29 weeks, the baby's name, and a family update

It has been a while since I have updated on this pregnancy. Some days I feel so guilty that I haven't kept up with it like I did with Lyla, but let's be honest...I didn't have a 2 year old running around the first time around. Even as I am writing this now, I am battling to keep her off of me and the computer so I can at least document a few things about her baby brother. 

The Name: 

I am officially 29 weeks and we HAVE decided on a name. I love being able to call him by name and pray for him by name. We have decided on Layton Wade Graves. We never really considered anything other than an L name. Both Jeff and I come from families where we had the same initials as our siblings and I guess we just liked the idea. We picked 4 names and put together a ballot for the youth to vote. Of course, it was a tie between two names. So, we did what any normal person would do and let our 2 year old pick. :) And she did. Between the two names we would say to her, there was one that she would repeat over and over and over again. And that was the name Layton. Wade was my maiden name and was a name we tossed around from the beginning. So, Layton Wade Graves it is and we are so ready to meet this precious blessing. 

Here are some other fun facts about me and sweet Layton

Size of baby: Layton is between 2 and 3 lbs right now. I weighed close to 11 lbs when I was born. Jeff was around 5 lbs and Lyla weighed 6 lbs 10 oz. We will see who he follows after!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: As of Monday's doctor's appointment, I have a gained a total of 14 lbs.  

Maternity Clothes: Yes please! So thankful for friends who have shared with me. The second child seems to make you bigger, FASTER!

Gender: He is still a boy as far as we know:) 

Movement: Oh yes!!!! I feel like Layton is a lot more active than his big sister and she was quite the little mover. He moves CONSTANTLY! I have always enjoyed that part of pregnancy. I love his "Little" kicks. Jeff has been able to feel him move a lot too, which is always fun for daddy to be able to get in on the pregnancy action. HA!

Sleep: I definitely toss and turn A LOT! It is very hard to get comfortable with my back aching and my big ole belly. I have bad restless leg syndrome as well. Not to mention I get up about 3 or 4 times to use the bathroom. They say it's just preparing you for what's to come... 

What I miss: Being able to do everything. I am having to take lots of breaks to rest and it can get frustrating when you want to keep pushing on, but your body just won't let you. 

  

Cravings: I have wanted anything with a tomato base in it, SOUP!, any breakfast food (pancakes!), fruit, any meat

Symptoms: Tired,tired, tired! Acne, restless leg syndrome, lots of baby pressure 

Best Moment This Week:  Gigi came to visit us this weekend and that was wonderful! Lyla loves loves loves her Gigi! She took us shopping and got Layton and Lyla some great surprises!  Mcdonald's also opened up today in Quitman. This is HUGE for a pregnant lady! More food options close to home is ALWAYS a good thing. Lyla and I had breakfast there this morning-gotta support these local businesses:) 

We have been quite a busy family lately aside from all the baby stuff going on. So here is our fall family update in pictures. 

Lyla helped me put out our happy fall ya'll decorations again this year. She is such a good helper and ALWAYS wants to help! These are some side by side pictures from last year and this year. She has come a long way with the pumpkin:) She LOVES them this year! Can you believe how big she has gotten??

Our community sponsored a pancake breakfast with the Disney characters this year during the fall festival. We knew we HAD to take Lyla to see her favorite: Minnie Mouse. Unfortunately, she wasn't too fond of any of them! Oh well, the pancakes were good:) This family picture was taken at the end and was about as close as she would get to Minnie and Mickey. 

We skipped the pumpkin patch this year mainly because we ran out of time and because I just wasn't up for it. We still wanted Lyla to have her pumpkin, so we found a market near by and she had just as much fun picking one out.  

We let her pick out her own pumpkin and of course she had to kiss it before we paid for it. Haha. That child. 

Last night we carved our pumpkin and let Lyla paint her pumpkin. We all had such a great time being together as a family. We made our pumpkin look like Diggs:)

We have been practicing saying "trick or treat" for the big night tomorrow night when Lyla will go door to door and get CANDY! She has NO idea how much fun she is going to have and all the sweets she is going to get. She is going as a cupcake this year so I will be sure to post pictures later. Here are two more of the sweet big sister to be. Our precious, spunky, Lyla Rae!

