Early this fall I had envisioned getting some family pictures taken that would sort of be a 3 in 1 photo shoot. {1} being General Family pictures {2} a few Maternity shots and {3} 2 year old photos of Reaghan to replace her 1 year pictures hanging in our hallway.
For reasons that I can't quite put my finger on, we kept delaying them and not finding a good weekend to get with my sisters to get them done.
Finally the first week in December I was all bummed out because we had no pictures to use for our Christmas cards and my body was entering the massive stage of pregnancy, not the cute little baby bump stage and we still hadn't taken any pictures! My sisters were going to be free the next day so I begged Mark to go take some pictures on what was looking to be one of the coldest days of the season so far! He tried to insist that we didn't need to send picture Christmas cards this year, so it took a little convincing, but he finally went along with it.
But it turns out... I probably should've just listened to him and scrapped the whole dream of getting pictures done in time for Christmas cards because you guys - it was like 30 degrees outside and Reaghan was not loving it. At. All. I tried to do everything right to prepare my toddler for the photoshoot - as in make sure she gets a good nap before we go - but I forgot 1 key toddler necessity. We left so quickly after she got up from her nap that I never gave her anything to eat or drink. *gasp* Freezing weather + hangry toddler is not a good combo for getting cute, loving and giggly pictures. Not to mention the the cold caused her poor little nose to run the whole time and you know how toddlers LOVE having their noses wiped. You know another thing toddlers LOVE? Having their coats taken on and off every 3 minutes to strike another pose. {please tell me you can hear my sarcasm.}
Erin and Mallory graciously tried to snap pictures while their hands were freezing and get Reaghan to smile. They're pretty talented so they managed to squeeze out some good ones that I'm really grateful for! I don't know how they did it because over all it wasn't quite what I had envisioned! I was surprised when we got them back that there were actually ones of Reaghan smiling! haha
Oh well. Lesson learned. Don't take pictures when its 30 degrees outside. Don't take pictures with a hangry toddler. Aaaaand its probably a good idea to listen to my husband's advice a little more. ; )
For reasons that I can't quite put my finger on, we kept delaying them and not finding a good weekend to get with my sisters to get them done.
Finally the first week in December I was all bummed out because we had no pictures to use for our Christmas cards and my body was entering the massive stage of pregnancy, not the cute little baby bump stage and we still hadn't taken any pictures! My sisters were going to be free the next day so I begged Mark to go take some pictures on what was looking to be one of the coldest days of the season so far! He tried to insist that we didn't need to send picture Christmas cards this year, so it took a little convincing, but he finally went along with it.
But it turns out... I probably should've just listened to him and scrapped the whole dream of getting pictures done in time for Christmas cards because you guys - it was like 30 degrees outside and Reaghan was not loving it. At. All. I tried to do everything right to prepare my toddler for the photoshoot - as in make sure she gets a good nap before we go - but I forgot 1 key toddler necessity. We left so quickly after she got up from her nap that I never gave her anything to eat or drink. *gasp* Freezing weather + hangry toddler is not a good combo for getting cute, loving and giggly pictures. Not to mention the the cold caused her poor little nose to run the whole time and you know how toddlers LOVE having their noses wiped. You know another thing toddlers LOVE? Having their coats taken on and off every 3 minutes to strike another pose. {please tell me you can hear my sarcasm.}
Erin and Mallory graciously tried to snap pictures while their hands were freezing and get Reaghan to smile. They're pretty talented so they managed to squeeze out some good ones that I'm really grateful for! I don't know how they did it because over all it wasn't quite what I had envisioned! I was surprised when we got them back that there were actually ones of Reaghan smiling! haha
Oh well. Lesson learned. Don't take pictures when its 30 degrees outside. Don't take pictures with a hangry toddler. Aaaaand its probably a good idea to listen to my husband's advice a little more. ; )
Family Pictures 2016
Okay so technically tomorrow I'll be 39 weeks pregnant but I didn't get around to sharing my 38 week picture and all the fun that happened last weekend!
Friday I went and got a pedicure with a friend from work. Back in December she was my secret santa and gave me a gift card to our favorite nail salon and then a few days later everyone else at work gifted me with another gift card to the same salon for my birthday! I'd been saving them up to use at the end of my pregnancy when I knew my feet would most appreciate it. My feet have been way more swollen this time around than they were with Reag. Oh and stupid me, I wore SKINNY JEANS to the salon. *face palm* I could barely pull them halfway up my calf which meant I didn't get a full calf massage which happens to be my favorite part! Also, they were really constricting which made my feet swell worse. Kind of the opposite effect I was hoping for. Pregnancy brain is real ya'll.
