Maternity Photos :)

I received a free photo session with a local photographer here in Chattanooga and thought it would be a great idea. Free session, all I have to do is pay for prints of anything I like. No big deal. Well, Josh couldn't go with me so I asked my brother in law to take a few shots of the both of us this past weekend. A few shots turned into hundreds of shots. We took pictures all day and had a blast. Even froze some to get a good shot and boy did we get some GREAT shots. James has some true talent when it comes to taking pictures. Its hard to pick just one picture as a favorite so I have included several for your viewing pleasure :)

Ready to pop!

I didn't think I wanted any naked belly shots, but I love this one!!

Is this not just too cute?!

I love the way he looks at me.

One of the favorites of the day. Love the sun behind me.

Our sweet miracle, the product of our love <3

She is going to have him wrapped around his finger.

Cute little shoes!

Our family is growing by 2 feet!

Hopefully at some point I will get the proofs from my other photo session. I wasn't too happy with how my appointment was rescheduled so many times (once after I drove all the way to Soddy basically) and I didn't even get the full hour that was promised. But alas, free is free and you can't complain. The worst that happens, I don't buy anything and I get to enjoy the amazing shots my brother took :) Now to just figure out which ones to frame! 

Just an Update :)

It's been awhile since I've been able to post but we have had a really busy life as of late. We FINALLY closed on the house! Yay!!! We have literally been trying to close and move in since October of last year. It has been such a long and excruciating process but it is all done and now we can call it home, almost. We closed on January 28th and basically started renovations as soon as we could. We have been painting like mad men and Josh has even been doing some demolition in the basement where there had been a water leak. All are hard work is paying off though, we move in on Monday! And I can not wait.

In other news, baby Emmalynn is doing great. She is constantly moving and kicking and she LOVES music. I think she dances when she likes a song that is on. She is typically more active when I'm singing at church but I went and watched Josh play with the Monday Night Big Band and I have never felt her move the way she moved that night. She apparently either likes Jazz music or live instruments. It was so amazing watching her move the way she was. I don't think I will ever get tired of feeling her inside me (and yes, she has causes some slight pain at times).  We attempted to have a 3D/4D ultrasound last week and Miss Priss is sitting breech so it was difficult but she didn't help any either. She wanted to play with her feet the entire time, haha. We would watch her grab her foot and cover her face the entire time. She was sucking on her toes, haha. It was sweet but Mommy and Daddy would have loved to have gotten better pictures since we did have to pay for them. But I will settle for healthy and happy baby any day :)

These were some of the better pictures from our visit. You can see her chunky cheeks :)



And this is me at 30 weeks. All belly!

Josh and I also had the chance to visit some friends in Murfreesboro one weekend. It was nice to get away for awhile and forget about everything that was going on (we were still in the process of buying the house). We went to Nashville and protested at the capital for gun rights. It was the first time I had ever been to a protest and it was actually very interesting. So many people fighting for what they think is right. Now I don't care what your point of view is on the issue but I do believe that no matter the side, you should use your voice. Speak out and let your leaders know how you feel. Otherwise, we are just going to sit back and get ran over.

Our First Protest





After the protest, we decided to do a little sight seeing and walk around the capital. Being pregnant, it was time for a potty break so we decided to try and go inside The Capital. We went to the main door and they had it blocked off for another protest and had a sign sending us to the other side so we walked around. Went inside and the place was huge and so pretty. Eddie and myself set off to find the restrooms and eventually found some on the 2nd floor. The girls split off from the boys and as we finished in the restroom we did some sight seeing inside the Capital. Even got to see the chamber from the observation deck. Such a cool place. I'd love to go back and get an actual tour as we were kicked out of the place pretty quick. While we were looking around, all the girls recieved phone calls from their significant others instructing us to get out. They had been stopped by a state trooper and informed that the Capital was closed and we were trespassing. Oops!! When we got to the exit that we came in, I could see the guys standing outside with the trooper. When I stepped outside, the trooper had their driver's license and was calling in numbers. I was so scared! Luckily, he was just "signing them in" and making sure they weren't wanted for anything. He actually found it funny that we found our way in. We told him the door was unlocked and we just walked in, we didn't break in by any means. He said he wasn't concerned about us stealing as we were all caught on camera but that we needed to come back during normal business hours next time. It made for a great day! I have never laughed so hard in my life.

