{Christmas /New Years 2014}

Happy 2015 Friends! 

I'm excited to be back and ready for some blogging action! 

I've got quite a few posts ready to go, and we're about to start the process of changing the guest room into the Little Man's room...plus about a million other projects on docket! 

So with all of that being said, lots to share! 

But before we go there...I wanted to do some reminiscing and documenting of our Christmas fun this year!  

It's funny because every year I feel like we didn't do a lot of Christmasing, but then I do this Christmas post and realize...dang...we did a LOT! 

Here's what Christmas looked like for us in 2012/2012 and 2013

And here's what New Years looked like is 2012 and 2013! 

And here's what we accomplished this Christmas! 

We went to see Elf the musical with Wendel's parents, and I'll admit...it was dorky. But it was a fun festive evening out with some of my favorite people! 

 Then, of course, we had our Christmasy gender reveal party! Woo hoo! 

We went to an ugly sweater/white elephant party and it was just good, stomach hurts from laughing fun. 

We were able to sneak in time to go and see Awaited with my mom. It's always a favorite of the Christmas season. 

Then fast forward a few weeks when Wendel finally finished his masters {woo hoo Wendel} and we got to do all of our normal Christmasing adventures! We headed to The Union Terminal to check out the amazing train display.

Then we braved the cold and did The Festival of Lights! 

My mother-in-law, mom, and I met a bunch of sweet ladies for a ladies lunch at The Golden Lamb in Indiana. It's always a fun and festive afternoon with some wonderful women!

Christmas Eve, I woke up, turned on the lights, and it was magical! We are so incredibly blessed! 

We had our 20 week doctors appointment {20 weeks...what?} and then we went on a little lunch date to Brio. It was so incredibly awesome! We talked about making it a tradition...we'll see how that goes next year :) 

We passed out treats to our neighbors. Notice the no coats...it was like 50 degrees! Insane! 

Christmas Eve with my family...I feel like I look almost dead here. Sleepiness has hit me hard in the second trimester!

Wendel let me open ONE present on Christmas Eve. This was a little bathtub tray for me to put my drink or book or something. I've been having LOTS of "tubby time" especially while Wendel was finishing his masters so Wendel got me all kinds of fun bathtub things! 

We also decorated a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve...we were DETERMINED to have the most magical day ever! 

Christmas morning we headed to Wendel's parents after opening up presents together at our house. We opened presents...ate breakfast...open presents. It was like a four hour afair and I kind of love it that way! 

Christmas evening, we always go to Alex's great-aunt's house for dinner. The view is always a favorite! 

I told you every year! Also...Wendel's hair in that first picture. Hilarious! 

New Years was pretty magical this year! In years past, we've gone to The Opryland, and gone to Florida, but this year we drove to The West Baden Hotel in Indiana and spent a fancy evening dining, dancing, and laughing with Wendel's parents. 

When we got to the hotel, we did a bit of exploring...which involved taking a little train...pretty much the highlight of the whole thing for my father-in-law. 

Then we got all fancified, and ready for the evening! 

I hate that this picture is so blurry...oh well :) 

It was a pretty incredible way to end the year! 

One thing I know for sure: next years will look MUCH different!

And I'm so excited! 

{Merry Christmas 2014}

Merry Christmas Dear Friends! 

Sorry for the absence...my goal is to get back into my normal two to three times a week rhythm after New Years! 

Now that Wendel has finished his masters {woo hoo} it's time to finish house projects before the little man makes his appearance this spring! 

So I'll have lots of house updates, pregnancy updates, and a few more personal posts I've been working on about infertility and how that season changed and molded us into who we are today! 

In the mean time, we're soaking up the holiday spirit, and enjoying every second of this magical time! 

Merry Christmas...and a Happy New Year! 

{It's A Boy!}

Hey Friends! 

So sorry I'm late on posting this!

Most of you probably know but...

We're having a boy! 

We're still pretty in shock! 

We were 100% positive Little Bit was a girl, so we're having to re-envision our little lives now. 

I'm preparing my heart for lots of sports, wrestling, super heros, and legos! 

We're excited to raise a respectful and joyful little boy who will turn into a man of  honor. 

