Pregnancy Update

So I have a confession to make: I can't remember how far along I am exactly. I have to keep looking it up. I know it's somewhere around 13 or 14 weeks. It's funny how with my first pregnancy I knew at any given time how far along I was to the day. I had a little more trouble remembering how far along I was when I was pregnant with Liam, but I always knew the week. Now? Now I'm just aiming to remember what trimester I'm in. That proves to be a bit tricky when you're around the 13-14 week range and the trimester status changes.

Anyway, turns out I'm 13 and a half-ish weeks. I guess I wasn't that far off from guessing 13-14 since I'm smack dab in the middle. This is the last week of my first trimester. Praise God.

Here's a quick glance at this pregnancy thus far:

Due Date: October 4 (which means nothing. My babies are always late!)

How far along? 13 and a half-ish weeks. So long, first trimester!

Weight gain? I lost 4lbs last month

Baby Bump? It's really only noticeable after I eat at this point.

Maternity clothes? Not wearing them yet...still in my skinny jeans! I did just purchase my first maternity swim suit, aka TENT. Both Javen and Liam were winter pregnancies, so this will be my first huge, hot and miserable summer. :)

Cravings? I can really only stand to eat fruit, chocolate and sweet baked goods. Major sweet tooth. This is SO different from my first two pregnancies. All I wanted with the boys was veggies, salty and spicy stuff. The hotter, the better. Now the smell of an onion sends me running towards the bathroom.

Morning sickness? Headaches/migraines, exhaustion (as in I wake up tired EVERY day) and some nausea and food aversions. Easiest pregnancy yet, by far.

Life in general? I nap whenever possible which means all chores and upkeep of the house has gone out the window. There are mountains of laundry piled up in the hallway and I can never stay on top of dishes. I'm ready to get my energy back so I can make this house shine again!

3rd Birthday Extravaganza Continues!

Javen had quite the birthday weekend. On Friday we had a little party with Jake's parents...complete with ice cream cake, cupcakes and presents. Fun night!

On his actual birthday (Monday) the four of us headed to Chuck E Cheese for what turned out to be Javen and Jake's first visit. A little tip for you: Monday night at 5:30 PM, Chuck E Cheese is a ghost town and we had a blast!

A little Bob the Builder fun...

Some crappy pizza...

Jungle Gym Javen

Racing in the Kentucky Derby...

Liam's favorite ride...

and games with Daddy.

Still can't believe the boy who made me a Mom is now 3! We're so blessed to have such a wonderful kid!

3rd Birthday Zoo Trip

Last weekend Jake's parents came down for a quick birthday visit and we headed to the zoo! The boys had a BLAST and we're excited to get some mileage out of our annual pass this year. (Thanks Aunt Jerrie and Uncle John!) Here are a few photos from our visit...

Petting/brushing the goats in the petting zoo.

Taking a break with Papa and Daddy in the shade.

Strike a pose.

SO excited about the...

Giraffes!

He came right up to the fence to say hello! No zoom needed for these pics!

Fun day with Papa and Gramma!

Baby Names on the Brain

Whenever we meet new people and they learn the names of my children, often their response falls into one of two categories:

1. Oh, you guys aren't Irish at all are you? ;)
2. Oh, what interesting names. (i.e. What were you smoking when you guys named these babies? Crazy parents!)

Call us crazy, but we love our kids names. (Duh, why would we name them something we don't like?) It's ok if you don't like their names. I'm not offended. To each his/her own. And believe it or not, their names are not Irish, though we have nothing against Irish names!

Javen Andrew
Javen (Hebrew) means "righteous". Javen (spelled JavAn in the Bible) was one of Noah's grandsons. Pronounced "Jay-ven". Andrew (English) means "manly warrior". It's also Jake's middle name.

Liam Robert
Liam (Irish/English) means "protector"
Robert (English) means "bright fame". Robert is also the first name of all the men on my side of the family. They all go by their middle names to avoid confusion.

Baby McD #3
We're working on coming up with names for this little one. (Or maybe I should say I am working on coming up with names and Jake gives the thumbs up or down.) This time around is a bit more challenging as we have to come up with a boy and a girl name. (No, I'm NOT having twins!) We decided to not find out the baby's gender at the big ultrasound...it's going to be a surprise until the end. (Which should be around October 4.)

We have a good contender picked out for a boy name, but girls names are not coming as easily. So, what are some of your favorite girl names? Just looking for some inspiration or a jumping point to place us in the right direction.

3

Just had to pop in to commemorate Javen's 3rd Birthday today! I don't know how it's here already. I look away for .002 seconds and all of the sudden he's 3.

We've had such a fun birthday weekend filled with Grandparents, zoo trip, playing outside, presents, ice cream cake and a family trip to Chuck E Cheese. I took lots of pictures to share, but right now they are on my camera and my pillow is calling my name.

Stay tuned...be back soon with photos. Promise.

Night!

Sleep

I've had some pretty lame excuses for not blogging lately.

1. Broken computer. (True. Lame situation, passable excuse.)

2. Out of town. (Also true. I didn't have my computer with me because it was broken.)

3. Busy. (True, but lame. I'm always busy.)

The excuse I have yet to give you is excuse number 4.

4. I've been using all my spare time (read: normal blogging time) SLEEPING.

It's totally true! Know why?

Because I'm pregnant! And this Mama is exhausted beyond all measure.

I'm hopeful that the second trimester will bring my energy back. So just hang in there and I'll be back to the blog world once I wake up. Should be somewhere in the realm of 2 weeks. (Fingers crossed!)

And at that point I'll have pictures. Lots of pictures. Including some of my boys in their "big brother" t-shirts. You better believe they're excited about the new baby!

So I'm off to sleep. It's waaaay past my bed time. :)

Flare

I know...I've been MIA for a few weeks. All with good reason, but I'll save that for another post. Today I'm joining in on i heart faces for the first time in...a while. This is one of my favorite photos. He was so proud of himself for climbing that fence! I have it framed in 11x14. :)

Check out all the other fun sun flare photos at i heart faces!

Home on the Range

It's Thursday. The first day since we got back from Maryland that we don't have any plans. We don't have to be anywhere at any time. The day is ours! Naps will happen at normal times, I sat down and ate breakfast and enjoyed a warm cup of coffee. I actually have a moment to open my computer, check my email and say hello to blogland. (hello!)

The only thing that scares me about this day is that I have to face the housework that's been piling up on me all week. The mountains of dirty laundry awaiting me rival Mt. Everest. Sheets need to be changed, bathrooms scrubbed and to be honest, the windows seem to be lying to us about the weather. I think it's actually a bit sunnier outside than they're letting on.

I'm so thankful it's starting to look like spring! The boys and I plan to walk (yes, walk...we live close!) down to the grocery store today and pick up our short list of necessities. (milk and strawberries) I have yet to download photos from my camera to share with you, but my sis posted a few she took of Javen at the wedding in all his ring bearer glory. Check out my little stud. (Thanks Heather!)