28 weeks pregnant with #2

How far along? 28 weeks (July 3rd- July 9th)  HELLO 3rd trimester

Energy: Good!  Busy with family in town.
Best moment this week: So much went on during "week 28".  My parents were in town for the July 4th weekend.  We had so much fun doing fireworks with William this year!  After the long weekend, William was in Texarkana so we got a couple of date nights in, I found a going home outfit for baby girl, we had the maid come one evening (which is always a treat) and Bunco (girls night!) was at our place. 
Movement: She's still a mover...and stubborn.  On July 4th we tried to have a 3D ultrasound done.  We had zero luck at getting a picture of her face.  This crazy little lady kept her FEET and hands by her face the entire time.  So, we have lots of pictures of her feet.  Her head is still down and her little butt is always to the right of my belly button.    
Food cravings: Poptarts look delicious and Mexican food is always on my mind (Hooray for El Tiemp on one of our date nights).  
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really.  I have had some heartburn in the evenings.  
Maternity Clothes:  Long skirts and maternity tanks are probably what you'll find me in for the next 2 months!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Happy!  Although I missed our William....it's always nice to know you will get to sleep through the night (well, minus the trips to the bathroom).    
Other pregnancy symptoms:  Varicose veins on the back of my right upper leg.  Kinda weird that's it's only on one side!??!  Due to my "funny uterus"  I do carry babies more on the right side of my body.  Not sure if the two are related?!  Hopefully they aren't here to stay forever.  I've read that most of the time they go away after delivery.  Fingers crossed.    
From the doctor:  I saw my MFM on Monday, July 6th.  Everything still looks good!  Baby girl's heart rate was 141.  They did the full anatomy scan again and she was in the 46%, weighing approximately 2lbs 10 oz.  This crazy little lady had her feet down (away from her face) for maybe 60 seconds before she put them right back up there.  Dr. Carpenter had a student working with him during my exam....I was a good teaching lesson...."what a bicornuate uterus looks like".  :) 

This was my 8th week to do Progesterone injections.  Not too many more left to go!

Baby is the size of Chinese Cabbage

Rosemary Beach 2015

I'm always pleasantly surprised when the time comes around for us to board the plane for Rosemary Beach.  Time goes by so fast!!  It's hard to believe that this was our 5th trip to Rosemary Beach for the annual Gooding summer vacation (and our 4th year to take William).  This was, by far, the best year we've had with William at the beach.  His first year he was only a few months old.  I was pumping every 3 hours....as soon as I'd get down to the beach it was time to head back home to pump again.  William's second year wasn't much better.  He would eat the sand, we'd put him in the water, he'd be sticky and just cry from there.  Last year he finally started having fun, but this year he was a true beach bum!!!  This child would have stayed on the beach all day and night if we let him.  

As always, I took a million pictures.  So, I'll do a few "Rosemary Beach 2015" posts.  Here are a few of the family pictures we got!        

The 20 week baby bump was perfect!  Not too big and not too small.  At this stage I was getting a little restless about all that's included in "pelvic rest".  For a person that enjoys exercising and being in shape it's been hard.  In the end, it's obviously very worth it...but I'll be glad to get back into shape.  I'm sad to say that just our walks on the beach made my lower legs hurt.  LOL.    

This was how most of our days went:

8:00 Up and out of bed for breakfast, playing around the house and getting lotioned up for the beach

10-12:30  Beach Time

12:30-1:30  Home to wash off and then off to lunch

2-4:00  Nap time (this is super late for him..there may have been a few breaks downs during dessert :)

On the days we didn't have dinner plans away from the house we headed back to the beach after nap time.  Every evening, after the sun went down, was spent crabbing!  The little man rarely went to be before 10:00.  YIKES!  Every morning, when the sun came up, William would run in our room saying, "The suns up!  I go to the beach."  I'm sad to say the sun comes up around 5:30am in RB.  Luckily, he would lay down with us and fall back to sleep for a couple of hours.   

Too busy playing to take a picture |  Baby Bump  |  Kisses for AG  |  Again, more interested in the sand on his hand  |  Taking it easy out on our balcony  |  Breakfast and Bike Ride

I can hardly wait to get Anna Grace out there in a little ruffly bathing suit!  Here's to hoping she'll take her morning nap under an umbrella while big brother plays.

