So Long 2014!

2014....what can I say? Thank you for being so good to me. It has truly been a wonderful year with lots of blessings! Andy and I were talking the other night about our favorite moments of 2014 and we came up with some great ones!
Our favorite winter moment of 2014 was being snowed in. We basically spent the better part of two weeks (with maybe a few days or so break in between snow storms) inside not being able to leave the house from being iced in. We walked to Kroger to buy Cinnamon Rolls, took Andy's truck to do doughnuts in the empty parking lots, played around with my camera and tripod, and ended the week with an emergency trip to the dentist for Andy's tooth.

One of the pictures I took playing around with the setting and tripod on my camera

Our favorite spring moment of 2014 was celebrating Andy's 30th birthday! I set up a Facebook group for a party for him at a pizza place called Pepperonis and invited his family on the group knowing full well that they lived far away and wouldn't be able to make the drive down. So, as we're sitting there eating pizza and celebrating ,in walks Andy's dad, step-mom, and little sister! It was such a great surprise for him!

Also in the spring as one of my personal best moments, I began running. And I sucked at it! I remember my first 3 miler took almost an hour! But I kept at it and on April 19th not only did I complete my first 5k race, but I placed 2nd in my age group!

Lorraine and I with our medals

We had a lot of favorite moments in the summer so we broke Summer up into early summer and late summer!  Our favorite early summer moment of 2014 was our beach trip to Daytona. Andy and I started saving and planning for this little weekend trip in January and we were so excited. It was probably one of the best beach trips I've ever taken! We brought food down to the beach everyday for sandwiches and just laid out by the ocean and read books.

When we came home we added to our family by 4 paws! Our next favorite early summer memory was adopting our sweet puppy Indy!

In mid/late summer we took two trips to Texas to meet and spend time with Andy's family. This was our favorite late summer memory! Both were really fun trips! I really enjoyed seeing everything since I had never been to any part of Texas before.

Then we have the fall of 2014. So many surprises and  good things happened to us in the fall. The biggest was finding out we were pregnant on August 28. I will never forget that morning for as long as I live! From getting those two lines on the test, to waking Andy up asking if he could see it, telling him the test was most likely broken, to running out to Kroger to buy four more boxes of them; that was by far my very favorite moment of 2014!
The next was becoming engaged and getting married to a man I know I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, my best friend! Yeah....we did things a little backwards, but I wouldn't change a single thing!

So 2014, it is with nothing but the fondest memories I say good bye. I know this upcoming year will be filled with nothing but happy times (scary and overwhelming too, but happy) In 2015 Andy and I will move into a place we can finally call our home. In 2015 I will become a Mommy! 2015 I am so ready for you!!!!!! 

21 Weeks! Merry Christmas!

Yesterday marked 21 weeks for baby girl and I! She is growing and so am I!  She is about the length of a banana this week! Her movements are getting stronger and much higher up! They still aren't consistent though. Some days I feel her moving a lot and other days not at all. Christmas Eve morning she was a little wiggle worm. I was laying on the couch after drinking coffee and I started feeling really strong kicks and wiggles. Andy even felt them too! At one point I had my hand on my stomach to try and feel her and when she kicked my whole hand jumped!
Thursday, at 20 weeks and 6 days, Andy and I celebrated our first Christmas together! It was a wonderful day! My family came over for opening presents and Andy and I hosted Christmas lunch for everyone!

Everything turned out so great! I kept thinking over and over how much better next years Christmas will be with a six month old baby! I remember Miller at his first Christmas when he was about that age and it was so fun watching him tear into the wrapping paper and enjoy his presents. But just because our sweet girl is not yet ready to make her debut, doesn't mean she was left out! Her present pile was easily the largest pile we had this year! I love the fact that she is already so loved my her Grandmothers and Aunts. Here are some pictures of us opening up Annalise's presents!

Annalise's present pile

Andy opening her first Christmas present

She got a baby monitor from her Aunt Abby and Uncle Ben! 

An adorable tutu onesie from her GaGa! I cannot wait to see her in this outfit!!!

