Three...

Tonight, Lucy picked Chick-fil-A for our last dinner as a family of three...girlfriend loves her some nuggets!

After a little playground time, we finished dinner with a cookie!
We may have read books and rocked for about 30 minutes tonight! My heart is so heavy for her, yet I know my heart will grow bigger than I could ever image tomorrow. I can't wait to experience it!
Yep, she's ready to be a big sister....and she's going to ROCK at it (eventually)!
Tomorrow, a new chapter begins! And then there was FOUR...

Getting ready...

Well, Thursday is the big day...unless baby girl decides to come on her own before then. I had my 38 week (plus several days) appointment this morning and we decided to go ahead and induce this Thursday! I'll be 39 weeks on Thursday and my doctor said that baby and momma will be ready to go. I was a little hesitant to schedule an induction a week early (my doctor mentioned this option to me last week), but now I feel good/confident about the decision. We are so ready to meet our sweet baby girl! I'm feeling excited, nervous and a bit emotional...but mostly excited! It's hard to believe that we'll actually be a family of FOUR on Thursday. I can't wait to introduce Lucy to her little sister...I know it will be such a special moment! We ask for your prayers over Thursday...

1) For the nurses and my doctor as they care for me and baby....for wisdom and clarity as they make decisions, etc.
2) That labor would go quickly (or at least quicker than last time) and that my epidural will take!
3) For a healthy baby and momma and quick recovery for me.
4) That I would not worry about Lucy....I know she'll be in great hands while we're at the hospital.
5) For rest this week, especially on Wednesday night.

38 Weeks (8.2.12)

My hospital bag is packed...almost! Just a few small additions to add!

Big sister gift for Lucy is ready. Little sister is so thoughtful! :)

Just a couple more days left of elbows to the belly! I'm going to snuggle the junk out of her while I can!

Baby butt poking out on the right side! She is such a mover...my belly is constantly wiggling/shifting! I can't wait to hold that little hiney on Thursday!

Back to wrapping up things around the house and at work...Thursday will be here before I know it! Bring on the sleep deprivation!!! Let's do this....

36 Weeks...

Well hello 36 week baby belly. Gosh, it's huge. I'm grateful that baby girl is growing...I just wish the rest of my body wasn't growing quite as rapidly as my belly. :) Besides the heartburn, feeling like I have to pee 24/7 and overall uncomfortableness, I'm feeling pretty good. I would be oh so happy if baby girl decides to make an early entrance (anytime after 37 weeks is fine with me), but I'm preparing myself that she may take after her big sister and not be in any kind of hurry to arrive. Until then, I'll attempt to finish a few last minute nesting projects, enjoy quality time with Lucy and uninterrupted sleep (besides waking up to pee, of course) and continue to generously apply coconut oil on my belly in hopes that my skin won't actually pop.

I'm super excited about the chair I found this week for the new nursery. After weeks of searching Craigslist multiple times per day (like 10-20...it became an obsession), I finally found the perfect chair...and beat everyone else to it! The good ones go fast! I really wanted a recliner style chair this time around (I have a traditional rocker/glider in Lucy's nursery) and I preferred a light pink one. Well, look here...I found one! It's a Pottery Barn chair and the pink slip cover is in perfect shape. There's nothing better than finding a great deal...and I can't wait to rock baby girl in it!

Nursery #2...

Baby girl #2's nursery is officially complete... minus a rocker/chair of some sort, but we'll get that later. Mom and Robin came over yesterday and put all of the finishing touches on everything and I just loved how it turned out! We had to get creative with this one since 1) the room is technically our second living space and 2) I wanted to do it on the cheap so I can spend the money in the future to turn this room into a fun play room once the girls can share Lucy's bedroom. So, here is where our little darling will reside once she arrives...the smallest human in the house gets the biggest room!

Looking into the room...

View from the back door...

I got the crib and mattress for $70 from a mom I know at Lucy's pre-school (such a steal) and my dad painted it black to match Lucy's crib and the wallpaper...thank you, Dad! The paper fans are from an online party store...super cheap and they make such a big impact! They were a little difficult to hang though, but mom found a way using long, skinny nails and the glue gun. The fabulous area rug was a gift from mom.

