Monday, December 31, 2012

It's A...






BOY!!!!!!

Our amazing friend, Elley, took these photos for us merely an hour after we found out, slightly edited them at our house, and let us post the same day! She's amazing. 

We are so thrilled to be welcoming a little guy to our family! 

I'll post ultrasound details later. 

I hope everyone is safe and joyous while welcoming in the new year!!!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

20 weeks (so late!)

I hit halfway (20 weeks) the day after Christmas! Unfortunately, I was sick with a cold, so I was in no mood to take any pictures! I'm happy it was just a cold, but boy it stinks to feel so crappy and not really be able to take anything for it. On Saturday, I finally got prettied up to go to our cousin, Megan's, engagement party.

Since it was snowing most of Saturday, Scott had to shovel the driveway before we left so the photos were hurried.


(Photos taken at 20weeks 3days)
I FINALLY POPPED. There is no hiding that there is a BABY in there anymore! Although most people have been saying I'm still pretty 'small' I feel huge (already!). I know that I'll only get bigger, but it's still so surreal looking down and seeing a huge belly!

Despite the whole cold I had this past week, I've felt a little better pregnancy wise. I'm feeling baby move more and more each night, which is just amazing. Tonight I swore I could see the kick from the outside, but my mind could be playing tricks on me.

My sweet tooth is off the charts this week, but I'm thinking it's because of all the Christmas cookies!

I've also started to notice that I have been rubbing my belly a lot subconsciously. At the party last night I had my hand on my belly rubbing almost the whole time. I think it helps me feel connected to baby (and maybe I'm unknowingly protecting myself from grabby hands?).

Anyway, we find out the sex tomorrow (if baby cooperates)! We are so excited. More importantly, though, I'm nervous to see if our baby is growing and healthy in there. Honestly, a healthy baby is 100% my wish/priority. I will be thrilled with a boy or a girl.

Before Christmas

On the 23rd Scott and I went to our (former) church's Christmas service. My wonderful friend danced in it, the music is always amazing, and I do really enjoy our head pastor's sermons. I squeezed myself into an outfit I definitely could not fit in just a mere week later due to my belly pop. Afterwards, we hung out with some awesome friends.

Here are some pics that my friend, Elley, took right after church:



Christmas eve was pretty low key. My mom and I did some last minute shopping together, which was fun. It's been a while since we did mother-daughter shopping!

When I got home, I helped Scott wrap his gifts while we watched a little tv together. Then, I whipped up some meatloaf for dinner and peanut butter kiss cookies for dessert. My brother, Max, came over, and we all just hung out together.

We did a gift exchange that night and watched Elf into the wee hours of Christmas morning.
Christmas morning we were very low-key. We stayed in PJs, drank mimosas (well, I had OJ with one splash of champagne for the toast), and played lots of hearts. I was getting sick, my mom was sick, and Scott and my brother were slowly coming out of being sick, so we needed to have a casual relaxing holiday. It was great.

Hope everyone else's Christmas was as joyous and rejuvenating as mine!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Marry a Guy Like Mine

Hey ladies,
Marry a guy like mine. Obviously not mine (he's taken-duh!), but definitely someone who has some of the same awesome qualities. I get that everyone has different tastes, but you should aim for a kind, patient, and gentle guy. Someone who responds with a smile, nod, and "whatever you want, honey," when you tell them "if the baby is a girl, I actually think I want to change the whole nursery theme." Spend your time with someone who is laid back and mostly non-argumentative. Finding a guy who lets you discard his gross graphic tees in lieu of higher end duds is a total plus. Absolutely find a guy who finds happiness in making you happy (whether that's by taking you on surprise Starbucks dates on weeknights, getting you a gift you wouldn't splurge on yourself, or watching trashy reality tv with you). Scott is far from perfect. He has many flaws that sometimes annoy me, but no one is perfect (including me--big time!). I'm just saying, if you're ever wondering hmmm what are some good husband qualities, Scotty has almost all of them. I love that guy.

^Scott brushing off and us laughing at me tipping him over while being introduced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Scott Edwards!


^Scott totally cool and collected in Mexico when I kind of freaked out while snorkeling-making us go back. That guy was completely unfazed and not mad at all for me cutting the excursion short. (please excuse my gross snorkel mask hair!)

Just my handsome husband on our honeymoon!


My man is just too awesome.

