Holding...A Baby In The Belly!

Patrick and I have some exciting news...we're having a baby! 

We first found out the exciting news on August 24th, 2012. I had a sneaking suspicion that I may be pregnant, so I took a test and sure enough, my gut feeling was spot on! I felt joy, I felt pure happiness, I felt scared, and I felt fearful all rolled into one. I had been praying for this moment for SO long and I hoped it wasn't too good to be true.

I didn't tell Patrick in any cute thoughtful way, I just came out with it and held up the evidence of the test. Even though it wasn't a perfectly planned moment, it was a perfect moment in such a special time in our lives :-)

I mentioned previously that I was scared and fearful...I don't want you to get the wrong idea...we were and are SO ready for parenthood (or so we think!). I felt those emotions because I suffered a miscarriage a few months prior, and I feared I would endure that same pain again, which is heart wrenching and just indescribable. I don't want to take away from the joyous occasion at hand, but I wanted to mention it a.) to let anyone reading who may have had or may have a miscarriage in the future...you aren't alone! I don't know why women don't talk about it. I find that when I'm more vocal about it, more and more women admit that they've also had miscarriages. It's sadly quite common. I also wanted to mention it for b.) if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here for you...nobody understands unless they've also endured it. I wish I had known someone who had been there who I could turn to in that moment. 

So, we conceived during training camp. I would have NEVER in a million years guessed that would be the time we would finally be blessed with a little one! In fact, I had no faith whatsoever. I was at my lowest point in my whole pregnancy journey. In July, I had found out once again that I would not be a mother. In addition, for three days in a row, I found out three different close friends here in Nashville would be mothers. I was so happy for my friends, I truly was, but I was also so mad that I wasn't one of them and questioned why I wasn't one of them. I remember telling Patrick in a hissyfit "Great, no baby in July, August is obviously a bust because of camp, so that pushes us to September...and who knows if it will even happen then?!"..."Oh ye of little faith"...that was totally me! God knows...

I had a few pregnancy signs...some may make you laugh :-) 

1.) I had a huge breakdown while Patrick was at camp when I attempted to cut the grass! I cut it at too low of a setting and there were clumps of grass all over the yard. I got the tractor stuck in one of the giant piles of grass and had to literally dig it out. I also got it stuck in two separate ditches on our property. I remember calling Patrick bawling my eyes out saying I wasn't made to cut grass and I would never ever do it again! It really wasn't that big of a deal, but I was an emotional train wreck. When I finally calmed down I felt terribly stupid for my outburst and actually drove out to see him and apologize saying "I don't know what got into me!" He suspected PMS, while I suggested a pregnancy...he told me to not get my hopes up!

2.) I experienced attachment bleeding...just a light pink discharge mid-cycle, after ovulation. They say only a third of women experience this. I didn't know what it was until I googled "spotting after ovulation" and low and behold I discovered attachment or implantation bleeding. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but this was when I got my gut feeling that just wouldn't go away!

3.) I bought fresh flowers and forgot to change out the water...I literally woke up in the middle of the night from the smell and had to throw the flowers away! They weren't even dead, and they weren't even in my bedroom, but they had to be disposed of! I couldn't stand the smell! 

4.) I got really angry when a restaurant told me they closed early for the evening and wouldn't seat us for dinner...like really angry! Momma (who didn't know she was yet a Momma!) was hungry and wanted some food pronto! That was really uncharacteristic of me and actually had my sister questioning if I was indeed pregnant! 

5.) I was at a new workout place and I got my butt kicked. I kept wondering why I couldn't keep up...now I know why! Thankfully I wasn't so terribly out of shape, just exhausted from everything else going on internally!

 Exhaustion really set in after I found out I was indeed pregnant. I couldn't get enough sleep! I'd take a 3 hour nap during the day and go to bed at 8pm and sleep until 8am...and I still had no energy to do anything! My Monday cleaning routine turned into a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday cleaning routine...I just couldn't do it all at once anymore! I'm still lagging a bit, but I'm getting a lot better in the energy department! Food is also sitting better in my stomach. I thankfully never experienced morning sickness, but there were many times I felt sick to my stomach and just had no release. I don't know which is worse! 

