Time...

If I blogged every time I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote a blog in my head I would be caught up on life.  I have some great posts in my head and will lay awake for hours thinking about them.  I would love to write one on "fear".  I would love to write one on "faith" and I would LOVE to write one on the "truth about pregnancy".  Oh and I could probably write one on the fact that I have totally lost my mind during this pregnancy and can barely even get my name right (for example I washed my hair with face wash the other morning)!!!  But instead I lay awake and watch the minutes tick away on the clock and write the blog posts in my head and then when I finally fall asleep....they are gone!

Time is flying....I have to say this pregnancy is going SO fast.  I am trying to cherish every moment, because I know more than likely this is my last (but can only say we (or I) am only 90% sure on that decision)...it is such a big decision and I am not ready to make it a permanent thing!!!  I can believe that I am 31 weeks and in roughly 7-8 weeks we will be meeting little Miss Quinn!   Here are the latest ultrasound pictures from 28 weeks...of course she has to have her hand by her face always!  :o)

So far everything is going well in my pregnancy.  I did find out at my last appointment that I am right on the boarder line for being abnormal for gestational diabetes...so instead of putting me through the 3 hour test (since we are already watching how big she is getting since Matt and I grow BIG babies) my Dr has told me to watch the sugars!  I do have to say that is a lot harder than it seemed like it would be.  I have been a huge candy junkie during this pregnancy!  They have came out with a "fave reds" Starbursts bag that has only the pinks & reds  Starbursts!!!  This is my absolute favorite candy so I was in heaven when I found these until now and since it is Halloween with all the candy and yummy-ness around...it is VERY hard!  :o)  But I do have to say I cheat every one in a while!  She is a busy baby and constantly on the move...I almost feel like I am getting beat up on the inside!  She has frequent dance parties at around 4 AM!  

We are close to done with her room with just a few details left and then we are just waiting for Quinn to arrive!  Our baby shower is coming up this weekend and we feel extremely blessed and very spoiled that are friends are doing this for us!  

We have enjoyed a busy month of Fall activities!  I knew last year that I wanted to cut off my costume orders early this year so I could have time to spend it with my family!  :o) Kellen is growing so fast and I don't want to miss out on anything!  So hear a few pictures from out activities...

Oct 13th ~ Apple Picking at Hillcrest Orchirds ~

We headed up north to pick some Apples, with Nana and the Rehm family!  All in all it was a fun day with Kellen having a BLAST!  There were SO many people and not a lot of apples to pick, but we still had a lot of fun.  I think if we go next year I will go a little earlier!  :o) Here are a few of the pictures we took that day!

 We ended up having to miss our annual trip to Berry Patch Farms with the Goodwald family because Kellen was sick, so we went the following weekend (Oct 27th) with Nana!  It is so close to the house and it allows Kellen to run for a bit!  :o)  He was SO sad that the Ponies were not there to ride, but here are a few pictures from our afternoon...

Halloween ~

Kellen had Farm day at school...they had a petting zoo, crafts, games, and parents could come for a picnic with their kiddos!  It was so much fun to see Kellen with all his new little friends!  I have pictures of the day on my phone so if I actually download them off my phone I will add them to the blog!  Ha!  

We started a tradition with the Goodwald family to have dinner and go trick or treating together!  Last year there was just Gabbi & Kellen....this year we grew a little!  We had 4 kiddos and laughed that next year we will have six!!!  This year the Rehm family joined us for a bit with Charlee Lynn!  Sarah came with Gabbi & Grant and then we had Kellen!  It is so much fun to see all of them together and to know that our kids will hopefully grow up as close as all of us have become!  :o) Here are a few pictures of our fun night...

What an October...I love fall and can't believe how fast it is going!!!  Next blog post...an update on Miss Quinn and pictures from our baby shower!  

Life Update...

I am not sure where September has gone AND I really can't believe that it is October 1st next Monday!  Here are a few updates on what the Portman's have been up too...

Kellen is LOVING school and had a really hard time this week with Fall break!  He really loves the Science program that he has on Wednesdays.  They have looked in magnifying glasses & made snow.  He even got to bring home some snow!  He is enjoying Spanish too...He has learned "Hola" & "Adios"  it is so cute to hear him say it!