The next day I had to work in the morning, but that afternoon my mom and sisters threw me a super cute baby shower at my parents house. My grandma and aunt came down from Charlottesville and even 2 aunts and a cousin that are in transition right now - moving from Massachusetts to South Dakota! - came down to help celebrate our sweet baby. My mom and Erin made soups and salad with artisan bread to go along with it and a sweet young girl from church made strawberry cheesecake cupcakes to go with the big cheesecake. I probably had 3 bowls of potato soup and like 20 cupcakes. It was delicious! I got a lot of fun clothes for Baby girl which was perfect because Reag's newborn clothes are mostly summertime outfits which just won't work for this January baby. Of course Mallory took a lot of pictures and I can't wait to share them with you when she gets them to me but here is what I got on my phone that afternoon.
Weeks Pregnant: 37 Weeks and 2 days
Symptoms: Heart Burn continues... especially if I eat anything chocolate or with red sauce. I've had some hip joint pain this time that I didn't have with Reaghan where if I step or sit funny it feels like my hip is out of socket. So weird! and not fun! Pubic bone pain. I had this AFTER I gave birth to Reaghan and the Dr called it osteitis pubis, its pretty painful sometimes but stretching my adductor muscles help. I've definitely had some contractions and cramping over the last 2 weeks! Getting closer!
Fitness & Weight Gain: I weighed 171 at my last appointment. Thats not too bad, I thought I'd be way past that point by now based on how I was gaining weight a couple months ago but if I can stay under 180 for this pregnancy I'll be happy! Especially since I know I haven't kept up on working out like I did with Reaghan. There's basically zero exercising happening right now except for taking brief walks with Reaghan and Piper - but even those have been limited because of the cold! Hopefully I don't regret it when it comes time to labor.
Cravings: Peach cobbler. Man have I been wanting some Peach Cobbler. They way my mama makes it! And pretty much all comfort foods like waffles, chicken n dumplings, mashed potatoes, soups - I don't know if its the recent snowy weather or my pregnancy though! :) I have been eating a lot of oatmeal recently too!
Aversions: Hamburgers for some reason. They just don't sound that appetizing to me right now!
Best Moment this Month: Getting all of the baby stuff out of the attic after Christmas! I bought Dreft detergent and washed all the newborn clothes and *sigh* I can't get enough of that sweet smell. We set the swing up in the living room and the rock n play up in our bedroom. Reaghan is using them both for her baby dolls right now and I love how she keeps talking about her baby sister coming soon.
Baby Movement: She's not as crazy active as she was last month and the month before but still feeling her regularly. My belly obviously moves with her movements as she's getting bigger. The other night I thought she was trying to bust right out of my belly. She's a lot lower now, feeling sharp pains down low every so often when she moves.
Looking forward to: Her Arrival! Only 3 weeks to go! Hopefully she comes in January and isn't a week late like her big sister was.
Sleep: Probably waking every 2 hours to use the bathroom. Thankfully heartburn hasn't been keeping me up if I take tums before I go to bed. I was getting excited that she might come soon until the other night when I was remembering back to that last week or 2 with Reaghan when I was really miserable! I remember hating going to bed at night because I knew I wouldn't sleep or be comfortable. I'm not quite at that point yet with this one so I think she's staying in a couple more weeks atleast.
Reaghan's Thoughts: She loves to put her hands on my belly and say "I feel her coming" "She's coming soon." It's adorable. Whenever we go shopping she will pick out clothes and say "Oh this would be toot for baby sister." And when she helped me wash and fold all of the clothes and blankets she kept saying "is this for baby sister? Oh okay. Thats good." She's going to be the sweetest! We've had lots of talks recently about whats going to happen when the baby comes and keep reading her her "new baby" books. She know that mommy and daddy are going to go to the hospital when its time for baby to come and then Grammie is going to bring her to the hospital to meet the baby where she'll get to hold her. Hopefully she'll be fine when we actually drop her off with Grammie, but she's had a few sleepovers already so it should be fine. I did start worrying the other day about how she's going to react when she has to LEAVE the hospital after visiting and it made me so sad. I know it will be fine, but my hormones are already making me tear up at the thought of her crying when she has to leave mommy and baby at the hospital.