A stuffed pig from her Grammy! When my mom found out she was pregnant with me she went out and bought a stuffed pig she called Mona. That pig was my favorite growing up and I still have her. It was only natural she buy one for her granddaughter as well. I need to come up with a name for her. I think maybe Pinky.

Her first lovie given by her Grammy that is embroidered with her name. Her Aunt Lindsey also got her one that is a pig because that is the first gift I gave Miller when Lindsey got pregnant.

And a Vera Bradley messenger diaper bag complete with diaper pad! This is going to come in handy!

And our first pack of diapers!

Andy and I also started a tradition for Annalise with our moms! We gave each of them a recordable Christmas story book to record themselves reading and to give back to us. Each year on Christmas Eve we will let Annalise listen to her grandmothers read to her. These books are such special treasures. I remember last year, our first Christmas without my grandpa, my cousins and I sat down and listened to "The Night Before Christmas" recorded by my Poppie! It was wonderful to hear his voice and I was so jealous I didn't have a book to listen to of my own.

Grammy after receiving her book from Annalise 

All of these things make me even more anxious to meet my girl and share these moments with her! I am so excited I only have about 4 1/2 months until she will be in my arms! I hope it goes by quickly! Andy and I have a lot to do in the next coming months! Our biggest adventure will be moving into a bigger place! I'm so ready for more space and to be able to make an actual home!

The Stuff of Fairy Tales

I don't mean to sound cheesy, but as I get ready to celebrate my first Christmas With Andy I can't help but think about how truly blessed I am. My life has changed so much for the better in the last year and a half and I am greatful to be where I am at. These are the moments and memories we will tell our grandchildren about one day. From our tiny tree that Andy brought home from Kroger to afternoon movie dates and just spending time together getting ready for Christmas, everything about this holiday season has been perfect so far. And as I type this our sweet girl is wiggling around in my belly as a reminder of yet another blessing soon to come.
This really is my fairy tale.

20 Weeks! Tis The Season!

Yesterday marked 20 weeks for Baby girl and me! 20 Weeks down, 20 more to go! I hope these next 20 go as fast as the first 20 but somehow I doubt it. This week she is the size of a small cantaloupe and can now hear things happening outside my body. She can hear my heartbeat, my stomach digesting, and even the TV if it's loud enough. Andy and I have enjoyed talking to our little one. Andy likes to tell her he's the fun one and soon she'll be able to have Daddy-Daughter time without me. Since it's Christmas time I like to sing her Christmas carols on the way to work each day. She is also becoming more and more wiggly. I can feel her a lot more at night now after I eat. Last night Andy and I even felt her kick on the outside too! It was faint, but it was there! I love feeling her move around.

My belly looking down Thursday at work! It looks bigger from my view then from a mirror

It's starting to pop out more!

Speaking of Christmas, Andy and I have been shopping like crazy the last two days getting ready to celebrate! Today we decided to have a baking day to start the tradition of baking treats and goodies for Christmas! We invited my mom up for a day of making Christmas cookies! It was a lot of fun . Andy moved the tree out to the center of living room and put all of our gifts around it and I went to the store and bought supplies.

Our Tree and presents! A lot of which are for Annalise!

Baking Supplies

I bought stuff to make cheese dip and pigs in a blanket for lunch, sugar cookies, fudge, and chex mix!

Andy and my mom making pigs in a blanket at the table while I made cheese dip and chex mix in the kitchen

Taking a rest from baking while the cookie dough got hard in the fridge

Our cookies baked and cooled ready to be decorated

Andy and my mom ready to decorate our cookies

Our finished products!

 Everything turned out really good! I always make chex mix at Christmas time. Normally I make it in the oven, but I found a really good crock pot recipe for it on Pintrest. It worked out great and kept the oven free for baking cookies! The fudge however did not turn out so great! We used Andy's grandma's recipe, and I must've done something wrong b/c it just didn't taste right. But I get an A for effort!
I am looking forward to the next two weeks of holiday celebrations, but I can't wait until next year when we will be able to celebrate as a family of three!

