It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

 I love this time of year. The end of October through January are my favorite months but come 2014 I have a feeling April will be my new favorite time of year since that is when Hadley is due. I think she already likes this time of year too because she sure is moving around in there a lot...She must be dancing along to all of the Christmas music I've been playing or it could be the dark chocolate peppermint bark and the hot coco I've been having lately :)

I really do love this time of year though. I love waking up and coming home to the smell of a Christmas tree, baking cookies, buying gifts, and spending time with family and friends. We got a beautiful tree this year and my mom, sister, and I will start the Christmas cookie baking process this coming weekend.

There is so much going on this time of year, the time is just passing so quickly! Between Christmas decorating and shopping, wrapping gifts, working, and trying to fit in some time to relax we are so busy! It's such an exciting time though, in the past 3 weeks, 2 of my long time friends have given birth to beautiful perfect baby girls (yayyy more friends for Hadley). We can't wait to meet our baby girl, we love her so much already. Andrew tells her every night that her daddy and mommy love her, it's the sweetest thing. Just 4 months and a few days and we will be able to hold and love on her.

My belly feels like it is getting bigger by the day

I have gained about 9 pounds now (I can't believe I just admitted that!) and as my bump gets bigger her kicks get stronger. Going for our monthly check up tomorrow but according to "The Bump" app on my phone Hadley is nearing 11 inches and 1 pound this week (week 22). Last night when Andrew was talking to Hadley and trying to see if he could hear her talk back she kicked him in the ear! It was hilarious, I could not stop laughing. He thought it was the coolest thing and the look on his face after it happened melted my heart. I like to think that was a love kick and her way of saying "I hear you talking to me daddy."


We are now at 10 days and counting until we leave for our North Carolina Vacation... SO excited!! Still have a lot to do before we leave but that will pass the time even quicker. It is going to be in the teens with a wind chill that makes it feel like single digit degrees so Lord knows I am going to need at least 4 suitcases of  clothes and boots to keep me warm. This will be my first Christmas away from my family, I wish they could all be in North Carolina too but I am still looking forward to the possibility of my first White Christmas! I've never seen snow, except for when I was too young to remember so I am really excited to see the pretty, white, fluffy stuff I've only seen in pictures and movies.



Since I am so into the Christmas spirit I thought I'd look back at some old Christmas pictures of my little sister and I. Found this one.....

She is going to loveeee me for sharing this but I couldn't help it! Her face is PRICELESS. As you might be able to guess from this picture, she made my childhood quite interesting and awesome. I couldn't imagine having grown up without her! She is going be such a great Aunt (or auntie as she wants to be called) to Hadley Rose.



I love buying for and giving gifts to other people all year long..... I also love getting gifts but heck who doesn't! I received this gift last week as an early shower gift from one of my best friends. She was too excited to wait until February to give it to me and it is just too thoughtful and beautiful not to show off. Every time I look at it I can't help but smile and think that soon our baby girl will be here!

Thank you so much Julia! 

I hope every one has a wonderful week. Don't get too caught up in the materialistic mess that is thrown at you around Christmas time, remember what the season is all about. Enjoy your family and friends and all those you love. Take the time to remember who and what matters most in your life. 

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

We Have Reached the Halfway Mark

Can you believe we are halfway? Time was going by so slow there for a while and now we are suddenly at week 20!! Week 20 has been my favorite week so far because I can feel Hadley move around more than ever, it is so exciting! She really likes letting me know she's in there. It's incredible. This week is also awesome because Thanksgiving happens to fall right in the middle of it. Aside from the delicious food I plan on devouring (I am so using the "I have to feed two excuse" these next few days), we truly have A LOT to be thankful for this holiday. Last Thanksgiving I never could have imagined that I would be pregnant this thanksgiving but I am so thankful for this wonderful gift the good Lord has blessed us with. We are so lucky to be able to spend the holiday season with our families and I hope everyone remembers what the holiday season is really about. Faith, Family, and Love.


