Snow Fun and LegoLand!

We've had some wonderful snow days recently in our part of Texas. Snow days are pretty rare so when it comes, usually ice is also involved and much of the schools and city close down. That just means we get to spend time at home together and enjoy the fun snow!

Caden loves snow and Gracie seemed to like it as well. We got the sled out, Caden played with the neighbor kids, we made snow ice cream, and drank lots of hot chocolate! Collin was out of town for work the first week of snow days. In the middle of it I took the kids to LegoLand. My dad went with us. I'll include pictures from LegoLand as well since I don't end up blogging as much as I used to. The kids loved LegoLand. Caden especially! Here are some pictures from our snow days and LegoLand.

Snow Ice Cream! Snow, vanilla, sugar, and milk!

LegoLand

LegoLand

LegoLand

LegoLand

LegoLand

LegoLand

LegoLand

We're having a...

We are having another BOY!! I found out yesterday morning, Feb. 20, 2015, that God is blessing us with another precious boy! On my 3rd doctor's appointment, when I was almost 12 weeks along, I did the blood test that lets you know if there are any issues going on and will tell you the sex of the baby. I'm still in somewhat of a shock that I'm really pregnant and this is really happening. I've had three sonograms and our sweet boy has looked great in everyone! At my first appointment, the sonogram nurse predicted a boy since his heart rate was below 150. The last two his heart rate was just above, so we weren't sure. With everything that happened between Caden and Gracie, when I was having Gracie, I just felt so blessed to be having another child and wasn't sure if we could or would have anymore. I am very delighted that God is blessing us with another child!

To reveal the gender, I surprised my family by making a cake. I was going to either make a blue or purple cake. Collin's birthday is this weekend so it's doubling as the birthday cake for him and surprise. We would have waited for his actual birthday but everyone really wanted to know!

Caden already knew! Just like with Gracie! He is so excited to have a baby brother. He loves his baby sister as well and is truly the sweetest and best big brother one kid could be. Collin and I are over the moon with excitement as well and I know Gracie will love her little brother just like she loves her big brother.

I'm 13.5 weeks along and will be beginning my second trimester next week. The one thing that is very different about this pregnancy is that I'm still breastfeeding Gracie. I think it's making for an extra exhausting pregnancy. I honestly thought my milk would dry up but I'm doing fine. I'd prefer for her to self-wean when she's ready. I haven't written very much about this pregnancy mostly because we've been very, very busy! I will do my best to blog a little more!

Here's my first pregnancy, pregnancy update besides our announcement. 

How far along? 13.5 weeks

Baby’s size? Almost 3 inches long, the size of a pea pod! He weighs almost 1 ounce!

Total weight gain/loss: I gained 1 pound at my 12 week check-up! 

Maternity clothes? Not really but sometimes I wear the two items I still have after getting rid of almost everything after having Gracie!

Stretch marks? None.

Sleep: Since Gracie still isn't sleeping through the night, I still get up with her one to two times every night! I've never been so tired in my life but I love my growing family!

Best moment this week: Finding out we're having a boy!
 
Miss Anything? Sleep. But I'd sleep fine if I wasn't getting up to take care of another sweet baby. :)

Movement: Not yet.

Food cravings: I go from sweets to salty quite often. Also I've been craving fruits and red meat! Also hot sauce and chips!

Anything making you queasy or sick: No.

Gender: Boy!!

Labor Signs: Not yet, thankfully!

Symptoms: Exhaustion, hungry all the time, will get nauseous if I don't eat frequently. Also I have to go to the bathroom more than usual.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and blessed!

Looking forward to: Meeting my son.

Please pray for: A healthy baby and pregnancy.

13.5 weeks

Grace is 1!

Dear Grace,

Today you are 1 years old! Where has this past year gone? You are such a sweet and beautiful girl! You have a beautiful smile and infectious laugh! You love smiling and talking with people you see. Your walking has gotten really good. You have lately mastered walking from tile to carpet very well. You love to follow Caden around and try and copy what he's doing, including trying to "help" him build things. You also can color pretty well since you watch him color and write a lot. You still have a love of music and love to dance to any beat you hear. You are very smart! For example, you know which animals are what in most animal books we have. You are able to copy the sounds they make as well. You are very aware of your surroundings and love to explore and especially climb our stairs! 

This last year you have kept us busy. You still don't sleep through the whole night but will go back down pretty easily after waking up once or twice. You take one nap a day, usually for 30 minutes to an hour. You go to bed around 7-7:30pm and will sleep usually until 8am. You wear 18 month clothing and are really good at feeding yourself. Actually you seem to get quite offended if we try and feed you. You can drink through a straw and have only drank water and breastmilk. You love taking baths and playing with your toys. You also love books are will bring me different books to read. 

You are a very healthy baby! Thankfully, this first year, you haven't had a fever or needed any kind of medicine or antibiotics. You had an upper respiratory infection in early December that we think you picked up at church. It lasted about a week. We took you to the doctor just in case and she told us to do exactly what we were already doing. We feel so blessed to have such a healthy baby!

This year, Lord willing, you will become a big sister! You love kids of all ages and I know you'll welcome the new baby with open arms. 

God has blessed us with a beautiful, smart, healthy and lovely little girl. We love you so much and look forward to watching you grow!

Love,
Mom

Here are few pictures from your 1 year old pictures. I'll post the rest once we get them back! I also have a few from when you were born!

I'm pregnant!

A week before Christmas I found out I was pregnant. We told our families on Christmas Day. Today I went in for my first prenatal appointment and sonogram. Praise God! The baby looked great! He/she has a great heartbeat, is growing well, and everything looks really good. I count this is a huge blessing. This is my 7th pregnancy, I sadly lost four babies between Caden and Grace. I'm almost 8 weeks along and my estimated due date is August 26, 2015.

Please keep my family in your prayers. We are excited about having another child. Children are true gifts from God.

11 Blessed Years!

Collin and I recently celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. Over the years, we have had our share of ups, downs, shares of blessings, sadness, overseas moves, and overall have continued to build a stronger friendship, thanks to God's help. This year we celebrated by eating lunch at a seafood restaurant called Waters. It was delicious! This was our first time to leave Gracie with a babysitter. She did great. We went after church since she naps around lunchtime. It was nice having 3 hours to ourselves. A very rare thing!

Here are some things about our last 11 years:

- We met while attending college at a local church.

- We have lived in 5 homes and spent around 4 months living in a hotel, and 2 months living in a temporary house while waiting searching for a house when we moved from Germany.

- We have owned 7 different cars, thankfully not more than 2 at a time!

- We have lived in two different cities in Texas and one city in Germany.

- I gave birth to one child in Germany and one in the U.S.

- We have two precious children and one on the way!

- We have lost four precious children through miscarriages.

- We love to travel and have been to 29 countries together, which consists of 3 continents. Here's where we've been in no particular order: US, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Portugal, Czech, England, Ireland, Spain, Morocco, DR, Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Belize, Honduras, Netherlands, Belgium, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, and Norway.

- We love church ministry and serving in ways that help people.

There is no one else I'd rather spend my life with. Collin is my best friend and a wonderful dad and husband. He works so hard for our family and is the definition of a servant leader. Our family is so blessed to have him as my husband. I included a few pictures from our wedding day.