Are having another BOY!

Well.....guess who was wrong? Mommy intuition is apparently not 100% because I was  certain that we were having a girl but when the sonogram tech put the wand on my stomach the very first image that popped up was our little guy with his legs spread wide. Maybe he had been waiting for his moment to tell his mother to stop calling him "she." :) Oops. We are very excited to meet our little "Bump Bump" in a few months. Owen has been calling him "Bump Bump" because I was talking to Owen about going to hear his brother's heartbeat and I told him that we'd hear it say bump bump, bump bump. Now whenever I say baby brother he says, "Bump Bump!" He totally doesn't understand what's happening but he's excited anyway!

At our ultrasound we also learned that I have placenta previa which means that the placenta implanted lower than it should have. Most of the time, up to 90%, it clears up on its own as the uterus grows and stretches. If it doesn't move away from the cervix, I will have to have a c-section, so we're REALLY hopeful that it will move away! I don't have any symptoms that made me suspect that something was different and I still don't have any feelings that things aren't right, so I was shocked to say the least. The worst part of the whole thing is that I have to limit my lifting, which includes not lifting Owen very often.

We had our 20 week appointment this week as well which marks the halfway point of this pregnancy. His heartbeat has started slowing down a bit and was at 141 this appointment, which is perfect! We made our appointment to have our next ultrasound on February 9th to see if my placenta previa has cleared itself. We're hopeful that it will have moved up by then!

16 Week appointment!

Owen and I went to the doctors office last week for our 16 week appointment. The baby's heartbeat was 156 and was really easy to find again! Owen's heartbeat was often hard to find for the nurses at the beginning (the little bugger was hiding) so it's nice to not have that stress at each appointment. I am 17 weeks, 2 days right now and am feeling the baby every day. It's still just little kicks every once in awhile but it's reassuring to know that he or she is in there moving around.

We took a belly pic but it's seriously the worst picture, dark, oddly angled, just terrible, so I'm not going to post it. We're headed to Buffalo on Thursday and I'm sure we'll take pics there so I'll post one of those soon.

12 days until we find out what we're having! We can't wait to know so we can fight it out over a name :)

12 week appointment

13 week belly, just slightly bigger

10 week belly, just poking out a little

Owen and I went to the doctor last week to hear his baby's heartbeat. We decided not to do any of the genetic testing this time (we had a few done with Owen and didn't have to repeat those) so there wasn't too much to do at this appointment. The nurse warned us that they might not find the heartbeat right away before she put the doppler on my belly but the instant she put it down there it was! Super strong at 161. The doctor said that my uterus is growing well and that everything seems to be right on track.

We go back to the doctor on November 21st for our 16 week appointment and then December 9th for our 18 week ultrasound where we'll find out what our babe is!

Are baaaaack (again) with a sweet new addition!

6 week bellies (we were blowing out...I think)

8 week baby!

We're pregnant again! I am currently 9 1/2 weeks and this sweet babe is due May 5th. We can't wait!

We had our first ultrasound on September 27th to find out that our baby is growing beautifully and has a strong heart rate. At this visit the heart rate was 151. We know that will change at every visit but it's interesting that it was so much slower than Owen's at his first visit (O's was in the 160s).

Here are the things I've noticed so far about the pregnancies:

Same:

I haven't thrown up yet and never did with Owen

I'm T.I.R.E.D. and was with Owen as well

I don't really want any meat - apparently I'm a pregnancy vegetarian

Different:

I'm nauseas more often than I was with O

I am having trouble sleeping at night but with Owen I passed out early and stayed asleep

I have bouts of extreme crankiness, almost like PMS symptoms

I don't have much of an appetite for anything. I've been eating lots of small meals each day because I just don't feel like eating much.....I've been eating a lot of PB and J!

I'm marking it down now that my prediction is that we're having a girl. I was right with Owen and I just think this one is a little lady. We will see sometime in December.

My next appointment is in 3 weeks and I'll try to update again then!

Have a 1 year old...ee i ee i ooooooh

Owen turned one last weekend. It's hard to believe that we've had our sweet boy for over a year now, it's just gone by so quickly. He had a great time with all his family and friends at his birthday party on his actual birthday (I obviously planned well having him on a Friday so his first birthday would fall on a Saturday). Here's some pictures of his party!

