The suspense is killing you, I'm sure

It is 1:00am on Saturday now, and I am just getting the time to let everyone know our news. We went to the doctor this morning and found out Mallory is going to have a little....

SISTER!

She looked perfect on the sonogram and weighs 13 ounces right now. She talked to us (opened and closed her mouth), showed us her girl parts in a very obvious way and was pretty active in there! I haven't really felt her move much, but just looking at her during the sonogram, you wouldn't know it! Everything looks great and I am just 2 days off of my due date, so I'm right on track.

Don't let the smile fool you folks. Brad had the same reaction this time as he did with Mallory. Of course, we are SO thankful to be pregnant again and to participate in the "miracle of life"...but, every guy wants a little guy, so there was a teensy bit of bummer. I had mentioned to Brad about a month ago that I might want to wait until the big day to find out what the baby was. He replied with a firm "no" and said he needed the 4 1/2 months to prepare if it was another girl. So, I guess he will have his time to prepare:)

A sweet little dress for a sweet little baby girl coming our way!

After the appointment, we headed out of town to go to a family function in Frisco. We decided not to tell any of Brad's family until we got there. I bought pink and blue shirts ahead of time yesterday and once we found out, we dressed accordingly (it took a lot to get Brad to wear a pink shirt!!). It was pretty fun to see everyone's reactions.

Here is the family of "pink":

And in other exciting news....our Target opened early! Woo hoo! It opened on Wednesday, but the grand opening is on Sunday. I've already been twice and love it...of course! This is a goofy picture, but it captures my excitement of having Target 5 minutes away now, instead of the 25 minute drive to Killeen.

We are thrilled about the new baby girl coming in December. The name isn't 100% yet. We are pretty close to deciding on it. I guess it's time to work on Mallory's big girl room and get ready for the new one to come home! Yikes! It's real!!

Where do you want to eat for dinner?

I dread this question. I am indecisive. I don't have "favorites" of anything really, I can never pick a restaurant to eat at and usually always pick standbys, I can't ever think of hobbies that I like to do or music I like to listen to etc. A "middle of the road" kind of gal. I lived with another indecisive girl my last year in college (not a good combination). We could never think of a place to eat, so she wrote down all of the restaurants in Abilene, put them in a jar, and this was how we picked out the place. But, the sad part is if it wasn't really something we wanted, we would just go to Taco Bueno instead. Sad, sad.

This isn't necessarily a bad trait to have, but sometimes it drives me nuts. I am somewhat envious of people that can pick out their favorite colors, foods, flowers etc. The profile on my blog was left blank intentionally:)

But, I have recently found something that I can honestly say I enjoy doing...sewing! I won't say that whenever I sit down to do a project I get giddy with excitement. I usually procrastinate and wait until the last minute. But, once I start (and complete something) I really like it!

Here is my newest addiction: burp rags. I made my first set back when my sister in law was pregnant with our niece Julia. Now, and when I have the time, it is my favorite thing to give to mommies of new babies. Each time I make them, they are a little more "professional" and creative. This is the newest set that I made last week for a baby girl arriving in August:



So there. I have now decided that sewing is something I enjoy doing. I can breathe a sigh of relief. I have found a "favorite".

It's a long one folks!

We have had a fun week and a half...too bad Brad hasn't! He is at his 6th (if you count each session individually) and final soccer camp of the summer. Poor guy. It's good money, but it really has worn him out this summer.

The fun part was getting to go with him to Abilene last week while he worked at Hardin Simmons. Mallory and I stayed with Tim and Kara while Brad bunked in the dorms on campus. I am now on a detox diet from Ding Dongs and Coke! Holy cow. This next doctor's appointment shall be interesting. I hadn't gained any weight yet as of my last appointment...I think I gained 5 pounds just in the last week...thanks Kara!

Anyway. We had a fun 4 days with the Richardsons. No trip is complete without bath pictures of the kiddos. Here is Mallory and Brooke bonding and being modest.

Since none of us were able to come to any of the birthday parties for the girls, we had a belated (and early) birthday party for them. Kaylee turned 2 in March, Mallory 1 June 5, Brooke 1 June 16 and Noelle just had her first birthday July 18. Fun! We put 5 candles on the cake and let them dig in. The tricky part was keeping their hands out of the fire from the candles. Why do babies grab everything???

