It's a. . .

girl!!!!

Yep, that's right. We are going to have one of each & couldn't be anymore excited! My mama instinct was definitely right on this one. I just knew it was a girl. And I'm super glad I was right. Don't get me wrong, it would have been wonderful to have 2 little boys. But this baby just might be our last, so getting to experience raising one of each, will definitely be fun! ♥

I'm sooo excited to have a little girl! All the headbands & bows, dresses, girly outfits, cutesy shoes, PINK!!! Ahh, I just can't wait to start shopping & preparing for this little lady! And I am finally not going to be out numbered. haha. Ryan will have Bransyn to do all the boy things with, & I'll have baby girl to do all the fun girly things with. Of course, Brans will always be a mama's boy, {at least I hope!} & I'm sure this baby is gonna be the biggest daddy's girl! So it will be just perfect.

Her first name will be revealed when she is born, but her middle name is {98% sure} going to be Mae. The only thing stopping me from making that 100%, is because I'm not sure if it would be stupid to make her middle name the same month she is born in, just spelled different. But I might just not care ;)


Anyways, here are a few more pictures of our baby girl. They aren't the greatest, because she did NOT want to move out of the position she was in. No matter how much the U/S tech poked at & shook her, haha. She was quite comfy curled up, upside down with her head laying on the placenta. Actually, more like burried in the placenta. We could only see half of her face, because the other half was hiding (: Oh well, maybe next time!


The side of her face. Like I said, you can't see it too well.

Not sure how well everyone else can tell, but there are definitely ten little toesies right there!!! (: I have counted them many times ;)



This was the position she refused to move out of. (feet curled up at the top & head at the bottom) haha, must be super comfy!

She had her hands up above her head pretty much the whole time. I love that you can see her little pinky finger sticking out in this one ♥


Laying upside down with her legs crossed!

Black Fridayyyyyyy

This year was my very first time going 'Black Friday' shopping! I wasn't going to go, cause I don't care to stand out in the cold, in a huge crowd getting pushed & shoved, just to save $3 on something. (okay, so most deals are a bit better than that ;) but just sayin') But I found out that the outlet stores in town opened at 11pm Thursday night, so I thought it wouldn't be too bad to go see if I could find some clothes for Bransyn, for a good deal. (since the Children's Place is my favorite place to shop for him lately. Also, Gymboree & Osh Kosh have some cute clothes sometimes, too!) And since there are so many stores there, it wouldn't be too crowded walking outside, & inside the stores. We arrived about 20 minutes before the stores were supposed to open, but surprisingly, Osh Kosh was already open, so we headed in there. I didn't find a whole lot in there, but everything was 10% off of already lowered prices. So I got Brans some jeans & a cute shirt. Amanda also got a few things for Camden. My mom had an extra 20% off (I believe?) a purchase of $50 or more, so we just combined our stuff to save more! I ended up paying about $12 for the whole outfit. The only thing I have to complain about at Osh Kosh, was the line we were in. The computer crashed, or something. so it took for EVER. There were people that got through the other line before we did, that we saw walk into the store after we were already in line. it was ridiculous. Oh well though (:
Next, we went to Gymboree. The whole store was 25% off. I found some cute shirts that were already marked down & I ended up getting them for $3 each! I got 6 total, so I spent (with tax) $19 & some change. The line in there was INSANE, though. Wrapped around the whole store. But still, I could not pass up $3 shirts!
After we were done there, we were waiting to go to a drawing they were having. They had one at 1am, 2am & 3am. The winners got a gift card for all of the stores. So needless to say, we stayed to see if we won any of them. We didn't :( So through out the whole time we were there, we did those at those 3 times. We were even gonna leave earlier, but wanted to stay until 3, because that one was a $500 gift card.
After the second drawing, I wanted to see if I could find any shoes for Brans. So we went into Sketchers. They didn't have ANY cute little boy shoes, so I looked at some that I would like. I got some $70 boots for $30! And they are sooo cute! (: That was my favorite deal of the night! I was soo excited. haha.
We also went over to the other shoe store there (I always forget what it's called!) & they didn't have any good boy shoes, either. Boo. So we headed to the last place we needed to go - The Children's Place. Their sales were AMAZING! 50% off of everything. But, the line was literally zig-zagged through ALL of the boys clothes. There was NO way I was able to even look at anything, because there was someone standing right in front of every rack. So we decided that we would do the last drawing, go over to Walmart to see if they had any good toys, then come back so that we could at least look through everything.
My mom wanted to go home after the last drawing, (she was the only one who drove) so me & Amanda met up with Ryan's cousin & his girlfriend who were heading over to Kohls, & they said they'd just drop us off at Walmart while they ran into Kohls.
We walked around Walmart trying to find good deals for ever. The electronics sale hadn't started yet, so it just looked like a normal day through out the store, just with people sitting on blankets & chairs around the thing they wanted when the sale started. I really wanted to get a Shark steam mop, that was advertised for $36 (normally MUCH more!) but we couldn't find them anywhere, & the employee's were NO help, what so ever. We asked 3 different people & they all just told us 'oh look here, look there' didn't even help us look to see if there were any left. Horrible emplyee's, if you ask me! So I ended up getting 2 dvd's for $2 each & a pair of pj's for Bransyn & one for Camden for $4 each. Still pretty good deals!
After that, we headed back over to TCP. The line was MUCH shorter that time, so I got my shop on (: I found a TON of cute stuff, for amazing deals! I can't remember what my total was before they took the Sale prices off (didn't show up on my receipt) but I spent $54 there & got a lot! I also had a 15% off purchase of $50 or more there, but I didn't know about it until the next day! :( So anyways, Bransyn is set on Winter clothes now.
The grand total on what I spent on JUST clothes?
$85
What the total would of been if I would of paid full price for everything?
$250

