Wow!!
Over half way through this pregnancy! Can you believe it! I can't. Slow down!!!

I love being able to know we are having a boy and calling him by name.

Just in case you are not familiar with the naming of this precious baby boy....
let me give you a little back story.

Isaiah is one of four brothers.
Angelo, Nathan, Isaiah, Elliott.

The four of them, from the countless stories I have heard over the years, were a pretty close bunch.
On February 26th 2000, Nathan was taken from this earth in a tragic work accident. He was never married and never had any children of his own. Ever since that day Isaiah had hoped he could one day have a son to honor his closest brother.
And now that day has come...or is coming.... in December.
I am more than happy to give this name to my son and I am excited for those who knew and loved Nathan to see his name being carried on in the Torres family.

Okay...so now...after I have wiped the tears from my eyes {I am soo overly emotional about EVERYTHING right now....} I can get on with this post.

the baby
At 11 inches, the length of a speghetti squash, and about 1 pound,
our baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside my womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.
{via babycenter.com}

the belly
{don't mind the crazy squinty eyes...the sun was so bright!}

pregnancy so far
*talk about an active little guy....makes me really nervous if this has any correlation to his outside the womb energy.

*I'm feeling great! I have been working out about 5 days a week right now...yeah!

*I have gained less weight this time around so far but I don't know if I am going to be able to stay under my 20lb goal. I'm still under it but I know I have a few more months to go.

*I was sick on Sunday and being preggos means you cant really take anything!!! boo...
I spent the entire day in bed...and slept the entire day! I felt horrible but it was nice to sleep sooo much.

*I hate sneezing or couching now. I totally pee myself! Not attractive at all...haha

*I am glad I have a little one potty training because she is willing to go to the bathroom with me every time we go anywhere...a million times a day!

*I am lovin me some chocolate muffins right now!!! I could eat them all day everyday! but I'm not...even though I really really want to.

*Kaylee is telling everyone now she is having a brother. She calls him Nafan. So cute! She also told my friends mom that Nathan was going to be born from my vagina. :) Kind of embarrassing but at the same time I am happy she is learning the "actual" way babies are born instead of a great made up story about a stork. She has come to all of the doctors appointments and ultrasounds. I love involving her as much as possible.

*Kaylee and I rub our bellies with lotion two times a day. She loves getting to use the "special" lotion that mommy uses.

*We went to the library and have started reading books about being a big sister and having a new baby.

*My lovely besties have started planning my baby shower! I love them so much!!

Yummy!!

I have been trying NEW things! New foods, new recipes, new skills.
I also have been trying to implement at least one if not two meatless meals a week in our home.
Meatless meals means trying things that sound a bit different and seeing if you like it!

This one is super yummy!

Zucchini Enchiladas
{Healthy Cooking Magazine}
(this makes 2 13x9 pans so cut everything in half to make just one)

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 pounds zucchini, shredded (about 8 cups)
• 24 corn tortillas (6 inches), warmed
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 2 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• Reduced-fat sour cream, optional

Directions

• In a large saucepan, saute peppers and onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomato sauce, tomatoes, chili powder, sugar, marjoram, basil, cumin, salt, cayenne and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes or until slightly thickened. Discard bay leaf.
• Place 1/3 cup zucchini down the center of each tortilla; top with 2 tablespoons cheese and 1 tablespoon olives. Roll up and place seam side down in two 13-in. x 9-in. baking dishes coated with cooking spray. Pour sauce over the top; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with sour cream if desired. Yield: 12 servings.

Here's how mine turned out:
Defiantly one to keep in the circulating recipes. Hearty and filling and Oooo so tasty. We just had this and some tortilla chips. It was more than enough to fill ya up.

Crazy week again!

I think I say that every week because when I look back it was one thing after another. I love my life right now. I love the play dates, the good times with friends and family, and the summer weather....it' just all fantastic!

Stroller Strides playing, Trader Joe shopping, delicious turkey meatballs for Monday night football.

Parker day! We headed out to Lattin's Cider Mill {Ol' McDonald's farm to Kaylee} and fed some animals, rode some bikes, and played in the grass.
Naptime happened on the floor and then it was off for a double header at the softball field watching daddy.

