twenty seven...

These are the times that I truly have to Let Go and Let God...and be thankful for all of our many blessings. Again, this blog is to help me remember my pregnancy, the ups AND the downs.

We had a wonderful time in Kansas for Christmas. After spending Sunday with Matt's family, we flew to Kansas City to spend the night with my Grandmom. We spent Christmas Eve in Clay Center with the Wall side of the family. As usual, it was great to see everyone. We relaxed, watched Baby Hop's 3D sono DVD and enjoyed family time Christmas day. It was a much needed visit with family. It always fills you back up when you get to see them :) And is always hard to leave!

Thursday morning came about like any other. I was getting ready for work, when I realized something was not right. I used the restroom to see every expecting mothers worst fear. Blood...and lots of it. I immediately freaked out, screamed for Matt and we ran to his car to get to the doctor. I called my OB who wanted us to come by her office first if we could. She checked me out and immediately told me I needed to get to labor and delivery. I was still bleeding...and she didn't know why. Luckily, Baby H had a strong heart beat and seemed fine. My mind was racing with every thought imaginable. He is only 27 weeks...this can't be happening. I believe everything happens for a reason, so I was really trying to hold onto this...as hard as it was.

The hospital was across the street from my OB, so we got there quickly, and they got me to L&D. Another OB from my doc's office was on call there, so it was reassuring to have a familiar face. By the time I had gotten changed, the bleeding had stopped, which was a huge relief. A sonographer came to take a look at everything and all looked great. Our lil guy was happy, healthy and not even phased by anything. And he had gained 6 oz in 6 days...weighing in at 2lbs 4oz.  However, they could not find where the bleeding had come from. My OB thinks I may have had a small tear behind my placenta, but the sono didnt show any type of bleeding or the source of it. Now that the bleeding had stopped, another challenge began. I started having contractions. Two minutes apart. This definitely was not normal, especially for 27 weeks. He has so much cooking left to do!

They hooked me to an IV and gave me a pill to stop the contractions, as well as a steroid shot to mature his lungs incase he is born early. I was still in shock at this point, not sure if this was all really happening. The contractions continued, so Plan B was a shot to relax my uterus. That seemed to make them stronger. So it was about 6pm by now and my OB wanted to try one last thing, a magnesium drip. They transferred me to a private room where I could be closely monitored. That definitely scared me...but I knew I had to do what was best for our lil man. The magnesium drip to say the least was pretty awful...you were in your own personal sauna, dizzy, vision was blurred, I couldnt even form a sentance and was SO weak. Along with the mag drip, they had me on a catheter which was also uncomfortable, but they did not want me getting up at all. This will be all worth it...all worth it...I know God does not put anything in your life that you can't handle. I just wanted my contractions to stop because I knew if they didnt, it could lead to delivery.  Bring it on mag drip and catheter :)

Matt was and is so amazing and stayed by my side through it all. He slept on the little cot and was always there to make sure we were doing ok. Friday morning came, and I was in a lot of pain bc of the mag drip, but I know it could have always been much worse. They finally took me off of it at noon and my contractions had stopped! Thank goodness!!!! Now I just hoped they didnt return. The afternoon went on and I began to get my strength back and felt like myself again. Baby H was still doing great, with no clue what was even going on AND my contractions did not return :)! so they sent me home around 7pm, on bed rest.

So here I am! SO thankful our lil man is doing good and still cozy inside. Thankful to be home. Thankful for our blessings. I have Mr. Sam laying on my feet and Pete on the pillow next to me. 

My cuddle buddy

 

Bless Matt's heart...I hope I dont drive him crazy on bed rest! I know all he wants is for me to stay put and he will take care of the rest. He has a mini-freak out moment even when I get up to use the bathroom :) I am so lucky to have him, family and friends who are there and keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. I could not have made it through these past few days without you all.

And whats next...well, I go back to see my OB wednesday. I have a feeling I may be on bed rest until he arrives...he has so much growing left to do. But its out of my hands...I just have to face my biggest challenge... yes, for those of you that know me, that will be staying put in bed and relying on others to help me. Just like our lil guy, I am impatient and ancy :) But it is all so worth it. Let Go, Let God.

Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Updates soon!

