17 week thoughts

Laying in bed while Austin is working and all I can think about are the little baby movements I keep feeling. I'm just BARELY 17 weeks. I can't believe I can feel the baby this much already, but I LOVE it. We find out if the baby is a boy or girl next week and I'm so excited! It's so great that it's still just as exciting as the first time. Babies may never get old for me... It's just so fun.

I'm super grateful that everything has been working out. There are still so many of life's uncertainties, but for the most part we have so much to be grateful for and look forward to. I'm so grateful another baby will be joining our family. It is still way crazy to me, but I feel very calm about it. I know somehow I'll make life work with 3 little ones. I can't believe i'm really this grown up. (Or am I?!)

This pregnancy already seems to be flying by for me. I feel like I have a lot I want to accomplish before he/she gets here. As stressful as life can sometimes get I know that God is watching out for our little family. He has a plan for us all and that is so reassuring. I know that at this time in my life my role as a mom is the most important thing I could be doing and I feel God's influence as I strive to fulfill it.

I've already gained like 13lbs!! I think it has something to do with not throwing up at the beginning. I gained weight so fast, but luckily it has slowed down. I was starting to get really worried and I've been eating super healthy. (my newest favorite "healthy" recipe is BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad. It hits all the right taste buds for me. On my pinterest board.)

Because I haven't been sick and Sky wants a brother I am pretty convinced we're having a boy. I am ready to be pleasantly surprised by a 3rd girl though. What do you think?

I'm also in the market for a couple new carseats. If you have 3 or more kids and have ever done "3 in a row" in a car, what did you use?

I'm sure I'll have a picture and gender details up next week. :) thanks for listening. ;)

Alabama- the humid state.

So blogging has pretty much been the last thing on my mind lately. If you didn't know, we made our 26hr drive home safely and are so happy to be back! I am loving being home. I feel so much better here and have been tackling project after project. The girls are way happy to be home too! I don't know how long my blog will last. I just like it, because it documents all my pictures about things I already have written in journals. Sorry... not so exciting.

 

Anyhow, at the beginning of the month before we headed home the girls and I took our first official girls trip together to visit Annie and baby Jack in Birmingham, Alabama! We had a lot of fun! Poor Annie though... I think we wore her out! Hopefully we didn't scare her off from having more babies. We were only there a couple days and Sky was too excited to nap. It was great catching up though and we stayed super busy.

 

The highlight of our trip was probably the Birmingham Zoo. It was really nice and we all had fun.

 We even got to see a sea lion show!

 Sky fed a giraffe. She is so brave.

 Truly rode on the carousal for the first time and LOVED it. Her face was priceless.

Jack is so cute! I'm so glad I got to see him. Sky really loved him too. He made her feel like the funniest person on earth. She is really hoping for a brother.

It was about a 5hr drive and my girls are pretty much road trip experts by now. Sky is so cute with helping me pack. Thanks for letting us crash Annie!

Reasons I love my home

- Family

- Friends

- My kitchen

- My laundry room

- My bedroom

- My kid's bedrooms

- My backyard

- All our easy sources of entertainment that do not include the media

- Date Nights

- Feeling productive naturally

- In-N-Out

We have really had a great summer. It's been fun and a good experience for our family to be all by ourselves. We have grown closer together and had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories. I have gained a LOT of strength I didn't know I had with living a life without my husband and having to do things i normally wouldn't. I have travelled across the country with 2 kids and have done everything this summer on my own. My confidence in being a mom has really grown. From this summer I will miss the easy access to the pool on a daily basis, room service, and having the entire Sunday to spend with just us with no meetings, family birthday dinners, etc. We LOVE our home though. I have realized completely how spoiled I am with living close to family, having my kids on a perfect schedule where I can get alone time by myself and regular nights out with my husband, and all the luxuries I have at home I don't need. Quite frankly though, I like to be spoiled. I am not ashamed of it. We sure love our home and are so grateful for it. We are so excited to get back this week! :)


(Pic #1: Sky is already trying to pack. She is so excited to jump on the trampoline.

Pic#2: this has been the kids main source of entertainment in the hotel. I am excited for the trampoline as well. Ha)