[[13 Weeks]]

Yay for a July Baby!

With the holidays pretty much behind me, I can say I am very excited to have a spring and summer pregnancy. At first I thought, "Oh no, its going to be so hot in July, Im going to be miserable!" But honestly I am actually really excited about it because these seasons mean more fresh yummy fruit and bright sun filled days =] Also means that sun dresses will be my best friend when I am a huge whale, which I LOVE. If I was huge during the winter... jeans would be out of the question at that point, so sweat pants and sweatshirts would be it for me and that is NOT fun. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays. Christmas is my favorite holiday but I have to say, with all the sweets and treats during this time, I would probably be engulfing every single morsel I could get... Don't think it would go over well in the 3rd trimester. Any who, this is just me looking at the bright side =]

How far along? 13 weeks

Total weight gain/loss? Who knows! In the morning I am around 113-114 and then at night I am about 116-117... This whole pregnancy has been a mind game haha So I guess I can just say that I am still under my pre-pregnancy weight.

Maternity clothes? I got a belly band from my dad for christmas this year, and my best friend bought me a shirt as a "pre-belly" gift =] Havent worn them yet though!

Stretch Marks? No

Sleep? I literally get, on average, atleast 12 hours a sleep a night... might toss and turn at first but then I take "sleeping in" to a whole other level.

Best moment this week? Today is New Years Eve! Which means only GREAT things to come this year =]

Miss anything? Sleeping on my belly

Movement? Nope, but I keep feeling my belly in hopes I'll feel some sort of something... hopefully soon!

Food cravings? TANYAS FAMOUS CAPRESE BRUSCHETTA. mmmmmmmm.

Nausea? Yeah, mostly when I actually start eating

Showing yet? Well heres the deal, I wake up in the morning and my belly is flatter than ever, and then at night, Joel calls it "Night fat" [[Thanks hunny]] haha I feel like my stomach is huge! It is the weirdest thing. Ill post a picture so you can feel my pain.

Gender prediction? Boy

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding ring on or off? On

Happy or moody? Still emotional, but pretty happy

Looking forward to? A bump that stays and doesnt play games with me, gender and movement!

That Husband of Mine...

Late night convos...

"I wouldn't actually be mad if our baby is a girl cause this isn't going to be our first baby, I mean, this IS our first baby, it isn't going to be our LAST baby."

We both sat there for a second after he said "this isn't our first baby" and then he corrected himself and we just lost it haha. One of those, "you had to be there" kind of things, but we died laughing for a good 5 minutes =]

Night to morning

        

         

[[12 weeks]]

How far along? 12 weeks

Total weight gain/loss? Gained 2

Maternity clothes? Nope

Stretch Marks? No

Sleep? Still pretty uncomfortable at night, which I imagine probably wont change through out the whole pregnancy.

Best moment this week? Albert came to visit us for Christmas! And its Christmas eve today!

Miss anything? I miss not feeling nauseous.

Movement? Nope

Food cravings? Getting a taste for chocolate again =] But in small quantities still... which Im not complaining about haha

Nausea? Still :/ but I am having less of it than when it first started, so thats a plus!

Gender prediction? Boy

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding ring on or off? On

Happy or moody? I am so emotional! I find myself tearing up over the littlest things! I was watching Fred Claus and during the scene when him and his brother were fighting I started to get all emotional about it! Pathetic.

Weekly wisdom: Seriously need to eat my 6 small meals throughout the day... I know it will probably help my nausea a lot, its just soooo hard when you are not craving food at all :/

Looking forward to? Gender and Christmas morning!

That husband of mine...

"Babe I think Im having pregnancy symptoms with you... Ive been craving the same foods as you and certain smells get to me, like coffee isnt as good as it usually is." Little does he know, he has NO idea lol

"Knowing you are pregnant with my baby makes you even more beautiful to me, I cant explain it, you just are." <3

(We were messing around about "whose" baby this was, I cant say I know who won lol)

Joel: "The farmer can plant his seed and have someone else tend to the crops, and its still his farm and he is still the farmer."

Me: "Oh really? And what would you do without the field to bear "your" crops? You wouldn't have a farm."

Out-takes with the best of the best Albert Balthazor. He came to Jacksonville to tell us he was pregnant =]

"Alright do we really need the ice cream?"

Yes Albert. Yes we do.

[[11 Weeks]]

I Found this pregnancy blog that I have loved since WAYYY before I got pregnant and she documented her pregnancy through her chalkboard. I am no where near as talented as her, but hopefully I'll get better over the coming months =] 

Right before we got to see our little peanut!!!

Baby Hanson at 10 weeks

How far along? 11 weeks
Total weight gain/loss? I fluctuate between losing anywhere from 6-8 pounds, every day is different and our scale is due for a serious upgrade. Right now, according to our scale that lies, I am 115. At the doctors I am 118... Im gonna go with the lying scale ;]

Maternity clothes? No but I do unbutton my jeans and use a hair tie to keep it from digging into my stomach so much, its SO uncomfortable!

