25 Weeks!

Wow...we've reached the 25 week mark with only 15 to go.  I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is going by.  And despite the fact that during the holidays I was fighting off an ear infection, a sinus infection, a ridiculously annoying cough and pink eye (because thankfully, my body is protecting Kollyns...and leaving nothing for me to fight with)-we had a beautiful Thanksgiving with our families...and I've never been more thankful for or more aware of the blessings in our life.  This miracle of life inside of me has opened my eyes to many things and I am now so much more appreciative of the little things I've always taken for granted.  So now we're looking forward to and preparing for Christmas. It's so fun to imagine next year at this time and how different our lives will be.  It's such a sweet thing to think about! Below is my little 25 week survey so I can remember this stage!  We are 3 short weeks away from the third trimester! :)

How far along? 25 Weeks
Total weight gain: 7 lbs
Maternity clothes? Still fitting in most of my old clothes.  I've only bought 2 maternity tanks to wear under open sweaters in case the belly makes a sudden pop and I can't fit into my old tanks.  So far I'm still in my normal sized jeans using the hair band trick.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleep is good.  She has started waking me up at 4:30am with little kicking spells.  I love it.
Best moment this week: Noticing a pattern with her movements. 
Movement: She moves constantly...especially after I finish eating.  I think she loves food as much as I do! :)
Food cravings: Thankfully, none.
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: definitely not!
Belly Button in or out: IN
Wedding rings on or off? On
What I miss: SPIKE energy drinks before workouts...
What I am looking forward to: Reaching the third trimester so we can start counting down!
Weekly Wisdom: I'm loving and appreciating every little movement or kick I can feel and still enjoying all the quality time I have with my amazing husband before her arrival.
Milestones: Movement Patterns...and the baby bed has arrived! YAY!

What the baby looks like this week...

Picture from BabyCenter

behind the name & the nursery...

The Name…


We had no clue how difficult it would be for us to pick our baby’s name. We had a boy name, but not a girl name. All of the girl names that we have had picked out since we got married… have been used by close friends of ours within the last 5 years (unbeknownst to them, of course). So we finally settled on Kollyns River Almond, which I absolutely love because of its uniqueness and timelessness. We saw the name Collins in the movie The Blindside and I thought it was beautiful, but I was worried people would call her Collin (boy name). So we decided to change the spelling to make it feminine and shift the gender-neutral name to a girly name. Kollyns was Devin’s pick, and I can’t wait to tell her that her daddy named her! I picked the middle name River, because I have wanted to name my little girl or boy River for forever. Of course, someone beat me to it, so I settled on the middle. It’s so significant too because of how much Devin and I love the river and how it played such a huge part in his life growing up. So yeah, her name is Kollyns River! And we love it! I think she loves it too, because when I talk to her and call her by name, it’s like she’s dancing around in there…which is so sweet.

The Nursery…

So this was an easy decision. I was browsing through baby bedding and saw an adorable collection by Glenna Jean. It’s called the ‘Kirby Collection’ and it’s made up of hot pink, lime, yellow, black and grayish/silver. The walls in the baby room are already a gray color so I was ELATED to figure out that we didn’t need to paint, and I’m sure Devin is pretty happy about that too! So below are some pictures of the prospective room design (minus some of the extra floral details). I like bold and modern, so I’m going to stick with the bedding only having the floral and everything else will be accented with bold pieces. I’m in love with the shimmery silver drapes and the chandelier!

A few of my favorite things...

                               Love these drapes!!!                     

The Glenna Jean Kirby Collection

 Girly Pink Rug is a must! :)

 Her Sheets...

 Matching Musical Mobile

Sweet Baby Chandelier...

sweet baby girl...

