Babymoon & 2 years!

Two things happen on Friday! 

First it will be August 2, 2013... two years since my sweet Nathan asked me to be his wife! My how life has changed! 

Secondly we will be heading to Delray to stay at a resort on the beach! We haven't done anything like this... well, since our honeymoon! We're both excited for the relaxing time we'll have before Mr. Raleigh makes his appearance! I'm just hoping he'll hold out until we get back on Sunday! (Don't worry, if he decides to come early we'll be close enough to the hospital to make it!) 

Marriage is awesome & I'm thankful I married Nathan Price. 

Our Maternity Shoot

I have been blessed to be constantly surrounded by talented photographers! Recently we had our maternity shoot with my sweet friend Jismarie Ramos of Jismarie Photography. She went out of her way to make me feel beautiful... because I was having a crazy hormonal pregnancy day and I needed it! She captured where we live and how we love.
Here are some of my favorite shots.

 This one is extra sweet to me. Nathan was praying for Raleigh!

I'm thankful to have these images and I will cherish them the rest of my life! Thank you Jisma. 

You know you're nine months pregnant when...

- you wake up multiple times a night to pee.

- 4 pillows minimum are required to fall asleep.

- you have a hard time falling back to sleep because you're ravenously hungry. 

- bending over to pick things up is super difficult! [Thank goodness I've mastered the "toe grab".]

- you go through every pen in the house to make sure they all work... because that seems REALLY important at the time. After all you may be able to never do it again when this baby comes out!? 

- shaving your legs is a major test in balance & flexibility... and you have no idea of the end results. 

- tie up shoes and buckles aren't worth the effort. 

- meals take about 3 hours to finish because your stomach is a liiiiiiiiittle smushed! 

- baby kicks now move your whole body & may make you whence. 

- anticipation stinks because you don't want to get your hopes up for an early arrival... but the last thing you want to do is go past your due date!

- people in public stare at you... specifically your ginormous belly!

- you hit that belly on counters, bookshelves, small children... anything. 

- suddenly bathroom stalls have shrunk?! 

- strangers ask you if you're planning to give birth tomorrow...

- sleep sounds so perfect, until you try to fall asleep. 

- you pair cheese sticks with fiber one bars... enough said! ;)

- friends & family start to get nervous when they realize they missed your call... & then you miss their call. Clearly you're in labor! ;) [don't worry guys, we'll text you]

- you stand up & have to wait a second before you can take a few steps... your back & pelvis just should not feel like that!

- waddle? There's no way around that! 

- laughing, coughing, walking & any other "activity" give you Braxton Hicks. 

- the question posed, "are you ready?!" your answer is no longer a hesitant... "I think so? I mean as ready as I'll ever be! I guess" to "YES!" :) [mostly due to discomfort & the realization that you get to hold this baby in your arms so soon!!!]

I really have enjoyed this pregnancy! I am blessed that I have been able to experience this amazing process. My goal is to remember that in these next 4 weeks! 

Pregnancy Questionnaire:

Well this is fun! Here goes....

How far along: 35 weeks (and 2 days!)

Total weight gain: gained 25 lbs. 

Maternity clothes: what about them?! You know I've been rocking my maternity pants!!

Stretch marks: ohhhh yes. Despite my efforts... they're here. 

Sleep: I actually slept pretty well last night! Nathan makes fun of my grunts while trying to roll over! Lol

Best moment of this week: seeing Raleigh's face! He actually cooperated with our growth scan ultrasound. I cried when I saw him. He is so handsome! 

Miss anything: sushi. I really want it! Spicy tuna to be exact. Also sleeping on my back... oh and being able to shave my legs easily!! 

Movement: oh yes! The other day Nathan was on the other side of my office & we both just watched my belly rolling back & forth! I love when he catches these things with me & we can experience them together!

Food cravings: anything that is bad for me... well that & corn on the cob (which I make bad for me) & sliced tomatoes! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: occasionally random smells, but thankfully not nearly as much as my first trimester! 

