Rainy day hike

We found a new place to hike that is really close to where we live. The trail isn't too long but it also has a little playground which is an added bonus for Bonnie. It's right on the reservoir so it has beautiful views. I'm excited to come back more often when the weather warms up a little bit.

My birthday

Once again, I was spoiled this year for my birthday. It's really fun now that Bonnie is getting into birthdays. She gets so excited when the decorations come out. 

Eric and Bonnie made me a delicious cake.

Benny got me the most beautiful roses.

Bonnie and I went to a playdate in the morning, where Katie also showed up! I'm so so thankful we are able to do things like show up on each other's birthday now (unfortunately I didn't get a picture with her). 

Bonnie took her nap and then we decided to go to Olive Garden for dinner. I honestly don't think I had been there since maybe high school or college but we wanted something family-friendly to bring B with us.

It was the first time Bonnie had been to a sit-down restaurant with us since she was a baby (mainly because we just don't go out to eat much), and she did great! She loved everything about it.

I am so lucky and thankful for these two.

Our meals came with endless soup/salad/breadsticks and we got a free dessert. Everything we had was so delicious - I'm so glad we decided to go there!

We tried to go to dinner early to have enough time to do cake with Bonnie when we got home. However for the third year in a row, it was much too late for her. We got her to bed then Eric sang to me. Fortunately we were so full from dinner, we saved cake to do with her the next night.

Bonnie helped me open a couple gifts.

And she has been having fun with the balloons ever since.

It was such a wonderful birthday. I am so blessed to have an incredible family who makes me feel loved and celebrated. Thank you all for reaching out - I love you so much!

Visit with Roommates

I recently got the chance to see a couple of my college roommates that I haven't seen since our wedding almost five years ago! It was so wonderful to see them and their kids (most of them weren't born yet last time we were all together). 

It was also so fun to see the kids play so well together, they became buddies quickly. 

I love these girls so much (as well as my other college housemates) and they will always have a special place in my heart. We are hoping now that some of us are back in Virginia together, we will be able to see each other a little more often.

28 weeks with baby #2

28 weeks has thankfully brought relief to the consistent headaches I was getting between weeks 23-26. I am feeling much better and have my energy back. At my 28 week appointment on Monday, baby's heartrate was around 130. Bloodwork showed my iron was low so I'll start taking an extra supplement with my prenatal. I'm still feeling lots of movement from this little one, especially anytime I'm laying down or eating. With Bonnie I mostly felt little kicks, but this time around they are much larger rolling movements often times from one side of my belly to the other. I have the same tolerable rib pain I'm sure I'll have through the rest of the pregnancy, especially now that everything is being pushed up in that direction. I'm most comfortable standing upright or laying down flat. 

Now that the holidays are over and the new year is upon us, I have a laundry list of projects and things I would like to get done before baby arrives. I am going into nesting mode a little early, since I felt so unprepared the last time around.  I am very thankful and lucky this pregnancy has been much like the last one in that it has been very mild/easy on me. 

Happy New Year!

Happy 2022! We had a quiet celebration at home ordering take out, talking about predictions/goals for next year (laughing at some of the things we wrote down in the past) and playing a new game after B went to bed. It was actually the same thing we did last year, so maybe this is becoming a tradition (at least for this phase of life). Hope you all had a wonderful end to 2021 and wishing you joy, health, and peace for the year ahead!

Christmas Town

We were excited to go to Christmas Town this year, as the only other time we've been was when Bonnie was a month old. It happened to be a beautiful day!

We got to see carolers. 

Bonnie was enthralled with the shows - this one was Scrooge No more.

She loved any ride she could get on (as long as one of us could go too). She kept clapping and saying "More song!"

Seeing all the lights is one of our favorite parts. Bonnie couldn't wait to ride the train all around the park to see them all, something none of us had done yet.

The last show we saw before we had to leave was Twas That Night, based on the Night Before Christmas. It was so sweet.

We had such a wonderful time and are so thankful we live so close and are able go this time of year!