Meet Gladys

One month ago, we added a furry member to our family.  We discovered her through the organization Solutions for Animals.  We had a great experience with them!!  As we drove home from the beach, we stopped by to pick up our new girl.

The kids were so excited to see her again!  (We had met her about 3 weeks before.  They wanted to make sure we were a good fit and us her.  They also agreed to keep her until we got home from the beach.)

Gladys Kravitz, named by them for her curious, kinda nosy, always ready to follow you wherever you go personality.  (Gladys Kravitz was the nosy neighbor on Bewitched.)

Our first family picture

Walking with her new Dad to the car

Getting used to each other already

Then it was home and time to get used to each other.  Gladys has done wonderful!!!  She has had no accidents.  She loves to cuddle.  She is so patient with the kids.  She has great manners but doesn't seem to know commands or tricks.  We are all happy with our newest girl!

Can you find the dog in all the dress up clothes?!

Welcome to the family Gladys!

9 Weeks

Our family is growing!  

Gladys was added to the family 3 weeks ago (full post to come)!

This little one in hiding!

 Tomorrow I will be 10 weeks.  We had our first doctor's appointment 2 weeks ago.  Other than the ultrasound to make sure the baby's growth matches the estimated due date, it was a pretty boring appointment.  The little one is measuring on track, which means they will stick with a due date of April 5.

My belly popped quite early!  Just for fun, I took this belly shot on our beach trip. I was only 6 weeks but tell that to the belly starting to poke out!  I have a picture of myself pregnant with Benjamin only steps away from this spot, so it was also sentimental to have a picture here.

How does this pregnancy comparison with the other two?  Well, I admit....it's the hardest yet!  With Anna-Kate's pregnancy, morning sickness started at 5 weeks and then lasted the whole time.  I took Zofran to get it under control.  I felt mostly normal past 15 weeks or so.

With Benjamin's, I started at 6 weeks with reflux.  A double dose of Prilosec every day and, like AK's, it was manageable and a bit better after 15 weeks or so.

This one...whoa!  The reflux started at 6 weeks.  At 7 weeks steadily worse.  My tricks with Benjamin do not work.  So, now after 3 weeks of trial and error we have figured out the right medicines.  Two different acid reducers and a motility drug.  6 pills  a day.  I am so thankful for doctors who care and a nurse's line to get advice in between appointments!

My next appointment will be the more informative one.  Another ultrasound, which is always a plus, and more of a discussion about what to expect throughout the pregnancy.  Will they make me take the early glucose test?  Are they concerned about size of this baby and will their watchfulness just look like it did with B's?

And, so begins the pregnancy posts!  Excited to watch this one grow!

Family at the Beach

Oak Island 2014

Siblings at the Beach

Anna-Kate (5) and Benjamin (2)

Family

The 5 cousins with their Oma and Opa

A short photo opp with the 5 cousins!

Will and I both said this trip is almost boring to tell people about, which means it was perfect!  Everyone got along.  Everyone rested.  We played on the beach.  We ate in, we ate out.  Just the right blend of family time with relaxing at the beach!

We did go into Southport two different times.  One time we went and this large pelican was hanging out on the pier.

Anna-Kate wasn't as sure about being so close to him.

The seagulls....wow, the seagulls...

when we went into Southport, there was this area that must have had 100 seagulls hanging around!  The kids were fearless!

Will showed them how to get the seagulls to eat right out of his hand.

I, however, enjoyed taking pictures from the sides!  

Can you find Benjamin? 

He loved to chase them when the food ran out.  He would roar like a dinosaur and run after the birds.  At one point, they all went back up to their perch on the roof of the picnic or swing area.  He ran up to them and said, "Birds.  Chase you.  Please!  Come down.  Chase you, please!"

I love this sweet picture that Will captured of me and my little man!

Until next year...

Anna-Kate at the Beach

Our beach girl

This year was a bit different for Anna-Kate.  She didn't want to only play in the sand; she wants to play like a big kid in the water but she is not a good enough swimmer to play like a big kid in the water.  This year looked different, but once she got comfortable, she had a blast!

Her favorite activity:  shell hunting

Her favorite adventure buddy:  Daddy

Everyday Anna-Kate would set off with her daddy to see what creatures and pretty shells they can find.

Then they would come back and show off their plunder!  (The pink bag is something she got with her daddy just for shell hunting when we were at the beach with my family back at the end of the spring; love my hunters!)

For the water this year, she really wanted to be out beyond the break.  Daddy to the rescue

She loved practicing swimming with her daddy in the ocean!

Her cousins were all about boogie boards this year, so she wanted to try it.  Once.  Daddy showed her the ropes.

She did it!

She didn't do it again, but I was so proud of her for trying it at all!  Not our dare devil but willing to try.  

I didn't get as many pictures of my girl this year.  She was not into posing on the beach!  But, this one night she was loving posing for the camera!

And another pose

And posing with her cousin-bestie!

Benjamin at the Beach

Benjamin at the beach this year

He definitely found a better groove than last year!  

He loved the sand.  For the first couple days, he would always be seen with his hat and his shovel.

He became more brave about the water but most of the time still wanted someone right with him when he went in.  By halfway through the week, we had convinced him to put on his puddle jumper and go out with mama or daddy to "be a shark!"

This picture needs a frame!  I love this picture of my two favorite boys and their happy grins!

Okay, Benjamin's absolute obsession:  holes on the beach!  Uncle David built this big hole per his son's request.  

Watch out Uncle David!

Here comes Benjamin!

Ah, just a boy and his hole

Pensive at the beach

Excited at the beach

Benjamin's first trip into the deep with daddy

This fun!

Can not get enough of this grin

And...another hole

Benjamin at the beach absolutely means Evelyn and Benjamin at the beach!  These two can make each other giggle and laugh faster than anyone else.  They are also mischievous together and can aggravate each other like no one else!

The smiles are the best!