LIFE AS WE KNOW IT

Months Six and Seven

2011-12-31T07:41:00.000-06:00

I feel like an awful Mama waiting until Jax is seven months old to do his sixth month update! I really want to try to get better with the timing of these. But I think I've said that every month so far and it hasn't happened yet, so we'll see.

(I actually started this post a while back but am behind on his pictures so have been holding off on posting it. Jax is now approaching eight months and is doing far more than what I cover in this post but I want to remember each stage, so I'm keeping it as is.)

Jaxon,

You are such a good natured baby. You love to smile and sometimes when you do, it's like your whole body lights up - like you're so happy you just don't know what to do with yourself. Your Mimi says, "the happiness just gets all over you." And of course when that happens, it makes the happiness get all over us too.

Even when you're upset, you try not to fuss too much. You start out with a little wimper or other indication that something's not quite right for you and give us a chance to help you with whatever it is you need. However, if we take too long for your liking, you let us have it! It's like you have a long fuse but once the end is reached, we better watch out! I'm very much the same way, so you come by that characteristic honestly. (Your daddy has the patience of a saint, which is one of my very favorite things about him.)

I say this every update, but it's so much fun to watch you learn and grow! You now have no problem getting wherever you want to go. You sit up by yourself with very rare tip-overs. The first time we really noticed you sitting for a length of time by yourself was October 29th (you were about a week and a half away from being six months). Now you go from sitting to crawling position and back, and you have your "army crawl" down to a science.

Daddy says you're crawling but I won't admit that you are until you get the whole hand/knee coordination down. At this point, you get on your hands and knees and rock, like you know this is supposed to get you moving somehow but you haven't quite figured out the logistics of it yet. After rocking for a bit, you usually flop down onto your stomach and drag yourself around at startling speeds using your forearms.

Your attention span varies, depending on what you're doing. You love to play with empty boxes (cheez-its, granola bars, whatever), beating on them and flinging them around (though we take them away once you go to put them in your mouth). Those keep your attention for a while. But if you're sitting on your activity mat with different toys, it's like you're thinking, "BASEBALL!!! Rattle rattle soft yum SOPHIE!! Squeaky chewy nom nom nom ROLLY BALL!!! Lights music tags ELECTRICAL CORD, REMOTE, DVDS!!! **Siiiigh** here comes mama, moving me again."

When you were five months old, Dr. Wood said we could start you on a little bit of rice cereal twice a day. You took to eating solid food like a champ! At six months, you started eating vegetables. You've had a few different kinds and you haven't refused any yet. Since you were born, you haven't been too picky about what we feed you, as long as you get fed when you're ready to eat!

I can't believe how quickly you're growing. I also can't believe how my love for you continues to grow right along with you! I'm am forever in awe of the blessing and joy that you are. If I could've picked a baby out of all the little babies in the world, I would've picked you. God knew exactly what He was doing when he made you, your Daddy and me for each other. The three of us are such an awesome team and I'm so thankful to be part of it!

I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

To Santa Or Not To Santa?

2011-12-20T16:08:00.000-06:00

JD and I have been discussing a certain issue recently. Basically, whether or not to "do Santa" with Jaxon. I personally have no use for Santa. Shocking, I know! A few reasons:

1) I never believed in Santa growing up, and still ADORE everything about Christmas. Not having Santa didn't change my feelings about (or enjoyment of) Christmas one bit.

2) I work hard and long for the money I make that's used to buy things for Jax. I don't want some fat fake guy and his funny-looking fake little people getting the credit for MY awesome present-giving skills!

3) This one's my main reason. If we decide to tell Jaxon there is a Santa, I'm going to have a really hard time repeatedly telling him something that I know is just setting him up for a disappointment later. I've heard people argue that it's not lying to your children, but can someone please explain to me HOW it's not lying? You're basically tricking them into believing, loving, and trusting in something that's not true! I heard of one family a co-worker knows whose child, when she found out about Santa, said something along the lines of, "Well if you've been lying to me about Santa, how do I know you're not lying to me about Jesus?" I just don't know if I can in good conscience take that risk with my children. Even if it's something that can eventually be explained, I don't want to be responsible for planting even a seed of doubt in their little heads about God.

So. Having gone off on that rant (and ducking from the tomatoes that I'm sure are being thrown), I'm asking for your input. Did you believe in Santa growing up (probably, because I realize I'm in the minority, having not believed in him)? Were you upset when you realized he's not real? Do you honestly believe that Santa had any kind of major impact on your Christmas experience? And am I a bad Mama to not really want to "do Santa" with my children?

I'd love to hear your thoughts! (And I hope we're still friends after I said I don't give a flip about the big jolly fat man.)

(Picture is the first one I found on Google. Sorry, that's the only credit I have time for at the moment.)

Salmon Cove

2011-12-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I have a new (to me, anyway) product line to share with you! I was excited to hear from one of the owners of Salmon Cove, Owen.

When he offered to send me one of their products to try out, I was even more excited.

Owen described Salmon Cove as a "classic apparel line," and I found that the website calls it a, "fun, distinctive, confidence-inspiring clothing brand that (will) stand the test of time." I continued reading about the brand and was particularly persuaded by the lines, "Like salmon that swim against the current to return to where they were born, Salmon Cove was founded on the idea that you can go home again. We make clothes to help you enjoy the journey, regardless of the current you are swimming against." Rather inspirational, no?

And with that, I was off to choose which product I wanted to try.

I initially planned to try this Long Sleeve Cove Collar shirt. Most of their collar shirts have contrasting trim on the inside of the collar. Super cute. So I headed over to the sizing chart to figure out what size I needed. Let's be honest, I'm completely re-learning my body and the sizes it needs post-baby. I realized that according to the chart, I was on the edge of two sizes and couldn't decide which to go with. Thankfully, I saw that there were customer testimonials that were available for, "customer insight on our sizing/fit." Except when I clicked the link, it brought me back to the product page. Not helpful. I pointed this out in a later email to Owen and he thanked me for the feedback on the sizing charts and said they would "take a look and refine them today." That was on October 31st and changes had not been made when I checked the site earlier today.

Since I wasn't sure which size to go with, I chose to review one of their canvas totes because, really, can a girl ever have enough totes?

Here's the website description:

"Our durable canvas totes comes in four different color options. Featuring a zip-close top, pockets and detachable Salmon Cove keychain. Dimensions: 12"H x 16" W x 5"D."

I guess I should have paid more attention to the description because I was surprised by the small size of the bag when I received it. Overall, the tote is nice. I like that it zips closed because I don't have to worry about items slipping out, and I like that it comes with a matching keychain. That part is really cute.

Having said that, I wouldn't pay $49 for it. That's a pretty good little chunk of change for me and when I spend that much, I want it to be on something that I love. One thing that bugs me is that random (thick) strings keep coming off on the inside. It hasn't seemed to affect the fabric or seams of the tote but it's kind of annoying to have to finish pulling the strings that come loose.

This won't keep me from using the tote (unless it eventually causes holes or weakness in the seams) but I was hoping for a better quality for the price.

I kind of wish now that I'd had the chance to review one of their shirts because I like to think I would have been more impressed with those.

If you're interested in checking out the company for yourself, you can use the code "xoxoamber" for 15% off. Or, if the total comes out better, I saw on Twitter that you can use the code "Holiday2011" for $20 off your purchase!

In other news, Jaxon turns seven months today and I never did his month six update! I do have pictures from month six so I'll just come back soon to combine the month six and seven updates in one post. Mom fail!

Note: The pictures are from the Salmon Cove website and as I mentioned, I was given a tote for my review.

Exciting News

2011-11-27T08:28:00.000-06:00

I'm beyond excited to tell y'all about my latest venture. I recently decided to become a Scentsy consultant! Although I've heard a lot of buzz about the company recently, some of you might still be unfamiliar with it so I'll tell you a little about it.

I first discovered Scentsy products when I was looking for something to help keep Jaxon's nursery fresh. I didn't feel safe burning candles around him and was really excited to learn about Scentsy's flameless, wickless candles. Beautiful warmers use a low-watt lightbulb to melt scented wax and release the fragrance. If Jaxon somehow ever got his hands on these products, he wouldn't be burned - or burn the house down! The fact that the scents are so divine was just icing on the cake for me.

This one will probably be the next warmer I get. I love the idea of adding one of our pictures to it!

Source: amberdragg.scentsy.us via Amber on Pinterest

This warmer is my favorite one from the Holiday Collection. So cute!

Source: amberdragg.scentsy.us via Amber on Pinterest

This one's an example of a plug-in warmer for smaller spaces or areas that don't have a lot of counter space.

Source: amberdragg.scentsy.us via Amber on Pinterest

One of my favorite things about the Scentsy line is that the prices are so affordable. A scent bar lasts between 60-80 hours (depending on the scent) and only costs $5. A fun fact is that a bar can outlast a jarred candle that's more than 3 times its size!

Source: amberdragg.scentsy.us via Amber on Pinterest

In addition to the warmer and wax systems, Scentsy offers room sprays, anti-bacterial hand foam, travel tins, and more. One of my favorite products is the Scentsy Buddy, which is a collection of super cute stuffed animals that contain scent paks. I think this is a fabulous gift idea for a baby shower or child's birthday party! Each buddy comes with a registration number that can be used on a website to print an adoption certificate, play games and learn more about the Buddies.

Source: amberdragg.scentsy.us via Amber on Pinterest

These products are perfect for offices and classrooms since candles usually aren't allowed. JD has already put in a request for me to order a warmer for him to keep in the baseball locker room. He loves these products too, and it's the first time he's shown any kind of interest in a fragrance product that I've used in our home. And this was before I signed up to become a consultant! The fact that he seemed to love Scentsy as much as I do was one thing that helped me make the decision to be a part of this company.

If you're looking for gift or stocking stuffer ideas for the holidays, let me know and I'll help you come up with some ideas. There are options in just about any price range!

Have a look around my website and while you're there, sign up for my monthly newsletter. It will include promotions and announcements like exciting new products when they come out. The good thing is it's only sent once a month, so it won't clutter up your inbox.

If you make a purchase by December 9th through "Launch Party Open House," which you'll see on my homepage, I'll enter your name into a drawing for a door prize!

Let me know if you're interested in hosting a party or joining my team as a Scentsy consultant. One fabulous option for hosting Scentsy parties is what's called a basket party. You simply take a basket filled with mini-testers and some of our other small products around with you wherever you go for about a week or so. Show the products to your friends and family and take orders as you go. You earn the same hostess rewards as a home party without having to clean your house or buy and prepare food!

These products are so much fun to share with friends and family and I'd love to answer any questions you have about them! Have a look at some of the products and let me know what you think!

Family Pictures

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited to share these pictures with y'all! I had planned on waiting until after I sent out our Christmas cards but our photographer posted most of these on facebook the day she took them so it's kind of pointless to wait now. Which is fine - some of you will just see them on facebook and here and when you get our Christmas card. We really like them, what can I say? :-)

The best part about these is that they were FREE! Ok, not completely free because I did buy our photographer a gift card, but she didn't charge us. How amazing is that?? She's actually not a "professional" yet. Which -btw- what constitues a professional photographer anyway? I've always wondered that. I saw some of her work on facebook and asked if she'd be interested in taking our pictures for us. I'm not sure who ended up more excited about the whole thing, her or us!

I don't really care if she's professional or not, I love how our pictures turned out. We had intended for them to be Jaxon's six month pictures and JD and I were going to get in a few shots to put on our Christmas card. Although we did end up with a few of just Jax, they turned out to be more family pictures than six month pictures. Either way, I'll always cherish them because they were our first professional ones (except not) as a family!

Sorry for the overload, I apparently have a hard time narrowing down what pictures I want to share

(helloooo my last Weekend Fun post with a gazillionty billion shots)!

Um, that face. Love it.

(Maybe just because I'm his mama but I don't care. I love it.)

That smile gets me every. single. time.

He sweetly tolerated all of the kissing for a bit.

But then decided he'd had enough. He usually LOVES him some kisses so we were surprised to get this reaction from him but they made for some pretty fun pictures! :-)

I'm so glad she captured these moments.

I keep looking at myself and JD in this picture and thinking, "Oh this is a good one." And then I notice Jaxon's face and crack up.

Seriously baby boy, you need to slow down. Such a little man already!

This was the last picture she took of the day. He got a bit fussy once or twice but, overall, was such a good sport about the pictures!

I mentioned this before but if you'd like a card from us and aren't sure if we have you on our list, email me at Ber611 at aol dot com. I'd love to exchange cards with anyone who's interested!

Stella & Dot

2011-11-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm SO excited to tell y'all about a fun show I'm hosting! I wish I could have you all over to my house so we could nosh on some yummies and ogle the goods in person but since we're all so spread out, I decided to do an online-only version. I guess we'll just have to be satisfied with partying together virtually for now!

You've probably all heard of Stella & Dot. It seems to be all over the place these days. Believe it or not, I've never been to an actual Stella & Dot party but my supervisor wears their pieces frequently and I'm always coveting them. The line offers boutique-style jewelry and accessories and their wide selection offers something for literally everyone! There are both classic and trendy styles, and standout statement pieces as well as more simple everyday ones.

Here are a few pieces I can see myself wearing often.

And these are some of my dream statement necklaces. **swoon**

Someone please buy these fabulous pieces and wear them to a fabulous holiday party so I can live vicariously through you!

And speaking of parties, here are some arm parties that I'd love to attend!

In addition to jewelry, Stella & Dot also sells handbags, jewelry rolls and iPhone cases! Next time I upgrade my phone, you can be sure it'll be clad in this bright cheery number.

One thing that's great about Stella & Dot is that 50% of their jewelry is $50 or less! And if you're like me and love sales, this month's Trunk Show Treasure is 25% off of three necklaces: the Chloe, the Claire and this pretty Olivia Necklace (which is now under $30!), so be sure to check those out!

Have fun browsing! Oh and keep in mind that the holidays are right around the corner and a little something pretty from this line would make a perfect gift!

As an added bit of fun, I'm giving away a $25 gift card of your choice (Target, Starbucks, etc.) to one person who makes a purchase through my show. Because a party's not complete without some type of door prize, right?

Click here to browse. Once you add items to your cart and head to the checkout page, you can find my name in the Hostess drop down box or just type it in

(Amber Dragg).

My party will last until November 27th and I'll pick the gift card winner after it closes. Please email me at Ber611 at aol dot com or come leave me a comment with your email address after you make a purchase, so I'll have a way of contacting you if you win. And while you're doing that, I'd LOVE to hear what you got. I'm trying to decide what I'll be buying and having a really hard time narrowing it down!

Happy shopping and let me know if you have any questions about the process!

Weekend Fun

2011-11-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

Yep, I'm doing a weekend post on Wednesday! At least I'm consistent around here- even if it is consistently late.

We'd decided not to dress Jaxon up for Halloween this year for a few different reasons, the main one being that we didn't see much point. Another one being that I honestly don't give a hoot about Halloween and never have.

But then we received an invitation to a Halloween themed birthday party and the kids were asked to dress up. And I am SO glad that happened. Because then this happened.

Is that not one of the funniest costumes you've ever seen? It's just so completely random, it cracks me up. I mean really, a tree frog? I love it.

{"Mom. I look like an idiot."}

{Lordy, I hope all these people aren't looking at me in this thing."}

{"They ARE looking at me, aren't they??"}

{"Now who are YOU lookin' at?"}

{"Oh all right. Maybe it's not so bad!"}

My bestie and her little fam were at the party too. I always love seeing her baby Ali. I can't believe she's four weeks already! Pretty little thing.

Jax and Daddy had a blast in the bouncy!

He loved it!