Life Lately...that I can remember :)

So ,its pretty crazy that I am already 22 weeks along with our lil man. It seriously feels like I was just trying to convince the doctor to see me at 6 weeks because 8 weeks was way too long to wait! Then counting down the days to find out the gender...and now, 5 and a half months along? Is this real?

Yes. Very real. In fact, here are a few examples of recent experienes that remind me I am pregnant.

1. Friday at work, I was faxing a document to corporate. Faxing this document for four hours. Frustrated that I kept getting "Error" messages on the confirmation fax, I was about to give up. Then I get a phone call from the sweet lady in payroll telling me she doesn't speak fax.  I was sending it to her phone number for four hours. Oh big deal. I'm sure people do it all the time. For four hours.

2. Friday evening, Matt brought home milkshakes. My favorite milkshake, might I add, from Braums. He got the giant size, so I didnt finish all of it. So naturally, all day Saturday I was looking forward to coming home to my milkshake. I get home, open the freezer and there is no shake. No Shake! I immediately turn to Matt, "Where's my shake? You ate it, didn't you!" He looks at me, a little shocked that I am so upset, and says "Well, no...well, I tried it and it was freezer burnt so I threw it away." I have tears in my eyes by now. "What!? Why? That is for me to decide if it tastes bad! I wouldnt have cared! I would have ate it anyways! I can't believe you ate my milkshake!"

I dont know if I was more upset that the shake was gone or the fact that I had gotten so upset about a milkshake.

3. I may have had to turn around on my way to work more than once to go back home and let Mr. Sam back inside...

All I have to say, this boy better be a genious because he has seriously soaked up my brain...mostly the memory part though...I think.

We haven't started the nursery quite yet, but we do have some ideas for it that I love. We are going with a Colorado theme. I LOVE COLORADO. It is so beautiful and peacful. I have so many great memories of Colorado growing up and a fun little fact, when we visited Colorado this past summer, I was 2 weeks pregnant with the lil guy and didn't know it. I've made a few crafty things for his room so far, dont' judge, they looked better on pinterest :)

 

 

We wanted to get everything done in our house, or as much as we could, before we started the nursery. Once we start on that, the rest is history! We finally cleaned out the room (before it was home to tools, our ladder, random boxes of stuff...) so I think that's a good sign we will start on it soon! That makes me happy. And Matt too, because it means he will stop hearing me talk about it :)

 



baby boy hopkins

Well ya'll, it's a BOY! A sweet baby boy! My gut was right...and most of those silly tests were wrong.

Thursday, October 25 finally rolls around. Our appointment was scheduled for 9:20am. I had to get the earliest available! I was off work and Matt took the day off so he could come along. Of course I didn't sleep much the night before, it was like when you're a kid on Christmas Eve waiting to see what Santa brings you! Ironically, we did have a present waiting for us. Mr. Sam had left us a little gift over night...Yep, a big 'ole pile of poo in the hallway. He never does his business in the house. He knows something is up.

While we were driving to the OB, Matt mentioned he was nervous, but a good nervous. I can't imagine the feelings we will have 5 months from now when we are driving to the hospital to meet the lil guy! So we arrive at 9:10, took our seat in the waiting area and anxiously waited for my name to be called. 9:20 comes...and goes...9:30...9:50....What is going on! Just as I was about to ask, the sweet pregnant lady next to us mentioned the sonographer had gotten stuck in traffic and was running late. Of course she did. I've waited 18 weeks, I can wait a little longer. So 10:15 comes and it's finally our turn! Here we go.

Now the last time we saw the lil guy was when he was 8 weeks old, looking very similar to a blob. What we saw on the screen this time was an amazing, beautiful, precious, perfect baby. My heart was instantly his (or it's, we didn't know what it was yet).  I can't even explain the emotions I felt looking at the life inside me, wiggling and dancing around. Pure LOVE. Such a miracle.

So she begins measuring the length, the head, the arms, the legs...and bam. There it was. His boy parts. There was no mistaking it. He is not a shy boy. I instantly grabbed Matt's hand when she said "It's a boy! Congratulations!" and we both had tears and goofy grins on our faces.

There it is folks. He will be so embarassed I put this up someday.