Kara has the coolest tunnel for the kids to play in. It's especially cool because it is cute! Isn't that a girly thing to say? Mallory was scared to crawl through it at first, but once she did, she loved it! I didn't plan it, but notice how well coordinated my child is in her orange dress???

Our only trip out with all 3 girls was on Friday. We went to Hickory Street Cafe (for all of you Abilene folks out there) for lunch, Classic Collections for some shopping (where I accidentally shoplifted some recipe cards...oops!) and then home because everyone was tired and it was raining. Kaylee sat in the middle to keep an eye on Brooke and Mallory for us. She was being very sweet and held their hands. Brooke wasn't really in the mood...typical younger sister!

Later on Friday, we went by HSU to see Brad in all his glory during the "World Cup Night". He has become quite famous for his politically incorrect costumes over the years. This year, his team was from Kazakhstan and he attempted to dress as Borat. It was pretty humorous. Some of my favorites from the past years: Saudi Arabia (he dressed in a red bathrobe, curly black beard and completed the look with a turban...all while the news came out and caught him on video...lovely) and Cuba 2 years ago (he was Fidel Castro and shaved his goatee off but left a moustache....yikes!) Here's a family photo. Mallory wasn't too sure of who this man was with her mommy....

We left Abilene last Saturday and headed to my parent's house while Brad left Abilene to head to A&M again. There aren't any pictures of our time there because the grandparents do such a good job, I always forget to get out my own camera. Oops. Mallory enjoyed her time with Mimi and Grandpa. She got to go swimming and dunked her head under water! We got to see Tate a lot and ate at yummy restaurants with Aunt Kelly.

We also saw more of my friends and Mallory's friends. On Tuesday, we met Brooke (and baby Hall), Lori and her little girl Faith for lunch. It was a fun time and will just get even more fun after December with the new babies in the group! I will second what Brooke said on her blog, we missed you Meredith (and Hayden and Ella). It wasn't the same without all four of us together.

And literally since last week, her vocabulary has grown quite a lot. I'm thinking hanging out with a 2 year old helps a lot! Over the week she said (for the first time): Night, night (nigh, nigh), Tate (you have to listen kind of hard for this one), Banana (nana) and Doggie. That doesn't look like a lot of words, but it seemed like she just all of a sudden started talking...a lot!

And now we are home. It's nice to be away to have help with the kiddo, but I am usually ready to sleep in my own bed and get back to our routine. So, last night after I put Mallory down for bed, did I sit back and watch TV (yes, I watched the Victoria Beckham show...shameful!)? And I also re-organized my kitchen! I have been meaning to do this for quite a while, but found the time last night for some reason. So, my pantry and cabinets are now pretty. We'll see how long that lasts.

The above picture probably needs some explaining. Mallory is really into sorting things. She will hand you blocks one by one and then put them back in the container the same way. So, while I was blow drying my hair, I thought this box of feminine supplies would keep her busy...and it did!

Here is my first belly shot at 18 1/2 weeks. I think when I was pregnant with Mallory I had already taken 3 pictures by this time. Poor second child! Speaking of second child...we find out what Froggie is in exactly one week! I can't believe it's almost here. It's gone by really fast so far. Crazy. And, since we are talking about upcoming events, our new Target opens one week from Sunday! I might be just as excited about that!



One last picture. Mallory has started signing "Please" without us even asking. I was sitting on the floor with her and she handed (threw) me a book and then signed please for me to read to her. When she first started signing, I didn't really think she knew exactly what she was signing (I thought she would just equate it to food), but now I'm convinced she has put it together. I was taking her picture earlier and she kept signing please for me to take one more. So smart!

This is me and Brad last night on our date! The dates have been few and far between, but for some reason, we've been able to go on 2 in the last week and a half! I've had to learn to just suck it up and ask people to babysit Mallory (not that it is that hard, she is a cutie pie). I guess we just feel like we are inconveniencing people. Blah, blah. We know that it's not and we should do it more often. Anyway. Back to the date. We just had dinner at the Cotton Patch (we split dinner so we could splurge later!) and then saw Evan Almighty (here's where we splurged with the popcorn and coke...mmmm!). It was a fun 3 hours and even more fun because we took our "new" car! We've been sharing the 4 Runner since we sold Brad's truck. With soccer season approaching, we knew there would be no way that we could still share a car (well, we probably could, but I would be a basket case in the house all day!), so we started looking. Brad found an older Jeep Wrangler to get him from work and the house. Perfect! And a lot of fun on a summer night might I add...with the top off and wind blowing your hair crazy!

