And Then There Was Carter

Carter Owen Mace was born December 7th, 2011... AND MAN IT WAS A RIDE!

We were scheduled to be induced at 7 am on that crazy wednesday morning. I had to call labor and delivery at 6 am to make sure they had enough room for my induction at that time. The night before i had this HORRIBLE feeling that it would get delayed. my entire family was reassuring me and saying that its really rare for that to happen. Jus, my mom, my dad, and I all went to dinner but our first choice was closed so we had to settle for ihop! it was our last dinner as just me and justin! I barely fit into the booth and it was horribly uncomfortable so we eventually had to ask the waitress to move to a table! haha.. i was HUGE to say the least!

That night we didnt sleep.. i mean WHO WOULD! we knew our baby was coming the next day! jus stayed up all night cleaning and preparing for his sons arrival while i layed in our bed and tried to get ANY amount of sleep that i could! the hours ticked down and at 5:55 am i grabbed my phone to make sure i had the number all dialed and ready for 6 am on the dot!!! i was nervous to call, only fearing that my assumptions would be correct. I hit send and the nurse in charge answered... AND THEY COULDNT TAKE ME! they made me call back at 8:00 am, 9:30 am, and then 10:30... IT WAS EXACTLY HOW I HAD IMAGINED IT GOING! all throughout my life i have never ever obtained the quality called PATIENCE... this would happen to me to try and teach me a lesson, but it wasnt going to stop me from getting our son into this world! i was irrate.. i even spiked my phone like a football into the ground when my ob called and said i might have to wait until the following monday to actually get induced! HOW CAN YOU TELL A PREGO LADY SHE WILL HAVE HER BABY ON A CERTAIN DAY AND THEN TELL HER IT PROBABLY WONT HAPPEN! i think anyone would have lost it at that point. Well i got a call back from labor and delivery around 11:15 am and said that i needed to hurry down to triage to get admitted before any other pregnant lady who was already in labor did! needless to say WE WERE BOOKING IT! my mom and justin didnt know what hit them after i got that phone call! we sped the entire drive down to st. lukes and got there in time to be admitted!

I was taken to room 2407 which happened to be the room my very good friend had delivered her son in less than a month ago! IT WAS FATE! well the nurse came in and informed me she had a intern student with her and asked if i minded if he placed my iv... WELL I DIDNT KNOW THIS INTERN NAMED RAJ WAS BRAND NEW AND TERRIBLE AT PLACING IV's... he missed 4 times and the nurse finally helped him place the 5th attempt in one of the worst places you could... ON MY HAND! dont you need those to hold your legs back when your pushing and such? it started very rocky... that should have been the first sign... hahaha well they finally got the iv placed and the pitocin started around 1:30 pm... The nurse checked me at that time and told me we were starting at a 4.5 cm dialated! WE WERE ALMOST HALFWAY!!! this was good news... the contractions werent very bad in the beginning.. i was like OMG I COULD TOTALLY DO THIS NATURALLY! i felt good enough to walk so we did a few laps around the floor and then the contractions started to really come! HOLY LORD THE PAIN WAS INCREDIBLY TERRIBLE!! i was in the jacuzzi when they got so bad that i couldnt handle it and i was very ready for the epidural.. THANK THE LORD I WAS ABLE TO GET IT RIGHT THEN! the epidural wasnt that bad... but it was the contractions and the shakes i was having while getting the epidural placed that made it uncomfortable!!!! once it was placed i could relax and enjoy the experience with my family! i was talking and laughing through the contractions which were lasting over a few minutes and were off the charts high! it was such a relief, LET ME TELL YOU! hahaha

