2013 - A Year in Review

Source

2013 - What a whirlwind of ups and downs.

2013 started with a low note - We lost Chris's grandpa unexpectedly and traveled to Oklahoma to be with family. We also found out I was pregnant in the spring but it ended in a heartbreaking miscarriage (is there any other kind?) at 6 weeks. At this point I was pretty much done with 2013, but in looking back on the year this morning, I realized how truly amazing the year was and how incredibly blessed we've been this year.

Out of the loss of Chris's grandpa and the pregnancy, came a renewed sense to seize the day, get stuff done and appreciate every moment with our loved ones.

February - I threw a surprise baby shower in a box for my sister. It was so hard not being able to shower her with love in person but we had fun doing it from afar!

March - We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary and seriously, every year gets better with this amazing guy! Our nephew was born and we celebrated A LOT of family and friend birthdays.

J Hodges Photography

April - I helped to prepare for an amazing friend's baby shower and passed several teacher certification exams. I was also offered a teaching position at my current school.

May - Through the struggle of a miscarriage we still had a fun visit to New Orleans to meet our newest nephew and I passed my Special Education certification exam!

June-July - We channeled our frustration and sadness from the miscarriage and went gangbusters on painting and decorating our house. We made a lot of changes and it looks AMAZING! I also started blogging! 

(Office Makeover, Laundry Makeover, My Favorite Paint)

August - I got ready to begin my first year as a teacher and decorated my classroom. We also enjoyed several family members visiting.

September - We celebrated Chris's 30th birthday and he survived! :) We also celebrated my birthday AND found out I was PREGNANT!!

October - We had our first sonogram and found everything was going smoothly. We, of course, were on pins and needles after this spring.

November - We decorated for Christmas early, had our second dr appt and announced to our family!!

December - We announced to our friends, I completed my first semester of teaching, Chris got some time off and we started some new Christmas traditions of our own. 

Every year has ups and downs but despite our rocky start, 2013 has gone down as a great year in our books. Here's to a 2014 filled with more ups and than downs and a resolution to live in the moment and make every moment count!

Friday Favs

Well, time flies when you're having fun and on vacation! I can't believe it's already Friday!! I hope everyone had an AMAZING Christmas filled with family and fun. 

Chris and I stayed home this year since Christmas fell on a Wednesday and that makes it pretty tough to get enough time off to travel halfway across the country. We missed our family but really did enjoy setting some of our own Christmas traditions this year. We made a delish breakfast pizza and tried to prolong opening presents as long as possible by facetiming with my sister and our nephews as they opened our gifts - they are such sweet babies! We took a nap and went to see Frozen - maybe one of my all time favorite Disney movies and capped the evening off with a few phone calls to family, a delicious holiday salmon dinner, and the Doctor Who Christmas Special. It was an amazing day. :)

Here are a few of my favs from this holiday week!!

1. Doctor Who Christmas Special

This was a wonderful way to cap off the perfect Christmas! We enjoyed drinking hot chocolate from our Tardis Mugs (gift from my sis) and watching Matt Smith's final episode. Looking forward to Peter Capaldi's first season...coming in the fall...when we'll have a 3 month old!

2. A Special Gift from Some Sweet Friends

Our friends surprised us with the sweetest ornament for Christmas. Seriously the sweetest way to commemorate this special time in our lives - we love it!

3. Christmas Gift of Awesomeness!

Who knew I'd be SO EXCITED about getting a spot cleaner for Christmas!! I wanted to bust this baby out of the box and go spot clean some stuff immediately. It's on my list of fun things to do this weekend for sure. :) I so relate to Monica from Friends...I really want a tiny vacuum to vacuum my vacuum...it's a problem. 

4. Gifts for Stormy

Stormy received a few awesome gifts for Christmas! It was SO much fun opening gifts for our little one - the reality that we're having a baby sets in more each day and I love it!! (btw...Stormy did not receive a saw...that's for Chris ;) )

Mike Wazowski onesie, cap, and booties...aaaadorable.

5. Christmas Food

We made a delicious breakfast pizza and of course, drank milk/oj out of champagne glasses. :) We had the Texas Christmas Tradition of Tamales for lunch and a fabulous Salmon dinner with corn on the cob, stuffing cupcakes, rolls and cranberry sauce. Oh, and sparkling white grape juice - yum!

Linking up with a few of my favs - check them out here!

Have a fabulous weekend!! Happy Friday!

Pregnancy Journal - 18 Weeks

Pregnancy Journal - 18 Weeks

How Far Along? 18 Weeks

Size of Baby: Dragon Fruit - 5.59 inches and 6.70 oz

Gender: We find out in less than 2 weeks!!