I had my first official "pregnancy brain" episode yesterday when I was baking pumpkin rolls for my sister. I lined up all of my ingredients as I do when I am baking: the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, the cinnamon.... ok you get the picture. So when it was time to use the baking powder I was really confused when I didn't see it in my line. I looked in the cabinet where I keep it and it was no where to be found. A few frustrating minutes later I went to get a spoon out of the drawer to mix what I had of the ingredients together and HEY THERE'S THE BAKING POWDER

Don't know how or why it ended up in the utensil drawer 

but my excuse is the "pregnancy brain"

Despite the baking powder mishap, the pumpkin rolls came out delicious and my sister will love me for another year now :)

A little update on my belly....it is getting huge!! Well to me anyway. I am now weighing in between 126 and 128 pounds depending on what time of day I jump on the scale. I am loving and embracing the baby bump now though and enjoy showing it off.... here are some pictures and no that belly is not food induced, it is all baby Hadley. 

With the Christmas season flying up on us I decided it was time to take some announcement pictures to include in our Christmas cards this year. Here is a little sneak peak of our Thanksgiving photo sesh. Thank you to my sister for her photo taking skills and thank you to Andrew for putting up with me making you take 100+ pictures. Love you babe!

I am still feeling really great these days and hope it continues this way right up until the very end (please, please Lord let it)!! I really hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and got to enjoy family, friends, and food of course! I am still stuffed from our 2 o clock dinner so I'd say the day was a success. Looking forward to the upcoming weeks of Christmas decorating, baking and shopping, work party, other holiday festivities and VACATION!!!!

He or She?

On November 14th we finally found out what we had been sooooo patiently (ok... maybe not so patiently) waiting for.... our precious little one is a girl!!! Yep, that's right Hadley Rose will be joining our family in April, 2014. We can't wait to meet her!

Although we found out on the 14th, we tortured our family and friends by making them wait one more day to find out at the gender reveal party.

It was fun seeing what every one thought baby Turner would be 

and then hearing the love and excitement in the room when they finally saw baby Turner is a girl!!!

Little Hadley Rose is already so loved and so spoiled 

We weren't expecting gifts, we just wanted everyone together to find out that baby Turner is a girl. It was so sweet to open up her first gifts though. She got her first owl,  SUPER soft blankey, super cute crab blankey,  first tooth and curl keepsake, diapers, and

HER FIRST BOOTS!

Funny story behind these tiny boots... they are from a very good family friend (actually a family of friends) that did NOT know for certain that Hadley was actually a Hadley but she said that ever since the day I told her I was pregnant she just had a feeling the baby was a girl. So after we cut the cake and her feeling was confirmed she went out to the car to bring in the girly gifts. They are so precious and perfect!

Hadley is going to love owls just like her daddy and soft blankets and boots just like her mommy :)

We are so grateful and blessed to have such a great group of family and friends!

After being at home with a cold yesterday, I came into work this morning to a cute surprise for Hadley......

 Another pair of PRECIOUS PINK boots

At the rate she is going she will have more boots than her momma before she's even born!

At the beginning of week 19
I crave: Nothing really, although those salt and vinegar chips I packed in Andrew's lunch this morning sound REALLY good right about now 
I weigh: about 126lbs
I feel: REALLY excited for the next few months, blessed, grateful, extremely happy, loved


Can you believe we are nearly half way there! Can't wait to meet our baby girl!


I just want to share this short verse with you because it really touched my heart today:

Psalm 107:1

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

 
 

Pink or Blue, We Already Love You!!!

7 days and counting (oh so anxiously counting) until we find out what Baby Turner is!! If you haven't noticed, we are pretty excited! Actually, there are not enough words in the dictionary to express our excitement for next Thursday!


We are halfway into week 17 now and I think it is safe to say that I have finally experienced that whole "popping" thing people talk about. So here it is:

 Would ya look at that belly!!!

It is quite amazing to see how far I've come if you look all the way back to week 5:

... it is becoming really real now. Bye bye tiny tummy

So my friends, I have a confession to make....Pinterest got the best of me AGAIN! I feel ok about it this time though because I am not the only one this week!! One of my best friends just discovered how awesome Pinterest truly is... she is now addicted as well. Because of Pinterest and all of the incredibly cute ideas it gives me on a daily basis, we are now planning a small gender reveal party. I want to have pictures to look back on and I think it will be a good memory to have :) I also want our families to find out together; I figure this is the perfect way to make that happen. Plus it's a good excuse to have a little PARTY and who doesn't love a party??
 
