Gender Predictions

We are so excited to find out the gender of baby Mattern #3. I am dying to know if we will have more pink, bows, dress up clothes, and tea parties, or if we will be venturing into a new world of bow ties, trucks, trains, and all things boy. Let's go over the facts just for fun.

So far, this pregnancy is pretty much like my first two. The nausea is the same - all day every day. Terrible. Nothing too different about my taste buds or eating habits.

I think it is too early to tell if I am carrying high or low. But I never really knew how I carried in the past. I always thought I just carried kind of in the middle. I already have a bump for sure, but it looks like it did before.

This was taken at 10 weeks.

At my first appointment (8.5 weeks) the baby's heart rate was 178. Lainey's heart rate at 8 weeks was 166 and at 12 weeks was 172. I can't find anywhere documented what Cambry's heart rate was, but I remember it being high as well.

I have to include this for fun since it was correct with both girls. The Chinese gender prediction tells me I am having a boy.

My official guess is boy. I don't really have a good reason why I am guessing this. I will say that I have not had very clear skin lately. I normally don't have good skin, but during both pregnancies I had clear skin. Also my hair is still greasy and it was pretty dry with Lainey's pregnancy. I can't remember with Cambry. Anyway, we shall see!

Exciting Family News

As I'm sure everyone has heard...we are expecting baby #3!!

We are thrilled about another little one joining our family. My due date is October 30th. I am currently 11 weeks along. It seems like I have been pregnant forever though, ha! We found out super early, at only 3w2d. We were both in a bit of shock and disbelief. It was so early and the line was so faint and I didn't take the test first thing in the morning. We weren't quite convinced until I took another test the following day and the line was a little darker. We told my parents later that week and since we already had a trip to Waco planned that weekend we told them when we got there. They were all expecting it and had taken bets on if I was pregnant or not, ha!

The nausea started around 5 1/2 or 6 weeks and has been relentless ever since. Then the belly started making it's appearance at 8 weeks. We finally made it to my first appointment (after waiting for what seemed like forever) and were so thankful to hear the heartbeat (178) and see the baby wiggling and hear that everything was measuring on track.

I already have lots of things running through my mind like moving the girls into the same room to make room for the baby and what to name him/her and do we need a bigger car. I am so ready for this morning sickness to go away but based on my previous pregnancies I still have a ways to go. BOO. I think mine started to improve around 17 weeks and was much much better by 20. Anyway, Cambry is hoping for a girl, actually 2 girls that we can name Anna and Elsa. I have told her there is just one and that it could possibly be a boy but we will just have to wait and see. I will post a belly pic soon. It is growing by the second. So excited to start this adventure again!!

Easter Week

We had a great week leading up to Easter. On Wednesday our Bible study group got together as usual and we had an egg hunt for the kids. Before they went out Kristen used resurrection eggs to tell the Easter story. The kids listened slightly better than last year, but still a bit chaotic. At least the word was taught!

Cambry was all about getting the eggs at first. She excitedly loaded up her basket. (They were all candy filled). But after collecting some eggs, while there were still MANY on the ground, she said she was all done and wanted to swing. She walked over to the swing set. There was an egg sitting in the swing. She picked it up, threw it over her shoulder, and hopped in the swing. So funny.

Thursday we had a friend come over with her little boy and we made resurrection rolls/empty tomb rolls (crescent rolls with a marshmallow). The kids had fun making these and it was a good opportunity to talk through the Easter story with them. We all enjoyed eating them afterward.

Saturday we went to Blessington Farms. This was our first time to go and it was a lot of fun. There was a little egg hunt, barrel car ride, hay maze, slides, animals, and lots of other fun things. We brought a picnic lunch and had a good time. I saw 2 other Houston Moms Blog contributors so that was fun.

Later that evening we dyed eggs.

