'P & Me' Winter Coats

Every time I find myself coming back to this place I am telling you why I haven't been writing in a while and so, that is going to start to change. I had to get 'used' to being a mama to a new baby for a while and now I'm slowly getting the hang of being a mama to an almost 3 month old. It has been fun so far! What I find most fun is seeing Penelope grow every day, make new noises, start noticing her toys, smile, look at me and dressing her! Dressing her has become way too much fun that sometimes I just stand in her closet and start planning outfits - crazy mama...I know. Anyway, I had mentioned a few posts back before this little chickie made her appearance that I was starting a new edition to the blog - 'P & Me', featuring big and little outfits for the both of us! All of the outfits are inspired by my personal style, our environment, and the things we like to do!

This particular edition focuses on winter coats. I had decided to post this a couple weeks ago when we had a bit of a cold front - and by cold front here in Texas I mean anything under 50 degrees! I frantically went online to find her a winter coat because all of the coats we have are too big for her! So-- I came up with these outfits for the both of us to wear on a weekend outing!

P's Outfit Details : Faux Fur Hooded Coat, Chambray Shirt, Minnetonka Boot, Floral Pant

My Outfit Details: Red & Black Coat, Distressed Jeans , Baseball Tee, Black Chuck Taylors

Happy Tuesday!

A Birth Story.

My last post was the Sunday before little miss Penelope decided to make her first appearance. Penelope Dot finally came into the world on Thursday November 13, 2014 at 2:06pm, after her mama was in labor for about 14-15 hours. She was 6 lbs and 15 ounces and 19.75 inches of pure perfection. In the midst of all the chaos, hoots, and cheering in the delivery room (and it was chaos- like a Kardashian episode with everyone and their mother in the delivery room) my little sweet miracle was placed right onto my chest and all I could do was cry (yep, so emotional) before they took her to run some tests. It was the most surreal, exhausting, yet important and satisfying moment in my entire life. I can’t even explain the feeling, except that out of all of the tears and exhaustion that led up to that moment, when I saw her little face, it seemed as though the world just stopped for sheer seconds and everything just fell into place.

So onward to the events leading up to that perfect moment. Side note: I figured I would write in detail about Penelope’s birth for myself to cherish and remember and for her one day to read. I’m apologizing in advance for all the detail.  I started writing this blog because I wanted somewhere to document our life, to remember every important moment, every crazy fashion idea I had, and somewhere to cater to my need for an outlet to express my feelings (or to just plain write when I felt the urge). It is certainly an added bonus if people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing on here! So here we go….

Wednesday November 12, 2014

I woke up after a seemingly content night of sleep (which didn’t happen often those last couple months), took a shower, and dressed for my 39 week doctor appointment. All the while I was hoping the doctor would tell us I was somewhat dilated and she was coming soon. The doctor explained to us that I was about 1 to 1.5 centimeters dilated but baby was not coming yet and if she didn’t come by my 40^th week, she would induce. I could see David felt way too anxious and wanted that baby NOW but for some reason I was a little more at peace, knowing she’d come when she was ready (hopefully sooner rather than later). Doc recommended walking as much as possible to help bring the baby down and get her ready to come on out. I took her advice to the extreme and left the doctor’s office and decided I would walk her out and so began the rest of the day.

I was on maternity leave already to give myself a week or so before she arrived to relax from a crazy couple months at work. After my doctor’s appointment I went to Costco (one of my fav places to walk around), got myself a fountain drink, and walked around and around, buying things I didn’t need. Afterwards, I bundled up because it was a rare cold day in Texas and went to the outdoor mall here to walk around as well. I walked around for about 2 hours, buying hats and scarves to satisfy my shopping addiction, using the excuse that it was finally cold and I needed warmer clothing here ; ) The rest of the day I spent walking Romeo around the development, ironing all of David’s work clothes (don’t ask why!), and doing some DIY projects for Penelope’s nursery. I kept myself SUPER busy and on my feet as much as I could.

