Well, it's been almost a year since I've put an update on here, so I figured it was about time!  Since it's so easy to update Facebook with a picture here and there with what's going on in our life, I haven't taken the time to post on our blog in awhile.  But, since I still have some friends and family that aren't on Facebook, I figured I'd put a quick update on here to bring everyone up to speed!

We moved in January into a 4 bedroom house, and we are absolutely loving the extra room and yard for Molly to play in (though John is not loving mowing the yard!).  We also found out in January that we are expecting our 2nd child in September, we are so excited!  Molly even seems to be excited to be a big sister.  The first trimester was about the same as it was with Molly, as I felt sick most of the time, but since about 12 weeks, I've felt really good.  I'm currently 27 weeks, so the 3rd trimester is right around the corner! 

Here's some pictures of some of the highlights of what we've been up to the past couple months, and some "belly pics" for those who are interested in my growing belly :-).  Hope you enjoy!

 
Big sister Molly with our first ultrasound picture of baby sister (Maggie)!

 
Just saw the positive pregnancy test, so somewhere around 5 weeks pregnant, nothing really to see yet!
 
 Jump ahead to 13 weeks, taken on Easter

 15 weeks, just a little bump showing 
 
Now we're getting somewhere! 21 weeks 
 
23 weeks
 
26 weeks
 
Today, 27 weeks!  Someone at church today asked me when my baby was due, so I guess I've entered the stage where it's pretty evident I'm pregnant, and it doesn't just look like I have a big belly :-).
 
Since our families couldn't be in town for our gender ultrasound, we decided to have the ultrasound tech put the gender in a sealed envelope, then took it to a local baker.  They baked us this adorable gender reveal cake with the gender color in the icing in the center of the cake.  My mom and dad, brother and sister in law, and John's mom got together at Olive Garden, and we got John's sister and her husband on Skype from Cincinnati to watch the gender reveal. 

 
Julie and Tom on Skype

 
It's a girl!!!
 
 
A couple months ago I got to see some of my good high school friends at Larken's (middle) baby shower.  Krista with her daughter Evelyn is on the left.  So neat to meet my friend's children and see their families grow!  (It was really hard to not tell people I was pregnant at that point, but it was really early yet so I kept it a secret for the shower).

 My grandpa (Papaw) turned 90 in February, so the family got together in West Virginia to help celebrate.  We even got some family pictures taken, which was a lot of fun!  The weekend in W.V. was bittersweet, because the week before we lost my other grandpa (Jerry) to an unexpected illness.  He is greatly missed, and we have really appreciated the love and support of our whole family through this tough time.
 
Papaw and me.  Can't believe he's 90 years old!
 

 
Since we'll be needing the crib for the new baby, we decided to transition Molly to a big girl bed.  John's grandpa made him bunk beds when he was little, so we decided to pass them to Molly.  They are really well made and heavy, so it took a bit to transport them here and get them put together, but it was well worth it. 
 
Molly's crib before...
 
Bunk beds after...

  Molly absolutely loves her new bed, it was such a smooth transition!
 
Molly seeing her new bed for the first time!

 
2 weeks ago was Vacation Bible Camp at our church, and Molly absolutely LOVED it!  She was in tears everyday when it was time to leave.  I had a lot of fun helping out each day at VBC too, but we were both exhausted after a week of early mornings!
 
Last week we went on the Mom's Together (group at our church) play date at a local Strawberry Farm.  We had so much fun picking strawberries, even though it was really hot!  My good friend Britt and her daughter Tenley came with us, and we had a blast.
 
Tenley & Molly

 
Molly was so good at picking strawberries!
 
We went on a hay ride and ate a picnic lunch while we were there, such a great day!

 Last night one of our friends got married, and John's mom came to visit and spent the evening with Molly so we could have a night out together.  We had such an amazing time!  We love being together, and though we love being with Molly too, it was nice to have a date night out where we could just focus on each other.  I'm blessed with such an amazing man!
 
Well, that's just a few highlights, I'm not sure the next time I'll get on here for an update, but that should bring you up to date for now! 


Happy 2nd Birthday, Molly!

It's hard to believe that 2 years have already flown by since Molly was born.  She has added more to our lives than we could have ever even expected!  She is full of love, energy, is well behaved, sleeps a good 12 hours every night (woo hoo!), and says new words almost every day.  She loves to watch Elmo videos, play with necklaces and bracelets, work on puzzles, and read books.  Her favorite foods are macaroni & cheese, blueberries, and raisins.  She knows all of her alphabet, and can (almost) count to 10.  She's gone on the potty a few times, but we're still in the early stages of potty training.  She's having so much fun this summer at the water park a few times a week, and is getting better and more confident in the water every time we go.

Her birthday party was a lot of fun.  She got so many nice gifts and visits from family friends...she is a blessed little girl!  


The preparation began the night before...

Grampie and John cut veggies and fruit
 Grampie watches a video with Molly to keep her out of the kitchen
 We were like a well-oiled machine!







Showing off her new shirt that my good friend Andrea made!

Not too sure she likes the dancing Elmo

I made her a tu-tu to complete her outfit for her ladybug party


Ready to party!


Having a snack before the party begins

The desert table is all ready!  Ladybug cupcakes, red-chocolate covered oreos with mini chocolate chips, and cherry and chocolate Twizzlers.
The cupcakes
I didn't get a picture of the food table before we started, so here it is after it had already been dug into :0)

 Our first party guests
 Celeste, Chayanne, Ciarra, and Molly


 So excited for friends to arrive!
 The guys set up a tent outside and fire up the grill to cook the hot dogs

 A table of friends
  
 Time to blow out the candles.  I think she finally realized that everyone was there for her at this point

 Enjoying a cookie!

 Lots of presents






 Quarters for her piggy bank from great grandma
 Big bird from Aunt Julie and Uncle Tom




 A new bike from Nana!




A couple weeks ago we went to Sandusky to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday party, and my parents surprised Molly with an early birthday gift!  A swing set with slide, a sand box, a mini pool, and a garden for her to play with at their house.  





 She loved it!
  


 Watering her flower garden


 Playing in the sand box with Grampie 

 Thank you to everyone who sent and gave cards, gifts, came to her party, and helped make her 2nd birthday so special!  Love to you all, and a big hug and kiss from Molly!





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