baby anymore. It flew by.

What are your resolutions?? Hope you can make them reality this coming year!

Nesting like a Mad Woman

2011-12-30T09:38:00.007-06:00

"Oh WOW" (Gavin's new favorite saying) we have been so very busy this past week. Greg came back from Japan and we have been going non stop since then with my long lists of organizing, moving, cleaning, trashing, and rearranging. Between 2 Christmas celebrations thus far with 2 still to go, moving Gavin to his big boy room and his big boy bed (we are on night 5 of him sleeping in a big bed now... will update on the progress on this later in the week), setting up the nursery, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE, cleaning up Christmas decorations, my 32 week doctor checkup, overall decluttering of our house and trying to get it looking nice, and our maternity photo session is this morning in about an hour, we have been busy busy busy.

I plan to post about operation big boy bed in a few days when we see how it goes, plus show you pics of Gavin's big boy room. I also can't wait to show you guys the nursery. I am very proud of it. I made most everything in it from the bedding to the artwork. It was a budget nursery that we spent less than $100 on total, but I love it! So much going on.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I know we did! Here are some photos from our Christmas Eve with my mom and brother and our Christmas morning with Gavin, who totally got the whole presents deal this year so it made Christmas so much more fun! He would get so excited to open the gifts and almost every time he would say "oh wow!" in delight of his gifts. We still have Christmas with one set of grandparents left to go so I am excited to hear the "oh wow!" and see his face again and he tears through the wrapping paper and gift bags. Having a little kid definitely makes Christmas come alive again in a whole new light.

He loves Christmas music. He is still playing it all day long.

Grammie, Gavin, and Uncle Chase

Reinbeer! Thank you pinterest.

Momma, Gavin sitting on Linley, and Daddy

Checking out the stocking Christmas morning!

He got a Mickey Mouse cup, fork and spoon, and a new toothbrush in his stocking. He was thrilled with it all! Hope he is always this easy.

Checking out his new book with Grammie Christmas Eve

Presents!

Loves his new soccer ball. Thanks, Aunt Madelyn!

Also loves his new wagon from Grammie

And a puzzle from Momma and Daddy. Leave it to the parents to buy educational toys :)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T09:48:00.003-06:00

We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

17 Months Old

2011-12-21T09:41:00.004-06:00

Our precious Gavin turned 17 months old on December 19th. This past month was pretty productive for him. He learned to say a whole new batch of words including "no". I knew this was coming, but now he is very firm in saying NO to things that he doesn't want to eat or do. Most of the time he is still very agreeable and says "okay" to everything, but he definitely uses the word no now too. This month he has had his first real sickness. He, along with Greg and I, has had a bad cold for 8 days now. Coughing, fever, hacking, sneezing, runny nose, aching cold. It has been miserable on him. He is just now getting his energy back some. His appetite is no where near what it usually is. I took him to the doc last Saturday and they said he was borderline pneumonia at that point. My heart sank. Shortly after that visit he began to cough up a lot of flem which made me feel so relieved and better that he was getting it out of his lungs. I'm still watching it closely. At the doc, he weighed in at 25lbs. What a big boy he is getting to be. He cut 3 new molars completely this past month making his little mouth have a total of 11 teeth now, with 2 more on the way any day now.

I am loving this age, although it is by far the hardest since he gets into everything constantly. He is a mixture of baby and big boy and it's just a fun age to watch. I love watching him figure out his new toys and I love that we have somewhat conversations now. He can tell me when he wants things and this is really nice. I am so proud of the polite, sweet, gentle hearted little boy that he is becoming. This past month he has been a total Daddy's boy. If Daddy is around, he could care less if I am. While this makes me sad somewhat, it also is a huge relief with Linley due to arrive in about 9 weeks. Glad he will be content and happy with his Daddy. They are best friends.

His sick face. So sad.

And happy again at 17 months.

We tried finger painting for the first time. FAIL.

And he is still, by far, the messiest little eater I have ever seen at each and every meal.

Hiccups

2011-12-21T09:09:00.002-06:00

Linley had hiccups for the first time (that I could feel at least) last night. They lasted about 10 minutes. If she is anything like Gavin, she will get them all the time for the first year of her life. Even at 17 months now, he still gets them at least once a day. It was so amazing feeling her little hiccups. I couldn't help but sit and smile. Sweet baby girl. Little things like this out it into perspective that she is real and she is really coming very soon. We are approaching 31 weeks now so we are anticipating to meet her around her due date, or a few days after if she is like her brother. No rush. I know she will come in her own perfect timing. Let's all just pray that she doesn't come on the same schedule as Gavin because that would make her birthday February 29th. YUCK! I do not want a leap year birthday baby. I would hate that I can't write her birthday on the calendar each year and it would be confusing to a child to have to explain that to them. I would prefer her to come a day before or after just so we don't have to deal with that little hurdle in life of confusion. I suppose it's not up to me though, but I am hoping she gets the memo :)

30 Weeks Pregnant

2011-12-19T09:42:00.003-06:00

This update will be short and sweet as I am sick, but we are now 30 weeks along. I had my 30 week checkup with the doc this past week and everything is right on track. My blood pressure is perfect and I haven't gained any weight since my 28 week appt. Linley is growing and measuring right as she should. Because I have an anterior placenta, I tend to not show until later on in the pregnancy. Well, she is officially out and about for the world to see as of the last 2 weeks. It's fun to watch the bump grow from week to week. Now, if only I could knock this horrible cold out of my system, things would be perfect. Heading to the doc in a few minutes to try to get some help as this is day 6 of this mess.

Stats:
Total weight gain thus far: 23lbs
Biggest craving at the moment: still tortillas warmed in the microwave
Biggest annoyance: My head being so full and having trouble breathing. Not sleeping due to this and the sweet little foot in my ribs

30 weeks with Linley

Please ignore the swollen face, as I have been sneezing my head off for a week now. 30 weeks along

Baby Shower

2011-12-13T08:00:00.002-06:00

This past weekend, my amazing friend, Brienn, threw us a beautiful baby shower. Everything was so gorgeous! She made it a pink, gray, and cream colored snowflake theme. It was adorable. Everything down to the candycane punch she made was themed. It was the most lovely shower. I had the best time celebrating our little girl on the way with close friends and family. I was so overwhelmed with the love and happiness that everyone showed for our sweet Linley. Having a shower for a girl is soooooo very different from a baby boy shower too. With Gavin, we received almost no clothes at all and more of necessities. This was perfect for a first baby because we needed all of those things. This time around, it was ooohhhs and ahhhhs over how cute everything was. It was all things girly and I could not get enough of it! So much fun adding some pink to my life that is filled with blue cars and trucks and trains. I am excited to add some bows, dresses, and purses to this house that is being dominated by boy items. It is going to be a fun mix of things. I feel very lucky and blessed to have had this wonderful shower and to have been able to spend the time with my family and friends celebrating our daughter and anticipating her arrival in February.

Here are a few photos from the shower:

The food table. YUM.

My aunt modeling the punch. haha Actually, she was just looking at her cup when I snapped this photo and could not help but laugh at how it turned out. She looks like she posed for this and modeled it, but this was actually completely candid. I loved all of the flowers at the shower too! So pretty and fragrant!

Eat, drink, love linley was written on the glass. So precious!

The welcome table was adorable! An "L" made of roses along with cute cards that the guests wrote what their wishes for baby are.

And let the girly clothes begin!

My mother in law made me the most beautiful blanket for Linley's crib. She made one in blue and white for Gavin when he was born. I was so excited to get one in pink and white for our girl!

And my friend Beth, who has 2 girls already and another girl on the way, made sure that we had a tutu ready and waiting for Linley. Every little baby girl needs a tutu! I love it and can't wait to see her cute little self in it!

Feeling Creative

2011-12-12T09:05:00.003-06:00

I have been super creative, if I do say so myself, with Linley's room. With Gavin, we bought a standard bedding set and the matching decor and called it a day. For Linley, I have made almost everything for her room and it is a mismatch of things. I am enjoying being creative for her. I have done everything on a budget and have been so pleased with how things are turning out. I will be sure to post pics of her room once it is set up which should be pretty soon as we are planning to move Gavin to his big boy room in just two weeks when Daddy is back from Japan, but here is some art work that Greg and I made to hang above her changing table. It turned out so cute!

The artwork in the process and before the glass in the frame but how cute is this?!?! I loved it!

Another creative venture this week was deciding to say adios to my long hippie hair and chop 8 inches off the bottom and 12 total with layers. Hope my paleness does not blind you.

Much shorter now and feels much better. I am still having it grow on me, but I am liking it thus far.

Side view. Significantly shorter.

And a picture of Gavin playing in his tunnel just because he is so darn cute!

Books Can Hurt

2011-12-06T09:53:00.003-06:00

Yesterday morning started out well. Playing with my little guy and enjoying our morning. Gavin was walking back and forth across the room bringing me books to read him when he tripped and fell on a book. Not a big deal... unless you fall on a cardboard book and have it slice your chin and neck open. Sure enough, he fell on the book having it cut his neck open and give him a lovely red mark across his chin from ear to ear. Poor kid. It bled for a while, but was just a deep scrape so nothing I could do but blot the blood and Neosporin it up when he will let me. It doesn't seem to bother him at all today and the swelling is better. I tried to take a picture for his first real boo boo, and these below are the best I could get because it's at an awkward place. Moral of the story is that even reading can be dangerous. Glad he is a trooper and shook it off like it was no big deal after a few minutes and hasn't bothered him since.

His chin was very red, swollen, and this is once the blood stopped

He thought we were playing and kept laughing when I was trying to get his photo. Silly boy.

Only my child has the uncoordinated grace to fall on a book this way.

Clearly, he is a happy guy and it isn't phasing him at all.

28 Weeks Pregnant

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Well I have reached 28 weeks in this pregnancy. I had my 28 week checkup with the doc this past week with my glucose test being this last week too. I passed with flying colors even after eating pancakes, syrup, a banana, and a huge glass of milk before the test. I apparently metabolize sugar very well. My blood pressure was perfect and my stomach measured at 29cm. The only downside was my weight gain. Making a pregnant lady weigh in at the doc a week after Thanksgiving is just cruel. I have gained about 20-23lbs total already in this pregnancy. I am putting on weight MUCH faster than I did with Gavin. Everything sticks to me these days. I am on track for a 35-40lb weight gain if I continue at this rate. This doesn't thrill me. I know that one huge plus to keeping my weight down is it also helps to keep Linley's weight down. For me, this is a big deal since Gavin was almost 10lbs at birth. I have to watch it so that I can keep her healthy and not huge. I have been working hard this past week since Thanksgiving to get back on track with not eating at night, no sweets, etc. I really want to stay as healthy as possible for both me and my sweet girl. I will have to work on this harder I suppose. This whole cold weather mess is totally making it harder. It is not as easy to get out for walks, etc when it is so cold and rainy. With Gavin, it was spring and summer so I was always out and about and this time around, we are stuck inside most days since I don't like to take Gavin out in the cold. Also, with Gavin, we walked nightly after dinner... well... that can't happen because it is dark at 4:30 and we don't feel safe walking the streets in the dark. Not that we live in the ghetto, it's just not safe when you can't be seen. Wanted to clear that up :)

Anywho, I now start my two week visits. Hoping for a better report next time. I really want to do this as healthy and naturally as possible, so I need to work harder to get my mind and body in the right place.

