24 weeks!

24 Weeks...man this pregnancy is really flying by. When I think that we have less than 16 weeks to go I kinda get a little nervous and oh so excited!

Size of baby: The baby is the 9 inches long and approx 1.5lbs. My iphone updater says the baby is the size of an eggplant.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I have officially gained 12 lbs. I know it's really more than that. I go to the OB in a week. I feel like in the past few days I have gotten bigger and bigger. No telling what I am going to look like in September.
Maternity Clothes: Besides shirts and dresses...all I wear is maternity clothes. I feel like I am getting big, fast!

Gender: He's a BOY! We have officially named him William Collins and we are going to call him Will. He is named after some very special relatives and friends...which I love that he will have role models to look up to!



Movement: Baby Austin is a mover. I am starting to feel a lot more jabs and flips. My OB said he is head down with his feet in my left rib cage. Boy, that sure is comfortable. LOL! Kevin & Zachary can see him moving without even having their hand on my belly.


What I miss: Being able to carry Zachary. I can't do it...he's just too heavy for me.

Cravings: No real cravings. With Zachary I craved ice cold IBC Root Beer in a bottle...which is funny because I can't stand root beer. I also craved Eggo Waffles and oranges. This time I don't have any cravings.
Symptoms: Heartburn is back and just some bodily exhaustion at the end of the day :)

Best Moment this week: I feel like I am prematurely "NESTING". I just have this urge to get everything ready for the baby. I am an organizing mama...I'm even organizing stuff that is already organized. Kevin thinks I've lost it but he doesn't mind the OCD behavior.

Local tornado = Nightmare

A week ago, on May 22nd, EF-5 Tornado ripped though a local town of ours. The devastation has been TERRIBLE and so sad. My cousin and her family live in this town, as well as, several friends of ours. Thankfully everyone is physically okay and their homes were spared. A couple cars were ruined but that is no big deal considering over 130 people lost their lives. Two of Kevin's colleagues lost their entire practices.  In fact one of the offices was the one that we were considering purchasing when Kevin graduated from his residency.  8 years later we know that God put us in the right spot.  Stuff can be replaced....people cannot. I just wanted to post a few pics from this tragic event so that we will always remember this horrific event. I am dying to go help out the people in this town however being that I am 24 weeks pregnant I don't think its a good idea to get out and clean debris. Instead I pray, send donations, and try to wrap my thoughts around this tragedy.

Saying Goodbye...

Not sure if it is the pregnancy hormones or what but we just traded in my vehicle for a mini-van and it was so hard for me to say goodbye to my old ride.  Am I nuts?  I wanted a mini-van just for the many conviences it offers and I like what we picked out its just I was sad to see my "old" car go.  This morning Kevin got up at 5 am to drive to go and purchase the mini-van that was 3.5 hours away.  I made him wake me up so I could take pictures with it.  I wish I would have taken pics the night before with Zachary and I but I didn't. So I ran out in my pjs to shoot a few photos before it drove off. I think the reason I am so nostalgic about this car is that we purchased it when Z was 4 months old.  It was one of the first big ticket items that Kevin and I purchased on our own. This car kept us safe, contained many mom & Zachary sing-a-longs, got spilled on several times with sippy cups and coffee, and it took good care of us. We never had any major issues with it or major breakdowns. It was a great car.


 

Z's first road trip to Kansas City (approx 6 months)

Getting ready to head to Texas for Tom & Beth's Wedding (9 months)...don't worry we did not let him drive.

Taking Z & his friend somewhere (approx. 1.5 years)

 I loved looking back in the mirror to see what Zachary was up to. (approx 2.5years)

 Fell asleep in my car on his 3rd birthday

I guess I need to get over it and start making memories in my new grocery-getter. I'm going to love it...I know I am...It's just hard to say goodbye to those memories. Time to make new ones. Here's some photos of Z and me in our car. I know what some of you are thinking....what in the world is she going to be like when she sends her boys to college, right? 

