{Hannah} 18 weeks

I'm 18 weeks and 2 days pregnant (can't ever get this thing done on time)! We had an appointment today, but they just checked for her heartbeat, which was 150 bpm, and that was it!

I'm SO EXCITED to go back in two weeks to see Hannah on Ultrasound. It will be Austin's first time to "see" her, so he is also excited! 

How far along? 18 weeks, 2 days

Maternity clothes? Mostly - plus some forgiving others
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping well!
Miss anything? Not particularly

Movement: Not yet from the outside but hopefully Austin can feel her move in the next week (please don't touch my belly)!
Food cravings: breakfast tacos, donut holes, chai lattes
Anything making you queasy or sick: yes, the heartburn has reached a peak, however, I just got the prescription for a better heartburn medicine so things should get better soon!
Have you started to show yet: if I wear fitted clothes or have a large meal, yes!
Gender: GIRL!!!!!
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but only because I lost a diamond and the ring is being repaired!
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy! Emotional, maybe, but I wouldn't say "moody"

Looking forward to: ultrasound and halfway mark in TWO WEEKS!!

Here are a few pictures from this weekend in New Braufels/Gruene, TX. Unfortunately we didn't take phones or cameras to Schlitterbahn but Ethan LOVED it. There was so much there for toddlers - small slides, splash pads, shallow pools. It was awesome! Ethan also loved being with his cousin Jackson all weekend - he was Jackson's little shadow!

xo,

{Hannah} seventeen weeks; {Ethan} 20 months!

Oh my goodness, y'all. Summer is here, and our calendar seems packed - at least for the next week or so. We are taking Ethan to Schlitterbahn this weekend with the Haynes Fam and we are so excited, but there's much to do! I'm also starting to feel Hannah move around in a more pronounced way, which is so exciting! In a few more weeks I should get to share that with Austin, too!

---

HANNAH
Here's our quick bit on the pregnancy before we move on to our little boy!

First of all, I still have a hard time believing we are actually having a little girl - and I am thoroughly enjoying finding bargains on baby girl clothes. Her week developmentally doesn't seem too exciting, but I read through her progress like we're checking boxes - one at a time as God knits her together. So cool that scientific advances can give us such a clear timeline of a baby's development!

This week, Hannah's rubbery cartilage is now turning to bone, and she's growing some meat on those bones - putting on some fat. She's also growing a stronger, thicker umbilical cord! She's the size of an onion this week!

Sorry - it's an awful selfie!
I always forget to ask Austin to take them!

How far along? 17+ weeks! (Ha, am I always behind? Baby #2, I guess!)
Maternity clothes? No, but Nike shorts are forgiving!
Stretch marks? None yet
Sleep: Sleeping well assuming there isn't a torrential flood outside!
Miss anything? Energy and motivation, right now!
Movement: Not from the outside (please don't touch my belly)
Food cravings: I would go for anything easy that doesn't need cooking, but if not that, then... breakfast tacos and donut holes. Mmmm
Anything making you queasy or sick: HEART. BURN. Thanks Hannah.
Have you started to show yet: I don't think I look like a pregnant person. But you would notice some extra pudge if you know me.
Gender: GIRL!!!!!
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but only because my wedding band is soldered on to the other rings and it is missing a stone (sad, naked finger!).
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happier this weekend - loved having Austin home and relaxed over the 3-day weekend.
Looking forward to: Feeling more movement from a bigger baby; ultrasound in less than 3 weeks!

---

ETHAN
Ethan is just 4 months away from turning two - unbelievable. He is getting so big (and so blonde!) so fast. We're in 3T shirts and 2T shorts for the most part. We just moved up to size 7 shoe as well!

He is picking up more and more words and forming more two-word sentences! One of the first things I taught my nuggets when I was a swim instructor was to blow bubbles in the water. I'm anxious to get Ethan to be more water-safe, so I've been trying to get him to blow bubbles at the pool and in the tub. Today, he even said "blow bubbles?" - it was precious.

Speaking of the pool - we have a water-baby for sure. He has NO fear of water, though he is somewhat cautious, and he loves ANY water activities - our baby pool, our neighborhood pool (opened this weekend!), his water table - no fear!

We also signed him up for one day per week of Mother's Day Out for the Fall, and I'm excited for him to make new friends and see them regularly! Lately we've had anxiety with going to the church nursery, so hopefully MDO will help with that. I know having half a day away will be a big help when Hannah comes - I might even wish I had signed him up for two days, but that would only by really useful for us when she arrives. The one (half) day to myself should give me some time to get ready for Hannah, grocery shop (alone!) and clean our house. I also plan to join a MOPS group from the same church and get more plugged in to our new area.

sweetest picture this month!

Ethan LOVES corn.

Joyride with dad!

He would live in this pool if he could (and I would let him, if it weren't for
the mosquitoes!

Reminiscing about the many nights he spent in this crib!

Learning animal sounds & colors

Tantrum: because he doesn't like cheese

Ethan & Parker playing at a Gymboree playdate

We LOVE our playgrounds!