Stretch Marks? No

Sleep? Hard to sleep at night, super easy to take naps... of course!

Best moment this week? Telling EVERYONE our news, and seeing my aunts reaction to our Christmas announcement!

Told family/friends? Everyone should know by now =]

Miss anything? At first I thought, oh no, Ill be fine and wont miss much... lies. I miss my microwaved hot dogs, feta cheese on the world famous greek pizza, lunchmeat, sushi, and I missed hot tubs the first time this weekend! I also miss everything that I love so much on a regular basis that my stomach just wont let me love any more.

Movement? Nope

Food cravings? I really havent had cravings at all, I would rather not eat anything most of the time, and when I do... its bland as ever. Unless its fruit.

Nausea? To. The. Max. Hence the reason I've lost weight. It started at about 7 weeks and is still going pretty strong, some days are more bearable than others, but if I go a couple of days feeling decent, it comes back full force without hesitation. Only threw up once... I think because I refuse to throw up.

Started showing yet? I believe so... I sure hope thats a baby bump!

Gender prediction? Totally thought Id have a girl... but I already had a dream it was a boy and its got a pretty low heart rate... So I believe we are having a boy... only time will tell!

Labor signs? No, however, I experienced a bladder infection at week 8... which let me tell you... was AWEFUL. Woke up in the middle of the night bawling I was in so much pain plus the nausea on top of it... I thought it was going to be the death of me.

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding ring on or off? On

Happy or moody? Noticed the moods a lot more... This hormone thing is kicking my butt... I would love to say Im glowing and I have never been happier in my life like all the other pregnancy blogs that seem to have "perfect pregnancies".... but I am only going to be honest with myself... this pregnancy has only kicked my butt so far! I cannot wait to start feeling more alive!

Weekly wisdom: Preggie pop drops... Genius.

Looking forward to? Gender still!!! Oh and Christmas of course =]

Baby Hanson [[5 Weeks]]

Thats right! We are pregnant! Sad news is the hubs just got back surgery so he is a bit miserable but in better spirits knowing theres a bun in the oven =] Its almost hard to believe that there is a little cell inside of me turning into a baby as we speak! I cannot wait to be at the first ultrasound to be able to see it and hear a heart beat! My first pregnancy class is next week wednesday so I imagine it will start getting real, soon! I haven't had many symptoms just been exhausted, but thats usual ;]

I was racking my brain trying to figure out a way to tell Joel and it pretty much came to me on a silver platter. After Joel's surgery, he was asking for baby wipes to "hygiene" himself (Military life.) since he cant take showers yet so when I found out I was pregnant I was stoked to use the baby wipes as my way to tell him! It was the morning of his 2nd surgery and I couldn't wait so I pulled out the baby wipes telling him he should hygiene, it took him a second of looking completely dead to the world to give me the "REALLY??" expression (I don't blame him after all he had gone through). I hugged him as softly as I could without hurting him and then off we went to surgery =[ Everything went well and we are back at home recovering! I am getting LOTS of practice for this baby with this big baby at home, helping him out of bed, feeding him, cleaning him, and wiping his behind... thats right... I thought that would happen when we were old and grey, but nope... we definitely have gone to a whole new level of love lol

My mom-in-law has been here to help with Joel so we couldn't help but buy something gender neutral! If its a girl, I am DEFINITELY getting the pink zebra one =]

How far along? 5 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain/loss? Lost 2 pounds (Generally have had a loss of appetite)

Maternity clothes? None yet!

Stretch Marks? No

Sleep? Been very tired during the day, get a nap in if I can!

Best moment this week? Being able to tell some family!

Told family/friends? Have told mostly family, and a few close friends, dont plan on telling everyone till atLEAST the first doctors visit.

Miss anything? Not really anything at all...

Movement? Nope, just some little pains, usually when Im hungry. Just baby letting me know its still in there =]

Food cravings? KIWI and avocados, luckily I have only been craving healthy foods, chocolate and heavy foods sound terrible. I have been loving frozen greek yogurt too for desert =]

Nausea? Only when I am hungry, no morning sickness

Started showing yet? Nope

Gender prediction? I predict a girl, Joel predicts a boy!

Labor signs? Nope

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding ring on or off? On, assuming it will stay on considering it is already a size too big!

Happy or moody? Had an episode at the hospital while my husband was recovering from his surgery, all of a sudden I was super irritable and frustrated with the hospital staff, and then I started busting out laughing because there were tears rolling down my face! I couldnt even control it, I was full on crying and I wasnt even crying. Weirdest moment so far! Overall though I have been happy =]

Weekly wisdom: Only need 300 more calories a day, dont feed for 2! Hoping to stay in as good of shape as possible while still keeping baby healthy (Fingers crossed atleast) =]

Looking forward to? GENDER! And a bump to create new outfits with!

Happy 2 year anniversary!

Wow, time flies! I am so thankful for these past two years being married to this crazy guy. It has not been easy but I am continuously learning new things about being a good wife to this man. We laid low this year, just went to brunch and went for a walk, its been fun reflecting on these past 4 years we have actually been together. I hope we have many more eventful and blessed years to come! Now if we could just win the lottery...... ;]

We took a walk with Oaks and his bff =] They are so stinking cute together!

