Gender Reveal: It's A...

GIRL!!!!

We will officially have one of each! I was so surprised when the doctor said girl. I guess deep down I really thought we were having another boy. It has taken almost a whole day for it to sink in...a girl! (Okay, it might still be sinking in...)

Since hubby was working while I had my appointment, I decorated the house as a reveal for him when he got home from work. I think his exact words were "oh no!" Haha! Poor hubby is afraid of having a girl. He is psyched for the "little" girl but petrified of the "big" girl to come down the road. I think everyone is afraid of teenage girls! I guess it's about time he gets over his fear!

We have decided on a new girl name since my cousin (unknowingly) stole our choice! HAHA I guess that's what happens when you all have babies at the same time! New choice? Madison Kay. We love it! Hubby and I wanted to make the middle name special so we chose my mother's middle name to pass down. Madison is just a girl name we FINALLY agreed on. We couldn't be happier with the name...and this is amazing considering neither of us could agree on anything. I guess it was meant to be!

Now it's finally time to start preparing for a little girl!! Let the bows and frills flow!

21 Months!

Oh boy! Brayden is growing up so fast and it has been extremely obvious in the last month. He can practically have a conversation! He loves to talk and has something to say about everything! He is absolutely cracking us up on a daily basis. I am so beyond blessed to have Brayden as my son and it makes me so happy when random people say how cute he is or how well he is talking. He is seriously the joy of my life and I can't believe that come September, he will become a big brother and we will get to experience all new things together!

Likes:
-Elmo
-Vinko
-food...he eats almost everything
-drinks...he still likes plain water and if he has juice it's always WAY watered down
-eating things on his own...he likes to hold the whole banana and the whole string cheese. No more cutting into pieces for this boy! (Obviously I still cut things that are a choking hazard!)
-Tangled...seriously, his obsession is so weird. He asks to watch it every morning and then when it's over, he asks to watch it again. Like I said...weird!
-jumping...he recently experienced his first bouncy house and LOVED it! View pictures below.
-running...he will constantly ask to run which means he wants you to chase him...or he says "go, go, go"...how can you say no?!
-drawing...but he likes to use a pen now, not crayons. Thankfully he is pretty good about keeping it on the paper and he knows that we only draw on paper! He has yet to draw on the walls...and now I just cursed myself!
-reading books...he always asks for a book when he wakes up.
-the park
-sidewalk chalk...we never go to the park without it!
-pacifiers...I fear the day I have to take those away!
-napping and bedtime...tonight he actually laid his head down on a couch pillow and said "night night Mommy" so I asked him if he was tired and ready for bed. He said yes! Gave him his beloved pacis and he hit the hay without a peep. Love it!
-blankies...he has three blankets that he absolutely loves. He must sleep with at least one of them and he cuddles with them throughout the day.
-forts
-flashlights...he thinks it funny when he shines it on me and I put my hands up as if he were the police!
-bubbles...every time we are at his grandparents house, he asks for the bubble machine. This means any device that makes bubbles!


Dislikes:
-putting shoes on
-long diaper changes...like when poo is everywhere. That is the moment he decides he doesn't want his legs held and insists on kicking my hands away. Awesome.
-when I cook and can't give him my attention...of course this is when he says "up Mommy" and pulls at my pants.
-being in the car for too long...I am talking anything over 30 minutes he starts to get antsy, throws his paci and then wants me to give it back to him as if I have octopus arms!

Bubble gun!

In the fort with Grandpa..and a flashlight!

Watching cartoons on GiGi's phone...so spoiled!

Relaxing like a true boy.

This is how he entertains himself while I cook dinner!

Putting one of his favorite blankies over his own head...he loves it so much, he is willing to suffocate himself!

He LOVED the bouncy house...I think it might make an appearance at his 2nd birthday party!

 I can't believe that he will soon be 2...I guess I should start figuring out what I am doing for his party. Tangled theme?!?! Ha I don't think the hubby would like that too much! So happy 21 months to my not-so-baby boy! We are in such an amazing stage right now where we have very few tantrums and he mostly listens. He is so much dang fun! I more than love spending my whole days with him. I just can't believe sometimes how lucky we are to have such an amazing son and that we get to expand our family again. Life is perfect!

Wordless Wednesday!

If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen this photo. It is just way too adorable not to share again!

This happened yesterday while just playing on the kitchen floor in our pajamas. I had flipped the camera so Brayden could see himself. Then he did this and I thought I would snap a picture to see what I could get. Turns out, I got one that I LOVE!!

Bumpdate: 18 weeks!

At 18 weeks the baby is now the size of a sweet potato! I can sure feel the baby growing and everyone can see that my belly is growing too! This is when I really start to love pregnancy!

-Due Date: September 11

-Weight Gain: I will see the doctor on Friday so I will have a weight update next week. Hopefully nothing too drastic! 

-Overall Feeling: Great! The only issue I have is my hip at night. I tend to sleep on my left side so my left hip has been getting the brunt of the weight throughout the night and it hurts! I have been using a bigger pillow between my knees to alleviate the pressure and it has helped a little. Other than my hip, I have great energy and have been feeling awesome!

-Gender: Well we only have to wait until FRIDAY! I am so excited to find out what we are having...I can't even go an hour without thinking about it! Also, the hubs will be at work and wont get home until later that night so I am planning on decorating the house with either blue or pink for when he gets home. I don't just want to tell him over the phone and I really want to see his reaction! So dang ready to see what we are having!

-Movement: Tons more movement this week. I think that also has to do with the little nugget getting bigger and stronger. The movement is much more obvious and I think you will be able to feel it from the outside very soon!

-Clothing: I am comfortably wearing both maternity clothes and regular clothes. Another reason this is one of my favorite stages of pregnancy! I don't quite fit into some of my maternity pants just yet but I know that will change soon.

