Belly Update - 28 Weeks

This pregnancy is absolutely flying by. I can't believe that we just hit the 7 month mark! I'm feeling great, and trying to slow down & not rush these last few months by. Here are some fun pregnancy highlights & a few belly shots...
How Far Along: 28 weeks
Size of baby: About 15 in. and 2.5 lbs
Gender: A GIRL!!! Layla Grace Morgan
Maternity Clothes: Yes and yes! It would be helpful if the weather would get cool & stay that way, because I have way more fall & winter clothing options!
Weight gain: 12 pounds. I learned at my appointment yesterday, that at this point in my pregnancy with Eli, I weighed 9 lbs more! I'm finally starting to gain the right amount of weight each month. I had a lot of catching up to do after losing several pounds during the 1st trimester.
Movement: This girl is a mover! We love sitting on the couch as a family and watching & feeling her every move. I just love this point in the pregnancy.
Sleep: Something that I'm starting to get less & less of. Between the sciatic pain and trips to the bathroom, solid stretches of sleep are getting harder and harder to come by.
Symptoms: Back pain, sciatic pain, shortness of breath & dizziness are my biggest offenders.
Cravings: Mexican food, sweet tea, cereal, pizza, anything dipped in buffalo sauce...I could go on forever! These are just a few of my favorite things lately.
Best moment this week: Hitting the 3rd trimester, and getting a great report at the Dr. yesterday!
Eli loves to put his hands on my belly and wait for a big kick. He talks non stop about what Layla is doing, and what she's going to do when she 'gets big.' He's also just recently started reminding me before we leave the house that, 'Layla comes too.' That's one thing I don't think we could forget at home right now! I just love that he's so interested and concerned about her.
And here are a few of our big boy before church on Sunday. I don't know what's up, or if it will last long, but he's been all into posing for pictures the last week or so!
I've got a fun Eli update in the works. He's doing & saying things that I need to document before I forget!

the Great Pumpkin Patch

We spent this 'way too warm for fall festivities' day at the pumpkin patch! We decided to try out a different place this year that we had heard great things about. You have to be willing to drive a little farther in order to find the best pumpkin patches around here. We visited the 'Great Pumpkin Patch' at Holiday Farms in Ridgeland, and it did not disappoint!

Is that my child posing on a pumpkin with a smile on his face?! Certainly wasn't expecting to get any pictures of him actually sitting still today. Except the unexpected with a 2 year old, right?!
Eli LOVED this duck water racing game.
He still refuses to use the pedals consistently, but that didn't stop him from racing around the dirt race track on his john deer trike!
They had a petting farm, which of course Eli loved. He spent a good amount of time loving on & talking with all of the animals.
These baby pigs were the sweetest things ever. We even got to witness an official pig race!
We went on a long hay ride to go pick out our pumpkins. This was Eli's first hayride, and he loved every second of it. He very quickly picked out our pumpkins, and then was ready to get back on the tractor.


Thankfully we ran into several friends while we were there, so we even came away with a family picture!

They also had a bounce house, swings, a giant sandbox, and tons of fun farm games to play. After we were all played out, we had a picnic lunch in the shade. Eli was not so much ready to leave, but we were all tired. We all came home and slept the afternoon away!

I always look forward to fun family days like this. We couldn't help but think about what our trip to the pumpkin patch will be like next year!

Growing

If you ask Eli what baby Layla is doing, his latest response is always, 'growing.' I ended up having to take him with me to a check-up last week, and he was SO good. It helped that I have the most incredible OB ever, who loved spending time with Eli. He and Dr. Royal played Thomas, raced cars on the exam table, and then played the drums using giant medical swabs and a box of tissues. He sat in the chair and had a snack while I was on the table, and his eyes lit up with joy when he got to hear the baby's heart beating. He was cupping his ear to help him 'hear better,' and Dr. Royal talked with Eli a lot about his baby sister. It was so sweet! Eli's also been very interested in my belly lately. I guess it's finally big enough for him to notice all.of.the.time. Just last night before bed the two of us were resting on the couch. He pulled up my shirt and had both of his hands on my belly. He talked to her for the longest time and then began to sing 'you are my sunshine' in his soft voice. My eyes instantly welled up. I love that even before his baby sister arrives, he's learning to be gentle and protective, & soft and sweet to her.