He totally hated his cake...and not because it was gross (I did make it, but it tasted good!). I'm guessing he just doesn't want his hands dirty? He wouldn't even taste the cake and wanted down. Oh well, no smash pictures for us! We'll keep him anyway ;)

Owen spent most of his party....and a good amount of the weekend chasing his Papa's crutches. He loves to play with them and he loves his Papa. Here's the view from the top....almost worth the accident to see that face so excited about your "toys," right Dad?? Almost.

Here are some boys who appreciated my hard work and devoured some cupcakes!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Owen. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Visit family in Buffalo!

Owen and I went to Buffalo this past week with Nonni to visit Uncle Matt, Aunt Julie, Gram, and Aunt Diane. We had a great time! We went to Niagara falls on Saturday and got to see the snow that was still in the water....it looked like a glacier, it was so tall!

We also went to the aquarium. Uncle Matt was so excited to show Owen his first aquarium but Owen decided that a nap was more important....he slept through the whole thing!

We are busy with preparations for Owen's first birthday. We'll have an update soon with pictures of the messy birthday boy!

Walk, walk, walk!!!!

Owen learned to walk this week! He had taken one step two weeks ago but then we had never seen it again so we thought it was a fluke. Then Wednesday he took two steps, then four, then 16 by the end of the evening. Over the weekend he walked all the way from the living room to the front door and then back....which is about 25 feet away! We are so proud of our little guy and you can tell by the look on his face that he's very proud too!

We had a fun weekend as a family. We did some work out in the yard, Daddy worked on his bike, and we went to the library and the park together. Overall a very good weekend!

I took a photography class a couple weeks ago so I've been playing with my camera. Here are a few pics I've taken since the last post.

Enjoying the beautiful flowers in our backyard in his sun bonnet.

Owen seriously loves bouncing balls and rolling them back and forth with us these days.

We took a trip to Uptown Charlotte this Saturday to visit Imaginon. Owen took a little time to enjoy the view! And BTW, my photography teachers would be so disappointed that I forgot to push my flash up on this picture...it would have been so much better.

Check it out mom! I can pull out the grass and quickly stick it in my mouth while you try to adjust your f-stop!

Owen loves wheels....and anything else that rolls or spins.

Playing with mommy at Imaginon.

Our little Future Duke enjoys his Duke Dog, and yes, he did just rip the crown straight off his head. Duuukes!

Have fun as a family!

Last weekend we did yardwork all day both days. It was beautiful outside and it was nice to get out and get dirty...Owen especially enjoyed the dirty part. He got his very first grass stains and decided to feed himself a homemade "salad" of grass and mulch. He was a very well behaved boy and he let us get a lot done while he played in the grass with his toys. He even kept his granny bonnet, otherwise known as a sunhat, on his head the whole time. Thanks Uncle Matt for sending it to him! I'm sure it will be used often this summer!

Owen got to eat out in the backyard on Saturday for his first "picnic." Really we just brought his highchair to the patio, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. He had a good time drinking out of his leprechaun cup from MawMaw and somehow got himself soaking wet during his lunch. Good thing it was sunny and warm so he dried quickly!

This weekend we went over to Jetton Park where we will be having Owen's birthday party in 4 weeks (how is that possible???). We scoped out the deck where the party will be and got some ideas for decorations then played on the playground for a little while.

Daddy took a turn on the slide to show Owen how to do it!

I love this picture of Owen. He looks so big, plus he has on an awesome romper that says, "Bayside Bulldogs 1987." He was having a fantastic time banging on the slide like a drum.

After all our playing outside and having sunblock slathered in his hair to protect his bald head, Owen was in desperate need of a bath this evening. We finally took his big boy duckie towel out of the closet since it's not too big for him anymore! Even after he had his diaper on he was standing up and cruising around with it on like a cape. He's such a funny boy.

Two things to notice in this picture: Look how beautifully blue his eyes have stayed and he now has FOUR teeth! The top two are FINALLY through! So far we've had beautiful nights of sleep since the teeth have popped. Hallelujah!

Only one month left until Owen's birthday. What an amazing year this has been, Dan and I are so lucky to have such a sweet boy. We'll try to update again soon!

Are back from a blogging hiatus!

It was an unintentional hiatus (basically I forgot I had a blog) but we're back! I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked in the last month but I have a few to share.

Owen has been enjoying his toy room while I make dinner or clean up a little bit but sometimes I find him like this when I go to check how he's doing in there....he seems to get stuck this way and then just hang out until I notice and help him out. He's such a funny boy.

