In case you hadn't heard...

Nocks baby #2 is a GIRL!!!!!

We couldn't be more excited! I knew 100% all along that this one was a girl when everyone else was SURE it was a boy based on my symptoms and how I'm carrying this time...but I told them they'd all be wrong and they were! Both Laurin and I have enjoyed having a girl so much that the idea of another one is just so sweet. I'm so anxious to meet this little cutie!

The ultrasound we had to determine the sex was great. They took all sorts of measurements and she is right on track in her growth which is great because Lila Grace measured slightly small at this appointment so maybe we'll have a slightly larger baby this time.

I'm feeling great! I have lots of energy and I'm still very comfortable. I'm feeling movement however not as much as I'd like because I apparently have an Anterior Placenta which means that they placenta is in front so it kind of muffles the kicks. That should change soon! :)

Lila Grace is being super cute about her sister. I'll ask her who's in mommy's belly and she says, "baby sisser," then I ask her what her name is and she says, "Ca-line." Yes, folks that's right, she has a name! Caroline Cathcart Nocks! Caroline is a name that both of us especially Laurin have loved for a long time! Cathcart is my mother in law's maiden name and also the name of the town in Scotland from which her family originates. Laurin and I are in love with the name! Yay!

I'll post a pic when I can...

16 Weeks!

So today I'm 16 weeks and 3 days preggo. I had an appointment on Wednesday and everything was great. This little one is SO active! The doctor was trying to find the heartbeat and would get it for a second on one side of my belly and then it would disappear and then she'd find it again on the opposite side of my belly. This went on for a bit until finally the little bugger calmed down and she could track it for a few consecutive seconds, lol! We made our appointment for the big anatomy scan ultrasound when we find out the sex of the baby. So we find out just 2 weeks from today! SO EXCITED! 

I've been feeling GREAT! Maybe one day out of the week I get super tired and need to rest but other than that I feel quite normal and re-energized after the first trimester. I also have been feeling a lot of movement from this little one and that makes me SO happy!

I think Lila Grace is starting to understand a little that there's a baby in mommy's belly. I tell her to say hi to the baby and give it a kiss. She thinks that she can communicate with the baby through my belly button. It's so funny, she'll poke her finger in there and say, "Hi Baby," and kiss it. She also tells me that the baby is night, night. It's really sweet. I'm excited for when we can see the baby move from the outside and then we can tell her he/she is playing!

Below is a dorky picture of me taking a picture of my sizable bump. Definitely looking pregnant...I feel like I'm so big so fast but the doctor assured me that's normal for a second baby especially in someone of my stature.

 

The Macs came to town!

This past Saturday my God-parents, the McLaughlins, came to town. They flew in to Greenville and spent the day and night with us and then left Sunday for Charlotte to visit Steve's mother for her 90th birthday. Yesterday they came back to Greenville, spent the day and night with us and then left today to head back down to Florida. It was a wonderful visit as always. We did a lot of hangin' out and had a nice family dinner at our house on Saturday. Yesterday Kathy and Steve took Lila Grace and I to a nice lunch and then my dad and Glyn had all of us over for a delicious supper. 

Kathy is my second mommy and such a support to me. It's so nice to have her in my life because she was so close to my mom...it's like a direct line to her. Steve is a hoot...such a fun, sweet guy. It was wonderful to have them around. Lila Grace absolutely loves them and would run around the house trying to find them yelling, "Kaffy, Steeeve!" So cute! We are so blessed to have the macs in our lives!

On Saturday we took a nice walk around the farm.

Saturday night we hosted a family dinner at our house.

Lila Grace is going to be a BIG SISTER!

As you've probably heard already, the Nocks family is expecting again! I am in fact pregnant and due August 3rd. I'm now 15 weeks along and feeling great! We've had 2 ultrasounds, one confirming the pregnancy and one at 12 weeks that screened for chromosomal abnormalities. The last one was just wonderful and our peanut was soooo active, I'm talking somersaults, back flips, and rolls. It took the u/s tech about 45 minutes to get the measurement they needed because the baby just wouldn't stay still! I didn't mind one bit, however, because that was more time I got to watch my little one. The first trimester was ok, I wasn't nearly as sick as I was with Lila Grace but I was very tired, had NO appetite and almost always VERY bloated! I'm showing a lot already...I look a lot more pregnant than I am, although I haven't gained any weight yet...I think it's all just redistributing. Now that I'm in my 2nd trimester I have my appetite back and my energy is slowly returning. I'm feeling great and looking forward to what's to come! I couldn't be more excited and nervous about having two little ones, but something in me knows we can do it! Below is a picture of the new baby at about 12.5 weeks.