 

 

 

I had to be that girl and ask, so he has 2 arms, 2 legs, his hearts working correctly, brain is developing, he's growing on track, etc etc etc. I even had to throw in there that I'm kind of a picture freak, so the more she wants to print out for us, the better.  He is half a pound and measuring right on track. We are so blessed...a HEALTHY baby boy. The deep love and emotions I felt during this appointment are so unreal. I can't even imagine the range of emotions I will feel when I hear you, hold you, see you...I can't wait.

 

We already have a name picked, but the world will have to wait until you are here to find out.  And I promise we will do as much as we can to prepare Mr. Sam...

 

 

See how excited he is?!

 

 



Lil Mr. or Miss?

I'm trying my best, really, to not think about our gender appointment coming up. The more I think about it, the sloooower it will get here, right? Matt always tells  me, "Kristen, just enjoy this time. You don't want to rush it by." He is so right. SO right. Like I said before, I am truly loving being pregnant and experiencing this amazing miracle. But I just want to know...Lil Mr. or Miss? And c'mon, I know Matt thinks about it all the time too. :)

So, whats a girl to do while she waits patiently (or not so patiently) to find out? Do some gender tests of course! I really don't believe in this stuff, but it's kinda fun. Truthfully, before I got pregnant I thought the myths and tests were stupid (Yes, thank you for letting me know there is a 50/50 chance of the test being correct...duh.) But I cant afford a sonogram machine, so this is all I got people. 

So we tried the over-priced Gender Intellegence Test from Walgreens when I was 12 weeks.

It's pretty simple. It's some sort of powdery substance that you mix with your pee and wa-lah! It either turns a brownish/greenish color if its a boy or a yellow/orangish if its a girl. Mine turned brown/green...We're having a Boy! Not so fast...remember, in fine print, it nicely reminds us that there is 50/50 chance of being correct. Thanks.

 

So I took a few quizzes online. Are you craving sweets or salty? Salty. Are you carrying high or low? Low...I think. How is your skin? Clear or Breaking out? Clear, with a few here and there. Are you moody? Yes, dumb question (hehe, jk I'm not too bad). And so on...well whatta know. Mixed results. Half say GIRL, the rest say BOY.

 

On to the ring test. This was accurate for both Kourteny Kardashian's children, so it has to be right. You take your wedding ring and loop it onto a piece of string. You hold it above your belly...if it sways back and forth, its a lil boy. If it swings in a circle, its a lil girl. You can also try holding it about your wrist as well. Both my wrist and belly swung in a circle. This test goes to Team Pink.

 

And last, the Baking Soda test. This one involves using a disposable, I repeat, disposable, cup, adding a spoon of baking soda with a little of your urine. If it fizzes, you're having a boy and if it doesn't, its a girl. Well, I got nothing. No fizz.  Another point for the girls.

 

Now, I believe in the sayings "Go with your gut instinct", "Trust your gut, it's usually right." Throughout my whole pregnancy, I have had a gut feeling it's a boy. Even before I got pregnant, I always thought my first child will be a boy. I still think it's a boy. Either way, we are so in love with you, every little inch of you. And can't wait to learn more about you!

 



 

You are now the size of a sweet potato, you sweet lil tater tot!

 

(my sense of humor is a bit off too...)

 

 



Fifteen

15 weeks. I feel like I am at that point in my pregnancy where I am anxiously waiting. Your little bones are still too soft to feel you dancing around, you're not quite big enough for me to look pregnant (I call this stage, the 'Doughy' stage...my belly reminds me a bit of Pilsbury dough) and I don't know if you are a lil boy or a lil girl yet. The 12 week-16 week phase is well...kinda boring? Don't get me wrong, I am love love LOVING every little second of being pregnant. I just kind of wish I could feel you (sometimes I even lay real still and concentrate real hard), wish I could have that cute bump and finally know if we are going to be buying footballs and fishing poles or bows and ballet shoes. I am just so stinkin' excited, I cant STAND it.

At least I still have my doppler so I can hear the best sound ever. You will never know how each time I hear your heart, my heart absolutely melts and I can't wipe that big ole cheesy grin off my face. Lately though, its more like wipe those tears from my eyes. I can NOT hold them back. A song on the radio, a TV show, a sweet text, a picture, a memory...everything. And as if it were on cue...here they come right now! Sheesh. What a softy I am turning into.

