Sneak Peek

I don't want to give too much away now.... but, you asked after seeing the RH truck pic on my Insta.. Our "vibe" for the living room is "Modern Southern Charm". We have always wanted a couch like this.. just a good ol' classy chesterfield couch. We have modernized it with this trunk coffee table. I originally wanted like an old vintage trunk with the big clasps/buckles. However, we saw this one and it was different. Definitely a conversation piece. It's made of recycled aircraft aluminum and has detailed leather studded edges that tie in with the studded couch. So decision made! These are our main pieces, so now I'll just be looking for odds and ends to complete the look. I cant wait for yall to see it all put together. 

Also... Shout out to Kynzi Jaso for reading my blog! I get so excited when people bring it up.. I'm like "Whaa you actually read it?" Makes me SO happy. I love that yall follow along. I do this so we can document this chapter of our life and all that we have going on, but when other people enjoy it as well, it's a WIN WIN! So... Keep on keepin' on!  XOXO.

16 Weeks

16 Weeks Today: Friday Feb 28th

* Getting out of breath easily
* Weigh in 105.2

* Feeling: BLOATED and Yuck

*Craving Chili Cheese Tots from Sonic- Cucumbers & Ranch-Boiled Eggs

     Hello Week 16! You have been exhausting... Or maybe I have just been supa busy. OR BOTH! Can we just talk about this belly of mine.. I'm not actually "Showing" I just look bloated. It's not round and cute, it's like jiggle and blah.. (Fellow Preggos, ya feel me?) I'm ready for the full on preggo belly. I said that the other night as I was standing in the mirror sticking out trying to see what it would look like and Ty said "Umm, babe can I record you saying that cause I have a feeling when it finally does come, your gonna be worried you look umm, bigg"er"?! Of course he tip toes around his words cause he knows my emotions are cray and he wouldn't dare be referring to me as "fat" or "big" or "huge" or I'd probably cry and lock him out of the bedroom. hahah (no, but seriously)!!

     On another note, these boobs... GO AWAY! Like, I feel like they are going to pop thru my skin and rip my chest! (graphic I know, but it's seriously how I feel)!! Let me take you back a little... Yes, I have implants.. they are tiny! A 250cc on the R and a 275cc on the L (i have two different sizes cause I had some asymmetry to my natural anatomy).. but even still, that is like a Full B/Small C on my petite narrow frame. This preggo thing has grown them into a lush DD ova' night and they aren't done! I feel like a cow with UTTERS! and I miss my perky ta tas! (Ok, so I may be a lil dramatic.. obvi these body changes are ALL for an AMAZING REASON.. however this being my first time, Its a little overwhelming.. that's all) 

     While I'm at it I might as well plug my Dr. I work for! Shout Out to Dr. Ciaravino! ("The Breast Doc") I am a Patient Consultant, so I basically take patients thru the whole process from beginning to end. The initial consultation, sizing questions, the pre-op before surgery, day of surgery care, and post op care. I have seen it ALL! Boobs all day long! Small ones, big ones, uneven ones, high ones, low ones..you name it. We also do mommy make overs (Tummy tucks and Lipo) AND we have an amazing skin and laser center. So, for any of you out there that have ever thought or even considered it pre OR post baby... call me and I will hook it up! Do not be ashamed at all! Esp with post baby body stuff.. sometimes you can kill it in the gym everyday, eat healthy and have an active lifestyle, but that skin wont go away! I LOVE my job and talking to women all day ... CALL ME! or check out our website for yourself :

www.thebodydoc.com 

Also feel free to text me or leave a comment and I will answer any questions you might have!

It's the little things...

   Marriage is hard... There is no secret to that. Marriage is hard on its own, without remodeling a house or having a baby... However, there are things both the husband and wife can do on a daily basis to make it easy. I saw this, on Pinterest (of course) and just wanted to share. 

     Tyler and I have had to learned to build our relationship on the "here and now". Not on the past or past relationships that ended in disaster. We have leaned how to understand each other. What to argue about and what battle is a waste of time. We know what we want and expect from each other in the roles of husband and wife. We have a clear idea of how we want to build our future, not only for us, but as Harper's parents  and how we plan to do it as teammates. 

     It isn't easy, and we've been stuck in ruts of the daily stress of life, but having a core group of happily married friends and parents we couldn't ask for better role models to learn from. We understand each others Love Languages. 
For Example: 

 HIS: Acts of Service & Physical Touch

- He enjoys coming home to a clean house, me cooking dinner with his laundry and clean socks folded.. knowing I had a long day myself, but the fact that I put in the effort means a lot. 

- He appreciates when I randomly massage his shoulder in line at the grocery store or play with his hair at night in bed. He enjoys holding hands in the car or his ears being played with (something he has done since he was little)...

HERS: Words of Affirmation & Quality Time

- To me, the little things are the biggest. When I'm super busy at work and have a second to check my phone, nothing makes my day more than a sweet text from "My Hubby" on my screen.

