A family of 4....

As I sit here tonight and write this post there are many thoughts going through my head...

Our sweet girl is already in bed and fast asleep and its not quite 7pm here. Ryan is off to school to finish up this semester so he will finally have half of his degree completed. And I have my feet kicked up trying to take it easy as possible before this little man gets here.

The past few weeks I think reality really started to sink in. It is sinking in that Brynlee is not going to be our only baby. She will not be our 100% focus anymore, she will have to share some of that focus with her brother. I wouldn't say that I am "scared" but I am just anxious to see how this all goes down. I know you never share your love with your children, you just grow your love and make more room in your heart for the second baby. Is it weird to think my heart is so full of love between Brynlee and Ryan, that I am scared there is not room for more? I know that sounds crazy, and Beckham, when your reading this some day just know, that I will make room for you lil man, I promise! I think every mom I have talked to goes through this fear of having their second baby. From what I am told, going from 1 to 2 babies is a LOT different, but any more babies after that comes a lot easier. Probably because you are not used to having to split any time up when you only have one baby and when you have 2 or 3 or 4, you are used to splitting it up. Am I over thinking all of this? Probably. It's what I do best these days, I swear!

On the flip side of being nervous/anxious... I also cannot wait! I cannot wait to hold this lil guy. I cannot wait to see what he looks like and if he is going to be taller than his sister! I cannot wait to see Brynn take care of him as his big sister and then him eventually take care of her some day as her brother. I think having a girl first will give him a softer side, just naturally. He will learn to take care of women and learn the nurturing side that she so often prevails. I hear that is how it usually goes when the sister is the older sibling, and I love that. I cannot wait to have the newborn snuggles again, the nursing, the middle of the night wake up calls, the smell of a newborn, just everything! 

 I do think Beckham will complete our family. I think we are meant to be a family of 4. Me and Ryan have always said, we want 2 kids. We want 2 kids so that eventually down the line we can pay for their college education, we want to be able to help them buy their first cars and just give them an amazing life full of family vacations and amazing memories. We personally feel anything past two would be hard in the long run financially and we want to be able to give them the fullest life possible.

With all that being said... this little man will probably arrive before October 12th or 13th. My doctor is out of town my entire week of my due date, so me and Ryan both agreed we'd feel more comfortable getting induced to ensure we are able to get our amazing Dr. Wilson. I have a strong feeling he will arrive on his own before then, but if for some reason he doesnt, we want to know we Dr. Wilson to take care the best care of us that we know he will!

Only a few more weeks till I will be posting his birth story! Stay tuned.... :)

18 Months of my lil sweet babe!

How is it possible that our sweet girl is already 18 months? I swear the day she joined this world felt like yesterday and 1st birthday felt like minutes ago. Since her 1st birthday she has changed SO much in so many different ways. I know I dont blog as often anymore (lets be real, life's sorta busy) but I did want to document some of my favorite things about my sweet girl to look back on someday and have memories of. More for her sake of course then mine.

A few things that come to mind when I think of you, Brynlee:

• Beautiful, sersiouly. Your eyes, your lips, your little buddha belly, your amazing curly hair, your adorable little button nose, even the fingers and toes. Everything about you is just beautiful and I hope you know that no matter who makes you feel differently someday, just know that we think you are the most perfect girl that ever came onto this earth.
• Smart, always wanting to put together things, organize and your very good at listening to directions
• Sassy at times, you've really peaked at the "tantrum stage" but we are learning how to deal with it. We've learned that just letting you cry it out isnt helping so we've been getting better at researching and reading about this stage and it seems to be helping!
• Stubborn, you know what you want and when you want it. You've always been this way since the first night we had you home and tried to swaddle you. You hated every second of being held down or restricted. NOTHING has changed! In fact getting you to sit in your high chair these days is quite the task. Probably because you feel like you are being held down.. and god forbid.... :)
• Independent. You are very good at playing by yourself and doing your own thing, but we all know how much you love playing with others too!
• Dancer. You absolutely love to shake your booty. You hand me my phone and start shaking your butt so I will turn on my Pandora and you can hear some jams. We always have dance parties and I hope they never end.
• Mothering instinct. You take care of your babies, just the same way I took care of you. It is crazy to see such a little person know what to do and how to handle a baby. Its like its built in you to be a momma one day. (And you will be a great one at that). You always share your milk and food with your babies and you are very loving to them.
• Lovable. You give kisses on and off demand and they are mine and daddy's favorite kisses! Every night when daddy takes you up to bed I stand on your toy chest at the bottom of the stairs you and give me tons of kisses thru the stair railings. You typically hand dad your blankie and get down on your tummy and give me them. I love it and really hope it never ends... at least for a while!
• The apple of daddy's eye. Seriously dad loves you so much Brynlee. Bedtime is your thing with him. He takes you upstairs and you guys "brush teeth" and then from what he tells me, you go on a search for your binkies in your room that you drop out of your crib. He turns off the light, you listen to your music, and you guys dance every night. Some nights you tell him "no no no" when he tries to put you down because you just want him to keep dancing with you.
• Like to be loved on. You love getting your back and head scratched. You probably got that from me since daddy always tickles my back. You will point to your head until one of us start to tickle your neck or scratch your head. And you never want us to stop!
• Maizey's best friend. You love your "kit kat". Every morning you wake up and say "hiiiiii kit kat" and you point and say maimee maimee. You just love your kitty. Dad and I got her for you when you were just 15 months. I hope she is in your life for a very long time and I know you will always take good care of her.
• Momma's girl. I know one day you will be more of a daddys girl. But right now I love that you are a momma's girl. You typically want me to hold you or read to you. Your always saying mama mama and you give me the best hugs and kisses. I hope, even though I know you will be a daddys girl, that you will always consider me not only your mom, but your best friend. I hope you call me when things get hard in life, we shop till we drop or get our nails done together. All the fun things a mom and daughter should enjoy.

I am sure I am missing a few things in here but I think I got most of my bases covered. Here are some recent pictures of lil miss Brynn. We love you baby girl, to the moon and back and cannot wait for your brother to get here so you can love on him! Muah xoxo!

Just having our usual dance party in the living room after work. You love when I spin you around!

Future engineer? You love to put things together and you do NOT stop till you figure it out!

Always be daddy's little Michigan girl

Looking so grown up here. Adorable.

Your hair curls even in the bath tub. Dad loves giving you crazy hair do's when you are taking a bath!

You know where your brother is at. In mommy's tummy. But you love to show us your tummy too!

We love you Brynlee

Momma's girl

And daddy's little princess.

Here are to many many more amazing times with you, sweet girl!



Have you missed me?

Geeeeeeez hello to my blog followers. Have I been bad or WHAT? This whole being pregnant + having an active toddler = very hard to find time to blog!

Life has just been so crazy lately! I promise when I can think straight again, I will be back to blogging.

In the meantime, just know, I am 31 weeks pregnant with little Beckham, things are going great minus it being WAY to hot out. I swear this is one of our hottest summers. He is an active little guy and likes to party, right when I want to go sleep. I am in for it, I'm sure! Brynlee is doing great, saying baby and brother to my tummy all the time and anytime we ask her if she wants to go to her brothers room, she runs right in there and gets up on the rocking chair. I am sure she will be a feeding pro in no time! She really is going to be the best big sister.

I will get back to blogging soon, I hope!

It's July!

And you know what that means... Only three more full months of being pregnant and then the countdown to baby boy turns into just days! I am getting larger and larger as the weeks go by but people keep telling me I look tiny, so I'll take it! I have only gained 9lbs so far with this lil man and I am pretty sure when I was 24-25 weeks pregnant with Brynn I was up around 15-18lbs, so hoping that is a sign of whats to come. I am really not focusing on it too much since I know this is probably the last time in life I can use "I'm pregnant" as an excuse to constantly eat dessert. I think chasing Brynn this time around is really helping though! She is one active lil cookie :)

We are headed to California next Saturday and I CANNOT WAIT!!! After taking Brynn to the circus on Saturday and it being a complete success, I hope that is a sign for how Sea World and the San Diego Zoo will go. I think she will just love it! I love taking her on family vacations and I am so grateful we get to do them! We are there for a solid week staying at a beach house in Carlsbad which is somewhere I've personally never been, so I am stoked! This time will be a new adventure on the beach now that she is off and running since the last time when we went in March she was barely starting to walk. It should be a great time!