So, the BIG appointment. I may or may not have a countdown. OCOTBER 25th is the day. We will know whether you are a sweet boy or girl. I have a confession...I kind of fibbed a little to the doctor. They wanted to schedule your BIG appt on November 7th. Seriously? No. So I told them that your dad had a football game and wouldnt be able to get off of work that day (hehe, sneaky huh?) so I told them October 25th would work best. Really, I just can't wait to find out. I will be 18 weeks, so it should be just fine. Lets just hope you cooperate and show us the goods :)

I have to say, your Dad and I finally agreeded on a name and I am so excited. We have two picked out if you are a girl and one if you are a boy. I LOVE THEM. I am going to do my best to keep them a secret until you are here :) But we all know how I am with secrets...

 

Dont let this photo fool you. Your big brother, Mr. Sam is very excited.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...& Emotions

I am backtracking a little here, but as I anxiously await our 12 week appointment tomorrow, I realized I never wrote about our prenatal checkup! What is with me!? Its only just the most exciting and important doctors visit I have ever had. This memory thing is killin' me...I think my brain decided to take a 9 month vacation. Who knows if it will decide to return. Hopefully it's somewhere beautiful, fun and relaxing.
 
So, the BIG appointment!
 

The week after we found out, I called my OBGYN to schedule my prenatal appointment. They told me they have the first appt. at 8 weeks, because any earlier than that, it is difficult to see much, since its just a tiny little bean. So we scheduled it for August 14th. This would put us right at 8 weeks. Now, the 3 weeks that I had to wait for this appt seriously drove me nuts. Or maybe it was my hormones. Or both. But it's all I could think about! I even called at 6 weeks, trying to see if I could reschedule it earlier, called other OBGYNs trying to trick them into getting me in earlier than 8 weeks. I  was so close to telling them I thought I was 8 weeks along...when I was still 6 weeks. I would just claim it as an honest mistake when they told me I wasn't as 'far along' as I thought. But all in all, I just wanted to make sure lil Hop was growing and doing ok...is that too much to ask? Turns out, I wasn't foolin' anyone. I gave up and kept my August 14th appt. The wait was on.
 
Matt took off work that morning so he could come with me. I wouldn't have it any other way! It was so important to have him there. We arrived 2o minutes early, paperwork in hand and a stomach full of excited butterflies. Even thought I had read about questions to ask your OB on your first prenatal visit and what to expect, I don't think Matt had any idea what he was getting into! The nurse  finally calls us back and I am weighed and my blood pressure was taken. We then go to the first room, where the questions begin! Every personal and family health issue is discussed and then we wait...again. Our OB arrives 10 long minutes later and moves us to another room...with a sonogram machine :))) This immediately makes me smile. I want to run over to it and examine it, play with it, see what it was all about. I couldn't WAIT to see our lil one on the blank screen. I could NOT wait. I change into the robe and wait...again...for the doctor to return. When she does, she asks us more in depth questions about our health history. I immediately like her. After the questions, its onto the exam. Poor Matt did not know this would be a part of the appointment. Let's just say he better prepare himself for the birth if he could barely sit in a room holding my hand during that! He almost passed out. He's got alot of work ahead of him...:) Love him.
 
And the BIG, anticipated, dreamed about, would not stop talking about, imagined about moment arrives. The first sonogram. The first time we would see our lil bean and hopefully hear it's heartbeat. Nothing could prepare us for this moment.
 
Matt stands next to me, squeezing my hand as our OB excitedly says "There it is! You made a baby! Congratulations, it looks wonderful!" Those words put any nerves to rest. Lil Hop was doing just fine, growing and wiggling away. She then turned the sound on to let us hear the heartbeat. I will never forget it. I can't even explain the comfort, joy and complete overwhelming feeling of pure LOVE I felt.  Matt had tears in his eyes and we were just speechless.  Matt did say, "I finally have that feeling. I am going to be a Dad! It is so real now. I can not wait to be a Dad." I wanted to keep lil Hop up on the screen forever. I couldn't take my eyes off of our lil one. It was just perfect.
 
