Double Babymoon

Matt and I knew that our big trip to St. Vincent would be our traditional "babymoon," but when we had the opportunity to invite Caleb and Kathryn to Kiawah for a double babymoon, we jumped on it!  

Although it wasn't quite beach weather that weekend, we made the most of it.  We got up early Saturday morning and headed for the beach to get a few hours of sun.   We did get a little bit of sun.

 I felt a little ridiculous in my maternity bathing suit, but it was very necessary!   It was very fun to get to share all the ridiculousness of this stage with Kathryn. 

 Matt and Caleb made up several different games that weekend (boys will be boys), but their favorite was "beach golf."  It had too many rules for Kathryn and I to figure out what was going on, but they were both pretty excited about it.   In a few years Banks and Wilson will appreciate all the craziness that their dads can come up with!

 We cooked a delicious meal on Saturday night at the beach house! 

 Kathryn and I attempted to braid our hair (well I braided mine and Caleb braided Kathryn's..no I'm not kidding).  We struck our best "Katniss" pose to represent our braid :) 

The "six" of us had such a fun weekend!  Glad we were able to spend one last weekend the four of us without having to worry about taking care of babies.  Next year we will have to go on the same trip, but something tells me it will be a little different ;) 

Baby Update: 21 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights from this week:

How far along? 21 weeks, 1 day 

Size of the baby? 10 1/2  inches head to heel, and about 15 oz. (according to our ultrasound today), about the length of a large carrot 

Maternity Clothes? Almost all maternity stuff with a few exceptions

Gender? Sweet baby BOY!!!!    We got this confirmed on our ultrasound this morning!!!

Movement? Banks is proving to be a little bit of a wiggle worm!  I feel him the most in late morning, late afternoon, and then in the evenings.  He is busy flipping and kicking away in there.  Today on the ultrasound he was moving ALL around, we could hardly get pictures of him!

Sleep? Pretty good, loving my Boppy wedge.  I lost it for a few nights and didn't know what to do.  Luckily it is back and things are good again. 

Cravings? Still craving fruit and cold things like yogurt/ice cream.  I have also noticed that I have preferred red meat over chicken for the past few months.  Usually I always choose chicken, but lately, its been about the beef :)

Symptoms?  I am finally starting to believe what they say about the second trimester...its pretty awesome.  My nausea is gone and I am feeling great.  I do have heartburn still, but other than that I don't have too many complaints. 

What I miss? Sushi...that sounds so good!

Milestones? We had our anatomy scan and Banks looks "perfect" according to our OB!  It was such a relief and I am so happy to know he is growing just the way he should. 

What I am nervous about?  Not much right now

What I'm excited about?  I guess getting the good report from the anatomy scan this morning just makes me THAT much more excited about meeting him.  Matt and I were just talking about how we have not really wrapped our heads around how much our life is going to change once this little one gets here. Obviously its for the better, but it is still pretty crazy!

Here are some shots from our scan this morning: 

He was not cooperating for most of the scan so we didn't get too many great pictures.  He was just moving around so much!  This is his sweet little profile.

 Matt and I probably spent 15 minutes looking at this picture and imaging what he will look like.  Matt thinks he has his nose and lips. 

This is hard to see, but it is a close up of the nose and lips...precious! 

And if we ever had any doubt that Banks was definitely a boy...here is proof!

We are so grateful and humbled by this precious miracle that God has granted us.  It is still so surreal that this is happening.  God is so good!

Baby Update: 20 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights from this week:

How far along? 20 weeks

Size of the baby? 6.5 inches crown to rump, 10 inches head to heel, and about 10.5 oz., about the size of a banana

Maternity Clothes? Almost all maternity stuff...the belly is GROWING.  I have crossed into the stage where strangers do not mind asking about my pregnancy.  I was so excited because at Wal-Mart the other day the cashier (Omar was his name) told me to be careful of the fumes (I was buying painting supplies) because of the baby.  It was the first time a stranger commented...I got excited, thanks Omar :)

Gender? Sweet baby BOY!!!!    

Movement? I am definitely feeling it more regularly now and it is so awesome!  He is such a wiggle worm all day and especially right before bedtime.  He's moving all around as I type this :)

Sleep? Pretty good right now, except some nights I will wake up from 2-4am and cannot fall back asleep...its so annoying.   I have also really been struggling with sleep positions because I hate sleeping on my side.  I did get a new friend...

