18 weeks

I am officially 18 weeks pregnant. It is flying on by. When I think of the time line of when this baby is due and all the events happening in-between, I know it'll be here in a blink of an eye.

How far along: 18 weeks
Gender: We'll find out in 2 short weeks!
Weight gain: 9 lbs
Maternity clothes: Oh yes. I'm not even trying to fit into regular jeans... I choose comfort. Other than maternity jeans and shorts, I live in maxi skirts.
Stretch marks: None
Sleep: I've had a couple great nights sleep.. thankful for whatever I get!
Best moment this week: Playing with Winnie when Taylor gets home. We have so much fun together. :)
Worst moment this week: Pinching a nerve in my back... it pretty much sucks.
Miss anything: HOT COFFEE in the morning!!
Movement: Once or twice I've I felt something, but nothing strong enough to tell for sure.
Cravings: Chicken wings and the idea of sitting with a cup of hot coffee alone relaxing and reading a book. haha.
Queasy or sick: Headaches/neck pain and random moments of nausea like when bacon was cooking the other night... sad sad sad. 
Looking forward to: Feeling this little sweetie kick and finding out what we're having!!

Winnie loves to turn off the lights!

We are spending these days focused a lot on Winnie and making play time and outings extra special. We'll do things like go to the pool, beach & Funland [in DE when Winnie and I go], Lazy 5 Ranch, play outside coloring and tossing a ball around, maybe throw in some bubbles and a Greek festival. Not including all the fun holiday shenanigans we have planned. I'm so excited!!

Reading through every single book she owns :)

Watching Daddy hard at work <3

i love how she's sitting here. 

We are still trying to get Winnie to sleep through the night. I am praying it'll start being consistent, like every night from here on out. I am tired y'all. We feed her enough food, we give her a good amount of milk before bed, we have a solid routine... she just wakes up. I know one day she'll sleep through the night and all will be fine, but with another baby on the way, I'm hoping her body will learn soon.

Winnie laying in her tunnel Gigi got her.
She loves rolling around inside.

Miri and Gigi taking a walk with Winnie.
Look how big she looks here... crazy!

Winnie and I are off to Delaware to visit my family next week while hubby is out of town with work stuff. We are going to miss him like crazy, but I am looking forward to seeing my family!! We will have so many fun adventures, starting with her first time flying. I am so excited for Winnie's first time in an airplane. I feel pretty prepared and yet bracing myself for a total meltdown. Here's to hoping things go extremely smooth for all. :)

We found these cute new shoes for Winnie just in time for our trip...

SO ADORABLE!!!! 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Winnie's first trip to the mountains ...

This past weekend we made a trip to Pisgah Forrest to visit with Nana & Da and for them to see Winnie. I loved the ride up, seeing all the mountains, it was so beautiful!! We got there, had lunch, then hung out chatting and watching Winnie interact with her great grandparents, then headed home. It was short, but so sweet!

Hanging with Great Aunt Sherry

Da reading Goodnight Moon to Winnie <3

Laughing at Beau with Nana

Snuggles with Nana Winnie 

My favorite <3 

We love you Nana & Da!! 

15 & 16 weeks & our beach trip

This past weekend was awesome, full of fun times with family and friends. Thursday my mom and dad were here for the night, so we enjoyed a quick visit from them. Friday night our friends Greg, Hilary, and their boys spent the night to go to Charleston for a day at the beach. It was fantastic! The weather turned our perfect, the water wasn't freezing, and the kids and adults all had a blast. I needed that time, I was seriously missing the beach. Plus, for dinner I got to eat Alaskan crab legs. Delicious! 

Winnie LOVED the beach! She enjoyed playing in the water and on the wet sand, but refused to touch the dry sand. It was hilarious. She is such a fearless little thing, she would run in toward the waves and laugh and splash and wanted to play in the water all day. I'm so glad she likes the beach!!!

This girl could eat blueberries all day! 

