My First Prego Grievance

I can't believe I have made it past 24 weeks without being ticked off by something some crazy person said to me about my prego body.  Well, I showed super early with this one, like pretty much immediately.  That was fine with me.  What is annoying is the people who ask to touch my belly and then tell me how squishy it is, like they expect it to be super hard or something.  Really?  Not everyone gets rock hard abs from being prego.  Just saying!

Well, there it is.  My one grievance about ridiculous people, all women.  What is wrong with women?  If you don't remember what you looked like, felt like, acted like, etc while pregnant keep your mouth shut.

Life's Messy Decisions

 

So, it is just kind of hitting me that there are going to be 2 boys.  I am going to be the mom to 2 sons.  That is awesome and scary all at the same time.  At the moment I don't really feel ganged up on because lets face it G really loves his mommy.  He is just now getting used to daddy.  Blame nursing, blame my amazing momminess (haha), who knows, but up till recently he has been my kid.  That doesn't mean that he isn't all boy, all the time.  He is more dirty and gross than I prefer, but really he is a sweet cuddly little human being.

Back to the messy decisions of life....

We need to order a few personalized items for the boy's room and finish getting it set  up completely.  We need to buy a few things we wished we had the first time or that somehow broke along the way.  That is the fun stuff. 

Then there is the crappy stuff, the stuff that stresses me out and brings tears....that very first decision you have to make as a mom and a dad to a son...circumcision.  Sorry guys if you are reading this (or even mommas), but seriously I did my research before I had Garrett and for whatever reason I still let Mark talk me into letting G have it done.  So recently I tried the discussion again and of course cried.  Not the messy mascara running type of crying but more the head in my arm, faced down on the bed so he won't see me type of tears.  I'm not a boy I don't understand whether it bothers a boy to either be or not to be, but the process freaks me out and makes me sad and I know it causes pain.  What mom in their right mind consciously causes their brand new baby pain?  I did and it still haunts me.  I actually still feel guilt over that very first decision. 

Mark thinks the boy's need to be the same and that if they do not have everything the same their whole entire life it will cause conflict.  Do I care about conflict.  Not really.  I don't want them to be the same and I don't think it is necessary or realistic to assume that their entire life they are going to want or need the exact same of everything.  Apparently I am not a boy and just don't understand. 

I'm not really sure what to do, but ultimately this was the one and only reason I never wanted to have another son.  This one decision.  I know with kids you make 5 million decisions, some hard, some easy, and that is just before they turn 5 but seriously this one gets to me.  If this kid is anything like G, he will hurt himself enough over the years without me adding to the mix. 

I have seen the debate on many mom groups and right now this family is divided. 

A baby boy revealed in pics

I'm not even sure what to say about these photos.  I love them of course.  She captured our expression and that is exactly what I wanted.  It is just funny to see how shocked we are! 

To KT, sorry G was not feeling you that day.  He just wanted to run and play and sitting was not in his game plan.  He is a total mommas boy though and that is quite apparent here.  I still love his serious little face.  We'll bring his favorite "bubba" as a prop for his birthday shoot next month.  That should do the trick :)

To Kendra, your clothing choice was adorable.  As I was putting them in the closet this last weekend, I was getting excited for him to wear them.  He will be all cuddly in them and look adorable of course. 

From beginning to end....here goes:



It is the perogative of an almost 2 year old to do the opposite of what you ask. 
Such is life!

Patiently waiting

Not so patiently waiting.



It's A.......
 



BOY!!!!  Clearly the fact that those are boy clothes was quite entertaining to me. 





We look shocked and I just realized Mark hasn't even moved his arm.  LOL

Now we hug and celebrate.  Hehe
Mark is smiling.  That is a good sign!

G looks a bit terrified. 
Yes son, you are getting a baby brother!  Hide your toys :)

OMG I love his face!

Still digesting what all those little boy clothes could possibly mean.

 

 

3 weeks of torture over with just one pull of a clothes pin. 

Happy to know that it is a boy and so excited to get everything ready for him. 



Our creative photographer. 
Love the way we receive pics now :)

 

Labor Day Weekend

This was one of those super jam packed weekends that resulted in the need to clear out and make room for a soon to be family of 4. 

 

A 3 day weekend in pictures.

 

Toys were moved to the red room/guest room/new toy room.
 

Our second pile of giveaway stuff for the weekend.

More of the red/guest/toy room

Reading nook

Fall mantle with random stuff from around the house.

 

G and I going through ALL the clothes we still had stored in the house. 
I am pretty sure there are still more in storage.
Pants are always optional in this house :)

 

Garrett's closet became a G and little brother closet. 
Short sleeves on the right from little to big.



Long sleeves on the left from little to big.
Blankets hung up on hangers. 
Too many to store, so I decided to hang.

Shoes, shorts and pants from little to big.
Did you know they don't make pant hangers for little clothes that you can buy.
Well, they might, but I didn't search for very long
I made my own with clothes pins and hangers. 

3 giant boxes of wipes. 
Mark is my overstocker.

4 boxes of size 5 diapers.
G only wears a size 4.
Did I mention my husband, the overstocker?

This house isn't perfect, but all 4 bedrooms have a walk in closet
and that is pretty darn close to perfection if you ask me.

Daddy said it was time for G to give up his beloved high chair and be a big boy at the table.
 

