||Pregnancy Questions||

How far along?  37 weeks

Stretch marks?  YES! I all of a sudden started getting so many. I thought it would bum me out, but I honestly don't even mind them. He is worth every single one!

Sleep? Still sleeping good! If I didn't pee 4-6 times a night, I would say there is zero complaints on my sleep! ;)

Miss anything? Now that I'm so close to the end, and so huge - I miss everything! I can't wait to do things on my own again, and even walk without this waddle!

Movement? Still constant movement! He is getting so big & strong in there!

Cravings? Haven't really been experiencing cravings lately- just always thirsty for an ice water!

Belly button- in or out? Flat button! Sometimes it pokes out a little if I've eaten lots though!

Feeling? I'm feeling good! I get exhausted fast & I can't walk around for long - but other than that, I'm just so over excited about meeting my baby!!!

Yesterday I had my 37 week appointment! Baby boy is still doing great, already in position to come out! I am 1 centimeter dilated & 50% effaced! I'm just hoping he will stay in there a little bit longer & wait for Daddy to drive from Wyoming! It's so cool to think that in less than a month I'll be able to hold him in my arms & that he will be ours - forever!

I'll definitely miss playing games with him in there though. Usually he will kick water bottles right off my belly!

In other news - Shawn got me my mama car!! It's a 2010 Mazda CX-7.We have been looking for months & I finally found this one. I loved it instantly. It's a smooth ride, very comfy, gorgeous interior, lots of space, & it came with a tv that folds down on the ceiling so I can play movies for our little man during our many road trips! 

I'm not sure there's anything else to update you guys on! - but, if anyone has any advice on things they highly suggest me packing in my hospital bag, then please feel free to send me a list or the things you just couldn't live without! 

▸▸▸ katie 

Restless Mama

I am so blown away by how fast my pregnancy has gone by. It is still surreal that I'm even having a baby! I'm already so in love with this sweet little soul and I know I'm in for the most intense love I've ever known. He will be here in less than a month! I know I've said this before but, this pregnancy has been the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced. It is truly remarkable that my body was made for this. I think I've been pretty blessed though- I've had it pretty easy. I am just barely starting to get uncomfortable, and even that just depends on how he's situated in there. I have slept great the entire time, until tonight! But I think that's only because I am so excited! I day dream about him being here, then when it's time to sleep, I have problems shutting my brain off! I can't wait to just have him in my arms.

So, a little update on our life right now... Sadly, I'm in Utah while Shawn works in Wyoming. It is so hard being away from him. Especially while being pregnant. Baby E loves hearing daddy's voice, and I know Shawn hates not being able to hold on to my belly every night and feel his little boy moving around. It is so hard being away from my other half, but everything we do now, is for our son. He is already worth every minute we have to be apart. Shawn's job moves around a lot, and it's very unpredictable! So, we decided to rent out my mom's basement until his job signs on a long term contract somewhere. Hopefully it will only be a couple months! I'm so grateful for my hard working husband. He is amazing! 

My Dr. appointments have been going great! I'll now be going in every week for check-ups! Baby boy is measuring perfectly. I've gained about 21 pounds at this point - and my Dr. is guessing that he will weigh between 7 and 8 pounds! I'm starting to get pretty nervous about giving birth. I have felt so peaceful, and at ease with the thought of it, until recently when every woman decides to tell me her horror story! So, I've decided to kindly ask them to save their story for after I give birth to my little guy. I know my body was meant for this, and that he will be worth every bit of the pain and torture. Even though, I fully plan on getting an epidural- I'm still scared and worried! I'm hoping everything will go smoothly and that he will be a healthy, strong, little chunk. 

I'm pretty sure we have finally decided on a name for him too! We still have a few back up names, just in case the one we like doesn't fit! But we won't be announcing it until the big day! We have gone through so many names, and changed our minds a million times! It's so hard to name a person! Especially because Shawn and I both think he needs a strong name that will fit him for life, not just a cute baby name. I can't wait to share it with you guys!! 

-- I will do my pregnancy questions on my next post, and put up some bump pictures! 

xx, Katie

I'm the worst blogger!

Well, seeing as being a better blogger is one of my resolutions this year - I probably should get on that! Once I sit down to write, between letters to my baby & journal entries, I'm pretty drained before getting to my blog. So maybe I'll just try to blog once a week! 

2014 has been pretty good to us so far! We are starting to get extremely anxious with the arrival of our baby boy in 9 weeks. This pregnancy has flown by! It seems weird that I'm almost done with this journey, and preparing to start an even better one. We have moved so many times in these 8 months, it's crazy! I think between moving & trips home, it's helped the time pass! I have a feeling it will start to slow down because of how excited we are, & how crowded my belly is getting! 