Here's a picture from our drive home...the sun starting to set, a slightly cooler breeze and riding around town with my man...nothing better!


And, since I haven't posted many new pictures of the Big Sister, here are a couple from the last few days. She is getting quite adventurous with her climbing and she is showing off some of her new "tricks". What fun this age is...I think she learns something new everyday!

I had mentioned before that she will give you a hug if you ask when you are holding her...now she will give a hug to anything you tell her to. She will literally stop crawling and hug the carpet...or stuffed animal...or your leg...it's pretty sweet! She's hugging her bear (obviously).

Since my sister had a baby and I occasionally have playgroups over here, I've kept some of Mallory's "baby" stuff out. Well, I guess she thinks they are toys. That is fine with me! It keeps her occupied. She figured out how to sit in her Bumbo the other day. The only problem is when she wants to get out her booty and thighs get stuck and that makes her mad! I thought her face was cute here too.

Seriously? ESPN has a "Rock, Paper, Scissors" Championship? What?

Tag

I'm in a blogging slump. I just don't feel like there's anything really interesting to blog about. I could tell you all about what Mallory is doing (like playing peek-a-boo all the time, giving the best kisses-"mmmmmwaaaa!", throwing her head back in the shopping cart so you will tickle her neck, saying "duck"), but we know that isn't fun to hear about:)

I guess I will answer my sister's tag....

First Memory: I have my sister's memory problem...but I think I remember when I busted my forehead open after swinging from our mantel. Mom says that there was blood everywhere and it came from a tiny little gash right at my hairline. I think I remember laying on the couch with a washcloth on my head (but it could just be from stories). I still have a little scar, and probably needed stitches, but oh well.


First Real Kiss: I was a late bloomer. It was when I was 15. I won't divulge his name because I know several people that read my blog that know him! It was at my parent's house on the couch!

First Concert: New Kids on the Block! I got tickets for my 10th (or 11th) birthday. Box seats at the Astrodome in Houston. I had seen their music videos before with all the girls crying...so I thought that was what you were supposed to do at concerts. So, naturally when the lights went down and guys ran out on the stage, I started crying...until I realized it was the opening band and there were only 3 of them...and they were African American! Oops. I didn't cry when the New Kids ran out on stage. The moment had passed:)

First Love: Brad! We officially said "it" on December 30, 1999. Both of us were nervous!

First crush: Oh my word! Who didn't I have a crush on? My real crazy crush was a guy named Nick. He was a football player. I was in the 6th grade, he was in 7th. I would get giddy as I waited outside of his classroom (since my class was in there next) and just try to get a look from him. What a dork!

First thing you think in the morning: Already? Even though Mallory sleeps 12ish hours every night, I can always use a little more shut eye.

First book you remember loving: Ramona Quimby books and Just So Long as We're Together by Judy Blume-the first book that made me cry (every time I read it!)

First pet:Brandi, a golden retriever. Technically, it was my sister's dog since we got her on her birthday. She was a good dog!

First question you'll ask in Heaven: Why me?

First thing you think of when you hear the word vacation: Where and when?

First best friend: Chad and Theresa in North Richland Hills

Last time you dressed up: My wedding? Ha! Probably church a couple of weeks ago.

Last thing you ate: A bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats

Last CD you bought: I can't remember the last time I bought a CD. I did download some Itunes for Brad's Father's Day present

Last book you read: Do "Parents" magazines count?

Last time you cried: Listening to some of the songs I downloaded for Brad's Father's Day present. They were songs for him and Mallory. There is one by Heartland about a little girl on her wedding day. Her dad is telling her future husband that he loved her first and to take care of her...oh man, I may cry just thinking about it!

Last movie you saw: Shrek the third. It was pretty good!

Last time you told someone you loved them: About 30 minutes ago when Brad called.

Last really funny thing you did: For some reason, I can't think of anything. Usually there are a lot! Mallory thought it was funny when I blew in her face yesterday while we were standing in line at Wal-Mart.

Last thing you watched on TV: What Not to Wear is on the TV right now.

Last Halloween costume: A cave woman outfit my sophomore year in college. Yes, we went trick or treating. Dorks!

Last Concert attended: The African Children's Choir performed at our church around Christmas last year. Does that count?

I think you are supposed to tag someone...so, if you want to do it, I tag Meredith, Sarah, Alison and Brooke!