Another BOY!

The results are in and baby Rallo 2.0 is a BOY!

If I'm being honest, I was hoping for a girl and was a little disappointed when I got the news.  I never imagined myself having a boy, let alone two, so it took a while to wrap my head around the idea.  There are those sweet mother daughter moments I've always dreamed about and will likely never get to experience.  But I think it's important to remember that life is not necessarily about getting everything we want.  I truly believe that God has a plan and everything happens just the way it's supposed to.  I am so thankful that I was able to get pregnant easily (twice!) and have two healthy little babies.  My main motto in life is that we are here first to love and then to learn and I know that having two boys with be full of both those things.  

There are a lot of reasons I am looking forward to having two boys.  Mostly because they are close in age and will be best friends.  They can run around together, scrape their knees, play sports, fight, and have each others backs.  Ty and Chris are both such sweet men and have a bond that only siblings can share; I am excited for my boys to have that as well.  Not to say that having siblings of the opposite sex isn't fun but it's not quite the same.  I am excited that I can now justify buying expensive coats and clothes for Owen, knowing both boys will be able to wear them.  It's pretty much like getting 50% off everything I buy from now on.  Regardless of the sex, I am just beyond excited to have another baby.

Naturally, the next question is if we'll try for a girl one more time.  I'm not sure.  When I got pregnant this time I felt like we were going to be a two kid family.  We can all fit in a three bedroom house, a midsize sedan and a booth in a restaurant.  Two feels totally manageable because the parent to child ratio is even, being outnumbered feels pretty overwhelming.  Living in the city with kids is expensive.  Even after the basement remodel I don't think our current house could handle five of us and daycare costs are outrageous.  If we decide to have a third baby, which could very well be a third boy, I think we'd have to move outside of Seattle.  We'll just have to wait and see how we feel in a couple of years.  For now,  I am focusing on what we do have, which is two sweet little guys and when all is said and done, I'm super excited about it!

16 weeks

20 weeks

Seaside

A few photos from our long weekend in Seaside with the McLaughlin clan.  The weather was beautiful and he house we rented was right on the beach, where we spent the majority of our time.  Owen flew a kite for the first time and had someone paying attention to him every single second, he was in heaven.  I got sunburned, definitely a first at the Oregon Coast.  It was a lovely weekend with family.

Mamas with Cameras

Being a good photographer is something I've always dreamt about. I am frequently super jealous when I see other people's amazing photos of their adventures and their kids. I had resigned to the fact that I just didn't have the artistic eye and would have to be happy with the crummy photos I take myself and spring for professional photos at least once a year.

I am still far from being an expert but I recently took a photography class that restored my hope.  It was through an organization called "Mamas with Cameras" and it was amazing.  There are two woman that work as professional photographers and teach classes for other moms every couple of months. The workshop I did was "Introduction to Digital Photography" and now I actually know how to use the fancy DSLR camera we bought when Owen was born.  I understand the exposure triangle. I feel like I finally have the potential to capture some really beautiful photos. You may have noticed the change in photo caliber in the "Suncadia" post a few week back :)

As I was going through my photos to post a few examples of my new skills I realzied that the only time I've really practiced was in Suncadia. Note to self, remember to bring the camera, not just the iphone!