After about a half an hour of constant contractions but very minimal pain my doctor came in and broke my water! i was at a solid 6 which was good progression but i was ready to get the show on the road! about 45 minutes after my water broke my nurse checked me again and WE WERE READY! she was shocked it happened so fast! she was sure she wasnt going to be there for delivery since her shift ended at 7 pm and she thought there was no way i was going to be ready by that time seeing as i was induced in the afternoon!! well... she was wrong! i was ready and so was carter! he was +2 engaged and not handling the birth canal very well! i maybe pushed 4-5 times and she was ready to call the doctor to come! well our doctor showed up and it was go time! i found it hard to know the feeling to push because i was numb everywhere below my boobs! i was asked to pull my legs back and push down.. i wanted my mom and jus to help hold my legs back but they werent really allowed.. so it was a funny ordeal to see me pushing and holding my dead weight legs at the same time! well carter was sitting under the pelvic bone and wasnt handling the pushing and contractions very well so our doctor decided she needed to use the vaccum to get him out sooner than later! the vaccum really helped and carter was out within 2 minutes! OMG WE DID IT :) he was soooo loud, so healthy... EVERYTHING WE COULD HAVE EVER HOPED FOR! he has all of his toes and fingers... we are BLESSED!!!!!! Jus was so overwhelmed with happiness and my mom was snapping as many pictures as she could for us... it was pure bliss! i had to get snipped a little bit because of our sons large head, so as i was getting stitched up jus was over with carter watching him get cleaned up and weighed! the labor and delivery all together took under 5 hours... I SHOULD HAVE TONS OF KIDS WITH HOW AMAZING THIS DELIVERY WENT RIGHT????? think again....

To The Two Men In My Life....

To my Husband,

Life with you has been something i dreamed of as a child. In my teenage years i would find myself imagining who and when i would get married and have babies. I'd wonder what my husband would look like, what kind of realtionship he'd have with my family, the life we would live together... where we would call home to how many babies we would bring into this beautiful world. I can honestly say that when i pictured my husband, i saw a figure but the features were blurry... now when i close my eyes and think about what i want in a husband i see you so clearly its remarkable... You give me so much strength in ways i never thought possible. You have been the biggest support system since the day we met.. you love me UNCONDITIONALLY.. and you always have a way to tell me how much i mean to you without saying anything!!! It could be a simple look or the way my hand fits in yours that makes home wherever you are!!! As we get closer to the day were blessed with meeting our beautiful son, i am so confident in the fact that you will be the absolute BEST FATHER IN THE WORLD... how do i know this? i see it all the time..

Carter and I are so very blessed to have such a beautiful human being in our lives.. you light up the room anywhere you go, and theres such a presense about you... I know i look up to you, the way you can give without EVER taking.. the amount of love you have for everyone in your life.. your ability to bring a smile to anyones face no matter the circumstances.. and lastly the true and meaningful relationships you create for yourself.. I truly look at you and know God is good.. I pray our son has your wit and your ability to spread so much joy without trying!!!!

I LOVE YOU JUSTIN STEPHEN MACE.. FOREVER.. and FOR ALWAYS!!!!





To my beautiful miracle,



A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for...

When i think of you, one word keeps popping into my head, MIRACLE.. you were created out of love, and with you, our ability to love is taken to a level i never knew was humanly possible. I constantly worry about your safety and your tucked away in my belly. Your movements give reassurement that only I can understand completely... I hear music about the love a parent has for their children and until you, i couldnt fathom a love existing at that level. You give me and your father everything, and you havent even taken your first breath yet. You must always know that your mommy loves you more than she can ever explain in words. God created you especially for us, and we cherish everything you are. In a few days we will meet for the first time, trust me when i tell you daddy and i have ran this moment through our heads for the last 10 months... Weve imagined your first cry, your beautiful eyes, if you have hair like daddy or if youre going to bald like mama, and how many peoples breathes youre going to take away from your sheer beauty... It may be a little scary coming into this world, but rest assured i wont let ANYTHING or ANYONE ever hurt you... Ill see you in four short days son, and from there, the future is ours!!!!

I love you to the moon and back.. ALWAYS..

Last Month Update!!!