AMAZINGGGG!

Definitely doing it again next year. SO worth it! (:

16 weeks

{this was about 2 hours after I stuffed myself - since it was Thanksgiving & all - so I'm sure I look a bit bigger! also don't mind me all weird lookin'... I got ready quick, ha}


I have been feeling this little munchkin moving a lot. I can even feel him/her from the outside if my hand is on my belly & I can see some of the movements poking out, too. It gets me sooo excited everytime! I still can't wait for my belly to start going crazy when baby gets bigger! haha.
I have been having reallly bad sciatic nerve pains, lately. Like SO bad that I can barely move or walk when I get them.
I'm pretty sure I already have the pregnant waddle going on. Sometimes from the sciatic nerve pain, but also because, well, cause it's just more comfortable to walk that way! haha. It's not super noticeable yet, but I can tell when I do it.
Still sick. Still tired. Still dizzy. Still annoyed.
hahaha
Ohh pregnancy, how I love it.

Not much to update, really. Sucks when there isn't much change.

BUT. We do find out if we are going to have another little man, or a little lady THIS upcoming Monday! Yayyyy!
My guess is. . .

Girl.
I definitely think that the reason this pregnancy is so different than the last one, is because of the different genders. I really do just have that 'feeling' that it's a girl, too though. At first, I just thought it was wishful thinking, so I thought I was just thinking it was a girl because I want one so bad. But now I just know it (: We'll see in a few days! Can't wait! (:

{almost} 16 week checkup.

