What are little boys made of...

A wee bit of dirt and a devilish grin

Curious eyes and spaghetti sauce chin

A dollop of mud behind his right ear

And a handful of worms in his pocket I fear

You see his knees through the holes in his jeans

He likes ice cream but he won't eat his beans

He's made of mud pies and bubble gum kisses

And wonder at Christmas and birthday wishes

And a heap of giggles and wiggles and love,

These are the things little boys are made of!

In case you didn't figure out from the poem, we're having a boy! And for those of you Pinterest lovers, you can tell where I have been spending some extra "browsing" time. I found this little poem, and thought it was very cute. All the lovely things I have to look forward to. My inner Mom is very excited, while my inner OCD is very nervous. :) Don't get me wrong, I am beyond excited to have a little boy! Ryan has another adventure buddy to join him, and I have future little man to give lots of love to. When you include Ryan, me, Macy, and baby Boy Lang, we are now an even house, two girls, two boys. 

Speaking of what little boys are made of, people are always asking what I am craving. To be honest, nothing specific. When we were in Hawaii, I ate copious amounts of french fries and tater tots, could not get enough. It wasn't like I was craving friend potatoes, but if a plate appeared in front of me, my self control disappeared, and I slowly picked at the plate until all were gone. My last post made reference to ice cream, and fortunately I am now slowly eating it again. Ice cream was the one food that would make me nauseous. Just this week, I started trying small amounts of ice cream again, and it seems  to be agreeing with me. *Huge sigh of relief* This kid didn't know what he was getting himself into. I tried to explain to him, "Your Mom likes ice cream, therefore you must like ice cream, there's no negotiating." Glad he finally decided to listen. Coffee also does not agree with me, or more specifically my nose. I gave up coffee, cold turkey, as soon as I found out I was pregnant, and it wasn't hard, the smell of coffee is not my favorite anymore. Long past are the days of walking into a coffee shop and breathing in the invigorating smell of coffee. But again, not a major deal. 

I felt this was too funny not to document. Ryan and I went to the grocery store a couple weeks ago to pick up a few, random items. This was our shopping cart. I, the pregnant one, added the spinach. Ryan added everything else. :)

And to answer the other most common questions, no morning sickness, and no stretch marks. I really can't complain about pregnancy, well maybe just two things:

*Dizziness and lack of energy, it seems to be getting better, but I am still not fully charged. My Doctor thinks it is caused by my blood pressure running low (or the fact I am growing a human).

*Sleeping on my side, absolutely hate it. I am a tummy and back sleeper, and now I am only allowed to sleep on my side. A memory foam mattress topper for my side of the bed, and lots of pillows have helped make side sleeping as "comfortable" as possible. 

It's a Baby, not Haagen Dazs...

I wish I owned a shirt that said, "It's a Baby, not Haagen Dazs." I would gladly wear it to the gym each time. Not only would I hope it would bring a smile to each person's face, but also spread a bit of insight into why I seem to be expanding, yet still don't look pregnant.

Ryan and I live far away from many of our family and friends, but I want to make sure I keep everyone updated on any baby bump sightings, as well as other baby happenings along the way. For the first update, and what will hopefully become a weekly update, the baby "bump."

We took the first picture at 5 weeks, a week or two after we learned I was pregnant, and I had an ultrasound to confirm. I have pictures for weeks 5, 10, 12, 14, 16, 19, and 20, but considering there is not too much of a difference, I only posted the first picture, and the last, most recent picture. If you have a desire to see each picture, let me know, I will email them to you.

I can see a definite difference when I look at 5 and 20 weeks. If you are thinking to yourself, "wow, she looks fat" feel free to tell your spouse, tell your dog, just don't tell me. Thanks! :) I am currently in my 21st week, with the 22nd week starting on Sunday. I will take another picture at 22 weeks, and post next week.

Tree, Rockettes, and the search for winter weather...

Continuing with our travels of the United States, Ryan and I boarded a plane to New York City. We searched through our winter gear for coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. Our goals included finding the really big tree (check), seeing the Rockettes (check), and experiencing some winter weather (check). We left the warm weather of Louisiana for a weekend of Christmas in New York City.