Here I am at 24 weeks with lil baby boy! Cannot wait to meet you, Beckham!

I also wanted to share a few pictures of the playroom that have been in the works! This room is an open den on our lower level that is right to your right when you walk in. It is perfect because we can shut all the downstairs doors, and Brynn can run wild between the main living space and the den. When we originally built I thought the playroom would be upstairs, and maybe someday it will move up there when they are older, but for right now, this space is PERFECT. We kept the desk and my bookshelf on one side that holds all of my craft stuff and I plan to spice it up a little more as time goes on, but for now, my stuff gets put on hold as Beckhams room is underway.

Anyways, I knew I wanted some storage for all of their toys but I wanted it at a height that they could get to their toys, but also looked neat when cleaned up, since you do see that room when you walk in after all. So we just went with some basic cubbies from bed bath and beyond and did a bench in the middle to help add some fun! Plus it holds a lot of Brynn's stuffed animals as their little spot, and she loves putting them up there :) She has learned how to pull all the bins out and pour them out but its perfect because we can throw the toys back in there and it looks perfect again! Along the main wall is 2 fabric bookshelves that I made. I kept the colors boy/girl and yes it looks a little more girly in there right now but a lot of Brynn's toys are pink so once Beckham gets here I am sure it will all even itself out. Right now there is a ball pit in the middle that my sister got Brynn for xmas but we plan to put a small activity table with 2 chairs and put a small shelf for crayons etc for arts and craft time! Also between the two cubbies and above the bench we are going to add just a small 24in tv for movie time. We dont have cable wired in there which is perfectly fine with me, it will keep it to a movie room! My mom gave me all my old VHS movies and a VHS/DVD player, so it will be perfect!

On the main wall, it was pretty large at 12 feet long so I needed something that would take up a good amount of space for art, but wouldnt cost me and arm and a leg. So I decided a gallery wall would be perfect! I got the prints off of etsy just as digital designs and printed them myself. There is a mix of flashcards with numbers and colors, three definitions; Happy, Love, Play and in the middle is "Playroom Rules". And of course I had to top it off with "Oh The Places You'll Go - Dr Suess" quote because that is my all time favorite childtime quote and one of my favorite books. I am really happy with how the room turned out!



In between those shelves is where the TV will hang :) Along with the VHS/DVD player on that right shelf



My desk with my sewing machine and in those storage bins is all my craft supplies, eventually will make this look prettier but for now, it works for me!



The "final" not quite complete yet, Playroom! I love how its transforming!

 Anyways, I hope you all have a great July and hopefully after California I can do an update with some pictures!! :)

A post for daddy.... or my husband!

This weekend is Fathers Day and I thought what better than to do a post dedicated to Ryan.

There's the quote... "Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone really special to be a dad" and that quote couldn't stand more true for him.

I know, I know... everyone probably thinks they have the best dad's in the world, or baby daddys, but seriously, Ryan is one that would make the books.

Let's start back to when I found out I was pregnant with Brynlee. I never saw more joy and happiness in one man's face, to know that he was going to be a father. He never missed a SINGLE doctor appointment or ultrasound. Not because I made him be there, because he just didnt want to miss a beat. It was interesting to see because at most appointments, he was the only guy in there or in the waiting room... and it didn't go unnoticed on my behalf. I knew I had a winner here.

I remember when we were waiting (not so patiently) to find out what we were having... a boy or a girl... most guys would give you the typical response (which is totally okay by the way), that they want a boy first... not Ryan... he wanted a girl. Everyone I told that to was pretty suprised, he wants a girl?! Yep, he sure did. He always wanted a baby girl and he got just what he wanted... and she's pretty darn amazing if you ask me.

While in the hospital giving birth to her, he never left my side, and was my biggest supporter the entire time. He massaged my back with each contraction, and offered to stay up with her when I just needed some much needed shut eye the first few weeks. His job offers 12 weeks of paternity/maternity time no matter dad or mom, so I was more than thankful to have him by my side during that time. We got to bond as a family, and its something I will never forget.

