Grapevine, Texas Vacation

We decided last minute to take a little vacation to Grapevine.  We planned it last minute, but it turned into a great trip.  We didn't plan a lot, just wanted to do some fun things and eat some good food. 

We stayed right by the Grapevine Mill Mall.  The first day, we headed to the mall to take Lawson to Legoland.  He had such a good time looking at everything and taking it all in.  The first part of it was a little ride where you go through a tunnel and shoot the bad guys with a gun.  Lawson loved it (so did Jarrett).  We did the movie, which Lawson wasn't too into.  The coolest part for Jarrett and I was looking at all the places in Dallas/Fort Worth that had been recreated with Legos.  It was pretty impressive. 

Lawson played in the Legos and climbed up the big slide by himself and slid down.  The boy has no fear right now!  It was a fun little place, and we will definitely take him back when he is old enough to do everything.

We spent the rest of the day shopping in the Grapevine Mills mall.  Of course I shopped mostly for Lawson and Baby Girl E.  We let Lawson ride on some of the little cars and trucks and he had a ball.  We ended the day at P.F. Changs.  I was amazed at how much Lawson ate!!!  He had carrots, cucumbers, the middle of a lettuce wrap, crab wontons, Orange Chicken, Beef, and rice.  And then at the end he had a fortune cookie and was still grabbing pieces of it off of the table as we were leaving.  I really hope he always loves everything we give him this much...especially the vegetables! 

The next day, we tried to sleep in (not easy for me) and relax.  Once we got ready, we headed to eat breakfast at a place I found on UrbanSpoon.com, Old Timers Cafe.  I had the BEST french toast I have every tasted. 

After that, we headed to downtown Grapevine.  I loved it.  We went in all the shops and boutiques and had a great time.  Jarrett actually likes doing that, which is so nice.  Then we headed to Bass Pro Shops.  Jarrett and Lawson had so much fun playing the tents and sleeping bags.  Lawson loved looking at the animals and he makes the cutest "bear" growl when we ask what the bear says. 

We ended the day at Love and War in Texas eating another good meal. 

I loved spending time with my boys away from home.  Lawson had a great time in the hotel room, just running around like crazy and Jarrett and I got lots of reading and relaxing done.  We were happy to find a place close to home (2 hours) to have some fun.  It was a great 3 night trip!

The Day We Found Out We Were Having a Daughter

We decided on Saturday, June 4th, to have a sonogram at Stork Vision and Lawson, my parents, Jarrett's mom, Ashley, Abram and Asher were going to be there to see our baby for the first time and to find out if it was a boy or a girl.  The morning of I was just a ball of excitement.  Either way, I was going to be excited. 

First things first, I always look for the heartbeat before I relax into the sonogram.  There is just something about seeing that beating heart on the screen that confirms the precious life inside of me.  We saw the baby's profile, arms and legs.  The sonographer, Kristie, made her way to the babies lower half and let us know that she was about to try to see if it was a he or she.  My heart was pounding, and the baby wasn't cooperating (or she was being lady-like).  Kristie tried to get the baby to open its legs, but it just wasn't happening.  Jarrett said, "its a boy"  mistaking a foot for a boy, but she said no, we still can't tell.  She then had me roll over on my side, and again made her way to see if she could get the baby to cooperate.  And then she said, It's a girl!  My mom squealed embarassingly loud, and everyone was happy and excited.  Lawson had no idea what was going on!  It was such a fun moment and I loved sharing it with my family.

So the moment I found out we were having a daughter, I started to cry a little.  Silly, I know, but I have such an incredible relationship with my mom, and I was excited that I would get to share that kind of relationship with a daughter.

It's a.....

GIRL

We found out on Saturday, that our precious baby is a girl!  My family was there minus Aaron and Jarrett's mom was there as the sonographer revealed that we are having a little girl.  We are thrilled!



Memorial Weekend

We had a busy fun-filled Memorial weekend.  We spent Sunday night with friends at my parent's house swimming, eating and relaxing....as much relaxing as you can do with a 14 month old around a swimming pool.

On Monday, we spent the day on the lake with our friends.  We pretty much rode to the end of the lake, parked and swam, talked, and ate the entire day.  Jarrett and I both got sunburned pretty badly, you would think that we would learn by now!!

Lawson did really well.  He took him a second to warm up to the idea of the life jacket and the boat. 

He swam in the lake a little with his daddy. 

Most of the time he just hung out on the boat.  I tried my best to get him to take a nap like the rest of the kids did, but he was not having it. 

 It was not until we started heading back for the day that the boat put him right to sleep.  And he stayed a sleep through the car transfer, in the car and into his crib at home.  He was pooped!

The 1st Three Appointments

So I am 13 weeks, and have already been to the doctor 3 times!

The first visit was to confirm the pregnancy through an ultrasound.  Jarrett was able to get off of work and come with me to the visit.  It was actually quite an experience as Dr. Klouda could not find the baby at first and was asking questions like "are you sure you have the dating right?" (which I knew for sure that I did).  It was scary, and I had a panicky feeling in my stomach.  However, it turns out the settings were messed up on the machine.  She never could get them reset, but we did at least got to see the beating heartbeat on the little blob we saw on the screen.

Because of the problem with the machine, she wanted me to come back again in 2 weeks to look again.  This time she used a different machine and Jarrett and I got to see our baby moving and waving on the screen.  It truly is such an amazing thing to watch and to experience.  I was very relieved once we were actually able to see the baby and make out its features.

Today I had my 3rd visit for blood work and questions.  It took FOREVER, but everything went great.  I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time, which was amazing!  It was at 167.

My next appointment will be in 4 weeks, and then the "big" ultrasound will be July 5th.  I'm so excited and can not wait to see the baby again on the screen.  And of course we will also find out if Lawson is getting a little sister or a little brother, which will also be a lot of fun!

Getting Dirty

Lawson LOVES to play outside.  If daddy is outside, and Lawson is not, he will go to the door and cry to get out.  He also cries when we bring him inside.  I'm curious to know if this is just a boy thing, or if a little girl would get just as dirty outside playing.  This is what he ended up looking like yesterday after he played outside....of course this was when daddy was watching him.

Mother's Day and an Announcement

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.  We ended up sleeping in, and going to the late service at church.  We NEVER sleep in, so it was really nice.  Church was wondeful as always, and the sermon was on Proverbs 31.  It was a message Jarrett and I both needed to hear.  Lawson also spent his first Sunday in the toddler room.  Jarrett thought I was going to be emotional, but I was just proud of my big boy.

Oh how I love this little boy!

 These were the best pictures we got.  He is so busy these days!

After church we headed to Tyler to go eat and shop.  We knew everything would be packed, so Jarrett suggested we try Kung Poa which is kind of like Pei Wei.  The food was good, and we enjoyed not having to fight the crowds.  We left there and had a good time shopping at Target.  Jarrett actually helped me pick out some new clothes, and we just walked around having a good time.  We left there and headed to our dear friends, the Weavers house.  Lawson took a long nap while we celebrated Ryan's birthday.  Then we got to go see Ryan's new place since he just recently moved out of the house.  We had a wonderful time with lots of laughs. 

Last night Jarrett and I actually watched an entire movie together, Date Night.  Lawson played in the floor while we watched it, and it actually worked out pretty well.

And lastly, next year I will be celebrating mother's day as a mom of two!  We are having baby number 2 sometime around November 19!  We found out the day before we left for Cabo, but kept it a secret until after our first sonogram.  And introducing baby 2......