Maternity Clothes: My sister sent me some of her maternity clothes and I received some things for Christmas from my mother-in-law! Between my mom, sis, and mom-in-law...I am set! Favorite things - Yoga pants, Full Panel Jeans, Leggings and Dresses!

Best Moment This Week: Spending Christmas with Chris...setting our own traditions and enjoying the holidays as a family of two before we become a family of three! :) 

Nursery: Stormy (Baby P) received a few precious items for Christmas so we bought two storage shelves for his/her closet from Ikea! We also picked out the furniture and plan to pick that up after painting. Oh, AND we picked out the paint chips for both genders....we got too excited to not do ANYTHING before we go back to work.

Movement: I am feeling quite a lot of movement this week! Still feeling "flutters" and now some pretty serious little kicks from time to time! It sort of feels like a little fish is swimming around in there. Just waiting for Chris to be able to feel them now.

Cravings: Powdered Sugar Donuts, Toasted and Buttered Pop-Tarts, Dr. Pepper (fountain drink, not canned or bottled)...all things unhealthy. I've been craving LOTS of sweets...could Stormy be a girl?!

Symptoms: Heartburn has made an appearance almost every night no matter what I eat, other than that...just extreme happiness and excitement!!

Sleep: Still sleeping very well and having epic dreams...

What I Miss: Sleeping on my back.

Looking Forward to: Ringing in the new year with my love and amazing friends. 2014 is sure to be the best one yet!

Pregnancy Journal - 17 Weeks

Pregnancy Journal - 17 Weeks

Bumpdates will be posted on Tuesdays, starting with next weeks!

How Far Along? 17 Weeks

Size of Baby: Navel Orange - 5.12 inches and 4.94 oz

Gender: We find out January 8th!!

Maternity Clothes: I received some darn comfy cargo capris, a cute babydoll dress and a pretty blue tunic. Who knew JcPenny's had cute maternity clothes?! Building a new wardrobe has been a lot of fun and a nice distraction from not being able to work on our nursery yet!

Best Moment This Week: A student brought me a set of onesies as a Christmas gift. This is the first thing we've received for our baby and it was so sweet! I got a little teary. My students have been incredibly cute about my pregnancy. We also had our 3rd appointment and got to hear the heartbeat again (148 BPM) and set the date for our 20 week ultrasound!

Nursery: Really getting excited about painting and decorating!! We can start taking action after January 8th!

Movement: So rare - I was in the middle of teaching my 6th graders when I swear I felt flutters on my right side for about 30 seconds but I still can't tell if it's that or just wishful thinking!

Cravings: Toasted and Buttered Strawberry Iced Poptarts, York Peppermint Patties, Cheese Balls (the holiday cheese spread in the shape of a ball)...my cravings are getting less and less healthy. :(

Symptoms: Feeling great! Occasional backaches but nothing too bad. 

Sleep: Sleeping a lot and really well!

What I Miss: I just can't think of anything!

Looking Forward to: Finding out the gender of our kiddo in early January and of course the holidays!! 

Friday Favs

It's FRIDAY!! Even better for us school teachers...the last Friday of the year! Here are a few of my favs from the week. Be sure to check out my 17 Week Bumpdate as well!

1. A Christmas Gift from a Student

One of my 6th graders is moving over the break and was just too excited to miss out on buying our baby a gift - so this is what she got me for Christmas. Sweetest present EVER!


2 & 3. New Maternity Dresses!

Dresses have always been the most comfy thing, even pre-pregnancy, so when I went maternity shopping, I was shocked at how little there was to choose from in the dress department. Someone awesome sent me a few maternity dresses and I've been loving them! Apologies for the "selfies" but these are two of my favs.

4. Christmas Treats for My School Babies

I'm feeling generous this year so I put together treat bags for my students. Just some Dollar Tree bags and pencils w/ the good candy. :) I may have also created a Holiday Jeopardy game...tomorrow should be a fun day!


5. Toasted and Buttered, Iced Strawberry Poptarts!

The current weird craving...it's so delicious though!!

Linking up with a few of my favorite bloggers. Click here to check them out!

Happy Friday!!!

Pregnancy Journal - 16 Weeks

Pregnancy Journal - 16 Weeks

And I'm now caught up on my "journaling"! 17 Week bumpdate coming soon. :)

How Far Along? 16 Weeks

Size of Baby: Avocado - 4.57 inches and 3.53 oz

Gender: Setting our ultrasound appointment next week!!

Maternity Clothes: This week I received two super cute and comfy dresses in the mail! They're both from Old Navy and just what I needed.

Best Moment This Week: FINALLY, our secret is out!! It feels good to be able to talk openly about our growing family!

Nursery: Really getting excited about painting and decorating!! Not too much longer :)

Movement: It always seems to happen when I'm sitting down but it's very rare and I still can't be sure it's really what I'm feeling! Can't wait for that first unmistakable kick.

