just about you - baby!

22 weeks pregnant this week.
here is a pic of me with Gracie Mae ( 3 months 2 weeks old), my friend Laurel's 2nd child. She is precious and makes me think about my no. 2 coming soon.

so, i am constantly fighting the "second child syndrome" of having less pictures, less notes, less special moments with my second child than my first. the pregnancy is already so much teh same, that is doesn't seem like it's "different" or "ultra special" but YES! this is HUGE! i get to be pregnant and give birth to a CHILD...some one God has entrusted me to raise and teach and love. so, man...no second child syndrome here. this baby is going to be just as loved and spoiled and photographed and talked about...

lately with my baby:
everyone is saying, "wow, you've popped" and i guess i have. i don't have daily pics of this progress but i do have weekly ones and i am totally excited about seeing how baby reveley has changed.

this child LOVES food. every time i eat, its immmmmmediatly reacting with jumps and bumps.

this child is coming at God's perfect time. i have submitted to that and have decided to take all control out of the situation, just like i did the first time. it is tempting to ask to be induced or have them "check" me at 37 weeks on, but NO! i have decided that i am going to ask to be "left alone" until the time comes and see what happens. i was very tempted to try other things because my family will be here the week before the baby is due, but i will just wait and see what Godhas planned.

I was worried that this baby would come in the middle of the school year and throw everything off and i would "let everyone down" because i am having a baby. but it is not that at all. i am bringing a blessing to my life, our life, and all our firend's lives. plus, who knows what joy this child will bring the people around it. i don't want to worry about how it'll effect "work" but how GREATLY it will impact others and the time i take raising this child in the first few weeks is not worth pushing it and returning to work early. this is one time i can be selfish in taking my time with my child and I AM DETERMINED TO.

boy or girl, i DON't care. surprisingly i don't care at all. i am just excited for a baby. i do hope it's cuddly this time, unlike my firstborn! hahah, but i am so happy with either there are so many reasons i would want a brother for caedmon and so many i would want a sister. so, i am extremely excited to be surprised on the day he/she comes to join our family.

tired. yes, i'm still extremely tired. can't forget that. hoping by baby 3 i will not have time to think about being tired.

yes, we want more kids than just 2. another story for another time.

i am so ready to just hold and love this child and even to breastfeed and cuddle and heck - even change diapers again.

:)

6 great years - happy anniversary to me and ryan!

our 6th anniversary would be an eventful one. whenever you're juggling a graduation weekend, a 2 year old, a pregnancy, bridal showers, and more - all while trying to keep traditions and LOVE alive!
6 things:
1. our gift to eachother. never thought i'd be this excited, but we got a new vaccuum! love it! it's a little heavy, but works amazingly well and is AWESOME! thanks, ry! xo
2. one tradition, that we hope to keep up is going to kimball's farm for ice cream with caedmon. we did this on our 4th year anniversary. i got carmel cashew chip ice cream tooo good! caedmon didn't really "hang" with us, but was a little overtired and so our time at kimball's was a little bit of a bummer.
3. this guy. i have said it a million times, but he is sooooooooo amazing. i never thought i'd love him more than the day i married him, but we love eachother wayyyyyyyyyyy more some how. ryan makes me happy everyday. He helps me be a better person and mom. he encourages and loves me and makes me feel beautiful. i'm so in love more today than ever!
4. me, knew we wanted kids, but didn't see my 6 year anniversary as pregnant. i look so preggo! i'm popping out and not looking forward to getting bigger and bigger. but, i am looking forward to have our family and love grow more! i do look so worn out and tired in this pic, but that is how life has been lately. however, i'm happy content and thankful
5. kiss.
6. reminisce. 6 years ago....the best day ever. we had a beautiful wedding, with wonderful weather and amazing friends/family.

happy anniversary Ryan, i love you and our life together!!!!

week of may 10-16, 2010 in pictures

Tuesday: a surprise bubble tea from my boys! so awesome! i love it when they come and visit me at work and surprise me.
All week: caedmon has a new obsession; TARZAN. he was playing tarzan all week long, inside and out. he pounds his chest and calls daddy the "bad monkey" and mommy is none-other-than, Jane. he thinks he looks like tarzan when he puts his hands by his face. so funny.

