Brycen's 6 Months!!!

So as mentioned in the previous post, Brycen just celebrated his 6 month milestone on Christmas Eve and just had his check up today! He is now 20lbs 4oz (90th percentile) and 38 1/4" long (98th percentile)!! He's a very big boy who LOVES to eat!!!! I feel so fortunate to be able to continue nursing him since I couldn't with Skylar. He as two teeth and working on his third and is pretty much eating anything we give him! He LOVES bananas!!!


He's rolling over like crazy and just today started acting like he's interested in being on his tummy and doing the "bear-crawl!" I'm very excited but also a little scared as to what challenges lie ahead with having a very active 2 year old and now a mobile 6 month old! I'm sure he wont be crawling well until probably around 8 months but it's all happening so quickly, it will be here before I know it!


Skylar is in school and has been since I was about 7 months preggo with Brycie! It's a mothers day out kind of thing and she really enjoys it and it goes without saying that I do too! She has so much energy to burn off that I'm glad we have her in something like this to help since sometimes being around a new baby can be a bit of a bore for her! She'll start going three days a week starting in January and then back down to 2 days in the Spring and maybe 1 day in the Summer. She's learned so much and as my parents have said numerous times, she's as smart as a whip! She really is! She knows all her colors, can count to 10 (although her F's come out as H's which means 5 is pronounced "hive" and you can only guess how she says 4), she knows most of her abc's, and a TON of songs!!! Right now she's really into Ke$ha which is bad, I know but it's it's really cute listening to her sing "DJ TURN IT UP" from the backseat!!! I adore her! Here's a pic from her very first day of school back in April 2010 - isn't she a cutie?!

A Year Later...

How is it that I always seem to find myself wondering where the time went and why I couldn't keep up with even the simplest of tasks?? I mean, even brushing my teeth needs to be placed on the "to-do list" sometimes!!! I truly marvel those that balance the weight of motherhood, housekeeping, taxi service, chef, nurse, bill keeper, organizer, etc, etc, etc!!! I sometimes feel as if I'm in a whirlwind, caught up in the every day needs and still not having enough seconds in the day!!! Sigh.

So, judging from my last post I have a lot of catching up to do but rather bog myself down with trying to remember every precious moment (believe me, there have been MANY), I'll touch on a few here and there while also trying to blog about the present! Wish me luck!!!

Okay, so my pregnancy went great and even though I promised I'd be good and just wait patiently for my little guy to get here - I caved and said ENOUGH ALREADY! I felt like "Free Willy" and if anyone else commented on how large I was, I was going to lose it!!! We had many "false alarms" and each time I was sent home carrying my son in my belly rather then in my arms! I don't really understand why at some point you're brain has a way of convincing you that you are going to be pregnant the REST OF YOUR LIFE! I mean, it's silly since we all know that's clearly not the case but even so, with each baby I was convinced I was never going to go into labour and that they were going to remain in my tummy forever and ever and ever!!! So, at each appointment - I was THAT girl. The one begging my OB to induce me or perform some magic to make the baby appear and yet I'd find myself back in her office, with the same "progress" report as the week before! But finally that day came and I was going to be able to meet my precious boy!!!

Brycen Allen May arrived at 1:00pm, June 24 2010 screaming his lungs out!!! He was beautiful!!! He weighed 8lbs and 9 oz and was just the cutest little thing ever (next to Skylar, of course)!! Although we had to stay a day longer then expected, everything seem to move so quickly! With Skylar, I felt like time stood still and it was just her and I! But this time around was so different! I guess having a very busy 2 year old will make every thing move faster but looking back it doesn't feel like 6 months ago! That's right, my little Brycie is 6 months!!

We just celebrated his first Christmas and Skylar's 3rd Christmas!! Matthew and I sat talking over coffee about how quickly time goes and how to remind each other in the future that 2 children is plenty! ;) We had just stayed up late putting together all the toys and then rising early to make sure we were ready for the anticipated excitement!!! We talked over what gifts Skylar received her 1st, 2nd and now 3rd Christmas and joked over what could possibly happen if the spoiling keeps up!!! Each year, we vow to only buy one large gift and a couple of small gifts and then before you know it, we've lost all self-control! She's very spoiled but will always be our precious miracle!!

