Baby #2 Here in 2 Weeks!

Well, it's official! Baby Kelly #2 will be here on January 13, 2014 via scheduled c-section! It's crazy to think this is just two short weeks away. We're all very excited to meet our little man and are sure the time will fly by.

Raegan is constantly talking about him and seems very eager for him to get here. Not sure if she realizes how much her world is going to change, but she seems okay with it all at this point. We're sure she's going to be a great big sister and very maternal. 

Fingers crossed for a smooth surgery and health baby boy! Details and photos to follow soon...and final baby bump!

34 weeks...

Well I missed the 4 week update, but the belly did not skip a beat in growing even larger these last 6 weeks! Baby Kelly #2 is definitely growing and I imagine will be a big guy. Although, in looking back and photos of my pregnancy with Raegan, I'm about the same size. I feel way bigger this go around, but I don't think it's by much. 

This little guy sure is active though! He definitely reminds me he is in there all day long! And he's taking a bigger toll on my body this go around - causing a lot of sleepless nights and trouble getting my shoes on, but overall things are pretty easy, just as they were with Raegan. 

This month's doctor appointment showed him growing along just as he should be, a strong heartbeat and overall perfect report. We also did a tour of the hospital since it's our first time at this particular one. It's a big difference going on these type of tours the second go around - not as scary or intimidating and just a refresher! It is a bit odd knowing we'll roll in to surgery right away with the scheduled c-section, but overall things will be about the same. Next appointment we'll get to choose this little guy's birthday and schedule the c-section - so surreal!!

Stay tuned for one more belly bump pic and then the big day...just a few short weeks away!!

Princess Palooza

Oh November, the month full of excitement: birthdays, birthdays, more birthdays and Thanksgiving! I love this month and I've made Miss Raegan love it as well - especially all the spoiling that occurs this month. And boy was this little lady spoiled!!

Of course we started the month off with a birthday countdown, which to a 2 year old was probably torture. She was in full anticipation mode of that glorious day for weeks! And when it finally arrived, it was a week long celebration: we had a celebration at her daycare, a family party at the house and then her special friend birthday party at Wacky Tacky - a local party place just for kids.

Raegan was showered with love by all the family - and especially loved having her Uncles and Aunties come into town for the special occasion. Not only was she showered with love, but she was showered with princess stuff galore! Our life threw up pink, but we accepted it because she absolutely loved it all. She is princess through and through and it's by far her favorite thing right now. 

In addition to all of the princess gifts, we upgraded her room to a princess theme in honor of this new found obsession. It was adorable to see her eyes light up when she saw her new room and said it was "beautiful." She couldn't wait to take a nap and be in her room. Success!

This month also included a road trip to Los Osos for Thanksgiving to see the Kelly family. Raegan loves her road trips - mostly because she gets to watch movies, eat junk food and of course suck on her "crack pipe" as I call it - the pacifier. This is one thing we really want to break her of, but when you're 8 months pregnant and on a 6 hour road trip, you choose your battles! Raegan had a blast seeing her family and playing with all of her cousins. It's by far one of our favorite things to see her enjoy playing with her cousins and watch them grow up together. Even though they are all boys, she hangs pretty well...playing in her dresses as she climbs play structures and runs around with the boys! It's adorable. We love that she's all girl, but doesn't get phased by playing in the dirt or running around. 

This month also included our annual family photo shoot. Ever since my brother's wedding in September, Miss Raegan has finally taken to the camera, which makes for much better photos! Granted she has an interesting squint and doesn't always look directly into the camera, this year's shots were by far better and she was much more cooperative. It's fun to see her blossom and to see her personality shine through all the photos. 

Overall, we had another exciting month full of adventures. Next month won't disappoint and we look forward to seeing how Miss Raegan handles Santa and Christmas this year! 

Enjoy this month's photos and videos!

October Celebrations

October was a fun-filled month full of pumpkins, trick or treating and good times with friends. Raegan  certainly enjoyed all of the fall activities and we enjoyed her being big enough this year to be more actively involved in the celebrations. Which means, we probably over did the pumpkin patch thing, but this year was just too much fun to pass up!