Well, Scotty, if you're reading this just know that I adore you!

Monday, December 24, 2012

Thursday, December 20, 2012

19-Almost Half-way!

As promised, here are some pictures from before Scotty and I went to see the Nutcracker on Sunday. We went with my mom. Traditionally, just my mom and I go every year, but Scott had never been, so my mom gifted us tickets for Christmas. He loved it!




I'm 19 weeks 1 day today! On Wednesday I'll officially be half-way! I have a feeling the second half will be the even faster than the first. 

I've finally started feeling baby move more frequently. It feels like something (like a big goldfish?) rolling around in my lower abdomen. It usually happens after I eat and I lay down/stay still. Just yesterday I started feeling a little bit different types of movement- flipping and more distinct kicks? It's so crazy and awesome. 


Second week in a row with this scarf...but oh how I love it. It's also kind of covering up my butt...which is a bummer, because I've got a nice butt going on! 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

I Feel Like An Elf

Our tree is fully "dressed" (ok, it has been for awhile), the lights are up in the front of the house, and I've wrapped almost all the presents! I still have to wrap my mom's, one of Scott's, and my brother's. Then, I just have to stuff Scott's stocking! I feel pretty relaxed about it all--not stressed or overwhelmed.

Here are a couple of pictures from the past week of festive Christmas things ;)


^Our gorgeous tree! The cats love to play under the tree and mess up the skirt, so we're putting all the gifts on the bookcase next to it. (I'll add a pic after Christmas of what it all looks like with all the gifts in there, too because I think it looks so sweet!)

^ A close-up of my wrapping for Scotty. He has two gifts in one box and has another gift bag I have to stuff.


^My view from the office. My brother was putting up the lights and Cocoa was watching very intently. I wish I got one without glare of Max, but I still think it's kind of cool/funny!

(I didn't include pictures of me and Scott from going to see the Nutcracker on Sunday, but I will include them in my post tomorrow.)

I hope everyone has had a festive December thus far!




Friday, December 14, 2012

Angels

Too many beautiful babies turned to angels today. My heart and prayers go out to all of the families, survivors, friends, and any affected by the shooting at Sandy Hook.

I have been reflecting on it for a good portion of the day. Nowhere is safe in this world. For whatever reason, there will be dangerous people, situations, and places. There's nothing we can do to change these things--car accidents will continue to happen, people will hurt other people in unthinkable ways, and tragedies will happen. What we can do is pray for this world. I pray that we can all learn to love and respect each other. We can all do our best to love and support everyone as if they are family.

I will support these brothers and sisters of mine in the only way I can. I will pray for them--prayers for comfort, peace that surpasses understanding, and strength. I pray that spouses lean on each other instead of turn away in times of grief. They will never be the same. They will always mourn and miss their loved-ones, and the parents will always feel a part of them is gone. Healing will be long and painful, but God is good, and it's the least we can do to pray for His presence to comfort them right now.

Hug your loves a little bit tighter tonight and try to live love.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

18 Weeks!

So I'm really not loving my pictures this week, but I'm way too lazy to re-do them. My hair looks kinda weird and my shirt makes me look big all over (which I'm not). Anyway, you get the picture, though!

Anywho, I am 18 weeks (and 1 day)! I'm super excited to be quickly approaching the halfway mark on Christmas day.

There's definitely still a disconnect between being so so excited for baby to arrive and having him or her actually growing in my belly. I know that I'm pregnant, but I still don't feel entirely "connected" to the life inside of me. I am starting to come to grips and bond with the baby while he/she is inside, but it is a slow process.

Anyway, here's the belly!


Monday, December 10, 2012

Cookie Swap

On Thursday I had a small girls-only cookie swap. It was so fun getting the house all nice and doing real hors d'oeuvres out for my friends. Although I didn't get pictures of the girls or the party, I did snap a couple before shots of the dining room party-ready. 



I made peanut butter kiss cookies and some chocolate chip for the occasion! It was a delicious, fun, and festive night! 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

17 Weeks

I finally look like a pregnant person!! (sort of)

I'm 17 weeks and 1 day, finally. Since I'm looking ahead to each new milestone, I always feel like I should be one week ahead, so sometimes I feel like "I'm ONLY 17 weeks?!" In reality, though, I'm happy to be this far along. I love that I'm due in May--I find it a very special month. My secret hope is that I give birth on my amazing husband's birthday as his gift, but I think both these awesome people deserve their own day in our family.