Biggest cravings right now are tortillas, peanut butter, and milk. Not together. I eat a lot of crackers these days too. Biggest annoyance right now, reflux. Biggest joy, feeling Linley kick and toss all the time. Most looking forward to: my baby shower this coming weekend!

28 weeks with Linley

Our Santa Experience 2011

2011-12-03T18:39:00.008-06:00

Gavin's first time going to see Santa Clause. Well... I will let the photos speak for themselves, but it is very safe to say that Santa is not welcome in our house this year.

Gavin, meet Santa

Nooooooo!

And as he leaped from Santa's lap, I catch him and take a knee to my 28 week pregnant belly causing this face. Greg was there, but kept snapping photos and giggling rather than helping us out. Bless it. We will try again with Santa next year.

At least he enjoyed the Christmas parade after our Santa experience.

Delicious ritz crackers

Daddy and Gavin
Yay for sitting in Momma's lap watching cars and floats go by. He enjoyed waving hello, and mostly bye bye to the parade people. He scored some marti gras beads and a teddy bear from the parade too. I would say it was a success.

To finish off the day, we took Gavin out for ice cream for the very first time. I didn't get any photos, but as expected, he thought it was good, but would have rather ate blueberries and fruits. He is programmed to eat healthy and I LOVE this about him. Hope to keep it up!

Kitchen Helper

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

So I have posted before on how Gavin likes to help me "cook" by pulling every single piece of tupperware we own out of the cabinet while I cook. Read the previous post here. This has not changed. The only thing that has changed is that he now likes to crawl in the cabinet. He is quite big for this and gets stuck nightly now. Being the super mom that I am, rather than run to him to help him out of the cabinet, I run to get my camera to take his photos of being stuck and making the mess. I figure, quick picture for memory sake, then save his little self from the cabinet.

Stuck and yelling "momma, momma"

I said Gavin I am taking your picture and without being asked he said "cheese!" I think I take quite a few photos for him to know this :)

Nerves Leading Up to Two Kids

2011-11-30T10:07:00.005-06:00

Yes, we planned and prayed for our babies to be so close in age. When Linley is born, if she is born on time, our babies will be almost exactly 19 months apart. We wanted this all along. We want to see our babies grow up close in age with similar interests and friend groups. We want them to enjoy having a sibling to grow and learn with and from. With this said, I am beginning to get very nervous about taking care of two little babies here in just 3 short months. Well, less than 3 months now!

Gavin is 16 months old now and is a constant little ball of energy. He is old enough to reach doorknobs now and even locked me out of the house once when I went to the car to grab something! He didn't do it on purpose, but he is a curious little guy wanting to touch and try everything. This is something I love about him. His curiosity. I have to watch every little thing he does at this point though because he is testing his limits as to how high he can climb on things, what he can touch and taste. He is just a typical 16 month old. Old enough to do all of these mischievous things, yet not quite old enough to understand what is okay to touch and what is not okay at this point. It is WORK.

I remember what having a newborn is like, but not entirely. I think we all tend to forget a few months down the road how demanding a newborn's needs are. If Linley is anything like Gavin, I will be nursing her 12 plus times a day. This is fine with me. I am all about letting her choose her eating schedule and letting her guide our nursing at first, but this is also very time consuming. I wonder how I will handle Gavin when Linley is eating and I can't jump up to run to him when he is standing on the seat of his trike falling to the floor quickly to land on toys... this happens a lot in our house. I am just nervous because I will be the one with them most the time, by myself. I know I can handle this and I know that God will not give me any more than I can handle. I will take each day at a time and just roll with the punches and let each day be just that... one day. Good and bad. It is just a little intimidating to try to think of what it is going to be like with two small babies with big needs.

I know I can do this and I just want to make the best out of it and remember to enjoy these days because they are going to go by so quickly. With Linley being our last little baby, I want to savor each little baby moment, but I also don't want to miss out on any of Gav's big boy moments because of taking care of Linley. Splitting my time evenly is a fear of mine. I can not imagine loving anyone or anything more than Gavin or Greg, but I am also certain that the moment I see my baby girl, she too will have all of my heart. Ahhh, the nerves of a 27 week pregnant lady.

Visit With the Grandparents

2011-11-29T09:48:00.003-06:00

Greg's Dad and step mom came down to spend Thanksgiving with us. They only get to visit a few times a year at best, so we are sure to savor the visits we get. We had a lot of fun watching them with Gavin and he even warmed up to them a couple of days after being here. Gavin is very reserved with strangers, but he finally came around and was laughing and playing having the best time with them by the weekend. We had an excellent visit with them, minus one small injury. Scratch that, a big injury. At the park, when we took Gavin to swing, Lavonne went down the slide and hit her hand on a piece of wood sticking out from the side somehow. She thought it was just a finger injury but as the night went on and swelling increased in her hand, it became a hand injury. She went to the doctor when they got back to Michigan on Monday, which happened to be her birthday of all days, and sure enough, she broke her hand. She emailed me today to let me know that she will be in a "temporary cast up to elbow and get this: have to have surgery with a stainless steel plate and screws to stabilize. to be scheduled." Ouch! So sorry that fun time with her grandson turned into a life long plate in the hand. I am just hoping she surgery goes quickly, soon, and she can be all healed up in time to come back down in just 3 months to visit when baby Linley arrives. Be sure to send a few prayers my mother in law's way for quick healing from the surgery which should be very soon.

Heal up fast, Grandma!

Christmas Decorating

2011-11-28T10:12:00.005-06:00

We set up our Christmas tree about a week ago. We did our decor a little early because Greg's parents came to town this past weekend for Thanksgiving and we knew we wouldn't be able to do it while they were here. It is a special thing we do just the three of us and we cherish that time together. We only put out a few things this year since Gavin is touching everything this year. Last year, he was not crawling yet but just scooting around so we were able to fully decorate, and this year, every single item we put out had to have thought go into it as to if he would eat it, break it, hide it, or get hurt from it. We have mostly shatterproof ornaments anyway so that worked out well for us. We only put a few on the tree this year so he wouldn't be tempted to grab them all off. So far, he has listened well and won't touch the tree! I am so proud of him for minding us so well already. He only touches his Christmas toys we bought him that make noises and sing songs. Other than that, he hasn't messed with the decor at all because we give him a firm NO when we first put them up. He is such a good boy!

We were concerned about putting up the tree and decor with him awake since we thought he would be getting into everything, but to our surprise, he was an absolute angel and didn't mess with anything at all! Last year, it took us 2 days to put up the tree and get everything out between nursing breaks and naps and this year it was just a few hours and we were done. We were in shock as we anticipated it to take much longer. Gavin even watched us so closely he knew how to put the ornaments on the tree and helped us without being asked. I was so proud! Considering our little guy is a typical little boy and usually very rowdy and into everything, he was so amazing during the decor process and now. I am loving it.

Get Ready for Christmas Picture Overload!

Checking out the boxes before we begin

Someone is STILL carrying around his halloween pale. haha He loves it so I figure why not just keep it out.

Listening to Christmas Music

Getting in the spirit

The boys putting the lights out.

Me and Gav decorating his little tree

He loved getting to put the ornaments on his own tree

Watching Daddy carefully

While they did the tree, I wrapped gifts

What a mess... half way through

Gavin let us know he was ready to put his 12 days of Christmas ornaments on

He took them to Daddy and said "pleaseeee"

By watching us, he knew exactly how to put them on the tree and did so himself. It was adorable.

He is such a sweet helper!

We had a blast getting our house in the holiday spirit!

Follow up on Linley

2011-11-23T09:25:00.004-06:00

We had our follow up ultrasound this morning on Linley to check on the cysts on her brain. The technician said that she did not see any cysts at all anymore. She will pass the scans on to the doctor for review, but this lady is a specialist too and I think she knows what she is saying. Either way, our baby girl is growing perfectly and we feel a huge relief off of us to know that things are progressing perfectly and she is healthy. Linley measured around 2.5 lbs and was head down. She was amazing. We could see her hair already flowing freely. She will have lots of hair like her big brother did! Everything measured appropriately and her heart and all organs looked good. The tech did a few 3d and 4d scans for us so we could see our baby girl. We never did 3d with Gavin and wouldn't have with Linley because I wasn't in a rush to see them before or to pay the extra money for it, but since the specialist we have been seeing has the 3d at their place she did the scan for no charge to us. It was pretty amazing to see what your baby will look like... well somewhat. Very cool. So thankful for a healthy baby girl in my belly.

2d with her arm by her face

Hand on her face

Our precious Linley Brooke VanSickle

26 Weeks Pregnant

2011-11-21T08:57:00.006-06:00

I am now 26 weeks and some odd days pregnant. I am finally feeling pregnant all over. Until now, I have not had any urge to do any baby prep really. This has seemed so odd to me because with Gavin, at this point we had the room totally set up, clothes, diapers, etc. With Linley, nada. I am finally feeling that nesting kick in BIG TIME and have started to do things for her like clothing, planning her room (Gavin is still in the nursery so we can't set anything up yet but I have been ordering things for her room like lamps, wall decal, and I am doing her artwork), and thinking in terms of how will I do this with two young kiddos that need me 24/7. It is hitting me that this little girl is coming in just 3 months and I better get my game face on and start planning.

Physically, I am starting to lose the 2nd trimester comforts and gain the pregnancy discomforts again. Backaches, tons of reflux again, not sleeping, and putting on the lbs now quickly. I can see Linley move all the time now and my belly is getting bigger by the second. I feel much bigger with her than I did with Gavin at this point. She doesn't move quite as much as he did yet, but she moves regularly. Greg and I can both feel her kicks daily.

I am craving junk food still... yuck. I am so sick of mcdonalds but I get this huge rush of wanting it about every other day. I have been trying hard to get back to drinking more water, eating less junk, and not eating late at night. It is paying off. It's hard to show so much self control, for me, but I am working at it. We will see how I do with 3 thanksgiving dinners this week then.. talk about pressure to not over eat... sheesh.

We go to the doctor on Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so in two days, for our follow up about the cysts on Linley's brain. We are praying that they have disappeared and we can no longer worry about them and her. We are hoping we can get a few good pics of her too at the doc. It's always fun to see your baby via ultrasound to watch them grow and move inside. It makes it all the more real.

Gavin wanted to be a part of this photo. 26 weeks with Linley and Gavin is 16 months

26 week belly

And my stomach has officially become a shelf for Gavin to sit on at this point. Quite handy.

16 Months

2011-11-21T08:33:00.004-06:00

Our precious Gavin is now 16 months old. He wears 24 month to 2t clothes, size 5 shoes (which are a little small but 6 is too big), and size 5 diapers now. He comes out of his shell more and more each month and shows his personality more. He has a great attitude. Very few fits that last long at all and he never uses the word no, which I love. Sure, he will get fussy at things, but so far no kicking and screaming yelling no at anything. He is just easy going for the most part and will do or try anything, foods included. He has learned how to use his utensils this month. He chooses not to most of the time, but he completely understands and can do so all the time if he wanted to. His favorite foods at the moment are blueberries (which are amazing and like candy to a little kid since we don't do candy at all), tilapia ( the kid loves baked fish), and any type of pasta. He can not get enough pasta. He is a great eater.