We hit up Bishops Farm twice - once on our own and once on a field trip with Raegan's daycare. The field trip was a lot of fun because it was on Halloween day so all of the kids dressed up which was beyond adorable. Luckily Raegan didn't want to wear her costume because the dress she decided to wear got completely trashed and dirty, but it was well worth it. The kids had a blast playing on all of the structures, picking out their own pumpkins in the patch and on the hay ride. It was so great to see Raegan with all of her daycare buddies since I don't get to see it that often. She has so much fun with them!

We also took a trip up to Apple Hill, which is a local area with apple orchards and vineyards. This adventure was a bit more tedious because of the time of year - I think all of Sacramento decided to head up to Apple Hill on the same day we did. It was over crowded and overwhelming to say the least. We didn't last long, but of course long enough to get some apple pie, delicious apple cider and more pictures with pumpkins!

I'd say the best part of this month's adventures was Halloween night! Raegan was super excited to finally wear her Cinderella costume and glass slippers. We headed to a friend's house for a small party and then trick or treating fun. Raegan was very eager to get out and get her candy, which made this year so much fun! Best of all, little Miss Raegan sprinted through the neighborhood the entire night in her glass slippers...clomping up to every house to be the first to ring the doorbell. We couldn't get over her skills at running in heels!! Unfortunately, it was too dark to capture this skill on video. 

Lastly, we finally were able to get Raegan to the zoo before it gets too cold. The Sacramento zoo isn't much to write home about, but it's the perfect size for Raegan's age. We took her there when she was just over a year old and it was uneventful. This go around she had a blast running from exhibit to exhibit and taking it all in. It was adorable to see how she knew what each animal was and how interested  she was in what they were doing. Much better than the first go around!

We definitely had another fun month watching Raegan take in all new experiences! She's getting so big now and it's a blast to watch her grow up and enjoy all of the traditions this time of year can bring. Next up...crazy November with birthdays, holidays and more fun!!

Enjoy this month's photos!

View Photos Here

28 weeks...getting closer

Baby Kelly #2 is getting bigger and bigger every day. I finally feel like I've stopped growing everywhere and am now all belly. It's crazy to think in just a few short months our lil man will be here. He is already making his mark in our lives by his non-stop movement. I was a bit nervous by the amount of movement he was making that I did research on overactive fetuses. Turns out it's perfectly normal and nothing to worry about, but boy oh boy if this is any insight into what kind of kid he will be, we're in for it! Our lil Miss Raegan is a breeze and so very mellow. This lil guy is going to keep us on our toes for sure!

The nesting has taken a bit of time to hit me and has not in full effect just yet. I guess Raegan is keeping me plenty busy to actually think of prepping for our new addition. We've been busy planning her birthday party and transitioning her to a new big girl room. The plan was to move her to a new room when she's a big 3 year old and with this change I told her she could have any type of decoration she wanted - and of course she chose a princess theme! So I've been busy searching for the right decorations to make her transition exciting, easy and comfortable for her. 

In all of this shopping, I decided to limit the amount of change in her life and to save my sleepless nights for when the new baby is here and keep her in her room. But of course, I can't go back on my word of a new big girl princess room, so we'll carry on with the new theme once her birthday arrives.

With all this princess shopping, preparing a new room for a little boy has taken a back seat. It's definitely a change to go from pink-pink-pink to think of boy stuff! But we did start to prepare his room a bit by bringing in all the old furniture and digging through all the baby boxes. On to doing inventory of what we have and what we need. Raegan enjoyed setting up the room and playing in the crib. She was too cute and she now calls it his room and gets her PJs on in there every night. She's going to be a great big sister, we can already tell!!

24 weeks and growing...

Well Baby Kelly#2 is growing along just as he should and Mama Kelly is right there with him! This month felt like a big leap in the belly size (at least in my eyes), and I’m still double the size I was with Raegan. But I’m taking it all in stride knowing this is the last go at this and I’ll have the rest of my life to get fit again.

This month is one of the most fun as the fetal movements start to pick up and become more lifelike as opposed to flutters. We have another active little one and it’s so fun to feel him move all day long. Overall, he is measuring just right and has a strong, healthy heartbeat and we can ask for much better than that.


Stay tuned for more belly updates next month!

A Month full of Adventures

September was the month we were eagerly looking forward to all year! It was packed full of fun and adventure.

We started the month off with the big wedding for Jonathan and Melissa. Raegan was definitely primed and ready for her starring role as flower girl for Uncle Boogs’ wedding! She practiced wearing her flower girl dress almost daily and was beyond excited. I was a bit concerned about her performance as she is in the midst of the wonderful 2-year old phase, so in my mind it was a hit or miss situation. But, of course she wowed us all and pretty much stole the show.

