From our house to yours...

Merry Christmas from the Branch Family

2011

Counting down to Christmas

"The joy of Christmas, stays here inside us. Fills each and every heart with love..."
-Faith Hill, Where Are You Christmas

This Christmas season has been so busy, yet so joyous. We have spent the past few weekends on the road visiting friends and family and celebrating this Christmas season.

We headed to Charlotte this past Friday night for the Stutts Christmas party, and as always, had such a wonderful time.

Saturday, we were at my parent's house, and my mom and dad kept the girls for the afternoon while Sean and I finished up some Christmas shopping, sans kids. We really had a great day. We had a lunch date, shopped, had a coffee date at our old favorite spot, and really enjoyed the day. Thanks mom and dad!

Saturday night was my oldest and dearest friend's 30th birthday! Happy Happy Birthday, Carrie! We gathered at her parent's house then headed out on a party bus to celebrate. It was quite entertaining and we had such a good time. Carrie and I have been friends almost 25 years and she is such a special part of my life. Most of my memories include her!

Some of the girls at the party...

Sunday, we headed to Winston-Salem to celebrate Christmas with Sean's side of the family. We enjoyed a really nice brunch and the kids had a great time playing together. Three 5 year olds, a 2 year old and a one year old. It was busy, to say the least.

The girls pre-brunch...

We hit the road back to Columbia that afternoon, and both girls slept all 3 hours home. To say that they were pooped is an understatement. 

Sunday night, Sean and I put the girls down early and snuggled in to finish watching Family Man (which by the way, is a really great Christmas movie).

We have spent this week wrapping gifts, watching Christmas movies, and getting ready to hit the road again to celebrate the holidays.

Watching the girls excitement for Christmas this year, I am reminded of our Lord and Saviour, God's only son, who was born on this day. "Behold, the Lamb of God has come." May we believe in the magic of Christmas and not forget our Lord's birthday and the real meaning of this joyous season.

Christ is come, let all creation sing

God's own Son, oh hail the newborn King

The word made flesh, now dwells among us

Christ is come

-Big Daddy Weave, Christ Is Come 

Catch up!

Oh my. I am so behind on blogging. Life seems to be moving at such a fast pace and I'm doing everything I can to keep us swimming. With the addition to the holidays, it seems I'm bathing and tucking little ones in bed before I even know what's hit me and the day is over.

Saylor turned 13 months this past Saturday, so I am hoping to get a post up this week. She is trying her best to take off walking, and I am enjoying the last few moments of chasing a crawler and not a walker. She seems to be turning into a toddler overnight and it is breaking this momma's heart. They grow SO fast.

Chloe lost her first tooth and the tooth fairy paid a visit to our house (oh the excitement of a 5 year old over losing a tooth!).

Alex, our elf, has landed at our home and has been in to nightly mischief. Our milk has been turned red from magic Christmas powers, words have been spelled out in m&m's, letters have been left, and he has been finding fun hiding places each night.

I've been shopping, decorating and getting our house in the spirit. Sean and I have really enjoying the holidays this year and are looking forward to watching little faces light up on Christmas morning.

And a few pictures as we are enjoying the holidays around the Branch house...

24 weeks and his name...

Today, I am 24 weeks pregnant with the little fella. I cannot believe how much faster pregnancy goes by the second time around! He is growing by leaps and bounds (evident by my growing belly) and is moving around all the time. He is weighing about 1 and a 1/2 pounds and is roughly 11 inches long, crown to rump. I haven't been to the doctor since November 2nd, but go next week for my glucose test and a check.

The nursery furniture is set to be delivered this weekend and I am so excited! I have picked up a few boy items here and there and am definitely getting into the spirit of buying blue :). In other fun news, the little guy has a name...

My maiden name is Baker and I am so thrilled to use that for our little boy! His middle name will be Michael (which is my husband's first name as well as his dad's middle name). 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along:  24 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Haven't been to the doctor in 5 weeks... I imagine I've put on a few pounds, especially after being in St. Lucia!

Maternity Clothes:  Wearing mostly dresses and maternity leggings.

Best Moment this week: Seeing my belly move around

Gender: it's a BOY! 

Movement: Lot's of movement... Sean is feeling him quite a bit now, too. 

Food Craving: peanut butter

What I miss: Sleeping on my belly

Sleep: sleeping pretty good

What I am looking forward to:  Decorating the nursery!

Belly Button:  In

Stretch Marks: None yet. 

Symptoms:  Still taking a zofran each morning, but otherwise feeling great!

Home.

We're alive. And home. And getting in the Christmas spirit. 

We flew in from St. Lucia late last night and arrived home a little after 3 am. Exhausted is definitely an understatement for today. 

A big thanks to ShuShu and Nana for keeping the girls this past week while we were away celebrating Melanie and Danny's island wedding. 

We are glad to be home! Cheers!

5k.

Ran my first 5k in Charleston over Thanksgiving. 

6 months preg pushing Saylor in the stroller. 

The Turkey Day Run Gobble Wobble 5k.

