{ project brodsky }

A dear old high school friend, Jessica {she was my little freshman love…I adored her 10 years ago…and nothing has changed!} contacted me and a few mommy friends to be in a darling video she and a friend staged in her backyard. It was a promotion video that was shot for Rue Magazine to advertise the collaboration of Target and Privet House. Everyone there was so stylish, her backyard and house was ridiculously cute, and the food was incredible!! Wyatt got to be there with one of his best friends, Sawyer….and together they had a great time playing with a vintage tricycle, bubbles, dirt and wind chimes.

All in all it was a great afternoon! Without any further ado, here is the video!

{stopping to smell some flowers…oh and dirt…}

{wyatt thought it so cute to make kissy-faces through his di-tar [wyatt translation: guitar...true translation: racket]…and baby-model, sawyer}

Ok, ok, ok… I know I said I would be back with ultrasound pictures and I wouldn’t take too long to repost… But let’s face it, life is crazy!! Since my last post we were in Mammoth, we had Easter festivities, a weekend in Dana Point for my father-in-laws birthday, work and let’s face it, being pregnant is tiring! Especially with the Wy-man!! By the time I think of blogging, I am already curled up with my bottle of Tums, in my jammies ready to shut my brain off. So forgive me and let’s move on, shall we?

{Quick Thatcher Facts}
:: I am 28 weeks pregnant
::Thatch is the size of a head of cauliflower, weighing about 2.5 pounds!!
:: Heartburn strikes every night around 7….as sometimes in the morning lightly.
:: His room is still an office/storage room. However we ordered his crib and the attachment that makes our UppaBaby vista a double stroller.
:: He is mover! Lots of nudges and prods throughout the day.
:: I feel fat, fat, FAT!
:: I am so much more hormonally sensitive this pregnancy. Everything makes me cry, hard!

{Quick Wyatt Facts}
:: Wyatt weighted in at 22 pounds 6 ounces at his 15 month check up {20th percentile}.
:: Measured in at 29 7/8 inches {25th percentile}.
:: He has 11 teeth and currently working on his 4rd molar.
:: Everything becomes a guitar. EVERYTHING!
:: He loves babies. Including baby dolls. {yes, our son plays with dolls…}
:: My favorite thing he says is “cheeeeese” when I hold the camera up. It makes me laugh so hard at his goofy grin he gives!!

Currently I am waiting for my blood to be drawn for the glucose test, to check if I have gestational diabetes. The worst part is not the flat, syrupy, icky beverage they have you chug. Neither is the hour you have to wait between drinking the “drink” and drawing blood. Its not the 85 years old man that wont leave me alone to blog. Hands down the worst part is the fasting. I am so hungry!!! It’s almost 10 and I haven’t had breakfast or breakfast #2…. Oh well. It’s a one time thing, right? Well I will leave you with a few pictures and a sincere promise to try reeeeally hard to post again soon!

It’s a….

We are beyond thrilled!! And Wyatt was…well he was excited to get 6 ballons .

As of last night I had my feelings…I had heard of yet another baby girl to be expected this year and thought shear probability meant we had to be the ones to restore balance to the world and bear another son. When the doctor said it was a boy, Jake said he sighed a breath of relief even though he thought and hoped it was a girl. Needless to say we are super stocked and praising the Lord of a beautiful healthy baby BOY!

And since I’m feeling giddy I’ll even spill the beans on his name….

{another drumroll please…}

Thatcher Jude!

Quick Fun Facts

::I am 19 weeks today.

::Thatch weights in at approximately 11 oz. as determined by the ultrasound today, putting his due date right on track for July 19th.

::My “What To Expect” app says he is about the size of a large mango.

::I feel lots of movement…and today was perfect proof when the doctor said, “I’ll measure him…if he stops wiggling around.” So since Wyatt is non-stop, and this one is apparently a wiggle-worm….I’m doomed

::I crave jelly bellys, but try to limit myself {self-control Alexa!!!}… thank goodness for Costco big tub!

::I LOVE the idea of having 3 special men in my life. I will be so protected…and never need to take the trash out again!

::With 2 boys…I realize my house will never be clean again.

