Friday, December 30, 2011

25 weeks - Baby No. 2 :)

Please excuse the incredibly cheesy photos, but here we are ....
at 25 weeks!

Total weight gain: Still haven't stepped on the scale except for at the doctors and I always forget to ask, crazy!
Maternity clothes: Mostly ... although the shirt in the above picture is not.
Sleep: Getting harder to get comfortable, vivid dreams, and a lot of baby movement.
Best moment of the week: Beginning to design baby bedding :)
Movement: All the time :)
Food cravings: Nothing new this week.
Gender: BOY!
What I miss: Time with family ... we had a lot of family in town over the past few weeks and it's already quiet around here!
What I'm looking forward to: Getting the nursery put together. By this time with Abby, it was all done. I can't wait to see how it all comes together!
Things I've been experiencing this week: Every now and then Baby Boy gets into a weird position that pushes out against my belly. It doesn't feel all that great :(
Size of baby: Eggplant

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Thankful Thursday - Favorite things about Christmas.

December is always a crazy, busy, fun month for many families, including my own. Yet throughout the hustle and bustle of it all, I'm reminded during this time just how special the holiday season is.

It's always easy to reflect on the many wonderful reasons I'm thankful, but especially easy around Christmastime.

Things I'm thankful for
this holiday season and everyday ...

1. Family & Friends
We were fortunate enough to spend the holidays this year with such special people. My parents, sisters, niece and nephew came to FL first ... then Jim's parents were able to make a visit. It's always nice to surround yourself with those who matter most during the holidays.
(Looking back through my pictures, I realize we didn't take nearly enough pictures of family with each other. Tons of Abby, not enough of FAMILY.)

2. Traditions
New and old. Decorating the house inside and out. Visiting the beautiful light display at Grace Baptist Church. Hiding our elf each night and loving Abby's reactions to finding him each morning. Hot cocoa after church Christmas Eve. Love creating new traditions with our family of three, soon to be four!

3. Baking
Nothing says Christmas like baking cookies ...
Messy and tasty!

4. The Magic of Christmas.
Especially through the eyes of a child.
Christmas is truly a bit more precious when you have kiddos.

5. Jesus.
The best gift anyone could ever receive.


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Thursday, December 22, 2011

With 2 days to spare ...

Abby finally saw Santa!

Not that we didn't attempt it many times in the last month. We watched from afar at Disney, where Santa sat and met all the children. Abby waved and said "Hi Hanta!" (that's what she calls him) when we visited him last week on Main Street.

She had been so excited to see him the last attempt, telling me she would ask Santa for a monkey. Then when we got too close, she was done, overwhelmed, and wanted no part of it.

Last night after seeing a picture of a little girl on Santa's lap, Abby said, "Me, Hanta! Me, Lap!" So hubs and I decided we would try again today, especially since she told us she wanted to ask Santa for a monkey ... again.

This time ... success! She fought a little bit at first and didn't want to sit on his lap but on Mommy's. Hey... it works. And she told Santa she wanted that monkey.

Now I'm off to wrap the last gift for under the tree ... a stuffed monkey, completely outfitted and all, thanks to Build A Bear. :)
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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

23 weeks - Baby No. 2 :)



Okay, I owe y'all a big apology. I can't believe I haven't done a pregnancy update since 18 weeks! Time flies and just like everyone said, this pregnancy just seems to be moving along so much quicker than the last. People ask me how far along I am and I actually have to think ... 22 weeks? 23? More than halfway there is all I know. :)


Total weight gain: Still unsure, it's so weird to me how I'm not stepping on the scale every other day like I was with Abby. It is what it is I guess. I'm going to gain weight. I'm hopefully going to lose it.
Maternity clothes: Mostly ... every now and then I'll use the Bella Band to wear regular pants.
Sleep: Great! Random, vivid dreams.
Best moment of the week: My family gets in town tomorrow .... so excited!! In just two and a half months, they will be amazed at Miss Abby's vocabulary and sass.
Movement: OH yes. I love feeling and seeing him move.
Food cravings: Jimmy John's subs, McDonald's apple pies, steak.
Gender: BOY!!!
What I miss: Not sure ... so far, I'm enjoying everything!
What I'm looking forward to: Hubs is anxious to feel baby. Seems like every time his hand touches my belly, little guy gets comfy and stops moving around. Soon enough I'll have more kicks that he'll be able to feel!
Things I've been experiencing this week: Getting full quicker at meal times. Noticing that little meals and snacks make me feel better, rather than large meals.
Size of baby: Papaya

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Monday, December 12, 2011

Welcome to the club ...