In the past 15 months since Brynlee has been here, he has proved to me in so many outstanding ways that he is really going to be the best father to her. Just like my doctor appointments, he has never missed a single one of her appointments either, whether it be well or a sick check up, he's been there for me and for her. I never had a relationship with my dad growing up, and I still dont with my stepdad. So for Brynlee to have a father she can turn to, is going to mean so much to me, more than he knows. He is protective over her... like he doesnt want her being in the sun longer than 30 minutes, and he most definitly doesnt want her off her nap schedule, and if she falls he is right there to pick her back up. I am trying to teach him she's gotta take a tumble to learn and he has gotten a lot better. He cuddles with her, he kisses her constantly and tells her how beautiful she is, and he puts her to bed every single night. They go upstairs, brush her teeth together, and he snuggles her for a minute and I always hear him over the monitor say, sweet dreams baby girl, I love you. Let's just say... it melts my heart every time.

Now that we have our little boy on the way, he has been no different, at every appointment and this time, he wanted a boy. He wants someone to play catch with and shoot pucks with, and looks like he getting just that. I cannot wait for him to hold his little boy in his arms and for us to enjoy another 3 months together, this time, with two little peanuts!

Father's day is hard for me, until the babies get a little older and we can start doing more things that they want to do for their daddy, its hard to think of creative gifts! So I hope he loves everything Brynn did for him, I am sure he will.

Honey, you are the best father, dad, and husband a girl could ask for. I get told by multiple people on a weekly basis, how great of a dad you are, and its something I already know. You truly are amazing. Thank you for being you, and for being the dad I always hoped my kids would have.

We all LOVE YOU! Happy Fathers Day!

Almost halfway there!

Can you believe it? I will be 20 weeks 6 days from today... wow! Time is flying with this little man... and he is doing just great! I feel him move all the time now and he is just like his little sissy, quite the active man! We have another ultrasound on Wednesday and I cannot wait to see what he looks like since its been about 6 weeks since we've seen him last! We are in the process of decorating the nursery and have finally settled on a color scheme of lime green/navy. Brynn's room is lime green/pink so they will both have a little lime going on :) I cant wait to get started on it but we have a lot of work to do as far as clearing out his current room before we can get going... with only a few months left I suppose we should start that soon!

Ryan and I just got back from Puerto Vallarta, MX for a few days and we had a great time! We literally did, nothing. We slept, ate, slept some more, laid by the pool and slept... it felt like we had literally caught up on the past year of missed sleep we've had. Only to come home to sweet little Brynn waking up all night, it was our payback for leaving her I suppose. She hung with her Nana for 4 days and from what I've been told, they had a BLAST. She went to the park, swam in her little pool and just played all day!

Brynlee is doing fantastic. It is crazy to see how smart she is getting. Smarter and smarter each day. It's weird to think that just from 12 months to 15 months she has changed in so many ways. She is so much more toddler like now and repeats almost everything we say. We have had to start watching our words more and more because she is a pistol! She can probably say about 15-20 words now with literally new ones popping up every day. I'd have to say her all time favorite word is "baby". She always has one in her hand or one not too far away. She feeds them, rocks them, hugs and kisses them, and takes them with her everywhere she goes. She really is going to be a great big sister, I can already see it now, Brynlee feeding little Beckham. Such a good helper, I know it! She also loves to say "coco" which is her giant teddy bear. She says "hi coco" every morning when she wakes up and see's him and is the first thing she wants to do when we get home from work. She has slimmed down a ton as well! People really cant believe it when they see her! Oh and her hair.... the HAIR... it seriously KILLS me. It is so curly in the back! Little baby ringlets all over...so frickin cute! I cannot handle it. Her birthday she didnt have barely any curls... and now its like woah. I really didnt think in just three months she would blossom into such a fun, creative, smart little girl... but wow, she sure is nothing short of amazing. I cannot wait to see how she continues to grow!

I will try and do a little photodump of our trip and Brynn and the belly soon! Until next time...

Note to self... be a FUN mom!

I found this on another blog (once again)... I know I am a stealer but since I print my blogs at the end of every year I like to put things on here I want to remember... I loved this article on how to be a fun mom... and of course I want to be a fun mom! Who wouldnt want to be? I think I already tackle most of these items... like breaking the rules (Brynlee already gets a little ice cream when she is good for dessert right before bedtime, woops!) Turn on the tunes... we ALWAYS dance with her... and she is pretty good at on command "shake your booty" it almost never fails that she will shake her little butt! Oh and talking in silly voices? I have that mastered and Brynlee loves it. My favorite part of this was the note on how kids dont care or dont judge you, they look up to you and the more "fun" you have, the more they want to be around you. I want Brynlee and soon to be Beckham, to WANT to be around their mom and dad.. and to want to come to us in their lives... so note to self... be a FUN mom! Enjoy the read :)

#1 Way to be a FUN MOM- Spend time with your kids. That will make you the most fun mom on the planet!!!