Puzzles after breakfast, working out with amazing mommies, then a Kaylee photo shoot in the car with grandma! I love when she does this..... it is so cute to see the world from her little hands.

Reading books at the park after a killer workout
Then it was off to the Blueberry farm to pick some delicious organic blueberries with our friends. Such cheap entertainment for the kiddos and so much fun.
Zucchini enchiladas for dinner!! Sooo good! {full post & recipe to come this week}

I love sleeping pictures. I just try and imagine what she is dreaming about with that cute look on her face. Kaylee/daddy traditional hugs in the morning before work and then off to our work-out!
We had a special musical class and all of the kiddos had a blast making noise then creating their very own tambourines. Friday night date night was at our friends surprise bday party.

Sand in the City! In 80 degree weather!!
Camping bday party in the afternoon and girls night to a Josh Groban concert with my bestie!!

Sunday..... sick day!! Not good!

Today {monday} sick day for Kaylee....boo

Okay so I am LOVING this idea!

I love taking all of these pictures throughout the day and getting to see it all put together. Isaiah even jumped in this week with a pic taken from his phone. AMAZING I know! :)

Here is our week:

BONUS DAY!!
Isaiah and I went to our good friends wedding while Kaylee went up north with her cousin Emmalina for a kid concert extravaganza.
{wedding pics via}

Total pregnancy brain moment when I went to stroller strides to workout and forgot the stroller! WOW! I know. So I sat around while Kaylee played for a while.Isaiah had a half day so we headed to the library then Costco for a little shopping and of course polish dogs!

Workout in the morning, lunch with daddy in the afternoon, then a quick 20 week preggo pic before work at night. Good tuesday!

Kaylee jumped into a game with a group of preschool kids at the park and had a blast then we ran some errands after nap time.
Of course when you watch Beauty and the Beast you have to wear the entire princess costume right?? yes... of course you do!!

Play date at the park when I quit half way through the workout. yep...I wasn't really feeling it that day. We decided to wash the car after nap time together and Kaylee was really starting to get the hang of the hose.
Movie night! Kaylee watched a movie on our NEW laptop while Isaiah and I watched Food Inc.
{I couldn't wait and watched it the day before so this was round two for me}

Who doesn't like to have a bagel dipped in milk for breakfast?
We had a HUGE group working out. Over 40 peeps with kids included! WOW!!
It was off to the farmers market to price out some delicious veggies, a little blogging during nap time, and then Marcus and Marlia came over for a few hours so we headed to the park.
Isaiah spent the afternoon on the green. Lucky man!
{he really was having a good time despite the no smile. I just bugged him to send me a pic during the middle of his game. thanks hun}

WOW! We really did a lot this week and it is only going to get crazier.
The next few months are going to be picture craziness.
We have a few 1st birthdays to attend, Isaiah's bday, my baby shower, Kaylee's 3rd bday!, Thanksgiving, Christmas, then BABY!!

*******************************************

{via}

This documentary was A-MAZ-ING!!!
If you haven't seen it yet I recommend going out TODAY and renting it. We got ours at the library so it was FREE :)

This is a life changing movie really. I think of food in a whole new way. I want to break the cycle of bad eating in our family all together. I want Kaylee and Nathan to grow up with good, wholesome, REAL food. I feel so inspired after watching this movie to CHANGE my family for the better.
Now I know I'm not going to be able to eat clean 100% of the time because frankly I don't want to live under a rock and never do anything social or travel again, but I figure now that I have the time {no 40hr work weeks, no school} I can start to do the proactive things to get to about 90% of the time.

With this though is a whole new learning curve.
First off, I really have NEVER bought my produce anywhere but a grocery store. I mean I get my strawberries local when they are in season and sometimes a few things here and there off a stand in the summer but nothing like I want to start doing.

So here is my "want to learn/do" list:
1. How to start a garden
2. How to garden!
3. How to shop at the farmers market for good prices
4. Buy our beef/chicken local
5. Buy our milk organic
6. Try and find organic substitutes at the store
7. Buy a veggie box from a farm
8. Learn how to cook with other things besides broccoli,green beans,carrots, and potatoes

So 8 things so far sounds good to me!
I am super intimidated to get started on our garden but I know it is a skill I can pass on to my children and hopefully have them really understand where our food comes from.

