Baby #4, all the details

Thank you so much for all your sweet congratulatory comments on my last post about baby #4. You guys are the sweetest.

After Bean was born, we thought we could be done. Frankly hubby was probably done but I was not quite sure. By the time December rolled around, we started having the conversation about a new baby and we decided to pray about it. 

A job opportunity opened up for me in Paris while at the same time a promotion opportunity opened up at HQ. I applied for both jobs and we asked God for his guidance. If he thought we were done having kids, then we hoped to get the Paris job and we would make the move without looking back but if for one second he thought a 4th baby was in our future then we prayed for the promotion at HQ. Low and behold a month later I was offered the position at HQ. You guys, I was so happy because in my heart I wasn't done and I was happy God's plan answered the desires of my heart.

We wanted the kids to be 2 years apart and planned to start trying when Bean was a little over a year then my brother and his fiancee decided that they wanted to do their traditional wedding in Cameroon in February of 2016. Given this very important new information, we delayed our baby making plans. I didn't mind being pregnant and traveling but I didn't want to be 9 months and traveling to Africa with 3 kids.

As soon as we were in the window where we wouldn't be more than 7 months pregnant in February 2016, we threw caution to the wind. It didn't happen right away this time around which made me so nervous (I know it really wasn't that long but it felt long to me). Less than 3 months after we started trying, I was staring at a positive pregnancy test. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. We've been blessed beyond our wildest dream in the baby making department and we thank God everyday for his grace.

The first few tests I took only had the faintest of faint lines. I was squinting so hard to see anything. I asked hubby to look at it and he said he couldn't see it. There is a reason I always buy cheap test, I am a test addict

I pulled out the digital because I thought I could see a faint line but it said "not pregnant", I was so bummedI am not one to give up easily so two days later, I took another test and low and behold, the line was there clear as day but it was on another cheap testI decided to get a good test and another digital and sure enough, that beautiful word "pregnant" was starring me in the faceAhhhhhhhh, we are having another baby. No one was interested in doing a photoshoot with me so I just took this picture with them in the backgroundWe told our families right away. We didn't want to sleep on such good news because we want all the prayers in the world and if anything were to happen we would tell them anyway. Everyone was so excited for us. I was just hoping that I wouldn't get sick since we were headed to Disney World in 2 short weeks.

After the initial excitement, the fear and anxiety clouded the next 3 weeks of my life until the first appointment in November after we came back from Disney World. I was a nervous wreck, just scared out of my mind. The minute the Dr put the U/S machine on, I knew all was going to be well with the world. Our little bean just showed up on the screen with the most beautiful and loud heartbeat you've ever heard as if to say "don't worry mama, I am here to stay". We cried tears of joy, relief, and happiness. It was the week of Thanksgiving and we were just so thankful for this new life growing inside of me

Our littlest shrimp, 7 weeks young, the most beautiful sight ever

The week after we came back from Disney World, all the pregnancy symptoms flooded my body. I have been just exhausted and hurting. I am also somewhat sick, nausea all day but no vomiting. I just have a never ending feeling of wanting to puke all day, this is a new symptom for me, I've never had this with my other pregnancies. This pregnancy is seriously kicking my butt and I am barely holding on. I am so thankful that we are done with the first trimester and our baby is growing strong and healthy.

We were fortunate to see our baby again around 11 weeks, shrimp was looking more like a baby and moving around like crazy. This made it so real to me, it was really happening. Our beautiful shrimp 11 weeks and 3 days young :)

I started taking bump pictures around 10 weeks because I was feeling hopeful and that bump showed up so soon, I felt that I needed to start documenting. I guess 4 babies in 5 years will do that to the body.