I still don't have many complaints about pregnancy. There's definitely days where I'm more uncomfortable & just wish he could be out already, but it's so amazing going through this experience. We got a 3D/4D ultrasound just a few days ago & it was SO cool! Definitely worth the extra money! We were so happy when we got to see his squishy face. He was still stubborn, just like he's been in all my ultrasounds! He was hiding most of his face & trying to sleep. It was so neat though- cause usually we can't get good pictures because he won't hold still! He seemed so content in there. Just smiling, sticking his tongue out, & poking out his perfect lips! Did I mention that he is a chunk?! Oh man. If you didn't know this, chunky babies are my favorite & as soon as I laid eyes on those cheeks, I instantly had the urge to kiss & squeeze em! I could go on for days talking about all the things I'm excited to do with my babe, but I'll resist. Haha 

||Pregnancy Questions|| -

How far along?  31 weeks

Stretch marks? Not really- there are a few small ones, but none on my belly so far. 

Sleep? Now that he's getting more crowded, it's definitely harder to stay comfortable or even breathe! But yoga & little workouts help move him down so he's not up in my ribs! 

Miss anything? Haha! Umm.. Putting on my own shoes without cussing, ab workouts, sleeping on my belly & feeling sexy! (Any woman who feels sexy at this stage is very lucky- I feel beautiful but no where near sexy) 

Movement? All the time! My belly is always doing crazy things. Playing tag with him is my favorite! 

Cravings? Still fruit! I can't stop eating it. 

Belly button- in or out? It's sorta just flat! I thought it would have popped out by now! So we'll see. ;)

Feeling? I feel good for the most part. I get really short of breath though. Even just from talking! Some days are hard, but I just try to relax, stretch & drink lots of water. 

I am getting maternity photos done when I go to Utah for my baby showers, so I will definitely post some updated bump pictures! 

Wyoming residents!

I'm so excited to finally announce that we moved to Wyoming, and got an apartment! We are so excited to have our own place. We've lived in our Camper Trailer for almost a year, and the thought of living in it after a few nights in our new home, sounds terrifying! Our apartment is pretty empty at this point- seeing as all our furniture was connected to the trailer. ;) I can't wait to start fresh though! I have so many ideas! I'm most excited to do our little man's nursery though. I go in there, sit on the floor & just imagine it filled with his things. I can't wait til he's finally here! 

                       Our bedroom

[i'll be sure to post more of the house as we get it decorated!]

As for the lil guy, he is doing good! Getting bigger every day- kicking constantly! Throughout my pregnancy, I've wondered why I haven't had those uncontrollable cravings everyone talks about! I've mostly just thought things sounded good. But I guess I ignored the fact that since I've been pregnant, I've become addicted to orange juice. I can't even explain how delicious it is! The best part is, baby boy loves it!! He goes crazy in there. Which leads me to my newest (real) craving - anything in the produce section. I woke up the other morning, mouth watering for some fruit & veggies. I guess that's pretty lucky to crave something healthy, rather than fast food or icecream! 

I've recently noticed that a lot of girls complain constantly, about their pregnancy. It honestly drives me crazy. I understand that it gets uncomfortable, and that your back hurts all the time. I'm experiencing that also, but everytime I feel him move or catch myself talking to him all day, that makes up for the aches & pains. I feel so honored to have him in my belly. My body was created for this & I couldn't be more blessed to call him mine.. I just wish women would keep in mind how lucky they are to have this little gift in their bellies, especially when so many never get the opportunity. 

||Pregnancy Questions|| -

How far along?  26 weeks 5 days

Stretch marks? Nope, but now that he's getting so big- I am expecting them any time!

Sleep? It takes me longer to fall asleep cause I get so excited thinking about him, but I'm still sleeping good!

Miss anything? Hard workouts, getting off the floor without help, & fitting into my clothes! 

Movement? Constantly. I swear he does yoga in there. Always stretching out & kicking me. Love every minute of it.

Cravings? Fruits & vegetables! 

Belly button- in or out? Surprisingly, still in! Barely, though. We check every day! ;) 

Feeling? I still feel great! Some days are worse than others but I think that's mostly because I'm nearing my third trimester. I can still get lots done, I just get sore way easy! 

"Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside of me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle."  - Erma Bombeck

Our Son

I know I'm a little late announcing this on my blog, and I'm sure most of you already know, but we are having a BOY!! When I got my first ultrasound, Shawn & I instantly looked at each other saying "It's a boy!" So for 5 weeks we waited impatiently for the gender ultrasound. I would have been happy either way but after feeling so sure it was a boy, we were so excited to see very clearly that it's a boy! I was scared that we wouldn't get to find out because he is SO stubborn! Not only that, but he is a busy little guy. We couldn't get him to sit still long enough to get good pictures. I wanted a shot of his cute tush, and what does he do?! Puts his hands on his bum and starts kicking around. Haha! Needless to say, we are so in love with him. His movements are getting stronger every day, and although it'll get uncomfortable through the last part of my pregnancy, his kicks keep this mama stress free. I'm always laughing and resting my hand on my belly for that next big nudge. I feel extremely blessed.

The past few weeks have been so great! I've been visiting here in Utah with my family, then took a trip to Arizona to visit my brothers, dad, & best friend! It was so amazing. This is my last little vacation before I'm uncomfortably huge & a new mama. My trip home has been fantastic, but longer than expected- although its nice, I miss my husband so bad it hurts. Since finding out about our baby, he bargained with his job to get us out of North Dakota. Neither of us want to raise our baby there. I especially can't handle being that far away from my mom with her new grand baby. We will be living in Wyoming (6 hrs away) until his job transfers to Colorado! I couldn't be more excited. I can't wait to decorate a little home & finally put all my ideas into our boy's nursery! Things finally feel like they're falling into place. 

I have had so many people asking what we will name our tiny, but we seriously have no idea! We have looked through so many names, its unreal! So for the time being, we are going to stop looking because I don't wanna feel rushed into choosing the name he will have the rest of his life. Shawn & I only agree on a few names, and its definitely not worth arguing over. We both deserve to love his name! So if anyone has some cute suggestions, send 'em our way! 

||Pregnancy Questions|| -

How far along?  22 weeks & 5 days

Stretch marks? Still none, but I am starting to get the dark line down my belly!

Sleep? Some nights are harder than others, but I'm still getting tons of sleep.

Miss anything? Abs, sushi, & sleeping on my belly!

Movement? All I ever feel is movement! He is one busy babe! It's the best feeling in the world.

Cravings? Coke - but I'm fighting it as much as I can. I'm such a health nut & I never drink soda normally. So if I give in, its in moderation! 

Belly button- in or out? In - but not for long! 

Feeling? I've been good other than the stomach bug I've had the last few days! I've started to have more pressure on my back, but that just comes with the territory! Especially since he's finally weighing in at 1 pound! Seems small, I know- but he was the size of a peanut. :) 

Time to be a better blogger!

So, I may or may not have forgotten completely about my blog! So much has happened lately. As most of you know, I'm pregnant! The first few months were pretty rough. I rarely had the energy to even get out of bed! I am now 18 weeks and I finally feel like myself again! I want to be better at documenting our life and my pregnancy so my family//friends can always stay caught up with our little family. 

My belly has really seemed to pop the last week! Shawn thinks it gets bigger every day- especially since more than half my clothes don't fit anymore! I am pretty at peace with putting on weight for my sweet baby. I mostly laugh when trying on clothes cause I look like a hillbilly with this big belly hanging out! 

We are headed home in a couple days  to find out the gender! I've been counting down the days. I can't wait to find out - we don't really have a preference on what we want first. At this point, we are both guessing that it's a boy! So we'll find out very soon. I will do a gender reveal post & show you guys the cute baby stuff we get! 

                  Baby at 15 weeks! 

||Pregnancy Questions|| -

How far along? 18 weeks 

Stretch marks? None so far- fingers crossed!

Sleep? It's harder to get comfortable but I'm still getting tons of sleep & a few naps here & there! 

Miss anything? Sleeping on my belly!

Movement? I have felt baby E lots more this week! I only felt flutters for a while but now it seems like he/she is knocking on my belly! 

Cravings? Fruity pebbles, protein shakes & anything sweet! 

Belly button- in or out? In. 

Feeling? Energetic & extremely excited to find out the gender! 

x o x o // k

Home is wherever I'm with you.

We finally made it back to North Dakota. Going from beautiful sunny days back to snowstorms & freezing rain isn't easy to get used to. We brought our camper trailer up here because it's cheaper than paying for the overpriced housing, but so far its been nothing but trouble and stress. The pipes keep freezing up & the heater only works half the time. Shawn is always outside trying to fix things. He is so patient. I'm probably driving him crazy with all my emotions due to how cold, tired, and fed up I am with tryin' to make this camper home. We will get the hang of things soon. Especially after we buy a bigger, nicer one later this week. Haha let's just hope that one doesn't have any problems that keep me curled up in bed til noon. :)I'm pretty good with living in small spaces, especially campers, because it's nice to park it in the pretty spots you can find. Right now, ours is by the lake & it will be perfect for summertime. I think all the these little adventures will make for some great memories/stories later on in life. 