Physically, he cut his first molar this month and is working on many more. His little gums have been huge for a month and he finally cut one on the bottom. He was a little fussy by it, but nothing too bad like I hear about from other moms. He slept pretty well for the most part and never lost his appetite or anything. No fever from it or any other side effects. We have been lucky and he has been a good teether. He now has 9 teeth that I am aware of. It's hard to tell now since he isn't a huge fan of letting me feel around or look around in his mouth. In addition to molars, he had a few other new happenings this month. He can now crawl up AND down the stairs no problem by himself. Before he would just go up but now he comes down safely. We still have to stand right behind him, but he can do it all on his own. He can now also get up and down from the couches by himself. This means a lot more work for me since nothing is safe or out of reach anymore. He can reach doornobs and tries to turn them. He found the toilets and likes the water.... yuck. And he learned to turn light switches on and off. He has become quite the little handful lately. I try my best to let him explore and make creative messes without saying no all the time, but it gets hard at times. He is testing his boundaries constantly now. One huge achievement this month that he does that makes me so proud is saying "please" without even having to be asked most of the time. For me and for Greg, he will say it without being asked. For his grandma's, they have to ask him because he just assumes they are going to give him or do for him what he asks regardless of if he says please or not. He is quite spoiled :)

A big first was he took his first nap in his big boy bed. Greg and I were on both sides of him and had to keep him in there, but he did it. It was an hour nap too. It was just an indication that maybe this whole big boy room will work when we move him in a month. If not, we will move the crib too and give him more time. I am not in a huge rush, but at the same time, we are not buying another crib for Linley. She will be with us in the bassinet for a few months anyway so that would give us more time if we need it. He might be ready in a month or two though. He is getting big in his crib and trying to scale the sides of it, so I am thinking it really might be getting close to time to move him anyway.

Gavin is a constant joy, pleasure, handful, energetic, captivating, intelligent, fun, loving, mischievous, precious little guy in our lives. He makes everything better and is the absolute love of our lives. So proud of our 16 month old little guy.

Helping us put out the Christmas decorations

What A Mess

2011-11-18T10:31:00.003-06:00

I will let the photos speak for themselves. Now, I will say, I know that kids can be messy eaters, but this is Gavin after each and every single meal. The kid eats in a diaper every meal except for breakfast because we feed him oatmeal and applesauce daily, but other than that, he is in a diaper because his clothes would be stained and ruined after one meal. Sheesh, he is a messy eater. He is working hard to use his utensils now, but he still makes a huge mess meal after meal. My goodness.

yummy lunch

His tray, the walls behind the chair, the chair, and the floor are all a crazy mess covered in food.

head to toe covered in whatever he was served. today it was sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and turkey.

How does he even get the food below the tray all over his lap? This takes skill.

At least he helps to clean it up by eating the food from his lap when I remove the tray... there is the silver lining.

One Year Post Op

2011-11-17T14:17:00.005-06:00

This Tuesday, Gavin had his one year post op visit with the surgeon at Vandy. It is hard to look back at those days when we were so worried about our little guy and his surgery for his double hernias. We have come a long way since this time.

Read about his recovery from the blog last year by clicking here

Seeing our little 2 month old in a hospital bed connected to all kinds of wires with his whole lower half numb was the sickest moment of my whole life. I was completely overwhelmed by this, as was Greg. Our little guy was a trooper and made the whole thing seem so easy. I was beyond impressed with him. He healed quickly and was back to normal, or better than ever really, within a few weeks.

Today, a year later, you can barely see his scars from the incisions on his little belly. They healed perfectly and are so faint that you have to look for them. He got an excellent follow up from the doc and we have no reason to ever go back there, unless we are to notice any swelling that may come back, which would be rare. I am so happy to report this and that we won't be looking back to this time. Glad it is completely past us and our little guy is a healthy almost 16 month old now! We could not be more thankful for our healthy little toddler. We definitely do not take his amazing health for granted. We are so blessed.

Our Little Helper

2011-11-14T08:53:00.003-06:00

Gavin loves to help out. This past weekend, Greg gave him a cloth rag and Gavin began dusting the table with it just like I do. The next day, I found that Gavin had taken all of his clothes out of his hamper, opened his drawer and put them away! Granted, they were dirty clothes and not even close to where they should really go, but at least he totally grasps the concepts of chores and helping out.

His biggest help of the weekend was helping Momma and Daddy do lawn work. He "helped" rake and blow leaves with the leaf blower. He would also put leaves, one by one, into the trash bags. Sure, having Gavin "help" us out with anything takes 3 times longer than it normally would, but the whole point is that he understands the concept of doing these things and is happy to try his best to be a part of them with us. I am so proud that he is trying to be such a big helper to us. I hope this continues throughout the years!

Our adorable little helper

Picking a flower to bring to Daddy

Raking the driveway

He really loved the blower. He wasn't afraid of the loud sound at all.

And of course, it was not all work. Lots of playing in the leaves too!

Food Addict

2011-11-10T13:39:00.002-06:00

I feel like a junk food addict lately. I find myself craving it so badly. I have found myself talking out loud to myself saying that if I clean this or finish this project I should have a certain junk food as a reward to myself. Seriously? Then I think to myself...

"Tracey, do not reward yourself with food. You are not a dog."

I want to be healthy for Linley, but find myself going days without eating ANY vegetables at all. Horrible, I know. I just do not desire those things right now, when I know in my head and heart, that I should be eating those all the time for the health of my baby girl. Anywho. Just wanted to document my crazy cravings for foods that really shouldn't be food at all, but rather just plain sugar and salt for the most part. This has by far been the biggest difference with my pregnancies... what I desire to eat.

Bizarre Cravings

2011-11-08T19:19:00.004-06:00

I have friends who had bizarre cravings, but I never experienced them with my pregnancy with Gavin. I have just started to experience them with Linley. Most bizarre craving yet... wait for it.... a lollypop that is flavored like Whiskey. WEIRD! I woke up around 3am the other morning tossing and turning like I always do at this point, only I had a craving. I wanted something that tastes like good whiskey. The only thing I could think of was a lollypop that taste like whiskey. So weird. I don't even know if they make these. Greg brought up the valid point that this is a horrible idea because who wants their kids liking the taste of whiskey from a young age?? Excellent point. Never the less, it was all I could think about for about 24 hours. Another strong craving I have had lately is for a good glass of cold white wine. A riesling to be exact. Delish. I know that a glass of wine, even one a day, during pregnancy is considered okay, but for me, I choose to not partake in any alcohol until the pregnancy is over. That is just me. You better believe that I will be having a lovely glass of white wine waiting for me after Linley is born. I am also very strict with myself about having any alcohol while nursing, but I know that a glass of wine is fine in between nursing sessions every now and then. I usually only let myself have half a glass too. Once again, that is just me and my take on it. I figure it can wait until nothing is passed to the babies, but man o man am I craving a nice glass of wine and sitting on the couch with my hubby just enjoying each other. That sounds fantastic right now. Unfortunately he is still in Japan so I can't have either. Thus, I will settle for another strong craving I have had lately which is a tortilla, plain, warmed in the microwave for exactly 32 seconds. Weird and tasteless, I know. These cravings are no joke. So odd and I have no clue what makes me want them so bad, but they are very real. Weird. Weird. Weird.

24 Weeks

2011-11-06T09:38:00.004-06:00

I am now 24 weeks along in the pregnancy. 6 months! I had my 24 week checkup at the doc this past Thursday and everything looked well. My blood pressure was right where it should be and my stomach measured 25 weeks. I have put on a few lbs this past month. 7 according to the doc. Sheesh. I think it was the big shoes and heavy clothes that made it seem like much more. I am using my scale at home to keep track of weight gain since it is the one I will be dealing with after the baby arrives. According to my scale at home, I am now 136 when I wake up, so I have put on 14 lbs total. This is okay with me. I am really trying harder than ever to stay healthy, but it's hard with all of the holiday goodies being thrown my way. Keeping up with Gavin keeps me in shape too. He is non stop, crazy, wild, on the go, fun. I now have 4 weeks until my next visit in which I do my glucose screening for gestational diabetes. After that visit we will officially be in the 3rd trimester and doing bi weekly visits up until 36 weeks when the weekly visits begin. It is all going by so quickly. I am feeling Linley move more and more each day and with more distinct movements. She is quite strong in there, just like her brother was. I had some issues with Gavin bruising my ribs from being so strong with his kicks and I am hoping she doesn't do that to her Momma like her big bro did, but she is already producing some strong jabs. So far, they are all lower which leads me to believe she is in the breech position right now. She moves all the time though so I think she is rolling and tossing frequently. As long as she gets head down for delivery, she can play around in whatever position she wants until then.

24 weeks with Linley Brooke VanSickle

We Love Fall

2011-11-05T13:03:00.002-06:00

Pretty sure I have mentioned it 100 times, but we love fall! These days that God has been giving to us are amazing! The weather is chilly in the morning, but by noon is has been around 60 most days and sunny. We have been going to the park to swing as much as we can. Today, Gavin and I had a Momma and Gavin day at the park. We packed a picnic lunch and went to swing and slide. Brienn and Delaney met us there and we had fun with them. I love these fall days. Best time of year!

Why hello there shadow.

Such a big boy in the swing now

Happy to be at the park

Momma and Gavin's Day at the Zoo

2011-11-02T07:55:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I took Gavin on a trip to the zoo. We have taken him before twice, but he has never really cared to look at the animals. Yesterday, I decided to pack him up and have a Momma and Gavin day at the zoo. This time, he actually paid attention to about half of the animals! It was so neat to see his face light up for some of the animals. He liked the birds, fish, and meerkats. At 15 months old, he was still far more interested in looking at the other kids at the zoo, rather than the animals, but he definitely did take notice of many of the animals this time. He is growing up so fast. We had a nice time walking around for about 3 hours and we had a nice picnic lunch. I had a great day with my little guy.

It was still chilly out when we first got to the zoo so we were bundled up!

My attempt at a self portrait

These birds, which are really tall, came right up to the glass to walk around. I thought it was going to poke it's sharp nose right through the glass to get us. haha Gavin loved it though.

It warmed up quickly in the day and was perfect weather. Right at 70 degrees and a slight breeze. Really couldn't ask for a better day.

Gavin's friend, Sydney, arrived with her Momma, Kristina, to walk around with us for a while. Sydney is 6 months old and the most petite little girl I have ever seen. She is a doll.

Another bird. Gavin could have cared less about the awesome giraffes that walked right up to us or the elephants that we got to watch take a bath, but he could stare at the birds all day long.

Ending our zoo trip by seeing the flamingos.

