Happy Birthday Raleigh Belle!

39 weeks, 4 days, and still cooking! I am trying oh so hard to enjoy my last few days of pregnancy. I know that the future days, months, and years will never just be about myself again but the anticipation of meeting this little one is killing me. I have indulged in baking, watching movies, and snuggling with Raleigh this week, although, and I won't complain about that!

In fact, Miss Belle enjoyed her very first birthday on Monday so we were able to celebrate her before her little brother joins the world!

This was RB when we first picked her up last October...I think she was about 8 weeks old at this point.

miss this tiny face

And here's our princess at 1 year! Still as sweet as ever...

As an "only child", I told her not to get mad next year if mommy and daddy forget to get her a birthday cake as our priorities may have shifted slightly by then but this year, she made out well. Matt would kill me for blogging about this but we used to take RB to doggie daycare once a week while we were both working. Since I finished teaching in June, she hasn't been back to see her friends and only gets to hang out with me most days. She LOVED going to daycare so for her birthday, I dropped her off and she was able to play with her friends all day which also gave me some relief of having to exercise her...so it was a win, win. I then picked her up and we went to Hairy Winston, the pet boutique by our house, so she could pick out a toy and some treats. We also picked up this...

Puppy Birthday Cake made with all natural ingredients...and yes, I did eat some of the yogurt icing!

After dinner, we let her enjoy half of the cake...

She put the entire cake in her mouth and moved it from her bowl to her bed. She didn't want to share apparently.

Lastly, I hope this is the last pregnant photo that I'll be sharing and the next will be of our little boy! Let's pray...

39 weeks

PGA Tournament Weekend

(iPhone) photos from this past weekend...I never took my real camera out once :( #regrets. Nor, did I get any pictures with my pops!! #doubleregrets

the kitchen in our beautiful beach house

living room

 

low country boil dinner

38 weeks pregnant family photo...although you can't really see the belly

dinner at Husk

Waller women on the joggling board (I think that's what it's called!)

Jennygirl and her brothers...not sure where Luke was?

soon to be Wallers!

Jenny's awesome photobomb

Stevo & Matthew

 

Raleigh and Auntie J bonding...

Brothers. Dressed exactly alike. Clearly still competitive.

two years down & forever to go

I met Matt almost 10 years ago now...seems hard to believe. We were both in high school and meeting for the first time on Halloween as our two groups of friends joined together to go to a haunted house. My side of the story will always be that Matt tried to hold my hand in the haunted house, which I let him for about 10 seconds, and then pulled away thinking "who does this guy think he is?!" Matt's side of the story is that I tried to hold HIS hand which we all know isn't true...let's be honest with ourselves here. Regardless, I'm grateful that we met on that night and little did I know how the next 10 years would unfold thus far but I'm more grateful for this man today than ever before. From high school to college, and college to Seattle, and Seattle to Charleston (exactly one year ago today!), Raleigh Belle, and now the greatest gift, our sweet baby boy who we will meet next week...I couldn't ask for a better life. I love you, Matt...you are the best husband and are going to be one amazing daddy. Happy Anniversary!

37 weeks & 4 days

I decided to switch up the blog a little bit. It's slightly confusing but just know that the upper left hand corner always has the most recent post. Well, it's officially a week into August and hopefully can be considered Baby Boy's birth month...I pray that he is not born in September as he would be over a week late. The entire Waller clan shows up tomorrow in Charleston as well as my dad and I'm really looking forward to that! It gets a little lonely from time to time all the way out east here as it's not exactly easy to see your friends and family as much as we'd like. I tend to struggle with this but Matt reminds me to be content in knowing that living in Charleston is probably only for a short season of our lives. I need to find the joy in every day that we live here because I know when we leave, I will miss it. Today, I am grateful for family coming to visit, a weekend in a beach house, my pregnancy coming to an end (slowly but surely), and a husband who remains such a constant. Pray for my sleep in these last few weeks. It is basically nonexistent at this point and I actually am starting to dread the nights as they last forever while I'm lying awake in bed. It's probably God's way of preparing me to be up taking care of a little one but at least I would have a purpose for being awake if he was here now!

