Arkansas 2012

The week after Christmas, we joined my mom, stepdad and brother for a relaxing trip to Arkansas.  We picked a place that didn't have much going on, so that we would all be forced to take some much needed R&R.  On Christmas, it snowed (a ton) where we were going.  That led to beautiful views and lots of lazy days in PJS (because this preggo didn't think hiking around in ice and snow would be smart!)

Uncle Shane checking out the property on Day 1

We literally sat around the cabin for 4 days eating good food, playing with the baby and playing games.  We didn't even have a tv!

Baby Einstein anyone?

Getting lots of loving from everyone!

"Uncle Shane, can't you see I am busy!?"

G-Ma helped her out with her first pigtails!

Playing a video game

Playing with Gator!

Crazies.

Brushing your teeth is so much fun when someone else does it for you!

She decided to take things into her own hands

Her own little theater for the drive

Here are just a few shots of the beautiful view that we had:

Our cabin

 And a few family pics we shot before we left:

First Flight

Last weekend, we went out of town for a few days.  In the process, Ashlynn got to fly on her first airplane! We were not sure how she would do (especially since she was coming down with a cold).  We packed the laptop loaded with videos, and a bag full of snacks and toys. When we arrived at the airport, she loved watching people and staring out the window at the planes!

Checking out the runway with her daddy

Our sweet girl was conked out before we even took off! 

And she slept through the ENTIRE flight!

Poor thing was still pretty sick while we were on our trip, so she got a lot of cuddle time in with her daddy!

Thankfully the flight home went just as great.  We didn't even need our bag of tricks :)

Baby B: 26 Weeks!

Baby B has been baking for 26 weeks! Praise the Lord! It is exciting to be at the point of viability, and to *so far* have no signs of early labor.  Keep baking Miss Bailey!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 26 weeks

Size of baby: 14 inches and she should be around 1.75 lbs

Weight gain: +10

Maternity Clothes: Yes

Gender: Another sweet girl!

Movement: She is still a mover and a shaker.  She is much lower than Ashlynn, and I can feel her kick more all over my stomach (as opposed to in my ribs!)

Sleep: Sleep has gotten a little better.  Partially because my tailbone hasn't hurt as much and partially because I have been so exhausted that I have conked out when my head hit the pillow.

Symptoms:  Tailbone pain, exhaustion, moodiness, and terrible heartburn

What I miss: Not getting winded just by walking up the stairs :)

Cravings: Fruit and veggies

Best moment this week: Mark's family got to meet Ashlynn, and we got to spend a few precious days with them in Ohio celebrating the life of his grandma (more on that soon).

What I am looking forward to: I am hoping to schedule our 4d sono for sometime in the next couple of weeks!

Dad and Big Sister: Mark enjoyed seeing his family meet Ashlynn, and he has loved feeling Bailey kick more and more. Ashlynn got another cold, but was a trooper on our trip.

a ONEderful party!

Ashlynn has always loved color. Wheel of Fortune is her favorite show, and she sits in awe of the wheel spinning.  Because of this, I chose to do a colorful "polka dot" party to celebrate her 1st year of life!

First is a peek at the decorations.  The party was held in a fellowship room at Mark's parents church. It worked out perfectly with space, and no one had to clean house beforehand :)  Because the party was mid-afternoon we served cupcakes, chicken nuggets, fruit, and veggies, along with lemonade and water. Our families helped so much in getting prepared for the party!

Ashlynn sported a polka-dotted name shirt that I found on Etsy, and a fun tutu!

When it came time for presents, she was more interested in eating paper and playing with everyone that was there! 

She did get a little curious when Blaise started checking out her toys!

Here are a few pictures of our {much loved and appreciated} guests!

BFF Kelynn

Where's the baby?!

Bampa and his Lil' Bit

I am sad that I don't have pictures of more people, but we spent most of our time celebrating our sweet girl!

Once present time was over, we sang "Happy Birthday" and gave Ashlynn her smash cake.  With her love for sweets, we thought she would smash right into that thing.  Instead, she surprised us by spending a good 10 minutes picking off individual sprinkles and eating them!

She finally dug into the icing a little bit (after we cut the cake in half!)

And then discovered the good part: the chocoloate!

For most of the party, she crawled around and played with everyone. She hadn't had a nap all day, but was such a happy girl the entire time!

She discovered some decorations in the window, and spent a long time playing with them.

She finally got one pulled off, and spent the rest of the party wearing it like a necklace!

It was such a fun, and smooth day.   We are so thankful for everyone who came and helped us celebrate Ashlynn's birthday.  Before we know it we will be celebrating her 2nd, 5th and 16th birthdays!

She has a name!

With Ashlynn, we had names picked out early on. One boy name and one girl name.  Ever since we found out we were expecting Baby B, we have been talking over names.  For a boy, we would have used our original boy name.  For a girl, we were undecided.  Once we knew she was a she, we really started thinking about what her name would be.

We decided on...

The name Bailey always seemed to make it to the top of our lists for a first name, and that is how it was chosen.  A simple, sweet name for our girl.  I am not even sure which one of us suggested it, it was just always on our lists.  Ironically, it starts with a B, and she already had the nickname of "Baby B".

For a middle name, we wanted something meaningful.  Ashlynn shares a middle name with 2 of her great-grandmothers, and that is something we (and hopefully she will also) treasure. One day, I threw out the idea of using a more "feminine" version of Mark's middle name James and spelling it with a "Y". This is the same middle name a boy would've had. We both loved it, but it took us a while to 100% decide. Who better for our girl to be named after than her daddy who already loves her so much!

We are so excited to have her name chosen, and to be able to pray for her by name.  It will be a joy to see how her personality fits into her name! 

Baby B: 25 Weeks

We have hit the 25 week point! God is good! We are praising Him constantly for a healthy pregnancy and a very active Baby B! Here is a photo I snapped yesterday of the ever growing bump!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 25 weeks

Size of baby: Slightly over 1.5 lbs and 13 1/2 inches, the size of a rutabaga

Weight gain: +9

Maternity Clothes: Yes

Gender: Another sweet girl!

Movement: Yes! I told Mark that my organs are starting to hurt, she is kicking all over, all of the time! (I am currently writing this at 3:30 a.m. because she decided to have a crazy dance party!)

Sleep: Sleep is great early in the evening and in the mornings. The middle of the night is hit or miss (see above...)

Symptoms:  Tailbone pain, exhaustion moodiness, and terrible heartburn

What I miss: Sleep

Cravings: Caffeine, fruit, veggies, bread

Best moment this week: Finding a double stoller for an incredible deal!

What I am looking forward to: Making it past the "point of bed rest" here in a few weeks with Ashlynn's pregnancy. We are praying to avoid that completely!

Dad and Big Sister: Dad is not sure about this whole double stoller addition :) and Baby A has been such a sweet, funny girl this past week! She has started sharing her paci with people, and I cannot wait to see her as a big sister!