Boy Pregnancy vs Girl Pregnancy

I was one of those women that had strong feelings during each of my pregnancies.  With Griffin, I really thought he was a boy from the very beginning.  Not sure if that feeling came from both of us wanting to have a boy first or if there really is such a thing as Mother's intuition.  I had a strong feeling the second time around that we would be having a girl.  I did have some pretty major differences between the two.

I started to feel the morning sickness with both at about 6 weeks.  I only had a few actual getting sick episodes with each, but I felt MISERABLE, and could barely eat.  With Griffin, I lost about 10 pounds, and I lost around 8 with Hallie.  I found that I could drink smoothies and eat grilled chicken and a baked potatoes for dinner.  (That is until I added BBQ sauce to my chicken one night).  With Griffin, once it was over, it was over.  With my girl, I would think I was fine, and then it would just hit me.  Picture this: out shopping one morning with Griffin and the poor Hubby.  Driving down the interstate, and I get sick all of the sudden.  We can't stop fast enough so I reach for anything.  All I found was a Chikfila bag.  Note: A paper bag is not a great choice.  Side note: We were in our new car of a week.  I will let you use your imagination on the details, but I will say I headed straight for the shower, and my husband is a saint.

I had already experienced unexplained, out of control gestational diabetes with Griffin.  I prepared myself for this worst this time.  Since I had it before, the Dr. insisted I take the 3 hour glucose test at 8 weeks.  Morning sickness, fasting, and that nasty orange drink DO NOT MIX.  I barely failed the second hour so I had to do it again.  The next time, I got the same result so yep, AGAIN.  I took the three hour test three times. Not. Cool.  That was by far the worst part.  She said I failed, but only by a little each time.  We agreed that I would check my blood sugar myself occasionally and for the most part keep it to 3 snacks and 3 meals per day with around 30g of carbs.  I had a bad reading or two after some pasta and a pb&j, but it was manageable.  Much better than insulin every morning, and for that, I am thankful.

I will be very interested to see how I feel while pregnant with any future King Babies to see if I can predict on my own.  It will be a while, but we shall see!

                                         Baby #1                                                                   Baby #2

Pregnancy #2

We started trying for baby number two in June 2014.  We agreed we would wait until Griffin was one and half before we started trying again, and I was the Matron of Honor at my BFF's wedding in June so it was the perfect time.  I was a little nervous because patience is not my virtue, and Griffin was somewhat of a surprise.  

On August 2nd, we were heading to a friend's wedding in Nashville, and it was a day or two early, but I wanted to take a test just in case so I wouldn't feel guilty later about my one or two glasses of wine.  And there it was!

We were super excited and a little nervous, but in the best way!

The day we found out.

36 weeks & 38 weeks

Easter 2015

The day before I went into labor.

This pregnancy went by so much faster than my first.  Chasing a toddler around really made the time fly.  it also made morning/all day sickness infinitely worse because sitting down during the day was rare.  After all of that passed, life went back to normal, and we got super excited.  Truthfully, I love being pregnant, and I miss it already.

Since I've been gone...

Since I've been gone, We...

1.  Bought a house.

2.  Did endless work on the house. 

3.  Got pregnant.

4.  Had a 2nd birthday party.

5.  Celebrated lots of holidays.

6.  Had a baby Girl.

This has been the best year yet, and I can't wait to share!

Griffin's First Haircut

Today, I'm linking up with Mama & Mou for my favorite Baby Talk Tuesdays.

This weekend, we decided it was time to cut Griffin's hair for the first time.  We have been comments and questions about his "party in the back" for quite sometime.  I figured we should go ahead since his Easter pictures are next weekend.  We have actually had family members fighting over who got to cut it.  So we didn't hurt any feelings, we decided to take him to Frank's Barber Shop here in Knoxville for the first cut.  They can take turns for the next cuts.  He didn't need much so it was super fast.  He didn't cry at all, but he REALLY wanted to see what was happening so I had to distract him with Mickey :)

I only teared up for a second while I was in the chair with him.  I have been putting this off for a good while.  It was time.  He officially looks like a little boy instead of a baby.  So precious :)

All Done!  We went to Frank's because it is super "manly," and they also give you a First Haircut Certificate.  I definitely see Daddy/son Saturday mornings spent at the Barber Shop in our future.  I love it.

And yes, we had strict instructions from the grandparents to pick up every last strand of that precious baby hair.  We looked like fools, but he is so very loved, and I wouldn't trade that for anything :)

Five on Friday

Happy Friday!  This week has gone by so quickly because we have gone non stop over here.  I'm ready for a relaxing night with my guys and dateline :).  I'm linking up with Carolina Charm, The Good Life, A. Liz Adventures, and Hello Happiness for FIVE on Friday!

1.  On Tuesday I went to the Duck Duck Goose consigment event here in Knoxville.  This thing is HUGE.  We consigned a few things this year, but that was mostly just to do a little spring cleaning and get the consigner pass that comes with it!  These evens are twice a year, and they have them all over the southeast.  I highly recommend going.  I have been four times, and my strategy is to only buy things like dress clothes or brands that would be a splurge regular price.  This year, I came out with several pair of Nike athletic shorts, Ralph Lauren Polos and button ups, and a lot of dress clothes from Baby Gap.  It IS a consignment sale so there is a bit of digging and sorting involved, but I definitely hit the jackpot this year. 

