Almost 2 Months Later!

So lots of things have been going on since my last post.  Maggie got a cold and gave it to Wyatt and me and on top of still being in my first trimester, it was rough.  I am so thankful that Kev was off for the summer when all this happened because mornings got worse with the light coming earlier and the kids waking up at the crack of dawn.  We quickly got into a routine of Kev getting up with the kids and feeding them breakfast while I slept in.  Then I would get up and eat and Kevin would go take a nap.  Maggie still takes a morning nap (thank goodness) so until lunchtime, I really just had to hang out with Wy.  Then lunch and naps for the kids and most days I would go back to sleep while Kev would enjoy some quiet (unless Maggie wasn't ready for her afternoon nap yet).  We didn't get to see much of each other which was probably made things a little worse.
Thankfully, the colds were finally gone and the first trimester was coming to a close.  I was praying so hard for energy to find me during the second trimester.  I think I was a little bummed when I didn't just magically feel more energized when 15 weeks hit.  It took a little longer and I gradually started feeling a little better.  My mom came and helped me get my office cleaned out one day and helped me kickstart my kitchen cleaning routine.  So far, my kitchen has been cleaned every day for the past couple weeks (which is probably the longest it's stayed clean since Wyatt was born!).  I know that sounds bad, but my priorities have not been where they should have been as far as the housekeeping goes.  I'm praying and working towards a doable routine before number 3 gets here after Thanksgiving.  My goal is to be able to balance stay at home mom and wife duties with three little ones underfoot and when you have ADD and very little desire to clean, it's worse than pulling teeth!
Anyways, back to life with the 2 we already have.  Maggie had her 15 month check-up last month so I need to post those stats.  She is walking now, so she just gets where she wants to be a little easier now!  She still has baby fat feet, so I haven't been able to find any shoes that will fit her length and fatness of her foot.  Therefore, we still have to carry her when we walk outside for the most part.  Wyatt is going to be 3 in just 2 1/2 more weeks so we are planning his party...don't get him started on his Thomas birthday cake!  He's so excited and so are we!  We traveled to Charleston for a short vacation this past week and had a blast!  We also had another ultrasound for baby 3 yesterday and I'm 20 weeks so we definitely know what baby 3 is.  Stay tuned for upcoming posts to find see what we've been up to and if we're giving the kids a baby brother or sister!

Happy Easter!

We returned from our cruise the night before Easter Sunday.  We were pretty tired from the long drive, but we managed to get the kids dressed and we all made it to church (almost on time).  I'd like to say thanks to God for sending his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us.  He is the real reason we celebrate Easter.  The rest is just for fun.  It's so amazing to watch Wyatt learn about God.  He gets so excited and his favorite book is his Bible story book that we have to read before naps and bedtime.  I think we need another one because he already knows all these stories by heart!  I look forward to the day where he sees these stories in a whole new light and comes to know God as more than just a story!
We had some fun doing an Easter Egg hunt with the kids...okay, so we just watched them run around the yard and pick them up.  Well, Wyatt ran and we carried Maggie around to the eggs she would point to and we'd let her reach down to pick them up.  She thought it was so amazing!  So here's a few pictures!

 I figured I'd put some different ones than the ones on the header of the blog.  Those were the best but we had a couple other good ones.

 I really wanted a picture of both my babies together...however, someone (Wyatt) was not feeling a need to be cooperative!

 Here's all of us--I think the kiddos were ready to get out of there!

 Releasing the hounds!

 She had a blast!

 Step 1: Find the eggs.

 Step 2: Enjoy the eggs.

 Step 3: Free the eggs!

Laughing at Wyatt freeing the eggs!

Cruisin'

So back during spring break, we went on a cruise.  It was all very last minute since we had just found out we were I was pregnant.  We had already decided we'd do something this summer without the kids since we haven't had alone time since Wyatt was born (not that we're complaining, we just figured it was time to do something for us).  We just moved it up a little to try to avoid the morning sickness period and largeness that comes with being pregnant.  So it took a few days to get all the childcare figured out (with my mom still in the throes of tax season, she was unable to take any time off so we had to enlist help from babysitters) and then we were set to go.  I had never been on a cruise before, Kev's been on several, so it was a brand new experience for me.  I was a little terrified at the thoughts of the Titanic and the Poseiden movies.  I know, quite irrational, but sometimes you can't help what you're afraid of.  Once we got going, it was a little easier.  I think the worst day was probably the last day sailing back.  Knowing that we were done with our vacation and not being able to just be home with my babies and feeling the beginnings of morning sickness was just a lot for this hormonal prego!  Overall we had a great time and it was nice to get away and connect with each other without the daily distractions of life as we love it!  So now for the pictures!
We sailed with Celebrity Cruise Line on the Millennium. It was a nice ship and we had a great view.  Booking last minute gives you pretty decent prices on a room with a nice balcony.

