Growing

A quick pic that I took before work this morning and sent to my girlfriends back home, as they've been asking if I'm showing yet!

"Dear baby bump, you've officially made it difficult to button pants :) "

*Kristin*

15 Weeks

I'm on Week 15 today of pregnancy :) My baby is the size of an apple and about 4" long! That seems huge to me for some reason. I can't feel any movement yet, though I heard with a first pregnancy it'll still be a few weeks.

A few quick bump pics! Watching my bump grow has been a fun experience. It seems a lot 'rounder' in person, haha

The nausea has mostly subsided since the 1st trimester ended. I still get kind of queasy at night when thinking about dinner. And I still can't stand eating vegetables :/ Poor baby is getting so much junk food it's ridiculous. I do, however, crave fruit, so I'm been getting my FULL serving of fruit everyday. Maybe that makes up for the lack of veggies?! My dislike towards chocolate & sweets is something I would have never guessed!! I couldn't go a day without sweets before, and now I only crave salty foods. And I still crave cheese. Cheese.all.the.time!

Other than food cravings, I still get hit with exhaustion from time to time. I had really hoped it would subside but some days I just need a nap (which I welcome with open arms since the days of taking naps are short-lived :) I'm trying to continue staying active, working out to stay healthy, and doing some kind of an activity on the weekends with Ross whether it be an easy hike or just some kayaking. Although I can only laugh at myself when I'm out of breath on the shortest walks!

The mood swings are a whole other post. Though I think they've gotten better, they are wearing me out.

On a happier note, this week, I've gotten more excited thinking my gender reveal party with mine and Ross' families and my best friends back home in July. Nothing fancy, just a dinner with the fams and a box of balloons to reveal the gender! I've enlisted my best friend, Ang, to buy the 'correct' balloons. She's good at keeping secrets :) Unlike everyone on both sides of our families! haha

We've also booked flights home in September for a baby shower! No definitive plans yet but a lot of ideas being discussed. Currently leaning towards a picnic at the park. Something casual and fun. I don't want the traditional 'ladies-only' shower so we're doing more of a coed cookout with families and couples! I want to see everyone when I'm home :) Can't wait!

*Kristin*

12 Week Check-up

Ross & I got to see Gummy Bear again yesterday at my 12-week check-up! I was really looking forward to it. I think baby is measuring between 2-3" (or the size of a lime) now but it looked huge up on the wide screen tv during the ultrasound. Baby was just laying there, not cooperating for a profile shot. After a few minutes, I was kind of bored. You couldn't make out much of what you were looking at. The ultrasound technician kept prodding, but nada. Until the very end. Just when the technician was wrapping up, baby must've been irritated from all the movement that it started kicking it's legs, moving its arms and then squirming. I squealed!! Ross & I were pretty much in 'awe.' I couldn't believe all the movement and couldn't look away. I can't believe I can't feel anything yet. What an experience!

It still really hasn't sunk in yet that parenthood is racing around the corner. I'm just now fully embracing the pregnancy now that I can talk about it and want to enjoy this moment right now :) I get a little freaked out thinking ahead, wondering how I'll ever adjust to sleepless nights, affording daycare when I start back up at work, etc. etc. But then I realize what a blessing and what a JOURNEY this is going to be. And how excited I am to just get to experience this phase of life with Ross. I can't wait. So I remember that even though our life won't be as easy and kicked back as it is now, it's gonna be pretty cool.

*Kristin*

New Chapter & The Big Announcement

I'm back!! And for good reason. As most of you (more like the 5 of you that read this :) saw yesterday on Facebook, the secret is finally out :)

I can't believe the overwhelming response of everyone that liked/commented on our FB announcement yesterday! It feels SO good to finally let the secret out. At least, as soon as I tell work today :) Then the cat will officially be out of the bag. And I'm starting to show. So better tell them now before they begin to speculate!

I had so much fun putting the announcement together and probably got carried away! I finally bought myself a tiny $10 remote for my DSLR so I was able to capture the middle 'family' photo. I had fun getting to test it out :) And my Photoshop skills came in handy for the 1st photo... I mean, did you really think I got Dakota perfectly into position directly behind that sign at the exact right moment?! I should stop spilling my secrets! And the collage was a compromise... Ross came up with the 'Baby Toy Tester' caption and I loved that but then I saw the middle family photo on Pinterest and had to have that as well! So I took the 3rd photo to round the collage out and presto... an announcement I love :)

On Thursday, I have my 12 week appt. where they'll do another ultrasound and blood work. I'm so excited to see Gummy Bear again! That's our nickname for now... b/c on our very first ultrasound at 9 wks, when they confirmed the pregnancy, it *downright* looked like a gummy bear!... Right?! haha

The journey so far has been so exciting! It happened a bit quicker then we expected and it's taken on a life of its own already! It's all we can talk about. We told our families after our first appointment. I was so nervous it was just all in my head at first that I HAD to have the first ultrasound to be sure before revealing the news. Besides, it was kind of fun for Ross & I to have our own little secret between the 2 of us before the chaos set in. The past 7 weeks of nausea and sickness had also pretty much confirmed things before our first appt. Luckily, the sickness is finally getting better. And with the nausea, I've only been able to tolerate certain foods (mostly junk food *sigh*) and the cravings have been unreal. Apparently baby likes CHEESE, anything with cheese, my diet has consisted of cheese pizza, cheesy pastas, cheese anything!

