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.