Getting Settled

Oh man! It has been a wild weekend. I can't believe that we are finally here. In our dream apartment. We are still in the process of going through all the bins and boxes, but for the most part, we are pretty settled. After getting all the furniture arranged how we wanted, now we can organize, and decorate!

random find! Remember this hat? She could barely fit it on the back of her head!

The move went so smoothly. We had so many wonderful ward members come early Saturday morning to help load up the truck. Brinley and I hung around for that process and snacked on some donuts. It was too early to head to Target, of course! There were probably 20 people there to help us move. Almost, too many people, if you can image. Everyone was willing to do anything I asked. It was lovely. 

the FULL moving truck! I couldn't believe we fit everything.

After everyone left, and Ryan took off in the moving truck to our new place to meet a few members of our new ward to help, Brinley and I took off for Target. Our goal: a brand new toy for a extra special girl who has been so great during the moving chaos. Ryan and I really tried to make an effort to slow down and be extra patient with Brinley during all of this. I've heard that moving can be rough on toddlers. We kept talking about our new house and her new room. She had a few meltdowns here and there, as expected, but for the most part, she was a champ.

While in Target, we just wandered the store. Nothing pressing on our to-do list. Nowhere to be. Ryan specifically told me to be gone the entire move-in time. 3 flights of stairs. Sweaty men hauling boxes. He did not want me to get anxious about anything, or even TRY to help. After only 5 minutes wandering the toy section, Brinley picked out her brand new toy: a mini shopping cart full of grocery items. I pulled it off the shelf, gave it to her, and she followed me around, while pushing her cart throughout the whole entire store. People were stopping and staring at her cuteness. It was pretty ridiculous. She is total girl. Anything involving babies, shopping, play food, or shoes, she is game for. That's my girl!

 Quickie Instagram updates:

Saturday afternoon going to our first pool experience! It was h-o-t and we had so much fun!

Yes, potty training has resumed. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this whole potty training thing is no joke. I am stressed. Stinky. Unshowered. And a bit frustrated. But, our first whole day with the potty, Brin had 3 successes and 2 accidents. Not bad. She couldn't handle going poo in the potty though. She told me she had to go, which is normal for her right before nap time, but I didn't push it. She woke up with a poo, so at least she knows that she needs to go #2! 

I had to wake this beauty up from naps to run errands. Talk about depressing having to wake your busy 'i need to nap' toddler JUST to make an appointment!? gah!! 

And here I am at 21 weeks (offic. Saturday). I wanted Ry to snap a picture to prove that I dress myself in actual clothes sometimes. hahaha No, but seriously. I basically got dressed because of the places we needed to go that day, but especially potty training, this mama is in pj shorts and a Hanes v-neck mens shirt. Yes, I do brush my teeth and put on deodorant everyday.

 BIG NEWS!
Brinley is enrolled in a gymnastics class once a week for the summer! We went to pay today and she could barely keep her clothes on because she wanted to get on the mat and run around with the kids who were in class. I let Brinley pick out her own leotard, and of course she picks this. I don't think I'll ever lose eye contact on this kid during her class. She looks like a small beam of radiation running around with how bright this green is. Eeeks! She doesn't start for another 2 weeks, but she is SO excited! (and so am I to hang out and watch!)

House video tour coming soon!

You can follow me on IG @megbriggs

20 Weeks and Moving

Alright folks. I am officially half way through this pregnancy! It has surprisingly flown by. I thought that since we found out basically day one when I got pregnant that I would never get to these milestones. All of a sudden, the weeks are flying by!

I am feeling pretty good! My acid reflux has really slowed down, thankfully! I chowed down on a TGI Friday's burger last weekend and loved. every. second! I pop in a Zantac a few times a week just to help my nights sometimes, but other than that, I haven't really had any problems since week 16. Well, problems enough to completely paralyze me like before. I still feel the rage, but it has lessened. It was getting so exhausting not being able to eat more than peanut butter toast and saltines. And even then, I was having raging acid reflux. I am so grateful to have my normal diet return and enjoy food again.