First of all I'm sorry this post is so long, but I have so much to say!  And I can’t even begin to describe how our morning went without first reflecting on how great our God is.  I have been full of wonder throughout this whole journey, and at the same time full of worry.  I worry so much for the baby that is inside of me right now, that I’m protecting.  I can’t imagine the worries that come along with motherhood, once this sweet innocent life enters this sometimes not so beautiful world.  Every morning and night, and a lot of times throughout the day I will cover my belly with my hands and pray and plead with God to bless us with a healthy child that will one day live his/her life in light of eternity.  I pray that our sweet little one will live according to God’s will and will keep in mind that this life isn’t about us at all, it’s about bringing glory to our ever-faithful, true, and merciful Heavenly Father.  I constantly have to remind myself of this because it’s something so easily forgotten in this ‘me, me, me’ world, and I must always remember to remind my baby from where our blessings flow.  With that said, this ultrasound made it all so incredibly real to both me and Devin.   Our baby looked like a baby, FINALLY!!! We saw it dancing and kicking and moving those little arms.  And then we got a glimpse of the face.  She zoomed in on the nose and it looked IDENTICAL to Devin’s.  After she checked out everything to make sure the baby was healthy and growing nicely, she called in my Dad, Mom, and Terry.  We waited until they were in there to find out the gender and she said IT’S A GIRL!  Mom and I both started crying…it was the sweetest thing!  Devin’s face lit up so bright because he’s wanted a girl all along.  I was absolutely shocked (a happy shock, of course) because I just KNEW it was a boy.  I had convinced myself that I was having a boy…I thought I had some seriously good intuition, but obviously I was far off.  Ha.  And it was very clearly a little girl!  I can’t believe now I can say I’m having a daughter!  It’s the best feeling in the world!  We can’t wait to spoil her and dress her up and put little bows in her hair. After we got over the initial excitement of knowing what we were having she started pulling up 4D images of our baby girl’s face.  Oh my WORD does our child look like her daddy.  She has Devin’s face completely!  I never knew that you could distinguish features this early…but clearly daddy’s little girl is daddy’s spitting image.  I couldn’t be more thrilled with that because obviously I love the way Devin looks, so she will be one pretty little doll baby.   Now as we wait for our little princess to arrive we have to start acting instead of just dreaming.  Here comes the name game, and nursery decorating, and buying little baby things.  Here comes the FUN PART!  Well, fun for me.  Devin doesn’t exactly enjoy shopping…so hopefully one day my little girl will be mommy’s shopping partner.  But we still get to dream together…that’s the beauty of all of this.  And it’s a great time passer when all we can do is wait for her arrival.  We are still holding on to hope and faith in the dream that we will be blessed with a long happy life with our baby so we can teach her and so she can teach us.  I want us to become childlike with her,  I can’t wait to watch her experience the beauties of this world for the first time and get a glimpse of this life through her sweet, innocent, perfect eyes.  



So I'm officially halfway through my pregnancy and I thought this day would never come...but FINALLY I can start counting down, well...sort of.  I still have a long way to go!  It has been such a beautiful journey so far and I can only imagine that the second part of it will be even more beautiful than the first.  We are less than two weeks away from finding out if we will have a daughter or a son (wow, that sounds weird to say, but we are beyond ready)...and it will only make this even more real than it already was.  So far not much has changed, except for the love we have for our little baby...which grows each day.  I'm still not in maternity clothes (Come on belly...pop out already!!!), I still work out 5 days a week, and thank goodness my morning sickness has not reappeared.  Speaking of working out while pregnant...I can't even tell you how many people ask me WHY WHY WHY are you working out pregnant.  Well, first of all I do it for my own sanity… I would go absolutely crazy if I couldn't release my energy in the gym every evening.  I sit at a desk all day long and work, so that is the only part of my day I get to be active…so I actually really look forward to it.  And supposedly, there are so many benefits of working out; preparation for childbirth (it has been known to ease labor), energy boost, better sleep, reducing stress, and getting that pre-baby body back (ha, we hope).  I can constantly feel our little baby moving and kicking and it is so amazing.  I never knew I could love someone so much that I’ve never even met, but now I completely understand the love a mother has for her child.  It’s unconditional, irrevocable, and whole-hearted.  Still constantly praying for a healthy little one.