My mom bought a huge box of ice cream cones and some ice cream while she was here for her ice cream loving boy. He's been enjoying his special treats as rewards for good behavior, etc. There's not much that he won't do for an ice cream cone!

I had to sneak in and get this picture of Eli in his bed last night. We've made major progress in the being terrified of thunder storms department, and this was him being very 'brave' last night. He tightly covered his ears and actually fell asleep during the worst of the storm, which is major progress!
We've made some major progress in the nursery this week. Danny got all of the painting done this weekend, so now we can really get going. Her walls are a very dainty 'ballerina gown' pink, and we're thrilled with the final color decision. We laugh about it though, because we were both so sure that we wouldn't paint her room pink, and then we both fell in love with this color. Pictures soon to come!

Our week with Mimi

It's back to reality for us around here. My mom left yesterday afternoon, and we were NOT ready for her to go. We had such a fun visit. Filled with lots of playtime, good eating, so many laughs, full days of shopping & girl time, and lots of loves for the boy. We started really working on the nursery this week, and got SO much done. Much more than I thought possible in one week. I know I will be ever so thankful in a few months when it's a struggle to even get up & down the stairs to her room. My mom is the perfect shopping partner, knows my taste better than anyone else, and is truly the one person that I could shop for day after day with. Needless to say...we called ourselves the dynamic duo this week! We ordered all of the crib bedding, drapes & extra fabric(which will be arriving at our house ANY minute!), found the perfect lamp, a rug, lots of pink & green storage baskets, and maybe a few outfits :). Our favorite find of the week was a gorgeous antique white armoire/dresser. We both stopped dead in our tracks in front of it at Home Goods, looked at each other, and knew we wouldn't be able to leave without it. It's exactly what we've been looking for, but just hadn't seen anything like it yet. We've picked out paint for her room, so once we get the room painted this week, we'll be able to see how everything looks together.

In the weeks leading up to my mom's visit, everytime we talked about her coming, Eli would say, 'Mimi come in the car tent!' So that's exactly what she did! I can't even tell you how many hours these two spent in this tent. Mimi was a trooper, and Eli loved every single second!
We did something fun with Eli every day, but his all time favorite as always, was our trip to Lawton Stables. Except this time, he got to experience his very first pony ride! He's always loved horses, but sometimes seemed skiddish around them. This time he was kissing & petting the Clydesdale and waiting patiently in line for his turn to ride a horse. My mom had brought him a special cowboy hat all the way from San Antonio, Tx, and he insisted on being a cowboy for the day!
Oh the memories we have here! One of our favorites from the day was when Eli walked up to the sheep, stuck his hands out and said, 'have you seen the bunnies, huh?!?' The bunnies were sleeping in their beds and you couldn't see them too well, he was very concerned about where they were!
He held on and truly enjoyed the ride! My mom and I walked close by and listened as he talked to all of the animals we were passing. It was precious!
After a week of shopping, date nights, help around the house, and even a quiet manicure & pedicure, I'm feeling so blessed and refreshed! Thank you mimi for a week of sweet sweet memories! We can't wait to have you within driving distance!

Layla Grace

So much goes into naming your babies, but for us, this time, it was really quite simple. Ever since before we were married, literally, we've talked about the name Layla for a baby girl. There was only one other girl name on the top of my list, but due to how trendy and popular its become since Eli was born, that one was out. We did spend time going through hundreds of other baby girl names, but each time we just fell even more in love with her name. I'm thankful that Danny and I were on the same page with this name, and that we finally get to use this long time favorite of ours! We debated on whether or not we should share her name before the birth, but quite frankly, my love for etsy and monogramming made that decision pretty simple :).

I finally got around to taking the first belly photo of this pregnancy. We've noticed some major belly growth in the last few weeks, so I felt it was a good time to start. Eli (who typically hates his picture taken) was all about cheesing for the camera, so he got right in on the action!
Layla Grace at 22 weeks
kisses for sister!
Me and my boy. Can't wait to see him love on his baby sister!

We appreciate all of the prayers being said for our family and for this precious new addition on the way. We pray daily for wisdom and strength as we seek to lead our children up in the Lord.

Choo Choo!

