It's a ...

... sweet baby BOY!

I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I'd be shopping for baby boy things again and I just couldn't be happier! We are beyond thrilled and grateful to be adding this precious baby boy to our family!

Christmas in Our New Home and a 25 Week Update

So I'm late to the party. Again. At least I've got a great reason excuse. =) Just wanted to share some pics of our house at Christmas so I'll always remember our first year (or rather, two weeks) here. I hope you and your loved ones had a lovely Christmas!

 a quiet moment after the {happy} blur and commotion

 a rather blurry shot of early Christmas morning

even though I was exhausted, I'm glad I set the table the night before so it was ready to go

I've never used this color for the settings and I loved it, especially when the sun came out...it has been a dark and dreary month!

our greeting for family and friends in the entryway (I'll share some pics of this space soon- my washer and dryer are out here, plus two-2!!- closets. We've never had that kind of efficiency and storage before and I'm kind of in love with it all.)

our traditional New England Cape aglow in candlelight

oh hey! I look tired...and HUGE! Well, I am tired and huge. How on earth is this bump going to grow for the next three months?!?! Sleeping is still hit or miss, and while I have no major aches or pains, I feel like I'm always ready for a nap, or just to lay down "for a minute." I don't really care about any of that stuff, really, because I'm so happy and so thankful for this sweet little baby! I was 25 weeks this past week and my doctor says everything looks and sounds perfect! God is so good and faithful.

If you're anxious to know whether we're adding a boy or a girl to our family, you can check my instagram feed where I shared the exciting news yesterday. I'll post something on here this week!

What an eventful December!

This December, in the midst of celebrating the birthdays of our two youngest, we also packed up our home and moved. Whew. I mean, whew! Moving is stress-free and totally awesome, said NO ONE EVER. Moving while six months pregnant... don't think I need to even go there. It was pretty miserable, but we got through it thanks to some dedicated friends and our parents. (Plus, these boys of ours are strong now, so they were a huge help!)

I know I haven't written very regularly over these past several months, but I'm looking forward to jotting down my thoughts a bit more. I really don't want to forget the details, and this is such a great way of recording all of them. Yet between homeschooling, morning sickness, the stress of keeping the house show-ready and then having to leave for hours at a time at random times, it was impossible for me. And speaking of school, everyone has been enrolled in our new local schools for several weeks now and they are loving it. We all are. It was exactly what we'd been needing and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I miss them all during the day and I have fond memories of the special things we've done, but they are happy, and I am happy. I've definitely had my moments of guilt, but after much prayer and reflection, this is the path God led us to and things couldn't feel better for us right now.

It's been a little crazy trying to decorate for Christmas at the same time as unpacking boxes and organizing things around the new house, but this move has been a smooth one. It hasn't been filled with angst and regret like our other move three years ago. We feel so thankful to be here.

I have to go say goodnight to my little boy who is not so little anymore. I'm so glad he still asks me to come in and tuck him in and say prayers together. Here he is graduating from Basic Training, top in his class! We're so proud of him and so happy for him- he's been talking about serving in the military and flying planes since he was a really little guy! What a joy as a parent to help him achieve his goals and dreams.

Here are some pics of all our happenings...

Halfway There!

 We made it to the 20 week mark earlier this week and I'm so excited!

I've been in heaven feeling tiny kicks and wriggles. When a few hours go by and I haven't felt anything, I find I get extremely (probably irrationally) nervous and just pray pray pray for the next little movement to come quickly. Lately, I don't usually have to wait for long- this is an active baby!

 

I'm also pretty thrilled that the morning sickness is mostly a thing of the past. Still extra tired, but I'm doing my absolute best to stay active, strong and healthy. The end of September through the beginning of November was really rough.  I was sidetracked by bronchitis, sinus infections, and asthma flare-ups (which dramatically increased my tossing of the cookies, ugh). An annoying cough has been my last symptom, and that seems to finally be going away.

 

Now I'm feeling well enough to complete some sewing projects for Isabelle and for customers (thank you!), and maybe even get started on some sweet baby things in the next week or so.  =)

 

Large and in charge. Oh my. I have come to terms with the fact that my body simply expands everywhere (I feel like my chest is a little out of control, and it's super embarrassing for me! Plus I think my body gets confused and makes room for baby in the back as well!) when it's growing a little human. Well, maybe I haven't exactly come to terms with it, especially seeing photo after photo of tiny, adorable bumps on instagram and what not, but nothing takes away the sheer joy of this amazing surprise gift from God. I am so, so thankful!

A few things I want to always remember:

Ginger Ale has been my very best friend. For real. I still crave a few sips every morning, early early, like by 5 am.

For the longest time, through week 18, I had to have a bowl of store brand Rice Chex with banana each morning. How funny, odd, and so specific, ha! I thought I'd "pamper" myself and splurge on the real stuff, but I didn't like it- I wanted the cheaper store brand kind. HA Save money where you can, I suppose.  ;)

Insomnia has hit- maybe two nights out of the week I'll fall back to sleep if I wake up around 1 or 2, but not most nights. Only one word for that: brutal. This has been going for at least two months now, and I am soooooo tired. I think you can tell in the pics above. Oh dear.

At our 16 week appointment, I brought Isabelle with me and my doctor let her hold the doppler to find baby's heartbeat! It was one of the most thrilling, sweetest things ever, and I will never forget that moment when she first heard it. Her eyes lit up in sheer amazement!

For the record, photos of myself make me super anxious, mainly because I never look like what I think I (or want to) look like. Usually my hair isn't quite right, or my smile looks weird, or I'm sporting some new lump or bump I hadn't known about until forced to see it in a picture. And now that I see the black leggings with this outfit, not sure I'm in love with that look, ha ha. But. I'm so grateful and in awe that I just don't want to miss out on capturing these special milestones. Awkward poses and all.  =)