Big Brother!

We are SO happy to announce that a new little blessing is on the way!!!  

This ultrasound was from 8.5 weeks.

Our baby is due on July 27th, but will probably be born a few days earlier by repeat c-section. 

Reid and his little brother or sister will be 2 years and 2 months apart!! 

He is thrilled as you can see...

We found out the Monday of Thanksgiving week and my first thought was, "How fun would it be to tell our families on Christmas?"  Well, as time went on, I realized what a horrible idea that was!  Chris and I kept this little secret to ourselves for 5 weeks!  Not easy.  Apparently I am a really good secret keeper, so if you ever need to share a secret, I'm your girl! :)  I had already made photo calendars for the grandparents for Christmas, so I decided to put a sticky note on the baby's due date that said "Surprise! Grandbaby #2 is due!"  I think everyone was truly surprised!  I got the best picture of my mom when she saw it!  

I am just so, so, so thankful for this baby (just as I was with Reid) and do not take a single bit of this for granted.  I KNOW how blessed we are.  Every baby is such a miracle.

I have felt complete excitement and joy every since we found out.  I am very grateful for this feeling.  My pregnancy with Reid was such a mix of emotions...excitement, nervousness, guilt (This is strange, but I often felt very guilty and let it steal my joy.  I realize now how silly that was.), fear of the unknown, everything.  This time, I'm just happy.  Yes, I am a little nervous about balancing two, but people do it every day.  I know it will be very challenging, but I also think it's going to be so much fun!   I think I'm even more excited because I know how wonderful it is to have a baby and to be a mom.

The thing that keeps going through my mind every single day is how in the world is my BABY going to be a big brother??? I really can't get over it.  Didn't we JUST do all of this with Reid?  

This picture gets me so excited.  Just like we did with Reid, we are going to wait until the birth to find out if we will have another baby boy or a baby girl!  I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS MOMENT!  It was something I will never, ever forget and just SO much fun for us!! I love to think about both possibilities!

We are over the moon! :) 

Christmas 2012

We had a wonderful couple of days celebrating Christmas with our families.  I am just so thankful to be able to be with the ones we love.  Nothing else matters!  We always spend Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas day with Chris' family.  Christmas Eve was always our big day growing up, so this arrangement works perfectly.

This year Grandma and Grandpa made it easier and came over on the night of the 23rd to give Reid his gifts since we travel to and from Gonzales on Christmas day.  I didn't get a picture of Reid with Grandma and Grandpa! :( 

Opening his first gift...

He was actually a little bit scared at first to open his presents!  He's a cautious one. :) 

 He LOVES his school bus!  He loves seeing school buses in real life too.  He YELLS "BaBa" (school bus) when he sees one!  

 sweetness

 He was also so excited about this little bike!  

We headed over to Mumsie and Popsie's house around 10 on Christmas Eve.  We spent the morning playing and having a delicious lunch.  

 Before Reid took a nap, we let him open a present.  My parents got him an adorable little horse jack-in-the- box.  He was so scared of it!  

 While Reid took a nap we decorated cookies.  This is a fun tradition we've had for a long time.  Next year I want Reid to do it with us! 

After Reid woke up from his nap, we got changed and headed to church.  Sweet Popsie spent the whole service outside (with the rest of the dads/grandpas and kids) letting Reid run around and play.  

 After church we came home and had appetizers/snacky foods for dinner and opened gifts.  Please excuse Reid's knee sock/diaper ensemble.

Auntie Alli got Reid some adorable Toms!  

 Reid giving Auntie Alli her present from us...

 Uncle Thomas got Reid his first T-ball set!  These baseball guys had fun showing Reid how it's done...

 Reid was so excited about his table and chairs from Mumsie and Popsie!  

 Mumsie and Popsie filled Reid's stocking with tons of animals!  He was sooo happy!  

After we got home and Reid was nestled all snug in his bed, Santa came! :) 

 It was fun to see his reaction in the morning.  I really don't think he quite knew what to think.  

Chris made our new traditional Christmas breakfast, monkey bread, and then took an "artsy" pic of Reid eating it. ;)

 After breakfast we gave Reid his gifts from us.  He loved the Little People farm!  

 We headed out of town to Gonzales mid-morning to spend the day with Chris' family.  I was horrible about taking pictures!  Here is the one I did take.  

We came back that night and were exhausted, but our hearts were full from two wonderful days spent with our families!

What did I do?

Warning:  This will be a very dramatic and self centered post.

So, I did something completely wild, crazy, and out of my box.  I didn't get a tattoo or go sky diving or anything cool like that, but for me, it was a gigantic move.  I got over 10 inches cut off of my hair.  AND I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT.  I have had the exact same hair for over 15 years (with the exception of the Chi entering my life...life changing for sure).  I did have shortish hair for a brief year or two in junior high, but that was also at least 80 pounds ago.  (I think I've always used my hair as somewhat of a security blanket because I feel like it disguises my weight or something.)

I have been toying with the idea of doing this for a few months.  I pretty much lived with my hair thrown up in a bun because it was just in my way.   I thought I could help someone else by donating my hair to Locks of Love (which I did do and that's the only reason I am really trying hard to be okay with this whole thing).  It's just hair.  Some people go through really, really hard things and lose their hair, so I should just be thankful that I have some.  

Luckily it can still go in a (tiny) ponytail and it can still be put in a (tiny) bun on top of my head, so if I have to do that every day for the next couple of months I will.  I am hoping it grows QUICKLY!!  I am just a long hair kind of girl and I miss it.  

I wasn't going to put any pictures in this post because I hate it, but I didn't think that would be very nice, so here they are...

My last "before" picture.  I want to cry.  

 I know this may gross some people out.  There it is.  The over 10 inches/small animal that was removed from my head.   

 The back after...

 The front after...

The front is a little longer than the back and I'm not sure if I like that, but I do NOT want her to touch it again for a long time.  

So there you have it.  

It's just hair...It's just hair...It's just hair...

Santa Pictures

I decided that I would probably be sad a few years from now if I didn't have a Santa picture of Reid from this year.  I was torn between putting him in Santa's lap and letting him scream (because those are kind of classic and pretty cute) or just holding him in the picture with Santa.  It's blurry and I wasn't exactly photo ready, but here's what we got...

 I decided to take a few additional pictures around Bass Pro Shop for good measure...

 It's really not Christmas without a traditional four wheeler picture... ;)

Oh well, maybe next year!