Until this wedding Raegan was not too keen on having her photo taken and would wither scowl at the camera or completely look away. Capturing a good shot was hard work. For some reason, the week of the wedding she turned a corner and turned up the sassiness! She would smile on command, pose when requested and gave us a week full of fantastic photos! I can’t wait until the professional shots are available!

Not only did she glam it up for the cameras, but like I said, she basically stole the show. She was a perfect flower girl, performing her duty to perfection! And to top it off, she made the groom cry as she strolled down the aisle. Can’t get much better than that. On top of all of this, she had the best time of her life with all the family and danced her booty off with her cousins. It was so fun to see her enjoy herself so much…and a rude awakening to have her shoo me away and not want me around as she was playing with her cousins!

Once we had the wedding behind us all that was on our minds was Hawaii, Hawaii and Hawaii!! Thanks to our generous parents John and Vickie, just a few short weeks after the wedding we took off for Kauai on a fantastic vacation full of fun, relaxation and the beach, beach, beach!!

Again, Raegan had the time of her life with her cousins Austen and Nolan. It was so wonderful to see the kids get to spend that much time together and have so much fun. We were nervous how she would do in the ocean, but each day she got more and more confident and brave in the water! It was so fun to watch and to be a kid again ourselves. The trip was full of sand castles, wave jumping, shell searching and family fun! Now back to reality it’s hard to adjust, but so great to have all the memories!

To top off the month of fun, we took Raegan to Bishops Farm for some Fall fun! I had promised her all week we would take her to the zoo and she was so excited! But on Saturday, all I wanted to do was have a lazy morning, so I told her we would go after her nap. During her nap I decided to check the zoo’s schedule and to my surprise they were closing at 1pm that day. Mom of the year award!! I was so bummed, so I had to come up with some activity with animals to not disappoint. That’s where Bishops Farm came in and saved the day. Not only did they have a petting zoo, but there was a hay jumping area, train ride, pony ride and pumpkins galore! Again, Raegan had a blast and I was saved from the zoo’s early closing.

Enjoy this month’s photos and videos of our crazy lil Raegan enjoying a month full of adventures!!

Hawaii Photos and Videos

September Photos and Videos  

Another Month of Excitement!

The summer has been a blast for this fam! Along with all the fun and excitement about finding out baby #2's gender, we have had a lot of fun this month as usual. Raegan took her very first "tumbling" class, which turned out to be a "Raegan hang out in the ball pit the full hour" class! She wasn't all that interested in the other activities available and fell in love with the ball pit. She also shocked me a bit by how shy she was with the teacher and all of the other children. I know she is super shy at first, but she normally warms up pretty quickly. This time around she would physically not remove herself from my hip, but overall she had a great time and we're set to head back again. Maybe next round she'll try a few new things.

We also took another camping and boating trip which provided a once in a lifetime experience for all of us! As you can view in the videos, a deer came into our campground and was very comfortable with all of us. So much so it let Raegan feed it fruit right from her hand! I was amazed first that Raegan was not afraid, but even more so that this wild animal was not afraid of us! It was amazing and Raegan still talks about it today. I'm a bit worried she will think it's normal for deer to approach you and eat out of your hands!!

Another fun adventure for Raegan this month was spending a few days just with Hayden while I went away on a work trip. They had a lot of fun together and it was great that they had all that father-daughter bonding time...and surprisingly the house was put back together nicely for my return! Raegan's new favorite thing is playtime with daddy - they build forts, play in her playhouse outside and ride bikes around the neighborhood. It's adorable!

Enjoy this month's photos and videos!!

View Photos and Videos Here.

It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now at 20 weeks along, we have confirmed that Baby Kelly #2 is a BOY!!! We're super excited to not only have a healthy baby, but to know that now we have one of each gender. This rounds out the family nicely and will be a wonderful new adventure for us all. Raegan guessed it would be a boy too, which surprised the heck out of me since she's been saying "sister" the entire time, but the day before we found out she was certain it was a boy. We're not too sure how eager she is to share her world with her new little brother or how much she understands, but she claims she will be a wonderful big sister! I don't doubt it, but I'm sure we'll encounter a few bumps in the road. 

