13 weeks 5 days

I have to say that with the 2nd baby, I have been such a slacker. I hardly ever take pictures of my growing belly and always lose track of how far along I am. I have a baby app on my phone that I am constantly looking at to see what's going on that week and have to look at how far along I am :(
Plus, baby is already measuring ahead and I don't know weather to go off that or my due date. So much confusion. But he/she is adorable!

                                                                 Baby Q #2 at 13 weeks

Anyway, Hudson started t-ball and he's doing so great! It's fun to watch him with his team and he's actually really good. Cody loves it because he played t-ball at 4 and his dad coached him. Cody helps coach when he's not on shift. We went out to the fields on Sunday and played with him. Have you ever seen a pregnant lady pitching and running (slowly jogging) bases?? Funny. We also did a lot of yard work Saturday and Sunday. We kept our yard in pretty good shape last summer but with the neighbors not keeping up with theirs and the crazy winds we have during the winter we get weeds like crazy! So we spent 3 hours or so pulling weeds and ripping up our dead bushes in the front. JOY. I've been keeping up with classes at the gym and I'm finally in the 2nd trimester and have some energy back! Thank you Jesus.

                                                         Little smirk! Gamecocks..1st game


We just got back from California last week and Hudson learned to ski for the first time and he was so adorable!

The weather was great while we were there and there was a ton of stuff going on. He did so well! Cody and my dad took him down one of the runs and must have done that one 5 or 6 times the first day and 7 or 8 the next.

We find out April 22nd what we are having and Cody and I will be the only ones to know.......until we have our reveal party! He actually came up with the idea, super cute.

Oh, story time

Just a little something I wanted to document this pregnancy. 
Since I had surgery scheduled in February, one of my to-do's before I left was to contact Human Resources at our national office and let them know I'd be out and to notify them when I would be back. I emailed our rep and got a silly response back.....

"Hi Ashley,

It sounds as if “Congrats” is in order here! In response to your voicemail message, I wanted to provide with information related to the “Maternity Leave” process here at the Association."

This was before we even knew I was pregnant and it made me laugh.
My response:

Oh gosh, wrong Ashley! I am actually having thyroid surgery on February 26^th.

He responded with, "Oh, so sorry. Wrong Ashley. An Ashley had left a voicemail for me and I was thinking you were her." 

He's going to be super surprised when I email him back!!!!
;)

 

Mammoth Lakes

We are headed to California middle of March to see Mimi and Poppi and hit the slopes. And by hit the slopes (for me) fireplace, shopping and staying warm! For the guys hitting the slopes, Hud will be learning to ski for the first time! I am NOT looking forward to the cold weather, we've had enough of that here in West Texas. I am looking forward to relaxing and seeing huddy ski for the first time. He's pretty excited about it too. Highs are supposed to be in the 40's and lows in the 20's.... GAG. I'd much rather make the drive to SoCal where it's a nice 70-75 degrees! Cody hasn't been skiing in almost 2 years so he is alllllllll about a ski trip.

I could totally visit Mammoth in the Summer..........

Not so much in the Winter.............

But it sure is pretty!

Hud's first trip to Mammoth! February 2010. It's about a 4 hour drive from where my dad lives in Palmdale to Mammoth and we only had to stop twice to feed and change diapers. Hudson was 6 months old and we shipped a huge box of winter stuff down about a week before and had a car full of baby stuff. I forgot how hard traveling with a small child was. I better get used to it ;)

9 weeks 5 days

Today! I am further along than we thought. We had a great doctors visit last Friday. We got several pictures of our baby, heard the heartbeat (a whopping 173 beats per min!) I don't think Hud's was ever that fast. We also had a great check up with my Dr. We were there almost 2 hours with labs and all. My expected due date is October 2nd!!!!!!!!! That would be MY birthday for all of you who are terrible friends and should have that etched in your brain. Kidding :)
With me having a C-Section with Hudson, I elected to have another with this baby and my dr. said he would schedule it about a week before. So we could be expecting baby on September 26th! Did I mention our Odessa Step Out walk is September 20th and our Midland walk is October 4th?!? Whoops.

I contacted a photographer on Facebook a couple of weeks ago asking if she would do a quick photo session so we could announce our pregnancy. She had an availability AND she doesn't cost a bajillion dollars!

