28 Weeks

This is Allyson's belly at 28 weeks...

...and this is the sweet little guy inside of her belly just waving hello!

Today is the first day of our 3rd trimester of this 2nd pregnancy. That. Is. Crazy. It is amazing how fast this pregnancy has gone. We think it has something to do with a little boy named Asher who keeps us nice and busy!  We had a great check up with the doctor yesterday. It is always nice to hear that you have a healthy growing boy inside of you:)  He is definitely an active guy. He really likes to move around a lot at night when his mommy is still and resting. His brother was the same way. If he turns out anything like Asher he will be one lucky boy. Asher is going to be the best big brother. He loves snuggling up to mommy at night and resting his head on her belly. We think he already loves his brother. Notice that we keep calling this baby "Asher's brother". That is because he is still nameless! It is so hard naming a second baby. I don't know how people do with more than two!  I don't think we can leave the hospital without a name, so an end to this has to be coming.  We promise that we aren't keeping the name a secret. If we knew, we would definitely share! Hopefully sometime over this Christmas break we can come to a decision, but no promises!

Blessings,
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Asher's little brother

New Big Boy Room!

There is no denying it. Asher is a big boy now. Since, baby brother will be making an appearance sometime in the next 2.5 months, we figured it was time to transition Asher out of his old room (which will belong to baby brother), and into a new "Big Boy Room". We really wanted Asher to be nice and settled into his new room before Brother showed up so that he didn't feel like he was being kicked out of his nursery. We tried really hard to make this a big deal to Asher and as you can see by the smile on his face, it has totally been a success! He has slept in his new room for almost a week now and has done fantastically.

This is a view from the doorway. As you can see, Asher loves sports, so we went with a sports theme thanks to Target.  He still needs some wall art, but it has made a nice start. You can't see from the picture, but his bed is a platform bed. He has 2 pull-out drawers under it for extra storage.

This is a view of the other side of the room. He also has a love of all things bike, car, and bus. He has his new car track in his room as well as all of his cars.

This is sweet boy sleeping in his new bed on the first night. His pj's are even sports themed. He almost blends in!

Allyson is officially off work for Christmas break as of 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon, so we are enjoying some "family of 3" time here in Indiana until Sunday. Santa is coming to our house on Saturday night/ Sunday morning, then we will head to church for our Christmas service, followed by a road trip to Ohio! Asher (and his parents) are excited to spend the week with lots of Ballinger's and Frank's!

Merry Christmas!
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Asher's baby brother

Who is this kid?

Asher cracks us up on a daily basis. Whether it is his crazy facial expressions, or his new found "words" we are always being entertained. Just look at some pictures of our crazy kid.

Much love,

Mark and Allyson

New York, New York!

 Last weekend was our annual Sally, Abby, Jane, and Allyson shopping trip. We have been doing this for about 6 years now. The first Christmas after I got married, Abby and I were both living in Indiana. Our mom's decided that they would drive over to Indy for the day and do some Christmas shopping with us. At the end of that day we decided that we should be doing this every year, and definitely for longer than a day. The next two years we found ourselves in Chicago, followed by another year back in Indianapolis because I was about 8 months pregnant, returned back to Chicago the next year, and then this year...thanks to our very own New Yorker, we flew to New York City to stay with Abby and shop until we dropped! We had the best time. I will spare Mom and Sally by sharing of their "stories" about simply driving to the airport. If you see them, you might have to ask them about rolls of wrapping paper and GPS systems.

Friday morning we got up and headed over to the "Today Show". We met just a few of our friends there...

 Al...

Matt...

and some Waltons that might have made Sally's year...

Matthew also lives in New York and Friday just happened to be his 25th birthday. Isn't he a cutie?

Friday we shopped around at Macy's and then Friday night we went to Radio City to see the Rockettes! It was sooooo good. I had seen a similar show in Nashville, but it was really fun to see the show in New York with some new parts as well.

Saturday and Sunday were spent shopping, shopping, shopping. I can't divulge too much info or certain people might know what they are getting for Christmas.

Basically we had a fantastic time. Can't wait to see where our adventure lands us next year!

