April Date Night

We have almost been at this a year! WOW! It's been totally worth it!

Here we go:

April 6th: Trevor planned this one. His parents watched Brooks for a bit so we could go on this date. We drove our newest purchase (a Polaris Ranger) over to a nearby neighborhood and went for a walk. We then drove all over our land on the Ranger. It was fun exploring and having quality time.

April 13th: I planned this one and Brooks came with us. We went to Tropical Smoothie (we used to go there all the time in high school, but we haven't had one near us in a long time). I put questions on index cards and we took turns drawing and answering.
Some examples were:
-What's something you always wanted to do as a child, but never got to do it?
-What's the dumbest thing you've cried over?
-Who was your first celebrity crush?
-What is the worst thing you ever did as a child and what was your punishment?
-What is one thing you refuse to share?

...you get the picture! They weren't just the normal questions you probably already know about your spouse.

April 20th: Trevor planned this one. While Brooks was awake, we made dinner together. We have been ordering food from Hello Fresh and absolutely LOVE it! It's a little expensive, I think, if you have to pay full price, but I wait until I have $20 off and then order the next box.

YUM!
Then, we put Brooks to bed and finished our date. We have been doing marriage coaching with pre-marital couples and we have been going back over the curriculum and just making it our our. The first couple times we followed the curriculum to a tee, but we really wanted to make it more personalized, so we have been revamping each week. So, we tackled one of the weeks for our date night.

April 27th: TREVOR'S BIRTHDAY!!!! That is going to be a separate blog post all together, so you'll have to wait to hear about this one!

If you want ideas for your own date nights, you can visit any of these links for ideas that we have done.
July Date Nights
August Date Nights
September Date Nights
October Date Nights
November Date Nights
December Date Nights
January Date Nights
February Date Nights
March Date Nights

7 Years Ago (April 17th)

I've had lots of pictures pop up on my timehop from this special weekend 7 years ago!

This was the day that Trevor asked me to be his wife! :)

We were babies!! And we were so in love! I have to say though, each and every year I fall more and more in love. We have both changed so much these past 7 years and I am so thankful that through it all we support each other and encourage each other. We embrace the change and love each other more on the other side.

It was the most perfect day up until that point in my life. We have experienced several other AMAZING days since then, but this was the start! I LOVE YOU TREVOR!!!

You can read about our engagement story here.

First Trimester - Baby #2

1st Trimester Overview

January 4th - April 11th

When I was pregnant with Brooks I wrote down crucial info each week and took weekly photos, so far with this one, I started to do all those things, but I eventually got so far behind I gave up. So, here is a true overview of what's been happening over the course of the 1st trimester.

Baby Size: If I'm being honest, I copied and pasted these from my blog about my first trimester with Brooks :)
Week: 5-Appleseed, 6-Sweetpea, 7-Blueberry, 8-Raspberry, 9-Green Olive, 10-Prune, 11-Lime, 12-Plum and 13-Peach

My Symptoms: This pregnancy has been sooooo different! I was a little nauseous with Brooks, but nothing ever led to throwing up. Well, this one has led to throwing up on multiple occasions. I am EXTREMELY tired! Thankfully, the first few weeks when I was really battling nausea and tiredness, Brooks wasn't crawling yet. So I would lay next to him and play with him. With Brooks, I found a couple staple items that would work in the morning if I wasn't feeling well. However, this one is different every.single.day. Something will sound really good on Monday and on Tuesday it is the grossest thing I have ever seen. So bizarre. I had a stomach bug for two days mid-March. It was brutal! I knew it was different than just morning sickness. Trevor was such a champ. He had to work and get things done and watch Brooks while I just tried to survive. haha! I have also had a couple scares so far that had us going to see the doctor every week to check on baby. Thankfully, nothing is wrong with baby, but no one ever figured out why I was having certain symptoms. I'm just thankful they have mostly subsided and baby checks out great!

Weight: We don't have a scale at home, so the only chance I have to weigh myself is at the doctor. I have actually stayed my same weight. I probably would have gained a few pounds, but since I have been nauseous and throwing up, that probably kept the weight down.

