Quincy Bound!!!

"I'm going home, to a place where I belong..."

We're heading to Quincy in 2 days and I am sooo excited!! I need to be home with my family. I need to be surrounded by family and friends. Things here are good but I'm so ready to gome home!! I need to hug my mom, I need to laugh with my beautiful sister and have her play with my hair and do something fun with it. I need to hang with my brother and catch up. I need to see my dad. I need to hug my Grandpa and tell him he has to get better!! I need to spend a week with my husband and children and make lots of memories!!! I just need this!! So Quincy ready or not here we come!!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter to you all. Our family shared a wonderful Easter weekend with the beautiful Keane family!! Pete, Laura, Madelyn and Andrew are our dearest friends and it was sooo much fun to have them in our home for the weekend. Easter this year was even more special because we had people to share it with. Carter Loved the easter egg hunt especially since he had his two best friends with him. Brynn, well she slept through the hunt but Carter filled her in on what she missed. Stay tuned for more pictures of our weekend and some new pictures of Brynn showing us her pretty little smile!!! We love you all and hope that you had a wonderful Easter!!!

Brynn Elizabeth Gilchrist

Here she is. I know most of you have already seen pictures on Gil's blog but I wanted to showcase the work of the amazing Laura Keane. I"m telling you the moments that she captured are so amazing and these are just a few.

Well she's here and she's beautiful, amazing, and a dream. She is such a happy baby, and a wonderful sleeper. At four days old she had her first full night of sleep (7 hours) and she's stayed on that schedule since. I pray that this continues, even though I have to admit that I find myself getting up and night and wanting her to wake up just so I can hold her.
Big Brother Carter is doing amazing!! It's wonderful to see him with her. He loves her so much and is such a huge help. He calls her "baby Brynn" and is constantly talking to her and telling her he loves her. He is still a little confused that she is ours forever and is part of the family. Anytime we go somewhere he wants to know "Are we taking baby Brynn with us?" It'll take some time but he'll figure it out. I'm just so thankful that he is not showing any signs of jealousy at this point. It's just so much fun to watch the two of them together.
I'm recovering well from the surgery, I had the staples taken out yesterday and it's set me back just a little but what do I expect it's only been 9 days!! Going from 1 to 2 babies is tough but I'm loving it. I had a good visit with my dad who was here from Tuesday -Thursday and the my mom and Laura Keane were here from Thursday-Sunday. It was great to have two more moms around the house to help me those first couple of days. I needed their love and support more than I realized. I cried buckets when they left but I know I'll see them again in a couple of weeks, along with more family members and lots of friends. I can't wait for everybody to meet this little one. Matt's family will be here on Saturday and I 'll have a new batch of hands to help. Looking forward to that.
Well that's the update on us. Thank you to all of you who have prayed, sent cards, gifts, meals, phone calls. It's wonderful to know we have so many special people in our lives. I hope that you all know you are loved. We'll post more soon!!

Big Momma!!!

Here I am Baby and all!!! Carter is amazed at how big mommy is getting but thank goodness he's being sweet about it. Almost everyday now he will say "Wow mommy the baby is gettting bigger!!!" I remember getting big with Carter, like my mom says it's just how us McNett women carry our babies... but it doesn't make it much easier. I've always wanted to be one of those little moms that just look like they have a basketball under their shirt!! Nope not me!! At seven months I'm thinking I might need to add some blinkers to my shirts so people can see when this Wide load is making a left hand turn. I laugh at the people that see me at the gym and say "What are you doing here? you should be home eating and taking it easy!!" Oh lord, can you imagine what I'd look like if I didn't work out!?!?!
Ya know what, it's SOOOO worth it. Even as I sit here and write "peanut" is kicking me and letting me know she's a happy girl!! She is such a mover and a shaker in there. The feeling of life inside you is something that words can not explain! God is Awesome.
Yeah her name is still peanut... We really are stuck on names. I don't think this little one will have a name until we see her in the hospital. Our top names at this point are......

~Brynn Elizabeth~
~Olivia Marie~ Ok Marie is not for sure either...
~Myra ???? ~

Anybody have any ideas.... does one stand out more than another... this is sooo hard for us. I still have about 10 other names that I hear that I love and who knows those might pop up at the last minute!!

So onto the fact that I really want this little one to be here. I can't wait to see her, but I'm really not ready for her yet. I have so much to do yet!! I thought that having her in January would be great because the holidays would make the last couple of months go by quicker. Oh it's gonna go by quicker all right but I'm not sure that's a good thing now. Looking at the calendar today made me nervous. Time is flying by and I have a nursery to finish, ok start, and stuff to buy!! Aghhhhh
Well guess I need to get started on something, one thing at a time right. Just thought I'd write and fill people in since I haven't written in forever.
Carter is doing great and very excited about "peanut" being here. He's my little shopper and helps me pick out clothes for her. He's ready to help with everything except change diapers.. He says "Mom I not change peanut's diapers cause I don't want poop on me!!" I guess that's a good reason! I can't wait for these two little people to meet!! Bring on the fun and the photos!! Ok give me a couple of months and then bring them on!!
Love you all!!!