Well, the speechless didn't last long. Shocker if ya know me! Before our appt. ended, I pulled out my planner, with a list of 27 questions. Yep, call me paranoid, but I don't play around, especially when a baby is involved. Needless to say, we left on cloud 9, with 2 beautiful pics of our baby in hand, and a goody bag full of things we wont need for 7.5 months. Pure joy and so blessed.

So driving home, I got to thinking..."How am I going to wait 4 more weeks to hear the heartbeat again?" (Have you caught on that I hate waiting? I am working on my patience :) ) What's a worry wart like me to do? Order a doppler, thats what! It was the best purchase ever...it gives me so much peace of mind & reassurance. I would recommend it to any expecting mom.

Now we just have to wait for our 18 week check up to actually see you again, learn how much you've grown...and if you are a boy or girl!

 

app obesssion.tears.spray butter.wardrobe issues.11 weeks.

It has been 7 weeks since we found out about lil Hop. It has been a whirlwind of emotions for me (Matt just has to put up with my crazy hormonal emotions!)  Poor guy.

We told our parents right away, but wanted to wait to tell other family members and close friends until after our first doctors appointment. This was going to be the.hardest.secret.ever. And it was. I hate keeping secrets. I am terrible at it.

I downloaded probably atleast 10 apps on my phone, so I could keep track of everything going on with lil Hop and also with me. I LOVE reading all of the amazing, unbelievable miracles happening in my body each day. I read it over. And over. And yes, over again...it is just truly mind boggling to me and I love it. I get excited each week when lil Hop goes from a grape to an olive to a prune. You are a lime right now :) He or She will be quite the variety of fruits and veggies before it arrives.

Luckily, I feel I have had it pretty good. I haven't really had any morning sickness (and just for the record, it should be called anytime, 24/7 sickness) but I have had just a few moments. Fatigue hit me pretty hard right at the beginning. I could fall asleep just about anytime, anywhere. And I have been a little moody (Matt may disagree and say more than a little), but I can usually tell when a 'special moment' is coming on :).  He has been amazing though. I keep reminding him its only for 9 months, and it's more than worth it. And emotional...bring on the tears, happy or sad, they're there. I cried the other day because I couldn't figure out where to hang up a picture in our new house. Really? Then I cried because I was working on a project for work and the 'silver sparkly spray paint' I bought, was really just sparkly spray paint, with no silver. The lid on the can lied. And I was upset about it.  Like really upset. I'll spare any other pregnancy symptoms, but all in all, I am feelin' good!

I wish I could say I have had some crazy food cravings (this is coming from the girl who ate cottage cheese with pickles before she got pregnant), but nothing too out of the ordinary! I could eat the berry sour patch kids all day, cheese and anything salty. I have a bit of an obsession with spray butter and find myself putting it on just about anything. Hey, it's good. I can eat a whole cantaloupe a day and crave sushi and a ball park hot dog more that EVER, but of course, 2 things I need to stay away from. I have curbed my sushi craving with a few California and Avacado Rolls. But its just..not..the same.  Oh and I also put dijon mustard on almost everything as well...including salads. Thats completely normal.

Getting ready for work is a whole new story. Give me a dress and flats and I am good to go. Dresses are breathable. I may or may not have gone to work with my dress pants unbuttoned a few times. I haven't purchased any maternity clothes yet, however, to humor myself , I decided to give my first pair of maternity pants a shot. What a great laugh I had by myself in the dressing room of Old Navy! Oh gawd. So they felt amazing around the waist...I could get used to this! As I turn to check my cool preggo pants out in the mirror, I almost began rapping "You Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer, because thats exactly who I looked like. Um the bootie and legs definitely did not quite fit. I think I'll wait a few more weeks for my next go around. I can't tell you how happy I am to be pregnant in the fall and winter...first of all, COOL WEATHER! Then we have leggins, boots, big cozy sweaters...ahhh...love.

.11 weeks.

Happy 11 weeks Baby Hop! We're almost done with the first trimester!

Pregnant? PREGNANT!

Wow. WOW. We're having a baby, a lil peanut...a true blessing. Eeeee!

I want to remember this journey forever. One reason for the blog, since my memory right now is seriously MIA...pregnancy brain is a real thing folks!

