20 weeks!

Well, we just over half-way through this pregnancy, and I can hardly believe it!  How is time passing so quickly?

How Far Along: 20 weeks (and 1 day!)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I have lost 8lbs!  I have started telling people that pregnancy is the best diet I ever tried.

Best Moment this week: seeing the excitement that my mom and dad have telling people they are having a granddaughter; taking Grayson to surprise his Great Great Aunt Roberta at her birthday party and spending time with his family
Gender: Girl!  Her name is Finnley Elizabeth.
Movement: Yep! Sometimes more than others.  She definitely likes to move around when I'm falling asleep and when I'm waking up in the morning.  Oh, and David got to feel her kick a couple weeks ago!  She is strong!

Food Craving: It really varies from day to day. Some days, I have my heart set on something all day, and then I get it in front of me, and I lose my appetite completely. I have been eating a lot of salads, a lot of fruit, and a lot of macaronni and cheese. 
What I miss: I don't really miss anything.  Well, I take that back.  I miss not feeling sick!  :)
Maternity clothes: Yep!  All maternity clothes, all the time.  I mostly wear lots of dresses.  She is so low right now that pants are just too uncomfortable...even maternity pants. 
Sleep: I am tired all the time.  But, that doesn't mean I get much sleep! I have been waking up throughout the night...sometimes I can fall back asleep, sometimes I can't.  I can tell when it's 2:00pm every day, though, even when I don't have a clock--that's the time I get the most tired!

What I am looking forward to: hearing her heartbeat at the next doctor's appoitnment, shopping for her, designing her nursery (in our new house!!!)

Belly Button: may be starting to bulge a little, but it's still an innie

Symptoms: nausea, exhaustion, picky eating

Due Date

Yesterday was a hard day. I did my best to write a post that wasn't depressing, that didn't show how I was really feeling, that got my mind off the heartache that I was feeling all over again. I was successful, for the most part, at keeping my feelings inside when I was around others...but I most certainly couldn't hold back when I laid in bed to go to sleep last night.
Yesterday was the day we had scheduled to have Baby Bledsoe #2, our sweet child in Heaven.

I had about a million mixed emotions running through me all day yesterday. Of course I am thrilled to have our sweet daughter growing stronger, bigger, and healthier in me each day. And, of course, I know how blessed we are to have celebrate Grayson's birthday this past weekend. But, I still think every day about the baby we lost. Was the baby a boy or a girl? Would the baby have looked more like me or David? What would we have named our newest child? And, I keep thinking about how we should be holding our baby in our arms, kissing and hugging our gift from God, how we would soon a be bringing that baby home to our house, home to its big brother, and home to us...had our baby lived.

I don't think I will ever get over the loss of that baby...and the loss of all the dreams I had for our child. I know that I could never adequately express in words what I have in my heart. I guess I just want to ask that you all keep our family in your prayers. We love you all.

Random Monday thoughts

Head's up! I can't guarantee that these won't have some possibly offensivee statements. :)

I have lost over 7 pounds since I've been pregnant with Finnley. She's growing just perfectly, but she's just been wearing me out with making me feel so sick all the time! So, I have decided to try to constantly eat small stuff, even when I'm not hungry, in hopes of feeling better. The problem is, I have been eating things that are just the most disgusting combinations ever! For example, yesterday, I decided I wanted a bagel. Well, that didn't stay down. So, I ate some mac and cheese with tuna, some skittles, some cheetos, nachos with everything on them, spaghetti o's, a huge ice cream sundae, mandm's, and some chips and dip. So strange!

I have been so lazy these past two weeks and haven't worked as much as I should have. Granted, most days I was getting sick all day long...but, there may have been 1 or 2 days when I just played hooky.

David and I are inching closer and closer to building a house...it's almost a reality! We have already met with the bank and our realtor, and we have almost decided on a floor plan. Now, we are just waiting on the next step of meeting with our builders! We drove out past the lots yesterday, and it was so strange to think that, if everything goes right, we will be living there in our brand new custom-built house in less the 6 months...with a 2nd child! Whoa!

