A Sweet Reveal

The pun in the title of this post is TOTALLY intentional. These cupcakes were divine and made special by Just Freshly Baked, our favorite local bakery.

We had the BEST time last weekend with our families and a few friends as we celebrated the big reveal of whether we are having a girl or a boy. 

My guess had been a girl all along. Kev had staked his claim on a boy. I didn't mind losing that bet one bit. We were so thrilled to watch the faces of our family members as they bit into the cupcakes, the center of which revealed the color blue. It was fun seeing who guessed what (half of the cupcakes were topped with blue icing and half were topped with pink). I'm so thankful that so many got to come! And those who couldn't make it were surely missed.

I remember that Kevin's mom thought it was a girl as did both of my parents. Bub was really hoping for a boy.

So thankful that kid's wish came true ;).

But no matter the variety of guesses, everyone was ecstatic to learn that a baby boy would soon be joining the Boyd/Webb/Griffis/Blile/Dickerson clan. I couldn't be more thankful for and humbled by the love and support and tangible excitement from our family. Uncle Bruce, Aunt Jennifer, and the boys even drove all the way from Alabama to find out. Just for the day! 

What an incredible group of people to raise a child alongside. I can't wait (and I mean this) to watch as our sweet little man is passed from one person to the next, showered with love and kisses by the people we've loved the longest. Warms my heart just thinking about it.

Kevin and I are so thankful for all of the preparation that went into making the weekend so perfect.

Thank you, EVERYONE, for showering our little family with so much love.

We love you more and more.

Welcome to the family, 

Nolan.

You are so loved already.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Have you ever loved someone (and I mean reeeeeally loved someone) that you didn't think it was even remotely possible to love them even just a little bit more? 

This guy:

Just when I think I can't love this man any more than I already do, he gives me yet another reason to. What was so special this time? Oh, nothin'. He just became a dad ;).

Kevin celebrated his 25th birthday in style this year. I was determined to make it extra special. His birthday fell on the same day we were scheduled for our next doctor's appointment (April 3rd). And at this appointment, we found out the gender of our baby. Coincidence? I think not. 

Happy birthday, Daddy!

I rode into work with a friend Thursday morning so that Kev could pick me up afterwards. The anticipation was building all around me throughout the course of the day. My co-workers' and students' excitement for us was contagious. I couldn't help but count down the hours and minutes to getting to see our babe again. How had it changed since our "gummy bear" encounter 10 weeks ago? We could hardly wait to see.

When we got to the doctor's office, we didn't wait long before heading back to the ultrasound room. We told the lady that we didn't want to know the gender and asked her to keep it on the hush-hush when it came time to examine that part. She complied. What Kev didn't know is that I was peeking the entire time and knew well before he did whether or not we would try raising a little girl or a little man first. All a part of my b-day plan.

Our ultrasound technician is such a southern belle. Not a very personable type of gal, but her southern accent is adorable. She rubbed my swollen belly with warm jelly and began the examination process. Kev and I eagerly watched as our baby immediately flashed up onto the black and white, fuzzy screen. The technician began the intricate process of taking all of the vital measurements of our youngun'. The femur, the head, the heart, and so many other parts and areas I couldn't even begin to name. "It" was awfully squirmy and didn't make things easy on the sweet woman. I loved watching "it" kick and feeling it at the same time. So surreal. It eventually came time to check, well...you know, while the baby was in a good position, so Kev and I "looked away." Confession: I didn't look away at all. 

It was all I could do to hold back my smile as the ultrasound technician wrote 

IT'S A BOY!!!

across the top of the screen.

Meet...our SON!

Cutest little profile I ever did see.

We left praising the Lord for the health of our little one. Everything measured as "normal" and he is growing at a perfect rate. I kept staring at all of the pictures over and over the whole way home. Again...so in awe of my God and His faithfulness.

As soon as we got home, I bolted upstairs to wrap Kevin's birthday gift. The perfect gift to reveal the gender! I wrapped a pair of navy blue baby Toms I had ordered weeks prior along with the ultrasound picture declaring "IT'S A BOY!!!" plus a little card stating: 

"Happy Birthday, Daddy! Love, your son"

I videoed the whole thing. Kev's expression after opening that little box was priceless.

Within minutes, we had officially decided on his name and were eagerly anticipating sharing the news with family and friends that weekend. Until then, we celebrated. We met some friends for dinner at Kev's b-day dinner pick (the Schnitzel Shack) and relished in the fact that our son would grow and grow and one day join us. 

