A boy?

We finally made it to the big day!  Our gender reveal!  My jaw is still on the ground and Chris is pretty pumped up.

We're having a BOY!!!

I guess all of the people that voted in my poll know better than I do!!

I was absolutely convinced that he was a girl.  I had even bought these....

I'm really excited, though, because the girl clothes get to go to one of my friends that is having a girl in December. YAY!

I did get a couple of boy things....

Macie and baby boy have matching beanies!

And, I have a diaper bag for a boy!  I'm really excited about this one because it was such a great deal - I still can't believe how little I paid for a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag {brand new}!

I had a gut feeling that this was going to be a little guy, but had convinced myself that I would have all GIRLS!  

I'm a little scared.....of the boy things.  Like circumcising - ouch!  I'm going to cry when they have to cut on his little weewee.  Then the peeing in my face - I know, I'll have to get used to covering it.  It's just going to be different and wonderfully crazy. 

I see a lot of little boys and think "WOW, am I going to have a rough little guy or will he be calm like Macie?"  I don't know how I'm going to handle bumps and bruises because we've never had anything big happen to Macie (knock on wood!).

I think Macie is a little freaked out at the idea of a baby brother.  Whenever we were calling family and friends announcing the news, we would say "boy" and she would say "no, it's a girl."  We'll tell her she's having a brother and she will throw a tantrum.  I hope she comes around before baby brother gets here!  I guess we'll just have to find ways to make her feel special that she has a baby brother....

Macie's First Day of Preschool

10 Questions to Ask Your Child About First Day at School:

via

1) Tell me about the best part of your day.
2) What was the hardest thing you had to do today?
3) Did any of your classmates do anything funny?
4) Tell me about what you read in class.
5) Who did you play with today? What did you play?
6) Do you think math [or any subject] is too easy or too hard?
7) What's the biggest difference between this year and last year?

8) What rules are different at school than our rules at home? 

9) Who did you sit with at lunch?
10) Can you show me something you learned (or did) today?

That was what I wanted to ask Macie about her first day of school, but that didn't seem to workout very well.  Obviously, a couple are more for older kids, but I was going to go off the list anyhow.  

Her teacher said she did very well, but wouldn't nap at nap time {she did, however, lie very still and stayed calm while the others slept}.  Pick-up made me feel so special.  I walked into the gym, where all the kiddos were playing, and Macie spotted me from a mile away.  She ran yelling, "Momma!"

When I started to ask her the questions {after getting into the car} she answered a couple, then lost interest.  All she was interested in was juice boxes and getting home.  Man, plan failed.  Oh well, I'll keep the list and see if she'll get better over the years.

She didn't want me to take her picture in the car, but I did anyway.

This is what I got. 

When we got home, I had to bribe her to take a couple of pictures.  She's too young to understand "humor me", so I offered a juicy box and a surprise. 

This is what I got from that.

I think we can conclude that the first day of preschool was a success! 

Now she's exhausted.

And I am too.....

We'll do it all over again on Thursday!!!

Finally...Catching Up!

Oh my gosh, here I go!

Life has just been a full schedule lately.  Last weekend, we had two Birthday parties {my daddy's and our friends' kiddos Brooks and Avery's pool party}.

Macie loves a good swim party.....so much she never wants to get out.

It was a busy day, but we had a lot of fun and didn't get home until about midnight.  Definitely slept in the next morning!

Macie is going to be in preschool this year!  ....TEAR....  She will only be in school twice a week while I'm at school, but it will be all.day.long...makes me sad to know I won't see my baby girl by 2 o'clock every day.

We bought all of her supplies and a brand new "Back To School" dress for her first day.

You can find these dresses and many, MANY other cute clothes and goodies at Junebug Couture or Positively YOUnique.  Check them out, you will fall in love with it all!!!

I think we're just overcompensating for having such a lazy Summer....trying to fit everything into the last couple of weeks.  I'm a procrastinator and always work best under pressure.  I guess I'm consistent and that rolls over into my everyday life too.

Last week Hannah came to stay with us for a night.

