30 Weeks Today!

Since I haven't been posting belly shots much this pregnancy, I figured I'd give a little photo update.




Abigail wanted to be apart too! :-)

Baby Update:

She's approximately 3 lbs. and 15.7 inches long. (About the weight of a cabbage, if you're wondering.)

She is pretty much all formed and ready to meet us, she mainly just needs to gain a few more pounds and strengthen her little lungs some more.

There have been a couple times now that I've noticed her having hiccups. Abigail used to get those ALL the time in the womb and got them frequently as a newborn. So cute!

We are slowly getting things ready for her to arrive. We ordered and received her crib in the mail this past week and Kyle set it up in our bedroom for her (I'm not quite ready for her and Abigail to share a room yet! Haha). Pictures to come once we get the bedding. :-) I also went to Target this week to work on my registry for her. Some sweet friends from church are throwing us a little diaper shower in a few weeks. So excited to celebrate this new life! :-)

A few weeks ago there was a $1 sale at our local children's consignment shop and I was so excited to find a bunch of summer outfits for Baby Girl!







We have also had friends lend us some summery outfits. Sadly, most of Abigail's clothes will not work for Baby Girl since they are completely different seasons. It is so much fun seeing little summertime newborn clothes though! I can't wait to see her wearing them!

We have also been given a new double stroller and are so incredibly thankful for it! We are already making use of it when Abigail and a friend go out on a playdate together!




It's a Combi Twin Sport and I love it!



It folds up so nicely to fit in our trunk.



Here Abigail and her buddy Laedin are taking a stroll in it. :-)
We are so grateful for the Lord's provisions so far for this baby! It's amazing how much stuff you need for a second child when they are close in age! I am so very happy though that Abigail and Baby Girl will be so close (17 months apart, if you're wondering.). I hope they will be best friends for many years to come!

Family Day

Today we decided to spend the afternoon out as a family and do some things that Abigail would enjoy. What kid wouldn't love lunch and playing at Chickfila and then visiting a pet store to see animals? :-) In fact, today was the first day that Abigail hardly wanted to eat much and then was ready to get down and go play. She's quickly learning how it works! ;-)



At the pet store, Abigail enjoyed seeing all the birds, fish, and puppies. I enjoyed taking pictures of her and Daddy! ;-)


Looking at puppies.



Pretty birds! She loved to hear them chirp.






I just love this photo!!! So sweet! Kyle is a wonderful Daddy!






Turtles!



Abigail got to watch 3 dogs being bathed and she just loved this retriever! He was being toweled off at the door and she didn't want to leave him. She cried when I finally picked her up and carried her away. I'm excited to one day be able to get her a dog when we have a backyard! She will love it!

Fun Pics

I was just looking through recent photos of Abigail on my phone from this past week and wanted to share them. She is such a fun, sweet, and crazy little girl! I love her so much! :-) Enjoy!



Enjoying her first Chocolate Banana Milkshake. She was a fan! We made it with vanilla coconut milk, cocoa powder, frozen bananas, and honey to sweeten. Yum!!!



Fun at the park with her friend, Laedin. They LOVE the slides!





No fear! Haha... Notice Abigail's facial expression!





Weeeeee......


Abigail figured out how to crawl into her toy shelf. I'm just waiting for her to figure out how to crawl into the top cubby! Ha!



Silly phone pics...


Look at her tongue!


Silly kids!


Wearing her new Valentine's outfit that Grammie and PaPop sent her.


Looking at fun toys in Target. Mama is getting ideas for gifts that Baby Sister will "bring" Abigail in the hospital. :-)



Abigail loves to play in Baby Sister's bouncer.

A Little Update

Today has been a day of much rest and relaxing for this Mama. Last night I hardly slept as I tossed and turned in bed; back aching, stomach aching miserably, cramps, etc... We're still not exactly sure what all has been going on but think it is the mix of either food poisoning or a little bug upsetting my tummy and making me sick, plus overdoing it this past week and weekend.
When you have an energetic toddler (and you babysit a 5 month old baby full time), it's hard to get in the rest that a pregnant mother's body is screaming for. However, after this weekend of increased cramping and soreness, Kyle and I have realized that I need to take a few steps back, cut out a few things from my schedule, and focus on keeping this baby warm and cozy in my belly for the next 11 weeks.

With that bring said, I'm looking forward to scheduling in some lazy mornings at the park with Abigail, once the weather warms up again, and lots of relaxing mommy/daughter time before our family's world is rocked (especially Abigail's!) with the addition of sweet baby girl #2! I want to really savor these last few weeks of being able to devote most of my time and attention to Abigail and yet also try to help her cultivate an excitement for baby sister and the changes she will bring. I know that her little 14 month old mind cannot grasp baby sister's arrival but she does LOVE her baby dolls, walking around holding them on her shoulder, patting their backs, and saying "day-dee" with a big grin. So I think I will start to let her put her babies into the bouncer, crib, etc... to hopefully help her begin to grasp the concept of a baby in the house.

