This picture made it on this year's Christmas card
Annual Santa Meltdown
Tim looking handsome before the STC Christmas party on Dec. 10th
Carrie 5 Months Pregnant (I look super sized in this picture!)
The last picture of Chase with his pacifier...he bid his pacifier farewell for good a few weeks ago (yay!)It's Christmas Eve! I can hardly believe another year has come and gone. Time truly does fly the older I get. I remember how Christmas Eve felt like an eternity to my sisters and I when we were kids; we'd stay in our pajamas all day and couldn't wait to go to bed just so we could lay in bed wide awake anxiously awaiting for Santa Claus to come. I'm blessed to now get to see Christmas Eve from the perspective of my own child. Chase is still too young to fully understand the concept of Christmas, but it's such a blessing to see him get excited over the simple things in life. As I type this blog posting, he's downstairs giggling at the movie, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Tim and I took him to see Santa Claus last weekend, but Chase wasn't too fond of the jolly old guy in red.
It's been a few months since my last blog posting. Chase is still growing at an unbelievable rate. He's talking up a storm and starting to form sentences that others can actually understand now. He's a typical 2-year old: has a few tantrums every now and then, but is still our "Happy Feet" most of the time. As with most boys, he can be a little rough. He somehow knocked one of his front teeth a week or so ago. Praise God, the tooth is still in tact, but it's slightly discolored now. We're praying it will turn back to its normal shade of white with time and that no permanent nerve damage has occurred. Thank God for baby teeth; worse case scenario, he'll have a permanent tooth to replace it in a few years. Other than that, he's been a healthy, uninjured little boy. He loves to wrestle with Daddy (Tim) and often tries to impose the same rough play on me which doesn't go over too well now that I have a baby bump to protect.
Speaking of baby bumps, yes, Baby Breeden and I are both growing! I'd be a rich girl if I had a dime for every "Captain Obvious" comment I've heard from people at work, such as, "wow, you really look pregnant now;" "you're really getting out there now (referring to my stomach);" "dang, you're getting big;" etc. One of the joys of working at the shipyard is being on the receiving end of the insensitive comments that some of the guys make; however, I've even heard such comments coming from ladies. I take these comments in stride knowing that I'm healthy and so is Baby Breeden--a pregnant woman is supposed to grow so why be ashamed of it? I'm about 5 pounds heavier than I was at this stage in pregnancy with Chase, but I'm still within normal weight limits for a pregnant woman and all other stats are healthy.
The first 4 months of this pregnancy were miserable. I continued to suffer through the extreme nausea in the evenings through the 4th month and the exhaustion still hasn't fully dissipated even at 5 months pregnant. Of course, working long hours at work probably isn't helping with the exhaustion factor. On December 16th, Tim and I received an early Christmas present during my 20-week ultrasound appointment at EVMS: we found out our baby is healthy (#1 priority) AND it's another BOY! We're ecstatic to be having another boy (although I know the majority of people we know were rooting for a girl) and so thankful for a healthy baby. The baby is measuring slightly on the big side, so it looks like we'll have a late April baby rather than a May arrival. Tim and I harvest big boys! I have a check-up right after Christmas, so it will be so much "fun" stepping on the scale to see how much the baby and I have grown after in-taking Christmas calories.
I'm starting to feel more flutters and movement, but this baby seems to be more laid back as I recall feeling more strong kicks from Chase at this stage in pregnancy. Nonetheless, I'm excited to feel more signs of life in the weeks and months to come. Additionally, Tim and I have a few projects to conquer in the upcoming months. We've decided to leave Chase in his current room, but switch him over to a twin size bed and put the crib in the other spare room. Tim's mom has offered to do another mural for the new nursery, but we'll have to paint over the currently lavender colored walls with white so she'll have a fresh canvas to begin her work of art. As with choosing a name, we're not fully decided on a new nursery theme, but it will most likely be something that can always remain in that room as the child grows and even in the long term future when we have an empty nest.
Let me conclude this update with thankfully declaring how abundantly blessed Tim and I are as we celebrate our third Christmas with Chase while anticipating his little brother's arrival in just 4 short months from now. We pray the true meaning of Christmas will shine in each and every one of you not just this Christmas season but throughout another new year. As always, thanks for sharing adventures with the Breedens!