As we get closer to baby carter's due date, we all get more and more anxious! We were so looking forward to going to the doctor every week to see the progression but holy moley i never expected 4 weeks to seem like a lifetime! at our 36 week appointment i was 1.5 cm dialated and 50% effaced which our doctor was really happy with! she said its a good starting point for delivering on time or a little early. Let me tell you.. WE WERE STOKED ABOUT THIS!!! Its been sooooo hard waiting and dealing with the extreme anticipation of meeting our lil munchkin! I know all first time parents would agree that wondering what and who your child looks like is something that crosses your mind multiple times each day! I know me and Justin have had multiple conversations about size and how labor will go!!! He SWORE that we were going to have a big boy, but i honestly thought he'd stay in the 7 lbs range.

Our 37 week appointment was a little different because our doctor was out of town for thanksgiving in southern california and we had to see another doctor in the office. I have ONLY had a female doctor since going to my gyno and my obgyn so the fact that he was a MALE was a little freaky. I was contemplating waiting an extra week to see my original doctor for my silly convience but the anticipation again was the driving factor of me agreeing to seeing a male. I wanted to know if i had progressed at all and if i was negative for my group b strep test! well to be honest, HE WAS INCREDIBLE! he made me and justin feel so comfortable even though hed never met us before and didnt have a personal relationship built with us! I was pleasantly surprised! he was an older male and his nurse was so sweet as well! he was willing to do a cervical check and i was now 2.5 cm dialated and 60% effaced! MORE PROGRESS!!! it was such a good gift that we had a chance to know before the long holiday weekend. We spent that whole weekend with my parents (my dad actually had hernia surgery wednesday afternoon so the fact that he was recovering made our thanksgiving really mellow which i was so happy about!) I did make a dumb decision and decided to attempt black friday shopping with my mama and hubby. We left on thanksgiving night at like 9:30 for walmart. BAD IDEA! people were acting a fool... to say the least! i saw fights over 10$ picture frames, 20$ microfiber stools, and 150$ xboxes... I WAS SHOCKED... i couldnt imagine hurdling others and being mean in order to get the best "deal"... which when we were leaving the store from frustration there were still piles of furniture and frames but people couldnt be patient and wait for others.. they had to have it RIGHT THEN... This lady actually took her cart to my 9 months belly.. lets just say we had a few words about the xmas spirit and how unreal she was acting over a picture frame... WHICH I WASNT EVEN WANTING!!!! Word to the wise... never take your prego hormones into a hot crowded black friday crowd... IT COULD LEAD TO MEAN WORDS AND FIST FIGHTS lol...

At our 38 week appointment i was MISERABLE! i had grown to the point where i have constant groin and sciatic pain. Our doctor did the usual exam and felt my tummy. She looked at me and justin and said "WOW! YOU ARE ALL BABY! HES A BIG BOY!!" i then asked her how much she thinks he weights and she was confident that he was over 8 lbs for sure. THIS WOULD EXPLAIN THE GROIN PAIN! hahaha... I had dialated to a solid 3 cm going on 4 and 75% effaced so we decided we would try a membrane sweep to see if my body was ready to deliver baby boo and then if that didnt work we would talk about inducing the following visit. Well let me tell you... SWEEPS HURT! i had to grin and wear the pain which seemed like it would never end! haha THIS MADE ME REALIZE AN EPIDURAL WAS NEEDED FOR LABOR!!! :) Our doctor was wrapping up the appointment when she realized she would only be in the office and able to deliver our baby next wednesday so we decided we would set my induction date for Wednesday, December 7th... and if baby made his apperance before then well all was good! :) We left JACKED!!! we couldnt believe that within a week we would be holding our baby boy for sure.. THERE WAS FINALLY A COUNTDOWN DATE THAT WAS COMPLETELY ACCURATE! it made all the anticipation so much more real!!!!