David came home around 7pm from work that night, we ate dinner…a pretty unhealthy dinner but oh well! I took a shower and did my hair that night, just in case this baby wanted to come the next day, her mama would look somewhat decent! Around 11pm I decided I was finally tired and climbed into bed. As I was trying to find a comfortable sleep position, I felt a cramp coming on but didn’t think much of it, as these would come every now and then and go away. About 8 minutes later another one came on and I just insisted it was nothing and continued to try and fall asleep. This lasted for about an hour until they were about 4 minutes apart and I decided to tell David. He shot out of bed and got dressed immediately, saying we needed to get to the hospital. Despite my freak out nature, for some reason I was extremely calm and explained to him that I wanted to wait a little while. So, being my crazy self, I went into the bathroom and did my makeup (as any insane pregnant woman would? Probably not, but I never said I was normal). David sat there staring at me as if I was a complete lunatic and had lost my mind. The contractions kept coming until finally I said, “OK let’s go.”

We arrived at the hospital around 1 am, only to find out that I was still about 1.5cm dilated (ugh) but the contractions were coming on about 3-4 minutes apart. The nurses suggested I walk around the floor for a couple hours to make the baby drop and hopefully make her want to come a little sooner. David and I walked and walked around that hospital floor until about 4am, stopping every 2-3 minutes while I gripped the wall in somewhat manageable pain, sipping ice water, and going round again. By 6 am, I was about 3-4 cm dilated and the doctor decided to break my water and see where we would go from there. The nurses kept suggesting an epidural but my original crazy plan was to not have a plan (doesn’t make sense but to me it did.) I didn’t want to go in thinking I would have an epidural or I wouldn’t. I went into this experience knowing that I wanted to feel the contractions and decide from there how I would proceed. I kept putting the epidural off, even after a nightmarish episode of having contractions 2 minutes apart while 5 nurses tried to give me an IV to no success at all. My arms were bruised, poked and prodded, and then I got extremely sick for a good 10 minutes before I was given something for the nausea. Labor was starting off on a great foot (not so much!).

Early in the morning Kelli (my BFF) and her mama (who had been visiting that week) came to give us some company, keep David awake, and provide some moral support.

A half hour after my water had been broken (the craziest feeling in the world), I went from about 3-4 centimeters dilated to about 6-7 and then came some of the most intense pain I have ever felt in my life. The contractions came on even closer together and so intense that I just clutched David, making some of the craziest noises I have ever heard to get through them. Breathing techniques went out the window and low moaning was all I could do to get through them (and a little more nausea). Kelli would occasionally feed me ice chips while assuring me that the baby was soon coming and this would be over! I was determined to get through the pain but finally by about 7 centimeters dilated and intense contractions coming every 1.5 minutes, I shed a few tears and told David to get the nurse because I needed the epidural pronto.

After I was given the epidural, the pain almost immediately subsided and I was able to relax despite my blood pressure dropping a bit which made me somewhat dizzy and sick. I was finally able to shut my eyes and rest a little before baby girl decided she wanted to meet us. I rested for about 2 hours with the nurse sporadically checking to see if Miss P was ready to come, even laughed a little bit with everyone in the room. Finally at around 1:30pm, we were ready to start pushing!

I pushed and pushed for about 35ish minutes (not too bad, I must say) and gave it my all, until finally my mom came in the delivery room (having finally made it from the airport). I pushed 2 more times with every last bit of energy I could muster, hoping that she would come because I didn’t know how much I had left in me and …. there she was. My little piece of perfection decided to show up at 2:06pm (she waited for her yiayia to make it to the hospital to make her first appearance. I held her until the nurses took her to check on her. She had swallowed a little bit of fluid when coming out and was struggling a bit to breathe but after 10 minutes was perfectly fine (and after I had about 7 heart attacks in those 10 minutes). They swaddled her up and she soon met everyone in the delivery room that had been anxiously awaiting her arrival all day.

That day and half will be etched in my memory forever. The strength it took, the exhaustion, the tears (few but there) that were shed, and the ultimate gift we received after it all, will be the most rewarding, best moment in my entire life. Having David walk with me, pause with me, stand there while I squeezed and clutched him,  got sick as he held the bag, cried as he cheered and pushed me along and fed me ice chips, telling me I could do it, was something I will never forget. Having Kelli reassure me that it would soon be over, my blood pressure was coming back to normal (so I wouldn’t feel sick anymore), feeding me ice chips, and even holding a dead weight leg while pushing (I so owe her), again is something that I will always remember.

