Pregnancy Update: 14 weeks!

Now that the entire world knows that we are expecting baby number 2, I can finally open up and share some details about this pregnancy. I've had such bad writer's block on here because I wasn't quite ready to share one of our BIGGEST happenings of this year. It was hard to think about anything else!

Sporting a bump already! (12 weeks)

Rewind back to May for a second... on the 17th, I ran in the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon (remember? The one where my shuttle bus ran into another car on the bridge?!). The following Monday, I was still feeling really wiped out, which was unusual for me. Not only had I trained well for this race, but it was relatively short. I just couldn't seem to shake off the fatigue. I had a sneaking suspicion that I might be pregnant, but stubbornly waited until Friday to take a pregnancy test. Sure enough that afternoon, while Isaac and Jordan were playing in the backyard, I saw two definitive pink lines!

Our little buddy/sweetheart! 

A month later (9 weeks), we saw our little bean via ultrasound. He or she looked awesome, was wiggling all over the place, and had a strong heartbeat. My official due date was set for January 25, 2015!! I was feeling pretty miserable by then with daily fatigue and incessant nausea. I wouldn't say it was all that more or less dramatic than my pregnancy with Isaac, but this time around, I just wasn't able to slow down and rest with a toddler to care for and entertain! Thankfully, Isaac never turns down an episode of Curious George.

We told our families after the first appointment and slowly started leaking the big news to our closest friends. I had another appointment at 12 weeks, heard the heartbeat again and felt comfortable widening our circle even further. We found a Big Brother t-shirt for Isaac and surprised my coworkers and more close friends. Then finally, after we got both student camps out of the way, we announced our great joy to the whole world! I'm now 14 weeks and a few days along and feeling substantially better. I know everyone wants to know about the gender and we declined the first trimester chromosomal screening. This baby will probably be a big surprise just like big brother Isaac was!

We are truly blessed beyond measure to have this little life in our care. I am thrilled and thankful and full of love for this new baby. The Lord has been so good to our family!!!

The Mims are Expanding!

We are beyond thrilled to announce that Isaac will be a big brother this coming January 2015!!!!

Toddler Communication

I am beyond thrilled to have a boy whose vocabulary is ever increasing. He is saying more words than I can keep up with and seems to say new things and make new connections every day. I read yesterday that toddlers who are Isaac's age have the ability to increase their vocabulary by 10 words every day. That's pretty incredible if you ask me. I mean, when was the last time I learned 10 new words in a single day?

It's pretty fun to have conversations with Isaac these days. He's putting words together that actually make sense together. And I would be lying if I didn't say that life is so much easier having a baby that can verbalize what's going on, what he needs, whether he's hungry or not, where he's hurting, and on and on.

But that doesn't mean that toddler communication is without its share of difficulties. Insert eye roll.

For one, Isaac has entirely forgotten that he does know the word "YES" and what it means. Every single question is answered with a "No."  Insert any question that requires a yes/no answer, even the obvious "yes." It goes a little something like this:

Isaac: (staring at me) Foooooood

Me: Are you hungry? 

Isaac: No. 

Isaac: (eating crackers)

Me: Are you eating crackers?

Isaac: No.

Source

Or:

Isaac: (seeing a beach towel, points to it) Pooooooooool

Me: Can we go to the pool?

Isaac: No.  

 Me: Ok, we won't go to the pool. 

Isaac: POOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!

Me: Do you want to go to the pool?

Isaac: No.

You see where I'm getting at? I'm kind of over this No phase. Hopefully it's short lived. Luckily for Isaac, his mom has higher reasoning skills, so I know that even though he says "No" to food at dinner time, he really means "Yes," and even though he says "No" to all diaper changes (and means it), I'm not about to let him stink up the house with a major bomb on board.

There's also the little issue of translating his toddlerspeak. You know you've met that kid who's rambling non stop and even though what's coming out doesn't sound anything like English, the kid's mom is there to translate (who knew "abeeeennngasterrrr" means "lets all sit down and have dinner together"). I'd estimate that 80% of Isaac's language is pretty easy to understand, but there's at least 10% of his words that all sound too similar to be distinguished without context clues.... Then there's the 10% that I don't even understand. Even with context clues.

Like this one (a frequent Isaacism that I still haven't figured out)

Isaac: Beeeeeeeng.

Isaac: Beeeeeeeng.

Isaac: Beeeeeeeng! Beeeeeeeeng!!! BEEEEEEEEAAAANG!

Me: ...

Source

I keep waiting for him to point to something that will clarify this mystery word. Sometimes I'll even repeat the word hoping that something will magically click between us and our communication will be restored. It hasn't yet.

Maybe Isaac will never read this. I hope he doesn't. In the off chance that one day in several years he can read and thinks to himself, "Hey I should go through the archives of my mom's old blog and see what she used to write about me as a toddler" and actually does stumble upon this mildly sarcastic complaining post about his toddlerspeak,.... I think I'll leave out the last of my toddler communication woes: the "I'm really saying ___ word but it comes out sounding like an expletive."