 We sailed out of Miami (a long drive).  I think next time we'll plan better so we can have the cruise we want from a closer port.

We're guessing this is Miami beach?  Either way, the water was beautiful! 

First stop: Roatan, Honduras.  Here are some locals playing music and dancing as we got off the ship.

We decided to do a relaxing day at a beach on a private island.  The island was nice and housed rescued animals like this sea lion.  That's our ship in the background. 

 Here is our view from our beach.  The water was lovely and there was plenty of shade for my white self to hide from the sun!  The island also had some fake artificial ruins to walk around and a pool and the excursion price included a nice little BBQ lunch.

 Our ship looks pretty big until...



 ...you compare it to this ship on the left.  Hint: The longer you cruise, the bigger your ship!

This is at the dock in Cozumel, Mexico.

We  walked around the shopping area in Cozumel.  In our first store there was this statue, who turned out to be a guy in a lot of make-up.  You didn't know it until he smiled.  He startled quite a few passersby.  I'm so glad he didn't get us.  I'm not a fan of being startled.

We went to the Margaritaville in the airport in Jamaica on our honeymoon so I thought it'd be fun to check out this one in Cozumel.  Obviously I had to pass on the shot of tequila...maybe next time (or not). 

Wastin away again in Margaritaville!  We did pick up a souvenir salt shaker! 

On our last day of the cruise, they had the monster buffet!  This picture doesn't do it much justice, but the food covered every inch of the tables and it was pretty much everything you would want from a buffet.  The only thing missing was the table of just watermelon for the nauseous pregnant lady!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Well things are definitely changing.  We are adding a new member to our family.  Wyatt is sooooooooo super excited and talks about it every day.  Maggie doesn't really care, but if we ask her about it, she smiles.  It was a big decision and we definitely prayed about it for a while before we made the final decision.  God has blessed us so much and we want to make sure He is present for every decision that affects our family.  So what are we adding?

It's a....

BABY!!

Baby 3 is estimated to arrive on or around December 2.  We couldn't be happier.  Wyatt keeps saying, "The new baby is going to love me! I love the new baby!"  Then he hugs my belly.

I think the best part of this wonderful surprise is that we found out on Kev's birthday, March 23.  It was so fun to tell him, "Happy Birthday! Maggie's going to be a big sister!"  This is also why we went on our cruise that I will post about soon.  We decided to go ahead and go on the cruise while I wasn't so big and before the first trimester ickiness could set in.  It was our babymoon!

So now you know why I've been absent lately.  The first trimester hit with all it's exhaustion and ickiness it's known for.  Taking care of the kiddos has been just about all I've had the energy to do.  I'm so blessed to have the most wonderful husband who takes such good care of me in my present state.  He's fed and put to bed the kids on several occasions where I've been stuck in bed in the evenings.

We had our first doctor appointment 2 weeks ago and saw baby doing very well.  We also discovered that I have a small clot known as a subchorionic hematoma.  We went back yesterday and it's still there, but still the same small size so we'll continue to watch it, but it's not of a major concern right now.  Yesterday's sonogram was fun because we got to see our sweet baby and he/she was just a wiggling those tiny arms and legs all around.  We haven't seen a 10 week sonogram before so it was really neat and exciting.  Baby is doing great--growing and the heartbeat was good and high.

It's so amazing to think about how God is continuing to form this tiny baby inside me and it feels so good to know that He is entrusting us with another wonderful blessing to care for and raise for His glory.  We want to continue to build and grow God's kingdom as long as He sees us fit.

MIA

We've been MIA for about a month now so I figured I should probably update a bit.  We left off the day before Kev's birthday so he had a birthday and we had a nice visit with his family that weekend and then we left the babies (GASP) to go on a cruise by ourselves.  We haven't had time to ourselves since Wyatt was born and we've definitely never been away without our babies for any amount of time.  It was a good trip that I'll post more about later (maybe tomorrow...maybe not, we'll see).  We had fun on Easter being back with the kiddos and we've just been living life as usual since then!

Now for a quick funnie from Wyatt:
Last night at dinner, Kev managed to spill Wyatt's milk cup all over Wyatt and bonk him in the face during the process.  Wyatt simply looked at Kev and asked, "Why did you do that Daddy?"
I love that little man!