August 29th (22 weeks 1 Day) we went in for another ultrasound so they could check out a few things that they couldn't see at 18 weeks.  I have a feeling she may be a little "sassy"!  She was opening and closing her mouth like she had something to say about us looking in on her!  At one point she even stuck her tongue out at us! She was just as stubborn this time and we almost had to go back for a third try, but at the end the Dr was able to come in and see the last two things they needed!  She is looking great and growing just like she should be...here are a couple pictures of her...

Her sticking her tongue out at us!

Side Profile with her hand up by her face!

I have had two Dr's appointments since the last update.  One at 22 weeks...It was a 20 minute appointment (my kinda appt) and they just checked everything and listened to Miss Quinn's heart beat...she likes to move a lot on the Dr so she has a hard time sometimes!  Ha!  The other appointment was at 25 weeks...Same thing all is good just checking out the normal stuff!  Next appointment I have to do the dreaded glucose test and drink the awful stuff that tastes like a flat Orange Soda...CAN I TELL YOU HOW MUCH I HATE ORANGE SODA!!!

This pregnancy is flying by!!!  Matt and I were talking about how we are having a baby in 3 months!  CRAZY!   I have to say my second trimester has been pretty easy I am less tired these days and on a mission to get things done!  I have gone through most of the baby stuff and have it pretty organized and her room is coming along!  All I can say is Pinterest has played a large part in the decorating of her room!  Matt's mom is going to make the curtains on her visit here in November and I can't wait to see how they turn out!  They are Anthropologie inspired, but would cost almost $200 a panel if I ordered them!  Ha!  My good friend Amy is going to make the bedding (well if I ever get her the measurements)!  

I have to say I have not really had very many cravings during this pregnancy, but a couple weeks ago I did ask Matt to go to Walmart at 10:30 pm because I wanted a poptart (not the frosted ones...the plain one with butter)!  Ha!  I waited till the next day to get them, but man did that poptart taste good!  She is a KICKER!  Kellen was not really a kicker...he was a stretcher and mover!  She kicks hard and a lot!  The other night she had a dance party at 4AM (for at least 30 minutes).  Matt even commented on how hard she kicks.  Kellen got to feel it and laughed SO hard!  Another difference is that I was anxious with Kellen, but I am almost more anxious this time around...they are a different set of anxieties, but I am just glad I have GREAT friends that have listened to my crazy rantings and brought me back from the edge!!!  I have also had to swear off reading other blogs (unless I know you), because I have read so many things and it seems to add to my "crazy"!  

Matt is working hard at his job, as a board member of our neighborhood's HOA, and team coach of a softball team!    In his free time I have him doing projects for me trying to get things organized and cleaned up.  He has been a HUGE help to my mom as she FINALLY closed on her new house (that is .7 miles from ours).  So he is staying pretty busy!  

The Boys Painting Miss Q's Room!

I am still working away on making Tutu's with Little Boo.  I have been super blessed with my Etsy Shop and love some of the people I have got to talk to from all over the world!  It keeps me busy and I am enjoying it and trying to keep up with the orders!  It has made it easier with Kellen in school, I seem to have a few more hours to get things done!  

Other than that we are just enjoying time together!  Kellen is so much fun right now and cracks us up daily with some of the things that comes out of his mouth!  I have started to write things down so when I have enough I will do a post with some the stuff he comes up with!  He keeps us on our toes.  We have had a lot of talks about good and bad consequences with him and are working on listening better!  I do have to say we have started watching "Daniel Tigers Neighborhood" on PBS (it is based off Mr. Rogers) and just from the two episodes we have watched he as learned SO much to help when he gets upset!  They have little songs that they will sing like 10 times in 30 minutes and so Kellen has them memorized by the end of the show!  A few times when he gets upset I will ask him what Daniel Tiger did and he calms down and thinks about it!  :o) Anything that works right now is good in my book!  Ha!  

