The Post You've been waiting for

so lets see where did we leave off. oh yes, leaving at 430am to go to the hospital.

so i tried several times today to get video off my camcorder (yes a camcorder) on to my computer because supposedly i have everything that i need but apparently, this is not the case. so unfortunately you cant see any of the hilarious video of michael and i walking into the hospital predelivery.

for those of you who dont know, you can tell by a woman's face how close she is to giving birth. my face was so big and so round. my lips looked like they were about to pop. it was time. yes they took her at 37 weeks and 5 days but she was ready to come out!

we went in and signed our final bits of paperwork and i got into my gown and hooked up to all the monitors etc. i was so worried about getting an IV i had never had one before i was pretty nervous. but to my delight the nurse had lidocaine cream! i never felt a stick...well until later. after all that was done and i asked all my questions about what they were giving me, those of you who know me know i have to be involved in everything. i wanted to know exactly what was going on. so by this point it was about 6:00am, i was already having steady contractions and they were not inducing labor! the goal was for me to not go into labor! i told you she was ready to come out.

so i got two bags of fluid before the csection even started. then i had to waddle my scared pregnant tail down to to operating room. alone. well with a nurse. but alone. i was petrified. for liability purposes, only doctors are allowed to be in the operating room when you receive a spinal. so here come the gory details

im sitting on a metal table that is cold first of all. and its freezing in the operating room. and im wearing a thin gown and nothin else. can you see what im getting at? i was shivering i was so cold. and the table is raised up really high for the anesthesiologist so your feet dont touch the ground. anyway. these two men come in who i dont know and i discover they will be giving me the spinal. great. so so modest and two men are about to see my fat preggo butt. lovely.

back to the main event. he asks me to grab my knees chin down and roll my back out. this is to spread the vertebrae apart. i know this. but try doing this when you are almost 40 inches around and you have bad balance and you are shivering and you have nothing to help keep your balance because your feet are dangling. not to mention the fact that i could barely breath leaning back much less leaning forward. so lets add this up

scared + freezing + dangling feet + out-to-here-pregnant = 

too much for one pregnant woman to deal with

so he keeps telling me to be still...so he can stick a huge needle into my spinal cord. no biggie.

**fyi for those of you who have children naturally. epidurals and spinals are totally different. an epidural does not come in direct contact with your spinal cord. the drug simply goes into the spinal cavity which desensitizes the nerves responses making the pain wayyyyyy less. thats why you can still feel pressure because you arent completely numb. the spinal is a one time injection that completely deadens your body. you cannot move AT ALL.

back to my spinal. he gave me two very large injections of lidocaine. the first was to numb the skin but it was a very large dose. ive been introduced to lidocaine due to suspicious moles and it just feels like a bee sting. this was completely different. this was a very intense burning feeling. the second lidocaine shot was to numb everything between my skin and my spinal cord. then came the huge needle. it was a crazy sensation that is going to be hard to describe. all of a sudden my whole body from between my boobs to my toes went cold. it was scary to be honest. i just fell back. glad they knew to catch me and lay me down gently.

keep in mind, all this happened while i was by myself.

they draped me and strapped my arms out on either side. Michael came in and held my hand. well he held the cameras and kept me calm. i kept saying is she out is she out? i was so afraid that she was out and not crying i couldnt calm down. suddenly two doctors yelled simultaneously...

"theres the butt!"

did you read the definition of frank breech last time? HERE is your chance to do it again so you understand why that is what they said. she started crying about 3 seconds later. quite loudly thankfully! she was perfect. covered in gunk but seriously perfect.  

it what seemed like milliseconds, cut the cord, took pictures, and michael followed her over the other side of the operating room to get her cleaned up and weighed and measured. we had just been to the doctor the thursday before delivery and they guessed her weight at 4.10 but.....drumroll please.

