trace's big boy bed - march 28th

The most perfect child strikes again --- HE DID IT!!!

He slept ALL night without hardly even moving!

Trace was SO proud of himself when he woke and loved that Cali could jump in bed with him.

Celebratory donuts for the soon to be big brother!

And yes, I went into full-on stalker mode and took pictures of the monitor all throughout the night :)

little brother and i have been shower

My friends.

What can I say about them?

They're selfless, loving, so fun and insanely gorgeous!

The two below?

They're so special to me!

They threw me the most unexpected and thoughtful baby shower.

We started the morning with pedicures and ended with a beautiful lunch on the lake.

These girls made me feel like a million bucks and I feel incredibly fortunate to have them in my life!

Port City Club

A true friend is someone who makes you laugh so hard you pee a little.

These girls are ALL true friends!

Note to self - silk skirts and pregnancy don't mix. Yikes!

peter cottontail

On Saturday we headed to the Botanical Gardens for some Peter Cottontail fun!

Trace wasn't having the "real" bunny, but he sure did love all of the lawn decorations and games.

And let me tell you, this much walking at 38 weeks pregnant is a recipe for being missssserable!!!

 Good God I love this man!

* 38 weeks pregnant

bump update - 37 weeks - round 2

Due Date: April 13, 2015 

Scheduled C-Section: April 6, 2015 (now thinking he'll be on time)

Gender: Boy!

Movement: Movement is ALL in my right side. Large rolling motions toward the top and a lot of hard movements toward the bottom - like limbs, fingers poking me, feet pushing out... it's weird.

Feeling: I had a couple hard nights of sleep and my belly felt like it needed a holster, ha! But thankfully that passed in just a couple of days and I feel great again. Sleeping good with lots of daytime energy, but kind of over being pregnant.

Food Cravings: I'm back to pastry's... cinnamon buns always sound good

Food Aversions: fish

Clothes: I'm so over my wardrobe! My maternity jeans are getting to be too small, my maternity shirts are starting to be too short and I'm just not comfortable in anything other than yoga pants

Stretch Marks: None

Sleep: I'm back to sleeping great! It's not easy to roll over from side to side, but once I make it to my other side I fall right back to sleep. 

Symptoms: Heartburn, sore feet

What I Miss: Wearing my wedding ring! I had to take it off last week. I also miss seeing a reasonable number on the scale, haha!

Best Moment: The weather has been beautiful and we've been taking advantage of it by working on our tans and playing outside as much as possible. Tanning my belly is so fun! Just really trying to soak in these last weeks with Trace as an only child

Memorable Moment: My parents have arrived which means it's go time! 

37 weeks with Trace

bump update - 36 weeks - round 2

Due Date: April 13, 2015 

Scheduled C-Section: April 6, 2015 (but we're thinking he might come earlier, eek!)

Gender: Boy!

Movement: Movement is really slowing down. I get some very large rolling movements and little flutters super low (think jazz hands!)

Feeling: Like this is the calm before the storm and I'm soaking in every minute of how easy life is

Food Cravings: lemon protein bars

Food Aversions: fish

Clothes: I'm so thankful that the weather is warming up and that I can wear some of the stuff I wore during my last pregnancy. Long maxi dresses with sweaters, tank tops and work out pants, etc. It's so nice not having to squeeze into jeans all of the time anymore! And flip flops!! Boy and I thankful for flips flops. I'm not very swollen, but getting boots on and off is getting to be challenging with my belly in the way, haha!!

Stretch Marks: Nope, but I am carrying much more in my stomach this time and am more concerned about stretch marks than ever before. Lathering on everything I have!

Sleep: I've been sleeping so wonderfully, but just a few nights ago I started to sleep awful. Just awful! I'm tossing and turning, which is basically a 3-point-turn just for me to roll over. I moan and groan every time because my hips and sides ache from all of the weight of my belly pulling downward onto the bed. I have a body pillow, but it's basically worthless.