Sunday was a super busy day. We "drove to town" an hour away to take our family pictures at 8:00. When we were done with those (which I'll hopefully be able to share on here soon, once our photographer is finished editing them), we stopped for breakfast and went to church. After church, we did a Craigslist meet-up to buy a back-up stroller for my parents' house and just when JD thought we were heading home, I told him I really wanted to get pictures of Jaxon at a pumpkin patch this year. He was not too excited about it, but was a good sport and humored me. I even made him stop for some groceries on the way home and he still didn't complain-- too much :-)

{"Really with the pictures again?"}

{"Ok fine. Here's a little grin. You happy?"}

{"Uh, what is this warty old thing you have me sitting next to?"}

{"Lemme check out this one over here and see what it's all about."}

{"Ooooh. Kinda cool!"}

{"Ok, really. Are we done now?"}

We were pooped after that whirlwind weekend but we made so many fun memories together. JD and I just get more and more excited as we're able to do more things with Jaxon. The smallest things turn into the "funnest" adventures when you have a baby along for the ride!

We've entered a really busy few weeks so my posting will probably continue to be sporadic for now. I wish it didn't have to be that way and I really appreciate those of you who stick around and continue to read my ramblings!

Loving Lately: October

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy November, y'all! That means it's already time for my October favorites, so here we go!

1. My new Levi's jeans

Let me just say that I'd like to go back and slap my pre-pregnancy self for ever complaining about clothes shopping. If I thought it was tough before a baby, I had no idea what tough meant. I panicked when I realized I didn't have any nice jeans that still fit to wear for our family pictures. After trying on what seemed like hundreds of pairs of jeans (at different price points), my favorite pair --possibly of all time-- ended up being one that I got on sale at Dillard's for under $20! They're ultra low-rise flare in stretch denim (be still my heart) and they're SO comfortable. These aren't the exact ones but are similar, except mine are more flared and longer on me.

2. My newest Coach baby

This was my birthday gift from JD earlier this year and although I've had it for a few months, I just keep loving it more and more. It's the perfect size to hold random baby items when I need to throw some in, and it goes with literally everything. I can't say enough good things about it. I just wish I could've found a better image of it online because this one turned out a bit blurry when I tried to make it bigger, and it's really so pretty in person.

3. My Marley Lilly monogrammed cup

This has become my official "Monday cup" to drink my Starbucks Iced Via (which I mentioned in a previous monthly favorites post). It's a literal bright spot in my otherwise dreary Mondays.

4. A cute reminder of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This little guy has been sitting on my desk this month and I love him. I keep meaning to bring him home to Jaxon (real men like pink!) but I keep forgetting, and I kind of don't mind because he serves as a little pick-me-up at work. (I just realized that he's pink and a reminder of breasts, yet I think of him as a boy duck. Weird.)

And that's all I have for this month but I'd love to hear what some of your favorites have been!

It's That Time Again

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure I used the same title when I blogged about Shutterfly cards last year, but it still works so I'm sticking with it. And yes I realize today is Halloween but honestly, I get way more pumped about Christmas. Also, we took our family pictures yesterday and the ones that I've seen so far have me more than ready to create our Christmas card!

I'm sure we all know by now how amazing Shutterfly is but on the off chance that you don't, I'll share a story that might help convince you. I received a promo code for a free photo book from them when I was pregnant, and used it to make a book of Jaxon's newborn pictures. I was ecstatic when it arrived but was disappointed to find that the cover was a little messed up. If it wasn't Jaxon's newborn album, I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought but since it was, I wanted it to be absolutely perfect. I called Shutterfly's customer service and explained the situation, and the nice representative quickly said they'd send me another one at no charge. It arrived a few days later in perfect condition. So basically, I got two photo books for the price of shipping one of them! We gave the original book to my parents, who don't give a flip about the cover and are just crazy about the book. So it was a happy ending for all, and now I'm an even more loyal customer than I was before!

Anyway, all that to say, "Use them, they're great!" Whether you need Christmas cards, greeting cards or photo mugs -- you know your grandma loves them ;-) -- they've got you covered.

If we exchange cards, you might just find one of these in your mailbox!

If you'd like to exchange cards this year, email me at Ber611 at aol dot com with your info! If we've exchanged them in the past, I probably still have you on my list but there are no guarantees :-)

______________________________________________________

Note: I received a promo for 25 free cards for writing this post but I really do love Shutterfly! If you're a blogger and want to participate in this promotion I think they're still offering it. Check this link.

I noticed some other bloggers are having Shutterfly giveaways and I wish I had one to offer you, but I wasn't given that option. Sorry!

My Fairy Tale: Pre-Wedding

2011-10-29T08:52:00.001-05:00

I just remembered that before I had Jaxon, I started a mini-series of posts about our wedding since I hadn't shared it yet on the blog. I got through our engagement pictures and story and my bridal pictures. Then the bug came along a week later, and the wedding series was quickly forgotten.

I do still want to finish it and I think I'll break the wedding into three posts: getting ready / wedding party pictures, the ceremony, and the reception.

So here are a few pictures from the pre-ceremony part of the day!

My dress ready and waiting:

Touching up my makeup:

Getting into my dress:

My bouquet:

Each of my girls' bouquets had a pin with their initial:

Peeking at the boys while they took their pictures:

Me and my girls:

Me and my flower girls:

My handsome husband and his boys:

Seeing each other for the first time that day- we decided to do it before the ceremony:

Just being with JD helped to calm some of my nervousness:

My amazing parents:

And my amazing in-laws:

And there you have it! Hopefully it won't be months until I get to the ceremony! :-)

Month Five

2011-10-23T14:25:00.000-05:00

This post is LATE YET AGAIN! Yes, I'm shouting. Because I'm so frustrated with myself that I can't get these things done on time. My baby is quickly approaching six months now. BUT better late than never, I suppose.

Jaxon,

Your fifth month was the most fun yet. Do I say that every month? I feel like I might. But it's true. You just keep getting more and more amazing. You're basically the most fascinating thing I've ever witnessed in my life. You constantly surprise your dad and me, and your grandparents have told us they feel the same way. We never know what you're gonna come up with next and we love it!

I'll keep the wordiness to a minimum because I *might* have gone a little overboard last month. I'll mostly just share some pictures.

This is pretty tpical of you lately. Your mission in life seems to be to grab anything within reach and get it in your mouth ASAP!

"Do we have to do this NOW, Mama? I'm sleepy."

We tried to take some more pictures in the living room but you got distracted by Muffin and wouldn't pay any attention to Mama.

So we went outside where you showed me how you can (kind of) sit up on your own!

Here you are on your actual 5 month birthday, with your beloved Sophie.

You're such a silly little thing and we love it!

"HEY YOU, you wanna see my big clunky orthopedic shoe?"

You're easily the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Thank you for being the light of my life and my literal dream come true.

I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

P.S. I want you to know

that the nights of dancing you to sleep

in the darkness of your room

will forever be
some of my happiest memories.

Family Fun

2011-10-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I'm just now sharing this because it meant SO much to me, but my brother Chase and his beautiful wife Katie came to visit us at the beginning of September!

Chase and I haven't seen each other very much in recent years (see this post for some back story if you're interested), so this visit was ridiculously exciting.

Friday night, we went to dinner with the two of them and my parents (Chase and I have the same dad but not the same mom). We decided to chance it and go to a nicer (read: less baby-friendly) restaurant because the food is so good and we wanted them to have a chance to try it. Jaxon cooperated (for the most part) and we had a wonderful dinner, including some delicious blackened alligator (yep, we actually eat gator where I'm from)!

We stayed up late chatting and woke up with plans to grill outside for lunch, until we were greeted with buckets of rain pouring down. We ended up just having a really relaxed, laid-back day (I didn't even get dressed until about 12:00!). We talked and laughed and just enjoyed spending time together.

Next time they visit -or when we visit them- we might plan something that involves actually leaving the house, but I wouldn't have changed anything about this first visit. It was perfect just the way it was. Chase and Katie are such a beautiful, warm, fun couple and we're looking forward to spending as much time with them as possible in the future! I'm so blessed to be reconnected with my wonderful brother and to gain such an awesome sister in the deal is a huge bonus! We love them so much!

Loving Lately: September

2011-10-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

It's already time for the next installment of things I'm loving lately! Have I said before how quickly time is flying?? Yes? Well regardless, here are some of my recent favorites, in no particular order.

Having beignets with friends I haven't seen in way too long

It's always so wonderful to catch up. I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture with them but Erin did snap this one of me and Jaxon. And I'm glad she did, because those sunglasses were stolen out of my husband's car this weekend. This is the only picture I'll have to remember them by, since I just had them for a few months.

Rest in peace, my little pretties.

Visiting the downtown farmer's market

I do, however, use the term "farmer's market" very loosely. I read about it on a local website and got myself all pumped up. The write-up promised 20 booths of locally-grown produce, fresh baked pastries and jewelry, among other goods. I drug my boys out bright and early, and we arrived to find 3 stalls. THREE! One was full of bows and other girlie baby items, another had grandma-looking jewelry (no offense, Grandma!) and the last had candles. I bought from 2 of the vendors just because we were one of the only families out there and it would have been super awkward not to.

However, it was nice to just get out and do something as a family. We walked around downtown until it got too hot and even got this fun picture to remember the day. Too bad we weren't actually in it.

Oh and funny story about the sign... a week after we took this picture, someone made "hot" into "ho." Surely I'm not the only one who finds this utterly amusing? :-)

Eating dinner outside at a yummy local Mexican place

Jaxon loooves being outside and is often an angel baby when we take him out, especially if we're outside for part of the time. This place we go to has a big fountain / waterfall thing that we sit by and he is just a happy little camper listening to the water and taking in his surroundings. JD and I are so thankful to still be able to enjoy fun dinners together even with a baby in tow. I was certain those days would be over once the bug arrived!

This yummy Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

Source: justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com via Amber on Pinterest

I. Love. Pinterest. For many reasons. This recipe alone is a good one. JD and I had fun working on it together. He cooked the meat part (I haaaate raw meat. Completely ooogs me out. Ew.) while I mixed up the rest of the ingredients with Jaxon in his sling. Super easy.

It was so good, I was disappointed when there were only enough leftovers for us to have it again for lunch the next day. We will be making it again very soon. (Oh and side note: we left out the lettuce and tomatoes... you know, the healthy part? Yeah, we didn't add the healthy part.)

So that about wraps up my recent faves. I'm sure we'll blink and then I'll be back with my October ones!

Welcome, Baby Girl

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

If we're friends on Twitter you might have heard this news, but it's definitely worthy of being mentioned here as well. After what felt like years of waiting, my best friend finally had her baby! She was completely sure that she was having a boy but I've been telling her since the beginning that I thought it was a girl.

Over a week after her due date (which, of course, is more of a "guess date" anyway), Miss Ali Marie arrived at 7:36 p.m. on October 1st! :-) She weighed 7 pounds, 5.5 ounces and was 20.75 inches long. She's absolutely perfect. I couldn't believe how tiny and fragile she seemed. I don't know if I just don't remember Jaxon being that small or if the 2 pounds he had on her really made that big of a difference, but goodness! I felt like I might smoosh her if I wasn't careful.

Look how she's holding her sweet little hands! Cher bebe!

Already representing the Saints like a good little Louisiana girl should! And already crossing those legs! A little lady for sure.

(BTW, her bow and onesie were gifted by yours truly. I'm thrilled that she's already able to use them!)

Our little family went to meet her yesterday and it was love at first sight. I'm going to have to restrain myself from arranging a marriage between her and Jaxon because really, that would be just a little bit too perfect, don't you think?

Month Four

2011-09-25T13:46:00.000-05:00

It's that time again! Or, actually, two weeks past that time. The bug had his 4 month birthday on September 10th and of course I'm just now getting around to posting his update.

Jaxon,

This month we've kind of settled into more of a routine. This was my first full month back at work and your first full month with your grandparents. Mimi and Papa keep you about 2/3 of the time and Gugu and Pop keep you the other 1/3. I want you to know how blessed you are that both sets of your grandparents are willing to do this. A lot of people (me included) don't get to know or have a good relationship with all of their grandparents, so I never want you to take the time you have with them for granted. They each have so much they can teach you and they love you so so much.

At your 4 month doctor visit you weighed 17 pounds, 13.5 ounces and you were 25 inches long. So, you grew an inch this last month but only gained about 10 ounces. You're definitely losing that little potbelly but you're still in the 95th percentile for weight. Dr. Wood said you're very muscular for a baby and he knew your daddy would be happy to hear that, which he was! We've been amazed by your strength since you were born. You were holding your head up and looking around the first day we met you! Daddy and I like to think you'll be an athlete like he is, but of course we'll let you pursue whatever interests you have even if they don't include sports. (And Mama would really appreciate it if you didn't particularly want to play football. That would make me sooo nervous.)

We were able to get you out of your first pair of orthopedic shoes this month. I was so ready to get them off of you, I had a countdown going in our kitchen! What I didn't know was that the second pair of shoes we have to put you in are just as ugly or uglier than the first! The good news about them is that you don't have to wear them 24 hours a day. We have a little more flexibility with them so if we ever have a special event, Daddy and I just leave them off. You'll probably need to be in these for a couple of months and I'll probably start my countdown for them soon! When you have your shoes off, you looove your feet. It's like they were a hidden treasure that you're just now able to discover and enjoy, and you're just the cutest thing when you're playing with them.

Here's one last picture of you in your first pair of "special shoes."

This month you've seemed to grow by leaps and bounds, and when I say that I don't mean physically. You don't miss a thing. You're constantly observing your surroundings. It's so fun to just watch the look of wonder on your little face as you take everything in.

You're super interested in whatever we're doing when we're holding you. You reach your cute little dimpled hand out to feel anything else we happen to have in our hands, and you definitely know what your bottles look like. You've all but jumped out of our arms to get to them before! And speaking of bottles, you've been able to hold them by yourself for quite a while now but I always forget to mention that. It makes me a little sad because you're just growing up so fast already! I feel like before long, you won't even need me anymore! But at the same time I'm so proud of how smart you are and love watching you learn and grow.

During tummy time, you've started rolling over both ways! I made quite the fool of myself shouting and dancing and running for the video camera the first day you did this! Daddy just laughed and shook his head at me but of course he was super pround of you too. And from the look on your face you seem pretty proud of yourself!

Everything goes into your mouth these days and you're drooling more than ever! You've definitely been teething for a while but we're not sure when you'll actually pop your first tooth out. In the meantime, we just make sure we have a burp cloth nearby to wipe your face lots!

You "talk" more than ever now. You have the sweetest little voice and you love to hear it as much as Daddy and I do! You'll talk to anyone who will listen and many times, just to yourself. If you're playing with your toys or your feet and we've stepped out of the room, we can still hear you going to town, having the best conversation with yourself. It's such a joy to hear and always makes us smile. If I had to guess, you'll probably be a very talkative guy.

I don't think I've mentioned this but you've been sleeping through the night since you were about 10 weeks old and we're VERY appreciative of this. Your first couple of months, you slept in a pack-and-play in Mama and Daddy's room. It had a little newborn sleeper in it that kept you nice and snug. Around 10 weeks, we had two big transitions for you. We moved you to your crib and we had to switch you to formula because of an allergy you have. We're not sure which change caused you to sleep through the night. Or maybe it was both. Either way, we're SO happy for it. Most nights you go to sleep between 8:30 and 9:00. During the week, we have to wake you up at 5:00 in the morning because of our work schedules. Daddy does a wonderful job getting you ready for the day while I get myself ready! On weekends, you sleep until about 6:00 or 6:30.

