Half Way There

I will be 21 weeks pregnant tomorrow.  Holy moly, where did the time go?

Last week we had our first ultrasound.  It was so surreal to actually see the baby.  Things are so crazy around here that it is sometimes easy to forget about the little one growing inside me.  But, there before my eyes was all the proof I needed!  There is nothing like seeing your beautiful baby for the first time.  We decided not to find out the sex this time around, so we our still waiting on the big surprise!

The good news is that the baby is healthy and doing well!  Just like the last pregnancy, my placenta is on top.  It is "normally" on the bottom, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing that it is on top.  It kind of serves as a padding between me and the baby, which just means it takes a little longer for me to feel the baby moving.  I have been feeling the baby since about 16 weeks, but not very often, and not very strongly.  And now I know why :)  There is also some good news and bad news.  The bad news is that once again my fibroid is there and it has grown as big as it did the last time (size of a fist), but the good news is that this time around I haven't had any side effects from it.  Hopefully that will continue to be the case.  Another good thing that comes from it is that I will get to have another ultrasound at 30 weeks so we can monitor the fibroid.  I'm just excited to get to see my little one again!  Especially because last week the baby was not being very photogenic.  I don't really have any pictures to put up because the baby just wasn't cooperating.  Little peanut just burried their face into my back and put up their hands.  Silly, stubborn baby! :)

I can't believe that the pregnancy is half way over.  This has been such an easy pregnancy compared to last time.  I am loving food and everything tastes delicious.  I don't really have any nausea, and my heartburn has only just started to kick in (I am only slightly feeling it, and it beats dealing with it all day every day since 12 weeks the last time!)  The only issue is exhaustion.  I keep asking my Doctor if it is normal to be this tired, but he keeps reminding me that I'm pregnant while also taking care of a toddler.  The exhaustion can really be discouraging sometimes because it is difficult to get things done, but luckily I have a wonderful husband who tries anytime he can to give me a break.  The scary part is that although I know i am tired now, I am only going to be 1,000 times more tired once the baby actually arrives!  Oh man!  It is a little daunting, but I know I'll be able to do it :)

I am trying to just reallly enjoy and embrace all of my time with Tavian.  It is crazy how life changes so quickly.  This is this small moment in time when it will just be me and Tavey during the days.  I will never even get to experience this with any of my other children.  I love this special time.  We get to have so much special, uniterrupted time together.  Although I know it will be wonderful in plenty of different ways once the next baby gets here, I also know there is something unique about this time in my life so I want to embrace it whole heartedly!!!

I promise to post a picture of this growing belly sometime soon!

A Good Bargain!

I'm sure if you know me at all, the picture has been painted pretty clearly that I love a good bargain.  Even when I'm clothes shopping I pretty much stick to items that are on sale.  And garage sales are one of the absolute best parts of summer.  There is just something so exciting about knowing you got a great deal!  I have already gotten some pretty great stuff at garage sales thus far this summer, but I can't resist posting about what I found on Craigsist yesterday.  Take a look...

Such an adorable red wagon.  Tavian loves it and I always wanted to have something like this for him...but didn't want to spend a lot of money on it.  There is no reason for us to have a brand new one!

It has a door and cup holders and even one of the seats lifts up for storage!

It isn't totally obvious here, but this is an adorable little rocking chair.  Tavian loves having a chair made just for his size!

This bench was the big ticket item for me.  It was what I was looking for on Craigslist to begin with.  Tavian has so many cousins and a lot of time there isn't a great place for them all to sit when they come over to bar-b-q at our house.  This is such an adorable picnic table and I know Tavian will love sitting on it with all of his friends and family!

So what did I spend, you ask?  Keep in mind I have been looking for a picnic table like this and haven't been able to find anything...and definitely nothing for the amount I was willing to spend.  But, the Lord is good, and I got ALL THREE of the items (wagon, chair, and picnic table) for $15.  Can you even believe it?  I can't, but I'm so happy it is true! :)

One Last Hurrah!

The above are photos of my Dad's beautiful cabin in Red Feather.  It was always a dream of his to build a cabin from scratch, and that is exactly what he did.  He and a friend/contractor literally did all of the work...and I suppose us kids helped every now and again as well.  I have many memories of picking the land that he wanted, and the many trips to Red Feather while I watched the cabin come to life little by little.  I was mostly climbing on rocks and exploring, rather then helping, but it was a process that spanned many years and holds many memories.

It is crazy to say that this last weekend was our last time in the cabin.  My dad sold it and closes on it this week.  I am glad that we were able to go up one more time as a family.  I have taken many friends to the cabin throughout the years and have great memories of playing games, watching movies, and spending time on the deck.  Cole even proposed to me at the cabin, which is a little sad now because part of his reasoning was because we thought it would always be in the family.  I don't blame my dad for selling it though.  Yes, it is a little sad, but I understand the decision.  The upkeep takes money, and more importantly, it wasn't getting used very often.  Cole and I probably used the cabin the most out of anyone, but since Tavian came along we just aren't in a season of our lives where it is easy to get away that often.  If we happened to have it years down the line, I am sure it would have been used much more by us.  So it is sad to say goodbye, but it was good to have had it while we did.  We are thankful for the memories. :)  I wish I had the time and energy to post pictures from past trips, because there truly are such joyful memories, but I don't so I will settle for the ones I took while we were there on our very last visit.

Tavian with my sister, Sarah

Part of the beautiful deck!

More of the deck. Such beautiful views!

Getting a picture in the exact spot where Cole proposed...almost exactly 5 years ago :)

Tavian wasn't thrilled about being in the picture, so we took one just us!

Getting a picture of the inside.