I love our family <3

Monday my parents came back for another quick visit. I love spending time with them and love that they got a little bit of time with Winnie. Winnie adores my mom and dad and it makes my heart glad!

Winnie is doing well. We are at a stage where a little attitude is coming out and she starts to yell when something is wrong or doesn't get what she wants. She is also having trouble sleeping through the night... 2 teeth just came through so I'm pretty sure it's no longer teeth, but for whatever reason she's always waking up. Suggestions welcome! :)

"Show me your teeth" 

I had a check up appointment for our newest Brown and I got to hear it's heartbeat: 145. The nurse had to keep moving around to get a steady rhythm because the little baby kept moving all over the place. Makes me smile :)

How far along: 16 weeks
Gender: We'll find out at our next visit!!
Weight gain: 7 lbs
Maternity clothes: I have started wearing some maternity clothes. They are so comfortable not to.
Sleep: Sleep is a touchy subject. I'm not getting much. Winnie is waking up, for whatever reasons, multiple times throughout the night. Then add my neck pain and tension headaches... no sleep. But, it's okay. God's been giving me grace and strength each day!
Best moment this week: Hearing our baby's heartbeat. It's a beautiful sound!!
Miss anything: Uninterrupted sleep.
Movement: I haven't felt anything yet, hopefully in the coming weeks.
Cravings: None currently, which is surprising.
Queasy or sick: I have moments of nausea from not eating, tension headaches, and neck pain.
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender!

Birthday Shenanigans

This past week and weekend were so much fun!! Here's a little bit of what went on. :)

Thursday evening is family dinner and this past Thursday Gisele, Miri, and Bill surprised me with a themed dinner from The Paradise. The Paradise is a short BBC series I found last week and really enjoyed. Watch it! Gisele is so creative and so extremely sweet to do this. The room was perfectly decorated with white linens and fine china and beautiful lighting and dinner was delicious!! Gisele and Miri dressed the part of Ladieswear and Bill dressed as the assistant to the store. It was so fun. 

Winnie after eating some chocolate cake 

I also rang in my birthday week with a big hello to my second trimester. Hallelujah. Can I get some energy?! I have had the fatigue bug with no desire to drink coffee for quite some time and I'm hoping I will get some better sleep and more energy in the days to come. Baby Brown #2 told me it wanted a BBQ sandwich and meatball subs and grilled BBQ chicken, sooooo that's all I've been craving all week. Jim n Nicks BBQ- CHECK .... Meatball Sub- CHECKIDY CHECK!! .... grilled BBQ Chicken- CHECK! Oh then there is this... I bought a jar of pickles earlier this week and they are almost gone. Food cravings during pregnancy are hilarious and weird. I wonder what's next. 

14 weeks 

Birthday breakfast in bed :-D

Birthday lunch= Meatball sub!!!!!! 

Birthday dinner on the back deck, with just Taylor!
Grilled BBQ chicken= delicious! 

Chocolate chip cookie cake. Yes please!

Birthday eve we had some friends over to hang and play a game. It was a ton of fun and I am so blessed to be surrounded by such lovely people!! Birthday day was perfect. I had a pleasant and relaxing time at home with Taylor and Winnie, which is just what I wanted. :)

my favorite <3 

Winnie is doing wonderful. She LOVES being outside. If it weren't so hot we'd probably stay outside all day. She walks around the yard, practices going up and down the porch stairs, colors with chalk, and chases balls through the driveway. The other day she even picked up a leaf and sat on the porch picking it apart. I love her little curious and adventurous spirit. 

The other day she had a nasty fall in the drive way while holding a football and trying to run... poor little thing. After some tears and hugs and kisses she was all better and wanted to play some more. She is brave. I admire that in her. 

Poor little nose.

I love her smile!!

This week Taylor starts a new job [same company], we get to visit with my mom and dad, and then a day trip to the beach with our dearest friends. I hope everyone has a great week!