a moment of clarity

So tonight I had a moment of clarity.

Let me explain.

For the past 9 months, I've been thinking and over-thinking and rethinking my upcoming labor/delivery (only 4ish weeks away!) I've been fearing it and stressing out about it, which I know is the worst thing a woman can do in preparation for her natural, medication-free birthing experience. I know it's going to hurt, DUH, but I was terrified as to how I'll handle it.

Tonight, before bed, Hubby and I were going through our bag that's partially packed for when it's GO TIME! I was folding up one of the three outfits we're packing for Penelope to bring her home in (since we don't know just how big or how small she'll be) and I had this moment, where everything in my mind felt right.

All the fear I had in my heart was gone. All I could think about was that in a few short weeks, Penelope will be in one of those outfits, on her way home with us. I realized that no matter how much pain I go through, that in the end, Penelope will be here safe and sound and that it was all worth it.

A few hours of my life in pain will not compare to the amazing amounts of happiness that Penelope will bring to us. And that, is exactly why I'm going to be OK, why this labor and delivery will be successful and beautiful.

Now I can't wait to meet her. I'm so ready for this pregnancy to come to its close and for our little ladybug to be here.
Hubby and I talk daily about her and how awesome it's going to be to be parents, HER parents.
How ready we are.
How excited we are.
The things we're worried about, but mostly, we talk about the things we can't wait to do, can't wait to experience with Penelope.
The places we want to take her.
The things we want to show her that we love and hope she does too.
The people who she has waiting for her here on the outside who already love her so much and cannot wait to share that love with her.
How we can't wait to take pictures of all of her firsts, her facial expressions, and her explorations of the outside world.


There's so much we can't wait for.

It's been awhile

The past two months have flown by. I feel like an awful blogger for not updating more often!

Ok, here are the updates:

I'm still very pregnant, 31 weeks and 2 days to be exact. October is getting closer and closer every day and it's scary and amazing to think that our baby girl will be here within the next two months or so! We've been doing so much to prepare for her arrival. From washing her tiny clothes to setting up her part of our bedroom and all her little things like her bouncy seat and stroller. Everything's becoming so real now!

Her little kicks and jabs have become sort of painful, but that just means she's a tough cookie, like her mama, so I'm ok with that. She's in the proper position so far (head down, feet up in my ribs) so that's great news. Let's hope she stays that way! From what I hear trying to move your baby into the right position if they're not already is kind of painful, so I don't want to do that. haha.

I'll be updating the Pregnancy Journey photos section today as well, so check that out. If you're on my facebook you can see them there as well.

The Clever Characters business has been going really well all summer. I just wish I could paint faster! I've had about 12 paintings in the last two months to do and I've only finished like, 3 of them. Partly due to the fact that we went to Michigan for about 3 weeks, but also due to the face that the third trimester of this pregnancy hit me like a mack truck and I've been exhausted!

I will finish them though before Penelope arrives. I WILL! I plan on taking a little hiatus from it once I finish the ones I have on my list currently, just so I can relax a bit and work on preparing myself for labor/delivery in early October. Then of course, once Penelope gets here, we'll be very busy taking care of her and giving her all of the love in the world, so painting won't be at the top of my list. I'm not sure how long the haitus will last, but it'll probably be through the holiday season.

Hubby's been working on redesigning the Clever Characters website, which you can see here. No changes have been made yet, but once the new site is up, I'll be sure to let you all know!

Hubby's also been working very hard on his mom's website for her organic skin care business, which you should check out here. She recently changed her name to Common Spirit Organics, so the website will be changing soon as well. Her products are awesome and all of you should check it out and buy some. I personally love the Sweet Pea Belly Butter (for my big ol' preggo belly) and also the A Day for Miracles Eye Cream. It makes your face feel awesome, seriously. Here's her in front of the Ann Arbor People's Food Co-Op, the first store in Michigan to sell her merchandise!

ALSO, Hubby's working on getting his web design company off and running. If you know anyone interested in a website, my Hubby is the man to get ahold of. If you need his contact info, just let me know and I'll get it to you. He's really awesome at it and loves doing it, so get at me if you're interested.

In late June, early July, we went up to Michigan to visit our wonderful families/friends! It was a much needed break from Texas and we feel so lucky and grateful that we got to go up for almost 3 weeks! While we were there, we saw just about all of our friends, spent lots of time with our families, had two baby showers, I got maternity pictures taken, and I did a photo shoot for a Zombie Pinups calendar that should be coming out in October. I was the Pregnant Labor Day Zombie, so Miss September. It was so fun!

It was a really fun shoot, needless to say. :-) Here are some shots from the maternity shoot we did:





Here are more pics from the trip:

Here's a sunset in my hometown, it was sooooo good to be there.


Here's my nephew, Sullivan, being adorable. We were fishing on their dock.



We also watched him for a few hours one afternoon, these are a few of my favorite shots:



Here's my gorgeous goddaughter, Ava, smiling for the camera:



Here's Hubby and I, in front of the restaurant we met at over 7 years ago.


Here's Hubby and I, enjoying being home:


Here are a few shots from the two amazing baby showers our families threw for us:












All in all, our trip was FANTASTIC. I'll try to update soon again!

long overdue

I was inspired by the Pay It Forward post on my friend Abby's blog and decided I too was going to Pay It Forward. So, here is how it works:

1. I make a handmade gift for the first 3 people to comment.
2. I have 365 days in which to send you the gift.
3. The gift will be a total surprise.
4. You keep this going by posting Pay It Forward on your blog (obviously, you must have an active blog to participate).

To help me out, in your comment, leave me one fact about yourself that may help me decide on something to make in case my idea well runs dry.

As for posting this on your own blog, I will wait 24 hours to check and make sure it is posted. If it isn't posted then I will move on to the next person on the list.

There are a whole 15 people who read this blog, so hurry up!


Oh, and I'll update soon. Hopefully this week! Baby's doing great and I'm exhausted and almost to 31 weeks. Lots of photo updating to do!

xo
M.

Stuff

I just wanted to share all the fun stuff we've gotten for Penny so far!

Here's the adorable stroller and car seat combo that my grandparents got us. We love the black and grey!


Here's the cute invite I used for the shower my mama's throwing us:


Here are the cute outfits I've bought for Penny thus far.


Here's one of the baskets I revamped for Penny's Ladybug room, the wicker at the top used to be tan colored and I added the dots:


Here's the other basket I revamped for Penny's Ladybug room, the wicker at the top used to be tan colored and I added the dots:


Here's the cute baby book I got from work:


Hope you enjoyed them! :-)

I've been MIA

So so sorry it's been WEEKS since I've updated! So....we've found out the best news ever!
It's a.....


We are so ecstatic about our baby girl, Penelope Mae! Hubby was hoping for a baby girl first and I was just hoping for a healthy baby and we got both! We cannot wait to meet her!

So since I'm WEEKS behind on the weekly photos, I'll post them now.







So that's our journey thus far in pictures. You can see the whole thing on the Pregnancy Journey page (link at the top).

I've been feeling really great actually. I'm still tired a lot, but I certainly have more energy than I did during the first trimester. I'm eating more and slowly gaining the weight I lost back. I lost 10 lbs in the first trimester and I've gained back 8 since then. I feel huge though! I know my belly's big! I can't zip my pants anymore and have switched to using the Bella Band, which is an amazing creation! I wouldn't even consider getting maternity pants now that I have the Bella Band! I can still wear my cute jeans and my pants stay up even though they aren't zipped. Loves it!

And now, onto fun maternity and baby things that I love:

This is a totally adorable dress that would probably make a better shirt since it's kinda short.

This is also a totally cute dress. I love the halter and the buttons.

These are too flippin' cute. I can just see my baby girl with a ladybug barrette in her hair!

WHO ARE YOU?

On Wednesday, we'll find out!

15 weeks

Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated! I feel like I blinked and that last two weeks have just gone by!

So last week we had our monthly appointment with the midwife, Janet. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time, and Hubby took a video of it. Here's the video! The goofy noise is me laughing and making the doppler go crazy!


We also made the date for our gender anatomy ultrasound, May 19th! I cannot wait to find out what we're having!

Today, Hubby and I went to a park near our house to take my 15 week photo and we saw a ladybug on our car. I think it's a sign that we're having a girl since I want to do her room in a Ladybug theme. So we'll see!!

Here are my 15 week photos:
Me and Hubby

Just me, the forest nymph. haha!



OK OK, enough of that, now it's time for more Things that I Love!

First, this baby pop art is SO awesome.


This baby bib is too cute, and it's gender neutral which is a plus. :)


This headband is beautiful! I love the dark blue/teal flower and how adorable it looks on this little girl!


This hat for a little boy is so darn cute. I know I could probably make it but I also just love this picture, look at his blue eyes!


I really think the whole Mama Bird idea is really beautiful. This necklace is gorgeous and I think once I have a few babies I just might make one like this.


So Mother's Day is coming up. I hate that I won't be in MI to give the women in my life who are momma's the hugs and love they deserve. Also, I'm curious, were any of you preggo during Mother's Day? Should we celebrate it? Should we not? I have no idea...

I hope all is well! Me and baby are doing great and will continue to do so! :-)

All the love I have,
M.