This little being that David and I created made her way into the world and completely changed ours forever in that brief second we first laid eyes on her. I can’t put into words how much we love and adore her, stare at her all day, and marvel over the fact that she’s ours and we’re hers, forever. 

Thoughts on Pregnancy : Third Trimester

This little love goblin (and I mean that in the most loving, sincere, best thing in my life way) taking up every last bit of space that is left in this ever-expanding belly of mine as of late, should be here within the next 11days-ish. I added the "ish" because I'm hoping it's sooner- not because I am so unbelievably excited to be up at all hours through the night to console a crying baby, having some extra weight to figure out how to lose, not wearing makeup or washing my hair for that matter...but I just want to see this baby (and be able to breathe normally again). Being on semi-couch rest/take it easy and don't go to work-rest, isn't so much fun either....but that's another story : )

This last trimester has made everything so so real. From getting the nursery together (it's still a work in design progress), to washing all of little P's clothes and getting them ready for when she comes home, sending back two car seats, a stroller, and a pack n play, until I finally found the ones I wanted and liked, and feeling her growing body take up more and more room as she moves around daily.

The third trimester also came with some not so fun moments. Getting bigger and bigger is not the best feeling and having exhaustion that hit me in the first trimester reintroduce itself wasn't so great. I have been working up until this week and although it has kept me busy (extremely busy), it's nice to have some time before she gets here to catch up on sleep, finalizing last minute needs, and some tv shows! The nesting phase has definitely hit as well. I have never had a more organized closet. All of my handbags are now cleaned out (I found all the lipsticks I have been missing for the last year), and the house has never looked so clean.

David has been getting ready too...and by ready I mean making me get rid of my pretty convertible and buying a new baby approved car. Oh the sacrifices we make ; )

I figured I would share some of photos from this last trimester before little P gets here : ) (Hopefully sooner rather than later!)

Have a good weekend : )

Sharing for Thursday. #HeforShe

We need more women like this in the world or maybe we all just need to start speaking up : ) This was an incredibly beautiful speech by Emma Watson regarding gender inequality and that word we all tread lightly around, feminism. My main belief is that it is good to believe in something and this completely expresses that. 

Thought I'd share. Happy Thursday : )

The awesome and not so awesome.

Some great and not so great parts of my last week or so: 

Let's start with the not-so awesome. 

I slept for about 3 hours on Sunday night and went to work on Monday like a zombie, trying desperately to concentrate in the about 100 meetings that were unexpected for the day. It was a Monday for the books - infamously terrible with everything that could possibly go wrong at work, to rainy commutes with traffic, and a very tired preggo lady that just wanted to crawl back in bed the majority of the day. 

Tuesday seemed to start off a bit better until I got to my car and it wouldn't start. After about 20 minutes, I gave up. My almost new (7 month old) car just wouldn't start, which resulted in it being towed to the dealership for them to tell me that it needed a new battery. Like I said, not so awesome. 

Dairy Queen ran out of sprinkles. I don't really know what else to say but that. No chocolate ice cream or sprinkles. A plain vanilla cone just wasn't going to cut it.  

My belly is getting to the point where it just doesn't want to fit into some of the tops I had bought a few months ago, which makes dressing for work increasingly difficult every morning. Business casual has a whole new meaning and brings a whole new level of frustration to the table, when you're almost 8 months pregnant. 

Let's end things with the absolutely awesome. 

We had a 3D/4D sonogram done last week and it was so crazy awesome. We were able to see little P's face, her absolutely adorable and delicate little lips and her button nose, and her little hands which she keeps conveniently right by her face as if she's pondering something really interesting. We even caught her letting out a big yawn and biting her lip. It was so incredible sitting there connecting the movements I was feeling to what I was watching on the screen. 

Little P's crib is all ready to go! Her room is still not quite together but we did manage to get the crib together and in her room, along with her rocking chair and mounds upon mounds of clothing that this little girl has! I'll have to share some photos soon of her room. 

