the countdown is on.

this past weekend i got to check off my 3rd heartspring event of the year. 3/3. whew. i feel like a new person. i always stress right beforehand thinking NO ONE will show up or that we won't reach our goals, so to be able to finally breathe is amazing.   - we are also still taking donations at www.autismcarewalk.org. all donations go to heartspring's CARE Program and support local families and children impacted by autism - the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. -  

The fam supporting the 7th annual Autism CARE Walk

  i usually don't cry at these events because i'm so busy and just trying to make sure that everything is going well that i don't lose myself in the emotion, but i think the pregnancy hormone got to me this time. it was SO AWESOME to see families supporting their 1 in 68. i really can't imagine what the families sacrifice for their child with autism and to see the joy on their faces at this event was just awesome. happy tears. -------------    it's baby time now. 12  really 11 more weeks until the due date and our schedule is packed.   6 days until i host a baby shower for my sister in law and niece 13 days until mother's day 21 days until maternity photos - aka more adorable photos of the bankster 28 days until south carolina for a week 7 weeks until i become an aunt (or sooner, or maybe a tad later) 9 weeks until g's 30th birthday 10 weeks until our 6th anniversary  11 weeks until D-DAY!   so much to look forward to, and so much to do, and i'm itching to tackle the rest of the baby's nursery, a few home projects (BOOTH WILL BE DONE THIS WEEK - EKKKK!!) photos to come.   still need a baby name. 100% on the girl name, but I'm so convinced this baby is a boy. so, therefore, the girl name does no good.    if you'd like to take a stab at the sex and birth date of baby k#2 visit this link! I'd love to see what you think!   http://www.whatsinmybelly.com/baby-pool-baby-k-2-4418    have any of you experienced restless leg syndrome (RLS)? HOLY MOLY. at about week 26 this hit me like a mo-fo. every night around 7pm my legs freak out and it's the most annoying feeling in the world. i've been taking walks and playing with banks each evening, so i'm not sure what else to do, but any suggestions would be great!!!  

28 weeks

  banks wrapped up swim lessons and had a great time. we are thinking swim lessons round #2 and soccer for the summer. now that baby k #2 feels completely real i'm starting to freak out a little about the transition from 1 to 2. i think b will be a great big brother, but i have that terrible feeling that he won't like his mama and dadda anymore. i know that is very unlikely, but i just start having this crazy thoughts and dreams ( like having 1.5 babies - SO WEIRD).  yesterday, he told me the baby was black. and i said, what?? what are you talking about? he said "the baby, it's brown." I was completely confused. then i took off my jacket, which was black, and had a blue shirt on. he then said, the baby is blue, mom.  i finally got it. he scared me for a minute, and garrett too.    

welcome the 3rd trimester and an emotional mama

well, baby k#2 will be 28 weeks in just 2 days. crazy.

that means we're officially in the 3rd trimester and that we will get to meet this babe in just 12 short weeks.

we'll have our last 'every 4 week' baby appt. the first week of may and then it's every 2 weeks from then on out. please join me in prayer that our 32 week soon goes well and that the babe's slightly enlarged kidney is no longer enlarged and that the slight cause of placenta previa disappears... that would be so awesome.

so in the next 12 weeks we have a lot to accomplish including finishing home projects, the nursery, directing my 3rd special event at Heartspring (this week!), throwing a baby shower, attending birthdays, weddings, a 5 day trip to South Carolina, I'll become an Auntie for the first time, Garrett will turn 30, I'll prepare my 4th special event for work before leaving for maternity leave and I'm positive that there will be some unexpected events pop up between the planned ones.

I wouldn't say i feel overwhelmed, because I love being busy, but there's a lot going on. and i realized (just yesterday) that i might be getting a little bit emotional.

banks is big. and he's going to be a big brother so very soon. I stayed up until 12:30 last night just scrolling through every photo I've taken of him since he was born. i hardly remember him being a baby, but yet it seems like yesterday that he had his first christmas, or first easter... and we just celebrated his 3rd easter! I cried just a little after putting him to bed. i also cried a little in church.... and a little when my brother and my parents left. happy tears, of course. I just couldn't ask for anything better at this point - and to be able to have our family together on easter was just awesome.

...and then the kid... 

the kid had a MAJOR meltdown after all of his easter guests left for the day. when i say MAJOR, that's an understatement. he cried for almost an hour and refused to put any clothing on.

then after letting him mow the lawn, without clothes on for a good hour, he was as happy as could be, so sweet and even took this sweet, sweet photo. and again he was back to melting mama's heart.

and for the first time, i feel BLAH. i feel like this pregnancy has been a piece of cake so far.... until today. i feel entirely hungover, exhausted and just plain worn out. and not a dang thing will fit over this belly.... so therefore, the mornings are a bit rough.

so i'm hoping this is just a case of the monday weather being cloudy and rainy. 'cause i got a lot to do.

and i have this weird urge.... it could be because the boston marathon was today... but i just want to get back out there and run. i've already been crazy enough to check... and there are exactly 87 days between our due date and the fall prairie fire 1/2 marathon. my goal is to run it... we'll see how brutal (or big this baby is) this delivery is, though. no promises, but i am itching to get back out on the pavement and run for hours. weird, i know.

so that's cool. i feel completely exhausted and have an urge to run long distance.
... and i have nothing to wear.

but, life is OH, SOOOO good.