- Quality Time is HUGE for us considering our schedules are swapped. I work in the morning and he works evenings so our "QT" doesn't happen till about 9:00 and by then we are both exhausted. Him planning a weekend getaway to Austin, us going to dinner and a movie, or even the rare occasion of getting to sleep in on a Sunday and breakfast in bed makes a world of difference. 
 

I know we have technically only been married like 2 weeks, but relationships in general take this much work if you plan on making them last. I love this man and will be by his side thru thick and thin. We want to be the best for each other and are excited to show Harper the meaning of TRUE LOVE!

Baby Pics

Had to share these pics! One thing for sure Harper will have big eyes and dimples!

We CANNOT wait to meet her... seems like it's going to be forever!

T-Minus 163 DAYS

My Lady Bump

It's official... 15 weeks and the bump has made it's appearance. Some days it looks bigger than others. Not many people can tell, but my coworkers have enjoyed seeing it start to pop. 

Some days  I still feel small and some days I feel like a busted can of biscuits! 

We also got to see Baby Harper in full force. Not sure if she was throwing a fit or working on her cheerleader jumps, but nonetheless, she is for sure a spunky lil squirt. I can't feel her moving and probably won't for another 5 weeks or so, but it's still exciting. I love how excited Tyler was to see this! Makes my heart happy!

Harper's Kicks

Making it Ours

So remember when I said we were gonna do some remodeling and updates to the house?!?.. It has become a full on project, but thankfully we have the support and help of our loving parents.

Tyler's dad owns his own construction business and has been a huge help with the knocking out of walls and kitchen remodeling, etc.. Our weekends consist of trips to Lowe's, Lumber Liquidators, Home Depot, and Subway in between. The previous owners seriously did not update one thing in that house and therefore, we have had to come in and put our touch on everything. Of course, Tyler and I together have creative ideas and are on the same page as far as the "look" we are going for. However... We have champagne taste on a red solo cup beer budget, if ya know what I mean. 

The BIGGEST decision has been the paint colors. I mean seriously, there are over 3452934682 whites to choose from. It's overwhelming and I can only take so much in one day. 

This picture gets me so excited! This is not paint.. It's actually just primer they sprayed everywhere before the paint goes on, but you can get a good idea of how open and inviting the living room will be.

Ty's mom and my mom have been great sweepers and wiper' downers. I try to help as much as I can. Howev, 20 min breaks on the patio by the pool with Cooper are much needed. Can't wait for all this to be done so we can move in and momma bird can nest! 

15 weeks and "I do"

15 Weeks Today: Friday Feb 14th

* Busy but still have all my energy
* Weigh in 104.6

* Feeling the LOVE

*Craving watermelon, shrimp fried rice, grapes and cheese

I just realized they keep sayin "HE" on my baby apps.. It's just programmed that way. No worries, there is a SHE in there!

Also, today is the day of love.. VALENTINES DAY!
Tyler and I decided to make it special and confirm our love for each other and commitment to this relationship. We went to the courthouse and legally got married! Mr. & Mrs. Holmes Yall!

No worries, you didn't miss anything. We have SO much going on that I can't even begin to think about planning a wedding. So one thing at a time.. engagement, house, baby, THEN when all is settled we will have a wedding. Our plan is Feb 14, 2015. It will be our official one year anniversary and we will have a full on shin dig to celebrate and all of you are invited!

Happy, Happy, Happy...

6 ways to keep this Preggo happy:

* Whataburger 

* Lush Bath Bombs

* Sour JR Bites... these are LEGIT

* ICE sparkling water (halfway frozen so it's slushy)

* Mani/Pedi on the reg 

* Avacods Daily

These Emotions

I'm normally a pretty emotional person. I haven't noticed this pregnancy affecting me anymore or less than before until yesterday. For example, these are things that while being pregnant I have cared more about:

* John Mayer and Katy Perry ... I mean, how cute are they? Get married already
* My sisters... I just love them so much and cant wait to see them with Harper
* Khloe Kardashiam... She has become my FAV and I feel so bad for her Lamar situation
* I need to get over the fact I have to go back to work after I have Harper
* Why do kids become bullies? Like where are their parents. It's sad 
* I wish I understood Politics more
* I wish I could pay for my little sister to go to college cause I see how bad "student loans" have haunted my middle sister
* I probably need to start saving for Harper's college
* Should I start eating organic
* The Carrie Underwood song "Momma" has me balling to the point I have to pull over.
* I really love Tyler and how hard he works to make sure we have a comfy life
* My inlaws make me so thankful and blessed.. on a daily basis
* I hope I am as good of a mother to Harper as mine was to me
* As I've gotten older I am ok with not having a ton of friends but a solid legit core group that I can always always count on.... you know who you are! 

Home Sweet Home

     Soo...probably the hardest thing other than applying for college is getting approved and buying a home. Talk about STRESS. We started the home process about a solid 6 months ago and looked all over Houston. From League City to Humble to Clear Lake to Woodlands to Spring to West U, etc.. etc... big ones, small ones, old ones, new ones, building one from the ground up. They make it all sound so easy until you actually start the process. And the model homes, don't get me started. I was like "Can we just buy this one  AS IS"?