I had my 16 week checkup today - a day early. It was with Lisa again, I'm guessing Dr. Lunt was busy. Not a big deal. This is why I really like having the both of them... keeps the waiting time down! haha. Heard the baby's heartbeat again (: LOVE that sound! It's at 153 bpm. Didn't have too much to talk about this time, not many questions since the last time I was seen. That's pretty much all we had to do, so we just chatted for a bit. These earlier appointments aren't too eventful, but it always makes me feel better when I get to hear that sweet little thudding sound. After I left the office, I headed over to Quest Diagnostics to get my blood work done. Which is always my favorite. Okay, not. I can't stand getting blood drawn, or having IV's. I actually hadn't had blood drawn for over 2 years, since I was pregnant with Bransyn! & my last IV was when I had my surgery in August of 09, so it's been a while! I was super nervous & always feel sick to my stomach whenever I have to get it done, so I was kind of afraid I was gonna puke on the phlebotomist, since I was already pretty nauseous from the pregnancy. But as soon as she called my name back, I jumped right up into the chair & stuck my arm out. I've found myself to be a lot braver this pregnancy so far ;) haha. I always hate the initial poke. It hurts. But usually after that part's over, I don't feel anything. Well, not in this case. I don't know if the needle she used was defective or something, or if she was just moving it a lot. She did have to take 4 viles of blood, so it's quite possible when she took one off to put the next on, she moved the needle around a bit. (I know, nice thing to think about huh?) So it KILLED the entire time. I wanted to cry. It started to get worse more towards the end, so I turned my head over by my right shoulder (she was taking the blood out of my left arm) and kind of had a 'stink face' cause it hurt so bad. The lady assumed I was holding my breath & told me not to. BUT I WASN'T HOLDING MY DANG BREATH! She just could not understand it. haha. Anyways, after she was done, she asked me how I was feeling, & at first I felt fine. Then about a minute later, I closed my eyes & tilted my head down & she asked if I was okay, & I said I felt a bit light headed. She said that I looked reallly pale, as well so she had me put my head down. It helped quite a bit, but she also got me a cup of water & after drinking that & sitting there for a few minutes longer, I felt good enough to leave.
So that was my first blood draw adventure of this pregnancy. I reallly hope I don't have to have it done as much as I did with Brans! But I guess if I do, it'll be worth it!

B's 2 year check-up!

Bransyn's 2 year/24 month check up was today!
He is now 25 pounds - 19th percentile, and 32 inches tall - 18th percentile.
It's so crazy to me that he has only gained 7 pounds in a year. I know that sounds soo horrible, but he's just a little peanut, I guess. He is healthy & doing well, so that's all that matters! I'm pretty sure he doesn't keep weight on very well because he is just sooo active & running around ALL the time, so whatever he puts on, just comes right off! He's gonna be a teensy little kid just like his mama!
Dr. Smith says that he looks like he is doing really well. She asked me a bunch of questions about what he is doing (ex. making sure he says a certain amount of words, jumping with both feet, ect. stuff that 2 year olds should be doing) & I was pretty proud to say that he is doing everything that she asked! (:
I also talked to her about his throwing up issues. I'm not sure if I have mentioned it on here before, or not... but he has been randomly throwing up a LOT. He is not one bit sick, so that's definitely not where it's coming from. Sometimes he does cough so hard that he throws up (the coughing is caused by his asthma, that apparently act up more in the winter) but other times, he'll start coughing BECAUSE he is going to throw up. It's just at random times & I have NO idea what could be causing it! When it first started happening, I thought it was caused by milk. So I started adding about 1/3 water, to 2/3's milk & that did help... for a minute. But then it started happening even after he hadn't drank anything. I was trying to watch & see when it happened & what he had been eating whenever it happened, but there is really nothing in common with each time it happens. Anyways, she told me that it could be his whole milk & to stop giving him whole milk, & just do 1 or 2%. Uhhh... well duh, what do you think adding water does to it?! Makes it not whole milk anymore. He still does it with 1 & 2% Milk, as well. She said she doesn't think it's milk that is causing it, but who knows! I really dislike this doctor, because of her lack of concern & not even looking into anything really. (which YES, I will be changing his dr as soon as I find a new one to take him to) I'm hoping that we can figure out what is going on soon, cause it's soooo sad to have him suffer through throwing up all the time. And I really hate that it randomly happens, because then I can't always control where it goes, unless I keep him next to the toilet 24/7... which uhh. No. ha
I also talked to her about our peanut & egg allergy suspicions. She said that since he throws up everytime he has eggs (NOT when they're baked/cooked into something, but like plain eggs) that he most likely is allergic to them. As for the peanuts, she said that it's weird he threw up & broke out in hives when I gave him peanut butter (when he was about 13 months old - haven't tried again since then) but yet, nothing happens when he eats food that is cooked in peanut oil. She said that if he was for sure allergic to peanuts, then he would have a reaction to the peanut oil, as well. I would reallly love if she would let us do a food allergy test, but again with the lack of concern. She said that we can try putting a dab of PB on his skin & see if his skin has a reaction to that, but I dunno how well that will work. I'm suuuper scared to give him peanuts, since it's realllly bad if you ARE allergic, but I just want to know for sure! Maybe his new dr will actually care enough to get it figured out!