19 Weeks and 3 Days: Anatomy Scan!

My 18th week of pregnancy ended in a what I now consider to be a quite humorous hormonal meltdown over bras. Although at the time, it was not the least bit funny. I knew my belly was going to grow, but I didn't think my boobs would grow to gigantic proportions until after the baby was born. And the thing is I know with hard work and diet and exercise I can make my belly go back to normal. I'm not sure I can say the same thing about the small melons now gracing my chest. I'm not complaining. I think pregnancy is a wonderful, beautiful thing, and I am so happy to be growing a healthy baby, but weight gain has always been something I have struggled with and it is just rough sometimes to watch everything get bigger.

Now that I'm over that 19 weeks came with lots of little wiggles from my girl on Saturday and some acid reflux on Sunday! I can't wait until I am able to tell for certain if it is her moving or not! It definitely doesn't feel like what I thought it would, but it's very hard to describe! This week she is about the size of mango and weighs about half a pound in weight. We had our 19 week check up today and found out that our sweet girl weighs 12 ounces! We also had our big anatomy scan. It was amazing seeing how much baby girl had grown! She was moving around and kicking and wiggling. It was awesome! Everything looked normal according the ultrasound tech. I'm not sure who else reviews them, but I'm sure if something was wrong she would get the doctor or something. I was able to see her spine and her little bones. I saw her heart and its' four chambers beating in her little chest!  Seeing her made me even more excited to meet her!  Here are pictures from the scan: 

 Baby girl kicking and moving her arms

 The front of her face. This one kind of creeps me out because you can't see her eyeballs just the sockets. She looks alien like.

 In between her legs to verify once again that she is a girl!

Waving her hands and kicking her little feet. 

Belly picture Sunday night at 19 weeks and 2 days

It was also kind of neat to see how much further up on my stomach the ultrasound wand went. At the first one it was so low almost to my bikini line. Today she was going to my belly button to get pictures and measurements. My What To Expect Book says in the next week or so she will start growing even faster! I can't wait!

18 Weeks and 5 Days: I Can Feel You!

Dear Annalise,
     This morning when I opened my pregnancy app like I do every morning on my phone it said write a pregnancy letter. It's kind of ironic that it said that today, because 3 nights ago I felt you move for the first time. On Sunday night after eating dinner I was laying on the couch watching TV and all of a sudden I felt like the bottom of my stomach was twitching and dancing. I'm pretty sure it was you FINALLY letting me know you were in there! I felt you again tonight after eating too. You must like dinner time. Well sweet girl, so do I! I can't wait until you are stronger so I can really feel you moving around!
 I wish I had all kinds of wisdom to impart to you in this letter, like the secrets of the universe or the answers to all of life's big questions But unfortunately, I don't have the answers as I am still learning and discovering as well. The only thing I can think to leave you with that I have discovered is one of the most important things you will have in this world is Family.  It is my hope for your future as well as mine to give you a strong, loving, close family. A family where, as you get older,  despite disagreements and differences, you always want to return to after time away.  One you look forward to spending time with. A family that sticks together and not falls apart, that makes memories, starts traditions, laughs and loves.
I'm looking forward to meeting you little one! I can't wait to see your personality and discover your likes and dislikes. I hope you like me. I have a feeling you're going to be a Daddy's girl. All of our pets like Daddy best, and that's OK. Keep growing stronger and stronger each day! May will be here before we both know it.
Love you!
Mommy

18 Weeks: Baby Books and Baby Bedding!

I can't believe that Friday marked my 18th week of pregnancy and the beginning of my fifth month. It seems like it is going so fast, but it also seems like forever until I get to meet my sweet girl! This week she is about the size of a sweet potato and weighs around 5 ounces. She is starting to suck and swallow, and possibly even get the hiccups! According to my baby book it says between 18 and 24 weeks is when the baby is most active. I wish I could feel her :( 
The beginning of this week of pregnancy came with some cramps and some backaches. I know they are just growing pains, but it always freaks me out a little. I'm sure working at the vet two days back to back, being on my hands and knees cleaning out cages doesn't help much either. Today arrived with no symptoms at all so I'm a happy camper.
Earlier this week, Annalise's coming home outfit arrived. I was so excited to get it in the mail, and I cannot wait until the day comes when I get to put her in it.

