Loving my life from here to Timbuktu!

I have been thinking recently how my toddler will react to being a big brother and sharing the spotlight. I hope he loves his little sister and will protect her as they grow up. I'm sure every mom goes through these feelings as she's preparing to have her 2nd child, but I hope I will be able to give them the same amount of love and attention that they deserve. It's hard to imagine loving another child as much as I love and adore Hunter, but I know it's possible.

February 10th will be 3 months exactly from my projected c-section date...wait wha?! Seriously?! I can't wait to see my daughter's face for the 1st time and to hear her cry. I can't wait to count her fingers and toes and to smell her new baby smell. I can't wait to snuggle her body against mine. I can't wait to be a family of 4 and be complete. I can't wait to watch her and Hunter grow as siblings and as individuals. I'm so in love with my baby girl, it's unreal to have such a strong connection with a human being I have never met.

I'm so thankful for Daniel. He takes care of me when I'm a hormonal mess. :D He's the best father I could have ever asked for my kids. I'm thankful for Hunter. He has taught me so many life lessons and continues to do so every single day. I'm thankful for my family and friends. I know that they would be there for me in a second and would do anything to help me out when I'm in need. I'm thankful for Toby. He cuddles with me at the end of the day and lets me know that he'll always be my best furry friend. I'm thankful for our beautiful home and our jobs. In this economy, we are so very blessed to own our home and have stable jobs that are able to provide above and beyond all our necessities. I'll stop now, don't want to bore people, but some days I just need to relax, take a deep breath and realize all the things that bless my life. <3

5 days til our overnight bed and breakfast date! Can't wait!!

January Jazz

I'm so proud to say that Hunter is 100% bottle free! YAY!! Our pediatrician wanted us to have the bottle gone by 15 months, but since we have a little lady coming when Hunter is 16 months old, I wanted to get rid of the bottle so he didn't get jealous with Lily's bottles when she arrived. It went SO much better then I expected. We took out the morning and afternoon bottle first and he did awesome so Daniel and I picked a night where we would both be home with no plans so it would be a relaxing experience. I gave him the sippy cup of milk around 7:15 while we continued to play and then at 7:30 Daddy took him up to brush his teeth and take a bath. He got his pjs on and then we gave him back his sippy cup while the 3 of us read books in bed. He drank up the milk while we snuggled and then off he went to his crib by about 8:15pm. He is such a wonderful kiddo. He rarely gives us any trouble and is so laid back just like Daniel! I hope Ms. Lily will take some cues from her older brother and be just as sweet to her momma and daddy! :D

Speaking of Lily, she is going to be styling in all her clothes she got from Caitlyn and cousin Cameron. I recently got 4-5 bag fulls of clothes sizes newborn-18 months and every single outfit is cute and girly and just what I was looking for. I'm so lucky that they both have good taste in clothes! :D I am definitely a girly girl that loves bows, lace, polka dots, dresses and everything in between and I hope Lily likes all of the same things. I am currently reading up on how to make my own bows and headbands so I can make some to match all her outfits she is going to be wearing. I'm not a creative person at all so it should be an interesting experience! I'm so very excited to be having a daughter and to be able to experience all the amazing mother-daughter moments. I can't wait to see how Hunter reacts to being a big brother and to see Daniel help raise a girl now that he is used to our rough and tumble little man.

Here is a picture of the hat I hope to be able to make Lily Mack.


This Saturday, I will be 23 weeks pregnant and I'm really enjoying every minute of it as much as I can. Since this is my last pregnancy and it has been going by SO fast, I want to take in every single second of baby girl growing inside my tummy. Lily Mack loves moving around much more then Hunter and her kicks are rougher/stronger then her brother's. It's amazing to me how different these pregnancies are and it's very neat to experience. After 2 pregnancies in less then 2 years, I'm looking forward to getting back on the treadmill and losing some weight and toning up. Daniel is so good about making me feel like a pretty preggo, but it's hard to look in the mirror at my growing body and feel attractive so hopefully after Lily arrives, I will find time to get back into my workout routine!

In less then 3 weeks, Daniel and I will be visiting a bed and breakfast for an overnight date. I'm so looking forward to as it will most likely be the last time we get out before Lily is born since Daniel goes on night shift in March and April. I'm looking forward to going out to dinner, spending some quiet, alone time with Daniel, and sleeping in!

I hope the start of 2010 is as happy for you as it is for us!