20 Week Update

My goodness! it blows my mind to think of how fast this pregnancy has flown by so far! I can hardly believe we're halfway there...that seems CRAZY to me! I feel like we just found out we were expecting and now here we are in the 20 week countdown to meeting our sweet baby boy! I have had many, many requests for belly shots so I have FINALLY gotten my rear in gear & here they are :)

Introducing, my baby bump at 20 weeks...
I've always heard that you get bigger, faster the 2nd time around, but when I go back & compare pictures, I'm about the same if not even a little smaller than I was when I was pregnant with Owen. Watch, I say this now and tomorrow I'll probably wake up with a HUGE belly, haha!!! It may definitely have something to do with the types of foods I've been drawn to...salads & fruits this time around as opposed to the desserts & carbs I wanted all the time with Owen ;) as well as the fact that I'm chasing a 2 year old around all day!!!

I have also FINALLY uploaded some of the ultrasound shots from our 18 week appointment.

Introducing baby #2 at 18 weeks...
(and nope, still not 100% on the name yet, but we are VERY close!!!)Sweet profile shot :)
Seriously, this little guy's profile looks IDENTICAL to big brother Owen's in utero at 18 weeks...
I LOVE IT!!! Head on shot...a little skeleton-scarish, but still adorable to me!!!

I'm feeling so great these days! Most of my energy is back now (with the exception of a nap every now & then) and I'm not having any more nausea or food aversions. I feel so blessed that God has allowed me to have such great, healthy, easy pregnancies so far and I pray that He continues with this blessing.

Owen's Birthday Party!

The day after Owen's birthday, we had LOTS of our friends & family over to celebrate our little guy turning two! Their were kids running around EVERYWHERE and it was so, so fun!!! We had snacks & cupcakes, sang happy birthday to Owen, opened presents, & visited with our great friends & wonderful family. We felt so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by so many people that love and support Owen--and us too! God is so good & we are so grateful for all of the wonderful people in our lives! Here are some pictures from Owen's big birthday celebration...Mama & Daddy with our BIG 2 YEAR OLD!!!
Mr. birthday boy himself!

Getting ready to blow out 2 candles!

Diggin' in to yummy cupcakes :)

Present time!

I love Owen's face here...we were taking a group picture and Phil was acting silly to get all the kiddos' attention--Owen found him especially entertaining :) Some of the mamas & their sweet little ones! BIG group shot of our neighborhood mamas & babies! ...we had to borrow Justin & Phil to get all the kids in the shot! Sweet ones having story time towards the end of the party :)

Owen's Birthday Day

On Owen's actual birthday my mom came over to help me get ready for the birthday party the next day. We made cupcakes & cookie pops & did a little decorating as well. Then the rest of the grandparents came over to join us & we had a small family celebration. We ate dinner, Owen opened his presents from us, we sang happy birthday & ate cupcakes.

The entire day (and every day since) I have been staring at my sweet boy wondering where time has gone & how he's grown up so fast. Owen has his own fun little boy personality--he's very independent & loves to do everything for himself, but won't hesitate to ask for a little help if he really needs it. I thank God every single day for the incredible blessing of Owen & that God has given me the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. I treasure these every day moments and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. The words that always come to mind when I try tell God how thankful I am for all that He has given me are in the sweet, sweet song lyrics "I have been blessed with so much more than I deserve." Oh, yes Lord, I have!

It was very special to be able to have a small celebration for Owen's birthday with just our family so we could have our big 2 year old all to ourselves. We were super exciting though, knowing the next day would bring a BIG celebration with more family & friends! Here are some pictures of Owen's birthday day... Making sure the cookie pops taste good for tomorrow's party!

Sweet boy sharing with Beebee

THE BIG 2 YEAR OLD!
in his adorable new rain boots that Noni bought him :)

Love him SO much!

Oh boy! time for presents!

Some fun play clothes from Noni & Grandpa...as Owen said, "oh! cute!"

Some brand new red Chucks from Beebee & Pops

Cupcake time!

Yummy!

Relaxing with Pops after a fun day...being a 2 year old is hard work!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!!!

Happy birthday to our sweet boy Owen who is 2 today!

We can hardly believe how fast the past two years have gone by & how quickly our "little" 9 pound baby boy (haha!) has grown into an amazing, intelligent, talented TWO(!) year old little boy! We are blessed BEYOND measure and eternally grateful to our amazing Lord & Savior for the gift of our darling son. He is the light of our life & a constant source of captivation & entertainment. Owen you bring such joy & amazement to our lives & we love you more than we could EVER express in words! We are so proud to be your parents!

We love you so!

Mama & Daddy

Crested Butte

A few weeks ago, Tony, my parents & I took a trip to Crested Butte to see my brother, Matt. He's been living there for over a year now--working on the ski slopes in the winter & doing landscaping in the summer. Crested Butte is such a beautiful, beautiful place & I know that Matt & his girlfriend, Lindsey, just love living out there. They are both outdoorsy, adventure seeking people so it's been the perfect little town for them :) While we all REALLY wanted Owen to get to see his Uncle Matt, a 4 hour plane ride & a 2 hour time difference just wasn't conducive for an almost 2 year old so he stayed at home with Noni & Grandpa & had just as much fun with them, I'm sure, as we did out in Colorado. We had a great time visiting with Matt & Lindsey, exploring the town of Crested Butte, seeing where they work & play, and eating some AWESOME food! It snowed the ENTIRE time we were there so it was a lot of fun to see that much snow! We got a whopping 26 inches in 3 days while we were there! A far cry from the "Georgia Blizzard" we had a few weeks ago with our 4 inches, haha! I forgot my camera (ARGH!) but fortunately, my dad remembered his so we still got some fun pictures. Here are some of the highlights of our trip...
Family Picture after dinner one night

Tony & me

Mama & Daddy

Lindsey & Matt

Winter Wonderland!

Walking to breakfast one morning

Adorable downtown Crested Butte

In front of Camp 4 Coffee....AMAZING COFFEE!

It's a...

BOY!!!

We are praising God & happy to announce that Owen is going to have a little brother! We are beyond blessed & so grateful to report a great appointment today--our baby boy is healthy and growing right along according to schedule. OH BOY, I am going to have my hands full for sure! We are so excited to see if we're going to have a little carbon copy of Owen or the complete opposite. We don't have a scanner or I would post the ultrasound pictures (I'll try and see what I can do to post them as soon as I can!), but so far little brother's profile shot is identical to Owen's at 18 weeks. It will be so fun to see how they are similar & how they differ once he arrives! No name decisions yet, but I have a feeling it won't be too long before an agreement is reached so stay tuned!

Snow Day

A few weeks ago we woke up to a winter wonderland! 4 inches of snow in Georgia...now that's almost a blizzard, haha! Really though, it was so fun to see Owen's excitement at the "SNOOOOW!!!!!" We bundled ourselves up and went out to play with our friends. We spend the morning sledding down hills in our neighborhood and we all had a blast! Here are some pictures from our fun day in the snow... Cutie pie enjoying the snow

So excited about this white stuff!

Sledding with Daddy

Taking a turn with Mama

Richard & Jack watching the fun

Look at this pouty face...Daddy took a turn alone, but Owen wanted to go too!

Elisabeth takes a run

Coco & Xadie having a blast

All the kiddos...the best we could do for a "group shot"!