Happy Fall

2011-11-01T14:15:00.003-06:00

Fall is officially here. The leaves are so beautiful and colorful all around. This is my favorite time of year. I love the entire holiday season and the cooler weather that comes with it. I feel so lucky and so thankful for so many things this year. I will definitely be giving lots of Thanks all November long. First and foremost, I am thankful for God's blessings. He has showered me with so much love from my growing family. I have a husband that I fall more in love with daily who is everything to me, a gorgeous and smart little boy who reminds me exactly of my wonderful husband, and a beautiful baby girl growing in my belly who I hope is just like her big brother and Daddy. Fall, and the start of the holiday season, is really just a wonderful time of year and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

Sweet Gavin sitting in the leaves long enough to smile and let Momma take a photo. He isn't big on playing in them yet, but I know next year I will likely be forcing him out of them. It will be fun to watch him and Daddy rake them up to jump in them next year while Linley and I sit nicely on the porch and watch our boys play.

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T08:34:00.002-06:00

We took Gavin trick or treating early this year since Daddy is in Japan for work for the actual holiday. We went to Greg's parents house in which Gavin was showered with bananas and strawberries for his treat basket, and then the following day we went to my mom's house to let Gavin trick or treat in which he scored some more bananas and goldfish for his treat basket. He was a happy boy.

Happy Halloween

Fearless at Fifteen Months

2011-10-30T12:21:00.004-06:00

Holy cow our little boy is fearless! Greg and I took Gavin to the park this past week to swing and Greg asked Gavin if he would like to go down the big slide. Gavin nodded his head yes, as he does to everything, and so Greg carried him a few times up the stairs which are about 6 feet tall and would let him go down the 7 foot side and I would catch him. This in itself is terrifying for me to do, but Gav's face was lit up every time. He was loving it. To then prove to us how fearless he really is, Gavin decided to climb up the tall 6 foot ladder, by himself, to go down the slide! We were both in shock that he was even attempting this. Greg climbed behind him to keep him safe, but Gavin did not need his assistance at all. It took him over 5 minutes to make it up the stairs, but he did it all on his own! He is one strong and fearless little guy! We were both so impressed that he could physically climb this at only 15 months old. He is definitely not afraid of heights. I think he knows that he is safe with us so not much scares him to try out as long as Momma and Daddy are there.

Swinging with help from Daddy

he still loves to swing

His face was so happy with each time he got to go down the slide!

This is him climbing up the stairs himself!

It took about 5 minutes to make it all the way up. He worked so hard to climb those steep stairs. We were in shock he could do it himself and so proud. And also, scared at the fact that the stairs didn't intimidate him at all. He is a handful!

A Typical Night in Our Kitchen

2011-10-26T09:00:00.002-05:00

Our kitchen time begins while I cook dinner and Gavin tears through the tupperware pantry nightly. I say, "are you helping Momma cook?" and he goes straight to these cabinets and begins playing.

Then we have our actual dinner once the kitchen is a complete mess. Gavin is working to learn how to use his fork and spoon. He understands how to use them, but simply chooses not to most of the time. At least he tries somewhat. I figure that is all we can ask for at this point.

After dinner when Gavin is covered head to toe in food, we clean him off and praise him for eating so well. And yes, he still eats every meal in a diaper as to not stain his clothes. I am proud to say that he is 15 months old and we have not one single article of stained clothes for him because of this. It is easier to clean him off too in a diaper.

We taught him to "stick out your tongue" this week. He only does it when asked and it is too cute to see him stick it out.

Dinner time has become quite the production in this house nightly with the additional messes to clean courtesy of our little guy, but we would have it no other way. I am anxious to see how messy is gets when Linley is here to add to the chaos. I love it.

22 Weeks Pregnant

2011-10-25T13:19:00.005-05:00

I am now 22 weeks and some odd days along in the pregnancy. My energy is back and I am not sick hardly at all. I am eating everything in sight and struggling with keeping healthy with this pregnancy. I have gained about 14lbs now putting me at 134. I am weighing right about what I weighed when we got pregnant with Gavin. I am really wanting to stay healthy and not eat junk, but this little girl has Momma craving EVERYTHING. I am struggling with it big time. Gavin was easy. I only wanted water. Linley has me wanting everything else in the world. She has a big appetite for a little girl.

We go back to the doctor next week for my 24 week checkup, or my 6 month checkup! I can not believe we are approaching 6 months already! We finally went shopping for little miss this past weekend and bought her lots of clothes and a baby book to start on. It makes me feel a little more prepared. With Gavin, from the moment I found out he was a boy I was ready to shop and nest and this time, I am feeling no rush at all. I get my moments where I freak out that we haven't done anything to prep for her, but then I realize we still have months to go. My baby shower is in mid December and I think after that I will realize that this little lady is on the way and we need to get cracking on prepping for her. Until then, I get little things here or there when I see a good deal. We still have so much to do though. Prepping for a second baby is much easier in many ways and much harder in other ways. It is just different all around, especially with a different gender to be born in a different season. Lots to think of. I will do a little by little, day by day until I feel the huge nesting instinct kick in I suppose.

22 weeks along. I am now carrying her just like I did with Gavin, only when I was further along. She has me showing much more than Gavin did at this point. She is super low just like her brother was.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-25T09:02:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday we did our annual pumpkin carving. Gav took a nap and Greg and I carved it out during that time so it would be peaceful. I have to say, considering we totally just drew on the face and didn't have any template, it came out pretty awesome! I did the eyes and Greg did the mouth. It looks so spooky. After carving, we made cookies and baked the pumpkin seeds and sat down with Gavin to watch Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. It was awesome. Each year this gets a little different for us, but pumpkin carving is something we all look forward to. This is the 7th pumpkin that Greg and I have carved together now. It gets better each year.

Starting the process

I scooped it out

Linley was there too :) She hung over the counter while I scooped out the seeds.

Scary Greg

The finished product! Pretty good!

Delish.

And of course our Halloween cutie

15 months Old

2011-10-19T13:01:00.006-05:00

Our precious Gavin is 15 months old today. He is now talking up a storm with his favorite saying being "all done" when he is done eating or playing. He will say, or try to say, anything you ask him to. He also loves saying "mama" all the time now. We will be shopping in the store and we say "mama", "gavin" back and forth the whole time. It is precious. He has changed so much this past month developmentally wise. He is now talking all the time and doing other interactive things all the time like blowing kisses, blowing on food when it is hot, giving high fives, etc. These are all things he could do before, but he does them all the time now. He is really starting to talk to us! Physically at his 15 month checkup today, he weighs 24lbs 12 oz (50%) and is 32 inches tall (75%). Right on track. He is about to cut his molars on the bottom as well. He can now climb on and off of furniture like the couch or his bed all by himself too. He is still in the crib, but he won't be for long. Hoping to transition him to a big boy bed in the next couple of months. He is still sleeping like a champ at night, about 11 hours, and taking two one hour naps during the day. He is slowly but surely learning to feed himself with utensils. He can do so with a spoon, but it gets quite messy. He is still working with the fork but he gets impatient and would rather just pick the food up and shovel it in his mouth. He understands the concepts though.

This age is one of the hardest for me so far because he is fully capable of doing most everything physically like climbing, getting into everything, reaching on to the counters, etc., but he doesn't always listen to the word no. He is testing his boundries all the time and it is a ton of work for me to discipline him 24/7. I think we are doing a pretty good job so far with it. He listens about half of the time now. It is a constant work in progress. We are very lucky that his natural temperment is so laid back and he is very mellow as far as aggression goes. We have very few fits for now. Hoping it stays this way. He really is the kindest little boy and I hope he always keeps this attitude about him. He makes us very proud.

Learning to feed himself his oatmeal

Taking a bite

So proud of him!

Breakfast with Daddy

Wrapped up to watch Mickey Mouse

Proud that he can get on and off his bike all by himself now!

Pop pop pop pop all the time

And loving his pumpkin for Halloween. He carries it everywhere with him.

Our Little Pumpkin

2011-10-16T15:17:00.005-05:00

We went our our local pumpkin patch yesterday to select a pumpkin to be carved this week. Gavin loved it. Very different from last year when we carried him around to this year when he was running all over the place checking out all of the pumpkins. His favorites were the ones that were a color other than orange. He gravitated to the green and white pumpkins. We ended up picking an orange one for the family and he picked a small orange one for him that he has carried around non stop since we got home with it. It was so much fun seeing how he loved running through the pumpkin patch. We will be sure to take him to a big patch next year where he can do the hayrides and activities.

He was having a blast running through and touching all of the pumpkins

Like father, like son.

Our precious little boy

Gavin was loving it

Momma and Gavin. Technically Linley is in this photo too :)

Daddy and Gavin

Most adorable little pumpkin in the world. Gavin's costume for this year.

Daddy and Gavin

Momma and Gavin

Our attempt at a family photo.

20 Weeks

2011-10-10T09:39:00.003-05:00

We are now 20 weeks along in the pregnancy. The half way mark!! This past week it settled in with me that, yes, we are in fact having a baby girl. I was in shock a little because I wanted a girl badly, but just knew she was a boy. It took a few days for me to wrap my head around it. My amazing friend, Brienn, bought Linley her first outfit and I have stared at it all week long. So precious and pink and white. I can not wait to fill this house with pink things for her right along side all of the trucks and blue for Gavin.

I went to the doctor today for our 20 week checkup and everything is right on track. Measuring about 22 weeks, which is normal. I have gained 10lbs now and I am fine with that. I am still a few lbs below what I was before I got pregnant with Gavin! Just goes to show how active he is and how in shape he has kept me. The one HUGE difference with this pregnancy is my appetite. I am hungry 24/7 and I want to eat everything in sight. I am struggling with it big time and working hard to stay healthy, but it is hard when I want pizza and burgers all the time. Other than that, my blood pressure is perfect and everything is going as it should. I feel her move all the time now and so can Greg. She is a wild little girl in there already. I am anticipating some very large kicks and rolls in the months to come. I have begun the heartburn phase of the pregnancy already, which is a bummer. I had severe reflux with Gavin and it is beginning already with Linley. I am getting it much earlier than I did with Gav too. Bleh. It's miserable, but it is just part of it. I am still comfortable sleeping which is a huge blessing because I am well aware that is about to go away very soon so I am enjoying the rest while I can.

Please continue to pray for Linley that her cysts go away before our follow up apt in about 6-7 weeks. I am very hopeful that they will be gone. Until then, I leave you with our 20 week photo:

Linley and Daddy

2011-10-08T14:57:00.002-05:00

Greg was able to feel Linley kicking around for the first time today. She was a wild little girl this morning giving big kicks and he could feel them easily. I love this part where he can feel her move too. Makes it more real for the both of us. She has been moving non stop all day long. I also love these first small kicks before they are in the ribs and leave me sore and bruised like Gavin did. I will savor these sweet little kicks and rolls for the next 2 months before they become big kicks that make me dig her from my ribs. Loving it until then. Glad she is showing off for her Daddy letting him feel her play around in my belly.

Prayers for Linley

2011-10-04T13:27:00.001-05:00

Our baby girl likes to keep momma and daddy on their toes from day one. She scared us all once early in the pregnancy when we thought we might have been losing her early on when we went in for an ultrasound and no baby was to be found. That turns out that our dates were just off and she was too small to be seen. Now at 20 weeks, she is giving us another little scare.

