Catch up post!

Eek! Over a week since my last post!  That's a tell-tale sign that life has been more than a bit hectic lately!  Work has been insanely busy, with me planning a large company internal event for customers and then there's World Cup soccer, which has kept Tom and I up until at least 10 or 11pm most nights! 

So, in the spirit of a quick catch-up, here is a picture recap of some fun Evie has been having this summer!   From walks around the block in her pink convertible, to popsicles in the car (yes, she made a mess), to her first time swimming in floaties in a big pool!  Our summer has been shaping up to be quite fun and eventful!  Hopefully the weather continues to be as lovely as it has been!! :)

We also went Cherry-picking this past weekend!  I'll save that experience for the next post!!!

 

 

  

It's the Little Things - Like Realizing She's a Big Girl!

Summer officially begins this Saturday.  For many students, teachers, and others, it means that school is out and fun activities can officially start.  I've always been envious of people who work in the school system because of the summer break that they get.  The other day, I dropped off Evie at my mom's house for the day and definitely felt sad.  I realized how big she is getting and wished I was able to spend the summer with her.  We do try to get out as much as possible on the weekends, but I definitely feel like I am missing out on taking her to the splash pad, having outdoor picnics, and just enjoying the warm weather since I am stuck at work most days until 5 or 6pm.  It's definitely not easy being away.  If you are a working mom, hopefully you can relate, and my hat is off to you.  While I know that being a stay at home mom is also super challenging, I would love to be able to at least spend half my week with Evie and work part-time.  Can we just sell our house and live in a tent? :)  This week I am definitely appreciating all the time I have with Evie.  It's little moments, like this one, when I realize what a big girl she's becoming, that make me smile.  She's really becoming such a little lady and it warms my heart.

Shoes  |  Outfit

 

Father's Day Weekend

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day weekend and did something a little extra special for the important men in your lives. Our weekend was wonderful and very eventful. On Saturday we drove out to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to go to the zoo up there. It's about a 90 minute drive for us, but we were up for the adventure. Plus, our favorite sandwich shop in the world is right around the corner from the zoo - Schlotzsky's Deli. Here are some pictures from our trip. Evie LOVED it and was definitely exhausted by the time we left.

Then on Sunday, we had my parents over at our house for a BBQ.  We treated my dad and Tom to a delicious steak and also did a beer tasting!  Earlier in the day, Tom and I headed to a local grocery store and picked out a bunch a different ales and brews for an afternoon of tasting.  In addition to beer and steaks, the kings dads in our life got to watch World Cup Soccer with their feet up.  They got quite the royal treatment - well deserved of course.  Evie and I are very thankful to have such wonderful dads in our lives. :) 

 

It's the Little Things - Like Cousinly Love

I'm lucky to have my mom able to watch Evie while I am at work during the day.  My cousin has her son at her mom's house a few days a week as well.  The two grandmas have recently been getting together with the kiddos for some play dates and Evie has been in Heaven!  She loves her cousin Declan "de de" SOOOO much.  Take a peek at some of the cuteness that unfolded when I visited this cute duo the other day during my lunch hour.  It's little moments like these that make me smile.  I hope these two are best of friends as they continue to grow up.  I can't wait to show them these "kissing" pictures one day and watch their faces turn red. haha! :)   

  

 

In other news, today marks 22 weeks of pregnancy for me!  Here's my weekly bumpdate, along with a picture!  

How Far Along: 22 weeks

Size of Baby:  Baby is around 1 lb. now and the size of a spaghetti squash

Gender: GIRL!!

Weight Gain:I haven't gained too much weight yet.  I actually lost several pounds in my first few months of pregnancy, and am starting to catch up...hovering around 5-8 lbs.

Symptoms:  Nothing major other than some tossing and turning at night.

Food Cravings/Aversions: Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream.  Mmmmmm. 

Movement:  I feel baby girl kicking several times a day, especially when I am sitting still at work or on the couch after work.

Sleep:  I've had some crazy and funny dreams and usually wake up a couple times to readjust at night.  The tossing and turning is getting a bit annoying.

Maternity Clothes: Yes.  My jeans are no longer working for me.  It's all about the elastic waistbands and scrunched side tops for this mama. 

