It's a...

I got the call from the doctor's office today with the genetic screening (everything looked great) as well as the gender confirmation for Baby #2.  I had the nurse email me the gender, so that Corey and I could open the email and find out at the same time.  All great in theory, only for me to not remember that in Gmail, you see a preview of the body of each email, so long story short, I knew right away this morning, once the email arrived in my inbox.  So, I quickly devised a plan to reveal the gender to Corey and Jackson tonight. 

 

Will Baby #2 be a BOY or a GIRL?  Watch and see!

Five Years

I'm a few days late, but I couldn't let this important date pass without a quick update.

It's so hard to believe, but as of Friday, Corey and I have been married for five years! In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we were in Maui saying "I do", but in other ways, with all the big and exciting changes that have occurred in the last five years (Roxy joining the family, trips to places like Hawaii, Vegas, and Boston, welcoming Jackson into the world, buying a house, and so on), it seems like much more than just five years. Regardless though, it's been the best five years of my life. So, happy anniversary to my amazing hubby and wonderful daddy to Jackson (and soon-to-be #2). I couldn't have asked for a better BFF or partner-in crime.

The best part of our anniversary this year was being able to celebrate, just the two of us, with a trip back to Maui, where we spent the week relaxing, eating (way too much), reading (I think I set some sort of record, finishing 10 or 11 books in six days), and sleeping. It was a great week, aside from missing our sweet boy.

One of the biggest highlights of our trip though, was having lunch at Gannon's (previously the Seawatch Restaurant, which is where we got married). After launch, we even snapped a photo in the same spot we stood during our wedding back in 2008. I am so glad we did that - it's not something we can do every day, so it was definitely memorable.

More to come on our trip soon. In the meantime, here is a wedding photo in the Seawatch lawn, and a photo we took last week, against the same tree (slightly different angle, but you get the gist).

Two

Dos. Double trouble. Double the fun, laughter and love.  And that's just what we're about to experience...in mid-to-late January, we'll no longer be the parents to just one little munchkin, but will be the parents to TWO little munchkins, and we couldn't be more thrilled.

Yes, you read that right - Jackson is about to be a big brother!

I'm about 13 weeks along, and aside from feeling extremely tired all the time, I am doing great.  Jackson has said all along that the "baby in mommy's tummy" is a "seester", though we all know that he has not the slightest clue what this means, or that his world is about to be turned upside down, but I think (hope) that he will be okay with all the changes that are coming, and that he'll be a great big bro.  So far, he's loved to look at my stomach and has even been known to give it gentle kisses, and has helped put cocoa butter lotion on it a time or two. 

This pregnancy has been similar to my last - no true morning sickness, just some nausea in the morning, but nothing a few crackers in bed didn't help, and as mentioned above, feeling very sleepy. In fact, I have been in bed at 8:30 or 9 p.m. on numerous occasions, which is very out of character.

We've had several ultrasounds and everything looks great.  I took a blood test at my appointment earlier this week that will serve as a genetic screening, as well as a gender test - they're now able to extract a baby's chromosomes from the mom's blood to determine the gender at 12-13 weeks (wow!).  So, within about two weeks, we should know whether J has a little bro or a little seester to look forward to.

We're very excited for the arrival of this babe, but of course, are a bit nervous, too.  I'm not going to lie - there are days that I don't know how we handle one, but all the good days and times we have with him make up for the few rough times, and I know we'll all love this little one so very much.

More to come soon!

First ultrasound - 7 weeks - our little nugget

Second ultrasound - 13 weeks (it is amazing the difference a few weeks can make!)

Kid Crack

This is what allowing your child to eat crack (also known as half of a small ice cream sundae) will do.  This is the first of about 10 minutes of straight jumping, dancing and shaking his bootie.  He slept very well that night.



Other notables:

• Jackson LOVES his Dora guitar (the musical instrument heard in this video).  We often dance as a family to song after song that he plays.  (Don't be jealous!). 
• I am fairly certain Jackson picked up all his dance moves from his Grandpa Kent (who made quite the impression at the Father/Daughter dances in high school - my friends still reminisce about his moves).

Congrats to Kelsey & Mark!

After a fun-filled and eventful weekend last weekend, Kelsey and Mark are a married couple!  It was a wonderful weekend, and they couldn't have picked a better weekend weather-wise - after several cool, rainy days, the clouds cleared and we saw tons of sun and temps in the mid-to-high 80s.

The weekend kicked off with a rehearsal at the ceremony site - Hamilton Viewpoint Park - followed by an afternoon with just Kels and I, grabbing lunch and having our nails done in preparation for the big day at Varnish.  It was the perfect way to get some QT in with just the two of us, before the craziness of the weekend. 

On Friday, a bunch of us picked up flowers at Pike Place and then headed back to Kels' for a massive flower assembly line.  With many centerpieces, several bouquets and a number of boutonnieres to create, we had our work cut out for us, but we finished quickly with all the gals that were helping. 

At that point, many of the gals headed to Melrose Market Studios (the reception venue) to help set-up everything (Kelsey is an amazing DIY'er and had prepared all kinds of beautiful decorations to help make the space perfect for their big day).  Kelsey and I finished up the flowers and then got ready for the family/wedding party rehearsal dinner at Picolinos.  It was a wonderful dinner and the perfect time to catch up with Kels and Mark's families.

Later that evening, all wedding guests were able to attend a party at Two Beers, the brewery Mark co-owns.  It was the first time we'd seen some of our friends in awhile, and we all had a wonderful time.

The following morning was the big day, and I spent it with Kels.  She had her hair done and then we got ready together, along with some of the girls, and her and Mark's family.  Kels and I were picked up in a beautiful old car and headed to a cute park in Fremont for her and Mark's first look.  Mark's brother and best man, Steve, and I then headed on to the ceremony to await their arrival.

The ceremony and reception both went flawlessly - everything looked fabulous and everyone had a great time. The food, catered by Skillet, was delicious and the dancing was a blast.  Kels and Mark and told Steve and I that speeches weren't on the agenda (didn't want unnecessary pressure on us), but we felt that on such an important day, we both wanted a chance to say something, so we surprised them with speeches during the reception.  Even though public speaking is not my forte, I am so glad we decided to do it, after seeing their faces and how touched they were by what we said.

I was so honored to be included in their big day, and I am so happy for the newlyweds! 

Here are a few pictures from their big day:

ABCs

Jackson was reading his ABC book this a.m. and from the other room, we could hear him whip out the entire alphabet.  Such a smarty pants!