Because of our previous miscarriage and some other health issues, my pregnancy is considered "high-risk". Basically I have to go to the doctors more than a regular pregnant women...I choose to look at the positives of that...I get more ultrasounds, so I get to see our baby more often! 

SEVEN WEEKS

It looks like a little grain of rice! But we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time...what an amazing sound! 

EIGHT WEEKS 

I had an emergency ultrasound because of some breakthrough bleeding...thankfully everything was okay! The doctor just told me I'm probably pushing myself too much...I felt like all I was doing was sleeping!

 NINE WEEKS

We got a picture and a video! I could really see the baby moving around at this appointment! You can also clearly make out the head, hands and feet! Getting so big so fast! :-)

ELEVEN WEEKS

Our little one is officially 2 inches long now! PS That is not a giant nose growing on our babe, it's just its little hand reaching up to say hello to you :-)

When we were at the 11-week mark and felt comfortable enough to share our good news :-) We still know anything can happen, that's why prayers are always so necessary! Now that you know, you can keep our little one in your prayers :-) We decided to have a Halloween party to help reveal our news! We figured it was a fun, festive idea that would be memorable to mark this special time. We decided to do a little play on Patrick's profession...I was a football player, while he was a referee...he flagged me for "holding"...a baby in my belly! 

I don't think anyone was expecting that twist! It was so loud from all the cheers...it made me a little weepy eyed! Our little one is already so loved! We took advantage of the photo op...!

 

And our due date...

 

We feel so fortunate and blessed to be at this point in our lives...God is truly so good! We had been praying so hard for this special blessing for months before our wish was finally granted. It didn't happen quickly, and it didn't happen without some bumps in the road, but it happened and that is all that matters! Everything happens for a reason, and I have faith that God always knew what He was doing all along. Looking back now, all the hard times have made these moments now that much sweeter for us! 

We love our little one so much already...can't wait to meet him or her in 6 excruciatingly long but short months! :-)

Franklin Living

Patrick and I officially made Tennessee our home on May 18th, 2012 by moving to the town of Franklin, which is about 30 minutes from downtown Nashville. We came to terms on the house in March, so it seemed like forever to finally get in and make it our own! We have been it it for a little over two weeks now and it has been great so far...no regrets! Here are some photos from our first day at our house!

It was very necessary for us to make sure the pool worked first and foremost :-) 

Good news, it does! We'll keep it! ;-) 

After our swim we unloaded a few boxes and then headed back to our apartment for the night. The next day was our official moving day. We were up and at it early, getting the Uhaul and filling it with all our boxes from both Pittsburgh and Nashville...what a load! We've got A LOT of stuff! I didn't know the capacity until it was all in one spot. Thankfully, my sweet friend, Lauren, helped us! Thanks Lauren!

After we got the Uhaul filled, we headed towards Franklin. On the way, we picked up our new table and chairs at Home Depot, since we had the truck. As we pulled in the parking lot I inwardly laughed and screamed at the same time...there in front of me was a sign for "Golden Retriever Puppies For Sale"...! If you didn't know, now you do, Patrick LOVES Goldens! He has been begging for one since before we were married. The plan was always "When we have a house, we'll get a dog." I told Lauren to start the countdown for when my phone would ring, and we both laughed as we caught Patrick's reflection in the rearview mirror...the biggest grin ever! Within seconds my phone rang with my husband saying "Can we get a puppy?!" in his sweetest baby talk voice lol. We went to look at them and I can hardly believe we ended up leaving with a dog! My friend Lauren kept saying "You went to Home Depot for a table and came home with a table and a dog"...we know we are a tad bit nuts! No regrets though! Gotta love our little guys first photos...all including the moving van! 

 We named him Franklin because, well, we moved to Franklin the day we got him! We almost named him "Dug" because we moved to a community called Douglass Glen, but Franklin won out! We just love him! He's been a really good dog! I continue to be amazed that he kinda knows the difference between his chew toys and what he isn't supposed to chew. We've had no big problems there. However, he has had a few potty accidents, but only one has been inside the house, the rest on the screened in porch, which has a tile floor and is easy to clean up. He does have days with no accidents, so we are making progress! He's only 9 weeks, so he is still young to obey commands...we will get there though! We have officially taught him "sit" and sometimes he will listen to "stay". For the most part, he's very laid back and mellow. He will let anyone pet him, and everyone he meets wants to give him some loving :-) Here are some pics from his first week at home...