So that's been our exciting chapter these past few weeks. And I have to say, I'm so relieved the pestering of starting a family will finally stop. Let me just get up on my soapbox for a sec and declare once and for all that Ross & I were always HAPPY with our current situation. We loved just being the 2 of us and a dog and living in the moment. We never felt pressure to start a family until WE were ready. That's all that mattered to us. And now we are. And we are excited :) 

*Kristin*

Happy Easter

Ross and I had a wonderful weekend.  It was in the 80's here and nothing can keep my mood down when it's that nice outside! Our Easter was spent just the two of us but with plans for an Easter Brunch buffet at Ross Bridge Resort. It's a luxury hotel/golf course about 20 minutes from our house.  I've heard spectacular things about the food as well as the setting so we were really looking forward to our Easter Sunday :)

After an inspiring message at church, we headed over to our brunch. Apparently the community of Ross Bridge is more than just a golf course and hotel. They even have a planned community, with pools, playgrounds and a small village of stores/shops. If this isn't the definition of "Pleasant-ville" with every bush and tree perfectly manicured, I don't know what is! Just take a look at the perfection as you drive through the neighborhood:

In the background, you can see a glimpse of the castle hotel. Here's a close-up of the hotel:

Luckily, we did not get lost inside the hotel and found our way to brunch :) The place is massive!

The brunch was nothing short of perfection. The food was delicious, we had everything from lamb to prime rib, many side dishes, pasta, assorted breads, muffins, and an array of desserts! The only stations we skipped were the salad bar and omelet station (we can make those at home ;) We wanted to make sure we had enough room to try everything, and we certainly did! Ross tried all 12 desserts, haha. We got dessert after every trip up to the buffet. We know how to dine :)

Here's a few shots we tried to take ourselves:

We also spent a lot of time outdoors this weekend, cleaning up the yard and planting some container gardens. We bought perennials, hoping these containers will be enjoyed year after year our dollars will stretch year after year! Ross will help me water and maintain them since he has a much greener thumb than I do. How sweet of him :)

We bought two hanging flower baskets for the window box which were annuals. I wanted the look of them spilling over the sides and I love how they turned out:

We're now ready for summer and to get out and enjoy the weather!

*Kristin*

Spring Happenings

Life here is going really well. Ross & I have been here for almost 2 years now and we're finally starting to meet people. Maybe we hold the record for longest time it takes for us to make friends, but I won't fret about it. We were really out of comfort zone when we moved here and it took a deliberate act of joining groups at our church to finally meet people, something we never did in the past in pgh, b/c hey... we had all the friends and hobbies we needed back home! So for us, it was a huge learning curve, especially with both of us being the introverts we are! And finding a church we loved here was just as difficult so I'm happy to be over that road bump.

I joined 2 small groups at church that meet during the weeknights and I *love* them. It's so nice to get out of the house and mingle with like-minded people. Ross joins me for the one group since it's a marriage small group. It's been great to meet other couples and I've gotten a lot out of the group. It actually ends soon but I'm excited to see what comes next and how I can get more involved with our church and such.

Besides finally getting involved, the weather here has been warming up and it's glorious! I actually look forward to yard work just so Dakota and I can get some much needed Vitamin D :) I'll admit, it will be extremely hard to go back to a snow climate one day if we ever move back home. I sure don't miss it! And I sure do love the whole city being closed here when we see a few flurries, haha.

Ross and I are slowly making our house our home. The mudroom is almost complete and I can't wait to share pics!! The progress is slow going on all of our projects but that's only because Ross works so hard during the week, it's hard for him to not want to just relax come Saturday.

Our jobs are still going really well so we're extremely blessed in that sense.  Ross is overly busy at work so I only pray that his workload eases up a bit but other than that, he enjoys what he's doing. Mine is also going well, I'm learning a lot and still love my coworkers.

Well, I had a feeling 2014 was going to be a great year so I can only hope it continues to go that way. So far, so good :) Now, if only I could recruit my friends and family to move here as well, I sure do miss them......

*Kristin*

January Recap

Well last time I left off was right after Christmas and time has been flying since.

Mom & Dad visited us the day after xmas and we took them to New Orleans for their first time. It was a quick trip that was absolutely soaked by rain, but we tried to make the most of it. Our hotel was just 3 blocks outside the French Quarter, but lesson learned, it was too far, especially in the rain! This time, we got to venture out to the Garden District so that was my highlight of our trip!

About a week or so after the holidays, Ross' mom and brother came to visit us for a week. They lucked out on the week they were here because it was our normal Alabama winter, not too cool and not too warm. The week before I think we all experienced the Deep Freeze weather that hit all of the eastern US, including us! And the week after they left it got unseasonably cold again.

Then shortly afterwards, which brings us up to last week, we got hit by Snowmaggedon 2014!! ha. I guess that is what people are calling it now :) Ross & I are extremely fortunate that 1) we had a warm office to sleep in that night with coworkers we trust whereas most people were stranded on the highways in their cars 2) we made it home safely the next day while driving past thousands of stranded cars all over the hwys 3) dakota was ok after being in her crate for a straight 28 hours 4) etc. etc. etc. We can count our blessings a thousand times over!

NOW.... Ross & I are finally settling down and getting back to our normal routine. We took a break from working on the house for awhile but we're slowly making progress again on the mudroom, which Ross promised me back in November would be finished in a few short weeks. haha *famous last words*

Besides that, the rest of the house just feels overwhelming with everything that's been happening in January. Numerous things around the house have broken, clogged drains (two calls to the plumber & $600 later, it's all fixed), broken garage door, leaking kitchen sink, etc. It's overwhelming and I feel like we can't keep up. We're finally looking into our home warranty because we can't afford anymore fixes. Hopefully they cover a good bit!! I'm so tired of this house already. Next time, I definitely don't plan on renovating. The inspiration is just sucked right out of me!! :( O well.  As soon as we finish the mudroom I may (hopefully!) have higher spirits. Deep breath, One project at a time....

*Kristin*