Dear Baby...

Dear precious baby girl,
Look at how big you are getting!

 

I feel like everyday you are growing more and more.  Your daddy and I are so anxious to starting feeling you kicking around in there.  But we know you are comfortable just the way you are.  It is evident by your ultrasounds that you are staying put.  I think I feel you moving around sometimes...but I'm convinced you really are just not an active baby.  Perhaps you're taking after your daddy already?

I got to see your little face on Friday!  Thank you so much for showing us this time.  I know you hated it, but it didn't last very long.  And you looked so beautiful!  I just wish your daddy could've been there.  But he was working hard for his family and we love him so much for that.

He did come with me on Saturday when we had the opportunity to see you in 3D!  What an amazing experience!  The ultrasound techs tried so hard to get you into a better position, but you are one stubborn little girl!  You wouldn't let us see your face from the front.  Only profile shots for us.

You refused to show us your face and kept hiding behind your hand!  We think you really hate ultrasounds and we promise not to have them done again unless they are necessary.  We just want you to be happy and comfy in your temporary home.  

We were excited to see that you have five fingers!!

The other babies in the room were really showing off.  Some of them were even posing for the camera!  And one of our technicians actually left us to take a look at another baby!  At first I was sad, but your daddy reminded me that you are just like your mama and "you do what you want."  True my love.  Very true.  And we're glad you're not a show off.  You're happy where you are and I'm so glad you're with me everyday!

You're so precious to us, little one, and we simply cannot wait to meet you and see your beautiful face in person.  

Love you with all our hearts,

Mommy and Daddy

23 weeks!

How Far Along:  23 weeks!  So far this pregnancy is really flying by.  Even when I was throwing up all.the.time. the weeks just kept ticking away!  Our baby girl will be here before we know it and I am so NOT prepared! 

Maternity Clothes:  I'm seriously running low on pre-pregnancy clothes I can fit into.  I need to just go shopping and quit worrying about spending the money.  I mean, I need clothes.  Getting dressed in the morning is starting to depress me.

Sleep:  I haven't had too much hip pain this week which has been delightful.  I've added another pillow into the mix to prop up the babes....so grand total is now three.  I feel like I'm in a barricade.

Food:  Some smells get to me...but in general I can eat (and will eat) anything.  Well, anything I would eat before the little one came along.  They say your baby will come out liking things you ate whilst pregnant.  My baby's favorite food is currently ice cream.  Great.

Best Moment of the Week:  We have an appointment for a second ultrasound TODAY!  Our little snobby snob would not show us her face last time and it is a necessary picture for the doctors to have.  So today's the day.  Hopefully!  And confirmation that we are indeed having a little girl would be nice :)

What I Miss:  I miss being able to get off the couch, bed, or a chair and not struggle.  And bending over is becoming more of a challenge.  But that's really about it!

What I'm Looking Forward to:  Today's ultrasound...tomorrow's 3D ultrasound and looking at nursery furniture...moving into our new house NEXT WEEK!  And, as a continuing celebration of our anniversary, we're going to the Melting Pot tonight.  I LOVE that place.  Oh I cannot wait!  What a great day!


Hubs forgot to put the pic up today.  Seriously.  I give the boy one job.  Good thing he's so gosh darn cute.

Another Year Down

Big thanks to all my lovely readers for the anniversary wishes!  Matt was actually out of town yesterday and got home around 9...so we just had a nice dinner in.  I made yummy crab legs, mashed potatoes, and this bread from Pioneer Woman.  Delicious!  We also celebrated with a DQ cake!  Yes.  I actually purchased a cake instead of making one.  Hey.  All of my cake supplies are packed.  Sue me.  It was YUM! 

On a side note, I went to the store to pick up some things for dinner and a card for my sweetie.  We decided against gifts this year seeing as we're, you know, buying a house in 6 days and having a child :)  Plus, since 3 years is "leather" I'm pushing for a new couch!  Anyways, back to the cards.  The cheapest one I found was $5.95 people!  Isn't that insane?  I just couldn't do it.  Plus, I didn't expect a card from Matt.  He has been traveling this week and isn't the best at planning ahead so I figured I was golden forgoing the card. 

Wrong.  Of course he got me one.  Oops.  Loser alert.