Austen Bradley...you've already surprised and shocked us. 

We're excited to see your face and watch you transform us into the people He meant for us to be...

Parents! 

I'm working on a little video from the gender reveal party, so be looking for that this week! 

{Reflecting On The Holiday Season}

I shared a little bit on Instagram about how I was feeling this time last year, and I thought I'd elaborate a bit on the blog.

Wendel and I were really hoping to get pregnant last year at the end of August, which would mean that we could announce our pregnancy at Thanksgiving. 

His family has a huge Thanksgiving at his parents' house, and before dinner, they always count how many people are in the room. I had always dreamed of going around the room counting everyone there, and when it got to me saying "14, 15...14 and baby makes 15!" 

Now use your imagination...I have no clue what number we'd actually be...work with me people :) 

That obviously didn't happen.

The week of Thanksgiving hit me like a ton of bricks. 

The realization that my dream was not going to happen, and that life was going on. 

I couldn't just curl up in bed and pretend that it wasn't happening. 

I needed to suck it up, move on, and be thankful for our crazy amounts of blessings. 

I think I did pretty decent. 

I made the most out of the holidays and enjoyed all of my favorite traditions. 

Going to Florida after Christmas helped get me through the season. 

But I remember so vividly praying...

"Lord, please make next year different."

I didn't know what that meant. 

But I knew I wanted it to be different. 

And boy did He follow through. 

And while I'm so thankful for our Little Bit, my heart literally breaks in two for those who are still struggling. 

I get weekly e-mails from people who have found this little blog {hello to any new readers} discussing their struggles with infertility. 

And my heart aches for them. 

I know this season will be hard for them. 

And this may be the second or third holiday season that has been hard. 

I truly hope everyone knows that we do not take this gift for granted! 

Not for a second have we felt like we deserved or were entitled to this miracle. 

But we are so incredible thankful. 

I'm excited for all of our holiday traditions! 

I literally cannot wait to finish decorating! 

And I'm thankful to walk along this journey with Wendel by my side! 

Oh and side note...a week from today we have our gender reveal ultrasound! 

We're having a party next Sunday and I cannot wait to find out! 

Eeeeeee!

Happy Thanksgiving!

{Reasons I've Cried Today}

Pregnancy hormones are flippin' insane! 

Seriously!

I thought my hormones were out of control before I got pregnant...that was a joke! 

So I thought it would be funny to document some of the ridiculous reasons I've busted into tears lately...enjoy! 

Fortunate enough for you...Wendel captured pictures of a few of these...oh brother...this is real life ya'll...so I'm sharing it all. Don't make fun too much! 

The Matching Straw Situation

I asked Wendel to grab me a straw for my cup and it just happened to be the same color as my cup...yup...you just can't make it up people! I promise I was crying more in this picture...Wendel must have caught me at a good moment! 

A Lawn Mower...You Don't Cry Over Lawn Mowers?

We were driving home and I saw a man mowing his lawn with his son trailing behind him with his own toy lawn mower...oh boy tears! 

Even the mascara was running...it was a serious one ya'll! 

Pretzel, Pretzel Who Wants A Pretzel?

This is probably everyone's favorite one so far...it's a long story: so I went to the mall to do a little shopping and was going to meet Wendel for a late lunch. I was already getting hungry, so I decided to get a little snack. I immediately thought 'AUNTIE ANNES!' So I super fast walked over to that direction, and when I got there, right next to Auntie Anne's was Great American Cookie Company. Ya'll...I looooooove cookie cake! So the obvious reaction was to BUST into full on, crazy person, can't stop, won't stop, 'what the heck is wrong with that chick' tears. The lady at Auntie Anne's walks over and asked if I was okay. I responded through my tears "I'm pregnant and I can't decide if I want a cookie or a pretzel" and being a wise sales woman she said "aw, sweet thing, get yourself a pretzel." And I did...and it was delicious. But I'll be honest...I was ticked I didn't get a cookie...next time...I'll shove both in my face at the same time. 

Victoria Secret Sleep Masks...Duh! 