Cody saw the "Ice Ice Baby" picture on Pinterest and said we HAD to do it and I was kinda hesitant at first but it's actually one of my favorites! The bags had huge Stripes logos on them but the photographer took them away like they were never there! These are just two of the sneak peeks, we should have a cd soon. Hudson has about a 5 minute window with pictures. He smiles 3 times and is DONE. We took these in Odessa and there was a pond, mud and ducks and he was so not interested in these pictures.
We are re-doing the "toy room" and making it Hud's room and Cody is doing all the work ( and saving us some serious cash) So our living room is a complete disaster. It's going to look so great once everything is finished. I still haven't wrapped my head around having another baby. I've read articles and such on moms who are having their second child asking if they'll truly love the 2nd as much as the 1st. I am already in LOVE with this baby but I know mine and Hudson's relationship will change. It will no longer be just him and I when daddy is at the station, there will be no more "quick" trips anywhere! I know he'll be a great big brother and I hope he copes well with some of the attention off of him.

Tomorrow is Gram's heavenly 1 year in Heaven and it hurts so much to even type that out. It doesn't even seem like a year has gone by. So many memories have come flashing back in the last few weeks. When I saw our baby for the first time I cried of course and immediately thought of her smiling! She would be so thrilled about welcoming another little bundle into our family. I miss our dinner dates, our conversations about life, I miss hearing what was going on in her life, I miss everything about her house. If I needed a bow for a present, a card, if I was hungry and needed a snack, I knew exactly where to go. If I needed guidance or an opinion, I'd go to her. I miss her hugs, I miss doing I LOVE YOU in sign language when I drove off from her house. When I was younger and we'd talk on the phone, no one would want to hang up so we would say "1, 2, 3!" and both hang up. I read an article about dancing in the rain yesterday and it made me think of all the times it would rain and she would have all the necessary tools to make sail boats to float in the curb with all the extra water. She never cared that I would dance in the puddles and come in her house all dirty and wet. There would always be a towel to dry off on. I could go on on and I am so glad I have such wonderful memories of her.

One of my most favorite pictures of Hudson and Gram. He was about 5/6 months old and they both have such admiration in their eyes. They had a great bond. He talks about her often and always blows kisses to Heaven!

xoxo

Here's our news:

I'm writing this a little early because I just can't contain my excitement......and SHOCK. On February 26th I would be preparing to have my thyroid removed. MAJOR SURGERY. For me at least. I was terrified but ultimately knew it was the right decision. Or was it? I've had Graves' Disease since September 2013 and have been on anti-thyroid meds that control the hormone that my thyroid produces because it produces SO much. We knew meds were only temporary and I knew I'd be one of the few that wouldn't go in to "remission" and that something would have to be done with my thyroid. Surgery it was. Cody and I wanted to start trying for another baby and being on the medicine was just not do-able! I had met with a specialist in Lubbock and told him I wanted off the medicine and that we wanted to try for baby #2. We set the date for surgery and my pre-op appointment and now just had to wait......and wait. Mind you, every night I would pray, "Lord, if this is your will for me to have this surgery, let it go smoothly and help me to recover quickly!"

Then Vegas happened.
Don't get me wrong, it was a blast!! With great people and great memories.
But then I got sick.
Upper respiratory infection.
Antibiotics.

Antibiotics interfere with birth control.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Fast forward to Super Bowl Sunday. I decided to take a pregnancy test. Nothing too out of the norm, just no energy and my appetite had increased. I DID NOT EXPECT A LITTLE PLUS SIGN.

******************WE ARE PREGNANT******************

We are beyond excited but so shocked. The Lord has a much bigger plan for our family than I ever could imagine. Obviously this surgery was not meant to happen, at least not when I had it scheduled.
4 tests later and all said positive, I called the on call Dr. to let someone know and to see what I should do about my medicine because it clearly says DO NOT GET PREGNANT! He told me to stop taking my medicine ASAP and to contact my OB and my Endocrinologist Monday morning. Called him, met with him and he reassured us everything was ok. Since I am on such a low dose of medicine and I was just a few weeks along, that it shouldn't have any affect on the baby. MY plan was to have this surgery, recover and get my levels where they needed to be and then start baby making.......Just goes to show that I am NOT in charge.

We have our first OB appointment on Feb. 28th. That's when it will be REAL, when I see the little tiny heartbeat. I don't have many of the symptoms of pregnancy. I am very tired but only in the evenings and my appetite is out of CONTROL!
I am still working out, not as hard and no GRIT but both Dr's have approved me to continue to work out. Which actually gives me a little bit of much needed extra energy, YAY

Please keep us in your prayers for a healthy pregnancy!
xoxoox

I can picture Gram in Heaven with the biggest grin ;))) She was actually the first person, besides Cody that I told right after I found out I was pregnant with Hudson. She was also the first to know about this baby. Bittersweet

                                                                       First 2 tests!

                                                     The shirt that I obviously HAVE to get

                                   Facetiming my Dad. It took him a while to read Hud's shirt

                  About 6 weeks along. Maybe it's me but that's a pooch... or a food baby..