She weighed 5.9! 19 inches long!! big girl!! =)

about this time i looked up at the doctor and said, "i know you are watching my heart rate so you should know im about to have a panic attack." of course he asked why. i was having EXTREME sharp pains behind my collar bone. his response was unsettling.

oh thats ok. totally normal. it is probably going to move into your chest just try not to panic.

i was terrified. but i made it through.  we had the absolute perfect experience at Baptist. we were offered something called "private transition" for after her birth. it was an absolutely amazing bonding experience. i dont know about other hospitals. however at baptist, after you nurse, they take the newborn to the nursery for the first 4 hours to be monitored and temperature regulated and given a bath on and on the list goes. we however booked the private transition in advance so that she never had to leave us. A neonatal nurse stayed with us in our room to do all the necessary tests in our room. i was able to hold her and see her and be with her and all of our family was able to do the same. i will never do it any other way. it was well worth the small fee charged for this service. 

as you can see this is very long and there is more to the story. but i got you through the initial part of delivery. we will get to post delivery experiences tomorrow...or today since its after midnight

thanks for hanging in there! more tomorrow! 

The April 24 Prep Post

the big day.
    yes this one will be long...well it will if elizabeth ann stays asleep.

i want to open with tooting my own horn a little. im not sure who knows it, but on April 23 i took 5 finals. we got up and left to go to the hospital at 430 the next morning.

Today we will just go over prep for the big moment. Since most doctors will tell you to fill out your paper work weeks in advance lets start with the packing list. some of these are no brainers, some were just for my comfort level.

top 10: for the mommy (in no particular order. comment for the entire list)

1. Big men's boxer briefs. i did not want anything that hugged my body but post delivery you will want/need some support down there for the huge diaper type pads you have to wear. these were great for that

2. Toiletries. this is the one of the no brainers. make sure you dont forget your shampoo and soap and lotion. lets not forget makeup remover! the hospital ones are like hotel soap, the 2 in 1 stuff that i absolutely cannot stand, dries my hair and skin out. take any product you love that makes you feel super clean. i love my st ives scrub. i always use it when im having me time. you ladies with children know what i mean. you wait until they are asleep or at school or with your mother and you take the longest shower/bath actually make sure you shave your whole leg, exfoliate, moisturize, paint your toenails? you women who havent had children yet, enjoy your chance to do this whenever the mood strikes you while you can. you will have so many visitors and your face will be so puffy youll do anything to feel like you look normal, whatever that is for you. moral of the story: take your products, maybe you will be too tired or fed up to worry with it, but better to have them and be so glad you brought them than try to explain to your mother or mother in law as to how to find them.

3. Comfy, layered PJS. when i hear layered i hear hassle but all im going to say here is the layers are for your benefit! i still have hot and cold flashes. also helps to have a top layer for when someone not as close to you drops by, you can just throw it on and feel comfortable.

4. Slippers, Socks and Robe.  enough said

5. Your Pillow and boppy. again enough said.

6. Your hair dryer, straightener/curling iron. again with the products the cleaner and more like you that you feel, the better your stay and memories and photos will be

7. Nursing tanktop. sorry girls but your belly will still be big except it will be worse bc it will be heavy and flabby not hard like when your bundle of joy was still inside. the nursing tank was the best thing even after i stopped nursing. it takes a while for your belly to tighten back up. wearing the tank helps give support even under everyday clothes.

8. Nursing cream. ok lets be straight. its nipple cream. can get it at walmart in the baby department but trust me its a necessity. it pretty unpleasant but you will regret not having and using it after every feeding.

9. Maxi dress. like i said, your belly will still be big and your butt will be bigger. i had more fluid on me that i ever imagined. wearing a maxi dress upon leaving the hospital, best choice!! i felt pretty! it made my curves much more subtle and i had a cute outfit on and it was very comfortable.