Potty Training & Preschool

I know that I have said this SO many times before, BUT where is the time going?  It feels like just yesterday we were anticipating the arrival of Kellen.  The emotions of it all are still so fresh in my mind.  Maybe it is the fact that I am going through it all over again as we wait for Quinn's arrival, but it truly feels like Kellen was just born.  The sleepless nights, the feedings, the diapers, the tears and the joy feel like it was yesterday!

I knew that this year I really wanted to put Kellen in to a preschool program.  We have heard so many good things about the Weeschool at First Baptist Woodstock and it is so close so we (maybe a little more "me" than "we") decided that was the place for him to go. :o)  We knew when we signed him up that he had to be completely potty trained....

Well we tried and tried and tried and Kellen living up to the meaning of his name (Strong willed) wanted to have nothing to do with it!  We watched movies, read books, talked about it, sat him on the potty, bought a little potty, bought potty seats and NOTHING!!!  He went a few times here and there, but mostly just became terrified of sitting on the potty so I let it go.  It is easy to tell when Kellen is going and he KNEW when he was going.  He would hide when he was pooping and would tell me immediately after he peed that he was wet and that he needed his diaper changed!  At this point I was so frustrated and KNEW time was ticking down....

On July 5th Nana (my mom) watched him for the day...she stuck him in underwear and that was that....we just stopped putting diapers on him.  At first we would take him ever 20 minutes to sit on the potty and sometimes he would go and sometimes he wouldn't.  He told us a lot that he had to go, but it was always a false alarm.  But since then I can count on one hand how many pee pee accidents he has had!  NOW the poo thing is a different subject....at first he would hold it till we put a diaper on him at nap or at night!  Then he just would hide and go in his pants.  It was SO frustrating and I tried so hard not to get mad at him.  Everyone kept telling me that it would just click and you know what....they were RIGHT!!!  In the last week before school started he has had NO  accidents.  He just goes into the potty and will yell "I went poop"....

At first we started with incentives...he got marshmallows if he went potty, but as soon as he started going regularly I stopped and he only got an incentive IF he went poo on the potty AND IF he didn't have any other accidents.  We started telling him he could get a new game for the ipad...and when it clicked he got so excited.  He has done so well.  We still use pull ups during nap and night time, but as Matt puts it we are wasting our money because he wakes up dry every time!  I guess it is me not being ready to let go...I know this is one of the last things that is holding on to the "baby" days!

 
And it all came down to today....his first day of Preschool!  I was so excited, a little for me, but mostly for him to start!  He is so looking forward to making some new friends!  :o)  I have to say so far I am super impressed with the school.  Two weeks ago I got a call from his teacher introducing herself and asking if I had any questions and also setting up a time to meet so we could meet her and her assistant.  I was SO happy to hear that the kiddos actually get a grace period of a couple months with the potty training thing and as long as they are showing signs of going then they will get to stay in the class.  I was so worried because at that time Kellen was still not going poo regularly in the potty.  Then a week later we got to meet Ms Michelle & Ms Becky!  We also got to meet another little boy that will be in Kellen's class.  I really enjoyed talking to his mom and about her decision to do preK at Woodstock Baptist instead of going through the GA lottery (with her daughter that just started kindergarten this year and is already reading)!  :o)

Then Monday we got to go to the Open house at the school and see Kellen's class room!  He was a little nervous at first then he saw kids coming in a playing with the kitchen and he didn't want to leave!  :o)   Today we actually made it out of the house and to carpool on time (a little worried since Kellen didn't go to sleep till 10pm last night).  I really thought that I would be fine, but as soon as it came time to drop of my little man I was having a hard time fighting back the tears!  He is just getting so big and then he looked at me and said "you're gonna keep me safe right"...I just about lost it!  I explained to him that a teacher was going to come and get him out of the car and keep him safe till he got to Ms Michelle and Ms Becky, then they would keep him safe until mommy came back to pick him up!  As soon as they opened the door and started talking to him he was smiling and talking away!  I made it out of the parking lot and ran several errands before I completely lost it and cried all the way to Starbucks....because in my mind a Chai Tea Latte fixes everything!  :o) Now I am anxiously awaiting the time to go and pick him up and see how his first day of school went!  :o)

16-19 Weeks!

