3rd Trimester - 31weeks

I tell friends and family all the time how quickly this pregnancy has gone by. Justin and I find it crazy that we are so close to meeting our little princess. I know it sounds cliche, but it's so true - the second pregnancy flys by.

I'm aware that I wasn't the best at doing blog updates with Brody, but I've been worse this time around.

Like the first pregnancy, I haven't craved anything out of the ordinary. I eat sandwiches, salads, tons of fruit, and too many sweet treats. With Brody I did "crave" red meat for the first time in my life, but not this time around.

I was diagnosed with extreme nausea for the first 19 weeks. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to stay in the hospital like Princess Kate. Instead, I was teaching and sprinting to the bathroom every 30 minutes to throw up. In our house we refer to that time period as the 'dark days.' During that time, I remember telling Justin that this might be our last. :) I'm not so sure about that statement now.

Currently, little Miss is breech (another breech baby) and our doctor tried to schedule a section for 39 weeks, but decided that because Brody was 2 weeks early, it may be better to play it by ear. I'm hoping she stays put until 39 weeks b/c that would be the day after the last day of school. I'd like to finish the year, but we shall see. She'll come when she's ready!

Here we are at 31 weeks...

Almost 26 Months

At almost 26 months:
Brody wakes up in the morning singing or talking. He also wakes up and either 1. comes in our room to wake us OR 2. plays with his toys until we hear him and wake up. A few of his favorite songs are: wheels on the bus, abc's, Jesus loves me, old McDonald, and many more. It is one of the sweetest sounds. We transitioned him to his big boy bed/ room when he turned 2. Thankfully it was an easy, smooth transition. I hope to have a big boy room post coming soon.


The child carries on a conversation and has for quite some time. He started stringing together sentences before he turned 2. His vocabulary increases on an hourly bases. We have to be careful because he repeats EVERYTHING we say! We have determined that it is his memory. He hears something once and immediately it's etched in his memory. I think he might be an auditory learner. Like his daddy. Not me.


He is a strong-willed child. I remember reading blogs of moms who would say the exact same thing and I would think to myself "oh, really? It seems like everyone has a strong-willed child." Now, I fully understand. He can also be a sweetheart and THE MOST FUN. I usually describe this age to others as a roller coaster of emotions. He is still learning to control his emotions. Self control is still our biggest struggle. If something doesn't go his way, watch out.


Brody loves hard. He still gives hugs freely and often. He cuddles the best!


One of the new things he says and does that I love -- he likes to make others laugh and he'll look at me and say "that's punny (funny) mommy, that's punny in't it." All the while he's grinning and shaking his head for me to agree. Same thing if characters on a show are laughing about something.


We MUST acknowledge what he says. He is very persistent.


Brody dearly loves his extended family and his friends. When I pick him up from school each day, we talk about his day and he tells me all about his friends and how they played. He also shares information about who hit who, or who pushed who down and had time out. It's interesting that he is never the one to hurt anyone else. Right!


He is outgoing. He will play with anyone, and show love to anyone.


He will come up to us, randomly, without request and say " love you, mommy" "love you daddy." Melts my heart.


This is definitely the most challenging stage we have faced so far. I'm sure it may only get worse before it gets better, but I treasure and cling to those sweet moments and days. Somedays I feel like we are constantly disciplining him, and then there are stretches of days that we just have the best time - he behaves and follows directions.

He makes my heart full of joy!

Name and Nursery

A busy life leaves little time for this blog, but I'm trying to find time this week during Spring Break to update.

We decided on baby girls name -- Linley Kate, yet we haven't decided if we want to call her "Linley" or "Linley Kate." Decisions. Decisions. Before I was born, my parents were actually torn between Megan and Lynleigh (different spelling but same name) so I don't think it was hard for them to love her name.

Her nursery is a working project. I still have a few final touches. I custom ordered the bedding from an Etsy shop, and she hasn't followed through on the agreed upon date. It's over a week late and I haven't heard from her. I'm trying to stay patient. It's just bedding. Right?!

A sneak peek...

Sunshine and Warm Weather

The weather here is such a tease. Wishing and hoping and praying the Spring weather would stick around.

Not What I Envisioned

Leaving town Thursday morning we felt good, we weren't rushed, and all was well. This was starting to look like an easy adventure; traveling to Atlanta with a two year old. We lost an hour which wasn't great, but nothing to complain about. Hey, our baby boy just traveled 9 hours and was a rockstar the entire way with only an hour nap. No complaints. Night one in the hotel room was another success.
Friday morning Brody woke us up, we got ready and ate a big breakfast. Next up, were the horses. Matt, the groom (& one of Justin's best friends), took us to this amazing "farm" where his soon-to-be wife trains horses, gives lessons, and trains for events. This place was incredible. Matt got a beautiful white horse all ready for Brody to sit on and he wouldn't do it. B would just cling to Justin with a death grip when we would try to put him up. Our adventurous, up-for- anything, usually fearless little boy was not so fearless. He loved petting the horse and talked up a big game, but when it came down to it, he wouldn't sit on the horse. We'll start small with a pony next time.
Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture at either location. This would be the last time Bub and I see the wedding party and venue. I was doing my best to keep up with B. Just picture it: an outside wedding, downtown, old historic house, me 29 weeks pregnant waddling around after a rambunctious two year old. B did pretty good following directions, and he had everyone wrapped around his finger. It was pretty ridiculous. The rehearsal dinner was gorgeous. Mrs. Betsy, Matt's mom, had several gifts for B (they spoiled him) and at each place setting was a gift with a note. Thoughtful. Unfortunately, this is around the time our luck ran out. During the speeches B was screaming and squealing (he thought it was funny). To make a long story short, by 9:00 we were on the third course of our meal and Justin had to take B to the car while I waited on them to box up our food. We ate our meal in the hotel room and then crashed.
Saturday, 2:30 am, I woke up to my son throwing up and laying in it. Poor thing wasn't even going to cry or wake up. I'll spare you all the details, but lets just say it was bad. Justin ended up getting sick as well. The next day is a blur. Again, I'll spare the details. Matt called one of his doctor friends to call in Justin some phenergan so he could make it to the wedding. B wasn't able to make it. We stayed in the hotel room pretty much all day. Huge bummer. No park, no shopping, no enjoying the gorgeous weather. Everyone was SO sad that B wouldn't be there. We all wanted to see him decked out in his adorable tux. Thankfully, he gets a second chance in a couple months.
We were equally ready to be home Sunday. Brody and Justin are feeling better, but not the best. Here's to hoping this stomach virus is over.