Grayson at 18 Months

Saying: everything. mama, dada, mamaw, mimi, papa, wa-wa (water), layla, go, ball, baball (football), be (bear), babi (paci), tanku (thank-you), no, nose, mou (mouth), boo (book), cou (couch), horse, cow, hot, bath, truck, daw (dog)

Eating: nothing but carbs. he likes eggs, crackers, yogurt, bread and sweets pretty much all the time but everything else (all the healthy stuff) is only a maybe if he feels like trying it. the things he will sometimes tolerate include bananas, lentils, rice, green beans, peas, squash, grilled cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, carrots, mac & cheese, applesauce, and cheese.

Hating: when people leave, potatoes, getting his nose wiped, getting eye drops put in his eyes, the carseat

Dancing: to the King Julian theme song on Netflix, veggietales, or any other music he hears

Reading: Goodnight Gorilla and the slide and see version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

Loving: being outside, Mrs. Sam and especially Mr. Robert, graham crackers, chasing layla, playing chase (or run from mommy), going to "mamaw's" house, music and musical instruments, pushing buttons on anything and everything

Climbing: Couches and chairs

Learning: lots of words, colors, how to follow simple directions (put it back, bring it to mommy), how to push the limits, how to drink out of an open cup (he's actually pretty much a pro now)

*He is now approximately 20 pounds. We haven't had his 18 month appointment yet but they weighed him at his sick visit. He was a little over 20 pounds but he had his clothes and shoes on so I'm guessing it was a little less (hopefully not much).

Morning Out & Update on Bennett

So today I got to have a mommy's day out. I felt a little guilty because Grayson has been fighting a cold and his canines coming through all weekend but Brandon assured me that if he couldn't hang at Mrs. Sam's that he would go pick him up and they would be fine.

Last week I debated whether or not to hurry back to Boone for a workday after an early ultrasound this morning in Hickory but after I found out Christi would be in Hickory anyway - I decided to  take the whole day for me. I drove down at the crack of dawn (literally and it was beautiful) listening to the "Find Your Flow" message by Steven Furtick, had my appointment, and now I'm spending some time sitting at Barnes and Nobles blogging, sipping coffee, and maybe reading some of Unbroken and then I'll meet up with Christi and Megan in a little bit! Praise!!

So thank you to my awesome husband. I've told him like five times how much this day means to me. I've been looking forward to it all weekend. But yet I will say it again. The freedom to be here and see friends and sit with no schedule in a coffee shop is a blessing.

So - some updates on Bennett: On Friday I was feeling nervous about today because I hadn't felt Bennett kick yet so I drank some cold water, ate a reeses, and laid down on the couch to the encouragement of my FB mom friends.  Minutes later I was feeling him move! It was awesome and wonderful and I've been noticing it more and more all weekend. I didn't feel Grayson until about 23 weeks (mostly because of my anterior placenta) so it was so exciting to start to feel Bennett sooner.

And today I got to see him on the big screen again! He looks great! This mommy is so happy. My titers have also gone down to 1:4 which is a relief and an answer to prayers! Keep praying that they stay down throughout this pregnancy! He weighs a whopping 9 oz and was extra wiggly. I absolutely can not wait to see his sweet face in 21 weeks.

Sweet Baby Boy (#2)

I must say that this gender reveal party was the most wonderful celebration I could've asked for. Initially - I didn't really care to have this party. The second we found out it was a boy - I just wanted to go ahead and tell everyone. Partly because I just can't keep a secret for long and I wanted to wrap a Christmas present for our parents the next day. But also partly because almost EVERYONE thought baby was a girl. Brandon had me convinced he was a girl and everyone just couldn't stop talking about how I "needed" a girl because I had a boy and how fun it would be to buy girl clothes and ribbons and bows. Obviously everyone says "as long as it's healthy it doesn't matter the gender" but at the same time - you know that the family would love a girl to spoil and to be quite honest - I had my mind set on having a baby girl as well.  So I kind of just wanted to tell everyone rather than having a big party and then everyone being like "aww. oh well."  I think it took actually having everyone there and screaming and excited over our baby boy for me to really feel excited myself. I don't know why but I kind of felt like I was going to disappoint people by having another boy. Ridiculous, I know. But I'm just trying to be real here.

But our party was nothing but wonderful. All of our favorite people in the same place (minus just a few) and just a really good time of fellowship and fun. I loved that some of our friends didn't know each other until this party but still just sat down and talked and mingled and ate dessert and celebrated our second baby boy. I loved that both sets of our parents were there and G was running around showing everyone his new toys and eating way too many desserts. It really was just so perfect.

So the big reveal? I decided to go with envelopes this time. I just didn't want anything as stressful as cupcakes or something that people could figure out before it was time. I did REALLY good keeping this secret for a week and a half and I didn't want someone peeking and figuring it out before it was time. So I let everyone choose a sealed envelope with their guess on the outside. And I had a few for people that just didn't have a guess. Then we counted down and let everyone rip them open. It was fun seeing the people that were so proud that they were right and the few that couldn't believe that they were wrong. But it was a moment of pure fun. We have the best friends and family. Truly. We are so blessed.

Also - at this party we revealed our son's name. Because again - I just can't wait. We tossed around a couple other names but just kept going back to the first one. Grayson's little brother will be 

Bennett James Hall

Oh, how I can't wait to meet him!