Oh Boy!

We had our ultrasound on Friday and as many of you know HE showed off easily and we got to meet our SON! I was actually in a state of shock for most of the day. It was pretty funny, but I honestly didn't even consider the fact that the baby could be a boy until the morning of the ultrasound. I guess because I already have a girl and all girl things, I'm a girl and I wanted a sister so badly for my daughter that the thought of having a boy never crossed my mind. Haha! Eric had even thought the baby was a girl since we had talked about it so much, but secretely was hoping for a boy. He cooperated very well to let us know he is a boy right away, so there was no suspense. The rest of the ultrasound was actually a bit difficult. I guess he is asserting his independence already and didn't want to position the way the tech needed him to. We didn't mind this because we got to see more of him (as she was trying to get him to flip over). He was head down and butt up, so we didn't get any good profile shots. I think the tech felt bad for us, so she put on the 3D probe and instantly we fell in LOVE! It is so amazing what they can see with that technology! We were so excited to get such an intimate look at our son! What a special moment. God truely is amazing.

After the ultrasound I had to go to work, but Eric told me Alahna gave a big pouty face when he told her she was going to have a brother. She definitely wanted a sister, but she is a tom-boy at heart and will love chasing him around, playing trucks (teaching him to play dolls and kitchen) and sports. We went shopping at Kohls yesterday and I finally got really excited to have a little boy. The polo shirt/shorts one-piece outfits are to die for! I think he'll live in those for the summer =) It is definitely going to be different but I can't wait to experience what a little ham he'll be =) Eric is sooooo excited! He's really put some time in playing dolls, etc and can't wait to get some manly toys in the house. He actually went and bought Alahna a small monster truck after the ultrasound!!

Now on to which name to pick, bedding, how to incorporate boy stuff into our house... half way there! Before we know it he'll be here! =)

Big Baby

Well, its official I'm definitely showing!! Its fun to see the baby grow and Alahna's reaction to my ever growing belly. She now calls it the big baby!! Too funny. She sweetly surprised me when I asked her what she wanted to thank God for during our nightly prayer tonight...she said "the big baby"! I said yes Thank GOD for our baby getting bigger! Amen!!

Sweet prayer and night-night

I just wanted to share what a sweet girl Alahna is!

Now that she is sleeping in a toddler bed, my favorite time of day is snuggling up in her bed and reading her stories before bed. After the second or third book we always take a break to say our nightly prayer. I just made up a really simple prayer for her to be thankful to God for our family. It goes, Thank you God, Thank you for mama, Thank you for dada, Thank you for Alahna and Thank you for our new baby, Amen. Now that she is getting older and can contribute I've been asking her what she wants to thank God for. It's so fun to hear what she comes up with every night. Most of the time she just looks around her room and says something, but sometimes she really shocks me. After we told her about the baby and I started showing, she said "for the baby" for about 3 or 4 nights straight. So sweet. She has also thanked God for various things like sleep, pillow, Elmo, horsey, Hillary (our neighbor- her best friend's mom), the ABCs, potty. I need to start writing down what she says everynight. It will be a fun thing to look back on.

Tonight she amazed me even more. She wanted to get out of bed to go potty (yep we are in the midst of potty training...ahhh...going fairly well, hoping to have a short break from diapers before the baby comes). I decided to hold her and sing a song that I used to sing everynight when she was a baby before I put her down (until she started sleeping in the big girl bed). She actually remembered the words and sang with me!!! So cute. It seriously melted my heart.
It goes like this:
Good night, sleep tight
Mama loves you sweet baby
Yes I do, I love you
and you are my sweet baby
Sent from God, up above
in to my arms tonight
She hummed along and then chimed in with the last word of each verse. What a sweet heart. I can't even imagine loving another child as much as I love her. We are so excited to see how God spreads the same love for more children! Getting pumped up for "cheating" this time around and finding out the sex at our next ultrasound. Only 4 more weeks!!! YAY!

