#4 Is Here!

Better late than never!

New Arrivals.....Already!

It's a good thing I got the picture of the eggs 3 days ago! Here they are, all but one who still needs to hatch! Cutest things ever!! Tough to photograph since when they hear/feel the tree move, they all open up and wait for mama to feed them - very wiggly! After a few seconds of that, they collapse at the same time....as you can see! They are just so adorable! It's going to be so fun to watch them grow!

More Babies!

Looks like we're not the only ones planning for new arrivals this year! A bird decided to make a nest in one of our tiny new oak tress in the front yard! Even though the tree is only about 10 feet tall, she picked a great place - almost like a cave in the branches! Definitely safe from harm! Now we get to watch her babies grow too!

We had another doctor visit yesterday. Everything went great. However, to no surprise, I'm measuring about 1-2 weeks larger than I should be. I had a feeling that was the case! No concerns just yet. We'll just hope things even out and he doesn't grow to 10 pounds 4 ounces like his dad! If it seems we may be heading in that direction later down the road, we might see this little guy about a week early!

20 weeks!

Halfway there! Can't believe how fast the time is flying by! We are having such a wonderful time feeling him move around! It's unbelievable how strong such a tiny little one can be! Still loving every minute of being pregnant! Finally had to graduate to maternity clothes recently, but luckily fashion has improved since I was pregnant with Hayden!

For those who don't know and may be wondering, yes we've decided on a name.....John (after my Dad) Albert (after Albert's Dad). So we've started referring to him as Johnny, just to keep things straight within the family. It's a little strange not knowing a face to put with the name, but I'm sure as soon as we meet him everything will fall into place!

A short ultrasound video!

We weren't able to record the whole thing this time (apparently we weren't ever supposed to!!) My doctor made us a disk and there were some short video clips on it. You can see the little guy wiggling around just a bit! AMAZING!

It's official! We're having a BOY!

We had another Ultrasound today and our doctor confirmed that it's DEFINITELY a boy! Lucky for us we were able to get the "money shot" as my doctor put it & there's no question about it! It was amazing, as always, to see the little one growing inside! He is much more developed and was moving like crazy during the exam! Albert was finally able to feel him kick just a few days ago! What an incredible experience!

It's hard to tell what's what here, but basically it's as if he's sitting on the screen and his legs are spread - no doubting what's between them!

Guadalupe River State Park

On the last day before Hayden's summer trip to California, we took a trip out to the river again. It was a beautiful day! We all had a great time, especially the dogs!

(Be sure to click on "View All Images" - a new window will come up and click on "Full Screen")

16 weeks!

Here it is! The 16 week belly! I'm feeling more and more uneasy about posting these, but OH WELL! I did have to be pretty picky though since as Hayden put it - my stomach looks like a brain. Somehow the camera brings out ALL the veins in my stomach and more and more are appearing each month!! :)

All is well at this point. I've been feeling little baby kicks for about the past 2 weeks or so. It's really an amazing experience and I can't wait until Albert & Hayden can feel them too! I got a fetal doppler monitor as part of my Mother's Day gift a while back, so all three of us spend most nights in bed listening to the baby's heartbeat. It's a wonderful sound and a great family experience!

A Little Visitor!

Hayden's infamous Italian Parsley BUSH had to undergo some maintenance lately. It has taken over and it's time to make room for some mint! In the process of cutting it back, Hayden discovered not only how big it REALLY is, but also that there was a little someone using it as a home!

We had no idea under all that parsley were roots like this - a bunch of them! This stuff grows like a weed! Don't ever pay for parsley! Just throw some seeds in an area that gets regular water and let it grow!

The dogs thought the roots made good chew toys!

And here is the little visitor! We weren't sure what he was, but being in Texas you have to assume it's bad! We caught him and threw him over the fence into the greenbelt. He was just a baby, so we couldn't hurt him!

We could've made good money selling all this parsley!

Schlitterbahn!!!!!!

A couple weeks ago we FINALLY made it to Schlitterbahn (a huge waterpark nearby)! Hayden brought his good friend Chase and they had a blast! We were there for about 7 hours, but that still wasn't enough!