The minky dot crib sheet is from Etsy and I'm using Lucy's crib skirt and one of her bumpers...we had to take this one out of Lucy's crib awhile back to give her more sleeping room. When Lucy transitions into a big girl bed, we'll move her side bumpers into this crib. The flower pillow and sleep sheep are also pass downs from big sister Lucy!

The wall decor to the left of the paper fans are all items that I already had on hand...

I'm so pleased with how the make-shift changing station turned out! This was our old dinning room table. We took the leaf out to make it smaller and mom came up with the brilliant idea to skirt it. This was a completely no-sew project...scissors, iron, glue gun, ribbon, pre-made fabric flowers (and a little patience) were all we needed!

I think this project really finished off the room well and tied in a little more pop of pink...and it gives me some more storage space underneath the table for the Moses basket and bouncer seat!

The darling lamp was also a gift from mom...

I found the mirrored tray for $20 at Hobby Lobby...

Mom and Robin hard at work...

I'm so thankful for their creativity and the time they put into making the nursery so special for baby girl #2. What a sweet gift! THANK YOU!!

Lord, we pray your blessing over this room and ask that you watch over baby girl as she sleeps and plays in here. May your hedge of protection be over this place...and may she sleep through the night quickly! :)

32 Weeks...

So, here I am at 32 weeks with baby girl #2. To be honest, I'm not feeling 100%...I'm certainly missing the blissfulness of the 2nd trimester! I'm tired again, I feel huge, my back and hips have started to hurt, heartburn is in full force (especially at night), I have to pee constantly, and I just don't have much energy. I know the summer heat and chasing after a very busy 20 month old is not helping either! :) I passed my glucose test at 28 weeks and my 32 week appointment this past Friday went well...I'm measuring right on track and baby girl's heartbeat was 148 bpm. I'm not craving much anymore, but I still can't get enough of cereal and turkey sandwiches.

Last weekend we officially started preparing for baby girl's arrival at our house! Josh got all of the baby items down from the attic, I organized her closet and yesterday we rearranged some furniture and put up her crib. It's pretty crazy that we have 2 cribs in our house now....and Lucy is a little confused about that too! Baby girl does not have an official nursery....she will reside in the back room (our converted garage and 2nd living space) until we can transition both girls into Lucy's room. It's not ideal, but we're going to make it work. Once Lucy and baby girl are in the same room, we'll make the back room into their playroom, which I can't wait to do! All of this nesting has certainly made it feel "real" that another baby will be here very soon...it's exciting and a bit scary all at the same time! :)

Baby girl #2 does not have a name yet. And the rate we're going, she'll probably follow in her sister's footsteps and be named after she is born. Ahhh....it drives me crazy, but we just can't pick one! We'll know once we see her face and get to spend a little bit of time with her.

Even though I'm not feeling well (and probably complaining more than I should)....my heart is full and I feel so blessed that God has entrusted this little lady to us. We can't wait to meet her....hopefully a couple of weeks early. Wink, wink...God.

Lately (June 2012)...

I've been a pretty lousy blogger and picture taker lately. Nothing too exciting going on around here...just normal summer days!

Painting with Eleanor...

Playing in our new blow-up pool...

Getting messy with shaving cream...

Hanging out with dad in a box...this box has actually provided hours of entertainment lately...

And we love our tent as well...

Getting ready for baby girl #2...

Lucy is preparing for her baby sister too...you never know what you might find at our house with a diaper on it!

Playing dress up while mom gets ready...

Celebrating Father's Day and our 7th wedding anniversary on June 17th...

Riding the carousel at Grapevine Mills...

Watching cartoons with bear...

Sleepy girl...

And lots of playtime in our room...she's asking "mommy want more?"

Colorado :: June 2012

Josh and I are having a great time in Colorado! This is our first vacation by ourselves since our honeymoon (almost 7 years ago). We always travel with family and friends, which is wonderful...but it's nice to have some quality alone time together! We arrived in Buena Vista on Friday around lunch time and our flight leaves tomorrow (Tuesday) around 4pm, so our time in one of our favorite spots on earth has almost come to an end...tear. It always goes by way too fast! I know we'll be ready to see our girl tomorrow evening though. We've certainly missed her, but she has been in great hands (and getting whatever she wants) with her Jewelz, GG and Pops! Thank you so much for watching Lucy so Josh and I could take this trip! I actually forgot to bring my camera...really shocking for me, but I've survived with my new found love of Instagram. Here are a few shots from the past few days...