Yesterday I celebrated the big 3-0. That's right, I can now say I'm part of the 30's club. I went to bed Saturday night thinking I would wake up feeling anxious and sad to be turning 30 years old. But instead it was the complete opposite, I woke up feeling thankful for what blessings are in store for my family this year. Instead of thinking about the number, I thought about the wonderful husband I have, my sweet little girl that steals my heart every single day, and the little guy that will be joining our family in 2012. :)

My birthday weekend kicked off with the Annual Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. Tons of yummy food, tacky sweaters, and loads of fun with great friends. Then Saturday night, our "Florida family" came down to spend the evening with us. Sue came equipped with cupcakes to icing and decorate, a gingerbread house to create, and of course other goodies for the little miss. Abby had a blast making a mess in the kitchen and we enjoyed a nice meal together. :)

Abby is quite the little baker...
The birthday cupcakes were just perfect!

And here you see just how excited Abby was to make the
gingerbread house.
That girl makes me laugh :)

Then on my actual birthday on Sunday, our family went to church, had a relaxing afternoon (I even fell asleep for a bit), and then we met up with the Piersolls for some play time and pizza. Abby loves playing with those girls!

It really was a perfect day .... and I couldn't think of a better way to be welcomed into the 30's club. :)

Abby giving me a big birthday hug.
Such a sweet girl...

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday weekend so special :)

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Thursday, December 8, 2011

A morning in the garden ...

It was a cooler morning here in Florida with an actual chill in the air. It's breaks in the weather like this that I love ... the perfect days to throw on some fall clothes and head outdoors. And that's just what Abby and I did this morning.

We headed out to The Children's Garden, an enchanted forest filled with all things KID. A world where a child can unleash their imagination and just play. Not to mention, it's also a great place to take photos ... so I broke out the camera and enjoyed watching Abby and her friend Isla play :)

Come on in ...
Watering flowers just like her Gramma :)
Peek - a -BOO!
Taking it all in ...
Abby always cheesin' for the camera ...
meanwhile Isla poses like a model :)

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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Importance of Photos

I've always been a huge photo taker. I admit, at certain times I am probably that annoying girl that takes way too many photos as if I were part of the paparazzi. But in the end, I'm left with photos that tell a story about a specific event and capture many memories and emotions in the simplest way.


And if you're like me, many of these photos end up on the computer unprinted, just waiting for the day for me to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to do with all of them! In time ...

So even though my computer is filling up with photos that I still haven't printed, I'm going to keep taking photos. And more photos. I want to hang on to these lifelong memories ... forever. Then something happens that makes me realize just how important these photos really are and how much they mean to me. Here's the story.

Last Saturday, Abby was napping and I was having some uninterrupted Mommy time. I was online shopping for Christmas, searching through hundreds of baby boy bedding sets, and catching up on Facebook. Cherry coke in hand and tv on in the background, this was a perfect afternoon. Until ... I spilled some of that soda ... right on my laptop keyboard. It wasn't a lot, just a splash really, but apparently that was all it took. Instantly my computer screen turned blue and starting making loud noises like the machine was working way too hard. I turned it off and hollered for the hubs. He took over from there ... taking my laptop apart, drying it out, and trying his best to make the thing work again.

Flashing through my head were all of the photos I have taken of Abby over the past two years and I went into hysterics. Why hadn't I taken the time to print these? Why did I always put off backing up my computer? Ugh. Two years of her life gone. Just like that. And when the hubs told me it still wouldn't turn on, I was devastated. Hormonal pregnant woman kicked in and tears were flowing and I was blaming myself for the fact that my daughter wouldn't see all the wonderful pictures from her first two years of life. Horrible mother!!