10. camera. we love taking pictures of her and recording our thoughts as time went on we would just "recap" to the camera. i already cherish those videos


top 5: for baby

1. clothes and hats. when she came in our room from one of her check ups wearing some strange outfit that didnt fit or even really look like an outfit for a baby looked more like a big longsleeve tshirt, i was like what in the world? it sounds insane but i couldn't wait to get her in some real clothes. something about wanting everything to be perfect for her just took over. thank goodness for my mother and mother in law! they went all over town finding preemie clothes, washing them and bringing them to the hospital so elizabeth ann could have something to wear. in other words, buy all sizes!!

2. Mittens. she hated them. and currently hates them but they will keep them from scratching their tiny faces which i promise they will hate more.

3. Diaper bag. ** here is something no one tells you. when they wheel your precious baby in your room they have the cart stocked. YOU ARE ALREADY BILLED FOR IT. so take it! diapers, wipes, alcohol wipes....those little bulb syringes you bought at the store wont work. you need the rubber one from the hospital. they work like no other. youll thank me later.

4. Present from daddy bear. michael gave her a little pink hippo. seriously they dont remember but one day we will tell her thats what her daddy gave her on her first birthday. it wasnt anything special just a little stuffed animal that we bought in advance for her. its a moment thing ok. go with it. again youll thank me later.

5. Night-Night bear. some of you are thinking what in the world? michael and i have this little blue bear that plays different music. i played in on my belly each night when id lay down to go to sleep. or tried to do it every night. now she listens to it at nap time and bedtime. it is soothing to her. not just for the music but i think it comforts her when its dark and i lay her down to go to sleep she just grabs his feet and closes those eyes. makes bed time and nap time wayyyyy easier so of course we started that really early and brought it to the hospital with us. i recommend you finding something similar for your little one

top 4: for daddy bear

1. change: we all need a little caffeine or some junk food or a late night snack. especially the dads! they somehow end up getting the shaft on the hospital stay. poor michael got to eat at random times around everyone else. plus this also is a good thing for mommies. i LOVE coke. cant have a sane day without one. change for vending machine is the way to go

2. PJ PANTS and slippers: he will pack what he thinks he needs to stay over night. he will know most things. he probably wont pack pants to sleep in. he wont consider the nurses coming in and out throughout the night to check on mom and the other nurses coming in on the other times to check on baby or bring the baby to you which means you cant sleep without a shirt or pants anymore but since its habit for them, they wont pack pjs. the hospitals are cold especially the floors. so just add these to his pack, he will thank YOU later.

3. his pillow and bedding: depending on the hospital, you may need an air mattress. we had a fold out bed type thing but my brother in law took an air mattress. check on that in advance

4. PATIENCE: this is the first of many days that your patience and nerves will be put to the test. play this phrase on repeat. your wife will be depending on you 
like never before. its such a beautiful chance for you to be her guide post and her rock. she will thank YOU later.
     

moving on!!! didnt mean for that to take so long. hope you are still with me!

   Elizabeth Ann was frank breech practically my entire pregnancy so my c-section was scheduled when i was 34 weeks for April 24 which made her 37 weeks and 5 days! this gave me a day to focus on, they can still always come whenever they want but we knew it would be no later than that day. 
  
So of course, two weeks in advance i got my hair done. have to keep those roots in check. 

the next week michael and i had a date night. nothing fancy just our last time to go out and do our usual people watching now all we do is baby watch

the saturday before i went by myself and got a pedicure. best idea ever! if i had known it was going to be so great i would have gotten one earlier. it was nice. not even just for the obvious reasons of loving a pedicure, but it was my last chance to truly be alone. 

**Side Note: ok people tell you this, but im going to tell you again, im young i didnt think it would be the same for me as it is for my mom bc of course everything always is ;) but seriously, once your baby is born, your mother/mother in law may have him/her but you are never alone. 

