2 weeks

2 weeks until the big ultrasound!!  

Hope to find out if its a boy or girl :)

but I will have to keep myself from buying every cute baby item I see.

all images from {bodenbaby}

coffee

Our first date was at Starbucks.
With almost every date following, coffee was somehow involved.  Late nights at Heine Brothers on Bardstown Road, a surprise cup of Java coffee waiting in my locker in high school, afternoon study breaks and sermon writing on the Starbucks patio in Mariemont.
It began full of milk, froth, extra whipped cream and caramel.  Slowly, we moved to cappuccinos and lattes with a few packets of sugar.  And now a mug full of black french pressed coffee on a Saturday morning is more our style.
Yesterday, Patrick and I spent the afternoon in Sundance Square sipping on an Iced Caramel Macchiato (a dessert treat compared to our morning choice but a necessity in this weather!)- what a sweet time together.  Miles from Mariemont and Bardstown Road, we share our goals for the next year, 5 years.  We encourage, dream, and laugh.         While our preference for coffee shifted throughout our relationship from flavored milk with coffee to a rich, dark roast, may we always encourage, dream and laugh together...  over a cup of coffee.

Baby Wipes Recipe

My sweet friend works for Arbonne and sent me this awesome recipe to make chemical free baby wipes for cheap!  I have recently started using their skincare line and I love all of it!  Ever since I got pregnant, my skin has been super sensitive.  I changed my laundry detergent to Seventh Generation (I was itching like CRAZY until I washed my entire wardrobe) and skincare products to Arbonne, which has helped a ton.  Needless to say, if I don't want to put unwanted chemicals into my skin, I need to be extra careful with that precious newborn skin!  I already bought some items from the baby line- so wonderful- and now all I need are some Viva paper towels to make this simple, chemical-free baby wipes:

1 Old baby wipe container
1 roll of Viva paper towels
1 tbsp ABC oil (Arbonne baby care)
1 tbsp ABC wash
2 cups water

"Mix all liquids in a bowl.  Take the center cardboard out of the paper towels.  Cut paper towels in 1/2 (width-wise) Soak towels in liquids and place in old baby wipe container.  Voila!"

inspiration/dreaming

I love {Pinterest}.  I'm obsessed.  I think it is going to be a major help once I start this whole nursery decorating thing.  My mind is running wild with ideas, but I have yet to make one purchase or do anything to the room because we are waiting to find out the sex of baby g hopefully next month :)  I'm thankful I have a few weeks before we find out, so I can keep myself from buying baby things for a little bit longer.  I MUST stop myself from looking at the {Stokke} website.  Why do they have to have so many beautiful and classy and $$$ baby items to tempt me with?!!  Anyone have a secret to finding them discounted?  I'm searching Craigslist!

So here are my top inspiration images for the nursery (one girl and one boy) and their are links on my {pinterest page} with even more of my favorite pictures:

(I know this isn't a nursery, but I love the color scheme and textures of the room)

(for a boy nursery I want: clean rustic vintage.  yea, it makes sense in my head haha
but this room creates just that... rustic wooden textures with vintage accessories and clean white lines)

16 weeks (and 3 days)

Right now, baby g is the size of an avocado!  Thats about 4 1/2 inches long and 3 1/2 ounces.

My belly is definitely growing, but I'm still not sure if it's actually the baby or just bloating- haha- it changes throughout the day :) 

A little recap on the first trimester:

I had a feeling I was pregnant, so after work I picked up a cheap package of pregnancy tests to take the next morning.  It was really early when I woke up for work and I didn't want to wake up Patrick.  The test showed a very faint second line, but what was that supposed to mean!?!?  I jumped in the car to rush for Walgreens before work to pick up a digital pregnancy test- something that could give me a real answer and not a faint line :)  The words "Pregnant" popped up on the screen and I spent all day super excited... dying to tell Patrick, but clearly a phone call or text wasn't appropriate :)  

I picked up some red & green wrapping paper (since this would be an early Christmas gift!), a little baby book, and placed the test inside the gift.  Patrick new before he even saw the test that I was pregnant!  We celebrated all evening and it still felt a little surreal!  This was right at 4 weeks- and the only symptoms I had was frequent trips to the bathroom :)  It wasn't until about 6 weeks that I started to feel a little nauseous in the mornings.  I'm so thankful that my morning sickness was not bad at all compared to the stories I have heard!  And once I learned to eat a little snack in the middle of the night (so I wouldn't wake up with an empty stomach) I was pretty much back to normal.  Even now, I haven't had any food aversions or wild cravings... well not any different than what I had before getting pregnant!  

Here's what babycenter says about how the baby g is growing these days...

"Get ready for a growth spurt.  In the next few weeks, you baby will double his weight and add inches to his length.  His (or her) legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head.  His ears are close to their final position, too.  The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks are recognizable yet.  He's even started growing toenails.  And there's a lot happening inside as well.  For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop."

4th celebration!

Patrick and I spent the day together and then met up with some friends to watch the fireworks on a rooftop!  What a beautiful day celebrating the 4th of July!!

 cute little car we saw on the road...

Jake & Susie come for the weekend!

 (yummy H3 ranch restaurant- BEST bacon ever)

 They were so happy to have a friend for the weekend :)

Thanks for coming in town Niven Family!  We love you!

Let Freedom Ring!

printable from {pinterest}