2012 Recap

2012 has been an amazing and exciting year for both me and Kevin!

We started the year off with a UNC Tarheels basketball game.

We went to the circus for the first time together.

We went to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN with Kev's family. It was the first time we've all taken a trip to the mountains together and we had so much fun we decided to make it an annual tradition.

I celebrated my 22nd birthday. 

I finished my first year of teaching! 

(sorry no picture!)

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary. 

We went to the beach for a week this summer with Kevin's family. 

In fact, we went to the beach in June, July, & November!

We found out we were having a baby!

& that she was a girl!

All in all, it's been a fantastic year and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us and our newest addition to the family (:

21 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 21 weeks

Baby Size: She's about the size of a banana

Total weight gain: Still somewhere between 3-5 pounds

Maternity clothes? Still no but I did go buy more jeans last weekend and broke down and bought a bigger size so I could wear them longer 

Stretch marks? No but I'm still relying on the cocoa butter

Sleep:  Thanks to being a teacher that's out on Christmas break... my sleep is amazing! haha

Best moment this week:  Celebrating Christmas with the family knowing that next year is going to be so very different

Miss Anything? Nope, I'm perfectly content with how things are 

Movement: She squirms around all the time! 

Food cravings: Lucky Charms and milk (:

Anything making you queasy or sick: Well for the first time during this pregnancy, I really thought I was going to be sick. It happened Christmas morning and I chalk it up to the fact that in a period of twenty minutes, I'd drank two glasses of orange juice, a large glass of homemade hot chocolate, and ate a cinnamon roll. I'll chalk it up to the sugar I practically inhaled that my body is very unused to!

Gender: A girl!

Labor Signs:  None

Symptoms: Still just indegestion

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Mood: Happy as usual!

Looking forward to: Beginning to decorate Harper's nursery! We've finally picked out her bedding after the original bedding we had picked out was out of stock everywhere! 

20 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 20 weeks

Baby Size: She's about the size of a small cantaloupe

Total weight gain: Two weeks ago I'd gained 3 pounds, so I'm guessing somewhere between 3 and 5. 

Maternity clothes? Not yet. 

Stretch marks? Nope but I've been applying cocoa butter more often since my belly seems to be growing each night!

Sleep:  I've been exhausted lately due to my low iron levels so I've been getting lots of sleep. By lots, I mean anywhere from 10-12 hours a night :P

Best moment this week:  Feeling Harper squirm around in there!

Miss Anything? Being able to take medicine that actually worked! 

Movement: I can feel her squirming whenever I'm laying down!  It's the most amazing feeling in the world! 

Food cravings: Nothing particular but I've found my love for sweet tea again!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Just this awful headache I've had for three days! 

Gender: A girl!

Labor Signs:  None

Symptoms: Indigestion and exhaustion

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Mood: Happy as usual!

Looking forward to: Going to see Harper again on Thursday. We're having to have another ultrasound because two weeks ago, she wouldn't let the doctors see her face! She's gonna be just like her daddy...stubborn as all get out when it comes to her picture being taken!

Week 19

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 19 weeks

Baby Size: Baby Holt weights 0.7 oz according to our last ultrasound! She's about the size of a mango according to all of my pregnancy apps on my phone. 

Total weight gain: Sure enough I've gained 3 pounds (: It's amazing how three weeks out of the gym will put the pounds on you! haha

Maternity clothes? Still none!

Stretch marks? Not yet! 

Sleep:  Back to sleeping like a baby!

Best moment this week:  Finding out that Baby Holt is a healthy baby girl!

Miss Anything? I miss being skinny haha 

Movement: Just a few flutters. 

Food cravings: All things fried! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nah

Gender: A girl!

Labor Signs:  None

Symptoms: Still indegestion!

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Mood:  Happy as can be (:

Looking forward to: Decorating the nursery!

Baby Holt is a ...

Girl!

We are so blessed to be having a healthy baby girl. 

My only hope is that she looks just like her daddy...

dark skin and a head full of black hair!

(:

*Pictures from our gender reveal party are to come soon!

Gender Predictions

Tomorrow is the BIG day! 

We'll finally know if Baby Holt is a he or a she. 