So I'll do a modified pregnancy stat survey just to give a little heads-up about the pregnancy thus far.

How Far Along: 17 weeks 1 day
Baby is Size of: an onion
Weight Gained: 0 pounds!!! (I was super happy about that when I was weighed at my appointment on Monday, woohoo. I feel like I am not the healthiest, but I'm glad I haven't gained anything yet/gained too much. I have a fear of gaining too much weight and not being able to get it off.)
Symptoms: still have pretty bad skin, big boobs, peeing all the time!, some cramping from my growing uterus/pelvis and sometimes dehydration and too much activity, some round ligament pain, gas pain, and lousy sleep. The newest symptom is tailbone pain!! Most of it is moderate, but I'd be lying if I said it was all roses. (of course it is all worth it!!)
Best Moment Last Week: going on an hour-long walk at the Abbey on a beautiful 63 degree day with my beautiful friend, Elley. Also, I'm super psyched about how much work Scott and I have done on the house. It's really coming together and looking great!


I will have to break some news and say that some of this belly is bloat. It's not quite as out and round normally.
I'm loving that Baby can now hear sounds from outside---aka daddy's voice!! Can't wait to start to feel kicks =] Should be very soon!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Deck the Halls

Literally. We are finally in the final stages of finishing painting our hallway. Another coat on the trim and we'll be all done!

Today we took a little break, though, to do some holiday decorating.
We have had our tree up in our basement for a couple weeks now, but we put the upstairs one up today! We also purged all of the decorations we no longer need or use. I think we're finally down to only 3 bins of Christmas stuff!! woohoo. Scott spent a majority of his day cutting out the pre-lit lights out of the tree (the middle section was dead). It is now bare waiting for all red lights to be put on tomorrow (I normally only like white lights, but sometimes you just step outside of your comfort zone for the heck of it.)! He did an awesome job--it was some tedious work!

My day consisted of hanging garland, going through ornaments, vacuuming, and some light flower arranging. I'll post pics once it's all done!

Here we are, weary after our long day:


  (It only took about a gazillion tries to get a picture...note the very tired "are we done yet" faces...) We'll need some better Christmas pictures in the coming weeks.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

16!

16 weeks (+ 1 day) over here!

Baby is the size of an Avocado! He (or she) is also going through a major growth spurt right now and will double in size in just weeks!

Last night I had a dream about baby. In the dream baby was a boy (another reason I think the lil nug is a boy). I remember changing his diaper and him not really liking it, but soon, he looked into my eyes, knew I was his mom, and smiled. He was gorgeous. He had light brown wispy hair and big blue eyes. I  remember that he was just in his diaper (probably because he is a summer baby and it was scorching in my dream), and the way his skin felt nuzzled against mine was so real and beautiful. THAT has been the best moment of my week. A possible peek into my life in a couple of months. A bonding moment in my sleep.

Here's the bump!:
(sorry about my camera phone quality!)

I know it doesn't look like much, but it's there! Sometimes I look down and think it's just fat, but I have to remind myself THERE'S A BABY IN THERE!

In other news, we are working on decorating the house and finishing up some small home improvement projects this week. (ok, more Scott than me hehe.)
Hope everyone enjoys their last couple days of November!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

#babycrazy: Black Friday

I did not do any black Friday shopping. I have zero energy to go out and be around crazy shoppers. When my energy is up I like to clean and do some of the million house projects that need to happen (some before decorating for Christmas and some just before baby gets here).

Today, though, I went online and saw that almost all the deals in-store were also online! I tried to be a good girl and not unnecessarily spend, but I couldn't resist Carter's/Osh Kosh B'Gosh! Everything is 50% for "black Friday" for the weekend.

I know I don't officially know if I'm having a girl or boy, but I really feel like I'm carrying a boy! Gender neutral clothes are kind of ehh in my book, so I decided to buy little boy clothes :) If I am wrong (I will seriously be thrilled to have a little girl, too), I can return the clothes for either cash or store credit.

Here are my awesome finds (Disclaimer: all of these images are from Carter's and OshKosh. None of these images are mine)




1 2 3 4

This baby will be the best dressed little tyke around. Only about 4 more weeks until I can find out for sure!

A Bump!

