And baby makes four…

What?! Wait, yall are pregnant?

Yep.

We are so excited to finally let everyone know our new happy news: We will be welcoming another sweet January baby into our home! January 25th is baby P II’s expected arrival date.

Was this planned?

We had been trying for another baby for awhile, but it just wasn’t happening at our planned pace. Seriously, I should’ve just taken out stock in pregnancy test- those things are so blasted expensive. I came up with a rule that I would make myself wait until I was at least a week late before I let myself buy one. Finally, out of frustration I asked Chris if we could take a few months off. I had decided that I wanted a little time to focus on myself- running a 5k again was part of that along with losing my last 5lbs of Eli weight.
So we took some time off…not really time off, but off of the regimented schedule that we followed to increase our chances of becoming pregnant. We started running again, planned a 5k for June and started focusing on our photography. A friend told me as soon as I started running again I would get pregnant…she
was dead on.

Did you know you were pregnant?

Because I am a total “owl” personality, I keep crazy track of certain things (because of that fact I know the exact days that Eli and baby P II were conceived. Weird I know, but very useful.) Anyway, I started craving orange juice one day. Like, I had to have it at that moment. This is really weird for me because I am not much of an OJ fan. Then, all I could think about eating were avocados; I even made Chris make me guacamole one night for dinner. This is totally out of my realm...I don’t care for guacamole. Thankfully, Chris didn’t even think twice about my new found love of avocados.
That is when I started getting suspicious. I broke my rule of waiting a week and took a test the day of my expected “funness”. That morning I woke up, went to the gym with Eli and ran my first full 5k since Eli was born. I was so proud! Then I went home, took the test and told Eli that he was going to be a big brother.

How did you tell Chris?

I knew that Chris was totally in the dark still and I wanted to surprise him, so I hid the test and started coming up with ways to tell him he was my baby’s daddy again.
The next week I decided to buy an early Father’s day card and put it in the mail from our new little bundle of joy. Chris was totally shocked and thrilled when he found the card. It was the perfect moment that I was hoping for, tears and all. He couldn’t believe that I had been hiding it for almost a week!

Is this pregnancy different from your first?

Yes. I have been much sicker with this little bundle than I ever was with Eli. I am also really tired. With Eli, I was working in Norman and Chris was gone for an internship during the whole first trimester. I don’t remember feeling that tired or nauseous. Also, I never had to get up at night and go to the bathroom with Eli…never. Now, I go at least once a night and sometimes 3-5 times!
Also, I am not obsessing about the pregnancy like I did with Eli. I allow myself to have one caffeinated drink a day (gasp!) and I haven’t been to the gym in over a month! When I just found out that I was pregnant I felt great and ran 3 more full 5k’s. Then I hit some sort of brick wall…the week I helped with our church’s Vacation Bible School it all went downhill! From that week on I have been sick and very tired. I am hoping that things will get a little better during the 2nd trimester and I can start exercising again…I really do think that is one of the best things you can do for a great pregnancy experience. I have lost 5lbs, but I swear to you that my stomach looks the same as when I was 6 months pregnant with Eli. It was like my body automatically knew what was coming.

Does anyone else know?

Yes, we decided to tell whoever came to our last family BBQ. It was really neat and all on video! I will post that on another day!

Anyway, that is more information than any of you wanted to know, but there it is. Please pray for us as we treasure our last months as a family of three. Also, pray for little Baby P II to continue to grow and stay healthy.


Here is a picture of the newest addition!

Here is what our little family will look like next year!

I have to end with these two adorable pictures that our favorite photographer took of our little guy...

This is Eli "playing" bathtime in a puddle during the photoshoot!

And here is the hat! I love it!

Thanks, Benita!

It was about time...

we finally put away the baby tub.

I know, I know. I am sure that everyone else stopped using that thing when their baby hit a year, if not before. But, it is just so much easier, less stress and one more sign that our little boy is growing up. A few weeks ago Chris and I decided that Eli was just too big, so we gave in. We bought a new bath mat and put away the baby tub.

Of course Eli loves his new found freedom of the "big boy" bath! Here are a few pictures from his favorite time of day!

Ahhh! Don't you just love Eli bokeh!?!

He loves to play with the drain...it is a losing battle for mommy and daddy...one of the many.

What?! 18 months?

****Updated: Now I do have pictures of Eli! Woot

I can't believe that our baby boy is 18 months old. It seems like it has all gone by so fast, and yet I can't remember what we did before him!

We celebrated today  Monday by having our family pictures taken by the fabulous Benita Cloward...

We are so excited to see the rest of our proofs! Don't you love his outfit! Oh, you should see the hat that goes with it! It was a good shoot, but it started raining in the middle and I forgot mine and Chris's second set of clothes at the hotel...dang it. But, I did have Eli's second set, and he was adorable! ;) If you are in the Norman area we totally recommend Benita, she is wonderful!