Macie is more than happy to have Hannah over.  I know Hannah is quite a bit older {almost 9}, but she is so sweet to Macie and luckily all of the dress-up clothes run a tad big and come with an elastic waist band. 

I had a "just for fun" ultrasound done where my MIL works.  I don't want to take too much advantage, but let me tell ya, it's nice to know I can go in whenever I want {pretty much} and see my little active baby love bouncing around and sucking that cute little thumb.  Ahhh....so much fun!

When I got home, I was showing Chris video and telling him about the baby's size and what all was going on inside.  He thinks it's all so weird.  I do too, but I won't tell him that.  It's weird and wonderful all at the same time - I feel so lucky to get to go through this a second time.  I learned from Macie what to enjoy and what I should jot down for future reference.  I was so horrible about keeping up with my pregnancy with Macie - luckily I have a pretty decent memory.

Thumb sucker!

 Kickin' it.

I can't wait to feel and see the baby move around!

This Friday is the BIG GENDER REVEAL APPOINTMENT!!!  I wanted to try and have a gender reveal party, but I don't think I can wait that long to know....and if I found out before, there is no way I could keep it to myself all day/afternoon long until the evening for dinner.  NO WAY I could do it!  I'm so excited and I think Chris is too.  He took off work for the big day, so actually I know he's excited.  He's thinking boy, I'm thinking girl.  I just have this gut feeling it's a girl, but I could be wrong.  

This past Saturday was Hannah's 9th Birthday Party.  

Wow, 9 years.....I remember the sweet little baby girl that I was so proud of - I thought everything she did was genius and that she was the smartest little baby on the planet.  I've never stopped thinking she is wonderfully smart and I will be a proud Aunt for the rest of my life.

Sunday was less than eventful, for Macie and I at least.  Chris played golf with his dad that morning and I made my first "big" real dinner in months {chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, mac 'n cheese}.  It exhausted me.  Never again for a while....I'm sticking to casserole or crockpot recipes, that's all there is to it.  Chris was happy and wouldn't stop telling me thank you for cooking such a good meal.  How flattering. 

So here we are, back to another Monday.  

Today I had an appointment with the baby Dr. and finally heard the heartbeat - 156 bpm.  What a sweet sound!  Old wives tale on heart rate says girl....we'll see. :)

Tomorrow is Macie's first day of preschool and hopefully I will get back to my "Toilet Paper Tuesday" post.  I know I have gotten a little bigger since the last one, but no weight gain.  That will all hit me at the end like it did with Macie, I imagine.

I will definitely have a post Friday.....and it will include the big news!  Can't wait!!!

14 Weeks

Goodbye 1st trimester!

Hello more confidence that this time it's for real!

Yes, what they say is true - it's different the second time around.  My eating habits haven't changed, I've only gained maybe 1 lb {if that}, and I still keep noticing a bigger belly every few days.  I LOVE IT!  So far, I'm prepared for the morning I wake up with a basketball in my belly with maternity leggings, one pair of maternity skinny cargos, and a few maternity tops.  I really don't think I will have to switch to maternity clothing for at least another month or so, but I'm prepared this time!  

Macie and I have started talking a lot about her baby brother or sister.  She's the cutest.  Sometimes she'll ask me, "where's my baby brother or sister?" And I will point to my belly.  She thinks that's the funniest thing.  One of her favorite games is hide and seek and she says they are playing that in my belly.  When I asked who they were playing with, this confused look came across her face.  She was totally stumped and it was so funny!  Then she told me that her baby bro or sis plays with my heart - I thought that was pretty sweet.  This is big sister material:

This is Chris' vacation week - he worked yesterday to get a little extra $$$, but is taking off the rest of the week.  We don't have a lot planned, I think we'll probably take a trip to a water park one day and maybe he'll let me get out of the house to shop for a few things I've been needing.  #1 on shopping list is pregnancy safe cleaning products (and some foods I've been craving).  I've definitely going to take full advantage of having him home! 