 

Much love,

Allyson

Thanksgiving in Georgia

Where did the past 7 weeks go? Holy moly, we forgot to blog! We could make a long list of excuses, but who cares...we are back! It is almost Christmas, so why not blog about Thanksgiving? This was a Georgia Thanksgiving for the Thompson clan. We traveled down on Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving. Wednesday night we met Jenna for dinner and had a great time of catching up. Thursday morning we headed out for our 1st Annual Thompson Thanksgiving Trot. We decided on a 5 mile walk that should start around 8 am to leave enough time for cooking afterwards. This is a picture of Asher at about 7:30 am. He is sporting his awesome "race t-shirt" and of course his Alabama hat that hasn't left his head in the past 2 months.  He loves that thing. As you can see, he is also clutching onto his other love, Matchbox cars. He can't get enough and doesn't settle for carrying one at a time:)

Here is a quick family shot in the car while we were waiting on our other "racers" to arrive.

While we were waiting, we saw a little friend, also known as a WOLF, a little ways away from our car. Ummmmmm, are we sure we want to walk here?!?!

We decided that we would brave it and took off for our walk. Let's just say that we didn't exactly check the "race route" before the walk so our 5 mile walk missed a turn and became more like 6.5! 

 I think we definitely earned these muffins after the race!

 The rest of our trip was spent hanging out with family and generally having a good time. Asher did decide to get an ear infection at the end of it, but he was a trooper as always. We are looking forward to the Christmas holiday and all of the family gatherings that will come with it!

Much love,
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Asher's still nameless brother

BOY!

That's right, we are having another sweet boy! Now that we know that Asher will have a brother, we can't imagine it any other way. I can just see them wrestling around and playing sports together. They will be friends for life and we couldn't be more thrilled!

Yesterday was the half way point, 20 weeks for us! Well, technically we are bit past 1/2 way since we won't go past 39 weeks with this pregnancy.

Last night we had Zoe Night at our church. Asher dressed up as a championship boxer and looked very "Rocky" by the end of the night with his addition of a black hat:) I can't believe I never got a total shot of our trunk, but we had an art trunk with our very own Bob Ross doing a fantastic painting including some "happy little trees". Overall, it was a great night and Asher ate about 27 pieces of candy. Surprisingly he slept 11 1/2 hours last night anyway:) Here are some pictures to enjoy!

Here is "Bob" starting his work of art.

 Almost "finished product"...surprisingly not bad!

 Daddy trying to convince "Rocky" that the outfit is awesome!

 "Hey...nobody told me how much candy would be involved!" -Asher

 "This is the greatest night ever!" -Asher

Happy Weekend!
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Brother:)

Fall Break in Ohio

We had a great time in Ohio for Fall Break! Here are a few high points of our trip. Grandma and Grandpa Ballinger borrowed this cool car for Asher to drive around in. He was a little scared at first but definitely warmed up to it. I think it will be perfect by next summer.

 Friday night we headed to Uncle Andy and Aunt Megan's house for pizza and a cook-out. The cook-out didn't work because it was too wet, so Aunt Megan made us oven smore's and they were still delicious! Asher still enjoyed rocking outside.

On Saturday we headed over to Elgin to see the progress of the new campus. Asher saw that a JV football game was going on and convinced his grandparents that he needed to go. Grandpa took him in the locker room and let him play with a real game ball from a previous game. I love this picture of Asher watching the big boys play. One day that will be him...

 

Here is one more up close shot of our sweet boy. We just can't get enough of that face!

The only thing that would have made our trip better would have been a few more days...as always.

Much love,
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Baby #2

19 weeks!

Ok, so we are more like 19.5 weeks at this point, but this picture was taken last Friday, so it was technically 19 weeks. We spent my fall break in Ohio and snapped this picture right before heading to Polaris for a great day of shopping and hanging out with family. This is a pretty exciting week. This Wednesday we head to the doctor to hopefully find out if Asher is going to have a little brother or sister!  We are soooooooooo excited! I (Allyson) personally can't wait to get this show on the road. Once we know what we are having I feel like I will finally be able to think about names, bedding, and clothes...you know, the fun stuff!