You get bored easily and don't like to be in one place for very long. You usually don't spend more than about 15 minutes at a time in your Bumbo or jumper, or on your activity mat. We think this means you'll be a very active little boy, curious and into everything. We're sure you're gonna keep us on our toes! And you love interacting with people. If you're by yourself and start to fuss, you often start smiling as soon as someone walks over to talk to you.

All of this means that unless you happen to be sleeping, you HATE being in your carseat. I have an hour (or more, depending on traffic) commute to work and while you sleep most mornings, most afternoon rides home are torture for both of us. You scream and scream to get out of the carseat and my mama heart breaks when you're screaming and there's nothing I can do to help you. Mimi plans to start coming to watch you at our house one day a week, to give you and me more of a break from those awful car rides.

We're almost certain that your eyes will be brown- probably a darker brown like Daddy's than a greenish/hazely brown like mine. We've been curious for quite a while about your eye color so it's fun to finally think we know what color they'll be!

As you know, your Daddy and I love you more every day and can barely remember what our life was like without your happy little self in it. You're my dream come true and I am beyond thankful for you.

I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

New Look and Giveaway Winner

2011-09-21T07:00:00.008-05:00

Hi, loves! What do y'all think about the freshened up look around here? No major changes but I was getting tired of the blue background, so I had it switched to white and it feels like a breath of fresh air to me!

I've been meaning to mention something for a while. I've received some super sweet comments lately that I would love to respond to, but the comments / profiles aren't linked to an email address or blog. I do see and appreciate every comment I receive, but I'd love to be able to contact everyone who communicates with me through my blog!

If you don't want to link an email to your profile, please leave an email address in your comments if you want me to be able to respond. Thanks much! :-)

In other news: as I kind of suspected might happen, we did not win our little modeling contest. We did come in second in Jaxon's age group (winners were chosen from each age group). Only problem with that was, our 41 votes came in behind a little bowtie-wearing boy who received 291 votes! So yeah, not even close.

Jaxon was absolutely thrilled when I told him how many votes he received.

But he was a little stunned when he heard how many the other guy got. I don't blame him, I felt the same way.

But on to the happier news of who won the drawing for the $20 gift card! I used my typical outdated method of throwing everyone's names in a bowl (twice if you voted on both pages), then having my husband close his eyes and draw one. You'll just have to trust me that we didn't cheat. Cause we didn't. Promise.

And the winner is...

(drumroll, please, and all that jazz)...

Kindra S!

Congrats, Kindra! Let me know what store or website you would like a gift card to. Thank you so much to everyone who voted / entered. We feel very loved and are super appreciative of the support!

Now I'd just like to know how in the heck those crazy parents managed to drum up 291 votes.

A Year Ago Today

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

A year ago yesterday, I had no idea how my life was about to change. I had been diagnosed with PCOS three months earlier, and was told there was a chance that JD and I might never be able to have children of our own. We had decided to stop doing anything to prevent me from getting pregnant, because we didn't want to put any more restrictions on our situation than my body was already putting.

When I was diagnosed, we decided that if I didn't get pregnant in the next six months, we would try clomid, a fertility drug. I was willing to take pills but not willing to do anything more invasive, like shots. And we had pretty much decided against adoption, though we didn't completely rule out the possibility. We decided that if I couldn't get pregnant with minimal effort, then we would do everything we could to live a full life, just the two of us. And our pets.

Little did we know that two short months after my diagnosis, I would be pregnant. I had a check-up with my doctor on a Thursday in September to adjust some medication that I take for insulin resistance (caused by the PCOS). I showed my doctor the temperature chart I had been keeping for the previous few weeks. I was just trying to get a feel for how the charting would work, and was eager to show him how I'd been doing with it.

He gave it a cursory glance, handed it back to me and said, "If you don't start your period by Monday, take a pregnancy test and call me with the results. Looks to me like you could be pregnant." I literally laughed in his face. I told him he was silly and that there was no way I was letting him get my hopes up like that. He shrugged and said, "Ok well I'll talk to you about it next week."

I didn't think much about it over the weekend. In my mind, there was zero chance that I was going to get pregnant that easily. But being the good patient I am, I took a test I had at the house while I was getting ready for work on Monday morning, September 13th. JD banged on the bathroom door and asked what I was doing that was taking so long and I yelled back that I had just taken a pregnancy test because Dr. A had told me to, but that it was negative. I was so sure that it was negative that I glanced at it and even though there was a clear "+" sign, it didn't even register that that actualy meant positive.

The image of the "+" on the test started to sink in as I was working, and I suddenly freaked out and started googling images of positive pregnancy tests. I called JD after work and told him I was no longer sure that the test was actually negative, and to clear things up in my mind I was going to take another test --this time digital, so there would be no question about the results.

JD had to work late. I think he was working out his baseball team or something along those lines. So I bought the test and went home to take it by myself, still completely convinced that I wasn't really pregnant.

Except I was.

I remember the completely surreal, almost out-of-body feeling that I experienced when the word "pregnant" popped up in the little window. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, "We did it." Only, we didn't do anything. We hadn't had to do anything. No pills, no shots, not even an ovulation predictor.

We'd only had to trust. That if we were meant to have a baby, God would give us our baby. That if we weren't, we would be ok. Somehow, we would be ok.

Most days I was able to convince myself of this. But not all.

Those three months of not knowing if we would have children weren't easy. In fact, at times they were pretty hard. I tried not to show it to anyone, especially JD. Because I didn't want him to know how deeply disappointed I would be if I couldn't have a baby, to know that I would feel as if my life's purpose wasn't being realized, to know that I would feel as if I had failed- both myself and him.

I had no idea that one night really soon I would be staring at my face in the mirror, trying to digest the realization that I was a mother.

That night, I called JD and very unceremoniously told him on the phone that I was mistaken earlier that day and that I was, in fact, pregnant. Two trips to the doctor and two blood draws later, he was convinced. It turned out that I wasn't the only one who needed a little extra convincing that we were really going to have our baby.

And we had no idea that in one short year (no really, it flew by), we would have the most amazing four-month-old baby to ever grace the planet. We had no idea how completely our lives would change. We didn't know that we'd been walking around with a Jaxon-shaped hole in our hearts and that our family puzzle would begin to come together in such a beautiful way.

It's amazing to think that in one year, JD and I went from being a couple to a family of three. Maybe in another year we'll start trying to add to our famiy. Or maybe we'll decide that our family is perfect just the way it is for a while. Or maybe even forever.

The last year has taught me that life doesn't always turn out exactly the way we think it will. Sometimes it surprises us in the best way possible.

Vote For Jax And Enter A Giveaway!

2011-09-12T18:06:00.001-05:00

Y'all. I'm totally about to bribe you to vote for my baby. Apparently I've become one of "those moms" and there is no shame in my game.

I'm all about free stuff -as you know- so when I found out there was a chance to win a CD of some professional pictures of Jaxon I couldn't pass it up. SO. I entered him into a little model contest.

See? One of those moms.

Only problem is, I decided to do it last minute and instead of going through the hundreds of pictures we've taken of him, I snapped a quick picture outside with my phone and sent that off. Only to find out later that most of his little competitors have these professional, model-looking pictures! I mean, if they're models already why do they need to win this contest?? Just sayin.

Anyhoo, we'd love your support. Every vote he gets will count as an entry into the giveaway. There are TWO chances to vote. Or if you prefer to look at it as TWO chances to enter a giveaway, that works as well.

The winner will get a $20 gift card to your choice of stores, as long as I have access to the store. For instance, as much as I love H&M and Ikea, we don't have those around here so those, I can't do. But if it's in the area, it's game... Target, Starbucks, etc.

Entry One: "Like" Amy Martin Photography on facebook, find Jaxon's picture (#40) and "Like" his picture.

Entry Two: "Like" Tutu5 Designs on facebook, find Jaxon's pciture (I don't think these are numbered) and "Like" his picture.

The album is called "Model Contest for Amy Martin Desgins & TuTu5 Designs."

And his picture looks like this.

Told you it was a quick shot outside. My poor child.

Important to know: comments on his picture would be super sweet and appreciated but they do not count as votes. Only "likes" on his picture will count as a vote / entry.

If there's a chance I won't be able to get in touch with you, please leave your email address in the comments after you vote so I can email you if you win!

Questions? Let me know. If you are on facebook but hate it, you can feel free to give me your username and password and I'll go vote for you. One of my really good IRL friends took this route. (Not even kidding.)

Ok now, off you go to enter!

Thanks tons, y'all are the BEST!

Loving Lately

2011-09-04T20:59:00.002-05:00

I want to try to start doing posts about some of my favorite "little" things each month. Malin from Very Silent Words has been doing this for a while and I always love reading these posts. As seems to be the trend on my blog lately, my August post is late. **big sigh**

In no particular order, in August I loved (and am actually still loving)...

...the new orchid I bought for my office as my going-back-to-work present. It's starting to wilt a little but I'm trying my darndest to keep it alive for as long as possible. If you have any orchid growing tips, please send them my way!

...Starbucks Iced Via and the cup I use to drink it. When the heat index is often well over 100 degrees, I just can't do hot coffee. I went back to work at the beginning of August and have been pretty much hooked on this stuff since then. I always feel like I'm having a treat when I drink Starbucks and it's much more convenient and costs less this way. The plain and caramel flavors are both lovely. While looking for a picture to post, I realized the packs are on sale at Amazon for $3.50. You can bet I'll be stocking up!

...my Erin Condren life planner and the Sharpie pens I use to write in it. If you're a blogger or on Twitter, there's a good chance you heard about these planners, or even have one if, like me, you're not one to be left out of the latest craze. I wouldn't necessarily say it keeps me any more organized than a regular planner does, but the personalization, bright colors and stickers add an extra element of fun to the whole thing. For half off the price, I couldn't pass it up and I'm definitely happy with the purchase.

...and last but definitely not least, Pinterest. If you don't know about it, you should. It's a virtual pin board where you can save groups of pictures from around the internet. I have boards that range from parenting tips and ideas, to outfit inspiration, to DIY projects that I like to think I'll do one day but probaby never will, to favorite quotes. There's also an iPhone app that's super fun. I get warm fuzzies just from looking at my boards. If you're on it and I'm not following you, let me know so I can find you!

What are some things you're loving lately?

Top 10 Baby Items (Months 0-3)

2011-08-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

When I was pregnant and trying to figure out what to register for, I loved reading about what worked for other moms. Of course, every family figures out what works best for them. There are no products that work for every single family but it's nice to have an idea of what other moms like.

So! I'm going to add my little two cents about our top ten favorite products during the first three months. I actually had about 15 or 20 products I wanted to mention but thought that might be a little much. I might eventualy do other posts with our bigger items that we love (car seat, stroller, pack and play, etc) and toys that we enjoy. We'll see.

Boppy Pillow

Especially during the first few weeks when I was recovering from the c-section, and Jax and I were figuring out the whole breastfeeding thing, I lived basically attached to this thing. I carried it around with me like a security blanket. And now, I still use it almost every time I feed him. I feel like it makes him feel more comfy and it definitely helps distribute some of his poundage (all 17 of them)! He's now also beginning to enjoy being propped up in it and hanging out for a little while.

Baby K'Tan

{This makes me laugh.}

I knew I wanted to "wear" Jaxon when possible but had no idea which sling would be best for us. Thankfully, Megan tried out several and did a post with her reviews. She recommended the Baby K'Tan and I'm soooo glad we went with that one! The only thing that's a little tricky is finding the right size. It's not one that fits everyone like the Moby. We started with a small but he hung too low on my hips with that one and I felt like he wasn't secure enough. I switched it out for an extra small and we've been hooked since then. It allows me to get some things done around the house and I don't think I've ever gone shopping without sticking him in it. He usually goes to sleep in it but even when he's not sleeping, he's content to just look around and hang out. The K'Tan is so easy to put on and there are several different ways you can hold your baby in it. There's no extra material and no having to adjust the snugness like with the Moby. After watching the demonstration video online, I stuck him in it correctly the first time and have never had a problem with it.

Cloud B Gentle Giraffe

This little guy is awesome! I can't tell you how many times Jax started to wake up and then drifted back off after we turned his giraffe back on. Also, if he's fighting sleep and we turn it on, it often helps him relax enough to fall asleep. Worth every penny.

Fisher-Price My Little Snugabunny Bouncer

We had heard that not all babies enjoyed swings so we decided to start with a bouncer and then see if we thought a swing was necessary. The first few weeks, Jaxon took most of his naps in his bouncer and now it's a great place to put him for a little while if we need our hands completely free. We ended up not buying a swing, which saved us space and money, so I'm thankful to have the bouncer! I liked this one because the colors are neutral and blend in well with our decor. It doesn't scream, "HEY LOOK AT ME, I'M FOR A BABY!!!" in the middle of our living room. I did add some hanging toys that are more colorful than the ones that came with the bouncer and those seem to grab his attention better.

Soothies and Wubbanubs

I wanted to see how long we could go without giving Jaxon a pacifier since I wanted to breastfeed. We had heard from several professionals that they rarely saw problems with nipple confusion but I figured we'd just be on the safe side and try to avoid pacis. Well, that lasted a good 18 hours after he was born and then I was asking the nurses to bring me one ASAP! They gave us Soothies, and soothe they did. Thankfully, Jax never had issues with switching back and forth between me, pacifiers, or even pumped bottles. He's not a baby who has to have a pacifier but sometimes, especially when he's fighting sleep, a pacifier will help calm him down and relax him (along with that giraffe). We tried other brands of pacis but these are the ones he likes best. Now if someone could just invent a way to keep pacifiers in babies' mouths, we'd be all set!

Munchkin Bath Cradle and Whale of a Tub

We used the sponge cradle by itself to bathe Jaxon until his umbilical cord stump fell off, and now we lay it on the counter to undress him and remove his diaper before we stick him in his tub. We still use the hump in the tub for him to sit on but it's removable for when he gets a little bigger. Both items have worked perfectly for us so far. We found the sponge at Target for about $5. (I couldn't find a link online.)

Diaper Bag Dispenser

This comes in handy for storing dirty stinky diapers until you can get to a trash can, and also for storing dirty clothes for when the diaper fails and "stuff" escapes (see this post for an example of when that happened). The bags are also scented, which helps mask the smell.

Munchkin Dishwasher Basket and Sterilizer Bags

The basket is perfect for washing nipples, pacifiers and the other little parts that come with Dr. Brown's bottles. The steamer bags are a cheap, easy way to steam those items in addition to bottles and little toys. Each bag can be used 20 times and they don't take up the room that an actual sterilizer would.

Aiden and Anais for Target Swaddle Wraps

We received about 25 blankets as presents (and those don't include the ones we returned!) and these ended up being our favorite. We used them for swaddling and as a nursing cover (I never spent money on actual covers). I know others throw them over carseats to protect from sun and wind, as spit up towels, and for a place to change diapers. They're super soft and the material is breathable. Love! (It looks like this set that we have is sold out online but there are other prints available.)

Powdered Formula Dispenser

There are a few different versions of this but if you're going the formula route, this is perfect for making bottles on the go. You can pre-measure the formula, and the little spout is perfect for pouring into bottles without getting powder everywhere. When he moves to solid food, they work for storing that as well.

These are by no means our only favorite items but I could be here all day talking about baby things we like! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at Ber611 at aol dot com. I looove discussing baby things :-)

If you're a parent, what are some of your favorite items? I want to know if we're missing out on something good!

Month Three

2011-08-21T11:26:00.000-05:00

Once again, this post is late. We'll (I'll) get it together one of these days!