My belly is still growing rapidly, but it hasn't taken over completely yet. It becomes a problem when I try to squeeze through small spaces and bump my belly on the wall. It has been really exciting feeling the baby kick. Last Sunday when I woke up, I stayed in bed for a second and pushed on my belly and the baby totally kicked back! So I pushed on my belly again, and she kept kicking back! We went back and forth for about 10ish kicks and by the time Ryan got to me, she stopped. Poor girl was worn out!

The other night, while in bed watching The Wonder Years (only a few more eps until we are done with the final season!), I was feeling a few random kicks and told Ry to put his hand on my tummy. No more than 3 seconds later, she did a big kick! We both looked at each other with big smiles on our faces. It has been a joy for me to start feeling these baby kicks, but for Ryan to start feeling them too....ah, it is the best feeling! The kicks are pretty small from the outside, but I'm thinking in another month, we will be able to get big enough kicks for Miss Brinley to get excited about. 

My favorite moments have been Brinley's interactions with the belly. Ryan told her that to speak to her baby sister, she has to talk through my belly button. It is pretty hilarious. She yanks up my shirt and pokes at my belly button and says, "hey baby sister. I love you. Come out and play. I will be nice to you and let you play with my toys." Bless her heart. She is going to be the best big sister. Brinley always talks about her baby sister and that she will "always be nice to her" and "let her use her spoon and drink milk with her." hahaha Any conversations we have together, her baby sister pops into the conversation and we talk about her and how much fun we are all going to have together.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Brinley: A......big sister!!!

heart melted

and earlier this week, we were sharing a bowl of goldfish, and Brinley decided baby sister needed a goldfish too. She then yanked up my shirt, and shoved a goldfish in my belly button. It was kind of disgusting, since belly buttons are disgusting, but she was sooo proud of herself. She kept talking to the belly and asking her baby sister "is that good? baby sister?? You like goldfish??" She is so cute.

In OTHER news,

We are also moving this weekend. Just to a different complex, but it is across town. Different freeway exit. Different Publix. Different Walmart. Different library. and a Different ward. This past Sunday, Ryan and I were released from our callings. He was the 16/17 year old Sunday School teacher basically since we moved  into the ward almost 2 years ago. He has grown to love and appreciate those kids so much. I know he will miss them.

I am going to miss Primary so much! Serving for only 9 months, I learned so much about myself and how the Primary works. I have learned countless songs, over 25 kids names, gotten to know the teachers, learned how to teach a Sharing Time once and sometimes twice a month--not to mention teaching the Jr. Primary (15 kids sometimes under the age of 6...patience tester!), and how to work in a Presidency. It has been a great experience for personal spiritual growth. I don't think I was this big spiritual giant, but it helped teach me about consistency and finding joy in my calling.

It would really sting when I would talk to some people about Primary and they would look all bummed about being "stuck in Primary." I was so confused! I would rather serve in Primary than any other place in the church, next to Young Women's of course. Maybe I am too excited and have too much energy, but sitting during Relief Society and Gospel Doctrine does not necessarily serve me well sometimes. I hope to be called into Primary again someday! It was an experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Our new place is wonderful. We have been really lucky to have been safe for the past 2 years, but hearing about the break-in stories our neighbors have told us about, or the occasional double homicide (yep, down the street!), has really freaked me out. I know no place is perfect, but we can only move up from where we are. We're moving to the other side of town which will put us further from the school and Ryan's work, but Brinley and I are up for the challenge to drive him to work/school a couple times a week.

We get a pool, work out center, playground, and a dog park included with trails for walking? Forget about it!! We are however downsizing which may be a bit tricky with our family expanding, but the baby would be in our room anyways for awhile. And by the time we would move her out to her own room, we will be graduated (what!?) and hopefully moving, again!

And can I get a Whooo-raaaw for no more climbing stairs at 2am to see why Brinley woke up crying? Whoooo-raaawwww!!

I am anxious to give you a house tour, but I need some time to get that in order! Starting Monday (or tuesday, or wednesday...), we are potty training 100% and soon after, I am getting Brinley's room transformed into a Big Girl room furnished with a BIG GIRL BED! Oh man.