Lyla says...

I saw a blog post from my cousin Amy and I thought it was such a great idea. Hope she doesn't mind that I copy it:)

Some people have blogs to post recipes or home ideas or advice. My blog is mainly devoted to my sweet family. We named it Growing up Graves because we are all growing daily. Growing as a married couple, growing as parents, growing in Christ. And our sweet Lyla is just growing. I wanted my blog to be full of memories and special events that happen to us in this process of "growing". I never want to forget this precious time in our lives.

So, again, this post is devoted to my sweet Lyla. (Thanks for the idea Amy)

Before we had kids, I would always wonder how in the world parents could understand exactly what their children were saying (when to me, it sounded like a bunch of gibberish). A friend actually made a comment this weekend asking us that very question.."How in the world did you know that's what Lyla wanted". Jeff and I both understood completely what she was asking for when no one else had a clue. You just know...you are around them so much, you just begin to understand their lingo. Well, I know that Lyla will, one day, make perfect sense with her words, but for now her language is so sweet to me. The way she pronounces things and understands things will only last for so long. I want to make sure we remember what our 2 year old Lyla says...

Henna (He-na): This is how she pronounces Hyena. She started becoming interested in animals when Jeff introduced her to an animal sounds app on his ipad. Hyena quickly became one of her favorites. So, we decided that she might really enjoy the movie The Lion King. After one night of watching it as a family, she was hooked. Now we cannot get through a single day without her asking to watch the "Hennas" which is her name for "The Lion King".

Button: This is what Lyla refers to as her belly button. She has never called it a belly button...only a button.


Dora: This is what she asks for when she wants a band-aid. The only non-brown bandaids we have ever bought her, just so happen to be Dora the Explorer band-aids. Whenever she has a "bo-bo" or a "hurt" (as she calls them), she will ask mommy or daddy to get her a "dora".

Pedge Tails: That is the best way I know how to spell what she says. But she says this every time we get in the car, meaning, she wants to listen to The Veggie Tales c.d. (this is also how she says pig tails-which she is actually referring to the rubber band, not the hair in a pig tail)
Example, tonight she was playing with a rubber band and it popped her and she said the "pedge tail hurt her".

Hold you/Help you: Not really a funny one, but something I hope I will always remember. She doesn't understand commands with "Me" (Like hold me, help me) She always says "Hold you, help you". This is probably because we ask "Do you want me to HOLD YOU?", so she responds with "Hold you". Makes sense:)

Shake a baby: This always sounds so awful to people, but let me explain. My mom actually started this when Lyla stayed with her one weekend. Right after Lyla finished eating my mom stood her up in her chair and they did a little shake to get all the crumbs off of her. My mom actually made up a song to go with it. Well, we adapted it here and EVERY TIME Lyla is finished eating, we will stand her in her chair and twist her a little bit and she will say "shake a baby". Easton has actually started doing this too when I keep him. They both giggle and love it. (side note: Do not ever really shake a baby!-we are not harming her in any way!-just thought I'd put that out there!)

Bye buddy, see you later: She will say this EVERY TIME we leave the house. WE often call Diggs buddy, so this is her good bye to Diggs. She also tells everyone see you later when she leaves them. Such a sweet spirit.

I could go on and on and on about all the funny things Lyla says. Jeff and I have found so much joy in just listening to her and watching her. She is so full of life and full of personality.

One of my favorite things to do lately is just watch her with her baby dolls. She LOVES every single one of her babies and she takes such good care of them. She will put them in the swing, or in her chair. Sometimes the babies even have to go to time out. The funny part is, is that everything she does with them is an imitation of what she sees me do with her. I get such a kick out of watching her, because she will do exactly what I do. Even the things that I don't realize that she notices. She rocks her babies, burps her babies, puts her babies on the potty (they don't get candy for that-neither does she), feeds her babies, puts them to bed, kisses them. Never once have I seen her be mean to her babies. I am so glad that she treats them that way, because I always want to be the best mom to her.