I have not been sleeping at all lately, and when I do sleep, I have been having the most vivid, random dreams. What the heck is going on? I don't like it.

Grayson has his 1-year checkup with Dr. Catherine this afternoon. I'm excited to hear how much he's grown, but I'm not looking forward to the shots. The poor kid has learned that he usually gets them when we go to the doctor, so he has started getting fussy as soon as we walk in the door. :( The staff says that all kids do that, but I really don't like it!

I guess that's it. Thanks for checking in on us! We love you all!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Grayson's 1st Birthday Party!

I will just let the pictures speak for themselves.  :)

We had a GREAT time, and, as you can see, Grayson was completely spoiled!  The day was quite the whirlwind...we were all exhausted by the end of the day!  :)  What a fun day, though!

Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate with us!  And, as always, thanks for checking in on us!  We love you all!

1 year old!!!!

How in the world is our baby 1 year old?!?!?!?!

(I will get his sign pictures up ASAP...I promise!)

Grayson,
Mommy and Daddy cannot believe that a year has already gone by since you came into the world.  You changed our lives so completely, and we have absolutely loved every single minute of watching you grow from a newborn to the little boy you are today.  You are so happy and smiley all the time...and you have the BEST sense of humor!  You are quite silly, that's for sure!  We love you so much, G-man!  Happy Birthday!!!

At 12 months, Grayson:

• no longer takes a bottle or formula!  He drinks everything from a sippy cup!  What a big boy!  He drinks about 4 cups of 2% milk, and eats breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack every day.  He loves loves loves all kinds of food--I don't think there is anything that he doesn't like!  He has even learned how to climb into his little chair all by himself, and put the tray on!  It's so funny!  

• is a toddler!  He walks/toddles more often than he crawls now, and it's so fun to watch.  He concentrates so hard sometimes not to fall down, while other times he wants to take off and run!  He is so proud of himself whenever he walks a long distance.  He will even clap for himself!  :)

• He wears 12-18 month clothes, size 5 diapers, and size 5 shoes.  At a doctor's appointment last week, he weighed 25 pounds, 6 ounces.  He is the same size (or bigger) as some of the 2 year old kids in his class!

• He loves loves loves loves to go to school.  He loves his teachers, Ms. Dana, Ms. Jennifer, and Ms. Amy...and they love him!   He has learned so much at school, and we love seeing what new things he shows us when he comes home each day!  He has learned to wipe off the table after he is done eating, throw away his trash, blow kisses goodbye, wave and say "bye bye," answer "yes" or "no" using both words and by nodding/shaking his head, and he has learned not to hit his friends.  WOW!

• He talks so much!  I wouldn't even be able to write out all the words he can say because there are so many!  I love listening to him talk to us, and he has just the cutest little voice.  :)

• He has learned to put his shape blocks into the correct spots on his shape sorter, and he loves to read his books.  He also loves to look at his picture book.  He always points to himself in the pictures and smiles so big.  He also loves to ride on his radio flyer scooter, and to snuggle with Scout, his stuffed doggie.  He still doesn't watch much TV (which is fine with us!) but he does like to watch Elmo when we are in the car for a longer period of time. 

I am sure there is so much more to write about, but my mind just can't wrap around the fact that our baby is 1 year old!  Wow, we sure do love him more and more each day (and I honestly don't know how I could love him any more than I do today!).  We absolutely can't wait to see what this next year has in store for our little boy!

Thanks for checking in on us!  We love you all!

It's a......

David and I went to our 18 week check-up this week to see how sweet Baby B is doing.  This appointment was our ultrasound appointment, so we were looking forward to finding out if we would be having a son or a daughter. 
We were sooooooo excited when we walked into the ultrasound room.  The nurse looked at the screen and kept commenting about how perfect everything looked.  We were able to see all 4 chambers of the heart, the spine, the parts of the brain, 10 little fingers, and 10 little toes, and.....