With all the excitement of the holiday season, I am a bit late with this post, but as they always say, better late than never. Our weekend getaway took place the middle of December, and provided the perfect start to our Christmas celebration. The trip also provided me with the perfect reminder of why I love living in the South. After just shy of 24 hours in NYC, I was ready to fly south again, I have very easily become accustomed to warm, southern winters.

It did snow while we were in New York, or I guess I should say as we were landing in New York. The snow did not last for long, but the cold temperatures did. The weather was great for exploring the city with cups of hot chocolate in hand, visiting the Rockefeller Christmas Tree multiple times, and fulfilling my wish to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall for their Christmas Spectacular.

No travel experience is complete without sampling local cuisine. We had our share of New York City bagels, cheesecake, and pizza. It's a great thing we did a lot of walking around the city.

If you want to see our other adventures while in New York City, you can view the remaining pictures from our trip in our photo album below. Click on the link.

New York City Photo Album

Ryan and I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy start to 2015. And, for those of you in the North, experiencing the cold, winter weather, I'm sorry. 

Oh What a Wonderful Life...

It is time I start filling everyone in on the most exciting thing to happen to Ryan and me. Many Christmas cards were sent out this year. We wanted to be sure to share with many family and friends, near and far. In order to share with many more, I shall make the official announcement.

Ryan and I are expecting a very special delivery in May 2015. 

Our family will be growing. 

I have much I want to write about, we found out I was pregnant back in September. In blog posts to come, I will share pictures I have been taking, and sharing more news regarding Baby Lang. I will be sure to keep everyone informed along the way. The outpouring support from our family and friends have been wonderful. This baby is loved in an incredible way. 

Let it snow…

I recently learned which XM stations were playing holiday music. Being a lover of everything Christmas, I turned to one particular station and found myself quickly singing along to Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow. As I belted out the tunes in what was definitely a voice that did not resemble anything remotely close to lovely, I glanced at the outside temperature on my car. 80 degrees! The first week of December, Christmas music on the radio, and it was a beautiful 80 degrees! I threw my cares out the window, opened the sunroof and continued to sing along to every Christmas song, it was a beautiful day, not even my awful singing voice could ruin.

I know Christmas Eve and Christmas morning will come, and I will wish, just like every year as a child for a white Christmas. But then December 26th will roll around and I will no longer want snow, but rather bright, sunny, warm days. Thank you Louisiana. I will not hold the lack of Christmas snow against you, but rather appreciate the beautiful weather, and compensate with a bit of artificial snow.

Our house is ready for Christmas. I had a lot of fun (I think Ryan even enjoyed) putting the tree and outside lights up. This is our first Christmas, in our first house!

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree...
Pre-lit trees truly are the best thing, even better than sliced bread. 

Don't ask how I got the star on the top of a 9 foot tree.
I chose to put that up when Ryan was away on a business trip.
And no, I did not use a ladder. Ladders are so awkward to carry, I didn't want to risk hitting a wall. 

A snowy foyer.
Never was a huge fan of building my own snowman.
This works much better for me. Some pretty wooden snowflakes, and snowmen. 

Ryan's words, "Get the camera, take a picture of me way up here hanging these lights."
Thanks, Love! They look great!
Macy was the supervisor. 

It will not snow in 80 degree weather, but we have icicles and snowflakes hanging from our house. 

Only house in the neighborhood with lights hanging from the roofline.
We quickly learned why, not everyone is going to climb on a 22 foot ladder to hang lights.
You never realize how tall something is, until you stand on a 9 foot ladder and realize you are nowhere near the height you need to be at. 

We conquered suburbia life, homeownership, Christmas spirit.
Call it what you want, fellow neighbors, the Lang family is ready for Christmas. 

The Grand Finale...

Our final stop on our Hawaiian islands tour was on the Big Island. Thinking back to my favorite activities during our trip, most of them took place on the Big Island. It was an island with plenty of activity, but it was also an island that made you feel like you were not overrun with tourists. Maybe it was the resort we stayed at, or maybe it was the time of year, but it was the perfect end to our vacation.