I’ll try and get Jake to scan the pictures in tomorrow so I can post the ultrasound pictures. But a little hint… #2 looks just like Wyatt! Same big lips and even a little double chin!

Yup! The time has come to find out what gender the bun is that is cooking up in my oven. Tomorrow!! Not only is this the super cool ultrasound that {Lord willing} rules out certain birth defects but allows us to glimpse at the sweet baby-love growing inside me. With Wyatt, we had so many more ultrasounds to check in on him than this pregnancy. This time we are exercising patience and decided to for-go the extra ultrasounds. So last time we saw #2 it was a blob with a tail still… No arms, no legs…. But a super strong heartbeat {thus no more ultrasounds because insurance is lame}.

So tomorrow at 3:45 we will be anxiously and very excitedly waiting in the hospital waiting room to just know!!!

As for what we are hoping for or what we think it might be, I’m as confused as the next person. At first I had girl hunches, then I had boy dreams so now my “Mothers Intuition” is wavering. As for what we want, it’s so hard to say. Practically speaking, a boy would be amazing since we have EVERYTHING! And, oh how much I would love seeing all those teeny little man clothes Wyatt wore all over again on another little bod. Plus they will be 19 months apart and only 1 grade apart in school, so another boy would be so awesome!

However, I would be lying to say I don’t want to stick a bow on someone . Ruffles? Sparkly shoes? Pigtails? Tights? Please…the list goes on why I need a mini me.

And to make me waver even more, I LOVE both of our names for a boy or girl….So for now, I am content on whichever they say tomorrow. I just want to know!!

For fun you can visit an old post written by Jake after we were told Wyatt was a boy and how he compares the two genders {I Have Been Quiet…Until Now!}

So now’s your chance to place your vote! Please leave a comment and let us know what your best guess is!

As many old married couples do, Jake and I stopped celebrating Valentine’s Day once we had a house to stay in and avoid the crowds. Although we stopped making reservations at yummy restaurants and buying silly stuffed animals, we didn’t stop with a few traditions we did have.

One started a few years ago was silly, but made me smile and swoon none the less. Jake buys his favorite boxed valentine cards {you know, the ones you bought for your 6 year old…} and sign them cute ways like “To: my hottie From: your sweetie” or “To: Love of my life From: yours” …. You get the point. Then he would hide them throughout the day {sometimes I would find them throughout the week if they were really good hiding places.} One year was Iron Man, another was Transformers…. This year was Angry Birds {screams romance right?}. I found them attached to a yummy Snicker’s carmel apple I have been craving, on the sink, in the fridge and my favorite, on a box of boots I had mentioned wanting {in the right size and everything!}

{one of the more obvious hiding places}

{Jake always jokes that everyday I walk in, pass the hooks he hung for my purse, and place my bags on the center island…                                       V-day he not only allowed it, he condoned it!}

{the same went for my shoes..}

Also making an appearance was Wyatt’s Valentine’s {Car’s ones of course} to me, hidden in all his favorite places saying “To: Mama From: Ball….” or “To: Foo- From: Ple-!” {translation: food please!}. It was super sweet to come home to! I had forgotten about this cute and corky tradition Jake did for me, and it made me love him that much more.

{my matching Valentine Day stud muffins}

{Only teamwork could have pulled this surprise off}

{such sweet moments}

All in all, this was an amazing Valentine’s day! Thankful that God has shown us the greatest love through sending His only begotten Son {John 3:16} to die on a cross, so that those who believe in Him will have everlasting life. And because He demonstrated such love, we too can love sacrificially for one another. Beyond thankful I have a husband that strives to live out that commandment!!

Surprised you get another post so quickly? Yeah, me too!

For those who haven’t seen Wyatt and all his tricks, let me just tell you he does some great animal sounds! Duck, dog, monkey, elephant, owl, tiger/lion/monster {all 3 kind of sound the same…}. Pretty much they are the cutest thing ever.