I received a call from my OB after the ultrasound saying that the radiologist found several choroid plexis cysts on Linley's brain. Now, these can be completely normal and will hopefully go away on their own, but they can also be soft markers for down syndrome or trisomy 18. We scheduled a level 3 ultrasound the following day with a specialist and had Linley checked out a little further. The tech said there were NO other signs that might indicate that our baby girl has down syndrome or trisomy 18. She said most often, these cysts go away on their own by the 3rd trimester. This is a huge relief. So now we are waiting until the day before Thanksgiving to go back for another ultrasound to follow up. We are asking for prayers that our baby girl's cysts have disappeared. If they haven't, we will continue to keep a close watch on them and continue to pray that they go away.

We are trying our best to not worry about Linley and to know that she looks absolutely perfect in every way, minus these cysts, which hopefully will be gone when we go back to look for them. Until then, we are praying for them to clear up and for our sweet girl to continue growing into the beautiful, healthy, precious little girl that she is meant to be. We love her so much already.

Linley Brooke VanSickle

2011-09-30T14:07:00.005-05:00

Our baby daughter will be named Linley Brooke VanSickle. It is a name that Greg and I both love and are excited about. Just like with Gavin, this name came easily to us and just fit. Linley comes from a girl I went to college with. I always thought her name was so pretty and unique, but not odd or too off the wall. It is pronounced just as it is written, sounding like "lynn-lee." Brooke comes from my Mema who passed away the summer right before Greg and I were married. She was very important to me and I miss her so much every day. Her name was Betty Brooks Carter. Now, not to knock a name, but Betty is just a little too old for my liking so we took Brooke from her name to honor her. I think she would be thrilled about this and I am sure it is going to start raining any moment now and it will be her tears from Heaven when she learns we named the baby after her. Wish I could see her face to see how happy this makes her. We honored my Dad and Grandpa, who both have also passed away, by using Carter as Gavin's middle name, and now Brooke to remember her.

We are very excited to have our sweet little Linley on the way and can not wait to meet her in February. Well, we can wait until then but no later :)

We're Having A Baby GIRL!!!

2011-09-30T13:39:00.003-05:00

We are beyond thrilled to announce that we will be welcoming a baby sister for our precious Gavin this February. We had our ultrasound this morning and our little girl was not shy at all. She was very clear to let us know that she is in fact, a baby girl. We will work on teaching her to sit lady like later on. She was moving all around so much that our ultrasound took over an hour so that the technician could try to get good photos for the radiologist. She wouldn't sit still for measurements. She was so amazing in every way. Everything looks healthy and right on track. We are both still in shock that we are going to have a daughter. Of course, we would have been thrilled either way, but we both really wanted a baby girl so we have one of each. Greg and I both thought we were having another boy so this is an amazing shock.

When we were first married and talked about a family we always said we wanted two children about a year and a half apart. We wanted one boy and one girl. We said it would be ideal to have the boy first then the girl. Well, God knows better than us and planned this for our family all along. I am just in awe of this plan. I feel so lucky to be the mom of a baby boy and a new baby girl on the way. This is just amazing. The feelings bobbling in my head right now are just beyond elated. We feel on top of the world.

Here are photos of our little girl. We plan to announce her name in a couple of days once we have had time to tell all of our family first!

Her mouth wide open and looking up her nose
Sweet girl curled up in a ball. She is blowing bubbles and sucking her thumb. You can see her legs up by her head and her cute little toes.
All curled up.
And with her leg stretched out up by her head. Flexible little gal. Too cute!
And the gender shot. She is most definitely a BABY GIRL! No denying that :)

Anticipation

2011-09-28T13:37:00.002-05:00

The anticipation of waiting for Friday morning and the ultrasound is going to kill me. I am not one who is great with patience. Now, not having a choice and having to wait is the only thing keeping me sane. I am so nervous and excited to see our little peanut. I was the same way with Gavin. I didn't even sleep the night before we found out he was a little boy because I was so excited. Pretty sure the same thing is going to happen this go around. Boy, girl, boy, girl. Can't decide which one I am leaning more towards because it changes every second of the day. So much for maternal instinct just knowing. For those that say they just knew, I think they just got lucky that their 50/50 shot of if they were correct or not turned out in their favor.

OH. MY. GOSH. I. JUST. CAN'T. WAIT!!

Hurry up Friday morning because Momma and Daddy want to see their little baby on the big screen!

18 Weeks

2011-09-26T10:07:00.005-05:00

I am now 18 weeks and some odd days pregnant. We are going to have an ultrasound this Friday when I am right at 19 weeks to learn the gender of the baby and to get a thorough checkup on our little bit to make sure that he/she is growing perfectly. I have recently gotten my appetite back and all I want to do is eat. Pretty sure I have put on about 5lbs total now, which is fine, but just like I did with Gavin, I want to make sure it is healthy weight and not just me eating the whole world. I am struggling with this already this time. I want chips and dip at 9pm in bed every night. I have to literally FORCE myself to not eat this junk. I have given in a lot to these cravings, but I have recommitted myself to working hard to stay healthy for baby and me. Today is a fresh start to this. So far, so good. Overall, I am feeling SO MUCH better than I was before. I feel better way sooner than I did with Gavin and this is a blessing because I was miserable with him until about 20 weeks. I still have my moments of sickness, but nothing like before. So thankful to feel human again. Just a human growing a human. As normal as you can feel in this state.

As far as the gender goes, I honestly go back and forth on which I would prefer, if I had the choice. Most days I say girl because it would be nice to have one of each, but other days I say boy because I think that Gavin and brother that are so close in age would have a blast doing all of the boy things. I know Greg would be in Heaven with two little boys too. I also have no doubts that from the moment we were to learn it was a daughter, he would be wrapped around her finger. I can't really say either way to which gender I am leaning towards because I go back and forth, but most days, I think it will be a boy. We are both so excited to find out. We have a girl name picked out, but no boy name. We will start discussing those if we need to after Friday. 4 days to go until we know. We have not even begun getting ready for this baby and I am ready to begin. Once we know the gender, operation prep for baby V#2 will be underway. Very excited to get started!

18 week baby bump

My Favorite Thing Yet

2011-09-21T09:26:00.003-05:00

You would think that hearing Gavin say "Momma" would be my favorite saying of his yet. Nope. This past week he learned to say "paw paw" when I point to a picture of my Dad. I will be holding him in his room and I will ask him "where is paw paw?" and he instantly points to the picture frame. It is so touching to me. Although my Dad won't be here on Earth to watch Gavin grow up, we know he has the best seat yet up in Heaven to watch everything he does. I hope he is smiling down when Gav says "paw paw" because I know I am smiling here. It is the best thing I have heard come out of that little boy's mouth so far. Precious.

14 Months Old

2011-09-19T19:47:00.006-05:00

Our precious Gavin is 14 months old today. This past month, his vocabulary has taken off. Not only does he do a ton of animal sounds ( horse, cow, penguin, fish face, sheep,old mac donald's eieio, monkey sometimes), but now he says a few words too. Well, his version of a word. This month Gavin learned to say "na na" when he wants a banana. He also says "O's" for cheerios. He says Momma clearly now too. If you ask him if he wants to ride his horse or what the horse's name is he says "neigh neigh." He is working on saying Apple and Grapes right now and he tries to sound them out. He also says, "thank you" or his version of it when prompted to and when you hand him something. I am so glad my shy little peanut is speaking up some. He also nods his head yes when he wants something. You can ask him any question and he will say yes though. It is funny. One night Greg asked him, "Gavin, are you a master at quantum physics?" and Gavin shook his head yes. Too funny. He doesn't say No at all yet, which is nice. I know that day is coming.

I am so proud of him for learning new words. His favorite thing to do right now, other than bathtime still, is to read books. I will ask him to go pick me out a book and bring it to me to read and he will. His favorite book right now is a recordable story book that his Grandma and Grandpa VanSickle from Michgan gave him so that he will know their voices. He points to the book about 10 times a day to read it. It is very sweet.

Our 14 Month Old Little Boy Hidden in the Toy Box

Look at how his face lit up when I said we could read the book!
He loves it
Watching Cartoons
Eating O's
Fat feet. I love baby toes!
Riding his "neigh neigh"
Eating a Na Na
Mouth Full of Banana
See! haha
And last but not least, we still have an avid thumbsucker. This is going to be one difficult habit to break one day.

16 Weeks

2011-09-12T13:06:00.003-05:00

We are now already 16 weeks into the pregnancy. It is flying by. 16 weeks also means 40% of the way there with only 60% to go. This time around, it is going by so quickly because I barely have the time to sit and think about it like I did with Gavin. I am not having many cravings at the moment other than junk food. Horrible, I know. But anything healthy just doesn't sound good right now. I am forcing myself to live healthier, but it has not been easy. I am feeling better now,most days, and have some of my energy back finally. I plan to begin my workouts today starting with Yoga on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, and cardio on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday with Sunday as a free day. I did this same schedule with Gavin and it worked very well for me and kept me in great shape.

I had my monthly checkup at the doctor today and everything looks perfect. Our little bit has a heartrate of about 160 and was moving all around. We set our appointment for our ultrasound to learn the gender for September 30th. So exciting that in only 18 days we will know if Gavin will have a brother or sister! I am hoping for a girl, just so we have one of each, but I am thinking it is a boy just because the pregnancies seem so similar. I just want to know either way. I think that Gavin would really enjoy a little brother to play with since they will be so close in age and will be interested in similar toys at the same time, but I also think it would be great to see him with a little sister and teach him to open doors and take care of a girl. Either way we are completely thrilled and just so excited to find out! Until then, passing the time keeping up with Gavin who gets wilder by the day. He runs now which is a whole new game from walking. It is so hard to keep up with him all the time. Never boring around here though. He keeps me in shape and will keep me very busy through this pregnancy so I am certain it will go by before I know it and it will be February and we will be welcoming our newest family member.

My view

16 weeks

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats

2011-09-07T18:53:00.002-05:00

Go to this link for pumpkin spice rice krispie treats. They are so subtle and delish. You won't be sorry you made them. Not only are they so tasty, but they smell so good and now our kitchen smells amazing too. Ahh, even though it was only cooler weather for about 3 days, this taste of fall and all foods, decor, and weather for fall has me so happy and excited for the season to come. This is the best time of year!

http://cookiesandcups.com/fancy-shmancy-krispies/

Flutters

2011-09-02T08:57:00.001-05:00

It's official, our baby is moving and grooving in my belly and I have felt it. It was very subtle, but after a few nights of it, I know it's the little peanut! So very exciting. This is my favorite part of this whole thing. Feeling our little one grow. Ahhh, I am on cloud nine. So wonderful!

Rest Does A Baby Good

2011-08-31T18:36:00.006-05:00

On the days when Gavin decides to take a good nap and is well rested, he wakes so happy to see me. It is the best thing in the world to see the smiles he gives me when I go to get him out of his crib. This has always been one of my favorite moments with him since he was born. I do miss the big toothless grin he would give me, but now with 7 teeth and one more cutting through as we speak, it is quite cute as well. Gavin is such a sweet-hearted little boy who loves his Momma so much. He is such a happy boy!

Cutting a new bottom tooth. His poor gums are very swollen, but he doesn't seem to mind at all.