We had 60-70 degree weather on Saturday and that is HUGE! We've been experiencing the worst heat lately, although the locals have not failed to remind us that this was a mild summer here in San Antonio. We've been anxiously awaiting the cooler weather and though it didn't stay, Saturday was a nice little break from the monster heat and I was able to bust out the new fall coat I had recently bought. I was a happy girl! 

Halloween Oreos are now in Target. That is all. Oh and candy corn. 

My recently acknowledged online shopping addiction, which can be categorized as a 'bad' thing has brought me so much joy this week with little surprises every day in the mail. Okay, maybe not every day but every couple/few days. The best packages are the ones you forgot you ordered...it's like Christmas ; ) 

I'm a firm believer that good always follows a little bad, as you can see. So...this wasn't necessarily a complaining post, although I did indulge in a little complaining. What really matters is that we can appreciate the good things that are happening to us every day, and they are so so good. 

Have a happy rest of the week : ) 

'P' & Me - Casual Saturday Edition

No surprise, I am getting more and more excited for having a little mini-me soon to come to dress and hang out with all the time : ) I have been going online shopping crazy between baby needs, mama needs, and adorable outfits for little P. I wanted to share some of the different looks I've been putting together for P and myself. 

Saturdays are my favorite and I love having a super laid back, comfy look for Saturdays. It's been a little difficult with the heat here but I'm hoping it starts to cool off soon and I can start sporting jeans without being uncomfortable. I put together a casual Saturday look for Little P and for myself (below). 

P's outfit details - Mini Boden Quilted Jersey Jacket, Josefina Distressed cuff jeans, Freshly Picked metallic moccasin , Baby Bling (soft) headbands

My outfit details: Classic Baseball Tee, A&F Allie Boyfriend Jeans, New Balance for JCrew, Sole Society Wool Panama Hat

I created the looks on Polyvore, if you are interested in creating your own! 

Happy Saturday : )

A little peek into our lives lately, from my iPhone.

I can't wait for the new iPhone to come out (so soon!) because mine is literally on its last leg but....I was able to take some photos of some of our summer to share with you. We had a pretty low key summer with a few trips back home for weddings, baby shower, and family visits. We tried to beat the brutal heat here in Texas with lots of pool days but you can only stay in this scorching sun for so long before wanting to literally buy yourself a walk-in freezer to live for a few days. We also took some day trips to explore a little bit around San Antonio and....we are so guilty of trying WAY too many restaurants and eating our way through San Antonio most weekends. I tell myself I'm allowed right now : ) Hope you enjoy the photos!

A few photos from my friend Aileen's wedding day back home where we visited for the week and had the chance to celebrate with her. So much fun! 

Always eating our way through the weekends. We took these photos after literally gorging on food at a Brazilian Steakhouse in downtown San Ant. Yum.

Pool days, followed by my feet up and relaxing at night with this bump (Little P)!

Texas nights! This is a really neat little outdoor beer garden/bar locale with bands playing, outdoor games, and food trucks lining the perimeter every night. This ALSO is the place where we found ACTUAL philly cheesesteaks and they were ACTUALLY good! 

Gruene, Texas is a small little town with a famous old dancehall where some of the most famous country singers have performed. The town (about 40 minutes from where we live) is lined with old little boutiques, a general store, and a outdoor restaurant (where we sat in 100+ degree weather and tried to enjoy a meal, yikes!). We had fun exploring there one day and hope to go back to catch a show! (No, I didn't have the baby back ribs but I'm sure they were delicious. I just loved that sign!)

We moved in early August to a new place not too far from where we were living and we absolutely love it...and so does Romeo. 

Of course we have overloaded on Target trips. This photo here is one of my fav little ones and of course is 'fiyur twuck". 

The bump just keeps getting bigger! Two months to go, until we can meet little P. More pool days to cool off because September is killing us over here! We need some northern fall weather!

Soccer game fun during some breezy nights...before the downpour caught us. It was refreshing! 

Hope you all are having a good week! 

coconut oil for everything.

Coconut Oil has taken over my life lately, in the absolute best way. I'm obsessed and figured I would praise it a little bit over here so you all can be obsessed with me. Texas weather is hot, dry, and draining which isn't fun for my skin. Despite having to wear sunscreen all the time to avoid the early onset of the inevitable wrinkles and the constant heat rashes my arms endure, my skin has completely gone from dewey and glowing to dry and just plain blah. 