When i got home monday night i took an incredibly hot bath and did all the things i mentioned earlier! shaved my legs, exfoliated, cut and painted my nails, put some lotion on. total diva evening. followed by attempting to snuggle with hubs and watch a movie as loud as we wanted it. and tried our hardest to go to sleep.

since i was having a section i knew i could get ready and my hair wouldnt get messed up or sweat my make up off or any of those things you see in women who go through hours of labor. which is a perk yes but tomorrow you will hear plenty of things about c sections. i hate the phrase, 'cadillac way to have a baby' in my experience that is not true. each have pros and cons and neither way is cheery..worth it definitely but not easy either way.

ok off my soap box, back to the point, that morning i got up curled my hair put on my make up and we hit the road! hope you are excited to hear more! 

thanks for bearing with and stopping by! see you tomorrow!!! :)

The Wedding Part II

hello again!

so it has been brought to my attention that im only remembering floating on cloud 9. a great thing right? yes but there are some amusing anecdotes i left out of my previous wedding post.

first lets talk about my father daughter dance. i feel like i should tell the story. its silly really but its a snip it from my childhood. When i was little, like grade school old enough to remember, we listened to any and all country. which i dont know if anyone has noticed but almost always features a blue eyed girl. i would just cry all the time about it to my mom and she'd say anna your brown eyes are just as beautiful as the blue eyes in this song. any way, one day dad was driving me home from some where that i cant remember and apparently i was feeling extra sensitive because i began to cry when this song (yes you can click it) came on. After an unknown amount of time had passed, my dad put a classic on, brown eyed girl by van morrison. he came out to the yard and said see anna, this song can be about you. i obviously didnt know what the song was about but im telling you, i had never felt so special! which is why we danced to Brown Eyed Girl.

Next, did i mention that my ring bearer lost a tooth while taking pictures before the ceremony?

Side Note: as i eluded in my other posts, michael tends to be who i go to when im in panic mode. since i wasnt allowed to see him i panicked in the chapel. see why i really need this guy around? 

anyways! for those of you who havent been around any loose teeth in the past decade, there is blood involved. and he was 7. and he was wearing a tux. i guess thats enough about that!

i already talked about my SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND ring getting dropped in the parking lot right?

of course, i had to use the facilities once i was already zipped up tight in my dress. many thanks to brit and liz for holding my multitude of layers up for me. 

lets see if i can come up with more of the special moments too. if your not married yet, you'll learn that it becomes a blur very quickly. 

one thing i forgot to mention was how special it was to surprise michael with his band. He told me what he wanted; however, we found my grandfathers band and it look amazingly similar it wasnt made out of the same metal but the style was similar. i made sure to imply that he should wear that one. he was so gracious about it but of course he would want his own ring ;) when we were at the altar and he saw the band he picked, he smiled so big. im not even sure he knows how much he reacted but it was very rewarding.

now for my band, of course a tacori band that fits into my tacori dream ring would be just picture perfect....can you tell im kind of obsessed with tacori? 

 

above would be the tacori dream ring of mine that i get to wear everyday

but we also found my grandmother's band. i LOVED my nana. so when her band practically fit me and it was from the 30's and my ring has an antique style to it, my heart melted.

i had to have it. i cherish wearing her band every day. she had an amazing marriage that lasted until death do us part and thru sickness and health. an amazing role to try to follow.

sorry my post is a litle pitiful today. started late and just trying to get my post in for the day. tomorrow will be better

thanks for stopping by! catch yall tomorrow

The Wedding Post

so....i know you are all expecting my april 24 post. however i think i need to go back to the day where i joined my life and heart with the greatest man ive ever met. it was rather hectic since it was an afternoon wedding. regardless it was all amazing. i honestly cant think of one thing i would have changed.    scratch that, yes, i would have explained my song choice for the father daughter dance before we danced bc im not sure even my dad got it. but that is so minor i only remembered it while im sitting here desperately looking for something to change about the day.

it was literally a perfect day. 

the night before my wedding i had an out of control slumber party. my bridesmaids spent the night at my house and we ate pop corn and made fun of the toasts at the rehearsal dinner and how awkward rehearsal was. so lucky to have these women. 

back to the perfect day. everything went so smoothly i was shocked. the only glitch we had was our florist dropped my sapphire ring in the church parking lot while taking it to the chapel to tie it into my bouquet as my "something blue" if i had been aware of this i would have literally stroked out. but i didnt hear about this until later. poor john dowdle. he is amazing. crawled all around the parking lot until he found it. 

here are a couple of things that made my day so memorable.

