Story Time

On Wednesday, Will and I went to "Babies and Books" Story time at the Frisco Library. We had a lot of fun and Will loved being around all of the other babies. We first sang a few songs and went around the room introducing our baby through a song and then we read book and flipped through pictures. Next, they brought out a puppet and Will loved it. A huge grin came over his face when the puppet came out. We learned the signs for 'bib,' 'milk,' and 'cereal.' We incorporated the signs into a song which was one of Will's favorites. At the end, they brought out a basket of musical instruments and this was where the babies/toddlers were able to run/walk around and play with the instruments. We had a great time and would love to do it again soon! Unfortunately, they are done for the summer. Hopefully, we will catch them again. This was the only picture I was able to get of him at story time. Needless to say, the camera wasn't too interesting to smile for when there were toys that made lots of noise.

Weekend with Nannie J

Last week, my sister Jeanne came to spend a week with us here in Texas! I was so excited to have her here for a whole week. It was so fun to spend time with her and she was able to spend some quality time with Will. They really bonded over the week and she is so good with him. She even let me rest at night and got up with him if he woke up. Thank you Jeanne for spending a week with us and we hope you come back soon!! We miss you!

He loves his Nannie J

Baby Terrell #2!!

Travis and I receive the surprise of our life on July 9th...we are pregnant!!! It was the morning of Will's birthday party at my parents, and I was already late but I chalked it up to stress because of getting last minute things ready for his birthday and decisions that we were trying to make for this upcoming year. Travis convinced me to just take a test so we can make sure that it was just stress. Well, I was WRONG! When the two lines popped up, we just looked at each other completely stunned. We ran downstairs to tell my parents and they were ecstatic!!! We couldn't believe it! Once the shock settled in, I was so excited that we were going to welcome another baby into this world. We want a big family, I just never knew it would be this soon. I know it was God's plan for us to be pregnant right now and we couldn't be more thankful. I had to get re-focused for his birthday, but anytime I would think about our news or look at Travis how excited he was, I couldn't help but smile. Will was going to have a new baby brother or sister to play with! I called the doctor as soon as we got back to Texas and went in for blood work to make sure my hormone levels were where they needed to be. I did this with Will as well. The nurse called back with my results and told me I either have really good hormone levels or there could be a possibility of multiples. WHAT?!?!! My hormone levels were extremely high for me being only 6 weeks along at the time the blood work was taken. We will find out for sure on August 15th when we go in for our first look at our new little peanut!! We are beyond excited and I can't wait to welcome him or her into our family. My due date is around March 9th which is perfect timing! Please pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy as well as a healthy little baby.

PREGNANT!

So excited to be a BIG BROTHER!

The sign my aunt and uncle made when we went to their ranch for Will's bd party

Birthday Boy

On July 13, our little boy turned 1!! I can't believe it! I don't even know where the time went. He has grown into this amazing and happy little boy. He is truly a joy to be around and always keeps us laughing. He is VERY busy but so much fun! We love watching him explore new things and use objects in his own way. He is so special to Travis and I and we are cherishing every moment we have with him. I just wish time would slow down. This year for his birthday, we decided to have two parties, 1 in Louisiana and 1 in Texas so both sides of the family would be able to celebrate his big day! The one in Louisiana was held at my parents and it was a Mickey Mouse theme. The one in Texas was held at my aunt and uncle's ranch in Crawford, Texas and it was a John Deere party. Both of them were amazing parties and we can't thank my parents and my aunt and uncle for all the work that they did to help me make his parties successful. We are truly blessed and so very thankful.

Will,

1 year ago you came in our lives and and completely changed them forever. I will never forget the moment that the doctor placed you in my arms for the very first time. It was love at first sight. You have taught us so much about love and how strong a bond is between a parent and child. We look at you and can't believe you are ours. We are so glad that God chose us to be your parents. We love to hear your voice when we are having our own little conversation, we love the sound of your laugh, or the smile on your face. You truly light up a room. We love your silly expressions that you make to make us laugh. We love absolutely everything there is about you. You are so special to us and you will do wonderful things with your life. You have a great spirit and make everyone around you smile. We love you so much and are so thankful for everything that you have given us this past year. We love you buddy!

