Happy Mother's Day and 28 Week Belly Pics

 Happy Mother's Day to all the mommy's and mommy's to be out there!  I woke this morning to my daughter surprising me with a hand made sign that her and Daddy made.  For some time now O has been telling me she has a surprise for Mother's Day and I am shocked she kept it secret so long, hiding it under her bed.  First thing when she woke she grabbed the sign and came running into my bedroom screaming "Happy Mother's Day" and then spent a lot of time explaining her art and what it meant.  She said she tried her hardest to paint flowers, but "they are really hard to make".  I received many kisses, hugs, and I love yous, followed by pancakes for breakfast by Cha.  It is not often I get a meal made for me, to eat first and fully warm. :)
For lunch we might travel up to Marlton to eat at Zoe's and Pinkberry, with a much needed stop to Buy Buy baby to purchase baby supplies for the up coming baby boy.

 Each day this past week O came home from school with a hand made Mother's Day gift.  I always love seeing all the crafts she makes at school, but it was especially sweet when she gave me a craft made just for me.  I think my favorite is this wheel burrow with flower.

 A card with her hand traced out holding some pretty flowers.

 The last craft is a flower hat, which is meant to be hung on the front door.  She told me, "it must be hanging on the outside of the door to let everyone know it is my Mother's Day and she loves me", too cute!

 We have continued to keep the tradition alive of my husband taking belly pics of me in the babies bedroom.  I just love that these images are seen through his eyes and point of view in the very room our baby boy will soon be.  I cannot believe I am already 28 weeks!  This pregnancy is flying by at warp speed.  My pregnancy with O seemed to last forever and felt like I was pregnant for an entire year.  It boggles my mind that I only have about three months left.
Cha asked me the other night if I am over being prego and I said not yet.  However, I am starting to feel my physical limitations, such as putting on socks, tieing shoes, and bending/squatting when gardening.  Things are going to get really fun when the weather starts to get warmer.

You might be wondering what is that gear looking thing on the window seal.  The nursery theme is modern industrial with a lot of planes and car stuff.  I saw this orange decorative wood gear on sale on PBK and thought it would be perfect, especially since our colors are oranges and grays.  The nursery is coming along!  The dresser and step stool being up cycled are almost done.  All that is left is finishing touches like art work, crate toy chests, and hamper.  I am also on the hunt for a really cool air plane, maybe even a zeppelin to be hung from the ceiling.  Cannot tell you how excited I am about his nursery, it has become a sanctuary of sorts for me as well as for Cha.  Some times I will find him sitting in the rocking chair, just chilling in the room.  We are very excited for our bundle of joy!

Happy Easter and 25 Weeks!

Wishing you all a Happy Easter!  I cannot believe it is Easter already and that I am 25 weeks into my pregnancy or about 6 months with 105 days to go.  The baby is supposedly the size of a rutabaga.  I just love the fruit or vegetable they pick to represent the size and weight of the baby each week.

Overall I am feeling great, continuing to work out and so far keeping up with a very busy spring schedule.  Every other day this month has been full of birthday party's, local Easter activities, friends in town and school Easter celebrations.  One of the school Easter celebrations was an Easter parade, were the children in O's pre-k 3 class wore decorative hats and walked around the black top, while parents played paparazzi.  As you can see in the pics I didn't get the memo of decorating a hat, so the teachers gave O some bunny ears.  Thank goodness she didn't seem to mind nor notice she was without a fun Easter hat.

The parade was lead by O's teacher Miss Ramono

O is the caboose

Love the creativity of every ones Easter hats

O's pre-k 3 class or Graduating Class of 2028!  Scary thought!

O loves going to school and making a new set of friends.  Everyday when I pick her up she hands me a stack of things she learned or created that day and once we get in the car tells me about a new friend in class.  One day the aid told me that O invited her entire class over for a play date.  Ha, that's my child!  O loves people and needs to be surrounded by friends at all times, which was a motivator for us to have a second child.  Thank goodness we live in a neighborhood full of children her age she can play with.
Next Tuesday I will be signing her up for Hammonton Public schools pre-k 4 starting in the fall.  I hope she enjoys the public school as much as she has enjoyed St. Joseph.  Cannot get over how fast she is growing up, I think it will be a blink and she will be graduating high school!

23 Weeks Along and Introducing a New Addition to the Willingham Family!

On April 9th, my good friend Adriana Willingham had a little boy named Simon Elliot Willingham.  Adriana has been my prego friend in crime.  It seems like yesterday it was the end of June and we were flying to Birmingham, Al to visit family.  Most of our convo stemmed around whether or not we were going to try for baby number two, all the obstacles in the way and if our hubby's would ever get on board with the idea.  Not knowing our fate on the baby front, I just had a strong feeling she would pregnant soon after our trip.  Sure enough three months later she tells me she is 12 weeks along and we just started trying ourselves, not knowing a month later we would be expecting too!