 

 

 

36 weeks

37 weeks

our family of 3...soon to be 4.

35 weeks

There are so many emotions as August approaches! Mostly excitement...a little fear (of giving birth & becoming a parent), anxiousness, but mostly excitement. I'm so ready for this baby boy to be here with us, not just in my stomach but on the outside so that we can finally meet him. These last few weeks are interesting. Yesterday, we woke up early, went to some garage sales, and were sitting in Chick-fil-A eating breakfast when we thought to ourselves, "this will be one of the last Saturdays when it is just the two of us!" Such a strange and surreal feeling. Life as we know it is soon to change forever but we are so looking forward to this change.

Everything continues to go well with my pregnancy. I really have nothing to complain about and am extremely grateful for that. Sleeping is becoming harder but I guess I better prepare myself anyways as I will soon not be sleeping through the night. I tend to do well on little or intermittent sleep so I'm not too worried about it but Matt is. He needs his sleep in order to function every day. I don't blame him...maybe Baby and I will have to spend some nights in the guest bedroom until we get the hang of things. Who knows?

The baby room is still partially set up as we are just renting and our lease ends at the end of September. I didn't feel like putting any time, energy, or money into creating a beautiful nursery especially because he will sleep in our room for a while. We do have everything that we need though and that is what is important! When we land in a more permanent home, I'll then put my energy into a room for the little man. Not like he is going to care right now anyways!

although not building a nursery, have been very busy with baby laundry

Everyone kept telling me how miserable being pregnant in the summer was going to be and how much swelling, sweating, and exhaustion I was going to experience but I have to say, it hasn't been bad. Luckily, I have had zero swelling (knock on wood), our air conditioned home is perfectly comfortable, it cools down enough in the evenings to still be able to enjoy the outdoors, and as far as exhaustion goes, I know I'd be tired no matter what the outside temperature was. As long as I have my daily 30 minute nap, I'm good to go. Here are some stats for you as an update :) (remember that I totally jacked this idea from the LBG blog)

How far along? 35 Weeks

Total weight gain: up 19 lbs.
Maternity clothes? yep - literally leggings, maternity shirts, and dresses from here on out!
Stretch marks? none yet
Sleep: some nights are better than others. Mostly I just have to pee a lot.
Best moment this week: hearing Baby Boy's heartbeat and learning that he is indeed head down and ready!
Miss Anything? I miss a lot of things..but this experience has been pretty darn amazing & I'm a little sad that it's almost over.
Movement: still lots of movement... he causes me great pain in my upper right ribs.
Food cravings: None really. I enjoy cereal a lot more since I became pregnant and that hasn't changed yet...maybe more fruit?
Anything making you queasy or sick: eating in general often makes me nauseous. People expect you to eat for two when you are pregnant but I've spent my entire pregnancy not being able to enjoy this because I A) can't breathe when I eat a lot OR B) feel sick when I eat.
Gender: boy
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: overall feeling pretty great, other than lots of pressure in my belly as it continues to grow & some pain in my hips & ribs.
Belly Button in or out? out...oh man, it's out.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy mostly. Ask Matt...his opinion may differ.
Looking forward to: baby's arrival of course!

Are you sick of hearing about the baby yet? In other news, we spent the 4th of July in D.C. with my pops and then Amy & Paul came to visit this last weekend. It was so great to take one last road trip just the two of us and it was also amazing to have the Briede's down for the weekend! We spent our time playing with the puppies, at the beach, the boys went golfing, touring an aircraft carrier, and eating (surprise, surprise). Amy and I are pretty excited knowing that the next time we see each other, we'll BOTH be able to enjoy our wine together again. I've already started stocking up...I can't wait. I anticipate eating lots of sushi and drinking some wine at the end of August/beginning of September. Is it sad that those are two of the things that I'm looking forward to the most?

Before baby arrives...we have August 8-12 to look forward to as the entire Waller clan & my dad are coming to visit for the PGA Championship! We've rented a beach house on the Isle of Palms and cannot wait for everyone to be here. I, unfortunately, have chosen not to spend two days standing in the heat on Kiawah Island but I know the rest of the clan will thoroughly enjoy themselves as I enjoy our vacation home during the day until they get back for dinner.