Just waiting for me to pick him up

"Hi Momma, glad to see you!"

This sweet face is just the best!

I love him so much!

14 Weeks

2011-08-27T18:53:00.004-05:00

We are 14 weeks along now! Our little peanut is the size of a peach, or about 3 1/2 to 4 inches long. Growing like a weed and making Momma's belly grow too! I am amazed at how fast I am showing this time around. It is so amazing to see our little one so soon, in the form of a baby bump. While I am still sick, each day I feel better and closer to the non sick portion of the pregnancy. I have now gone two whole days without getting sick, but with only minor headaches! This is a big deal for me. I hope it keeps up! I know our little one is moving around like crazy in there and I am just waiting to feel those sweet flutters. Until then, I will just stare at my growing belly.

Cutest moment of the week: I taught Gavin to point to my belly when I ask him, "Gavin, where is your baby?" He will point right to my stomach each time... well, minus the few times he pointed to Daddy's tummy. haha That was pretty funny too. He will get the hang of it soon enough.

14 weeks along. Please pardon the crazy hair and no makeup but it's a night at home with pizza for us so in pajamas we all are :)

Baby Belly at 13 Weeks

2011-08-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

I was looking back on photos this week of my pregnancy with Gavin. I started doing bi-weekly photos at 14 weeks. I remember thinking that was the first week that I could actually see the start of a baby bump. I was so excited to be "showing." Well... I am now laughing at myself. I am 13 weeks and a few days now and I am at least twice the size I was at 14 weeks with Gavin. It is amazing how fast the bump shows the 2nd time around. When I got pregnant with Gavin I weighed about 135 and with this baby at 13 weeks I weigh 122. Taking care of Gavin full time and nursing for a year put me in great shape! I definitely look much bigger though. I am in full on maternity pants 100% of the time now and shirts a lot of the time too. I am really glad I did weekly photos with Gav so I can compare them now. So far, no comparison. My baby bump with this pregnancy at 13 weeks looks like my photo for my baby bump with Gavin at 20 weeks. This kiddo is popping out WAY faster.

And 13 weeks pregnant with this baby...

Boy or Girl?!?!?

2011-08-22T18:37:00.003-05:00

I set up a poll on the side of this page on the blog for you guys to select if you think we are having a boy or a girl. It is fun to see what everyone thinks. I would like to say girl because we all know I want one, but I am thinking we are having another little boy because the pregnancies are so much alike. A few differences have shown up lately though so I am starting to think that just maybe it could be a girl. I really have no clue and we are very excited to find out in a little over a month. Be sure to cast your vote for boy or girl and we will see if you were right with your guess in about 5-7 weeks!

Will be buying pink bows and dolls this time around, or will my world still be surrounded in blue with two little boys??

Lucky Number 13

2011-08-21T18:52:00.008-05:00

Our precious Gavin just turned 13 months old this past week. He has learned quite a bit since his first birthday including drinking better from a cup, which is a huge relief for us. He drinks his milk much better now and is drinking about 4-5 oz a day, which is a huge step up from what he was doing. He is still in size 4 diapers and still wearing 24months-2t clothing. No new teeth to report, although I think we will see a few more come in this month. He still isn't saying anything much, but he has started communicating better. He will point sometimes when he wants something. His newest thing is that when something smells gross we will say "shewweee" and he waves his hand in front of his nose. It's quite funny. He never fails to amaze us and make us laugh daily with his funny personality which comes out more and more each day.

Along with Gavin now being 13 months old, we are 13 weeks along in the pregnancy. I am still as sick as ever, but this is expected. I have been having horrible headaches this past week which is new to me and quite hard. I was so sick two days that Greg had to take off of work to help me out which was hard on me knowing that I was causing an inconvenience to him and his work, along with not being able to play with Gavin very much. I am starting to show some now, especially when I have ate dinner. I am also now getting ligament pains when I cough or move quickly. I can tell the belly will be popping out very soon. I am excited to watch it grow and to begin feeling those sweet baby kicks in just a few weeks! Those are one of the best parts of pregnancy for me. Looking forward to that soon!

Gavin's Favorite Time of Day at 13 Months Old

Still loves bath time so much

Loves when Daddy reads him books. So happy he is clapping.
Night night story before bed
How cute are they?!?! They melt my heart.

Locked in the House Apparently

2011-08-15T08:56:00.003-05:00

We are now 12 weeks into the pregnancy and no relief is in sight quite yet from the sickness. I am not expecting relief for at least another month, just like with my first pregnancy. Even though I am sick, yesterday, Greg and I decided to take Gavin to the zoo since the weather was a bit cooler than it has been lately. Well, cooler it may have been, but it was still very hot in the sun. The mixture of nausea and the heat to top it off had me running to the ladies room in lieu of hurling in the trash can in front of the zebra display. I made it to the bathroom to get sick and as I am coming out of the stall a lady decides to inform me that if I am sick, I should not be out and about. Her words were,' If you are sick, you shouldn't be going out", and she said it to me in a not nice way. Well, rather than dig up a little more puke to hurl at her as I was quite mad she came at me with this snarky remark, I simply said, "I am not contagious." What did she expect me to say??? " Oh yes nice lady, you are right! What was I thinking?!? I am heading home right now! Thanks for enlightening me!" Ugh. It is so frustrating alone that I feel so sick and have been stuck in the house for months now, but to be snarked at when I am out was another story. Apparently pregnant women need to stay home until they are well. So for me, about 5 months of solitary confinement in my bonus room should do it.

Sorry for the little rant, but this made me so upset yesterday. I am not sick, I am just growing a healthy baby! Oh I am so looking forward to the next few months and hopefully the end of pregnancy sickness for me... forever! I am honestly trying very hard to embrace everything about this pregnancy since it will be our last, but these first few months of embracing the toilet 4-5 times a day are just not working for me. Bring on the baby kicks and finding out the gender and the sweet little belly hiccups in the next couple of months! Okay, now I am excited again!

Four Years

2011-08-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Greg and I have been married 4 years today. I don't care how cheesy and cliche this may sound, but every single year gets better and better. Four years in we have a lovely home with one beautiful baby boy and another beautiful baby on the way. We are the luckiest people in the world to have a partner that we love so much. If four years into the marriage we are this happy, I can only imagine 40 years in. I am so thankful for finding the man of my dreams and him making all of the dreams I have come up with over the years a reality. Cheers to four amazing years!

Taken

Adios First Trimester

2011-08-10T08:11:00.002-05:00

This week marks the end of the first trimester of this pregnancy. I have to admit, I am not sad to see it go. Yes, being pregnant is a wonderful and beautiful time, but for me, the first 4-5 months are horrible and less than beautiful. People say that "every pregnancy is different", but so far, this one has been very close to my first, with Gavin. I have been sick the exact same. I am leaving the first trimester about 4-5 lbs down from my pre-pregnancy weight. This is pretty good considering how often I get sick. I have been trying my hardest to eat and drink as much as I can, when I can. Along with the sickness, other things that have been the same are getting up to pee all night long starting at about 5 weeks, nosebleeds, headaches, and overall exhaustion which has been much worse this time as I am not given the time to rest that I was the first go around.

The only differences that I have noticed with the second pregnancy are few and far, but definitely differences. First off, I am showing already at only 12 weeks! I didn't show with Gavin until about 18-20 but sure enough I have a full on baby bump now and I am in maternity pants already with a few shirts starting now. It is amazing how fast the bump comes out the second time around. I think with the pregnancies being so close together too, this plays a large factor in showing already. My poor abs were so stretched out from Gav and they didn't get much rest and healing time in between pregnancies. The second difference that I noticed this time around is cravings. I had zero cravings for the entire pregnancy with Gavin other than drinking water. I thought that people use the whole "cravings" thing as an excuse to eat whatever whenever they wanted. I was wrong and cravings are real. I have had them like crazy. I want the oddest things at the oddest times. Right now, my biggest cravings are tomatoes and bacon. Together, apart, whatever. I just want them both all the time. So strange.

I am glad to be 25% done with the pregnancy and looking forward to feeling better hopefully in the next month or so. The second trimester is by far the best as far as physically feeling goes. We are looking forward to learning the gender of the baby in just a couple of months. We have a girl name picked out, but no boy name. We decided since we have a girl name but didn't have a boy name in mind, we will just wait and see what we are having before we come up with one since we may never need one. This will be our last pregnancy so I am hoping for a girl so we can have one of each, but at the same time I can imagine our family with two little boys. I am just so excited to find out so we can know what our family is going to be. This is it for us. We have always said two children. It is kind of sad to be done having babies in my 20's, but I am ready to move on from this phase of life and just start enjoying raising our family and watching our kiddos grow up. It will go by before we know it.

Adios First Trimester and Hola Second Trimester! Please bring lots of non sick days and good nights sleeps with you!

Daddy Passing Things On

2011-08-08T08:50:00.002-05:00

The other night ( like most nights), Gavin woke up a few times screaming for no good reason. This is just something he does. 99% of the time we don't go in his room and we let him put himself back to sleep which takes all of 1 minute most of the time, but the other night it was a really loud, horrible scream so Greg ran into his room to make sure he wasn't caught in the crib rails, which still happens from time to time. Gavin was fine, but apparently woke up from a bad dream. Greg stood by his crib patting him on the back singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" to him to soothe him back to sleep which worked in about 3 minutes. Greg came in the room and told me that his Mom used to sing that to him sometimes to help him go to sleep. How sweet! I love that he is passing things like that along to our son. I hope one day Gavin will be standing by the crib of his son or daughter singing the same song to her to help her go back to sleep after a bad dream. Precious.

Hanging in There

2011-08-03T18:58:00.001-05:00

I'm still here, but still very sick from our new little peanut. Every day is different, but most days consist of throwing up all day long which is keeping me from doing pretty much anything, blogging included. I have picked up a few headaches now which have been horrible, but mainly just getting sick all the time. Down about 6lbs now at almost 11 weeks. Hanging in there as best I can with a wild little one year old who never stops going going going. He is so much fun and such a joy to watch, as long as I can watch from the couch much of the time lately. Taking things day by day for now until I begin to feel better. Hope to blog more when I get the chance and feel up to it. Until then, send good thoughts this way. I know this baby is growing perfectly as they are making me miserable. I already have a nice little baby bump too. It's crazy to have one this early, but I do! I didn't look like this till about 18 weeks with Gavin, but sure enough, this little one is popping right on out. It's amazing. I hope to update more soon!

Gavin is One Year Old

2011-07-27T17:42:00.002-05:00

Our precious Gavin turned one year old on Tuesday July 17th. He has been far more of a blessing to us than we could have ever dreamed of. Sure, we knew we would love our child and have fun with him, but we had no idea how much and to what extent. We have learned so much from him this past year and we have also had a great time teaching him too. Pretty sure we teach each other equally. He has taught us patience, to slow down in life, and so much more than I could ever write. He is amazing to us.

