... A Girl!

I held my breath a little as the ultrasound tech started looking for the gender... when she told us that it was a girl I laughed and told her that was a big moment for us because we already had two girls at home! She started to laugh and apologize but of course we interrupted and said were excited for another girl. I would not say that I was disappointed at all, BUT I was a little surprised because I had convinced myself it was a boy. I mean the odds were kind of in our favor this time for a boy, right?! I was already planning on giving away all of the girls clothes to some friends who are pregnant with girls right now and dreaming of blue but it looks like I won't be passing on any clothes or bows or ballet flat shoes just yet and that's fine because I love my girls.

Mark said he knew all along it was a girl so he definitely wasn't disappointed either. 

We just laughed and smiled talking and imagining our family of 3 pretty girls.

We stopped at Party City on the way home and picked up some poppers with pink streamers in them for the girls to open. They were so excited to find out if they were getting a baby brother or a baby sister. 

My original plan to video the girls opening them outside was changed by our neighbor having her yard mowed by a loud industrial lawn mower right when we went outside to pop the poppers, but it was probably a good thing we went back inside because they made a mess!

The popper idea was a little bit of a fail in general because Reaghan wasn't strong enough to twist hers to get it to pop and as I was helping Lilly, she put her hand over the top of hers right as it popped, so the streamers didn't go flying up in the air as I imagined. *facepalm* Oh well!

We decided to video them instead of take pictures right when they popped so these are the only ones I have, but you can still see they're excited and I know the video is something we'll enjoy looking back on!

They both thought it was going to be a baby brother, so Reaghan was surprised to see the pink! She said she was still excited and was happy just to know who would be coming! She's the sweetest. Lilly still thinks its going to be a boy sometimes... in fact I had to go back for a repeat ultrasound the next week to recheck baby's spine because they couldn't see it well the first time and I took the girls with me. Lilly asked about 3 times during the ultrasound if it was a boy. Haha I think she's finally coming around to the sister idea though. : )

Aside from finding out about her gender, baby #3 appears to be healthy and growing nicely. She is in the 50th percentile, which seems about right for my babies, and I think her side profiles look a lot like Lilly's did. 

I'm 22 1/2 weeks now so I'm starting to feel her move in more regular patterns and can finally feel and see movement from the outside. I can usually count on feeling her move first thing in the morning and late at night, an hour or so before I go to bed. 

I'm still nauseous every day and occasionally throw up if I've gone more than 2-3 hours without eating or randomly she's not a fan of something - like the few cheese cubes I ate while fixing lunch today. But I was able to stop the Zofran right around 20 weeks and I feel like I've been able to manage it by eating sufficient protein at meals, especially breakfast, and not letting my stomach get empty. You know, the usual advice for the 1st trimester that doesn't make a bit of difference for me until I'm well into my 2nd. I am happy to be off of the medication though because I definitely felt a drowsy side affect this time around and it was rough feeling still feeling that 1st trimester exhaustion when I was supposed to be enjoying the energy of the 2nd trimester. I wasn't sure if I was just tired because it was my 3rd and I have 2 toddlers this time, or if I had low Iron ({I don't, they checked} or if it was from the medication. Thankfully it seems like it was the Zofran and now that I'm off of it I'm not nearly as tired during the day and even feel up to working out here and there. 

So far I think this pregnancy has been the hardest of the three, but overall I'm healthy and I'm thankful for a healthy baby! I can't wait to meet her in October. <3

We just need to decide on her name!

OBX Beach Week 2019!

We had another fun week with Mark's family to kick off the summer.

DAY 1 

{Beach Day}

DAY 2 

{Beach Day, Ice Cream Party}

DAY 3 

{Dolphin Watching, Craft Night, Glow Stick Party}

DAY 4

{Aquarium, Manteo}

DAY 5

{Beach Day, Date Night, Family Soccer}

DAY 6

{Beach Day, Putt Putt}

DAY 7

{Goodbye Beach Pictures}

It was a fun week. Reaghan was unusually brave and enjoyed every bit of the ocean, sand, digging for sand fiddlers and swimming in the pools. Lilly was her usual two your old self and required an exhausting amount of correction and discipline (but that's parenthood in this season I suppose!) but she definitely had her sweet and fun moments to try and make up for it!

We love the memories we've made taking this trip the last several years, especially as the girls grow older and are able to do and enjoy more on their own. 

I'm especially fond of spending an uninterrupted week with my 3 favorite people in the world. <3

My favorite picture! I wish you could see his face a bit more clearly because I love the way he's looking at me here. <3

We're having baby #3!