It's a girl!!!  :)

Here are pictures of our precious daughter, Finnley Elizabeth:

I am sooooo excited to be having a daughter, but I am also terrified.  Girls can be so mean, and I just really want to protect her from all of that.  Of course, there are other reasons I'm terrified, too (boys are so easy! HA!)...but, more than anything, I am thrilled.  Absolutely thrilled.  :)  I can't wait to meet her! 

We picked up Grayson from daycare and immediately drove to Target to continue our tradition of picking out an outfit the day we find out boy/girl.  This time, Grayson was able to pick out a pink outfit for his little sister.  He was soooo cute the whole time.  I held up 2 outfits and I said, "Grayson, which one do you want to get for Finnley?"  He pointed to the pink one, grabbed it, and held onto it for the rest of the time we were in the store.  He is going to be such a great big brother. 

Hopefully, I will get an 18-week pregnant post up here soon. Until then, thanks for chekcing in on us!  We love you all!

And one to make you smile :)

Grayson and his girlfriends at Whitney's 2nd birthday party this past weekend.  :)

This Momma is tired!

Well, we are 15 weeks pregnant today! I am more relieved with each passing week that things are going well, and I can't wait for the next 24 weeks to pass! :) I am starting to feel Baby B move more and more consistently, although sometimes it's stronger than others. Last night, I was snuggling with Grayson, and I guess Baby B got jealous...he/shewas really kicking around in there!

Speaking of Grayson, it's been a rough couple of days. :( He has 2 front teeth that have broken through (for a total of 8 teeth!), and they have really really been hurting him. Last night was the worst yet. He fell asleep in my arms out of pure exhaustion, so I put him in his crib. He woke up about 30 minutes later and didn't stop crying for almost 2 hours. He would fall asleep in our arms, but then wake up crying again. It was so hard to watch him cry out in pain. :( Finally, after a dose of ibruprofen, a good snuggle, and probably just because he was sooooo tired, he fell asleep and didn't wake up until almost 7:00 this morning. Poor baby. But, in typical Grayson fashion, he was all smiles as soon as we walked in his bedroom...and he was already causing trouble when I dropped him off at school!  And, thankfully, he did MUCH better tonight.  He fell right to sleep!

Work has been pretty tough lately. I hate hate hate having to be the bad guy, and I feel like that's all I've had to be in the past several weeks. Thankfully, things usually get better after a couple phone calls or emails...where I have to put my foot down. :)

The Tour of Homes seemed to go well. We should get some feedback later this week from the realtors who came by. Hopefully it will be good feedback!

I guess that's about it around here. It seems like nothing exciting is happening, but there's a ton going on at the same time. As always, thanks for checking in on us! We love you all!

Random Monday thoughts

We had a great weekend...a much needed couple of days to spend together!

On Saturday, Ally came and spent the night with us. I had a baby shower to go to that afternoon for my sweet friend, Mindy, and it was so much fun! Hudson will be born sometime in September...he is definitely one loved little boy already! After the shower, we headed to Whitney's 2nd birthday party. I can't believe she is 2 already...I remember the day she was born and getting to love on her in the hospital. Now she's a beautiful little girl, and so precious. We went swimming, ate pizza and cake, and just had so much fun! Grayson even met some older girls. :)

Sunday, Ally and I went to lunch, and then to Yogurt Mountain for dessert. I love getting to spend time just me and her. She is my mini-me, my special friend, and one of my favorite people. I sure do love her! So, all-in-all, it was a wonderful weekend!

Some other randomness:
I have started feeling Baby B move pretty consistently...I forgot how much I love feeling a baby kick and squirm inside me. I remember feeling such a special bond to Grayson: learning what foods would make him kick more, when he slept, and how I could tease him and push back. :) I can't wait to learn all those things with this little one!

Our house is on the Crye-Leike Tour of Homes tomorrow. Basically, a bunch of realtors will come by, look at our house, hopefully fall in love with it, and bring back their clients to look at it. For some reason, I am freaking out about this showing more than any other we have had! I feel like there's so much I need to do to the house to get it in tip-top shape before tomorrow morning.

