CHRISTMAS FUN

Cooper was really able to get into the Christmas spirit for the first time this year.  He LOVED Santa.  Every time he would see a Santa he would say, “ho, ho, ho!”  It was adorable.  Needless to say, we were so excited for Cooper to meet Santa.  He was a little cranky after waiting in line for about 45 minutes.  Colt and I fully expected your typical 1 year old “crying” picture.  He was definitely apprehensive when I sat him on Santa’s lap and kept reaching for us to pick him up.  Luckily, our Santa was awesome and grabbed Cooper’s hands so you couldn’t tell.  The result this adorable picture where Cooper looks perfectly content hanging out with Santa! Mission accomplished.  

Many of you know how special the movie “The Grinch” is to Colt and I.  Not only is it my favorite Christmas movie, but Colt also used it in his proposal.  Cooper loves to read so we were so excited to get him “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”  Aunt Moo sent Cooper these super cute Grinch pajamas and stuffed animal too.   

One of my favorite things we did over the holidays was making Christmas ornaments.  I found this idea on Pinterest and decided it was the perfect homemade ornament to make for Cooper’s grandparents.  We made “MistleTOES” for Gaga and Nana and his great-grandma’s all got handprints.  Cooper and I had so much fun playing with the clay and the ornaments turned out pretty darn cute.  Cooper was even nice enough to make one for Mommy’s tree.

14-23 WEEK PREGNANCY UPDATE

This pregnancy is definitely flying by! I can’t believe in less than 4 more months we will be welcoming our second little baby BOY into the world!  That’s right it’s a boy and we couldn’t be more thrilled.  I have always wanted a house full of boys and so far God is obliging to my wish J  We have a name too! Baby boy #2 will be named…..Charles “Charlie” Michael Braden!  Charlie will be the namesake of his two wonderful grandfathers, Charles after my dad, Ronald Charles, and Michael after Colt’s dad.

This is definitely my favorite part of pregnancy.  Finding out the gender and feeling the baby kick just makes everything so real.  Baby Charlie is definitely a wild one.  He moves around constantly and it’s not just little kicks.  I swear it feels like he is doing back flips and break dancing in my tummy sometimes.

Here is an update on how things have been going these last few weeks…

Feeling: Nice and hungry! I am definitely over the nausea hump and am feeling great.  I have noticed my appetite has picked up these last couple of weeks.  I get a little faintish and “woozy” every now and then, but as long as I can sit down and have some crackers and water they pass. 

Baby Bump: I undeniably have a baby bump now.  Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas I went from having a cute little bump to a BUMP!

Maternity Clothes: I have started infusing some maternity clothes into my wardrobe.  I have transitioned over to my maternity jeans mainly because my belly button (which never recovered from my first pregnancy) is already sticking out again.  The panel in the jeans helps to camouflage it so my belly button isn’t poking out of my shirts.

Baby Size: The baby weighs a little over a pound now and is the size of a large mango.

Cravings:  I have definitely been indulging my sweet tooth lately.  I can’t seem to get enough of Blow Pops, ice cream, and Double Stuff Oreos.  Don’t worry I am only enjoying in moderation.

What I Miss: I did miss ringing in the New Year with a glass of champagne.

What’s Different: I don’t want to jinx it…but so far I have avoided developing the dreaded “dark line.”  I had a serious one with Cooper and it took forever to go away (like 6-7 months before it was completely gone).

What I'm Looking Forward To: I am already anxious for him to be here.  Once we found out for sure it was a boy all I can think about is how much Cooper is going to love having a baby brother to play with.
 
Best Moment:  I just love anytime I get to see my little guy and our 18 week genetic ultrasound was no exception.  We got to watch our sweet baby for almost an hour while they examined him and at the end we found out we were having a very healthy baby boy!  

17 weeks!

Charlie’s first NYE- 21 Weeks and BUMPIN'