I don't have much of a skincare ritual besides being extremely vigilant about washing my face before bed and getting all of the makeup and residue off and normally just putting on some moisturizer (the most basic because my skin literally will blow up if someone brushes up against me). I read a few articles on coconut oil a little while back and decided to try coconut oil instead of my normal moisturizer. If I'm being totally honest, I was completely hesitant at first. Who wants to put straight oil on their face....especially oil that is used for cooking, coffee sweetener, and many other things? I did it anyway, just to see what this hype was about and hopefully find a remedy to the beauty sucker that is called Texas weather. 

I used a small amount on my face every night to keep it moisturized and after a couple weeks, I saw a crazy difference. My not so fun pregnancy skin was free of any breakouts and redness. I've never been one to see any type of difference with new products and was always pretty easily discouraged, so I just kept to the basics but the difference I saw with just using pure coconut oil was incredible. I've been using it every night since then and throughout my pregnancy. I even slather it all over my belly every night, so not kidding. 

Seeing my belly keep growing has been an experience for me but I've been pretty crazy about not getting stretch marks, even though every pregnancy blog is basically screaming that they are inevitable. I lather my belly with the coconut oil every night and it keeps my skin nice and soft with no stretch marks as of yet, but we'll see for the next two months until Little miss P gets here. 

Aside from using it on my face and belly, I've also used it on minor rashes I get from the heat here and it's been a pretty good healer as well. I'm telling you, I'm completely obsessed! I know we are all going to get old one day and our skin isn't going to look like it did when we were 20 forever, but if something pure and natural like coconut oil can keep it looking a little better than before, I'm all for it. Hey, if I can walk out of my house and go to Target on a Saturday without makeup on and feel like I don't have to keep my sunglasses on while walking through the aisles, then this stuff has to be worth something!

So to end my rant, I completely recommend coconut oil for skincare. Yep, the same oil you probably use in your skillet while cooking, that one....just try it! 

Thoughts on Pregnancy - Second Trimester!

YES! That was my initial thought once that 14th week was over. I didn't wake up through the night feeling like I was going to hurl and grabbing ferociously in the dark for the saltine cracker box. I was able to eat eggs for breakfast without wanting to vomit at the first scent, and I actually had energy; a ton of it. I started walking my 4 miles or so every other day, yoga was actually relaxing again, I wasn't falling asleep in the bathroom at work anymore (big bonus) or heavy breathing through my meetings at work so I wouldn't get sick while talking over quarterly reports and premiums. Most of all, potato chips took a whole new role in my life and a rather big one (for about two weeks or so).

The second trimester was such a breeze compared to the first and I actually caught myself saying that I enjoyed being pregnant more than a handful of times. I felt like superwoman, not to brag or anything, because I'm sure almost every pregnant woman will say the same. I know this feeling is short lived but I savored every single moment during this time. I savored the return of my appetite and the slow progression of my growing belly; taking photos almost all of the time. It's a rather surreal and crazy experience to watch your body change drastically over these last several months. The changes take so many forms and at times can be scary and discouraging, while other times it is so rewarding and exciting to know that your baby is growing in there, every day.

Little Miss P, as we've been calling her around here (YEP, it's a GIRL!) started creating little butterfly flutters in my stomach this trimester. We found out we were having a girl at 17 1/2 weeks after begging our doctor to check before a trip we took home to Philadelphia. I remember sitting in the ultrasound room excited to see what this little being was going to be but just hoping she was healthy and happy. The tech told us it was a girl and it was the most exciting news we could imagine. Images of shopping, arts & crafts, and a little mini-me did cross my mind almost immediately (is that bad? I don't care if it is!). We had so many ideas for names at that point for a girl and had been struggling with names for a boy...but then we chose something entirely different for her name after some searching. We think her name is perfect but we'll reveal it later. Fo rnow, we call our little girl "Little P" : )

