Baby #2: First Trimester

I'm almost 16 weeks now, so this is a bit late but considering we just announced the pregnancy in the last couple of weeks I think that's okay. :) So, for those of you who know what my first (and part of second) trimester was like with Jackson and are curious if this was similar - the answer is YES. I'm one of those really lucky ladies that gets to experience pregnancy nausea and vomiting to its fullest! I didn't end up in urgent care this time, but I did have to have my mom come take care of Jackson for a week. I was more prepared with medication from the beginning; however, I still felt pretty awful. It was all I could do to get the sweet boy fed, clothed, and diapered on a daily basis. We spent several weeks inside the house with me mostly laying on the couch. Thank God for a newer medication that has made a world of a difference for me this time around. I still get sick periodically, but this medicine has made it much easier for me to function and get Jackson out of the house daily. Even though I am a few weeks past the first trimester now, I still don't feel the greatest and am still pretty tired. I'm hopeful it will end soon! I also try not to complain too much because I know that we are extremely blessed and that the little gift at the end is worth every second of this!

One thing that has been different so far with this pregnancy is my uncontrollable hunger. At least once a day I get so hungry that nothing will satisfy my hunger. I feel like I eat for hours sometimes - so much for controlling the weight gain... :) It's also a lot more tiring the second time around when you have a very young, energetic toddler to keep up with. I'm not sure my energy will every return at this point! haha My house is a disaster at all times and we never cook, but my boy is healthy and the new little one is healthy so far so the rest of that does not matter! 

I wrote this in my last post, but we are beyond thrilled to be welcoming another sweet baby into our family. We are interested to see how Jackson reacts - there may be some jealousy but he will be a good big brother (eventually). I go for my 16 week appointment this week and then in about two and a half weeks we have our ultrasound. We cannot wait to find out whether we will be adding another little man or a little lady to our family! 

Here are a few pics of my baby bump growth so far:

Thanks for checking in! Hugs to all! 

Thankful Hearts

Thanksgiving - I just love this time of year. I really enjoy the time spent with family and good food, and of course the reason for the holiday. Thanksgiving is always a reminder to be thankful for all that we have, but I do try to be thankful not just in November but all year long. This year we spent the holiday with Mike's side of the family. We spent Tuesday-Sunday in Chapel Hill with his parents, and Thanksgiving day was spent in Raleigh at his Aunt Rosanne's and Uncle Ron's house. His grandmother, cousins Joe and Jennifer, and Jennifer's husband Derek were all there. We went over mid morning and hung out until Thanksgiving lunch was ready. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of turkey, ham, dressing, green beans, deviled eggs, potato salad, and sweet potatoes. We waited a couple of hours for pie and then dug into some chocolate bourbon pecan pie - yum! The rest of the afternoon was spent being pretty lazy, laying around watching football and laughing at little Jackson. We got all the food out again for dinner before heading back to Chapel Hill.

We enjoyed the rest of the trip. Mike and I got to go to a movie one afternoon, which was my first movie in over 15 months! That means the last time I went to a movie was BEFORE Jackson was born. We also got to eat at a couple of our favorite restaurants while in town, visit with a few friends, and attend the last football game. It was a nice trip.

Our little turkey! I tried taking about 100 pictures of him to get a cute one in his Thanksgiving shirt - this is the best I could get. So hard with an energetic little toddler. Love that little turkey though! 

Cooper snuggled up on Joe - his post turkey nap.

Daddy had to have a little post turkey nap of his own....haha

This little boy was such a ham at dinner - he put on a show for the entire table. He loves the attention! 

Jennifer took these adorable pics for us. Joe was playing peek-a-boo behind a chair to get the little man to laugh. I just love how they turned out! 

Jackson crawled up in this chair numerous times on Thanksgiving. He would rock back and forth saying "gock, gock, gock" (rock, rock, rock). So cute. 

Thanks for the fabulous pictures Jenn! 

Family pic at dinner!

Now with the Modlins.

At the last football game, unfortunately it did not end well for the tar heels. Still a nice day to be outside! 

Even though we only have one day declared as "Thanksgiving," I try to remember to be thankful for all of God's many blessings each and every day. We are truly blessed with so many things: gods eternal love, forgiveness for our sins, our health, home, businesses, and our precious little boy...just to name a few of the many things we have to be thankful for. Well, this year Mike and I have another big reason to be grateful; We have been blessed with another sweet baby! I am 14 weeks pregnant and the baby is due to arrive June 3. We are ecstatic and cannot wait to be parents for the second time. We truly enjoy being parents and love our first little blessing more than words can say. I cannot even begin to imagine how full our hearts will be when the second little bundle of joy arrives!

The most recent "bump" picture. I feel like I'm showing a ton already - you always hear that you show earlier with the second and this has definitely been true for me! More of a pregnancy update to come soon! 

We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families and friends and wish you a Merry Christmas as the season quickly approaches. Love to all!