It's a......

GIRL!!!!

Can you believe it? Neither can we!

We went to our gender sono at this awesome place we went to when I was pregnant with Henry. I fell upon it while going to the post office to ship some Etsy orders when I still had my shop open and realized they have a sono studio as well as a cute baby boutique. We had an amazing experience with Henry there (read about that here).  And since then I have been selling my mother bird nest necklace charms in their boutique so I have created a great rapport with the owners. I went in a few weeks ago to take more necklace charms to them and announced that I would need to make a gender sono appt with them. They both were so excited! I remember having to wait until 18 weeks with Henry to find out the gender and so I had the date all picked out for this baby (Oct 10th) where I would hit 18 weeks. When I asked what they had available he said okay so the end of september would put you at like 16-17 weeks right? I asked about the 18 week rule and the wife (who is the sonographer) said oh no, you can tell pretty easily at 16-17 weeks, you just don't usually get the option since your doctor likes to wait until 20 for the anatomy scan. If I can't tell 100% at that appointment I will bring you back for another scan a week or two later and look again. SOLD! Sign me up! I have been dying to know what this baby is since the minute I got pregnant. I am not a surprise person. I love to plan. I like to shop and decorate a room and know what to expect.

We went to the sono and I had taken votes that day and the weeks before of what everyone thought I was having. The votes were more toward the girl side. 38 for girl and 28 for boy. I honestly have felt girl for this baby since I got pregnant but only because these pregnancies could not be more different from each other.

Henry-

• Throwing up starting at 3w5d anywhere from 10-20x/day. I was on 2 prescription meds 3x/day and still had to get an IV with fluids and IV anti-emetic meds. I lost 18 pounds by the time I was 12 weeks and didn't stop throwing up until I was 20 weeks.
• Perfectly clear skin, not a blemish the whole pregnancy.
• not really that tired.

Baby Girl-

• Threw up for 2 weeks ( from 9-11 weeks) and then a few times here and there but that's it. No meds at all. No hospitals, no IV's. No rapid crazy weight loss (about 4 lbs)
• Tons of breakouts (don't they say girls steal their mother's beauty?) True here.
• Absolutely exhausted, can't keep my eyes open, want to cry all the time just because I'm tired.
• Lots of headaches.

I went into the sono not caring either way if we have a boy or a girl. There are pro's and con's to both for me. First, I absolutely LOVE my boy, he is the best ever and has been the most laid back easy kid so far. I have all the clothes in the right sizes and seasons (since this baby's due date is only 8 days before Henry's 2nd birthday). I have boy burp rags and blankets and toys. I would love for Henry to have a brother. But..... we have no idea for a name for a boy. Not a clue.

As for a girl. I have always wanted a daughter to do girly things with, getting nails done, dress up, princessy junk, pink things, GLITTER, tutus, headbands, and I am so close with my mom I have always wanted that kind of a relationship with a daughter. We obviously have no clothes or girl things but my imagination has been running wild and we have TWO girl names.

Eleanor Jean (Eleanor after my great grandmother and Jean is my middle, my mom's middle and my grandmother's first name).

Evelyn Jane (Evelyn is a name Taylor and I have both loved since before we got married and for me, much longer than that. Jane is my other grandmother's name).

So either way was fine with me! Taylor has been a little apprehensive about the who girl idea since long before we got pregnant with Henry. He is nervous about dating and boyfriends and prom dress shopping and hormonal melt downs and teenage girl drivers and having to pick out outfits (much more difficult he tells me than just shirt/ pants combo). Learning to do hair and be more emotional and gentle with them, wiping their booty different. He is kind of freaking out, but has said either way he would be happy as long as this baby is healthy.

We went into the sono Taylor thinking girl, me prepping myself for another boy (lord help me) and Taylor said he saw immediately. I didn't have a clue. We got to watch baby play and wiggle and stretch. We saw sucking and swallowing of the amniotic fluids, a case of the hiccups and kicks and punches and even rubbing eyes with tiny bawled up fists. The sonographer has to see the gender 3 separate times before she will tell us. She told me she knew and moved the wand and I said "another boy?!" and she said no, that's very very much girl and I looked over and sure enough....GIRL! I couldn't beleive it, I cried and Henry mimicking me, put his head in his hands. I wish I had a camera, the timing was priceless even though he had no clue what he did.