Anyway, without giving away too many details about the party (because there will be plenty of pictures to follow) here are a few of the ideas I may steal from good ol' Pinterest:

I love this!

 I would love to see what everyone thinks our sweet baby is

I think this is super cute and perfect for a simple party favor

Pink and Blue Beverages, AWESOME!

A half pink and half blue table is a must!

I am still looking for more ideas so if you've ever hosted a gender reveal party or have any great ideas please post about them, I would love to hear your stories and suggestions :)

And The Countdown Begins

13 more days until we find out what our little sweet pea is! (I am trying to do everything I can to not call the baby "it" so if you find me using all sorts of silly names just go along with it friends.... soon this little munchkin will have a name!!)


My baby bump is starting to become more of an actual "baby bump" and less of an "I look like I eat too much bump"

( I usually hate mirror selfies but I had to)

I have some pretty exciting news this week! Pretty sure I felt our little love muffin move a few times in my tummy!!! It was a very weird feeling at first but now I find myself eager to feel it again, and again, and again. Feels like a little fish swishing around in there and then like a butterfly flapping it's tiny wings sometimes. I am really looking forward to the next ultrasound (13 days from now) so I can see if I feel it when we can actually see our little bean move on the monitor.


Although every day seems to go by so incredibly slow, I can't believe it is already November! So much to look forward to in the next 5 months.... My birthday, Thanksgiving, North Carolina VACATION, Christmas, New Year, Baby Shower, Bridal Shower (for one of my bestest friends), Bachelorette PARTY, wedding (she is going to make the most beautiful bride), and then the baby will be here. I have a feeling it is going to go by a lot quicker than I think. I figure this is the perfect time of year to be prego because there are so many awesome FOOD holidays (I love me some pumpkin pie and whipped cream!!!).


Ok one more thing....

Call me crazy but.....

I HAD to! Some little shopping devil on my shoulder MADE me! So I did it, I bought the one thing, ok well the set of things, that I have been so anxious to buy! Super girly pink and green paisley bedding for the crib (which we will start looking for soon). I just couldn't pass it up! I got such an awesome deal and if you know me then you know I'm not one to pass up a bargain. If it just so happens that our little princess is actually a little prince don't worry I have saved my receipt and it can be exchanged for something a little, well something a lot more, boyish :)



Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween yesterday and Happy Birthday to my Mommy  and Andrew's Mommy today! Love you both

Time is Standing Still

 Is it just me or has time been going really REALLY slowwwwww the past 3 weeks? Sometimes I even feel like the clock is working backwards! I tell ya, the more excited I get the slower time goes. With that said, my new plan is to stay off of Pinterest, Target, and all other baby idea sites this week to see if time moves any quicker. If you know me then you know that staying off of Pinterest, even for a day, is a BIG feat so let's see how long I last. My bet is I last one day, I don't have much faith in myself when it comes to controlling my pinning lol

Good news is this is only a 3 and a half-ish day work week for me and then I get to go visit some of my greatest friends in Jacksonville! Totally looking forward to some cooler weather for fall festivities! This 90 degree weather in the middle of October is not my idea of fall (which just so happens to be my favorite season)

 

Lows in the 40s and Highs in the 70s! Hello fall, it's about time you show your beautiful face!

Hmmmm.... what else is there to update y'all on? Oh yea how could I forget! Went to the doctor last Thursday and heard the baby's heart beat. Doctor said it sounded perfect. It is so amazing that even though she/he is just the size of a navel orange (according to The Bump) that we can hear the heart beat so strong and fast. I like to believe that is because there is a LOT of love in that little heart. 

My belly is growing... slowly but surely. Yesterday I swear I could feel it happening! Certainly not the most comfortable feeling I've ever felt.

Here is my 14 week picture

 (Please ignore our messy room)

I have decided this is going to be my weekly picture taking shirt because it's pretty stretchy. If in 3 weeks the baby turns out to have grown those boy things, then I will switch to a blue tank top. Now if the next 3 weeks could just fly by that would be GREAT!!!