Belly Update...

35 weeks.

35 weeks. 1 day...slightly blurry (and yes, I wear this skirt a lot)

overwhelmed by my own expectations

Does this ever happen to you? You'll be blessed with an abundant amount of "free time" and you start thinking about all of the things you'd like to accomplish with this time. I have always been a person that has a hard time relaxing and feel like I constantly need to be up doing something. I knew that once I got back from Montana, I would have approximately two months of "me" time, time to prepare for the baby, get my house organized, nest, spend time with my husband, spend time with Raleigh, etc. but my list of "to do's" just kept getting longer in my mind. Matt keeps telling me to take the time to rest...to take a nap, watch a movie, lay on the couch, or just do whatever I please but I just feel like I can't! There are too many things that I wish to get done before August and it ends up overwhelming me...my own expectations for myself.

Matt reminded me that God is not pleased by our inability to rest. He blesses us with seasons of rest and rejuvination yet we do not take advantage of it. We have the mindset of the typical American...go, go, go and get as much done as possible. It's like that country song... "I'm in a Hurry and Don't Know Why"... or "No Hurry" by Zac Brown Band...

What does it matter if all of the dishes aren't done or if the bed isn't made perfectly each day? It doesn't...and that's what I need to keep reminding myself. I heard someone once say that they were going to "start focusing on the things that matter past tomorrow". I think that's a good goal. No, Matt, I won't let the dirty dishes or laundry pile up so don't worry! Just saying that I need to stop worrying so much about the little stuff before I start missing out on the big stuff!

{Hopefully} Single Digits!

Yep, that's right...single digits folks. In 9ish weeks, our baby boy will be coming home to us. Well, he is already here, but coming home to the outside world! He is as active as ever, making sure his mommy doesn't sleep through the night so that I'm prepared to wake up with him and feed...he's so thoughtful :) I went to the doctor this week, everything is measuring right on target, and I'll continue to see her every 2 weeks now. She continuously reminds me that this baby will be here before we know it and all I can think about is how the baby room looks like this...

Hence the reason the carpets are being shampooed as we speak and my organization skills will be put to use this afternoon...as well as the next 9 weeks to come I'm sure! We decided not to "create" a nursery necessarily because we are just renting and I don't feel like putting the effort of painting into a house that we aren't going to stay in. Baby will have his own room, however. It just won't be as cute as it will be some day when we own our own house.

Raleigh Belle is as curious as ever...constantly sniffing each new baby item that arrives but doesn't try to touch anything. Sometimes, she'll walk into the baby's room and just lie down and look around. I really think she knows that someone new might be moving in. She hasn't been around too many children but when the kids on our block are around, she just lies down and is so gentle with them. We recently visited the Angel Oak tree on John's Island and there were these two little girls there that wanted to pet RB. She just sat there as the 18 month old climbed all over her, throwing sticks and grass on her and hitting her head. She didn't mind a bit so I'm hopeful that she'll be gentle. I know that RB would never hurt a soul but she is still a puppy and tends to not realize how big she is :)

Oh, I'm finally home in Charleston! After 8 hours of layovers and flying, my husband picked me up at the airport on Tuesday and I could not be happier to be here. Montana was amazing...it was so good to see all of my friends and family but I was ready to be back and spend some time with my husband. Just a few more highlights of my 2.5 weeks away... in no particular order~

baby shower dinner in Seattle with the girls!

meeting Mr. Alexander Hoemann & seeing Bells & Angela!

Holly Gannett took our maternity photos!

I tricked Rich Romersa into posing for a belly shot...for those of you that know him, this will make you smile.

shooting my 2nd and 3rd weddings with Brianne...the first 2 of many hopefully :)

Meeting Lillian Bennett & chatting with Sara!

Meeting Collins Rose Dougherty & having breakfast with Harper!

 As you can see, I met many cute babies...there are two that are missing in photos...meeting Miss Adeline Dayton and also seeing baby Bennett! No pictures unfortunately but tis' the season for babies! My wonderful mother and sister also hosted a baby shower but I'll have to put pictures up of that later because I have none of my own!