Gender: We ARE finding out with this one! Hopefully we will find out at my next appointment on May 3rd.

Names: We have pretty much decided on names whether it's a boy or girl, but I'll wait to share those until after we find out the gender.

Maternity Clothes: Nope.

Movement: Since I kind of already know what I'm feeling for, I have felt little flutters a couple times when I lay down for bed. I'm excited to feel movement again. That was one of my favorite parts of being pregnant with Brooks.

Sleep: Sleeping good! I usually get up once or twice already to pee, but I easily fall back asleep.

Cravings: The only thing I crave, which I realize is not great, is a Diet Dr. Pepper from Sonic. Yes, it must be from Sonic. I crave one of these daily! I try not to give in daily, but it happens occasionally.

Work Outs: Before I found out I was pregnant, I was working out a lot. Then, the sickness and tiredness kicked in and I was done. Plus, with the complications I have been experiencing, I was told to not work out. So, now I don't feel so bad that I haven't. I do chase my 9 month old around the house all day, so I consider that a work-out. Also, carrying him up and down stairs all day is no joke!

Best Pregnancy Moment: Telling our friends and family. Most people knew we were trying when we got pregnant with Brooks. Well, this one happened so fast no one expected it. Not even us! So, it's been fun truly surprising people. :)

Goals for next trimester: To enjoy every moment. The first trimester wasn't exactly enjoyable, so I'm praying the second will be as good as my first pregnancy.

Thoughts: When we first found out I was a bit surprised! ha! I was super excited about it right away, but it took me awhile to really get used to the idea of having two. Now that I have had time to process, I am SO excited for my two babies to be so close in age. I know the first months will be hard and overwhelming, but it will be so worth it! I cannot wait to see Brooks as a big brother and I can't wait to find out if baby #2 is a boy or girl.

Brooks is 9 Months!

Brooks is getting so big! I absolutely love watching him grow, talk more and learn new things every day!

Here are the new things Brooks is doing this month!
*Our biggest milestone is CRAWLING!!! I love watching him crawl down the hall and throw a toy just so he can go get it. He officially started crawling on March 25th (8 months 24 days old)!
*The day he started crawling he was able to go from a crawling position to sitting up. I was a little worried he would get stuck sitting up in his crib, but he was able to lay himself back down too.
*Brooks started pulling himself up to his knees a couple days after beginning to crawl. He won't go all the way on his feet yet.
* Because of all his new tricks, we decided it would be best if we lowered his crib.
*He is always making all sorts of new noises and a lot of spit!
*He started holding his own bottle which has been GREAT! I still like to cuddle him sometimes when I'm feeding him though.
*This was also a big month for me and Trevor because we went on a 6 day trip without Brooks. We all survived! :) I don't even think Brooks knew we were gone.

The weather has been pretty nice this month, so we have gone on lots of walks. 

We went on a picnic with dad

8 months 8 days

Brooks loves food! He will usually eat whatever we put in front of him.

I LOVE HIM!

We had a play date with our friends Graham and Parker 

This kid loves being outside, I am soooo thankful for the beautiful weather.

8 months 22 days

Such a big guy!

Brooks got a new toy to play with :)

Progress on our home! (March 26th)

We are so thankful for family so close by! Brooks went to the store with his Aunt Lauren, Uncle Tyler and cousin Jude!

I have a feeling these two are going to get in a lot of trouble together. :)

Too much fun!!

He's precious!

8 months 29 days

Pulling up on things but only going to his knees. I'm not sure I'm ready for him to stand yet! 

We found this hat that I know my late grandpa would love!

I love watching him try new things! Banana is on the top of the list. 

He spills more on his lap and in his bib than what he successfully gets in is mouth. 

Seriously, each and every month gets better and better. I love introducing him to new things and new people. He is a charmer! His smile is contagious and he seriously makes me laugh 100 times a day. I am so thankful that I get to be his mama. LOVE YOU BROOKS!