After we got home from my sweep we took a walk hoping it would kick in active labor contractions and we could have our baby THAT day! i had strong almost painful cramping and contractions but they eventually subsided around 3 pm and i was able to take a nap.. i had been told a sweep could take a few days to work though so i still had faith he could be coming soon! When i woke up from my nap around 4pm i used the restroom and my mucus plug was def coming out! it was nasty but SUCH a good sign he could come soon!! I decided to relax the rest of the night and see if my body was ready. Well my hopes were very dashed because NOTHING happened.. i slept that night and woke up without any contractions or pain! DANG!!!! But it was ok because he was def going to be here within the next week so we could be patient for ONE more week right!? youd think so but man i was ready! I WANTED TO FEEL THE PAIN OF LABOR.. I WAS SOOOO GEARED UP!

Its been 4 days now since my sweep so im fairly sure that it didnt work, which means baby wasnt ready! im so glad hes still in my belly and growing even stronger! i feel absolutely HUGE but i did find leggings that fit and i could wear them rather than SWEATS! it was a huge accomplishment! :) i didnt feel as frumpy!!! OH AND I GOT TO PULL OUT THE UGGS!!!!! gotta love december!!! We are patiently waiting his arrival but im fairly sure he will be stubborn and it will take me being induced for him to want to leave his warm tropical vacation in mamas belly! :) Both mine and justin's parents are SO excited they can barely stand it! It feels so good to have such support when me and justin are getting a little nervous for the entire responsibilty! Dont get me wrong, were soooooo ready.. but we realized that this is our LAST weekend without a baby and the ability to sleep in!! crazy since weve never had to be responsible for more than our year old puppy, but we couldnt have asked for a better blessing and gift..

This is one of the last prego pictures ill probably take! as you can see the leggings are WAY better than my husbands sweats!!!! :) and my favorite UGGS!!!! OHHHH YEA!!!

WISH US LUCK GUYS... 4 DAYS AND COUNTING!!!!!!!!

Pregnancy Update

I am almost 8 months pregnant.. i know crazy how fast time goes. I feel like this pregnancy has flown by without many issues.. (SO THANKFUL) But it also feels like as i get bigger and closer to my due date its slowing to a stop! Carter is getting so big, i feel his hiccups almost everyday now! He moves so much and is getting SO powerful with his punches and kicks! He is such a chill baby in comparison to stories ive heard about my friends babies in the womb. If i put any pressure on my belly he usually moves away from it and settles somewhere else rather than getting antsy or mad at the random pushes from me!

Carter LOVES his daddy. Jus will lay close to my belly and talk to him and he goes crazy! he'll move so much ill have to call it a night because hes kicking my ribs and then a few seconds later hes punching my hip bone! it hurts so bad but i love it and wouldnt trade that feeling for anything in the world! Its so amazing to know he is a living being that can respond to stimuli from the outside such as touches from me or daddy or light from our phones. HE IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BLESSING TO EVERYONE IN OUR LIFE!!! Both justins and my parents are counting the days until they meet him for the first time!!!

As much as I love my son, MY BODY HURTS!!! there are a few things that have gotten me through up until this point! a few of them are...

APPLES AND PEANUT BUTTER.. my biggest craving... and OMG if i go a day without my dear apples and peanut butter i feel like i might lose it! :)

My beloved body pillow.. its way nicer than this one in the picture, but for entertainment value i chose this because she looks like she is VERY rested.. haha! my one and only is black and soooo incredibly soft. If i get out of bed to use the restroom at night it never fails that when i come back jus is wrapped up in it! hahaha.. its safe to say he loves it just as much as i do!

Frozen yogurt.. my favorite place to get this is now USwirl.. i usually get a full cup of cake batter frozen yogurt with either berries or the a chocolate overload with reeces and kit kat chunks! It quenches the sweet tooth that helps contributes to my weight gain! haha

My best friend, the heating pad!!! Ive had pretty intense lower back pain since around 24 weeks so i use a heating pad more than once a day! Jus also learned some techniques in our birthing class that help to relieve the pain i have in my sciatic nerve! Im so thankful for modern technology!

My brother recently got married, and between traveling to moscow for U of I games, and portland for the wedding i have been SO exhausted! This picture is of me at 27 weeks at my brothers wedding!

