Baby Bump - Month 5

How far along? 22 weeks

Gender:  It's a BOY

Feeling: Still feeling pretty good in the "honeymoon" phase of pregnancy.  This is the first pregnancy I've worked out consistently and even though I may not run as fast or lift as much, it still makes me feel good.  I've started doing Pi-yo occasionally and the stretching is amazing.  By the end of the day though, I am still pretty exhausted and I look forward to 8pm when the girls are in bed and I can finally put my feet up.  Heartburn and body aches are my biggest complaints these days.  Luckily, neither has interfered with sleeping yet.

Addie is very excited to meet her baby brother.  The other day she was very insistent that she wanted to meet him NOW.  She couldn't understand why she has to wait a few more months, but stay put baby boy, stay put.  We aren't ready for you to make your grand entrance quite yet.

"Wait mom, WHAT does that say?!?"  Bella may not share the same enthusiasm as Addie yet and will probably have the biggest adjustment, but she is so sweet and will be the best big sister to her baby brother. 

This picture totally sums up how they each feel about having another baby in our family and it cracks me up!

All about Food:  I'm still loving fruit, soup & salads, and anything Italian!  I have a new love for pimento cheeseburgers with extra pickles....seriously amazing and should be added to everyone's menu ASAP.  I've finally been able to drink coffee again and mom life is so much better with coffee in it.

Favorite moments:

-Finding out that Baby #3 is a BOY!  We are beyond thrilled and I especially can't wait to turn him into a 100% mama's boy :)
-Seeing our handsome boy and every little part of him at our 20 week ultrasound was amazing.
-I've only bought a few outfits for our little man, but it is so much fun to shop in another section of the store.  I love all the plaid, boat shoes and nautical themed outfits, and little swim trunks...so adorable.
-I love how Addie says goodnight to her baby brother every night and kisses my belly.  It's so sweet.

Looking forward to:  

-Finalizing our baby boy's name and starting to get things ready for him!  We are planning on fixing the nursery into a vintage baseball theme, after Daddy's love for baseball of course.  Addie and Bella will share the big girl room.  Let the to-do lists begin.....
-Aloha!  Eric and I are going to Hawaii for a Jostens rewards trip turned babymoon.  I am excited for fun in the sun, virgin mojitos by the pool. and a little lot of relaxation before the little man comes.
-Next month, we will officially have a 3 year old and an 18 month old....bring on the smiles and tears all at the same time.  These babies need to SLOW DOWN.

Having SNOW much fun...

"Look Mommy, Look!"  We woke up Saturday morning with one very excited little girl because it SNOWED!  To many of my northerner friends and family, the 6 inches of snow may not be that impressive, but our beach town doesn't get to see this powdery white stuff very often so it is A.BIG.DEAL.  The kind of big deal where life literally stops.  Chesapeake, Virginia becomes a ghost town and everything closes, grocery stores, drugstores, banks, malls, etc.  People don't go to school, they don't go to work, they don't go anywhere.  One of two things happens:  they either hide out in the warmth of their house by the fire (what Eric and I would have done pre-kids) OR if they have young children or really children of any age, they bundle up and get outside.  And that is just what we did and how CUTE do those little marshmallows look! 

We invited our neighbors over to play in the snow and it was SNOW much fun!  The big kids smiled and giggled the entire time as their dads got an unexpected workout of pulling them around in their sleds.  Hey, when you don't have hills around you, you have to get creative!  We had races, snapped pictures, threw snowballs at each other, and had the cutest little peanut gallery watching the entire time from their laundry basket chairs.  The little ones didn't like the cold (or the wind) so much, but they were pretty entertained by the big kids (and so was I!)  Afterwards, we all warmed up inside with some hot chocolate by the fire while the kids continued to run off the rest of their energy. 

We went in and out several times that first day to play in the snow.  When we weren't outside Addie opened the sliding glass door almost hourly to touch the snow, not to mention she asked about every 5 minutes when she could go sled riding again!  As she went to bed that night she reminded us that "this was the best day ever!" and was so excited to play in the snow again when she woke up.  With that being said, I think our first Virginian snow day of the year was a complete success!

It's a BOY

We planned our big reveal during our trip to Pittsburgh for the holidays.  Luckily, I was able to schedule my anatomy scan a few days early.  Our appointment was on the day we were leaving for Pittsburgh, which meant we only had to hold on to the envelop with our answer in it for just over 24 hours.  The anticipation was KILLING me as we drove 8 long hours with the envelop stashed away in the glove compartment.  But we never peaked, I promise.

We decided on a confetti reveal and I purchased a balloon with both the pink and blue confetti on the side.  One of my sister's good friends was nice enough to come by the house, pick up the balloon with both colors of confetti, and "the envelop" and go prep our surprise for us.  As an added bonus, this same friend also got a super nice, brand new Nikon camera from Santa and offered to snap a few pics for us.  Shoutout to Kasey, you're the best!

It was FINALLY go time.  The balloon was filled, Kasey had the BEST poker face on as she was the only one that knew our big secret, the lighting was tested for pictures, and family was gathered outside for our big moment.......