1. i married michael wright
2. i wouldnt leave the altar. i literally turned and asked the priest, "can we kiss now??"
3. apparently neither michael nor myself knows the difference between right and left hands so we just stood there laughing while the priest said "other hand"
4. my amazing bridesmaids
5. my two go-to girls brittany and katie making sure everything was done so that the wedding party could take pictures
6. the wedding programs designed with love by my mother. with some help from me and brit
7. the food at the salon while we all got beautiful...yes the food
8. not seeing michael before i walked down the aisle. it is a feeling that i cant even describe
9. getting married in the same church my parents, grandparents, and several aunts and uncles got married in by the very priest who married my parents.
10. having a husband who enjoyed walking around our reception in a top hat with a bride   on his arm wearing a boa

ok so maybe more than a couple. but i am proud of my restraint. The ceremony was perfect. I am catholic so of course it was all ritual. so beautiful. i could barely soak in all the meanings. our readers/sibilings did so good no stuttering ;) i think the thing i remember the most is how the pews and everyone in them went blurry as i walked down the aisle.  the only thing i could see was michael. and honestly i was so nervous i had a hard time making eye contact. i could probably draw his tie perfectly though! ha once i got up to the altar with him all i wanted to do was hug him. i got over my eye contact fear... 

i also remember trying not to laugh too loud when we kept mixing up left and right hands. we were so blessed with beautiful weather! it was about 65 degrees, yes in january!! if it hadnt been windy we may have taken some pictures outside but we were just trying to avoid seeing even a glimpse of each other.

and the reception. we danced all evening! we literally told the DJs no music after 2004 allowed. ha! we are so stuck in the 90s plus of course all the motown you could stand. great food great friends. i never felt so beautiful. i never wanted to take my dress off. We danced to "this kind of love" by sister hazel  (click the title to play..sorry guys havent quite figured out how to put cool links and dodads on my blog yet...just a rookie)

side note: another song that we consider to be about us is "for me its you" by train (again click the title to play please!) this came out the year we met a few months into our relationship. i love it. im working on a painting with the lyrics for over our bed. (if it works the way i want it to ill post pics and a tutorial on it!)

we were so blessed to share our day with hundreds of people!! all who have impacted our lives over the years. ok im done gushing now. love my wedding and my hubs =)

thanks again for stopping by! see ya soon.

The Preggo Post

Another beginning today. I would like to go back to September 2011.
                   this is going to be a long one.

    Finding out you are pregnant. i'd say 9 times out of 10 youll know. im unsure what the words are to describe it but something in you changes. i know that sounds like a "well yeah" kind of statement but its more than just the tiny creature attaching to your insides and taking over. its a feeling. i know i sound crazy but trust me. i STAYED sick. none of this after 12 weeks youll get relief. i was sick until mothers day. which in case you didnt realize is AFTER she was born. 

**here is the first of many things no one warned me of: 
           you can get so hungry you make yourself sick. PLEASE carry snacks! constantly. a baggie of crackers or chips in your purse is a great way to avoid this. otherwise, if you have luck like me you will go all day without eating and have no access to food outside of a vending machine and no you wont have any change.

anyway...i could go on for days. for those of you who know me, i LOVE a good coke. anytime day or night. there were days i couldnt even stand the sight of them. i think for 2 weeks all i could eat and enjoy was little ceasers cheese pizza and mountain dew. had to be little ceasers. i am aware MD is caffeinated, but when it came down to that or life threatening migranes, you can see what i chose. caffeine is not something, in my opinion, is an absolute necessity to go cold turkey on just because you are pregnant. to each his own but i think there are far more important substances to worry about when it comes to your diet while pregnant. such as folic acid and protein. we will get to that in a bit

one of michaels favorite stories to tell is the one about my hounddog nose, it is practically a super power. we went to wendy's i ordered a jr bacon cheeseburger PLAIN. he gets the bag in his hand gets it just inside the window and i smell lettuce. i say go ahead and send it back its not plain hes of course astonished and not believing me i said fine dont believe me just check it......sure enough, lettuce. michaels response?
                          Im taking you hunting

Nice right? God love him.

