Baby News

I am 21 weeks pregnant already.  When I was in my first trimester it seemed to be never ending.  I was tired and felt nauseous all the time (and my nausea was worst in the middle of the night).  My stomach felt like I had a stomach bug constantly.  My hormones were going wacky and I was moodier than normal.  That's never a good thing. Plus, I was still trying to seem normal to my kids and everyone else around me.  I don't usually tell anyone I'm pregnant until the first trimester is over.  Now that I'm 21 weeks it's almost hard to believe the horrible parts of the first trimester are over and I'm halfway through.

Once I passed the 13 week mark it was time to share the happy news with everyone we love.  

First we told the boys!

 I placed a letter inside each balloon and they had to pop them to find them all.

 We learned that Gavin is VERY afraid of popping balloons, so he kept his distance while Xavier enjoyed the popping.

 Then when we had all the scrambled letters, I had Xavier try to arrange them to discover the secret message.

He was able to decode our happy news!

Tim recorded their reactions which were priceless and if I can get my computer to upload it I will try to post it.

Next, announcing it to both of our families was a little tricky.  I could call 15+ families and share the news.  But getting a hold of everyone by phone, coordinating convenient times across time zones, and the sheer volume of people it included seemed a little daunting. 

When we found out we were pregnant with Xavier and Gavin we lived in Michigan and were able to announce to all of Tim's family when we were all together.  This time was a little different.  Since we live far from any family I wanted to announce it in a creative way.  I found these amazing quail egg announcements on Etsy and instantly fell in love with the idea.  Each egg was cleaned by hand and a small message was slipped inside.  Ours said, "We're having a baby.  Due to hatch September 21, 2013.  Love, Tim and Ashley".  It was perfect since we announced it right at the beginning of the Spring/Easter season.

Each box was individually wrapped like the picture and then packaged in an indestructible mailable box.  So when the package came to me all I had to do was address each box and mail them.

It was so fun to hear everyone's reactions when the called or texted or emailed.  Some people were afraid to open it because they weren't sure what was inside, some new exactly what it was before cracking it, and others just had fun opening a fun piece of mail.

Now that I am in my second trimester I am busy enjoying the new found energy.  I'm trying to get a lot done around the house, enjoying time with my two boys before baby #3 arrives, and trying to find time to connect with the new life inside of me.   I am anticipating our ultrasound in two days and trying to picture what our little baby will look like, what the name will be, and if we will continue our blue theme or change it up with a little pink or purple.  Any guesses as to what we will be having?