Pup's real big on being in the bushes because he likes the shade. 

He hasn't discovered what a pool is yet, but there is no doubt in my mind that when he does it will be very hard to keep him out of it! 

Family Photo!

After his first bath! 

Toys from Godmommie Lauren! 

:-)

My Silly Boys :-)

Such a Daddy's Boy!  

When he's in the house this is where he is at...on top of a vent! He loves the cold air blowing on him!

Our first weeks in the house haven't been all about the pup, we've made a lot of progress ourselves! The painters finally finished so now we can start settling! Here are a few pics from our progress...

PB putting our patio table and chairs together

Finished Product :-)

 Our Bedroom...still have to get wall decor and curtains, but we'll get there...eventually. We put in the ceiling fan since PB has to have air blowing on him.

Our Master Bath...again, need curtains, but we have everything else done!

Our Dining Room :-)

I fell madly in love with this table! I must give my husband props...he selected the chair material AND the area rug! I think he did a fabulous job! 

Our office...it still needs some work, but we will get there! The few things we got on the walls make all the difference in the world!

We haven't gotten our formal living room furniture yet, but I have gotten our books and picture frames up...they may not have our pictures in them yet, but they are up! LOL! Moving is a process!!!! 

 The avalanche of empty boxes!!!! We really need to break them down and get them out of our garage...it would make our progress look so much better!

So there is a little peek at our home so far :-) I have to tell myself daily that Rome wasn't built in a day and it will just take time to get everything complete. We'll keep plugging away at it! We hope all our close friends and family will come visit us at some point! 

Hugs From Franklin!

Houses, And Babies, And Family, Oh My!

**THIS WAS WRITTEN WHILE PB AND I WERE LEAVING PITTSBURGH...I'M LATE GETTING THIS UP!!**

Well, Patrick and I are currently on the road heading towards Nashville, Tennessee yet again, but this time it’s a bit different than normal. We just left our home in Pittsburgh - and for the first time - have rented it out for someone else to live in. Deep down we know this is the smart thing to do financially - as we were carrying 2 mortgages and 2 sets of bills. Even deeper down we know this was always the plan with purchasing our Pittsburgh property, but it still doesn’t make it any easier! I’m super sentimental when it comes to leaving places. I seem to long in rooms that I enjoyed...this is for places I’ve lived and even just places we’ve visited (I so didn’t want to leave our Honeymoon Suite!!!) anything to just stretch out our time in these special places. Patrick and I both kept walking around our empty place...sad! 

We at least had a great trip home filled with all sorts of excitements and we have another trip back already in the works for when Bennett is baptized as Uncle Patrick was asked to be the little guys God Father! Can’t miss that and can't wait to celebrate such a special occasion! 

Here's the recap of our trip...

We came home for the birth of Bennett. He was born early in the morning on March 28th. It was so fun surprising my sister Katie at the hospital and even more fun meeting the little man! I had been there for the birth of each of my nieces and nephews, so I knew I couldn’t miss Bennett’s debut! During my stay I had the pleasure of doing a little photo shoot with him...How cute is he?!

Another little one was born while we were home...Miss Grace Goodie Harris was born on April 1st. She is the daughter of our dear friends Tuff and Mary! They wanted to wait to see what they were having until the delivery, which made their entire pregnancy so exciting to me! I thought for sure Mary was going to have a boy lol...! We got to meet Grace and she is just so sweet!

Also while I was home I got to see my RMU buddies, Christa, Ashley and Shelby at the 17th Street Cafe...

It was also so nice to spend some time with some of my longest friends, Kate, Jaclyn, Kim and Palma over lunch at Bravo!

Not nearly as much fun, but equally as nice to see - lol - were Krista and Valerie when I went running with them...running solo with Valerie is not highly advised! She’ll kick your butt every time! 

I’m also happy we were able to be there to be at my nephew Blayze’s Art Show! He won 3rd place for his “Tempting Taco” and got honors for his “Little Mouse Flies Big” drawing.  

He is just growing up so fast...He turned 10 during our trip! We celebrated his Birthday on Easter. 