So far in week 15:
I crave: Ramen noodles (as horrible as that sounds they are delicious to me this week.. and last week lol)
I weigh: 124 lbs
I feel: Still feeling anxious, a bit overwhelmed, excited, happy, and sleepy (working 7-6 is kicking my butt)

Well, time to get back to work for me, hope y'all have a wonderfully blessed week



**Thank you to my friends (cough cough, Brett) who keep me on track with updating my blog. I have an amazing support system and love and appreciate everyone we get to share this amazing journey with.

I Just Couldn't Help Myself

So I went to Kohl's yesterday with the intention of buying a baby shower gift for a friend. I swore to myself I was not going to look at baby clothes, it was going to be a quick in and out trip... grab a gift and go!
Well I should have known better than to think I could go in there and not buy something for this sweet baby (girl as of right now) growing inside of me. As soon as I walked into that baby section I was DOOMED!

First of all, how on earth was I supposed to say no to this?????

If they had a matching adult size I would have bought that too! (Yes I am going to be one of those moms)

And then I saw this! How could I not buy this? 

If you could say no to either of these outfits I need to borrow you to come shopping with me and keep me away from the baby section of EVERY store!


I have been spending hours every day looking at Pinterest, Target, BuyBuy Baby, and Walmart...completely overwhelming myself with all of the different baby stuff out there. I had to break down and buy something, anything before I drove myself crazy! I have been having anxiety for the past week and I think it was due to the fact that my shopping obsession was quickly put on hold when I found out we are going to be having a baby. Needless to say, I feel a little better now that I got some shopping out of my system :)


Now let's just hope the baby is actually a girl like the ultrasound tech believes because I want to keep these precious little outfits. I kept my receipt though and obviously we will be equally as happy if it does happen to grow one of those boy things between now and November 14th. Which by the way, November 14th needs to HURRY UP PLEASE!!!! We want to stop calling the baby an it and give her/him a name!

Good News Friends

Despite what the first ultrasound picture indicated.... I am actually carrying a human.... not a gummy bear looking alien.

How exciting!! 

Today marks 12 weeks and 4 days; we are in the home stretch of the first trimester!!!

When I think back to the day before we found out, I could have never imagined we were going to be blessed with the news of a baby but now I can't imagine life any differently. Although we are nearing the beginning of the second trimester already the time seems to be going very slowlyyyyyyy!!! I will blame part of that on my urge to shop but I can't shop without knowing what the baby is going to be.

I wasn't going to share this publicly but the ultrasound tech put her money on a girl BUT nothing is for certain until November. Good thing we've already decided on super cute PERFECT bedding for a girl 

(By My Baby Sam)

or AWESOME outdoorsy little boy bedding

 

(By Lambs & Ivy)

Can you tell I have been busy obsessing over what I want to buy once we finally know what the baby will be? That's the fun part isn't it? With that said we will be happy either way, all we pray for is a healthy happy baby and pregnancy. 

This week so far:

I crave: Nothing really except I REALLY want Zip'z pizza for dinner tonight!!

I weigh: 122.6 lbs

I feel: Energized, Excited, and Anxious

Today was a really exciting day, we saw our little munchkin move, saw the heart beat and fell even more in love!

Guess Who's Expecting

One of us is expecting..... can you guess who?

That's right.... Baby Turner will be joining us April 2014 and we couldn't be happier!!

We've known for about 6 weeks now and I must admit that since the day we found out I don't think a moment has passed that I don't think about the baby.

As we go into week 11 I am starting to notice some changes:

This is week 5

To now: Week 11

Despite the fact that it looks like  I may have eaten a little too much food in the past 6 weeks I really have no appetite and  when I do it is VERY strange and doesn't last long. Luckily I have not gotten the dreaded "morning sickness" but I do get nauseous every now and then.

This week so far

I crave: Saltine crackers and ginger ale

I weigh: 122 lbs

I feel: Sleepy, Achy, Sleepy, Excited, Anxious, Nervous

So excited to start this journey together and look forward to watching this little peanut grow over the next 7 months!!

God Bless