Jaxon,

Whew, buddy! Your third month was surprisingly the most emotional one for me yet. Between having to stop breastfeeding you, having the "return to work" date looming closer and closer, and then going back to work, I've done more crying than I ever have in my life. I can't tell you how much I don't want to work away from our home. I want to be available for you 24/7. I want my face to be the one you watch while you eat, I want to see your first steps, take you to story time at the library, and go on all of your field trips once you're in school. I want you to feel like you're my #1 priority in life. Because you are. But for right now, the best financial decision for our family is for both your daddy and me to work. I hope you understand this when you're older. And I pray that one day something will work out for me to be able to stay home with you and any siblings you eventually have. That's been my dream since I was a little girl so I'm not giving up hope yet.

At your 3 month check-up, you weighed 17 pounds and 3 ounces and you were 24 inches long! Your weight is above the 95th percentile so you're still a chunky monkey (which we love)! Dr. Wood couldn't believe how vocal you are. You just laid on the table and "talked" to him the whole time he was examining you. He said you're a "pleasant little fella" and he is so right! You bring joy to so many people, just by being you.

You still love hanging out in your K'Tan but now you're a lot more observant and interested in what's going on around you, so you don't immediately fall asleep the way you used to. In this picture, you're checking out the cool black box in Mama's hand!

You're grabbing onto toys and blankies and Mama's hair and all kinds of fun things now! And you're starting to make connections, like when you were at Gugu and Pop's the other day, you figured out that if you smash the buttons on their swing, all kinds of lights and songs come on. You thought that was so much fun!

Now you can sit up with support. Sometimes you like to hang out in your bumbo, especially if we attach the tray and put a toy on it.

We found out that the stretching we've been doing on your feet didn't work the way we were hoping it would. I'm so sorry, but we have to put you in seriously uncomfortable-looking shoes for six weeks and then another type of shoe for two to three more months after that. Hopefully once we're done with those, your little feet will be nice and straight and you won't have any more issues with them.

Here are some pictures from the day we got your shoes. They don't seem to bother you too much. You were much more interested in watching TV with Daddy (which we don't let you do too often).

You're getting to be such a big boy! Sometimes I wish I could just freeze you at this size for a while. You're such a sweet little chunk of love and joy. Mama gets sad thinking about how quickly you're growing but we try to just enjoy and soak up every little stage you go through.

I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

Fountain Of Poop

2011-08-14T14:16:00.002-05:00

On the day of Jaxon's dedication at church, JD and I had our own type of initiation as parents. The day started out innocently enough, with the bug dressed in his finest (minus his shoes and still half asleep).

(Ignore the date on the pictures, I need to figure out how to get that off.)

JD's parents met us at our house and my parents met us at the church. There was a reception before the service for the families who were dedicating babies, where we were served breakfast, had our picture taken as a family, and were able to introduce some of the assistant pastors to Jaxon.

We were having a great time at the reception and decided to give Jax a bottle since it was close to his feeding time and we didn't want a fussy baby during the dedication or service. JD offered to feed him -to allow me to finish eating my breakfast- so I passed the baby over to him. Around this time, one of the pastors went to the front and started speaking, explaining how the dedication would work and where we should sit, etc. So at this point, everyone was quiet and listening to the pastor (when before we had all been chatting and eating and whatnot).

As I was sitting there with my Mama heart full of gratitude to be able to dedicate my beautiful baby in the same church I grew up in, surrounded by our loving parents, I heard the loud, unmistakable sound of a baby toot. I glanced to my right and time immediately ground to a screeching halt, as everything went into slow motion.

My beautiful husband was holding my perfect little son against his chest as he burped him, and my son's pristine white pants had a literal fountain of crap exploding out of the top of them. It was a scene straight out of a movie that I would've seen and thought, "No way that would ever happen in real life!" Picture a chocolate fountain at a wedding. Now picture that chocolate fountain coming out of my son's pants, running all over his outfit and into a puddle the approximate color of prehistoric goo, right into his daddy's khaki-clad lap.

Please also keep in mind that the days of those relatively neutral-smelling breastmilk diapers are long over and we're now enjoying the putrid smell of formula diapers. This smell is bad enough when contained in a diaper, but when it's all over baby and baby daddy's clothes, there really are no words to adequately describe the grossness.

I looked around and saw that people's pleasant faces were turning to looks of disgust and confusion as the smell smacked them in the face and they tried to figure out where it was coming from. Needless to say, I panicked.

I grabbed the diaper bag and JD's arm and hauled the two of them out of there AFAP (as fast as possible), with my bewildered mom close behind. We reached the church lobby and saw that it was packed. Our little lovebug had timed his job perfectly, so that the early service was ending and people were leaving, just as more people were arriving for the later service. Basically he made sure that we got the maximum exposure possible. We wove through the masses, leaving a sea of wrinkled noses in our wake.

As far as I was concerned, our dedication experience would have to be completed another day. I was more than ready to pack it in and run home with my tail between my legs. But thank heaven for my level-headed husband. He simply asked me for some wet paper towels and announced that he was going to a nearby store to buy another pair of pants.

So my mom and I practically bathed the baby in the restroom and changed him into the back-up fancy outfit that I had miraculously packed (never dreaming we'd actually need it). We all headed into the service, hoping that JD would make it back in time for the dedication.

Shortly before it was time for us to go to the front for the prayer, JD strolled in wearing a sharp-looking pair of new pants (though still trailing a slight scent of baby poo). He had managed to buy new pants, change in the church parking lot, and get back just in time for the bug's dedication. I'm not sure I've ever loved him more than I did in that moment.

All's well that ends well, and we have a successfully dedicated baby, a nice new pair of pants for Daddy, and an embarrassing story to tell Jaxon's future girlfriends. You know what they say about payback, my little love!

(Please note Jaxon's new -clean- outfit here.)

Don't Cry Because It's Over, Smile Because It Happened

2011-07-25T10:10:00.003-05:00

This is the attitude I'm trying to have about our breastfeeding journey. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that we might have to end it early, and it turned out that we did. I also said that I wouldn't beat myself up too much if it happened, but I kind of am.

Jaxon was allergic or sensitive to something in my diet, which was causing him to have blood in his stools (pretty scary to see as a parent) and a frequently upset tummy. We originally thought that milk protein was the culprit so I stayed away from it for a while but there was no improvement (the situation just seemed to get worse as time went on). Jax's doctor explained that it could take weeks or months of trial and error to figure out which food was the problem and in the meantime, he would continue to have stomach and bleeding issues.

Our doctor consulted with a pediatric gastroenterologist to get a second opinion, since he is a proponent of breastfeeding and really didn't want us to have to stop. The gastroenterologist agreed with Dr. Wood's assessment, so he said that although it was the last thing he wanted to have to tell us, if his child was in this situation he would switch him to a hypoallergenic formula.

Several days later, I'm still trying to come to terms with this decision. I know that breastfeeding doesn't work out for some people, for many different reasons. It just makes me so sad that I'm not able to provide my son with the absolute best nutrition. I fought through the learning curve of the first few weeks of nursing, latching issues, and worry that he wasn't getting enough, not to mention the horrible pain, and had just started to really get into the groove of breastfeeding. I was looking forward to continuing for months to come.

To be told that I can't do for my son what women have been doing for thousands of years is just hard to hear. I've shed many tears thinking about it and probably will for a while.

But when I do, I try to focus on the positives. Jaxon no longer has blood in his diapers (a HUGE relief). He seems to feel better in general. I was able to breastfeed him for the crucial first few weeks of his life and a little beyond (close to 10 weeks). I won't have the headache of pumping when I go back to work. I'll be able to take that work trip in November without having to worry about how my baby's going to eat while I'm gone. I can eat whatever the heck I want to now. And I can finally have a glass of wine with dinner on occasion.

If I could have chosen how our breastfeeding journey ended it wouldn't have been this way, but parenting is a lot about rolling with the punches and taking things as they come. I might still shed some tears over what could have been, but I'm so grateful for a healthy happy baby and for the specialized nutrition that's available to him.

And when all else fails, I just look at my little chunker and remind myself that he doesn't really care where his food comes from, as long as it gets in his belly!

Month Two

2011-07-18T14:36:00.002-05:00

Wow. It's already (past) time for the next monthly update. Craziness!

Just FYI- that's not his hair looking all crazy on the right side, it's a shadow :-)

Jaxon,

Your second month has been even more fun and love-filled than your first.

At your two month well-baby visit, you weighed... wait for it... 14 pounds, 14 ounces! The nurses kept laughing when they saw you and couldn't believe you were only 8 weeks old. They even checked your birth date in your chart because they thought for sure you were older than that. You were 23 1/2 inches, so you've grown an inch and a half since you were born! You were in the 95th percentile for weight and the 75th-90th percentile for height, so you're pretty proportionate except for your cute little potbelly.

You started smiling at 5 weeks, which made my heart so happy. Your daddy's and my favorite thing now is to do whatever it takes to make you smile and "talk." Your first "words" were a-goooo and boooo and you say them in the sweetest little voice, along with gurgling souds and happy squeals. I'm actually tearing up right now thinking about how happy our conversations make me! You've turned your mama into such a silly sap!

You also like to laugh at and talk to the bugs hanging from your bouncer and the blue whale on your activity mat. I get such a kick out of listening to you with your friends!

You found your thumb during one of the vigorous hand sucking sprees you like to go on when we don't get your food into your mouth soon enough for your liking, but I haven't seen you do it again since then.

You look like such a little man when we put you in "real" outfits (instead of onesies or rompers).

During your first couple of weeks you weren't quite sure what to think about baths. We never knew if you'd coo happily through them or if you'd scream like we were killing you! Thankfully, you seem to have decided that they're pretty fun and we think they're pretty fun too. There's nothing quite like the smell of a freshly bathed baby.

Right now, your favorite place to nap is ON someone. And honestly, we love when you're sleeping on us. It feels so nice to have your sweet snuggly self so close. But we're trying to work on getting you to nap longer in your little bed (though not your crib yet) since we have to go back to work soon. We don't want you demanding to sleep on Mimi and Papa or Gugu and Pop all day long when you're staying with them!

After being referred to an orthopedist, we found out that you have metatarsus adductus, which is a fancy word for intoeing. This means the shape of your feet (especially your right one) is curved. Apperently this was caused by your position in my womb as you developed. Since you're a big baby, you were all squished up in my belly and your poor little feet grew in curved. Daddy and I will need to do stretches on your feet twice a day for the next month to try to straighten them out and then if that doesn't work, we'll have to put you in special shoes for several months. I'm hoping we don't have to do this because it would break my heart to see you in those uncomfortable-looking shoes! So we're praying and doing your stretches and hoping that those will work for you.

We also found out that you're probably allergic to cow milk and since I'm breastfeeding you, this means that I can't have any food with milk protein in it. Do you know how many foods that is? A LOT! Dr. Wood told me to avoid dairy and also to check labels for foods that are made with milk protein and I had no idea how many foods this would include! It's going to be a challenge for me to eat the next several months but we want you to get all the benefits of breastfeeding so we'll do our best to make it happen for you. You know I love you BIG if I'm giving up nutella and other chocolatey goodness for you :-)

The next couple of weeks are my last to be at home with you before I have to go back to work so I plan to continue to soak up every little moment I have with you.

I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

Not As Hard As I Expected

2011-07-11T19:18:00.006-05:00

I used to think that I didn't want this blog to become a "mommy blog," but now that this time in my life has arrived, that seems to be exactly what it's turn into. It might not always be so baby-centric but I've decided that if it is, I'm ok with that. I hope I don't lose any blog friends with this latest direction the blog has taken but I try to write mostly for me, and also for family and friends who are interested in keeping up with our doings- but mostly for me. All of you wonderful friends I've made along the way are just the icing on my cake!

I've been wanting to write about some issues that go along with being a new mom and share a little of my experience with each. So in no particular order:

Emotions

I heard so much about baby blues and postpartum depression during my pregnancy that I thought for sure I'd be affected by them in some way. I braced myself for the first two weeks of my son's life (at the very least), when I was sure I'd be a wreck, crying at the drop of a hat and feeling completely overwhelmed emotionally. However, I'm happy to say that this wasn't the case at all. I'm one of the lucky few who somehow managed to avoid the emotional upheaval that so many women experience after childbirth. There were two times I can think of in the first two weeks that I cried from sheer exhaustion, absolutely positive that I would never ever again in my whole entire life sleep for more than two hours in a row. Other than those times (and a few episodes with nursing that I'll get into more later), the only tears I've cried have been happy ones (often brought on by A Baby Story and the Pampers commercials about every baby being a miracle- which, by the way, is totally true).

Sleeping

Apart from those first two weeks, this actually hasn't been as hard as I was expecting it to be. Don't get me wrong, I haven't had what I would consider a good night's sleep in months, but I'm not dragging through my days exhausted the way I thought I would be- at least not most days.

My biggest secret is having a husband who's a high school teacher and baseball coach and therefore has summers (kind of) off of work. He still had summer ball to take care of in May and June (practices and games) but even then, he was usually home in the mornings and has been able to help me with middle of the night feedings using bottles that I pump.

Though they're not consecutive, many nights I'm able to get 5 or 6 hours of sleep which, though not optimal, is actually close to what I was getting on weeknights before Jaxon arrived. I do have moments of longing for a stretch of time when I could just lie down and sleep and not have anything in the world that I had to wake up for. But I figure I'll get that in about 18 years when Jaxon heads off to college (add a few years if we have more children).

Breastfeeding

Certain aspects of this are much harder than I thought they would be- mostly the physical part of it. Um, no one bothered to tell me how much it HURTS! The first 2 or 3 weeks were the worst. I would literally cringe when I realized it was almost time to feed my baby again and several times I broke down and cried as he ate. It literally got to the point where it felt like he was using razor blades on my boobs. The good news is that after the first few weeks things got immensely better. I'm still sore at times but it's so much better than the pain at the beginning, that it's hardly something I can or will complain about.

Another aspect I wasn't quite prepared for was the amount of time I would spend feeding him, especially in the first few weeks. I didn't exactly grasp what feeding a baby every 2-3 hours entails. Now I get it.

I've always known that breastfeeding is best for babies so I wanted to give it my best shot. I am by no means against formula and think it's up to each set of parents to decide what works best for them and their baby. Thankfully, breastfeeding came pretty naturally to both me and Jaxon (especially after one helpful phone call with a lactation consultant), and he has been mostly breastfed since he was born. There have been a few times when I didn't have any milk pumped and we were either out and unable to nurse or I was desperate to sleep through a feeding and I had JD give him some formula. I'm totally ok with this. And to be quite honest, I get a teeny bit annoyed when moms brag about their babies never having an ounce of formula in their life, like it's a badge of honor or something. But that's just me.

One thing I need some major practice with is nursing in public. On the few occasions when it's been necessary so far, I've been able to hide in my car using a blanket but when the need arises for me to actually pop a boob out in a public place, I'm gonna be up a creek without a paddle if I don't do some practicing at home first. I have one nursing cover but so far it seems like more trouble than it's worth. Maybe I just don't have the hang of it yet. I've seen so much of my boobs in the last couple of months that I'm basically immune to them at this point. It probably wouldn't bother me in the least if I happened to accidentally flash a stranger but I suppose for the stranger's sake I should try to learn how to keep them under wraps.

We have had some issues with blood in Jax's stools and there's a slight chance that his doctor could ask us to switch to a special formula but we're going to do everything we can to avoid that. My goal is to breastfeed him his whole first year (which will require a lot of pumping when I go back to work) but honestly, I'm just taking it one day and week at a time. If it's necessary for us to quit before then, I won't beat myself up about it (too much, anyway). I was formula fed and I turned out pretty darn well if I do say so myself! Matter of fact, the only child my mom breastfed was my oldest sister, and she ended up with more health problems than me and my other two sisters combined! Just sayin'.