Today I went for my 18 week checkup and everything looked great!  Heart rate was 147 and my little 'wild' baby (according to the doctor) was constantly moving and kicking.  I'm resting up now because I probably won't be getting any down time when our little jumping bean arrives. ;)  Our next appointment is November 9th at 22 weeks and we FINALLY get to find out what we're having.   We are sooo excited, but I wish we didn't have to wait 4 more weeks.  But it will be here before we know it...

How far along? 18 Weeks

Total weight gain: 4 lbs 

Maternity clothes? Not yet...but I can't wait until I finally look pregnant instead of just bloated :)

Stretch marks? not yet and trust me, i'm slathering on the tummy butter. ha. even though that's probably pointless!

Sleep: ohhh I sleep just fine and I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Best moment this week:  Feeling the baby moving in my belly, can't wait until Devin can feel it too!

Movement: ohh yes. I think we might have a wild child on our hands!

Food cravings: apples, sweet pickles, and tomato soup! yum.

Gender: only 4 weeks left until we find out!  I think it's a boy, Dev thinks it's a girl!  We will seeeeee. :)

Labor Signs:  definitely not!

Belly Button in or out:  IN

Wedding rings on or off? On

What I miss: Nothing .  Life just keeps getting sweeter. :)

What I am looking forward to: Finding out what our baby is!!!

Weekly Wisdom: I don't think I'm experienced enough to be offering up wisdom, but I'm trying to get lots of sleep and enjoy some good quality time with my husband because life as we know it is about to change in a big way!

Milestones: feeling the baby move!

Today we got to hear the baby's heart beat for this first time... and let me tell you, it was the sweetest sound ever.  We had already seen the flutter of the little heart in our first ultrasound...but I was still super nervous because I'm the type to prepare myself for the worst possible scenario going into everything.  I'm not proud of that at all, :) but it's just how I am.  So I was freaking out on the inside, but I found calm in the fact that I have been in constant prayer since the beginning of all of this...and I was trusting that everything would be just fine.  And fine it was...as soon as the doppler touched my stomach...the heartbeat was a loud and clear 157.  I was so relieved and SO ridiculously happy.  So now I'm slipping into all of the guessing of what the sex will be...there are so many old wives tales and myths about the baby's gender to keep Devin and I entertained and pre-occupied until we actually find out in 6 more weeks.  So for now I'm 14 weeks and counting...still praying, trusting, hoping and waiting for our little miracle to make his or her way into this great big world! ♥

... ♥

Today was our first ultrasound appointment and we were so anxious-nervous-excited because we didn't know what to expect. We have had no way of knowing if everything was progressing in the right way, because the only confirmation I have had up to this point was an at home pregnancy test (or should I say 10 at home pregnancy tests). :) Ever since my first post when we found out this exciting news I have been in constant prayer for this precious new life. I have placed everything in God's hands and I have asked over and over and over again for a healthy pregnancy, and a healthy baby. I've been praying ever since I can remember that one day my children would grow into humble, grateful and prayerful individuals with hearts for Christ, and that is still my prayer now that this dream has gotten closer to becoming a reality. It's still very early, which concerns me...but I trust that everything will play out how it is supposed to, whether or not it goes according to my plan. After all, I'm not the one who knows what's best for me. So with that said, we met our doctor first and had a consultation...then he took us back into the ultrasound room. With sweaty palms and anxious eyes Devin and I awaited the first images of our baby. When I saw that precious picture tears of joy were streaming. First of all, it was nice to know there was actually a baby in there...and not only that, but it was comforting to know that it was ONE baby. :) We saw the heart beating away and the tiny legs and arms. That moment was one of the sweetest I have ever experienced. Our first glimpse at a little miracle who is so loved by the both of us already. God has so richly blessed Devin and I with beautiful and loving families and with great lives. We are so undeserving, and yet He continues to pour the blessings upon us, which we are very grateful for. To our precious baby...you are so loved and so cherished already. We can only hope, dream, and pray that we get the chance to meet you one day so we can shower you with unconditional love, teach you, and learn from you. ♥