Wearing Green

I know, I know, I haven't posted in forever but the D's can't seem to sit still long enough and once I am sitting it's not long enough to update our blog.  However, I had a few minutes so I thought I'd catch up on what's been going on.  My sweet girls are growing, growing, growing!  That includes all of them...Stella, Bella and BLD!  Stella is constantly learning new words, phrases and expressions and she keeps us in stitches.  Bella is into digging for moles and now that it's spring time, the lizards have returned to taunt her.  And lil BLD is kicking up a storm and moving all around.  We are SO excited and anxious to meet her!  Now if we could just get the nursery done we'll be doing okay.

 Ouisa (our friend, Beth) and her parents came in town for St. Patrick's Day and she and Stella hit it off.  They were two peas in a pod for sure.

 We had a great time at the D's annual St. Patrick's Day Party and Stella was definitely the Belle of the Ball as usual. 

 The whole fam decked out in GREEN for St. Pat's!

Baby Girl D #2 Update

So I realized I haven't really written about Baby #2 or posted any "bump" pics so I thought I'd give you a quick update on my progress.  I've been feeling great and growing quickly.   First photo - I'm about 16-18 weeks along

 This photo is at 21 weeks - over halfway there.

I'm currently at 25 weeks.  {I promise to take another "bump" pic soon!!}  It's crazy how fast this pregnancy is going by.  I guess when your life is as busy as ours it can't help but fly by.  I'm working part-time, being a mommy to a busy 2 year old, trying to be an attentive and supportive wife, chairing our Junior League's Celebration Party that is scheduled for April, oh and we have our house on the market.  Whew - I'm one tired mama!  With that being said, I've enjoyed every moment of this pregnancy.  I've tried to soak it all in even though the days are flying by faster than I can think.   And one thing that would make me super happy is if our house would sell w/in the next month or so - just in time to get a new house, create a beautiful nursery for this sweet baby before she arrives.  One can hope and pray, right?!  Thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated!


OH and I forgot a very important part of this post...we've decided on this sweet baby girl's name!!  However, we're not telling until she's born.  LOL  BUT, I can fill you in on her initials...BLD!  We are super excited that we were able to use family names again for our sweet daughter and we're falling more and more in love w/ her name every day.  I can't wait to share it w/ everyone on her birthday!  Only 3 short months to go!!

"The Greatest Show on Earth"

So this post is about a month late but I'm slowly catching up.  ha!

We decided Stella would enjoy this circus this year so we bought tickets and took our "first" train ride to the arena.

 At first Stella wasn't too sure about the train but as soon as we started moving she was in awe.

 She loved checking out all of the sites we passed - the cars rushing by, the trees and the people.

 We finally arrived at the arena!  Stella and daddy ventured off and quickly came back w/ a ring master hat and a huge thing of cotton candy.  Daddy's a sucker! ;)

 However, every penny spent was well worth it to see Stella enjoying the sites and sounds of her very first circus experience.  

 And of course, YaYa spoiled her and got her a souvenir.

 AND, Daddy got to keep the ring master hat so he was a happy camper too.  LOL

It's a...

On Friday, January 20th, Kyle, Stella and I headed to my monthly doctor's appointment - except this time it wasn't just any check up.  It was to see whether Stella would have a brother or a sister.  Prior to this day if you asked Stella if she was having a brother or a sister she would always say brother.  However, on the way to the appointment she kept saying "No like it baby sister!!"  Was that a sign?!  {She really hates doctors offices so I think that's why she was saying it.}

We decided to do a special gender reveal party to share our exciting news w/ our closest friends and family.  This way everyone could find out together. We did very light appetizers and then those that could join us went out to Nakatos - my fave Japanese restaurant where they cook in front of you.

 The proud soon-to-be BIG SISTER!

 I made a board that said "Girl OR Boy" and had our friends and family write their names on little girl dolls or boy dolls.  The majority of the crowd thought boy!

 All my sweet friends and their kiddos.  We make some cute babies! ;)

 Then, it was time to cut the cake!!

 I called our cupcake/cake lady and had her make a cake based on what we found out - either pink or blue.   

 IT'S A GIRL!!!

 We are once again so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends and family members!

 We're so thrilled that Stella's going to have a baby sister!  She may have had a hunch on our way to my appointment - who knows?!  Either way we're super excited and so blessed to have another beautiful, healthy baby girl coming into our family.  