And this is where G decided he would be happier this morning for breakfast. 

Our 11th anniversary. 
We are sitting on the leather seats for Mark's F150 that arrived that day.
Nothing says Happy Anniversary dear wife like 2 giant boxes of leather seats that need to be installed.

Going in for a kiss, because even though he is crazy
he is my crazy and I love him.

While his mommy and daddy were kising in the entry way and having a
little anniversary alone time, G spent the day with his Great Aunt Lisa, Great Uncle
Bruce and cousin Cydney.  Want to know how to get a teenage girl to the top of
the Chickfila play structure?  Show your slide loving toddler the indoor playground!
He also got to feed ducks at the park.  What a fun day for him :)

Garrett: pack n play tester

My grandpa decided to come for a visit and when I opened the guest room and closet I realized a ton of baby stuff was just sitting there waiting and was really in the way.  I want to start transitioning the guest room into a guest room/play room so I figured today was as good of a day as any to start the process.  That meant cleaning out my room first, so I made a space on my side of the bed for the pack n play and we got it put up.  Garrett immediately wanted in.  Clearly there will be some transition once this baby gets here. 

He did the stand up test.

He did the shake test.

More shaking on the other side.
 

The lick test.  His life's mission is to taste everything. 

The pick me up test.

More licking.  Although this looks like crying.  I don't like crying tests.

And even more licking.  Did I mention his life's mission?

Yep, it looks like daddy still remembers how to install this thing.  I wonder if baby B will actually want to sleep in this thing?

The BIG Reveal

The outside of the card I made to hold the gender sonogram

 This child is a blessing.  It is not just another pregnancy.  This baby was not owed to us and we certainly are not worthy to be another baby's parent, but God saw fit.  For that we are thankful and we celebrate!  We cannot wait to meet this baby and introduce to the friends and family waiting to love and celebrate this new life. 

To my husband, thanks for going along with my crazy ideas (this one and the many more that are sure to follow) and waiting an extra 3 weeks to find out what we are having. I love you.

 

To Kendra, Barney, KT and Cassandra, thanks for being part of our private celebration and reveal and for making it so incredibly unique and special for us. 

So, without further ado....

The inside of the card I made.  Kendra filled it in and attached the sonogram. 
 

I can't lie!  Mark and I always hoped for a son and a daughter...and in that order, no less! (darn the planner...dare I say...Emerald in us...I wonder if those that know what the heck I am referring to are even reading this!)  A baby is pure love no matter the gender so while in one moment our family became something we had not imagined, it will still be something spectacular and we count down the days until we meet this little guy.

Curious about the name?  If you remember blog posts and FB posts from the Garrett days when he was noted always as Baby G, we shall call this little one, Baby B, short for Blake Cash King.  Fitting for the second prince of our family, don't you think!

I feel like he must know that we found out he is a boy.  He has been kicking me hard since last night :)  That's okay though, I like knowing he is in there growing and getting strong.  

If you have a moment, watch our reveal video.  Barney worked really hard to video the reveal for us.  Zooming ain't easy folks :)  I kid, I kid!

More pictures will be added once we receive our flash drive from the photographer, but the one below will have to suffice for now.  I will be stalking her FB page for a sneak peak and frequenting my mailbox until it arrives.  I'm not impatient...nope, not me...just in love with the thought of the memories that will be held on that flash drive and all the cool artwork that will be adorning our walls!

 

NOW TO BEGIN SHOPPING AND DECORATING!  FINALLY WE KNOW WHAT DIRECTION TO TAKE :)

*Mark just reminded me that with the addition of boys, it means additional cars to be bought.  Oh dear!!!!  I'm going to need a much larger garage.   

 

The Making of a Gender Reveal

Have you ever noticed that large box of Freezer Wrap in the foil and plastic wrap section of your grocery store?  I never noticed it before, but in my online search for a way to make a template I came across a blog that used this awesome paper.  She traced an image onto the paper and then cut it out.  I knew there must be a better way. 

Insert Home Printer!

Cut your freezer paper to a sheet that will fit into your printer, this will also limit the size your template can ultimately be so this is great for smaller projects (t-shirts, bags, pillow cases, etc).  In the case of my printer and Word too, I was limited to a max of 9"x22" which was perfect for my project. 

 

If you have an image that is not large enough, trace it onto regular paper, scan it and resize using Word, or your favorite program.  Word is the only one I was able to figure out :)

 

 

Once you have all your images on the computer, load one sheet at a time through the feeder of your printer and hit print.  My printer reminds you to have the printing surface facing up when you feed it through.

 

Cut out your templates with an exacto knife and iron onto the cotton item of your choice using the cotton setting on your iron.  Make sure to iron it down really well so the edges are sealed. 

 

 

 

Fill in with fabric paint using a foam brush.  You want to tap the paint on to fill and then lightly brush from the outside edge toward the middle to smooth it all out.   

 

 

Once the paint has dried, peel up the corner of the paper and continue to pull at about a 45 degree angle to remove your template.

 

 

 

I decided to outline the edge of my crowns with more of the fabric paint so they stand out a little more since my project will be used for a photoshoot. 

 

 

 

Project complete!

 





Since we will be hanging this up on a clothesline, I decided to use some of the paint to decorate a few of the clothes pins.