Pets

We have two dogs (that JD brought into our marriage) and one cat (that I brought into it). I wasn't really concerned about how our golden retriever or cat would adjust to a baby but I was a little worried about our chihuahua. She's easily excited and she does this fast scratching thing with her sharp little claws when she wants attention. I had scary visions of her scratching my baby's eyes out! Fortunately we haven't had issues with any of the animals and, surprising both me and JD, our chihuahua is the one who seems to love Jaxon the most! She's super protective of him. If I'm in another room when he starts crying, she runs in to get me and "brings" me to him. If she's on the couch with us when he cries, she tries to lick his head, toes, whatever she can reach. She often stands guard and watches while he eats. And she now loudly barks when people she doesn't know come by the house (before, I had heard her bark maybe twice in her life). The other two animals are sometimes curious about Jaxon but for the most part, they're indifferent. I'm so thankful we didn't have any adjustment issues to deal with!

Clothes

One aspect of breastfeeding that I never gave much thought to was access. Namely, nursing bras (also known as The Most Unsexy Bras Ever Known To Mankind) and nursing-friendly tops (that are easy to pull down or up, don't wrinkle easily, and have enough coverage to hide The Most Unsexy Bras Ever Known To Mankind). Add nursing access to my issues with the post-baby body I've been "blessed" with, and getting dressed in the mornings has been brought to a whole new level of cray-cray. The options in my closet are severely diminished and --I'm about to say something I never thought I'd hear myself say-- clothes shopping has lost much of it's luster. So far, my best and least stressful option has been maxi dresses with thicker straps, or strapless ones over a tank. They're super comfortable, easy to pull down, and very forgiving around the enlarged pooch that my son so sweetly left for me. Which brings me to my last new-mama issue...

Weight

As much as I grumbled about having gestational diabetes, I'm completely convinced that the stupid diet I was required to stick to is what I have to thank for only gaining 26 pounds (9 of which were baby) during my pregnancy. It sure didn't have anything to do with exercise! By the time Jaxon was 2 weeks old, I'd lost about 19 or 20 of those and I haven't lost a single pound since. Six or seven extra pounds might not sound like a lot but I think they're very noticeable on my frame, mostly in that pooch area I mentioned.

I'm trying to decide if I want to do anything to try to lose those last several pounds or if I want to just accept the fact that this is my new "mommy body." I'm currently leaning toward the latter. And on good days I just tell myself that at least three or four of those pounds have to be in my new "mommy boobs!" I haven't done a lick of exercise (I'm talking not even a measly walk around the block) since Jax was born but maybe lugging around a 15 pound baby kinda counts as a workout? No? I guess I do need to get my butt in gear and do something. Bah.

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Overall I have to say that the first couple of months of being a mom have not been as hard as I thought they would be. I think a lot of it has to do with a person's attitude and expectations (the same thing I thought about pregnancy). I feel like I mentally prepared myself ahead of time for the fact that life would be totally different with a baby and that parenting will always be a learning process. I expect there to be times when I'm frustrated or exhausted or unsure or even feel like a bit of a failure, but it's totally ok for that to happen once in a while! There are far more times when I feel incredibly blessed, fulfilled, overflowing with love, and like I might actually be doing a pretty darn good job at this whole mama business!

Newborn Pictures

2011-06-25T23:00:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited to share Jaxon's newborn pictures! Our wonderful wedding photographer Amanda Meyer (who also has a blog) was able to take them even though she's slowed down with her photography since the arrival of her twins. It was so hard to narrow the pictures down to these out of the 235 she gave us. Now I need to narrow them down to just 2 or 3 for his birth announcement... wish me luck with that!

The crocheted set in the first pictures was made by Megan's grandma! I saw her sweet Eli's newborn pictures and swooned over the set and was sad when I realized her grandma had made it because that meant I couldn't purchase one. But when Magan realized how much I wanted it, she asked her grandma to make a set for me. I'm constantly amazed at the wonderful people I've "met" through blogging and am so thankful for the connections made!

His different expressions in the first two pictures make me giggle :-) The third is a sneak peek of his bedding.

For those who don't know, JD played baseball at the University of Alabama and I was a Bat Girl at LSU. Now JD's a high school baseball coach and we're definitely a baseball family, so we had to have a little bit of our favorite sport incorporated into the pictures.

I've seen other people take pictures like these next two, and since we forgot to take pictures of our rings at our wedding, I knew I wanted to include them in these pictures.

Amanda brought some blankets and a basket, and she was able to get some really cute shots with her stuff.

I've always adored newborn pictures with the daddy's hands and let me just say, it's a whole new level of love when it's your husband's hands in the picture!

Amanda noticed one of the bracelets I was wearing and wanted to get some shots of it, and even though I'm not a fan of my hands I'm glad to have these pictures. I had the bracelet engraved with the first part of a scripture that meant a lot to me after I was diagnosed with PCOS and found out that I might not be able to have children (I Samuel 1:27). The bracelet says, "Jaxon Abbott - For this child I prayed," and is a reminder to me of just how much of a blessing our precious baby is. As if his sweet smile isn't reminder enough :-)

Since Jax was so well behaved for the photo session that he slept through the whole thing, this was the only picture we got of him with his eyes (halfway) open. This is another one that makes me giggle. I just love love love those little rolls! He reminds me of a shar pei puppy here :-)

So that wraps it up! Now I wish we could justify the expense of having professional pictures taken every few months!

Month One

2011-06-18T21:42:00.000-05:00

I had planned for this next post to be about life as a new mom but time is flying and I feel like I need to record Jaxon's first month before his second month is over! Just like my pregnancy updates, I don't expect everyone to be interested in every little detail of his life and development but it's definitely something I want to have recorded for me to look back on. Try to bear with me through these updates :-)

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Jaxon,

At your one month doctor visit you weighed 11 pounds, 5.5 ounces and were still 22 inches long. Your weight is in the 75th-90th percentile for your age, which was kind of expected since you were a big baby at birth. Your length is in the 50th percentile so you're right on target with that but I think you'll end up being a tall man like your Daddy and Pop. Dr. Wood, your pediatrician, said you look great and chuckled when he saw your fat little tummy. Daddy and I were glad to know that you were gaining weight since you lost more than you should have right after you were born. We definitely don't have to worry about that anymore!

You're supposed to eat 2-4 ounces of milk at each feeding (when I pump) but sometimes you ~~politely request~~ demand 5 or even 6 ounces. Dr. Wood said to try to keep the amount closer to 4 but he's not here when you scream at the top of your lungs like you haven't been fed in days! You typically want to eat every 2-4 hours but sometimes it's closer to 1 1/2 hours after you nurse. When you have pumped milk you usually last 3-4 hours between feedings, which makes me wonder if you're getting enough when you nurse. We'll have to work on figuring that out.

You don't sleep for long periods during the night. Daddy and I will be glad when you get on a better schedule and hope this happens before I have to go back to work (which is something I'd really rather not think about right now!).

You sometimes enjoy hanging out in your bouncer but we think you might need a swing too. You really like when we hold you and either walk or swing you in our arms. Sometimes you like this a little too much and won't let us put you down for long stretches at a time so we're hoping the swing will do the trick and give us a little break. Not that we don't love holding you, but there are other things around the house that need to be done sometimes! When you decide you're okay sitting in your bouncer, you stare at the bright toys we have hanging from the top and if we move one of them from side to side, you'll track it with your eyes. Dr. Wood said not all babies do that at your age so we're proud that you can do this!

Sometimes when you're really upset and are screaming at the top of your lungs, the only thing that will calm you down is if Daddy holds you and goes stomping around the house singing made up songs to you at the top of his lungs. It's pretty funny to see you stop and stare at him when he acts so silly. You must be pretty special to him because he wouldn't act that way for just anyone!

We tried letting you have tummy time on a blanket like a nurse at the hospital told us to but you screeched until we picked you up. You do like lying on your stomach on our chests and you pick up your head and sometimes hold it up and look around for half a minute or more! You were actually holding up your head when you were a day old and you rolled over onto your side when you were about a week old. Again, we're proud of the progress you're already making and we really enjoy watching you learn.

Sometimes you enjoy pacifiers and sometimes you have no use for them (usually when you're hungry and are mad that you're not getting any milk out of them). Your favorite kind is the brand they gave you in the hospital (Avent Soothies). It's the same kind that's on the Wubbanubs. Daddy can never remember that name so he calls them your "wookynoobas," which got shortened to wooky. So now we call your pacifiers wookies instead of pacis or noonies :-)

We still call you the bug (shortened from lovebug), but now we also call you buggie, boogie, or bugaboo. We'll try to stop with these names by the time you're old enough to be embarrassed by them!

Here are a couple of the monthly pictures we'll be taking of you. I love the smart little tie stickers!

Daddy and I love you more every day and we can't wait to see what the next months and years hold for you. And now I'm crying thinking about how fast you're already growing! We want to cherish every single day and every stage of your life. We're so thankful that you're ours. SO so thankful.

I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

Jaxon's Birth

2011-06-12T15:43:00.006-05:00

I'm finally back with our birth story! I was hoping to have it posted by the 10th, which was Jaxon's one month birthday but it didn't quite happen. As you can imagine, life with a newborn is busy! But I got the best birthday present a new mom could ask for yesterday, a nap, so I'm feeling (relatively) refreshed and JD is on Jaxon duty for a little while so I'm taking the opportunity to blog while I can. I'll warn y'all now, this is a long post- you might want to grab a drink and a snack for this one! I wanted to record as many details as I could for myself to look back on later; I also know I wanted to read detailed accounts of deliveries when I was pregnant so I could have an idea of what to expect, so maybe one day someone will benefit from my lengthy description.

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Due to the fact that Jaxon's weight was estimated to be 9 pounds, 12 ounces and because at 39 weeks he hadn't dropped at all (leading my doctor to believe that he might be too big to fit), we decided to go for a scheduled cesarean section. I knew beforehand that this might be a possibility for us but I knew it would be a difficult decision to make, so I prayed that we would have a clear direction one way or the other. When we went for my last pre-natal appointment, my doctor all but told us that we needed to have a section, so the decision was easy for us to make. He said if we wanted to try a vaginal birth, he would support our decision but we could tell he wasn't confident that it would be successful. JD asked which method he felt would be safest for me and the baby and he said in our case, he would feel better doing a scheduled section. The last thing I wanted was to be in labor for hours and hours and then end up having to have a section anyway.

I was actually a little nervous to admit to y'all that we chose this route because I know some people have such strong opinions about births being as natural as possible. I even had a dream that I told the story here and got hateful comments from annonymous commenters! In almost three years of blogging I haven't received one negative comment (knock on wood), so I'm really hoping this doesn't break my streak :-) JD and I made the decision that we felt was best for our family and we scheduled Jaxon's birth for Tuesday, May 10th. It was SUCH a relief when I finally knew there was a close end in sight because the last few days of pregnancy were very uncomfortable (mostly stabbing back pain).

We arrived at the hospital at 5:00 in the morning and since we live almost an hour away, it was a very early morning for us. We went to bed kind of late the night before, getting last minute things together but I surprised myself and slept very soundly. I was also surprised at how calm I was the morning of his birth. I wasn't nervous at all!

After we checked in, we were taken to a room that had several beds in it, with curtains dividing the beds. Apparently they normally have private rooms for this but we just happened to pick a very busy day for his birth so we had less privacy during this stage, which was a bit of a bummer. I changed into a gown and a nurse started my IV. She had to do it twice because she screwed up the first attempt. As many of you know, I HATE needles so this stressed me out and when they checked my blood pressure afterwards, it was elevated (surprise, surprise!).

I was asked a bunch of questions, including whether or not I had a safe place to go after the birth, which surprised me a bit and was a sad reminder that some women don't have a safe place to go. They checked my glucose (because of the gestational diabetes), did my surgery prep and got JD into his fun outfit cover and surgical mask. My parents were allowed to stop in and see me for a couple of minutes before we headed to surgery. We didn't think they would have the chance to see me before, so this was a nice little bonus.

Before we knew it, it was 6:30 and time to head to the OR and I was still feeling calm. My labor and delivery nurse warned me that the room would be cold and intimidating with a lot of machines and instruments, and she was right! JD wasn't allowed in there until after I had my epidural, so I was on my own for a while, which I did not like. I think the epidural would have been much easier on me if I could've had him with me. He said that was one of the worst parts for him too, because they had him sitting on a chair in the hall by himself and he had no clue what was happening to me for about half an hour.

My nurse explained what would happen during the epidural and then I had to wait as lots of people came in and out of the room doing who knows what. Every time the door would open, I'd tense a little bit thinking it was the anesthesiologist but it took him about 15 minutes to show up. When he did come in, he didn't even introduce himself. He walked straight behind me and started giving me instructions. At that point, I started to get nervous. I hadn't been even a little nervous up until then but something about him just rushing in there and starting did not sit right with me.

The nurse had me bend over, lean into her and grab onto the sides of her scrubs. As I was getting the epidural, I felt some strange, almost popping sensations in my back and then what felt like a bolt of electricity going down my left leg. I freaked out, thinking I was going to be paralyzed or something, because I hadn't been told that this might happen. At this point I was so scared I could barely talk even though I had been chatty and laughing before. When I was able to choke out what had happened and ask if it was normal, the nurse assured me that it was. My anxiety was the worst part of the epidural. It was uncomfortable but not what I would call painful, though I do have a pretty high tolerance for pain. Once the doctor was finished with the epidural, he scurried out without so much as a "Good luck" for me. But at least he did his job and the procedure worked!

I was still shaken up and didn't completely calm back down until after Jaxon was born. The nurses had me put my arms on a table out to the sides and told me to keep them under a sheet and not to touch anything because everything was sanitized and I might mess something up. Needless to say, this did not work for me. I kept forgetting and moved my arms out about every 8 seconds. I don't like feeling like I'm stuck somewhere and I started feeling claustrophobic and like I couldn't breathe. I also didn't like the feeling of knowing I wasn't in control of my legs. JD was allowed back into the room at this point, and my doctor came in at the same time (this was around 7:05).

Seeing JD triggered something and I just started crying. Right about this time, my doctor made the incision and JD thought I was crying because I could feel the cut! I felt so bad later when I realized what was going through his head. I stayed in a slightly panicked state until Jaxon was born about seven minutes later at 7:12, but once I saw him I felt so much better.

I couldn't wait to see how much he weighed since they thought he would be so big. He wasn't quite as large as they estimated but he was still definitely a big baby: 9 pounds, 1 ounce and 22 inches long. I made sure JD got a picture of the scale so I would have proof of his size :-)

As my doctor finished my surgery, the nursery nurse cleaned Jaxon up and did his Apgar scores, which were good. I was shocked to find out later that during a c-section, some of your insides are actually outside of your body and put back in after. Craziness! And since there wasn't much of a screen hiding what was going on, JD actually saw some of my inside bits while they were hanging out. I'm surprised he managed to not pass out! I'm pretty sure I would have if I had seen that. Needless to say, I did not accept the mirror they offered to put down there so I could watch the surgery!

Proud Daddy:

These are some of our first pictures as a family of three :-)

At about 7:45, we were wheeled into a viewing room where our family and my friend Erin were waiting to meet the star of the show.

By about 8:00 we were in a recovery room, where I was able to rest and breastfeed Jaxon for the first time. My temperature was lower than the nurse wanted it to be, so I had to stay under a heating blanket until it came back up and then around 9:45 we were sent to our mother/baby room, where our visitors were able to join us.