Lots of changes, but I am so happy!

Mama's wish list

Can I just tell you again how relieved I feel having another girl? In midst of our packing and moving chaos, I went through 3, THREE, full girl clothes bins that Brinley has grown out of. Not discounting a full bin of clothes that is heading to Good Will. That makes 4 clothes bins. I was able to put the clothes, depending on size, in 3 large vacuum seal bags. It was fun to go through all the clothes and remember Brinley being that small, she was that small once upon a time right? I have plans of getting new white onesies and a few newborn outfits, but for the most part, this baby girl coming has everything she needs. 

So, that leaves me. This mama. What do I need? Because really, it's all about me right? haha ya right!

#1

ERGO baby carrier

We had a baby bjorn with Brinley, which was wonderful for the handful of times we left the house in the Idaho winter and actually used it. I used it mostly when I cleaned and vacuumed. I am determined to not live a hermit lifestyle with 2 children, which brings the ERGO into the picture. I have many friends and family members who rave about these carriers. I always seemed to complain about my back hurting wearing the bjorn, and I know that having that waist strap is essential for carrying children! Worth the dinero, definitely. And the fact that it can go on your back? Yes please. I know this is going to come in handy.

via

#2

Video baby monitor

Since we are downsizing into a 2 bedroom, eventually, Brinley and baby girl will be sharing a room. Not to mention, Brinley moving into a big girl bed this summer. I would love to get this monitor this summer to be able to spy on Brinley in her new found "freedom." I am terrified, but I know that these parenting transitions are expected and my Brinley is just growing up too dang fast! 

via

#3

Glider

I still regret not having a glider when Brinley was a baby. I spent so many hours nursing in awkward couches that made my back hurt and I was so jealous of those moms who had this to turn to, especially in the newborn phase to just rock and cuddle at night. We have moved up from a nursery armchair, to 2 camping chairs (which both broke), to our dining room chair, to basically the floor. When my mom came to visit a few months ago, she sat on the chair in Brinley's room and looked at me and said, "Let's get you a glider, okay?" I almost cried. I know these chairs are only long lasting with having children, but I know I will put many a miles, and hours, in this chair!

via

#4

Electric Pump

This is a dream, really. If this baby takes a bottle like Brinley did, I will definitely invest in an electric breast pump. I had to use the manual single hand pump when I had to pump while in school. Let's just say, it sucked, big time. Especially when the pump had a constant squeak. I've heard these pumps are amazing and I know I wasted many hours and tears over my manual pump which could have been avoided if I had this instead! 

via

#5

Double Stroller

Undecided if we even need this, but maybe someday. I'm not sure how I will be able to manage walks with 2 kids, but maybe that's why the Ergo is so fantastic. Otherwise, this stroller is just pretty :-)

via

Am I leaving anything else out?? What could you not live without or wish you had?

Brinley's favorite beach moments

Some of my favorite with Brinley:

Wrestling with Uncle Jared. He was the best sport when they were all needing some attention. And he was the best at building sand castles with them. I overheard Brinley singing a random song while walking on the beach and I asked her what she was singing, she goes, "It's the Uncle Jared song." Duh, Mom. She loved her uncles a lot this trip!

Checking out puppy Max.

Dairy Queen cones. Carter's cone fell multiple times on the grass, but he continued eating...yum!

Gifts from Grandma-great! Brinley loved hugs from Grandma-great.

Show time with Benjamin.

One of many beach moments. Digging in the sand. 

Break time!

Ice cream cone time out on the deck.

I love these 3 kids!

Break time with Grandpa!

Catching who knows what with Grandpa!

random moments on the spiral stairs.

My favorite beach moments

Some of my favorite moments caught on camera:

the house from the beach. I kept thinking, I need to be reading a Nicolas Sparks book right now! It was such a classic North Carolina beach house.

sunbathing with my mom and having good chats about life :-)

Brinley and her favorite auntie Cassandra. Brinley would slur her name when she said it "Cassss-an-daaa" but these two were the best of buds on the beach. Cassandra was always willing to help watch Brinley and help her catch minnows and sand crabs.

