Fall Family Photos & Dishing on Baby 2.0

Fall Family Photos

I have always dreamed of capturing the beautiful colors around Minnesota in fall family photos! With this shoot being a special announcement, it couldn't have been more perfect. We were a bit nervous how Addison was going to do as right now he's very into doing the exact opposite of what we ask. Toddler life at it's finest. However, the shoot couldn't have gone better. Addison did lots of running which made the pictures capture his true personality at this stage + with open fields to run in he couldn't stop smiling. If this is news to you, SURPRISE! We're pregnant with baby 2.0 and couldn't be more over the moon to continue growing our family! Feels good to finally be able to share our news with the rest of the world and I can't wait to continue to share more of our journey throughout my pregnancy.

Kirby and I are extremely lucky to have creative friends! Megan of Birch and Honey Photography is a friend from college and we're so dang happy she was available to shoot us! Not only does she take beautiful fall family photos, but she also made us all (Addison included) feel completely comfortable. We left the shoot not even feeling like we took photos and Addison was in his element the whole time. That to me, is the best photographer anyone could as for! My favorite type of photography is capturing real moments and emotions, Megan does just that!

Dishing on Baby 2.0

Due Date

April 26, 2021

What's been different this pregnancy compared to my first?

Way more nauseous this pregnancy than with Addison. I even got sick a couple times earlier on and felt hungover throughout each day until about 10 weeks. I'm also extremely exhausted - like taking naps kind of exhausted - which has never been me. Having a 2 year old toddler on top of being pregnant and growing a business might have something to do with it all.

Have you had and cravings?

Up until about 8 weeks I was eating pickles non-stop. Now I have the basic cravings of carbs, salty snacks and sweets. I'm kind of all over the place and just trying to fill the fridge with healthy options for all.

Are you finding out the sex?

Nope! We loved the surprise with Addison and couldn't imagine knowing with this one. For us, it's the one big surprise in life that you really can't beat. Plus, it really isn't that much time before the baby is here. Worth the wait!

Do you have a gut feeling about the gender?

I have had one dream about the baby being a girl, and kind of lean that way. However, I 100% believe it could also be a boy lol. Sometimes I think I may just feel it's a girl because I would love to have one. We'll just have to wait and see!

How are you feeling now in your second trimester?

Great! Still very tired, but overall I feel lucky to have such a good pregnancy. I have the daily normal symptoms of constipation, heartburn after almost anything, bloating, dizzy spells and the random cramps or tings from a growing baby. I just recently started showing a bit more, but from about 10-13 weeks I had days I almost forgot I was pregnant I felt so good. Which to be honest, was sometimes worrisome!

Did it take you a while to conceive baby 2?

No! Kirby and I were fully expecting it to take 4-6 months, like Addison, but it only took one! We feel so very grateful for that as I was definitely a bit worried. The difference between when we tried for Addison is I was able to track my periods consistently for months and felt like I had some type of an idea of when I was ovulating (I used the app Flo to track). During my ovulation window I also had what I think is ovulation bleeding which is a great sign of fertility. When trying for Addison I never ever had a consistent period and could never find out when I was ovulating. We just gave it up to God for months hoping & praying. I share more about his journey in our pregnancy announcement for Addison.

Has your husband been able to go to the doctors appointments because of all the restrictions?

He was able to attend our first 8 week ultra sound and he will be able to attend the 20 week one. Hopefully things begin to change closer to babies arrival so he can come to more.

How did you find out you were pregnant?

Hate saying that it was a feeling, but it was! Surprisingly, I took 3 negative tests before getting a positive due to testing too early. The morning I did get a positive, I woke up at 5am ready to test lol! At first I thought the test was another negative and just prayed to God to continue watching over us (I was slightly nervous my period was becoming inconsistent again!). When I turned back to the test and saw two pink lines I started bawling & jumping up and down. I had to keep wiping my tears to look as I couldn't believe it all worked right away.

Are you nervous about being high risk during Covid?

No. I try not to live in fear, but am taking every precaution I can without completely shutting myself in the house for 9 months. I wear a mask out, constantly wash my hands, always have hand sanitizer with me, and stay away from touching mine (and Addison's) face when out. Even if Covid wasn't a thing, I would still be taking these steps with being in the midst of flu season. To be honest, I'm more pumped up on vitamins than ever before! Praying all is well through the winter.

How did you tell Kirby?

With Kirby, I can't keep a secret for very long (like maybe 20 minutes max!). It was so early in the morning I knew I wanted a moment to tell him before Addison woke up so we could enjoy it just the two of is. We were sitting watching the morning news while I had the positive test in my pocket. I had somewhat calculated the due date to April at that point and luckily Kirby randomly brought up baseball opening day (I think they announced something on the news) and I knew that was my chance. We're huge into baseball and opening day so it was perfect.

Right when he mentioned it, I turned to him and said, "What are you going to do if babies due date is on opening day?". He seriously just started laughing out loud and explained, "I guess I'll just have to watch it on the tv in the hospital", with a confused laughing face. He really had no idea. I asked again and then pulled the test out and laid it down in front of him. Completely shock! He literally goes, " Are you serious?! I thought we had like 5 more months!!". Lol. We were both laughing and I started crying while we hugged it out. It was such a fun moment and one we didn't think would happen quite so soon and without really having to think about it.

How we told Addison:

He's so little which made it pretty funny. We sat him on the couch with a video set up to capture. Right when I told him and explained the baby was in my tummy, he immediately pulled up my shirt to see. Couldn't have asked for a better reaction. He followed it with lots of jumping and laughing on the couch. We're feeling quite blessed, that's for sure.