Big Sister and "Her Baby"

Jenna is definitly becoming a big sister, and we are learning the ups and downs even before "her baby" (which is what she has decided we all call baby Reece) is here!
Jenna has always been the baby since she was a baby. It was just me and her up until Mike and I met when she was 2 when she became daddy's girl, and Kade's little sister. She has been the only grandchild living near my family up until last month, so every holiday and get together she is the center of attention. Needless to say the world has revolved around her for 7 years... and she is learning all of a sudden that is changing. Mommy can't carry her everywhere, on Easter the baby got just as many gifts as her, and now we are making plans that include having to think about a new baby.
She has asked a lot about her role in all this, but as much as I feared her not liking the change she seems to be excited for the new responsibility. She likes that she will get to take care of the baby, and like that she will have a sibling that is with her all year around... we will see how she feels when the baby is 4 and following her around lol

Her latest thing is that she is   wanting to know how the baby feels, what the baby wants to eat, and what she can do for the baby. She will get me food in the morning if she gets downstairs before me, reminds me I have to take the baby's vitamins, and will ask what the baby wants for dinner.... I no longer have an opinion ;)
She loves sitting on my lap and cuddling more than she ever have, so that the baby will kick her. And she likes to read the baby bump books, so that "her baby" is smart when born!
She gets so mad if I call the baby he when referring to it ..."if it is a girl she will be so sad mom"! She says she wants a girl, but thinks it's a boy. She hopes it looks like her!
I know that we will go through ups and downs as they get older and she moves into the role of big sister, but I am truly in love with how excited she is too meet "her baby"!
I have been looking for ways to make the birth and days in the hospital extra special for my sweet girl, so any ideas would be much appreciated!

Well we are almost to May which means getting to see daddy, but until then me and his babies are enjoying this bonding time! We have been so well taken care of, and the guys from Mike's shop are my new heroes (Thank you Sean, Jake, Rich, and Jones)!
 I am loving my 2nd trimester and how active baby Reece is!
The Nursery is coming together (pics to come) and Gender Reveal Party invites go out this weekend (thanks to the amazing Jammie)!
Tonight Sara is taking me on a date to get maternity massages... so excited!
 

Easter

On Saturday the kids colored eggs and played in the Sunshine while
  Sara and I made lots of pastel colored snacks for Easter Lunch!  

Our morning picture for daddy..
 it is getting hard to fit all 3 of his loves into one shot ;)

            

 Sunday was a busy family filled fun day! We had breakfast with Grandma Sue and Auntie Mandi who spoiled Jenna and Baby Reece with lots of presents! 

We went to church and enjoyed a beautiful service
(This video Easter brought tears to my eyes when they played it during worship)
The gift of Easter is such a humbling sacrifice that it always seems hard to worship our Savior adequately on Easter Sunday, but I hope that everyone was able to feel His amazing spirit this Easter!
  HE IS RISEN INDEED! 

Then we had my family over for Easter lunch where Jenna got more presents! Most important she got the gift daddy sent... a brand new bike! The best part of my day was talking to my husband on facetime, but lets be honest that is my favorite part of everyday! 

Wyatt likes that there is candy
 on his fruit kabob!

 Jenna and Wyatt played outside most of

 the afternoon while I loved on my sweet niece! 

Jenna loves her new bike!!
Thank you daddy!! 

Cousin Time

I am loving that my brother and his wife have moved to home! They have lived in different states for the last 7 years, so I never got to see them. But now that my brother is out of the Army, they have moved home, and I get to spend as much time with their little ones as I want! Jenna and her cousin have formed an immediate bond that is adorable to watch! She loves playing with him and taking care of him! I personally could hold my niece all day long! She is a little doll, and fits on my bump perfectly to bond with her new baby cousin! I can't wait for them to all grow up together!

Bump Update 7- 22 Weeks

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: At my midwife appointment at 20 weeks I had gained 7lbs, but after being sick for a week at my appointment last week I had lost 3lbs. I have an appointment again this week, and I am honestly hoping that I am back up to my weight from 20 weeks. 

Maternity clothes? Of course! My favorites are some comfy cotton tops that Sara bought me, and Maxi skirts! 

Stretch marks? Nothing new

Sleep: I have slept more the last 2 weeks than I have in my whole adult life! I am definitely loving my snoogle pillow! It wraps around me and baby, and makes my new "shape" a lot easier to make comfortable ;) 

Best moment this week: I got to talk to Mike a bunch this week which always makes everything so much better!

This last weekend was so amazing! I started Saturday going to Kade's soccer game with Sara and my sister in law Mandi. Kade is doing great, and seems to really enjoy playing :)

 Then we took the kids to an Easter Egg Hunt at my family church! The kids had so much fun, and got enough candy to feed an Army! That night Sara, her sister in law Leanne, Mandi, I went to Red Robin and to see Captain America (I am in love with Black Widow). It was so nice to have a kid free girls night :)

Sunday Sara and I took the kids to church and then gardened all afternoon. It was so relaxing to be in the sun and use some of this 2nd trimester energy for good :)

Miss Anything? Still miss my Airman so much! We are almost down to 30 days left!!!! I missed food a lot last week, but I am eating just fine now! 

