Pumpkins at the Arboretum

On Wednesday we met Mikey at the Arboretum during his lunch break so we could take pictures of Ava in the pumpkins and have a picnic. It was the perfect way to spend our morning.

While we waited for Daddy we looked (maybe picked) flowers

When he showed up Ava was so excited.

We got lots of pictures of our little doll with the pumpkins. Here are some of our favorites.

I love to look back at all the pumpkin pictures we have of her from the past 3 years.

Oct. 2009
I grin ear to ear every time I see this one!

Oct. 2010

Oct. 2011

She's growing up so fast! I can't wait for next year when I will have two little punkins to take pictures of.

Long overdue playdate

*I have finally caught up on blog posts so if you so desire you can scroll through the next 3 blog posts following this one.

Last week we met up with some of our sweet friends from our old playgroup. With long distances between houses, new babies, and jobs we don't get together nearly as much as we would like. I enjoyed chatting with my mommy friends and Ava loved playing with the boys (she was the only girl among 6 boys).

Tyler, Ava, and Carter

Grayson, Tyler, Ava, Carter, (Nathan was asleep in his crib), Ryan, and John

To Papa and Nana's We Go

A few weekends ago we drove to San Antonio to attend a friend's wedding and visit Papa and Nana. Since I was involved in the wedding and we were gone a lot of the weekend, Ava got to spend lots of quality time with her Papa and Nana. She didn't miss us one bit! There is always plenty of entertainment at their house.

She did some coloring with Nana

And cooking

and eating in front of the tv with her princess mat and tray

Since we were gone so much of the weekend we didn't get many pictures.

On Sunday before we left we met up with The Reynolds family at a park. Paige packed us a nice picnic lunch and we enjoyed chatting and watching Ray and Ava play together.

I had to take a picture of the dads because Paige and I were laughing at their accessories. Mikey forgot to pack white socks or flip flops so he had to wear his dark socks and nice shoes (reminded me of an old man!) and Ryan was wearing his tiny John Lennon sunglasses.

An incredible friend for life!

Thanks Reynolds family for meeting us and for the goodies!

Tea Party with Daddy

I don't think a day has gone by recently where we don't have a tea party!

Visit from Mom

A few weeks ago my mom, her fiancee David, and Brianna came in town for a weekend visit. We didn't get many pictures unfortunately but this is one from one of the nights they were here.

Our Little Aggie

In honor of our A&M victory on Saturday we had yell practice at our house

My favorite parts are when says "Farmer's Bite" instead of fight and when she holds up her pointer finger for "Gig'em Aggies"! Love her!

Soon to be new addition

After much waiting and anticipation we are so excited to announce that we will be having a precious baby BOY around March 17th! (just three days before Ava's birthday).

Our little guy! I love him already.

Some of you may know that it has been a tough road for us the past 6 months. After a miscarriage in May we were wanting more than ever to be able to get pregnant and have another baby. When I found out I was pregnant again in July we were full of mixed emotions. We were so excited but also scared and nervous. Somewhere around week 12 I started bleeding and all those emotions I experienced before were coming back to me. After a sonogram we realized that I had a large subchorionic hematoma that had ruptured causing the bleeding. Thankfully the baby was healthy and not affected. This meant however that I was no longer allowed to lift Ava or exercise and that I needed to rest as much as possible to prevent further bleeding (which could lead to a miscarriage). I went for a follow up sonogram 3 weeks later and the stupid hematoma is still there. :( I saw a high risk obgyn after that appointment who also did another sonogram. He was encouraging because he said that he sees this a lot in women and that the majority go on to have normal pregnancies. He also told me that I needed to continue to take it easy and be off my feet as much as I can. Not easy with a 2 year old but we have adjusted and spend a lot of our day watching tv or playing with toys on the couch. It also helps that I have an amazing husband who has gone above and beyond to take care of Ava and I when he is home. I barely lift a finger when he walks through the door in the evening. The most exciting news of all from my last sonogram was that we found out we were having a BOY! I was not even expecting to have a sonogram with the high risk ob ,since I just had one that morning, so Mikey wasn't with me unfortunately. Nonetheless we couldn't be more excited about having a boy and it has made me look at this pregnancy in a whole new light. Before now I had been anxious and scared and we kept our pregnancy a secret from a lot of people. God has given me a deep sense of peace about this pregnancy now and I just want to embrace it and celebrate this precious baby boy. I would be lying if I didn't worry a little from time to time, I just wish I could peak in and know for sure that the hematoma is shrinking and the baby is ok, but I am doing so much better now. I have to thank all the friends and family out there who have already been praying for us and our baby. Your prayers have been heard and I have felt every one of them. :) I go back to the doctor again in 3 weeks for another sonogram to see if the hematoma is shrinking. Good thing about all this is I get to see my little guy a lot more often!

Ava is understanding more and more that there is a baby growing in Mommy's belly and she is going to be a big sister. She is already so loving and nurturing that I can't wait to see her as a big sister. She is going to be a great helper!

The other day I showed her my belly and I said "Look Ava, Mommy's belly looks like yours!". She lifted her shirt and said "Yeah, we're the same!". :)

Ava's 2 year old belly and Mommy's 16 week old baby belly (that is growing fast I might add!)

One of her favorite new things to do is to say "cheers" whenever we are playing tea party or eating snacks together. We are "cheersing" our bellies!

More updates to come!