September (19-23 weeks pregnant)

We started out September with a beach trip to Corpus Christi. Last year we went to Galveston and this year we went a little farther south. We broke the drive up into two days and stayed in San Antonio after driving 4 hours. Brooks actually did very well in the car. It's been a while since we've done a long road trip so I wasn't sure how it would go. He played, I passed back various toys and coloring. I didn't pull out the iPad for a show until the last hour and at that point I was rewarding him for being so good, not putting a show on out of desperation. He was so delighted to watch a show in the car for the first time! I'm also super happy with the iPad case I bought that hangs around the headrest.

We checked into our hotel then went down to the Riverwalk to look around. It was so pretty. Brooks loved walking by the water and scaring all the birds. He even scared a couple eating dinner outside as he QUACKEDDD at a duck right in from of them. "Oh sorry!... He likes ducks!" I said haha

It was still pretty warm outside so we ate an early dinner at Iron Cactus and by the time we were done it was cooler and shadier outside. We walked around some more, got some ice cream and then headed back to the hotel for some swimming at the hotel. It was so fun! Brooks loved the pool. Then we cleaned up and went to bed. Brooks slept on the pull out couch in his Lightning McQueen sleeping bag. Although he was hesitant and scared at first we wore him out so much that he fell asleep quick and slept all night!

Friday we woke up had breakfast then got ready and walked to the Alamo. Growing up in Idaho I honestly don't know anything about Texas history so it was good to learn about the sacrifice that happened there. We enjoyed our time there, avoided some toddler bathroom incidents, went back to the hotel to pack up and drive some more. 

We drove to Corpus Christi stopping at Smoliks BBQ. It's in the middle of nowhere place that Dan found with rave reviews online. It was actually pretty good and a fun place to stop and stretch out legs. Then back in the car and we hoped Brooks would fall asleep and take a nap. Well... he fell asleep and was totally OUT right as we got off at our exit to the hotel. So we decided to take a drive around take a tour of the city and look at some beaches we hoped to visit during our stay.

We checked into our hotel then went to the beach! We went to McGee beach because it was free and thought it'd be a good one to play at for a couple hours. At the time it was good but comparing it to the other beaches we went to during the time it was definitely at the bottom of the list. The shore had a lot of sea grass and trash that made it hard to play in the sand.

We went back to the hotel where they had snacks out which kind of counted for our dinner because we were still full from the BBQ lunch. Then we went to a baseball game at Whataburger Field. We had a great time and Brooks loved it! They had a duck mascot and all the popcorn and soda you could consume. All the things a toddler could want haha!

In the mornings it was fun for Brooks to come hang in our bed and we'd all snuggle and watch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. That's not something we normally do so it was a fun, relaxing start to our mornings. We ate breakfast and got beach ready and planned to go out to Padre beach. When we got in our car we found bugs everywhere inside! This was new. I had left some food in the car so it was totally my fault however it was so bizarre to see so many moving so fast! Little ants that thankfully don't bite. I looked them up and I think they're called Argentine ants. We killed as many as we could, took the food out and even vacuumed our car at a car wash but sometimes we'd still find them. Maybe from the crumbs in B's carseat?

Anyways! We spent all day at the beach! Initially we were worried because the rangers said they had a high bacteria test but only in a certain area. So we went way north of that area and set up camp. We played in the sand, water and wave for hours. We built sand castles, dug holes and even caught some minnows! Brooks was over the moon that we caught a fish in our bucket! We had our packed lunch on the beach then left at about 3pm. B fell asleep on the car ride home but woke up literally 5 minutes from our hotel with a crazy need to pee. I forgot to tell him to go in the ocean and had been encourage lots of water to keep him hydrated in the sun. Poor guy was so sad and uncomfortable trying to hold it. I told it was fine if he couldn't hold it, we could wash everything and be fine but he was a rockstar and I ran in carrying him and got him to a toilet as fast as I could! Crisis averted phew!

We showered and got cleaned up from the beach then went to a place called NYC Pizza. Technically Dan's birthday was the next day, Sunday so we went out for what he wanted that night. They had great wings and pizza! I don't know if it was NY authentic but it was very good! During dinner thought we took B to the bathroom 4 different times, he clearly was squirmy and had to go, his underwear was a tiny bit wet but he refused to go. He said he didn't like that bathroom, which for the record it was a fine and normal bathroom. I bribed him, begged him and pulled out all the stops to make him go. I mean, you can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink. So we had dinner then went to HEB to find a cake of some sort for Dan's birthday.

We had never been to HEB before so we were walking around looking at things, also buying aloe because Dan (a little bit) and I (mostly) got burned. So we're walking around and I know B has to go so I'm watching him... and suddenly I'm watching his light grey pants turn to dark grey pants. He didn't full on pee like puddle on the floor but he truly couldn't hold it in any longer and it was slowly seeping out. I calmly walked him to the bathroom and thankfully in his mind this bathroom was better than the one at the restaurant and he went! HALLELUJAH! And I also had a change on pants and underwear with me so mom win! Since we were all feeling better after that we stopped and got some froyo.

