There's a baby in there afterall!

So, at long last, I felt my sweet baby move today! It was actually quite different than what I first experienced with Bradyn. I noticed Bradyn's first movements at 19 weeks exactly, and it was the typical "butterfly", "flutters", "similar to a gas bubble" description you normally hear about. Today was much different..... I was sitting on the couch, raised my shirt up and stuck my fat belly out. Keith put his hands on it and started mashing around to see if he could feel anything. All of a sudden I jumped and said, "Oh my gosh! I think I felt it," and started laughing! I sat there for a few minutes with my hands on my stomach and it did it again! I immediately teared up! Instead of flutters this time around, it felt more like a wave or like the kiddo was doing sommersaults in my uterus. It felt like when you're on a rollercoaster ride or in a car and go downhill and it "gets" your stomach, except way down low. WOW!!!! Proof of life besides hearing the heartbeat every 4 weeks at the doctor's office! I'm so excited; this pregnancy is about to get good! This squirmy creature, :-) boy or girl, should keep me quite occupied until September 19th!

Bradyn Layne

Going through this pregnancy, I often refer back to my pregnancy journal/organizer that I kept while I was pregnant with Bradyn. It's quite helpful and often times hilarious to look through and reminisce on certain things; my doctor's visits, weight gain, cravings, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, breakouts, backaches, headaches, heartburn, in addition to a whole myriad of unmentionable ailments. As I was looking through it the other day, I came across a piece of paper I had written a bunch of boy names down on in alphabetical order. After much thought and careful consideration, we jotted down our favorite first and middle names on the other side. I smiled and, yes, got somewhat sentimental :-) when I read this and thought I would share with you how we arrived at Bradyn Layne.

Our favorites:

Bradyn Luke
Brody Layne
Bradyn Layne :)
Ashton Reese
Rylan Jace
Jonathan Kai
Payton Reed
Nathan Reese
Noah Christian
Nathan Layne

Looking back on some of those, I wonder what the heck we were thinking at the time! For the most part though, we LOVE the names on this list, and if we're having another boy, we will probably use one or both of these names for him. After many days of indecisiveness and writing and saying the names over and over again, Keith was actually the one who said, "I really like Bradyn." We started referring to the baby as Bradyn Layne until one day I said, "Is that really going to be his name?.... because it's kinda starting to stick." We happily decided yes, and then of course had to figure out the best spelling combination:

Braydyn (I crossed this one out!)
Bradyn Layne ***
Brayden Layne
Braden Lane


I don't know why, but we preferred BRADYN over all the others. I guess we didn't want it to look like Hayden, Caden, Jayden, etc. We both liked the name Layne and chose the spelling with a Y in it in 'honor' of the lead singer of Alice in Chains, Layne Staley. Alice in Chains is one of Keith's favorite bands, and thanks to Keith, I am fond of them too. Besides, I knew a girl in high school who was named Lane, without the Y.

Well, I'm sure people probably don't care how we came to the (hard, difficult, agonizing!) decision of naming our child.... but when I saw that piece of paper, I cracked up. We're throwing some names around for this 2nd baby, but for now I'm not concentrating too hard on it. My foggy, cloudy, forgetful pregnancy brain has trouble working some days... a name is too much to think about so soon and such an important decision! Plus, I start baby name lists and lose them or Bradyn doodles on them. I guess we'll know in a month if we need to concentrate on boy names or girl names. :)

IT'S A.....

...just kidding... we don't know the sex yet. At my appointment today (16w 3d) I got up the nerve to ask the dr. for a sonogram, and he said he'd go check to see if the u/s room was open, but then he turned around and said, "Why don't we wait until September?" NOOOOOO!!!!! Grrrrr. So, I scheduled my Level II ultrasound for September 19th and my next OB appt. is on the 23rd. Oh well, I guess we'll wait a few more weeks. We heard the heartbeat via Doppler and it was a strong 150+ bpm. Also, I did not gain any weight over the last month, but I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing... the doctor didn't say anything, so I'm assuming it's not bad. I'll probably see a huge weight gain over the next 4-5 weeks.

Ha ha, I kept trying to turn over on my stomach last night while I was sleeping, but would have to turn back over because my belly is getting uncomfortable to lay on. I haven't felt the baby move yet, but I am anticipating this soon. I first felt flutters with Bradyn at 19 weeks and Keith was able to feel kicking at 21 weeks. So exciting!!