It has been so nice to have a friend to be pregnant with.  I have always wished for a pregnant friend, someone to share gripes and complaints with through this beautiful yet challenging journey called Motherhood.

 It is so surreal that Simon is finally here!  Tears came to my eyes when I saw him for the first time, lovingly embraced in his Mamma's arms.  I cannot believe this will be me in about 4 months!  I don't feel ready, although I do not think anyone ever feels fully prepared for a child.  

 The amazing duo of Henry and Miss O.  They were so crazy together, I was hoping the IPad would entertain them, but I think they just needed to be at a park and run around.  Hospitals are not a great place for kids.

I love her hand around his arm, however that is more of a get your hands off the IPad rather than a loving embrace. :)

One last pic of the sweet little boy.  I think Henry looks like his Father, but I think Simon looks a lot like Adriana.  You have your mini me's!  I cannot wait to watch him grow over the next year.  Congrats Willingham's he is gorgeous!

22 Week Belly Comparison Shots and Nursery

22 weeks with Olivia! 2009

22 weeks with our Baby Boy!  2014

It is simply amazing the difference between my belly with Miss O and my current belly with our baby boy at the same point in my pregnancies.  I have been protesting for some time now that this pregnancy my belly is bigger and progressing faster and you can definitely see this in the direct comparison.  My current belly is about what I was 28 weeks with O.  What is more amazing is that my body can do this!  Not only create a human being, but expand and change so fast.  It is simply a miracle!

Olivia pregnancy, man I wish I was that skinny right now!

Baby boy pregnancy!

The back ground in Olivia's pregnancy photo is our back yard at our house in Sequim WA.  The current pregnancy background is the baby boy's room in our house in Hammonton, NJ.  Cha has been working very hard to repaint the baby's room.  The previous wall color was a poo brown that Cha and I couldn't stand.  Plus I really want the nursery to have gray walls, the color is called "shakin not stirred," which I think is a funny paint name and so appropriate for a baby's room. :)-

Cha did a great job painting, even repainting the baseboards, trim, and ceiling.  He spent a lot of time on this room, more so than the other two bedrooms when we first moved in.  I think he is excited for this baby boy and proving out the gate he is going to be a great Daddy to this little boy.  I hope our landlords appreciate all that we have done to their house, ha!

Here is what we have so far.  The dresser/changing table, and step stool is in the process of being up cycled.  The stool is going to be painted a burnt orange color and then distressed, while the dresser is going to be painted two shades of gray.  I have also purchased a changing pad cover, and two pillows, one of which has a vintage airplane print on the front and orange chevron on the back.  I will purchase a bumper and blanket made out of this same vintage airplane print.  I have a lot more items I would like for the nursery, all of which are on my Pinterest board under "Baby Boys Nursery" in case you are interested in the direction I am going.  I absolutely love decorating and kids rooms are so fun!

Miss O just had to get in on the action with taking belly pics. She is so excited about the baby, kissing my belly all the time. Ever since we cleaned out the baby's room and painted it, she has been playing in there.  Whoo hoo, a new place in the house she hasn't destroyed!

I think this pic is my favorite!

20 Week Ultrasound, half way there!

Here is our baby boy at 20 weeks old!  Today was my 45 minute ultrasound where they measure all the organs, bones, and check my cervix to see if I am at risk of preterm labor.  Everything looks great, developing normally, and with no abnormalities.  He weighs 14 oz, which is little less than 1lb.  The High Risk OB said he is right on track and is very happy with what he sees.  He is also a mover just like his sister was when she was in utero.  My first ultrasound with O, the technician said she was literally dancing in my uterus.  Even though our boy was active, he seemed much more cooperative with this technician, allowing her to get all the needed measurements.  He is also in correctly facing head down.  Miss O was literally doing the middle splits on my pelvic bone the entire pregnancy, making it hard to determine her gender and causing me to have a C-section.  The tech had no problem confirming his gender, he is not shy at all.  Most of the ultrasound he had his feet crossed at the ankle and liked to move his hands around a lot, making many hand gestures.  It was truly amazing to watch, I was transfixed and in awe of our beautiful baby boy.

My cervix looks normal, so I am not at risk of preterm labor. Overall, we are blessed with a healthy baby and so far a complication-free pregnancy.  I have one more visit with my High Risk OB at 32 weeks and if everything continues to look good that should be my last visit.
Here are some more pics of our boy with all of his fabulous hand gestures, I couldn't be more in love!

Feet crossed at the ankles and one hand.

His hand is either making a hang loose sign or rock on sign.

Pointing, something Daddy does a lot and inherited from his Daddy.

Bottom of his feet and above the underside of his hands.

19 Weeks of the Incredibly Non-Shrinking Woman! :)

Well, that's right people I am the incredible non-shrinking woman or in other words the incredible ever growing woman!  My belly popped at 4 weeks into this pregnancy and hasn't looked back.  By week 16 I noticed it grew more than normal.  On my Baby Center pregnancy app it said that at 16 weeks the baby is going through a growth spurt and the next few weeks doubles in weight and add inches in length.  Well, I can definitely confirm this!