The ultrasound was quite an adventure! I started the day with either a pink or blue shirt, but of course wore the blue one to the appointment with hopes that it would sway the results I guess! We sat patiently through the entire ultrasound and the tech took the full HOUR to wait to tell us the big news. When she did Hayden was trying to hold in his excitement, but a huge smile was across his face and mine. We were super excited to know that we would have one of each gender and our family would be complete. 

And the best part was I didn't have to change my shirt!! :) Now on to purging all of the adorable girl clothes and stuff I have and starting anew with baby boy stuff. 

View Photos Here

Baby Kelly #2 - 16 weeks

Well the baby bump sure is a growing! I've looked back and pictures of my pregnancy with Raegan and this go around is about 2 months faster progress in terms of the baby bump! It's a lot of fun watching the belly grow and to hear the little heart beat each month. This go around seems to be dragging a bit as well, but I'm celebrating each month and enjoying the one-child life we have right now! 

At this month's appointment, the nurse was adamant again that the rapid heart beat means this baby is another girl. Luckily we only have a few more weeks to find out if we'll be living in pink forever or if blue will enter our lives...we're excited to find out. 

Stay tuned for baby gender news on August 27th!!

And Baby Completes the Fam!

If you haven’t heard, the Kelly family is expanding! Baby #2 will be here in late January and we couldn’t be more excited…especially little Miss Raegan who says she has a “big sister” in her belly! We’re 13 weeks along and things are going smoothly. 

This pregnancy seems to be going along just like the one with Raegan, so if that’s any indication as to the sex of the baby, we’re thinking another girl. But, we’ll find out for sure at the end of August. The only difference this go around is the rapid growth of this mama! Holy cow! I didn’t show this much until almost 5 months last go around. Apparently, this is normal, but this mama is not enjoying breaking out the maternity clothes already. So not only is the word out, but my belly is out as well.

 

Along with the big news of baby #2, we’ve had a busy month! Summer has arrived and we’ve taken full advantage of the weather and have had lots of fun. Too much if you ask me since little Miss Raegan now thinks life is a vacation and going back to daycare is not an option, but she’s getting back into the swing of things. First, we headed off on our annual lake vacation with the family and endured the 108 degree weather. It was a lot of fun and Raegan enjoyed the boat (as always) and all the time she spent with family! She got to see her Uncle Frankie and Kassie, “Aunt” Beth, her Grandma and Papa Kelly and best of all her cousin Austen – who fully entertained her for the weekend. I considered taking him home with us to entertain her daily! Despite all the fun, the trip ended early with the boat breaking, but overall it was a great time. We always enjoy the trip!

Just a week later, we embarked on a road trip to San Diego! Raegan absolutely loves road trips and for a minute, I couldn’t figure out why…until I realized – duh - she gets her pacifier on the road trip! This is Raegan’s drug of choice and she relishes every second she gets to have her pacifier, which on a normal day is only at nighttime. So, now we get the obsession and excitement around road trips. She asked about it weeks prior to us going and now asks every once in a while when the next one is!

As usual, our trip to San Diego is jammed packed with plans and people to see. Luckily our first day was super relaxing as our friends Kim and EJ hosted a 4^th of July BBQ at their house where we were staying. It was so great to see all of our friends and relive the “old days” with everyone. Raegan enjoyed all of the attention and especially the kitties!! She was obsessed with Kim and EJs cats, which kept her plenty entertained. Jammed into the next day was a trip to a few eateries we miss, a quick beach trip and the USA soccer game.

I was very weary of how Raegan would hold up at the soccer game since it started at 8pm, but she was a champ! She loved the tailgating time and had a blast with the Cederwall boys! And we can’t forget how still she sat to get her fingernails painted red, white and blue by Tiff. Raegan definitely took it all in and showed her country pride – she even joined in the chants during the game: “USA! USA! USA!” And I give her all the credit for the big 6-0 win.

Last on the trip’s agenda was a visit to more family! The best part about this time was seeing Raegan with her cousins playing and having so much fun. She was definitely worn out by the few days of travel and all the activities, but she hung in there and played so well with her cousins – bonding quickly with Logan on the slip-n-slide! 

Overall, this month has been full of even more fun and excitement for little Miss Raegan. We’ll enjoy these times with just the three of us, but look forward to baby #2 joining us in January and bringing even more excitement to the fam-bam!

Enjoy this month’s photos and videos…more updates to come soon!

View photos and videos here!