Symptoms: Heartburn after I eat acidic foods like oranges and tomatoes

What I Miss: Being able to get up off the couch without my knees cracking, being able to carry Trace upstairs without it being a struggle and not having to pee every 30 minutes

Best Moment: My baby shower! Oh my word was it beyond perfect!! The girls who came are all my closest of friends. We laughed so hard, had fun conversations and I just really enjoyed having them all in the same place at the same time, which never happens. Truly blessed to have found such incredible friends out here in NC... funny enough, 3 of them are Californians ;)

Memorable Moment: Thanks to our generous parents who love both of their grandchildren so much -- Bryan's parents gifted Trace his new toddler/big boy bed from IKEA and my parents gifted Trace's new Pottery Barn big-boy bedding as well as hundreds of dollars worth of stuff from amazon/Pottery Barn for little brother. My kids are loved, that's for sure!! But it's hard to imagine that I just filled my amazon cart with even more necessities for little brother! Even when you think you have it all already, it's incredible how much you still need for your second child. It's so fun getting everything in, putting everything together and decorating their rooms. Getting very anxious to meet this little guy and introduce him to the worlds best big brother!

36 weeks with Trace

mondays & a little belly action

This time last year I would dread Monday's. 

The weekend was over and Bryan had to go to work. 

BUT now I LOVE Monday's! 

Not only do I get to hear little brothers heartbeat and learn of his progress, but it's also payday!!! 

MY payday! 

I get to be a full time stay at home mom, not missing a moment of Trace's life all while challenging myself and helping others get healthier and happier. 

The texts and conversations I have throughout the day are incredible! 

Everything from people losing a life changing amount of weight... a mommy finally having the energy to keep up with her 3 kiddos... husbands coming home from work ready to jump straight into family life because his stress levels have lowered. 

All because they pushed fear aside and said YES to something so simple. 

Feeling blessed, eternally grateful and am ready to go rock this day!!

And because I think Trace is too cute not to share...

Yesterday was so hot and sunny that we both rocked our buddha bellies while Bry did yard work. 

Trace thinks that "we're" having a baby and that he has one in his tummy too! 

Boy is he going to be surprised when we have a REAL baby in our house within the next 3 weeks!

bump update - 34 weeks - round 2

Due Date: April 13, 2015 

Scheduled C-Section: April 6, 2015

Gender: Boy!

Movement: He's like clockwork and I'm trying to take note because I have a feeling that the times he's up now are the times he'll be awake as a newborn

Feeling: Emotionally and mentally I'm really scared. Scared to have two under two, scared to have a newborn in the house again, scared to split my time between a toddler and a newborn. Life is incredibly easy right now. Trace is a very sweet and easy little boy, and I know that no one gets two of those. Haha!! This little guy is going to throw me for a loop and I'm terrified for how hard it could be

Food Cravings: lemon protein bars, pastry's

Food Aversions: fish

Clothes: I'm basically living in pre-pregnancy yoga pants. If I have to go out, I'm in maternity jeans or pre-pregnancy leggings and a combination of pre-pregnancy sweaters w/ long tank tops or maternity shirts. Getting dressed is a daily struggle! I found it so much easier to be in my 3rd trimester in warm weather

Stretch Marks: Nope, but I am carrying much more in my stomach this time and am more concerned about stretch marks than ever before

Sleep: I'm getting such a good and hard nights sleep, but I wake up to pee just about nightly

Symptoms: Heartburn after I eat acidic foods like oranges and tomatoes

What I Miss: Being able to get up off the couch without my knees cracking, being able to carry Trace upstairs without it being a struggle and not having to pee every 30 minutes

Best Moment: Finally making progress on the nursery

Memorable Moment: Just really trying to soak up the feeling of this baby's movements from the inside. He never does somersaults or anything like that. His movements are very fluid and slow. He also thumps at night, so I've started to call him Thumper!

34 weeks with Trace