Besides the little pukey issue, our sweet boy is doing very well! (:

Bransyn's Birthday Party!

We had a great turn out at Bransyn's birthday party this year! (: We had the party up at Ryan's parent's house, because it was the biggest, cheapest place we could do it at. haha. I was kind of nervous that it would be suuuper crowded since soo many people were invited, but it turned out okay (: His theme was a 'Candy Land' type thing (NOT like the game, I just don't want to say candy theme?! haha) Everything turned out pretty well, besides I wasn't too thrilled with the cake I made. I thought it would be reallly simple, but boy was I wrong! haha. And the fact that I can never have anything done on time. But that's okay, I just looked like a bum the whole time, cause I had no time to get ready. Oh well, allll that mattered was how stinkin' cute my 2 year old looked! (: Here are a few pictures. We took a ton, but it would take forever to post. And I'm horrible, because I was running around trying to get everything done, that I totally forgot to take a picture of JUST him standing there, for a birthday picture :( And, for the second year in a row... forgot to do a family picture of the 3 of us. Of course, I got a picture of him with EVERYONE else. Ahh, I'm lame. Anyways, here are a few pics (:

This was the table set up. Chocolate bar, candy bar & kids treat bags!

The present table. Which looked NOTHING like this after everyone had arrived... this was only a few people's gifts! He got SO spoiled!

Lemonade & chips.

Sandwiches!

His banner! I love how it turned out (:

The 'candy bar' again.

Chocolate fountain, which was a HUGE hit. It was messy at the end, but everyone loved it (:

Pinata! Little man loved whackin' at it! (:

Singing happy birthday! He loved that everyone was singing to him! haha, he had the biggest smile on his face, then knew exactly how to blow the candles out (: My cake might not of been too pretty, but it sure tasted yummy! (:

Opening his billion gifts! We had to go through them FAST, cause I was afraid he was just gonna try taking everything out right after he opened it, like last year. haha. Surprisingly, he sat there the whole time & opened them (: He's super impressed with all his new toys & clothes!

Annnd, probably his favorite gift, the one he had been talking about for WEEKS before his party. his bike aka 'mo-sy-so' (motorcycle) that he got from his grammy.


Thank you to EVERYONE that came & celebrated this special day with us! We appreciate all of you, especially the ones that came from out of town! (: And thank you for spoiling him ;) He can't get enough of all these new toys! ♥

Bransyn is TWO!

And I just can not believe it! This kid has grown up right before our eyes. & wayyy too quick if you ask me! But of course, every day that I get to spend with him is just amazing. I love watching him grow & learn every single new thing. He is such a smart little boy & makes me SO proud. He is the funniest kid, & definitely keeps us laughing. He is the greatest blessing I could have ever asked for, & even two years later, I STILL can not believe he is my son, forever & ever. I just don't know what I could have done to of gotten so lucky. Every time I look at him, all I can think of is how perfect he is. I would not trade this kid for the world, even though he is a little turd sometimes ;) he is my turd & although there are some hard times in raising a 2 year old, every smile, every laugh, every kiss, every 'I love you, mama' makes everything SO worth it! I love you Mr. Bransyn Kieler, you are my sunshine forever & ever ♥


Onto his 24 month update :

• he can say the whole alphabet, but it's on his time. if you ask him to say it, he will say a, b, c, then be done. he even sings along with his 'ABC leap' that he got when he was only a few months old.

• he can count to ten, & sometimes he even says 'eleben, telve' but never right after 1-10.

• he does NOT like to have his diaper changed. i will notice that he is stinky, so I ask him if he pooped & he'll say no & run away so I can't check him. then when I finally DO get to changing him, he tells me 'be soft!' haha oh, and if I accuse him of pooping & he didn't, he gets alll bent out of shape.

• he repeats EVERYTHING. if someone is talking & he is listening, he will repeat as much as he can after them, and even use his hands just like they do. so cute!

• he is still having problems staying in his bed when we put him down. sometimes it takes me up to 2 hours to finally get him to stay in bed & go to sleep.

• I have taught him to say 'Bless You' when someone sneezes. except right now, it's just when I sneeze he says 'bess you, mama!' I looove it (: or sometimes I'll sneeze & he'll just go 'ahh choo!'

