30 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: December 18th, 2011

How far along: 30 Weeks

Size of baby: the size of a head of cabbage (16 in. approx. 3 lbs)

Gender: BOY!

Cravings: Water! and ice cream

Sleep: Hit or miss... I am having a pretty hard time getting comfy. The little man has hiccups so strong that already wake me :)

Symptoms: Sore legs and hips.

Movement: Feeling some big rolls in there and hiccups around 4 times per day.

Best moments: Realizing we will meet our sweet boy in 9 weeks!!!!

I am currently measuring 4 weeks ahead according to my belly- SO the doc wants an ultrasound this week to get a better idea of his size. As of now, we are still planning on a 39 week delivery. I can't believe how fast time has gone by!

I talk to Lane every day about the baby- but he has NO idea what's coming. I bought him a little baby that we have been putting in the cradle. I know it will be a big adjustment for him but I think he will be a great big brother. We have lots to do before this little guy arrives, but we can't wait!!

not so manic Monday

Today we had a lazy, not go anywhere, Monday. It was one of those perfect days. My baby was 100% happy, I baked, we napped, watched The Fox and the Hound, and read 100 books. We haven't had a day like this in quite some time. It was GORGEOUS outside so Lane had to have snack on the porch.

and be silly.

and talk to me about things..

And then a school bus drove by. There is nothing cooler to him in all the world.

The Lake and Growing Up

Here is the recent pregnancy pic... I am 26 weeks here.

We had a a great long weekend and had lots of good family time. We headed out to lake with Jeffrey's sisters and their families for lots of good food and relaxation.

This view is so nice to wake up to.

Lane LOVES anything outdoors so he plays on the deck most of the time we are there.

He also took his first real ride in the boat! Last time he was about 36 weeks old in my tummy. He was pretty interested at first and then once we got moving he got SO sleepy. The sound and motion just put him in a coma. It was so cute. Before long Daddy will have skis on him!

These are a couple pics I took before his school the other day with his little backpack.

Tomorrow Lane is 16 months old. I can't believe that. He is changing and growing so quickly these days. Here are a few fun things I want to remember about him at this age:

He LOVES animals, the movie Bambi, milk, Thomas the Train, anything that has wheels, books, his paci, his blankie, pointing at everything and saying ooooo, sliding, climbing, trees, and dancing.

Cute words he says: ice, bubble, milk (gock), choo choo, church, Beau, truck, Brooks (cooks), I say one he says dooo (two), blueberry (baboo)

Love that boy!

25 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: December 18th, 2011

How far along: 25 Weeks (almost 26)

Size of baby: the size of an average rutabaga ha!- 13 1/2 inches

Gender: BOY!

Cravings: healthy food! This is NOT normal. Veggies, fruit, salads, nuts...

Sleep: Having some trouble falling asleep, but once I can it is pretty good. Lots of pillows and a couple bathroom trips per night.

Symptoms: Rapidly growing belly, achy legs

Movement: Lots of kicks and punches- especially after I eat!

Best moments: We started on the nursery by painting, setting up the crib, and hanging a new light fixture. Also- I passed my glucose test!

At my last appointment the doc told me I am measuring 3 weeks ahead. Yikes! She was concerned about my glucose test, but everything came back normal. I just grow big babies! So my belly looks more like 28 weeks. People in stores keep asking me things like, "When are you due? October?" No.... try December. I just smile and say he is a big boy.

We are not making great strides on the name front (surprise, surprise) but I am optimistic we will decide before the hospital!

My doctor also told me to plan on delivering at 39 weeks. Whoo hoo! This little guy will have his birthday a little further from Christmas and that makes me happy.

Can't wait to meet this precious blessing- I already love him SO much.

(No belly picture yet- I will try to take one tomorrow!)

Day School

Today was Lane's first day of school! Did I really just say that!? He started a little day school that he will go to twice a week. He LOVED it! I am excited for some mommy time, and glad that he will get to play with other kids and learn about Jesus at his school. His teacher is just precious and there are just 4 little babies in his class. I got a huge lump in my throat driving to drop him off and he never looked back. My little social butterfly. I think this will be good for both of us when little brother comes along. He got to go to chapel, play outside, eat lunch and take a nap. . He did great!

Here he is with his sweet teacher Miss Lisa

This is how he looked when I left him... so excited to play!

Lambie

Lane loves his Lambie he got from his great grandma...

This is the way I found him watching a movie the other day. Snuggled up with Lambie. I also love his little booty up in the air.

I love that he loves a stuffed lamb. Before long I am sure my house will be filled with super heros and bugs!

My Little Fish

Our last small group swim party of the summer was this weekend. For some reason I decided I didn't want to swim this time and sat pregnant in 108 degree heat...

I am just going to blame my pregnancy brain for that one. NOT fun! I loved watching Lane have a blast and watching how independent he thinks he is. He was mimicking Jeffrey and kept putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles! It was super cute. I can't wait to teach him how to swim.

Here is his cute little self covered in the Doritos he had for dinner...

my cute boys

Me and my little fishy.

Cousins

We waited until the day after Brooks was born to take Lane by the hospital. We are so thrilled he has a boy cousin close to his age (and his brothers!) Here is the story of their joyous meeting...

He made awww sounds when he first saw him... precious!

"A new best friend!"

He needed to get a little closer...

He needed to touch his eye... only wanted to scratch his eye with his little finger nail.

"No, we can't touch baby Brooks eyes."

Aaaand we're done.

And the cousin love begins!

