Sunday, February 26, 2012

our tree

Last year on Good Friday, Josh, Julianna, and I went to pick out a new tree for our front yard. Josh and I had planted one when we bought our house but we killed it. Not enough watering, maybe too much plant food. Not really sure but it didn't make it to the next season. Well, last year we bought a tree at a local nursery. It's a Okame Cherry Tree. We never really saw it bloom last year. Just a couple of small buds.

This year, the winter has been very mild. It's pretty much stayed in the 50's since December. We've had one snow this year and then a couple of days later it was in the 70's. Craziness!

Josh noticed that our tree had blooms on it! I was quite surprised but he was absolutely right. It's covered with beautiful pink blooms. I'm really looking forward to watching our tree grow, right along with our family!


becoming a mother of 2

Today marks the beginning of week 29 of my pregnancy. This pregnancy has seemed to go by much faster than when I was pregnant with Julianna. I think I'm just much busier this time around. Keeping up with a nearly 2-year old plus working full-time as well as the taking care of our home. I'm busy.

I am so excited to meet sweet little Olivia. I know she'll be a wonderful addition to our family. At the same, I'm nervous. I'm nervous about becoming a mother of 2. I'm worried about dividing my attention between two little girls and how Julianna will feel when Olivia arrives. I don't want her to feel like I love her any less. I am sure I will find my nitch and balance my love between my 2 girls but for now, I'm nervous! I'm hoping Julianna won't be as jealous of her new sibling as I fear she might be. She hasn't wanted us to talk about the baby. But on a rare occasion, she'll kiss my belly. I'm hoping she'll fall in love with her little sister right away- her instant best friend.

There are many big changes coming soon for our family. I am praying for guidance and courage during all of these changes. They are very exciting changes and changes that definitely take a leap of faith. The biggest of all of the changes is adjusting from being a family of 3 to a family of 4.

The greatest gift I have ever been given, is the gift of being able to be a mother. The moment little Julianna was placed on my chest, was the moment I was changed forever. Forever for the better.

Love multiples when it is divided.

The big sister to be.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

race car party time

Today we went to a fun race car themed birthday party. It was Hunter's 2nd birthday- he's Julianna's best buddy (plus future arranged marriage husband). Julianna and Hunter met at daycare when they were about 5 months old. They have been in the same class together ever since. Hunter is about 3 weeks older than Julianna. Josh and I have also become friends with Hunter's parents and we all go to church together now. They're awesome!

Hunter's mom, also named Emily too, made the cutest little race cars out of cardboard boxes. The little ones (and big kids) loved dressing up and racing around in them. We had such a fun time!




Friday, February 24, 2012

maternity fashion: week 28

Wow... here we are are. Week 28! This pregnancy seems to be flying by. I'm already in my 3rd trimester! Here are 2 of my third trimester outfits from this week. Getting dressed is becoming a little more challenging as the belly grows. I own very few maternity tops so dresses are becoming my go-to at the moment.

Dress: Non-Maternity, Ann Taylor Loft, thrifted
Sweater: Non-Maternity, American Eagle, thrifted
Belt: Down East Basics
Leggings: Non-Maternity, Wal-Mart
Boots: Belk


Dress: Non-Maternity, Ann Taylor Loft, thrifted
Sweater: Non-Maternity, American Eagle, thrifted
Leggings: Non-Maternity, Wal-Mart
Flats: American Eagle

Monday, February 20, 2012

27/28 weeks + maternity fashion

Pregnancy: 28 weeks
Weight Gain: 14 pounds
Sleep: good, still needing lots of it.
Gender: it's a girl!
Name: Olivia Grace
Feeling: bigger! it's harder to get up off the floor now when I'm playing with Julianna or giving her a bath.
Health: I passed my 1 hour glucose test today. Blood count and iron level was good too. Blood pressure was 120/70.
Movement: tons of movement!
Size of Baby: eggplant... measuring right on track.
Cravings: fruit, juice, crunchy ice, and sweets!
Belly Button: in but it's getting much more shallow.

