Giving Thanks!!

As my house (and belly!) are filled with the pitter patter of little feet, there is so much to be grateful for on this glorious day. I have a wonderful husband, a hilarious daughter, a snuggly pup and a roof over my head. We have been so blessed with an amazing church family here who have been so amazing to us since we walked through their door. My family's incredible, I'm so proud of how my parents are still growing as people and as a couple. They make me so happy. :) My in-laws are some the salt of the earth and have become my best friends. And my best friend of 13 years (holy cow), I miss you and wish we closer. We've been able to watch each others little girls grow up even though we've always lived so far apart, but remained so close. :)

Here's just a short & random list of things that I'm thankful for:

• Family
• Being best friends with my husband
• The laughter of my little girl
• My house being filled with amazing smells as the turkey cooks :)
• Skype! It's been such a blessing to bridge the gap with family since our big move
• Little kicks from my new little girl, they make me smile every time
• Our church. Seriously, they've filled a huge gap for us
• Bible studies with my husband
• My sewing machine!! It's become such a hobby and inspiration, not to mention an outlet
• Our amazing country. So many have tried to impede on the freedoms that make it so great, I pray for our servicemen & women who are still fighting to keep it strong.
• Moms & Grandmas, both by blood and "adopted". They just make the world a little better
• Bacon
• Possibility

And the verdict is.....

The old wives tales were full of it!! :) And my dear father-in-law, who was 6 for 6 in predicting the genders of his 2 kids and his 4 grandchildren finally had a blip in the radar.

WE'RE HAVING A LITTLE GIRL!!! :) :)

This is the gender reveal: no pork & beans= princess!

The left photo is her profile and the right is a frontal face picture :)

After my appointments and ultrasounds last week, our little nugget (who is getting bigger and bigger!) is perfectly healthy! It was wonderful news to hear. Now I can start referring to our little one as "her" and "she" instead of "it", which always drives me crazy. SHE is such a little active one, but it relays comfort with every kick. According to the ultrasounds, she's looking good and growing great. They did bump back my due date by a week, which was an estimation anyway, so now we're looking at March 10 instead of the 2nd. But, in all honesty, she's going to show when she decides to make her appearance. After being induced with Neva, I'm pretty opposed to it this time. I think it caused a lot of hiccups that might not have happened otherwise. But it was my first pregnancy, I was huge and I was ready to not be swollen and hold my little baby. This time, things are just a little different. Lord willing, things will go smoother this time. I'm hoping for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarian) this time around and I'm going to a doctor and delivering at a hospital where that is pretty common and nurses and midwives are very supportive. Fingers crossed!!

We don't have any names officially picked yet, but there are a couple in the running. Once we get that figured out, I'll be sure to update. :)

Just a little out of it…

This is how I've felt this whole pregnancy: not great, not awful, just kind of out of it. The reality has taken longer to set in (and frankly, still is), I've been EXPONENTIALLY more emotional (I'll talk more about that later), and I've just felt distracted. I don't know what to chalk up to life, stress or hormones.

When I was pregnant with Neva, I felt pretty balanced. I never really had any of the crazy outbursts, and we moved cross-country when I was about this far along. This time around, I just feel like everything is right at the surface. I can't hold anything back, it's so frustrating. I'm tired of… feeling lol. I just want to be able to watch a movie or have a conversation or survive a couple of months without crying at every little thing.

This baby has been SOOOOO much more active than Neva was. I first felt Neva's flutters at 23 weeks (right where I am now), I felt movement with this pregnancy at 18 weeks and the kicks have been stronger sooner. Tim didn't feel kicks until about 30 weeks. He felt this baby a few days ago. :) I'm just wondering what this is going to tell about his/her personality. :)

I'm trying so hard to go through this season with grace. Some days are better than others. :) I've heard from 4 different people in a week that its harder to be pregnant and care for a toddler than it is to have 2 kiddos. This is both very comforting and frustrating. We're managing and getting through, it's such a short season and I really do enjoy being pregnant. It's so cool feeling those movements and having the knowledge that someone is living and growing inside of you. It's such a privilege… even if it scares the crap out of you. :)

I have no idea what the next year has to offer. I'm under no delusion that it will be easy. I'm preparing for a lot of tears and frustration, but also new joys that I never knew existed. I guess I'm just scared. I've never been a mom to two kids before. I just hope I don't screw it up too much. :)