There's a Birthday Boy Over Here.

And its Joey!

Joey's working nights this week, so I planned a little surprise with some streamers, balloons, and a touch of something sweet for when he got home from work this morning.

 Remy also got in on the birthday fun and was extra excited when Joey came home!

 She even donned a party hat to celebrate with the birthday boy! And she actually didn't totally hate it….

 Marley on the other hand…..

(((this is her 'mom! help me!' face)))

And since this morning was technically Joey's evening, I made him a peanut butter pie to enjoy when he got home. Don't sprinkles just make everything more fun?

Birthday boy is sleeping right now, but once he wakes up I'll have a special dinner ready for him before he heads back to work. Once again, shift work makes regular celebrations a tad tricky, but we make it work--and it was so fun to stay up late last night to get things ready for Joey to come home to this morning. 

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This guy is the one person that makes me a total cheese-ball, so….

Joey Fleshman, you are just the greatest! I'm so glad I get to be your wife, because you make life so much more fun and amazing and all-around fantastic. You're so funny (I'm cracking up about the "Joey, smile!" incident right now), smart, kind, hardworking, generous, determined, selfless, thoughtful, and pretty darn cute too. I've loved every day with you--all 1,175 of them! And I can't wait for thousands more. I'm grateful for everything you do, from going with less sleep so we can have some extra time together after work, to picking things up for me when I have bad round ligament pain, to secretly doing the dishes because you know they're the bane of my existence. You work so hard to provide for our family and give us everything we need and much of what we want, and I appreciate it so much. You go above and beyond as a husband and you're totally going to kick butt as a dad. I'm really looking forward to raising a little boy that's just like you, right down to the curly hair and precocious yet gentle spunk. I'm honored to tackle the bad days with you and celebrate the good days with you too. Thank you for all you do and for the kind of person you are. I'm one lucky gal to be married to someone as special as you!

Happy birthday, Joey!

Remy, Marley, Baby Bean, and I love you very very much!

154 Days Down: Baby Update.

Hello 22 weeks! It feels great to have surpassed the half way point--its actually going quite fast! Here's how things are going these days---

In case you missed it, we're having a BOY! It was a little surreal at first because we truly felt it was a girl. And to confess, all my life I just pictured myself having a big bunch of girls that I could sew heaps of dresses and bows for. But after some serious googling and getting those creative juices flowing, I've got a substantial list of fun projects for our handsome little man.

And speaking of those projects---I've had a sudden burst of motivation and energy so I've been riding that high and getting as much done as I can before it goes away. In the past week I've sewn two quilts, a handful of leggings, two ring slings, and a couple dozen bandana bibs, and Joey and I thrifted and refinished a dresser for the little bean. Its all working out quite well really--we'll be moving when I'm in the third trimester, which means my last couple months will be focused on resettling and acclimating to a new city, and who knows if Joey will be deploying soon after we move….so basically the next couple months are all I have to really get things done. Good thing I'm feeling so motivated!

The migraines are still going strong but have decreased to about 2-3 a week, so that's good at least!

I lucked out with morning sickness and never really had any vomiting in the first trimester (just really bad nausea), however now the problem is, if I don't eat soon enough when my stomach starts to growl, I end up getting sick! Its frustrating at times when I don't have an appetite (which is more often than not), but it sure is a firm reminder that I need to keep up with snacks and meals. I still have major food aversions, but the past couple weeks I've been craving the chocolate-iest chocolate I can get my hands on.

But despite the constant aches and pains (if its not one thing, its something else!) I'm loving this experience.  We count our blessings and are grateful that so far we haven't had any serious complications or concerns. Everything is going just the way it should and we're very grateful.

Baby has been a groovin' and kickin' a lot more these days. The first time I felt him last month it was just like a little tickle or brush by, but these are full on movements! The first time it happened I freaked out for a second and thought 'Ahh! There's an alien in there!' and then I remembered, oh yeah, they're supposed to do that. Ha and now feeling those little kicks and flips is so addicting, I love it. 

Well, this is the middle of our work week, but I hope everyone else has a great weekend!

What's Better than a Dog in a Sweater.

Just something quick and fun for ya on this fine Monday!

Last month my mom knit up this cute sweater for Remy, and sometimes its actually cold enough in the mornings down here to dress her up for her walk! The little pup actually likes it and hops around with excitement when she sees me pull it off the shelf.

And oh sweet mercy, there is nothing cuter than watching Remy go bananas and sprint to Joey when she sees him. Love these two!

I hope everyone's 2014 is off to a great start!

The Little Bean is A…...

The results are in!

This morning we had our anatomy scan and found out that we are having a………………..

BOY

[!!!!!!!!!!]

We are completely in shock! As many of you know, we were absolutely confident that we were having a girl, for many reasons. No matter how hard we tried to be open to the reality that it really could go either way, we felt like the baby just was a girl and all we could see in our minds was a girl. 

Last night as we got ready for bed and talked about how nervous we were to see if our inklings were correct, I told Joey "Ya know what? Its gonna be a boy. I just know it. Because nothing in life has ever gone the way I think it will, so of course its going to be the opposite of what we think!"

So when we had our ultrasound and saw his….manhood (which he proudly displayed for us), all we could do was laugh--shoot, we're still laughing every time we remember, "son of a gun, we're having a boy!". Surprised as we were, we are so, so excited and happy. Its crazy to actually know what our baby is---its not just little baby, its little baby boy. And more importantly, baby is doing great, developing just the way he should all the way down to his ten itty bitty toes.

See you in 20 weeks, little man!