I was able to work on Annalise's baby book some this morning! It's coming together. I am hoping to be all caught up by the end of this week just in time for my anatomy scan and doctors appointment next Monday.
As our moving date comes closer and closer, Andy and I have been brainstorming a lot about nursery decor and how we want Annalise's room to look. In the town home we are moving into we are allowed to paint, which makes putting together a baby room even more exciting. At first I was adamant about light grey and light pink, but now I am wondering whether or not I want a brighter color scheme she can grow into. I have spent the afternoon on the Buy Buy Baby Website.
They have a greater selection of baby bedding then babies r us and I have narrowed it down to the following six:

This first one was my original pick if we were to go with a pink and grey theme

These are two other pink and grey ones I like

This one is quickly becoming my favorite. It's bright, cheerful, and there are so many colors you could use

Not as colorful, but I like really like the quilt in this one and the hamper. Not a fan of the goldish, brown sheets though

I also really like this one.

So those are our top contenders. I have emailed both grandmothers for their input to help us decide, even though I think in the time it took me to write this blog entry Andy and I have narrowed it down to a top two :)

17 Weeks: Baby Limbo

I haven't updated in a week or so because things got kind of crazy with the Thanksgiving holiday. I am 17 weeks and 5 days today. I'm calling this post baby limbo because, although our sweet girl is the size of a pomegranate and weighs about 5 oz, I have no idea she's in there! I don't feel pregnant anymore. I'm not sick, my boobs don't hurt, and I can't feel her move yet. So we are in baby limbo, the in between. I don't look pregnant yet most of the time, just fatter. I can't wait to start feeling her kicking and moving around!
So Thanksgiving happened last week and it was an amazing weekend! Not only were both of our families here for the holiday, but Andy and I got married. It was such a special and wonderful day. I'll remember it forever! I won't get into so many details about the wedding on here since this is a blog about our baby, but just know it was up there as one of the best days of my life. I am so excited to add to my family. I kept thinking throughout the weekend how lucky Annalise is going to be! There are so many people who are going to love her! She's going to have two grandma's, two great grandma's, a grandpa,  so many Aunts she won't know what to do with them all, an uncle, and lots of cousins! It warms my heart, and I feel truly blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family.
Here are some family photos from the weekend:

 Andy and I with our sisters! I am so excited to have these wonderful women as Aunts for Annalise

 Thanksgiving Day at Andy's cousin Sharon's house

Wedding family photo with my side of the family

During some down time over the long holiday weekend I was FINALLY able to sit down for half a second and begin Annalise's baby book. I'm doing in on shutterfly and making a photo book in the form of a story that talks about my pregnancy in a way she will understand. I did this for my nephew when Lindsey was pregnant and he loves looking at it. I'm very excited to actually start making real progress on it.