**another thing, people told me i would be tired, no one mentioned it would be a tired that i couldnt resist. first trimester, i was so tired i barely made it home from class and in the door before id fall asleep. exhausted constantly.

back to the gist of things! after christmas, sickness was a little better but i still couldnt eat meat. so my precious hubs made me eggs every morning so that i could have energy and take in enough protein. adorable, i know ;) baby girl started reallllllly packing on the pounds literally the week after the wedding. so grateful for that one. she literally popped up over night. trying to get dressed was ALWAYS my biggest battle. still is some days. i was trying to avoid buying maternity clothes if at all possible. they are expensive guys, and you dont wear them very long. 

     GO TO TARGET!!

cutest maternity clothes for the usual target prices! once i caved, i wished i had sooner, a maternity tshirt provided so much more support, i know its still a tshirt and on the hanger it looks no different but really just trust me. another thing i didnt know about or do until march, maternity panties.  JUST DO IT. please. and do it before 30 some odd weeks. my mood elevated by two notches at least. again, they dont look any different. they are annoying now that i am not pregnant any more so i boxed them up bc id grab them by mistake. but when preggo, they are one of the best purchases. 

**this paragraph read at your own risk. this may be offensive to some but this is true and its my experience. 

My only hope in posting this is that it will be useful to some of you and keep you from being too hard on yourself and knowing that you are a good person and mother. Maybe this will even help prevent postpartum in some of you. HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF. you can do this even if you feel the way i did. You WILL get control of your hormones and it will be ok. give yourself the time you deserve.
 this is one of the biggest adjustments of your life.
yes everyone tells you that and you think you get what they are saying but you dont. i was so lucky to have a close friend in my life telling me its ok its still early. take a breath. let me be that friend to you. dont get down on yourself too early. you can do this!!!!!! 

Ever since i was little, i couldnt wait to be a mommy. pregnancy always seemed like the best thing since sliced bread. eat whatever you want, you glow, everything is perfect, you are growing your baby its beautiful!! all of which is not true. maybe its because i was living in lala land about pregnancy before but i was so surprised but let me help you prepare.

first things first. 

yes it is BEAUTIFUL. 

when you feel those butterflies that you know is your baby moving. it will take your breath away. when you see him or her move your stomach youll be creeped out but in a awesome way. youll love it and not be able to get enough of how amazingly creepy it is that you can see a little person slide across the inside of your body. you will love that feeling and that baby and that responsibility more than anything in the world. it is way more than worth it.

SIDE NOTE: it becomes a totally different love when that same baby is born. it doesnt feel like the same baby. you know it is but it evolves in an instant. more elaboration in the future when i tell you about april 24 :)

however, i was not a gloriously happy pregnant person. Braxton hicks start way earlier than you expect. you cant always eat what ever you want. if you find something that doesnt make you sick there is a major chance it will give you indigestion. you are incredibly clumsy. getting dressed for the grocery store is a hassle. showering is practically a sport. the list goes on.

i felt guilty when i was in a bad mood or so uncomfortable i didnt feel like moving. i felt guilty napping. i felt like i wasnt appreciating how lucky i was to even be pregnant. of course my sweet hubs came to my rescue again. he reminded me that while some people can eat whatever they want and dont have to worry about their baby's size or going to school etc and thats great! they have their own crosses to bear that you may or may not see. i should always be grateful and enjoy our baby but not to guilt myself over bad days or moods. everything in your life will be perfect because you are married and pregnant. to always remember that YOU ARE NOT YOURSELF. best words he could have said. i wasnt just me and i wasnt the only one in my body. its a hormonal battle! yes try to fight try to be happy of course, but its ok that you are cheery or gloriously happy constantly. dont let that get you down. you are not a bad or ungrateful mother (bc yes you are already a mother the minute you see two lines.) 