... and when i download all 200+ easter photos I will get to all the fun we had for Easter! 

big boy beds and random thoughts.

i really stuggle with the titles of blog posts. probably because it's part of my job to come up with clever titles, and by the time i blog, i just don't care about that anymore.   so lots of random tessa thoughts.    banks has a big boy bed, and to say he LOVES it is an understatement. He spent 3+ hours last night asking me to play ( in his bed) and every time we weren't in his room he would say "Come, mommy, I show you my big boy bed." Big boy bed, this. big boy bed, that. let's just hope this crapping in my bed/room thing ends SOON. it's happened once again since the last post. this time in his diaper, but afterward, he thought it would be a good idea to take his diaper off, which consisted of the biggest mess we've seen yet. nothing like a shitty 7a wake-up call on a Saturday morning. Needless to say, putting banks in his new bed was bittersweet. he is SO BIG. so smart. (except for the potty thing). and we are so proud of him. he truly is one hilarious kid, that no matter how much trouble he may cause due to his outgoing personality, he will put a smile on your face and make it nearly impossible to want to punish him, even after cleaning poo for over an hour.    

  ........................... ncaa basketball is officially over. the tournament was less than awesome this year since both of our favorite teams were eliminated early, but there is still nothing like college basketball, nor will there ever be. one shining moment still makes me cry. i want to look like  UConn's Ryan Boatright's mom when Banks is 20+ yrs. That'd be nice. oh, yeah... the women play for the national title tonight, but I'm so ready to see a 7 or 8 seed in women's basketball make an uproar in the tournament. I'm over Geno.   ...........................    b and i spent all day Saturday in Norwich with Nana and Papa and visited the Norwich carnvial. We went last year, as well, and it was so fun to see how much banks has changed in a year. he was able to interact and understand most of the games and pick out his own prizes. so big!    he adores his time with nana and papa.     

   ...........................     baby name drama.   yea. i'm pathetic. i know this, so it's okay since I'll admit it, right?    so..... although i still have 50+ baby names on a list that i keep, we had decided on first names awhile back. if you know what they are then you are either my mom, or one of my bestest friends. I keep them tight, because i have a rule ( a pathetic rule ). I wont' use a name if I know ANYONE that has the name or has a child with the name that i have any sort of ties with. Of course, I'm sure ALL of the names I have picked out have been used before, I'm 100% sure of that. Oh, did I tell you that I know more than 10 people that have had babies in the past 2 weeks? Yea. That's a lot. 3 of them on the same day.  And by the looks of it, things aren't going to slow down... it's in the water - and I drank it. Well, our boy name. It was used. AND it was used by someone with the last name, dare I say it.... Konen. Yep. Heartbreak at it's finest. I was so sad. So, back to the drawing board (at least for boy names). This stresses me out to no end, and it's a bit ridiculous.    ...........................   after (almost) a year of looking, i found a fiddle leaf fig. ahhhh. i bought it and now I'm looking for the perfect pot for it to call it's home. happy spring ya'll.       i have a lot of other random thoughts.        

our favorite visitor!

this weekend was the BEST. our family has always been close, and we rarely did things on the weekends without one another. even after the brother and i were out of school. his junior and senior years consisted of road trips to hutch to watch my games, and then after i was done playing, my weekends consisted of road trips to watch the brother play at barton.   we saw each other almost weekly or at least a couple of times a month during those first 4 years after moving out of the parents' home. the last two years, not so much. Dennan is a Grad Assistant (GA) for - dare i say it - K-State. We both pick on each other quite a bit, especially during basketball season. the brother was once an obsessed Tyrel Reed fan and owned his fair share of KU t-shirts, but now has been turned into a purple monster. I'll forgive him, as long as he lands some high-paying, DI job after his last year of grad school.   Anyways, despite his choice in college, our family misses him dearly during basketball season. He's on the road or in Bramlage every weekend starting in November until KSU decides to leave the NCAA tournament - usually late March.   We Facetime wtih 'Uncle Dennan' a couple of times a week and Banks loves it. He asks almost daily to see Uncle Dennan. Well, the Cats lost... as did our Shockers and Jayhawks, and the brother finally had some down time and came to visit us last weekend.  It was just like old times, family times, the ones that I thought were 'annoying', but now would trade-in for anything.   Mom cooked us homemade meals all weekend, we sat like bums on the couch and watched basketball. I didn't wear an ounce of makeup, and sweats and t-shirts were a must. We cracked jokes and all was good. Banks LOVED having Uncle Dennan around. He was fascinated with Dennan's toothpaste, and wanted to do everything dennan did, including brushing his teeth with grown-up toothpaste (minimal). He wanted Dennan to dress him, golf with him, tickle him, give him rides and follow him everywhere he went.  Dennan "this kid wears you out"
Yes. yes, he does. But, it was awesome.  So, happy (early) birthday to our favorite brother and uncle! We love you.     

   

  In other news: Banks woke up in the middle of the night last night. took his pjs & diaper off. crapped on the floor. climbed back into bed and went back to sleep  naked. I'm about to lose my mind.     We start swimming lessons tonight!!! Banks keeps saying "go swimming with the fishes!!!!" he has already put his swim trunks in his very own backpack labeled 'banks' and is ready to roll. mom didn't time things quite right....because i had to purchase a maternity swimsuit last night so that i can join in on the lessons. wearing a swimsuit in public 25-29 weeks pregnant will not be the most flattering sight anyone has ever seen.... hopefully the water comes up to about my neck!  

  25 weeks!