Have you started to show yet: ha! Is that a joke?!

Gender: boy!! 

Labor signs: hip pain & Braxton Hicks contractions.... but not really anything else. 

Belly button in or out: soooooooo close to being out! It's out when I'm laying down! 

Wedding rings on or off: on!!! Yay! I'm pleasantly surprised I'm still comfortably wearing them!

Happy or moody most of the time: I think I'm happy...... my hubby may say I'm moody! Lol

Looking forward to: meeting this little boy!!! 

Our ultrasound from this week! 35 weeks. I'm so in love. I can't wait to kiss his cheeks!!! 

Hormones + Realizations= 34 weeks!

Let me be really honest. Hormones are no joke! This week I've had ups & downs like an insecure middle school girl! I'm talking- crying over nothing... then finding anything to cry about! It makes me feel crazy, but I'm thankful it has been short lived downs & mostly ups this entire pregnancy. 

Tuesday we had our hospital visit. I felt better about the whole process but Nathan was getting anxious just walking the halls! Pray for us. This is going to be an interesting & very new dynamic for us!!  

Wednesday was tough for me. I think it was the combination of exhaustion from my terribly uncomfortable attempts to sleep & also the hospital tour making it a reality that Raleigh would be here soon (ready or not!) and I'm 100% sure my hormones were whacky! Everything made me cry. I literally ran between rooms at work, ducking into a bathroom to cry... then trying to get it together... just to lose it in an elevator... then to make it to my office... where I lost it again! It is kind of comical now... but I genuinely felt crazy! Thankfully my tears stopped & my dear friend Jismarie helped me feel pretty & did our maternity shoot. I'm sure the images she captured are ones I will treasure forever! Here is a behind the scenes shot Nathan took with his camera! 

I'm realizing (apparently slowly, thank God this process is 9 months!) that we're going to be parents & that scares the bejesus out of me! I mean how are we supposed to be the sole providers for this baby when I still feel like I need my own mother?! When I think about it, it terrifies me yet at the same time I feel so unworthy of this amazing task set before me! What a blessing?! This child has been entrusted to us. Wow. I think it's ok I'm terrified. It's kind of a huge deal! I don't know if I'll ever feel ready... prior to holding Raleigh in my arms, but I know God would not have entrusted us with such a precious gift if He didn't think we could take care of him adequately! I'm sure motherhood will stretch me like no other! I'm ready to be refined & taught an entirely new level of love. 

PS. Happy 34 weeks & 1 day! Check out my basketball. 

Raleigh's Nursery

Whenever it finally sunk in (has it really though?) that we'd be bringing a child into our home the wheels started turning in my head! Where will he sleep? What about our guest room, we can't lose that because all of our family lives out of town!? How will we fit a queen sized bed & a crib into a small space? How much do we want to spend on this nursery? How do I decorate for my little boy?

Well, I'm still not exactly sure about where he'll start off sleeping! I'm going to try the nursery from day one (it's not like our room is far away... we live in a small apartment!). We kept our guest room... & made it into fully functioning nursery & guest room combo! We had to turn the queen size bed into a "day bed" of sorts, but I think it will work. Every piece of furniture we purchased was a Craigslist/ internet find... & of course we got it all for a steal! I decided to decorate the way I'd like it... not too frilly of course, I mean it is for our boy! I wanted to use things that could go in any room of our house but together create a nursery. From day one I thought we were having a boy! I decided to purchase green fabric before our ultrasound confirmed we were in fact having a boy. It was a safe bet & after all it is my favorite color! Each detail has been picked out for a reason & each nicknack has been placed because it's special. Our families have their touches in Raleigh's nursery, which makes it extra special... so here goes!