After Brinley's naps everyday, we would come back on the beach and lounge. She loved just going for walks up and down the beach with me :-) or anyone who wanted to take her, aka, everyone!

This bump. 17.5 weeks here. Felt the baby kick lots at the beach!

Grandma and her kiddos. These two are only 6 months apart and could be twins. Brinley is a bit taller than Carter, but they play pretty well together. I loved watching them jump together in the water.

Cuddles on the beach when Brin was needing a break! We ate lots of Doritos and licorice together. The perfect beach treat!

After dinner beach walk. 

Love this little girl. 

Last dinner as a family. Love this boy :-)

Zumba!!! 

Watching these 4 take on the "waves." They were hilarious. I could not stop laughing. 

A beach synopsis

The past 10 days have been absolutely amazing. Now that we are home, I feel so grateful for the wonderful memories I was able to create with my amazing family. It isn't too often that we all are able to get together. And at the beach no less! 

I feel so rested and excited for this summer. Babysitting ends in two weeks, and we finally get to move into our new place that following weekend. We are busy planning our move, but we can't help but look back on the past 10 days with pure happiness. We were going SO hard everyday that I often times forgot I was even pregnant. I would be laying down in bed at night nearing midnight and feel that little baby kick every so often. I am even more grateful I wasn't feeling too sick or fatigued. It was the perfect vacation!

I am not sure how to go about blogging about it. But let me just start from the beginning.

On Friday, Ryan and I drove to Charleston, SC to visit our friends and also sleep for the night. The drive to Topsail Island, NC is about 10-11 hours from where we live, so we thought, why not cut the drive in two and see friends! Charleston didn't take us out of the way so it was perfect. My best friend Maricela made the most legit taquitos, homemade refried beans, slaw, and salsa. Ryan was in heaven. Don't get me wrong, I was in heaven too, but I definitely regretted eating all that spicy wonderful food when my acid reflux was a raging monster!! But, it was so worth it :-) Glad we have such wonderful friends that live so close to us!

The next morning, we got up, lounged around the house and packed up our car again. We pulled out around 11am for the 4-5 hr drive to Topsail. There isn't one road to get to the beach, so thank goodness for our gps! We passed by so many golf courses it was getting a bit ridiculous. 

We pulled up to our new house for the week around 4pm and my parents and grandparents, brother and his wife, and my other brother and his family pulled in behind us about 10 minutes later. The beach house we stayed in had a room for every family. It was big enough to have our own space, but small enough to be able to hang out with each other without feeling too disconnected. Ryan and I had a great time getting to know the newest member of the Steele clan, my brother Jared's wife Cassandra. She is an awesome girl! We barely had any time at their wedding to say more than 3 words in passing to each other because of how crazy fast that weekend went by, but having a week together? We all bonded by the end. I kept asking her if we were too much for her to handle. She kept laughing and saying we were all totally fun. Wish we all lived closer to each other.

Our days were filled with lots and lots of beach time. The kids played for a few hours, and with help from the daddies (their job after playing golf every morning practically) to get the kids fed and put down for naps which the mamas had some quiet alone time on the beach. Those were my favorite moments! I even dug a hole for my belly to be able to suntan on my stomach! It was awesome. We threw around the football and baseball and the men even boogie boarded one afternoon. I think I impressed both brothers with my football and baseball throwing/catching skills. Little did they know this pregnant mama had some skills! We had to work around the tide schedule the most because everyday, it was pushed back an hour. Some mornings, low tide would fall around 10am, the perfect beach time. But as the week went on, the tide was high later and later, which forced us out on the beach earlier and earlier. No complaints! We took morning and night walks with the dogs and kids. We all were so relaxed and happy to be on the beach, little mattered! We were in no rush to get dinner going and had so much fun just playing in the sand.

Staying right on the beach front is the perfect vacation. We didn't make plans to do anything else. We worked around the kids nap and bed schedule which helped them play hard, and sleep hard without any disruptions. There wasn't much to do in Topsail, but we came to the beach to PLAY on the beach! By the second full beach day, we had the routine down with digging a hole for the beach umbrellas, lining up the beach chairs, and of course, the bocce ball. It was a hit for sure! 