Thankful to have had my mom's company to make it so fun and entertaining!

Happy running! 

Our day.

This day is so special to me.  

This is the day I became a Mrs.

This is our day.

Our anniversary. 

The day we stood before everyone we hold dear with a heart full of love, joy and promise for the future. Of trust in each other. Of faith in our Lord Jesus, that we were meant for each other. With commitment, that from this day forward we would love each other completely. And with excitement, for our lives began with each other on this day.

I cherish this day. I smile as I remember his face as I walked down the aisle. I laugh when I think of the fun we had that night celebrating with our friends and family. And my heart swells when I realize I love him even more today than I did on that day. That we have grown and our growing every day, together. That we are building a life and a best friend marriage. That God knew what He was doing. And I am so thankful for that. 

"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" 

- Colossians 3:14

Happy Anniversary, sug. Love you forever. 

Catch up and Phone dump.

It's Friday and another week has flown by. We are gearing up for the holidays and lots of travels coming up. We'll be spending Thanksgiving in Charleston with family then flying to St. Lucia the next week for a dear friend's wedding. As soon as we return, I imagine we will jump in to Christmas full steam ahead.

Saylor has been sick as a dog the past few weeks and the cough got so bad this past weekend, we ended up at the pediatrician Monday morning. They sent us home with a nebulizer and we were told to do treatments twice a day. The first few rounds of treatments were hard, pitiful and heartbreaking for this momma. Saylor just didn't quite understand what was going on. It has gotten much better throughout the week, though, and we went back in to see the doctor this morning. He said she looks and sounds much better, to move the treatments to once a day, and hopefully we should be good to go. Praying baby girl is on the mend.

Sean and I started watching the Friday Night Lights series about 6 weeks ago and finished the series last night. Best. Show Ever. Hands down. Today, I am mourning the loss of it being over. Texas forever.

I've been doing some Christmas shopping and am feeling pretty good not to be stressed out about it. I've gotten quite a few things here and there, which puts us about half way done with shopping. Love that.

Baby Branch is growing and as of this week, my belly has officially popped out (see recent bump photo here). I feel the little fella move around quite a bit more, especially in the evenings when we lay down to relax. Sean hasn't felt him yet, but I am sure it will be soon. His twists and kicks are getting stronger. Momma is also hungrier these days! I seem to be starving all the time. Oink.

I am so excited about all the new babies joining us in 2012! I have many sweet friends all having babies right around the same time as me, as well as my brother and sister-in-law welcoming their first in May. I heard from one of my dearest friends yesterday that our little boy will be having a girlfriend come April. I am SO excited for them and can't wait to meet their little angel.

And because it's been a little while since I have done one, here is my iphone photo dump friday:

Happy weekend, yall. 

bump.

the baby bump: 21 weeks

21 weeks!

Today, I am 21 weeks (am I really past the 1/2 way point already?!?) pregnant with the little fella. Yes, it's a boy (if you missed this post), and we are beyond thrilled! We had the ultrasound done on November 2nd and chose to keep it a secret until Saylor's 1st birthday party a few days later. Sean and I both did a wonderful job of keeping the news under our hat and it was a huge surprise to our friends and family when blue was inside the cake (reveal video coming soon... or as soon as we find the cord, ha!).

We are so excited to add a boy into the mix! Monday night we ordered the nursery furniture. So fun! Baby boy looked perfect and healthy and we cannot wait to meet him in March!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along:  21 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  No weight gain yet

Maternity Clothes:  Bought maternity leggings this past weekend, and whew, SO much better! My regular leggings were feeling like compression tights on my belly, ha!

Best Moment this week: Ordering the nursery furniture

Gender: it's a BOY!

Movement: Feel him moving around in the evenings when I get in bed

Food Craving: cheese bread

What I miss: Sleeping on my belly

Sleep: sleeping pretty good

What I am looking forward to:  Decorating the nursery!

Belly Button:  In

Stretch Marks: None yet. 

Symptoms:  Nausea is coming back in the mornings. Worn out in the evenings, but that may just be because it's been a zoo around here lately!

Saylor's 1st Birthday party: Part 1

Our sweet baby girl turned ONE!

We had such a great time putting everything together for Saylor's first birthday. My mom and I, as well as some very dear friends, helped craft, cook, bake, clean and decorate to make it all just perfect. I had the gals at Sweet Birdies Nest create the invites to match Saylor's birthday outfit, along with the banners, cupcake toppers, bottle labels and stickers. Here is the birthday girl getting ready for her party:

Invites by Sweet Birdies Nest

We played a video of Saylor's first year above the mantel with the banner "Saylor is 1":

Pinwheels up the driveway, the letter "S" made by my brother and painted by my mom, and our entry table with a book for Saylor's Wishes":

Saylor's Sweet Shoppe:

Saylor's 1st year, in pictures:

Food table:

The cake (made by my sweet friend, and the only other person that knew the inside color pre-party!):

Other fun details:

Lots of party pics with fun family and friends and gender reveal coming soon! Stay tuned :)!