I have been so thankful for the last couple of months when I've had the opportunity to babysit a friend's little boy full time! I believe it has really helped Abigail get used to having a baby around as well as helped me see what life with two children is like. :-) Our friends are moving in a couple of weeks to take a pastoring job in another state though, so I will no longer be caring for their baby. He has been such a sweet little guy and we've loved getting to know him!
Abigail especially enjoys having him around! She loves to sit on his playmat next to him and hand him toys, his paci, etc... The first day she ever saw him blow raspberries was priceless! She looked up at me with a huge grin, as if to say "Did you see that, Mommy? That's so cool!!!" haha... She's in for a fun experience of being an older sister. I think she will do great and be this Mommy's little helper! I'm so grateful that we had a little girl first. :-)

Well, I better get to bed. I'm so very grateful for my sweet, caring hubby who took today off work so that he could help me while feeling sick! He is amazing and so loving! I could not be more blessed by the husband that God sovereignly chose to give me! I love you, Baby!!

Project: Simplify 2012

With nesting hormones already on the rise, plus with the added spring-time weather that has been teasing us here in Kentucky, my desire to redo some spots in our home before baby girl #2 arrives is definitely weighing on my mind. When I came across this declutter challenge today, I thought it'd be a great thing to join in on for the month of March.

I love that she has already posted the declutter spots so that I can be preparing ahead of time in my mind for what I'd like to accomplish in these rooms. Yay for spring cleaning!

Wanna join me?

Happy Valentine's Day

 On Saturday night Kyle and I were blessed by some sweet friends who babysat Abigail while she was sleeping so we could go out on a date for Valentine's. It was so much fun and much needed! As parents, it's easy to lose sight of how important it is so spend time as just the two of us. It's also so helpful that Abigail goes to bed at 6:30pm so that we can easily put her down and then go out while someone watches her!

Our beautiful little Valentine!

Craftiness and Friends

This past weekend a sweet friend had several of us girls over from church for a girly craft afternoon. It was so much fun and a great break from kids and our normal daily routines. We laughed, chatted, nibbled on yummy snacks, and inspired each other as we all worked on our own crafts.

Here are a few photos. So thankful for these sweet friends!

Elizabeth and Anna

 Myself and Aubrey

Our host, Jenny, and I.

 

Here are pictures of us and our crafts:

 Elizabeth was painting the LOVE letters and making a beautiful rosette wreath for her front door.

 Jenny made this super cute heart chain for her little girl's bedroom. She also made another fun craft for a Valentine's gift.

 Anna was making pretty envelopes, fabric and felt roses, and a heart chain.

 Aubrey was working on a special Valentine's craft as well.

I made an "R" to hang on our front door and worked on a craft for my hubby for Valentine's Day. :-)

Can't wait for our next crafting day! Thank you Jenny for having us all over!

Swimming Fun

Last week Abigail and I went with a couple of our friends up to the Seminary campus to take advantage of their indoor pool. Abigail loves the water!! We can't wait for summertime! :-) We're going to be living at the pool and the zoo. Haha...

 Abigail and Laedin

 Abigail likes to place her face in the water. Haha... just like at bath time!

 Playing

Baby Update

So, with Abigail I updated my blog basically every single week while pregnant. Ha! :-) With this sweet, precious girl, I think this may only be my second or third post. Now I totally understand why my parents have way more photos of my older brother when he was a child than they have of me... good 'ol second borns! :-)

For the record, we are 27 weeks, 5 days along.

This pregnancy is not only flying by, but by God's grace, it has been a fairly easy/textbook few months. I had morning/day sickness up through 12 weeks, felt great during my second trimester, and now as we're about to enter our third trimester on Saturday, my only struggles are my exhaustion levels (which have shot up in the last 2-3 weeks) and my daily hip pain. I am so, so thankful for how much God has poured out His grace upon me during this time!

Our baby girl definitely moves around daily but I wouldn't say she is an excessive mover. In fact, her heartbeat has been consistently much lower than Abigail's ever was at our appointments (which made us think prior to our ultrasound that she just had to be a boy! haha). I am very interested to see what her personality is like and if she is more laid back than Abigail. :-)

Our next appointment, on Valentine's Day, will be when I take my glucose test and it will also mark our transition in appointments to when I start seeing our midwives every 2 weeks, versus every month. This is a big appointment because it just shows how much closer we are to her birth! Yay! The thought of having a second little girl is so exciting for both Kyle and I!