Rosemary Beach Family Pictures

If you know the Gooding men, you know they are not big fans of taking pictures.  But, with the new addition to the family, Baby K, the mimi of the family decided they needed to be done.  :)  I'm so glad we went through with the photography session......because, the pictures we got are fabulous!  Ashley Nichole did a wonderful job.  She did a great job with the little ones and we got the pictures back a month after they were taken.   Here are a few of my favorites.

20 week baby bump

The Gooding Guys

Sweet picture of William doing what he loves with his Mimi and Grandad keeping an eye on him!

Our time at Rosemary Beach is so much fun!  It is family friendly and absolutely beautiful. It doesn't hurt that our little guy is a beaching loving baby!  More to come on our week on 30A,  :)  

   

Trip to Midland

"Week 23" was full of fun!  William and I had Monday off together.  We spent the morning perfecting his potty skills and playing with play-doh.  For lunch, we headed into town to meet Daddy at my favorite place, Barnaby's!  This was the week I tried out bedrest for a couple of days.  I got some good Grey's Anatomy time in.  :)  

That Friday William and I headed to West Texas!!  I can't say how proud I am of William for being a super duper travel buddy.  He always minds so well and makes flying with a toddler seem like a breeze!  We had a pretty laid back weekend.  Lots of time by the pool and eating at some of my favorite places.  We even got to see Pop and GG (my grandparents),

As you can see, William thought his new baby cousin was a fun new play buddy!  I'm not sure if the feelings were reciprocated!  LOL.  Poor little Brecken looks terrified.  Good news is....William could care less about me holding Brecken.  He's too busy doing big boy stuff I guess!
That Sunday evening I head back home and left baby boy with his Nana and Papa for a fun week of getting spoiled!  Leaving him behind is not easy for me, but I know it's the best thing for both of us.  William learns that being away from home (and away from "mamadaddy") is okay AND fun!  He grows even closer to his family and Gordon and I get some alone time.
I still can't believe the next time we're in Midland we'll have 2 little ones!  Hopefully we'll make it back sometime during football season.  Just thinking about football season makes me giddy.....a new baby, COOLER weather, maternity leave, pumpkin lattes and of course FOOTBALL!    

The Week Houston Flooded

We had just made it back home, from our trip to East Texas, when the weather got crazy!  Soon after putting William to bed the lighting and thunder began....and it didn't stop until after 4am.  My phone alarmed all night long, "Flash Flood Warning".  I was more worried about William waking up from all the noise outside.  I had no idea what we'd wake up to!  Luckily, William slept through the entire storm. :)  Gordon had to be at a job site early in the morning so he was out the door by 6am....without ever turning on the TV to see what he was about to drive into....WATER!  Long story short, many of the school districts shut down, which meant daycare shut too.  Gordon was stuck in town, unable to make it to his job site, so William and I had an unexpected day together at home!    
As the week went on we got one surprise after another.  I came home to a sick little boy after "moms night out" with my good friend Rachel.  After a traumatizing doctor's appointment the next day, the little guy was diagnosed with a sinus infection.  We didn't get to see our usual doctor that day.  :(  Poor little William is still talking about how the doctor hurt his ear {she did in fact scrape the inside of his ear, making it bleed, when she was trying to get a little piece of wax out}.  Luckily, 48 hours later, just in time for the weekend, he was feeling 100% better!

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Back home Memorial Day evening...before the rain | Lots of cuddling on the couch when he was sick

Little Gym Fun |  Heading to get a snocone | Can't forget any of your toys at the pool!

That weekend, we finally took the plunge and started potty training!  For the past 9 months I could get William to randomly pee pee on the potty, but most of the time he would tell me, "No, it scares me!"  He was still waking up most mornings with a wet diaper and not acting too upset about having a wet diaper during the day.  Regardless, we decided it was time!  The first day was obviously the hardest (but not as bad as I expected).  At one point Gordon compared it to having a new puppy.  LOL.  On Sunday, we went to church, out to lunch and to get William's hair cut....all the trips to the bathroom were harder on this preggo mama than him!  {I may have toppled over at one point....William giggled and said, "What happened, Mama?"  Oh nothing sweetie, my center of gravity is just a bit off!}   Luckily, I didn't have to work on Monday so we had some extra time to perfect his potty skills.  His first week of big boy pants at school didn't go to well.  :(  But, the next week he did fabulous!  Since then he hasn't had a single accident and wakes up in the morning with a dry pull up 95% of the time.  WAY TO GO WILLIAM!  We are so proud of how well he's done.  He made a scary task seem like a piece of cake.  

