Fun in the Sun/End of 1st Trimester

I am at the end of the 1st trimester of this pregnancy, and I couldn't be happier. I am hoping that this brings an end to nausea, fatigue, and a few other things, but with all that, we are still so excited about having another little one on the way! It almost seems that I should be farther along than I am, but then again, it seems like just yesterday that we found out we are expecting, and in reality it's been over 2 months! I'm not really showing much yet, but am noticing that my belly and gut (that I never completely lost after having Grant) is pushing out a little bit more. I'm sure I will show a lot sooner than I did the first time, so I probably only have a few more weeks left before breaking out most of the maternity clothes. I won't start posting any belly bump pictures yet, though, until there is actually something more to see than my love handles and gut! My heartburn has also gotten worse--happening off and on all day. The Tums seem to help for now, so hopefully it won't get any worse where I have to get some other type of medicine for it. We're having so much fun starting to talk about names again, whether it's a boy or girl, thinking about how this baby will be like or different than Grant, and planning for how we are going to organize our little house. We are having so much fun!

Since the last post, Grant has picked up a few new skills. He can now climb stairs. We discovered that he could do this while at Matt and Tammy's new house. Since we live in a ranch, and put up baby gates by the steps in our basement when playing down there, he hasn't had much practice, but picked it up right away when put on their steps. He also is starting to stand up on his own. While he is holding onto a table or something, he is starting to let go and balance for a little bit before squatting down or grabbing back on. We can also get him to stand by steadying him then letting go. He seems so proud of himself and sometimes stops to clap!

With the nicer weather upon us, we are starting to spend more time outside and loving it. Grant loves it as well, and is always happy when out in the fresh air. Although, he doesn't seem to be a big fan of grass just yet. Everytime we set him in it, he fusses and holds his hands up so he doesn't have to touch it. I'm sure once he is walking, he won't mind it as much. We also went to the park last week with some other family members. Grant loved swinging and crawling through the tunnel that my cousin brought for the kids to play with. While he can't play on the playground quite yet, he had fun watching all the other kids play! Grant loves being in his stroller and taking walks--he is always calm and happy. We are looking forward to getting more outdoor toys for Grant to play with, as well as breaking out the cozy coupe car he got for Christmas and riding it on the patio and sidewalk.

In the last few weeks, we have celebrated Clara's 2nd birthday, Doug's birthday, and we are excited about Grant's first Easter next weekend. We are also preparing for our first vacation of the year. We leave the day after Easter to head back to Folly Beach, SC, where we spent Grant's first vacation last June with my family. One of Doug's best friends from Notre Dame is getting married in Charleston, SC on April 30, so we decided to make it a longer trip by staying at the beach first--which is right outside the city. We were able to talk my parents into joining us to help babysit while we attend the rehearsal dinner and wedding, and upon hearing this, Matt, Tammy, Clara, Susanne, and Corey decided to join us too! Grant's 1st birthday will be on Thursday of that week, so he is a lucky little boy to be able to spend it with his family on vacation at the beach. We will then have a party back here with everyone when we return. Look for updates and pictures from the vacation, and Grant's birthday and party. We can't believe he is only 11 days away from turning one!