At one year old he weighed in at the doc at 22lbs 10oz. He is 31 inches tall. He is in size 24 month to 2t clothes and size 4 diapers still although we are very close to size 5 in the near future. He has 7 teeth. One week before his first birthday he weaned from nursing and is now on whole milk. He hates it. He is just not a fan of anything from a cup. I know he will get it in time. He eats as much as I do. Seriously. The kid can eat, and he will eat pretty much anything. He has a very diverse pallet. His favorite foods right now are still sweet potatoes and the newest one is blueberries. He loves them both. He goes to bed at 7:30 every night after his bath and sleeps until about 7. He takes two naps during the day for about an hour each. He eats 3 meals and two large snacks a day. Like I said, the kid can eat.

He is walking all over now. No crawling at all anymore. He still doesn't say much but has recently added a few more animal noises to his vocabulary. He will tell you what cow says, sheep, penguin (he says "waddle waddle waddle"), and if you ask what old macdonald says, he will say "eieio." It is precious. He loves to wave hi and bye and he loves to throw his arms up when you say touchdown. He is ready for football season! He has a fun time chasing Nova during the day. He follows her everywhere. He loves to climb stairs and give huge open mouth drool filled kisses. He keeps us laughing for sure.

We are working on discipline now and he has just started time out. He HATES it. He knows exactly what I mean when I say timeout. He cries and cries. I only leave him there for 1 minute since he is one year old, but you would think his world is over. He is learning though.

Every single day with him is very similar, yet completely different. He learns so quickly and changes each day. It is amazing watching him grow before our eyes. He is a miracle to us and we could not have picked anything better than him for our son. He is our everything, along with his new brother or sister to be.

We could never love anything more than him

First Trimester Check In

2011-07-25T08:59:00.002-05:00

We had our first trimester visit with the doctor this morning. I have lost 4 lbs since finding out I was pregnant due to being sick, but other than that, everything was perfect. We got to hear our little peanut's heartbeat for the first time today. I was surprised we could hear it so early because with Gavin we were about 13 weeks when we heard it the first time according to the records at the office, but today at what we are estimating 9 weeks and a few days, we heard it loud and clear at about 155-160 beats per minute. It made my heartbeat race too. That is one amazing sound. My blood pressure and everything else checked out great so we are on a good track so far. Next visit is in a month.

I have been feeling less than grand, sadly. Just like with Gavin, I am throwing up all day every day. Sorry if that is too much info, but it is the truth. I am hoping it will pass around 20 weeks just like with Gavin. I have lost some weight due to this, but I did the same with Gavin. I know that I am trying my best to eat and keep food down and that is really all I can do. I have also not been sleeping at night hardly at all. I am up nauseous all night and I toss and turn non stop. I am aware, the baby will be fine, but it is me who is suffering from this. I am just taking it day by day. I won't lie though, it is very hard to keep up with Gavin all the time with no energy and with me getting sick so frequently. I will be glad to start feeling better asap, and until then, I am just thanking God for a healthy pregnancy and for the energy that I do have. So thankful that before we know it, the baby will be here and we will be a family of four!

We're Having Another Baby

2011-07-18T06:40:00.000-05:00

Greg and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting another precious little baby in February! We left this child up to God's timing after having Gavin and God blessed us at the perfect time. We are due February 26th meaning that our little ones will be right around 19-20 months apart. Perfect. We are a little over 8 weeks along now.

We found out that we were expecting a few days before Father's Day. I was lying in bed one night and became super emotional for no good reason over chips and salsa and at that time I realized and said to Greg, "I just noticed that I am two weeks late!", and he said, "Yes, I already noticed it but I don't want to jinx it." The next morning I woke up and decided to take a pregnancy test, not thinking it would be positive. Because I was still nursing Gavin, I just stopped this week, I was anything but regular which comes along with nursing. It instantly showed two pink lines. I yelled to Greg to run in there and his eyes filled with tears and we hugged so tight celebrating. We were in shock a little, although it was planned, we were still surprised that it was positive. I took two more tests later in the day and boom, both were clearly positive too.

We have had a few ultrasounds now due to some scares and concern, but our little baby is doing perfectly now. We saw his or her amazing little heartbeat a week ago. The heart beat was strong at 161 and the baby measured right on track. We honestly could not be more thrilled. Our families are also beyond elated with the news that Gavin will be a big brother in 7 months. We have prayed for this and planned for this all along and are in awe that God has decided to bless our family with this precious child right when we want.

I have been feeling the exact same as I did with Gavin, unfortunately. VERY SICK. Not eating much and not keeping anything I eat down for the most part. This is way harder the second time around with an almost 1 year old because there is no rest all day long while I am chasing him. I was lucky enough to be able to continue nursing Gavin up until this week when he weaned himself. Nursing during pregnancy is quite demanding and hard on your body, but with the right dedication and care for your body, it can certainly be done. It is hard to be so sick and tired with a little one running around, but I will gladly take it all to have these two babies so close in age. I hope they grow up to be best friends and a great support system for each other. I am so excited to watch our family grow.

Please keep us in your prayers for a healthy pregnancy!

Positive!
Our faces when we found out. We woke up Gavin to tell him, but he was still happy.
I swear I did not look like this with Gavin until about 16-18 weeks, and I am already popping out at 8 weeks! Definitely showing way earlier this time around! It is a come and go belly somewhat, but I for sure did not have this bump a few weeks ago.

Our little peanut's first photos (1)(2) Sorry it's so blurry, but it is a photo of a photo
He will be a great Big Brother!!

First Birthday Party

2011-07-17T18:13:00.003-05:00

This Saturday, we had Gavin's very first birthday party. We had a small group of family and friends over to celebrate at our house. We had a perfect lunch and a perfect time. The theme was Mickey Mouse and blue and green colors. I went minimalist on the decorations, but made sure to have a nice food spread because my guests were like us, they love food! Gavin was very shy, but had a blast. I enjoyed watching him play with a few of the kiddos that came. Mostly little girls too which was adorable watching him stare at them. Gavin had the best time digging into his smash cake too. You never know if the baby will actually dig in or be shy about it, but our little boy LOVED it. He ate so much cake and was covered head to toe in icing and cake. Picture perfect.

Gavin is so loved by so many people. I was overwhelmed with all of the gifts and love that people brought and showed for him. He deserves all of it. We had a fantastic time opening gifts and eating cake and ice cream celebrating our little boy turning one in just a few days. We are beyond blessed to have him in our lives.

Very safe to say he loved the cake!

Family Photo Shoot

2011-07-12T19:49:00.007-05:00

We had a family photo shoot for Gavin's upcoming first birthday with my friend and neighbor Olivia this past weekend. She owns a photography business here in Nashville. I can not brag on her enough. She takes amazing photos, is amazing to work with, and the prices she offers are UNBEATABLE. I highly suggest you check her out. Her site is OI Photography. She is a Mom of 4 so she understands having to take breaks with kiddos too. She lets things unfold naturally, but will also tell you when and what she thinks will make a great shot. We had a blast getting our photos done and even more fun looking at them. Here is a preview of some of them:

Way Behind

2011-07-08T08:58:00.004-05:00

I will apologize in advance for not blogging lately. So much has come up. I will try to briefly update you.

Right after my last blog was my 26nd birthday on June 28th. I had a great day planned with Greg taking the entire day off of work to spend with Gavin and I. This never happens. He takes days for everything else, but not just to stay at home with us so I was so excited. Well.. this got shot down. We received a sad call on Sunday before my birthday that Greg's Grandmother in Michigan had passed away. Elva VanSickle. The funeral was scheduled for Thursday June 30th. So we decided to make the 12 hour drive to Michgan to attend the funeral. Greg ended up having to work my birthday so he could take the next few days off for the funeral. Bummer on both counts. The plus to the funeral was that we decided to spend a few extra days in Michigan with Greg's parents. We only see them a few times a year so this was nice to spend the time with them. They were so proud to get to show Gavin off to all of the family as well. He is 100% their pride and joy and they love him so much. They could not wait to show him off to everyone in sight. We even made a special trip to Lavonne's work to show off Gavin to her co-workers. She was in Heaven with her little grandson. So it was a sad reason to visit Michigan, but we did enjoy visiting with family that we never get to see and I enjoyed meeting a lot of Greg's family for the first time.

Along with a last minute cross country trip, I have been planning Gavin's first birthday party for this month. Our baby is going to be one and I am excited to celebrate it along with some family and friends. We aren't having a huge party and have kept the guest list small, but it will be fun to celebrate with some loved ones. I will be sure to post pictures of the party after and tell you all about it!

Third, we have been house hunting like mad. We have found one that we think is the right house for us and we are now thinking hard over it before making an offer, but I believe we will be putting in an offer this week. Praying hard over it until then.

There has just been so much going on. I feel like the days have been non stop. There is much more than this, but I will update you guys on all of that a little later. Until then, sorry for the time out on here. I will try to do better. I received so many compliments on blogging at the family funeral from even those that I didn't know. I know that many of you use this to keep up with our family and I will try my best to keep you in the loop on all that is going on.

11 Months Old

2011-06-24T08:06:00.005-05:00

Our precious Gavin turned 11 months old on Father's Day, June 19th. This past month he has turned from baby to big boy. I don't even think of him as a baby anymore. He is a toddler now. He is walking everywhere all the time and would much rather walk and have us hold his hand than to be held when we are out now. It takes forever to walk from the car to the store when he is along now due to this, but it is precious. If I ask him to hold my hand, he reaches out to hold it and just walks along. Gavin also has learned to give kisses this month. I will ask him to give me a kiss and he opens his mouth as wide as he can and leans in to give a big wet drooling kiss. It is the most incredible thing in the world. He said his first word this month too. "Hi" is his big word for now. He loves to wave and say hi to everyone and everything, including furniture. He is adorable.

He is wearing mostly 24 month and 2T clothes now. Some 12-18 month depending on the brand, but mainly just 24month items. Size 4 diapers still. He is sleeping through the night every night. He now has 6 teeth. He eats 3 large meals a day and nurses 2-3 times but he is naturally weaning himself now which I am ready for so it is okay by me. I think we only have about 2 weeks of nursing left. I have loved this time with him and I am so happy that we are quitting on his terms and not mine. It's been wonderful and I can't say enough how healthy it has been for both of us. His favorite food is strawberries. He eats them every day and doesn't get sick of them. He eats about 10 a day. He is napping pretty decently most days now too. We have come a long way with this kiddo. I am not sure how much he weighs or how tall he is but we will get those measurements at his one year checkup next month.

A few funny things/annoying things he has picked up this month are: to throw food at dinner. He throws so much food on the ground. We can no longer go out to eat with him because of this. He has also learned to hid his sippy cups when he doesn't want them. He hides them under pillows, under the pack n play, and in his bouncy chair. He is a clever little one.

He is our pride and joy. I say it all the time, but he makes us so very proud to be his parents with how smart, funny, creative, handsome, and wonderful he is. We love him so much.

Watching Mickey Mouse in his pjs every morning

He won't drink from a bottle still or a sippy cup but will drink from a camelbak. Hey, whatever works.

Caught pulling Nova's tail.

I love how he will sit quietly in my lap every afternoon to watch Baby Einstein on DVD

Cutie

Our walking big boy

11 months old

And some things never change... His favorite time of day is still bath time.