But did I mention I bought the cake?

Another highlight of my day...receiving this little beauty in the mail from one of my besties at home!

A sweet little headband for our little girl!!  Isn't is the cutest :)  I am completely smitten! 

Speaking of little girls, did y'all see that Lucy had her baby yesterday!?!  She is BEAUTIFUL!  Please give her a huge congratulations.  21 hours of labor.  She deserves it!

September 22, 2007

Three years ago today, I walked down the aisle to join my life with my husband's. 

We made a commitment to each other that day.  One we will never forget.  And one that has bonded us together for eternity.

Three years ago today, I thought I would never be able to love someone as much as I loved Matt at that moment.  It seemed impossible that my heart would even be able to hold another solitary ounce of love for him.

I was wrong. 

For me, it's not like some sappy love song where I wake up every day and realize, "I love him so much more than yesterday!"  Nah.  It doesn't hit me like that.

It's more of a reflection.  Thinking back on how far we've come from that day.  How far we've come from those people we used to be.  How we've grown as a couple.  And how we'll soon grow together as parents.

We're solid.  He's my person.  My husband.  My very best friend.  And I could not imagine for one second where my life would be without him in it. 

Happy Anniversary honey!  I love you to the moon and back and I cannot wait to take on the challenge of raising our beautiful little girl with you. 

Yours always.

Winner, Winner!

Thanks so much to everyone that participated in my giveaway!  I am so jealous that one of you lucky readers gets to pick some gorgeous stationery from Elona Creations!  Lucky duck!

So let's get on with it, huh?

The winner is....

Ty from Rants. Raves. Ridiculous! 

I just started reading Ty's blog not too super long ago and she is incredibly sweet and funny.  Check her out!  And congratulations Ty!!  Contact me with your choice of stationery and your shipping info and we'll get that right out to you ASAP!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! 

22 Weeks!

My baby girl is a whole pound!  What a milestone we have reached!  She's growing so beautifully (judging by the size of my growing belly!) and is just perfect.

And before I go any further, I want to thank each and every one of you for your comments on last week's post.  It's so comforting to have this outlet that reaches so many people who can relate to what I am going through.  It makes me feel not alone out there on this journey.  Y'all are wonderful and I am so thankful I've "met" you :)  Smooches!

How Far Along:  22 weeks! 

Maternity Clothes:  Both.  I wore my Bears jersey during the game last week and it was not pretty.  It is basically a belly shirt now and can no longer be worn in public.  Which is depressing.  I need to go shopping.

Sleep:  The hip pain continues but not every night, so I feel blessed.  I've finally started getting up to use the restroom maybe 3-4 times a week.  Guess I couldn't hold out forever!  I've also been getting intense leg cramps when I stretch my legs out...but that has been going on for quite some time.  My solution = stop moving my legs that way.  Problem solved!

Food:   No issues here!

Best Moment of the Week:  Not too much happened this week.  Which is a huge blessing because the next two weeks are hectic to say the least.

What I'm Looking Forward to:   In one week we have our next ultrasound and hopefully get to see our daughter's beautiful face this time!  AND, after that we are having a 3D ultrasound!  I am thrilled to be able to do this.  It's actually kind of a cool story but I'll save that for next week.  On another note, we get to do a walk through of the house on Monday!!  It's almost done and I cannot wait to see what it looks like with actual walls this time!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!  Ours will likely be spent watching copious amounts of football and shopping for a refrigerator!  Yippee!

Sweet Treats!

Yesterday after I got home from work I decided that I didn't want to just nap my afternoon away as usual.  I wanted to be productive!

So what did I do, you ask?

Pack?

Ha.  No.  I did anything and everything to keep myself too busy to pack of course.

I baked these!

Pecan Pie Muffins!  Oh my.  Warm, goodness with a little bit of butter right out of the oven.  Heaven.  Breakfast...down!

Next I made these!

Snickerdoodle Blondies!  Wow.  Clearly I didn't take a picture before we got into these.  Imagine the moistest snickerdoodle you have ever had, but in a bar form.  I personally had mine with some vanilla ice cream on top.  Yum!  Dessert...done!

Finally, I prepped a pasta dish that was ready to put into the oven right when Matt got home from work.  AND, cleaned up my entire mess in the kitchen.  Basically it looked like I hadn't done anything, but it smelled like I had done something amazing!