I haven't documented a lot during this pregnancy, but now that I have a little bump forming, I figured I'd start taking pictures!!

This picture was taken at 15weeks 1 day (Thursday). The baby is the size of an apple!! 

I can't wait to find out girl or boy hopefully within the next month! =] 


Thanks

I haven't really been around that much. I thought that once I got pregnant, I'd want to document every detail in it. It really hasn't been like that, though. I've found myself much more private and introverted. My mind and body are really adjusting and taking their time getting ready to become a mom.

But, how do I not do a quick post about being thankful on Thanksgiving?!



As a starter, I am completely blessed. My beautiful pets give me love and companionship. They are wonderful additions to Scott and my life. I am beyond happy to be in our new home, and we are so thankful to be so privileged to have a roof over our head, a home for our family, and a safe haven.

I want to say I am thankful for every person walking my journey with me right now. I'm thankful for the wise new and older mommas who are fill of helpful loving advice. I'm so thankful for my own mom who has never cast judgement but has helped steer me in some more positive directions on days when I was really down (can you say making me go out on a walk on the days I am a total bum?). I am so grateful for my friends who are completely understanding of my even more casual and relaxed/boring nights at home watching tv and playing board games. Your companionship is irreplaceable. I am thankful for my wonderful family and extended family. I have such a unique bond with all of you, and I can count on all of you for different things on any given day. I especially have loved all the extra time I've spent with my biological brother this past year. He is truly one of my main people, and I'm overly lucky to call him my brother. I am excited, ecstatic, and completely joyous to be adding our little one to our family. Despite how hard it is, I have never had more purpose and love in my life. Scott, my husband, has given me more love, support, and companionship than I could ever ask for. He is a great provider, friend, husband, son, father, and person. I am so lucky to have him and am beyond thankful for him in my life.

Lastly, I want to just give all my thanks and praise to God. Without him, nothing is possible. Everything good is of Him. I hope to give it all back in praise and faithfulness. I live a beautiful life.

Thanks to everyone reading this. Hopefully your list is as long as mine!



Monday, October 15, 2012

I Can Relate

Warning: This is a bit lengthy and somewhat of a ramble...

I'm watching Married to Jonas while researching baby bottles (Oh, did you not get my memo? I'm pregnant! Each time I went to blog about it...I just froze. So yeah, this is me telling the interwebs world that I'm pregnant!!!!), and I totally empathize with Dani. She's in Italy, and she wants to go back home. In her interview she's talking about her anxiety and what it feels like when an anxiety attack hits. She's saying that when it happens she feels alone and just wants to be home. Finally, someone understands.

You know, there's been a lot I haven't blogged about recently. I felt overwhelmed when thinking about announcing my pregnancy here--I mean, there's so much pressure for it to be cute and fun, which is just too much for me right now while I'm feeling first-tri exhaustion. I also had a wonderful vacation with my hubby in VA a couple of days ago. But what I'm ready to blog about is this: how I feel when anxiety strikes.

This woman gets it. While on my amazing little vacation, Scott and I went to the mall near our hotel. It started out super fun browsing. Then, all of a sudden, I felt it start. The anxiety started to close in on me. It changes everything about me. I feel overwhelmed by regular stimuli. My mind gets super cloudy.  I close in on myself, and I am alone. Scott's voice is just a little more muffled, things blur together a little bit, and I have a horrible heaviness come over me. All I want is to be home. With my cats. Being home isn't even enough; I have to be in my bedroom. Thankfully, my husband is a doll, brought me back to the hotel, and poured out so much love. It completely brought me out of my attack, which just makes me love him more than ever.

The pregnancy has been tough on me. I want to keep it real, here. I am elated that I'm pregnant. Scott and I are ecstatic about becoming parents. I daydream about this lil nugget all day everyday. That doesn't change how hard being pregnant has been on me. My anxiety is a risk to my baby, I can't take medicine, I have almost every 'bad' symptom, and each day is just struggling. I spend most of my time taking it easy. I'm nauseas most of the day, I get exhausted in an instant, my face is beyond broken out/my hair is oily, and let's just say bathroom goings are a lot different. Although it's not easy, I am still trying to be joyful everyday. I am beyond blessed to be carrying God's child, and I will take every symptom along with it.