AND THIS IS MY INCREDIBLE HUSBAND.. our good friend ashley has a beautiful baby girl that justin absolutely adores! This picture is of jus at a Vandals game holding kyah in her carseat and her diaper bag. HE LOOKS SOOO HUNKY! he is so excited to meet his son, and get to be a daddy! He makes me smile everyday knowing how incredible he is going to be as a husband and a daddy!!!

This pregnancy has hard times intertwined with AMAZING ones... it has been all smiles and roses and sunshine, but i wouldnt trade our experience for the world. I have made it through with the support from my wonderful husband and his never ending support, my incredible parents and mother in law, and my girl friends who have given me their extra baby clothes and advice!!!

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!!! 70 DAYS UNTIL DUE DATE.. 49 UNTIL FULL TERM!!!!

The adventures of the HOMEOWNERS!!!

THIS IS DEF A BUYERS MARKET!!!! I should start out by saying that.. and thanking our realtor/our parents for being such a huge help in the entire process!!

If i had to describe the experience we had buying our house, i could simply say it went relatively smooth in comparison to what i had imagined. Luckily we knew our realtor very well and he was so dedicated to our search. Justin was out of the country playing baseball through the entire process so having doug (our realtor) and my parents was what made the process so enjoyable.

It started on a wednesday, where myself, doug, and my mother in law went out and looked at almost every available property in the boise/meridian/kuna area. That could have been the longest day EVER.. We looked at great houses out in Kuna but didnt want to have that travel time everyday. We saw houses that were bank owned and WOW did they need alot of work on both the yard and the house itself. I decided right from the start that we werent going to offer on any house that would be called a "fixer upper". I know being pregnant and eventually new parents that we wouldnt have the time or money that it takes to fix up that type of house the way i would want. With that decided doug still wanted me to see all my options so we viewed those properties but its safe to say we werent there for more than 5 minutes each. We saw two really cute houses in Kuna but like I said we were looking for something more central to both of our families. Our third property is now OUR HOUSE!!! the minute i walked in i knew one, my husband would LOVE it.. two, its a perfect house to raise a family in.. and third, IT WAS BASICALLY BRAND NEW!!! the owner was actually the original contractor who built the house. he bought it back from the bank and put all new carpet, paint, and appliances throughout the entire house and then resold it to us.

There are so many positives to where the house is located. Its in Charter Pointe neighborhood which has multiple playgrounds, walking paths, parks, a huge clubhouse with a pool and workout facility. We also have neighbors on one side of the house which makes our house very quiet! I love that its a little out of the city and the traffic is like old school cloverdale/eagle... we have pauls right down the street as well as a walgreens and maverick! NOT TO MENTION THERE IS DESERT SAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HALF A MILE AWAY FROM OUR HOUSE AND INSIDE CHARTER POINTE.. i would love to walk carter to school everyday or even use my degree and walk to work with him!

Jus did a great job painting practically every room in the house because im insane about colors on the wall and making a house a home. He is such a patient and amazing husband. Im sure he wanted to scream at me and say THIS HOUSE WAS JUST REPAINTED but he held his tongue and knew how much it meant to me that we made it OURS together... this is the kitchen.. i cannot wait till little man is sitting in that high chair!

This is one of my favorite parts of the house.. A WALK IN CLOSET OF MY VERY OWN! of course i have to share a little of it with jus, but its mostly ALL of my clothes :) you know you have hit adulthood when you own a house with your OWN walk in closet!!! on the right side of the closet where you cant see there are shoe shelves that i also fill up very easily!

All in all the whole process went abnormally smooth. The only speedbumps we encountered were the seller getting a few things on the house fixed before the closing date, which he didnt and we had to trust him to finish it (which he did come and finish everything on the list). We also had to deal with jus being away in canada and signing papers and having them notarized and overnighted back.. IT WAS A HUGE HASSLE.. and then he came home the day before signing so all the work we did to get those papers was not needed! hahaha its soooooo us though..

