Girl fun!

Audrey and I have had a few days of good, quality, girly time. On Sunday afternoon, Audrey and I decided to do a little cooking, so she made some cookies for us. She really did do a lot of the work. I helped her measure the ingredients, but she poured and mixed them together. Now my kitchen reflected her efforts too (no pictures of the evidence, sorry). But just to give you a visual...think 2 cups of oatmeal all over the counters and floor; milk splashed everywhere; cocoa powder on the cabinets, floor and our clothing...but I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!! And the cookies turned out delicious!

Audrey even got the pleasure of licking the spoons :)

This little lady is such a mess. She always keeps us laughing.

She loves lollipops, so on occasion she gets to have one. And this is the result!

The Pumpkin Patch

Audrey has been constantly asking to go to the pumpkin patch. So we braved the cold and wind Saturday to take her to one near our home. Of course, since it has been raining daily for the past month it was rather muddy, but she didn't care.

This place has numerous animals that she could feed and pet as well as selecting a pumpkin from their patch.

She had a blast!! Corey and I chased her around with our teeth chattering.

Afterward, we enjoyed a lunch at Applebee's before sending Corey on his way to work the COLD Alabama game that night.

22 weeks...and shame on me!!!!!!!

I am now 22 weeks. On the "downhill slide", as I try to remind myself. For some reason this pregnancy has seemed sooooo loooonnnnggg! I'm sure toward the end and say otherwise.

Other than being exhausted all.the.time, I am doing okay. Miss Addison Brooke is beginning to kick and move up a storm. Her most active time is late evening when I finally sit on the couch to rest. She also kicks around a lot when I have Audrey sitting on my lap.

Here is what the websites are saying:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in.

And my photo at 22 weeks:

We have tried to start preparing Audrey for the arrival of her baby sister. She talks about a baby sister, but I am not sure how much she really comprehends. I have a couple of picture books that we read to her which talks about a new sibling being born. Audrey seems to take that in pretty well. Audrey is such a smart child, but I am not quite sure how much to try to explain. I'm trying to let her take the lead most of the time.

Any suggestions or ideas on handling that would be greatly appreciated!!!

Now on to the 'shame on me'... I totally forgot to post ultrasound pictures of Addison. Of course that is not the only thing I have forgotten recently. They aren't kidding when they say you get 'pregnancy brain'. At least I am using that as my excuse.

So... here is a little glimpse of our sweetie-

It's a............

GIRL!!!!

That's right. Another little princess will be joining our family. Her name will be Addison Brooke.

The ultrasound showed that all looks great. Get this...even my placenta is in the "right" place!!!! Yay, God!!! I've given lots of prayer to that specifically. With Audrey I had placenta previa, so the doctor was fairly certain that I would have the same with this one. Praise the Lord, that looks okay.

I am now 20 weeks along and there is no doubt I am pregnant. Miss Addison is beginning to move around much more now. I'm not quite what I would describe as uncomfortable yet, but I am noticing that everyday tasks are becoming more difficult.

According to the websites, she is about the size of a cantaloupe. Kind of strange to think about that. At the ultrasound, Addison weighed approximately 13 ounces.

From Babycenter.com:
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel . (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.) He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system.

Audrey seems excited about having a baby sister. She called most of my family to tell them the good news. She was so cute saying "I'm gonna have a baby sister". I'm not sure how much of it she understands, but I know she will be a wonderful big sister.

My next appointment I will have to do the glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes (which I had when I was pregnant with Audrey). I am praying that this time I will not have to worry about that.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement! It is greatly appreciated.

Excited, Anxious, Nervous...

That about sums up my feelings right now. Our big "20 week" ultrasound is scheduled for Monday. I can't wait. I am excited in hopes that we will find out the gender and that all is well. Nervous is an understatement. They will be checking for possible problems that I had during my pregnancy with Audrey. I would greatly appreciate your prayers on that day.

By the way, the poll on my blog is closed and it looks like "boy" squeaked by with a win. Here at work and among my friends it is about a 50/50 vote. I have no idea- one day I am convinced it is a girl and the next I would bet it is a boy. I am going to be surprised and extremely happy either way, as long as it is healthy.

Stay tuned! I will post as soon as I find out something. Please keep praying :)