Then...
Let Your Guard Down - RELAX!

Stop worrying about looking silly, sounding silly, or being perfect. Relax and smile. They are our kids, they are not judging us, just looking for us to love them and spend time with them. Living life up-tight, is not really living life.

Use Your Strengths - Be Yourself

I can fold a mean paper airplane and make a perfect cootie catcher. I shared this with our kids and they thought it was the coolest thing ever. It is a secret talent of mine. They thought I was so fun. I am also really good at cartwheels. Last week I demonstrated my cartwheel abilities to the kids. They were in awe. They are easy to please, but still. They thought I was fun. :) I am also pretty good in the kitchen, and can color a mean picture. I like to outline all the pictures and then color lighter inside the outline. The kids think that style is really cool.

It's not about what other moms are doing, or about doing it all. We don't have to be something we are not. Instead, look at your strengths and talents and use them to your advantage. What do/did you like to do? What are you good at?


I am not really comfortable talking in silly voices. I love the make believe and pretend, just not the silly changing of voices part. I always felt guilty because I didn't like talking silly with my kids. I shouldn't feel bad. So it's not one of my strengths. I have lots of other strengths. It's okay.

Use your talents, even if they are off the wall, goofy or silly.


Be Spontaneous-Break the Rules

Do something out of the ordinary. Read extra books at bed time, have hot chocolate after teeth are brushed, stay up to watch a movie, an unplanned trip to the park, let your child have a bowl of cereal before bed, eat dessert first, jump on the couch. Say yes when you would normally say no. It's okay.

What can you do today, that is unexpected?

Follow Along

Watch what your kids are doing, and follow along. Play house, color, swing, chase around the house. Follow their lead, and not only will they think you are fun, but you will really have fun. Are they acting silly, then act silly. We sometimes worry about what we are going to do with our kids. No worries, they will take care of that part for us.

Turn on the Tunes - Dance

Want to be more fun? Move. Dance. Jive. Boogie. Unlike our friends in high school, Kids don't judge your dance moves. They don't care.

I have made it a secret goal this year to dance with at least one of our kids everyday. (Guess it's not a secret anymore). Yesterday I danced with our 8 month old in my arms in front of the mirror. She loved it! Today I grabbed our daughters arms and started to twirl her in the kitchen. When my husband came home tonight, she ran to him to tell him how much fun we had dancing around.

When was the last time you danced with your kids?

Don't Multitask

Want to be more fun? Stop trying to do more than one thing at a time. Being with our children becomes frustrating when we are also trying to make dinner, check Pinterest, and fold laundry. All of a sudden, it feels like our kids are hindering us from what we are trying to do and we don't enjoy our time together. That isn't very fun. One thing at a time.

Say "Yes"

As mom's we can find ourselves saying "no" an awful lot. That doesn't make us very fun. "No's" are necessary, but we should try to say "yes" as much as we can. This is hard for me. "Mom, can I have another piece of gum?" I want to say no. They don't need it, they already had one, it isn't necessary. BUT... will it really hurt if they have a second piece sometimes? Of course not.

Sometimes I have an agenda, that I feel is the best, and our kids want to do things in a different order, and I want to say "No". Fact of the matter, does the order really matter? Usually it doesn't. So think about the 90/10 rule and apply it to "yes and no." Can you say "yes" 90% of the time?


What can you say "yes" to today?

Laugh

Laughter is great medicine. Want your kids to think you are really fun? Laugh with them. Having trouble laughing? Put a smile on your face for starters. You will be more fun when you smile, and then you will laugh.



I often have the thought, "I can't have fun with you, because then things won't get done around here". Nothing could be farther from the truth. When I have fun with our kids, more gets done, I feel better and so do they. And...they are more likely to help with a willing attitude which lightens my load.



Now, let's all go be FUN MOMS.