The Chamber from the Observation Deck.

I didn't want to take a straight out photo so I was pretending to text, haha.

Well these are just a few of our updates as of lately. I will try to do better about updating the blog more as we get moved in and settled. Its just difficult right now with trying to juggle school, work and moving into a fixer-upper. Hopefully things will settle down soon before Miss Emmalynn gets here :) Only 9 more weeks!!

Baby Names....OMG!!

Who would have thought a baby name would be so hard to come up with? I sure didn't. I've named several baby dolls over the years and a few pets here and there so I thought it would be fun and easy. Wrong! There is so much to think about when naming your child. It's their name for the rest of their life and could result in teasing in school or even having eight other classmates with the same name (ex. Josh and Nikki). I know it's only one of the big decisions that I will make with our baby but it's been difficult. I want something original and different without being off the wall. I want her to be her own person and have her own name.

It's also hard when family gets involved. Especially the older family members who are set in their ways. Everyone wants you to use a family name, something to pass down. And to be honest, we had several family names on our list. I would love to use a family, nothing wrong with that unless your name is Ralph or Roofus which in my case, this are legit family names that were brought to the table.

So when we found out we were pregnant, I started a list on my phone. I would hear a name and like it and write it down. I had family names that I also wrote down and names that I have just always loved. I figured there was no real rush as it would be almost 20 weeks before we found out if baby was a boy or girl anyway so we had time. I kept this list and would periodically pull it out when Josh and I were driving or doing something that we could talk.  We would go down the list and slowly take off names that we were no longer feeling. We did this all the way up to finding out the gender. At that point, we had more boy names than girl names and had actually picked out the name we would use for a little boy. We didn't have a girl name yet, haha. Go figure.

Well now we are in week 26 and have figured out our sweet baby girl's name. So many people have been inquiring about names and after the Roofus debacle, we started keeping our mouths shut. Sorry if that's rude. It's just easier to not hurt anyone's feelings.  I have been dying to let people know too. We've had her first name picked out for awhile, it was the middle name that threw us for a loop. So many great options. We just couldn't make up our mind. The first name was kind of mine so with the middle name, I let Josh take charge. In the end, we worked together but we both love our choice and can't wait to meet her.

So if you are planning on monogramming anything (like I am) you can now put your orders in. Because I'm finally going to tell you what you came here to read. Our sweet baby girl's name is.....

That's right ladies and gentlemen, Sweet E stands for Emmalynn. We've known for awhile now that we wanted that to be her first name. We just couldn't decide on a middle name. We had several great options and it just made it so much harder to choose. We had family names and just names but in the end Josh liked having the middle initial "N". He said it will make for cool jerseys later, ENV. Get it? Envy?! Hahaha. I love my husband. I also love that he is planning out jerseys. She may be in a skirt cheering if he doesn't watch it ;) 

Yes, Nichole is my middle name. We discussed if it would be weird naming her after me or if it was conceded (mind you Nichole was Josh's idea) but in the end, we name boys after their fathers and grandfather's all the time. What's wrong with passing down a mother's name? So now the cat is out of the bag. Our baby is no longer nameless, she is our sweet Emmalynn.

“Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

I feel as though there is a lot of heartache and pain in the world right now. With the tragedy in CT, my heart has been heavy and at times I just want to cry. I never met those little ones or their teachers but I feel so connected to them. It may be because I'm pregnant and my hormones are EVERYWHERE or it could be that I will be a teacher one day. Children have always been my passion, I've always been very protective of them whether they are mine or not and I hope that if I was ever in the position that they were put in, that I too would stand tall and protect my children to the very end. Those teachers are true heroes. Holding and comforting their little ones so that the last thing they heard was not guns and violence but love. I can't imagine the sorrow that the community and it's families are going through and I pray that they can receive some peace through the holidays. Death is hard but during the holidays, it seems so much worse.

Back home we have a true warrior that has been fighting the battle called cancer. She was only 16 when went she went to meet her maker this morning. She was so strong and courageous and she touched so many lives. I never met Kennedy in person but I knew several members of her family. Last night as I lay down, I read the blog entry saying that it was any time now. That she was comfortable and not in pain and I couldn't help but cry. As I lay there, I prayed for peace. Peace for her family and friends and peace for her. And I'm not sure why but a sudden ease fell over me and I knew that everything was going to be okay.

With all the loss around me, I can't help but touch my belly, feel my sweet angel move and be so very thankful that God has given me such an amazing gift.  I'm full of mixed emotions as I don't want my baby to have to see the pain and go through the heartache that this world gives us. I want to protect her and hold her forever, never letting her go. And I know that these 40 weeks that I carry her she will be truly loved and protected and no harm can reach her and I cherish every day that I have been given with her. But I also know that I can't always be there for her and I'm not going to be able to take all her pain away. And that scares the crap out of me.  My outlook on life is so different now. I had no idea that just getting pregnant would make me rethink so much. My life has changed and I haven't even met my sweet little one.

 I try really hard not to 'preach' or push my religion or beliefs on anyone but today I just really needed to say a few things. I've never been one to be flashy with my beliefs. I feel as though a lot of times that actually turns people away. And I may not always be a poster child for Christianity either. But sometimes all we can do is pray. Pray for peace in this world. Pray for each other. Just pray. 

Christmas Season

Well the Christmas season is upon us and has been for awhile now, I just haven't caught the jolly bug yet. Its hard because we don't have a Christmas tree up nor do we have any type of Christmas decorations. With buying this house, they keep changing closing dates and its all so up in the air that there was no point in unpacking something to pack it up and then possibly unpack it again once we were moved in. Our original closing date was Nov 23 so the plan was to be moved in before Christmas and put the tree up then. Well the closing date came and went and our new closing date is the 18th. All last week we were told it would happen, then this week we were told possibly Friday and now here it is Thursday and we haven't heard anything. Its safe to say we won't be closing tomorrow. We leave for my Dad's on the 21st for Christmas vacation and won't return till Christmas day. Needless to say, we really aren't having a Christmas at either of our locations. Which is fine. I don't need all that stuff to make it Christmas but for some reason, and i'm blaming it on the pregnancy hormones, I'm just not feeling holly jolly. Hopefully seeing family in a few days will lift my spirit some. I sure do miss them.

We did get to take a couple of photos for our Christmas cards. Addressing them and having that kinda helped the mood a little bit. I really had fun doing the photos too. We literally only have like 3 poses but they are so cute. I can't wait to take maternity photos in the Spring. Josh laughed at me when I first told him my idea for a photo but after seeing them, he loved them too.

This one is the one we are using for our Christmas cards.

Baby Update: Everything is going smoothly. I'm starting to get heartburn a little more now. I'm hoping that means she will come out with a head full of hair. I've also felt her a lot more lately. I thought it was still too early to feel much but I actually think I've felt her have the hiccups. She moves all the time and is very active. Especially after I eat and when I lay down to watch tv. It is such an amazing feeling. I am truly blessed that God chose me to be a Mommy to such a sweet baby. Our next appointment isn't until Jan 8th. We'll get another ultrasound then and I have to have a shot because of blood type but other than that, its a normal visit. My doctor seems to be pretty happy with everything and I couldn't be any happier.

Baby Voiles is a...