The baby is supposedly the size of an heirloom tomato.  To me it looks like I swallowed a cantaloupe or something.  I am only half way through my pregnancy and I am two lbs away from my end weight with Miss O and my stomach is not that far away either.  Everyone says that your second pregnancy things develop a lot more and faster.  I have also been told by friends that they gained twice as much weight with their boys than their girls.  Looks like I am on track then, ha!
It amazes me how many times I compare my stomach to other pregnant women.  Who by the way seem to be everywhere!  When your pregnant you seem to notice everyone else that is prego, like you all are in some kind of unspoken club.  In my bar gym class there was two girls behind me that were both due in May.  One had a stomach the same size as mine and it boggled my mind that she is two months farther along.  But, both are first time Moms, so it is not an exact comparison.  My husband said that at the end of my pregnancy I am going to look like the girl from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory that turns into a blueberry.  Gosh he seems to always know just the right things to say to lift my spirits and confidence.  He tries to keep it real and prevent me from ever getting a big head.  Mission accomplished. ;)  I love ya Cha.
Next week is the 20 week ultrasound, which is 45 min long and looks at all the major organs, as well as measurements.  I won't be surprised if they find another baby hiding behind our boy, O would love that, Cha and I not so much.

Here is my version of a mu-mu, which this generation now calls maxi dresses.  Maxis are so comfy and are good prego or not.  I have started to try on and wear warmer weather clothes and colors.  I did this last year around this time to evoke spring and summer.  It seemed to work, so why not give it another try, plus I am tired of jeans and sweaters.  Looking forward to wearing all my new summer pregnancy clothes.  O was born in Dec, so the bulk of my prego clothes are for the winter.  Something to look forward to, so come on warmer weather!

We are having a .......

????????

                                      BOY!!!!!

I have a set of coffee mugs from Anthropologie (one of my fav stores) with letters of all our initials that I just love.  I bought a mug a month ago with the letter L because I was almost positive I was having another girl and if so we would name her Lily.
At 17 weeks along I just found out the gender over the phone after taking the Harmony blood test 11 days ago.  The test mainly looks at the babies chromosomes for any abnormalities like down syndrome.  Thankfully the baby shows no signs of any chromosomal abnormalities.
I must admit it was a bit weird finding out we were having a boy over the phone from a complete stranger with no one around, but O.  Charlie was still at work and I didn't want to tell him until he got home.  I was jumping out of my skin waiting for him to get home!
Last night Cha was drinking his tea from this L mug and says to me,"what if it is a boy and we have this L cup for Lily?"  My response was it really doesn't matter, it is just a mug, plus we could always find a boy's name that starts with L.  Coincidentally, a while ago I did come across the name Liam and really like it.  So as a way of breaking the news to Cha I wrote the rest of the name on the mug and wrapped it up.
Only problem was that Miss O knew the news and was having a hard time keeping it in.  I sat her down to explain how I wanted to surprise Daddy by opening the wrapped mug with the boys name on it and she said, "ok mommy I won't spill the beans, promise."  But right as Cha opened the garage door she ran out and yelled "It's a boy" just as he got out of the car.  She is excited beyond words!
She really wanted a sister, but seems totally ok with a brother.  I think she just wants to be a big sister more than anything.
But I am shocked!  Everything was pointing to a girl.  The night before I found out we were pregnant I had a dream I was having another girl, O has been adamant it is a girl, and I kept seeing the name Lily everywhere.  I asked the genetic counselor who gave the news, "are you sure" and she was like "umm, yes the blood test is 99%," which I knew, but I was just so flabbergasted.  When I got off the phone a magnitude of emotions came over me and I began to ball.  I was sad that I was not going to have another girl, O was not going to have a sister she wanted,  I was not going to have a Lily.  Plus all the cute girl clothes that I hoped to reuse.
But then I began to cry even harder out of happiness that we were going to experience a boy, O was going to have a brother, and the Bush family name was going to live on.  I am 95% sure this is going to be our last kid, although if you ask Cha it is more like 100% sure, so I am happy that we have one of each.  Our family is complete!  Plus the last thought I had before I feel asleep last night was, if we have another girl I am definitely going to be the third wheel, competing for my husbands love and attention.  With O alone it is hard to get much attention, if we had another I might as well as sleep with the dogs, ha!
As far as names go, boys names have always been hard for us.  I have always liked the name Gavin and we used to like the name Noah.  But lately I seem to lean towards Liam or William.  Miss O picked the name Jack once we found out we were prego and asked her for a boy name, which both Cha and I don't mind either.  It will be hard deciding and I welcome your opinions of these names or any other ideas.  The middle name will most likely be Charles, just like his Daddy. :)