Children's Museum

He so wants to be independent. Loves filling up his own pool!

Right after we got back from the neighborhood pool - he loves that whale, even when
he isn't in it!

Relaxing with Dad over the weekend

Hunkered down during one of many bad storms that blew through Houston!

---

That sums it up for our fam, friends! The house is finally "ready enough" for pictures and a house tour - just need to take pictures! I've been so tired lately that I've been resting when Ethan is napping so not much gets accomplished during naptime. I re-irritated my skiing injury so I've had to take it easy for that, too.

xo

PS - I'm looking for a new diaper bag, preferably a tote with a crossbody strap. I know timi & leslie make them, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything awesome out there! Want it to look like a normal tote - no crazy patterns, as I prefer a solid camel or black color... I'm so not picky, right?!

{baby two} 16 weeks and a SURPRISE!

16 weeks down, 24 to go! Almost to that exciting halfway point in our pregnancy where we find out the gender... Or will we find out sooner?! ;)

How far along? 16+ weeks!
Maternity clothes? Not today.
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Back to sleeping through the night! Saving those potty breaks for the 3rd trimester.
Miss anything? Nope
Movement: None yet!
Food cravings: Cinnamon Toast Crunch; Mexican Food!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn is worse (sometimes)
Have you started to show yet: If I wear a tight shirt, sort of. But you wouldn't immediately guess that I'm pregnant.
Gender: Guessing it's a girl, but could really be wrong!
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happier this week, but still having some mood swings (poor Austin).
Looking forward to: Finding out gender!

Ahem... Ok, I have a confession, friends.

We do not have to wait another 4 weeks to find out the gender of our baby.... Because WE KNOW! We did the genetic testing about two weeks ago, and got the results on Thursday. (We just said we were waiting until the Ultrasound so we could REALLY surprise everyone!)

IT'S A GIRL!!

We are SO EXCITED to finally have our Hannah Rosalie, and meet her in just 5.5 more months!! It is surreal that we will be welcome a girl into our family

Here are some sweet pics & videos of how we told our families:

Sweet miss Hannah, we absolutely look forward to meeting you. I look at Ethan and am amazed by how much love and laughter (and dirt, and poop, and tears!) he has brought into this family, and how much we have all grown together. I am getting so excited for the journey we will have together as a family of FOUR, and for the love you will bring into our family! The Lord has blessed us so richly, and you, my beautiful daughter (!) are already treasured.

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

~Psalm 139:13-18

xo,

{baby two} 14 weeks

Whew! That first trimester went by quickly. With so much going on, and a toddler on the run -- I'm not surprised!

I've had more queasiness in this pregnancy than the last (so far), but I think less heartburn. I can't remember when the heartburn kicked in with Ethan, but I know I was prescribed meds around 30 weeks. I am definitely more emotional, but finally starting to have a little more energy. All I really wanted to do these last few months was sleep! With packing and unpacking, there hasn't been a lot of time for that. Fortunately we're almost done with that -- unfortunately, I am still not ready for a full house tour on the blog yet!

We do have names picked out! We saved Hannah Rosalie from the first pregnancy. Hannah is a Hebrew name from the Bible (was considered barren but eventually had Samuel) which means 'gracious'. Rosalie was my amazing paternal grandmother. I wish Austin and Ethan had a chance to meet her, and hope any daughter we have can live up to the name of an amazing and godly woman. 

If we have another boy, we have picked the name Thomas Edward. Thomas means "twin" (fitting for the second son) and was the name of one of Jesus' disciples. Though Thomas is often called 'doubting Thomas', we see the Lord meet and overcome his doubt when he urges Thomas to touch his wounds. (And haven't we all doubted?) And finally, the middle name, Edward, is my dad's middle name!

So will it be a boy or a girl?

Old Wives Tales: Gender Predictors

- Carrying high or low? Low (Boy)

- Heart rate: 155 (Girl)

- Craving sweets or salty? Sweets (Girl)

- Chinese Birth Chart: (Boy)

- Acne: Yes (Girl)

- Necklace: Back and forth (Girl)

- Morning sickness: n/a (Boy)

They are pretty even! We have our anatomy scan scheduled for June 15 so stay tuned ;)

Below are those maternity questions from my pregnancy with Ethan!