Sunday morning we went to the 8am service at church and actually made it there on time! We did pictures afterward in case you are wondering. Otherwise we would have never been on time. The service was great. It is always nice to be at our home church for a holiday since we usually are with family on Christmas. Poor Lainey could barely move in her dress and we could barely buckle her in her car seat but she looked adorable in all the poof.

We usually don't get home from church until about 12:45pm, so getting home at 9:45am made the day seem so long. Greg and Cambry made homemade pancakes when we got home. Then we gave the girls their Easter baskets with goodies. My parents came over in the afternoon and brought food. We hung out and had a good time. Somehow we forgot to do an egg hunt. Oops. It did rain a little bit during parts of the day and since Cambry seemed to be getting burnt out on hunts we just let it slide. There's always next year. Thankful for Easter and Jesus's sacrifice on the cross for us and that he is ALIVE.

Camping Trip

Greg took Cambry on her first official (tent) camping trip this past weekend. They went with their friends the Ramseys. Cambry has been talking about camping non stop this past week as they got ready to go. She was excited about her new pink sleeping bag, camping chair, and kite. Lainey and I stayed home since I don't think Lainey is quite ready for tent camping yet. And it was fun for Cambry to have some daddy/daughter time. They had perfect camping weather and they all had a good time!

Odds and Ends

I am getting so behind in blogging! I am going with the catch-all random list here.

1. I recently listened to the podcast Serial and it was so addicting. I hope they come out with a second one.

2. We went to Waco a couple weeks ago and had a great time. It is always fun watching the cousins play together. And I love big families. It was fun that with Greg's parents and siblings and spouses and kids we all played a little make shift baseball game in the backyard. The girls also did some shopping which is always fun.

3. Our church had a PNO recently and this time we went to dinner with 2 other couples to Taste of Texas. It was so much fun! I can't even remember the last time we went out with couple friends without kids. Dare I say YEARS? We had such a good time and the kids did great in child care. I don't even think Cambry wanted to leave and Lainey may have been the only one in her room not crying. Extremely grateful for this.

4. While other cities are stuck at home for snow days we have been stuck at home for sick days this week. The girls and I have been sick since Tuesday so we have pretty much cancelled everything and stayed at home. Now Greg has the cough too. I was sad to miss my moms group this week because we had a favorite things party. But my friend Joan still too my stuff so I did get to participate in a way. Hopefully this sickness will be leaving soon and we can have a better week.

5. I can't remember if I mentioned this at Christmas time but in case I didn't I need to document that Cambry pronounces Bethlehem as "Beckleham" and it is the cutest thing ever. She still mentions it occasionally and I never correct her. I am hoping she always says it this way :)

Lainey 16 Months

Little Lainey is 16 months. This update will be short and sweet. I realized I have been taking no pictures on my phone lately! Lainey never stays still though so all of my pictures of her turn out blurry. Anyway, this sweet girl is adorable and so fun. She is into everything. She just wants to open and unload stuff. Basically make a mess and move on and make another mess.

I think she weighs about 20 lbs. She wears 12-18 month clothes. She still babbles a good amount but no real words. Sometimes it seems like she is trying to say things or imitate but I'm not positive. She is cruising more and can even do a push toy by herself for short distances. Someone told me to put duct tape on the wheels so it doesn't roll so fast and that has been very helpful. She has also started letting go of things while standing to see how long she can balance by herself. It is usually only a few seconds before sitting down but I am very proud of her for trying to stand alone. She also is starting to want to climb things. She can climb on a very low surface (like when the couch cushions are removed). No feeding progress really. 

And on a final note, I have been trying to bring out Lainey's curls recently. Her hair is curly and adorable after bath but always straightens out in the morning. So I have started re-wetting it to revive the curls and it has helped some. I am also experimenting with a little gel because...are these curls not the cutest??

We love our sweet and silly girl!

How to Make It Really Hard for Your Mom to Cook Dinner

Step 1: Open the cabinet and take out all the fruit strips

Step 2: Find the napkins next to the fruit strips and spread them all around

Step 3: Leave your mess behind so no one knows you did it