I missed posting on Saturday so that's why we have a mixture of posts today. Josh and I went out of town for our "babymoon" to the mountains. Josh's mom kept Julianna for us so we could getaway, just the two of us. It was so nice to relax together like old times. We did a lot of shopping and eating. We caught a movie together. We even got to stop by Ikea for more shopping adventures on our way home. We finished up buying the furniture we need for Olivia's room.

It was great spending the weekend with my husband. In less than 3 months, we'll have another little sweetie to take care of!

 Gray Sweater: Non-Maternity, Target
Red Sweater: Non-Maternity, New Directions, thrifted
Jeggings: Non-Maternity, Wal-Mart
Scarf: New York & Company
Boots: Charming Charlie

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

happy valentine's day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Donuts and a sweet card from Josh, treats from my students, and spending time with my sweethearts this evening made for a great day.




Saturday, February 11, 2012

Friday, February 10, 2012

Julianna's Song

This is "Song" written and performed by the one and only, Julianna Hope.



maternity fashion: week 26

Well, week 25 was a week with just about zero pictures. I just didn't feel great. I ended up discovering the 'cause by Friday afternoon... a stomach virus. So this week, I have been on the mend and I'm feeling 100% again. I actually dressed in 5 nice outfits this week but unfortunately, I only took pictures one day. This one particular day, I think I look more pregnant than in any of my other outfits and none of my outfit is maternity clothing.

The other unfortunate thing is that I never use my real camera to take pictures. Josh bought me a nice Nikon camera for Christmas. I guess I went so long just using my cell phone that I forget that I have an actual camera to use.

Top: Non-Maternity, Thrifted, H&M
Sweater: Non-Maternity, New York & Company
Skirt: Non-Maternity, Belk
Boots: Charming Charlie

Thursday, February 9, 2012

26 weeks

Pregnancy: 26 weeks
Weight Gain: 14 pounds
Sleep: good right now... I'm almost always in bed by 9pm!
Gender: it's a girl!
Name: Olivia Grace
Feeling: much better now than I'm over the stomach virus.
Health: good, blood pressure was 110/70 today. Baby's heart rate was 142.
Movement: tons of movement!
Size of Baby: eggplant. I measured one week ahead at my appointment today.
Cravings: sweets... I'm loving cake and ice cream!
Belly Button: in



Saturday, February 4, 2012

25 weeks

Pregnancy: 25 weeks.
Weight Gain: about 10 pounds.
Sleep: good but still not enough.
Gender: it's a girl!
Name: Olivia Grace.
Feeling: tired... all of the time.
Health: stomach virus :(
Movement: tons of movement!
Size of Baby: eggplant.
Cravings: nothing today--but before the stomach bug, I wanted lots of fruit.
Belly Button: in

Thursday, February 2, 2012

yellow to purple

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the projects we are working on around the house. Our biggest project is Olivia's nursery. I thought I wanted it to be yellow all along. It was what I pictured. So Josh fulfilled my vision:


Like I posted last time, I just wasn't sure. It wast the color I asked for but it just didn't feel right. One of the reasons was that it needed a second coat. The paint we purchased was a high definition paint and it just didn't cover the walls well. So we color matched it and bought more paint. Josh touched up the room and then we discovered the color match didn't not correctly match our original color. It was bad. Really splotchy and streaky looking. Josh did not want to paint this room again. He was frustrated and for good reason. He had spent a lot of time on it both go rounds. Either it was the hormones or the fumes, but I just started crying when I saw it. It wasn't what I wanted for my daughter's room. I told Josh that I wanted to try again with a totally different color. He was hestitant at first but he agreed--as long as I didn't pick pink. He refused to have a pink bedroom in our house. So off to Home Depot we headed and I picked out the perfect shade of purple called sweet petal. I LOVE how the room turned out. Now it's perfect for our sweet little girl!