SURPRISE!

It's OFFICIAL!!! Taji is going to be a BIG brother this December!!! We can't wait to meet the newest addition to our Grover family! As if we couldn't have more love and cuteness already, another bundle of joy is making his/her debut this winter! With only a few days away from the end of our 1st Trimester, we are looking at a Christmas baby (due date 12-27-11).......our holidays this year will definitely be filled with cheer and suspense as we await our 2nd miracle of life. Taj and Baby Grover #2 will be 19 months apart :) We just love that they will be close in age, and either way, if we we have another boy, the "boys" will be each other's best friend and I can dress them alike LOL...... and if we have a girl, then I get MY mini-me and Taj will be the best and most protective big brother there is, looking after her :-) Life is so beautiful, and we feel very blessed to be able to expand our family!

How We Found Out:
Back in April, and after only a couple months since I stopped breastfeeding, I took some pregnancy tests and kept getting 2 lines, one faint and one dark, so it came down to the digital tests, that give you a very clear straight answer! And lucky for us, the answer was, PREGNANT!!

With Taj's 1st birthday only a month away at this point, I was ecstatic at how "perfect" the timing turned out! Taj was not only going to turn ONE but he was also becoming a big brother! And I feel like maybe Baby Grover #2 was a reward for us for successfully completing our first baby's 1st year...... I guess we are pretty good at this parenting thing because now we get to repeat it all over again this soon! ha ha Anyway getting back to when I first found out, I decided to tell Brad in a creative way. I used a little messenger, Taj himself, to deliver a very special card. I told Brad "Daddy, Taji made you something in Montessori and wants to show it to you....." Taj hand delivered the envelope to daddy when he got home from work, and Brad mentioned to me that all along he had a suspicion that we were up to something and had news to share. This was the inside of the card that Brad opened: It said "Our family just got cuter!
Guess what Daddy? I'm gonna be a big brother! Signed by Taji himself (can you see the colorful crayon marks?) !!! Brad was thrilled!!

We decided to keep it very hush hush, since our Taji baby's BIG birthday was approaching and we did not want to overshadow his special moment with this special news. We had our 1st ultrasound appointment the same week Taj turned 1, and we took him into the doctor's office and all 3 of us got to see our "sweet little teddy bear" for the first time (as I like to refer to Baby Grover #2, because the little peanut looked more like a teddy bear on the ultrasound picture!) We all got teary-eyed watching Taji's amazement when listening to the heartbeat and watching it on the screen. I wonder if at that exact moment Taji knew and recognized that another Grover baby was on his/her way! I remember saying to Taji later, "Happy Birthday Buddy, for your 1st birthday we created a playbuddy just for you!" We couldn't wait to announce our news to world! Babi and Deda found out by recieving a very special package for their birthdays (my mom's was in May, and my dad's was beginning of June, so the timing really worked out!) They unwrapped their present and saw the above photo of Taji holding the ultrasound pic in the frame that said "Grandkids." At first they couldn't figure out what Taji was holding, then 2 minutes and a magnifying glass later, it dawned on them that it was a recent photo of our newest addition! I just love creatively surprising my loved ones. :) Stay tuned for our "teddy bear's" first official movie premiering at the end of next week, when we go in for the 12 week ultrasound!! Yup! I hope to replicate the same pregnancy journey and booklet for this baby as I made for Taj!

And how is mama feeling you may be wondering? Well, this time around I feel way more queasy then I did the first time! The morning sickness feeling comes in waves throughout the day, mostly when I don't eat every 1-2 hours! I think i have already gained 6 lbs and my bump is starting to show! My partner in crime and pregnancy sympathy buddy Brad and I love indulging on waffles, hot dogs, cream cheese, juices (I'm crazy for my lemonades again!!), and of course BEEF! Hmmm, same kinda cravings as when I was pregnant with Taj! The only difference is that I'm really really drawn to the carbs and love my comfort junk food..... so I have been trying to eat in moderation along with all the healthy salmon, fish, veggies, and soups... that way I get a good balance and deliver lots of nutrition to my little teddy bear growing inside of me. This time around I'm also A LOT more tired because gone are the days I get to come home and just park it on the couch if front of the TV. Nope, Taji will not have it, so we go outside to play and walk. Taj is definitely going to be my physical trainer that keeps me in shape for this pregnancy! Thank goodness he's walking too, can you imagine growing bigger each month and having to lugg around 20 lbs?!!