What I Miss:  Being able to actively play with Evie.  I'm starting to get some back pain if I bend over too much.  It makes me sad sometimes that I can't be in full-on play mode with her some days.

Best Moment this week:  Cuddling with Evie this weekend in bed for a good 30 minutes. 

Looking Forward To:  Starting to move our office to the basement and making room for the nursery!!

I feel like my belly has popped out like crazy this time!  I'm just over halfway there and feel like I'm 7 months pregnant! 

Summer Bucket List for Outdoor Fun

We had a great weekend...spent a lot of time outdoors and got to really enjoy the beautiful summer-like weather.  It's days like that where I really wish we lived in an environment that was sunny and warm more days in the year.  We are such an outdoors family, and Evie would spend 99.9% of her time outside if we let her.  

I recently saw several posts about a summer bucket list so I thought I'd come up with one as well.  Here goes!

1.  Go to the zoo at least 3 times - Evie LOVES animals

2.  Go out for icecream and sit outside to enjoy it

3.  Have a family picnic at our local forest preserve

4.  Go for a family hike at our local nature preserve

5.  Take a bike ride (this one might be tough for me the preggo!)

6.  Visit the Shedd Aquarium downtown

7.  Go to the botanical gardens and see all the pretty flowers, trees, and plants

8.  Have a campfire and make s'mores

9.  Watch fireworks (hopefully Evie will not be scared?!) and light sparklers!

10.  Go to the park another 10,343,963 times

11.  2-3 weekend getaways to relax outdoors (Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.!)

12.  Fruit picking - strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peaches, etc.!

13.  Go to 1-2 more carnivals

14.  Go to a splash pad/water park

15.  Go to a farmers market

16.  Sit outside in our gazebo with a cold drink and music

  

Hopefully we can squeeze all these things in this summer.  I am hoping to fully taking advantage of the summer with Evie and enjoy lots of quality time while she is still an only child!  

Here are a few recent pictures of some outdoor fun we had....

  

Riding a pony at a local amusement park!

She is obsessed with sitting in my car and pretend driving

Being her silly self :)

It's the Little Things - Like Holding Their Little Hand

We've had such a wonderful last couple days.  Summer weather has kicked in, we announced that we were having another baby girl, and I've been feeling really good lately!  While putting Evie to bed last night, I laid down next to her and she grabbed my hand.  As she was drifting to sleep I couldn't stop staring at her.  I wanted to freeze that moment forever.  In just one short month my little Evie will be 2 years old!  I can't believe it!!  The time is really going by way too quickly.  I just want her to stay little forever!  I didn't want this moment to fade away and couldn't resist snapping this picture. Treasure your time with your little ones all you mamas - it's the little things, like these moments, that make life SO AMAZING.  

 

Gender Reveal! It's a......

I couldn't be more excited to share with all of you that the gender of baby #2 is.....GIRL!!!  We had our 20 week ultrasound last week and I was on pins and needles all week.  My husband was convinced that we were having another girl, whereas I was feeling like maybe it was a boy!  Looks like I have absolutely NO women's intuition. haha!

Below is the ultrasound!  Prior to revealing the gender, the technician took several measurements.  We learned that baby girl weighs about 15 ounces and is growing beautifully and right on target for 20 weeks.  She is also quite the little acrobat!

I tried to mentally prepare myself for both a boy and girl and was STILL shocked when they said it was another girl!  I really am super happy about it, but the lesson is that I don't think you can ever truly be prepared to get that news! :)

We waited until the weekend to reveal the news to our family.  I didn't want to do the typical cake reveal, so instead we decided to do the balloon route!  We got a black balloon and filled it with confetti.  We told our family that we would pop the balloon and they would see either pink or blue confetti sprinkle out.  I'm a bit bummed that we weren't able to get any pictures of the balloon popping (my brother was too slow with his camera), but either way, it was a nice memory to share with my family!  We basically did something like this. 

Come October, we will have 2 beautiful little girls.  I'm so happy to finally know so that I can start planning our nursery and pulling out all of Evie's baby clothes.  We have so many clothes that it's nice knowing we'll be all set for baby #2! :)

I'm looking forward to matching outfits and Evie having a little sister.  I see posts by fellow blogger Jessica at Little Baby Garvin and their new baby girl and it makes me smile.  I can't wait to see Evie and baby girl #2 together!!!