July 15, 2014

it's a...

I can't believe it's Gender Reveal party round 2 for the Wright family! 

My sisters were both able to be in town this time so they spoiled me again and planned an awesome, low key pool party for my family and fellow mom friends :) 

However, it wouldn't be a Branch family function without some sort of hiccup or incident that would make a funny story later. 

The morning of our big doctor's appointment, I woke up so excited, anxious and ready! My sisters met Liam and I at Brueggers for breakfast to get the day going around 8am and as I pulled into the parking lot, I got a phone call from my doctor. 

I knew that probably wasn't a good sign, but I was NOT prepared for what this lady was about to say. This poor messenger was calling a pregnant woman - with a party planned - to relay that the most exciting appointment of the entire 9 months was cancelled due to the ultrasound tech being sick. Well, I had a full on hormonal SPIKE and unloaded tears, frustration, anger, confusion etc. on this lady. 

My sisters walked up to my car window as I was hanging up and I dramatically flung open the door and sobbed "Well, the party is ruined!" I continued my emotional train wreck into the next lucky caller - my husband. Luckily he knows how to deal with this by now and calmed me down and assured me that he would call the doctor and figure something out. My hero. 

While Ben worked on the doctor's office, Caroline started calling ultrasound places that pretty much exist to reveal the gender. Miraculously, an angel woman from a place called Baby Bump 4D answered her phone before business hours and agreed to take me that morning before she even officially opened if I could meet her there in 45 minutes. What!? 

The day was saved, I snapped back to reality and thanked my sisters and Ben for helping me work through my diva moment and headed to meet Ben while Caroline and Jamie took Liam for the morning. 

Baby Bump 4D was the best experience! It felt more like a spa than a doctors office and the sweet owner made the entire thing feel so personal and exciting. We got multiple pictures of our little one and got to celebrate the news together before sharing with everyone else. Such a special morning! 

After calling Ben's family and telling them the news, Ben headed back to work while I went to the party. 





















After some swimming, pizza, and play time we headed to the yard for the big reveal!


Liam and the Albritton girls helped me open the box that revealed we are having a...





GIRL!!!! 




I am honestly still in shock. I was convinced from day 1 that we would be having another little boy! Ben has been on cloud 9 since we found out the news, he has always wanted a little Daddy's girl and I am so excited to get to see him be a father to a baby girl. 

The party was so sweet and special. I was not expecting to have another gender reveal party...hello already living up to the stereotypical second child jokes...but my family and friends were so gracious to us and it was sweet to feel them celebrate this baby girl's life. 

Ben and I are overwhelmed by God's grace in giving us another healthy baby and we cannot wait to meet HER!! Lets just all start praying for prince Liam's transition. Help us Lord :) 

July 14, 2014

breaking news...

The Wright family zoo is adding baby #2! 


Liam will become a big brother around November 10th! 
We are so excited and praising God for another little miracle! 

July 13, 2014

new york dreams and schemes

We finally made it happen. 

In May, Ben, Tyler, Shannon and I made a long discussed dream come true when we visited Stewart in NYC. 

I'm not sure any words or iphone pictures can do this trip justice. Stewart was the most amazing host. He and his roommate let us all pile into their apartment for 4 days and made us fall in love with their city. 

Here is a peek into our trip: 

Day 1: 

2 crazy kids who hadn't been on a plane since their Honeymoon: 


>> We made it to our Stewpac!! <<



>> Chelsea Market & The Highline << 







>> Washington Square Park <<




>> Greenwich Village <<


** Celebrity sighting #1 : Katie Holmes!!


** Not pictured : our stop in Soho to explore a cool little book store and grab some coffee and a snack/rest our feet. While at the coffee shop, celebrity sighting #2 happened: Danny Strong - apparently I'm the only Gilmore Girls fanatic..??!!??

Day 2:

>> The Today Show where Mariah Carey was performing <<


** Celebrity sighting #3: Jamie Lee Curtis window shopping...she's behind Shan in the black trench, best I could do :/ 


>> Quick stop in the Plaza Hotel <<



>> Beautiful Walk through Central Park to the MET <<





Posing in Stewarts swanky Upper West Side neighborhood before dinner: 


And shortly after dinner....Ben staying true to himself: 


Day 3:

>> Brooklyn Flea Market <<



>> Exploring Dumbo <<



>> Brooklyn Bridge Walking <<



After a full day in Brooklyn, we headed home to shower and get ready for our last night in NYC. Stewart had already done an amazing job of packing in as much cool sight seeing as possible but he blew us away when he graciously treated us to a whole night of food, drinks, and surprises.

>> Fig & Olive for dinner in the Meatpacking District <<


>> Gorgeous view of the city from the top of the Rockefeller Center << 



**While sprinting to make it to our appointment at the Rockefeller Center, celebrity sighting #4 happened...drum roll...ADAM BRODY. My life is complete.

We ended the night at an actual Speakeasy! We couldn't take pictures inside, duh, but we entered through a phone booth with a secret door through a hot dog restaurant...CRAZY.

After enjoying some amazing drinks/mocktails and fries...2 pregnant women, don't judge...we headed home and crashed.


Day 4:

A bittersweet morning with another amazing breakfast from the corner bakery: 



We got to hang out and recap the weekend a little bit before going to church with Stewart at Redeemer Presbyterian. 

After a great service, we headed to lunch in his neighborhood and sat outside eating while observing an awesome street fair going on all around us. 



This trip with these friends is the kind that just makes your soul happy. 

These relationships are so precious to Ben and I; they are the people who know our hearts, who make us laugh, who we can struggle with, and who make us love and thank Jesus for his grace in giving us people like this to live life with. 

We were so excited to get to share in a little bit of Stewarts big city life and can't wait to reunite again soon. Thank you for all of your generosity, Stewbs. We love you long time!!!