Random Pics

I have been so bad about taking pictures/posting the past week! We've mostly been staying inside because the weather turned COLD and was rainy several days this week. We are so ready for the nice warm sunshiny days to come back and stay! Lydia has been asking daily to go out and play ... and it's just been too yucky! =( Here are some pictures I found that I thought I would post!

Lydia's first time to jump on a trampoline! We took her with us to small group one night and she had so much fun jumping. It took her a little bit to get used to it, but once she did, it was all we could do to keep her off of it! If we had a level back yard, we might have to invest in one!

 Eating one of her favorite treats at one of her favorite restaurants ... Chick-fil-a!

 She discovered her cones a few weeks ago, and since then that's all she wants her ice cream in! It takes her forever to eat all of it (even with help from Mommy and Daddy) but we love watching her! It's too cute!

 All I wanted was ONE picture from our family dinner ... and this is what I got! Nice, huh?!?

 Her very first Target icee!! 

We spent the weekend in Searcy trying to help clean out and pack up my Grandmother's house before she moves in a couple weeks and Lydia loved getting some cuddle time with Daddy in Grandmother's comfy chair! She loves her Daddy!

24 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of baby: 12 inches head to toe and just over a pound ... gained 4 ounces since last week! (picture an ear of corn)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 16 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants because they are so much more comfortable! Mostly maternity shirts but some regular. Able to wear a lot of my spring/summer dresses from last year!

Gender: A baby BOY, Jack Henry

Movement: Feeling a lot of movement! He seems a lot more active than Lydia did. He moves around all the time and I love it!

Sleep: Starting to wake up SEVERAL times at night. Seems to be about every hour or so to turn over! Thankfully it doesn't take too long to go back to sleep. The weather got COLD again, so I have not been able to get out and walk and I'm so ready to get back so I can hopefully start sleeping better.

What I miss: Nothing really ...

Cravings: Salads and fresh fruit

Symptoms: Just normal pregnancy stuff ... Trouble bending over, painting my toe nails, indigestion, etc. Also have felt exhausted again this week. Seems like I've been a lot more tired this time around. I have not been doing anything out of the ordinary ... chasing Lydia, cleaning and stuff like that. A friend said with her boy she was exhausted, so maybe it's a boy thing?!?

Best Moment this week: Feeling him move around and actually seeing my belly move! It blows my mind every time! I can also feel him doing flips ... or something! It's the craziest feeling.

I go to the doctor in the morning for my glucose test and also to see the doctor. Praying that I pass the test and don't have to go back for the LONG test. Can't wait to hear his little heart beat!

Someone snuck in the picture! ;)

Never Ending ...

First off, let me say that I LOVE being able to stay home with Lydia every day. Some days are stressful and I just want to run away, but all it takes is a hug, smile, kiss, or "I love you Mommy" to make it all better. When I do get a chance to "get away", I am always more than ready to get back home to her!

The other day I was feeling really overwhelmed by all of the house work that seems to never end! I'm sure other mom's feel this way, but I feel like I can never "catch up". I'm so thankful for a husband that helps out in so many ways around the house ... laundry, dishes, cleaning, taking care of Lydia, etc ... but even with his help it seems like there is always something that needs to be done!

Feel like we get all the laundry done and caught up ... and then I look in the laundry basket and there are more dirty clothes!

 We washed dishes after dinner one night and by the time I turned around, there was another plate in the sink to be washed! And we have a dishwasher! =)

And the grocery shopping ... I can NEVER get home with everything I need, even with a list. 

But like I said, this little smile makes all the laundry, dishes, and grocery shopping worth it! Love her so much!

23 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 23 Weeks

Size of baby: more than 11 inches head to toe and just over 1 pound (about as much as a large mango)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 15 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants because they are so much more comfortable! Mostly maternity shirts but some regular. Able to wear a lot of my spring/summer dresses from last year!

Gender: A baby BOY, Jack Henry

Movement: Feeling a lot of movement! He seems a lot more active than Lydia did. He moves around all the time and I love it!

Sleep: I'm sleeping better than I was. Have to get up several times a night to use the bathroom. =( I've been walking more lately, trying to go at least once a day, if not twice and that really seems to be helping me sleep better.

What I miss: Nothing really ...

Cravings: Salads

Symptoms: Just normal pregnancy stuff ... Trouble bending over, painting my toe nails, indigestion, etc.

Best Moment this week: Feeling him move around and actually seeing my belly move! It blows my mind every time! One night this week I woke up and had my hand on my belly, and he kicked or elbowed me so hard I thought he was going to come right on through! It was crazy!

First Pedicure of the Season!

 Today was the day ... No more naked toes in our house! =)

I was going to paint my toes today and Lydia wanted to pick out what color ... she picked Snappy Sorbet and stood right next to me while I painted them. Which, by the way ... is not very easy when you are 23 weeks pregnant! Not sure what I am going to do! When I was pregnant with Lydia it was winter so I didn't have to worry about it and my aunt came to the hospital and gave me a pedicure while I was on bed rest so I could have painted toes! Going to have to figure something out ... can't be walking around with unpainted toe nails this spring and summer!

Anyways ... back to the original post! =) I asked Lydia if she wanted me to paint hers and she quickly said "No" but I asked her again and told her she could pick out the color and have a few M&M's and she was all for it! She wanted our toes to match, so Snappy Sorbet it was for her!

 All finished!! Is she not the cutest?!?

