The Good Life

I'm approaching week 36! It's hard to believe that we're down to just a month before we meet our little Miss (who still doesn't have a name)! At week 36 I can say that I am feeling pretty good, just tired. Since our trip to the beach, I've been sticking close to home and trying to do the things that I need to do here. On Sunday, Matt and I realized that we are totally un-prepared for this second baby to arrive. At this point with Colton, we had the hospital bag packed, the bottles were ready, clothes were washed and put away, car seat had been tested and was (probably) in the car, etc... As of Sunday, none of that was the case with baby #2. This week I have been able to do a few of those "necessary" things. I sorted and washed all the bottles and breast pump pieces (which made me completely nauseous and realize that I have no idea how often -or how much- I'm supposed to feed an infant). I was able to wash and put away a big portion of the clothes a...

Last night, I was sitting in the baby's room, looking through old pictures of Colton and thinking back on my pregnancy with him and his first months of life. There are days when I feel like that baby is long gone, but every once in a while he will give me a look, expression or a reaction that says "here I am Mommy, here's your baby". I have so many emotions during this second pregnancy. Every aspect of this one has been different. I start to feel sorry for myself as I think of all the "hardship" that this pregnancy has brought me. The horrible test results, the weight gain, the sickness, the heat, the heartburn, the swelling (that has already started) and on and on and on. Then, I go straight to feeling guilty for even having those thoughts. How dare I complain when I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to experience this again!?!? God has blessed me with another precious bundle to care for and when I really think about it, it brings tears and I'm t...

I waited (impatiently) for the anatomy Ultrasound we had scheduled for last Tuesday. Every day, I looked at the calendar and grew more and more excited/nervous/anxious as June 23rd approached because not only were we finally going to find out if "it" was a boy or a girl, but we would get to see our little nugget again. The day finally arrived and I was thrilled to hear that our sweet baby is growing and thriving and measuring "on track". Everything, as far as we can tell, looks great. The baby was "shy" so we still don't know if nugget #2 is a he or a she. I'm not going to lie, when we left the office, my first reaction to Matt was that of disappointment. I was looking forward to this day for so long and I REALLY wanted to know what I'm carrying (I'm tired of saying "it"). Matt quickly reminded me that our baby is doing fantastic and out of all the news we could've gotten that day, we got nothing but good news. Not finding...

Tonight, I rocked Colton to sleep for the first time in months (maybe even a year). He's always loved being rocked but he has never been one to actually fall asleep in my arms. Given his length, my growing belly and our effort to have him "soothe" himself to sleep, rocking him isn't something I've been doing. But tonight, I rocked him. Not because I had to, not because I needed to, not because it was the "easy" thing to do...I did it because I wanted to. I feel like I've gotten so caught up in the fact that we have a new baby coming and I "need" Colton to be able to put himself to sleep (and sleep all night), I "need" Colton to be completely rid of his paci, I "need" Colton to play by himself for parts of the day, I "need" Colton to be potty trained, I "need" Colton to be good in he grocery store, I "need" Colton do this or to do that. It's exhausting. He's 2 years old. What I NEED...

I have officially started a count-down to the date we find out our sweet #2's gender! 20 days to go... I put all of the boxes, totes, bags and baskets (from all over the house) with clothes that have gotten too small for Colton (way too fast) in the living room and had a major sorting session today. It feels like C was just wearing some of those things and when I looked at the tag it said "3 months". Ugh. The saying "the days are long but the years are short" really hit home today! As I sat in the floor going through all of the clothes, I got emotional. Colton was sitting there with me asking a million questions and as I looked at the clothes and then looked at him, I just felt completely overwhelmed with emotions. I'm beyond thankful for the little copper top that sat with me today. Thankful for his growth, his health, his kind heart, his 100% boy personality, his smile, his dimple, his (just like his daddy's) eyes...thankful for him in every way! ...

On Tuesday I went in for my 20 week check-up with nugget #2. The heartbeat is good and strong and Dr. Goodwin says she noticed lots of movement (taking after the big brother in that area)! I haven't been able to feel significant amounts of movement (yet), but I have noticed the fluttery feelings that come with carrying a growing human in my belly. Every time I ask Colton if "it's" a boy baby or a girl baby he says "it's a girl" but when I ask him if WANTS a brother or a sister he says "a brother". I've been back and forth on what I think and I don't have a "gut feeling" like I did with Colton. Even my dreams aren't clear. I had a dream that we were having a "gender reveal party" and when we cut into the cake, the pieces were equally pink and blue. God has a sense of humor...and is on a mission to help me with my patience! :-) We scheduled the anatomy ultrasound for June 23rd. I cannot WAIT to find out if this...

My sister is one of my biggest fans, therefore she always checks in on my blog to see if I have shared anything new. On Monday, I got a text message from her saying that she checks my blog almost daily and there's nothing new to read...she's giving up hope! I told her not to give up, I REALLY enjoy sharing my stories here but I've just been crazy. Her reply was "it's good that you're too busy enjoying real life to write stuff on the Internet". At that moment, reading those words, I realized that I really am LIVING life. I'm a social media fanatic. I spend way too much time on my phone (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc...). I have limited that time drastically this year, but I know it's still too much. Even though I interact on social media, I've really been trying to grow my personal (face-to-face) relationships. Does it take more time? Yep. Does it take more effort? Yep. Is it worth it? Absolutely!!! I love, love, LOVE to share...