She took a little longer to start moving than I thought she would but I distinctly remember being in a morning meeting at work, right after I had breakfast. As I'm sitting there listening to a planning meeting for the upcoming quarter, I felt as though a bubble had burst against my stomach out of nowhere. It caught me so off guard, I think the emotion was clearly visible all over my face. Immediately I smiled and knew that Little P was letting her mama know she was getting bigger. After that, I started regularly feeling her little twists, turns, and jabs almost every day. One of my favorite things to do at night (when she is the most active) while sitting on the couch relaxing, is to watch and feel her move. I stare at my stomach for 15 minutes at a time watching the little flutters and my stomach just move and she finds a comfortable spot. David laughs at times because I look like a lunatic, just staring at the large basketball stomach of mine without breaking concentration. I admit it, I'm crazy but it really is the coolest thing ever and probably one of my most favorite things about this pregnancy. The connection you feel when your baby is moving inside of you is so unreal but it's shared just between us both.

All of these amazing things happened this trimester and with them came some of the not so great points.  While my days are so energetic, my nights went from somewhat uncomfortable to completely uncomfortable. I wake up A LOT for bathroom breaks, tossing from side to side, and just from failing to find a satisfying spot where nothing aches. I do miss my sleep because generally I'm a really good sleeper. The only thing that I have found to be somewhat soothing and allows me to sleep for longer periods of time without waking up uncomfortable is stretching and doing some yoga poses before bed. If I can stretch my legs and relax my body before I lie down, I've noticed I wake up fewer times and sleep for longer periods of time.

Another not so great aspect of this trimester is the body changes that you are not expecting and at the same time, attempting to accept this new body when you were so used to the old one! There are some days when I just don't feel awesome and the big belly and wider hips I'm sporting makes me feel like a huge waffle - or something like that. I'll admit at times that I have to remind myself that I'm blessed to be able to have this experience and bring this little life into the world and that my body is strong enough to be able to do so but as all changes hit us; they take some time getting used to. Just have to keep reminding myself that we as women go through this life altering experience because we are strong enough to do so and our bodies do amazing things during this time. It really is crazy but we receive the most beautiful gift in return.

Anyway, now that I have ranted on and on, I will leave you with this: the second trimester was extremely fun and great for me. I was able to get to connect with Little P and it's where pregnancy took a whole new meaning for me. Now as I hit the third trimester, I'm starting to see more changes but I will tell you about that another time : )

Thoughts on Pregnancy - First Trimester

It's been awhile and I know, that phrase is used all too much on this blog but I haven't really been able to pinpoint what is road blocking my creatively lately to keep it up, but it's something. I'm not sure if it's EVERYTHING that has been swirling around in this whole big world of mine for the last 8 or so months, but I'm blaming it on that. Big wedding, big move, big new jobs, and baby, and now another move (only across the highway! thankfully!).

Anyway, so I know one of my last posts was about David and I having a baby (yay!) and I regret not keeping up to date with this blog as my pregnancy progressed but I have some time to reflect right now and I figured why not? The sole purpose of this blog - if not to give me an outlet for creativity and writing, was to look back and have something where our lives and the crazy turns they take, are documented. The good and the bad, I always say. So let me get down to the good and the bad of pregnancy and what I've learned so far.

As a foreword- I am not claiming to be some all-knowing preggo lady that has ALL the advice for other baby carrying superheroes out there, so please do not take anything I am saying offensively. This space here is just for me to reflect on my life, feelings, and perspective : )

First Trimester 

I was on a complete cloud of fluffy goodness yet sheer panic and anxiety when we found out that little P was going to be joining our super little fam in 9 months. It was a little bit of a surprise but the best surprise we could have possibly imagined. We were just in the beginning of settling in our new home in San Antonio, adjusting to new positions/careers, and missing our family pretty badly; so it definitely brought a big burst of sunshine into our crazy hectic lives and gave us something so incredibly awesome to look forward to and experience. 

I was pretty tired, sick, and moody in the beginning. I'll admit it because I know David would say this if he were writing this blog - good thing he isn't. Everything made me feel sick and tired, besides the peanut butter chocolate soy banana smoothies I'd have every morning to get rid of my nausea and be able to stomach the prenatal vitamins I dreaded having to take. I lived on saltine crackers, my PB Chocolate Soy Banana Smoothies, and baked potatoes for the first 14 weeks of my pregnancy. The upside to this (which I was completely scared of for a long while) was that I didn't really gain much weight at all in the first trimester, so I didn't really feel like my body was different and to be honest, I didn't really feel pregnant besides the nausea. My body felt the same. 