Preparations: Just packed my hospital bag today! I need to buy a few toiletry items and a coming home outfit for baby girl but I'm glad that I've got a few things in there in case a surprise arrival happens sooner than we think. We are still working on the nursery! Yikes! But she'll be sleeping in the basinet when she first comes home anyways so no big deal. I need to pack Reaghan's sleepover bag and get some size 1 diapers and I think we'll have all of the necessities. :)
At my Dr's appointment last week (36 weeks appt) I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced! I knew with all of the contractions I'd had that I had to be on the scale somewhere! I was excited at first but I was the same way with Reaghan - I looked back and I said was 3cm and 60% effaced at 37 weeks. I'm remembering how my body labored long and low with her. Long as in over the last 3-4 weeks of the pregnancy and low as in low intensity until my water broke and then BAM she was here in 5 hours. I remember being really frustrated having contractions almost every day that never progressed past 8-10 minute apart and would fade away after an hour or so... but this time I know what my body's doing and I'm respecting the process. I'm really trying to relax into the contractions and cramping that I'm having here to encourage progress and not tense up and fight it. I'm really curious to see if my water will break again or if I'll have to go in based on contractions alone. It's exciting!!
My mom and sisters are throwing me a baby shower this Saturday with just some family and close friends and I'm so grateful and really excited to have a little get together before the baby comes!
Just for fun - a little compare and contrast with Reag's pregnancy and this one!
I actually think I look smaller this time around!
It sure doesn't feel like I'm smaller haha maybe the winter clothes are just more slimming in pictures. ; )
Officially wishing you all a Happy New Year!
Only a week late... not too bad! I don't know about you but 2016 had some pretty crazy moments. Am I right? It was a little crazy watching through the eyes of social media and news outlets as our country went through shootings, riotings, the crazy election season and what appeared to be an overall loss of common sense and morals among our population. As Christians we know that society will continue this downward spiral of morality just as the bible warns. So when I take a step back I can say I'm not surprised, but my heart is always saddened by the hurt people cause and as parents it is a bit scary knowing we have the responsibility to raise Christians in this fallen world. So, so thankful that we have this Hope as an Anchor for our souls in times of uncertainty.
So what did 2016 look like for our family? It was kind of a big year - new house and getting pregnant! And I totally bailed on almost 3 months of blogging thanks to my body hating the first trimester of pregnancy. Its literally a battle to survive during that time, I can't concentrate on anything else. But anyways, enjoy the little recap of our year below. :)
Christmas morning Reaghan didn't wake up until 9am! I'm sure this won't be the case as she gets older and more aware of Christmas morning. Although, when I was a kid my brothers and sisters and I never woke up extremely early on Christmas. I remember we would usually wake around 8am... we were a family that really enjoyed our sleep! haha Mark however says he would be up all night long waiting for his parents to go to bed so he could run out and see his all of his presents. Maybe our kids will be a mix of both and wake up early but noooot toooo early.
We weren't up too late setting out her gifts. We didn't have anything to put together this year so we just had to set it all out.
When Reag got up I told her it was finally Christmas morning and she was so excited! I fixed her hair while Mark got the video camera ready and then we let her walk out to see her gifts.
We weren't up too late setting out her gifts. We didn't have anything to put together this year so we just had to set it all out.
We set out a little stocking for Piper of course and she could barely contain herself. She sat and stared and whined the whole time we set up gifts but never busted in to it like a good little pup.
Out of all the presents sitting out, the first thing she saw and picked up was one of the many books we got her. She loves, loves, loves books and I'm pretty sure we could've only gotten her that and she would've been perfectly happy!
Mark made her the baby doll crib and she's loved putting her dolls to bed each night.
BOOKS!
I've had fun showing her how to play with the little people in her dollhouse.
I love this picture because she looks like she's not too sure about the pants I bought her.
This was the only picture we got in our matching Christmas jammies and my big belly!
We had a nice breakfast after opening our stockings and then had a breakfast of pancakes and eggs.
After breakfast we took our time opening gifts under the tree.
I got a bath pillow for my tub, a new jacket, a hoodie, body spray and lotion, and don't tell anyone but Mark also enjoys a bath now and then so he got a tray for the tub and towel warmer ;)
I totally love the towel warmer! The other day I got out of the shower and realized I hadn't pushed the button all the way so totally got back into the shower for a few minutes just so my towel would be warm! haha
After our leisurely morning we headed to my parents for lunch.
Their Christmas Tree!
Lots of kids equals lots of presents!
My grandma got a fitbit for Christmas so after lunch we went on a walk to test out her fitbit and work off some of the mashed potatoes and gravy! It was definitely colder than lasts Christmas 75 degree weather, but it wasn't too bad.