Until then...we wait.

p.s. Hooray for being halfway there!

An Infatuation

My body is changing. There is just no denying it. I am 18 weeks and 5 days today. I know there will be seasons when throughout my bodily changes I'll be tempted to gripe and complain and wish I had my "old body back." But for now...

I am truly infatuated with it all. 

I want to remember this time in my pregnancy. This very moment. When I knew what it felt like to whole-heartedly embrace the sleeping, the stretching, the itching, and the widening. There is LIFE inside of me. And it brings me more joy to know that my belly will grow and my body will adjust so that soon, he or she will be here to love on and to learn from. So that one day, my husband can hold him or her for the first time. 

And I'll relish in that moment too. 

I bought my first items of maternity clothing this week: a couple of pairs of straight-leg jeans (a must-have in my wardrobe), a couple of sports bras (again...a must-have these days), a pair of shorts, and a little black dress. I had the best time sifting through all of the clothes I would one day grow into.

We'll know for forever and always whether we'll be raising a daughter or a son first in 5 days. FIVE DAYS! Kevin and I genuinely wish for nothing other than a healthy, steadily growing baby in there. Boy or girl...it makes no difference to us. Day dreaming about each brings huge smiles to our faces and fills our hearts with almost more excitement than we can contain.

So my prayer at this point in time goes a little something like this:

Lord, I recognize that you are the Sustainer of Life. And I am so thankful that you choose to sustain the little life inside of me. Please help me to embrace my body throughout the rest of my days as a pregnant mommy. And even in the days that follow. Remind my heart that my identity and confidence don't stem from the way I look on the outside. My identity and confidence come from who I am in You and what Jesus has already done for me. By the way, I'm just so thankful for a husband who will pause each day, just to lay next to me and try to feel our baby move. His small actions of love and affections say so much.

I love You, and my little family.

Yes-iversary

On March 19, 2010, I said "yes" to spending all of my days on earth attached to the hip of my best friend. Kevin's proposal was the BEST. We literally took to the skies. Let's just say an airplane, one of the greatest pilots, the 7th graders I was teaching at the time, and my playing hooky were all involved.  Those ingredients can only cook up one super-special and super-memorable proposal story. 

If you're a Facebooker, feel free to read all about it here.

So...happy "yes-iversary," babe! (Made that word up all by myself.)

It's so amazing to think back on that day, with the memories still very fresh in my mind, to where we are now. As we anticipate and dream about what it will be like to be parents, I'm just in awe of the Lord's goodness, and His unwavering love (no matter what my circumstances may try to convince me of) for His people.

Today goes down as one extra-special day in an additional way:

Hearing that little heartbeat could never get old. 

At a strong 149 beats per minute, the thump-thump-thumping sound filled the room one more time to affirm all of the changes my body is steadily going through. For the record, I had to use the old hair-tie trick on a pair of pants for the first time today. What a beautiful mess I'm in :). I've been feeling the little guy or girl move consistently. Coolest feeling in the WORLD. I absolutely love going for check-ups at the doctor; with Kev unashamedly right there with me. The more we interact with the ladies there, the more I fall in love with them. Our nurse's name is Kelly. Just for fun, she took a stab at what she thinks our babe will be. Her guess? A boy! 

Let the two-week countdown to finding out...begin!

Spring Break: An Orlando Getaway

My husband plans the best vacations. Big, small, and everywhere in between. I'm so thankful I married a planner. A last-minute planner at times (right, babe?) but still the best one I know. I tend to lean more towards going with the flow. A "we'll figure it out when we get there" kind of mindset. While fun at times, it's not always the most practical way of simultaneously enjoying and embarking on a fun getaway.

Que Kevin's phenomenal planning skills: 

We hit the road bound for Orlando, FL on Thursday morning. We made a slight detour (well worth the hour or so out of the way) to DeLeon Springs, FL and ate at the adorably delicious Old Spanish Sugar Mill. Located on the grounds of the DeLeon Springs State Park, it was the perfect pit stop to stretch our legs and fill our bellies. The short trail we walked was simply beautiful and the pancakes (made by you at your own table) were heavenly. The crystal clear natural springs accompanied with the picture perfect weather topped off the stop.

We made it to our beautiful resort in Orlando at almost 5:00 p.m. We hit some nasty traffic along the way.