That one's always fun at church.

Julep #6

So another month... another Julep box. And I think I can safely say this one will be my last. Unfortunately, even receiving this box for free didn't really get me too excited, because once again, the color choices just missed the mark in my opinion. Last month, I whined about receiving fall/winter colors as a part of the June box (along with the Oxygen smoothing base coat, which I haven't noticed to be any more spectacular than the base coat I was already using), and here we go again in July. 

Initially, I was excited to see that this was the "Poolside" Collection... visions of fun neons and glitter bombs were running around my mind, so I was pretty disappointed to see such blah colors. At least I thought they were pretty standard.

Source

There was a mushroomy color, tomato red, turquoise (ahem, teal), peach, berry, yellow, pink, silver glitter, and medium blue. Some of the colors aren't so bad on their own, but the pairings for each box usually left me wanting one color, but hating the other. And since I wasn't about to shell out extra money to customize my box, I went with the "bombshell" box, which included Beverly and Lissa.

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure here, I'll tell you that there are certain colors that I'm never drawn to for my nails or toes. There are just going to be some colors that I'll never willingly choose. Some of those colors are yellow, peach, white, black, and most shades of green. I just don't find any of these shades flattering to my skin tone. That being said, after 6 months of being with Julep, I'm really starting to accumulate some nearly identical shades of nail polish.

The top polish in this set is Beverly... which looks remarkably similar to the other two bottles in the picture, which were received in previous months. So similar in fact, that with the exception of the shimmer, they could nearly be used interchangeably. And it's pretty fall-ish.

Now.

How many bottles of berry-colored nail polish do I need? (apparently 3.) And maybe I'm a little crazy, but I think my grandmother wears a similar shade on her nails. One bottle of marginally-matronly-berry-colored nail polish is one thing... 3 polishes is a bit much. The frustrating thing is that these are all marketed differently online. Because I can't hold them in my hand until I've already purchased them, instead of getting a grape shade like I was expecting, I got yet. another. berry. shade. of nail polish.

I'm sorry this is coming across really petty. Had I actually spent $20 on this box, I would've been even more frustrated.

My second color, Lissa, is the bottle in the middle, which once again is really similar to the shades on either side of it. Less so than the berry colored polish, but still just another bottle of teal colored nail polish. And once again, I anticipated this to be turquoise and was disappointed to pull out a much more green-blue/teal color. Petty, yes. Frustrating, yes.

How about that? A little pyramid of similar colored nail polishes.

I should also mention that this month's box came with a bottle of Julep's Body Milk, which is just a fancy name for lotion. It has a nice summery/beachy scent that's a little sweet smelling at first, but has some fresh notes underneath that keep it from getting cloyingly sweet. It's lightweight and absorbs quickly. This for me is a big plus, because I do not like having a leftover residue or tackiness, which often keeps me from using lotion altogether. It reminds me of OPI's juice lotions, which I'm a big fan of.

This will very likely be my last Julep box. I know I've been saying that for a couple of months now... and I've finally worked up enough time as a Maven to "skip" boxes, but it's probably time to cut the strings and go our separate ways.

Summer Adventures

So after spending the first few days of the week around Houston, Isaac and I came home last night to a hot refrigerator.

UGHHHHHHHHHHH.

Sure, it gave me a great reason to clean out all that junk that gets left behind in a fridge after time. You know, the random stuff you buy, use one serving of, and can't justify throwing away yet because you just KNOW you'll use it again soon. Well, goodbye Chili Lime Chicken Marinade. Adios jar of pimentos. Oh, and goodbye carton of organic milk, dozen eggs, chicken, ground beef, breakfast, lunch, dinner...

Thankfully, my new Trader Joe's acquisitions don't require refrigeration. Corpus Christi, you need to think about investing in one of these establishments.

I have no self control. 

Also, THANKFULLY, after being cleaned out and left unplugged overnight, something happened in the fridge and it's now cooling normally again. Buying a new refrigerator wasn't really in the cards budget, so I am especially grateful for the Lord's provision. Isaac and I prayed over the situation last night before bed and I'm looking forward to sharing with him both now and in the future the way that God answered our prayers. Now, to get some coupons together to replenish our stock.

Back to our week! Isaac and I had a great time in Houston! It's high school camp week and this year, Jordan chose to take the students to a camp held at the University of Houston. It was definitely a MUCH shorter drive than last year's Atlanta camp... or 2012's Tennessee camp, but you can serve people and serve the Lord anywhere! So while the high schoolers and my husband were just a short drive down the road, Isaac and I stayed in the suburbs with Meme, Pa, and Pepper. We were able to visit with Jordan and some of our kids one evening and had plenty of our own adventures as well.

Our first day there, we went to the Houston Zoo. It was Isaac's first trip to the zoo, and he loved it! (well mostly...) We met our dear friends Bethany and Jacqueline there and had a great time laughing, sweating, and looking at animals.