Here's to hoping our next little one is easy to potty train too!!!!!  

27 weeks pregnant with AG

How far along? 27 weeks (June 26th-July 2nd)

Energy: Good!  Trying to get some fun activities in before baby girl arrives.  
Best moment this week: Knowing I had a four day weekend coming up 
Movement: She seems to love book time when we are putting William to bed.  From then on she's awake and kicking all around.  
Food cravings: Still apples  
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really
Maternity Clothes:  A normal tankini no longer fits over this big belly.  So, I've bought a few maternity top bathing suits (I doubt stretched out skin that gets tan and then deflates is attractive!).  
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Happy for the long 4th of July weekend at Lake Conroe with my parents.  
Other pregnancy symptoms:  I got the worst calf cramp (charlie horse?!?) one night this week.  OUCH!  These things are for real....and my least favorite preggo symptoms.  My calf was sore for days afterwards.  lol.  
From the doctor:  I saw Dr. Zepeta on July 2nd.  Everything seems to be going well!  He thinks I'll stay pregnant until the stitch comes out around 36 or 37 weeks.  From here on out I'll see him every 2 weeks.  

Baby is the size of cauliflower

I think the belly is a tiny bit bigger this go around.  :)  It's hard to believe this pregnancy is almost over!

Yippeeeeee, 26 weeks!

How far along? 26 weeks.  This was my goal!!!  I'm so excited to finally have this day here.  I can rest a little easier at night.  :)

Energy: All the traveling we recently did was tiring!  Enjoying catching up on sleep. :)    
Best moment this week: Date night with Gordon for Father's Day weekend.  We went to see Jurassic World.
Movement: I think she spent a couple of days with her feet down again but moved back to head down.  I still think she moves a lot more than William.  All her kicking during the night wakes me up.  
Food cravings: Fruit (apples) and donuts.  I've been super hungry at lunch time.   
Anything making you queasy or sick: Red meat is still unappealing.  Overall, I'm feeling good!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Happy but starting to feel anxious about everything we still need for her room.  I'm such a planner and feel like she could come at any time.....I really want to be ready!
Other pregnancy symptoms:  Starting to get a really faint "linea negra" down my belly.  Luckily, still no signs of stretch marks.  I'm still up once a night to use the restroom. 
From the doctor:  This isn't really from the doctor....but, I am still "working" with my insurance on getting reimbursed for the weekly progesterone shots I take.  I've also started looking into getting another breast pump through my insurance.  

Baby can detect light and dark and can hear outside noises (aka big brother!)

26.5 weeks!  Quick pic after dinner with the girls.  

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend seems like a lifetime ago for some reason?!?!  Here's a little recap of  "week 21 of 2015".  

We had just gotten back from our annual beach vacation in Rosemary Beach.  I started the week off with a trip into town for a doctors appointment.  My other day off work was spent with this little cutie at the zoo.  It was an extra special trip because the Houston Zoo had just opened the new gorilla exhibit.  They had a week when only zoo members could check things out....so we had to go (before it got crazy busy)!  As always, we had an awesome time.  William thought the gorillas "talking" was funny, we got to see the elephants get a bath, William got sprayed with water by one of the elephants (he thought this was hilarious), and he really took a liking to the fish (I liked the air conditioned room!).    

Where are you Mr. Gorilla?  |  There you are!  |  Crawling through the fish tunnel

Carousel time  |  My little elephant lover, drum player  |  Look Mama!  

On Friday night we headed to Texarkana for the long weekend.  Although we'd just been with the Gooding side of the family, we decided to make one last trip before baby girl makes her appearance!  Our trips out of town are numbered since AG could come anytime (if she takes after her brother).  We hadn't been to T-town since November, so we were over due for a trip to East Texas.  

We had a fun weekend being lazy!  William loved getting to fish.  He even got over his fear of touching them.  I was shocked to see him grab the first fish he caught!  He even touched the worms they used for bait.  He's becoming such a BOY!  This mama and daddy even made it out to dinner one night with some friends. :)     

It's hard to believe that we'll have 2 kiddos the next time we visit Texarkana!!  I can only imagine how loaded down our car will be when we add a newborn to the mix.  :)