Sunday was Dan's birthday! We woke him up, smothered him with loves and happy birthdays! We took our time to relax and get ready for church. It's always fun to go to a new ward and see how things are the same and different. We came to this ward at a very transient time they said. No one really knew each other yet and weren't sure if we were new or visiting haha! I remember similar times when our ward split right as we moved in. Church was good, Brooks loved being in a new nursery with new toys, and I went to an adult class for the first time in... 3 years? Can I be honest... it was boring, Primary is much better!

We came back to the hotel, ate our lunch then every took naps and it was glorious! We FaceTimed all our family and talked with them then drove up to North beach to walk around. Brooks loved looking at the giant ship (USS Lexington which we toured a different day) with all the planes parked on it. We walked out on the rock pier looking for fish and hermit crabs as the sun set. It was so beautiful!

Back a the hotel we opened the rest of Dan's birthday gifts- we had spread them out all day, sang happy birthday to him and ate cupcakes. All day Brooks loves saying Happy Birthday Dada!

Monday we planned to beach all day at Mustang Beach. We had a great time and this ended up being our favorite beach but I don't have any pictures because technology + water + sand + 100 or more degree weather doesn't really mix. I was really just enjoying the moment and loved the time away from it all. Brooks made some friends, we found shells and had a great time. The best part was I saw a sea turtle! I freaked out, started screaming at Dan and Brooks to come (therefore scaring it probably) trying to follow it. I lost it but at least I saw it, so cool!

We had our lunch and did our best to keep up on the sun screen. By this time I was getting a pretty bad headache from a combination of sunburn, probably dehydrated and pregnancy hormones. When we did leave Brooks fell asleep in the car and we wanted to give him a little bit of time to sleep so we drove around for a bit looking at the city. I also taught Brooks to pee in the ocean this day so we didn't cause another crisis, yay! He thought that was super fun.

We cleaned up from the beach (SO MUCH SAND) and decided to go to the original Whataburger for dinner. I had no idea Whataburger was founded in Corpus Christi. The actual place is gone but they made a replica and that's there we went. Brooks is usually a chicken fingers type of kid but we ordered him a kids hamburger and he downed it. He is now a huge Whataburger fan which I am proud of.

That evening we went and played mini golf! Brooks loved it and was all over it. He kinda got bored during the 9th and 10th hole but finished strong and had a great time. We got ice cream afterwards and he still talks about playing mini golf all the time.

Tuesday was our last full day in Corpus so we woke up and went to the Texas State Aquarium. It was huge and it did not disappoint! They had a lot of exhibits, different fish and animals to look at and a lot of touch tanks for the kids. They had a lot of beautiful huge tanks and glass tunnels. The dolphin show was a huge hit and my favorite! We also went to a bird show and fed sting rays! There were so many cool things at the aquarium and really enjoyed our morning there.

We stopped for lunch at Chacho's Tacos after a couple of friends recommended them. It's a small house converted to a restaurant and we had a delicious quesadilla, I would totally recommend it! We went back to the hotel, took naps them packed a dinner and headed out to the beach for the evening. We went back to Mustang beach because it ended up being our favorite. It was windy and a red flag for strong waves but we had a great time. There were too many other people and we spent a lot of our time walking up and down the shore looking for seashells. We found tons of them around the picnic tables where the crabs would dig their holes, eat and discard all the shells. We found some beauties!

We ate our dinner as the sun started to set and all the crabs slowly started coming out of their holes looking for food. Brooks loved that and thought it was so cool! The sun set and it was the most beautiful thing! I wasn't expecting that because we were facing east but the whole sky turned pink purple and orange it was amazing! It was the perfect night on the beach

Wednesday was our last day in Corpus Christi. It was rainy when we woke up so we went to the USS Lexington which was basically all of Brooks' favorite things in one- boats and planes! We got to tour the boat and it was huge! It was really enjoyable and we learned a lot. When we got to the top deck to look at the planes it was still rainy and windy. We happened to be dressed for the beach, hoping it would clear up (it didn't) but we had fun running around in the rain, looking at all the planes. Brooks loves playing in the rain and it actually stopped for a bit while we were up there too.

We came back to the hotel ate lunch, packed up and got ready to make the drive home. We left around noon and the drive home wasn't bad at all. We hoped Brooks would sleep but he did not however he was still pretty good and pulled out the iPad to watch a couple shows during the last hour and got home around 6:30. We threw a frozen pizza in the oven while we unpacked, put things away and cleaned up. Pretty sure we all slept good that night after our fun week. It was a great vacation and good time spent together with our family.

Dan took the rest of the week off so we spent the next day doing laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning out the sand out of the car. On Friday and Saturday was Time Out For Women which Tara and I went to! We've been wanting to go for a couple years but it hadn't worked out with nursing babies and such. We used Dan's hotel points (thank you Dan!) got dinner Friday night and stayed in Arlington to avoid driving. Time Out For Women is a religious conference specifically for women and this was my first time going.