We got pictures of baby girl, a video of the entire scan, a CD of the music that was playing during the scan which is Maroon 5 lullaby and a pink heartbeat bunny that has the 30 second recording of baby's heart beating placed inside to keep. This is my favorite part.

We rushed home and took pictures and announced it to all our family first and then friends. It's been so much fun to share! Even more fun to think I am not only blessed enough to get two babies, but that we get one of each! How amazing!



15 weeks

How far along? 15 weeks, baby is the size of a Pear!

Total weight gain: Down a total of 1 pound from pre-pregnancy weight still, which amazes me because the belly is large and in charge already.

Maternity clothes? Mostly maternity now but I wore a lot of versitile non-maternity things with Henry that I am wearing with this babe too.

Sleep: Not fantastic. Despite the amazing new bed, I am getting up to go to the bathroom non-stop it seems. So frustrating.

Best moment this week: Finding out we are having a GIRL!!  Going to the American Royal rodeo as a family on Saturday and My clean house! Sunday Taylor and I cleaned all day long. Deep cleaned, not the normal stuff I usually do. Our house smells so good and like yummy fall scentsy and we are getting ready for baby to be here soon. Cleaning out Henry's closet and organizing and putting away all of his boy clothes since this is a girl! Cleaning out the craft room that will turn into the guest room so the current guest room can become sister's room. etc etc etc

Miss Anything? Wine still. I don't drink it much when I'm not pregnant but I always crave it when I can't.

Movement: Taylor and I both felt her move on thursday night for the first time from the outside. I have felt her several more times since then. This is my favorite part about growing a human!

Food cravings: Popcorn, apples and cheddar cheese all together for lunch, every single day this week. With a big glass of cold milk. I love the sweet, crunchy, salty, savory, cold and hot combo. Still loving that ^^^ and Skittles. Odd I know because I normally would choose chocolate every day of the week, lately skittles have been a must have. Craving any asian food still too, sushi, rice, soy sauce, stir fry, chinese food, japanese food etc etc.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nauseous here and there but not from anything specific. Got sick at work the other night out of nowhere.

Gender: GIRL!!!!!

Symptoms: Just going to the bathroom a lot and sciatic nerve pain started after a long super busy shift friday night. Blah.

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on. :)
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part, a little moody about getting stuff done here and there.
Looking forward to: This week to be over, I really want another weekend to spend with my boys and hopefully cooler weather. I would really like to do something outside like the zoo or deanna rose or something fun.

 Here is my craft room before. HOLY MESS!!!!! It was a catch all room and when I could sneak in projects here and there when Henry napped, I would never have time to clean up and organize. So it turned into this. UGH!

I took the table top away and it's now neatly stored beneath the bed in that room. The two cubby shelves somehow fit PERFECTLY in the closet of that room, but it still looked crappy even though I went through and organized everything. So I got these new cloth cubbies to make it look neat and organized. They hold a lot more stuff and now everything has a perfect place. Hallelujah!

Before.....ahhh it gives me anxiety just looking at it.

MUCHHHH better.

How about we talk about Henry?

How about we talk about Henry?
How about that?

Holy first born being lost in the chaos of a new baby, batman. The new kid is mearly the size of my fist and already she has overtaken the blog 'round here. BUT, that is NOT how life is at home. Nope, not even a little. There are days that I lay in bed, my big cozy, head and feet up adjustable bed with 8 inches of delicious memory foam bed and put my hands on this ever growing belly just to remind myself of the sweet blessing laying 'neath my blubber that I haven't focused on all day. I hold my breath and wait for kicks and punches but nothing really yet. I feel occasional flutters here and there but that's about it for now. That's really the only time I get to focus on this new little life during my days, I'm distracted. I don't have time to lay there all day and day dream and wonder and think about and plan for the little one in my belly like I did with Henry. My every waking thought was him and my belly and the nursery and the clothes. I had nothing to do but breathe and work and throw up and think about Henry. This baby has been my thoughts when I'm quiet and still. When Henry is in bed or when I'm in the car. That and when I am dressing the ever growing bump of course. Otherwise it's Henry. Henry. Henry. Henry.