Matt and I said our I do's on March 31st, 2012. We knew from the get go we wanted to have a family. I will be turning the big 3-0 next November (2013), so I obviously am not getting any younger. So we agreed we would put it in Gods hands...we weren't trying, but we definitely were not not trying (or doing anything to prevent a lil one). I started to track my cycle on a handy app and we went from there. I didn't want to admit it, but I secretly hoped we would be parents sooner than later. I have always had a fear I would not be able to get pregnant or there would be issues conceiving. So I did my best to just "go with the flow".

July 6th rolls around and Matt and I are driving to Colorado to meet my family there for some much needed family time. On our way back to Dallas, we had to stop at Wal Mart. I ran in to get what Matt & I needed and for some reason, I picked up a bottle of prenatal vitamins. I thought, "Well, it wont hurt anything." Little did I know...

The next week, on Tuesday, July 17th, we moved into our new home. Our first home. Matt and I were so excited to finally have a place that we could call ours. Ever since we had gotten back from Colorado, I could not stop thinking about how badly I wanted to have a baby. It seemed to be all I could think about. That Wednesday evening, out of wishful thinking, I decided to take a pregnancy test. It was negative, however I swear there was the faintest of faintest second line. Matt told me I was crazy, but to this day, I know it was there :). I figured Matt was right, and I was just seeing things I wanted to see. But I still had this feeling...The next day on the way to work, I stopped at CVS to buy another test, BUT they were closed! C'mon, in Dallas, all CVS's are 24hours! Guess I need to get used to the suburbs...Luckily Tom Thumb was across the street, so I stopped in there. However, their tests were still locked up bc the pharmacy wasn't open yet! So I the cashier had to do an embarassing all store speaker announcement for "The lady who needs the condom case unlocked." I was beginning to think I was just crazy, and CVS being closed and now this, was obviously a sign I did not need these tests. I wasn't pregnant.

So I get to work, tests in hand. I decided to get the ones that read "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant"...This time I could not mistake the results. I was so excited because I just had this feeling I was pregnant. Well, the test came back..."NOT PREGNANT." I was so dissapointed. I was so mad at myself for getting my hopes up. I went about my day, still bummed out, but trying to staying positive. There was always next month, right?

Driving home, I still had that gut feeling in me that I was pregnant and maybe my hormones weren't strong enough for a positive result yet. So, of course, I go and buy 2 different kinds of tests. I didn't want Matt to think I was crazy (to this day, I don't think he knows how many tests I took! I dont think I even want to admit how many I did!), so I took a test before he got home. This time, there definitely was a faint positive line! My heart was racing as I googled "Faint positive line" and read that any type of a positive line, means you're pregnant! BUT I still wasn't convinced...that morning I had a test that read NOT pregnant. So I decided I'd sleep on it, well try to.

Matt and I were off the next day, Friday. We were planning on painting and doing house work all day. I made some excuse that I needed to run to WalMart for milk or something, when all I could think about was getting my hands on, yes, another test. I know, I seriously sound nuts. I purchased the clear, yes you are, no you're not test, ran home and gave it another shot. This time, there was no mistake...PREGNANT. Wait, what? No way. OMG. I can't take my eyes off of the bold word. Is this for real? I am definitely going crazy and seeing things. I yelled for Matt to show him the test. His eyes lit up and he mouthed, "Baby!" and squeezed me tight. I could not even form a sentence. I was a jumble of emotions. Estatic. Scared. Blessed. Fear. Love. Nervous. Excitement. All I wanted to do was get to a doctor to get blood work done to confirm!

I rushed to CareNow, and the wait felt like an entire week. Ugh, just call my name already! Plus the Lindsey Lohan, "Freaky Friday" movie was playing in the lobby, and that did not help any. The nurse finally calls my name, and I practically sprint to her. Long story short, she took my blood and says, "Ok, we will call you tomorrow with the results." Um no. Tomorrow? Can't I just wait here while you test it? How do you expect me to wait a WHOLE DAY! That is just wrong. So I did the next best thing...yep, I went home and took the rest of the tests to ease my mind. LOL. Yes, it sounds crazy and completely insane, but it was reassuring seeing more positive results. Matt's parents came over to help paint that day, and I figured they would have picked up that something was going on, since we were acting so weird and secretive. So we decided to spill the beans, even though we were still waiting on the blood work. They were estatic and his mom teared up :) I wish more than anything I could've told my parents in person to see their reactions, but there was NO WAY I could wait until I saw them next! They were on their way to KC, so I called my moms cell...no answer...then my dads cell...no answer. I was about to start re-dialing them like crazy, when my mom called back. "You're going to be grandparents!" They were on cloud 9. This is something that they have wanted for awhile, but I never realized just how much until now. Being able to make both sets of parents Grandparents for the first time is so special. They deserve it so much and I tell ya, thank GOD for them. They will be such great grandparents, and teachers for us as we begin this first time journey. Words can not express how thankful we are for them.