We had such a great weekend! Olive Garden, amazing speakers, uplifting music, time with my bestie and no kiddos. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend! I felt so refreshed, relaxed and uplifted. I felt closer to God and more clear in my purpose- I'd totally recommend it!

While I was at TOFW I did have a little scare. I woke up Saturday morning to some bright red bleeding. Not much but still nothing you want to see while you're pregnant. I called the Dr who was on call and ate breakfast and payed attention for movement while I waited for a call back. After going through some medical history (all normal with no complications) with the Dr. he wasn't super concerned and said to watch it, don't do anything strenuous and it should stop and if not come in to be checked. By 10:30am it had stopped and I was feeling more and more at ease. This was Saturday and I actually had my full anatomy sonogram on Monday so that was also comforting.

Going into the sonogram I was so anxious. I think seeing that spotting and being more aware of what can happen or be revealed at the 20 week ultrasound really put me on edge. I had felt baby move constantly and a lot but I still wanted that confirmation that everything was ok.

20 Weeks

How far along: 20 weeks (5 months) WE'RE HALFWAY FOLKS!

Baby is as big as a: Sweet Potato

Total weight gain: I've officially gained 5 pounds! Which is the same as my last pregnancy by the time I was half way.

Maternity clothes: My regular pants still fit but the waistbands are uncomfortable when I sit because baby is very low so I've switched to maternity pants. However my belly isn't big enough to keep them up so it's a battle. Shirts I'm still ok to wear whatever I want it's just depends on if I want to look a little chubby in a regular shirt or clearly pregnant in a maternity shirt ha!

Sleep: I have actually been sleeping great lately! Been thinking about buying a pregnancy pillow for support.

Movement?: Lots of low movement and I can tell it's getting stronger. You can just barely feel it on the outside but you can't see movement yet.

Symptoms: Sciatic pain and headaches.

Food cravings: Does carbs in general count? No exact cravings but carbs are delicious.

So we went to my 20 week appointment. Brooks and Dan came along and I was so ready to hear good news AND to find out the gender. Dan had been teasing me saying, "but what if we should wait?" and I was like NO WAY I want to know NOW. He did too but he kept messing with me. My heart was so relieved to hear all good news. Baby is growing great and they saw everything they'd hope to during the sonogram. My Dr. doesn't know why I spotted, sometimes it just happens but there's no indication of anything else that would have cause it. And in case you missed it...

IT'S A BOY!

We are all very excited for a boy. Of course we'd be happy with either but I just felt Brooks would benefit from a little brother to play and wrestle with. Brooks is excited too! My Dr. asked Brooks what we should name him and he said, "Thomas the Train" haha!

Baby boy was playing with his toes just like Brooks was at his 20 week sono. We almost didn't get a good profile this time but the sonographer worked her magic. That cute little nose looks JUST like Brooks. Baby Boy is healthy and measuring right on track! I also learned I have an anterior placenta this time which means it's on the front on my stomach. It could restrict me feeling kicks a little bit but it's not a worry for anything else. Because baby is so low I've had no problem feeling kicks right now. To celebrate we all went out to lunch and were so happy for this amazing news!

When Brooks and I got home We pulled out a couple of baby things to take announcement pictures. Brooks loved looking at all the baby onesies and shoes. He was way more interested in it than I thought. He smiled pretty well but know some of these smiles are totally bribed with candy ;)

  

 Love my boys! We are so excited!

After our beach trip, TOFW and the sonogram it felt like our vacation officially ended and we started to get back to our normal activities. We went to the Library because Brooks filled out his book chart. He's up to 800 books read and loves picking his prize book out. We played with some friends and got Whataburger for lunch.

21 Week bump picture!

This was a random photo where I look over and Brooks is like this! Like seriously, how cute I could die! Thankfully I was laughing enough that he continued to pose and I got my picture.

We went back to our normal schedule for a week then Grandma and Grandpa Bullock came to visit! My mom actually flew in on her birthday so we had to celebrate! We got some Nothing Bundt Cakes, went out to Olive Garden for dinner, sang and sung happy birthday then had cake, ice cream and opened presents. Brooks was so excited and involved that it almost looked like he thought it was HIS birthday!

We did so much while my parents were here and had so much fun! We ate so much BBQ, played at parks and splash pads, went swimming.

Played in the rain, went to Bucees, explored a toy store, went to the trampoline park, tried some new restaurants...

We played a lot with puzzles, colored, read all the books, went to the library, played cars, played outside- soccer and baseball, rode bikes. We did everything and had so much fun. Brooks was so spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa and loved every second of it! Since my parents left, reality has sat back in which is exciting and terrifying at the same time. Our October is packed with exciting and nerve racking things. Brook's 3rd birthday, General Conference, my glucose test, a family reunion in Missouri, our wards fall party (which I'm in charge of ah!), and the Primary Program (which will be wonderful but still incredibly nerve racking being the primary president), then of course Halloween. Lots to do and prepare and hopefully a lot to delegate!