I know Abigail is going to be a great big sister and just love her baby sister so much! It's fun to watch her interact with the little 5 month old boy that I nanny in our home. She just loves to sit next to him and read a book or bring him a toy or try to give him his paci. It's just adorable! Today, she saw him blow raspberries for the first time ever and she looked up at me with a huge grin. She thought he was doing something so cool! Haha... Of course, I have to keep a sharp eye on her around little babies because he zeal to love and nurture them as a little mommy sometimes gets the best of her! I was with a friend a few days ago and she had placed her little 4 month old baby girl on the couch while we were working on something. A minute later, we glanced over just in time to see Abigail pulling the baby down on the couch and about to try and pick her up around her waist and carry her like her baby doll! As we rushed to rectify the situation, both of us moms just burst out laughing! Abigail just loves those "da-dees"! It makes my heart melt!

Sorry I don't have any recent baby bump pictures to show you. I need to take some soon and post them. However, for now, I hope this updates finds you each doing well. Have a great day!

Preparing for Baby Girl #2

It's amazing how much more laid back we have been about baby girl number two coming! With Abigail, we had her crib within the first trimester, her room painted and had started decorating at the very beginning of the third trimester, and were taking birthing classes, watching videos/documentaries on labor, reading natural birthing articles, etc...

What have I done for baby #2? I've washed and put away a few clothing items that we have for her and started a registry.  :-) Oh... and should I mention that we are in our last week of our second trimester? haha!!!


So, today I decided that it is high time for me to begin pulling my thoughts together for the arrival of this little one and for this next labor and delivery! Sure, I've been brainstorming off and on... but it's time to take action!

One blog that is a continual blessing in my life is Passionate Homemaking! No matter what season I am going through, it seems that in just about every one, Lindsey, the author of the blog, has biblical words of wisdom for me. Childbirth is no different. So as I begin delving into my preparation, I have been, once again, gleaning from her wisdom. Enjoy these following links from her site:


Scriptural Encouragement For Preparing & Giving Birth
Embracing The Pain & Letting Go Of Fear In Childbirth
Homemade Natural Postpartum Care Kit
Practical Preparation for Postpartum
Preparing My Heart For Motherhood
Adjusting To Life With Two
Entertaining Littles With A New Baby - The comments offer great tips too!

It's fun to look back at our old family blog and see posts that I was writing while being pregnant with Abigail and even prior, as a new wife. Here is a link to a Pregnancy Resource blog I did in preparation for Abigail. Now, if I could just find that labor notebook I made last time, I'd be one step ahead! ;-)

February Meal Plan

So, before baby #2 comes I'm really seeking to get my meal planning back into full swing. It is SO helpful for me to have our food bought at the beginning of the month and put back in the freezer. Last night, I felt like I didn't hardly even make dinner because I just pulled our turkey burgers from the freezer and cooked them.

In an effort to simplify my days I am trying to incorporate more crockpot meals into our recipe collection; plus when I buy our meat at the beginning of the month I go ahead and portion everything out and place it all in ziplock bags in the freezer with the meal written on the outside (pictures below). This makes for quick and efficient meal prep the day of!

All of these recipes I will make gluten/grain free (Except for those with rice. Kyle and I will eat the rice but I'll leave that out of Abigail's serving.) and dairy free. Thankfully, Abigail is able to eat some corn products so we're able to still incorporate a little of those into our meals.

Week 1
Sunday - Chicken Pot Pie, Salad (Grain-free recipe)
Monday - Turkey Burgers, chips and hummus
Tuesday - Beef stir-fry, broccoli, rice
Wednesday - Tortilla Soup, chips
Thursday - Cranberry Chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Friday - Pepperoni Pizza (Abigail's pizza will be made on coconut flour bread. She loves this bread!)
Saturday - Leftovers

Week 2
Sunday - Steak, carrot souffle, green beans (I found the steak marinade on Pinterest and it is AMAZING!! I will say that we have tried it twice and we prefer it without the lemon juice in it.)
Monday - Fish Tacos
Tuesday - Stuffed Bell Peppers, salad
Wednesday - Chili over baked potatoes
Thursday - Coconut Curry Chicken, mixed veggies, rice
Friday - Bar-B-Q Chicken Sandwiches, chips
Saturday - Leftovers

Week 3
Sunday - Shepherd's Pie, salad
Monday - Salmon Patties, grits
Tuesday - Beef Bourguignon over baked potatoes
Wednesday - Chicken Chili, cornbread
Thursday - Chicken Fajitas, guacamole, chips
Friday - Sausage Pizza
Saturday - Leftovers

Week 4
Sunday - Steak, sweet potato casserole, green beans
Monday - Fish Tacos
Tuesday - Meatballs over spaghetti squash
Wednesday - Beef Stew, cornbread
Thursday - Buffalo Chicken Salad
Friday - Hamburgers, french fries
Saturday - Leftovers

Here are a few photos of some of the meat that I have put back in the freezer. I still have 4 chickens to cook down, shred, and freeze. :-)

 Pre-seasoned hamburger patties and meatballs.

 Ground beef

 Pre-seasoned Turkey Burgers

Super yummy fresh italian sausage.