Up until this week, I thought I could go my entire pregnancy without knowing if Baby Holt was a girl or boy. I know, I know! People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them that but I'm just as shocked as you and the rest of them are. Growing up, I always thought I'd be dying to know what I was having the moment I found out I was pregnant. However, I found that quite the opposite was true. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I no longer cared if I had a boy or girl. I was just happy to be having a baby. But now that the day is almost here, I'm getting pretty excited to find out if Baby Holt is indeed a he or a she and I'm not sure that I could go the whole time without knowing.  Though when asked what I hope it is, I still say I don't care because I'm just happy that God blessed me with the ability to have a baby and that's the honest truth. I'd love to have a daughter and a son so either works for me. I suppose I'll be able to tell you what I'd like to have the second go round (: But we'll see. I haven't gotten the first one here yet so whose to say there will be another. haha

Anyways, in lieu of tomorrow's events, I decided to look up a few old wive's tales...even though none of them are proven to have any absolute truth. But it's still fun!

What the old wive's tales say

Is the heartbeat above or below140?

Above... The first time we went, Baby Holt's heartbeat was around 174 and the second time it was at 153. 

Are you craving sweet or salty?

Salty without a doubt! This baby loves pizza and McDonald's french fries! I'd say thats a boy's diet if I've ever heard of one!

What does the Chinese Gender Chart say? 

Girl

Are you having morning sickness, yes or no?

I got nauseated at the beginning but I never threw up. So I guess that would qualify as a no. Though some doctors say that if nausea is still considered morning sickness so depending on how you take it this could mean yes. 

Do you have headaches, yes or no? 

For about two weeks, I had them almost everyday. But I didn't have them before or after so I'm not sure what this qualifies as but for the heck of it, I guess we'll say yes. 

Do you sleep on the right or left side? 

Ha this makes me laugh because I toss and turn all night so I can't really give you an honest answer. But if I had to narrow it down, I'd say I typically sleep more on the left. 

Are you carrying the baby high or low?

I guess you could say high. However, the doctor told me due to the fact that I have a tilted uterus and very tight abs, the baby would be carried high because it didn't have a choice. So you might as well disregard this question. lol

What my class says

Earlier this week, I had my class cast their votes for what they thought Baby Holt was going to be. In the end, the vote was 4 for a girl and 18 for a boy.  I have a very smart class so we'll see if the majority was correct (:

What the hubby says
Up until last week, the hubby was sure that we were having a girl. When asked why he thought that it was a girl he always had one of two responses. One was "I just do" and the other was, "Well it's just me and Bryan so since Mom had two boys, we'll end up having all girls". I just laughed and told Kevin just because his parents had two boys didn't mean we wouldn't end up with a boy. It took him awhile but he finally changed his mind and announced to me at dinner a few weeks ago that he now thought we were having a son though again he didn't know why he thought that. 

What I think
When I was about five or six weeks pregnant, a friend of mine and I were talking as we were walking out of TJ Maxx. As we headed to the car, a thought out of no where popped into my mind. It was the strangest thing because we hadn't even been talking about Baby Holt but the thought that I was having a son came out of no where. With that said, I've thought Baby Holt was a boy since about the beginning. 

However, there have been a few times when I've questioned if I believe it's a girl. For instance, when I've dreamed about Baby Holt, it's been a little girl that looks just like her Daddy. And something else that really makes me think I may be wrong is that the day my mother-in-law was going to tell her coworker that I was expecting, her coworker told her that she'd had a dream that my mother in law was holding a little girl in the hospital that had a head full of black hair. It was the strangest thing considering she had no idea Janet was fixing to be a grandmother. 

So for the most part, I'm thinking Baby Holt is a boy but a small part of me thinks Baby Holt might be a girl afterall. But regardless, we'll see tomorrow! 

In the meantime, leave me your prediction (:

Week 18

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 18 weeks

Baby Size: About the size of a sweet potato

Total weight gain: I'm not sure! We'll find out Thursday. I'm guessing maybe about 3 pounds?!

Maternity clothes? Still none!

Stretch marks? Not yet!

Sleep:  Pretty good. I'm trying to wean myself from sleeping on my stomach and trying to make myself go back to sleeping on my side. It's really hard though!