So as you can guess, I was super excited when my wonderful in-laws gifted our family with a LA Zoo pass for my birthday. Today we went for the first time as a family, and my first time in probably 19 years {no joke.} Last memory of the zoo was my third grade feild trip. It was slightly traumatic you see, because as most of you might know, I am DEATHLY AFRAID of snakes. Not in the funny kind of afraid. In the night tremors, heart attack, blood draining, complete mental and emotional breakdown kind of way. This is usually when people try and tell me a story about a run in with one, or maybe even tease me with a “hiss” but I cannot stress how bad this phobia is. Like, it’s really really bad! Anyway, third grade…teacher made me go into the reptile house and I cried. A lot. And kids made fun of me and taunted me with my fear. So I haven’t been back.

Today though we were able to scope out all “icky things” areas so I can successfully dodge them without my strong, brave husband to protect me.

And for the true reason you all visit this blog…the pictures from today!

{Wyatt was super confused why the tall, skinny, pink things were quacking like ducks}

{Loved the giraffes, especially the old one}

{talking about how God awesomely created zebras to have super rad mohawks and really cool stripes}

{doing his best monkey impersonation…after all he is my little monkeydoo}

Go ahead and see for yourself…he does a pretty mean monkey, right?

{the elephants were really hard to see, so we improvised}

{not sure who loved this day more, Wyatt or Jake}

All in all, today was pretty perfect! I am super excited for many more zoo days to come {snake free of course}… if you want to zoo-date, let us know!!

Can you hardly believe it?!

I was getting a ton of slack for not blogging. But then the gentle nagging stopped and I guessed everyone thought it was a done deal. I’ve missed blogging as a life journal for friends and family to share. Although I loved it during pregnancy, I have loved being a busy, busy mommy way more! That isn’t a very good excuse at all, but the truth is we needed a new blog that reflected our new family…and long story short, it just took time, time we didn’t seem to have…so here we are project brodsky 2.0!!

A year has shot by with a blink of the eye. My 6 lbs 12 oz teeny, hairy, spit-upping, old man baby is now a walking {running}, talking, demanding, destructive, sweet 20 lbs 8 oz little boy!! To say Jake and I are in love with our snot-nosed terror, would be a complete understatement! Although I want to catch everyone up on how Wyatt is doing, I will have to save that for another blog post. However, we have already posted our last gallery of photos from our most recent family photoshoot. So you can see Wyatt {11 months in those pictures} and “ooo” and “ahhh” at the stunning moments Aaron and Shuana Funk {at PhotoByFunk} captured of our growing family.

Yup you read that last part correctly…we are adding another Brodsky babe to our family! Although this one was not exactly on our timing we rejoice, because we know God’s will for us is perfect and for our good. I’m not going to lie… I had a panic night the day I found out. Jake however, just laughed and smiled when I told him. After the shock of having a surprise baby sunk in, I immediately started remembering how much I loved pregnancy and sweet newborns! I jumped into go action and started sorting out how we would set up the nursery and how we would start spreading the great news.

{quick fun facts}
::I am currently 15 weeks pregnant.
::this bundle of joy is expected to join the outside world around July 19th, 2012.
::it is about the size of an avocado {4-5 inches}
::I immediately started showing!!! Boy does your body know exactly what to do after already having a baby!! Dang you muscle memory!!!
::I started feeling soft, sporatic fluttering movement about 4 weeks ago.
::We saw a very strong heartbeat at 8 weeks and heard it at 12 weeks.
::It is a mover! It kept moving away from the Doppler and going behind the placenta.
::I have felt fantastic! No sickness, a little tired, occasional queasiness if I don’t eat on time, and not too many aches and pains. Although, I attribute all my tiredness and sore back to my one year old…
::Yes we will be finding out the sex, I am a “need to know” kind of a person. It’s the planner in me {thus the unplanned pregnancy hitting me harder than it should have}
::When you ask Wyatt where the baby is he lifts up his shirt and points at his belly button… However cute this is, I know I’m just confusing him on his body parts and he will grow up thinking the weird thing on your stomach is a baby, not a belly button.