 Here is one side! Ok- let's break it down. Far left are hooks, I found that at Target for $4! It's perfect for Raleigh's towels. We found the crib on Craigslist... we bought it with the matching changing table for $275! I love it. My Pop Pop bought Raleigh's mattress and my Grandma Barbara lovingly sewed the crib skirt. Maw Maw, Nathan's Grandma, bought us the rocking chair & ottoman... which we found on Craigslist for $85!

That gorgeous rug? I love it. It was an Overstock purchase! I found is for $130, which kind of seemed like a lot at the time, but it adds so much! It could go in any room of our house & it's wool so it's a natural fiber I don't mind my son crawling on. See those gorgeous drapes? My awesome Grandma Barbara & mom made those too. I found the fabric at a craft fair. It used to be a vintage mattress cover. See the vintage suitcases? Well for now they're ok but I'll have to figure out how to mount it open when Raleigh starts to pull up on things; I don't want his little fingers to get pinched! I bought those from our friends Matt & Mel Hux before they moved across the country... it makes it extra sweet!

 

 Here is the "day bed"! It's queen sized & comfy... so come on down! Another challenge was keeping this bedding & making it work with a baby's room. I didn't want to part with it! I think I may take a few naps in the future right there! ;)

Oh, this artwork. I could not be more pleased with it! I saw these on Zulilly one day & knew it would be perfect for Raleigh's nursery. I spent $30 on the artwork, $16 on the frames & 79 cents on the green paint which Auntie Katherine used to paint the once cream mats!! We're a little ghetto... but that saved me $120!! The green is perfect.

"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Corinthians 13:7... that's what the sweet giraffe canvas reads! I LOVE it. My sweet friend & coworker Linda Rose surprised me with that at work one day. She said she couldn't wait until my shower to give it to me & I'm glad! I was so excited to hang it somewhere special. Oh, this is also our changing table! I also have a solid green changing pad cover & another one in the green print... both made by my mom & grandma again!

Here is Raleigh's dresser. It's full of lots of clean and organized clothes & blankets!! My mom & sister are the best. Raleigh's daddy is an excellent painter, apparently! He took the vintage white dresser we bought for $90 & turned it into this adorable yellow gem! Since this nursery doubles as a guest room, I made sure to provide a mirror... which I found at Target for $19.99. The picture frame was a gift from Dan & Bev Bonner... I can't wait to put our first family picture in it! (Well at least our first good one!!)

 

 Here are some of our nicknacks! The bunny was my most beloved stuffed animal. I was convinced it was the Velveteen Rabbit! The bib was Nathan's which was hand stitched by a friend of Carol's. The cigar box was from when Nathan was born!

Here is my favorite corner! Hanging is a prayer that Grandma Carol cross stitched for Nathan's nursery. It just happpppened to match perfectly!? The little table came from Gramma Claudia's house. Nathan painted it yellow too! The pillow was made by my Grandma Barbara! Oh- and there is Raleigh... his little ultrasound is framed!

This shelf I found that at Target on clearance for $16. It has little chalkboards but I haven't decided what to write! I bought it before I had the crib & changing table... I love how perfectly they match!? Hanging from it is Raleigh's baby bonnet & Nathan's baby shoes. On top of it is an adorable personalize giraffe push toy from my friend Meghan & a sweet plate from Nathan's Aunt Karen!

Last thing. My totally impractical & impulsive buy pre-marriage! I found this lamp at a little antique store in western NC when I was vacationing with my mom & dad. I saw it & fell for it! It's green & antique... anyone else seeing a trend?! I had it rewired & got it for $30. I love that it's displayed & on a dimmer! Thanks Dad AKA "Antonio" for hanging it & setting it up on the dimmer. 

 I had fun decorating Raleigh's room. I loved the challenges & the "treasure hunting"! As you can see our families helped provide special nicknacks, homemade gifts & the serious labor to make it all come together. There are still a few things that need to be hung & polished but, for the most part things are in order!! Raleigh is a loved little boy & I can't wait to bring him into his new home!