Bryce made out pretty good this year too but as we all know too well - was more interested in the bright colors of bows and how yummy the wrapping paper tastes then anything else!!! Of all the many gifts he received, Skylar is still his favorite gift of all! No matter how tired or hungry he is, no matter how bad his little gums are bothering him - if she gives him even a second of her time, he's the happiest baby EVER! He truly adores her and we love to see them together! I'm quite certain however that this adoration will take a turn for the worse in the very near future but for now - we are enjoying every minute of it!!!

We had a very wonderful Christmas and have been blessed abundantly and couldn't be more thankful!

Oh Boy!!!

As I explained earlier, Matthew and I had already found out that our little one was a boy but for whatever reason - I started having doubts. I had thoughts like "what if the blood test was wrong," "what if the tech put in the wrong results," "what if Matthew was actually looking at the umbilical cord rather then boy parts"....and the list goes on. Either way, I was excited to be having another baby but of course I was ecstatic to find out that I was having my first boy. So even though I had a blood test done, and even though Matthew saw little boy parts, and even though my OB said it was safe to buy blue - I still wanted to "see" for myself!

So we went in for our ultrasound at 18 weeks and it was so surreal. I can still remember being pregnant with Skylar and all the anticipation that goes into that appointment. With her though, we got great news that we were having a girl but concerning news that there were cysts found on her brain. Of course everything turned out fine in the end (thanks to God) but it really made going this time around kind of bitter-sweet. I was anxiously wanting to see my baby and find out if he was for sure a boy but I was also so scared of having to jump right back on that emotional roller-coaster.

So with a very full bladder, we waited.....and waited.....and waited some more. Alas, they called us back and started the scan. One of the very first images she got was our confirmation - IT'S A BOY! It was so funny because he was laying with his legs kind of close together but she was able to see between and kind of show us what she was looking at. Then, he grabs his little feet and spreads his legs like taaaadaaa! Let's just say that I have no more doubts that he's a boy alright! It was so good to see him! He was such an active baby and just as I expected, he likes to keep his back at my belly and his feet towards my spine. Which explained all the dizzy feelings when he would kick! She measured everything and took lots of pictures - it was great! Of course, we don't get any kind of results then. So we had another 2 week wait before getting the results from my OB. I was so relieved when Dr Richter walked in and said "everything looks great!" Praise you Jesus. In fact, everything looks so great that they're changing my due date from 7/11 to 7/2 because he is a BIG boy! She did say that I have a low-lying placenta but I have all faith in God that He will protect me and my baby! On the plus side, it means another ultrasound at 27 weeks!

So there ya have it. We ARE having a boy, his due date is now July 2, 2010 AND his name shall be....Brycen Allen. We both came up with his name although Matthew intends on calling him "Bryce." His middle name comes from both my dad and grandpa - Duane Allen Hart. My great grandpa's last name was originally Allen and he was adopted by the Hart's. He had a son to which he named Duane Allen Hart (my Papa). When my dad was born, he became Duane Allen Hart Jr and was the only boy born to my Papa and Grandma. Then, as you know - my dad only had one child - me! So even though I didn't get a chance to really know my grandpa, since he passed away when I was very young, I always knew that I wanted my first son to carry my family name. And I think if my grandpa were still alive, he would be very proud to have his first great grandson carry his name! I know my dad is thrilled and can't wait to have two grandchildren running around!!

So much to do, so little time...

....here I am again, so very far behind.

Okay, there has been a lot that has gone on since last October - go figure and I will attempt to update everyone with my crazy life!

So where to begin...

