Thankful Thursday

I think my pregnancy hormones are getting the best of me or something! Lately, I feel like I'm extra emotional-- like I can cry at the drop of a hat. I get emotional over the silliest things, like tearing up when I read news stories and hear songs. I feel like I've also been even more aware and sensitive to all of the amazing blessings in my life. I feel this crazy overwhelming love for Ryan and my baby girl. 

Pregnancy can be a test on any couple's relationship I'm sure. The second you see the positive pregnancy test, your lives change forever. Really... it's as crazy as it sounds. With all of the added stress and hormones raging, I feel so lucky to have Ryan by my side on this adventure. He has been so patient and loving. He stayed home with me every night for like 2 months when I was too sick to function, and especially too sick to do anything fun. Oh, and I have only made dinner a handful of times since December, and he never complains. I was too tired and sick to put makeup on or do my hair and he loved me anyway. He even rubs my back every night because my preggo body is sore. He has been so supportive and strong during a few trials that have come our way. He is always so positive and he always helps me to see the sunshine when all I see are gray clouds at times. He is my voice of reason when I have panic attacks thinking of all of the things we need to buy and do to be ready for our baby. He really is such an amazing person. He is so giving and caring for others. He sets such a an amazing example for me to look up to and he makes me want to be a better person every day. These days (especially now that I'm getting fat and feeling unattractive), I feel even more lucky that he chose to be with me. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking of what a blessing he is in my life (see, pregnancy hormones again). Of course we have disagreed on a few things throughout this little adventure...a hum.. baby names.... but it's nothing we can't get through. He's a great man for putting up with me every day! Thanks Ryan for all that you do.

And then, there's the little (un-named) miracle that's kicking around inside of me. Holy cow, if pregnancy isn't a blessing, I don't know what is. It's amazing how much you can love someone that you've never met. It's so fun to imagine what she'll look like and who's personality traits she'll have. She's going to be one spoiled and loved little girl. I am truly grateful to have this opportunity to become her mom and to share my body so she has somewhere to grow. Everyone always says, "once you have kids, you're lives will change forever". I get it now, and she's not even here yet. I am so excited to meet her and possibly even more excited to see Ryan with his little girl (...more tears...). He's going to be a great Daddy and I know he will be an example to her like he is to me. Wow, there are so many things to be thankful for. What a beautiful life I've been blessed with. 

Okay, that's the end of my mushy, pregnancy emotion-filled post.

Girl Girl Girl

I'm a little late on this post, since we found out the gender of our little babe a few weeks ago. But the fact that I'm late doesn't make it any less exciting!! We are having a baby GIRL! 

Ryan and I both had the feeling from the beginning that it was a girl. I had always thought it would be fun to have a boy first because growing up I always wanted an older brother, and naturally, Ryan wanted a boy first...well, because he's a guy. But, I think secretly I was hoping for a girl. It's just too fun to think about dressing her up in bows and frilly girly pink stuff. As much as I think Ryan liked the thoughts of having a little football buddy, after watching him with our sweet niece Charlotte, I'm pretty sure he'll love a baby girl just as much. I'm sure she'll have her daddy wrapped around her little finger in no time!

I'm in my second trimester now, and starting to feel so much better! When we had our gender ultrasound (at 14 weeks), it was so fun to see her dancing around in there. She's an active little thing! I can't feel her moving yet, but I'm sure I will pretty soon. Everything in the ultrasound looked good and she's still measuring big, so I'm hoping they'll move my due date up when I go for my 20 week ultrasound in a few weeks. My mom and Grams have already started buying lots of pink stuff and making blankets and stuff like crazy! Here's some more pics of our little girl...

Her cute little profile

Girl Parts

Cute little thing!

Some BIG News

We are so excited to announce that we have a little human on the way! Ryan and I are so excited...and so nervous... to become parents, but we are ready for this awesome adventure! I mean, Ryan is 30 and I'm 29, so I guess it's about time. People have been bugging us about having a baby since the day we got married, I swear. So we are excited to finally join the Mom & Dad club.

I had my first ultrasound and doctor visit about 3 weeks ago and we got to see our teeny peanut and hear the little heartbeat! It was such a relief to hear the heartbeat and know that our baby is growing like it should. Here's our baby's first picture:

I am 12 weeks along now and finally starting into my second trimester. Woohoo! My official due date is August 28th, but the babe is already measuring a week or so ahead. 

THE STORY:

I found out I was pregnant in December--December 18th to be exact. I had suspected I was pregnant because I had a few symptoms, so I took a pregnancy test to work with me that morning. I saw the two pink lines when I took the test at work and decided to wait until I got home from work to tell Ryan. It was the LOONGGEST day at work, I was so excited to tell him! When I got home, I had a little present for him. I put the positive pregnancy test in a little bag with a baby onesie I made that said "You will soon learn that your Daddy is a nerd. He'll teach you all about Muggles, the one Ring and the ways of the force".

The first thing he said when he opened the bag was "We're pregnant!?" and then he gave me a big hug and kiss. Even though it was really early, we were too excited and we decided to tell our immediate family a few days later on Christmas. It seemed like the perfect Christmas gift for our parents.

We have all been keeping this big secret now for a few months, and it's been SO hard!

I was pretty sick from weeks 6-9, and have been really exhausted and zombie-ish since day one.... hence the lack of blog posts and social interaction. I haven't felt like doing much of anything so we've been laying low for the last little bit. Ryan has been so great to help me out since I've been feeling crappy and he's been so patient with me. I still have rough days here and there, but they are getting fewer and farther between. Now that I'm starting into my second trimester, I am feeling so much better and I almost feel human again. Growing a baby is exhausting! I feel so lucky that I was only really sick for a few weeks-- and although I was so miserable, I know I could have been much more sick and am so thankful that I was still able to work. Being pregnant so far has been quite the adventure! It's so crazy to wake up every morning and know that there's a little person growing inside of me. What an amazing gift it is. I'm looking forward to the rest of this grand adventure and mostly excited to see Ryan as a Daddy.

We will be able to find out if it's a BOY or a GIRL in just a few weeks!