First post in over a year!

So I got busy, yeah, I know, excuses, excuses. There is no excuse other than life as a mommy took off! So instead of writing a huge summary on the past 16 or so months, here are a few pictures to help the story along.

 

I know just a few pictures can't do the year justice. It was a beautiful year full of love. Chasing around my busy toddler has been a challenging blast! I'm working part time now at bounce and I love it because there's more time for Lila Grace, for myself, and for my photography. Laurin has been SO busy with coaching soccer at CESA and just recently High School soccer has started up again. Again, I could write a book on the time that has been spent since I stopped blogging, but I've decided that my starting up again isn't about catching up with the past, it's about sharing all that's coming our way! I promise to try to be a better blogger from here on out!

First Beach Trip and Milestone Making

Forgive me for not posting in forever! But I'm back and boy is this little girl growing up fast! Lila Grace is 7 months 3 weeks old. She is now sitting up, crawling (it's sort of a hybrid crawl), she's pulling up to standing in her crib and trying on everything else, she's feeding herself puffs, and drinking from a sippy cup all by herself! It's all happening so fast!

This past weekend we went on our annual October family beach trip. We took a long weekend and packed up for Kiawah Island. Laurin, his parents, my dad, Glyn, Lila Grace and myself all made the trip.

It was a great weekend full of relaxation, play, good food and camaraderie. The only bad thing was that Laurin came down with a virus and felt pretty horrible all weekend long but at least he was forced to rest. He is feeling better but it seems he's passed it along to me...hopefully we can keep it away from the munchkin!

The first day we took Lila Grace down to the beach we weren't quite sure if she liked it. Her first step was on the wet, hard sand and I think it was quite cold...she didn't like it! Then I figured she had to dip her toes into the great Atlantic, but again, it was freezing and she squealed! I'd never heard such a high pitched sound come from her before. It was pretty funny. The next day we set up in the warm, soft, dry sand and things were much different. She was so excited about her new sand discovery, and played and crawled and had a grand time. Below are a sampling of the TONS I took, including a little video (very low res...oops) documenting the occasion.




Below are some videos (I accidentally had them set on "compact"—kicking myself for that one!) and yes you will notice Lila Grace's creative form of crawling. It's kind of a butt scoot/crab walk. But it works quite well and it's quite cute! She's quite a little miss independent. Oh, and sorry they are sideways, I forgot about that when I took them!



Lila Grace was a dream to travel with and really seemed to understand the concept of vacation. She was so relaxed, slept in longer, napped more than when at home. She's such an angel and we are so blessed to have such a sweet, funny, precious bitty on our hands. I fall more and more in love every day!

Bittersweet.

Last week Laurin's Grandfather, known fondly to us as Pop Pop, passed away at 94. He lived an inspirational life full of family, stories, art, music and love.

On Thursday, Laurin and I packed ourselves and Lila Grace up for a LONG drive to Bathesda, MD. Driving time was around 9 hours but the trip took about 11 with feeding/stretching stops along the way. Lila Grace was a dream to travel with...perfect in every way! It was really funny because about 15 minutes away from arriving she completely lost it and let us know that she had had ENOUGH of being in that darn carseat! But as soon as we got her out she was all smiles.

Throughout the 3 days we were there, Lila Grace enjoyed socializing with her extended family and we enjoyed having her for entertainment. She was an angel during the funeral, which says a lot because it was outside, blisteringly hot and full of gnats. I stood with her in the back and entertained her with leaves and flowers (which now she seems to have developed an obsession with.)

On Saturday we had the treat of meeting up with my Aunt Cari and Uncle Gary. They live about 40 minutes from where we were and came up to have lunch with us. We had a wonderful time catching up and they were so excited to meet their grand-neice! They couldn't get over the fact that they were looking at me with my own baby when they watched me grow up from the time I was born!

All in all it was a bitterly sweet weekend full of story telling and reminiscing about Pop Pop. Laurin spoke at the funeral and he was so candid and emotional...I was so proud of him. And so proud of my child. Moments like that are what family is all about.

Rest In Peace Bernie Nocks.