On the downside - my workouts took a backseat which was a little excruciating for me. I'm a pretty avid walker, Jillian Michaels and Yoga guru. I love to walk about 4 miles a day for at least 4 days a week on a normal basis (I hate running, yet I do that when I'm feeling extra motivated) and I follow Jillian Michaels workouts like my life depends on it but more so my behind and my legs/arms. I also love my yoga and occasional meditating afterwards. During my first trimester, all of those workouts felt like I was running a marathon and was never going to make it. I pushed myself to walk every day but it was rough and I could get through about 50 minutes of yoga but either wanted to vomit or take a nap afterwards. I tried to keep it up but my fitness suffered pretty badly my first trimester and so that was one of the downs of pregnancy for me in the beginning. On the bright side, I was able to savor a lot of good sleep in that first trimester before the sleepless nights that I'm experiencing now hit!

Anyway, physically like I mentioned, I didn't feel pregnant and at times I actually felt really bad about myself because I wasn't exactly feeling "connected" with this little being growing inside of me. I'd tell David some nights that I felt like a terrible person because I'm not feeling a connection with the baby and that was a little hard to swallow at first until our second ultrasound. During our second ultrasound, the tech was chitchatting up a storm, as I saw this little body with legs kicking and jumping pop up on the screen. The tech handed me a mint and said "Eat it and watch what happens." So I did. In a few minutes, the little being I was watching intently on the screen starting doing little somersaults. David looked at me with his mouth wide open and said "wow, that's a baby." He has such great reactions people! It was honestly one of the coolest moments I have ever experienced. I couldn't feel the movements but watching them on screen as they were projected from what was happening inside of me was utterly amazing. That was my baby. We didn't find the gender out at that appointment but we did later on, which I will tell you about in my next post! 

After that appointment, we were so happy and excited to meet this little jelly bean! The rest of the first trimester went the same until about 14 weeks, when I miraculously was given my energy back and potato chips became my best friend for about a good 2-3 weeks. I'll tell you about that next time. I think I've gone overdrive on baby talk for one post!

Happy Tuesday!

Morning thoughts and a baby!

It's morning on a Saturday and I'm sitting at the kitchen table while everyone is asleep; toast with peanut butter and some OJ right beside me and I can't stop thinking wow...how did I get here? Not really here in this moment with my PB toast and OJ because well, that's my normal morning routine but...here....married for now exactly 6 months, living in San Antonio, in a completely different career that I stumbled upon but that I'm really good at, and now with a baby on the way in 5 or so months. We definitely move fast, swallowing change in every gulp, but at in this same moment, I couldn't imagine my life any different with all of it's hectic yet exciting change, filled with so much happiness, and excitement.

If you had told me last year around this time that I would be living in San Antonio, doing what I'm doing, and expecting a baby, I probably would have laughed and said, "Absolutely not." Things change though and our desires change with them....and I couldn't be happier that they do. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a momma, probably before I decided that I wanted to get married (ever). I always knew that it was something I was meant to do at some point in my life and that it would be one of the most important things I'd ever do and one of the most fun, enjoyable, and rewarding things I'd experience. Once we were married, the desire became such a reality for us.

So here I am, anticipating what's next on our journey but I'm liking where it's heading and it's refreshing to know that life can change in such drastic ways but it can cause you to bend and be so open to all of the joy it can bring.

So yep...a baby. We kept it secret for a little while except to our family because it's virtually impossible to keep anything from them, even 1800 miles away. We decided to tell all of our friends and everyone we hadn't told a couple weeks ago because we really just couldn't keep it secret any longer and we are so unbelievably excited. Romeo is pretty excited, can't you tell?

Little Baby B or Peabody as we call it right now, is coming November 2014 and it's honestly one of the most overwhelmingly awesome things I've ever experienced (except for the constant nausea in the first few weeks). So here's to life's constant changing, exciting, and overwhelming rhythm. That's what makes it so worth it. 