I do love this pic of me and hubby, 7 weeks pregnant with our 4th baby

10 weeks with our shrimp11 weeks with our shrimp, it is so nice to be pregnant during the Holidays12 weeks with shrimp and my mommy on Christmas day

A day shy of 13 weeks with my friend HJ who is pregnant with her first. I love being pregnant with my BFFs

We are all caught up with baby #4. What a blessing, we are super happy as you can imagine. Everyone is asking us if we are hoping for a girl and the answer is yes of course. We have 3 amazing sons and we've loved raising them, it would be awesome to experience raising a daughter. At the same time, we trust God to give us whatever is best for our family and if a girl is not in the cards for our family then we will still be the happiest family full of boys. Either way, we are done, our family will be complete when baby #4, whatever sex we get, joins our family in July. We are so looking forward to this new adventure in our lives. Glory be to God for all good things come from him.

Party of 6, our family is growing

I am so excited to finally share with you all that we are having another baby. YAY.

We are humbled, excited, and grateful to have been entrusted with a fourth baby due to arrive in July of 2016. We are over the moon with excitement about the newest addition to our family. This is the baby that will complete our family. We are so excited for this new chapter in our lives and cant' wait to share the journey with you all. God has been good to us.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. Christmas came early for us and we couldn't be more excited.

"From the fullness of his grace, we have received one blessing after another" (and another...and another...and another :))...John 1:16

All the things happening before Christmas

I was so busy getting through my Disney recap that real life fell by the way side :). I am so glad the recap is behind me, I enjoyed the trip down memory lane and will cherish those memories for a very long time until we make new ones on another Disney vacation :).

We've been quite busy getting ready for the holiday season. This is my favorite time of the year so we are always very busy running errands, hosting and attending parties, and just hanging out with our family and friends.

Hubby and I went to a Christmas party without the boys and had a ball. We loved getting dressed up for a night out on the town and not chasing the boys around

We took the boys to a birthday party for a friend and they had a great time, we like to mix adult time with family time around here

Selfie time with my Jbird, I love when he smiles with me just because

Tman making friends with his Ipad :)

Hubby and Jbird playing a game that Jbird thought was really funny

Hanging out with my Bean

These two are always chilling together

Tman had to get a medical procedure done to fix his multiple cavities. It was nothing crazy but since he is so young we decided to put him under anesthesia and take care of everything without scaring him for life.

Getting ready for his procedure, I just love this picture of my big boy

 Taking Selfies with his mommy :)

This is my new favorite picture with my big boy, that happy smile just gets me every time

 Getting his vitals checked

 Getting wheeled into the OR

 Waking up from the procedure. He did amazing and everything went without a hitch

Bean chilled at home with his daddy while I took Tman to get his procedure done and I got this awesome selfie of the two of them hanging out on the couch. I love this picture so much

No more candy for Tman and lots of brushing his teeth, we have to protect those pearly whites. Speaking of Tman, he lost his first tooth on 15 December 2016. He was so proud of himself

The tooth fairy paid him a visit and he was beaming from ear to ear when he got a letter from her with $5. Everyday he is trying to figure out what he is going to buy with that money :).

A few days after Tman's procedure, my poor Jbird caught a stomach bug that had him vomiting every half hour. We ended up going to the emergency room and spending the night there. They gave him some Zofran to stop the vomiting and he was better within a few hours

My mom is awesome you guys, she is always there to support us and of course she came to the ER with me to help with Jbird while hubby stayed at home with the other boys. She is amazing this woman, I am so happy she is mine

My Jbird was feeling much better after the Zofran

To say that the past few weeks have been busy is an understatement. We are definitely looking forward to the Christmas break and hopefully a slower pace around here. Can you believe that Christmas is a few days away. How is that even possible. I hope you are all ready to celebrate with your families.

Disney World 2015 - Animal Kingdom

Our day at the Animal Kingdom started again bright and early. We didn't care to make it there on time for the opening, we just aimed to be there for 0900. The first thing we did before even entering the gate was get some muffins and drinks at the snack bar outside the gate. it was a much needed breakfast since we left so early. I really loved Animal Kingdom, the wait times were minimal and we were able to do everything we wanted so easily.