We had been anticipating our visit to the Tweetsie Railroad for such a long time. We had been talking about it a lot with Eli in the weeks leading up to our trip, and he had told just about everyone he knew that he'd soon be riding on the big 'twain.' We weren't entirely sure of what to expect, but we went into it hoping for a great time and a happy toddler! Of course Eli slept horribly the night before, and was up WAY earlier than usual that day. I wasn't so sure that the happy toddler part would be in our cards for the day, but boy did he surprise us! At breakfast that morning we were telling him that it was finally time to go ride the big train. He put his spoon down and started clapping and screaming, 'Oh, oh, oh! I'm SO exciting!!!' Danny and I died laughing, and knew that it would be a great day afterall!

We got there right when they opened at 9am on Friday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous out. We walked in just in time to see the train pull into the 'station' for the first time that day. Their big train runs continuously throughout the day, and it's about a 20 minute ride through the mountains. There are 'cowboys' on board the train, and they stop and do little skits together that are hilarious! We were worried that Eli would be scared of the loud sounds, but he really surprised us! Can't say the same for the screaming toddler sitting behind us though. The cowboys each had fake guns that they were shooting, and they were super loud, so I can understand why it would be a little traumatizing for the little ones.
walking into the park
clapping for the train!
just enjoying the ride!
These guys were so good at their jobs...I just couldn't imagine doing it everyday.


After our first ride, we were off to exlore the rest of the park. They have a chair lift that carries you up the mountain, to another part of the park called 'Miner's Mountain.' We stopped and let Eli play for a while at a little park, and then it was on to some fun rides! As with everything, you never know how the first time on something new will go. Eli hopped right up into that airplane, buckled himself in and was ready to take off! At least we know he doesn't have problems with motion sickness! We rode a few other rides, and then got done just in time to catch a little musical show done by 'Hopper the Bunny' and 'Porter the Turtle.' They kept all of the kids attention the whole time, and had them all up dancing with them. Our boy loves to dance, so he was right up there with the bigger kids.
On our way up...


Off he goes!
And a proud wave for the crowd :)
enjoying the show
We were starving by this point, and I had been smelling barbecue all day, so lunchtime it was! Eli could hardly sit down long enough to get his lunch down. He was way too excited to eat, and was ready to get on to the next fun thing. We spotted the big go cart cars on our way down the chair lift, and knew that Eli would love doing that with his daddy. I have such sweet memories of riding in these same type cars with my dad every summer at Busch Gardens and Myrtle Beach...such fun! Eli obviously wasn't old or big enough to drive, but he did a great job helping steer. I think Danny enjoyed it just as much as Eli! This part of the park was full of carnival type rides and games, cotton candy & funnel cakes were on every corner, and it just made you feel like a kid again. Eli and I rode the Carousel together, and then Danny wanted to take him on the Ferris Wheel. I had seen this thing running all day, and I instantly opted out. I'm usually the daredevil and the one who will ride ANY ride out there. But not at 5 months pregnant with a very full stomach from lunch! This was not your average ferris wheel. It had one speed...fast! The look on Eli's face when that thing took off, oh I'll never forget it. He had his lips puckered up real tight and was holding on for dear life. Danny did a good job of distracting him, and he did get use to it after a little bit. I was just thankful that he didn't puke, because I had my doubts there for a minute!

He talks about riding the ferris wheel ALL the time. I think it made him feel so big!

Another fun train ride.
'Go fast, daddy!'
We rode back up to the top of the mountain again and spent some time at the animal park. We picked up some ice cream cones filled with animal feed, and made our rounds. Eli's always been excited about animals, so he really enjoyed this part. His favorites this time were the bunnies and the baby goats.

He loved this baby goat 'on the loose.'



He rang the bell a million times during this little boat ride.

By late afternoon we were all starting to tire out. We rode the big train one more time, did some shopping and picked up some cute souveniers, and then made our final stop of the day for...ice cream!!! Eli sat very tired & still in his stroller while enjoying his/our ice cream.



Loves for daddy from a very tired boy.
Never too tired for ice cream!

Danny and I felt so blessed to be able to experience this with Eli. It was by far, without a doubt, one of our favorite family memories together. It's always fun to experience new things again through the eyes of a child. We're planning to visit the Tweetsie Railroad again this same time next year. We're hoping that Mimi and Papa Tom will be able to go with us then!