Wed: my half day of work is wednesday so i put caedmon in DC and got a pedicure with my friend April who is pregnant too. She is due 5 weeks ahead of me and we've had fun working together on the River Run and sports program at school. she's having a little boy and i'm so excited for her! her older son is 13! so its all new again for her! we had a great time relaxing and getting pedicures!

friday: caed got a box of toys and clothes from grandma reveley. we only let him have one of the toys because he didn't know there were like 5 in the box! so, he loved his new zurg. even during time out while playing outside, he was happy cause zurg was next to him. i love his eyes in this pictures - so "glistening" and beautiful.

Caedmon reading comics Sunday morning before church. he really loves comic books and knows all the heroes and villians. i just make sure that ryan doesn't let him read anything too advanced :)

Unedited - Photoshoots May 2010 Julie, Hannah, and Emily

I have been waiting to take pictures of my favorite teenager - Julie T. She turned 16 last month and I wanted to capture her fun side! she's a beautiful girl inside and out! She talented, funny, a wonderful Christian girl...i could go on and on. Enjoy....

After taking pictures of Julie we met up with her Nieces and took some dance pictures. They all dance at the same studio and have recitals coming up. Hannah G (older) and Emily G (younger) were so adorable and LOVED the camera!

I love getting practice, now i just need a mac and can get to editing....hummmm before Baby 2 comes hopefully!

road trip!

Details of our April Vacation Road Trip:
woke up 7:00 a.m. Saturday April 17th
Caedmon woke up happy and said, "we going on vacation?!" he was ready to rock and roll and happy to jump in the car.
out the door and down the road at 8:07 a.m.

First set-back: turned around at 8:29 after ryan realized he forgot his wallet.

back on 495S at 8:50 a.m....starting over.

Car Mileage 17,870 at the start - on our way to Pittsburgh, about a 9.5 hour drive.

Ate at the famous Primanti Brother's sandwhich shop. On food network and referred to us by our buddy Fred PErkins. Loved it. the best sandwhich on the trip, the second best was a real turkey and mushroom melt. we ate gooooooooooooooood on this trip.

Got lost around the city of pittsburgh because of road construction. Arrived at hotel at 8:15 p.m. and asleep about 10:15
Woke up and skipped church sunday...i know i know...
Drove to our first real destination: MASON, OH

Arrived at Great wolf lodge (www.greatwolf.com) at 2 p.m. and hit the waterpark! it was awesome. caedmon was in love and we had a blast. it was probably the best day of our trip. Took a break, shopped around MASON, got dinner, and back to the waterpark.

Total hours in the car: 15 hours

Monday April 19: Destination, Petersburg Kentucky - the Creation Museum (www.creationmuseum.org) This was something on our "To do in 5 years" list. It was awesome, and something Ryan had really wanted to do. It was a great testimony to our faith our history and above all GOD. it was awesome. we enjoyed it all. unfortunatly, it was a little "advanced" for caedmon.

Left the museum about 3 p.m. and went to Florence, KY to take rest. This pregnant momma was getting tired! Caedmon watched a movie and ryan worked on seminary work. then, we went out again. Ate at famous dave's bbq....delicious!

Tuesday April 20: left hotel at 9:30 in route for the Cincinnati Zoo. It was a beautiful day and the zoo was nice. Unfortunatley, it wasn't caedmon's favorite. he's just not that into it, but he really liked comparing the animals to the characters in Madagascar.