Hopefully Cole and I will own a vacation home ouselves one day that will bring our family the wonderful memories that the cabin brought me throughout my childhood and into adulthood.

Woodward Picnic

Cole works for a company called Woodward Govenor.  It is a really amazing company that is very family friendly.  He absolutely loves his job and we feel so blessed to be part of such a wonderful community.  Every summer the company throws a HUGE picnic for all the employees and their families.  Cole and I have gone before, but this was the first year that Tavian was able to partake in some of the fun activities that they have for kiddos.  It will only get more fun for him as he gets older!!!

I only have a few snapshots from the day, but it was filled with fun activities.  Everything is entirely free.  There is a delicious lunch, a ton of carnival games, a car show, popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, snow cones, face painting, balloon animals, bouncy play areas, and much more!  It is pretty wonderful :)

Tavian looking adorable while eating the yummy lunch

He mostly spent his time on the bouncy play areas!

This one was specifically for smaller children.  Perfect for him!

He was loving the snow cone on such a hot day!  (I was loving it too!!)

Cole did all the hard work and took Tavian through the bouncy areas that were for big kids!

Cole took him through this one too!

It was a fun day and we look forward to going again next year!

Family Fun

Our new favorite family activity is riding bikes together!  We found the most amazing bike attachment for Tavian and he LOVES it.  He doesn't go near the garage without saying "bike" over and over and asking to go for a ride.  It is a perfect summer activity because the wind and movement makes the heat a bit more bareable.  One of the first outings we went on together was to the Environmental Learning Center in Fort Collins.  We drove the bikes to get closer, and then rode around so we could take Tavian to look at the birds.  As I have said before, he loves birds so it was a real treat for him!

Getting ready to go!

What a cutie pie!  So excited!!

I didn't even know this place existed, but it was really neat!

Tavian loves to ride fast with Daddy!

We have ridden our bikes to church and that is a really wonderful time, especially because it is early in the morning so it stays cool out.  We have also been going to Cold Stone, Starbucks, and Inta Juice on our bikes.  It is such a fun thing to do as a family, and it motivates me that I get a treat at the end :)  It is a good activity to keep me moving, too.  Cole usually takes Tavian even on little rides in the evening because he knows how much he loves it.  I love the bike attachment, probably the best money we have spent this summer!!!

Hope you enjoy this cute video :)

Sisters

My sister, Andrea, and her son Augustine came to visit at the end of June/early July.  Getting to see them is always exciting because it doesn't happen very often.  We love giving the boys a chance to play together too.  It was a bit stressful trying to manage two babies schedules, and we also had to play referee a few times between these fiesty babes.  It was actually pretty cute/funny to watch them go at it.  Hopefully they'll get along better as they get older!  Lol.  Augustine was pretty shy this trip.  Much shyer then he has been in the past, which convinces me even more that they should come around more often!  He needs to know his Godmother!!

One of the first days of their visit we took the boys to the park early in the morning.  Of course we stopped for Gib's and Inta Juice on the way.  YUM!

We unfortunately didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I guess we'll just have to make do with the memories.  We spent three days at the pool and that was a lot of fun.  My dad got some cute pictures of us on the 4th of July swimming, but I don't believe I will probably ever get access to those photos.  Lol.  He may not even know how to get them onto the computer!!!  We also had some really nice family dinners.  My sister Ellen, and her family, came to visit too so 4 out of the 5 of us siblings were all together.  That makes for a fun (and don't forget usually drama filled) time!

These next pictures were taken at the dinner at my sister Sarah's house.  This is her son Dylan who is also my Godson.  Tavian loves him, as you can see.  I think I got some pretty adorable pictures!!!

Kisses for his Godbrother!

This was the sweetest thing.  Tavian and Augustine would often times hold hands while driving in their carseats.  So cute!!!

Tavey loves his Godmother.  One of the nights when he was having trouble sleeping he got some extra loves from his Aunt Annie!  Lucky Boy!

Happy boys playing together!

During Andrea's visit she had her 10 year high school reunion (crazy how time flies!)  Since Luke wasn't able to make the trip, she asked if Ellen and I would come along with her.  It was a fun excuse to get dressed up together and spend some time together.

Some more love with Aunt Annie

I made some yummy fruit pizza for the 4th of July!

Overall it was a good time with family.  And, the exciting news that I have been waiting to share with you all, is that Andrea is pregnant again!  Her baby is due January 26th which means our babies will be even closer in age then Tavian and Augustine.  Very exciting :)  I promise we don't plan these things! lol!

Aunt Sarah's Visit

In early June my Aunt Sarah and Unlce Jim came to visit.  My aunt has a very special bond to Tavian because she stayed with me when he was just two weeks old and helped me take care of him.  They always make a lot of effort to visit us, and we are always so thankful for our time together. 

Here are a few highlights from the trip.

So excited to be reunited with Tavian!

Tavian is obsessed with reading, so him and Aunt Sarah did a lot of reading together!

 She even was in town to join us for the Walk For Life! 

We also made a trip to the cemetary to my mom's grave.  My Aunt Sarah always makes it a priority to go while she is in town.  I was happy to go because we hadn't been able to on Mother's Day since I had been so sick.  I always end up loving our pictures taken at the cemetary!

Cole blowing kisses to Nana with Tavian

Fmaily Picture

Such a sweet picture

 We had a suprise birthday celebration for Cole with all the family over!  It was great that we were able to to do while Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jim were in town!

The beauitful cake my sister, Sarah, made for Cole's birthday!

Cole started singing Happy Birthday with us...that is how surprised he was.  Lol!

All the birthday present Cole could would want...Corn Hole with the boys

My brother-in-law Chris, my Dad, my Uncle Jim, and the Birthday Boy!

More Corn Hole

Special time with Aunt Sarah!