It's a Boy!

Well, we made it back to Evanston! We are so excited to be back and to have this year to just enjoy time as a family! The biggest family news came yesterday when we had our 20 week ultrasound and found out we are having another boy! We are so excited and feel so blessed. The baby looked healthy and active and we are so excited to meet him in a few months! He has already been extremely active (just like his big brother) in my belly but I love every minute of it. We honestly didn't care what the baby's gender was but are excited that we can reuse some of Jack's clothes and toys! The boys will also be sharing a room for the next 3-4 years so it's nice that we don't have to worry about decorating it half boy/half girl. After taking the baby's measurements today, we are still on track for a January 20th due date. I can't believe I am half way there! I posted 3 of the ultrasound pictures from yesterday as well as my 20 week baby bump picture.



Last week Troy finished up his internship and was offered a job with McKinsey after graduation next year. Again, we feel like God has provided and we are so blessed. He really enjoyed his time this summer with McKinsey and we are excited for him to go back and start his post MBA career with them. He will start his second year of Kellogg in a little over a week and finish up mid-June. We will then move back into our townhome in Prior Lake and Troy will hopefully start work mid-August. It's so nice to start this year with so much figured out-unlike last year when we just took a leap of faith and had no idea where we would be led.


Today is also a special day. Troy and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe it's been 5 years already! It's so funny, this morning we were reminiscing about our honeymoon and a conversation we had on it. We decided that on our 5 year anniversary we would come back to El Dorado (our honeymoon resort) and START trying for baby #1! Ha! Funny how God's plans our not our own! Never in a million years did I think we'd be living in Chicago, on student loans with no income let alone be pregnant with baby #2! We wouldn't have it any other way though!


Jack is as busy as ever lately! He gets into everything! We are still working on walking but wow, can he crawl! He is super fast and loving all the room he has now that we are back in our condo! He loves the long hallway and we love it because it wears him out! :-) He really had fun getting into anything and everything while we were unpacking this past week. He has definitely learned what "NO" means although sometimes decides not to listen! We had him into the Dr. two days ago for a weight check and he was 18 pounds, 7 ounces! Still only the 10th percentile but the Dr. was very happy with that! He gained a pound and a half in 5 weeks! Somewhere along the way, he decided that he likes to eat! He loves to eat chicken, sausage, watermelon, cantaloupe, cheese, apples, puffs, bread and the occasional vegetable. A few weeks ago I thought he would be a kid we would have to force to eat but now he gets super excited, clenching his fists, (and screaming sometimes) when we put him in his high chair. Some other fun facts about Jack right now are below:

• Babbling! He says "mama, mama" for almost everything - especially whenever he wants something. He also says dada, baba, boo, and other funny sounds. Lately he has also been into screaming...which we are not fond of.
• The Bathtub! He has always loved baths but now throughout the day we randomly find him standing, holding on to the bathtub and looking longingly into it. It's pretty cute. It's still his favorite thing to do.
• Books! He loves to read, especially when they are Thomas the Train books or learning books. He turns the page for us now and can even point to a few specific things in one of his books when we ask him to!
• Clapping! He just started clapping two days ago! He winds up really big each time...super cute!
• Kisses! He gives kisses to Mommy, Daddy and Monkey now, which we all love! :-)
• Pointing! He points at everything, which is great because it gives us the ability to teach him about things. Sometimes he even knows to point at something he wants, point at one of us and then point back to the item as if he telling us what to do!
• "So Big!" He loves playing this game over and over and over! He is so proud of himself!
• "Peek-a-boo!" He has been playing this game for months but the other day he turned over his play mat as if to make a fort for himself, hid behind it and then would pop up and play peek-a-boo with me!
• Books with buttons! If a book as a button on it, it soon becomes one of Jack's favorites! He has a Thomas book that sings and will play it and make Mommy sing the Thomas song over and over and over and over (10 times in a row one day!). He also has a book that lights up if you press the button, which he loves...and luckily, that one is quiet! :-)

Enjoy the pictures below!

The bathtub...this is where we find Jack several times throughout the dayBeing a stinker and trying to get out of his high chair
So happy to be in the bath!
Playing at a Splash Pad...he loves any kind of water!
Playing "SO Big!"
Cutie Pie...
Smelling the flowers
Trying to get the bubbles...
Still loves to swing!

20 Weeks!
He loves sucking on the turtle's head in the bath for some reason...
Splashing in the bath!
Baby Boy #2!

This is a shot of the baby looking at the camera and yawning

Baby's profile

Baby's foot!