We left the zoo earlier than expected, about 1p.m. and got on the road

Ryan got pulled over at 3ish and got a speeding ticket...from here it was pretty much downhill.

long story short: horrible pizza dinner which lead to Caedmon projectile vomitting all over the car at 9:30 pm., stopping our road trip way early for the night. we had to stop at the nearest hotel and clean out puke from our son, his carseat, and our whole car....whoa. a testing parenting situation for sure! we made it through.

Tuesday April 22nd7.5 hours left, and a sick boy...we thought we were in for it. but....he was AMAZING! he was sooooooooo good and didnt get sick and just watched movies and slept. it was a great rest of the ride home. the best part was arriving here and Laura brought us a homemade dinner! she's the best!

so, all in all our trip to OH, KY, PA was great and we are so happy we went! we enjoyed it and made the best of the "bumps in the road".

final mileage: 19766...total: 1896
total hours: 32 hours 25 seconds :)
total fun: IMMMMMMMMMEASURABLE!

14 weeks...almost gone.

I'm 14 weeks pregnant which doesn't sound like very far along.

somethings about this pregnancy so far:

1. extreme fatigue

2. have no idea what boy name i'd use

3. less "excitment" than with caedmon but more readiness. i am excited, but not nervous excited. just ready to see what life with two is like

4. love peanut butter and jelly

5. hate meat, unless i don't cook it

6. lost my desire to cook

7. haven't gained anything, lost some weight

8. felt the baby a few times already, coooool

9. already had two little ultrasounds! that has been fun. ready for the big on in May, even though we're not finding out i can't wait to see more of our baby

10. thinking of caedmon as a big brother has been weird! but fun!

11. haven't boughten one baby thing.

12. starting to buy diapers sooooooooooon. need ot stock up. if you have any great deals or see any online coupons, ect. let me know! we'll be stockin' up ahead of time!

14. pretty sure it's another boy, but would be estatic with a daughter. it would be the first grandaughter too. but, another boy would be great and we'd be all set.

15. plan on re-doing the room after the baby is born, for its first christmas present.

16. LOVE my baby and my baby's daddy so much! xoxo

Because He Lives...we can celebrate Easter!

Easter was very different this year.
We had my parents here with us, which was GREAT! but we didn't have my the Balenos with us (my aunt/uncle and cousins).
info:
Thursday - took a day off of work! mom and dad got into town and back to our house about 11ish. that was great to have the whole day. caedmon was feeling good and happy they were here. we played outside a little and ate good food.
Friday - Good Friday, service at 3 p.m. Caedmon was feeling a little not under the weather, but he kept on moving. my dad did a lot of work around our house, made me an awesome shoe rack and did a lot of other odds and ends.
sickness started, caedmon was up that night with a fever :(
Saturday - Fever dwindles, and we take him to the easter egg hunt. don't blame us and call us bad parents for bringing him around other kids. the hunt was in our backyard with 20 kids! no way we could keep him away. he played and had funand shook the sickness for a while. He felt somewhat better that afternoon, and then crashed again. wasn't feeling well and went ot bed early. fever fever fever...all night. i was up with him in his bed, changing his diarrhea pants and bed sheets :(
SUNDAY - EASTER ryan had sunrise service at 6:30 and i met him for breakfast after at about 7:15 because caed was up but sick. we knew he woudln't be joining us for easter. such a bummer, his little outfit is just hanging on the closet door and will make an appearance on mother's day.
11 a.m. - CHURCH WAS GREAT! OUR GOD IS MIGHTY TO SAVE! Ryan spoke the truth and was really filled with the spirit. it was a great service! My dad joined me while caedmon stayed home with mom.
thankfully, after church he got to feeling better, played outside and the fever broke! Praise the Lord!

Dad, mom, and I made a great meal - the BEST CARROT CAKE EVER and amazing everything else. to have my parents here was a true blessing.
we're just pryaing caedmon is feeling better tnoight and SLEEPS and doesn't need to go to the doc tomorrow. pray for our little man.