Sandy Toes

2011-06-17T08:58:00.003-05:00

Lets face it, baby toes are the sweetest thing in the world. What could be sweeter you ask??? Baby toes in the sand of course!

Gavin's First Beach Trip

2011-06-14T09:02:00.006-05:00

This past weekend, Greg and I took Gavin to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida for his very first beach trip. We went with our good friends, The Klahn's and their 10 month old baby girl, Delaney. We had THE BEST TIME. The weather was perfect each and every day and the water was too. It really could not have been any better. The condo we rented was really nice too! Right on the beach, two bedrooms with king beds, two bathrooms, full kitchen, huge balcony. It was perfect for the 6 of us.

This was Gav's first long car trip. He cried most of the way down there, for many many many hours but then was an angel for the ride home. So 50/50 on car trips thus far. Gavin was not a fan of the sand at all, but by the end he would at least sit in it without crying. Delaney on the other hand loved it. The girl was pouring a bucket of sand over her head like it was no big deal. She is hilarious. Gavin did love the ocean water. He had fun jumping in the waves with us. Some days, there were some pretty big waves too, as in over Greg's head and he would just throw him up over them when they crashed and he loved it. One day, there were about 5-7 dolphins that swam in right next to shore. So close! We watched them wave surf and that was neat. Gavin and Delaney enjoyed each other too. It is sweet watching them grow up together. My favorite part of the trip was from about 1pm-2:30pm daily. Greg, Gavin, and I would go down to the beach and Greg and Gav would snuggle up in the shade on the chair and nap together while I soaked in the sun in silence. It was relaxing for us all. I loved looking over at them snuggling. It was precious.

Of course there were the occasional meltdowns, one in which we were out to dinner and I did not get to eat anything at all because I ended up sitting outside with a crying baby at the front door of the restaurant with my dinner in a doggy bag to go, but with a 10 month old, these things happen from time to time and I know that this probably won't be the last time it happens either. Overall, we had great dinners, great company, and a really fantastic time. I can not wait to go back next year! First co-family vacation was an absolute success!

The babies playing in the morning

Daddy made Gavin a sand seat

Relaxing

The Dad's with the Babes

The Klahn Family

Gavin and Delaney

Daddy and Gavin on the Balcony

Surfing Baby

First dip in the ocean

They look hilarious. The sun was in their eyes thus the funny facial expressions.

Sweet boy

Our Family

Headed to the Beach!

2011-06-07T13:09:00.004-05:00

We are headed to the beach tomorrow. I can not wait to see Gav walk on the sand for the first time. Little bit is barely crawling anymore and just walking as much as he can. I am so excited to see his little toes in the sand, along with ours too. With Greg traveling so much lately, we really need this family time together. I can not wait!

The beautiful sands of Jamaica!

So happy that this year this little guy will be joining us at the beach!

Nova and Gavin

2011-06-03T08:05:00.002-05:00

I have posted a few times about the love/hate relationship between Gavin and our cat, Nova. Recently, he has begun to notice her more than ever. He now chases her. These two have a hilarious relationship. They are always together, but Nova tries to stay at least 3 feet away at all times. 3 feet away from Gavin, but also no further than about 10 feet away too. Close enough to be there, but far enough to not be pulled on. Our cat is completely declawed and doesn't bite so she is pretty much defenseless. Poor thing. Gavin now chases her all the time pouncing on her when he gets close enough and he "pets" her, aka, pulls her fur out. One day these two will be close friends, but for now, it's more like watching an episode of Tom and Jerry in our living room.

Watch out Nova... here he comes!

Pulling on her. She just takes it. Thank God she is so laid back.

Cornered again

Going for her tail this time

And finally he gives it a rest to stop to watch Baby Einstein.

You won't find these two far from each other. Definitely lots of love here :)

Talking to Your Baby

2011-06-01T07:58:00.000-05:00

All of the baby books say to talk to your baby throughout the day explaining everything to them. To speak to them normally and just talk away so they can listen and learn and just be a part of your conversation. Well, I have taken this to the extreme at times. Since he was born, I have found myself having full conversations about everything in the world with Gavin. I tell him my fears, hopes, dreams, anxieties, wishes, needs, everything. I talk to him like he is my age and my best friend. When I have a bad day, I tell him while we drive in the car. When I am happy, we sing and talk about it. Well, lately, he has been replying back some. No, not in the way that he gives advice, but I can tell he is now starting to really understand when I speak to him and some of the things I am saying. I was talking to him the other day while driving and in the middle of my convo about missing Greg I asked him what a cow says just to see if he was even listening to me, and sure enough, Gavin replied with "mmmmmoo" to me. So he does listen and know what I am talking about sometimes. This means, my adult convos about everything under the sun are about to end and become more about him learning and his age appropriate things. I am going to miss my little mini best friend. Hoping we get this relationship back when he is my age. Until then, I suppose our conversations are now going to consist of animal noises and learning games all for a soon to be 1 year old.

Best Buds

Catch Up Part 2

2011-05-31T16:00:00.002-05:00

Another big thing we have been up to is getting ready for the beach. We are going to the beach next week when Greg gets back from Japan with our friends, the Klahns. They have a little girl, Delaney, who is 14 days younger than Gavin. It will be so fun to see Gav at the beach for the first time. We bought him all kinds of beach gear and let him try it out at home. He is all set for the beach. Here is a preview of a few of his beach items:

We also bought him a little pool to get used to the water with. He wasn't a huge fan. I took him to a real pool this past weekend though and he enjoyed it. I think he will have fun in the water.

I am so excited to get some time with Greg and Gav at the beach. It will be so amazing to have 5 days together after his trips to Korea and Japan. I am ready to put my toes in the sand and watch Greg chase Gavin all around. They are going to have a blast together.

Catch Up

2011-05-30T20:41:00.005-05:00

The past week and a half has been busy busy busy for me, thus no blogging. Greg is overseas again so by the end of the day, Momma is exhausted and not in the mood for blogging. We miss Daddy so much when he is gone. Counting down the days till he is back. Gavin has been quite the little handful the past couple of weeks too. He now has 3 teeth and is working on 3 more. Yes, 3 more at the same time. I can see his little gums all swollen with white dots where the teeth are wanting to come through. They are taking their time and causing some discomfort in the process. I am hoping they just come through at the same time and get it over with and give him some relief. Until then, he is chewing on everything in sight as much as he can to soothe his gums. When Greg is gone, I try to take several photos a day to show him when he comes home what all we have been up to for the weeks he was gone. I was flipping through the pics on my camera this afternoon and noticed a common theme in them. I'll let you see this theme for yourself. I give you, my chewing baby:

Chewing on his fingers

Chewing on his book

Jenga blocks are now chew toys

And the stacking rings are for chewing too

Along with cutting more teeth, Gavin is still learning to walk and scaring me to death in the process. He will just take off from the couch to walk to the door and fall banging his face into the door on the way. He takes some super tough falls. He brushes most off easily, but some are pretty rough. I can not take my eyes off of him at all now due to this. I will be glad when he becomes better at walking and is not so sketchy with his falling. I have learned to cherish the quiet moments now when he sits and watches Mickey and I can breathe for a few before chasing him again.

Ahhh the sweet, quiet resting moments. I soak them all in.

Tune in tomorrow for more about what all we have been up to.

10 Months Old

2011-05-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

Our precious Gavin is 10 months old today. Just writing this makes me tear up. 10 months already. WOW. He has grown and learned so much over the past month. He will now clap his hands when you ask him to. If you ask him what a cow says, he says, "Mmmmmoo." It's precious. He started babbling on Mother's Day at about 9 1/2 months which was music to our ears. He had always been so quiet before then. Once he started though, he said so many things within a day or two. He says, "mamamama" all the time now which I can not get enough of. He will babble "dadamamamnananbahbah" a lot too. He mixes up all of his sounds together to make little strings of them. I can't wait to hear him say mama and know that he is referring to me anytime now. He has begun to understand what "No" means this month. He chooses when he wants to obey it, but he knows what it means. I am constantly working to get him to listen and obey it now, and we have a long way to go but I am so proud of him for understanding and listening to me some of the time. He is so smart. I could not be more proud of him.

The very biggest accomplishment this past month was beginning to walk. At just 9 months he has begun to walk. He can make it about 5-6 steps almost every time without falling, but he can go further sometimes too. He started just walking between Greg and I but now he will just take off on his own from the couch or wherever he is standing to what he wants to walk to which is TERRIFYING for me to watch him walk face first into the door and fall. He is taking VERY hard falls now and it is scary. No two ways about it. Yes, we are babyproofed as much as we can be, but the falls are harder than ever now and it's scary to watch. Most of the time he gets back up with no problem, but about once a day or two I will have to help him and soothe him. He has already had a couple of black eyes now at only 10 months. He is a tough baby.

He got his first major haircut this month by me and it looks pretty decent actually considering he was moving around like crazy, and I am no professional hairdresser. We don't go back to the doctor for his well visit until he is 12 months so I won't know how tall he is or how much he weighs in at exactly until then, but he is now in 18-24 month clothing officially. A lot of 2T items too. His socks are 2T-3T. He is so skinny and just the tallest little boy already. I am looking forward to seeing how tall he will be when he is an adult. I think he will be taller than Greg and closer to my Dad and brother's heights.

This was a huge month for him growth wise with the babbling and walking and we are just thrilled that he has come so far so fast. He is so smart and curious about everything. We can't get enough of watching him explore his world. We love him so very much. It's safe to say we are very proud parents of our little boy.

10 months old

The Simple Things in Life

2011-05-18T08:00:00.002-05:00

I love having a simple life. I was recently asked if I was bored just being a mom who stays home. Absolutely yes and no was my answer. Yes, there are days when I am bored. Tired of the same 4 walls all the time because I can't take him out much yet since he isn't walking meaning if we are out, he must be confined to a stroller for the most part. Yes, I get frustrated that there will be days that go by when I don't leave the house. Especially when Greg travels, I will go days without adult interaction at all. It can be hard. Most of all my answer has to be NO. I love the simplicity of my life taking care of my husband and son. It's easy in most ways because I love them both so much, I love taking care of them. I love providing for them in my own ways. I love not missing anything with Gavin because I am here all the time with him and I rarely leave him. I would not change a single thing. I count my blessings daily and remind myself how lucky I am and that we are to have the marriage and family we have. We are both truly happy people. We are blessed to be able to say that. Very few complaints at all in this life. The simple things make us the happiest, and we are perfectly content with this.

One of the simplest and most wonderful times of day for us is going into Gavin's room when he just woke up in the morning. He is so happy to see us and greets us with the biggest smiles. It is priceless every day. As he grows bigger and bigger, the smiles have only gotten bigger and bigger each morning. He has the very best smile of any little boy I have ever seen. He is a keeper :)

Hi Momma! I am waiting for you!

Hi Daddy! Can you pick me up please? I kicked my feet out of the foot part of my pajamas and I am stuck. I am still happy though!

I mean if this doesn't melt your heart, what will?!?! Isn't he the cutest little guy!

And where are his pants you might ask?? Well, refer back to my blog yesterday about messes... they were covered in meatballs after dinner so he got to go without them for the rest of the night. Sneaky little guy new exactly what he was doing. He was so happy.