July 14th...16 weeks

I think by now everyone has heard the story of the day we found out we were having a little girl, BUT if I don't document it I will forget it. On July 14th we headed to Stork Vision (a 3D/4D imaging place that I do work with for Little Boo). We were so excited to finally reach 16 weeks and be able to find out the gender of our baby! We had decided to go the Stork Vision so that Kellen could go with us and we also invited Nana (my mom), Grandma Keeta (Matt's mom) and my good friend Sarah.

It took awhile for baby to uncross her legs, but the tech was patient enough and got the perfect shot...

Let me back up just a bit and say that while the tech was looking around and trying to get the perfect shot to know 100% what the sex of the baby was...Matt, Sarah, Marquitta, and my mom and already decided that they knew what the baby was and they had seen it was a BOY!!!  They were whispering among themselves and just knew!  I couldn't see or hear any of them from where I was so I had NO idea what was going on!  I was just enjoying getting to see all the cool things she was showing us...like legs, toes, arms, and so on!  Then all of a sudden the tech said "Here we go...you know what those three white lines mean right"???  None of us knew (with Kellen I never even saw anything to confirm he was a boy...we were just told).  So then she says, "It's a GIRL"!!!  At this point it was silent in the room...no one said a word.  So the tech said..."Is this a good thing"???  At that point I was like, "I am waiting for you to say "Just Kidding, It's a BOY""!!!  I was laughing at this point and crying all at the same time and still speechless!  Marquitta said her jaw dropped and I think Matt was a little in shock due to the fact they just knew they had seen it was a BOY!  

It still has not sunk in totally that we are having a baby...let a lone that it is a girl!  But that afternoon the girls went shopping and had a blast picking out some pink!  By the next weekend we had the room painted and all the puppies are now gone from the wall that was once Kellen's nursery!  He is enjoying his Big Boy bedroom and super excited that his old room is now "baby sister's" room!  

August 1st...18 weeks

We went in for the second half of the testing for all the fun things that they can test for now.  Matt and I look at it as not that we would do anything about it if something came back...but more as we might possibly be more prepared and PLUS we get to see our baby!  :o)  Who can pass up an opportunity to take a peek and see what she is up too???   She is still stubborn as all get out and refuses to move into a position that makes it easy for them to see what they need to, but what they could see everything looks like it should and all my blood work came back good!  It was so neat to see all four chambers of her heart working and listen to it beat away at 147 bpm!  We also got to count all her toes and fingers!  It is SO amazing what they can see!  She is weighing in at 8.5 oz and measuring in at 18 weeks, 3 days (I am 18 weeks, 1 day) so they consider that great!  We have to go back in a couple weeks, because they couldn't see everything they needed to with her heart and because she wouldn't move off the placenta they couldn't see if she has skin covering her spine!   But I don't mind going back again, because that means I get to see her again!  

Hand covering head!  

Side profile!

August 6th...19 weeks

Just a normal appointment!  But I always love to hear her heartbeat!  Everything looks good...my blood pressure is good and all the other things they check out! We talked about a c-section date and then I was on my way!  I was done in 20 min and that is my kinda appointment!  

Her name...

Matt and I have been going back and forth for a long time about her name.  It was between Kendall & Quinn.  I just wasn't in love with Kendall so we finally decided Quinn was the name.  We looked and looked but nothing else fit!  Quinn is another Irish name...we laugh only because neither of us have any Irish decent in our families (that we know of anyways).  The name Quinn means "counsel".  For the middle name we decided to go with a family name!  Kellen's middle name is Russell after Matt's grandfather...so I decided the next child would need to have a name from my side of the family.  I had decided a LONG time again if I ever had a girl that she would be named after my grandmother Luree Annabelle.  So we decided on Quinn Luree!  I think it is a strong name, but beautiful all at the same time!  I just know that is going to be who she is!  

Random Things...

Around 18 weeks I started to feel her every now ans then, but now I feel her little kicks and punches a good bit!  The nausea has totally gone away as long as I eat on time...if I don't then I am reminded with waves of nausea and dizziness!  I really haven't had to many cravings with this baby (or at least compared to Kellen).  I have actually been hungry for fruit and tomatoes with mozzarella cheese!  Every once in a while I will think I am craving spicy food, but am quickly reminded that I shouldn't eat any by the massive heart burn I get to deal with!  I still get tired easy and am reminded daily that I can't keep up like when I am not prego!   I am waiting for the burst of energy that some say comes in the 2nd trimester, but I have a feeling that won't come while chasing a 3 1/2 yr old!  Ha!  