Reaghan read books on and off all day long!
My grandma got her a set of books that included Madeline, Corduroy, Clifford, Curious George and a cute bear book call Stormy Night along with a Madeline doll and Corduroy bear to go with the stories. She loves it and with all the books she got we've had something new to read every night at bedtime! She loves it and so do we! Reading something new is nice!
My beautiful grandma with her new slippers.
Reaghan got my parents a little sign for the area on their wall where they hang Reaghan's crafts that she does for them!
My baby sister is going to be 17 in a couple of months!
Say what?!
My parents bought Reaghan a little scooter and helmet!
We ended the night with an annual dance off as Sara got the new Just Dance like she does every year!
We got video of me trying to dance and its not pretty! haha but we had fun.
Before we left Reaghan spent some time with her PopPop doing a search and find book.
Her attention is always taken up by her aunts and grammie, she definitely prefers the company of girls because of her more reserved personality. But she does love her grandpas
and uncles too and I love seeing her spend bonding moments with my dad.
Sadly, we didn't get a family picture on Christmas but here's one of just Reaghan in her pretty Christmas dress!
Christmas 2016 is all wrapped up and it was fun one!
We're looking forward to having 2 little girls next year to enjoy the season with.
We spent Christmas Eve with Mark's family like we have the last 4 years that we've been married. When we say family, we're talking about just his immediate family - mom, dad, and sister's family. In the past we've also gone over to his granny's on Christmas day to spend a couple of hours with his whole extended family but this year we decided to forego that stop. We enjoy spending time there but it just made for a hectic day trying to enjoy our morning at home, then get to his granny's by a decent time so we could be there for a few hours before leaving to get to my parents before the day was over. And when we were at his Granny's we always felt like we were rushing everyone to open gifts because we had somewhere else to be when they weren't in any rush because they were going to be there all day. So anywho... it was a hard decision but Mark's parents were really supportive and understanding so no family drama ensued and we had the Christmas Party at our house to exchange gifts and enjoy time with his extended family. And it was actually SO nice Christmas morning to just enjoy opening gifts with Reaghan and each other, have a nice breakfast and not feel rushed to get anywhere. Plus we were able to get to my parents much sooner and enjoy lunch with them, which is something we always miss out.
Okay, rambling explanation over.... back to Christmas Eve!
Since it fell on a Saturday we went over to the Poindexter's earlier than usual, around 11:30, to enjoy the full day with them.
As soon as we got there "BB" and "Tom Tom" had a surprise for the girls hiding in their back bathroom. Which is where the girls love to play "store" for some reason haha.
As soon as we got there "BB" and "Tom Tom" had a surprise for the girls hiding in their back bathroom. Which is where the girls love to play "store" for some reason haha.
Shopping Carts!
After their shopping carts came their stockings! They loved filling their carts with the things they received in their stocking.
They had fun playing for a while and then the last pre-nap surprise was a nap mat for each of them.
They were adorable!
We were a little ambitious about how well they would do actually taking a nap in their new mats next to each other. Brooklyn fell asleep as her mommy patted her back and Reaghan was almost asleep so we left to finish falling asleep - I don't think she ever did and ended up waking Brooklyn up 20 minutes later! Whoops! I was over estimated the self control of a 2 year old falling asleep next to her cousin and best friend. haha Thankfully they both took a nice long nap after we separated them.
While the girls napped the adults exchanged gifts.
Mark's dad built us a beautiful buffet/hutch for our kitchen.
There is a top hutch for it that he is still finishing.
When the girls woke up we had a delicious dinner of Prime Rib, Collard Greens, mashed potatoes and the works.
The girls had a few more gifts to open after dinner.
Christmas gets more fun each year with these girls watching them open up and enjoy their gifts together. Looking back on last year, it's amazing to see how much they've grown.
I'm not super happy with my lack of photogenic-ness this holiday season - or how much weight I've gained this pregnancy! My face has just gotten so round and chunky! haha
But I'll worry about that after the baby comes. ; )
Thankfully Reag is definitely much cuter in her pictures!
At the end of the night the girls bathed and got dressed in some matching pajama's to listen to Uncle Jason read them the nativity story.
We've tried so hard to be intentional with Reaghan this Christmas season to teach her about Christ's birth in the manger and the reason for celebrating Christmas. She's only 2, but she's absorbed so much information this season and my mommy heart is overjoyed at what she remembered each time we talked about it or read about it.
It was a Very Merry Christmas Eve for these beauties
and the rest of the family.
