I've made it half way through pregnancy #2 (hear how things have been going)

So, I'm nearly halfway through this pregnancy and wanted to do a little check in, to let those who care know what has been going on.

- I would like to call this pregnancy the "pregnancy of diabolic headaches." Since week 10, I have had a consistant headache. Sometimes they form into migraines, other times they just sit in the base of my neck all day and make me want to scream. Some days they lie behind my eyes, and make them water till I can't see straight, and every once in a while they will ease up and more or less just become an annoying dullness throughout my whole skull. haha, yikes. I truly believe that there has to be an end to the torture, just hoping that the end doesn't have to be when I finally deliever this baby.

- Many people ask how my vertigo is this time around. It is decent on some days, unbearable on others. Still more than I would like to deal with, but I am pushing through with the Lords strength.

- Cravings??? Oddly, I crave hot sauce, and pickles. Ugh, how boring. But the other day I did have one random craving for chocolate covered gummybears, and we headed straight to the mall to fill the silly desire! 

- Weight gain ... get this ... I  have only thrown up once this entire pregnancy, but I have still lost 4 pounds since my 7 week appointment (which was my first weigh in). I understood how I lost so much weight LAST pregnancy because I was throwing up mutiple times a day, till 20 weeks. But what on earth has caused my weight loss this time? So confused, and assume my OB will put me on a super high calorie diet next time I see her.

- Contrary to not gaining any weight yet. I feel HUGE. I definitely have a baby belly, and definitely have started wearing maternity clothes. I have lost weight in some areas, while gaining in others ... you figure it out.

-My little guy is a MOVER. I started feeling him at 16 weeks, and he just keeps getting more and more active. Dare I say that I have a feeling that he might be a wild one like our Tatum. My mind goes bonkers thinking about it.

- Tatum very much knows that there is a baby in my tummy. Though she also believes there is one in hers and daddys too. BUT, she takes mine a little more seriously. Every time she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, she has to give the baby kisses and says "niiice baby."

We continue to feel so blessed that the Lord would allow us to have another child, but do continue to hope and pray that the second half of this pregnancy would be a bit easier than than first half has been. For now we our flying off to Oregon for thanksgiving! WOO HOO! Vacation time!!!

The name dilemma ...

No, actually, my husband and I are NOT debating on names for our son. In fact, we have had a name for a boy before Tatum was even born. We still had a week of discussion and made lists of names we liked after finding out the gender of this baby, but we kept going back to our original thought. Mainly because it was the only name that matched up on both lists, and because we couldn't really imagine him with any other name. So where does the dilemma lie??

It lies in when to reveal the name. Should we wait till he is born to announce it like last time, which drove me insane, and everyone else around me insane. Or should we reveal it soon, and take our chances with critics who will try to sway us otherwise??? (Because come on, if history repeats itself, our baby boy is not going to have a very mainstream name). Both of these options sound like torture to me.

Growing up with a very rare name, I couldn't have been more happy. Yes people mispronounced it ALL the time, people often thought it was a boy name (Brian), and it was ALWAYS misspelled by others. But I tell you what, there was  never another Brynn in my class, never another Brynn on any of my many soccer teams, I never had to go by a last initial, to differentiate me from other Brynns, and if someone said my name, there was no question who they were talking about. I guess you take the good with the bad.

As for my own children I hope to do the same, understanding that NO MATTER WHAT the name, traditional, unique, wacky, whatever, that there are always going to be critics and haters. If I named him Bob I would have people asking why, probably just as much as if I named him artichoke (well maybe not AS much, but you get my point.) We love his name, we say it all the time, and already have a primary nick name for him, but the last thing either of us want to do is reveal it too early, and have that one random persons less than positive comment, make us think twice about our choice.

What would you do?

Let the holiday season begin!!!

Well, it's everyones favorite time of year, kicked off by one of my favorite holidays ... yes I actually like halloween. Halloween to me represents everything I love, fall weather, the color orange, leaves, fall sports, pumpkin patches, candy, bundling up, and most importantly it represents the beginning of the holiday season, leaving us with two full months of pure excitement ahead. This year we tried to really take it all it, because I feel like it comes in such a flash, and leaves even quicker. We went to the pumpkin patch twice, once as a family and once with a group of dear friends and their little kiddos all around Tatum's age. We spent a whole family evening carving pumpkins and jamming out to Christmas music, and topped off October with a wonderful harvest festival put on right here on campus. Perfect for my little bumble bee to run around and fill her belly with sugar. Now on to the best holiday in the history of the world (in my opinion at least) THANKSGIVING!!!! For you Oregonians we will see you SOON!!!  (millions of pictures of Octobers festivities below)