         

 And of course J-luv came with!

            

She is my perfect model.

        

So much to learn...

I just started reading this book called "Whats it like to be married to me" and let me tell you, WOW! This book is everything I needed and then some. I am only on the first week and I have already learned so much about myself and my marriage. We obviously have our own struggles and issues, as will any relationship, but many of them could have been and can be completely avoided. If I would have fully understood advice given to me and advice I have given myself from the beginning, we would have been much better off much sooner. The problem was that everything was so perfect from the beginning that we never had to face a struggle together and it is much harder than it may sound on paper. Its all about making choices. Choosing to love, rather than be angry.

I realized that I have based our marriage off of how Joel makes me feel and not how I make him feel. Yes, this is a two way street but I have been more on the gimmie gimmie gimme end rather than the, what are your needs end. I will be the first to admit that I have failed at being a loving, selfless, and submissive wife. However, I am so glad I found this book when I did because I have a new outlook on what kind of wife that really is. If you know me at all, you will know I am extremely independent and I dont like being told what to do (yes, just like a 5 year old) so you can imagine my thoughts on submitting to my husband. I thought, "ok, I can submit to some things and other things I can go against and it will be fine." It doesnt work that way. I need to put all of my trust in Joel for us to truly work the way God intended us to work.

In this book, the author explains how we women get our desires and our goals for our marriages mixed up. We think that our goal for our marriage is to "have a loving relationship" to "have an exciting romantic relationship" and to "have our marriage be a picture of Christ's love". These are things that we cannot control ourselves. We cant control how our husbands act, speak, or think. What we can do, is set goals for ourselves on how to be a loving, exciting, romantic, godly wife. We can control that. We can live out our role as wife the way we were intended to live it out and we can be happy with just that. Whether he makes me out of my mind crazy or not, I should be consistent.

There is so much to learn and its amazing watching God work in our lives already, transforming every word that comes out of my mouth, making me a better wife as we speak. I am so thankful Joel hasnt ever given up on me and will spend the rest of my life working to be better every day!

Catch up

Here goes nothing! I SERIOUSLY suck at keeping this up to date. So basically Im going to try to sum up everything that has happened within the past few months after my birthday in Arizona! Lots of pictures to share so it makes for and easy timeline =] I would just say the heck with it and just start from where we are at to day, but I want to look at this one day and see EVERYTHING that has happened... especially if I decide facebook is overrated ;]

My first day back to work at American Eagle I got to see my favs Fran and Tanya =]

And I was also greeted with THIS =/

Which turned into this...=//

Then St. Pattys day came and we took the pup to the beach!

Silly boy =]

Driving around jacksonville one day.... we decided I was gonna get a tattoo =]

Frans Pregnancy came and went and we welcomed baby Greyson into the world!

Hillary and I rekindled our friendship and spent the day at the pool while I watched Jennifer for the day!

Needless to say she loved the water... However it was naptime... and she likes to fight her tiredness....

We traded in the ol dodge and go ourselves a toyota tacoma! (hoping to save money in the long run)

Once it started warming up we spend our weekends on the beach!.... doing backflips lol

Became friends with this hot mama, love her to peices!

Hillary and I had been working our butts off in the gym and I never really got a good before and after picture... but this is as good as it gets... I was quite confused cause I was gaining weight on the scale... but it was muscle... talk about a mind game!

Beeeach dayss.

I realized how hilarious my dog is =]

And how much I love this little girl to death <3

We found this absolutely AMAZING church and have loved every sunday being there.

You might not think this is an important part of these past few months... but going to Chipotle in Raleigh is probably the highlight of our week =]

GREEN SPRINGS! The most scariest, dangerous, fun, and wild place Ive ever been to! This place has a rope swing, a zip line, and 5 levels to jump off from into the water... it is NUTS!

Went to my dads wedding in the outer banks!

Our wedding was featured in a 4 page spread in Arizona weddings magazine!

Albert came to visit

And milli my squish came to visit!

I was off to Arizona again! The flight there was SO nerve racking, but I made it to chicago and managed to get out of chicago as well haha

Got to spend bailey and kenzies birthday with them, and attended baileys beauty school graduation, I got to go to the river which ended up being full of drama =/ I went to MCC to get the paperwork for the dental program and spent time with my pops and his new wife which is always a good time =]

Got back home and went to Garrys getting out of the military party!

Joels parents came down to visit us, it was SO good to see them!

Went to Wilmington to see the battleship, was so big! Lots to see!

 Like grandpa like grandson... ;]

 Oakley made a new friend =]

Our fourth of July was spent on base, the fireworks were really good, I was in awe! Albert got to come down again as well so we spent our weekend with him!

Jennifers first fourth! Ended with sparklers!

Need I say more?

I have been able to do 4 more shoots, and am happy to say they have all been gifts =] I have been learning so much and loving every second of it!

FEWWW... that wasnt so bad, was it?