     We struggled to find the perfect house and not just settle on one that "would do for now". We didn't want a total "starter home" but also knew we couldn't have our perfect custom DREAM HOME right away either. After getting pre approved for a home loan and working with our relator and lender day in and day out, emailing, signing and faxing back tons and tons of paperwork we had a done deal.

     We found the most perfect home in an older, established neighborhood of Friendswood (around where we both grew up). It was def dated and needed some updating and modern touches, but luckily Tyler and I have open, creative minds and were able to appreciate the "bones" of the house that were already there.

      Meanwhile, I still have my midtown apartment until the end of march so the timing couldn't be anymore perfect. We have time to do some remodeling and updates before we actually move our stuff and then I can start my nesting in time to prepare for lil Harper.

This process definitely brought Tyler and I closer together. We had to communicate in ways we weren't used too. We had to work hard, and harder on the weekends to save money and not enjoy our normal Saturday night splurges on shopping, dinner and a movie. We had to stay organized with our credit scores, bills, taxes and every little deposit or withdraw we made in a two months time frame. In the end, it was all SO worth it. Once those keys were in our hands we felt like legit ADULTS! We did it all on our own! SUCCESS... (now we will live in this house for like 50 years cause I don't wanna do that again!)

14 weeks

14 Weeks Today: Friday Feb 7th

* Full Energy
* Weigh in 104.3

* Emotions in full effect
*Need a full body massage (hint..hint TYLER!)

*Craving Corn Dogs with Mustard

13 weeks

13 Weeks Today: Friday Jan 31st

* No sickness & normal energy
* Weigh in 103.4

* Skin is going Cray.. Where is my GLOW?
*Neck and back hurting at night.. STILL

*Craving Fruit and LUBY'S!

PINK errrr' Thing

I'll never forget when we did the early gender testing" and they told us Harper was gonna be a girl.. Tyler's face was priceless and he didn't know whether to cry or smile! Him, running his own gymnastics program and coaching for all these years, is around girls of all ages everyday. He has seen it all. He knows the sweet stage, the pre-teen braces stage, the too cool for skool stage and the know it all stage. So those girls have surely prepared him for what is about to hit. However, I don't think he has any idea the amount of PINK and bows, sparkles and outfits that will consume his life (and bank account)!

 Here are some of my Harper must haves so far. 

* BedaZZled Converse * Mini Chandelier for her room * Tory Burch Diaper Bag for MommaBear *

12 weeks

12 Weeks Today: Friday Jan 24th

* No sickness

* Full of energy
 * Weigh in 103.0
*Neck and back hurting at night

*Craving breakfast tacos ALL DAY LONG 

Seriously.. Everytime we get to see our sweet baby girl she has her legs crossed at the ankles! I LOVE it! But most of all I love this clear picture of her booty! 

Busy Belly

I've been a busy Momma lately and I  have to THANK my little Harper buddy for keeping up with me and allowing me to still do what I love... On top of my full time job as a breast consultant for Dr. Ciaravino, I am a photographer on the side and have been super busy with shooting weddings this year! My goal is to one day be a "SATH" (stay at home mom) and pursue my photography full time... Fingers crossed the day will come!  

 The McDonald Wedding

The Sanders Wedding

The Aldridge Wedding

Congrats to all my amazing clients! I love the love that I see at weddings! 

Makes the heart happy!

11 weeks

11 Weeks Today: Friday Jan 17th

* No sickness
* Weigh in 101.6

* Hormones a little Cray when I'm Stressing

*Craving chili tater tots and ice water with lemon 

My cravings this week have been Icees and Avocados!! AND how cute is this fab "Harper" clutch? I saw it in the sale bin at Franchesca's and about died!  It was absolutely meant to be!

Harper does VEGAS

Tyler's upper level girls had their first gymnastics meet in VEGAS this weekend! Normally, I would be stressing over which heels to pack with each of my LBD (little black dresses)... however this time all I needed and wanted was my Nikes and SBYP (stretchy black yoga pants)! His girls did great and I really enjoy watching them compete as well as watching him get stressed/excited coaching on the sidelines. 

In the downtime we had, we had a delish' dinner at Grand Luxe and saw a Cirque show! Vegas is ALWAYS a good time.. but every time I go I feel like I need a vaca FROM my vaca. Ya feel me? 

However, when we got home and picked Cooper up from the weekend sitter (my Uncle Bobby's house)..We realized he was out of dog food and until we could run to get a new bag.. Honey nut cheerios cereal it was! I swear we wont be bad parents.. hahah we just had to "make do" for the mean time. *On another note, I always put ice in his water, this makes me feel like a good mom * 

10 weeks and a Heartbeat

10 Weeks Today: Friday Jan 10th

* No sickness

* Hormones still normal

*Craving Girl Scout Cookies and Strawberry Limeades from Sonic

There is no better sound than that of YOUR baby's heart! This makes it all real! Tyler and I are in LOVE with our Harper!!