ENJOY being lazy when you can. ENJOY your naps. Enjoy those hormones as much as you dont want to. youll miss being pregnant, even i do!! 

as i reach the end of my preggo post, i will add the last few weeks and decisions when i post my april 24 post :) so many emotions and words of advice but i feel like this is a good place to stop before the big day of my baby girls arrival.

my last piece of advice for pregnancy (on this post) is 

           make daddy bear talk to your belly. 

he wont want to and at first you wont really want him to. seems odd. but your baby will of course recognize your voice. but it was such a blessing to see her react to his voice. after my c-section i saw her and took our picture etc (save details for tomorrow) and they took her to heater operating room. i could hear her crying and michael walked back over to her after checking on me said "heyyyy its okay" and she stopped. only for a minute or two, until they stuck her and started bothering her again but she stopped. i bet you can guess who started crying then. 

               it was amazing. 

she knew it was him and she stopped and thought hey i know that voice. of course she was a few minutes old she cried again. but the fact that his voice got her attention even if just for a minute made all the difference. for the two of us, having the feeling that our child knew her feet hurt or she was cold but she was not alone, gave us so much peace. 

love you all thanks for stopping by! see you soon :)

Oh Where to Begin

i guess i should begin at the beginning.....here is my conundrum,

             which beginning to begin with??

for those of you not as close to me as some, i will start at the beginning of my journey with michael.

              Super Bulldog Weekend in Starkville 2009-when and where we met
    
               May 2009- "Dating"

               June 2009- "Exclusive"

               April 1 2011- May 14 2011- Hiatus (unfortunate)

               June 2011- "Exclusively" Reunited

               October 2011- Engaged
            
               January 2012- Married :)
              
     Now you are all caught up!
     Well, kinda....thats the basics.

Next beginning would be baby girl. little miss arrived on the scene September 2011. 37 weeks later, she arrived in Madison on one of the best days ever.

        April 24, 2012

I'm not sure how much detail to go into on that. I transferred to MC, completed my semester there "out to here" pregnant as i like to say. many many things i could say. my pregnancy post will have to come tomorrow. and probably come up sporadically very frequently.

Let me take a step back

Lets talk about the beginning of 2012. it will be much easier to follow my crazy year and 3 months that i have had and that have obviously  been a little all over the map.

like i said, started mc and got married on another one of the best days ever

          January 14, 2012 (yes i know our anniversary is so soon! cant wait!!)

then the whirlwind really began. ill let you know when it stops. We lived with my parents for a few months and bought a car. lovin the Chevy Equinox. stayed a few more months and now we own a home! all while having an adorable baby girl, me being in school full time, and a wedding to attend either out of town or one to be in, in town every single month! we've loved it but like i said,                          
                        WHIRLWIND.

so many things i could go on and on about. we have been so incredibly blessed this year. i have wanted to start this blog to rave about these many blessings since just before Elizabeth Ann arrived but clearly i did not have the time to stop and figure things out. i used the rainy holiday as my excuse to stare at the computer reading every time she napped ha! i'm sure i will back track and give a story when my heart is pulled to but i just hope that we will continue to be blessed in 2013 and im so glad all of you stopped by to hear about our journey and my take on life and all my lovely opinions. Since im fairly young and a couple of steps ahead of most of my friends on the married/baby/homeowner front, prepare yourself, you will hear about all those things that people just dont tell you about when you are approaching those things.  for some odd reason i feel it is my personal duty to get all you girls feet wet who arent near marriage or living with a man or dont have a clue about pregnancy or life with a newborn or how frustrating it really ends up being that they ALWAYS miss the hamper somehow.

love you all thanks for stopping by! come back soon :)