That little boy is and will always be my world, he is just gonna have to share it soon and I'm raising that man cub to be a lover so we are working on how fantastic it will be for him and not my fears of TWO.

He is doing amazing. Like really amazing. The kid never stops. Have you heard the saying that "mother's of little boys never stop from SON up to SON down."? That's totally true in our neck of the woods. He is a spit fire with tons and tons of personality. He is always moving, exploring, searching, building, jumping, running, falling, climbing, hiding, playing, dancing. He is such a joy to watch. I sit there sometimes in absolute awe of him that he can do any of that. I sure haven't felt like I have taught him much deliberately. But then again I am reminded that he watches our every move and he learns on his own too. He's not ever seen Taylor walk on his tippy toes that is for sure, but yet he does it. He hasn't ever seen me spike a fork or peice of food into the dog or the floor and yet he does that too. He has seen us dance around the house like idiots far too many times so I'll give him that one and he does watch us talk on our phones so he knows to put it to his ear and yay "ye-yo" (hello).  But the point is, he is a sponge, like all children are. It makes me so much more aware of my every move. What amazes me even more than all the physical stuff  he can do, is how much we have taught him to love. (I'm totally gonna cry writing this, by the way).
Hugs and kisses are passed out in our family like candy on Halloween (which is in 31 days *cough* who's counting* cough* cough*) . We hug and kiss before leaving anywhere, when getting home, before going to bed, when waking up, and always just because. Taylor and I snuggle on the couch and watching TV in bed at night we honestly just are affectionate people and Henry...well, he's learned to hug and kiss with the best of them. He gives smootches like it's his little 18 month old job. He has even added the "muah" sound for good measure lately. He will stop playing, run up to me out of the blue and kiss me or hug me or just sit on my lap for a minute and then get up and run away and keep doing whatever he was doing. It warms my heart to see him be such a loving boy. He kisses Cora, he kisses his "Gee" and "ga-guh" (Taylor's parents) and his Nana and Pops (mine) and Aunt-E and all his toys. It's the cutest. He wants to hold hands no matter where we go. He will come over and grab your hand no matter what you are doing with it and pull you with it to show you something that he wants or wants you to see.  He loves to snuggle on your chest before he goes to sleep for nap and bed. He holds our faces and just looks at us. I just love watching who he is becoming.

Age:18 Months
Stats:  Height- 35.5" (100th percential), Weight- 26lbs 12oz (88th percential) and head- I forgot the number but 98th percential.
Clothes: Oddly enough I found out yesterday he still fits his 12-18mo jeans. I tried to put 2T on him (those are the size shorts he wore toward the end of the summer and they were a bit baggy in the waist). And they literally fell off of him and were about 5 inches too long for him. So I tried his jeans from last winter and they fit perfectly. He is a skinny dude with apparently very short legs which cracks me up. He has my long torso and has needed 2T shirts all summer because his 18mo shirts are too short and his little belly hangs out.
Favorite Foods: Pasta, Peaches, All Berries, All fruit in general (except honeydo and cantalope), all meat (turkey, chicken, beef, pork), "sauce"(ketchup, mustard or BBQ sauce) or basically any other condiment, cheese, milk, PB &J and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, my lemon pepper baked chicken and meatballs.
Favorite Words: Go!, No!, Cor (Cora), Dadda, uh oh, dat (that)
Favorite Activities: Playing with Cora, he loves to wrestle with her & try to give her all his food. The pool or water in general (he loved the beach), the bath, Cora's water dish. Throwing food on the floor, sneaking up the stairs when I'm not looking, dancing with mommy in the kitchen. Using a fork or spoon to eat.
Least Favorite Activities: Being confined in the high chair, booster, car seat, pack n' play, crib, stroller. The kid hates to be "stuck".
Favorite Things: His giraffe stuffed animal we bought for him (the first stuffed animal we bought), his elephant blanket, pacifiers (unfortunately), cups of any kind, things that go vroom and his play phone.
Signature Moves: The squat dance, the kid can drop it like it's hot. Kisses and Hugs. Waving (when he wants to).
Mom's Proudest Moment: I turned my head long enough for him to put both hands in the toilet. Enough said. And I thought I pushed the laptop far enough under the couch where he couldn't reach it while I made dinner. Wrong. He got it and hulk smashed the screen.