On Sunday, the hard drive was restored (thanks to a good friend of ours) and photos were able to be backed up on an external hard drive. I had prayed and prayed desperately for this to happen. What a huge relief. Then later that night, the hubs tried turning on my computer one last time before we took it in for repair ... and what do you know? It turned on .... everything back to normal. So we'll see how it works in the next week or so before deciding what we should do with it, but for now all photos are safe ... backed up ... and I will never make that mistake again. There are no more excuses for not backing up what is important to me.

Since I'm rambling about photos and what they mean to me ... the photos in this post are from our photo shoot with Steve Johnston from 3five Photography. If you need a photographer in the Sarasota area, give him a shout... he's great with the kids and the pictures are beautiful! :)





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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Daddy's Little Helper


Daddy couldn't wait to start painting Baby Boy's room ...

and of course Abby was excited to help her Daddy ...

She's already such a big helper ...

and very proud of herself! :)

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Monday, November 28, 2011

Disney ... where MAGIC lives.

As much as I love the holidays, I get a bit stressed with how fast they approach us and then get saddened by how quickly they leave. It just seems like we get so excited for the holiday fun, it gets here, and then it's gone in the blink of an eye.

That is exactly how the whole month of November has felt. Although I guess what they say is true ... "time flies when you're having fun." And the Johnson Family has had tons of fun this past month and makes me super excited about the fun in store for December.

This past week we met Jim's brother, his wife, and their two girls in Orlando for a little Disney action before Thanksgiving. Since it was Abby's first time at Disney World, we were a little skeptic about how she would react, whether or not she would be overwhelmed, and just how much of the whole magical experience she would take in.

We had three days of fun, which I think was just enough for our little girl. Downtown Disney the first day, Magic Kingdom the second, and on the last day we visited several countries at Epcot. My favorite by far was the Magic Kingdom ... a special place that seemed to bring the curiosity out of Abby. She looked at everything around her, went on her first rides, and met the one and only Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Skeptic at first, but by the end she was giving Minnie high fives and pounding it with Mickey.

I love how Disney makes everyone a kid again. It's true ... the magic of the place just gives you that feeling. And maybe it's different seeing it through the eyes of your children ... those smiles and wide eyes make the no nap days that come with meltdowns totally worth it. Afterall, what's better than rides, dinner with Disney characters, and getting hugs from princesses?!?

By the end of the last day, the kids were tired out .... the adults were tired .... and everyone agreed our stay lasted just long enough. Abby had such a fun time with her cousins and it was so special that they got to share Disney together and make these memories for years to come.


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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Disney awaits us ....


The Johnsons are Disney bound tomorrow! Woo hoo!

It will be Abby's first time and we've been talking it up all. week. long.
Talking about Princesses. Mickey. "Foofie" (Goofy). Pooh. Rides.

And out of all of it, Abby is most excited to see this guy ....
M-I-C-K-E-Y!!

We'll be back Wednesday .... just in time to start cooking for Thanksgiving :)

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Friday, November 18, 2011

BIG news here!! It's a ......



BOY!!!!

We are thrilled and feel so blessed to have this little "bundle of boy" joining our family. More updates to come .... :)
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Abby's Runway Walk


A few nights ago, Abby started with this walk that really made us laugh. Of course I'm not sure what's worse... the booty shakin' walk or the fact that her Daddy and I are encouraging her to do it for the camera!



And just in case you were wondering, there will be NO Toddlers and Tiaras in our future, this I promise :)

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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

18 weeks - Baby No. 2 :)

18 weeks today ... unbelievable! This pregnancy seems to be flying by ... maybe it's due to the fact that I'm feeling much more like myself these days, except with a belly. :)

My bloggy buddy Torie over at Twenty Five Design is also pregnant with her second child. Each week she does pregnancy updates with some simple questions. I decided to borrow this format so I can easily keep y'all updated with Baby No. 2!

Here we go .. and thanks Torie!!

Total weight gain: not quite sure, I need to check with doc next week!
Maternity clothes: a mixture of both, but mostly maternity
Sleep: great, with weird dreams
Best moment of the week: date night with the hubs for our anniversary & Abby lovin' on my belly
Movement: little flutters :)
Food cravings: apple pie, which Abby and I made tonight!
Gender: finding out November 18th
What I Miss: not much of anything this week
What I'm looking forward to: gender appointment
Things I've been experiencing this week: round ligament pain and more and more movement, even though it's still just flutters
Size of the baby: sweet potato


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