Im so thankful to own my home in this economy and were actually saving money each month by owning our own home compared to the rent we were paying for a small townhouse. This is such a beautiful blessing to have our house to bring baby carter home to! He will know the love we have for him and i hope he feels it in our house!

A Year Full of Memories, Crammed Into 5 Months!!

All my life, Ive been the child who did things in life very backwards. The person who would rather have a small wedding, a small house, but so much love that it would make the happiness continue through all the days of my life. In the past 5 months I have...

1.Graduated from college with a bachelors degree
2.Married my best friend and better half
3.Bought a new SUV
4.Found and bought a house in one month
5.AND FOUND OUT I AM GOING TO BE A MOMMY TO A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BOY

now most people have stages in life they complete before attempting to take on the next, but thats never been my style... EVER!

I guess I should start from the beginning...

This has to be one of my best memories to date. I had worked so hard to graduate from college, and over a 4.5 year time span and 20 credit semesters i finally achieved my goal. My final GPA was a 3.45 which means i missed honors by .5 of a point.. BUMMER.. but to be walking across that stage with my parents and aunts, uncles, and cousins it meant the world to me. It was the first thing in my life i had worked at for over 4 years and ACCOMPLISHED.. oh and i was 8 weeks pregnant here too! haha

Then came justin leaving.. he left early may for canada to play baseball. One thing i can say is that yes, distance may make the heart grow fonder.. BUT IT SHOULDNT HAVE TO HAPPEN THE FIRST YEAR OF A MARRIAGE! haha we have had our fair share of the ups and downs while jus has been gone, mostly good.. but i will be honest and say he does look mighty fine in baseball pants.

THEN COMES THE GOOD MEMORIES FROM THIS SUMMER.. jus was unfortunately hurt and came home for a month. it sucked because i knew his heart wasnt home, it was with his team playing ball, but we enjoyed getting a chance to be together and make memories. One friday jus, myself, and my parents all packed up and went up to mccall for a weekend. it was really relaxing and fun to get driz our puppy into the water. the weekend went too fast.. LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES WHEN YOURE HAVING FUN.. but well have to go again sometime soon.

This is our first house! Its bittersweet for me, i mean of course i adore it and the location, but i cannot lie and say making the purchase without justin really broke my heart. If youve ever had to buy a house, you will know how detailed it is, and truly how time consuming the entire process can get. I have been very fortunate that this experience has been postive. I found the listing on one of the first days i started our search, and went to see it within 24 hours. After walking around the home I knew instantly that this was something both myself and justin would love. We put an offer on it on a thursday night and by friday morning we had signed the contract saying it was ours. talk about a fast process. the seller has been SO helpful and so willing to do the things ive asked of him. The bittersweet part comes to play when i sit and think about all the things a newly married couple gets to do together. One of the biggest first memories is buying a house and going through that process together. I knew had to act on this deal quickly or we would lose our chance, but it didnt make it any easier having to go at it alone. Justin is also in canada most of the time so it makes even communication on the phone a challenge due to international phone bill costs. He did get to see our house before we put the offer in and he agreed it was perfect for us. All in all im very glad I was able to find this for my family, i just wish we could have done it together and shared the satisfaction in knowing WE did it together.


This year has been a whirlwind.. but i would change it for anything. I have the best parents and inlaws anyone could ever ask for, a husband who is amazing, a puppy who i adore so much, a HOUSE closing on august 26th, its about to be football season which means tailgates and amazing food, A job with amazing children and my best friend Kyrie, and a little boy i love so much it hurts.. CARTER OWEN MACE. (which by the way ladies an update with little man.. HE IS GETTING SO BIG! he weights about a pound now and i feel him moving and grooving all the time!!! over halfway done which means about 18 more weeks to go!)


My quote lately has been..

"If God leads you to it, He'll get you through it.."