This is a sleeping wedge made by Boppy specifically for pregnancy...and I LOVE IT.  It makes sleeping on my side tolerable. Matt enjoys it too because when I sleep on my back I may or may not snore...haha!

Cravings?  Still craving fruit (yesterday I bought bananas, green grapes, and strawberries...mmmm). I am counting down the days until Lexington has their peaches ready to buy - I am going to get Banks and I some!

Symptoms?  Nausea and vomiting is pretty much gone, still get a wave every now and then, but for the most part we are in the clear.  I have started to experience heartburn and I hate it!  I have never had it before and it is awful...I can now sympathize with people that have this constantly.  Also, I am just having a little more time getting around than I used to.  You just have to adjust how you do certain things, its so weird.  No one told me that pregnancy would be so weird...haha! 

What I miss?  I miss shopping at my favorite stores and buying cute clothes.  Most days I don't feel "cute."  Don't get me wrong, I love being pregnant, I just wish maternity clothes were more fashionable! 

Milestones? Being halfway done...I cannot believe it!  Part of me feels like we just found out, but another part feels like we have known about this little nugget forever. We have also made some major progress on the nursery!  We cleared out all guest room furniture that was in there and Matt began painting.  We are going to be doing board and batten for most of the wall so there wasn't a ton to paint (only a 4 or 5 feet around the top).  I have picked out and bought/ordered the bedding, my chair and ottoman, changing table/dresser, crib, and rug. Once we finish the board and batten we will be in business!

We hit a lot of milestones this week, we also registered!  We went on Sunday to Babies R Us and registered for some adorable stuff for Banks. We also did a registry on Amazon.  It was so fun picking stuff out just for him :) 

What I am nervous about?  Our anatomy scan is next week...hope he is still a "he!" 

What I'm excited about?  Seeing our baby boy on ultrasound next week!  I am also excited about staring work on the nursery!

Here we are at 20 weeks!

Ohio Family Visit

As you may know, I grew up in Ohio, well until I was 9.  I spent most of my young childhood living around the corner from my Aunt, Uncle, cousins, and grandparents.  Some of my favorite moments of my childhood are those...they are so special to me.  I can remember so many nights begging my mom and dad to "let" me go to Mimi and Poppy's.  Together with Ryan and Lauren and our two cousins Matt and Julia we made memories that we all cherish.  There were many days of reading books, lemonade stands, late night ice cream,   sleepovers, etc.  My Mimi passed away when I was in the 9th grade...extremely too soon, but I am so thankful for each day I spent with her.  She had a huge impact on my life and I still think about her regularly.  Each big moment that comes up in my life I always wish she was here to cheer me on as she always did.  

Whew...that was heavy for a Friday morning...with all that said, some of my Ohio family came and visited last weekend!  What a treat it was to see them and get to spend some quality time with each of them.  My Poppy and my Aunt and Uncle came for the weekend on their way to vacation at the beach in SC.  I was so excited for them to meet Blakely!!!

Blakely has been sitting in her "big girl chair" at the table lately, shes growing up just a little too fast!  What happened to the newborn we held and cuddled??  Now she is constantly moving and babbling!

We had a brunch at my parent's house in Charleston Saturday morning.  This is my Aunt, my Poppy, and Ryan of course.

Blakely was of course the star of the show!  She is honestly the best baby! She never fusses for no reason and just is content with whoever wants to hold her.  I know not to get used to it because Banks will probably be just the opposite :)

4 Generations of "Tobers:"  Poppy, Blakely, Lauren, and my dad 

The whole group! 

We only took 401 pictures of Poppy with Blakely!  So sweet to see these two together.

My aunt makes the BEST sugar cookies...seriously, the best. Everytime she comes she will bring us a batch or two.  She will even mail them to me around holidays!  I have tried to make them before and they turned out pretty good, but not like she makes. 

It was so nice to see my family...we go way too long in between visits.  It was just what my heart needed!

Baby Update: 19 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights from this week:

How far along? 19 weeks (well one day shy)

Size of the baby? 6 inches crown to rump and about 8.5 oz., about the size of a large heirloom tomato

Maternity Clothes? Mostly maternity clothes except regular dresses and some shirts 

Gender? Sweet baby BOY!!!!    