Baby Malachi's Sneak Peek

So my friend, Abbie, over at Just a Bunch of Characters finally had seven and he is beautiful! I wasn't able to meet him until he was 2 days old because I had to go out of town. Last Saturday I had the pleasure of taking his newborn pictures and I must say we had quite an interesting time. Here are a few of my favorites that I have ready for viewing!

When Abbie found out that she was having a boy, we put these letters in her hands (her belly wasn't big enough) and took a picture for her to use to announce that he would definitely be called Malachi. So I thought it would be fun to use it in our shoot as well!

baby feet and piggy-toes!

sweet little hands and fingers!

I got this shot in the hospital. Doesn't it look like he's saying, "Here I come to save the day!"

Would you believe there were 6 brothers and sisters sitting right behind him?

Baby "geek"!

Is he not the sweetest little dinosaur ever?!

Sweet smiles! I think he knew we were done and it was time to eat!

Recent Funnies

Here are a few funny things that have occurred this week! (Okay, so the first one's not quite as funny as it is just a little incident from the evening.)

While at Kohl's the other night, we had a couple of things. Wyatt broke his first store item. We are so grateful they didn't require us to pay for it. It was some sort of lantern or something. After he broke it he said, "I broke the yellow one." I guess it was bound to happen eventually!

A little while later, Kev left me with the kids in the children's clothing section to go look at something else and Wyatt exclaimed, "Daddy is getting away!"

While Kev was gone, I asked Wyatt to help me find a new outfit for Maggie. After a few seconds of looking, Wyatt calls out, "Ouuuutfiiit, where aaarrrrre youuuuu? Are you behind the clothes, outfit?" I couldn't help but just laugh. Kevin returned shortly and got to witness it for himself. We both had a good laugh!

Today I got to take Wyatt to the eye doctor. Once in the waiting room with both kids and a clipboard full of forms, I attempted to sit down. There was a nice little row of three chairs so I placed the bags down on one end and apparently while I turned around and tried to situate myself in the middle, Wyatt climbed up on the other end and slid himself in the middle seat. I sat on top of him. Luckily I caught myself before I squashed him, but the one lady a short distance away that got to witness it all got a pretty good laugh at our expense! I did too!

I love my life!

A Year of Maggie!

It's hard to believe Maggie's been with us for a whole year! You can watch her grow as we have watched her over the past twelve months! She is amazing!

Welcome to the world Maggie Ann!

a few days

a couple weeks

one month

two months

three months

four months...my chunky love!

five months...not a fan of rice cereal!

six months

seven months...sweet punkin!

eight months

nine months

ten months

eleven months...she has my heart!

one year old!

She has blessed our lives more than we could have ever imagined!

Celebrating Maggie!

Prepare for picture overload! We did not spare the camera as we celebrated the first birthday of our sweet princess! It was a great weekend with her party on Saturday and some family time on her actual birthday on Sunday. Thanks to all her helped us celebrate our precious girl. Some of our family were unable to make it but we appreciate the love they sent our way! Be sure to notice Maggie's awesome birthday outfit. It was made especially for her by her "Aunt Abbie"! Also a big thanks to "Uncle Mark" for taking most of the pictures so Kev could video while I enjoyed my baby girl!

Lunch!

Hanging out with JJ!

My first present! Yay!

Ooooh! I like tissue paper!

We love books!

Maggie got the cutest clothes for her birthday! She is so ready for warm weather!

"I can pull the paper!"

I love her!

Maggie's personal musician!

Maggie's birthday cake toy was the hit for all the kids!

Maggie's oldest "cousins" watching video footage with Kev!

Loving on Aunt A!

cake!

Happy Birthday to you!

No hesitation!

"Is it good Maggie?" asks Wyatt.

Wyatt asks, "Do you want to share?"

"Don't even think about it!"

Diving in!

My niece enjoying her cake! She is the spitting image of my sis.

Thank you for feeding Wyatt Nana!

Still going!

Not much left! (Don't worry, there was plenty of cake in the high chair when we pulled her out!)

Maggie's closest Character relaxing after partying hard!

On Maggie's actual birthday, we gave her a new chair! Thanks to Uncle J and Aunt A for the gift card to pitch in! Wyatt was so excited to pull up his chair and sit with her!

Sitting for Daddy!

Wyatt couldn't wait to try it out and he enjoyed reading Maggie's musical birthday card as well!

Daddy love!

Mommy smiles!

I love our family time!