It felt good to do something productive after work, especially with such yummy results :)  What shall I do today I wonder??  Hm.

I'll probably nap.

Baking takes it out of me!

Don't forget to check out my giveaway going on RIGHT NOW!!  It's stationery people.  And it's awesome!

I'm Sorry, What?

Today I noticed a new label attached to our community trash cans at work.  It reads:

"Please do not place trash cans on drinking fountains."

I'm sorry, what?

I have never noticed our trash cans on the drinking fountains.  Is this really a problem for which a label is required?  It happens so often you need to remind everyone not to, in fact, put the nasty trash cans on top of a place people put their mouths?

My work is ridiculous.

And apparently disgusting.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

We had a wonderful weekend that was fairly busy...but we were also able to squeeze in some much needed rest!  Thank goodness!

Saturday evening we were invited to an event with some of Matt's co-workers called Steamfest.  It was held a little south of the city on the Cuyahoga National Valley Scenic Railroad.  We were able to ride an actual steam engine about 30 minutes south to Akron, Oh, enjoy some yummy apps and drinks (well, I ogled them), and return to the station with delish desserts.

The only downside of the night, I had to dress up.  About a week before I picked out three potential dresses that I already owned that I figured would work.  STUPID.  STUPID.  STUPID.  I couldn't even begin to zip one up, the other one looked hideous, and this is the one I had to wear.   

People, I am massive.Wearing a dress instead of sweat and jeans definitely made me look 1,000,000 X more pregnant that before.  And my boobs.  Oh my boobs.  The cleavage could not be concealed.  I decided to wear a pashmina most of the night because I was just that embarrassed.

Note to self:  try on outfit more than 20 minutes before you have to leave. 

My back hurt insanely bad in this pic.  I did not anticipate the amount of standing I would have to do in heels.  Lesson #2 learned.

Sunday we were all hopped up on adrenaline for our first NFL weekend!  We're big college football fans, but we definitely enjoy the NFL as well.  I'm a Bears fan while Matt is a lover of the Colts.  We were meeting our friends for the 4 o'clock games though which included the Eagles.  One of our friends is from Philadelphia so I made these special treats for him.  Too bad it didn't help them win....

They were delicious :)  I seriously cannot get enough Oreo truffles.  Where my life was before I found these babies....I will never know.  And I don't even want to know again.

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

And don't forget to check out my giveaway going on RIGHT NOW! 

GIVEAWAY, GIVEAWAY!

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

I'm super excited to be hosting this giveaway for all of you today!  Do you remember those gorgeous "It's a Girl" cards I created to announce the gender of our little sweet pea to the world?  They looked like this...

Except, you know, pink.

Well, Kathy over at Elona Creations on Etsy has so graciously offered to give one of my very lucky readers a CHOICE of a any 10 pack of stationery in her collection!  FOR FREE!  Isn't that ridiculously awesome?  I'd say so.

So here's what you need to do.  Click here to view the stationary section of her store.  You'll get one entry if you let me know which design you like the very, very best.  Also, let me know if you follow my blog, as you'll earn an extra entry if you do.  That's it.  Easy Peasy!

The giveaway will end at 10 p.m. on Sunday (9/19) and I'll announce the winner Monday (9/20) morning.

Now head on over and check her out!  And in case you need any help, here are some of my favorites...

Happy shopping!

21 weeks!

My baby girl is growing!  She's now the size of a banana!  And like a lot of the other fruit references....I indeed have a banana in my lunch today.  Yum!

This week has been a little difficult emotionally on me.  My Labor Day weekend was not super relaxing and it left me feeling a little stressed.  I got sick twice on Tuesday...once at work (ick)...and have just been feeling a little off.  I haven't been able to feel the baby move yet, and I'm really down about it.  I know everyone is different and it's not to the point where it's abnormal I haven't felt anything yet...but it's hard.  I feel like we're missing out on a huge milestone and building a stronger connection to our sweet girl. 

And the worst part, I've convinced myself it is because I was not the skinniest girl on the planet before I conceived.  So now I picture my sweet, innocent baby surrounded by all my fat, trying so hard to move around, but suffocating in the process.  I know.  I'm being dramatic.  And Matt may've laughed when I told him this.  So clearly I'm ridiculous.  But I can't help feeling like it's somehow my fault.

