2015 Surprise!

Some of you know this already, but many of you don't yet... so I'm going to spill the beans!

We are expecting our second child in mid-May, right around the time Louie will be graduating with his Masters of Divinity from Bethel Seminary. It will be quite the eventful month for sure!

Things have been going very smoothly with this pregnancy, just as they did with my pregnancy with Zachary... although possibly even better? I've not had any nausea or morning sickness and the worst symptom I've had is increased insomnia, which isn't fun, but it's definitely preferred over the alternative symptoms. Praise God that this little one has been pretty easy to carry so far. I'm getting more and more movements each week, which is so cool!

We just had our 20 week ultrasound over the weekend and everything is looking great, we are so thankful that baby looks healthy and everything seems to be right on track. We decided not to find out if baby is a boy or girl until delivery day, because it was honestly really fun not knowing until delivery last time, so we figured we'd do that again. :)

Here's a picture of me at the end of last week, at about 20 weeks. It is definitely true that you "show a lot sooner" after your first pregnancy, but I'm enjoying the bump and feeling pretty good most days. I am so thankful for God's grace that I'm not battling sickness on top of Louie's last year in school (including Greek), working about 25 hours a week and interning at our church 16-20 hours a week (and me working full-time).

Zach is also getting more and more independent and learning new play skills and is pretty creative. He recently realized that he could successfully get into and out of this water table, that we usually have outside in the summer. He likes to put a few toys in, climb in and play a bit and then get out. We're also working with him on puzzles. Most of the time he'd prefer to just take the pieces out and throw them repeatedly to some destination or another, but with hand-over-hand guidance, he will stick with it and put them back in (or at least get pretty close). He also likes to line up the pieces sometimes, which is new, and you can sort of see that in the second picture.

It's also hard to believe that Zach will be 3 in a few short weeks, and this sweet boy will be starting pre-school soon too - more on that for another post, though!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (A little late)

We hope you had wonderful and memorable Christmas Celebrations and enjoyed ringing in the New Year with your family and/or friends. Sorry this is a little late!!

Here are a few pictures from over Christmas, the first is our family in front of my beautiful sister-in-law's tree at their home on Christmas Eve. It was a wonderful time with all of Zachary's cousins and aunts and uncles, Nana and Papa and even Great Grandma Millie were there (all of Louie's immediate family and their families). Zach got some new books, a Mr. Potato Head, a magnetic paper doll and had a great time with everyone. It was extra special because usually Great Grandma Millie is in Florida for Christmas, so even though we've been together 10 years, it was my first time having her in MN to celebrate with - what a blessing!

We also put up the top bunk from my old bedroom set, for Zach to get used to a big boy bed. Although he fell out, oh, about 3 times in the first day and bonked his head "crashing" into the mattress with excitement a few times, it's actually been a really smooth transition. He's been going to sleep more consistently between 8-8:30 pm, which is a huge shift for the better, as many of you know. He's been sleeping straight through the night most nights, and we're all a little happier because of the improved sleep. Plus, I think he's pretty fond of it and likes to play with his stuffed animals in bed during the day sometimes, it's very sweet and fun to see him adjust to the new bed.