We sent out Valentine's Day packages to our grandmas, Mawmaw, Nana, Nonni, and Gram. Owen and I started the wreaths at the beginning of January and worked on them all month. All four of them were very excited to get their packages.

Auntie Anne and Uncle Joe came to visit us this month too! It was a super fun visit and yet the only pic I took was not a super attractive picture of anyone. Auntie Anne took some pics though so I'll have to have her send them! Owen went on his first visit to the Lazy 5 Ranch and saw cool animals like giraffes, buffalo, and a HUGE ox. He was really interested in all the animals but didn't feed any this time. He got close to petting a llama but his mama was too nervous to let him!

Owen got his first ordered food in a restaurant this month because we went out to a surprise lunch with friends and mommy hadn't packed his lunch like normal. He got a fruit bowl and ate it off a real plate. You can really see that his hair is starting to come in even though it's crazy blonde. If he was a girl I think there would even be enough to put a barrette in it soon...but he's not, so I won't.

The other night, Owen and I were playing in the kitchen with spoons, measuring cups, and a big bowl when he decided to open a kitchen drawer from the bottom. As it turns out, this was a bad decision and resulted in his very first bandaid. He kept shaking his thumb around and trying to get the bandaid off all evening! He got over his little booboo really quickly and we had a good time drumming on our bowl.

If you noticed the necklace around Owen's neck, it's an amber necklace and it's for teething. He wears it on his neck every once in awhile but it's usually under his sock around his ankle. We take it off for his naps and it has a clasp that breaks easily, plus a knot between each bead so that even if it breaks in the middle only one bead will fall off. So, no worries. Owen is a very difficult teether (I blame Daddy since I've heard he had big teeth as a baby and I have small teeth). He wasn't sleeping at night or taking good naps and the day we put the necklace on for the first time he completely changed all that! It's been amazing!

We also had a fun evening of food painting one night! Here's our little Picasso with yogurt and applesauce.

And on that note....have a good weekend! We'll be back much sooner than we were last time....Mawmaw will remind us ;)

Stand tall and carry a foam stick

Look at our big boy! Recently he's been standing up and playing with his toys. He did it a couple times and then I didn't see it for a week or so and then he's been doing it many times a day for the last few days. We love watching him sway around and then fall as soon as he realizes he's not holding on :)

Dan and I are leaving Owen this weekend with his Nonni and Grandpa so we can go skiing. He's going to have a blast going to Imaginon and the Carolina Raptor Center. I'm a little stressed about leaving but I've stored up a ton of milk and I need some full nights of sleep so I think it will be okay! :)

We'll post some pictures from the slopes soon!

Live in a gated community...

It's official...our beautifully laid out, open floor plan is no more. We made Owen a playroom in the dining room by gating the two doors. He'll be getting a new rug and some toy storage soon (when his parents receive their tax refund) but for now he's just got some toys and a baby jail ;) He seems to really enjoy it in there so far and has played while we made dinner and did some dishes. There are two members of our family who are having a seriously difficult adjustment to the gates though and they both have fur and tails. Poor Georgie and Henry are totally confused and are thus far refusing to jump the gates. We're trying to figure out what to do because right now their food is downstairs and their litter is upstairs. We're hoping they'll get the hang of it soon.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day today in Charlotte! The high was over 60 degrees and sunny with just a slight breeze. We took full advantage by taking Owen out on a little hike and then enjoying some time on our neighborhood playground. Here's some of our hiking adventure:

Owen wasn't really excited about trying the seat out over and over in the living room while Daddy adjusted it. I'm sure he'll get used to that since Daddy does that with every new purchase before we're allowed to use it! Daddy kept reading the manual, changing a few things, and then putting Owen back in. In the end he was perfectly safe and totally secured!

Owen got to bring his toys on the hike! He was much happier in his seat once we were outside!

Someone loves his daddy....a lot! Every time Dan walks into the room these days Owen practically convulses with excitement and rushes over to him. They're so sweet together!

Owen helped Mommy shop for sunglasses this week and tried on some of his own Calvin Kleins!

Have a new ride!

Today Owen's new car seat came in the mail! At first he just wanted to play in the box...and Henry seemed to have the same idea but after a little while he figured out that he could also climb on the actual seat! After some serious whining, Owen finally got buckled in for his first try! I love how his hands look so expressive in this picture - he was doing a lot of talking at that moment.

Here's a little video from last week to show how much fun we all had sledding!