He is just such a fun kid. I love him dearly and while on the blog, it's all about the new baby lately, in realy life it really is all about Henry.

14 weeks

How far along? 14 weeks, baby is the size of a peach!

Total weight gain: Down a total of 1 pound from pre-pregnancy weight.

Maternity clothes? Still a mix.

Sleep: We got a bed at Nebraska Furniture Mart this week. A new amazing spring mattress with 8 delicious inches of memory foam on top to provide cush and support. Then we splurged a smidge and acted like the 80 year olds we really are and got the base that moves the mattress head and feet up and down. We had a damn good sale's man who catered to my every pregnant momma need. "Oh just think of how great this will be to put your feet up after a long day chasing your child when you are 9 months pregnant with this here lovely adjustable bed" and "oh you need to nurse the baby in the middle of the night, simple. Relax in comfort as you feed your sweet new babe by putting the head of the bed up so your back and head are supported." SOLD sir! SOLD!! How fast can I sign that line? Needless to say, it was delivered wednesday and has been wonderful. We watched the debate and the chief's game in comfort with our head and feet up just relaxing. Heavenly. As far as the frame, well....go big or go home eh? We have wanted to refinish our master bedroom for awhile now. The frame was Taylor's from childhood, the nightstand on his side I got free from a neighbor when I moved to college and it had my 10 gallon fishtank in my college apartment on it forever so it's pretty beat up. The "nightstand" on my side was actually a 3 legged stool style table with a flat sheet from walmart over it as "table cloth". Our bedding was old and not cute and our pillow cases were a mix of his and hers from college and childhood. I bought new grey sheets, pillow cases and throw pillows. New king size duvet comforter and pretty white cover and shams. New bed skirt. Then we went to Ikea and got new nightstands, that match! New bed frame, lamps and picture frames, curtains and sheers. I made Taylor paint after he got home from work on tuesday night before the new bed arrived on wednesday and it took us exactly two hours and exactly 1 gallon of Behr Marquee paint. If you haven't heard of this, get it for every project from here on out. It promises to cover in one coat and man did it deliver. It was thick and smooth and lovely and now our tan walls have been changed to a calming soft "silver bullet" gray. The crisp white linens, and sheers and trim, with the stark dark brown/black frame and nightstands and the soft grey walls and dark grey curtains and sheets look so pretty together. I wanted our room to be our safe happy calm place and since I will be spending lots of time in it with the new babe I wanted it to feel homey and comfy. It does now and I have my husband and the few extra shifts I've picked up lately to thank for it.

Best moment this week: Seeing my college girlfriends, albeit for a horrid reason (we lost one of our own far too young the previous thursday and got together to go to her visitation). Needless to say it's amazing that no matter how long it's been or how far apart we have been living, it's still just as good or better than it's ever been. Talk about healing. And then of course our new room.

Miss Anything? Sleeping through the night. I have been getting up alot to go to the bathroom and because my hands are falling asleep a lot. Someone suggested pregnancy induced carpal tunnel.....it better not be. Sigh.

Movement: Haven't felt that much this week.

Food cravings: Popcorn, apples and cheddar cheese all together for lunch, every single day this week. With a big glass of cold milk. I love the sweet, crunchy, salty, savory, cold and hot combo. Still loving that ^^^ and Skittles. Odd I know because I normally would choose chocolate every day of the week, lately skittles have been a must have. I also craved the peanut buffalo wings the other night.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. I have felt great this week too.