Movement? I feel it every now and then, not consistently yet...but I am loving it!

Sleep? Pretty good right now, added a few extra pillows

Cravings?  I have been craving fruit like crazy!  I bought plums and grapes at Costco and have been enjoying them!  I also crave soft serve yogurt/ice cream...yum :) 

Symptoms?  Nausea and vomiting is pretty much gone (knock on wood!). I actually feel pretty great...I have lots of energy and have been able to cook and get more stuff done around the house.  I feel back to my normal self which has been an incredible change. 

What I miss?  Not much right now! 

Milestones? I think I have finally picked out my nursery colors, bedding, fabric.  Its been a process, but its finally coming together. I am not very good at committing to something so it takes a while for  me to make a decision. We will hopefully start the first stages soon. 

What I am nervous about?  Just praying over our 20 week anatomy scan that is coming up in a few weeks. 

What I'm excited about?  My mom and sister gave me our "secret shower."   We did this for my sister too when we found out she was having a girl.  They had been buying little boy stuff for months (they were pretty convinced) and gave it to me and Matt last Monday night.  It was so fun and special to me!  I was and am so excited to go through all the sweet items they gave me and put them up in Banks' room and closet.  Banks is already one loved little boy!  I am also excited to get his nursery decor rollin'!   I want to be able to enjoy his room long before his arrival :)

This is a picture of us from my mom and sister's "secret shower!"  Some of the items we got were gently used from Blakely (like Blakely's Serena and Lilly Moses Basket...yay!) others were items that they had picked out just for Banks!  Thank you mama and Lauren!!!!

Family Circle Cup

At the last minute Matt scored tickets to last night's Family Circle Cup to see Venus Williams play Jelena Jankovic.  We jumped on the idea and headed to Daniel Island!

 We sat in Roper's box seats which were the second row from the court...AMAZING! 

 We were looking a little rough after a rain delay that Matt decided we should "tough it out" in our seats while it passed

 We were so close we could see every expression and hear every word they said...it was awesome.

 Venus is amazing!  I was getting a little nervous when she lost the first two games without ever scoring, but after that she picked it up and got it together.

 We were sitting one row down from Venus and Serena's dad.   

Venus won!!  Here she is at her post match interview.  She was SO nice and gracious the whole time. She has a great sense of humor and is a pretty good sport.  Too bad I can't say the same thing about Jelena. 

So glad we got to experience Family Circle Cup for the first time...such a fun event!  Thanks Roper for letting us go ;)

Gender Reveal Party

Now that I have revealed the name, I can post about our gender reveal party.  We decided to just make it family and keep it very low key.  It was more of just a fun get-together to celebrate Banks!  Matt and I found out at the ultrasound and kept it a secret until the next night when all of our family came in town to find out the big secret.  It was just a day, but that seemed like forever!!!  My mom offered to host the party at my parent's house which was very nice and stress-free for me. 

We had a cake with colored icing in the middle, but that wasn't how we revealed the gender. 

The final votes for a boy or a girl...it was pretty close!

Team Blue! 

 Team Pink!  We are missing Will who was in Hickory, NC and couldn't make it. 

We revealed the gender through a trivia game of sorts.  

We had a string put up in a doorway and had each letters spelling our girl name and our boy name available to put up.  I asked a baby trivia question about babies (for example: What name is currently in the top 5 for girl names?) and the beginning letter of the answer was the letter we would put up on the string.  We were spelling both names at the same time.  Whichever name was spelled first was the gender!  Kinda confusing, but I promise it made sense at the time. 

 Pam, Jeff, and my mom intently playing the game

My dad had a tight hold on Blakely :)

My favorite party guest...poor Pop Pop needed to fix her bow!

Matt was our "Vanna White" as he was the one to put up each letter :)

 Getting closer!

 It was a Banks...he won!!!!  Its a boy!

We then cut the cake to see the blue frosting

Mr. Jeff and Pam had bought us a boy and girl present...of course we got to open the blue one :)

 Banks got a cute outfit!

After a while it was time for little Blakers to get in her PJ's...thats one cute little girl.  Good thing I can still say she is my favorite little girl!!!  She is very excited to have a boy cousin to play with!

Everyone was so excited for a little BOY!  It still hasn't set in, but it is starting to become more real.   I am feeling a little overwhelmed right now about how much I have to do, good thing I still have a few more months to get it all done!