"Big" Brother

Quality Mommy-Son time at Barnes & Noble

I still think he's SO beautiful when he's sleeping.

He loves talking on his "Thomas" Phone.

Last "official" swim class at Nitro

At only 21 weeks, I'm already feeling what I know what so many mothers have experienced, right?!- a bit of buyer's remorse. Except in my case, experiencing pregnancy for the second time, there are no exchanges or return policies.

Please don't misunderstand, I am absolutely thrilled for Kennedy's arrival and the opportunity to watch Preston become a big brother. But there is just one word in there that makes me cringe- big. I mean, Preston will always be my baby boy. Sometimes, for a split second, I just think about what we are doing TO Preston. His world will be turned upside down in a matter of months. He's being kicked out of his beloved nursery, he'll have to learn how to -gasp- share (both tangible things and precious time with Stuart and I), and lord only knows all of the other sacrifices he will be asked to make. I started thinking about all of this when we started the big transition- office to bedroom, Preston to office, boy nursery to girl nursery. We have only just begun, and I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it. (Then again, I get lumps in my throat over a lot of things these days.)

On the one hand, it is so exciting and fun, and it gives Stuart and I the excuse to exercise some more creativity, spend too much money, and rearrange and reorganize our home. Preston is already beside himself with his new bed- no, we haven't actually asked him to sleep in it yet!

But then, I stop and reflect. What about all of the things Kennedy's arrival will do FOR Preston. What an amazing blessing to have a sibling, especially one so close in age. Preston will have this amazing opportunity to have a lifelong friend and companion, and God chose him to be Kennedy's big brother: A brother to watch over her, protect her, put her in her place, and teach her all of his amazing tidbits of knowledge. Not to mention, Stuart and I were chosen to be their caretakers, guiders, disciplinarians, shoulders to cry on, and arms to hug tight. I literally could not have asked for a better scenario.

I can't help but think how extremely lucky Stuart and I are. We are about to have our 1 boy and 1 girl, almost exactly 2 years apart. We never worry about making rent, putting food on the table, or splurging every once and a while, and we work hard to make that happen. We also owe so much to our supportive family, friends, and faith. We couldn't have planned it any better. Again, thank you. I can't say it enough. As we continue this huge family transition, I will post pictures of Preston's new "big boy" room and Kennedy's nursery. Changes abound in the Alkire family, and we will welcome them with (almost) open arms! :)

First, a look into Preston's nursery-I have loved this room since the day it was completed, and I love it even more now that Preston has made it his own. This room has served us well for the past 2 years.

I can't tell you how many countless hours we have spent in that glider together; precious moments.

His crib has become a stuffed animal playground, and I am still so in love with his newborn pictures.

This is the neatest his bookcase will ever look -I tidied up before the photo, of course. Some of his favorites are the ones from my students who threw me a "Baby Book" shower when I was pregnant with him.

  Preston had no problem jumping in to put together some new cabinetry for Daddy's new office setup.

 The following are the inspiration for Preston's new "big" boy room and Kennedy's chic nursery.

Toddler Room Inspiration (Picture courtesy of Pinterest)

Nursery Inspiration (Picture courtesy of Pinterest)

Kennedy Vaughan Alkire

It's a girl!!

Well, I've slept on it, and I still can't quite believe we have a little girl coming in a few months. When I call her by name, Kennedy, it seems a little more real. Although nothing is set in stone, Stuart and I are almost 100% sure our daughter's name is Kennedy Vaughan Alkire. Kennedy was my dad's mother's maiden name and also refers to Preston's namesake-Preston Kennedy. Vaughan was Stuart's mom's dad's name who we would also like to remember and honor.

Kennedy Vaughan Alkire

(Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?)

Preston and I right after the big news. I was trying to be diplomatic with my color choices-what you can't see is the pink tank top I have on underneath ;-)

 

Stuart came home with some gorgeous-girly-flowers to celebrate.

...along with a sweet card.

God is Good

I am in utter shock. As I sit here, 3 hours after the news, my heart is still racing and my brain won't stop turning. Preston sleeps soundly in his bed after the excitement. The 3 of us went in for my 20 week anatomy scan this morning.

It's a..............GIRL!!!

I should go ahead and just know that whatever my gut instinct is, the outcome is the exact opposite. It was clear as day; in fact, I knew it was a girl before the ultrasound technician even said anything, immediately tearing up at her words. Stuart squeezed my hand, Preston whined, haha, it was the perfect moment. She will be 1 of 2 granddaughters in our family-between the Blevins and Alkires, there are 7 boys. So, as you can imagine, this little girl will be extremely spoiled loved. We couldn't be more thrilled, feel more blessed and unworthy, or anxious to watch Preston become an amazing big brother. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you.

As the news quickly spreads, here are some of my favorite responses from friends and family:

A girl!!! Ahh! Ballet and cheerleading! -Baker
Yea!!!!! Love me some bows and ribbons!! :) -Christi
No way???!!! I sure hope you have a little strawberry cupcake come out of that oven :) -Deanna
You will have the most beautiful little girl ever. Let's just hope she looks like you-sorry Stu! -Jackie
Ava gets a bff! Girls are so special Brooke- think of all the amazing things you get to do! And now you have both a boy and girl to enjoy! -Jaime

I can only hope this is what I have to look forward to! Cheerleading uniforms, too, of course!

"Whoah! Ahh-summ!"