I'm not going to lie, the first day was pretty rough for me. I had some reactions to some of the anesthesia and pain medications and I was nauseated, kind of loopy feeling, and worst of all, ITCHY like you wouldn't believe. I know itchiness might not sound all that horrible but this was the kind that makes you want to rip your skin off. My face was actually red and raw the next day from me rubbing it so hard. It was torture.

BUT I have to say that I think what I went through was probably easier than laboring for hours so I'm still glad we decided to have the section. Not that I wasn't in pain from the incision for days after and still have twinges of pain even now (it is major surgery, after all) but in some ways, I feel like I got off easier than most with my delivery.

We had visitors ALL day the first day and often during the next three days. I had packed some magazines in my hospital bag, thinking I'd have some down time to catch up on my stack. HA! Not even close. Between medical staff coming and going, visitors, breastfeeding, changing, and loving on my new angel, I barely had a minute to close my eyes, much less leisurely read a magazine!

The hospital staff were amazing (except for that anesthesiologist!) and everyone did their best to make sure we were as comfortable as possible. Before we knew it, it was Friday and time to head home with our little bundle. Overall I would say my delivery experience was really positive and I'm very happy with the way it happened.

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For those who are interested, I posted one last pregnancy update covering the final two weeks.

Hopefully it won't be long before I can blog again and share a little about life as a new mom (I don't find it to be as difficult as some say!) and show y'all some of Jaxon's professional newborn pictures (they're precious).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thank you for reading my novel of a story! :-)

He's Here!

2011-05-19T17:39:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all, I have a really good excuse for being MIA the past couple of weeks. A really really good excuse.

If you didn't already know, we have a baby!

Jaxon was born May 10 at 7:12 AM . He weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce and was 22 inches long. He's the most amazing thing I've ever seen -and definitely the most amazing thing I've ever done- in my life.

JD and I are in awe of the blessing that he is and we still have a hard time believing that he's really ours to keep forever.

I want to be able to devote a little more time to his birth story than I have right now but hopefully I'll be able to come back soon to share it. And maybe a few more pictures :-)

I Shall Call Him Squishy

2011-05-06T07:00:00.006-05:00

And he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy!

But, you know, only as a nickname. When the mood strikes. Since he's obviously going to be quite squishy, being that his weight was estimated to be 9 pounds, 12 ounces yesterday! Oy.

I've debated whether or not to reveal the bug's name on the blog but in the end, JD and I couldn't really think of a valid reason not to. Even though I still call my husband JD (which is just his initials, not what he actually goes by), I've decided to reveal our son's name. Part of it, I'll admit, has to do with the fact that I'm too lazy to come up with an appropriately cute/clever nickname for him that will be relevant for the next however many years I decide to blog.

So, without further rambling, his name will be...

Jaxon Abbott

When we're not calling him Squishy, that is.

(I mean, really. Look at those smooshable cheeks and kissable lips! Hands down the most beautiful face I've ever seen. Even if those 3D pictures do make babies look like aliens, he's my squishy alien and I love him to bits.)

My Fairy Tale - Bridals

2011-05-03T07:00:00.001-05:00

With my last post, I began the story of our wedding with the proposal story and engagement pictures and now I'll share some of my bridal pictures. I had so much fun taking these. It was the second time in my life (after my senior portraits) that a photo shoot was all about me and I had a blast playing model for a day. My photographer was amazing and it's so crazy to think that she'll be taking newborn pictures for us in a few weeks! My only regret about my bridal shoot is that we forgot to take any pictures with my veil on, but I'm still happy with the way they turned out and I'm so glad I was able to experience that day!

If you missed them, here's the post of how my husband and I met and here's the proposal story. I'll be back soon to share about our wedding!

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P.S. If you read my pregnancy updates, I added a new one this morning. It covers the past three weeks. I'm slacking on those updates lately!

My Fairy Tale

2011-04-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

I don't know about y'all, but this whole royal fairy tale wedding thing has me feeling more than a little nostalgic over my own wedding. And I realized my wedding is a big life event that I've never really documented on my blog. So I figured today would be the perfect day to begin sharing some of our story!

I already shared the story of how we met here, so now I'll start with the proposal (copied from our wedding website) and a few engagement pictures, and go from there. If we're friends IRL or on Facebook, you might have seen/heard all of this already but just humor a sentimental pregnant sap- or skip these posts if you'd like ;-)

We were on vacation a few days before Christmas in New York (edited to add: the date was December 22, 2007). The whole trip was an absolute dream but obviously our engagement night was the highlight. We had dinner at a cute little sushi restaurant, saw Mama Mia at the Winter Garden Theater and then wandered around NYC for a while. We ended up at the top of the Empire State Building around 12:45 am and after a while were the last people up there. Right before closing, Jeff dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. I didn't see the ring at first and thought he was messing with me (which he had done before) so I rolled my eyes and told him to shut up! Then I saw my AMAZING ring and slowly realized he was serious and of course said yes! As soon as he put the ring on my finger it started snowing, like something straight out of a movie. That was the only time on our trip it snowed so we like to think of it as a confirmation that we're meant to be together. He tries to say I teared up but I keep telling him it was just snow getting in my eyes ;-) The whole night couln't have been any more perfect for us and he couldn't be any more perfect for me!

I hope Will and Kate enjoy being married as much as JD and I have!

I Mean, Earth Day Is Great And All, But...

2011-04-22T13:29:00.001-05:00

Ok, y'all know I very rarely go on rants here but I am fired up about something today. Can someone please tell me WHY Earth Day just has to occur on the same day as Good Friday and not on any one of the other 364 days available in the year?? I understand that they just happen to fall on the same day this year but if our country's leaders were able to push Tax Day back this year so it didn't coincide with Emancipation Day (who even celebrates that??), then why couldn't they push Earth Day back?

I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm all for doing what we can to save poor ol' "Mother Earth" (which also bugs the mess out of me. The earth is not in any way, shape, or form my mother. But that's a completely separate rant.).

I am a nut about recycling. We live outside of our city limits and don't have recycling pick up at our house so for the past almost three years that we've lived here, I've insisted that we save all of our recycling and give it to my parents to put with theirs, since they do have a pick up service. Pretty much every time I see my parents, one of the first things I do after I hug them is hand over bags and boxes full of recyclables. My husband, mom and dad all laugh and roll their eyes at me but indulge my efforts. I make a point to turn off lights in rooms we're not currently in, I unplug appliances that aren't being used, I do my best to remember to bring reusable bags when grocery shopping (though I have to admit, I do forget more often than not), and I look for products that are environmentally friendly whenever possible.

So I get it. I get that we need to do our part to preserve our valuable natural resources and the earth in general. I have no problem with that.

I do, however, have a problem with the fact that the day chosen to promote green ideas and raise awareness of Mother Earth's dire condition just so happens to occur on the day that is meant to celebrate our heavenly Father and the sacrifice that His son made. Jesus suffered unfathomable pain and died a horrific death because He loves us so much that He couldn't bear the thought of spending eternity without us. He knew that our sin had to be punished and unless he took the punishment upon Himself, we would have to suffer the consequences and be separated from Him forever. So He chose to take our punishment for us, so that we could be forgiven and spend eternity with Him, if we choose to accept His gift and live for Him.

So it seems to me that the very least we could do is to put aside one day a year to focus on Him and do our best to express how very thankful we are for His sacrifice that day so many years ago, without distracting from the meaning of the day by going on and on about green living. I'm all for having a day to raise awareness of the earth but why does it have to be today? Who decided that Good Friday wasn't an important enough reason to postpone Earth Day for one year? (I mean, clearly it's not as important as Emancipation Day.) I'd love to have a little chat with them and ask what in the name of Mother Earth they were thinking!

And now I'm done. Rant over, thanks for letting me vent!

Organization Makes Me Giddy

2011-04-15T07:00:00.001-05:00

I can't tell y'all how many times a week I change out my purses. I can't stand to not match (or at least coordinate) so I will make myself late if I have to, as long as I don't leave the house with a random mis-matched bag.

So needless to say, I was overjoyed when I opened my ideeli email this morning and saw PurseN inserts on sale! These handy dandy little organizers make it a breeze to transfer purses. Most of your important items can go into the insert and you just grab that and switch it to your next purse whenever you want!

The one I got (medium size) retails for $58 but I got it for $32. Score!

I also scooped up this cute little jewelry organizer for when I travel. Although the only trip in my forseeable future will be to the hospital, I figure it's an item that I can use for years to come. Don't all those little pockets just make you want to do a little happy dance?

The small one retails for $40 but I got mine for $24.

If you don't get ideeli emails and need an invitation, you can click here. But if you're interested in these, don't delay because they seem to be selling out fast!

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend and get yourself some kind of little treat that makes you happy!

Oh and for those who didn't see it yesterday, I posted another pregnancy update (tab at top).

My Final Shower

2011-04-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

So, I gave y'all a break from baby talk with my last post but I'm back at it again today! :-) I had my final shower this past Sunday and it was amazing. It was held at my sister-in-law's house and some of JD's family helped put it together. There was an animal theme and it was seriously one of the cutest showers I've ever been to- not that I'm biased or anything!

Here are some shots of the entry table with the diaper cake that JD's sister made. How cute is that?? I thought she bought it somewhere and was so impressed when I realized that she did it herself. The party favors were animal shaped cookie cutters. They were so cute the guests had trouble picking out which one they wanted to take!

Here's the yummy food table. The hostesses were awesome about making sure there were plenty of things I could eat while on my diet. So thoughtful of them!

I was completely blown away by the amount of presents we received! I wish I would've taken a picture of it all piled up when we got home but I was so eager to get everything put away that I completely forgot to do it. But believe me when I say we have one extremely loved and blessed little boy!

This bank from my grandparents makes me giggle! They live in Missouri and couldn't make it in for the shower but they made sure to send a sweet present for the bug. The bank is an elephant and you put coins in the tip of the trunk and watch them squiggle down into the bank (elephant's tummy). They sent a note for us to put our leftover change in it at the end of the day and start saving for the boy's college :-)

This was another gift sent by a family member who couldn't make it, one of my sisters. She sent a box FULL of stuff but I just had to get a picture with this cute bag. I love love love monogrammed baby items!

The hostesses had the most wonderful idea I've ever heard for a shower. They requested that instead of a card, each guest bring a book and sign the inside of it! That way we got a great start on the bug's library and now we'll have their sweet little notes that we can read to him when we read the books!

I kept looking for cards or tags saying who the gifts were from and people kept telling me to check inside the book. I thought how wonderful it was that everyone knew me so well that they knew I'd love to get books for him, and was wondering how everyone except me knew about this trick of signing the books! I was probably on my sixth present before someone clued me in on the secret. I never would have figured it out on my own! I am so slow to catch onto things!

Here's the stack of reading goodies we received. So amazing! It was seriously one of my favorite parts of the day.

My sweet sister-in-law drove all the way from Texas to be with us that day! It meant the world to me to have her there and I hope we can visit again soon.

And here's the cake! I had to include several pictures so y'all could get the full effect. It was amazing. The animals on the cake perfectly matched the ones on the plates and napkins. My sister-in-law got it from a lady who does cakes out of her house and I know where I'll be going when it's time for the bug's first birthday cake! She's so talented!

Since I can't have cake right now, my sweet mother-in-law insisted on freezing a piece of it so I could have it after the baby's born! She said if people do it for weddings, why not do it for babies? :-)

JD and my dad snuck over before and after the shower to visit and see the decorations and help pack up the HUGE load of gifts. Here they're chatting on my sis-in-law's beautiful front porch.

I think that about wraps it up. It was such a blessing to be able to see everyone who came. I love life events like this because it gives everyone an excuse to get together and catch up! Now I just need to finish organizing everything we have so I can see what we have too much or not enough of and get to returning/shopping.

Happy Friday and I hope y'all have a lovely weekend!

My Latest And Greatest

2011-04-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ok before I get into my latest obsessions, I think I might need to clear a little something up. My friend Erin left a comment last night letting me know that when I mentioned my "GD diet" in my last post, it might not have been obvious to some that I was referring to my gestational diabetes diet and not my G-d d---n diet lol! I couldn't stop giggling when I read that because if you know me (and Erin does), you know I'm not typically one to cuss and I definitely try to keep things clean here on my little blog (hi, Grandma!). I just got the biggest kick out of realizing that some of you might have though that I was so upset over the diet that I uncharacteristically felt the need to express my feeligs with a curse word (or even the letters signifying one)! Anyhoo, now you know what I meant by "GD" and in the future I'll go ahead and spell it out to avoid any confusion :-)

Now on to my obsessions!

{via}

The first is a shampoo/conditioner duo, the Organix Moroccon Argan Oil set. I would be lying if I said the color of the bottles weren't the first thing that grabbed my attention with these products. But when I realized that they contain moroccon argan oil, I knew I had to try them. I've been wanting to try MorocconOil for my hair for a while now, I just haven't quite been willing to cough up $40 for a bottle. So I decided to try these first and see if I noticed a difference in my hair.

And the verdict is: I did! They make my hair feel so soft and smooth, it's easy to comb through my wet hair without feeling like I'm ripping out half of my head, and they smell amazing! This is the first time I've actually noticed the smell of my hair throughout the day. It's such a pleasant surprise when I get a random whiff of it. And bonus points, it's free of sulfates and parabens.

Bottom line, you need to try them! And try to grab them at the steal I got. I found them at Ulta when the Organix products were Buy One, Get One 50% Off and I used a $3.50 off a $10 Purchase coupon. So normally the two would be $16 and I got them for $8.50. Can't beat that!

Next obsession: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in Blue Away. I couldn't find any good "official" pictures of it so you'll just have to make do with the one that I snapped. This color just shouts "Spring" to me, which I love. With this polish, you're supposed to be able to only use one coat but I used two and didn't time how long it took to dry but it did seem quicker than normal. I really just got it for the color, though, and that did not disappoint. If you want to try this one, don't be confused by the Blue Me Away, which is a little darker and more turquoisey than this one. This one is a limited edition in their Spring line and I've seen it at Target and Walgreens.

I love the fact that two of my latest obsessions are color coordinated and I smile every single time I notice my toes.

Third obsession: Burt's Bees Naturally Ageless Line Diminishing Day Lotion.

{via}

I've been on the hunt for a good moisturizer for quite some time now and I think I've finally found one that I'll stick with for a while. It goes on light and easy, smells great and makes my skin so soft! And of course I got a deal on it. It retails for $24.99 at Target and Ulta but I got it here on Amazon for about $16.

And my last obsession for today: vintage scarves! I don't know what it is about these things that just draws me to them. I live in Louisiana so I obviously don't need them for practical purposes and I really don't incorporate them into my everyday wear (though I'd love to be one of those chic ladies who always wears a scarf tied around her bag handle), but something about just knowing that I have them makes me happy! Here are a few of my latest finds (so late, in fact, that I haven't had time to get an iron to them yet so please excuse the wrinkles!). I've found the ones I have at estate sales and I think the most I've paid for one is $4. A very small price to pay for the warm fuzzies they give me!

Now I'd love to hear about your latest obsessions. Please share! What are some little things that are making you happy these days?

Party Time!

2011-04-01T09:18:00.007-05:00

JD and I have already been blessed with two showers and my "real" one is happening this Sunday. I'm so excited!

The first one was at my work on the 18th. My BFF Natalie works here with me so she organized it with the help of two other co-workers. I work with mostly women and we always do something for girls who are having their first baby.

