It's a...

On Wednesday (Dec 17th), we had our 19 week appointment and anatomy scan. This was definitely bittersweet for me.  I had been anticipating this appointment since I found out I was pregnant in September but I also know it's probably the last time I'll hear those words "It's a..."! I sort of liked the suspense and a part of me didn't want to find out the gender, I just wanted to savor that feeling of butterflies in my stomach as long as possible.  But, my hubs wasn't about to let it be a surprise so I gave it and we found out. Anyways, everything looked perfect on the ultrasound. I watched in amazement (although this is my 11th ultrasound including all the ones with Hudson...it never gets old!) as we could see the tiny little hands and feet, sweet little face, perfectly beating heart. And at the very end we finally heard "It's a BOY!" I am thrilled for Hudson to have a brother just two years younger than him, I pray that they are the very best of friends! No news on the name front, this is a tough one for us. And, we may try to keep it under wraps this time just for fun ;)

Pregnancy update: I feel pretty good most of the time. I still have occasional nausea and some bad indigestion but my energy is good and I'm back to jogging a few days a week so I'm super happy about that. I have no chance of buttoning my regular pants these days so I'm in full blown maternity parts (which I don't mind at all!). Shirts are hit or miss. My sweet friend Ashley let me borrow her entire maternity wardrobe which is honestly way more stylish than my regular clothes! This baby is super active and the flutters I started feeling at 16 weeks are now kicks and jabs. Chris actually started to feel baby from the outside about a week ago. It's crazy to think that in just 2 days, I'll be 20 weeks- halfway there!

We love you sweet baby BOY and can't wait to meet you!

Life update

Things have changed a bit around here lately. As of December 1st, I went from being a "work at home" mom to a "stay at home" mom. I have known for the past year that my job at WFU would end on November 30th as it was a grant funded position. Originally, our intentions were for me to find a  part time job and still be home with Hudson some during the week. But then I found out I was pregnant with #2. While I did continue to look for jobs, the search slowed down a lot. I really only actively pursued one job and was actually offered the position the same day I had my phone interview. But, the job came with a catch. The company is currently on a hiring freeze and there's no promise as to when that job will start. Whenever they are able to hire again it will be a flexible, make your own hours kind of job which I'm so thankful for. So, for now I'm enjoying this precious time with Hudson. It's nice not to worry about work deadlines and answering emails or phone calls in the middle of the day. During his nap time I don't have to be glued to my computer but I can actually clean the house, prep for dinner, or take a nap! I'm praying that the job actually does work out because it will the perfect "working mom" job but I'm in no rush to start to be perfectly honest.  I'm not sure I can say the same about Chris ;)

In other news, Sunday marked 18 weeks pregnant. I have been feeling a ton better and not relying on the Zofran everyday. My only complaint now is terrible indigestion at night that often makes me physically sick. And Tums just aren't cutting it. We go back to the doctor next Wednesday for our anatomy scan and I can't wait to see baby again! I really don't have any feeling whether it's a girl or a boy but anytime Hudson talks about baby he refers to it as "baby sister". His best little buddy just had a baby sister so I think he's heard me talk a lot about "Noah's baby sister". It's funny though because if you ask him if the baby is a boy or a girl, he always says "boy". So, we are all confused at this point! I'm just praying for a healthy baby! My belly is growing much faster this time and I have felt baby move a bit (nothing super consistently though). It's really hard to believe that my pregnancy is almost halfway over. I want to soak up every second of the next 5 months with just Hudson but at the same time I can't wait to love another tiny person just as much!

Traditions

I love being able to start new traditions with our little family. While Chris and I have been to the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree before, this is the first year it included Hudson.  And I'm so excited for it to be something that we do every year! Like in the past, we went to Sparta and just followed the signs until we found a choose and cut place. I think next year we will do a little more research before we go as this place was sort of a little hole in the wall.  But, we still had a good time. The foster girls were with us too but, of course, I can't post pictures of them.  It was a very cold day and we all ended up with pretty wet feet for the ride home because of the snow on the ground. What a great way to kick off the Christmas season!

I think it's also a yearly tradition that our tree falls at least once!