Yep. The cart in front is mine too!

2. I have the best view at bedtime.  They are always sleeping so peacefully when I come lay down for the night.  (The small one is not so peaceful a few hours later).  Also, they are twins.

3.  The cousin who is pregnant is having a BOY! I am so excited for Griffin to have a playmate very soon!  His other cousin lives in Atlanta, along with the rest of that side of the family, so we don't see each other often.  This cousing is going to move to Arkansas, which we are not thrilled about, but our whole family lives here so they will visit LOTS.  We are so happy for them, and can't wait to share our cutest little boy clothes!

4.  We go to the Learning Groove every Thursday morning.  We sing, play with instruments and dance our little hearts out.  This boy was glued to me the first time we went, and five short weeks later, he is loving it.  I love getting to watch him explore and show his personality around other people.  I am one lucky Mama.

5.  We are going to a friend's wedding tomorrow night, and we will be getting pretty dressed up.  I don't do this often anymore.  I found a dress on clearance at Dillards.  I waited until the last minute so hopefully it works.  I am excited, but I feel sorry for my feet already. 

 Happy Friday!

I miss my BUMP

One of my favorite cousins is 20 weeks pregnant.  Neither of us have a sister, and we grew up 5 minutes from one another.  We spent everyday together until I had to grow up and start kindergarten :).  She loves to work out and takes her fitness very seriously to say the least.  I saw her a week ago, and she was feeling large, already.  I told her she is experiencing the best part right now!  She definitely has a bump, but it is still small enough to see toes, shave legs, bend over and many other things she has no clue is about to lose the ability to do.  When I was pregnant, I absolutely could not wait for the day when I could finally show off my bump.

 

That last picture was 12 days before Griffin was born.  I remember getting dressed to actually go out in public the first few times after he was born.   My cute bump was gone, and my pre-baby clothes just didn't look the same.  I told my cousin she needs to enjoy this while it lasts.  Even if she doesn't enjoy being pregnant as much as I did,  the reward is well, well, worth it :).

How I Met Your Mother Finale, and why I couldn't sleep last night.

Let me just preface this post by saying, I assure you I DO have a life, and I am not a complete and total loser, but also, I DO love and appreciate a good TV show for what it is.  My dream job would to be to write some sort of television reviews all day, but for now, here are my thoughts.

{VIA}

I have been waiting for the finale of How I Met your Mother since about the first episode.  I didn't start watching the show in the first season, but with re-runs, I have seen every episode, and I have been watching the new seasons on Monday nights for several years.  First let me say, I am a sucker for shows, movies, books, anything, with puzzle pieces to be put together.  They way the show mentions certain things, and then a few episodes or even years later it all comes back together, that's what gets me everytime.  I am the nerd who goes back and googles things just so I have all of my facts straight.

 Let's just say, the last season finale when the Mother walked up to buy her ticket to Farhampton with her bass guitar and yellow umbrella, I got chills all over, and there may have been some screaming.  My husband, a fair weather fan, did not understand how I knew she was the mother.  Oh, dear.  I need to work on him.

{VIA}

So about last night,  the flash forwards were PERFECT.  I was a big time Barney and Robin fan so I was sad to see them split so quickly, but I definitely saw that coming.  The flashforward when Barney bacame a father was AMAZING! He is such a great actor, and I know he has kids in real life, but that look.  That look on his face is EXACTLY how you feel when you hold your child for the first time.  Beyond perfect.

I have had a feeling for a very long time that in the year 2030, the Mother was no longer alive.  A few weeks ago, I pretty much came to terms with it, but I was still holding onto hope that she was sick and miraculously recovered.  With that being said, I wasn't surprised or mad, but I needed more--WAY more.

After all this time spent talking about THE Mother, I think her/their story and her death deserved more.  I'm not mad about the way it ended, but I would be lying if I said that is how I would have preferred it.  I get that they brought it full circle, and a lot of people are happy he ended up with Robin.  Just from reading the few comments from friends online, it is clear this show spoke to people in very different ways.  I guess I just look at it from a wife and mother's point of view.  For me, the way Ted spoke about the Mother, throughout the whole show and especially this last season, I understood why he had to wait so long, because she was worth waiting for.  I felt how he felt for her, and fell in love with them as a couple.  So to see the story spend about one minute on her becoming sick and passing away and then immediately jumping to Robin, that bothered me.

It really bothered me.  Every now and then I come across a good book, show or movie that I just can't get out of my head.  I love when that happens because the person or people who wrote it, did exactly what they set out to do, and that's awesome.  So while I was lying awake trying to stop thinking about it, I decided that the way it ended was probably how it should have happened, and I should be greatful they did what they did swiftly so I didn't spend my evening crying over a fictional television show.

This was the "happy ending" I needed, and I got it. 

{VIA}