Chicago & Pregnancy!

I have only been to Chicago twice in my life.....once 5 years ago when I was pregnant for our good friends wedding.  Then last week we went back to Chicago for a business trip....pregnant again.  I wish I would have looked at my 2006 pictures prior to our trip to see what we took pictures by but I didn't.    Now that we are home I thought I would show you some comparsion photos. 

Here's Kevin by a LEGO man in 2006

Here is Zachary by the same LEGO man (outside the Lego store) in 2011.

By the way Zachary loved this lego man...if you can't tell.

Z just popped up on his lap like he was Santa Claus. LOL! 

Here we are in 2006 on Navy Pier with Zachary in Utero.

 

Here's Z, me, and Baby Will (in utero) facing the other way at Navy Pier 2011

This photo compliments of Zachary. Navy Pier 2011

.  I am going to do an entire blog about our Chicago Trip when I get an extra minute but I thought these were too neat to not compare. Hopefully in 5 years we can go back with Zachary & Will to enjoy everything Chicago has to offer (without being pregnant...LOL) to get more photos.

23 weeks

I"VE POSTED 2 POSTS in ONE DAY...make sure to scroll down to see both of them :)

Week 23:  I have 16 weeks and 6 days until my due date (that's 118 days).  My third trimester starts on June 19th!  I felt like the first 15 weeks of this pregnancy took forever because I was so sick.  Now it seems like it is flying by!  Especially since our summer is jam packed with all kinds of fun, family, and friends!

***This photo is terrible...I had Zachary take it since Kevin was at the office.  I think it makes me look HUGE...I'm hoping its just an odd angle and the maxi dress that makes me look that way. LOL!

Size of baby: The baby is the 8 inches long and approx 1.5lbs. My iphone updater says the baby is the size of an ear of corn.    Isn't that smaller than a papaya?  I don't get it but like I have said before I am going to keep comparing this baby to everyday items so that Zachary gets a mental picture of how big his brother is. 


Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I have officially gained 12 lbs. I know last week I was up 14 lbs well with all the walking in Chicago and working around my house I am down 2 lbs. I feel like I am eating all the time. I guess Baby Will is just helping me burn some calories. I am sure when I go back to the OB in 2 weeks I will be back up.
Maternity Clothes: Besides shirts and dresses...all I wear is maternity clothes.  I feel like I am getting big, fast!

Gender: He's a BOY! We have officially named him William Collins and we are going to call him Will. He is named after some very special relatives and friends...which I love that he will have role models to look up to!
Movement: Baby Austin is a mover. I am starting to feel a lot more jabs and flips. My OB said he is head down with his feet in my left rib cage. Boy, that sure is comfortable. LOL! Kevin & Zachary can see him moving without even having their hand on my belly.
What I miss: Being able to carry Zachary. I can't do it...he's just too heavy for me.
Cravings: No really cravings this week. I am not really into sweets or desserts...which is not like me.

Symptoms: Heartburn is back and just some bodily exhaustion at the end of the day :)

Best Moment this week: I feel like I am prematurely "NESTING".  I just have this urge to get everything ready for the baby. I am an organizing mama...I'm even organizing stuff that is already organized. Kevin thinks I've lost it but he doesn't mind the OCD behavior. 

He's gotta name!

I have already shared this but I wanted to document it in our family blog book.  We have officially decided on a name for our second baby boy.  I am a HUGE name person. I love to know peoples names, how their parents choose it for them, etc.  It's also really important to Kevin and I that our children are named after someone special to us.  For example:  Zachary's full name is Zachary Kevin.  Named after his daddy. 