The Rest of the Story...

On April 25th (Matt's Birthday)  I just had a feeling that maybe I should take a pregnancy test.  We had been trying for the last 6 months and at this point I was so used to negatives that I wasn't sure I wanted to take it, but something told me I needed to.  I was a little nauseous and crampy, but other than that I don't know why I decided to take a test!  But I figured what the heck and if it turned out positive then it would be a pretty cool gift for Matt on his birthday!  I went to breakfast with a friend and then headed to Walmart to pick up a test and a few other items.  After taking the test I waited knowing full well that it was going to say "Not Pregnant"...but instead it said...

I have to be honest and even though this is something we had been trying for I began to panic a little!  I am not one for change and again this is a change I wanted for our family, but I have to say at the moment I saw the word "PREGNANT"  I had SO many feelings flood through me at once that I almost hyperventilated!  At this point I couldn't wait till Matt got home to tell him  so I pulled out a shirt that I had got a while back for Kellen that said "This little monkey is going to be a BIG brother" and we skyped  Matt and told him to check out Kellen's new shirt!!!  It took a moment to sink in, but then he said "really"?  and I said "Yep"!  


We decided (or really it was me that decided and Matt went a long with it) to wait to tell people.  I was spotting a little and cramping really bad, and that is not something I had with Kellen so I decided to wait and see and pray!  It was really hard not telling anyone!  It lasted 3 days until I just couldn't handle it so I told one of best friends and great pray warrior, Sarah and told her she was sworn to secrecy!  From there it slowly trickled out!  About a week or so later we told Nana (my mom) & Grandma Keeta (Matt's mom)!
Then on Mother's Day we told the rest of Matt's family!  Then it just continued to trickle out!

On June 12th (at 11 weeks)  I went to my first Dr's appt!  I was so nervous and ready to know if everything was ok and what my official due date would be!  I was a little sad because I didn't think that they would do and ultrasound so I told Matt not to worry about coming, but they did do an ultrasound and I got to hear the baby's heart beat!  I think it took longer to fill out tall the paperwork than the actual appointment!  Ha!  Here is Baby Portman #2 at 11 weeks...He or She will be here right after Christmas (Yes we will find out Boy or Girl on July 14th)!!!

I wanted to wait till after my first appt to make it "Facebook Official"!!!  So on June 18th (almost a week after my Dr's appt)  I posted this picture...

I love his face in this picture!  He is so cute when we talk about the baby! I feel like he is growing up so fast! A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to move him to the other room and out of his crib!  I know he is 3 1/2 and was still in a crib, but he napped so well and had only climbed out once or twice a couple months ago when he was SUPER mad at Matt!  I was so afraid of the transition and him giving up naps and all that!  But I have to say it has been a super easy transition!  He has napped every day (with only one day where he struggled to go to sleep) and night time has been a little harder, but most of the time he is great!  Then last week we went into full potty training mode, but that is a whole post in itself!  ha!

On June 20th we went in for a first trimester screening...At this ultrasound we learned we have a stubborn child on the way or as the tech put it a good sleeper!  Ha!  The baby refused to move no matter what the tech did to try to get it to!  But she ended up able to get what she needed and everything looked great!  The baby's heart beat was 166 and it was fun to see the baby move!  I have a few cool ultrasound pics from that appointment!  :o) A week later I got a call that all my blood work came back good!

Face Picture

Today (July 10th) I had another check up that was just a normal check up...a little scary, because she couldn't find the heart beat right away, but then she found it and all was good!  :o) Things are looking good!  We can't wait to find out this weekend if we are Team Pink or Team Blue!  Ha!  Either way we we are super excited!!!