Right before Halloween, Matthew and I discovered that we are expecting baby number 2!! We are more then excited and can't wait to welcome our new little blessing to the family sometime in July 2010. So, to back up just a bit and answer the question that I'm sure everyone wants to know - yes! we were trying for a baby. In fact, I think most would be shocked to know that we've been trying since February of last year!! Because of my struggles with conceiving Skylar, I thought it best to try early but really thought that it would happen much easier this time around. I was wrong of course, but God is faithful. To spare you of the hairy details, I'll give you just a synopsis. After a couple of months with no success, we found ourselves face to face with infertility treatments which ended in only more heartache! After the pain became too much, I found myself once again on bended knees, asking and praying and with each negative pregnancy test - a deeper kind of pain. However, after Matthew and I experienced a "false positive" and I was just about to give up, God comforted me. One morning I was making our bed and out of no where the hymn "Those that wait upon the Lord" popped in my head. I was singing along until I found myself near tears wondering if this was His way of speaking directly to me. The following Sunday, pastor spoke from that verse in Issiah saying once again "those that wait upon the Lord..." and I knew, yes - it was for me!!! And wouldn't you know the very next month, God gave me my baby! And without fertility drugs!! He is truly an awesome God and I am so thankful to be His child!!! Phew - let me wipe my tears off the keyboard...

Alright - so here it is, my happy day of finally seeing that positive! I had taken regular tests but Matthew seemed skeptical given our false positive from the month before. So, I pulled out the big guns and then there was no denying it - PREGNANT!

Our plan was to wait until Thanksgiving to tell everyone but we were just too excited. Instead, on Halloween we had Skylar dressed up as a Bumblebee with a t-shirt over the top that said "Big Sisters Rock." We went around to each of our family members, with video camera in hand and waited until they realized what her shirt said. It was so nice to see everyone's reaction! After that, we had an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy and there we saw our "peanut." This became the name for our baby because again, we weren't going to find out the sex, nor were we going to tell anyone his or her name. Ha! So here's my baby's first pic...
Thanksgiving was pretty uneventful as Skylar and I were both sick. Her with another ear infection and me, well - morning sickness was NO fun!! Matthew and I joked about how I haven't had a "real" thanksgiving in a couple of years... first, we got married and celebrated our Thanksgiving in Cancun (eating club sandwiches), the next year I was pregnant and ended up spending Thanksgiving in the Emergency Room due to a stomach virus leaving me severely dehydrated, the next year Skylar was born but had a milk allergy and since I was nursing her - I couldn't have anything with dairy in it and then this year - morning sickness so bad that to even think of eating food, I wanted to hurl!! It was nice spending time with family though and my mom once again, went all out on food preparation which I'm told from my loving husband, was quite delicious!

Now onto Christmas! I remember as a little girl I would get so excited when this time of year rolled around. And even now, when the Christmas music starts playing, lights are being hung and every store smells of cinnamon and peppermint - I get all warm and tingly inside! And then, it's all just one big nightmare! What with the shopping, and the preparation, and the traffic, and the girl behind the counter who obviously wasn't given the memo that "it's the most wonderful time of the year." AAAAAHHH! Thinking about it now brings back so many stressful memories! This was my first year to shop with a toddler so maybe that has a lot to do with it too! One day, we spent 3 hours in Target with what should have been a 1 hour trip! But when you have a strong- willed toddler who wants to go one way while you're going the other, it turns into two hours of chasing them through the store! As my mom would often say "merry freakin Christmas." How true it is that we become so lost in what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. We did have a very nice Christmas aside from the mayhem of shopping and Skylar and I starting yet another cold. Skylar was very spoiled...as always.

