Pumpkin, Skeleton, Ballerina

The week before Halloween is upon us! Halloween is fun again...little costumes for Anna and this year her little voice will be saying, "Treat-or-Treat!" This will be Anna's third Halloween and will probably be her most fun yet. She enjoys all the neighborhood decorations, our porch pumpkins, and practicing trick-or-treat with Daddy.

Halloween #1. Anna the pumpkin! We spent the evening on the porch handing out candy with our neighbors. Anna peeked out at everyone with her little pumpkin hat, wrapped up in a blanket, with her candy corn sleeper on underneath.


Halloween #2. Anna the skeleton! Anna is not one for big puffy, frilly costumes. No thank you, she said. A little pink skeleton suit was just perfect! She had fun making the rounds to our favorite neighbors and collecting a few goodies. She was barely walking, but so proud of her few steps while holding hands. Cutest skeleton on the block.


Halloween #3. Anna the ballerina! Stay tuned.....

First Peek at Baby Hartsell #2

I had my first ultrasound yesterday, October 18th. Baby's heart is beating away! What a special sight. A little life living inside of me. Baby looks great! Very tiny still, so it is hard to make out much in the ultrasound picture. The head is pointing down to the left. The baby is a little younger than we first may have thought, so the due date may be June 5th. So, May 30th or June 5th ... give or take. Either way, a little healthy beating heart was all I needed to see. Looking good, Baby! It was wonderful to see you.


Our weekend was busy and fun. We had a great time out at Notre Dame and ended the day with a win against Western Michigan! The weather was perfect. Anna enjoyed the band and clapped her hands to the ND fight song. So cute! Here are some pictures from our ND afternoon.


A funny story from the weekend ... Anna has a little stuffed monkey named Bongo. He is in two of the pictures above. Anna loves Bongo. She has several "buddies"....all stuffed animals of some sort. Her night-time and comfort favorites are Ki-Ki (I did a post on Ki-Ki a while back) and a little green and pink blanket. She has a little dog that she got for her birthday that she loves. She named him Patrick and he's climbing his way to the top of her buddy list. But, Bongo ... he's Anna's favorite take-along buddy. Bongo goes most places with Anna. Okay, he goes everywhere. She loves him and he has experienced a lot of adventures in his little monkey life. So, of course, Bongo went to Notre Dame with us. Anna's first time to campus and Bongo's, too. Well ... Bongo came up missing. He was lost! Notre Dame ate Bongo. Long story short ... we couldn't locate the missing and beloved Bongo. Quite a tragedy in our family and I'm not kidding! Tragic because he's BONGO and he goes everywhere with us. Tragic because we could imagine the tears and very sad question from Anna, "Bongo go??", once she realized he was missing. Thankfully, Grandma kept her busy and occupied so she didn't have time to miss Bongo much. And my dad ... the hero of the day ... found a replacement Bongo at the store. He bought 3 Bongo's that afternoon. Hahahaha! We have 2 replacement Bongo's now. My dad presented Anna the new Bongo and told her that he got a face lift, since the new Bongo is much cleaner and fuzzier than the first Bongo. She took to new Bongo right away - she didn't even blink an eye. So, to our first and very loved Bongo, lost somewhere out there - we hope someone picked you up and you have a new exciting home. Maybe someone's new tailgaiting mascot. And to the new Bongo, welcome to our happy home and you are in for a treat! Thank goodness we found you. And I noticed that your left foot is a bit dirty already today after playing outside this afternoon. You're going to fit in just fine.

Our bags are packed...sorta

We're packing up for a trip to South Bend today! This weekend brings....tickets to the ND game on Saturday and an appointment with a great photographer for Anna's two year pictures on Sunday. The weather is supposed to be in the 60's and sunny. Perfect fall football weather and perfect for an outdoor photo shoot with Anna. Wishing everyone a happy weekend! Monday I have an appointment with my OB for an exam and the first ultrasound. Maybe if the Irish win, our little baby will be waving an ND flag. : ) Now off to finish packing!

Big Party & Big News

Last weekend we celebrated Anna's 2nd birthday in South Bend with lots of our family and friends. We rented a picnic pavilion at St. Pat's Park and had a great time! The weather was a little cool, but warm in the sun. We shared hot food and drinks and a yummy birthday cake. Anna enjoyed her party and really enjoyed seeing everyone. Opening presents was her favorite part. She kept saying, "New present?!" The party was a hit and it was worth all the planning, decorating, and cooking. We thank our family and friends so very much for coming out to wish Anna a happy birthday. Brent and I certainly think she is something to celebrate!


At the party, Brent and I shared some big news with our family and friends. We are expecting Baby Hartsell #2 in May! I am pregnant and due May 3oth! It was so special for Brent and I to tell the big group at the party. It is very rare (almost never) that so many of our friends and family from both sides are all together. So while celebrating Anna's 2nd year, we announced the coming of our 2nd baby. We have been blessed with a new little life to anticipate and dream about!

I spoke to many other family members and close friends on the phone after the party to further share the news. Everyone is very excited and happy for us. It's fun this time to think of Anna as a big sister! Maybe the baby will be another little girl or maybe a little baby boy this time? We will all have to wait till May...we won't find out what the baby is...we waited with Anna and it was such a special moment to find out that she was a girl in the delivery room. Just like we felt with Anna, whether the baby is a girl or a boy, a healthy baby is our only wish.

I am starting the 8th week of pregnancy. I have been feeling pretty well overall, but a little green-around-the-gills the past few days. It is fun to go back and read my first few posts on the blog to remember how I was feeling with Anna. So far, I think I feel much the same. Maybe a little "greener" this time? Thank goodness for 7-UP. To the inventor, I am forever indebted to you!

I started my blog back in 2008 to share my thoughts and feelings during my first pregnancy. We were living in Florida then and it was a nice way to share long distance with my family and friends. Now we're in Michigan and still long distance, just not nearly as far! And here, we feel at home. In our first little house, with our first darling little girl, and expecting our second little miracle. How blessed we are. And so thankful. Stay tuned...a brand new chapter for the Hartsells had begun!

I will end this post the same way that I ended my very first post. Thank you, Lord Jesus for this gift.