Before we leave...

What we did during December before we left for California:

Enjoyed the cold weather. This girl can be outside all day long despite the weather. 

(I kept squatting down to get a picture of her but as I did she would squat down too. Ha!)

Daddy finished school! 

We got a package from Gram and Papa. Leila took all the snickers for herself. 

Attended the ward Christmas party. Leila likes to hang out with the big kids.

Hosted a gingerbread house making party with some of Jeremy's classmates. 

And more gingerbread house making with the Calhoun girls. 

Another bought of sickness. 

This poor babe was so tuckered out from the fever. It has been forever since she has fallen asleep with me. She sure loves her binky and lady bug.

Pulled out more baby stuff and Leila found her favorite hang out spot.  

She even brings her buddies in with her. 

Nice and cozy. Also you can see her dolly has a diaper on. One of her knew favorite things to do. 

Leila and Jake: such sweet friends from the beginning. 

Leila has been so sweet about my ever growing belly.  

Now being able to talk about "baby brother" makes the baby seem like a real person. 

She's going to be a great big sister! 

Before we left we dropped Alfred off at the Dahles house so they could take care of him while we are away. 

I try to always take a picture with this sweet guy before we leave him. 

Seriously he is a pretty special fish. 

The Calhouns took us to the airport and brought our Christmas presents. We wanted to open them with them and so glad we did. They gave Leila a diaper bag stocked with bottles and homemade diapers, wipes, and a changing pad. It was the perfect gift for this little mama. 

I also made Tisha take a belly picture with me before we left. It's been so fun to be pregnant at the same time as my sister and these sweet boys of ours will be the best of friends being just 4 months apart. Sad I will be missing the birth of this new Calhoun boy and will be so anxious to hold him when we get back!

Now...on to California for Christmas!

It's a...

The results are in and it's a BOY!

We had a little scheduling confusion and Jeremy ended up having test at the same time as the ultrasound so I was planning on just going by myself and bringing Leila. When I got there and they saw I had Leila they told me I couldn't take her in with me without another adult. I freaked out because I knew I wouldn't be able to get another appointment before we went out of town. So I immediately called Jeremy and by some miracle he answered and had finished his test early and was running to the hospital. It was awesome that he ended up being able to be there.  

We really were surprised because even though Jeremy said he thought it was a boy neither of us really had any idea what we were having.  

So instead of our usual red and green sugar cookies we stuck with lots and blue and even made some gingerbread boys too!  

Daddy couldn't be more excited, 

and Mommy is pretty happy too. 

But Leila is not so sure.... 

Just kidding! She can't wait for a little brother, even if she has no idea what is really coming her way. But in the meantime the cookies are easing the transition.

First Trimester

What can I even say about this first trimester? First off I have to say I am truly grateful to be pregnant. After trying for several months this is such a blessing and I thank Heavenly Father everyday for blessing me with this baby. Having said that, pregnancy is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Similar to my pregnancy with Leila I have been really sick. It's been rough feeling so awful and keeping up with a toddler this time. I haven't really been able to cook so poor Jeremy is fending for himself. I've lost close to 10 pounds so far. My back pain has started earlier this go around which is unfortunate but despite all these symptoms I'm happy to be growing this baby! 

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

NOVEMBER 2014

Since this post has almost 30 pictures in it I think it's safe to say this is a good representation of our day to day for the month of November.

Family walks despite the bitter cold. 

Leila's favorite hats to wear are mommy's or daddy's.

The cold won't keep these two away from the park!

This month we had the opportunity to keep Sam and Ez for a lond weekend while Tisha, Curteis, Adley and Ani when to New York. We had a blast! 

Basketball museum: one of our favorites especially during bad weather. 

Playdough while their pants dried from jumping in puddles. They both were wearing Jeremy's basketball shorts but Ez's kept falling off so he ditched them and told me I needed to get some smaller basketball shorts. 

These three riding in the car together :) 

Seriously melt my heart. Sammy is so sweet to Leila.

And I can always count of them to keep themselves and her entertained. 

This guy celebrated his 25th birthday this month!  

He really is the best dad! 

Leila is really a daddy's girl and loves to spend every minute with him when he is home. 

He is teaching her well...Go Heels!

Cheering for UNC isn't all he is teaching her either...ha!

Leila sure loves her fishy Alfred! 

This month Leila turned 18 months old which is a big milestone. It means she gets to go to nursery at church! Jeremy dropped her off and she did great. I of course had to check on her just to be sure and this is why I found. Couldn't be happier with her friends and her raisins.

 

While starting nursery has it's benefits, the germ sharing is not one of them. Of course right after going to nursery she got sick but sometimes a sick day is exactly what we need. Lots of snuggling on the couch watching movies.

Tisha will be having her baby next month so I brought out a bunch of the baby stuff for her to borrow until Maverick comes. Leila was so excited to see all her old toys.  

This used to be her favorite activity and that hasn't changed. 

I keep telling her it's for the baby and so she started putting her babies in it instead. 

I hope she never out grows her love for books. Story time is one of my absolute favorite times of the day.

This is obviously blurry but I had to include it. Leila hasn't really been into blocks but I finally got her to sit down and build with me. I was so proud of her stacking abilities. This is right before it fell over. 

For Thanksgiving we joined Jeremy's classmates for a Thanksgiving feast. It was so fun to and Leila loved getting so much attention as the only kid there. I am so grateful for the amazing people Jeremy has been able to go to school with over the past year and a half. They are some of the best!

For the actual day of Thanksgiving we joined the Calhouns for dinner and family time. Of course we didn't take a picture as a family so I made Jeremy take one with me after Leila went to bed just to document. I'm so grateful for this guy!

I had to take a picture with these sweet sister missionaries. We have been so blessed with amazing sister missionaries and Leila just loves them. I love having them as an example to our little girl! 

We had a little break from the frigid cold and were able to enjoy the sunshine with some chalk and time at the park. 

Having a playground just down the street is one of the best things about Baity Hill. It makes life so much easier! 

It wouldn't have been a complete November without a Carolina basketball game. 

Lastly I thought I would add these two pictures in. We took these for a little Christmas present idea. They are going to be cute bookmarks so it will look like Leila is hanging from the book. Ha! It was a fun photo session.