Surprise 60th Birthday

For my aunt's 60th birthday, we decided to surprise her w/ a trip to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.  And boy did we have F-U-N!!!  My mom and I traveled to my aunt's house on New Year's Eve and enjoyed a nice dinner just the three of us.  New Year's Day we got up and hit the road to Orlando.  We passed many "Gamecock cars" on the way down.  However, this truck was a little confused - it had Nebraska magnets and Gamecock magnets.

 After a LONG detour (we were following my uncle, enough said!!) we finally arrived at our condo!  YAY!

 We quickly changed and freshened up and headed to the pep rally!  So much fun to see all the Gamecock fans gather together to hoot and holler.

 The next day was game day and it turned out to be a GORGEOUS day!

 We arrived at our tailgate spot and quickly began setting up.

 My uncle doesn't mess around when it comes to tailgating.  We had banners - one even autographed by Alshon himself!!

 The guy that parked beside us brought his entire sound system and played every USC song known to man.  My aunt instantly made friends w/ this hilarious woman (who was more "fabulous" than Joan Rivers {lol}) and Sandstorm came on and they had a ball!  LOL

 We had awesome seats thanks to my uncle.  (See, he IS good for something! LOL JK!!!)

 And the Gamecocks pulled out yet another victory so it made our trip that much sweeter!!

Happy 60th Birthday, Sandra!  Hope your year is full of magical and wonderful memories!  Love you!

Meet Rudy, the Elf

Santa sent us our very own Elf on the Shelf and this year, he really came to life.  Check out just a few of the fun places he appeared at around our house.

Stella is STILL asking every once in a while, "Where's Rudy?!"  Needless to say, we loved having Rudy around this Christmas and can't wait til he comes back again this year.  

Christmas Festivities

Being a part-time working, nauseous-experiencing first trimester, expecting mommy has been hard to adjust to.  BUT, I think I've finally gotten the hang of it and I'm not sleepy and puking at 6 p.m. every night now so maybe the blogging will pick back up.  So, for now I'll catch you up on what we've been up to over the past few weeks.  **Warning - photo overload!**

We searched for the perfect Christmas tree.

Tried to untangle all the lights.

Took precious pics of our adorable children.  Yes, Bella is still considered one of our children. ;)

Enjoyed the RH Christmas Parade w/ Yaya and Pop Pop.

Went to the Edward Jones and Junior Welfare League Christmas parties.  In the same outfits mind you.  {Hey, my dresses don't come close to fitting these days thanks to my precious bump I'm sporting.}

Luxed Yaya & Pop Pop's tree.  SO beautiful and I love this tradition.

Some even joined Santa's crew of reindeer.

Had Christmas arts and crafts time.

 Enjoyed a yummy brunch at the club and was greeted by Santa himself.

 Someone loves posing for pics.

 More arts and crafts time.  Thanks Pinterest!

 We built our very own gingerbread house.  And enjoyed eating the candy off of it too!

 Had "coffee" in a Santa coffee mug.

 Had a blast on a fun play date w/ the boys.

 More Christmas arts and crafts time thanks to Pinterest.

 And then, it was finally Christmas Eve!  We celebrated Christmas w/ the D's on Christmas Eve and loved every second of it.

 Afterwards, we headed home and quickly put out reindeer food and cookies for Santa so they would be SURE to stop by our house.

 And Santa DEFINITELY didn't skip over our house.  Our tree was surrounded by tons of fun gifts for the whole family.  Especially one precious princess.

 Not sure why but this pic is turned.  Stella got drums, a guitar and headphones - just like The Fresh Beat Band.  We have our very own rockstar!!

 Then it was on to Columbia for Round 2 at Granma & Papa's house where we scarfed down a yummy breakfast that Papa made and quickly opened presents.  We were all spoiled once again.  The D's must have been good this year!

 Then we headed to Mimi & Steve's for Round 3 w/ the McMichael clan.  The kiddos were too cute this year.  Hard to believe that next year there will be another one added in the mix.

 All the kiddos enjoyed a dance party w/ Great!  Especially Stella - she copied EVERYTHING Great did.  It was hilarious!

 The final stop on Christmas Day was at my Aunt Joan's house for Round 4.  I'm so glad we were able to spend time w/ my grandparents, aunt and cousins.  There are 4 great grands on this side so we decided to just do gifts for the children and it was perfect.  They had a ball and we loved watching them open presents and play together.

What a special Christmas we had.  Our last one as a family of 3.  That sounds so weird to say and while it makes me sad, I'm SUPER excited about next Christmas w/ our new little one and to be a family of 4.