HAVING FAITH IN EVERYTHING AND KNOWING I CAN MAKE IT UNTIL SEPTEMBER AND OUR HOUSE CLOSES AND MY HUSBANDS HOME.. EVEN IF ITS A LITTLE MISERABLE AND STRESSFUL RIGHT NOW!

Our Prince Charming: Carter Owen Mace

My Husband and I found out today we are expecting our first baby BOY!!! We couldn't wait until the normal 20 week ultrasound that our OB gives, so we chose to go to Fetal Fotos for an early gender scan! We walked in and it was very peaceful in the office. The staff was so sweet to us from the word go.. (we had both my parents there to witness the u/s) which can be a lot when your crammed into a room trying to get pictures of a baby! Lisa our u/s tech was so caring and took her time to really explain what everything was that we were looking at. First she wanted to get a really good profile of our baby for us. Of course Jus and I wanted to know the sex right away, but she took her time which we actually valued because we enjoyed the u/s more!

This is the profile shot she was able to take of our baby! He was so squirmy and moved so much! it was incredible to see because the last time we saw our lil jelly bean he was 7 weeks along and didnt move at all! As she worked to get his hearbeat I saw a peak at his lil parts and i knew INSTANTLY he was a boy! I kept quiet though because i didnt want to get daddies hopes up and be wrong! I let Lisa ask Jus and my parents if they were ready to know what we were having! Of course they all were like YES! TELL US! and she asked me if i knew and i said ohhh yea, i saw the boy parts a little earlier! She laughed and agreed and said, "THIS IS ALL BOY FOR SURE!" at that point jus was laughing with excitement because ever since he was old enough to contemplate babies of his own he's always wanted to have a son to play baseball with and im so thankful we could create that for him!

He is all boy... which doesnt surprise me since his papa is so manly! :) I was in aw of how beautiful our children were going to be if they looked anything like Jus when he was a little boy.. he had golden blonde hair and a smile that could melt his mama's heart! I just know he is going to pass that heartmelter mentality onto our baby boy! <3 After she was able to 100% tell us were having a boy she kind of rested the u/s device on my belly which made him not move as much, and we were able to get an amazing shot of our baby stretching!

We were also able to count his little toes which is amazing to me because he is only about 5 inches from head to bummy right now so those toes have to be VERY TINY.. but they were so defined and all 5 were there on the foot we could see :) I am starting to grow everyday and i love it so much! I havent been able to feel the baby very much.. (if i am even feeling him at all) I actually just guess im feeling him but i never know if its gas.. haha I found out today i have an anterior placenta which means it sits in between the baby and me.. it might make feeling his kicks hard and i might have to wait longer to feel them regularly! that is a bummer but we have a home doppler and that makes it so much easier when you get worried in between doctor visits! :)

This is my 15+4 Week Belly!

All in all my life is so beautiful right now! I couldnt ask for a more supportive husband or family! my parents have been through this pregnancy right by my side and without them i dont know what i would have done this summer with jus gone for baseball for some time. I am so excited to have the baby shower and decorate the nursery! Its going to be a battle though because jus is SET on baseball and i am SO artsy i want to do something vintage and fun! haha but a dad and his boy is something that i marvle at.. he makes me a better person, and for that, this baby is going to be so loved and taken care of! It seems like yesterday i had a sorta pink line on that pregnancy test, and now to know we created a baby BOY together, it blows my mind! At times in a person life, you reflect on the joys around you.. my joys are so simple but so meaningful and the very same time. I have a husband who i adore, and who treats me so beautiful every single day. I have a mom and dad who would do anything to see me happy and healthy.  A brother and sister in law who make me smile just thinking about them. A brother in law who cares about his family more than he does himself. A mother in law that most arent lucky enough to enjoy. Amazing and loyal friends who have stood by me and jus through this whole marriage and pregnancy. And last but CERTAINLY not least... A son, a beautiful, growing, SON!!!!!! <3 Im thankful for what i have and whats to come!

MY AMAZING PARENTS... HOW DID I GET SO BLESSED!!!