I'm so glad that I get to go through all these experiences with Shawn. Its truly remarkable to have my one. He is my very best friend and life wouldn't be the same if he wasn't my husband. He is constantly working then he comes home to work even more. I'm proud to have a dedicated man, who lives to love & take care of me. We joke around 90% of the time. Non stop laughing & quoting stupid movies. There' no doubt that he was made for me. I'm extremely blessed. [Thank you, hubby]

On a less cheesy note, My sister Jessica and her kids are here! I'm so excited. Picking them up at the airport was the highlight of my week. Seeing how excited they were to see me almost brought me to tears. I love being an aunt. They are absolutely adorable. I'm glad I get to hang with my family for a week. It definitely makes all the little house problems we're having seem insignificant. Life is good. We are blessed. 

Catching Up

I have loved my time at home! So many adventures and new memories. I finally did my photo shoot with the amazing Jake Buntjer. If you want some beautiful, artistic photos done- look him up! He makes you feel very comfortable and has some incredible ideas! I will post some pictures when I get them off my old laptop. Speaking of that, I got a new one! It's a macbook and I seriously love it. It came with photoshop also, which is awesome! I have so many projects to work on. I'll be posting a lot more of my photos real soon! Things are going great - and Shawn will be here tomorrow! I'm thrilled- I haven't seen him in a month! This trip was only supposed to be a few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I love being home but Shawn is my real home. It's hard to function without my heart. Enough with the mushy stuff, I promise I'll start blogging a few times a week. It was one of my goals this year, and I have to stick with it, because I'm following through with all the other ones! 

Easter weekend is always one of my favorites - Shawn rides his dirt bike, I get a tan, take lots of pictures, eat all my favorite fresh fruit, hang with our family, and I thoroughly enjoy every minute of it! I can't wait for this weekend! Shawn could only get a few days off work so we will be going back pretty soon, but it'll be so nice to spend time with our families, together! I'll be sure to post lots of pictures! But for now, I'll give you a sneak peek at my shoot! More to come..

xx, Katie

Home Sweet Home

It feels great to be home! I drove from North Dakota to Utah in 16 hours. It would have been a lot shorter if my stupid iPhone GPS hadn't lead me 2 hours out of the way. I was so mad, but at least the detour was beautiful! I thrifted a pair of earrings, and a vintage tray for $20 when I stopped to rest. I brought my dog with me, and he actually kept me pretty entertained the whole drive. He kept switching from front to back seat, and attempting to lay on my lap also. Haha it was nice to have him to laugh at when I was getting tired. But.. 4 big red bulls later.. HOME! 

I didn't tell my mom I was coming to town and her face was priceless when she saw me on her doorstep. She's the cutest. I know everyone thinks their mom is the best, but seriously.. mine is. After surprising her I showed up at Wal-Mart where one of my best friends was & surprised her also. We got a video of that reaction though! (which I'll post when I can get it on my comp) I was so excited to be here but I was starting to hallucinate, from being so exhausted. But now that I've caught up on sleep, and finally have time to blog, I wanted to share some photos of my trip so far!

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather as much as I am! xx, Katie

Thriftin' Fools!

Shawn and I just so happen to be the best team when it comes to thrifting! We always find the coolest treasures! We are covered in dust by the time the day is done! I don't give up til I find the one thing I was meant to find. Sounds crazy, but I'm serious! Ha last weekend we found High Waisted jeans for me (for cut-offs) 4 flannels for Shawn, curtains, 4 aztec design coffee cups, 3 sweet mexican blankets, and the sweetest Rocky tee shirt. We were freaking out! Then this weekend we weren't even planning on thrifting until we passed a Pawn Shop we had never seen before. I hit the jackpot in there! One onyx ring, 4 Dean Martin records (mint condition), 1 Johnny Cash record, vintage leather jacket for Shawn, Harley Davidson beanie, turquoise/coral knife & finally... the coolest vintage army jacket I've ever seen. All of that for $100. It felt like we stole it! Our weekends are usually packed with adventures since we are so busy during the week. It has been nice getting to spend more time with the hubbs.. 

I almost forgot to mention the most exciting part about our weekend! We went to a Dwight Yoakam concert and it was amaaaazing. I'm not even over exaggerating. He still puts on a great show! I remember being really little, probably 4 or 5 dancing in the living room and falling in love with the way he moves those legs! Haha tight jeans and a cowboy hat. You just can't go wrong with that! We were on row 14 but right at the end, all the security guards let people run up to the stage. So of course, I took off! I even looked in his eyes. I was screaming, not even kidding! Haha dream come true. Such a good kick off for that awesome weekend!