IT'S A BOYYYYY!!!!!  We could not be more excited (and clearly shocked) that Baby #3 is a boy!  We absolutely love our little girls, but can't wait to venture in to the world of boys.  Bring on the dirt, baseball caps, trucks and trains, we are ready for you!  It's a little extra special since this sweet boy will also be able to carry on the Harvell name in the future.    

And here's one more of our handsome little boy, we can't wait to meet you in a few short months!

Best of 2016

January

We rang in the new year with some good friends and their little ones, saw Daniel Tiger Live, and had out first big snow of the year!

February

February was the month of birthdays!  Our sweet Addie girl turned TWO and we celebrated with the cutest Pancakes & Pajamas themed birthday party.  Our Bella bean turned 6 months old and her personality really started shining through.  I also surprised Eric with an early birthday get together at Top Golf!

March

My parents and Kristen came to visit for Easter weekend and then we took a last minute, but super fun trip to Myrtle Beach for spring break.  

April

Warmer weather meant we used every chance we could to get outside.  We spent our days at the park, zoo, and even snuck in a few early pool and beach days!  Bring on summer!

May 

May was another month full of celebrations.  We took a family trip to the Outer Banks to celebrate Mother's Day and my 30th birthday, followed by a trip to Ohio for Kristen's graduation.  We celebrated our 4 year anniversary with a family photo shoot on the beach in which Eric surprised me with another proposal and a ring that finally fit again!  We ended the month by Eric throwing me the best surprise birthday party and took another trip to the Outer Banks for Memorial Day weekend with our neighbors.

June

Bella rocked her first ponytail and Addie rocked her 1st time as a flower girl (well maybe she screamed a little, but she looked adorable in her dress!)

July

Our first trip to Disney World was the highlight of July.  Addie was mesmerized by all of her favorite princesses and the famous Mickey and Minnie themselves and Bella was excited to be able to join us on all of the rides.  I predict this is the 1st of many, many trips to Disney.

August

Our Bella bean turned ONE and we celebrated with the cutest watermelon themed picnic at the park.  We took our annual family trip to the Outer Banks with my parents, Brian & Carla, and Kristen.

September

Our last trip of the summer to the Outer Banks was over Labor day weekend, right in the middle of the hurricane.  Addie started her first dance class at the Y with her best bud "other Addy."  We ended the month with a huge surprise, Baby #3 was on the way!  We were expecting and due in May of 2017.

October

We shared our big news with our family during our trip to DC.  We spent most of the month doing all things halloween and going to as many pumpkin patches and fall festivals possible.  Trick or treating with the most adorable Nemo and Dory was another highlight of the month.  

November

We held our annual Friendsgiving and then ended up having a quiet Thanksgiving at home for the first time in years because the stomach bug hit our house.  We shared the news about Baby #3 with the world!

December

All things Christmas took over our house and our calendar.  We filled our days with Santa, visits to Christmas Town, gingerbread house making, and Christmas cookie baking.  We had the best Christmas at home with our girls and lots of new toys and goodies from Santa, then traveled to Pittsburgh to do it all over again.  We got the best gift of all at the end of the month when we found out baby #3 is a BOY!

Christmas 2016

On Christmas Eve, we had a fun filled day of Santa prep. This was the first year that Addie truly understood Christmas, so the anticipation that Santa was coming made for a very excited little girl.  Bella follows her sister's lead, so she was also very excited even though her one year old mind had no idea what was about to happen.  Addie helped me bake Santa a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies and Bella helped us decorate.  After nap time we took the girls to mass and picked up our traditional Chinese food for dinner on the way home.  The girls opened up their gift of new pajamas, a new Christmas movie, and cupcakes for Baby Jesus' birthday.  We prepped for Santa by writing our notes and drawing our pictures to lay out with our tray of cookies and apples.  We read some Christmas books and checked the Santa tracker one more time before the girls went to bed and Santa's workshop was in full swing.

On Christmas morning, the look on Addie and Bella's eyes as the entered the family room was absolutely priceless! Smiles and laughter filled the room as the realized what Santa and his elves had brought them. They couldn't decide what to do first as they alternated tearing through presents and playing with their new things.  The big gift this year was a kitchen set and it was a hit!  We spent most of the day eating meals Addie cooked for us, coffee and soup became her specialty.  Bella loved her Mickey Mouse dancing hot dog doll and it even enticed her enough to take her first steps later on in the day, a Christmas memory that I will never forget.  Other highlights were the Little People princess castle, a remote control pink Jeep, playdoh, and lots of treats aka M&M's.  Eric made Rudolph pancakes for breakfast and we spent the rest of the morning and afternoon playing with all of our new toys.  At night, we had a not-so-quiet dinner for 4 followed by an evening of Steeler football after the girls went to bed.  

Christmas 2016 is going to be a tough one to beat.  It was our last one as a family of FOUR, but a great one full of lots of great memories.  I can't wait to see what next year brings us as our little man enters the world and we celebrate all things Christmas as a family of FIVE!