I made some matching shirts for the adults for the day and I wasn't sure if hubby would be willing to wear his but he surprised me and said "yes". I love that man, the things I put him through and he just takes it all in with a smile.

Good morning Animal Kingdom, our crew :)

And I am loving this magic shot with the Christmas tree

Our first order of business was the Kilimanjaro Safari, I heard great things about it and wanted to make sure that we did that ride when the boys were alive and awake. The safari didn't disappoint. We saw so many animals up close and personal. the highlight of it all was hearing Tman and Jbird scream the names of the animals every time they recognized them.

My peeps on their way to the safari, these people were on a mission :)

Hello Jbird, don't worry you can join us in a bit

Tman was cheesing the whole trip

I love my family and the fact that the big boys are flashing such big happy smiles

Hubby's cousin and his wife

The animals were so close we felt like we could touch them

We really enjoyed the safari

After the Safari we went to the Kusafiri coffee shop to try their cupcakes. I heard about how delicious they were and I wanted to try them. I definitely loved the presentation :)

We then watched a show right outside the coffee shop before going anywhere else. I love that they always had people dancing and singing throughout the resort.

After the show, we had a fast pass to meet Mickey and Minnie. Check out Tman's smile when he saw them

Jbird was in love and so excited

Hugs and kisses for everyone

Awe, even Jbird was really into it

And of course our group shot with Mickey and Minnie Christmas style

Our next order of business was the "It's tough to be a bug" show. It's a must see if you go to Animal Kingdom, the boys loved it. I love these pics even though they are dark

Hubby flashing a smile for a picture, I will take that :)

Everyone loved the show and wanted to come back later for more

Tman did a lot of riding on his father's shoulder

Next up was Dinoland, my Bean fell asleep and Jbird was trying to wake him up

We found a ride that was just like Dumbo and Tman was in heaven

Then it was time for lunch outside with animals everywhere, please excuse hubby's fake smile face. That guy I tell you

After lunch we headed to the Lion King show. We figured we would give Jbird a chance to fall asleep and rest our legs. We had a fast pass but there really wasn't any wait.

My poor Jbird was ready to pass out

We really enjoyed the Lion King. By the end of it, Jbird was passed out. Great planning on our part

While Jbird took a nap, we went back to Triceratops and took so many rides on that thing we were worn out. Bean was done at this point and Tman's fake smile :).

We took a break, walked around then came back to meet Pluto and Goofy when Jbird woke up

My boys are really getting into this meeting the characters business :)

I am loving the big hugs for everyone

And of course a family picture :)

We bought the boys bubble guns to reward them for having such a great day and they were in love. They were making bubbles left and right. I just love Jbird's face on this picture, pure happiness

We took a few pictures with the tree of life of course

Love my little family

Then we went back to see "It's tough to be a bug". Tman requested it so we indulged

At this point, we were spent, we decided to go back to the hotel before any meltdowns. Check out the boys making bubbles on their way out

The bubbles were a huge hit

Lol, we played along for this awesome magic shot :)

After we got back to the hotel, we all took a glorious nap :). That night my mom watched all the kids so that the grown ups could enjoy a night out in the town.

We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and it was nice to have a normal conversation without the screaming kids

The next day, we went back to Disney Springs and hung out there with hubby's cousins. We had lunch at the rainforest cafe and Tman loved sitting at the bar on the animal chairs :)

When we were in the Disney store, Jbird saw a train set he loved and just picked it up. That kid is a riot I tell you

Before we knew it, we had to pack our bags and head home.

 Bye bye Disney World, you were really good to us. Until next time

We had an amazing time at Disney World. I was so happy to see how excited the big boys were with everything around them. Bean wasn't really into it but then again he is still a baby. We want to go back in a few years when all the boys can really enjoy this even more. Disney World was everything we wanted and more. So long Mickey Mouse, until we see you again.