I fully appreciate everyone supporting me through this time, especially since it hasn't been the smoothest journey. Maybe this has become a rant, but maybe it will help someone know that they are not alone in the way they feel. If anything, it can give anyone who reads a little understanding of what anxiety is like for me.

As a reward for reading this post, this is what I used to announce our pregnancy to our family:

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Let's Talk Hair

Here's the deal: I've always had good hair. I don't mean to brag. My skin has always been pretty lackluster (mild to moderate acne since I was 11), but God gave me great hair. The color is awesome, it's thick, and it can pretty easily be straight or wavy. I'm used to only having to wash it twice to three times a week without it looking bad, and usually don't really HAVE to style it.

Recently, my hair has started hating me. I wash my hair, and by the next day, the back is stringy and oily. I'm only 85% freaking out about it.

Maybe karma has come around, or maybe this is just a hormonal transition, but if anyone has a remedy to this issue: FIRE AWAY! Yesterday I washed it at 4pm, put in volumizing mousse, blow dried it, and sprayed a hint of dry shampoo, and NOTHING. I tried changing shampoos, nothing. All I can say is, BOOO! This is becoming a problem!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Grassy Knolls

Last weekend, Scotty and I hung out at the park on a nice grassy knoll with our Book of Questions to just enjoy some fall weather. You know, since Fall normally lasts about two weeks...

This year, Autumn seems to be sticking around a little while longer, thankfully!! I'm thoroughly pleased to wear my light sweaters, eat apples with caramel dip, and plan a trip to the orchard for upcoming weeks. 

The day after our little park rendez-vous, Scott just reclined down the street after morning brunch...

Basically, just some random happenings in our day-to-day lives!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Face Worth a Fortune

Today I spent about a million dollars on makeup.

A million is a bit of an exaggeration.

I've been breaking out even more and worse than usual, so I knew I had to finally be a big girl and buy some real make up. If you have good enough skin to not go that route (or are on the cusp), good for you! But for me, I finally needed to get something good for my skin and would make me look and feel good.

I went with Stila products. I just got the primer (which is amazing) and their foundation/concealer combo. The primer helps create a breathable barrier between your skin and any other makeup. It reduces redness and brightens my complexion. Even after just the primer my face looked so much better. It helps nourish the skin, too! The foundation is also 'oxygenated' which helps keep your skin 'breathing' and not completely suffocated (which leads to more breakouts). The concealer just adds the extra coverage over my real problem pimples. Basically, with these products, I look like my skin is fresh and (mostly) flawless!

Although I'm still reeling from spending so much on just two products, I'm glad I finally made the plunge!

 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Fall

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall..." The Great Gatsby.

Oh, how true that is. This fall is the first time I haven't been going back to school. It is honestly so refreshing and much more enjoyable. Each day is so much more invigorating when I breathe in the crisp morning air. It is truly more beautiful than I can say.

It will be too lovely when the leaves change.

Friday, August 31, 2012

We Only Like the First Half

Here at the Edwards home, we only like the first half of the alphabet...

The deal is: I don't think anyone cares about my alphabet deal, and it was becoming a chore. Maybe I can't even keep myself accountable for this blog, but it came down to not being worth it anymore.

What I really came here to say was...my husband is getting scarily intuitive when it comes to fashion. Two nights ago I showed him a set I made on Polyvore. The set was for a casual wedding guest. Super cute Tibi dress and nude/peach accessories. The bag was a gold studded beige tote bag. He actually said, "Isn't that bag a little big to bring to a wedding?!"

Someone almost surpassed the teacher.

But I had a method to the big-bag madness. I secretly made the set for an idea of what to wear next summer to my my brother-in-law's wedding. The bag is big enough to hold baby supplies just in case we are lucky enough to need it!

Sometimes husbands can be surprising.


Friday, August 24, 2012

Personalization

P is for Personalization.
As you all know, we have been full of celebrating love the month. We are so excited for Jay and Kelly! To show our love and excitement we made them really cool glass beer steins with their monogram on it. We had dinner with them and almost the whole family (minus Nate) on Wednesday, which was awesome.

Here they are:

We were going to use glass etching cream, but it could cause "fatal burns." The warning said that "burns may be unnoticeable at first, but may be fatal. Seek medical attention immediately." That kind of scared me too much to try it, so we used Martha Stewart glass frost instead. It can even be washed in the dishwasher! I'm kind of obsessed now. Definitely need to get on monograming some of my glassware!