It's a girl!

At my 20 week midwife appointment we had an ultrasound and found out we are having a girl! We were both shocked, we were so convinced it was a boy in there all along. In my early pregnancy I had a few dreams about a baby boy with black hair. Now I should have seen this coming because I also had a dream that it was actually a cat so apparently my dreams aren't reliable. 

It took a day or two for the news to sink in, because I had been thinking it was a boy for the last 5 months. Once the news settled, we started talking about how exciting it's going to be to have a little girl. I can't wait for pigtails and headbands! Jim can't wait to spoil her, I'm going to have to keep the spoiling to a minimum though. I can't wait to see what she looks like, hopefully a little like each of us. 

Things are getting very real now that I'm in the second half of my pregnancy. Now we know she's a girl, and I can feel her kick every day. My bump is also growing and Jim says it looks like there's a basketball under my shirt. Pretty soon it'll look like there's a beach ball under there!

Lexi

Discovering maternity fashion

17 weeks

During my first trimester I didn't gain much weight, probably 5lbs at most. Because of this I could get away with wearing my normal clothes, and just leaving the button on my jeans undone. Right around week 14 my stomach turned into a balloon and I couldn't even zip my stretchiest jeans. I went out and got one of those belly bands, which covers your unzipped and unbuttoned jeans and looks like a tank top poking out the bottom of your shirt.  

In theory, this is a great solution and it means you don't have to buy maternity clothes until your belly is much bigger. My personal experience with the belly band was crap. It has to be so low to cover your zipper that it kind of looks like you're wearing a short mini skirt over your jeans, and every time I sat down it would ride up. Rearranging it every few minutes got old real quick.

I decided I would in fact need to invest in some maternity clothes sooner than I originally thought, and quickly discovered that most  maternity clothing falls in one of two categories: frumpy or expensive. At least on my body, the reasonably priced items weren't flattering. I went to almost every store in Austin that carries maternity clothing and tried on their maternity jeans and shorts. The result each time was a pancake butt, and that ain't happening. 

So I made a list of items I thought I should splurge on, and items I thought I should try to save on.

Here is my splurge list:

• 1 pair of flattering, well fitting maternity jeans
• 1-2 pairs of flattering, well fitting maternity shorts
• 1 nice dress for special occasions 
• 1 pair of super comfortable shoes

Here is my save list:

• maternity tank tops
• maternity shirts
• maternity skirts
• casual maternity dresses

My next two posts will look deeper into my splurge list and my save list so get ready!

Lexi

Life lately

13 weeks

Well hello there, it's been more than a while since I've updated the ole' blog. I feel so silly because I just got done saying how I wanted to update my blog more often, and then I fell off the face of the earth. I had a good reason though, I promise! 

Jim and I are expecting a sweet little baby in early October! We're so excited to bring our little one into the world and can't wait to see what he/she looks like. We find out the sex of the baby in mid May, and are counting the days for that as well! 

So here's what I've been up to for the last 4 months! I found out I was pregnant on January 19th, at 5AM. I knew going to bed the night before that I planned on taking a pregnancy test the next morning, and when I woke up at 5AM I decided there was no time like the present! When the test was positive I was a little shocked, we had just started trying and so many people had told me that it would take longer to get pregnant. Of course, I was beyond happy that it happened so so quickly for us. I decided to wait until Jim woke up to tell him the good news, so I layed in bed wide awake until he got up around 6:30. I thought about doing something cute like putting a bun in our oven, or cooking a meal with baby veggies, but I ended up just blurting it out.

I was 5 weeks along when I found out, and for about 2 weeks I felt great. I even told Jim how it would be nice to experience some morning sickness symptoms just so I knew things were progressing. I look back at that conversation and laugh because soon after that I was hit hard with constant morning sickness. At 7 weeks along Jim even had to take me to an ER in the middle of the night because I couldn't keep down any food or even water. 

I spent all of February and March being sicker than I had ever been before. Getting out of bed was a task and leaving the house to run even a quick errand was an accomplishment. I was in a constant state of gagginess. Everything made me gag, even thinking about food made me gag. The only thing that made me feel better was food, which was the hardest part because the last thing I wanted to do was eat anything. 

When I hit the 12 week mark my nausea started to subside and I slowly got my appetite back. As long as I kept food in my stomach, I felt semi normal. One thing that seemed to settle my stomach was soda. Before I got pregnant I swore that I was going to eat organic food throughout my pregnancy and swear off anything bad for me like soda. Ha! I soon figured out that if a soda a few times a week helps me feel better, I'm doing it without looking back.

As I sit here and type this I am now 18 weeks along, just 2 short weeks away from finding out if super baby (Jim's nickname for the baby) is a boy or girl. Baby is definitely growing in my belly, as my belly button is now just a shallow dip on my stomach, getting more shallow every day and I love it.

Lexi

Life changes

The new year sure has brought many new changes with it. I feel like I've gone through more changes in the last month than I did in most of last year (of course, getting married was a pretty big change!). I'm normally not someone who enjoys change, I like predictability and pattern and shy away from the unknown. 

This month so far has really challenged me with so much change and I have been pleasantly surprised with what that change has brought. I think 2014 is going to be my biggest and best year yet, and that is something I am truly excited about! So I guess predictability isn't all it's cracked up to be, and new things can be good. Here's to embracing new and wonderful things this year!

Lexi

Hello 2014

2013 has been such a huge year for Jim and I. We ended 2012 by visiting South Padre with Jim's family. It was such a relaxing vacation and a great way to start the year. 

In 2013 we had our dream wedding, honeymooned in Maui, visited Victoria, BC (never got around to posting about that amazing vacation, I'm a bad blogger), welcomed 2 new nieces, had a cousin move to Austin, added a new member to our family, visited New York City, and bought a new vehicle! Whew.

2013 has definitely been the best year of my life, and I'm sure 2014 will be even better. I'm not really big on making resolutions because they never seem to stick, but I do have some personal goals and ideas for change in mind for 2014. 

One thing that I know for certain I want to keep doing is blogging. Even though I don't have tons of readers, it is still fun to look back at all the events I've documented over the last year and know that I will want to do the same for this coming year.

Here's to 2014!
Lexi

Have yourself a married little Christmas

Although this is Jim and I's 6th Christmas together, this one is very special because it is our first Christmas as a married couple. One tradition that I waited to start until now was sending out a family Christmas card and here is our first one!

My cousin Laura took this photo and it was the only one out of literally a hundred where both the dogs were looking at the camera. Who knew taking a photo with your pets could be so difficult.

Happy holidays everyone!

Lexi

Layering

The weather around here lately has been absolutely nuts. It ranges from 40 to 80 in a matter of days and I'm sure the squirrels are wondering what season it is anyway. 

For me, temperature fluctuation means lots of layers.  During the day it's warm enough just to throw on a light sweater (or chambray or flannel), and at night I need a jacket and a scarf. 

I think the key to layering is to make sure no one piece is too bulky. This daytime look consists of a light tank top and chambray, which still fit nicely under my jacket at night.

I'm leaving next week for my big New York vacation, so get ready for some pictures of fabulous sights and delicious food! 

Lexi