Other highlights: 9-holes of golf in the morning for the men, pedi's for the girls, lunch date with Ryan, fresh seafood for dinner, barbecuing hamburgers and brauts and hot dogs, eating yummy summer salads, good naps for the kids, Rook tournaments, and nightly walks under the moonlight. It was the time of year for the sea turtles to come lay eggs, so we were determined to find a turtle after we put the kids to bed, but we only found crazy crabs running around along the waters edge. 

The miracles from the week were that no one got seriously sunburned, or hurt, or lost. It was wonderful. I am such a worrier when it comes to water safety, but the kids really didn't go into the water. I stayed in the sun for about 6 hours straight one of the days and developed a pretty intense sun rash. My fault completely. Even with SPF, I needed to stay pretty covered up when we were at the beach. 

Brinley had a great time with her cousins. They all played so well together and there were rarely any big fights to break up. They were all so busy working on their own thing on the beach that the only arguments were who was using which shovel. Now that we are home, she can't stop talking about her cousins and aunts and uncles. Brinley became pretty obsessed with Grandpa (my dad) and Sophie (their dog). She followed Sophie around everywhere. We all had a great time seeing Sophie's patience be tested. She really is the best dog.

One of the best things about this trip was that we were able to attend Sacrament meeting at one of the local beach Wards. It was a wonderful meeting and later that night, we had our famous family devotional after the kids were in bed. We started this tradition a few years ago that anytime the whole family is together, we would share testimonies and stories and reflect on the past year. My grandparents prepared a little devotional about my grandpa's ancestors and how they joined the church in the 1800's. It was so fascinating. It really made me think about how we are passing down our testimonies and faith to the next generation. We didn't even talk about my mom's side of the family joining the church in Germany, or my grandmother's family joining the church, which is even more remarkable that they all came together and we have this legacy of membership in the Church. I felt a bit overwhelmed with this new feeling of responsibility to continue teaching my children in righteousness. I was so grateful for that night. We all really connected and felt the spirit together. I have a firm belief that families need to continue to feel the spirit together and to share testimonies often to stay connected.

On Saturday, we packed up and drove to Durham, NC to celebrate with my brother. He graduated from Duke Law School. It was such a wonderful experience, and it totally geared Ryan and I up for this next year! It was so wonderful to see all my brother's hard work come to this point of graduating. He has worked so hard and it was great to be together. We all kept saying, this time next year for Ryan! Holy cow, only one more year, really? It has come so fast!

We drove back to Charlotte that night to spend the night at my parents. We woke up early and made the 8 hour drive back home. It was a great trip and we are all pretty exhausted. My body is tired and sore. My washer/dryer have been going nonstop. And Brinley seems really bored. She keeps asking to go to Grandma's to see her cousins. It may be a long recovery week!

**Pictures to come!!!**

Blog post from the beach

I must share some of these pictures. We are having way too much fun!

our crab friend we found

night walks after the kiddos are in bed

Zumba mornings

Sunnies and shovels

leftover lasagna on the beach provided by my ultimate amazing husband. oh, and after seeing this picture, I gracefully retired the swimsuit :-) mama is busting at the seams!

boogie boarding champs

post nap walks with mama

after dinner ice cream cones

The video of truth!!! Enjoy :-)

I know I look like I got hit by a bus...2 days worth of traveling....please forgive.

And we have the ultrasound picture to prove it! 

We are SO happy! It feels so right having another girl. I thought all along it would be a girl. And so did Ryan. Brinley probably still doesn't understand how much her life is going to change in 5 months, but we know she is going to love being that big older sister. 

The first thing my Mom said when we hugged was, "Matching dresses!!!!!" and then we squealed for about 5 minutes. Seriously. I resisted buying the sale Easter dresses for next year because I needed to know if I needed to get 2!

We are so blessed. And so grateful. And it is such a miracle. I love being able to feel that little baby kick my tummy. We love this little girl so much already!