Gender: Less than a week! I really hope they can tell at this sono!

Symptoms: Not much, Sore boobs still but hey that's pregnancy and then my hands falling asleep when I'm sleeping. That's getting old quick.

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on. :)
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy outside of the funeral monday night. :/
Looking forward to: Cooler weather still, our gender sono and then saturday we are going to the American Royal Rodeo. I've promised to take Taylor since we met and somehow we always miss it or can't go and this year we can! So excited!

I built both night stands for our new room.

 Loving the new "feet up, head up" feature of our bed.

13 weeks

How far along? 13 weeks, baby is the size of a kiwi!

Total weight gain: Down a total of 3.5 lbs from prepregnancy weight.

Maternity clothes? Yep just a good mix of what I have had from last time and my normal clothes. Nothing new this week.

Sleep: I have slept great this week because Henry has. He must be going through a growth spurt because his normal 7am wakeup time has been pushed back to 9:30 this week (yes that means he is sleeping 14.5 hours at night). He also has taken a minimum of 3 hours for naps most days 3.5- FIVE hours. Yes we both fell asleep on tuesday after I worked night shift and didn't wake up until 3pm. Taylor had called me 38 times and about died of a panic attack thinking something had happened to us both. Poor guy. We just needed our rest apparently.

Best moment this week: Sleeping so much. It's been so amazing and I have felt so good. I also decorated for fall which is always fun! The weather has cooled off alot too which has been great.

Miss Anything? A glass of wine still.

Movement: I definitely have felt this baby move. Wednesday night after sushi and gelato I felt baby A LOT. Lots of little fluttery stuff that I never felt with Henry. Though I probably didn't know it because I didn't feel him until the kicks were actually kicks at 17 weeks.

Food cravings: Popcorn, apples and cheddar cheese all together for lunch, every single day this week. With a big glass of cold milk. I love the sweet, crunchy, salty, savory, cold and hot combo.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. I have felt great this week.

Gender: Waiting not so patiently for 9/26 so we can know.

Symptoms: Just tired but not first trimester tired. Just want more sleep.

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on. :)
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody :(
Looking forward to: Fall. The cooler weather, the food, the fun and festivities.

Florida Vacay Part 2

 This is the view from the back door of the condo. We put Henry's pack n' play in here so that when we put him to bed at night with his sound machine we could still be awake and watch a movie or TV in the bedroom. That couch pulled out to a queen size bed too which is nice because I am sure we will be back here and bring some family or friends.

 

This is the view from the front door. The hallway to the right had the full bath with laundry and bedroom and there are twin bunk beds further down the hall. 

 

The bedroom. 

 My cute little family had a blast here. We immediately got in our swim suits and headed down to the water.

 

Later we went to the Publix and got a bunch of fresh fruit a frozen pizza and some snacks and drinks to have at the condo along with stuff for lunch and milk for Henry. It was amazing to have our own kitchen and fridge and stove so we could eat there if we wanted to. We made breakfast and lunch there each day and just played on the beach, then showered and went out for dinner each night and came home and watched a movie with Henry before bed. Talk about relaxing. 

 I got that UV protected 2 sided beach tent on amazon for $24. It was such a great buy because it folds up easily into a tiny little bag and pops back out just as quickly. It was great to get out of the direct sun if needed and have a place to put our stuff.

 This water was incredible. Those who know me, know that I DO NOT do dark water. Not even a toe put in. I can't bear it, it freaks me out and if you think I would let my baby go in there either, you're crazy. So this vacation was perfect for me. I was in neck deep at some points in the trip and wasn't scared because I could watch every fish, jelly fish and shark (yes shark). It was perfectly cool in temperature but not cold and calm and clear. Almost like pool water. My kind of ocean.

 

This was mid day. The beaches were mostly empty. 

 We loved the seclusion and privacy and it was far more relaxing than a crazy busy touristy beach.

 Henry hated the sand at first. We have it all on video tape taking him down to the beach for the first time and it is HILARIOUS! But we got the toys out and showed him how to dig and knock over the sand castles we made and he had an absolute blast.