**we took her to the zoo last Monday for Labor Day. She absolutely loves animals and we just knew she would love to see them. Most of the pictures from this post were taken that day. A caption for the above and below picture: She begged to ride the merry-go-round. She had been on one once and wasn't a fan of the going up and down, but since she seemed interested, we decided to try it again. Jeff went with her this time. They started off on one of the animals and about the time that they made the first 'round, they had moved to a seat...oh well. Maybe next time:)

It's a BOY

We found out a week ago that we are expecting a little baby BOY! Things have been so busy, I just haven't had a chance to really update. But, here's the scoop:

We were so excited for our appointment. Jeff and I have always agreed that we will always want to know what our babies are. I guess neither one of us are good at being surprised.

We both took the day off and wanted to include Lyla-afterall, this would be HER brother or sister.

Waiting to find out what baby #2 would be ('13)     

Waiting to find out what Lyla would be ('11)

We headed to Meridian where our appointment was and literally as soon as I laid down and the sonogram started, the ultrasound tech said "Well, Are ya'll ready to find out?" She knew THAT quickly what we were having. This was literally the first shot of our baby boy.

After we all finished laughing and processing what she had just said, we got to relax and enjoy all the sweet poses HE would do for us.

He was very OPEN:) haha. The tech even commented that "he wanted us to be sure he was a boy so we were prepared." He is certainly not the shy one. Such a boy already...even in the womb.

  (Isn't he so handsome already??)

 

(More "proof" that he IS a boy)

(Check out those guns!-Daddy liked this one a lot)

(The tech said he had his hands up ready to catch a football-daddy didn't argue)

 Since live away from our families, we didn't think it would be possible to have a gender reveal, even though we wanted to so badly. So, we came up with a way to surprise our parents the day we found out. We had a cake delivered to each parent to let them know baby Graves was baby BOY Graves:)

(This is the cake delivered to Jeff's mom-thanks to some special friends in Abilene)

(My mom's friend Holly made hers and my dad's cakes. When they cut into them, there was blue icing)

*Chella made Jeff's dad's cake-once I get a picture I will post it. Needless to say, they were ALL so surprised!!!

We went out to lunch just the 3 of us after the appointment and a few days later our sweet friends Sam and Ashley came by with some cupcakes of our own! You know Lyla cannot resist a cupcake -well, she can't resist the cupcake ICING!

We are so excited about our little BOY! He was measuring a week earlier than expected, but you know they tell you to always stick by the first date you are given which is January 18, 2014. The doctor said he looks great and everything is forming and developing great. Please continue to pray with us for a healthy delivery and a healthy baby. 

We still don't have a name yet, but we are tossing around a few. We will definitely reveal once we decide. 

I have been feeling okay. This baby is very low and it is already hard to pick things up (Lyla) and bend over. Sometimes it scares me to think that we still have 20 more weeks to go. My doctor reassured me that the second pregnancy and any that follow are much harder than the first. I tend to agree. I admire moms with 3+ kids even more so now. It is so hard keeping up with a 2 year old all day (granted I keep kids at my house, so, daily, I keep up with two 2 yr olds and a 6 week old-but they are not all mine and at the end of the day two of the three get to go home) I am so thankful for a husband who is a helper in every sense of the word. I couldn't do this without him. 

Anyways, I will update more later, but for now, Lyla will be a big sister to a little brother. :) I think she's pretty excited.

(Mommy's baby 'bump' at 18 weeks. Measuring at 19 weeks)

16 Weeks with Baby #2

I did this the first go around with Lyla and I wanted to make sure I kept up with baby #2 as well. This is more for me to remember later, but please feel free to read if you are interested in how this pregnant mama is doing:)

Size of baby: Our baby is about the size of an avocado...still teeny tiny.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I have actually not gained any weight. I do, however,  have a baby bump. I have been very sick again this pregnancy and so my appetite has been weird. What I have lost in some places, I guess I have gained in my tummy...it's all even-ing out on the scale as of right now. 