Beginning September 2nd, Bradyn will be attending a Mother's Day Out Preschool at Hutto Baptist Church. He will go to school on Tues/Thurs from 9am-2pm. We had Orientation last night and Bradyn met his teacher, Mrs. Tracy and her aide, Mrs. Leigh. I thought it was ironic (Tracy is my dad's first name for those of you who may not know, and Leigh Ann is my dad's sister's name, my aunt)..... at least I won't forget their names! There are 8 kids in the class, including Bradyn, and they will be taking part in a program which includes religious concepts, music, art, motor development, math, science, and language development. I am so excited and thankful that Bradyn can have this experience; I think he is really going to benefit from the social interaction in so many ways. His verbal skills took off in May (and some of the things he says are so cute), but Keith and I are expecting a huge leap in his communication after he starts school and is around other children and adults. I am looking forward to some time by myself as well, before I have 2 kiddos on my hands! 10 hours a week will be such a blessing to get stuff done that is sometimes difficult to do with a rambunctious 2 1/2 yr. old... baby shopping and getting a room ready for the new baby, Christmas shopping, Thanksgiving preparations, and planning and shopping for Bradyn's birthday party. I also plan on pampering myself with pedicures when my belly gets to the point that I cannot see my feet, much less reach them. Keith is boarding a plane right now to go to Maryland to get a certification under his belt, and I think Bradyn and I will spend the rest of the week school shopping. He needs a new backpack, lunchbox, and pair of shoes. Keith will be back Friday morning/afternoon sometime. I miss my husband so much when he is gone on his trips, but I do enjoy a break from cooking every single night. Bradyn and I eat grilled cheese, PB&J, or go to Sonic or order a pizza. YUM!

Funny little man

I had a dentist appointment earlier this week so while I was dressed and had my makeup on (me in makeup these days truly is a rare occasion) I thought I would take a belly picture . I took the picture and when I went back to look at it, I noticed Bradyn had snuck in the picture and was posing just like I was!! I don't think I have ever laughed so hard! My little guy makes me smile everyday.




Tuesday, August 19th is my dr. appt. and I am going to ask the doctor to do a sonogram to see if we can determine the sex of the baby. I have to know; it's driving me crazy! The reason I am going to ask (beg!) is because at my last appointment I asked the dr. when we would find out the sex (we found out with Bradyn at 15 weeks, 2 days) and he said at the level II sonogram in September (I'll be 20 weeks). I sighed and said, "Oh, that's so long to wait!" Dr. Crumb THEN said, "Well, next time you come in, we may play around and see if we can see something." HA!!!! Sorry, you cannot say that to a pregnant woman and then expect me to wait until September. They better stick me in that sonogram room when I go in!!! I will make a new blog post Tuesday afternoon or evening to share the news if we are ever so lucky as to find out this early. Boy or girl, we are so excited.

Busy, busy Beckers!

So, as everyone probably knows by now, we are getting ready to welcome our 2nd baby on (or around) January 31st, 2009. We are so happy to finally be expecting, being that we had been trying to conceive since August 2007. I have to admit I was getting frustrated with the whole process, but everything is in God's timing and for that I am so thankful. May is a sentimental month for me, being that that's when Dad's birthday is, and as silly as it sounds, I can't help but think that God and my dad collaborated and decided May was the month to give our family this new life.

Psalm 139:13-16: "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be."

I'm currently 14 weeks pregnant, which makes me a brand new 2nd trimester member! My chances of having a miscarriage have dramatically decreased at this point. My next doctor's appointment is August 19th. I'm going to beg my dr. to do a sonogram to see if we can identify the sex! If we don't find out in August, it looks like we'll have to wait it out until September at our Level II sonogram. Below are pictures of my 14 week belly, from the side and from the front.

Keith recently got a much needed and well deserved week vacation from the daily grind. He had a wonderful break from work, and Bradyn and I enjoyed having him here so much. He is so good at what he does and always works so hard for our family. I am so blessed and thankful to have such a smart, hardworking husband. David, Hafida, and Ephram came to Austin to visit for a few days and we had a good visit. The guys (and Hafida!) played Rockband on the Nintendo Wii and had a ball. Bradyn and his cousin Ephram played like crazy and had so much fun together. They get along so well. We went camping at Lake Sommerville on Wednesday, July 23rd despite the hurricane that was hitting South Texas.... we had a great time, but we'll definitely be sure to check the forecast a little better next time. We decided to pack up and come home a day early because we could tell it was going to rain. Keith celebrated his 28th birthday on July 24th!! We relaxed at home for a couple of days and were off to Schlitterbahn on July 28th. Bradyn had the BEST TIME!!!!! With our trip to the beach in April for my birthday, our camping trip to Lake Sommerville for Keith's birthday, and our day at the waterpark, I'm pretty sure we're making Bradyn into a bonafide water-baby! That's our goal since Keith and I love the water so much! Enjoy the pictures! BTW--We don't have Schlitterbahn pictures just yet. I had a waterproof camera and have to get them developed the old fashioned way, ha ha.

Port Aransas in April, goofing around!

Waving at daddy

Camping during the hurricane! And here comes the rain and wind!

Our tent holding strong!

I caught a 5 in. white bass!