Movement: SO MUCH!! When I was in the hospital Baby kept kicking the monitor... so my kid :) Anytime I lay down I can feel my little gymnast and if I watch I can actually see baby move! 

Well big sister has decided she wants baby to know her, so she will lay in bed with me and talk to Thing 3 till she gets kicked :) It so sweet to watch how excited she is to meet her baby! 

Food cravings: ummm everything! I love food! No more food aversions just food excitement! I still like meat way more than I did pre pregnancy especially Red Robin's Royal Burger!  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not since being sick last week. I am seriously feeling amazing now! 

Labor Signs: Nope. They put me on an IV last week to make sure that I didn't get dehydrated. Apparently it can put you into preterm labor, but me and baby made it out just fine :)

Belly Button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On and it fits now

Happy or Moody most of the time: Life is good! My baby is growing, my daughter is at such a fun age, I get to see my son once a week even though Mike is gone, and even with our marriage exists via facetime my darling and I are doing so great! I had a lot of time to reflect not working last week and all I could think about is how blessed I am... it makes for a pretty happy outlook! 

Looking forward to: Jammie and I are planning my gender reveal party which happens after Mike comes home, so mostly looking forward to May! But for now I am looking forward to getting back to work this week, and for spoiling Jenna on Easter (Mike bought her a sweet gift and it should be here soon)!! 

Counting Blessings

It has been a long week, but also has been such a blessing! I always try to stop when the dust settles on hard times to look at the big picture, and this time it was easy to see all the good! I was very sick for a few days, but in that time I had so much support it was clear to me how blessed I am!

I have a great husband with an awesome job that he loves that also has amazing health benefits, so I was able to stay in the hospital at no cost. And in my hubby's absence God made sure I was surrounded by love :)

I have a great family! My sister Grace showed up as soon as I needed her one morning to pick up Jenna. My brother drove me home one night, because I didn't feel up to it. My step dad drove all the way to Boise for me late one night even though he had to get up early the next morning. My mom dropped her entire day to sit with me in labor and delivery! And every member of my family helped keep Jenna having a good week while I could not!

I have an amazing team at work who checked on me daily... hourly between James and Nicole :) My boss was completely supportive of me, and everyone made me feel so cared for on my 1st day back today! 

My girlfriends rock! Sara took me to Kade's soccer game, so that I could see him (and got me new shirts to cheer me up). Jammie took Jenna bowling, so she could have fun while I wasn't feeling great (plus she brought me present for Nemo). Megan brought me one of my favorite treats and kept me company. All of my girls checked on me, and were willing to help with whatever I needed! 

Multiple people from Mike's work called to check on me and offered help... most of them live in Mountain Home, but were still there for me :) Thanks Joe, Chris, Jackie, Mandy, Sean, and everyone else from the RANS family who cares for us!

I truly feel so loved and so blessed! I want to thank everyone who text, called, messaged, offered to help, and had my back! There is no way to put into words how hard being without Mike is when I don't feel good, but knowing that I am taking care of removed so much of the burden!!!

Today was great and I am feeling much better! Ready for this weekend to catch up on smiles that I have missed with the huge amount of sleeping I did the last week! 

Thanks again my dear friends! 

Watch Thing 3 Grow

Sort of amazed with how much my little love has grown in the last 20 weeks, and thought I would share a comparison of my 8 week, 11 week, and 19 week ultrasounds :)

April Fools

Of all the holidays to miss my husband you would think that I'd be glad my pain the butt practical joker husband was gone, but it is sorta one of our favorite days. I would take joking around with him today over anything! 
Below is the story of our 1st big April Fools together! 

On April Fools Day 2010, I got home from work and the 1st think I noticed as I walked in the door was my house was spotless! Then I noticed the rose petals on the floor, so I followed them (camera girl following me) up the stairs to my room where there was a beautiful PINK dress, accessories, a rose, and a note saying to get dressed up and be ready to go by 7:15. (I cried)
Then I went into my bathroom and there was a new makeup bag full new makeup with a note from my parents saying, " they love me and my sweet man, and that they support us!" 
So I got ready! I was so excited! I called my friend Amanda so she could calm me down, and then my camera girl (Mandi) got me all ready!
 At 7:15 I answered the door to a nice Italian looking guy with his big white limo! I got in the limo (which was so awesome inside) Then I got a call from my wonderful man saying, and I quote “I wish this was a joke. I am so sorry baby. I was driving down to the restaurant from Ian and Brittany’s house, and was doing 82 in at 55 construction zone which is a misdemeanor reckless driving ticket. I left my wallet in your room when I was getting this all ready. I need you to go get the wallet, and come get me from the police department. I told him I loved him to calm him down then told the limo driver to “take me home!” I really believed him, because Mike never lies! 
I walked in the door in a hurry, and there in my living room surrounded by roses and candles was my wonderful man dressed so handsome in his suit and PINK shirt! On one knee with my PERFECT PINK ROSE GOLD ring! He said, “On this day for fools I am here a fool for you! Will you do me the honor of spending forever with me? I cried then said “I hate you so much, but YES!!!!" 
We kissed a lot, and then went back outside where my lying limo driver waited for us to take us to Chandlers for dinner! 

It was perfect! I could not have asked for a better memory!!! To this day Michael calls himself my flattered fool, and prides himself on teasing me every chance he gets! 
Happy April Fools my darling man!