We've enjoyed the view of Mt. Princeton (and some reading time) on the back porch...

and the lovely scenery in town...

We've made a stop (or 2 or 3) at K's Dairy Delite for lunch and evening ice cream treats...

We drove to the top of Cottonwood Pass to see the breathtaking views of the Continental Divide, followed by lunch in town at Mothers Bistro....

We hiked to Agnes Falls....it's was a little tough for me 7 months pregnant in the high altitude...but we made it and it was well worth the trip! Unfortunately, CO is experiencing drought right now so the falls were not rushing, but it was still pretty!

We took a day trip to Aspen! The drive from BV is incredible (and a little scary in a few spots)...

We went to Maroon Bells and hiked around the lake, enjoyed a delicious lunch on the patio at bb's Kitchen and spent some time reading/napping at the park in town. Really, a perfect day in Aspen!

On our way back to BV, we made a slight detour and drove to Leadville for dinner. Josh wanted to try High Mountain Pies, a popular pizza joint in town. I was a little skeptical, but oh my word...it was delicious! I took a risk with the house specialty "The Crocodile"....BBQ sauce, shrimp, bacon, jalapeno and cream cheese. Holy moly...so tasty! We'll definitely go back there next time we're in town!

This morning, Josh took off for a half day hike to Ptarmigan Lake and I'm in town at Bongo Billy's enjoying a latte, blueberry scone, my book and some blogging time. We're both equally happy....

Man, I love this place...

25 Weeks...

The weeks are FLYING by. This baby will be here before we know it! We've started a few little nesting projects around the house to get ready for little lady #2. I went to the doctor last week for my 24 week check-up. She is measuring right on track and her heartbeat was 143 bpm. Baby girl is a wiggle worm...especially at night. I'm feeling good, but starting to dread the brutal summer heat that is upon us. We've starting really talking up being a big sister with Lucy and practicing with her baby dolls...she loves her dolls! I know she doesn't have a clue what's coming, but we're hoping and praying that the adjustment won't be too tough for her. I'm sure she'll learn how to share her crown...eventually. :) I've started praying this verse over Lucy and her little sister...

Psalm 133:1
Behold, how good and pleasant is it when brothers (sisters) dwell in unity.

Truly, this is my biggest prayer and desire for these 2...that they will genuinely love and respect one another and as the verse says, "dwell in unity"...especially when they share a room! :)

Surprise...we found out!!!

Surprise folks (no, this is not an April Fools joke!)....we found out the sex of baby #2 at my 20 week appointment this past Friday! It took a lot of nagging convincing Josh to let us find out, but he is so good to me and eventually gave in to my request! Josh really wanted to keep this baby a surprise like we did for Lucy, but momma here just had to know! It really was so much fun finding out on Friday, and tonight we had our families over for the big reveal....

This darling banner (from my nursery rhyme themed baby shower for Lucy) worked perfectly for the party...so glad I kept it!

The cake I made...

I asked everyone to wear blue if they thought it was boy, and pink if they thought it was a girl. Right before the ultrasound, Josh guessed boy and I guessed girl....Lucy wore purple since blue and pink mixed makes purple!

Team pink...

Team blue...

The grandmothers had the honors of cutting the cake!

My favorite picture of the night...

It's a GIRL!!!
I had Dad and Corinne on FaceTime, so we were making sure they got a good look at the PINK cake!

Lucy did not like all of the screaming...

Look at that sweet tear...poor girl! She already knows that she's going to have to share her clothes!

Josh and Lucy made a quick wardrobe change so we were all wearing pink!

Sisters they will be!!! I'm so excited for Lucy!

Here is the video Josh took from tonight...



20 weeks...growing fast and feeling lots of kicks!
We are so excited to welcome another sweet baby girl into our family!! What a blessing....thank you Jesus!