FIRST TRIMESTER IN A NUTSHELL

Now that we have made it to the “safe zone” we can fill everyone in on how my pregnancy has been thus far.  I officially entered my second trimester this week so here is a little recap of how my first trimester went….

Feeling: I experienced some nausea, mainly first thing in the morning and around dinner time.  For weeks 10-12 I was having pretty severe headaches every afternoon, but luckily they always coincided with Cooper’s nap time so I could take a Tylenol and rest my eyes.  (I have definitely been taking advantage of Cooper’s naptime and resting if I need to) I can’t decide if I felt better this pregnancy or if it was just easier to manage because I was home. 

Baby Bump: I feel like my bump appeared overnight.  It’s still pretty small, but I love it.  It makes me feel pregnant J

Maternity Clothes: I haven’t busted out my paneled jeans and ruched t-shirts yet.  I’m still able to wear my normal jeans and have just been wearing flowy tops.

Baby Size: The baby is now the size of a peach. 

Cravings: Nothing specific.  It’s more like I’ll think of something and want it right then.

What I Miss: I’m not gonna lie I have definitely missed being able to kick back and enjoy an adult beverage. 

What’s Different: So far I have had a wonderful pregnancy just like with my sweet Cooper.  The main difference has been that we have a 17 month old running around keeping us busy so we aren’t “obsessing” about every little thing.  Sometimes I catch myself forgetting I’m pregnant.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Designing the nursery.  I’ve been surfing the internet like crazy already looking for ideas.
 
Best Moment:  We had our 12 week appointment and an ultra sound to check for down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities last Monday.  During the ultrasound the baby was moving around like crazy and was sucking it’s thumb. It was so great to see our sweet baby so active.  I couldn’t help, but tear up!  The great news is that the baby looked perfectly healthy.

Here is a picture of my bump at 11 weeks.  I swear this picture is deceiving the bump doesn’t look that big in “real life.” 

BABY BRADEN 2.0

We are so excited to officially announce that we are pregnant!!!

Baby Braden 2.0 will be here in early May.  My estimated due date is May 11 which means the new baby and Cooper will be a little less than 2 years apart (Cooper’s birthday is May 27)!  We are so excited to expand our family and Cooper is so pumped to be a big brother!  I took these pictures of him today sporting his “#1 Bro” shirt.  I had this dream of him holding the sonogram and smiling for a sweet picture.  After about 15 minutes, of trying to get him to sit still this was the best shot I got.  It’s still pretty sweet though.

I just imagine him saying “Who me? Duh, I’m the #1 bro” in this one!

We’ve started talking to him about the baby and added the baby to his nightly prayer list.  He’s even made it a part of our morning snuggle routine to raise my shirt and give the baby a kiss. He says “baby” and leans down and kisses my tummy.  It melts my heart every time!

ELMO LOVES HALLOWEEN

We had such a great Halloween! Our neighbors Heather and Doyle were nice enough to let us tag along with their group of friends trick-or-treating. 

Cooper had such an awesome time playing with all the kids and Colt and I enjoyed meeting some new people as well. This is the best picture I got of all the kiddos.  It was tough to get 9 kids to look at the camera and smile when all they wanted was to go get some candy!

Cooper LOVED trick- or-treating.  He even learned to say "trick-or-treat" or something that sounded like it. :)  It was the cutest thing ever.

Somehow Cooper managed to break open a candy bar while Colt was pulling him in the wagon.  His face was covered in chocolate it was hilarious!

After trick-or-treating we took Cooper to see our Houston family, the Abowd’s.  He got his second wind/candy high and had a blast “partying” until almost 10 o’clock.  Needless to say Cooper had an amazing Halloween and an extra long nap today!

BOO AT THE ZOO

Colt had a vacation day last Friday so we decided to take Cooper to “Boo at the Zoo.”  Cooper loves to go to the zoo and it gave us a chance to break-in our Elmo costume.  Elmo was a big hit!  Several kids walked by and said “Look Mommy it’s Elmo!” One little boy even walked up to Cooper and gave his Elmo head a kiss.  It was adorable.

They had several booths set-up throughout the zoo for the kids.  Cooper was able to get his first tattoo, temporary of course.

Cooper was able to get some practice trick-or-treating in at the candy booth.

They had a Pumpkin Patch set-up where all the kids could pick and paint a pumpkin.  They only had paint pens which Cooper wanted to eat so Daddy was nice enough to paint Cooper’s pumpkin for him.

Cooper loves the drums they have in the "African Forrest."  Every time we get close to them he gets so excited.  He loves beating on them and making music.

Our favorite part of the zoo is the giraffe platform. We LOVE feeding the giraffes and the handlers even gave us extra lettuce.  I think it was because Elmo was so cute!

We can’t wait to head back to the zoo again soon!