Cravings: Toasted and Buttered Strawberry Iced Poptarts, Poppyseed Casserole (a chicken dish that I probably haven't had in 8 years...I'm making it this week!), Italian food also sounds REALLY good!

Symptoms: Feeling more and more like myself everyday - I even got back to the gym this week! My bump seems to come and go but there is always a little something there now. :)

Sleep: Still vividly dreaming and remembering my dreams all day. Sleeping awesome though!

What I Miss: Nothing! I love being pregnant so far :)

Looking Forward to: Our appointment next week!! It's always reassuring to hear that strong little heartbeat AND we get to set our anatomy/gender appointment! Fingers crossed we get to find out before I go back to school!

Pregnancy Journal - 15 Weeks

Pregnancy Journal - 15 Weeks

How Far Along? 15 Weeks

Size of Baby: Navel Orange - 3.98 inches and 2.47 oz

Gender: Setting our appointment soon!

Maternity Clothes: Holding steady with what I've got but looking for more winter/spring tops and dresses. Maternity tights need to be in my future too.

Best Moment This Week: Getting our Christmas cards mailed out and being iced in for four days with my handsome hubby. 

Nursery: Less than a month until we can take action!

Movement: Feeling lots of swishes and bubbles - pretty sure it's baby and not just gas :)

Cravings: Still Arby's, Puffy Cheetos and still Grapes. Oh and Cranberry Juice.

Symptoms: Feeling awesome! A little heartburn and lots of burping...very lady like.

Sleep: Staying up later these days but sleeping really well. The vivid dreams have begun and are sometimes very haunting!

What I Miss: Nothing much! Maybe wine just a little bit...which is weird because I rarely ever drank it.

Looking Forward to: Our friends receiving our Christmas card!! It'll be so nice to share this excitement with them and finally be officially "public" with the news!

Pregnancy Journal - 14 Weeks

Pregnancy Journal - 14 Weeks

How Far Along? 14 Weeks

Size of Baby: Lemon - 3.42 inches and 1.52 oz

Gender: We're hoping to find out after Christmas or early January at the latest. We get to set our Sonogram appt at our next visit, in 3 weeks!

Best Moment This Week: Telling our family - we saw most in person and called those we didn't. We hung a little stocking on our mantel to see if they would catch on...it was fun and special to finally share our exciting news!

Maternity Clothes: I went shopping with my mom the day after Black Friday and got some amazing stuff from Motherhood Maternity and Old Navy! I'm most excited about the leggings, maxi dress and black skinny jeans. Maternity clothes are SO soft and comfy...why don't they make all clothes this way?!

Nursery: We can start putting our plans into action after Christmas!

Movement: I'm almost positive I'm feeling a few little swishes and flutters when I'm sitting just right and being very still! Can't wait to be 100% sure.Cravings: Salads, Grapes, Cereal and of course, Arby's. No food aversions - EVERYTHING sounds good.

Symptoms: Feeling great! Most days I just feel like I've eaten too much and can no longer suck my gut in.

Sleep: Still sleeping like a champ! Less peeing at night too :)

What I Miss: Nothing comes to mind!

Looking Forward To: Telling our friends via Christmas Card! We ordered them and should be able to send them out next week!

Pregnancy Journal - 13 Weeks

Pregnancy Journal - 13 Weeks

How Far Along? 13 Weeks - Second Trimester!!

Size of Baby: Peach - 2.91 inches and .81 oz

Gender: Finding out after Christmas!

Best Moment This Week:  Our second prenatal appointment. We heard our baby's heartbeat - a healthy 163 bpm!

Maternity Clothes: Bought a few more tops and a sweater from the Liz Lang line at Target! Still wearing my BeBand with work pants.

Nursery: Waiting on the gender before we make any decisions!

Movement: Still none, although sometimes I wonder if I feel little flutters but I think it's too early.

Cravings: STILL Arby's, pickles and Rice Krispy Treats

Symptoms: I've kicked back the bedtime to 8:30 and I'm more energetic on the weekends! Feeling great!

Sleep: Sleeping great but it's official, I can no longer sleep without the Snoogle Pregnancy Pillow.

What I Miss: Starting to miss my wardrobe a little bit, I had variety and everything was comfortable. Sounds like a good excuse to go shopping :)

Looking Forward To: Telling our family and friends - we can start tomorrow!

Pregnancy Journal - 12 weeks

Pregnancy Journal - 12 Weeks

How Far Along? 12 Weeks

Size of Baby: Plum - 2.13 inches and 0.49 oz - growing so fast!

Gender: Still a few more months...

Best Moment This Week: Feeling better after running a scary fever and coming down with strep.