So Saturday morning rolls around. 8am, CareNow opens, so guess whose on the phone calling them for my results? This girl. Hey, they told me tomorrow, and it's tomorrow. "No ma'am, they are not back from the lab yet." Ok ok...off to work I go. 10am, no word from CareNow...they probably forgot, so I decide to call them back. "Ma'am, we will call you when your results come in." Sigh. This is too much! So 1pm, I'm on my lunch break (trying with all I have not to call again) and the nurse calls me back. "Congratulations! You're having a baby!" Eeeeeee!!!! It is REAL! Wait, it's real. Woe. ITS REALLY HAPPENING! I call Matt and tell the dad-to-be the great news and call my parents to tell them the doctor confirmed! I have NEVER had this mix of emotions before. We are just so blessed. We will now be a family of 5. Pete & Mr. Sam will be big brothers and Matt and I will soon be parents...Mom & Dad......whew, I can only say I am thankful there are 9 months to prepare for the lil blessing. Part of me wishes it will fly by because I can't wait to squeeze the lil bean, but another part is hoping it goes slow so we can physically and mentally prepare. Who am I kidding...we can't wait!

We already love you so much Baby Hop. See you around March 27, 2013!

Home Sweet Home

Two Weeks. That's how long we have been in our home. OUR home. Our home buying adventure was definitely quick. And I like that. It seriously stresses me out to apartment search, look for a new car, let alone, a HOUSE. After falling in love with the pictures of the first home we looked at, and actually seeing the house in person (big disappointment...yes, it was nice, but did not feel like home AT ALL), I mentally prepared myself that this was not going to be easy. The home we purchased was the second one we looked at. To tell you the truth, I did not want to even look at this house. Matt and the Realtor assured me it would be worth it. Let me tell ya, the pics of the house online did not do any justice! The minute we walked in, Matt and I both looked at each other with excitement. We knew this was meant to be ours. All of the potential that this adorable home had was rushing through by head..."our couch would look SO good in here"..."We definitely need to paint this room a sage green"..."This would make the perfect baby's room someday!"..."Mr.Sam will love this yard!"..."This chandelier thing has got to go"...we were already talking like it was ours. And it soon was. Well, not that soon. I had NO idea how much paperwork, different parties that are involved, things to sign, etc there were. Oh my gosh. Thank goodness Matt took care of most of it and stayed on top of everything. I swear we had to fax something to somebody everyday for almost a month. But...here we are, home.sweet.home.

Moving day was Tuesday, July 18th. I hate packing. I hate moving. But it had to be done. We were so blessed to have Matt's dad help with the heavy lifting/Uhaul driver and Matt's mom, who cleaned our new home from top to bottom. Such an AMAZING help! It took all day, I mean sun up to sun down, to move everything. And that was just putting things into the Uhaul, driving them to our new home, and taking them out of the Uhaul and placing them in the garage or inside the house somewhere. Needless to say, we slept on our matress on the floor the first night. We never slept better. I'm not gonna lie, I am not a fan of change...I was worried our home wouldn't feel like home, atleast not for awhile. But it felt comfortable. Ours. Home. Even Mr.Sam & Bubs think so.



And I have to brag a bit about my husband, who has completely impressed me with his handyman skills (not that I didn't think he was handy, just not this handy :) ). In just 2 short weeks, he has managed to paint the entire family room, dining room, bedroom, prime the framing, install a new microwave, re stain our dining room table and chairs, watered the new plants...not to mention moving everything heavy to its new room. I know there is much more he's done. It's a lot of work. But oh so worth it.