prego party!

May 22, 2013 / POSTED IN: pregnancy

Dan has a really great group of work friends who threw us a little prego party on Sunday. :) A few of them unfortunately are moving out of the state so we decided to have the party a little early so everyone could be there. It was so much fun! We had Mexican food (not a new craving or anything .. I’ve always been obsessed!) then went back to our friend Lacy’s house for snacks, present opening and non-prego games (there were boys involved and I don’t know many that would enjoy playing baby shower games!). :)

We got some incredibly cute gifts which made me so much more excited for this little girl to get hurry up and get here! This was baby shower #1 of 4 (holy crap!). Our family showers are next month .. one in Ohio and one in Illinois. We are so lucky to have such amazing friends and family in our lives! This little girl is already so loved! :)

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special day

May 12, 2013 / POSTED IN: our wedding, pregnancy

Today is kind of a special day. :) On top of it being Mother’s Day and being preggers with this little lady, it’s also our one year wedding anniversary! I always had the intention of blogging about our wedding but life got in the way and I let my little blog get away from me. Now that I’m updating more, I figured today would be the best day to write about it. :)

We had the most perfect day. I had been planning a larger wedding from the start but I got so stressed out. I couldn’t handle all of the decisions that needed to be made, the drama and the costs of everything. We were also reaaally torn about wanting to use our saved up wedding money to get a fence for our house. That might sound crazy to some people but for us it was so hard to justify spending thousands on one day when we could use it for something we would get use out of every day! Long story short .. we decided to buy the fence and change up all of our wedding plans .. and we were SO glad we did! :)

Our total guest count was a whopping 12 people after inviting only our parents and our closest friends. :) The weather that day was so perfect (unlike today .. high of 55 and windy! yuck!). We were married outside on a cute little patio right next door to the bed & breakfast we booked for dinner our reception. Our wonderful friend Robbie married us (which made everything that much more special!) and even included Otis & Penny in a little of what he wrote. :) The ceremony was short & sweet which was perfect for me because I am not a fan of being the center of attention. After our ceremony, we did photos with our family & friends then Dan and I went off with our photographer for for our own little photo shoot (it was so weird being in front of the camera since I’m the one who usually photographs the bride & groom!). Once pictures were done, we had a reaaaally yummy dinner (pasta!), ate red velvet & white chocolate raspberry cupcakes and then everyone went back to our house for a little bonfire. I would not change a single thing about our day. I can’t say enough how perfect our day was!

By the way, can I just take a second and brag about my $20 H&M wedding dress? Sure it’s not your traditional wedding dress but nothing about our day was traditional so it totally worked. :) I love that from now on I get to say I only had to spend $20 on my wedding dress!

I can’t believe it’s already been a year that Dan and I have been married! This past year has been pretty wonderful. I am so lucky to have married him. He really is the most helpful, caring guy I have ever met. That’s become even more apparent since this pregnancy wasn’t (and sometimes still isn’t) easy for me. I am already looking forward to many many more years of being married to him. :) I know he’s going to be the best dad too! I’m such a lucky girl to have him in my life (so is our soon-to-be-here little one). :)

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Dan - May 13, 2013 - 7:50 am

I LOVE YOU!!! a 100 more years with you wont be enough time with you.

Katie - May 20, 2013 - 12:16 pm

Happy anniversary! Your wedding sounds amazing! I always thought I wanted a big affair, but the more time that passes, the more smaller weddings appeal to me. I love yours!

xo,
Katie
hellolittlebean.com

decisions decisions

April 30, 2013 / POSTED IN: nursery, pregnancy

Since we bought our home a few years ago, it’s become pretty clear to me that making a decision when it comes to decorating is not an easy thing for me. I don’t even want to try and remember how long it took me to find the ‘perfect’ bedspread for our room. It had to be months.

Now we have a nursery to decorate which only means I have been driving myself crazy again! :) I scoured the internet looking at baby bedding sets and didn’t like anything. I decided to give up on the bedding search and just find fabric I liked to make my own. I don’t own a sewing machine or I’d take on the task myself but luckily I have some pretty crafty people in my life who have offered to help!

After weeks and weeks of searching, freaking out about the cost of quality fabric and going back & forth about what I thought I liked, I think I can finally say I fell in love with a collection!

My plan is to do a crib skirt, a few sheets, a little quilt, diaper changer cover and possibly some window valances. Just typing all of that out overwhelms me and I’m not even doing the sewing!

We’ve also made a little progress with nursery furniture! Dan got the crib put together (with a little help from Otis & Penny of course) and I kind of can’t get over how cute it is. :)

I can’t wait to see how this all comes together! :)

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Katie - April 30, 2013 - 12:20 pm

I feel your pain! I’m hating ALL crib bedding in general. I do own a sewing machine and I’m pretty handy with it. But all the fabric I find that I want is so expensive =/

I love the fabrics you picked! It’s going to look so cute when it’s all put together!

xo,
Katie
hellolittlebean.com

Shannon - May 15, 2013 - 12:27 pm

Cute fabric. It looks like it will be perfect with your wall color and the style of crib you chose (which is also adorable!)

20 weeks!