Anyway, back to the man of the day....
Here is to you, my precious little boy who is too big to let him mommy sing to him before nap time anymore. :(

Eli, 18 months:
This month you learned to count to 3 and we are working on your ABC's.
You wear size 4 diapers and are in 12 month clothes and 18 month pj's.
You still take 2 naps about 1 1/2 to 2 hours long- thank you, Jesus!
You are constantly calling daddy on your toy cell phone...we never want him to miss anything while he is at work.
You love to get kisses from your Kaikeyi dog.
Your favorite thing is still trucks and pointing them out and saying "Bye-bye truck".
You hate flies.
You have 15 teeth; 8 on top and 7 on bottom.

Baby boy,
We are so proud of you! You are so amazing. Thank you for being exactly who you are. We can never thank God enough for the precious gift he gave us by giving us you. You are such a joy.

The Fourth: The rest of the story.

For the last 4 or 5 years we have had the same 4th of July routine.

We get up early to eat pancakes in Canyon, go see the parade, walk the square and finish off the night in White Deer watching/popping fireworks.

This year was extra special because Canyon celebrated on Saturday and White Deer celebrated on Sunday! No rushing around in one day- hooray!

Here is Gloria and Richard's annual 4th picture!

Eli was big enough to enjoy his very first pancake breakfast! May there be many more to come, little guy!

Yummy!

Mamaw and Grandy...

Gloria, Richard and Chris...

Finger-lick'n good!

After breakfast we had  to get Eli a flag and take a few pictures!

Eli insisted that Mamaw and Grandy walk him to the square...heart-melting!

Just as soon as we started taking these pictures Eli saw a dog...he is saying "woof" in every single picture. :)

After the square we made a quick trip to the car because it started raining and had a diaper time-out.

Then we ate Cheerios and watched the parade...I have to say that I think Chris is the best dad ever. He is just so loving with Eli.

Saturday evening my parents came to town and we went to dinner with Chris's parents. It is so nice that our families like each other! Then we went back to Richard and Gloria's for dessert. The plan was to watch the Canyon fireworks, but they were cancelled because of the rain.

Sunday morning, Chris and I went to church and Eli stayed at home with his Memamaw and Grandpaw. We went to lunch and then ran a few errands before heading to White Deer for the best firework show in the Panhandle!

We had dinner with Nanny, Papaw and Lynda, and of course I didn't take a single picture! :(

Here we all are though at the fireworks!

*I have heard the White Deer fireworks referred to as "The Circle of Death". I have been going pretty much every year since birth and I have never left without a fear for my life. Basically, the community comes together in a giant circle and shoots off fireworks together...it can get pretty out of hand, but I have never been more entertained! The ambulance only had to come out once this year- success! 

Eli did really well. It started off a little iffy, but I think being in the back of my car helped, just like at the parade the day before.

Eli got really confident and wanted Grandpaw to hold him for the last of the show!

So sweet!

We left toward the end of the fireworks and made it home around 11:30- a full day, but so fun!

4th of July!

We hope that all of you had a wonderful 4th!

We really loved this year because our festivities started Saturday in Canyon and ended Sunday night with fireworks in White Deer!

More stories and pictures to come later; I just couldn't resist showing off the cutest thing in red, white and blue yesterday!

What? Another new recipe?

This might be some sort of record or something.
I am proud to say that we tried yet another new recipe last night. Not only did I break away from the mundane weekly food routine, but I have had dinner ready and on the table when Chris walked through the door everyday this week....miracle beyond miracle, I know. I think I deserve dinner out tonight! ;) (hint,hint.)

Not that this recipe is super hard or anything, but it is different.

Pizza Pockets

You’ll need:

premade pie crust

spaghetti sauce

mozzarella cheese

pepperoni

egg white


Use a pizza cutter to divide the crusts into six parts each.

Spread a little spaghetti sauce on each piece.

Put mozzarella cheese on half of the pieces.



Put some pepperoni on the other halves.



Lay the halves on top of each other.

Fold over the edges to make little pockets. Vent the tops with a knife. Coat each with a little bit of egg white.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. (Photos and recipe courtesy of MckMama)


Really, these were super easy and super yummy. I paired this with grilled veggies and we were set. I even made one without pepperoni for Eli (I really don't like the idea of giving him that kind of highly processed meat yet) and he loved it. Chris was a huge fan...I am happy!

Eli was such a joy this week…just the happiest little thing (hence, dinner on the table everyday). Over the past month he has started “calling” for us. It really is adorable to hear “Mommy?” across the house. The last couple of days he has been really missing his daddy. Wednesday it was a constant, “Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?” It was really sweet, but frustrating when you know that daddy won't be home for another three hours and the kid is stuck with you, no daddy! :)

Hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend! We love the 4th! Be safe and have fun!