When we first arrived, Isaac got a liberal application of sunscreen... which led him to believe we were going to the pool (his new favorite destination). So when we weren't at the pool, he was a little irritated.

But soon realized that this place full of monkeys and tigers and birds and bugs was pretty fun too.

 The chimpanzee enclosure was really neat, because they got so close to the glass! The chimps were seriously posing for the cameras and hamming it up for their spectators. Sorry for the glare on the picture!

 The giraffes were a big hit, as well as the elephants, petting zoo, and jellyfish!

We had a really fun time checking out the zoo! I could definitely see us going back again in the future. And of course, nothing beats getting some girl talk in!

Another day, we spent some time with the cousins at their pool. Obviously, this was a big hit with Isaac, but the cousins all seemed to enjoy the time too. We were given a floatie for Isaac and once he figured out it kept him mostly upright and above water, he was totally fearless! We had his favorite food (Pizza!!) for lunch and played with toys.... and got a busted lip. Poor guy totally ate it on Aunt Amanda's wood floor and tore his little lip up. I think his lip bled longer than he cried about it though, he's such a tough kid. A few days later, its just a little swollen and scabbed over. Looks like he'll survive! ... until the next busted lip!

Yesterday we visited Meme at her office, met her coworkers and had lunch together before heading back home. Jordan should be home this afternoon and we'll have a week "off" before the middle school camp. Maybe we can spend some time celebrating our anniversary! Summer is always exceptionally busy in youth ministry, and we love it!

Happy Anniversary!

EIGHT years ago today, I said yes (!!!!) to the man who would be my awesome husband. 

Honeymooners (the most tan I've ever been in my entire life)

Still Newlyweds

Pregnant with Isaac

Our little family on Isaac's first birthday

I am so ridiculously thankful for my husband and our marriage. We've had 8 years of laughter and tears, easy times and struggles, health and sickness, ups, downs, and all arounds. Through it all, he has been my constant support. He loves me without ceasing and puts up with all my junk. He is a fantastic daddy to our son (who incidentally thinks his dada is the greatest. Seriously. Mama is chopped liver compared to dada.) He is our kind and patient provider. Basically, I'm the luckiest wife ever. 

Even still, marriage is hard work: extending grace and love unconditionally, just like Christ has extended us grace and love without condition. Thirteen years as a pair and eight years as husband and wife has proven to be challenging, but the reward has been great. I look forward to spending many many more years together, and the new adventures on the horizon. Happy anniversary to my lovey cakes! I love you so very much!

Weekend Shenanigans

So maybe the title is a misnomer, considering it's already Wednesday. Where does the time go? Where did June go??? The Fourth of July is in 2 days and Rockport will double (triple?) in size over the next 24 hours. This means we'll be staying home and avoiding all the touristy spots... namely, the entire town. I have recently seen people grocery shopping in their bathing suits and flip flops. These are the perils of living in a beach town.

We spent the past weekend in Houston visiting family. I also went to my fetal monitoring instructor class, which went really well. I mean, you can't complain about an 8 hour class that you get paid to take, doesn't have a test at the end, AND comes with free continuing education units! As a part of the certification process, I've already taken the monitoring class itself recently, so I'm familiar with the material (especially since I use it on a daily basis at work...), so this class was more of a class about how to present a class kinda class. Get my drift? The paperwork involved, the logistics, the unit breakdowns, and on and on. Two criticisms: the classroom was make-you-wish-you-hadnt-shaved-that-morning COLD, and nobody likes cafeteria food.

When I wasn't freezing my little pants off, we were getting in some quality time with family. It'd been a while since we were able to be all under one roof (my sister in law's family included), so it was nice to spend a day together around the pool, playing games, and catching up. Isaac really enjoyed the cousin time!

Speaking of... Isaac is getting so big these days. I haven't been as diligent as I would like taking pictures of him, but then again, they turn into little blurry blobs, because the boy is non stop. Proud/Biased Mom Talking: He has grown into the funniest, sweetest little boy. I mean, he's always been my little buddy, but something about this 20ish month age is just so fun. He's always doing something to make us laugh and will stop for a "mees" (kiss) and squeeze (hug) any time. He's still SO tall for his age, eats everything in sight, and won't think of napping without his gator. His 2 year molars are already on their way in, but I'm not surprised considering all of his other teeth came in months before their predicted ages. He loves splashing at the pool, swinging and going down the slide (sometimes) at the park, jumping, and dancing. We read the same books over and over and over again, sometimes in the same sitting. Did I mention he's pretty stubborn? Ha! He is our little mimic, repeating every noise and mannerism we throw at him. The funniest is when he tries to whistle to get the dog's attention. He puckers his lips together and says "WOOWOO" in a high pitched squeal. Makes me giggle every time.

I can hear nap time ending so it's time to wrap this up. I'll try my hardest to be more diligent with this whole blog thing in the month of July (4 Measly posts in all of June?! What happened to June???). Until then, thanks for hanging in there with me!