Every year Matthew and I put our decorations up the day after Thanksgiving and this year was no different - despite my morning sickness! Granted, we moved at a much slower pace - but it all got done in the end. It was so fun because this year, my baby girl got to help with the tree. She helped tangle the lights into more knots and she did a wonderful job taking down the ornaments that mommy had just put up! Oh, but it was still so much fun. Matthew did the outside - his normal job but this year added to our collection by decorating the bushes and buying an 8 ft penguin who spent most of his time on his back because we live on a "mountain" as my cousin Eric would say, and the darn thing would blow over every night!!! Needless to say we didn't win the "best decorated" award! So we took the little girl to see Santa and were prepared that it was most likely going to end up in tears. Last year was great! She had no clue what was going on and we got this cute little "gummy grin" out of her. You know, the grin with no teeth! It was just precious! This year, that was not the case. All she knew was that we were standing in line, looking at really cool pictures and talking about getting something to eat when all of the sudden she's face to face with some creepy old guy, in big red suit who insists on yelling "ho ho ho" at her! It took her 1.2 seconds to turn and scream bloody murder!! We did get a cute pic though that Matthew and I laugh at each time we see it...oh, poor Santa!
After the nightmare had ended, Skylar had cookie baking day with her Nana and cousin Jack. Now, THIS was something she could enjoy. She had her own Apron, her own rolling pin and as much icing as her little tummy could handle! Yep, that's about all she wanted out of cookie baking day, icing!! Yummy! Another cool December adventure was SNOW! We couldn't believe it...not just that is snowed but that it was LOTS of snow!!! We of course imagined that we would make a family-fun day of it and go outside, take pictures, catch snowflakes on our tongues, etc. However, Skylar had other plans. We took her out, expecting some great reaction and instead we got tears! But, can you blame her? I mean - it is pretty cold and wet. Obviously with it being Texas and all, the snow wasn't going to stick. Instead it was like soft rain. Cold and wet soft rain! So, she wanted nothing to do with it but we managed a few pics before the meltdown...
Happy New Years! It wasn't the best New Years Eve for us since ALL of us were sick once again. We got hit with some kind of bug which kept us indoors and asleep by 10:00pm. We still enjoyed somewhat of a light show however since our neighbors behind us so graciously partied until 2:oo in the morning. And I really think they must've purchased every firework known to man because the amount of fireworks going off and the array of colors, were just unbelievable. Truth be known, I probably wouldn't be complaining had we felt better and were able to sit out and actually enjoy every bit of it but you know how it is...being sick is NO fun at all!

A little after New Years, Matthew and I went for our NT scan to see how "peanut" was doing and to take the Jack or Jill test. For those that don't know, it's basically a blood test to determine what you're having. If you are carrying a boy, you will have an extra Y chromosome in your blood (not the baby's) and if the presence of the Y is not there, then you're having a girl. So much for surprises, right? We were just too excited to wait so we went for it!! Anyway, during the ultrasound the tech explained that it would be way too early to determine the sex (we were 12 weeks) so she didn't even seem like she was going to look. After she got all of the baby's measurements, she discovered that peanut was measuring 9 days ahead of schedule making me 13 weeks instead of 12. At that point, she decided to go ahead and take a "peek" to see if anything was visible and sure enough she said "well, I think I'm pretty sure what it is you're having." Since I couldn't really see the monitor, I looked at Matthew and he was grinning from ear to ear! She made a guess that it was a boy but said that it's still too early to say with 100% certainty. Either way, the blood test came back two weeks later confirming the techs "guess" and we are thrilled to announce that we're having our first baby boy!!! I couldn't be more thrilled! (The pic below is from his 18week u/s which I'll talk about more in a later post...just thought I'd share)
During all the excitement, Matthew had some time off and we decided to take a fun family trip to the Houston Zoo. We've been a few times already since we have a membership but every time is an adventure. Skylar had so much fun with her daddy looking at all the different animals. She especially liked what we referred to as the "Nemo tank." I think she was fascinated with all of the bright colors. It's funny because she would go right up to the cages to look at so many different animals and didn't seem afraid but pigeons - ya, they would scare the crap out of her. She hated them! We had a great day and can't wait for the weather to get warmer so we can take more trips! Skylar has really been into baby stuff lately. Anything and everything that has to do with cuddling, swaddling, nurturing, feeding - ALL of it. She even goes as far as to rock and shoosh her baby's as if she's rocking them to sleep. The thing is, it doesn't necessarily have to be an actual baby that she does this with. It can be anything from her baby to her stuffed lion to her stuffed puppy - anything at all. So here she is, reading her "babies" a book. And yes, she propped them up in their own chairs before getting a book out! Adorable!

So...although there is plenty more to update, I will leave you with this for now!!