Being pregnant at 33 has been a little harder than when I was 29.  I am so tired with this pregnancy and not really sleeping well at all!  I have been super nauseous with this baby where with Kellen it started at about 6 weeks and ended about 12 weeks and just kind of felt like I had a hangover!  This baby on the other had started probably around three weeks and is constant nausea and then waves of nausea on top of that!  It started to let up  a little around 13 weeks, but I still have some days that are better than others!  Ha!  I have a lot of anxiety with this baby and I think that is why I am not sleeping as well as I did with Kellen!  I am not sure what I am anxious about, but I am worrying about everything and anything!  My biggest craving has been watermelon and mashed potatoes...I can eat a whole watermelon by myself!  I have had more food aversions than cravings though!  Spicy food (which I could not get enough of with Kellen) is a big NO right now!  Some days nothing tastes or smells good so it is hard to find anything that sits well with me!

What have we been up too...

Where did Spring go???  I promised myself that I would get better about blogging, but man time is flying by and each day I say I am going to blog, but I never get around to it!  I have an awful memory and this is the only place I seem to write things down, so I know I have to get better!  So this is a catch up post of our Spring 2012!  It will be long and there will be pictures!

At the end of March our neighborhood had an Easter Egg Hunt!  It was so much fun and Kellen seemed to enjoy himself!  He doesn't really like the Easter Bunny though!  He made sure to steer clear of him each time he came close!

I had the honor of co-hosting a shower for one of my dearest friends, Sarah and the newest member of the family Mr. Grant!  We had so much fun enjoying a brunch with the girls!

Kellen has been taking gymnastics and loving it (we just finished up and now we are trying out swim lessons for the summer)!  Here are a few pictures of Kellen & his buddy Dominic at open play during Spring break (thanks Lisa for the pictures)...

A couple of times I have had the chance (and of course I jump for the chance) to watch Miss Charlee Lynn!

In April we got to help Deanna celebrate her birthday!  It was a child free night for us and so much fun visiting with friends!  :o) 

We had so much fun on Easter!  It was us, Nana, Andy & Ansley!  The Easter Bunny has started a tradition of bringing Kellen all his swimming gear for the year!  Nana also got him a really cool pool/sprinkler!  It was cold on Easter but that didn't stop us from setting it up and the kids enjoying it for a bit!  :o)

I don't have any pictures to document it, but we enjoyed Matt's birthday with some of our closest friends at Taco Mac!  I have to say that we have been blessed by the circle of friends that we have around us!  It is one of those things that a while back I was watching the finale of one of my favorite TV shows (for those that don't know...Hello, My name is Stephanie and I am a TV~holic) and in the end they were all gathered with their families and eating at a cafe and as I sat there watching it I became overwhelmed with the thought that I have that!  We have a circle of friends that our kids are going to grow up together and hopefully they will be forever friends too!   Matt turned the BIG 3-5 and I have to say it was a pretty amazing birthday (if I do say so myself)  I gave him a gift that I don't think I will be able to top (but that is for another post)!  

May was full of craziness.  My mom has been looking for a new house so Kellen enjoyed looking at SO many houses and now thinks that we need a new house!  Ha!  Nana found a new house less than a mile from ours and we will be able to walk there!  She closes on July 30th and I can't wait!    Our friends had triplets and we got to meet them...I could have stared at them all night!  :o)  They are growing and getting stronger and come home with Mom & Dad!  Congrats to the Cobb Family!   

Cinco de Mayo Chastain night & Jeff's Birthday ~ 

Matt is staying busy with work and still loving his job!  He just finished up his first year there and I have to say I REALLY enjoyed NO TAX SEASON this year!  It is a wonderful company and so family oriented!  Little Boo is keeping me busy and I am loving selling on Etsy!  I am not doing markets anymore and I love that!  I will do one or two around the holidays depending on a few things, but I am really looking forward to it!  Little Boo has been a blessing to me and keeps me busy and has been a way for me to contribute a small amount to the family!  

Kellen is growing like a weed and changing so much!  We are struggling with potty training, but I am pretty sure it is just because he doesn't want to do it!  ha!  The count down is on...he is supposed to start school at the end of August, but HAS to be potty trained!  So it HAS to happen!!!  We are looking forward to a busy summer and hopefully I can figure out how to blog more often!  :o)