Baby #2 Gender Reveal!

We had so much fun last night finding out that Baby Schulze #2 is a GIRL!!!

I had a feeling all along that it was a girl but on Tuesday we had our sonogram and Judy (our amazing sono tech) was able to tell the gender so quickly that I started thinking it might be a boy. John Paul and I loved getting to see our 2nd sweet baby on the screen at the appointment. She was so active and did lots of tricks for us :) Such a miracle. I measured right at 20 weeks and the baby is approximately 12 oz and 8.5 inches long. Due date is still July 15th. Then we had Judy write the gender down on a piece of paper and seal it up in an envelope!! After the appointment I dropped the envelope off at the bakery and they made cupcakes filled with pink or blue :) Now we had to wait until the next day!!

So last night at family dinner we got to find out! I have no idea why but I was so much more nervous right before we found out this time for some reason. And apparently the cupcakes looked REALLY good to Libby because all sweet girl wanted was a bite while we were trying to take a pic, haha. Actually right when she saw the cupcakes in front of her she started singing happy birthday and blowing out candles. Love that kid. So John Paul took and bite and the rest is history...it's a GIRL!! 
Libby is having a little sister! 

We could not be more thrilled. What a gift. Of course, we would have been thrilled either way but it is just so fun to know what we're having! John Paul and I talked on the way home how it's just such a different perspective now that we know we're going to be raising two little girls. I am so excited for Libby to get to have a little sister close in age and play dress up and share a room. So fun to think about! Sweet John Paul was just meant to be a daddy to little girls. I mean, did you see his fist pump?? Love it.
Now we just have to think of a name for this little lady!! Choosing Libby Allison was a piece of cake and had such meaning behind it that it feels a bit daunting to choose another name. But we'll come up with something :) Overall, we're just so thankful to our great God for graciously allowing us to be parents again. Libby has been the greatest joy and taught us so much about the Lord and His love, grace and mercy towards us as well so much about ourselves. Parenting truly is such a picture of God's deep love for us and it is a gift that we get to experience it. We're praying that we raise both of our little ladies to see the beauty of Jesus and know how much they are loved.

By the way, I've called them "the girls" twice today and literally it brought joy to my heart and tears to my eyes. So surreal.

Here's the video too!

Now for a quick pregnancy update :)
Here's my 20 week bump pic. We started these a little later this time around...oops. At this point, I'm feeling great! I was nauseous and fatigued until about 14 weeks (just like with Libby). I'm craving fruit, cereal with cold milk and candy again this time around. The only major difference this time is I'm having a terrible time sleeping! I've tried hot tea, lavender oil, switching the time of my vitamins...everything. I also feel like I'm definitely showing more this time around so we'll see how this goes :) But overall, can't complain one bit! I've been blessed with a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby and for that I am truly grateful to the Lord. Pregnancy is something that is so out of my hands that it is such a daily reminder to depend on Him. It's good for me.
I can't believe we are HALF WAY there (or less if this baby is anything like her sister)!!

Favorite Things Lately...

Wow, it's been quite a while since I blogged!! I thought I'd catch up on happenings in our life by sharing some of my favorite things lately.

1) Breadwinners patio at northpark - with this great weather we have been out there twice in the past week! There is a great view of the garden at northpark and they have blocks (jenga), a wooden connect 4 game, and corn hole with bean bags that keep Libby entertained forever. We just get a table by the toys and she loves it!

2) Potato Express - steam pocket that cooks a baked potato in 4-6 minutes! You can also use it for sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, tortillas, etc. So amazing!! Thanks mom for passing on this gem!

Potato Express on amazon

3) LOFT maternity online! They have great sales pretty much every other week and some of the stuff even comes in petites. Plus you can return it in the store if it doesn’t fit. 

LOFT maternity website

4) The Disney Store at northpark - we went in there the other day and had so much fun!! They have a little theater area where they play Disney movie music videos and clips and they have a little table with crayons to sit and color. Plus, Libby LOVES looking at all the princess costumes and going into the little mirrored dress up area. You can wave a princess wand and that specific princess will show up in the mirror…it’s really cool. Libby got so excited to see Ariel..it was precious.

5) Haribo gummy bears - does that scream pregnant or what?!

6) My eye cream - I am having a terrible time sleeping this pregnancy which is so brutal and can lead to some lovely bags underneath my eyes…so needless to say I am even more grateful for my R+F eye cream these days!! I put it on twice a day, every day. Must have.

Eye Cream

7) Being outside!! Libby and I are soaking up the sun these days. We were so over the cold, gloomy days. We’ve been swinging, sliding, blowing bubbles, playing with sidewalk chalk, dancing, having picnics, going for walks, going to the park, meeting daddy for lunch outside, jumping on the trampoline at YiaYia's…anything outside! We really want to get to the zoo and arboretum soon.

8) The new Ellie Holcomb album!! Ellie and her hubby, Drew, have been playing at YL camps for years and John Paul and I have seen them at House of Blues a few times too. She did a kickstarter campaign to raise money to make this album. I loved being a part of the process and seeing it become a reality! The songs are all based on scripture and it is so good!! Great reminders of truth to listen to throughout the day. I highly recommend you download it on iTunes :)

9) Smoothies! I got a little burned out on greek yogurt so I decided to throw it in the blender with frozen berries, a banana, a splash of OJ, a bit of honey, and some ice. Now I can’t get enough! Yum.

10) Lysol disinfectant spray - after we ALL got a stomach bug last weekend, I swear I used a whole can of this stuff all over our house! You can't throw your couch in the washing machine so this stuff is a must.

11) Cuddles - Libby has become SO cuddly lately! She is definitely in a mommy phase which can be a little exhausting when she wants me all the time…but I wouldn’t trade her cuddles for the world. Especially since I’m so used to her being such a busy body who never had time to sit still.

12) Libby ponies - she finally let me put a pony tail in her hair!! Eeeeek. So much cuteness. We're still working on sitting still long enough to make them look cute :)

13) “Working” for an awesome company & with awesome women…including one of my best friends!! We recently attended a Leadership Summit in Nashville and it was so great. I am beyond thankful for the encouragement, support & inspiration that these ladies are to me. Not to mention this is the reason I get to be home with my little bug!! What a blessing.

14) Valentine's Day! I'm not really a big Valentine's day person but I did love getting to send these little valentines to my awesome customers who support my business. And I also loved getting to make a little treat basket for Libby :)

15) This guy!! On his actual 32nd birthday he was taking care of me after I got the stomach bug. So after we recovered we got to go out on the town and celebrate the awesome man that he is! It started with a 30 minute foot massage at Foot Joy, Dinner at HG Supply Co, a Hopdoddy milkshake and ended with us seeing Lone Survivor. (I sobbed through the entire second half of that movie, but such an incredible story. Wow.) Anyway, so thankful for John Paul and all his love and service to our family. Libby and I are such blessed girls.