Best moment this week:  Finally having the energy to get our house cleaned and decorated for the holiday season!

Miss Anything? Just having more energy to do stuff!

Movement: Every now and then I feel like I feel a few flutters but I'm not sure.  Everyone keeps saying that when they start moving I'll know for certain so who knows if what I think I'm feeling is what I actually am feeling.

Food cravings: Noting particularly. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nah. (thank you Jesus!)

Gender:  I think BOY! We find out on Thursday!

Labor Signs:  None

Symptoms: Heartburn! My word this baby better have lots of hair when he/she comes out! haha

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Mood: Excited!

Looking forward to: Finding out what Baby Holt is on Thursday and then telling everyone at the gender reveal party!

A Little Monday Inspiration

Mondays are always hard so let me share an inspirational story to get you through your day. I promise it's worth the three minutes and fifteen seconds it takes to watch it. 

FYI, make sure you have a tissue at hand or at least nearby.

You'll need it (:

Twas the month before Christmas...

 FIRST CHRISTMAS CARD

 Cleverly done!!!

 Twas the month before Christmas

 When all through our land,

 Not a Christian was praying

 Nor taking a stand.

 Why the PC Police had taken away

 The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

 The children were told by their schools not to sing

 About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

 It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say

 December 25th is just a ' Holiday'.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit

 Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

 CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod

 Something was changing, something quite odd!

 Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa

 In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears

You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty

Are words that were used to intimidate me.

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded

The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,

not Happy Holiday!

Please, all Christians join together and

wish everyone you meet

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

Baby Holt's Nursery Ideas

One of the things Kevin and I are most looking forward to about knowing if Baby Holt is a boy or girl is the fact that we can finally start working on Baby Holt's nursery. Over Thanksgiving break, we found some baby furniture that I absolutely love. Kevin wasn't with me when I stumbled upon it but much to my excitement, he really liked it too from the pictures I sent him. So I believe we finally have the furniture picked out. We've also picked out some bedding sets for our little bundle of joy. Initially I didn't want a child like nursery (i.e. pink, blue, or yellow walls; character or themed bedding, etc). I was hoping to make Baby Holt's room very sophisticated and adult like but after flipping through hundreds (literally, no lie) of bedding sets online, I've actually rethought that and we've come up with a few bedding set ideas. Because I'm so excited, I figured I'd share them with you ladies to get your opinions. Let me know which you like for a boy and which you like for a girl!  After all, at this point, we're not sure which we're buying for! (:

Furniture

I fell in love with the Adele Caffe Collection!

Boy Bedding

This was the bedding I originally fell in love with because I wanted to do the nursery in navy, green, and gray if we had a boy. Plus, it wasn't too baby looking and it could be monogrammed. You can never go wrong with a monogram (: It just happens to be as much as the baby bed because of it being custom made.

But then when I went to look for baby furniture, this Zootopia set was placed on the furniture set I liked and it looked so great with it. On top of it, I loved the dark colors and all of the adorable animals on the bedding set. It's the only themed set I've seen thus far that I don't think I'd get tired of. So now I'm torn. But I wonder, is the animal print too much for a boy?

Of course my hubby has played sports all of his life so I know he would secretly like to do a sports themed nursery. However, most of the sports themed baby bedding sets are ugly and I can't stand all of the blue that they usually include. But then I stumbled upon this vintage sports themed baby bedding set and I really liked it. It had some potential. I liked the dark colors and I thought it looked somewhat sophisticated as well. But then again, I wonder, will I get tired of a "themed" nursery. But on the plus side, with it being vintage, I can use some of Kevin's old baseball equipment in the room for decoration. 

And as a final option, I pinned this off of pinterest a while back. I liked the dark brown, tans, and reds together. I also liked the touch of the dog print though I wouldn't use all of the dog pieces because then it might be a bit much. I also liked the idea of using red in a nursery because it's not a color you see used in a nursery very often and it just so happens to be Kevin's favorite color so he likes the idea of incorporating it too. 

