raisin addict.

Ever since he got his first taste a few days ago, Elliot has been a raisin addict!!! He seriously cannot get enough. He also apparently doesn't digest them very well, so I'm not sure how many he should really be eating. He loves them too much to deny him, though!

What are your babies/toddlers' favorite foods?


oh-em-gee, mom gave me the WHOLE BOX!


now is that not a happy kid? :)

baby brother has a name!

Introducing, Elliot's little brother: Sullivan Grey! :)


I had my anatomy scan today. After they examined every tiny part of his organs and extremities, they declared Sully "superbly healthy." There were no defects that they could see, and he was still measuring 1-2 weeks ahead, weighing in at exactly one pound (16 oz). SUCH a relief! <3

Sullivan was, what the doctor described as "outrageously active." During the scan, he flipped himself into the transverse, breech, AND head-down positions, before finally settling back into the breech presentation {just like his big brother} and curling up with his little hands by his face. He also waved, mooned us, grabbed his toes, and insisted on smashing his feet flat against my uterus while they were trying to get pictures of his feet, making it nearly impossible. He's a wild one!





They did notice right away that my cervix was already quite thin- alarming but not too surprising, since the same thing happened with Elliot, although it was a few weeks later than now. For now, they told me to try not to worry too much, to relax and keep an eye on my braxton hicks, and that they would reevaluate the "situation" in 4 weeks to see if it has changed. I pray that little Sully isn't planning a super early arrival- I can't go on bedrest this time, not when I have to take care of Elliot!


I'm so happy that my little man is healthy and active! Such a relief!

elliot + baby in my belly + sunshine = love.

Look mom, I picked a flower for you!


... maybe I'll EAT IT instead.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, it has been hot and sunny in Texas, so Elliot and I have been spending most of our time outside.

I had an OB appointment yesterday. Baby boy's heartbeat was 142. My OB was thrilled with my weight gain, and everything looked good, other than the fact that my blood pressure was low. I told her about my braxton hicks contractions, but she didn't seem too concerned at the moment. Hopefully baby boy doesn't look to his big brother as an example and try to come super early like Elliot did!

Tomorrow is my anatomy scan with the perinatologist. I pray that baby boy looks healthy and they don't see any birth defects or problems!


Yesterday, while I watched Elliot crawling around and exploring in the grass, I wondered how it is even possible to love such a little guy so much. Seriously. And then it occurred to me that I have another on the way. I think my heart may explode!

20 weeks!?!

How far along? 20 weeks!!
Baby’s Size: a cantaloupe- 6.5" and 10.6 oz.
Total Weight Gain: 9 lbs, which I'm really happy with. I'd already gained 15 when I was 20 weeks with Elliot.
Bellybutton: still an innie, but shallow.
Stretchmarks: no!
Maternity Clothes: still none, just wearing my regular clothes. They are obviously fitting differently, but still comfortable.
Gender: another sweet baby BOY!! :)
Movement: He's a mover, that's for sure!
Sleep: I'm sleeping really well, straight through the night, but when I wake up, I have to pee SO bad.
Symptoms: Nothing much... some braxton hicks here and there, and my ankles get sore by the end of the day, particularly if I do a lot of walking. But I'm still feeling great!
Food Aversions: I don't think I have any.
Food Cravings: bagels with cream cheese, and dark chocolate.
Best Moments this week: We had our elective ultrasound and found out that we're having another little boy!
What I miss: Nothing!
What I am Looking forward to: OB appointment and anatomy scan at perinatology next week! Praying for a healthy, healthy baby.
Milestones: HALFWAY through this pregnancy?! How is that even possible??

Where does time go?!

more reasons why we need to decide on a name!

You know, it's really bothering me that we still haven't been able to agree on baby boy #2's name. Why, you may ask? Well, first of all, I'd just like to know his name!

Second, I have a lot of crafting and decorating ideas that I'd like to get started on, but can't until we, of course, decide on his name. Because his name or at the very least his initial is involved.

I want to put all four of our initials (A, J, E, and....? along with a big G) on a wall in the living room, something sort of like this:

Source: bhg.com via Jess on Pinterest

or THIS:

Source: s461.photobucket.com via Jess on Pinterest

I also can't wait to add baby boy's name above Elliot's on the nursery wall. I plan to use chip decor letters and fun scrapbooking paper again, so they coordinate well with Elliot's :) Some other interesting ways to do nursery baby names are below:

Different sized letters- not sure why I never thought of this?

Source: google.com via Jess on Pinterest

and how cute is this?

Source: Uploaded by user via Jess on Pinterest

Cute, right?!
I know, I know... just pick one! If only it were that easy!

I may be brave enough to narrow our choices down to just three:
1. Sullivan Grey (Sully)
2. Finnian Jude (Finn)
3. Milo Benjamin
... but I'm not sure that I want to let go of Cyrus Grey yet, though... so we'll see.

Part of me thinks that the perfect name is still hiding somewhere, and we just haven't found it yet...

I've been driving my husband nuts with this name thing. So I'm sure we'll decide soon... if for nothing else, just so we can be done with it and my husband won't have to listen to me talking about names 24/7.
I'll be sure to let you all know when we do!