I am seriously obsessed with Victoria Secret's flannel PJ sets! I order one every year for Christmas, and this year was no different. I got it in the mail, and I knew that I had gotten a free pair of matching slippers with the set. I was so excited to get it in the mail, and noticed that something was wrapped around the PJ's...once I looked closer...it was a matching sleeping mask. I don't even use a sleeping mask. But it was a perfectly precious matching sleeping mask wrapped around my perfectly amazing PJ set. And the tears FLOWED! Ya'll...I seriously cannot make this stuff up! 

So yeah...the dumbest things ever make me well up in tears!

The funny thing...haven't cried at a single Dr's appointment, ultrasound, hearing the babies heart beat, announcing we were pregnant. You know the normal things pregnant people cry over...nope...not here. Just matching Victoria Secret sleep masks and matching straws for my cup...yup...that's me! 

I hope I provided a little bit of entertainment for you on this hump day!

On a side note, if you didn't see on Instagram, I tried on one of the fake bumps at Destination Maternity and it 100% freaked me out! Like for real...what the heck?

{First Trimester}

Sweet Aileen at Sparkly & Sweet did an amazing first trimester breakdown recently, and thought it was an amazing idea! So here we go...a week by week break down of the first trimester! 

Five Weeks

We found out and I didn't feel pregnant in the least bit. Not a single ounce of anything, so I really thought I was making it up. I'd take pregnancy tests randomly just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Made my appointment with the doctors for 9 weeks which felt like an eternity! 

Six Weeks 

Still wasn't feeling any symptoms, but we had an appointment already set up with our infertility doctor, so we went ahead and met with him and got to announce that we were pregnant! I went to Grandparent's Day with my mom for my niece, Elizabeth that week...it's literally the only picture I took that week :)

Seven Weeks

I started to feel really bloated at night and the evening sickness rolled in. Thank God it was evening and not all day sickness! I also didn't really have any appetite for dinner AT ALL so would eat Cheerios and bananas a lot. We went to Zoofari with some of Wendel's family...it was fun to get dressed up but hard to eat anything that evening.

Eight Weeks

We took my nephew Charlie to Kings Island, which was so much fun, but I couldn't ride many of the rides so Wendel was his riding buddy. We only went for like four hours but we were ALL exhausted!

Nine Weeks

I helped to host a shower for Wendel's cousin and I was NERVOUS people were going to catch on. I was definitely bloated, and Alex's one cousin is pregnant and kept asking all kinds of questions. I almost spilled the beans, but kept it in! We also got to go and cheer on my niece in her last soccer game of the year.

Ten Weeks

We hosted a huge "Fall-O-Ween" party at our house, and I think I overdid it a bit because I had a tiny bit of bleeding. Some rest and lots of water helped a ton! This is when the evening sickness started and cheerios and bananas were my dinner of choice! 

No Picture this week...big time fail! 

Eleven Weeks

We got to go to Irons Fruit Farm and really enjoy the fall weather! It was so much fun and exactly what I needed! Wendel had been swamped with work, so to have him alone for a bit was wonderful! Evening sickness was really in full effect so dinner was kind of a no-go for a while.

Twelve Weeks

Halloween happened, we had another Dr.'s appointment where we got a spur of the moment ultrasound because they couldn't find the heartbeat {everything fine...no worries} and we had our last big hurdle to get through before telling everyone...a family wedding. We were technically "in the clear" but we really didn't want to take anything away from the bride and groom, so we decided to keep it a secret a little while longer. I was feeling so very bloated the night of the wedding and was terrified someone would catch on, but thankfully no one did! It was a super fun wedding and so wonderful to see family! We also told Wendel's grandparents {the first great-grandchild for the Wendel side} and that was super exciting! 

Thirteen Weeks 

This was my birth week and Wendel did an amazing job fitting in fun things in between work/class/assignments. We also told the world the day before my birthday {I just couldn't wait the extra day until my birthday!} It was so wonderful to tell everyone and hear all of the excitement and encouragement. Wendel and I went to The Melting Pot for dinner {which unfortunately I was pretty queezy and couldn't eat a lot...good news for Wendel} but it was so much fun getting texts throughout the night! 

I can't believe I'm weeks into my second trimester! It's nuts! We find out if Little Bit is a Little He or a Little She in a few weeks and I can't wait!