Girl Bedding

When I saw this bedding set for a girl, it was love at first sight. I love all of the patterns and I love how it includes a darker shade of pink and doesn't overly do it. On top of that, I think it screams sophistication and isn't at all babyish. But then I realized that it doesn't come with a matching comforter and it makes me sad. Is a comforter that important? The set includes an ivory minky blanket {the one pictured hanging on the end of the bed} because the company doesn't make a matching comforter. Does that ruin the look?

But as I was searching overstock.com I came across this adorable pink and gray elephant bedding set. I love the gray and the touches of pink. But most of all I love the elephants. Elephants are my thing. So now I'm torn between the two girls sets. Do I go for the sophisticated set or the cute set? My only fear is that after awhile the elephant theme will get on my nerves since I'm not big into theme bedding.

Well cast your vote on your favorite for a boy and your favorite for a girl. We plan on ordering a set as soon as we know what Baby Holt is so that we can work on the nursery during my Christmas break (:

It Happened...

My family told me it would happen. My friends told me it would happen. My coworkers told me it would happen. Every single one of them were all right because it did happen.

"What happened?" you ask. 

The infamous emotional breakdown caused by pregnancy.

And let me tell you all about it because looking back it just makes me laugh and it may make you laugh too.

Saturday morning I had the bright idea to tackle a long list of to-dos. The list consisted of the following:

- Go purchase a new Christmas tree

- Pick up Alpine Christmas trees from Mom and Dad's

- Sweep and vacuum floors

- Dust the furniture

- Windex all windows and mirrors

- Clean the bathrooms

- Tackle the laundry (wash, dry, and put away)

- Switch out my summer closet with my winter closet

- Start decorating for Christmas

I was determined to get my list completed. I was so sick and tired of looking at our poor disaster of a house. So I woke up early and got to work. 

By lunch time, I had made a trip to Lowes, two trips to Walmart, purchased a new pre-lit Christmas tree, picked up the three Alpine trees from my parents' house, swept the floors, cleaned the counters, dusted all of the furniture downstairs, and even met my best friend for lunch at our favorite local spot. But then, I was exhausted. So I decided to do what any rational person would do. I decided to take a break. The problem was I decided to take a break in front of the tv. Big mistake with the holiday movies on. So  my plan to take a five minute break turned into a break that lasted about an hour. 

But I was determined to finish what I'd started so I got back to work. I washed some laundry, put up the new Christmas tree to decorate when the hubs got home, and even got the dining room decorated for the holidays. 

By the time I looked at the clock, it was 6:00pm and Kevin and I were supposed to meet our family for dinner. So I rushed upstairs, jumped in the shower, then hopped out to get ready. As I stood their drying off, I started noticing things around me. I hadn't cleaned the counters, swept the bathroom floor, or cleaned the commode. In fact, I hadn't even touched our bathroom. Then the tears started to fall. I tried to tell myself I was being ridiculous. I reminded myself that my list was so long and I should have known that I couldn't have tackled it all in one day but did that do any good? Not at all. 

Afraid the hubby would see me crying, I went to our closet on the hunt to find something to wear for dinner. Yet, there I was, bombarded with the fact that all the clothes hanging were all spring and summer clothes because I hadn't switched over my closets. So the tears came even harder. After hiding in the closet crying for at least ten minutes, I finally got it together and headed back to the bathroom to do my make up.

As Kevin and I were walking out the door to go, Kevin asked me if I was ok. It was a simple question but at the time it was the wrong question. Standing there in our garage, I completely lost it. I explained to Kevin how I felt like I was going to be an awful mom because I couldn't even look after the two of us. I told him how I thought our house looked like a disaster because I hadn't had the energy to clean it in forever. I told him how just the thought of our bathrooms being so disgusting about made me sick. I explained that I felt like the bathrooms would look like that for the next five months because I was afraid I'd be sick from the cleaning supplies or worse that breathing them in would hurt the baby. I told him how awful I felt as a wife because I didn't have the energy to cook anymore or even to hang out with him when he got home from work. I told him that our floors looked awful because by the time I pulled out our heavy vacuum cleaner, I didn't have the energy to actually use it. I explained to him that by the time I wash the laundry, I don't have the energy to put it up so it just sits there in our bedroom, out in the open. I let it all out and by the time I was done, my make up was all down my face! But when  I finished, you know what my husband did? He just hugged me and told me it would all be okay and that he would help out. He told me all I had to do was tell him all this before it happened. And then I teared up again because my husband was so wonderful and I had no time for him. This time at least I didn't ball like a baby but the tears streamed down my face for the entire ride to the restaurant. Thank God when we got out, I was able to quickly get myself together and by the time dinner was over, I had forgotten all about my current woes and worries.