15 Weeks and 6 Days: Everything is Up in the Air....Thank you Factor 7!

 I had my 16 Week check up today and second hematologist visit. I have been referred to a hematologist by my O.B because when I got sick with mono in college I was diagnosed with a type of hemophilia called Factor 7 protein deficiency. At the time of my diagnosis I was told I would only ever need treatment for this if I were to have major surgery, be in a bad car wreck, or you guessed it...have a baby! So when I got pregnant, off to the hematologist I went!  I thought this was going to be no big deal. I would go to the Dr., get checked out, get some blood drawn, and then get told I have a very mild case, and go about my pregnancy. WRONG!  When I saw the Dr. today he informed me that what I have is so rare he has only ever had two other patients with it apart from myself. I am 1 in 700 people in the United States that has this blood deficiency. Not only that but my levels are actually on the low end of moderate. 0-35 is severe and my levels are at a 40. He assured me that this will not effect my pregnancy but that my delivery will need to be closely controlled and monitored. There is medication that I can be given before delivery to get my clotting levels up, but that requires my blood to be closely monitored because if they don't give me enough I'll bleed and if I get too much I run the risk of getting a blood clot. Unfortunately, because Factor 7 is so rare, most hospital labs don't have the proper equipment to run blood to check for it. It usually has to be sent out and takes 2-3 days to get the results. And when a baby is on the way there won't be time for a 2-3 day wait. He said the only hospital with the right lab equipment would be Emory so I would need to deliver there, and deliver by C-section. This is not good news....that means a whole new set of Drs. A new O.B (I've been seeing mine for like 10 years) and a new hematologist, and I really wanted to experience labor and a vaginal birth!
I left very down in the dumps, but my good spirits returned when he called me back saying he spoke with an expert at Emory who specializes in Factor 7. I need to see her in January and depending on what she says there may be a chance I can deliver vaginally and at the hospital I had planned on with MY doctor! So everything is kinda in limbo right now until I see this new hematologist after the first of the year, which sucks! I am a planner and I like to know the plan. If I need a new Dr. I want enough time to find a good one and get to know them. If I have to have a C-section I want enough time to prepare and learn about it. I don't like not knowing what's going to go down.
Other then that my 16 week check up went great! I'm getting some nasty varicose veins that make my legs look disgusting, but I was finally able to hear my baby girl's heartbeat through a doppler. We go back in 3 1/2 weeks for the anatomy scan ultrasound! I am looking forward to that one!

15 Weeks! Gender Scan

I am so excited to announce that Baby and I are at 15 weeks! Baby is growing and so am I! According to my ever reliable "What to Expect" book, baby is about the size of a navel orange this week! It's ears are in position and it's very wiggly. Unfortunately, I cannot feel anything yet. There's no denying the fact that I now have a pretty prominent bump when I wear tight clothes. It's been hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that it's the baby growing and not fat.

 No other symptoms except some cramping and pains on my sides and rib cage. I'm assuming they are stretching pains. Last night it literally felt like I had done 200 sit ups after dinner. I had to lay down.
So, on a very exciting note, this past Thursday at 14 weeks and 6 days we had our gender scan! It was so much fun! My whole family came out for it and made it such a special experience. We went to First Impressions 3D, and for those of you in the area I highly recommend it. The room was huge and they had all these big screens set up so everyone could see. The lady, Lauren who preformed the ultrasound was so fun! She asked Andy and mine's guess of what we thought baby was before getting started and I am happy to say that we were both correct and:

It's a Girl!!!!

I knew it the whole time. It was just a feeling I had. I even saw girl parts during the ultrasound, or lack of boy parts I should say. Poor Andy was so confused because they didn't show the whole baby. Just the back of the legs and in between. He got afraid the baby was now deformed. But he was super excited after we pointed out the parts to him! We have decided to name her

Annalise Claire

Her name means: Graced with God's bounty. Claire means Bright. After the ultrasound Andy, my mom, and I went to celebrate by going to Kohls and buying our first baby outfit! It was so fun looking at all the cute pink stuff! After Kohls we went to eat at Applebees to celebrate our sweet baby girl!

Andy, Daisy, and I at Gender scan! Thanks again Daisy for recording the awesome video!

 Andy, Mom, Lindsey, Miller, and I after the scan

 Family Photo 2!

 Andy, Miller, and I! Miller was so excited and kept walking around saying Boy or Girl?

It's a Girl! No doubt about it!

 Grammie is so excited to have a granddaughter this time around!

 Hardly able to contain her excitement over all that PINK!

 Proud Mommy and Daddy shopping for our sweet little Annalise

First outfit set for our little girl! Can' wait until she's here to wear it!

Now that I know we're having a girl, I keep thinking about all the fun things I can't wait to do as a family next year, especially with the holidays getting closer. I made a list of all of them.

I can't wait for (to name a few)

Her first Halloween and dressing her up cute!

Play dates with her cousin Miller

Family dinners with everyone

Thanksgiving

Decorating for Christmas

Taking her to see Santa

Her first Christmas  

Andy is excited about Fourth of July and showing her fireworks

Hooray for Little Girls!