Maternity Clothes: Chris took me to Old Navy so I could buy some maternity jeans. Their skinnies are super cute and comfy - loving them.

Nursery: We scout Ikea furniture whenever we're there but it's still too soon to buy!

Movement: Still none at all. Could be a few more months.

Cravings: Arby's Beef 'n Cheddar, Bean Burritos, Popcorn, Pretzels & Peanut Butter. Still "no" to pork, chicken and bacon - veggies of any kind are off the list too.

Symptoms: Still extremely tired. I also came down with strep for the first time ever...not a super week. On the bright side, what little nausea I had is gone! 

Sleep: Still sleeping great, still peeing at 2 AM.

What I Miss: Nothing currently!

Looking Forward To: Telling our family over Thanksgiving and our next dr appt in 1 week!

Pregnancy Journal - 11 Weeks

Pregnancy Journal - 11 Weeks

How Far Along? 11 Weeks

Size of Baby: Lime - 1.61 inches and 0.25 oz

Gender: Still a ways away.

Best Moment This Week: Still just enjoying our little secret. I thought it would be hard to keep but it's been fun!

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing the BeBand and some of my more flowy tops. PJs at home!

Nursery: We have ideas but it's way too soon to take action! Can't wait to make-over one of the last untouched rooms in the house though!

Movement: None at all. Could be a few more months.

Cravings: Grapes, PBJs, Cheez-its...basically kid food. Still saying "no" to pork, chicken (unless it's breaded and fried) and bacon (gasp).

Symptoms: Still going to bed at 7 PM and doing nothing on the weekends. Rare nausea but it seems to be subsiding.

Sleep: Still sleeping magnificently!

What I Miss: Being able to knock out my guilty pleasure shows after Chris goes to bed. I usually beat him to sleep these days.

Looking Forward To: Our next appointment, 2 more weeks!

Pregnancy Journal - 10 Weeks

Pregnancy Journal - Week 10

How Far Along? 10 Weeks

Size of Baby: Prune - 1.22 inches and 0.14 oz

Gender: Not for a while...but I'm feeling like it's a girl. Chris thinks boy, for sure.

Best Moment This Week: First prenatal appointment!! We had our first ultrasound and our little nugget even wiggled around for us. :) VERY strong heartbeat!

Maternity Clothes: Just purchased a BeBand from Target so I don't have to button my jeans anymore! I also bought my first maternity top (seen in photo).

Nursery: We have ideas but it's way too soon to take action! Can't wait to make-over one of the last untouched rooms in the house though!

Movement: None at all. Could be a few more months.

Cravings: Nothing too specific yet...avoiding chicken, pork and carrots. Also not a huge fan of sweets.

Symptoms: Tired, tired, tired! I'm talking bed at 7 PM and a complete couch potato on the weekends. Rare nausea but it hasn't been a big issue so far.

Sleep: I LOVE sleep! Aside from the need to pee at 2 am, I've been sleeping even better than normal. The Snoogle Pregnancy Pillow is AMAZING too.

What I Miss: I do miss coffee and iced tea - no caffeine for the first 13 weeks. It's worth it though.

Looking Forward To: Telling our family and friends! A few more weeks :)

Friday Favs

What an exciting week! Here are a few of my favs to wrap it all up and a few from a while ago bc they're too good not to share!

1. Catching Fire Goody Bags

My sweet, sweet friend put together these super fun Catching Fire goody bags for our Catching Fire premier group outing. She organized an awesome evening and the movie and friends were AWESOME!

2. Our Halloween Costumes

We didn't do anything other than pass out candy at our home but we had fun dressing up as Sheldon and Amy Farrah Fowler from the Big Bang Theory!

3. Maternity Shopping w/ my Mom

My Mom and I got out early on Saturday to hit the day after Black Friday sales. I scored some awesome maternity clothes and it was so much fun spending this special time with my Mom. Going to work is a lot more fun and now I don't have to wear pajamas all the time when I'm at home. :)

4. New Dishwasher

Our old dishwasher was the loudest piece of crap I've ever heard and it left our glasses smelling faintly of old food. ew! BUT it did the job so we put up with it for our first year. Now that our house purchases have slowed down, we decided it was time to replace it. We got a great deal on this beautiful, quiet machine from Home Depot. They price matched Lowe's and threw in a sweeter delivery and hook-up deal - something to remember if you're in the market for appliances!

5. My First Pregnancy Purchases

This was quite a while ago but these were my first pregnancy purchases and SO exciting! I'll go into more detail on these must have items next week. I'll also slowly be posting my weekly pregnancy journal and pictures, for those that are interested. So much to catch up on now that the cat is finally out of the bag!

Linking up with some of my favs! Check them out here.

Happy Friday!!