Looking back, I've forgotten them now and realize how irrational they all were but the thought of the whole fiasco brings a smile to my face. I truly was being the epitome of a drama queen and I blame it all on pregnancy. 

Any other pregnant baby mama's that this has happened to recently?!

17 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 17 weeks

Baby Size: About the size of an onion

Total weight gain: As of my last appointment two weeks ago, I hadn't gained a pound. But after Thanksgiving, I'm pretty sure that is no longer the case. haha

Maternity clothes? None so far! I still fit in all of my regular clothes and thanks to how the sweaters are made these days, most people can't even tell I'm pregnant. 

Stretch marks? Not so far! But I'm still applying the Cocoa butter every few days!

Sleep:  I sleep pretty well but I sure do have the strangest dreams now days!

Best moment this week:  Planning Baby Holt's gender reveal party

Miss Anything? Actually being motivated and having the energy to clean our house!

Movement: I'm pretty sure I felt a few flutters the other night as I laid on my stomach! 

Food cravings: Still Mexican which is fine by me!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not that I can think of right off hand. 

Gender:  I think BOY! We find out on December 6th though!

Labor Signs:  None

Symptoms: Still just exhaustion and getting out of breath when walking up stairs.

Belly Button in or out? In 

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Mood: Happy as can be (:

Looking forward to: Baby Holt's gender reveal party!

Women Connect: Meet Me (:

Like Becky, I'm having trouble starting this blog post so I suppose after writing, erasing, and rewriting to do it all over again, I might as well just jump in and forget about this being perfect. So if you're new to my blog "WELCOME" and if you're not, well then just read and enjoy (: Maybe you'll learn something you didn't already know! :P

I'm Sara. It's so very nice to meet you! I've grown up in the same southern town in NC all of my life. It's one of those towns that everyone complains about but no one seems to leave. I'm a third grade teacher. I'm the daughter of the most amazing set of parents in the world. They brought me up in a Christian home and taught me what love was all about. I'm a sister to a wonderful brother and an amazing sister. I have the same four best friends that I've had all of my life. My camera goes everywhere I go and if you wander over to my blog often, you'll be bombarded with lots of pictures. 

This would be me and my hubby. His name is Kevin and he's not only my husband, he's my best friend, confidant, #1 supporter, and my very own comedian. We were married on May 21, 2011. I like to think that we're still newlyweds; though I'm not sure people would classify us as that. But we're still learning about the ups and downs of married life and just taking it one day at a time so I feel like the term still applies. 

This is where we call home. We purchased our house two months after we got engaged. That was over 2 years ago and we've just finished getting it decorated and to my liking. What can I say? I love to decorate but I can be a bit picky :P One of these days, I'll get around to doing a home tour to show you ladies the inside. 

This is Rimshot; though he's better known as Rimy. He's our precious furbaby. We've had him since he was eight weeks old and he's brought so much joy and laughter into our lives over the last two years.

In May of 2013, we'll be welcoming our little Tarheel to the world. {Yes, we're big UNC Tarheel fans} We are so excited and anxious to meet our new addition though I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous. We'll find out if Baby Holt is a boy or girl in 9 days! If you're pregnant, a new mama, or a mama of many years, all comments, advice, and stories are welcome here (: 

I initially started this blog as a place to jot down my thoughts. At some point, I changed the name of the blog to reflect mine and my hubby's memories that we made because I was terrified of forgetting them as they were replaced with new ones. As time has gone on, my blog has morphed from not just being about mine and the hubby's memories but also about our lives in general. I like to share our house projects, diy ideas, recipes we've tried, what we've done on the weekends, etc. 

Well that's a bit about me and this blog. I hope you'll come back again soon. Feel free to leave me a comment so I can go and read about you (: