Whew!

It has been a super super busy week in our household!! I'm so glad it's Friday, though we still have a few (fun) events to attend this weekend, it's always more relaxing knowing it is the weekend.  While I enjoyed having something on the calendar everyday this week (day or night), it definitely caught up to me today.  I just feel zonked!

My parents offered to have Violet over for a slumber party tonight while we go out to celebrate a friends birthday.  After putting V down for her nap at their house, I headed back home. I made a quick stop, Ross, which lately has been a place of great finds for me.  After getting home I changed into comfy clothes and curled up on the couch.  Though knowing there is a number of things to do that is easier without Violet around, I resisted and made myself rest....watched episodes of the Real Housewives and ate way too many of these:

So good and free from an HEB meal deal I purchased last week! Following the sweet treats, was a nice and needed nap.  Now I'm ready for the party tonight! TGIF!

18 weeks

I seriously can't believe I'm already this far along!  It's has definitely gone by a lot quicker then when I was pregnant with Violet.  Mostly because a) we are busy with a bubbly busy girl b) it's not as stressful c) we honestly forget/don't talk about it as much as the first pregnancy.

So to get down to some questions...

How are you feeling?
Pretty good!! I'm so glad we are over the first trimester narcolepsy! But I'm so thankful for afternoon naps when Violet naps. I caught a cold/allergies this weekend, but am feeling better. Sometimes I'm in shock that we are expecting again! It's a whole new routine/learning process having 2 kids, 2 years apart.  But we are also very excited that the Lord is adding to our family.

How's the baby?
So far so good. Currently 5 1/2 inches, about the length of a bell pepper. We had the first ultrasound at 7 weeks, which was amazing to see the tiny little heartbeat beating!  And have heard the heartbeat the 3 times.  Next appointment is the gender ultrasound...and yes we are finding out! 

Exercise:
I usually walk about 2 miles everyday with Violet.  And twice a week attend a workout class at the fitness center at church.  Though I can't/it's not comfortable to lay flat on my stomach for certian excercise moves, I'm still keeping pretty active.  I currently in LOVE with the spin class, it's so much fun!

Maternity Clothes:
Yes, please! I busted out the box around 10 weeks and was much more comfortable in my shorts.  Now wit anything worn on the waist is completely maternity.  I'm still in search of: workout pants, one more pair of jeans, and a few dresses. 

Sleep:
Really well! With usually 1-2 potty breaks in the night.

Movement:
I started to feel a few flutters two weeks ago, and now they are a little stronger. (my first pregnancy I didn't feel anything until about 20 weeks, but doctors say you notice movement earlier after you've been preggers before)   Last night we had a Jamaican themed potluck with friends, Derek made a delicious spicy jerk chicken recipe and once we got home baby was moving a lot!!

Food cravings:
Lemonade, Sprite, and cold textures

What I miss:
Sushi! Not that we ate it all the time, but knowing I can't have certain kinds is sad. (Though I'll probably sneak a few, don't tell my doctor)  And I miss my old clothes! I had just bought a few new items before we found out we were pregnant that I only got to wear once! haha

What I'm looking forward to:
Finding out the gender, having Bryson feel the baby move, and baby decorating!

Weekly wisdom:
I'm not fat, I'm pregnant.

Cousins

I didn't really grow up knowing my cousins. We would see them once a year, play hard and have a lot of fun together. We lived in California and then Texas, but our cousins/family still lived in Colorado. Now that I'm older and have a family of my own I wish I was closer to my relatives, I've realized my cousins/family are really cool and fun!

The beginning 2011 Bryson and I made it a goal to make it to all of Violet's cousins birthdays. And we did it! It was a busy year making the long trip (7 hours) almost every other month, but totally worth it! I feel like violet knows her cousins and they know her! My in laws really appreciated us making the effort to celebrate with the family and it was just nice to see them more often since we are the "black sheep" that don't live in the same town...at least it's still the same state!

Oh yeah....

One more change I didn't mention in the last post is.....



We're expecting Baby #2 is due at the end of March!

Fall Changes

This fall semester has brought on 3 changes for me.  I'm a born extrovert, so adjusting to stay-at-home momhood was a hard adjustment for me.  Without knowing any other SAHM's in our area, my days were very lonely and I'd end up being really needy when Bryson's came home.  After getting involved in a church this summer, I begin to pray and look for opportunities to make friends, be in community, and learn how to be a better mom.

1. This class is wonderful!! There are about 15 moms who meet together for the eight week study.  Motherwise to include a workout at the beginning of class, a video lecture, and then we break up into our small groups.  In our small groups there is mentor mom who is a lot "wiser" in age and life stage then the rest of us. She is there to guide, pray and mentor us through the class. I have really enjoyed this class a lot. The church has a great fitness center, so we have really sweaty, fun, intense workouts each week.  The book is challenging as it takes you though lessons on your relationship with your husband, God, self, children and others. When we meet in a small group we get to talk about what we are learning, ask questions and pray together.   Sadly we only have 2 weeks left of the class, but it has been such a growing experience in my relationship with God, my husband and also with Violet.

2.  I had heard about MOPs briefly and started to look into it when I had Violet. Being a new mom, in a new town, I was too scared and insecure to actually go to a meeting.  As I started to look into women's events at our church, I was SO excited to see they had a MOPs group. MOPs is for mom's of preschool aged kids (newborn to until kinder), to "experience experience authentic community, mothering support, personal growth and spiritual hope, all to help you be the best mom possible."  Seriously it is SO much fun! Our group meets twice a month, we have a huge breakfast, listen to a speaker, discuss and usually have a craft or game....all the while Violet is in childcare in the same building! (love it!) The women are so real, fun, kind and inviting.  I would highly, highly recommend ALL mom's to look into joining one. Even if it is hosted at a different church than you normally attend, it's a great place of community...and you'll make new/more friends!

3. Joining a small group (sorry no picture!)  A small group is basically a smaller group of couples from our Sunday school class that meet together once a week to support each other in our daily lives, spiritual growth, marriages and just having fun together!  We currently are going through this book , discussing a chapter each week.  While a lot of the times we are out of town on the weekends and miss Sunday School, it is nice to have a common place to meet during the week with friends.  We are learning  a lot from the book and it has been really fun to make friends with other couples in our same life stage.