How far along? 14+ weeks!
Maternity clothes? Yes and no. While they're more comfortable, most of them are huge on me still. My maternity jeans might as well be pajamas - those things are comfortable, they fit, and I love them!
Stretch marks? Not yet, but they will come - hopefully a long while later, or not at all ;)
Sleep: good! Waking up less in the middle of the night which is awesome!
Miss anything? Nothing in particular, but I miss the general freedoms I had when not pregnant (eat this, not that, etc.)
Movement: None yet! Dying for it!
Food cravings: BLUE BELL - cookie dough. Please come back, BB.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Peanut butter gives me heartburn, as well as a couple of other unusual things - along with random nausea and other sick feelings if I haven't had enough water.
Have you started to show yet: No (sorry - no belly, no pic!)
Gender: Guessing it's a girl, but could really be wrong!
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody. Yikes!
Looking forward to: finding out gender... in 6 more weeks :(

xo,

nineteen months old

Mom of the year didn't know what day it is! 19 months isn't a huge milestone but I do want to have these entries to reflect on Ethan's growth. It's late and we are still moving in to our new house (overdue on a post on that, too) so let's just say it's a good thing there's a Blogger app on my phone. And forgive me if its wonky! I'll correct it later ;)

{one year ago today!}

He wears 3T pajamas and wants to be outside for about half of the day. We have an awesome backyard now, so that's ok by mama, too. He sleeps in a big boy bed now (full-sized mattress!).

{in his big boy bed}

He is increasingly independent and learning new words every minute, it seems. He started saying "ok" today (just one noteable one!), and I have a much easier time communicating with him what I do/don't want him to do; it's a blessing until he gets frustrated with my words not aligning with his desires and a tantrum ensues. 

He is also a little copycat - it is both adorable and terrifying. I got him on video having a fake conversation on his fake phone and pausing to put the fake person he was talking to on hold to talk to me - put the phone to his chest while he did it. I don't know who he saw doing that, but he absorbed it like a little sponge. My prayer is that I teach him well with my actions... Oh Lord, do I ever need help with that one.

{figuring out how to put on shoes}

And in about 6 more months, we will meet the next baby Haynes, who will probably imitate their brother more than they do me. He is going to be an awesome big brother - I know it!

xo,

Haynes home #2!

We took shifts at the new house today. Austin ripped out some floors this morning, so new ones can go in this week. 

Austin bought a pry bar to get the boards up. And we didn't rip out perfectly good floors! We visited the house two times after deciding to buy it (went twice for that, too) and the longer we were there, the more we realized the serverity of the buckling, bowing, creaking and water damage (dishwasher issue, we think). We realized they weren't genuine hard wood floors, so they couldn't be refinished. We actually think they're original to the 22-year-old house so they've seen a lot of wear. Austin doing all this manual labor saved us $700 on the floor install, however, we still have to work out logistics on getting it removed from the house. We also need a rotting swingset removed if anyone has tips on that!

I went in for the paint in the afternoon. There is so much green in this house! There's also a green room with purple shelves (that's so 90s, y'all). This is how our game room used to look:

I am not into accent walls - personal preference. This one was really bright and  one of the first things you see from the front door. I started by taping it off & cutting in on the edges with primer:

Then I painted one coat of primer. I just needed to cover that green, since going from darker or brighter colors to another color can be really difficult.

Without primer, I would've have to paint a lot more coats of the mocha color. This way, I actually got away with one coat of primer, and not quite two coats of mocha. 

I followed the primer with more cutting in with the mocha color, followed by rolling in the middle. Cutting in can be a painstaking task, but it really saves some time in the long run as you're less likely to mess up your edges. 

BOOM!

I also riddled our home of some woodland animals in Ethan's room (much to Austin's chagrin):

Sayonara, suckers. 

Around this point, I realized I couldn't find the matching paint for this room, but I knew this was a possibility all along. I chose to prime the animals because I will eventually either successfully match this paint color, or I will (sigh....) paint Ethan's entire room. Ugh. I'm pretty determined to match that darn color. And while I made jokes about ridding my house of the creatures, I ultimately made the decision to remove them because Ethan's decor is nautical, and I would rather spend a few bucks on paint than have to toss what I have for him already.

Tomorrow morning, the movers come! It's going to be a crazy place for about 3 days, what with sticky floors and a generally non-child-friendly environment, but come Wednesday we should have beautiful engineered hickory floors with rustic details. (Eeek!) Next week we might look a little more like a home!

Stay tuned...

xo,

18 months... and one to grow on

I am SO late on posting this! We have had a lot going on, so I delayed it to give myself some space to accomplish other tasks, and get a minute or two to rest!

Our little man is 18 months old! The last month has been full of... Moving. We also saw snow for the first time when we visited GiGi's new house in Colorado, however, we really only liked it a lot for a couple days. And it was unbearably cold for a couple days (single digits + Texans = NO GO!) so we played indoors a lot. We finally did find a nicely groomed sledding hill which we loved!

While in Colorado, we accepted an offer on our home, and the sale has been mostly smooth sailing (knock on wood!). We close on Monday (knock on wood again!), and we are really excited to begin the Cypress, TX chapter of our lives. I won't talk about the new house until it is for sure the new house and we have signed the dotted line, but rest assured that we are excited about it! Rather than try to do a lease-back with our house, we decided to stay with my parents. So far we are looking at about 12 days here. Should be a fun & busy place! My brothers & Meghan had all moved out so I thought we should keep them company! 😉

And now for some exciting news for Ethan and the rest of the Haynes fam:

Ethan has been out

Twice as long as he was in,

Which seemed like perfect timing -

So we're starting up again!

Baby number TWO is due

Halloween 2015!

xo,