Jarrett is home from the hospital, and seems to be doing well. I got to see him on Saturday morning, and he was so happy and smiley. Gosh, I love that kid. I am hoping that he will continue to feel better so I can spend some quality time spoiling him! :)

David has been amazing these past couple weeks, as always. Between cooking dinner, straightening the house, lovin' on Grayson, and constantly being on the go, he has been one busy guy! I am so so so so blessed to have him as my husband...and I sure do need to tell him that more often.

Grayson is loving school. We have had to work with him a little bit on not stealing other kids' food...what can I say, the kid likes to eat...but his teachers say he is doing much better. He loves the ball room (he goes there when its too hot to go outside and play on the playground). He also loves his teachers! Today, when I dropped him off, he was all cuddled up with Ms. Dana, just giving her hugs and kisses. It made me happy, and it made having him in daycare seem a little easier. He fell down last week and busted his lip, but he's a trooper and it didn't even phase him. What a tough little guy! :)

I guess that's about it around here. We are finalizing his birthday party stuff, and just in awe that it's almost here. I'm sure I'll be a blubbery mess that day. :) As always, thanks for checking in on us. We love you all!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

11 months old!!

Grayson is 11 months old today!  

Grayson is quite the eater!  He eats 4-5 bottles a day, plus breakfast, lunch, and 2 snacks.  He moved up into a bigger class at his daycare, so he now eats the school lunch and afternoon snack each day.  He loves it!  All the little kiddos sit at the table together, and he just adores eating with his friends.  :)  He eats such a variety of foods that he doesn't really have favorites anymore.  In fact, there really isn't a food he doesn't like!

He wakes up around 6:30am every day, takes one nap at school from 11:00am to 1:00pm, and then goes to bed around 7:30pm each night.  He is SUCH a good sleeper, sleeping the entire night.  Once he wakes up in the morning, he just hangs out in his crib until Mommy or Daddy gets him.  He definitely loves being in bed, just like his Mommy.

He wears size 4 diapers, 12-18 month clothes, size 4 or 5 shoes (depending on the brand), and a toddler size hat for his big head.  :)  When we went to the doctor a few weeks ago, he weighed almost 28lbs and was just under 30 inches long.  (He is almost the same size as some of the 2 year olds in his class at school!)

He loves to play games.  He dances, plays peek-a-boo (he hides behind the curtain and then pops out with a big smiled on his face), clap his hands, and make noises with his mouth.  His favorite toys aren't really even toys at all: he loves climbing in baskets, playing with the padding for the fireplace, and banging his pots and pans.  He also really likes to play with his laptop, and the fireplace that he can bang.

He takes a few steps here and there, but still prefers to crawl everywhere because he gets there so much faster.  He loves to open and close doors, and cracks up when he closes himself in the room.  In fact, his favorite thing to do every morning when Mommy is getting ready is to close her in the bathroom and then crack up when Mommy swings the door open.  :)  He also thinks it's fun to open the door to where the washer and dryer are and bang on the dryer.

He loves to go go go...any where and everywhere.  He loves to people-watch and smile at all the people that come up to talk to him.  And, he always waves and says, "Bye!" whenever they leave.

He can make lots of sounds, but we aren't sure if he uses them as functional words yet, or not.  He says: dada, baba, papa, bobo, yaya, byebye, yiyi, and aaaaaaaaa.  :)

Have I mentioned how much he loves his Daddy?  He is most certainly a Daddy's boy:

He is certainly not our baby anymore, and is becoming more of a little boy every day.  We have loved getting to watch him solve problems and figure things out all on his own.  He is so curious and determined....as frustrating as it can be to chase after him sometimes, it's great to watch him become more independent!!

We are right in the midst of planning his first birthday party--it's hard to believe he will be one year old in a month!  It really does seem like just last month that we were bringing him home from the hospital, and here he is starting to walk and talk.  I know every mom says it, but it is all happening way to fast!  We know that he is going to be an AMAZING big brother in just a few months!

Thank you for checking in on our little family.  We love you all!!