I snapped this photo of our two-night home away from home:

After changing clothes super quickly, we made it, with plenty of time to spare, to our next destination.

 The show was called "La Nouba" which, in French, translates to "The Party." And a party it was! We had such a blast! We grabbed dinner close by at House of Blues before heading back to the hotel to crash for the night.

------------------------------

Anyone who's anyone knows that the Braves' Spring Training takes place in Orlando. 

Yep...you guessed it.

Our first Braves game as a family of three! Well...sort of.

Side note: Lawn seats are where it's at.

A "W" for the books, a delicious hot dog with all the fixin's, chocolate and vanilla swirl soft serve, and a giant Coke later...

I'd say it was a good day!

We spent the rest of our evening exploring our resort. 

Our night went a little something like this:

We've been asked if this counts as our "babymoon." We'd like to think that another fun trip is in our future before the babe joins us. So we'll call this our "pre- pre-baby" trip. 

Thank you, Kev, for the memories!

I just love you more and more.

Avocados

I have always been fond of avocados. Nothing special, really. I enjoy a good bowl of guacamole at a Mexican restaurant from time to time. You can even slap some on my burger, and I'd be fine with that. 

But lately...

they've held a special place in my heart. 

Er...uh...I mean belly. 

They just. taste. so. good.

I'll take some mashed in a bowl with Wheat Thins, Pita chips, tortilla chips, or Pretzel Crisps (yes please). On a burger, or on a sandwich, in a wrap, or on a salad (double yes please).

Kevin said this week of pregnancy would be my favorite, and he nailed it. 

Hello, week 16!

I feel great. My energy is back, the nausea is gone (I think), and I'm almost 99% positive I felt the baby move last night. It felt like a little gas bubble. Or like a popcorn kernel popping. And within a couple of minutes later, when I felt it again in the exact same spot, I couldn't help but wonder if that was the first of many love taps I'd get from this babe within me. I woke up this morning and felt one too! Sheer bliss. Most of my pants are super snug around the waist. I even rocked the BellaBand for the first time the other night because I couldn't get my jeans to button. Mommy joys :). I'm definitely trying to see them as joys and not woes. That goes for most of what I'm experiencing. Last night, I asked Kev arguably the question of all pregnancy questions: No matter what my body does or how it changes, you'll still think I'm the prettiest one right?

He is seriously the best.
And by the grace of God, my heart, mind, and soul will truly believe that he does.

We have our next follow-up appointment in a couple of weeks, and shortly after that we'll know the gender! So pumped. We literally don't care what we have. Either will be loved way more than he or she can stand.

But just for fun...Kev says boy and I say girl. One of us is bound to be right.

Love at First Sight

Four weeks is a long time. You can multiply that length times a bazillion (only a slight exaggeration) when you're waiting to see your little one for the very first time. Longest 4 weeks and 1 day EVER. But who was counting? ;) 

Kevin and I "met" our baby boy or girl on Tuesday, January 21st. Someone who has also seen it described it as a "gummy bear" and sure enough...our baby looked way more like a gummy bear than the usual peanut.

See?

That little guy or gal captured our hearts in that moment. You see...finding out you're pregnant is one thing. It's exciting, yes. You're overflowing with joy and happiness and thankfulness. Yes. But during that four weeks of waiting for our first appointment, I (almost ashamedly) felt "disconnected", if you will, from that little thing growing inside of me. I mean, I "knew" I was pregnant. Three little prego tests had told me so. Yet doubt still crept in. And boy was that frustrating. 

So I was reminded of something a really good friend told me once:

"He (The Lord) is working in our waiting." 

My heart so needed to hear that.

Kevin and I arrived at the OBGYN office in Savannah, and within half an hour, hand-in-hand, we saw that wiggling gummy bear and all of our previous fears subsided. Especially when the sound of a strong, 9-week-old, 171 bpm heartbeat filled the space in that room. Music to our ears. After being escorted to another room, we met our doctor for the first time. We fell in love with her personality and down-to-earth ways. 

A few weeks later (at 13 weeks along), on February 18th, we heard the heartbeat for a second time. I can't remember the exact number, but it was in the 150s bpm. Yet another sigh of relief. Our baby is growing and thriving and so is my belly.

As of today, I am wrapping up my 14th week and am officially well into the second trimester.
We're due August 26!

Pictures and updates to come :).