So here is how we shared the news…
I was not late yet, however I was getting a TON of round ligament pains {sharp growing pains in the muscles surrounding the uterus}. I promptly googled it, hoping it was a post pregnancy thing or maybe a cyst. But no… Everything said early signs of pregnancy. But I didn’t feel pregnant. How is it even possible?! No way. Not us. So I took a cheap test, convinced it would be negative… Nope. 2 lines, dark as night! So I took another… Same results. Panicked, I raced to the store to buy the expesive kind, knowing full well, I was pregnant. While there I bought a bunch of candy {more on that shortly} and raced home to yet another positive test. With Jake at work, Wyatt in his highchair and dinner in the oven I threw together a little story with each line wrapped around the appropriate candy bar and was numbered. When Jake got home and we sat down for dinner, he began unwrapping them. And the story went something like this….

“Oh the sweet {SNICKERS} and joys we have had the last 10 months and 26 days…”

“We have had such fun as the {3 MUSKETEERS}…”

“And love, we sure did {SKOR} with Wyatt as our first…”

“But Dada, I know that God only gives us what we can handle and blesses us far abundantly than we can hope for. So for that reason our next child will be the greatest {PAYDAY} ever!!” {at this point Jake looked up at me quizzically, and said “no..?” after I said nothing Jake promptly began quickly unwrapping the following candy bars}

“We might have a few {ROCKY ROADs} ahead…”

“But with this next {BABY ruth}…”

“We are sure to have {DOUBLE mint} the fun, trouble, blessings, laughs, memories, kisses, tears and love!”

“And in case you can’t piece it all together, {WE ARE PREGNANT!!} Yup…what the heck?! Don’t know how we let that happen, but what I do know is…I love seeing you as a daddy. I love looking at Wyatt and knowing he’s ours. I love that God’s plan’s are far better than my own. And I already LOVE our little surprise!” {This is where Jake laughed joyously and I cried…a lot.}

The next morning I awoke and was filled with a peace of knowing God knows I can handle pregnancy with a one year old. He knows I can handle a 19month old and a newborn. He will grace me with His divine strength to get through all that he has planned for us. And even better, God works out all things for the good of His people. This truth still comforts me, when all I want to do is take a nap but instead I must fight my 1 year old to take his.

So that very next day we had my mom and Jake’s parents over for dinner. We made a onesie for Wyatt to wear that read “BIG BROTHER” on it.

Mary saw Wyatt first and was closest to read, my mom struggled to squint and tried to catch up, while Paul sat clueless until the excited shrieks of his wife…Pure comedy! Here is a video of the reveal…

After telling other close family members and dear friends over various meals, phone calls and coffee dates, we were able to announce it to more dear friends, via our Christmas card. Many missed the fourth person wishing them a Merry Christmas, but IT was there..and funnily enough IT {I seriously can’t wait to know what IT is so I can stop calling IT “IT”!} was also in the pictures too!

With that I leave you with the promise to keep up the blogging… {*crosses fingers}

Here’s my ‘artsy’ side. I’m totally an Instagram Photographer now.

Here’s our newest batch of family photos. We used a few of them on the Christmas card / Wyatt’s birthday invite, but couldn’t fit them all so we figured we would post them here for all to see.

Thanks to our friends Aaron and Shauna Funk at Photobyfunk for the awesome job they did!

Enjoy…

[Show as slideshow]

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I feel like the luckiest lady ever! Not only do I have a beautiful little man to call my own, but God has surrounded me with lots and lots of amazing new mommies! Some of them a few stages before me to advise me on when and how to transition Wyatt on to solids, breast feeding basics and anti-spit up tricks {which FYI aren’t working!!}….some are a few steps behind and are expecting which allows me to cheer them on and pass on the encouragement….and a few very special friends of mine are in the very same stage as me!! From growing bumps and now {very fastly} growing babes we are able to compare notes! One of my very best friends had her little girl, Penelope Lauren, 2 1/2 weeks before I had Wyatt…So of course they are instantly betrothed! Here is their little love story ….

{As we were belly to belly, this was the first time we felt Penny kick!}

{love at first sight!}

{love birds holding hands}

{Wyatt doing the ‘ol “yawn & stretch” move on Penny}

{Twinsies}

{Wyatt tasting his sweet Penny}

{And like all women, Penny has mastered the art of “what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours in mine”….}

I simply can’t wait to see these 2 grow up together. Even more, I can’t wait to see them play with all the newly arrived or still cooking friends! BABIES!!!