• every time he coughs, I say 'you okay, baby?' so now anytime I cough, he'll say 'otay mama?'

• he isn't too interested in the baby in mommy's tummy yet, sometimes he even tries to smack/hit my belly. but he also has his sweet moments where he will come up to me & just kiss my belly, & say 'nice, baby'

• I quit my babysitting job a few weeks ago, so now we get to snuggle in bed every morning for a while. I have to say, it is my most favorite part of the day!

• he loves watching his movies. his favorites are Monsters Inc, Cars, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 1 & Toy Story 3 (how funny is it that they are ALL Disney-Pixar movies?! :) he knows exactly which one is which when he goes to choose them out. he also likes to take them out of the case, open up the DVD player & put them in.

• he also likes to pull all of the dvd's off the shelf & open them all up. yeahhhh, trying to find a new place to put them that is up HIGH! hahah

• he is still crazily obsessed with chocolate milk. if he asks for some & I tell him we don't have any more, he act like his feelings are sooo hurt!

• I have never met a kid that loves trucks & cars sooo much in my life. he is totally obsessed, thanks to his dad. I knew he was gonna be into them just like Ry, but I didn't know it would be THIS much, THIS soon. he's gonna be truck/car smart just like his daddy (:

• he has a really good memory! he can go a while without seeing someone (even if it's someone he doesn't see very often in the first place) & remember their name. or if we see something one day & don't see it for a while, he'll know exactly what it is. An example: one day we were driving & we passed a truck pulling a horse trailer, so I told him to look! Well, about 2 weeks later, we passed a truck pulling one of those big white trailers (not with horses, though) & he says 'horsies in there!' even though there were no horses, he still remembered the big white trailer!

• he always puts 'right there' after everything he says. Mommy right there. Daddy right there. Truck right there. it's super funny (:

15 weeks

Bellly is growing. It's crazy that I looked like this at about 18-20 weeks with Bransyn. All I hope is that I don't get as big or bigger in the end! haha. But at least we know our little peanut is growing!
I swear I have been feeling really quick, small movements since about 13 weeks, but I didn't want to say for sure until I knew that's really what it was. (since there is all sorts of crazy stuff going on in there, I didn't want to mistake it.) I am now 100% positive that that is what I was feeling, & still am. There still isn't a whole ton of movement, but I'm feeling him/her more every day. It's so fun, cause I didn't start to feel Bransyn at ALL until about 17 weeks. I never got the 'butterfly' feelings with him OR this baby. Just straight up movements.
I'm still suuuper tired & I'm pretty sure I've developed a special form of pregnancy insomnia. Who knows if that's a real thing, but I am gonna say it is ;) I am SO tired during the day, & but come 8 or 9pm, I am WIDE awake & can't sleep for the life of me. Some nights I don't get to sleep until 1 or 2 am, then I'm up between 8 & 9 with Bransyn. It's pretty frustrating, because I think that's contributing to my dizziness, headaches, & nauseousness.
It's also pretty hard for me to get comfortable in bed lately. I toss & turn a lot, and I am having trouble staying on my left side. I don't remember it being this hard to get used to with Bransyn! I seriously need to invest in one of those amazing pregnancy pillows I've heard so much about.
I also need to get a belly band, because the few pairs of jeans I have that actually fit (not from being pregnant, but because all of my jeans magically shrunk a few months ago ;) are getting a little hard to button. I have already started the 'rubber band trick' Or just walking around with them un-buttoned. (not in public, don't worry! ha)
Anyways, I think that's it for now! I have another dr appointment on Wednesday, then our gender ultra sound is is in 11 days! (: (:

14 weeks!