Ft. Walton 2011

This June, our family took our annual beach trip to Ft. Walton, Florida. It was a week filled of fun in the sun and quality time together. Travis and I didn't know how Will was going to react to the sand much less the ocean. He surprised the both of us by loving both the sand and the water. He wanted to be on his own in the water which was very hard to make him understand that we couldn't let go. Although, he did go under a few times on his own of his own doing and came up smiling. I may have a future swimmer on my hands! :) He loved to play and lay in the sand and put his face in it, which is much different than the way I used to be when I was his age. He was a trooper the whole week and just went with the flow. We all had a great time and we made a ton of memories. We are looking forward to going back again next year. Thank you mom and dad for a wonderful family trip!

Love,

Mary

The Final Hours

The time has come for Travis and I to meet our sweet baby boy that we have so anxiously waited and prepared for. I am headed to the hospital tomorrow night (Monday) and they will induce first thing Tuesday morning. As I sit here and type, I know I should be getting as much rest as possible but I can't get myself to go to sleep. I have so many emotions going through me right now...anxious, excited, nervous, scared, etc. As I laid in bed tonight, I couldn't help but think this is Travis and I's last night in our house where it will be just the two of us. I think of how in just a couple of days when we bring Will home, our house will be full of the wonderful sounds from our baby and the memories we are going to add to our lives.

As I have gotten closer to my due date, I often find myself wondering who is he going to look like, what color hair and eyes will he have, etc. It is such a miracle of life. I have enjoyed my pregnancy and feel really blessed to have had such a healthy one. I can honestly say, the one thing that I will miss most about being pregnant is feeling him move in my belly and watching Travis' expression on his face when he would feel Will and then talk to Will and tell him that he loved him. It melted my heart every time. He is going to be an amazing dad and Will is so fortunate to have him to look up to.

At the same time that we are enjoying this exciting time in our lives, there isn't a day that goes by that I haven't thought about my grandma. She would have given anything to be here to see her newest great-grandson. She wanted nothing more than for Travis and I to have a baby that she could watch grow up. I know she is looking down on us and will be there in spirit as we welcome Will into this world.

So as we celebrate two wonderful years of marriage tomorrow, please say a prayer for us as we head to the hospital tomorrow night to prepare for the arrival of our son. We can't wait to introduce him to our family and friends.

Here is one of my most recent pictures at 38 weeks going to water aerobics!

Updates

So much has taken place since I last posted a blog. Travis and I have been super busy and always on the go. In April, my sister-in-law hosted my first baby shower for Will in Kerrville. Everything was amazing and she did such a wonderful job. I was fortunate to have my parents drive up for the weekend and for my mom to come to the shower! Will received a lot of wonderful gifts! I came home that Sunday and started organizing.

2 weeks later, we headed down to Louisiana for Mother's Day weekend where we had another shower and our family's annual crawfish boil. It was a jam packed weekend. I ate so much crawfish but it was so good. My baby shower was amazing. We had so many people come to the shower and it was so good to see everyone and visit with them. Will received even more wonderful gifts! One special gift that I did receive was from my gram and paw. It was Will's bassinet. It was so hard to hold back the tears when I opened the gift. I know that if my gram were here she would have been front and center as I opened gifts and anxiously awaiting the arrival of Will. It was so hard not to have her there. I know she was with me in my heart but I missed her so much that day. As each day gets closer to Will's arrival, I'm constantly reminded that my gram won't be here to meet him and that is a hard concept for me to swallow.

Here are some pictures of our Mother's Day Weekend in Louisiana...

Can you tell my grandpa is proud?!?!!?

The weekend after Mother's Day, my parents drove up here to deliver the gifts since we were unable to bring them on the plane. My mom and I spent Friday afternoon, unpacking all of his gifts and organizing them in his room. It was so nice to have her here to help me get everything in place. On Saturday, her and I went shopping for some things to finish up his room. We had so much fun spending time together. It was good to have some mother/daughter time. While we were out spending money, Travis and my dad put together Will's bassinet and swing and then found some other projects to do around the house! Here are some pictures of Will's room. We still are missing a few minor things but for the most part it is complete. Thanks mom and dad for all of your help!

On Sunday, my friends Meagan, Tracy, and Natalie hosted another shower for me. They did such a wonderful job and I had a great time. Everything was perfect! It was great seeing my friends since I haven't seen them in a while and catching up with them. It made me realize how lucky Travis and I are to have such a great group of friends around us since we don't have our family near us. I appreciate each and every one of them and cherish our friendships!

32 weeks and counting...