Elliot: 13 months!

Another month has flown by, and Elliot is already 13 months old! I can't believe it. I really can't.

This Month:
♥ Elliot weighs 20 lbs
♥ he is wearing mostly 9 month pants, and just recently started fitting into 12 month onesies and shirts. He still wears a lot of 9 month shirts, though.
♥ he seems to be weaning himself off his naptime bottles, only drinking an ounce or two before falling asleep.
♥ he is still taking two very predictable naps- one around 10am, and between 2-3pm. They last anywhere from 1-3 hours, with about 1 1/2 being the normal.
♥ he is an eating MACHINE! He loves any and all food- he will happily eat a plate full of veggies still, which makes me happy. His favorites lately seem to be grilled cheese sandwiches, a bagel with cream cheese, peas, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, tomatoes, and green beans.
♥ We are completely done with baby food of any kind- homemade or jarred. He basically eats what we eat, minus the meat.
♥ He has been SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT reliably for a couple months now. He normally goes to bed around 7:30pm and sleeps 12-13 hours until 8am! I'm LOVING it!!
♥ He is still choosing to crawl and/or climb everywhere. Every once in awhile, if he is distracted by holding something in both hands, he will stand on his own for a couple seconds. The minute he realizes what he is doing, he sits back down.
♥ Three or four times, he has bravely let go of the table/couch/etc and taken a couple steps independently to me. I really believe he could walk if he wanted to, but he just doesn't want to right now!
♥ He is still the cuddliest baby I know. He offers kisses and hugs all.the.time and will get very offended if you don't notice right away that he's trying to kiss you {aka coming at you with his mouth wide open saying "ahhh"}
♥ He LOVES to "help" me clean and one of his favorite things to do is push our lightweight vacuum around.
♥ He really loves to play patty cake and peekaboo
♥ He starts asking for his "ba" or "baba" when he's tired
♥ He still likes to feed himself, but ever since he started experimenting with his own utensils, he'll let us feed him again, too... which means he gets to enjoy a lot of yummy foods that he couldn't the last month or two {like yogurt!}
♥ he loves loves LOVES reading books... but only ones with a sentence or less per page. He doesn't have the attention span for anything longer.
♥ he is figuring out how to put his mega blocks together by himself, but still prefers to pull apart our creations :)
♥ he loves to play rough with daddy!

it's a...

Well, I originally wanted to wait until we decided on his name, but it's obvious that we aren't going to magically decide right this minute. We're getting closer, though! So, I won't keep you waiting any longer.

Baby number two is a...

BOY!!

I won't lie. I was disappointed at first. But now, as the idea of having TWO little boys is starting to sink in, I'm excited. I hope this baby will be a cuddly mama's boy like his big brother. If so, I don't know what I'll do with myself. I don't know how I'll be able to handle so much cuteness all at once!!

We've narrowed down our list to five names:
♥ Sullivan Grey (Sully) {Sullivan is my maiden name}
♥ Emmett James {Too close to Elliot??}
♥ Finnian Jude (Finn)
♥ Milo Benjamin
♥ Cyrus Grey

big day tomorrow!

Our ultrasound is

TOMORROW!!

What do you think?

Boy or Girl?

I'll definitely update you all tomorrow- not sure if it'll be right away though, because I'd like to announce the name at the same time, and we have a long way to go before we decide!

Last chance to view/vote on our names!

18 weeks!

Click HERE to read my 18 week survey with Elliot.

Sorry I haven't been blogging, guys. I've been home in Michigan on vacation, and didn't bring my laptop with me, so I haven't uploaded any pictures yet. I've been trying to simply enjoy my time with family- taking a little blogging break has been nice. You can expect LOTS of pictures soon!!

How far along? 18 weeks.
Baby’s Size: a sweet potato :) 5.6" and 6.7 oz.
Total Weight Gain: 7 lbs. I've been eating a lot of junk since going home for the holidays, so I expected more!
Bellybutton: in... but I think it will pop out this pregnancy.
Stretchmarks: not yet!
Maternity Clothes: Still wearing all of my regular clothes. I think I'll be able to go longer without maternity clothes this time around.
Gender: we'll find out in only 5 days!!
Movement: I can feel baby moving all day long now, and I love it! He/she seems to kick a lot when I'm holding Elliot.
Sleep: Elliot's sleep has been fitful since we're away from home, but I'm still sleeping alright.
Symptoms: Nothing to complain about right now. I've been leaking colostrum, though, which never happened during my pregnancy with Elliot. Maybe I'll have a better supply this time?
Food Aversions: Nothing, really.
Food Cravings: I've been craving healthy breakfast foods lately- fruit & yogurt Special K cereal, strawberry yogurt, bagels with cream cheese... yum!
Best Moments this week: Being home with family and seeing Elliot interact with his grandparents. It's also been great to feel the little one moving so much lately.
What I miss: Not a thing!
What I am Looking forward to: My ultrasound on the 11th. I can't wait to get another look at this baby and to find out what we're having! For me, once you find out the sex of the baby, everything seems much more "real." You can name the baby, and even just being able to say "he" or "she" is much better than always saying "the baby" or "he or she".
Milestones: first time flying with a toddler while pregnant.