Albini Photography

Just like life, this pregnancy has gone by so slow and somehow fast all in the same. As we reach the end of baby boy’s pregnancy, we are growing more and more anxious to meet him. Travis seems to think that he is going to look like his brother, meaning Travis’ brother. WEIRD. He thinks that baby boy will have dark hair and features. I am picturing a Brody look-alike with more of a button nose because of his ultrasound photos. His lips looked similar to Brody’s, which I LOVE because Brody has Travis’ lips.

Every chore, errand, etc. seems to be done with the mindset of “this might be the last (blank) until baby is here!”. All of my “thank you” cards are written from the many things family and friends blessed us with, taxes are done, yard cleaned up(thanks hubby!), doctor bills paid off in advance, carseat and diaper bag all ready to go! Each little chore is done with greater meaning–Even the simplest of things like folding laundry and cleaning out the sink. I keep envisioning going into labor with a clean house. That’s very unlikely to be the case ha!

This pregnancy has been the toughest yet. I credit most of the added difficulty to having two children at home while growing a third–more duties at home, less rest, carrying two older kids around,etc. The back pain is super painful, especially as I get up in the night multiple times for the bathroom. Last night was the first night I woke Travis up to help me sit up. He’s such a trooper! I’m thankful that my pregnancies are pretty stress-free. I measure small (my belly measured 31 weeks at 36 weeks) so I get to have a late term ultrasound but baby looked good!

This baby boy has been our most active one! He is still doing major acrobatics in my belly and it is crazy to see. Friends have seen my belly move and become distorted from across the room!  I absolutely love feeling him move. 

One thing that I have realized about myself this pregnancy is that while I don’t have a tough time asking for help, I struggle to be still. I can easily ask a friend or family member for help with a simple task but I am not good at resting. This has proven to work against me this pregnancy, as my back pain is multiplied when I am on my feet and doing chores that I probably should not be doing–like staying up til 1am multiple nights in a row to paint our entire kitchen myself or mowing the lawn at 37 weeks pregnant. Breastfeeding helps me be still and I’m looking forward to that reprieve.

I have done a horrible job at recording this pregnancy so I wanted to do one last update!

Weeks: 38

Weight gain: 26 pounds

Baby’s Size: About 7.5 pounds and 19 inches long

Changes: Hoping these Braxton Hicks, that have become more intense, are continuing to do more for my progress. Seasonal allergies have started and I forgot how tough it is when you can’t take decongestants while pregnant.

Best moment this week: Hearing Brody say “Oh, I just can’t wait to see baby brother’s face!”. Also, I am so thankful for my husband who worked really hard this weekend doing all of the “honey dos” for me. He has also been getting up with the kids during the week so I can sleep in. I slept until 9:30am one morning! Sleep is my love language.

Worst moment this week: Having the severe back pain. I know it could be worse and I’m thankful it’s not debilitating.

Cravings: Oreos!

Missing anything: I’m looking forward to having a glass of wine. And I’m not even a big wine drinker!

Looking forward to: Having this baby boy on my chest and getting to check out all of his features. It’s seriously the best moments of my life and it brings me to tears.

Next blog post will be of this baby boy’s arrival! EEK! Thanks for following along. We appreciate your kind words and prayers as we prepare to be a family of five!

And here are some fun photos with the kids at The Book Family Farm with baby goats.

Photo credit to Katie Drake Photography.

Baby Albini number three.

My family is so excited to be welcoming our third baby next year! Baby boy is due March 24th, 2017. Our son Brody and daughter Brinley are thrilled to have a baby brother joining us. And I’m praising the Lord that Brinley will be our only princess for a while longer–Girlfriend is such a testy & loved little spitfire!

Oh how true it is that the more babies you have, the less you document. When I was going through my first pregnancy, I blogged everything–weekly photos, weekly updates on things like cravings, growth, highs, lows, etc. This baby is just as loved, just WAY less blogged.

This is my first post about baby number three and I am 6 months pregnant. So here’s an update to make up for the past few months!

I had a tough time past summer in my early pregnancy–mainly the dealing with mom-ing two toddlers and wife-ing while being bone tired and sick. My poor family had a lot of movie days but we all survived and now I can confidently say that I adore my children and husband again! 😉 Honestly, hormones are really no joke and the change in my body hit me hard.

As I approach my third trimester, I’m overwhelmed with thankfulness for this pregnancy and baby. Every time someone asks me how I am doing/feeling, it is easy to share the minor aches and pains but I typically end with gratitude for my health, baby’s health, and God’s goodness.

Things that I want to remember about this pregnancy:

–When I took the pregnancy test in July, it didn’t show positive. I had taken a few and all tests only had one lonely line. I was doubting if we would be able to have more children. I left my bathroom but walked back in 15 minutes later. I dug the test out of the trash and my heart skipped a beat. One line…and one very faint second line.

–Travis came home for his lunch break that afternoon and I wanted to tell him but I wanted to do something Pinterest-y and cute ha! But as he went to leave and head back to work, I just couldn’t keep it in. I asked him what he had going on in March. He looked at me confused. He asked “why March?”. I said “that’s nine months from now.” He walked across the room to me, hugged me and cried. Brody was asking us what was going on but Travis told him through tears that mommy & daddy are crying happy tears. I’ll always remember that.

–I love the way both kids lift my shirt up, revealing my belly, to kiss baby brother whenever we talk about him. If one kid does it, the other has to have their turn kissing brother.

–Brody talks about how baby brother can hear his voice and how he will want to learn how to play with Legos from him.

–This baby boy has made me throw up the most. The last time I threw up was at 22 weeks but I am nauseous and gagging every morning until I can eat some breakfast. Again–no complaining here as I have multiple friends who would say gagging only in the morning would be a good day!

