First of all, we are so excited to announce that Julia is going to be a...
I am 15 weeks pregnant. At the beginning I felt nauseous and exhausted. But, I am getting more energy and feeling pretty good now, so I'm so thankful for that. I am so thankful to be at home because when I was teaching during my last pregnancy, I was on my feet all day and didn't get to rest at all during the day. This time around, I am able to rest when Julia takes naps and I think I feel so much better because of that.
Julia and her little brother/sister will be 21 months apart. I am due July 19th. We are so excited!
I am hoping to have a vbac rather than another c-section, and I found a doctor who is willing to try for this (many doctors or hospitals won't try anymore). There is no guarantee that I will be able to have a vbac, but I'm just so happy to be given a chance since our local hospital won't. We'll see what God's will is.
I have a few ultrasound pictures I wanted to share. At the ultrasound it was so exciting to see the baby's heart beating and to see his/her arms moving. It is so amazing to see God's hand in forming such a tiny baby. The baby was about 10 cm in the ultrasound at my 15 week ultrasound. Wow!
This was my first glimpse of the baby at my first doctor appointment (13 weeks)
Side view (15 weeks)
Another side view (amazing!)
View of his/her face
Play Dates
I've had a few play dates with friends at my house. My first was with Sarah. Her son, Jonathan, is about a month older than Julia. It was cute to see them together.
I had another friend, Elizabeth, and her daughter, Sophia. visit. We took the "Bradley" birthing classes together before our babies came. We actually delivered within 2 days of each other at the same hospital! So, Julia is just 2 days older than Sophia. We have gotten together a few times and it is so fun to see the girls together because they are both little.
The 4 of us
Sophia and Julia
Mandy's Baby Shower
My good friend, Mandy, is having twins! (boys) She and her husband live in Northern California, so I didn't think I would get to see her before the babies came. But, they came down for the Truth and Life Conference at Master's a few weeks ago. My friend, Joanna, asked Mandy if we could throw her a baby shower while she was here. So, that was super fun to see her and celebrate with her!
This picture makes me laugh because you can see the little kids running around. There were more kids than ladies at the shower. But, Joanna was super great about opening up her home to all of us. They have an awesome backyard where the older kids played (and Hal, Mandy's husband, was so sweet to watch all the kids during the shower!). It worked out great, and I'm so glad so many of Mandy's friends could come.
Me, Mandy, and Joanna
Mandy and her sister
Jen, Malachi, and Mandy
Mandy, Lori, and Annie
Kristina and Mandy
Ethan, me, Mandy, and Hal. After the shower was over, Mandy and Hal were so sweet and treated Joanna & me (and our families) to Stonefire.
Visiting my sister with my parents
My parents drove down from Northern California and spent one night at our house. The next day, I drove with my parents and Julia to visit my sister in Arizona. Ethan was so sweet to let me and Julia leave him for 5 days. We had such a good time. I love my family. :)
Julia, already comfortable on my mom's lap. She was drawn to my mom. It was so sweet. :)
Sisters
The "Layton" women
Sandy (Laura's dog) snuck into the picture
This is a blurry picture, but I like it because we spent a lot of time hanging out and talking on the couch. We didn't watch any t.v. or movies the whole time we were there. It was so relaxing and fun.
Aunt Laura with Julia
Julia LOVES dogs. The funny thing is that Sandy was a little scared of Julia even though Julia was gentle with her. By the end of the week Sandy was happy to lick her and loved the attention she got from Julia.
Awww...
Us ladies enjoyed cooking meals together
Grandpa enjoyed feeding Julia
Jason was on a business trip while we were there which was sad because we didn't get to see him. But, he was super sweet and sent Laura these chocolate covered strawberries from Edible Arrangments. The box of chocolate dipped fruit was for us. :) We enjoyed eating it all!
Aunt Laura reading to Julia
Julia and her Grandpa
Julia playing the piano :)
Micah playing with Julia
Micah played us some songs on his saxophone. He's very good!
Julia is still not walking, but getting quite close. She is able to take a few steps and is always quite proud of herself.
We played a few games while we were there
I love this picture of Julia. Laura was playing with her in the backseat and Julia was giggling so much. It was so cute!
Pictures of our House
I finally feel like we are settled into our house. It has taken awhile to completely unpack and get things put away. We love our house and know that God is so gracious to allow us to live here.
This is the first room you see when you walk through the front door. It is where our couch & t.v. is as well as our formal dining table.
A view of the couches & t.v.
The people who lived here before us left those shelves on the wall. They are from Pottery Barn and I love them! So, I bought some frames and put family pictures up.
Our den which serves as a play room/office. This is where I spend a lot of time with Julia. I love it because it is right next to the kitchen so she can easily crawl back and forth (and I can keep an eye on her if I'm working in the kitchen).
Our kitchen
Our dining area next to the kitchen
Our patio in the back. Some friends from our Bible Study gave us the patio set!
Backyard
Stairs
Bonus Area at the top of the stairs. We keep all our books, movies, and games here.
Washer & Dryer! This was one of my favorite rooms when we first moved here since we didn't have a washer & dryer in our old apartment. Also, it's upstairs which is a blessing. :)
Our "Ebay Room" as we call it. Ethan stores the dvds and bluerays that he is selling on the shelves. Eventually, this will need to be cleared out to make room for the baby (probably move Julia to this room).
Julia's room. It's right next to our room.
Our bedroom.