Here is mine and Kaylee's {and Nathan's} first trip to the market!
Please don't judge on the post workout, still sweaty, need a shower look.
I was going for the organic look here people.... haha
and yep...that is one juicy organic apple Kaylee is about the eat!

This is the first thing we bought him :)

Kaylee is SUPER excited to have a little brother!
We are too! I can't wait to have one of each!

{ultrasound pics to come soon... I have to get the new laptop set up with the printer first!}

Oh summer how I love you!!
We found out we are having a BOY this week!
Here is how the rest of the week went for us:

Our last day with my parents ended with a day trip to Mt. Lassen.
My dad and Isaiah bought these ridiculous NASCAR shirts the night before and of course, like guys do, dared each other to wear it all day long. It was really embarrassing.
Yep....that is real snow! In August! In California! It was so fun :)

Travel day! boo
As we drove north the clouds became thicker and then covered the whole sky... welcome to the GNW in the summer.
We passed our Portland Temple and I tried to get a shot of it but I mostly captured the trees.

Playdate day! First we went over to Kaylee's friend Mason's house (no pics...boo) then Kaylee and Raia hung out while Raia's siblings were at practice. A princess movie with tiaras and then leaves over the faces during a pic says it all.

ITS A BOY!!!!
NATHAN MICHAEL TORRES
Of course we needed to celebrate with some Red "Monster" as Kaylee calls it.
Raia hung out with us that night so we headed to the park and then to McDonald's house.
I ended my night with a Girls Night Out with Amy and Corinne.

Girls day!
Kaylee and I went to get her first pedicure. The salon we went to had little kid chairs and she LOVED it!!! She loved choosing her colors and ended up with purple with white and pink pock-a-dots.

BABY "T"

Our baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom and is about the size of a heirloom tomato.
It's arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of it's body now. It's kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on baby T's scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on its skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid. Our baby's sensory development is exploding!Baby T's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that our baby may be able to hear our voices now!
(babycenter.com)

the bump

PREGNANCY SO FAR:

*Isaiah has been able to feel the baby kick!

*of course the entire time we have been at my parents house the baby wont kick every time any of my family members try and feel it.

*I am starting to FEEL pregnant! Bending over is starting to feel weird and picking up Kaylee is becoming really uncomfortable. Not because I can't lift her but my belly is starting to stick out a bit more now (as you can see above)

*No working out this week! Unless you count lounging around at a pool and walking into the restaurant a full body workout!

*My belly button is almost flat which means it will be sticking out pretty soon.

*This kid likes to wake my up around 6am to do some back flips and push like crazy on my bladder.

*my angles have started to swell a little bit and I think my cheeks have gotten a bit fuller too. Maybe its from all of the yummy food I've been consuming this week! Portions....what are those?? haha

*Thursday is coming SOOOOO slow!! I cant wait to find out!

Late post on last week because we are having so much fun in Cali!!

Here is how our week went:

Another fun morning at Stroller Strides.
Afterwards we went down to Long Lake with some fun in the water with our besties, Amy & Parker and Lindsey & Cami.

Day two of working out and an afternoon at the lake. Kaylee's friend Mason played with her in the water while Parker and Madison sat on the beach playing with rocks.
Naptime was unsuccessful.... picture taking was way more fun!
Kim, Kristin and I had a great time together representing Stroller Strides at a local event!
The last pic is how Isaiah found me after putting Kaylee to bed.

Kaylee decided she wanted to make me lunch between cleaning the house and finishing our packing. Nap time then a late night run the DQ with our besties we hadn't seen in weeks!

**OUR THURSDAY TRAVEL PICS DECIDED NOT TO SEND TO MY EMAIL...boo**

We started off Friday where else but in the POOL!! After a good swim at 9am my dad did his usual while Isaiah entertained Kaylee with some castle building. Then it was nap time, swim time, and of course bubble time!!

We are having such a fun time at "Casa de Conner" aka my parents house!

Hope you had a great week!