-Cravings: I haven't had any new cravings really but the hubby and I did indulge in some In-N-Out before he started the academy. It was his last hoorah and for me, it was just delicious!

I am so blessed to be having such a great pregnancy so far and I really do enjoy being pregnant. I can't wait to start getting things ready for this new little baby, boy or girl, and I can finally plan a nursery! Keep an eye out next week for the gender reveal!!

Brayden's First Swim Class!

It's official. Brayden has started his very first class. This is a "parent & me" swim class so I get to do it with him. He was very hesitant at first and gripped onto me like a leech! After a while he started to adjust to the water and by the end, he was no longer clenching his legs around me. I would call our first class a huge success. We have 7 more classes this spring so I am sure by the very end, Brayden will be comfortable in the water. Perfect timing for those hot summer days!

He was very unsure!

Splashing was obviously his favorite part!

He was not a fan of blowing bubbles. He only liked when I did it and he wanted nothing to do with putting his mouth in the water.

He was NOT about to let me pull him in front of me so I could show him how to kick his legs...

...but he eventually got used to it and was kicking on his own!

I am so proud of Brayden already and I am so excited for him to get comfortable in the water! Hooray for swim class! (Oh and it's great motivation for me to get my legs in better shape...yikes! I start my leg lifts today!)

Bumpdate: 17 weeks!

I hit the 17 week mark on Monday meaning the little baby nugget inside me is now the size of a turnip! (To compare the bump with Brayden's bump, just click on the "Belly" tab at the top of the page!)

Hubby and I had to go to orientation for his new job (YAY!!) and I was told to wear something "business casual." Well that turned out to be pretty difficult! I am not working in an office or classroom environment so I have never had to purchase work maternity pants. Thankfully I could still wear my black dress pants from college...just unbuttoned! I am now very thankful that I don't have to get dressed up for work every day. I much prefer my jeans and t-shirts!

Here is the list for the week!

-Due Date: Septemeber 11

-Weight Gain: still the +2 from pre-pregnancy. We don't have a scale I can use at home (it says pregnant women should not use it) so I just wait until I see the doctor. I really like not fussing about it and not even being able to check. I feel good and that is what matters!

-Overall Feeling: Again I have been feeling pretty good. My left hip has really been starting to hurt while sleeping though. I have tried putting a pillow between my knees but so far, nothing is helping. Also, my headaches have gone away!! For now at least. I am so happy. I have definitely been trying to drink more water and I really think that was the solution.

-Gender: The wait is KILLING me! We still have another week and a half before I go back to the doctor to hopefully find out the gender. I am so impatient and every time I think about it, I get all excited. I don't have a strong feeling either way so I think I will be surprised no matter what the doctor says. My husband on the other hand, says "I only produce kings" and refuses to believe that he is capable of creating a little girl so I think he would have the shock of a lifetime if we are in fact having a girl. 

-Movement: I have still been feeling movement, especially when I drink something cold. I can't wait to see a little elbow poke out!

-Clothing: My maternity shirts are starting to fit which is a good thing. I like my maternity shirts and my choices have expanded so that's always a plus! I am still wearing my regular pants with the help of the BeBand and a hair tie. We will see how long those last!

-Cravings: I finally got my chicken walnut sandwich fix from Paradise Bakery. My whole family went to the Angels/ Dodgers game last Saturday for my Grandpa's 84th birthday and my Aunt, who owns the bakery, brought all of us our food. I was so beyond happy! I haven't really had any new cravings this week but I can say I am pretty excited about the breakfasts danishes my mom gave to me. They are delish!

On a side note, my husband will be working on the day I visit the doctor for  the gender reveal so I am trying to think of a way to "show" him when he gets home from work. I don't want to just tell him over the phone. So boring! Currently I am thinking balloons all over the house in the color we are having. We will see what other ideas I can come up with before then! Any other ideas are obviously appreciated!

Easter!

Every year our whole family gets together for Easter. It's one of my favorite holidays for this very reason. We start off the day with opening easter "baskets" and then we usually do the Easter egg hunt. We didn't hide any eggs for Brayden at my parents house this year because we knew he would be hunting eggs at the family party and we were already pressed for time. Also, he doesn't really care about the eggs. Once he gets them, he likes to open and close them but he really doesn't care about anything inside (and he doesn't eat any candy so most eggs are a total bust for him!). 

He didn't get an actual basket this year. I reused one of his birthday presents from last year and as you can see, the box was much larger than any basket. He also got a bubble gun, sidewalk chalk with a holder, and some cookie cutter shapes that will be great to use with our Moon Sand.

We quickly opened the bubble gun and he loved it!

Then after the hubs put together the bubble mower, Grandpa 

helped him learn how to use it.

After opening and playing with his presents, it was time to head over to my Aunt and Uncle's house. It was the first time anyone had been there and they have done so much work to the house since they bought it! It was so fun to see all the changes from the "before" pictures.

There was a huge pile of dirt in the backyard at my Aunt and Uncle's house and it was Brayden's favorite part of the day.

Brayden hunting for eggs with Grandpa!

Auntie Sam was a great bag holder!

We knew he was done hunting eggs when he started taking eggs out of his bag and putting them in the cup holders of this chair. Ha!

He opened all the eggs and we took all his candy. Aren't we so mean?!? 

Did I mention that this party took place during Brayden's naptime? Yeah...the party started at noon and Brayden usually goes down at 12:30. I wasn't really worried about him being grouchy or anything because as long as he is entertained, I knew he would be happy even without his regular nap. He was great all day, got filthy playing in the dirt, took a bath and then hunted for eggs. I would say it was a fantastic Easter!