I had so much fun announcing it to Mark this time because baby #3 was a surprise!

We were planning to try for another baby this year, but not until LATER this year. I guess God has other plans for our family and that's okay with us! We do natural family planning, and its actually worked really well for us up to this point! Both of the girls were "planned" so as far as their pregnancy announcements went, we were both totally anticipating it happening and Mark was excited but not surprised when I told him about the positive tests. 

Since we weren't exactly "planning" on getting pregnant when we did I knew Mark would actually be surprised when I told him this time so I wanted to do something fun!

The morning I took the test, my sister Erin and I had already planned to take pictures of our kids that afternoon. I actually decided to go ahead and take a test that morning, just in case, so I could do something fun at our little photo shoot. Initially I wasn't going to take the test because I didn't think I was pregnant! My cycles had been off since I had run the Marathon and 50k at the end of the year (hence where the natural family planning might have "failed" us!) and I was late the month before too so I thought it was going to be the same thing this time. Thankfully I happened to have a test so, took one just in case! I couldn't believe it when I saw the positive "+" in the window.

I decided to casually text Mark and remind him that I was taking pictures that afternoon and ask him if he thought he could swing by after work to jump in a few pictures.  (It was Friday and he'd be getting off early, already be wearing jeans, and the park was super close to his office!) I was surprised when he said yes without me having to coax him into it! I asked him what he wore to work because I was going to grab a shirt to match what the girls and I were wearing but he was already wearing a white shirt! 

After we took pictures of our beautiful children ; )

I told Erin about our news and asked for her help pulling off my surprise.

Erin has the sweetest little boy Blake, who she had after 7 years of infertility, and she's always been so genuinely happy for us when we've gotten pregnant. I'm so thankful for her love and selflessness through the journey she's been on, and also for her handsome babe! 

She was actually the one that brought up the subject that day just as I was getting ready to tell her... She said "When you get pregnant with your 3rd we should do another photo shoot with..." just as I was pulling the pregnancy test out of my bag. Haha. Sisters. <3

 We wrote something fun on the chalkboard and let the kids play until Mark texted that he was at the park. When he saw the sign he laughed and kept saying... "Is this for real?" 

So much fun surprising him and catching his reaction on camera. 

We then told the girls because they didn't know what I had written on the board or why I asked them to show it to daddy! I just told them it was a special message because I wanted Mark to be able to see their reactions to having a new baby. : ) Reaghan was excited but Lilly was confused and kept saying "Baby no come out yet?!"

I'm 15 weeks today.

Due October 19th!

We've seen baby twice in ultrasounds and so far he or she looks healthy and strong.

I'm finally starting to feel more like a normal person again and hope to write about my experience with my 3rd hyperemesis/severe morning sickness pregnancy sometime soon!

We are so grateful for baby #3 and excited to see our family grow this year. 

And while I love tracing and writing activities I'm all about the chance to learn while we play games and work on some gross motor skills and balance. 

The night before we made some heart shaped cookies and decorated them so we could take some to my brother Adam whose birthday is also on Valentines Day and so the girls could have a special treat for the day.

The morning of we woke up to a sweet surprise from my the girls Uncle Noah... He lives a few hours away but had a friend help him out by leaving some roses for his sisters, mom and nieces on their doorsteps.

For breakfast we made protein heart pancakes for breakfast... I tried to start the day off on a healthy note before we indulged in a few treats!

Since Valentines Day is Uncle Adam's birthday we dressed up in some fun heart outfits and headed over to spend some time with him.

We brought him some cookies and his favorite drink,

We went shopping at the mall with him, my mom, grandma, Aunt Nin Nin and baby Blake and then came home for an evening at home with daddy. Of course Mark brought home something special for his Valentines; daisies for the girls and roses for me. Along with a healthy, Trim Healthy Mama approved, chocolate treat and a new cup holder for my double Bob jogging stroller!

We didn't celebrate that night but went out together the night after for dinner at a new restaurant that we had never tried before. It had been a while since we'd had a date night so it was nice to get dressed up and go out together. {And by dressed up I mean that I dressed up and Mark wore his usual attire because he's not a 'get dressed up' kind of guy. ; )} The food was delicious and the conversation was easy and sweet, as its always been. I hope we never lose our ease of conversation and the way we can flow into and out of serious and silly topics.

This was our 10th Valentines Day together and it was a simple, sweet one that will always hold a special place in my heart.

Here's to many more decades of Valentines with you, My Love!