Finally! A Breeden Update!

First Trimester Baby Bump

Daddy and Chase having fun at a friend's pool in August




Our Happy Boy





Our Even Happier Boy with Daddy's STC Hat on

Picture from Auntie Amber's Camera When We Were Down in OBX late August/Early Sept.

Greetings Family and Friends! Hope this fall season finds you well. Let me start this posting with, yes, I realize it's been almost 6 months since I last updated my blog...shame on me! However, in my defense, the summer was full of unexpected events. First, Tim left the shipyard in June and took on a position at Science and Technology Corporation (STC). He LOVES his new job and seems to be adjusting well; the only downfall is that his new job doesn't give him the same amount of vacation right off the bat that he had when he left the shipyard, so we were unable to vacation much this summer and the one vacation we did have got cut short by Hurricane Irene. Nonetheless, we're praising God for this awesome new opportunity for Tim and we're thankful we have next summer to look forward to when Tim will have accrued more vacation hours by then.

Second, Chase kept us on our toes all summer. Most summer evenings after work, Chase rode around the backyard in his John Deere Gator, played on our neighbor's swing set, pushed his bubble lawnmower around, and got wet with the water hose. Of course, I was outside with him during all of these memorable summer moments, which left me little time to do things inside like update a blog (you're still probably thinking that's a lame excuse). Chase has grown leaps and bounds since his 2nd birthday. His vocabulary is now very vast although he still has a long way to go with mastering the annunciation of words. It's refreshing to be able to communicate more with him now versus facing the frustration of wondering if he fully understood me a few months ago. He has quite a sense of humor too! For the most part, he is such a happy boy. His cousin Kenden even called him "Happy Feet" while we were down in OBX because Chase was always so happy and dancing around. Even when I'm having a horrible day, I can always look forward to Chase bringing me a smile.

Third, it seems as though we had several things break over the summer: the Tahoe got a flat tire back in May and it ended up needing a new master cylinder for the brake system less than a month after the flat tire incident; the boat isn't running right; the big TV downstairs bit the dust, etc. Of course I'm beyond thankful that we even have a Tahoe, boat, and big TV, but it was still a stressful summer having things break on us left and right. We also had our weeping willow tree fall in our backyard due to Hurricane Irene--we're still working on salvaging it since it wasn't completely uprooted or damaged. I've also had horrible allergies this year and been on and off Benadryl, Zyrtec, and several different kinds of eye drops. Not that Chase was the reason for any of the aforementioned misfortunes, but he has a tendency to be rough on things around the house too.

Chase has obviously gotten very tall (no surprise with Tim being 6'4"), but he's still slender (which is also not a surprise with Tim being on the slender side). Unfortunately, his eating habits haven't improved much since he turned 2 years old. He's still a picky eater, sticking mostly to chicken nuggets, french fries, yogurt, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, chips, crackers, and fruit snacks. On the flip side, he's still steadily growing and staying healthy in spite of eating like a bird. He loves watching Wonder Pets, Yo Gabba Gabba, Diego, Dora the Explorer, Barney, and Bob the Builder. I'm thankful for the quiet moments when he watches TV so I get a break too. He watched a Halloween episode of Barney not too long ago that introduced him to pirates....so guess what Chase will be for Halloween this year? ARRR! Yo, ho, ho!

Some other milestones this summer for all of us were: me turning 30 years old and Tim turning 32; Tim and I reaching our 10th anniversary; and, last but not least, finding out we're expecting baby #2 in May 2012....that's right, I'M PREGNANT! We found out the exciting news on our 10 wedding anniversary (August 25, 2011). I was kind of caught by surprise with this pregnancy, because I had made peace with God as far as not worrying about becoming pregnant for another year or so, especially with being on allergy medication (which I can't take now that I'm pregnant)....but, God obviously had other plans. So, this puts me 11 1/2 weeks pregnant now, almost through the first trimester. I've already had two OB appointments; Praise God, all is well with the baby so far. I had an ultrasound during both appointments, so I got to see our baby jellybean and hear the heartbeat, which was 154 bpm. Unfortunately, Dr. Yonker is no longer with the practice, but the doctor who took her place is Dr. Curtis and she seems to be nice. I will have to deliver at Mary Immaculate Hospital with this baby since Peninsula Women's Care no longer delivers at Riverside; I'm a little bummed about that because I had a good experience at Riverside Hospital and Riverside is A LOT closer to our house. Mary Immaculate is all the way in Denbigh, so I'm praying when the time comes for our baby to make its debut that I'll be able to make the commute to the hospital without any hiccups. I don't think the Mary Immaculate ordeal is worth switching OB offices since I like the doctors and nurses at that practice so much and they know my history.

How am I feeling about the pregnancy? Obviously excited emotionally, but absolutely miserable physically. I'm feeling a lot like I did when I was pregnant with Chase with the nausea and exhaustion striking me the hardest in the evenings; however, I think the nausea is more intense this time around. One reason I think it's worse is because I'm more tired now that I have Chase to look after, whereas I had all the time to rest when I was pregnant the first time around when it was just Tim and me. Tim has been a HUGE help with Chase in the evenings when I'm feeling crappy. Some people think the intense nausea is a sign I'm having a girl this go-round, but I'm not banking on old wives' tales. It's funny because I've heard so many comments from people along the lines of, "you need to experience what it's like to raise a girl." I'm a firm believer God knows what will complete our family best, whether it be a girl or another boy. In fact, I'd be perfectly happy with another boy because I think practically--like being able to reuse all of Chase's clothes and not have to redo everything in pink. Plus, the seasons will line up with this baby just as they did with Chase. Tim is rooting for another boy and Chase still doesn't fully understand that he has a sibling on the way. We'll try to break him into the idea as I start to show more obviously. The new baby and Chase will be almost 3 years apart to the day. Chase was born on April 22nd, 2009 and this baby is due May 2nd, 2012.

I still have a long, long road ahead of me with this pregnancy. I take some comfort in knowing that I've had a baby before and know more of what to expect, but I'm also completely aware that every pregnancy and baby are unique. I can't promise I'll update the blog as frequently as I did during my pre-Chase days, but I'll do the best I can to keep everyone updated. I also won't promise to post monthly belly shots of myself this time around, because I'm sure you'd much rather see pictures of Chase growing instead of me. I'm already showing only at 3 months, so it scares me to think of what toll this pregnancy will take on my body within the next 6 months! It's as if my uterus and abdominal muscles are like memory foam and they popped out to the "bubbly-poochy-pregnant" look as soon as I found out I was expecting--I'm convinced smaller-framed girls just have a harder time hiding pregnancies, especially after the first baby. But beyond those shallow thoughts of worrying about the physical attributes of pregnancy, I'm truly blessed to share adventures of yet another Baby Breeden in the months and years to come. So as always, thanks for sharing the journey with me and please keep our growing family in your prayers. To be perfectly honest, I still often think about my first pregnancy with Connor, but God is helping me to overcome any fears and doubts concerning the health of this new baby. I've claimed in God's holy name that this baby will be as healthy as Chase was when he was born. I have to remind myself that every new day comes with its new blessings; sometimes those blessings entail growing pains to bring me closer to God, but it's all a part of His grand purpose for my life. "My times are in Your hands." Psalm 31:15