I've probably mentioned this before, but I get so nervous when I'm the center of attention. I freak out and my face turns beet red (really, it's a rather startling shade... I've seen it happen in a mirror before) and I just want to fall into a hole in the floor. So knowing this, Natalie requested that everyone bring the gifts unwrapped so I wouldn't have to open them in front of everyone! She set all the gifts out on a table with little blue cards saying who each item was from and I was able to just look through the gifts without everyone staring at me the whole time. The shower was laid-back and relaxed and there were no cheesy games, it was just a time to snack and visit and look at cute baby things. It was so perfect.

Here's the gift table. The lovebug is so spoiled already!

And here's the food table. They also had my favorite cake, Berry Chantilly from Whole Foods. If you've never tried it, do yourself a favor and get in your car and drive to Whole Foods right this very second and get you some. It is heavenly. Like, really, that's all I want to eat all day long when I get to heaven. I was super sad that I couldn't eat much of it (I had two little bites) because of my GD diet. I would show a picture of it but it has the bug's name on it and I haven't made my decision about whether to share his name on the blog yet. I probably will but not 100% sure.

The one on the left is Natalie. She and Dawn (in orange) are both pregnant too. We literally have about six or seven pregnant co-workers right now! We joke about the water here. If you're trying to get pregnant I can totally send some to you!

And here are a couple of shots of the crowd. I feel so blessed that all these ladies showed up to celebrate my boy! Or maybe they just wanted a little break from work, but either way it was a wonderful turnout :-)

The following Friday, some of the moms of JD's baseball players surprised him with a shower at school. After practice, the principal called him into the library saying she'd received an email from a parent that she needed to discuss with him. The players hightailed it to the library where I was waiting with the moms and JD's family, and we got him good! He had no idea what was going on. I knew about the shower probably a month in advance and had the HARDEST time keeping the secret! I can't tell you how many times I almost slipped and said something to him. I hope I never have to keep a secret from that man again.

Here's a shot of when he realized what was going on. I love his beautiful smile :-)

And there's the smile again! Look at that cute little glove. I can't wait until my two boys can play catch in the yard together.

His 3 year old nephew, Cooper, was there and was more than happy to help open presents. Such a good little helper!

This picture cracks me up. I didn't get a lick of food by the time the boys were finished with the table. But I didn't mind a bit, I'm just impressed that a bunch of high school boys sat peacefully through a baby shower!

Instead of an actual cake, they had cupcakes that were bunched together and iced to look like a cake. Pretty cool! It says, "Home Run... It's A Boy."

They played this game where the seniors had to drink apple juice out of a bottle and whoever finished first won a gift card. Let me just tell you, it's not as easy as you might think it would be! I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard! Those poor boys! But they were such good sports about it.

We've already been literally showered with presents and still have another shower this weekend! I'm so thankful for and humbled by the people who have contributed. It's so sweet to know that they all care about our baby before they've even met him.

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend because I know I will! :-)

We Have A Winner

2011-03-28T11:56:00.006-05:00

Hey y'all! Just popping in to let you know who won the CSN giveaway. I'm so old-school with my winner picking! I don't do the random number generator site (I can't even think of the name of it at the moment). I write out names, throw them in whatever container I have handy (today it was the vintage Fenton bowl on my desk), close my eyes and pick a name. If I'm at home I let JD do the honors but today it had to be me.

Without dragging this out, the winner is...

Annie at Chapters of Our Life! Congrats, girl! She's actually having a little boy soon too, so I know she'll find something useful to get with her prize. Thanks to everyone who participated; I love doing giveaways!

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For those who like to read them, I posted a pregnancy update. I got busy and missed my last one so it's been 4 weeks since I updated! Time is flying!

I also have two showers to blog about so hopefully I'll get to that before I have my last one this weekend! Until then, have a fabulous week!

Review and Giveaway!

2011-03-20T07:00:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned lately how fast this pregnancy is going?? It seems like just yesterday I had 32 weeks to go and now I'm 32 weeks into it! Before I know it, the lovebug will be running around the yard and we'll be thinking about things like wooden swing sets, then I'll blink and he'll be starting junior high and we'll be thinking about things like girls, and then (sniff, sniff) he'll be getting ready for college and we'll be thinking about things like careers!

Thankfully for now, we're still thinking about baby stuff. I'll enjoy this sweet time in his life as long as I possibly can. But my goodness, there sure is a lot of stuff to buy! Which is one reason I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a review for CSN Stores. I think by now, we all know about this awesome website (and if you don't, you should!) that has pretty much anything you could want for your home, pets, baby... the list is almost endless.

I knew I'd do the review on a baby-related item since that's pretty much all I'm buying these days and after some deliberation I decided to get our crib mattress. Then, after some research and more deliberation, I settled on the Serta Nightstar Extra Firm Crib Mattress. I know nothing about what kind of mattress is best for a crib, besides the fact that it needs to be firm. I chose this one because I trust the brand, it had great reviews on different websites and it seemed like a good value for the price. Also, I cannot tell a lie, it has the cute little Serta sheep printed on it, which basically sealed the deal for me ;-)

So far, I couldn't be happier with my choice! Of course shipping was quick and easy, as it always is with CSN. It's the perfect size for the crib (no gaps around the edges) and the sheets we chose fit nicely. One feature I really like is that it has a vinyl cover which can be easily wiped down, as I'm sure will be necessary quite a few times. It also comes with a 25 year warranty, which is always nice. Although I can't comment on the durability of the mattress since we haven't actually used it yet, it does seem really promising. So far, so good, and I would feel comfortable recommending this product to other parents looking for a crib mattress.

And because CSN is so awesome, they not only gave me a $45 gift code to use toward an item to review (I paid the balance on the mattress), they also gave me another $45 code to give away! And this code can be used at any of their 200+ stores! I guarantee you'll be able to find something you love or need. If you don't believe me, go browse around their site for a while and then when you're convinced, come back here and enter!

I like to keep giveaways simple, so all you have to do is comment on this post and ask to be entered! I'd prefer that entries only come from followers of my blog, because I like to reward y'all once in a while for putting up with my babbling :-) I'll pick a winner on March 27th or 28th (with my sporadic posting schedule lately, I figure I need to leave myself some flexibility). I can only accept entries from the US or Canada since those are the only countries CSN ships to at this point. If I can't get to your email by replying to your comment, please be sure to include your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win. You don't have to have a blog to enter but, again, let me know your email address or make sure I know how to contact you.

So let me know if you want to be entered and good luck!

Have Y'all Heard...

2011-03-09T07:00:00.002-06:00

...about Rent the Runway? I don't think I've blogged about this before but if I have, I apologize and would like to blame "pregnancy brain" (yes, there is such a thing and it's taken over with a vengance for this lady). RTR is a website that allows you to rent designer dresses and accessories for a small fraction of the retail price. Brilliant!

The website is set up so you can look for outfits according to occasion, body type, designer, or even sleeve type. A few of the designers offered include Halston Heritage, Gryphon, Diane von Furstenberg, Alice + Olivia and, most recently, Lilly Pulitzer (although if those aren't your style, there are about 75 designers so I'm sure you'll find something that tickles your fancy). Rental prices are determined by the retail price of the dress. For instance, if the dress retails for $395 the rental price might be $50 and if the dress retails for $1,350 the rental would be $150.

One feature I love is that each time you order a dress from a new designer, they send you the dress in two sizes just in case you're not sure of the size you need. How nice are they??

They send your dress/jewelry/bag to you a day or two before you plan to wear it, and then once you wear the item you put it in the provided envelope and drop it in the mail. You don't even have to bother paying for return shipping since it's included in the rental price.

It's definitely worth looking into for special occasions (especially ones when you'd normally buy a dress that you might end up wearing only once). Once you sign up, they periodically send you $20 off coupons. This $20 should take care of shipping and the insurance fee they charge (if you have too much fun at a wedding and spill red wine on your dress, no problem!). I rented a $400 dress and ended up paying about $35 with a coupon, which is less than I would have usually paid to buy a dress. The process was so easy and it's always fun to have a "new" dress to strut!

If you're interested, click here for an invitation to sign up.

Note: I wasn't asked or compensated in any way to write this post, it's just a site that I thoroughly enjoyed using and I wanted to share the fun with y'all!

Weekend Fun

2011-02-28T15:30:00.011-06:00

Thank y'all so much for the support and sympathy on my last post! It's so nice to be able to vent once in a while and get showered with a bunch of virtual hugs. Y'all are awesome.

Thankfully, this past weekend was filled with some exciting happenings that helped to get me out of my funk! JD was out of town for a baseball tournament so I was left to entertain myself, which I usually have no problem doing.

Friday, I decided on the diaper bag that I want to carry. Unlike most other baby-related items, I hadn't heard much input from other mothers on a good diaper bag choice, or even what I should look for in a bag. I had heard of Petunia Pickle Bottom, but I'd only heard that the brand was expensive so I didn't do any further research. While browsing my daily email from Beyond the Rack (a sample sale site similar to Rue la la and Gilt), I saw that PPB was having a sale so I decided to investigate.

I fell in love with the color and print on one of the diaper bags, but even on sale it was $100 (it retails for ~$170). I sent a tweet asking for input about the brand and didn't get a response so I texted a mommy friend of mine who has great taste and knows a ton about baby stuff. Turns out, this is the only kind of diaper bag she's ever used and she loves them!

That was just the nudge I needed. I decided that the options provided by the bag (it can be carried as a backpack or shoulder bag and it has a built-in changing pad and removable dirty diaper pouch, among other goodies) justified the price and I went for it! I can't wait for it to arrive!

I'd previously bought JD a diaper bag for when he and the bug go off on their own. I figured whatever bag I decided on would be too girly for him to be comfortable carrying, and I was right! His bag is from Diaper Dude. It retails for $98 but I got it from Gilt for $50. I love that I got both of our bags for less than the retail price of the PPB bag! Here's a picture of his.

I spent Saturday with my parents. They both met me at Babies R Us to pick up the glider for the nursery, which had arrived the day before. We then went to a "trash and treasure" sale that was held in an old department store nearby. We had pictured a nice, supersized estate sale but let's just say that the "treasure" part should have been left out of the title. It was beyond disappointing.

My dad headed home after that and mom and I had lunch at my favorite Mexican place then went shopping for fabrics for the nursery. So much fun! We found material for two pillows and a blanket. The only disappointment came when we found the perfect curtain fabric and the store didn't have the amount that we needed. I plan to stalk that store for the next few weeks on the off chance that they'll get more in a future shipment. I already checked online with no luck. Cross your fingers for me!

JD came home Sunday (finally... I missed him so much) and my parents drove out to our house (about an hour drive for them) and dropped off the glider (which I'm breaking in as I type!). I feel like things are slowly starting to come together with the nursery and it's a relief because the babe will be here before we know it!

Side note: After reading back over this post, I'm amused by the difference a baby can make in what one considers "exciting"! I'm sure many of you couldn't care less about diaper bags, gliders and nursery fabric but I appreciate you sticking around through my giddy pregnant ramblings :-)

Another side note: I plan to post a pregnancy update tomorrow so stop by to check on that if you're interested!

Well That's Not What I Wanted To Hear

2011-02-24T09:54:00.007-06:00

I went for my glucose test last Thursday (you know, the one that tests for gestational diabetes, where they make you drink the nasty sugary drink and then take your blood after an hour wait) and I failed it. The cutoff point is 130 and mine was "150-something" according to the nurse. This meant I had to go back yesterday and drink another drink (which was twice as sugary and therefore twice as nasty) after fasting (not easy for a pregnant lady), and have four blood draws over the course of three hours. Not fun for anyone, less fun for a girl who hates needles.

I knew before this test that I'm insulin resistant, which is caused by the PCOS, but I've been taking metformin and was hoping that it was helping to keep my glucose/insulin levels in check.

Also, I knew of several people who had higher results on their first test and then passed their second test so I wasn't all that concerned about it. Well, the nurse just called with the results and started the conversation off with "you're fine," which made me think I had passed. I got all excited but then she said that two of the four levels were off and that I would be receiving a call from a dietitian to set up an appointment so I could be started on a special diet. Apparently what she meant by "you're fine" was "you'll be fine once you completely change the way you're eating and, in the process, become a crabby, miserable pregnant person who wants to punch the face of the next person who tweets about the yummy girl scout cookies they're binging on."

I'm sure it'll be fine and I'll adjust to the new diet --and the possibility of pricking my finger to check my glucose levels four times a day-- but I am not looking forward to it and I'm giving myself at least a day to pout/complain/be annoyed and bitter before I shake myself and get over it.

So please excuse me while I go whine to a few co-workers and basically have myself a little pity party.

In the meantime, if any of you have had any experience with gestational diabetes or this "special diet" (which should be called something more fitting like "pain in the keister diet") feel free to share your knowledge. If you haven't had experience with any of it, feel free to share some sympathy. I'll take whatever I can get at this point.

(I know it's not the end of the world and there are much worse things that could happen during a pregnancy. I am extremely grateful for the easy time I've had so far and hate to complain on my blog, I just need a second to pout. I'm sure I'll be back to my usual cheery self in no time.)

One Bandwagon I'm Happy To Jump On

2011-02-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's FRIIIIDAAAY! (Wasn't sure if y'all noticed so just thought I'd mention it.)

I am so late to the party on this one but I recently decided to start a tumblr page (which, if you follow me on Twitter, you already know... so I'm sorry if you've heard this before but believe it or not, a lot of people don't like Twitter. I know, crazy!). I wasn't sure how I felt about tumblr initially, but I've come to realize that it's something I thoroughly enjoy. Ok ok I admit, I'm basically obsessed. It's just a place I can collect the pictures, quotes, websites, whatever, that make me really really happy. You know... the things that give me warm fuzzies inside. And they're all in one place for me to scroll through anytime I want.

I call it "Life As I Love It." Kind of a play on my blog name but really, the name explains it exactly... things I come across that I love as I go through life. It's truly just for my benefit but if you think I might post something that'll give you a warm fuzzy or two, or maybe just a little smile, feel free to follow me! I have a feeling I'll post there a lot more often than I do here.

Sometimes I'll post pictures that I take myself like this one (taken with the Instagram app):

Sometimes I'll post pictures that I ~~steal~~ borrow (and of course I'll do my best to credit the source) like this one:

And sometimes it might just be a quote or a link.

If any of this sounds like something you're interested in, give me a visit and follow if you'd like! I'm still learning how it all works but I'm making progress. Also, I want to know if any of you, my ~~readers~~ friends, are on tumblr so I can follow you as well. So let me know!

Have a lovely weekend!

Leftover Valentine (Eye) Candy

2011-02-15T07:00:00.002-06:00

I'd planned on posting this yesterday but my blog background was messed up for half of the day so I decided to wait until it was fixed. I apologize to anyone who stopped by and saw the craziness!

It's been a while since I shared things that are making me happy (besides my wonderful husband and sweet boy on the way, of course) so I thought I'd do a little post on that.

JD and I don't usually celebrate Valentine's Day. It's partly because we don't really see the point of it when we let each other know every day how much we love and appreciate the other, and partly because it's hard to plan anything during baseball season (for those of you who don't know, he's a high school coach).

But he completely surprised me yesterday when he sent these tulips to me at work. Tulips are my faaavorite. He included a stuffed monkey with the flowers and at first I was wondering what he thought I was going to do with a stuffed animal, until I read the card and realized it was "for our son." Awwwwww! I'll go ahead and admit that I teared up when I read the card but I'm going to blame that on the hormones ;-)

Something else that's making me happy is the thought of getting this cuff bracelet from Tiffany's as my push present. I want to get the babe's initials engraved on the inside, which will mean even more to me since they'll be the same as JD's initials. Although we've talked about it, I'm not sure if JD really plans to get me a push present so I've decided if he doesn't, I'll just get it for myself! And anyway, getting myself an expensive (or at least expensive for me) piece of jewelry or clothing is on my 30 Before 30 list, so I could kill two birds with one stone! (You can check out the tab at the top of the page if you're not familiar with my list.)