 We have choosen  William Collins for our second son.  Here's the story behind it.....back in December before we were even pregnant with this baby Kevin and I were driving somewhere discussing a future baby and possible names.  Kevin has a very good friend of his with the middle name Collins. I have always admired that name and thought it was a very strong name.  It helped that we really like our friend, Neil Collins and his entire family.  It made us like that name even more.  Kevin mentioned using the name Will with the name Collins.  I loved it...but we put it on the back burner because our friend Neil Collins has a son named William Collins.  So I suggested Collins William.  That was basically it for that discussion. Then we found out we were pregnant with a baby in January.  Names would always come up but we could never agree on a boys name.  Our girls name was going to be Annslee Elizabeth.....Lee is my middle name, my Uncle Charlie's middle name, my Aunt Sharon's middle name, and my cousin Jacinda's middle name. Elizabeth is my sisters middle name, my cousin Megan's middle name, and several close friends middle names.  However baby #2 is a boy. So Kevin and I went back to the drawing board.  After finding out the gender it was really important to me to include my family in on the name as well.  I have 2 cousins that are brothers, Kevin and I think they are really great guys and are excellent role models for our boys.  Ones name is Wade William and the other is Austin Lane.  So we chose William as the baby's first name and we are going to call him Will.  William also happens to be my Uncle's first name, Kevin's grandpas middle name, and Kevin's uncles name...not to mention my mom's grandfathers name. So it was a great family name to chose. 

One funny thing about us naming this baby "Will " Collins is that if my sister or I were a boy we were going to be Will Weston.  So the joke is my mom is finally getting her Will! 

22 Weeks!

How Far Along: 22 weeks....Last Sunday. LOL!  We were in Chicago for Kevin's meetings so I'm a little behind posting/blogging. 

Size of baby: The baby is the size of a papaya. We had an educational experience this week finding a papaya. Being that we were in Chicago we found a local grocery store (more like a small Walgreens that residents of Chicago call a grocery store) to find a Papaya. Neither Kevin, Zachary, or myself knew what we were looking for. I kept thinking of a mango but I was wrong.



Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I have officially gained 12 lbs. I know last week I was up 14 lbs well with all the walking in Chicago and working around my house I am down 2 lbs. I feel like I am eating all the time. I guess Baby Will is just helping me burn some calories. I am sure when I go back to the OB in 2 weeks I will be back up.



Maternity Clothes: I have officially pulled out my maternity clothes. Note to any of my readers who are saving their maternity clothes to wear in the future.....If you are not planning on getting pregnant for 5 years sell your clothes. I pulled out all of mine and was shocked at how ugly they were. Seriously, they were hidious. I thought I would save them to save me some money but I think if I would have sold them immediately in a consignment sale I would have made more money. Also in the 5 years I have been saving them the maternity clothing has changed so much and are much more comforable with secret panels and such. That's my advice.
Gender:He's a BOY! We have officially named him William Collins and we are going to call him Will. He is named after some very special relatives and friends...which I love that he will have role models to look up to!
Movement: Baby Austin is a mover. I am starting to feel a lot more jabs and flips. My OB said he is head down with his feet in my left rib cage. Boy, that sure is comfortable. LOL! Kevin & Zachary can see him moving without even having their hand on my belly.

What I miss: Being able to carry Zachary. I can't do it...he's just too heavy for me.
Cravings: No really cravings this week. I am not really into sweets or desserts...which is not like me.
Symptoms: This week I have really started to ache and feel stretched out in my female parts. Sorry if its TMI but my ligaments are expanding and are really sore. If I sit down at 7 pm don't expect me to get up and do anthing for the rest of the night.
Best Moment this week: Going on a mini-vacation with my boys and getting Baby Will's room cleared out to start purchasing furniture.

Orange Belts!

It seems like Zachary & Elliott just got their yellow karate belts but it was time again to test for their ORANGE belts. The boys were so excited! Mr. C granted both boys their belts which is a really big deal. It's amazing to see the difference between when the boys started martial arts and now. At first they couldn't even do a jumping jack....now they can do push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, listen to an instructor, and have focus. They are doing great!