This is yet another one of my favorite Preston "quotes" he's been throwing around lately. If he zooms his Cozy Coupe clear from the kitchen to living room the response is inevitably, "Whoah! Ahh-summ!" If Thames jumps up or down from a ridiculously tall cabinet, "Whoah! Ahh-summ!" If he gets an unusually large "big biieet" of food into his mouth, "Whoah! Ahh-summ!" You get the idea. As he was practicing his U.S. Animals flash cards the other day (which I happened to be videotaping from behind his head, because if he sees my phone, he immediately wants to play or watch "Little Einsteins"), he happened to let out a couple of sudden sneezes. You can only guess what his reaction was! Sorry for the horrible videotaping, like I said, didn't want him to see the phone! You'll have to listen carefully.

Notice, also, that he must say "bye, bye" to all of the animals once he's said their name. I'll post another clip so you can actually hear him saying some animal names.

Reality Check

As I was telling my mom, Mimi, yet another adorable story about Preston recently, she set me straight. "Brooke, you have to write this stuff down! You think you'll remember it, but you won't." That realization made me sad. I realized I had chronicled every little thing about my pregnancy with Preston, and I was also very diligent with his baby book from year one. After that? Nothing! So, "The A-List" was born. This will be a place for me to journal, vent, share, okay- maybe brag a little, and seek advice. Read as you wish, and I promise not to bombard you with Facebook posts! I have also started writing down my experiences with pregnancy number two retrospectively, because peanut 2 is just as precious as number one. Thanks for joining us on the journey- hope you enjoy the ride!I promise I will take some time to make the blog more appealing to look at, especially with precious pictures of my Preston. Just getting started!

"Night, Night"

21 Months

This is one of Preston's favorite quotes to date. He will often go through an entire list of family members, including furry and stuffed, before laying his sweet head down to rest. It goes like this: "Night, night, mama, night, night, gaga (Dada), night, night, Mimi, night, night, Papa, night, night, Grandy, night, night, Stuguh (Stella), night, night, Boo (Brew)...." You get the point. So, as we were playing in the front courtyard the other evening, Preston found a couple of doodle bugs. Unfortunately, these 2 were dead, so I did what every mom does and told him they were "sleeping." He then said, "Night, night doodle bugs" while pointing ferociously at the towel I was sitting on. That was his way of insisting they lay on the towel to nap. He then laid down to take a "nap" with them, tapping his little fingers softly on the spot next to them as if to calm them down. So precious and innocent.On a side note: I am about 19 weeks pregnant and yesterday, for the first time, PJ stopped what he was doing to walk over and kiss my tummy- the baby, without being prompted. It melted my heart.

You're Kidding?!

We are pregnant again? On the first month? This is not how it was "supposed" to happen, but we couldn't be more thrilled and relieved. I have written a retrospective recap of my first (almost half!) of pregnancy number two. Stay tuned next Thursday when we will find out if Preston will have a baby brother or sister!
6 weeks/"Finding Out!"- Dr. A always said, be prepared, because the second time you try to have a baby, it will happen right away. I didn't believe it, but they were right! Just for fun, I took a pregnancy test after the first month I got off of birth control. Like I expected, the test was negative. I can't say I wasn't a little disappointed, but not surprised. 2 weeks later, I was VERY "late" at this point, and I was also very discouraged that I was potentially going down the same road I went down with Preston. I thought before I went to the doctor, I'd take just one more test. Stuart wasn't even at home;I had no reason to think it would be positive. When it came back positive, my heart virtually jumped out of my chest. I immediately went and gave Preston the tightest squeeze he could handle and propped the test up on his bulletin board. I couldn't believe my BABY was going to be a big brother! Meanwhile, Stuart was taking his sweet time running errands, and I thought the hour would never pass. Finally, when he arrived, I told him to to check out Preston's new artwork I put on display. Believe it or not, the goof ball could not see the test! He kept pointing out art that had been up for weeks! Haha Needless to say, he was shocked and thrilled when he finally clued in! After a long embrace, we called our parents to let them know the great new.

7 weeks/1st successful ultrasound- I was shaking in disbelief the entire time! There is just no way it happened so fast this time! I told Blake, Ashley, and Becky the good news at dinner before our Port Aransas parent meeting. There was no hiding this huge secret from the people I work with every single day. They couldn't be more excited- especially Blake! I have a feeling he and Suzie will be sharing the same news sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, I put a wrench into our party hard downtown scheme. Next summer, guys!

10 weeks- Is it possible I am already showing and needing maternity pants? Eek! The word's out at school- there's no hiding it!

16 weeks- I felt baby's first "bubbles" of movement!They weren't consistent, so I could never get Stuart in time for him to share. It wouldn't take long, though.

19 weeks- Baby peanut's movements are more prominent these days- I feel his/her flips and flops right behind my belly button and in my lower left side. Stuart is now able to feel the acrobatics that usually become noticeable after we have put our bouncing toddler to bed, and I can finally relax on the couch.

Cravings? Jalapeños on virtually anything! I haven't had any morning sickness again this time, which gives me the gut feeling baby is a boy. On the other hand, I have all sorts of birds in my ear telling me they felt the same way with both boys and girls, and Stuart insists I am acting differently aka more emotional, which automatically means baby must be a girl. Only a few more days, and we will know for sure!


When I was 12 weeks along, Preston finally got to share the news with the world. This melts my heart every time:

14 weeks: 1st belly picture!

Thames's favorite job during BOTH pregnancies apparently: Incubator