Exploring

We took a mini road trip on Saturday to Fredericksburg, Texas. Some backstory - as David and I sat on the couch Saturday morning, I was looking on the internet for something to do or some where to go and I stumbled across this blog - The Daytripper. We ended up sitting on the couch for another 45 minutes watching mini-episodes of Chet Garner's visits throughout Texas. We watched one dedicated to Fredericksburg, Texas which is conveniently about a 50 minute drive from where we live.

Fredericksburg, Texas is an old town just northwest of San Antonio where German settlers founded many years ago and now it still is here with its old-time charm and heavy German influence as a landing for the every day tourist...and....us of course. We hopped in the car and ended up making the mini trip to Fredericksburg to see what it was about.

I brought along my camera which prompted David and Kelli to make fun of me the entire trip (apparently being associated with a 'super tourist' wasn't fun). Yes, I shamefully admit that I'm a super tourist. Anyway, Fredericksburg held up its bargain on the charm...

Main Street was lined with little shops and boutiques and tons of people meandering in and out for the majority of the day. We stopped in a few to buy some fudge (of course), popcorn (three different flavors, I might add), and world famous BBQ sauce (David's pick for the day). We explored for a while and walked past most of the charming antique shops (or else I would have spent all of my money), and then to beat the heat found a quaint little restaurant where we had an early dinner.

Here are some photos of our fun little adventure : )

Hat: Urban Outfitters (last season) (similar) Jeans: Anthropologie Top: Forever21  Sunnies: Raybans (similar) 

Bag: Goyard Flip Flops: Tory Burch 

I thought I'd share a little outfit photo as well for the day! 

Enjoy!

Easter and things.

While we missed being home this past weekend to spend Easter with the rest of our family, we did have some fun enjoying the nice weather and spending time with family here : ) I've been lousy at keeping up with the blog lately. Lots of big things have been going on in our world the past 6 months or so, and sometimes you get immersed in "living" (which isn't so bad!) that it's difficult to find time to sit down and write (I need to be better at that!).

I did take some photos this weekend - so I will share those with you all!

There's an awesome vintage candy shop that just opened near us and my BFF Kelli and I went there this weekend while David decided to do more yard work. We got lost in the candy shop with all of the exotic gummy bear flavors and truffles. Note: do not go into the cutest candy shop when you are starving....

The truffles. Amazing.

We decided to just keep going that day and tried burgers at BurgerFi. Reminded me of Shake Shack burgers but all organic : ) Super yummy.

We spent Easter Sunday with my aunt, uncle, and cousins at their home. Isn't this kid's table set-up absolutely adorable? : ) 

and..the adult's table : ) 

Romeo being...Romeo. After this photo was taken he decided he wanted to take the sheets and quilt off of the bed...just because. We love him...most days ; )

Hope your Easter holiday was filled with happy : ) 

xoxo

Lazy weekends.

We've had a few of these lately as we gear up for pretty eventful summer and fall seasons. Weddings, graduations, and maybe a few mini trips thrown in the mix are on our radar for the next few months!

This weekend we were blessed with some 80 degree, sunny weather! We had lunch outside at a nearby ice house and then bought an abundance of flowers so David could spruce up the front and back yard. 

Somehow he also convinced himself to buy a new lawn mower and get to work. I sat in my lounge chair, in the sun, fully supporting his choice to do some yard work...reading my People Magazine. 

I also figured I'd start including some outfit posts on here to liven things up a bit since I've been MIA for the past month. 

We had visitors every weekend and then decided to lie low for a while to recuperate : ) 

So here ya go, my extremely laid back outfit choice this weekend- which has become a trend the past few! The weather was 'iffy' for a few weeks - bouncing from cold to warm but now it has nestled in the very pleasant 70s-80s most days. I'm not quite ready to bust out the summer wardrobe (although it did find its place in my closet over the past few weekends) so I have been opting for more comfy and cooler options while we kind of just bop around on the weekends.

Top: Anthropologie (similar here)

Jeans:  Distressed Koral Boyfriend Jean from Anthropologie (similar here)

Shoes: Prabal Garung for Target (old) 

Bag: Kate Spade Saturday Collection

Sunnies: Marc by Marc Jacobs Cat Eyes (similar here)