Zachary bowing to Mr. C

This really was a hug...these boys truly are best friends.

Group Picture....It's not the best of E & Z but that is all I could get.

After they boys got their new belts Kevin & I took them out to celebrate at Red.Lobster per Zachary request.  Grams got to come too.  We had a great evening!

Zachary's play date

A couple weeks ago Zachary invited his friend Wyatt over from preschool.  He went to Wyatts house in Decmeber to play and we were well overdue for having him come to our house.  Because I was so sick in Jan-April we are just getting around to having him over. It worked out perfectly because Z had been begging and Wyatts mom had a doctors appointment.  The night before Wyatt came over all I heard from Z was when is Wyatt coming.  He couldn't come over to play fast enough. 

We had the best time with Wyatt in our home.  I was able to get a lot of work done around the house (laundry, bills paid, cleaning, organizing) while the boys played.  It was a delight to hear the giggles and loud boy action noises coming from the basement.  All I could think was in 5 years I would have 2 sons with 2 friends over to play and how loud that would be. It was music to my ears.  They had the best time. 
The boys played Super Heros, Transformers, put on costumes, played with play dough, ate lunch, and then watched a movie.

I texted Kevin while he was at work to tell him that if there was any way possible that he could come home for lunch. Kevin had to see these little guys playing and interacting together. It was so cute. Well Kevin made it home and enjoyed his lunch with Z & W. Wyatt filled us in on all the kids in their preschool class. The stories we heard were hilarious!

21 weeks!

How Far Along: 21 weeks...I missed last weeks update because I was at a women's retreat.

Size of baby: The baby is the size of a spaghetti squash. Unfortunately, I have been running around like a crazy lady getting things ready for an upcoming trip that I haven't been to the grocery store to purchase a squash.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I have officially gained 14 lbs....OMGoodness! I knew that I was getting big and I knew that I gained weight this month but I was not expecting a 9 lb gain at my OB appointment yesterday. My OB was pleased because I am about 3 lbs under what she would want at this stage. She's thrilled I am growing and gaining.

Maternity Clothes: I have officially pulled out my maternity clothes. I can't stand to wear jeans...even maternity. I can't wait for the warmer weather because I am going to be in maxi dresses, sundresses, and skirts all summer.

Gender:He's a BOY! We have officially named him William Collins and we are going to call him Will. He is named after some very special relatives and friends...which I love that he will have role models to look up to!

Movement: Baby Austin is a mover. I am starting to feel a lot more jabs and flips. My OB said he is head down with his feet in my left rib cage. Boy, that sure is comfortable. LOL!

What I miss: Being able to carry Zachary.  I can't do it...he's just too heavy for me. 

Cravings: No really cravings this week.

Symptoms:  I am officially symptom free! PRAISE GOD!

Best Moment this week: Hearing his heartbeat of 146 at the OB appt.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Baby Jerrytt!

I just wanted to send a shout out to my nephew, Jerrytt for his FIRST birthday!  He's the only person who has gotten me out of bed at 2 am. LOL! Last year my sister's water broke in the middle of the night. After 3 phone calls at 2 am it finally hit me that Jerrytt was making his grand entrance into the world. I couldn't believe it.  I got some mis-matched clothes on and jetted to the hospital.  Again...I don't wake up for just anyone.
I can't believe this sweet, reserved little man is one. He has blessed everyone in my family's lives.  Zachary calls him "Jer Jer" and can't get enough of him.  In honor of his b-day I am going to post some of my favorite pictures of my cinco de mayo baby.   Happy Birthday Jerrytt! We love you!

Jerrytt just minutes old!

Uncle Kevin with Baby Jerrytt at one day old!

Zachary's first time to baby sit Jerrytt while Aunt Rachel took her finals.

Halloween 2010

Uncle Kevin & Baby J in December

Easter  2011

We are celebrating Jerrytt's 1st birthday tomorrow! I can't wait to see him dig into his cake. He loves food!