{no picture this week because I'm lame & don't want to take one}


Yes, I skipped last week. I'm sorry... there just wasn't much to update & I didn't take a picture then, either. haha. So I'll just pick up this week (:

I am officially in my second trimester! Yayyy! (:
My body definitely gave me a little tease by making me feel better... for like a week! Ugh. I am back to being nauseous alll the time. It's horrible :(
I mentioned in my last post that I have been getting some pretty crazy headaches, & they are nottt fun.
I'm still dizzy pretty much every single time I stand up. I also seem to get light headed a lot more lately, too. I'm pretty sure that I am going to be anemic again this time. My dr said that usually if you are during one pregnancy, you most likely will be with your other ones. I just have to wait until they can test my iron levels to see if I will need to take supplements again. But for now, I'm just sticking to my normal vitamins.
Which I have now switched to the Flintstones Complete chewable vitamins, because trying to swallow those horse pill prenatals, was making me gag. I'm glad there is an alternative, cause I would hate to not take anything at all!
Just looking at or thinking about certain things make me sick. Sometimes I can't even look at dirty dishes in the sink without feeling like I am going to puke. (even if there is nothing on the dish!) I can't cook meat (or much at all, for that matter!) because the sight of raw meat - even in the package - could make me puke for days. Smells are also getting to me even more, lately. The worst ones are walking out into the garage (where we have to keep the big garbage can) & smelling the trash, especially if it's close to trash day. Or when Bransyn's milk cups don't get dumped out. Which I haaate, but sometimes he leaves them places & the milk gets all nasty.

Anyways, I think that's everything this week (: I'll be sure to take a picture of my huge gut next week!

2nd appointment.

I had my second appointment today, which was with my actual doctor. - They have 2 in the office, Dr. Lunt & Lisa Borunda. Lisa see's you for the first pre-natal visit, then Dr. Lunt for the 2nd, & after that... whoever is available! LOVE them both! (: Anyways. I finally got to actually HEAR baby's heartbeat! ♥ which was nice, because it was the first time. It was about 160 bpm. I don't remember what Bransyn's was at this point, I just remember it being in the 190's at 9 weeks! Or else I would of compared the two, to guess the gender ;) So that's usually all we do at these 'once a month' appointments, other than he asks me how everything's going & answers any questions I have. I talked to him about the INSANE headaches I have been having, & he said that it's normal. I can take a tylenol for them if I really need to (but I HATE taking meds when I am preggo, so I try to avoid it if possible) or I can just deal with it :/ Not fun, but it's all worth it for this little peanut! (: We also talked about the whole dealio with Bransyn's shoulder getting stuck during delivery, & he wanted to know my thoughts on the whole thing, regarding the birth of this baby. Which I really didn't know what to say, other than I just thought I was going to get induced at 39 weeks. He said we will still do that, but there's no way to know if it will happen again. I think before I said something about getting induced, he was maybe wondering if I wanted to do a c-section instead, to totally prevent it, but just in not so many words. (since that IS pretty much the only way to prevent it.) Which I do NOT NOT NOT want a c-section! I remember wanting one sooo bad when I was pregnant with Bransyn, I just wanted to avoid the whole labor & birthing process all together. (I even remember telling my mom I was gonna pretend to not be able to do it, so they would give me one ;) haha) But even with alll the pain I was in & everything I went through while in labor, it was such an amazing experience! I loved being able to have him handed to me right away & I was able to hold him for as long as I wanted. Plus, the way he looked at me the first time he heard my voice & how he just wouldn't take his eyes off of me was just priceless (: Okay, getting off track here! haha, I just want to make sure I have that with this baby, too. Of course, getting him/her out safely is my very first priority, no matter which way s/he enters this world! I was going to ask when we would be able to set the induction date, but I totally spaced it. So I'll have to ask next time. He also talked to me about the quad screening & if I wanted to have it done this time. I got some info about it at my first appointment that I read through. I decided to go ahead & do it this time, just because of the problems we had during my pregnancy last time. We chose not to do it when it was offered around 16 weeks with Bransyn, but ended up having it done after we saw the perinatologist. So I figured I'd just go ahead & have it done to get it over with. He said since I am going to do that, he would like me to come in 2 weeks sooner than I normally would, so that I can just go do the blood draw on the same day. So I will be going in on the 23rd for that. And of course, I asked about when we would do my anatomy scan ultra sound. He said they like to do those at about 19 weeks, so around December 16th. I really do NOT want to wait that long to find out if baby is a boy or a girl. Luckily, he mentioned that the U/S tech there offers a gender check anytime after 16 weeks, for $25! (: (: So I went ahead & scheduled that for November 29th! yayyyy! I will be counting down the days ;) We won't be revealing the sex of the baby until the following Saturday, though. hehe Anyway! That's my appointment update (: