Being positive in pregnancy

If you've read any of my pregnancy updates then you'd know this pregnancy has been really hard on me. I've had chronic morning sickness for 10 weeks and at almost 18 weeks, I am still on medication and it hasn't subsided. Despite the sickness, you may be surprised to learn that I have loved every second of this pregnancy. From the day Jon and I decided to start "trying" (and even before that), we knew that pregnancy was an absolute gift from God, a privilege, not a right. How can this pregnancy show my love for Jesus and how can I share the good news through this little being? I have women in my life who have struggled for 5 or 10 years to get pregnant and women who have suffered 1,2, and 3 miscarriages so this baby inside my tummy is so incredibly precious to me. 
Our prayers have been, and continue to be, that we can glorify no one but our Lord through this pregnancy. That through the stories and experiences I share, you'd see His name famous, and not my own. I remember the weekend before I finally threw in the towel and went on medication for my sickness, I was laying on the bathroom floor, throwing up every half hour, also battling a sinus infection, and Jon was out of town. I remember repeating Romans 8:28 over and over again, in my head and outloud. Lord You make all things work together for good for those who believe in You. I found myself surrendering to the notion that I was getting sick for a better purpose. For something good to come. Isaiah 40:31 also gave me strength, those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. I begged not for physical strength but the strength to deal with my situation and overcome the demons telling me this was too hard. 
And today, I just have to smile as I simultaneously get sick and sop up a bloody nose (another glamorous pregnancy symptom). I'm not smiling to mock the situation but smiling because I know my son is thriving, moving, and growing inside of me. And smiling about it helps me cope with the physical pain. That the Lord is using this sickness to reassure me of my son's existence inside of my body and Jesus' existence inside of my soul. People can make up wives tales and excuses for why women get sick during pregnancy but I am learning to be grateful for this sickness because I know it is something other women so deeply yearn for. Other women's lives fall apart, marriages break, and souls are bruised because they cannot experience this sickness with me. 
We don't have a name picked out for our son but had a name ready to go for a girl. I am not going to share the first name because I hope we get to use it in the future but her middle name would have been Joy. There are so many special meanings behind the name 2 being DiJoy is a family name of Jon's and the fact that we told our family on Christmas Eve, such a joyful season. Joy means happiness and day after day throughout this pregnancy, I have chosen joy. I could easily complain, pout, tell you I never want to have another baby because it is too much, but I choose to be joyful and sing the praises of our mighty God who  knit this baby in my womb and thought about him before time even began. The days may not always be filled with delight and pleasure but I can still take comfort in knowing the gift I have been given and the least I can do is spread joy. 
I do have to say that I now look at pregnancy in a different light. It is much harder and more intense than I ever thought but it is also so much greater than I could have ever imagined in my head. It saddens me to see complaint after complaint from other women about pregnancy symptoms because in my mind, someone always has it worse than you. There are women who would die for those symptoms and there are women I know who are 10 times sicker than me. Today, I am embracing being sick. So for you pregnant women out there, or women who have been pregnant/hoping to be pregnant, let's change the way we look at the morning sickness, heart burn, and frequent potty breaks. Let's give thanks to the Lord who made this miracle possible. Let His name be known, for these children born unto us are a direct outpouring of His love and faithfulness.

17 weeks

Unfortunately I had gotten sick the morning we took the pictures so I wasn't feeling very photogenic
Thoughts: In case you missed it, Saturday we announced that baby Hart is a boy! We are over the moon with excitement and can really start imagining after he is born. For those of you asking, we have a few baby name ideas but nothing set in stone and we are going to save the announcement until he is born (I know, annoying right?).
Baby: He is the size of a turnip this week, about 5.5inches long and has mastered the art of yawning (cute huh?). His skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone and his sweat glands are starting to develop (and if he takes after his dad, he will have a LOT of them!).
Symptoms: It's funny so many people said I was having a girl because I was so sick but our little man is just as difficult! Still on Zofran and have been getting sick every 3 days so will continue on it until I see some relief. I've also been getting bloody noses once a day or every other day. I can no longer use my abs to get up or move around so it's been interesting to get out of chairs, off the couch, go from laying down to sitting up, etc. Tailbone pain has been outrageous.
Sleep: I've noticed 75% of the time I sleep on my left side which is what is recommended but I do wake up on my back quite a bit during the night. I sleep with 2 pillows so my head is elevated though. Jon and I are cuddlers so he sleeps draped over me with his hand on my belly usually. Last night going to bed I was jealous because he was sleeping on his tummy, no pillow, and arms under him...my pre pregnancy sleep position!
Cravings/aversions/eating: nothing really new this week. Eating more meats and fruits and a little too many desserts and sweets...whoops!
Workouts: 4 times this week...weights and my new favorite...Turbo Kick! I modify a lot of the moves but I feel so good after class. I may try to take Zumba in the next few weeks.
Clothes: I can still wear non maternity but have to use a rubberband to keep the clasp closed. I've noticed some tanks are getting shorter (workout tanks) and I've started wearing some maternity tops. I have about 5 maternity dresses that don't quite fit me yet but I can't wait to start wearing.
Random: I am pretty sure I felt my first flutter this week at church. We were standing front row during worship and I had my hand on my tummy and I felt little bubbles. I grabbed Jon and started crying...our son must love loud praise music! And from then on my tummy has felt very fluttery.
I absolutely love this frame that was given to us by my aunt. She bought it at a boutique but I found it online here. Can't wait to put a picture of our munchkin in there, outside the womb.

We haven't decided on colors for the nursery but the baby room has a Jack and Jill bathroom that attaches to another spare room (baby #2) and we had the bathroom painted a light brown to keep it neutral. I spruced it up this week with free printables from Pinterest and cheap clipboards.

Told you baby Hart is fashionable. Pumas, Chuck Taylors, Vans and TOMS are on the way!

I posted this last night on IG asking if anyone else was this big at 17 weeks because other people I know barely have a bump! Turns out us shorties have no where for it to go but out, and boys tend to make you show earlier I guess? Regardless I love it and can't wait til it gets bigger!

Question: what are your favorite websites/Etsy shops for fabric by the yard? 16 weeks 15 weeks 14 weeks 13 weeks 0-12 weeks

50 and fabulous

This weekend was just awesome!!! I can't thank y'all enough for the sweet, funny, encouraging, hilarious comments on Saturday's post revealing that Baby Hart is a BOY! Wow! Our little guy is already loved so much. Come back tomorrow for my 17 week pregnancy update.

I am going to take a second and brag on my parents who celebrated their 50th birthdays this weekend. I know a lot of people have fun families but mine just takes the cake! My parents rented out a divey bar for their party, catered awesome food, and turned the pool hall into a prom dance floor. It was a blast! My sister (who has a 5 month old) and I (who am 4 months pregnant) were sitting at a table watching our parents and their friends out on the dance floor and we said, "Wow times have changed! Our parents are now cooler than us!". We are truly blessed to have parents that are wonderful role models and friends. Heck I didn't even drink and I felt exhausted the next day. What a fun weekend!
Of course Embry came to the party (just for a bit) in her tutu and 50 onesie!

Another highlight of my weekend was finally meeting one of my favorite Arizonians (is that a word?), Jen! I am already obsessed with her Austin sister, Katie, and was giddy when I learned Jen was coming to Austin. Funny how you can meet someone for the first time yet know so much about them and feel like old friends catching up.

& I just have to throw this picture in here because Jon is so cute. He bought an actual Baylor game jersey worn by Phil Taylor who now plays for the Cleveland Browns. Pretty darn cool! (speaking of Baylor, who wants to donate to our son's Baylor college fund :-)....)

Hope you had just as fun of a weekend! 

Baby Hart is a....

Jon and I are overjoyed to be welcoming our son in August! It feels so good to write that because it's been 5 days of closely watching what I type or say, in hopes of not letting a he/him/his/boy slip. It's funny because there are obviously only 2 outcomes of a baby's gender but I am still so shocked...more so that we finally know and can start envisioning our family and future. I will tell you... it was one of the hardest things not to tell my mom and sisters the gender this past week but I am so so glad we got to share this moment with them in person. I've already said that I will probably call people right after we find out about baby #2 oneday... I just can't do secrets anymore! My mom, sisters and I have a group text going basically all day and my mom had an hourly countdown going all day yesterday...luckily it flew by quickly!
We had my family, grandparents from Chicago included, over last night and told them via scratch off tickets. It was such a wonderful time, I am still on a high from the excitement! We had a tripod set up to film it and the reactions are priceless. 2 of the 3 minutes is voting boy or girl, handing out cards, and my family getting so antsy but I promise they end up scratching the tickets haha.

(disclaimer...Cori lost a bet from Jacob, and says "dang he was right"...explains her furrowed brow haha)

What I love about the story is from the time we found out we were pregnant, Jon thought it was a boy. Now he had NO preference about a boy or girl because we know ideally we'd like both, he just felt like it was a boy. We found out on Monday Feb 18th at our 16 week appointment and the story was quite funny. The nurse brought us back and weighed me, took stats, and turned on the ultrasound machine to start measurements. She said she was having trouble finding the sex because the umbilical cord was in the way and she wasn't confident but would keep looking. We told her not to tell us until she was 100% confident and after a few minutes she wrapped it up and said, "Well I'm not 100% but I am pretty sure you are having a girl." So then we are alone for 25 minutes waiting on our doctor who is telling another couple next door the gender of their baby and we thought okay! We are having a girl! Jon just kept saying he was so shocked because the past couple of months he felt like God was really speaking to him that we were having a boy. So doctor comes in, sweet as can be, we really like him, turns on the machine and goes "WHOA! Get the nurse! This is 100% a boy! Look at that wiener! Wiener of the month!". Cue laughing, crying, hugging, pure shock. And there on the screen... with 100% certainty, our son was showing us his goods. We have a couple pictures of his eh em...wiener (I hate that word)... but I figured he wouldn't appreciate it one day looking back knowing I posted pictures of his goods. 
Our baby boy is already so loved and has quite the little wardrobe!! I have a few favorite thrift shops that I have been visiting this week and who can resist baby Polo for $0.75?! And I will say he already has 5 pairs of shoes...yes I ordered him TOMs :-). I can't wait to show you what we've bought and been gifted, and of course, share with you our ideas for the nursery.

As much fun as it was to tell our family and friends, I was so looking forward to sharing this news with you all on my blog. Jon and I both thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the overflowing love and support throughout this pregnancy. We know our son will be just as loved by all of you.
Let the fun (& unknown) begin!

Work

Our church just finished up a 4 part series called "The Gospel &". Different pastors dug into worldy issues and opened our eyes to what the gospel says about certain topics. Sometimes it's hard for us as humans to look at a situation and say "well what does this have to do with Jesus and the gospel?". I am a repeat offender when the answer is in plain sight. I am punching the keys on my laptop right now because the son of God shed blood for my life and my freedom. I owe thanks for everything to Him... that is the connection! The Good News.

I wanted to highlight a few points from each sermon and share my thoughts on how powerful these were in my life but my notes are lost in a sea of baby brain, nesting projects, traveling, and more. So today I wanted to share a little about my reaction to the sermon on work. The gospel says to go out into all nations and make disciples, right?

The Austin Stone, The Gospel & Series
The Gospel & Depression
The Gospel & Sex
The Gospel & Money
The Gospel & Work

In my life, work is something that I take very seriously but I don't find my identity in it. I love seeing people who are so passionate (and have always been passionate) about their line of work, my husband included. Now you may be confused because Jon sells IT management software. How is he passionate about security monitoring and netflow? He is passionate about it because it is a calling from the Lord. Now I don't think the Lord will say to Jon at the pearly gates at the end of his human life and say, "Well done good and faithful servant, you sold millions of dollars worth of software to prevent network crashes and security breaches." But I think I have an idea what He will say. Jon gets to spend everyday interacting with people, connecting on much more than a professional level, to really understand their needs. Not a week goes by that he doesn't come home excited to share how God encouraged him to talk to a certain customer about his family or ask him more when a partner mentioned church. Unfortunately Jon can't go out and preach the gospel at his business meetings but boy does God have a way of allowing Jon to share the good news!! I used to be envious of this because I never felt my job gave me as much spiritual fulfillment as Jon's but I know my job isn't my ultimate calling. Don't get me wrong... I like my job... actually I like it a lot, but I know it is not my destiny. And I have a feeling God will reveal my ultimate calling in August when our baby is born. 

As a fellow 20 something, I look around and see identity crisis' happening everywhere around me. Friends who are 5 years out of college and haven't chosen a career path. Or friends who are 30 years old and can't seem to move on from their pasts to start living their lives in the present. Some of us are luckier than others, some of us are revealed our callings and identities much sooner than others. 

Determining your calling is a gradual process that takes place over time. Creation. Fall. Resurrection. Restoration. Redemption. 

Our pastor talked a lot about Jesus' work during this sermon. It is hard to forget that before Jesus went into ministry, he was a blue collar carpenter for 20 years! Do you ever feel under paid or under appreciated in your work? Look to Jesus. He was the most underpaid and under appreciated yet He remained faithful to joy and service. And  if the King of Kings can leave His throne to work as a lowly carpenter, we can get up off the couch and work, right? Amen?

The Lord calls us to work, but we are not to be defined by our work. We all know life is hard. It is unfair, uneasy, expensive, exhausting. But as Christ followers we can work hard when no one else can because we have the ultimate inheritance coming to us... we have the gospel! The gospel is absolute power to those who believe. 

So whether you are 45 years old and stuck in a mundane job you hate or are 15 years old and trying to discover your true talents and identity, reach for the gospel. The gospel applies to everything in our lives. 

16 weeks

Thoughts: So excited and overjoyed this week! We found out the gender of our sweet little baby on Monday and I cannot wait to share with you all (be on the lookout Saturday!). Even though there are only two options, duh-boy or girl, I was still so shocked and happy when doctor told us with 100% certainty. We can now start envisioning our future with our little baby! 
Baby: baby is growing like crazy! About the size of my open hand and weighing 5 ounces. Baby can start recognizing and hearing barking dogs, doorbells ringing, etc. He/she is practicing its suckling and swallowing skills and empties its bladder every 45 minutes (sounds like mom!). 
Weight: up 5lbs from my 6 week appointment and right at my pre pregnancy weight (thanks to morning sickness, I lost a lot). I hadn't been gaining it the past few weeks so I was excited to be up!
Symptoms: unfortunately still on Zofran. I've been playing around with the dosage and am taking 1/2 a pill in the morning and 1/2 at night. I tried to skip my night pill last weekend and baby wasn't having that. Doctor said I should see relief after 18 weeks when hormones drop. Honestly I am okay with taking it until I am 100% because it is safe for me and baby! To add to the awesome (sarcastic) symptoms I've already had, bloody noses have appeared this week. Monday morning I was woken up to one at 6am that wouldn't stop for 40 minutes... and Jon's fever was breaking so it was interesting haha. I've also noticed some red spots on my cheeks...they aren't sticking up like normal acne would but definitely a pregnancy thing. I have been lucky to not ever experience acne (with the exception of 1-2 spots a month on my period). I've been having some back pain on my left side and occassionally it wraps around to my tummy. I broke my back (T11, T12, & L2) 10 years ago so I am not surprised by this back pain!
Sleep: I've kissed getting 8 peaceful hours of sleep goodbye. I am officially not supposed to sleep on my back anymore and I find myself tossing and turning and waking up to move to get comfy. I am sleeping with a pillow between my legs which has helped a lot. But as far as tiredness goes, I am feeling great! No naps, not feeling tired or sluggish. 
Cravings/aversions/eating: my appetite is pretty much back to normal, thank the Lord. I am finally craving meats and lots of fruit. I feel like I am starving yet get full so easily. And then am starving an hour later. 
Workouts: same last last week, weights 2-3 times a week and a few long walks, etc. It's been harder to bend over and I am definitely not as agile as before. 
Clothes: as you can see in the picture above, I am still rocking the rubberband trick to allow me to wear my non maternity pants. I love my maternity ones but didn't want to wear them every single day. I've worn a few maternity tops but for the most part non maternity still fits and shows off the bump. 
Doctor appointment: 16 week appointment was wonderful on Monday! Not only did we find out the gender but confirmed that baby has all 4 chambers of it's heart, 2 sides of the brain, and full lips (no hair lip). Baby measured a few days early and was VERY active! We may be biased to think our baby is super cute but the nurse was telling us how beautiful it's profile was! 
Random: I didn't mention this last week but Jon was supposed to fly out Sunday for work and not return until Friday and my mom was going to go with me to the doctor.  My entire family will be in town Friday and my parents are having their 50th birthday party so we really wanted to be able to share the gender. I was sad but knew it wasn't the end of the world but by only the grace of God, Jon's schedule shifted and he was home Monday!! I couldn't have imagined it any other way and it was an incredibly special day/night for us. 
Valentine's Day baby bump

Rocking the bump after gorging myself on all you can eat filet!

Past updates 15 weeks 14 weeks 13 weeks 0-12 weeks

Zucchini Pizza Boats

I'd been seeing pictures of pizzas made with zucchinis as the crust floating all over Pinterest and finally had to test my hand at them. I didn't follow a certain recipe (and neither do you), that's what makes it fun! Now I have to write this disclaimer: you won't feel like you're eating a slice of Papa John's but this is definitely a different and delicious spin on traditional pizza. 

Ingredients
Large zucchinis (1 per person)
Small amount of pizza/tomato/pasta sauce
Toppings- pepperonis, cooked sausage, fresh tomatoes, olives, peppers, etc
Spices- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, your choice
Shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cut each zucchini long ways and scoop out the seeds to form a boat
2. Now start stuffing it! Sauce, toppings, sprinkle some spices, and top with cheese.
3. Place inside a foil lined baking dish (the smaller the better so they don't tip over) and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes

Enjoy!

February 14th

Happy Valentine's Day to all you saps out there (me included). As much as this holiday is meant for love, I don't really love it. I hate how all the sudden February rolls around and people feel forced to do something nice for their lovers. What about the other 364 days, people?! Roses, teddy bears and chocolate? Seems cliche to me. Maybe it's because our anniversary is right before Valentine's Day (and a lot more important) but it isn't a huge deal in our home. I do love decorating for it though! And I imagine that in a few years when Baby Hart and siblings are running around, we will start more Valentine's traditions.
Although Valentine's Day isn't a huge deal in our house, February 14th is pretty special because 2 years ago, February 14th, 2011...we brought Mr. Ernie home. I get sad thinking about Ernie becoming our 2nd favorite baby in August but for now he is still my favorite munchkin. Life wouldn't be as fun without this mischievous, stubborn, chunk in our family. 

I had every intention of taking pictures of some of our Valentine's decor last night but guess what? I forgot! Jon go home from a 4 day business trip and I was all googly eyes for him. So I dug these two up from IG. I did make heart felt garland and strung it around the house, lit our heart shaped Scentsy, and bought those mini mailboxes from Target (that remain empty for now!).

You may remember last week when I mentioned Jon and I exchanging small gifts a week early because we were going away... well we no longer are. We weren't even supposed to be together on Valentine's Day (would have been the 2nd year in a row!) because Jon was flying to New Mexico and I was going to meet him up there Friday for a ski weekend in Santa Fe. Long story short, Jon postponed his trip til next week and we could have still gone but I was already up in the air about skiing and Jon has been traveling so much that he asked if it was OK for us to have a weekend at home.. just the two of us. Um, yes! The trip was basically going to be free for us with points so we aren't losing anything and we were just in Chicago two weeks ago. Its been a while since we've had a weekend to ourselves and plan on going out on a fancy date and hitting up Babies R Us to start researching baby products (Quote my husband "And maybe the Home Depot... if we have time!" Name that movie!). We may try to go somewhere before the baby comes but I have a few work trips and we are already going to Mexico so we are content and hope to plan our first trip with baby this time next year.  We will be spending tonight with our new missional community group from church, candle lit dinner and all!
Happy Valentine's Day from the Harts

15 weeks

 Hello baby bump!

(I forgot my camera at my mom's on Saturday and we always take pictures on Sundays so we settled for iPhone pics)
The bare belly pics are funny because I folded down the maternity part of the pants and they look really bunchy...just imagine in 5 months when there is no extra fabric to fold! I love how maternity tanks make me look even more pregnant.
Thoughts: Feeling happy and excited this week! More energy means I can get more things done around the house and I have even started some baby projects. We find out the sex of our baby on Monday 2/18 and it feels so surreal! We are doing a gender reveal with our family on Friday 2/22 so be watching for an announcement next weekend :-).
Baby: baby Hart is growing eyebrows this week and if he/she takes after mom, then they are already dark and bushy haha. Baby can also sense light and if I were to shine a flashlight on my tummy, it would move away from the beam. Baby is about 4 inches from head to booty (plus those big calves!). Baby can also hear voices and tunes so we are singing our favorite lullabies so baby can recognize when he/she is born. Ernie is quite confused :)
Symptoms: I woke up Sunday morning feeling good so decided to forgo my 1 Zofran pill. I started feeling nauseous as church as getting out and felt better when we went to lunch but got sick that afternoon. I am experimenting with 1/2 a pill in the morning and 1/2 a pill at night... baby didn't like me quitting cold turkey. Random belly aches and cramping but nothing too serious. Weird but this week I have noticed myself getting really sore for no reason. Monday morning my lower back and legs were so sore and I hadn't worked out in 4 days? Could be the way I am sleeping but it isn't fun!
Sleep: I should no longer sleep flat on my back to protect blood flow and circulation so I find myself tossing and turning lots at night. I also wake up SO many times to pee yet I wake up feeling rested. 8-9 hours does the trick. 
Cravings/aversions/eating: this week I have wanted lots of juicy/watery fruits like pineapple, grapes and peaches which is good because I haven't really wanted any fruit this far. I am anxiously waiting for watermelon to come back into season because last year Jon and I would eat about 1 a week. 
Workouts: I went to my first fitness class since becoming pregnant, Turbo Kick, and man have I lost my stamina! Since I have more energy these days, it was fun but I definitely took her low impact examples. Walking with Ernie and trying to do weights a few times a week too.
Clothes: I made the switch to maternity pants and it is wonderful! I finally feel comfortable at work all day and it's fun to see my belly. I bought 2 pairs (1 capri, 1 Bermuda shorts) so they fit me really well and I have about 10 borrowed pairs I look forward to trying. I used to wear cotton v necks pretty much everyday to work but most of those are getting to short now (and I am pretty busty) so I am wearing a lot of tanks and cardigans. 
Random: I will say it once again, I am SO glad we bought a fetal heart doppler. It is such a special thing for us to find our babies heart beat together...the sound is like music to my ears. I even FaceTimed Jon on Monday while he was traveling because the HB was so strong and loud... he was so excited to hear. BPM has been high 140s-mid 150s and the occasional 160. 
My mom's countdown to baby Hart!

I absolutely love my growing belly! #15weeks

14 weeks 13 weeks 0-12 weeks

Anniversary Randoms

Tuesday Jon and I celebrated 2 years of wedded bliss. Call me cheesy or naive but it has been bliss. We love (most) everything about marriage and look forward to what the 3rd year of our union has in store for us. What's crazy is our our anniversary is exactly 6 months before our due date so it was cool/weird to think about how our lives will drastically change in 6 months.

Next anniversary we will have one of these! 

We got home from Chicago Monday night and frankly were still exhausted and recovering on Tuesday. We decided to lay low that evening since we hadn't spent much time at home the past week, still hadn't unpacked, and would much prefer cuddling at home than a night out. Jon brought home an anthurium plant and we each spent some time wrapping and prepping our gifts. 2 years is hard!! Last year I was on my game with the paper theme (I had budoir pictures taken and made into a beautiful leather bound book) but cotton was hard. Lame but I ended up getting Jon 2 pairs of Nike workout shorts, that probably aren't even cotton but spandex or polyester, a Yankee candle (he is funny about candles and only likes Yankee), and a new lamp for his office. Jon is really a thoughtful guy (hello he MADE me a clock last year since traditional gifts were clocks) and gave me some awesome pieces of clothing. Ever since dragging him to Target last winter, Jon is now obsessed with it and bought me lots of clothes from there for Christmas and now our anniversary. He bought me some cute tanks and shirts that will fit my belly and told me he was bummed he couldn't find any plastic plates to serve as the traditional "china" gift for 2 year anniversaries. He also got me this awesome resistance band home gym thingy... I know you must be thinking wow that is a little forward of your husband but I have been asking him to help me with workouts I can do at home, especially for after the baby comes and I won't want to go to the gym. Jon Hart...husband and personal trainer.

Last year we went back to our wedding venue to take some pictures but this year our backyard had to do...

1 year//2 year

Thanks Pinterest for the idea! Hard to tell but we are holding our 1st year anniversary picture in our 2nd year pic. Next year can we teach our 6 month old to snap a picture instead of using a tripod??

We made dinner at home, took Ernie on a long walk, and read each other letters we wrote. We wrote letters on our wedding day and then again last year...it is such a special way for us to express our feelings and thoughts about the past year. I am already an emotional gal but add these prego hormones and there were lots of tears and hugging. We have a busy weekend with lots of family in town but may try to go out and celebrate one night!

We also gave each other Valentine's Day gifts too because we are going away next week. Since Valentine's is right after our anniversary and gifts tend to get cheesy, we decided to do something small. Jon got the cutest, softest plaid shirt from Target (once again he loves Tar-jay) that will keep me warm on our getaway :-). And I got Jon two board books from me and the baby...

(Baby Hart already has about 10 books!)

Before we even talked about trying for a baby, I knew what kind of crib I wanted, and Jon agreed with me. So last week when we found it for 15% off and free shipping on Wayfair, we ordered it. It came in 3 days later and this giant box has been sitting in our dining room. I happened to be in there the other day and read on the box that we have 14 days to report damage/missing pieces. I don't think we would have put it together for a while but I didn't want to be left with a janke-y crib so we (Jon) put it together. I'm not gonna give you any more details yet but it is gorgeous!! Very surreal seeing a crib in our baby room (but then again we were already given a basinett, baby Moses basket, bottles, swaddles, clothes, etc... we feel like we could basically bring this baby home today!). 

Have a good weekend!

Last weekend's getaway

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have guessed Jon and I were in Chicago last weekend. My parents lived there 30 years, I was born in the suburbs, and all of my family is still up there. We have been dying to get up there for a weekend just to hang out because we haven't seen most of my cousins since our wedding! We actually never went into the city because A. we did all the touristy stuff there about 2.5 years ago and B. it was a frozen tundra!! Getting there was interesting. We had a direct flight on SW to Midway and 3 hours into the 2.5 hour flight, we were told the flaps that slow you down while landing were broken, we couldn't land in Chicago and were being flown to Milwaukee. By the grace of God, we landed safely going 235mph in the cold and snow, surrounded by emergency vehicles on the runway. Talk about scary! Especially since I am still battling sickness/nausea, my mind was mainly set on not having to use the barf bag. Luckily another SW plane was able to get us to Midway 4 hours late but the night kept getting more and more interesting. We used a car service and our driver talked non stop the whole hour long drive about how he is 43, his daughter is 23 and he is about to dump his 21 year old girlfriend. He went on and on about getting arrested at his previous job as a repo man and how he once had a record deal with a metal band until the guitarist overdosed on Heroin on stage. At this point it was the middle of the night and I was thanking God that my husband was a good "fake listener" and conversationalist. Minor setback to the trip but we were excited to finally be there!
No trip to Chicago is complete without a hotdog (I got scolded for eating a burger at Portillo's but I will tell you it was one of the best burgers I've ever had!)

Dinner at Wings and Rings around a keg and I kid you not, when I told the waitress I would like a water instead of a glass for beer, she said "Oh are you not 21? Can I see your ID?". Laughing I told her "no I am pregnant." I will probably get stares over the next few months knowing I look like a 15 year old!

My grandparents have 15 grandchildren in total and have so many wonderful gift giving traditions. The newest is when each of us is expecting a baby, we get to chose an antique rocking chair from their collection (Papa used to antique and they are now collecting chairs). Jon and I picked ours out and it will be at our house this weekend! I foresee many nights rocking baby Hart in this beautiful chair. 

My aunt and uncle hosted a joint celebration for Baby Hart and my cousin and his fiance who got engaged on New Years Eve. We are so blessed that so many people love our baby so much! We were overwhelmed with beautiful gifts, hilarious games and great company. Surprisingly  the letters from our first and last names makes a few cute baby names :-)

We now have inspiration for our baby nursery! 

Baby #2 will be represented with lots of baby #1 gear

Beautiful cake//champagne (virgin for me of course) toast!

Don't be alarmed by the next photo... my uncle made my cousin and his fiance a "shot ski" for their engagement and the guests of honor took a tequila shot...mine was OJ! I think I would have cried if they made me take a tequila shot (not pregnant of course). I am NOT a trooper haha.

Each year, my aunt and uncle throw a Superbowl Party and we were thrilled to be able to join! They have the most awesome basement set up (wish we had those in Texas!) and Jon was glued to the ping pong table most of the time. They don't stop at just choosing squares, there was a coloring contest, mystery prize game (with 22 prizes), bubble gum blowing contest, commercial scoring, and the most hysterical, guess the size of my baby bump! The tie breaker was to guess the circumference of Jon's calves... I die! I was glad I didn't have to guess because I really have no idea how big I am (or Jon haha). 

People came pretty close and my cousin was spot on so unfortunately no tie breaker but that didn't stop us from measuring Jon's calves... that are almost 19 inches around. Insane, huh?? Oh and Jon reminded me my belly is now the size of his waist...

(in case you're wondering, I wore sweats to the Superbowl Party... I foresee this happening a lot in the future!)

We made it safely back to high 70 degree weather in Austin on Monday night and Ernie was excited to sniff the dogs on us. If you've read my blog for any time at all, you'd know how close our intermediate family is and it doesn't stop there. We are so lucky to have such a close knit family of true friends. Although we may not see them as often as we'd like, we always have the time of our lives. We are hoping to bring baby Hart up there sometime soon!