Anyhow, let's move onto happier thoughts, shall we?

How Far Along:  21 weeks! 

Maternity Clothes:  Boy do I need some more shirts.  I'm having trouble fitting into my T-shirts.  Not cool.

Sleep:  I have now developed intense hip pain during the night.  I feel like an elderly person.  I sleep with a pillow between my knees...but I think by the end of the night it has flattened so much it begins to bother my hips.  And it's the kind of pain that wakes you up.  Ouch!  Suggestions?

Food:   Clearly food it not an issue for me.

Best Moment of the Week:  Hm.  Is it sad that I can't think of anything?

What I'm Looking Forward to:   This month is insane.  With Junior League starting up, buying a house, our anniversary, and more doctor's appointments coming up....I'm really just looking forward to October.

Gender Reveal!

I think you've all been patient with me long enough.

To announce the news of our beautiful baby's gender, I purchased these cards from Kathy at Elona Creations.  She changed up the design a bit for me and was incredibly fast and easy to work with.  I will definitely be using her again for my stationery needs, and you should too!  

Seriously.  Check her out.  She's a delight!

Now, let's get to it...shall we?

My family and friends back home received these on Friday!

So happy I can finally talk about our little baby GIRL!

We could not be more excited to be having a sweet little baby girl :)  Luckily I married a man who can pull off pink like no one else I know.  She'll fit in just perfectly!

Halfway! Whoa! You Got Me Halfway!

The fact that I am halfway through this pregnancy boggles my mind.  I mean, I feel like it was just yesterday I was throwing up every.single.day and now all of a sudden there is a little person jumping around inside me that I could not love more if I tried.
 
How Far Along:  20 weeks!  Holy cow...my baby is a cantaloupe!  I really am enjoying my second trimester.  I haven't gotten sick in a good two weeks and my energy levels are definitely higher than they were at the beginning of this journey.  I won't be running any marathons, but hey, I can pack a few boxes.  And that's where I'm needed.  (And let's be honest...I couldn't run a marathon before I got knocked up.)

Maternity Clothes:  Still rocking both!

Sleep:  Okay.  I wake up quite frequently to move around...but overall it's a-okay.

Food:   I've been able to go back to my usual snacks of Fiber One Bars and yogurt!  Nothing I can think of really makes me icky anymore...which is such a blessing.

Best Moment of the Week:  I think the treats we sent out to our families regarding the sex of our little one should be arriving TODAY!  So I'm looking forward to the phone calls that will inevitably follow.

What I'm Looking Forward to:   My in-laws are coming up today for a visit and to help us finish up some packing.  They seriously are the loveliest people on earth.  I'm super excited to share in the excitement of our little one and to enjoy some time together. 

And as a little catch up...I have included both week 19 and week 20 belly pics...

Please forgive my stupid smile.  I was laughing mid pic...ick.

September = Month of Many

Can you even begin to believe it is already September?  August flew by in a flash!  But I am so excited for this month...as we have a million wonderful things going on!

• Ah Labor Day Weekend.  Oh how I relish in your Mondays off.  Matt's parents are coming up on Friday and we are so excited to see them!  The last time they were here I wasn't even showing yet...so they're in for a big surprise :)  We're going to spend some time packing up the house and hopefully more time enjoying each others company.

• I have no idea what this is about....but Matt volunteered us to go with his boss on some sort of train ride the following weekend?  Again, no idea.  But perhaps it will be fun?  I am a little disheartened about not being able to enjoy the "cocktail hour" but I digress.

• Two Junior League meetings.  This isn't the most fun, but I think my group this year will actually be doing some really neat activities, so I'm trying my best to be open minded this go round.

• Our 3rd anniversary!  We won't be taking a trip this year as we are in saving mode for our little one and the little thing of buying a house...but I'm sure whatever we plan will be special and lovely.  I just can't believe we've already been married 3 years.  What a magical time it has been!

• Another ultrasound with our sweet little one...

• AND...we're MOVING! 

We officially get the keys to our very own house on the 29th!  I could not be more thrilled to finally have a home to call our own.  And to start getting to work on our baby's room!