August Updates

We've been enjoying the last month of summer, some fun things we've been up to....

We checked out the farmer's market one Saturday morning. Grilled cheese and donuts, yum!

We went to the science museum with Lori and Ellie. Chloe loves playing with Ellie. I don't know what she is going to do when she goes back to school! We also went to Maymont to see the animals. 

We celebrated Clarke's 32nd birthday. It was our first time eating at Texas De Brazil and it was so good!

Oh, and we found a frog in the pool! Chloe was so intrigued, and a tad bit scared. But mostly loved petting it and watching it swim and jump. Ha!

I must say I am ready for September. We get to find out the gender of the baby, then it's off to the beach. When we get back Chloe starts preschool. We are excited!!

17 Weeks Baby Update!

How Far Along: 17 weeks, finally into second trimester. 

Size of Baby:  Baby is the size of an onion. That seems pretty big to me, about 5 inches long. Crazy how fast she or he is growing.

Weight Gain: When I went to my dr. apt last week they said no weight gain, which baffles me since my belly has grown. So still at 2 pounds from start. 

Maternity Clothes: Regular shirts and sundresses still fit me, everything else is maternity. 

Gender: We scheduled our ultrasound to find out!! September 4th can't come soon enough. 

Movement: I think last night and last week I felt the baby move. It's still surreal even the second time around. 

Sleep: Okay. After awhile of figuring out how to get comfortable I sleep well. 

Symptoms: My back has already started to hurt, and I'm tired. But since my last update the headaches have gotten so much better, pretty much gone. The nausea is gone too! Took a little longer than with Chloe, but thankful those symptoms are gone now. 

Food Cravings: Wine, lol. 

What I Miss: I miss having more energy and being able to do more. Just keeping up with Chloe wears me out now.

What I’m Looking Forward To: Beach!! Nothing to do with pregnancy, but this summer has been kinda hard for us. Moving and having the house on the market still. Lots of new transitions, all good, but with adjusting we haven't been able to go on vacation this summer. Can't wait to bring Chloe to the beach, go to all our favorite restaurants and just relax. 

Best Moment This Week: Hearing the heartbeat at the doctor or feeling it move for the first time.

And this is the best picture I could get! You can see my growing bump so I guess that's a win, ha!

Chloe Conversations

It's been awhile since I've blogged about some of the adorable things Chloe Mae has been saying, so here we go...

1. Right now she is constantly asking "why?" and "mommy whats that?" She is very curious. 

2. Last week we were making brownies and she tasted the batter, first time tasting brownie batter, and she says "wow!!" I wish I could have recorded it, it was the way she said it, experiencing something new and amazing, so cute. 

3. Everything is "my try" or "I do!"

4. One of my favorites, we have been talking about how she is going to have a baby brother or sister. She will take her baby doll and say "this is my baby sister". It just melts my heart. She rocks it and loves on it. 

5. This girl loves snow. Ever since March she has been asking for snow. I try to explain it's too hot, but a few times a week she still wants snow.

I really love this age. Even though she knows what she wants, her verbal skills have really come a long way and I love hearing all the new stuff she comes up with. 

My Grace is Sufficient

So I've been meaning to write a post about how we got here...

On May 21st, after 6 months of trying, I finally took a positive pregnancy test. 

Back in November, we finally felt ready to start trying. We always knew we wanted one more baby, and we always wanted them about three years apart. It was a big deal since my birth with Chloe was so hard and really I was ready to be pregnant, but being ready to give birth again was a whole other thing. 

I had been training for the Richmond half, and I ended up running a half in Winston 3 weeks later. Needless to say all that running totally through off my cycle. Of course I would speculate each month I got my period, why it didn't work. But it was hard, a lot harder than I thought it would be. 

I'll never look at a pregnancy announcement the same way again. It's such a sweet thing, such a blessing, such a miracle. But it definitely makes me think about those that are aching for that as well. I remember that feeling. Nothing could ever make me love Chloe more, but going through this made me appreciate the timing of her even more. With her we weren't sure if it was the right timing for us to become parents, but God knew it was. 

This time I thought it might take 2 or 3 months tops, but once again God knew the perfect timing. If we had gotten pregnant right away Clarke wouldn't have applied for jobs and we wouldn't be back in Richmond, and we are suppose to be here. God knew. And the thing that makes my heart so full is knowing how much I doubted the last month. I was so sure it was going to be negative again. I had convinced myself something was wrong with my uterus from the trauma of Chloe's birth. I doubted God's timing and perfect plan for our family. This verse comes to mind...

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, " My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 

 In the mist of my weakness, my doubt and fear, God still blessed us with such a precious gift. His grace really is more than enough for us, more than we deserve. I can't wait to meet this baby, I know he or she is exactly what God wanted for our family.


 

August and Butterflies

August....last official month of summer. I've been kinda ready for you. Trying to enjoy the last bit of summer, but I'm ready for fall, always am around this time. But, we have been enjoying the pool and sunshine! Yesterday we got to check out Lewis Ginter, even though it was hot, we had a blast.

We wanted to show Chloe the butterfly exhibit, and she loved it. She wanted to pet all the butterflies, got a kick out of the magnifying glass and loved watching them eat fruit.

After the butterfly exhibit we headed over to the children's garden. Chloe really didn't want to leave. They had the cutest storybook tree. Baskets with different books and activities were hung from a tree, we sat on the blanket and relaxed.

I can't wait to go back in the fall, and let her explore more!