Beach Pool

A few of us got together today and took the kids to Stonebridge's beach pool. Aside from the tantrums when it was time to go, and the fact that the kids were all covered from head to toe in sand and was a nightmare to clean out, it was so much fun!

 Favorite picture of the day! Best little friends!

18 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

18 weeks!

Size of baby:

About 5 1/2 inches long, or the size of a bell pepper.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:

Gain of 8... thanks Cabo!

Maternity Clothes:

I broke down and got a few pairs of maternity shorts. I'm actually wearing them a lot because they are so dang comfortable, but they are still kind of big on me. No maternity shirts yet though.

Gender:

We found out earlier this week that we'll be having a little girl! YAY!

Movement:

LOTS of movement the last 3 weeks. I think I have even felt her get the hiccups a few times. She has been sitting back on my bladder all day long today, so that has been pretty uncomfortable.

Sleep:

Not horrible, but not great either. I can no longer sleep on my stomach, so I'm having to use a pillow to help me get comfortable when I sleep on my side. It helps, but I can never stay in one position for too long, which makes for a lot of tossing and turning.

Symptoms:

Still a few headaches, but overall feeling SO much better!

What I miss:

Not much. I got pretty creative with drinks in Cabo (lots of virgin drinks and non-alcoholic beer), so I didn't miss real drinks at all.

Cravings:

I've been craving fresh fruit a lot lately. In fact, I think I'll go get some watermelon now :-)

Best Moment this week:

Our ultrasound earlier this week, and finally finding out she is a girl!

What I am looking forward to:

Picking out a name and getting all kinds of cute girl clothes!

I am definitely seeing a difference here!

                      

Gender Reveal

We did something fun and different this time around to find out if we're having a little boy or girl. I know a few people that have done this, and it just seemed like it would be fun. And it definitely was!

I had a sonogram on Monday afternoon, and I asked the tech to write down on the inside of a blank greeting card what she saw, and then immediately seal it. Once we were done there, I took it to Market Street and ordered a cake. They were to fill the inside with either pink or blue icing, depending on what the card said. I left the card with them (mainly so they would know what to do, but also so I wouldn't be tempted to open it.... I couldn't have had that thing sitting around my house all day and night!). I went to pick up the cake and the card early Tuesday evening in time to go to dinner with our families.

Soooo, fast forward through what was probably the LONGEST 24 hours of my life.....

Most of you probably know by now that we are having a GIRL! I am so excited that Carter will have a little sister! Which I find hilarious, because he's been saying all along this was going to be a "sisser." He, and everyone else! I guess I was the only one that wasn't completely convinced this baby was indeed a little girl! But she is! And we are very excited!

Thanks to our parents and my brothers for coming tonight and being a part of all the silliness. I think they would all agree that it was very nerve racking and exciting all at once!

Finished with dinner and VERY ready to cut that cake!

 The cake

 Moment of truth!

 I think I shouted, "IT'S PINK!!!!!"

YAY!!

The card

 Proof!

 More proof. This is a "butt shot"... and it looks very different from Carter's. The backwards C shape (over to the right) are her legs... and there are no boy parts in between!

Can't you tell Carter is so excited?! HA!

Now we just need a name!!

Our Trip to Cabo!

We made it back from Cabo on Saturday. It was a really wonderful and relaxing trip!! We didn't do much but spend time at the pool & beach, go to the spa, and eat and drink! Well Eric had some drinks, and I drank virgins, which were just as good! We stayed at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach on the pacific side, but ventured into town several times to eat and shop and go to the Marina. Here are a few pictures of where we stayed. We didn't really take many pictures of us, just because we didn't think about it. Truth be told, even if we had I probably wouldn't post them, because I am not a fan of preggo pictures! I just look chubby!

This is a view of our resort from the beach. It was amazing. It had a total of 8 pools all with swim up bars, 5 restaurants, a wonderful spa, and our room had a great view. We loved it!

 A few different views from the sky pool, where we spent most of our time

 The upper level of the sky pool

 Our last few days there it was really windy......

 ...which made for some enormous waves on the Pacific side.

 It sounded like thunder clapping every time they would crash.

 It may not look like it in these pictures, but that is huge!

 Oh look, there is pregnant me. =) I managed to make it into a picture somehow.

 View from our balcony

You can see how big the swells are further out that made those huge waves!

 Look at this yacht... helicopter and all. Who really needs a helipad and helicopter on their yacht?! Crazy.

 The only picture taken of both Eric and I. This was at dinner our last night.

Notice beer on Eric's side, water on mine. Story of the trip. Oh well!

Would have turned out a lot better if the camera would have been on the right setting =(

So, as I said before, we LOVED the place we stayed. My parents actually bought a timeshare there 3 years ago when we were all in Cabo last. But, because we loved it so much, and because they offered us an unbelievable deal, we decided to purchase there too! So we are now proud timeshare owners! We bought an every-other-year plan, which means we have 7 days (starting this year, and in every odd year) to use whenever we want to. We can go back to Sunset Beach, or we can trade to anywhere in the world. Also, we have a TON of extra bonus weeks in our contract, WAY more than we will ever use. We actually receive 4 of those every year (like I said, way more than we'll ever use.... can you imagine 4 week-long vacations each year??), so if you're really nice to us, maybe we'll give you one! :) But we are really pleased with our purchase, and can't wait to get back there and use it! We've already got in mind a few things to do in the next few years with the kids, so we feel like it is was a great investment for us, and are really excited about it!

We've got a busy few days ahead. I went and had a sonogram today, and she was able to determine the sex of the baby. We don't know yet though..... we're having a "gender reveal" party with our families tomorrow night, so we'll find out then what it will be! Can't wait!!

A Very Rainy Day

It was so rainy and yucky yesterday that we didn't even go outside or leave the house once. Carter spent  A LOT of time coloring and playing with his cars.

I thought it was cute how serious and into it he was. So focused.

Look at that tongue!

 I think every kid has, at one time or another, stuck their tongue out to help them color!
So funny and so cute!

Mason turns 2!

 We went to Mason's birthday party this weekend, and as always, Carter had a blast! He just loves his little friends so much! Here are a few pictures I stole from Laura, Mason's momma.

 Birthday boy ready for his party!

 

 All the kids enjoying the water table

Carter's turn to take a swing at the pinata!

Mason and his Mommy!

Waiting patiently for their cake! 

My cutie pie!

Carter and Mason's cousin enjoying the bounce house. 

These three are best buddies!

Loved this shot of Connor... he needed a turn in the bounce house too!