Maternity Clothes: Finally broke down and bought some maternity pants. I never bought any pants with Lyla, but this baby is another story. I am going for comfort over style. But I will say, I found some pretty cute, stylish things at Target:) 

Gender:We don't know what the baby's gender is yet, but we are definitely going to find out! We will know August 19 if we will be team pink or team blue. 

Movement: Nothing yet. I cannot wait to feel that sweet movement. 

Sleep: My sleep is wonderful so far. I sleep through the night with the exception of have to use the bathroom several times. 

What I miss: ENERGY! This baby has drained this mama dry of energy! Could be because I am busy chasing a 2 year old around as well...a little different the second time around. You cannot rest just anytime you feel like it. 

  

Cravings: My cravings seriously change daily. My new "kick" is fried pickles. One thing that has been a constant is meat, cheese, fruit and yogurt. One day I could've killed for some cole slaw. The next day I wanted nothing to do with it. HA! The life of a pregnant woman!

Symptoms: Tired, nauseous, some acne

Best Moment This Week:  Last week I got to hear the heart beat again and it was very strong! LOVE hearing that sweet sound! My moments this week have been focused on the sweet gift I already have...LYLA! She is growing so much. She is doing great potty training and learning new things. She can sing songs (on key too) and count. She is so very smart! The things she remembers just astounds me. For example, we drove by pizza hut the other day and she started saying "mommy, pizza" I couldn't believe that she remembered that's where we get pizza. (We don't have it very often either) Just little things like that impresses me so much. She is also in love with the movie Dumbo. She loves watching the baby and the mommy. I have used this movie several times to explain to her that we will have a baby soon. I am not sure she understands, but it's fun to see how much she loves babies.

Well, I could go on and on. I am a proud mama...of both my babies:) They are so worth all the things pregnancy entails. It's easy to see that this go around. I know no matter how I feel or what I look like, I am going to be blessed beyond measure in just a few short months! 

ps. No pictures yet. I will work on that this weekend:)

Lyla's 2nd Birthday

Our sweet girl turned 2 years old on July 6, 2013. (if you asked her how old she is, she will tell you she is 3...not exactly sure why, but we are working on being 2!) 

Our celebration with her always starts around the 4th of July, since she was so close to being our little Independence Day baby. We took her out to eat and then for frozen yogurt. Quitman always shoots off fireworks the night before, so we made sure we had seats for the "big event". 

She saw the fireworks last year, but really took them in this year. The lady sitting beside us even commented that Lyla hadn't blinked the entire time. She was surely amazed!

Of course, like any 2 year old-to-be, she had to put on her own show towards the end. Everyone loved it. 

We had Lyla's birthday party on her actual birthday this year. Since she loves Minnie Mouse,  (she pronounces it "Men-A Moose") that was the theme we went with!

I was so worried about the rain, because we had planned a "water day" for her and her friends. The Lord was faithful to keep it away for the entire day! It was a perfect day to celebrate!

These are some of the decorations and food:) We tried to have all of her favorites (hot dogs, cheese balls, fruit, CUPCAKES!) *special thanks to my cousin Amy for making Lyla's invitations, cupcake toppers, food signs, and thank you stickers! Also, Lyla had TWO cakes for her special day-thanks to our family friend Holly for making her second one:) Such a special surprise!

We set up the pool, slide, water table and sprinkler outside! Lyla loves the water, so we knew she would have a great time!

And lo' and behold, as soon as we let her go outside she jumped in the pool:) No matter that her friends hadn't arrived yet...the party was already started!

Once her friends got there, there was no stopping them! They all had a blast!

So many of her friends came, along with several of our students in our youth group. I hope she never doubts how loved she is!

She received many sweet gifts from all her friends-she has seriously played with every single one of them...looks like we will be giving away some old toys VERY soon!

It was the perfect day! We are so thankful to everyone who came and who continually show love to our little girl and to us. God has blessed us tremendously with awesome friends! I cannot believe it has been two years since we so nervously checked into the hospital not having a clue what to expect! We are so in love with this child that God has given us. She is truly a joy. She has the sweetest spirit and is always quick to make us laugh. She is very easy going and likes just about anything and anyone. We hope you had a great day, Lyla! We love you so much!!

Happy Birthday Lyla Rae!!!!