Christmas Lights

Some snippets from our evening viewing of the Atlanta Botanical Garden's holiday nights light display. Sure was chilly, but we had a lovely time...



Oh the faces she makes...

22 Weeks, 3 Days

A little funnin' around with baby number two's first Santa photo...



Been feeling pretty great though I still can't seem to shake all the tiredness. Love the feeling of number two moving around all the time - especially when I take a moment to sit and chill.

We've chosen a name! But, hold tight, I'm gonna look around for some crafty way to formally announce on the internets :)



Surprised? Even Charlotte got a little more Santa time in!

Richard + Chopper

Not really sure where to start with this one. Perhaps with an introduction? Readers, meet Richard (click on the link). Richard, meet readers.

Richard, affectionately named by Stevens, is my pregnancy pillow. Pregnancy pillow you ask? Oh yes! It's really one of those items that I always rolled my eyes at when other preggo ladies made mention. But with pregnancy number two it's been impossible for me to get comfortable and I was up for trying anything. Richard is a marshmallow dream. Just ask Chopper...

(note: the video is a little dark at first, but then Stevens turns on a light)

A Few Of Our Favorite Things

• Loves to make up her own songs
• Writes her first name all by herself (and the word MOMMY too!)
• Thinks my name is Mommy Karly Young
• I'm not allowed to have Alexandra as a middle name because it is hers
• Sets the dinner table
• Knows when you miss (or skip) a page in a book
• She's so affectionate and tells us several times a day that she loves us
• Puts together a 60 piece puzzle in no time
• Collects rocks and puts them in her "Rock Collection Bag"
• Calls Chopper her buddy

HoHoHo

 




 

This year marks the fourth year that we have trekked to B. Braithwaite for Alice Park to take our photos! Thanks again, Alice! Such a lovely job!

2010 2009 2008

We're Having Another Girl!

Results are in! We're having another little lady and we couldn't be more excited! Below is a video, by Stevens, that captures it all...



Before we walked in, Charlotte told the technician that she wanted a baby brudder (that's how she pronounces it). She was very hopeful that there would be a boy in my tummy for Chopper - notice she said, "...but we already have Daisy-dog..."? So sweet!

Two white lines mean a girl (see the arrow?)...  
We're still measuring right on time with a due date of April 10th and our little lady is weighing in at just about 13 ounces.

20 Weeks, 5 Days

Hello! Hello! Hello! We have reached the halfway point! Yay! The anticipation continues to build as Tuesday's gender check appointment approaches oh so slowly!

I still say girl and Stevens still says boy - Charlotte decided to change her mind at about 18 weeks and now believes we're having a boy. No idea what provoked that! Looking at the tally over on the right everyone, along with the newly converted Charlie, believes it'll be a boy too.

Tuesday?! You can't come soon enough!



For comparison's sake, here we are at 21 weeks with Charlotte :)

Getting Ready For Christmas

Very excited to be finally getting ready for Christmas! We have all been under the weather the past couple of days. Hoping to post more photos of the glitz and glam soon!

Bump, Bump

Stevens felt our little grasshopper move for the first time tonight! The look on his face made me melt - it was kinda like falling in love all over again.

17 Weeks, 5 Days

And just for comparison's sake - here I am at 17 weeks with Charlotte :)

A Few Of Our Favorite Things

 

• When Charlotte "whispers" to the baby (we have no idea what she is saying)
• Her whispers really aren't whispers - they're really loud, unless she is talking to the baby
• She can buckle herself into her big girl car seat without any help
• Charlotte asks at least every other day if it is time to decorate for Christmas. She has been asking since we undecorated last season.
• She has been "working" for chore money. One chore = one penny.
• Gets excited when it rains because it means she can wear her monkey boots and monkey slicker
• Loves to "help" Daddy make dinner every night

Our Purple Princess

Charlotte wanted more than anything to be a "purple princess" for Halloween. Maybe she was channeling Rapunzel?

 

Getting Ready For Halloween

Boy Or Girl?

All righty, folks. It's official - we will be finding out the gender of baby two on November 29th! That gives everyone just a little less than one month to vote (over on the right side of this page) :)

I've pretty much been feeling awful since six weeks (Zofran was my bestie for quite some time), but have been fortunate enough the past couple of days to actually feel somewhat human again. Have I reached the light at the end of the tunnel??? Based mostly on the all day nausea and vomiting, I voted "girl".

Stevens, however, is a firm believer that we'll be having a boy, despite seeing firsthand just how yuck I've truly been feeling.

Charlotte? Well, Charlotte is oh so certain that number two is a "sissy." Hands down. No questions asked. Stevens tries to fool her and will say, "When your little brother gets here...," and she'll respond - "Daddy! It's a little girl in there!" She doesn't miss a beat.

And then enters our little friend, the grasshopper (I'm sure you've been wondering about that photo up there). Well...

Just so happens I work on the 11th floor of a high rise. Not sure what made me turn around the other day, but when I did there was a grasshopper on my window! Did I mention I work on the 11th floor?

It kinda got me to thinking - how is it even possible for a grasshopper to be up so high? But, more importantly - why? And then I got to thinking about symbolism. Aren't grasshoppers supposed to bring you luck? A little trip to the Google fixed that...

"As a Chinese symbol, the grasshopper offers attributes of longevity, happiness, good health, good luck, wealth, abundance, fertility and virtue. In fact, grasshoppers were thought to be fertility symbols; specifically omens of the birth of a son (hence, another reason for its good luck symbol status as sons are considered prized gems within the setting of the family)."

Did you get goosebumps too after reading that?

So, what are you waiting for? Cast your vote! We would love to know what everyone thinks! You think maybe some belly pics would help?

source

Burt's Farm

Continuing our new family tradition, we headed to Burt's Farm again, but this year Mimi and GrandDad were in tow! I'm pretty sure we ended up with somewhere around 25 pumpkins, all of varying sizes and colors (and no, I'm really not joking)...

 

The Good, The Bad + The Fantastic

There has been lots going on "behind the scenes" that I haven't really been ready to post about, until now. SO, here goes...

(The Good)
I have a new job and I start on Monday, September 26th!

(The Bad)
Just a few days before we left for our week in Hilton Head, I was laid off (August 5th to be exact). Shocking, yes. Did I see it coming? Well, probably...

Back in July, it was announced that the company I worked for was going to be sold. We all thought there wasn't much to worry about until a sale was final. Clearly, we thought wrong because my entire marketing team was let go. All on the same day. It was truly awful.

I honestly felt that I had finally found "the" place. The place that I would remain long term. And, my team. Boy oh boy. My team was fantastic. It was so hard to let go because of them.

I guess you can say vacation couldn't have come at a better time. And, while on vacation...

(The Fantastic)


We found out we are expecting our second child! Charlotte is going to be a big sister! A positive test on August 10th, confirmed by doctor on September 2nd. This is our first "official" announcement and I have such goosebumps while writing this :)

We're due April 10th and are currently 11.5 weeks. We just couldn't contain ourselves any longer. Charlotte already knows and is super excited (more on that later!)! Our first ultrasound is below...



...and here is an early glimpse at my already growing belly (10 weeks and 5 days)...



The look of the blog has been updated too! Lots of (good!) changes going on all over the place! Be sure to check out all of the NEW links under "Find Your Way Around" (on the right)!