I am still feeling great! My tummy looks huge in this picture! Mark and Asher are doing great as well. Asher is quite the ham these days. He is a dancing machine anytime any music with any beat start playing. Look for a post about our trip to Ohio in the next day or so and of course a post sometime later this week about gender!

Much love,

Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Baby #2

Rowdy.

Things get a little rowdy around here in the afternoons. FYI, no one was hurt in the filming of this:)

-Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Baby #2

18 weeks!

Baby #2 is getting bigger by the minute! We are officially 18 weeks along and still feeling great! Bye, bye normal jeans. I can still pull them up and button them, but the whole standing and sitting in them is not so fun so we have transitioned over to maternity pants. Some are still a little big, but others are working just fine.

Baby #2 is about the length of a bell pepper these days. His/her ears are in their final position. Big news this week is that if we were headed to the doctor we would be able to tell if Baby is a boy or a girl. Too bad we aren't:( The next doctor visit is October 26 and we will hopefully find out if we have a brother or a sister for Asher! We can't wait to find out!

Mark and Asher are doing great. Check back tomorrow for an awesome video of some rowdy playtime between the two of those crazies.

Much love,
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Baby #2

Picking Pumpkins

Last Saturday we went to this awesome, and by awesome we mean po-dunk, pumpkin patch down this long curvy road near where we live. It didn't have directions, just a neon sign at every turn to make sure you were still going the right way. The great thing about this farm is that you could pick your own pumpkins and got a complimentary hayride to boot. I think we walked away with 2 large, 3 medium, and 3 tiny pumpkins for 10 bucks. What a deal! Asher wasn't so sure at first, but he warmed up pretty quick!

Decisions, decisions...

 Maybe a little one...

 Maybe over here would be better...

 These 2 look good!

This is our favorite picture of the day. Asher really wanted to carry the pumpkin himself, and this showcases his awesome grunt every time he tried to pick it up.


Our little boy has grown just a little from last year...

 Happy October!
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Baby #2

17 weeks!

No picture this week...sorry! Mark has our computer in Atlanta at a conference, and this website will not let me upload pics on my iPad. Bummer. I had a doctors visit this week. Everything with baby and Mommy are good. Baby #2 had a heart rate of 163. We made another appointment for October 26th. As long as he or she cooperates we will find out if Asher has a brother or sister on the way. Very exciting! Asher had an ear infection this week. You wouldn't know it by how he played all week. I took him in because of a runny nose and cough...came out with an ear infection. We were glad we went so that we could get medicine to fix it. Mark is in Atlanta at Catalyst until late Friday night/ early Saturday morning. We are soooo ready for him to be home. Asher misses his daddy and I miss my husband! Hopefully pictures to come this weekend! Much love, Mark, Allyson, Asher, and baby #2

16 weeks!

Guess who decided to make an appearance for week 16? You guessed it, baby #2 has officially shown himself/herself with a bump! Shockingly enough I can still wear my jeans. I am guessing that they have about a week left. I am going to live it up for all its worth because maternity pants are on the way!

Some good news this week in the area of baby growth and development. His/her eyes are moving toward the front of his/her head. In our opinion, that is always a good thing:) Toenails are also making an appearance this week.

On the Asher front, he is funny as ever. He has developed this laugh that is contageous. If he starts, we start, which makes him laugh even louder. It is too fun. Last weekend, he had to teach Grandpa a thing or two about using the iPad. He is so advanced:)

Oh, Mark is doing good too! Sorry for leaving you out, Mark:)

Much love,
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Baby #2

15 weeks!

Well, here we are a week later and a tad bit thicker. If I were one of those brave women who show pictures of real skin you could definitely tell that something is different. I just want to go on the record by saying that will never happen:) I am still wearing my regular jeans. I can tell that the day is quickly approaching that that will no longer be a reality. According to http://www.babycenter.com/, our baby is about 4 inches from crown to rump now and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces which is about the size of an apple. Even though this is the 2nd time around we are still amazed to learn and read about all the happenings of our sweet baby from week to week.

I am still feeling great. A little more tired at night that usual, but that is to be expected. Friday at 3:00 is always a welcome time:)  Mark and Asher are doing great too. Asher just turned 20 months old. Where has the time gone? Does that really mean we will have a new baby in 6 months? HOLY MOLY!