 Ahhh, sandy toes. The best.

 But not better than baby sandy toes....

 We went to the village of Baytowne Wharf (a cute little marina and area with tons of bars and restaurants and shops to walk around. It was 95 degrees though so we didn't last long. We got some candy and treats from the candy maker which is a fudge and candy store my sister worked at each summer when she lived in Destin.

 They had a fun playground for the Hankers.

 Then we went to the Shrimp Shack. It's a little place right on the sand in Seaside, FL. We sat in a covered patio right on the water and Taylor had shrimp and I had crab claws. YUM!

 The atmosphere was amazing and relaxing.

 The company was even better.

 Back at the condo for jammies and movie snuggles. The condo had free netflicks so we caught up on lots of Disney movies that we don't own. Henry loved that part.

 And I loved the 9 strait nights of snuggles before bed.

 Back at the beach the next morning.

 Hard to believe but the water was even better the next day. Just more calm and clear.

 Henry was using a piece of driftwood as a phone.

 

Oh hey there baby. I see you!

 The next day we went to the Gulfarium Aquarium. It was hot and all outside (another vacay fail) but it was fun and Henry liked watching all the animals.

 The dolphin tank was high enough up you could see the ocean in the backround. Such a cool view.

 Henry loved the dolphin show. He kept saying GO! and holding his fist in the air and clapping for the dolphins when they jumped and did tricks. Hilarious.

 The baby dolphin was SOOO Cute. She wasn't "in" the show but she was practicing doing what her momma and daddy did with her own trainer at the same time.

 We came back to this view and I couldn't wait for Henry to wake up from his nap to go down and play!

 He did great with the transition and slept 2 hours every day for nap just like at home, which meant momma and daddy slept 2 hours each day too. Yay for family naps.

 Someone loves the beach. He was absolutely fearless and would play in the sand for a bit and then just run in a dead sprint to the water. We had to constantly chase him so he didn't just dive in without help. Goober.

 A little more seaweed that washed in, but I'm not complaining.

 The brown building in the center was our condo. It was such a short convenient walk to the beach and so nice to be able to go up and use the bathroom and grab another drink or whatever.

 And the whole time we had a secret we were dying to share!

 But we waited until the monday we got home to have our 12 week sono and make sure baby was okay. That didn't stop us from taking fun pictures for our announcement and writing in the sand.

 That's me way out there which is HUGE for me that hates water. I took this pic for my cousin and mom and sister so they would believe I went out that far.

 We went to the food trucks that stay parked on the street in Seaside. It was only a 10 minute drive from the condo and so fun to try the different things.

 I had a pulled pork sandwich and mac n' cheese and it was so good.

 Here is the cute little BBQ truck.

 The next night we stopped at a fun open air place called pickles that was supposed to have amazing burgers and shakes and world famous fried pickles. Turns out they were the same pickles that come ready made that we get at our little BBQ joint down the street but they are my favorite ones and it was a good taste of home.

 This guy is the absolute cutest.

 and this post office was almost as cute. I could fit it in my pocket.

 We drove into Destin and went to fudpuckers to see the gator beach. This was one of the little guys you could hold.

 And they had big kibbles (which I'm sure were big dog food kibbles that we paid far too much for) that you clipped onto a rope and that was tied to a cane pole and fed the gators. Taylor was more interested than Henry.

 And back to the beach.

 More seaweed and TONS of jellies this day but not the day after. It's so weird how the ocean changes every minute it seems.

 And my favorite meal of the trip (and the reason I go to florida) the grouper sandwich. This one was phenominal!

 We ended the trip with a beautiful sunset thanks to Hurricane Erika rolling in.

We drove home the following saturday and stayed in Nashville again, not without stopping off at the loveless cafe again. I got us another 2 room suite for a whopping $109 so we could let Henry sleep like normal.

 And were thrilled to come back home to our comfy little house that is full of dog hair tumbleweeds instead of sand and our fluffy pup instead of jellyfish and crabs. We had the trip of a lifetime but it's always good to be home.