Life through instagram

The last two weeks or so in pictures! Enjoy :)

tough life ;)

He loves helping me "clean"

Play date at the park with friends from church!

Max also loves to "help" me cook. Please notice the expression on his face...haha

We are slowly but surely learning to use the potty! 

Max loves his Batman mask :) so funny..

Lazy night- movies and snuggling with my babes.

I have been obsessively crocheting lately...

13 weeks

-How far along? 13 weeks

-Maternity clothes? Maternity jeans, still MOST of my regular shirts, leggings (new favorite), and starting into wearing some maternity shirts as well.
-Cravings? any kind of potato, Chipotle burritos.
-Food aversions? Meat...and I don't really expect this to change. When I was pregnant with Max I had to force myself to eat meat in order to get enough protein to keep me from being hungry all the time, and it lasted the entire pregnancy and then some!
-How do you feel? Aside from being hungry all the time (which can get annoying), I feel fantastic!
-Gender prediction? Still leaning towards girl!
-Anything interesting? I am almost positive that I have already felt this sweet little love moving! I know, you aren't supposed to be able to feel baby move until you are 16-20 weeks (maybe a little earlier for second time moms...because you know what to expect), but I swear I have been feeling movement since Sunday afternoon. I only notice it when I am being super still and quiet, but it is an amazing feeling, nonetheless.

I just can't believe how amazing it feels to be a mom already, AND be expecting another little one.  I think it is partially because I know now how incredible it is to be a mom and to experience the type of love you have for your children.  We are already so in love with you, sweet baby. And Max is so funny...I know he doesn't understand much about this whole thing, but his new favorite word is "baby" and he loves rubbing my belly.  It is a little bit scary, and also very exciting, to think about having 2 kids under the age of 2 (even if it will only be for about a month), but I just feel so blessed and I know that this is what God wants for our family.  Please be praying for us all throughout this pregnancy...I still have a lot of anxiety about all things related to baby number 2, but I am trying really hard to just let go and let God take care of it...and I really want to be able to just soak up all these moments and just love being pregnant. 

As my sister-in-law, Chelsea, says- I'm "a giant" :)

12 weeks

-How far along? 12 weeks
-Maternity clothes? Maternity jeans, still my regular shirts (some are feeling a little short) and a couple of maternity tank tops.
-Cravings? Still obsessed with orange juice. Cake, veggies of any kind (especially Lima beans and potatoes). Weird...I never really had many cravings with Max!
-Food aversions? Meat, especially if I have to cook it. Anything really greasy, or really unhealthy (like fast food and convenience food at home...excluding sweets)....still pretty much the same from last week.
-How do you feel? Pretty good! I still have to make sure I eat before I am really hungry, but I have been feeling really great in the past week :) still tired, but that's to be expected with a toddler running around AND being 12 weeks pregnant!
-Gender prediction? Ok, so now I'm beginning to agree with the "girl" feeling that everyone else has. With Max, I never told anyone, but I KNEW he was going to be a boy before we ever found out. I could be totally wrong, and I'd truly be happy either way, but I do feel like this baby is all "sugar and spice and everything nice."
-Anything interesting? Not really :) I have been trying to drink way more water and be healthier in general, which is a bit of a challenge for me. I have completely cut out caffeine since knowing we were expecting, but I am addicted to decaf sweet tea. My new goal is to drink 96 oz of water a day (which is not a random number...my water bottle of choice is 24oz and my doctor says I need close to 100oz of water/liquid a day, so, I will fill it and drink it 4 times), as well as trying to go walking every day now that it's finally starting to cool off in the evenings. I am determined that this time around I will be as healthy as possible so I can feel good for as long as possible!

Life through instagram

My sweet sister-in-law, Chelsea, just posted a blog with instagram photos from her wedding day (she and my brother got married a little more than a month ago!!) and it inspired me. I post tons of pictures of our everyday life on instagram, but I rarely put them anywhere else!
So...I wanted to share some of the more recent instagram happenings in the life of our little family :) hopefully I can post some of these about once a week or so!

Some of these are just from random summer activities (grilling out, learning about spiders, etc.) and some are from our recent trip to Wilkes for Ruby's birthday party...hope you enjoy your little peak into our lives!

11 weeks

-How far along? 11 weeks
-Maternity clothes? I've been in maternity jeans for a couple of weeks now! So different from being pregnant the first time around. Still wearing most of my normal shirts, but I feel huge!
-Cravings? Chipotle! Ice cream, orange juice, fruit.
-Food aversions? Meat, especially if I have to cook it. Anything really greasy, or really unhealthy (like fast food and convenience food at home...excluding sweets).
-How do you feel? I have been having some nausea this time around (I wasn't sick at all with Max), but it seems to have been much better in the last week. At this point I'm just tired! I find myself napping with Max about once a day :)
-Gender prediction? I don't have one, but everyone around me swears it's a girl.
-Anything interesting? We went to the doctor and heard the babe's heartbeat for the first time this past Thursday. He/she has a strong heartbeat and it was 168bpm. We also found out that we are not at any increased risk for having any umbilical cord issues this time around just because we had them with Max. Apparently it is just a random occurrence! We go back to the doctor September 5 to listen to the heartbeat again, and will have an ultrasound when I'm about 18 weeks along.

A family of FOUR!!!

That's right, y'all...we are expecting a second baby Brown, due to arrive March 4, 2013!! We are so very excited and can't wait to be a family of four!

I'm going to be (trying) to post a lot more often on here, even though I'm a blog slacker, because I have really enjoyed being able to go back and read my entries from when I was pregnant with Max.

Below are the pictures we used to announce everything on Facebook, etc.

Welcome home!

So, I haven't posted on here in a while...oops!

Change of plans! A while back I posted that we would be staying in the same apartment we are in now for a while, but that has all changed :)

While doing laundry at my friend Grace's house Tuesday, I noticed a "for rent" sign for another townhouse in her neighborhood. We decided to take a look, and scheduled an appointment to go see it. We showed up at the townhouse a few minutes ahead of the scheduled 1:00pm appointment (hubby is always early) and we waited. And waited. Nobody else ever showed up. Nick noticed that somebody was in the house and was looking at us through a window, so we rang the doorbell. It turns out it was the current tenant, who had heard nothing from the landlord about our appointment. We didn't even go inside, and we didn't care to. Who wants a landlord who doesn't show up to your appointment?

At this point we were a little frustrated, and a lot discouraged. We ran some errands, and drove through a sweet little neighborhood close to the Lowe's that Nick works at on the way home. What can I say? It was just meant to be. We saw this sweet little house that was obviously updated and well maintained...with a "for rent" sign out front. I immediately called the number, and made an appointment to see it 30 minutes later. We loved it. But we were in competition with 2 other people who also loved it, and it was all left up to the landlady. Turns out, she loved us...and she called me last night and told me we got it!

It really is perfect. Completely new inside, washer and dryer, stainless appliances, and beautiful tile and hardwood floors. And Max and I can easily walk to Lowe's when Nick is at work :) Perfect.

Oh. And the same day, my sweet brother and (future) sister in law found out they got the apartment they were hoping to be starting their new life together in. God is so so good.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think"
Ephesians 3.20