–I have had similar cravings all pregnancies. They start out with very simple things like bean and cheese burritos, pb&j sandwiches, crackers, etc. Then I crave salads and I tend to eat A LOT of fruit. It is very convenient having my hubby working in our neighborhood because he is so kind to drop off my cravings late in the night–from skittles to apples to flaming hot Cheetos. :-p

— Brody wants baby brother’s name to be Zack. We have no idea where this came from. We just tell him “oh, that’s a good name.” We don’t have the heart to tell him that it won’t be Zack. He’s quite opinionated on the name options for brother and shoots down ones that we throw out there.

I cannot describe the joy it brings me to feel my son kicking and moving. It is a privilege to put my hand on my belly and thank God for his life.

<23 weeks>

I love knowing that I will get to meet his face and hold his body perfect little body in 3 months. Can hardly wait to meet this baby boy!

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY, BRINLEY!

Our Brinley girl is two years old! At her 2 year mark, we were in the midst of a super challenging stage with her. She is much more stubborn and vocal than her older brother ever was. This is proving to be very challenging and humbling for her parents.(I’m actually writing this in March–so she is almost 2.5 years old and out of that tough stage–PRAISE GOD.) I am so grateful for her growth and learning. Travis and I adore her and she has such a sweet, loving side to her.

Brinley loves::

–Anything involving princesses, dress up, “pretties”–jewelry or make up, and singing or dancing. There is no denying her girly side! When she hears a tune, she gets in stage mode–Arms up, hands out, twirling.

–Riding her scooter with her brother. She hops on, quite gracefully, and doesn’t look back. She pumps like a lefty and we are wondering if she will be a lefty like her daddy.

–Coloring. She is much more artistically driven than her brother. She will sit at the dining room table coloring her Princess Sophia book for close to 20-30 minutes at a time. She also loves doing Play-Doh. When we do cut outs of people or animals she exclaims “Awww….” and hugs the play doh.She’s such a lover.

–Salami. I think this is her favorite food. Travis said just this morning, “She is going to put us out of commission with her love of salami!” Good thing Costco has a two pack and daddy has a good job.

–Chapstick. This girl will walk around with her “pretty” chapstick and apply it all day. I had to cut her off because we couldn’t find any that hadn’t been Brinley-fied..meaning slobbered on and partly chewed. She now gets to apply some with me in the morning when I am getting ready. She wants to sit on our bathroom counter and use my blush brush after I do. She then admires herself in the mirror.

–Giving her brother kisses. It really is quite the stalling tactic before nap and bedtime. But she gets to give Brody hugs and kisses and it usually results in her kissing his face, head, back and butt. Always the butt. Why? I don’t know. It is probably because they both end up laughing hysterically. I usually end up laughing too.

–Reading books. If things have gotten too quiet for mommy’s comfort and I venture down the hallway, I often find her laying on her tummy in Brody’s room flipping pages in their books. It’s a very endearing site.

–Vitamins. She does not forget her vitamins every morning! It sounds like she is saying “Spiderman” but she is surely telling you that she’d like her vitamin. She gets one in one hand and two in the other to give to her brother. She has learned to not eat her brothers but you can see the look of temptation in her eyes. 😉

–When daddy gets home. When that door jiggles she yells “DADDY!!!!” and runs to give him hugs and kisses. He loves it too!

–Watching the garage door shut all the way before going in the house. She is usually the first to the door to the house so she holds the door open for the rest of us then watches the entire time the garage door shuts. This is so interesting to me!

–Singing and rocking before nap & bedtime. She has a playlist for mommy to sing–Jesus Loves Me, Who is the King of the Jungle?, Jesus is the One, and another song from VBS “Hey!”. Exactly in the order. Every time. Spoiled? Just very loved. Okay…maybe a little spoiled.I’m reminded often to say “yes” to those times to spend the extra 5 minutes it takes to meet her needs. It’s not hard to sit there and hold her close and sing. Sometimes it feels like a lot but I never regret doing it. Amen, moms?!

Brinley dislikes:

–She hates that she is not old enough for Awanas with her brother. We have a tough time dropping him off every week.

–Being told no. Not much explanation here…she’s 2.

–Vegetables. Brynn is getting better but is definitely our picky eater. We can now help her take a few bites of just about anything but it’s a struggle. Thank God for the veggie/fruit pouches and smoothies.

–Sharing her baby dolls and stroller. There, I said it. Brinley cannot be trusted to not try to steal her baby’s stroller back from a friend. We’re working on that one.

–When mommy has to leave and she has to stay home. Cry fest. Good thing she gets me home with her 95% of the time. When I have a photography session or a doctors appointment (or a girls date–thank you Travis!!!), it’s very sad for her. I’m told she recovers quickly and being reunited is quite adorable!

She has a death stare like no other and man, can she pout! Girlfriend has SASS. Emotional fits are much more common with her than they were with Brody. When told to, she will walk herself to her time out chair in her room when she is throwing a fit. She sits there, doesn’t get up(self control…there are toys everywhere) and collects herself(i.e. her emotions) until mommy or daddy come talk to her. Yes, that took some training. We think that’s best for her when it is an emotional issue, like getting upset–screaming/crying when mommy won’t let her answer the door for a stranger. (Emotions of a girl…oh man.)

It is hard to believe that she will not be the baby in the family anymore. She LOVES babies and I think she will love getting to snuggle her baby brother. We’ll have to keep a close eye on her but it will be great!

Brinley, your daddy and I adore you. We check on you sleeping at night and always say something about how precious you are to us and how we want to eat your cute face! It’s just too much love to handle. We pray often that God would use the amazing personality and talents that He has given you to benefit His kingdom. We love your fearlessness, your compassion and your love for people. Happy Birthday, sis. We love you!