Happy Friday,
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and baby #2

iPad

Asher is so technologically advanced:)  I guess he is growing up in a different time than his mom and dad. I remember playing Memory on my mom's Commodore 64 in her 3rd grade classroom...times have changed, times have changed.

-Allyson

Random Summer 2011 Picture Dump

This past summer was crazy busy as usual. I realized because it was so crazy that we might be due for a random picture dump...here we go.

This is Asher and his buddy Ben. Ben lives in Nashville with his mommy and daddy. They are exactly 20 days apart in age. Ben's daddy, Jamin and Asher's daddy, Mark were college room-mates. They stopped by for the night on their way to a mission trip with their church. It was so fun to watch these two cuties play together. 

Sometime towards the beginning of the summer we got a chance to spend a couple days with Jeremy, Tera, Caleb, and Cully in Kentucky. They are usually 2 time zones away in Arizona, so when we find ourselves occupying the same time zone we try to make it a priority to spend some of that time together. Mark, Asher, and I traveled to Kentucky to camp with Tera's family on their land for a couple of days. We had the best time. As you can see, the boys were having fun being boys:)

Here is a picture of the whole crew. To say we miss these 4 might be the understatement of the century. 

 

We spent a week this summer in Louisville, KY with these two awesome girls, and about 6 or 7 thousand other high school students at Nazarene Youth Conference. No, we did not have to wear hair nets the whole time, but for this mini-work project they were a necessity and a fantastic picture opportunity.

 Another perk of NYC is that youth groups from all over the USA are there. One of my besties from high school, Sarah and her hubby are in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Luke is the youth pastor. I absolutely loved having a much needed chance to catch up with Sarah. We took this picture just before the last session of the conference. The funny thing that we didn't know when we took this picture but both learned about later is that Sarah is about 5 weeks pregnant with her 2nd baby and I am about 3.5 weeks pregnant with my 2nd baby in this picture. Love, love, love that we will be having babies within a week of each other in March!

 About 12 seconds later we got home from the conference and headed to Ohio with a great group of teens and adults to go to Cedar Point. This really nice couple agreed to let all 19 of us crash in their house for the night...thanks Mom and Dad B!

 Once we reached the end of the summer, we headed to Hilton Head, South Carolina for a week of relaxation. This is Asher's first time seeing and touching the ocean. This face is priceless and something I will never forget.

Hope you enjoyed the random picture dump! Have a great week!

Mark, Allyson, Asher and Baby #2



14 Weeks

Well, not much change going on in the belly area, other than I am starting to feel thick.  I can still easily wear my jeans which is definitely a good thing. I am sure the day is shortly approaching where that will not be a possibility. Still feeling great! I have been a little more tired than usual, but going to bed at 9:30 or 10:00 instead of 11:30 or 12:00 is probably not a bad thing:) Baby #2 and I are officially in the 2nd trimester which is crazy for us to think about. The baby should be about the size of a lemon at this point.

We are planning to post some Asher pictures this weekend. Mark has been so busy with school that it is hard for me to say, "um...can I use the computer to play with pictures?"

Hope everyone has a blessed Friday!
Mark, Allyson, Asher, and Baby #2

13 Weeks!

As you can see, we are getting a little thicker around the middle than normal...must really be a baby in there! Our baby is already making fingerprints and is about 3 inches long at this point. Craziness.  I am still feeling great! Asher has really kept things moving around here. That is definitely a good thing.

The weather this week just decided to be full swing fall. We are loving it! This past Monday we went to Spring Mill State Park to meet some friends to play with and enjoy a picnic lunch. We had so much fun! Asher takes every chance he gets to play with the twins, Hayden (left) and Sydney (right). As you can see, they are going to be friends for life:)

We are looking forward to our vistors that will be here next week. Mom B. and Mama Frank are coming for the week to watch Asher during the day. Asher's babysitter will be at the beach (jealous) all week. I am sure that he will be nice and spoiled by the time the week is over:)

Much love,

Mark, Allyson, Asher, and baby in Allyson's tummy:)