Having lunch after their first hour at the park - Hayden explaining one of the rides!

Oooops - almost cut Hayden out of this one! It all happens so fast!

Ready for the second half of the park - all greased up with their re-applied sunscreen!

Hayden trying to make it across the obstacal course.

Some of the biggest slides in the background - no real great shots of them on any big stuff since there's no way to get close.

Pool Action!

Fun at the Rec Center

We got in lots of play time at the Rec Center before school got out! The weather has been absolutely beautiful lately, especially at night!


Memorial Day Neighborhood Celebration! We have such a great bunch of neighbors!

We came home when it started to rain and got to see this beautiful rainbow from the deck!

Albert & Hayden's new game is football in the pool - they're very creative! (The blurry yellow thing is the football.)


Time for a haircut!

The Cutest Kitty In The World!

Although Ellie has appeared many times in this blog, I thought it was time to dedicate a post just to her! She seems to love the camera....and the camera equally loves her! She's so much fun and keeps the house very interesting!!

Staring out window into the back yard - looking for birdies!

Staring out the front door - yep, looking for birdies! This is where she sits every morning for hours! When she sees them, she talks to them and if it seems they've flown "behind" her (over the house) she'll run to the back of the house and look out the window to find them again!

I put her up in this window and she LOVED it! Now she stares up there when you hold her - begging to go up again!! Better view of the birdies, I guess!!

A new napping spot....but still able to look for birdies!
Hayden was eating a frozen blueberry waffle and Ellie learned she liked them too! She ended up eating quite a few pieces! Crazy cat!

Exploring with Hayden & the dogs!

Another walk around the neighborhood - Hayden wanted to show me a nest of doves he found in the greenbelt behind our house! Yes, believe it or not, they're doves - even though they look like turkies! It was really neat to see them and watch their mom jump from the nest and try to distract Hayden away from her babies by flopping around on the ground! Moms are wonderful! Hayden is the next Jeff Corwin, for sure!

Luckily we're ALL skinny enough to slide through the edge of the emergency gate....for a little longer anyway!



Hayden's excellent photography work!

Waiting for the dogs to come back......

Heading back to the house....

A Very Happy Mother's Day!

Not only do I get the blessing of creating a new life this Mother's Day, but I also was treated like a queen by Albert & Hayden! Albert surprised me with some early gifts which were very unexpected (and more than I needed) and then today made me breakfast and dinner! My sweet little Hayden did the breakfast dishes, took the dogs for a walk and returned with a hand-picked bouquet of wildflowers! They were so beautiful! What a wonderful Mother's Day!





Even Ellie liked them!

Another Ultrasound Video!

This is the one where he's apparently showing his stuff!! ;)

Ultrasound Video

12 weeks & 2 days - this is where you can see hiccups and the baby sucking its (his?) thumb! So amazing! We are already in love with the little one! Hayden's just happy it's probably a boy!

More Baby Pictures!

Albert & I had such a great time getting this ultrasound done today! They really took their time since it was a screening test as well, so it lasted over 20 minutes! We got to see so much - fingers, toes, a yawn, hiccups, possible thumb sucking and what looks to be.....little boy parts! We can't be sure just yet, but that's what they're thinking! We'll wait and see as things grow a little more!

Here are some pictures! We also took some video clips that I'll be posting later!


No THAT is not the little boy part I was referring to - that's the umbilical cord!! :)

12 Weeks!

Not to sure how I feel about posting a picture of myself like this on the internet, but I'm doing it anyway! I had Albert take a bunch and none of them were exactly beautiful to look at (especially with that large vein tracing across my side), but it's all part of the miracle! The little one inside me has definitely had a growth spurt lately and it's really true that you get bigger faster the second time around!

All is well at 12 weeks along - feeling great! At the start I couldn't get enough sleep and was feeling a bit nauseous, but all of that is long gone and now we just get to watch the belly grow!

San Antonio Botanical Gardens!

A couple weeks ago we FINALLY had a chance to go to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. It's only minutes away and we can't believe we waited so long! It rained just a little, but the rain made the day that much more beautiful! We saw so many beautiful plants and flowers and even some wildlife we weren't expecting! What a great family day!