 "Look Mommy, our toes match!" She loves when she finds things that match!

Can't wait until the day we go and get a real pedicure done! May be a while though ... she is not a fan of other people messing with her!

I LOVE Bubbles!

 This girl LOVES her some bubbles!! I've decided that I am going to keep up with how many bottles we go through this spring/summer. We opened this bottle last Thursday and we've almost used it all up!

 This is what face I get when I tell her to smile and show me her teeth! Such a goofy girl ... but I love her!

 Running around after the bubbles.

 She is too funny while running after them. She says "I love bubbles" and "Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!"

 "I didn't catch any!"

 "AHHH!!"

 I've started working at a local cafe/restaurant on Friday's and Jeff works from home so he can stay with Lydia. It's been a great break for all of us! I enjoy the time away and LOVE being able to cook and bake and Lydia and Jeff love their Daddy/Daughter time! She was so excited to go out after lunch and play with chalk before her nap!

 Looks like they are dancing!! =)

This girl can JUMP! It's amazing how high and far she can jump! Future track star maybe?!?

I am so glad we are able to get out and enjoy the weather! We've been taking walks in the morning and at night and it's been so nice. Trying to get in as much exercise as I can before I'm not able to! The weather has been perfect and the fresh air has been so nice.

Up Close and Personal

 Poor Lydia got up close and personal with the street for the first time. =( We had gone for a walk and she wanted out to walk, so we took her out of her stroller towards the end. We were almost home and she got running and tripped over her flip-flop. Jeff went and picked her up and she almost immediately said she wanted down to walk ... and then she saw the blood and really lost it. =(

 Thankfully she caught herself before her face hit, which was good. Her little knees took the brunt of the fall. She did so good in letting us get it all cleaned up, medicine on and Dora bandaids put on. We spent a while on the couch cuddling and watching Dora, which I loved!

 Then we gave her a little ice cream which of course made it all better! =)

The morning after ... Looks pretty painful to me!

Before we left for church she said "I tell my teachers I have bandaids" as she pulled her dress up. It was too cute! First thing she said to her teacher when we walked in was "I have bandaids" and when her teacher asked her what happened she said "I fell down in the street and got boo boo." =) I'm sure that this is the first of many boo boos this summer!

Saturday @ The Zoo!

We decided to go to the zoo today and check out the new penguin exhibit that Lydia has been asking to see for weeks. We've always been during the week and it was SO busy today. 

 Lydia and Jeff checking out the penguins!

 They were so cute! This one was a show-off! He would swim down and get right in your face behind the glass. He kind of freaked Lydia out, though. She was not too sure about him.

 She did however get up close and personal with these penguins on the sign. She wanted to count them! =)

 Saying "Hi" to the maned wolf. One of her Dora videos has a maned wolf in it and she is fascinated by this one every time we go.

 Feeding the fish breakfast!

 She loved watching the elephants today. They were picking up dirt and eating it ... she thought it was so silly. She just giggled ... it was so cute!

 She LOVES her Daddy and has been attached to him all weekend.

 The rhino ... 

Jeff had to be quick to snap this picture! She was on the move the whole time we were at the zoo. Love that she is able to run around and enjoy looking at all the animals ... even if it's just for a minute or two!

It's Official!!

Well ... We officially have a name for our baby boy!

Jack Henry Hall

Jeff's dad's name is Henry and we wanted to use a family name ... and the name Jack is one of my favorites and I LOVE the way the two go together! Love being able to call him something other than "baby boy" or "little bit" or "him"! Also love to hear Lydia say his name. It is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard! I need to get a video of her saying it! Melts my heart every time!

Speaking of Jack Henry, he is SO active! I don't remember Lydia being so active!! I love feeling him moving around! I'm starting to be able to feel him from the outside too, which is totally crazy to me! One night I was sitting with my hand on my tummy, and my hand literally jumped!! Since I had Lydia so early, I did not get to experience the BIG kicks and movements that come later on in pregnancy. Guess he is making up for it! =)

Cupcakes For Everyone!

We celebrated Lydia's 3rd birthday with a cupcake themed birthday party. I could not decide on what kind of party to have ... and she didn't have a preference, so I figured cupcakes would be good! Easy to decorate for and yummy to eat! =) Plus, we found an adorable dress at a consignment sale that went perfectly with "cupcakes"!

The sweet birthday girl!

 She woke up from her nap right before the party in a not so great mood. She woke up crying and would not let me put her down or get out of her sight. Not so great when you are the birthday girl! Come to find out she was getting sick. =( We finally got her to open her presents (after much persuasion!) and that seemed to get her in a much better mood!

 She is so OCD when it comes to unwrapping gifts. She has to get EVERY single piece of paper off of the box before she can open it!

 Checking out the birthday card that came with paper dolls! Can't wait to play with them!

 Check out that face!! Is that perfect timing or what?!? Hah! Jeff and I laughed so hard when we saw it! She looks like she is about to beat the snot out of someone with her new fishing pole! 

 You can't open presents with out a little tissue throwing, can you?!?

 Eating her dinner so that she could have a yummy cupcake!

 I guess she thought that it was going to be loud when I was lighting the candles! =)

 Mesmerized by the candles while everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to her!

 Look at those little puffed up cheeks! She was blowing REALLY hard!

The kids table! =) Lydia has talked about playing with her friends all week! She had so much fun with them!

We are so blessed to have a wonderful family and friends that love Lydia. We pray that Lydia will grow up knowing that she is loved SO much.