Oh, and don't forget to vote in my gender poll at the top! :)

Hairline Gender Test

It's no secret that I am very ready to find out the gender of our little pea and I'm get more and more antsy by the day to find out!  Well, I came across a gender test that is based off of the hairline of the child born before the next.  So, here's the deal: 

You have to already have at least one child to use this test.  If the hairline of your first born is pointed the next child will be of the opposite gender.  If it's straight, the next child be of the same gender.  The lady that wrote the article I read had 5 children and it was accurate for all of them!  Here is a link to the article: Hairline Gender Test and here are the pictures from her article:

Well, if you know me you know that I immediately checked Macie's hairline.  From first glance I thought it was straight.

Then I looked closer {lifted all of those little baby hairs} and it looks kinda pointed too!  It's just a little thinner than the children's' hair in the article.

Now I don't know what to think.  I called my sister and she said that Hannah's hair was a very distinct point, which would be correct in predicting her little brother's gender.  AHHHH!  Of course this would happen to me because I'm so ready to know and every old wives tale or test tells me something different.  This one is just left at inconclusive for us!

P.S.  Don't forget to vote in the gender poll at the top of my blog!  Please and thank you! :)

WE WON A CONTEST!

So a while back I won a contest on this awesome blog {a good life. you should go check it out} that included a really cool prize!  I've been antsy to get the prize so that I could blog about this amazing shop.

I never win contests, so I was so stinkin' excited.  I think all my luck was used up when I won $500 in Meridian money {could only be spent in Meridian} when I was about 4 or 5 years old after the Christmas parade.  Here's a picture from that year, right after I won the big prize:

Look how cute my mom is in her dog suit!  What a trooper - always did anything to make her babies happy!!!

So anyway, to the good stuff....our winnings this time!  What I love about searching blogs is that I have found so many products that I would have never know about otherwise.  

Macie is one lucky girl.  She won a set of beanbags from babyKAMP that spell out her name.

  

As a bonus, Maria {babyKAMP owner} sent Macie a super cute t shirt to match her super cute beanbags!!!  How sweet was that?

Thank you babyKAMP - Macie sure does love her new beanbags and shirt!

Chew toy???

She said that they're comfy....

So she made a row of pillows out of them! :)

Spelling out her name.

ADORABLE!!!

  Everyone should go check out babyKAMP!  She has a lot of different products - I know where I'm going for my next baby shower gift!

CLICK HERE FOR HER ETSY SHOP!

Boy or Girl? {Poll}

So, I have added a poll to the top of my blog and I'm curious to see what everyone thinks!  Throw your vote out there - no matter who you are.  This is just for fun! I still haven't set a date for our gender appointment, but I'm sure it will at least be by the first week of September {hopefully sooner!}.  Thanks for participating in my fun poll!!! :)

Wow!

So, I've been longing for the beloved "baby bump" and today I think I've spotted the beginnings of mine growing!  By the end of the day, every day, I always look just blah....bloated.  BabyCenter does say I need an extra 300 calories a day....I'm trying....plus some, I'm sure.  In the mornings I still wake up with a flat belly, but tonight {at 13 weeks} I noticed a different shape.  This picture was taken at approximately 11:00 p.m. and I couldn't go to sleep without capturing the moment!

  

P.S.  I am aware that I have a lot of freckles on my arm....just my right arm {they really stand out in this picture}, my left arm has like one....so weird.  Anyway, Macie always kisses me and tells me she's giving me freckles.  I love her so much - she's the sweetest sometimes!  My mom always told me they are angel kisses and, by golly, they are if they're from my little angel!

Just had to share this right quick while I'm on top of things.  I do my best work after dark.  Pregnancy insomnia, already?

Oh yeah, check out my sweet family:

This was taken {thanks to automatic settings on my trusty Canon} on our 4th Anniversary right before we went out for dinner.  I think Macie's face is hilarious and it's totally not a professional picture {we've never had those done, by the way}, but we captured a typical us moment.  I'm trying to look decent, Chris doesn't care {but I'm glad he smiled!} and Macie has a silly face.  Love it forever!

Tomorrow is swimming with my sister and her kiddos and visiting my Granma and Grandad, can't wait!