Marco Island & Baby Braham #2 Announcement

 Craig, Grayson and I went to visit our good friends the Sergi's in Marco Island.  The weather was a little chilly the first day so we had to our wear coats.  The next few days were nicer so we had fun at playing at the beach.  Grayson had a blast hanging out with Uncle Dominic and Aunt JoAnn and they adored him.  We had a wonderful time relaxing and enjoying the nice weather.  

During our trip we decided to reveal our exciting news that we are expecting a baby BOY on September 6, 2015.  Grayson will be a BIG BROTHER!  We know he will be such a great big bro and we can't wait to expand our family.  We got him the cutest shirt on Etsy that says

 I'M GOING

TO BE

A BIG

BRO

THER.  

We wrote BIG BRO in the sand and took pictures of Grayson with his adorable shirt.  We also took a few family pictures and of course some of my belly.  It's already big.  What an exciting time for our family.  It's truly another miracle baby and we feel so blessed.

Baby Braham #2 - Maternity21 Results & Doctor Appointment at 12 Weeks

Today we had my 12 week doctor appointment.  The main goal was hear the heartbeat with the stethoscope, but if not, they would do a quick ultrasound.  She heard the baby's heartbeat (140) right away.  I told Craig I think it's going to be a boy based on that heart rate as boys have a lower heart rate.

The doctor's office that did the Maternity21 test called around lunch to let me know the test came back negative.  We were so happy to hear this great news.  She also told me the baby is a...

B - O - Y! 

We are so excited Grayson will have a little brother and they will (hopefully) be best buds. 


What BabyCenter says about 12 weeks:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.
     

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

We celebrated Valentine's Day at home with our family and Oma, Bryan and Lauren.  My mom and I went with Lauren to look for wedding dresses and she found the perfect one.  She looked beautiful.  We made crab legs, shrimp scampi, potatoes and broccoli and had lots of yummy desserts.  My favorite was the Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes.  

Grayson and his friend Charlotte had a playdate that included making Valentines.  It was a quite the project, but the kids did great.  We think they turned out so cute!  Grayson also made me a Valentine with his nanny that was adorable!  I'm a lucky momma. :)

We had a very nice Valentine's Day with our family.  Grayson devoured his Sweet Mandy B's cupcake as well as the chocolate strawberries and cherries.  He was such a mess afterwards, but it was totally worth it.  So blessed to have such a great family.

Grayson ~ 17 Months

~ 17 Months ~

 

Grayson is 17 months old and such a joy.  He is becoming more independent and when he gets his mind on something it is hard to change it.  His new thing is throwing toys over the gate by the stairs.  The louder the toy the better and he gets so much excitement out of it that we almost hate to break his habit.  He loves the snow and has been enjoying all the lovely snow we have been getting.  We got him a new Pottery Barn chair and he loves it and seems like such a big boy sitting in it.  He has started scribbling with crayons, but he is not that interested in it yet.  He is talking so much now.  Some of his new words are cookie, heavy and more.  It's hard to believe our little boy is almost 18 months.  Can't believe it's only 6 months until he is 2.  We love you Grayson to the moon and back times infinity.  

Notes on pictures below:

Ju Ju and E-T

Grayson adores his big sister Julia and big brother Ethan and calls them Ju Ju and E-T.  They are very good with Grayson and love playing with him.  He thinks they are pretty darn cool.  My Dad always used to make me chocolate chip pancakes when I was in college so I passed it down to Julia.  Now she makes them for Grayson and he loves them.

Play dates

We visited my cousin Tim, Mindy, Emma, Alli, Luci and Grace.  We had a fun weekend hanging out and can't wait until the next time. We also visited my nephew Gavin and his brother Zion and sister Lily and Grayson had fun playing with them.   We had a play date with Devin and Charlotte from his music class.  We started our own playgroup because the mommy's love hanging out too.  We always have fun going to the Ohlander's house.  Now that they are older it's harder to get a group shot.       

Chucky Cheese

Grayson's nanny took him to Chucky Cheese with her granddaughter Ella who's 3 years old.  Grayson loves hanging out with Ella and she tells people he is her brother.  They had the best time playing on all the rides.  I think we will have to take him back again soon. 

Baby Braham #2 - Ultrasound & Belly Pictures at 8 weeks 5 days

We had our second ultrasound on Thursday, January 29th.  It was a very quick ultrasound, but so nice to see the baby.  The heart rate was 174.  I go in for the Maternity21 test on February 11th.  This test will give us a 99% accuracy for genetic issues such as Downs and will also tell us the sex of the baby.  We are very anxious and nervous, but will hopefully get negative results.  As far as the sex, I always saw myself with all boys.  I would love either one as long as it's healthy.  

Here's what BabyCenter says about 9 weeks:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Baby Braham #2 - Ultrasound & Belly Pictures at 6 weeks 5 days

We had our first ultrasound on Friday, January 16th.  I was so nervous my heart was racing out of my chest.  I have been in this situation 5 other times and the anticipation of finding out the results is awful.  This time however it was the best news...we see a baby and a heartbeat!  They took two pictures of the baby. (one baby, two pictures)  The heart rate was 120, which is normal for the age of the baby.  They gave me my due date, September 6, 2015 (one day after Grayson's birthday).  It took us over 6 years to get pregnant with Grayson after multiple attempts of IVF and this time we got pregnant all on our own.  It's amazing how powerful the mind is and what can happen when you are not thinking about it or stressing out.  We are so blessed and happy!  This was truly another miracle.         

Here's what BabyCenter says at 7 weeks:

The big news this week: Your baby’s hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny baby fingers and toes you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.  If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.