Soon we will be a family of FOUR! (or six if you count the dogs)

We are so excited to announce the upcoming birth of our next child!

Alahna is very excited to be a big sister!! She even knows there is a baby in mama's belly and says "hi baby" and said "night-night baby" tonight =)

Now that I'm out of the first trimester (I'll be 14 weeks this week) we are ready to celebrate with everyone. I was fortunate to only be sick for about two weeks and have honestly almost forgotten that I'm pregnant most days! I feel half guilty and half thankful for my easy first trimester. Being a wife, resident, mom of a two year old, and owner of 2 dogs keeps my mind busy enough =) We are definitely convinced that this one is quite different than Alahna. I was exhausted (fell asleep by 7pm every night) with Alahna. This time I haven't been extra tired, but I have been craving lots of random foods and was sick for a bit (both of which didn't happen at all last time)! It's amazing how each child is so different even within the womb. We are so excited to "cheat" this time and find out if Alahna will be getting a sister or a brother!! Only 6 more weeks. Yay!

I was fortunate enough to get a first trimester ultrasound and officially fell in love with this baby. It is so amazing to see how wonderfully made this little one is! God is so good!! I'll post pictures soon.

Please be praying for an easy pregnancy, proper growth and development for the baby and a health baby in the end. I'm not going to get much time off with this one, so we are going to need extra support. Luckily I have the most amazing husband! His laid back and loving personality is just what we will be needing in our house these next few months. Looking forward to a summer baby =)

Big Girl Bed

We were always amazed that we have such an active, daredevil child and yet she hadn't ever even tried to climb out of her bed. Well, it only took time and Sunday was the day that all our thoughts came true. Alahna was super cranky and didn't want to take a nap. I told her to go to sleep and walked out of her room, expecting that she would fall asleep eventually. After a half hour of playing then wining, the crying got much louder. I didn't hear a thump, so I'm pretty sure she didn't fall, but the crying was louder, because she was standing at her door!! I went up to check on her and much to my dismay the day came,she successfully climbed out of her crib. I had been fearing this day, because she is such a good sleeper and very consistent. I was worried that she wouldn't ever go to bed and she'd be up reaking chaos in her room every night. We didn't know what to do and tried to brush it off, like hopefully this doesn't become a trend. So when I went to put her to sleep for the night, she acted completely normal and then bam, 15 minutes later I heard those cries at the door! At that time, we didn't want to take the crib down and get the toddler bed out of the garage, so we put her mattress on the floor. She wan't having this and needless to say I was a long night! She eventually cried long enough that she decided the matress wasn't that bad. The following day Eric put her toddler bed together and she was actually pretty excited. She still cried herself to sleep but the time period got a lot better and the last few nights she has actually stayed in bed after saying good night and falls asleep! Thank God that it wasn't a long lived battle. She looks like such a big girl sleeping in a bed! Oh the little things that you hang onto as a parent of your first.

My baby is two!!

Alahna turned two on Thanksgiving this year and what an amazing way to remind us of how thankful we are! I still can't believe how fast the last two years have gone. I've heard so many cliche sayings from parents, but until you are one, you really don't know that they are so true. Time does go fast, but what a blessing it is. It's hard for me to remember back to each baby stage, because we are in the fast paced life of a toddler now. I am constantly reminded about how much love I have for this little girl. I seriously never knew I could love someone as much as when I became a mother. Thank you for all the wonderful memories and the adventure to come, Alahna. We love you!!



We had a small party in Chicago on her birthday and another one in PA when we got home. There wasn't much of a theme, but Alahna said she wanted a "cat" for her birthday, so I made a cat cake =)

Family Pictures

We finally got some "formal" family pictures taken. One of our good friends is a wonderful photographer and captured some great shots of us out enjoying the beautiful east coast fall. These are also Alahna's two year old pictures. She has gotten so big. It's truely amazing!