April 19, 2013 / POSTED IN: family, pregnancy

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and I’m happy to announce our little lady is doing well! Her measurements, spine, brain, and heart all looked great. The ultrasound tech was so impressed with the view of her heart that she took a video of it to share for training purposes. I joked that she is already a little model! :)

It was pretty amazing to see her little heart working away. Dan and I decided it was probably the coolest thing we’ve ever seen. We also go to see her yawn which wasn’t as amazing but it was still pretty adorable!!

I also got the 100% confirmation that I was hoping for that she’s all girl! :) We are so so so excited!


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Katie - April 22, 2013 - 2:24 pm

Yay!! SO cool! Ours is tomorrow and I’m so anxious and excited!

She’s beautiful =)

xo,
Katie
hellolittlebean.com

Katie - April 24, 2013 - 10:57 am

Yay for girls!!

xo,
Katie

hellolittlebean.com

Londen - May 9, 2013 - 11:37 pm

I remember our 20 week appt. like it was yesterday…very exciting!! Good luck finishing up her room, have fun!

Londen

this is not easy

April 15, 2013 / POSTED IN: family, pregnancy

Let me preface this blog by saying Dan and I are extremely thankful that we are pregnant. It was a roller-coaster getting to a successful pregnancy so we couldn’t be more happy everything is working out. That being said, I will be the first one to raise my hand and tell the world I do not enjoy being pregnant. It’s been a rough road so far and I’m only a few days away from being half way to the finish line.

My first trimester I was pretty miserable. I’m not sure who decided to coin the term ‘morning sickness’ because I never experienced that. I had what I like to call ‘all-day sickness.’ I would go for days being nauseous 24/7. It got to the point where I could not even remember what having a good day felt like. Having doctor’s orders to make sure I was getting enough calories and water each day was really kind of difficult when the thought of food made me want to hang out in the bathroom and hug the toilet (ew).

I am really thankful that part of my pregnancy is finally out the door. Unfortunately, the second it left I welcomed migraines into my life. I’ve always had headaches growing up but nothing as awful as the ones I’ve been dealing with while pregnant. There are times they got so bad I would wish I could have my all-day sickness back! My doctor is really not a fan of taking any drugs while pregnant but they have been so bad I went from extra strength tylenol to tylenol w/ codeine to a migraine medicine called fioricet that finally gave me a tiny bit of relief. It also made me a little loopy, which I won’t lie, I kind of enjoyed considering I was usually crying and throwing up! It was a nice change. :)

The doctor predicted the awful headaches shouldn’t be as intense now and thank goodness she was right. The last few weeks I’ve had some really great days then all of a sudden, hello bladder infection! I can really start to feel the baby move now and she apparently enjoys kicking and punching the hell out of my inflamed bladder! I seriously just can’t win! :)

I really kind of envy women who actually enjoy being pregnant. Honestly, I never thought I’d be one of them but I also never thought it would be this hard for me. I really do know it’s all worth it in the end, it’s just so hard to go through so much for such a long period of time. I don’t know how many times Dan has reminded me that all of this pain and frustration is just temporary. It’s so hard for me to remember because I get so caught up and overwhelmed with feeling awful. Just keep your fingers crossed for me that these next few months fly by with no more crazy preggo drama! ;)

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shari - April 15, 2013 - 5:53 pm

Nicole- i totally feel for you! 1st tri is not fun, i don’t feel like i ever enjoyed pregnancy either! hopefully once baby starts moving you’ll feel better about it!

BTW, so glad i found your blog. it is so beautiful! xo, shari

Gillian - April 15, 2013 - 10:09 pm

Thanks for your nice comment on my blog :) Your photos are lovely, and I just read this post and feel for you so much. I have HORRIBLE pregnancies. They of course are worth it, but it is not always easy to remember that while you are going through it. My advice is just to get through one day at a time!

Katie - April 16, 2013 - 9:50 am

Thanks for all your comments on my blog =)

And I can definitely relate to how you’re feeling! We are extremely excited, but pregnancy has not been easy at all. And when people ask, sometimes they laugh like “oh you just wait.” And it bothers me because I’ve literally felt like crap for months. I had 24/7 sickness also, for weeks! Then that was over (mostly, it still shows up sometimes) and in came dizziness and headaches and the fact that most food STILL isn’t enjoyable. I love food…usually! And don’t even get me started about being tired. I actually had someone tell me that there is no way pregnancy can make me this tired and there must be something else wrong. RUDE! But I’m having more good days lately, and feeling the baby move, which makes up for it!

I hope you get some relief! In the meantime, we can complain together ;)

xo,
Katie
hellolittlebean.com

Denise - April 16, 2013 - 6:30 pm

What a cute blog, and your pups are adorable! I was the same way with my pregnancy (minus the migraines, but add back pain that sent me to the ER). A phrase you’ll never stop hearing from mama’s “This too shall pass”, and it’s so true- as much as it doesn’t always bring instant comfort. :) Hang in there mama, your over halfway to meeting your beautiful baby girl! :)

Briana C. Burris - May 21, 2013 - 5:15 pm

well it is a bit comforting knowing i am not alone, but it still doesnt heal the pain i am feeling when trying to conceive and not being succesful. especially when i see everyone else around me who dont want kids having kids and having abortions.i really feel like giving up because it really feels hopeless. i spend all day taking care of and playing with other people kids and cant conceive one for my self. i came close in 2007 and lost it due to a blighted ovum in 2007 after years of trying and praying at 3months. so i am really pissed and mad because it has been years since i have been tryingand i dont have a child to show for it.