Sunday Funday!

Hello all on this bitterly cold Monday night!

I hope those of you who had the day free from work, enjoyed it. Although freezing, the sun shining when it did made for a pretty beautiful day. I myself worked a full day, but with no banks or post office open there was much work accomplished. Of course, I always prefer to be at home cuddling or playing with my Aidie babe, but I'm blessed to at least have a paycheck.

I wanted to post a little about the last day of our weekend, Sunday. It was actually a pretty fun filled day. Being a working mama, even if it is only part time, I am trying harder to make the days I have off of work more centered around doing fun and (hopefully) educational activities with Aiden, rather than only catching up on what I seem to never finish on the days I work.

I, sadly, didn't snap any photos of our morning or early afternoon, which consisted of church, lunch at the church, and then swimming at the Y. Aiden loves church because his cousins Andrew and Connor, and his friend Freddie (who is Andrew and Connor's cousin) all go there. They are all about the same age, so they all have a blast together playing and learning new things. My cousin Ashley and I (Andrew and Connor's mama) have gotten a lot closer over the past year and it's been wonderful having another mama to spend time with while our boys play together!

Aiden has really grown this year since beginning preschool. He used to have a hard time leaving me when he was unfamiliar with where we were or who I was leaving him with. He still is unsure sometimes when he doesn't have a friend there to help him adjust, but at church, with Andrew, Connor, and Freddie, I am lucky if I get a hug and kiss bye.

Aiden, Freddie, Mya, and Andrew

Aiden, Andrew, and Connor this summer at the zoo.

After church we headed to the "big room", as Aiden calls it, where we got to enjoy and delicious lunch, pot-luck style. After lunch, Aiden was very excited to find out we were heading to "Juju's pool" to go swimming with her (and a surprise guest!). Aiden was very excited to find out that my cousin Kelsey, who will be 12 this year, joined us at the pool..and would be spending the day with him and Juju Monday, as well!

This isn't from last night, but Aiden and my cousin Kelsey!

We swam from about 1pm-4pm. Aiden had a blast, but was definitely exhausted. He passed out before we even made it to the grocery store, which was our next stop on our busy day! 

 To my surprise, and my joy, Aiden was in a great mood. He even *asked* to go into the play place at Giant Eagle, which he had never been to because he never wanted to, and I was afraid he'd cause a scene. I was glad that they had more than enough room to accept him, and he went right in and started playing. He was very excited about the kitchen set they had (I REALLY need to get him one) and didn't get upset by my leaving at all. I snapped a few photos because I knew I'd want to remember this...

After the grocery store, we spent the evening at home, while we cuddled and watched a movie. Aiden was in jammies by 7pm and passed out by 8pm. I love days where it's all play and no work, and all my attention can be focused on him and just enjoying this age. I'm realizing each day, the more I prepare for our baby girl, that my attention will be divided and I'll have two kids to love on and who will both want and need my attention. I'm both excited and anxious, and oh so very blessed.

Aiden with his favorite puppy, CJ. Right before bed

That was our weekend!! Well, Sunday, anyway. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, as well.

An exciting start to the weekend!

Good Morning All!

It's 8:35am and both my boys are still asleep, but I've been up for an hour thanks to baby girl Mack. At just around 7:30am, while laying in bed, I awoke and needed a more comfortable position. I turned onto my back and lay there, trying to drift back asleep-it's not often I sleep in past 7am. Then suddenly, I felt baby girl kick, which I felt more now that I was laying on my back. She was having a party it felt like, so many movements. I woke Chris and took his hand so he could feel how awake she was. He smiled, kissed me, and was quickly back asleep. I could tell that there was very little reason for me to stay in bed, little girl was moving around so much and I was now too excited not to share the wonderful way I got to wake up today. 

18 weeks 4 days pregnant with baby girl Mack

I can't wait to begin to really feel her movements more through out the day. She is still pretty little right now, so I am pretty lucky and excited to have already felt her this much. It was definitely a wonderful beginning to my day. A day I hope to be filled with fun and productivity, something I can post about later.

Until then, have a beautiful day! It's cold..but it looks gorgeous outside

Very Exciting News!!

Hello all once again :)

I'm so excited as I write this tonight, I can hardly form my thoughts in a coherent manner. ((_In other words, bare with me!! :)_) As many who actually read this may already know, Chris and I are very excited as we are expecting our second child together come June. We are honestly beyond excited and thrilled to be expanding our family, and cannot wait to have this new member arrive and to welcome them into our home! I am so blessed to be on the adventure of a life time with a man who is always by my side no matter what, and such an amazing father to our son.

 Even the second time around, it is just as amazing to realize I get the joy of pregnancy, and feeling a beautiful life grow inside me. Something I never thought I'd get the blessing to experience even once, let alone twice. For this, I am beyond eternally grateful to God.

Last days pregnant with my Aidie babe

17 weeks pregnant with baby girl Mack

As a promise to myself for 2013, I'm trying to actually blog and scrapbook. Do more of what I actually want to do, for me, just because it's something I want to do and will cherish for years. I also have a goal of scrap-booking, which I would love to have friends to do with. I'm tired of wanting certain things in my life to change or wishing I remembered this or that better. My kids will only grow up once, and I won't sit by and not at least try my best to remember each phase of their life. This is how I will best do that, and I'm going to actually try better.

 

Her little arm stretched out perfectly so we could get a good picture of it

Today, Chris accompanied me to his first ultrasound of this pregnancy. Along with Aiden, who was very excited to be included, we watched our baby girl wiggle around, and got to hear about how healthy she looks-even at only 7 oz big. Isn't it amazing what technology can do these days?

Blurry picture, but that's her little feet

 My most favorite part of the visit to the doctors was, as I'm sure you've guessed, was when the technician said "it's a baby girl". I had mentioned that I was hoping for a girl, and when the words left her mouth I was overwhelmed with such joy, it came out in tears.

We were very lucky with our ultrasound technician because I am pretty sure she gave us more pictures today that I ever received in one visit with Aiden. Pictured below is one of my favorites, she was sticking her fingers in and out of her mouth, and we got to watch her do this for about 1 minute. It was very cute.

Both of my boys were very excited with today's news, and we are all excited for the adventure ahead. To be a family of four will certainly come with its challenges, but we couldn't be more positive about what our future holds. Our family, dare I say this, will be complete with her arrival. Something I am both sad and happy to write tonight.

 

 Until tomorrow, friends.