The helicopter tour was an amazing experience. If any of you have been following the volcanic events currently taking place in Hawaii, we were able to see the volcano that is currently active. Not much of the lava was visible from the surface, but we were able to see a small bit. Our helicopter tour took us from the fiery hot volcano to the lush, green waterfall side. It was one of those experiences, where if you are going to do it, pick an awesome location. Hawaii was the perfect location for my first helicopter ride. 

We also did a night dive/snorkel with manta rays. This was by far the coolest experience I have had in the water. We had some amazing experiences in the Maldives, but something about having a manta ray with a span of over 8 feet rub belly to belly with you is like no other experience.  Ryan has some amazing video of the experience, but I cannot for the life of me, figure out how to upload the videos and/or turn the videos into pictures in order to post. You all are just going to have to wait until I can get him to sit down, and upload them to the blog.

I think our trip to Hawaii was a great way for us to celebrate living back in America, and taking the opportunity to further explore our country.

If you want to view more pictures from our helicopter tour, and a few pictures from our other activities while on the Big Island, click on our Big Island, Hawaii photo album below.

The Big Island, Hawaii

The Drunken Mountain Goat...

Our adventure in Hawaii continued on the island of Maui, our hiking also continued. It was during one particular hike that Ryan finally identified what my hiking reminded him of, a drunken mountain goat. Instead of staying on what appears to be the trail, I find the most obscure path, with the most difficult, uneven terrain. I then decide it's the best path to take, and mountain goat through, stumbling, but miraculously not falling. Have no fear, this drunken mountain goat is a hiking queen.

I believe it was during this picture I earned the title "Drunken Mountain Goat." 

Before I start rambling about our time in Maui, I wanted to post a couple pictures I forgot to post on the previous Lanai post.

Boarding the plane from Honolulu to Lanai. 

Arrival at the resort. 

Maui has plenty of waterfalls, so waterfalls were our main focus. Ryan also did some diving during this island visit, but I am waiting for him to identify his favorite photos, and I will post those at a later date. Our main hike on the island took us to a giant waterfall. The hike was not too bad, it was longer, but mostly shaded during our path through the bamboo forest. After finding the big waterfall, we made our way back to the tide pools.

Perfect place for lunch. 

Entering the bamboo forest. 

I decided all hikes should have these awesome boardwalks. 

Made it to the waterfall. 

It's always hard to portray true size in pictures, but hopefully you get the idea, Ryan is on the rocks, compare his size to the size of the waterfall. 

The famous, Hana Highway is on Maui. If it's famous, then we must take it. Part of the road was under construction and our resort informed us that we had to leave very early in order to get through the construction before they completely closed the road. We saw on the map the highway was not too long, so we could not possibly figure out why the resort told us it would take 3 hours to drive. Yes, we did see the little curves on the map, but nothing prepared us for this road. It was basically one lane with 90 degree turns every few hundred feet. Factor in the need to hurry, and you can imagine how out of control my car sickness was. We successfully made it through the highway with only two pictures, when Ryan felt it was safe to stop, and we vowed never to take that road again.

Just like with Lanai we were surprised at the vast difference the terrain was from one side on the island to the other. One side was lush, green forest, drive around to the other side and you have sandy, rocky cliffs. We were very happy in our choice not to take the Hana Highway back to our resort, because otherwise we would not have seen this other area of the island. We even saw goats!

Ryan heard from a fellow diver about an area known as Black Rock. Apparently all the locals go to this area to jump off the cliffs. Local spot? Cliff jumping? Mr. Adventure was hooked, we had to go find it. I was instructed to not skimp on the pictures. I turned my camera to sport mode, and held down the button. He got every second of his jump. I picked just two to post here, but you can see them all in our photo album.

A few pictures to end this post:

A view from the plane during our flight from Lanai to Maui. This was our resort on Lanai. 

Dinner. 

True story, this photo proves it. When we went to board our flight from Lanai to Maui, the woman asked me to step on the scale. They weigh your luggage, you, and all our carry on items. Really keeps your vacation eating in check when we have to jump on the scale every few days.
Obviously my backpack was gaining weight at each island. :)

If you want to see more pictures from our time on Maui you can find them in our photo album, click on the link below.  Check out more hiking pictures, the goats, and the rest of Ryan's cliff jumping.

Maui Photo Album

Next and final Hawaiian stop, The Big Island.