I have been swooning over this Fenton Ruffle Bowl for months. I had it on a Christmas wishlist I made and I've stalked it many times since then. Since it's from etsy, I would always hold my breath a little before I'd click on the link, hoping no one else had snatched it up. I finally decided last week that I should just get it already! It arrived yesterday and is perfect. I'll probably keep it on my desk with little candies in it.

And last, since there's a good chance that it'll be a while before we're able to take another vacation the way we love to do (thanks to the lovebug), I've been enjoying pictures and memories from the ones we have been able to take. We've been so blessed to be able to visit all the places we've been together: California, NYC (twice), DC, Jamaica, Disney World, Vegas, Seattle and Canada, along with other smaller trips. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from some of those trips.

Lazing in Laguna Beach:

Strolling in Victoria, Canada:

Hiking in Olympic National Park (so peaceful):

Hiking at Mount Rainier (breathtaking):

Honeymooning in Jamaica:

Now it's your turn! What did you do for Valentine's Day (if you celebrate it) and/or what's something that's making you happy these days?
________________________________________________

P.S. I posted a new pregnancy update (tab at top) yesterday!

Randoms

2011-02-11T07:00:00.005-06:00

I seem to be all about the random posts lately. Ah well, such is my life right now. (If you don't read through the whole thing, please at least read #5... especially if you're a mommy!)

1. We've had a few really fun family functions the last few weeks. First, we celebrated JD's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. I love that we have such wonderful role models in our family. 60 years together is a long time to enjoy the one you love! So precious. Our next event was his cousin's engagement party (pics below), and then we had my sister's 50 birthday party. Crazy, right? My mom was 42 when she had me and I have half-siblings from both my mom and dad so my family has always been a bit different. I wouldn't have it any other way, though! It was so nice to have excuses to see both of our families since we live so far out and don't get to see everyone very often.

JD and his wonderful dad:

He is not a fan of my car pictures (and I'm actually not a fan of myself in this one), but he cracks me up with that face:

2. I've also had some quality time with my friend Erin. She's graduating from dental school this May and then moving to Dallas. Waaaaah! I'm so sad she's leaving me. She lives in New Orleans so it's a bit of a drive for us to hang out but we're trying to squeeze in as much time together as possible before she goes.

She spent a Saturday with me and we shopped, got frozen yogurt, watched a movie and did our nails... basically a perfect girly day. Then this past Saturday, she took a little road trip with me to Alabama to order the lovebug's baby bedding and visit the Gulfport outlet mall. Another fabulous day! It's been a while since I've had some good girl time so these days were perfect.

Here's a peek at the bedding fabric. I can't wait for y'all to see the finished product! Actually, I can't wait to see it either, since I've only seen pictures so far. It's hard to see the colors in the picture but the two solids are navy and light blue and they're both minky fabric... soooo incredibly soft and cuddly!

3. Confession: I'm actually a little disappointed in my House of Harlow necklace (from my last post). I knew that since it's made of abalone the actual necklace I got would vary from the picture, but the colors in the one I received are just not as vivid as I imagined. They're paler and almost washed-out. And there's not even much blue in it, which I was looking forward to. Too bad it's a non-returnable item from Gilt. I guess that's what I get for impulse shopping like that! I know I'll still use it, I'm just not head over heels about it the way I thought I would be. Bummer.

4. I'm trying to decide whether or not to keep my belly button piercing. I got a flexible pregnancy ring/bar thing but it still gets caught on clothes more easily now that my belly pokes out so much. I've had the ring for 12 years (got it when I was 16!) so by this point it almost feels like an extension of me and I'd miss it if it were gone, but JD has always hated it and thinks I should just take it out. Man, I hate making decisions! Have any of you kept body piercings through a pregnancy? Thoughts?

5. We're registering for baby stuff this weekend! I can't decide if it has me feeling more excited or overwhelmed. There are just SO many options out there! If any of you mamas (or daddies?) have particular brands you love or products you can't live without, I'd love to hear about them!

Pretty much the only thing we've decided on for sure is this travel system by Chicco:

Anyhoo, I think that about covers today's randomness! Hope y'all have had a fabulous week. Thank heavens it's Friday!

Y'all.

2011-02-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

I can't believe what I just did. Although I'm not usually an impulse shopper (promise!) I randomly snatched up this House of Harlow Abalone Pendant Necklace from Gilt.

There are SO many other things I should be spending my money on (hello, baby on the way?) but I've been mildly obsessed with HoH jewelry for a while, I've just been waiting for the right piece to demand that I bring it home with me. Something about the irridescent colors and the starburst in this pendant just made it impossible for me to resist! I've had a really bad week at work and needed a pick-me-up and I partially justified the purchase by telling myself that I've been wearing a lot of tanks and cardigans since I've been pregnant and that this pendant will add a nice pop to my new "uniform."

Have I convinced you that my purchase wasn't too crazy yet? I think I'm still trying to convince myself.

Oh also, see the "Nicole's Pick" symbol on the picture? That means the necklace comes with a bonus piece, this black leather cuff.

Isn't it pretty much amazing? I am concerned that the cuff might be too big on me and if it is, I'll try to sell it ( at a price below retail value of course). Anyone interested in buying it if I do need to sell?

Someone please tell me how pretty the necklace is and how much wear I'll get out of it and how silly I am to be stressing myself over this impulse purchase! I swear, I think the pregnancy hormones might be finally starting to catch up with me. I haven't had an issue with craziness so far, but the last few days have been rough. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind and I think a pretty new necklace might be just what I need to restore some of my peace and sanity. Right? Right??

Oh, Monday

2011-01-31T14:56:00.005-06:00

I started to do a post with a sneak peek of the bug's nursery... pictures of the bedding, crib and changing table / dresser that I plan to order and maybe a few other odds and ends that I'd like to put in there but now I'm thinking I might rather wait and just show y'all the finished product. Decisions, decisions!

In the meantime, I updated my pregnancy page (tab at the top) for anyone who's interested.

Hope your Monday isn't too awful :-)

{via}

Gee Thanks, Mama

2011-01-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

Me: How much did I weigh when I was born?

Mom: Check in your baby book. Do you still have it?

Me: I never had it.

Mom: I didn't give it to you?

Me: No, I've never even seen it.

Mom: Well did I do a baby book for you?

Me: Um, well I'm not sure... I can't remember that far back.

Mom: Huh. Well, I guess I didn't then. Let's see... Kathy was about 6 pounds, Sharon was about 7 pounds, and Pam was a BIG baby at about 8 pounds. I remember worrying that you would be bigger than Pam since my babies just kept getting bigger but thankfully you weren't, so I'd say you were somewhere around 6 or 7 pounds.

Me: Thanks, Mama, that's very helpful.

Moral of the story / note to self: Make baby books for all of my babies even if I make it to a fourth child, just on the off chance that they might at some point be really interested in knowing some random bit of information like how much they weighed at birth.

I know my mama loves me more than words can say, which she demonstrates in countless ways, and it doesn't really bother me that I don't have a baby book but it would still be nice to have one to look back at!

What do y'all think about baby books? Do you have one and if so, do you enjoy looking back at it or is it not that important to you?

Placenta Previa Update

2011-01-20T12:00:00.004-06:00

Hi, friends! I have some wonderful news! I had my latest prenatal visit yesterday and they did an ultrasound to check on the placenta previa situation I had going on, and our prayers were answered! The placenta has moved completely out of the way. Previa can occur in different degrees, from low-lying (when the placenta is 1 cm or less away from the opening of the cervix) to completely covering the opening (which mine was). Well now my placenta has moved so far out of the way that it's not even considered low-lying! I had heard of several cases when the placenta moved out of the way towards the end of a pregnancy -sometimes days before delivery- but it didn't even occur to me that it could or would move this quickly. All restrictions on my activity were removed and my doctor said I can do whatever I feel up to doing!

God has once again exceeded my expectations! As much faith as I had that everything would be ok, I had no idea we'd get our answer this soon.

When I was diagnosed with PCOS in June and we were told that I might not be able to become pregnant without intervention (or at all), we decided to put it all in God's hands and trust for His will to be done in our lives. Although doubt would creep in once in a while, I had a peace about the situation. Two months later, I was pregnant.

Then when I got pregnant I worried that something might happen to the baby since the risk of miscarriage is higher with PCOS, so JD and I (and close friends and family) prayed and prayed for the little lovebug. The risky time passed with no problems and things looked perfect.

Then at my last visit, I was told I had placenta previa. I knew that God had given us this child for a reason, and that helped me to not worry as much as I might have otherwise. We again asked close friends and family to pray and we got our perfect answer more quickly than I even dared to hope for. God is always faithful!

From the time of my diagnosis with PCOS, I've been holding onto the following scripture: "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6&7 NLT)

I am so thankful for the peace that He gives in potentially stressful and worrisome situations. I would've been a nervous wreck through my pregnancy journey without it.

So anyhoo... thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who have prayed for and supported me the last few months! Your encouragement and friendship mean the world to me.

Oh and the baby is right on track with his growth and development, and I'm feeling great. We are so blessed, I just can't stop smiling today!

____________________________________________

P.S. I posted a new pregnancy update under the tab at the top for those who like to read them.

In Need of Decorating Inspiration

2011-01-12T07:00:00.002-06:00

Now that the nursery will be taking over the room we previously used as an office / storage space, we have to figure out a way to make our guest room do double duty as an office. Neither of us need an actual home office but we do at least need a place to set up a printer and to put our laptops when they're not being used in the living room.

My dream would be to make the room into a library / reading room with a comfy sleeper sofa for our occasional guests, but the thought of selling our guest bed and completely making over a room from scratch (in addition to the nursery) is a bit overwhelming at this point. I'm having enough trouble picking out the baby furniture! So at least for now it's looking like we'll just switch some of our furniture pieces around and stuff our desk into the guest room. I'd at least like to change the chair out to something more fun than the one we currently have; maybe something similar to this round chair.

I still plan to one day have my cozy reading room and I have a general idea of what I'd want it to look like but I'd love to start collecting inspiration pictures for the specifics. Do y'all have any design or decorating sites or blogs that are sources of inspiration for you? I have one helpful blog that a friend recently recommended but other than that, I don't know where to even start.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and have a happy hump day! :-)

Randoms

2011-01-10T07:00:00.003-06:00

1. As desperately as I want to get back to blogging regularly, I feel as though I don't have much to contribute lately since I'm so restricted with what I can do, thanks to the placenta previa. Our extra-curricular activities have taken a backseat for now and besides planning for the baby, my life isn't what I would consider exciting or really "blog-worthy." I very much appreciate those of you who are sticking around and reading my increasingly sporadic posts!

2. One of my New Year Goals (I've always liked goals better than resolutions... for some reason I don't feel quite as loser-ish if I don't stick with them) is to record at least one blessing or thing that made me happy each day. Some days it's as simple as having sushi for lunch or laughing at something silly one of the fur babies did, but it makes me stop and realize how much I have to be thankful for on a daily basis. I know we're only 10 days into the new year but I'm loving it so far.

3. I get so confused when trying to figure out what month of pregnancy I'm in. I'm in my 22nd week so if I divide that by 4 weeks, that would be 5 1/2 months. But if I count the months I've actually been pregnant it would be more like 4 1/2. Can someone explain this to me or should I just plan to be confused for the rest of my pregnancy?

4. Last night as I was brushing my teeth, minding my own business, JD lifted up my shirt to look at my belly. To give him the full picutre, I poked it out as far as I could get it. He immediately screeched this high-pitched noise I'm pretty sure I've never heard him make, ran out of the room, dove into the bed and hid his head under his pillow. Ummm, not exactly the response any woman wants to elicit from the love of her life, four (five?) months pregnant or not.

I think lately he's been used to seeing me in looser fitting clothes and the sudden image of my rapidly expanding, snow-white, huge hunk of baby flesh in all its glory was a bit more than he could handle at the moment. In any case, once he felt safe enough to venture out from beneath his pillow, he was sure to let me know that he does indeed love me, the bug and my rather larger than normal belly very much. But I think it's safe to say he'll no longer randomly lift up my shirt to have a peek at the progress.

5. I think I had a couple more notes but I just made plans to eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant with my niece today and frankly, the thought of food has pretty much erased any rational thoughts I might have hoped to share with ya'll. Hopefully I'll be able to scrape up something interesting enough to post about soon!

Happy Monday y'all!

Holidays 2010

2011-01-03T11:27:00.003-06:00

By now Christmas posts are so 2010 but I'm determined to get one in anyway. I'll understand if you skip it! In case you do, I'll mention now that I posted a new pregnancy update in the tab at the top if you're interested in that.

We spent Christmas Eve day with my mom's side of our family at my sister's house. I think it goes without saying that it was so good to see everyone. One of my sisters had to work so she, her husband and five children were absent. We missed them but still had a wonderful day.

Here's a shot of me with some of my sisters and nieces. The one standing to the left behind the chair is my oldest sister, Kathy, and the one sitting in the chair wearing the red shirt is my middle sister, Sharon.

The counter behind us only held half of the food we had. I think we might've over cooked just a tad.

This is my dad with my youngest great-nephew, Ethan. How cute are they? :-) Ethan's mama is the one in the middle of the picture below this one.

These are Sharon's girls. So beautiful!

And this is my older great-nephew, Tyler. He went through a little phase when he refused to take pictures with anyone so I'm really glad he's out of that and back to his usual happy picture-posing ways! He makes my heart so happy. His mama is the one on the left in the picture above.

Christmas Eve night, we went to JD's parents' house to celebrate with his mom's side of the family and Christmas Day was spent with his dad's side of the family at his grandparents' house. We really enjoyed our time at each place but unfortunately, I didn't get a single picture from either of the other celebrations! Sad.

Since I'm pregnant and trying to avoid bed rest, we rang in the new year from our couch. Our last two New Years were spent in New York and Disney World, so this year was a bit of a letdown for us. But really, I'm just impressed that I stayed awake to see 12:00!

I hope your holidays were filled with as many wonderful memories (and as much good food) as ours were!

Don't forget to check out my pregnancy update... there are some big belly pictures in it for you if you do :-)

It's A...

2010-12-29T09:41:00.007-06:00

Yikes! I can't believe I made y'all wait this long to hear what we're having. That definitely wasn't my intention. I can't stand when someone teases a post and then takes for-e-ver to actually post it so I apologize for doing that!

Without making you wait any longer, we're having a boy!!! A sweet, cuddly, sometimes stinky little boy. And I could not be more excited. We would have loved having a little girl to spoil rotten but for some reason, I've always kind of assumed that I would have a boy first (if not all boys), so it just makes sense that this one's a boy. (How many times can I say "boy" in one post?)

I was surprised by how many people (more so in real life than the blog world) guessed that we were having a boy. It was an overwhelming landslide when I asked people what they thought the baby was. A lot of them said they could just "see" me with a little boy. And they were right!

I would show y'all the ultrasound picture that clearly shows "boy" (because I think it's hilarious) but JD gets embarrassed when I show people and he says the baby would be embarrassed too if he knew I was showing everyone. How funny!

We were worried that the baby would hide his "stuff" during the ultrasound or not be in a good position for us to see but we didn't need to worry at all. We asked the tech if there was any possibility that it was actually a girl and she said it was 100% for sure a boy (my sister was told my nephew was a girl from her ultrasound so I was worried about that happening to me too).

We are so excited that we can actually start buying boy stuff but I've had a little damper put on my shopping dreams with the placenta previa. Oh well, I'll make do somehow. There's always online shopping if I get desperate!