Sugar and Spice!!!!

It's a girl!!! I'm having a girl!!! I can't even put into words how excited we are.
Yesterday was an amazing experience to see this little girl in my belly dancing around, waving her arms and legs and putting on a show!!! It was so wonderful to hear that everthing is going well and the baby is healthy. What a relief!!
It was so much fun to call all my family yesterday and share the news!!! Lots of tears and shouts of joy! My cheeks hurt today because I don't think I stopped smiling yesterday!!
I really didn't realize how much I really wanted a baby girl until yesterday. I was prepared for either and really was happy to have either but when they said it was a girl I just couldn't stop the tears. It was such a different experience than with Carter.
When I had Carter it was an emergency C-section and the Dr.'s were really concerned about him. So when the Dr. pulled him out and said "It's a boy!!" I really didn't care. All I wanted to know was that he was healthy. So this time was so different because there was no stress involved. I could just soak up the moment and memorize the faces of my husband and son as they realized that it was a girl!!! Oh, I hope that memory never fades. I want to keep it forever!!
So watch out mall!!! It's dresses, bows, shoes, and PINK!!! Lots of it.
Oh crap now I have to decide on a name..... that could take awhile!! I think I'll just shop for now!!!

Baby Eve!!!

Ok today was my birthday... well actually yesterday was my birthday since it's 1A.M.
I had a wonderful birthday complete with gifts and a wonderful dinner with my boys... but I'm not excited for today.
See I feel like it's Christmas Eve and I have the smallest gift under the tree (since us girls know the small packages are the best!!) yet I can't open it until tomorrow!! At 10am tomorrow(or today) anyway in less than 9 hours I will be in the Dr.'s office with Gil and Carter and we will hopefully be able to find out what we are having!! I can't wait... I can't sleep... I just want these 9 hours to be over!!
I really just want a healthy baby.... honestly that's truely what I want. I don't ever want my baby to be sick like Carter was... that was pure hell.
Ok so ya I'd love to have a little girl... I'd love to buy all pink and put bows in her hair. I'd love to have a girl to grow old with and to be friends with and to teach her all the things my mom taught me. That would be Awesome.
Yet at the same time I'd be very happy with a little boy. A brother for Carter. I kno what to do with boys... I kinda know what to expect from a little boy. I've always said if I'm going to have all of one sex I'd want them to be all boys!
So we'll find out hopefully. I'm praying this baby won't play shy, that it'll let us know what it is!! I can't wait to tell everybody.
I realized tonight that when I had Carter I was not able to make any phone calls because of the c-section. Gil was the one that got to tell everybody that it was a boy!! So tomorrow I hope that I can make a million phone calls and tell everybody what we're having. Plus I'm so excited to watch Carter and to see his reaction!!
It's going to be Awesome.... So stay tuned and find out wether the new addition to our family is a boy or a girl!!!!

But Not the Hippopotamus!!!

No this title does not refer to my size yet, although I am starting to feel like one!! Like my shirt says "Love me love my belly" I know it's just going to get bigger so I gotta face it!
We're back from our wonderful vacation!!! I don't know if it was the 15 hour drive back from Florida, or my "to do list" waiting at home for me, or maybe Carter waking up at 7am on Saturday ready to play but "Reality" hit a lot harder than I expected. At first I was a little bummed... not gonna lie. I sat back and thought about our long days on the beach and our wonderful dinners and relaxing evenings and wished I was back in Florida. Matt and I had not been on vacation together alone since before Carter was born and we really needed it. It was wonderful to reconnect and unwind after a long summer and before our life changes again with this little peanut on the way!! I love my husband sooo much and the fun and laughter and love that he gives me makes me realize how much I need and want him in my life. We have so much fun just the two of us and it was hard to come back home.
Carter spent the week with Grandma and Grandpa Gilchrist and had a blast!! I don't think he missed us for a second. We had a wonderful day with family yesterday and said our goodbye's to Grandma and Grandpa after lunch today. It was hard to come home to an empty house and know that life had to get back to normal.
Tonight before bed the three of us sat on our bed and read the book "But Not The Hippopotamus" I read the story while Carter laid between us, and the baby kicked at Gils' hand which was laying on my belly. We laughed so hard as we all read the book together and I realized This is my life and I LOVE it!!! I would not change anything! I have the best husband in the world, the sweetest little boy that keeps me on my toes and a little peanut on the way!! God is good and has blessed me with so much. Our vacation was a much needed relaxation time that made me realize how blessed and loved I am and how much my family truely means to me.
So I'm ready to get up in the morning and go to the gym, clean the house, make pb&j sandwhiches for lunch, do laundry and make dinner and sit with my family and laugh. This is my reality and I love it!!


BTW: Mom and Dad Gilchrist bought me a new HP coppier,scanner,fax, photo thingy for my birthday and I love it!! I'm learing how to use it all by myself and I'm so proud that I figured out how to post this picture!! Gil are you impressed!?! Watch out friends I see lots of pictures comming in the near future!!!