 

It’s so much fun seeing him turn into a young man. Many of his “little boy” characteristics are gone...which is bittersweet, but refreshing to see him growing up so much! An example of this was when he was giving some of his Easter Candy to his nieces and he said “I don’t need anything else, I’ve got everything that matters right here” and motioned to all of his family...so touching! Brought a tear to my eye!

We also celebrated my Dad’s 58th Birthday which was officially on April 17th. My favorite part of the celebration was the cake...LOL!

I love Easter with my family! My mom had her annual Easter Egg Hunt and Pinata...so much fun! The kiddos always enjoy it so much! Patrick and I had the honors of hiding the eggs :-) Below are some of my favorite pictures from the holiday...

  

 

 

 

Before we left Patrick was determined to go flying. He somehow talked my Dad into going with him - lol - my Dad who doesn’t like flying!! This is such a great photo of them!  

One of Patrick’s friends is going to be renting out place out. We know he will take real good care of it, but it’s still scary to leave our home in the hands of somebody else! We’ve poured so much love into that place, it’s hard to imagine someone else loving it as much as we do! We know he’s excited to be there, and I know it will make a great home for him! We can’t stay sad for long...we do have a new home to get moving into...! We close on our new home May 18th! Check it out!

Our home search was fairly easy. We only went out physically looking at homes two times before finding our new home! Once we found it, it was hard to get it out of our heads. We both pretty much knew from then on :-) It’s located in Franklin, Tennessee, which is just outside Nashville. It will take Patrick a little less than 30 minutes to get to and from work, which isn’t too bad. Going into the search we had a checklist of everything we wanted and this house has it all...how lucky are we?! 

1.) Patrick wanted to live on land...at least an acre. Our new home sits on a little over an acre, so his wish is granted...happy lawn mowing my love :-) 

2.) I wanted to live in a neighborhood...kinda a tall order considering my hubby wanted to live on a lot of land. Well, we are living in the neighborhood of Douglass Glen...how exciting we both got our wish! 

3.) Growing up in the South, Patrick wanted the master bedroom on the main floor...check! Most houses in the South are designed this way, so this wasn’t extremely hard to find. 

4.) Growing up in the North, I wanted a basement so very badly. Our realtor told us that basements are just becoming big in the South, so not many homes have them. I think we toured about 24 houses and only 3 of them had basements...one of them being our new home! It’s a pretty sweet basement too boasting a theatre room! I will share this picture because the former homeowners are leaving this rooms contents for us. I’ll spruce it up a little bit (AKA take down the Wedding Crashers - lol!) but for the most part it will look something like this...

5.) I’m a big fan of vaulted ceilings and we will have them in our new bedroom! Yay! 

6.) I’m also a fan of a jacuzzi tub and we scored one of those in our master bathroom as well! 

7.) I’ve ALWAYS wanted a double oven since the days of playing with the Barbie Dream Home...I will finally get to be just like Barbie! 

8.) Patrick wanted to live near water and we will have this view from our screened in porch...

A neighbor owns this pond...on our list of things to do is befriend them so we can fish in it - lol! Even if we can't fish...at least we get to sponge off their view...!

9.) Patrick wanted a pool...badly. Me, not so much...that is until I saw this pool...!

We are so looking forward to enjoying this pool this summer! Pool Party anyone?! It has three separate waterfalls, one of which comes from the hot tub. It also has a stone diving board. It goes up to 8 foot of water and is filled with salt water, which is a lot more low maintenance than a chlorine pool, or so they say. So excited to swim in this pool!!! Every workout I go to I think to myself "Do it for the pool!" 

May 18th can’t come soon enough! We are so excited to move and make this place our home :-) 

We'll keep you updated on the move. Right now we're just waiting to get in there. We got furniture for a few rooms ordered, but for the most part we are taking it slow. It surely isn't cheap outfitting an entire home so we are doing the essentials first and the rest will come with time. Things like area rugs and end tables completely overwhelm me right now! We bought a bedroom set, couch set, dining room set, and desk and chair... and I couldn't be happier with our selections! I've found that surprisingly Patrick and I have very similar tastes in furniture, which is a relief! We both seem to gravitate towards the same pieces...which in most cases is good for our relationship, but bad for our bank account eek! It's been fun though...we've enjoyed this layer of homeownership :-)

More to come in the coming weeks :-)