Sunday

Weekend day call is NOT fun. Night call is harder on Jeffrey, but day call is hard on us. It's like a never ending work week. I try to stay busy and press on. We went to church this morning, which Lane loves. Bible class is his favorite time of the week so I try really hard to get him there. We came home, ate lunch, and he took the mother of all naps. I think it was 3 1/2 hours long! He usually takes two 2 hour naps, but Sundays he gets one.

We had a little relief from the heat today so we went outside and played. I love the way he is starting to explore everything and is soaking up the world. Today I got emotional just thinking about adding our newest son to the family. It is so exciting, but I will MISS this precious one on one time with Lane. I have 4 more months and am not wishing the time away.

Though my new nephew makes me ache to hold my new one...

Pictures are coming soon of Lane meeting Baby Brooks for the first time!

I'm an AUNT!

So proud to introduce my first nephew Brooks Alston. Welcome to the world sweet boy!

Half Way!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: December 18th, 2011

How far along: 20 Weeks

Size of baby: the size of a banana

Gender: BOY!

Cravings: Currently, it's chips and salsa, guacamole, queso... any mexican!

Sleep: I can't sleep on my tummy anymore :( and have moved to my side with a pillow wedged under my belly. It is harder to roll over and that wakes me up often, as well as the bathroom. BUT overall, still sleeping pretty well!

Symptoms: I have almost all of my energy back and feel great for the time being! Also, growing very rapidly. (see picture below)

Movement: I feel little flutters and kicks off and on... I think I am so busy with Lane I don't notice everything like I did last time.

Best moments: finding out we are having another little man, telling our family at our reveal party, starting to nest/plan for the baby, and talking about names!

Here I am at 20 weeks.

One year older

I had a wonderful birthday, celebrated with my family. A pan of my dads peanut butter rice crispy treats was my dream birthday cake. Birthdays always mean good food around here! I even got a date with the hubs that included flowers, dinner, a movie, and ice cream. Feeling so grateful for the past year!

Random Weekend Catch up

We had a another great weekend with family. I love summer weekends that consist of swimming and eating! On the other hand I am counting down the days until fall. It is just not right to get in your car and the temp say 114 degrees. Seriously, it is keeping me from going anywhere. Cabin fever in the summer- it is terrible!

My big boy eating his banana the big boy way :(

You mean I can't cut it up into tiny pieces until he is 18?

Lane and Papa Ro after a long swim.

Worn Out

Homemade Deep Dish Pizza- heavenly!

Nana's toys are so much cooler than the ones at home.

My boys

Love my little family.

Early Chocolate Birthday Pie mom made for me... Let the birthday festivities begin!

It's a...

Let me start by saying this will be a long post! It starts yesterday around 1:00 at our ultrasound. The tech came in and measured all parts of the baby. This is such a tense time for me and I am just praying the whole time that everything looks okay. After about 15 minutes she asked if we wanted to know the gender and we said yes. She started looking down there and said fairly quickly, "I think it looks like a girl!" Followed a few seconds later by, "Wait, I am not sure about that, I think I see something there. Let me go get another tech to take a look." Jeffrey and I just looked at each other with total confusion and started laughing. The next tech came in and seemed very sure of her skills. She took a look and said, "No, I think boy. Well, just a minute, I can see how you may have thought girl." I am on a roller coaster at this point. She explained that the legs were basically crossed with the cord in between them. She looked a while longer and said, "Wow! This is a tough one. We rarely have to send people home without an answer, but... you may have to come back." I was so disappointed! I told her we had a party planned and she decided to go get a 3rd tech to help. I went to the bathroom and tried to move around a bit to maybe reposition the baby. The third tech went back and forth, boy, girl, boy, girl... It had been over 30 minutes of looking and I thought we were going to have to come back. FINALLY, the little sweetie decided to show us all.....

It is a BOY!!!!!

Here is our sweet boy at 17 weeks

I also measured a week big (surprise, surprise!)

We are SO thrilled to have another little guy at our house! Jeffrey was smiling ear to ear and so was I. He always wanted a brother so I think he is really thankful Lane will have that. We could NOT be happier and more thankful to God for this baby boy. I see lots of dirt, sports, and bugs in my future! (and I am slightly excited to dress them alike!!!)

Even though the ultrasound was CRAZY- it was fun and definitely entertaining.

Last night we had family over to tell them the news. Before everyone arrived Lane went in his room and got his favorite cowboy hat. He loves it and thinks he is so cool wearing it. He paraded around the house for a while so i got some pics.

His favorite thing to do is pretend like Jeffrey is a horse so they had some fun before the party. He also wants me to do this- I feel so bad saying no, but this pregnant mama's back can't take it.

I decorated with pink and blue and everyone wore the color they thought was right.

I made homemade oreos (YUM!)

and fudge cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Our family of 3 1/2

My parents surprised us by coming from out of town!! It was the best surprise. They had told me we would have to Skype them in for the reveal- I was SO happy they came!

Team Pink

Team Blue (my family has good intuition!)

My sister in law, Julianne, is due in a few weeks with a little boy, Brooks! We are so excited they will be 4 months apart.

My sis Hannah, Me, and Mom

To reveal the news, we had Lane open a present. The first thing he pulled out was a Big Brother shirt...

Then he pulled out a Little Brother shirt that matches.

So happy to be getting a brother! (or just happy everyone was clapping for him)

It was a great day for our family and we are in awe of God's blessings.

Thank you Lord for TWO beautiful boys.