Well right here in this very envelope that I received at my doctors appointment on Nov 9, is the answer to the infamous gender question.

I had my checkup and was only 17 weeks along but the doctor was still able to tell what we were having. When it came time to look, Josh and I closed our eyes and turned away. The doctor took a few quick shots and then printed the pictures off for us. He then placed it in the envelope, sealed it and then signed the seal so that it couldn't be tampered with (I love my doctor). We would wait another week to find out the results. It really wasn't that hard on me either. I was on such a high from the appointment and seeing the little one move and knowing that the baby was healthy and active that it didn't bother me not knowing. I had given the envelope to a sorority sister who would be helping us with the reveal so that also made it easier.

We had decided to have a gender reveal and actually made it part of the last Mocs tailgate of the year on Nov 17. Everyone was so busy including us that I thought it would be a great idea to just have it there. We would have a location big enough for all our friends, most of which would be there anyway, and we could grill out and just enjoy each others company.

Well the time finally arrived for us to open the box. I was so nervous, I have no idea why because I would have been happy with a girl or a boy. It was just the anticipation I guess. My sorority sister wrapped a box in cute gender neutral paper and tied ribbons around it. Inside would be lots of blue or pink balloons announcing to us the gender of our bundle. 

Josh and I before the reveal.

Cutting the ribbon.

1, 2, ....

3!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Love his smile.

Hugs after finding out we are going to be parents to a little girl!

Mandi was the mastermind behind the box, she knew before anyone and did such a great job keeping it a secret. So glad I got to share this with her.

Our good friend Davis, father of girls, giving Josh a congrats and welcoming him to the club. I think he is excited about the news too.

Our little girl! This was the ultrasound picture that was in the envelope.

Now comes the hard part, naming her! Yes, we have ideas and I'm pretty sure we have locked down on one but its still such a huge decision. It will be her name for the rest of her life. But that will be a blog in itself.

Wrapped Around Her Finger

Judging by the title, I bet you thought I was going to write about the little one on the way...but you're wrong. I need to update you all on the reveal and all the fun stuff that's been happening since the last time I wrote but this entry is about a special little girl that has me "wrapped around her finger".

As most of you know, I have several brothers and sisters and between Josh and I, I have over 10 nieces and nephews. I have always tried not to play favorites and I always spend the same amount of money on each (when I do). It's only fair. But there is one special little girl that had my heart long before she was ever born. She can get away with murder when it comes to her Ni. All she has to do is look at me with those eyes and I melt.



Hollynn Paige was born on Feb 4, 2006, my freshman year of college. She lives 2 and a half hours away in Atlanta and I knew I wouldn't get to be there when she was born but as luck would have it, I would be just right down the street at a hospital with my mom. I was right there when she was born. But I couldn't get to her and I wouldn't get to meet her till weeks later. That sweet little girl has had me right where she wants me for 6 years now. When she would get in trouble she would cry and tell her mom, "I just miss Ni" as if that's the reason she was doing what she got in trouble for. Her mom would even have to call me at times so that I could talk Hollynn into wearing an outfit or eating her food because everyone knows that if Ni says its a cute outfit, it's cute. What does mom know?

She has recently started sending me text messages (via her mom's cell phone) just to say hi. We even Skype/FaceTime sometimes when it's just been too long or something big happens in her life like when she got her big girl bed. It makes me feel so loved knowing that she wants to share such events in her life with her Ni. That's why when I got married, I couldn't imagine not having her with me at the alter. There was no question that she was going to be the other princess on my big day. She even went with me to dress shop all the while waiting patiently for her turn to try on dresses. She was my mini-me in every way. Unplanned, the hair salon did her hair the exact same way mine was done and she even had a tiara just like Ni.



Well when I found out I was pregnant, concern for my mini-me was a big deal. She is still so young and she doesn't like to share me with any other little girls in her life whether they are my other nieces or just little girls we know. She gets very territorial, it's actually very cute. She has never gotten mean or anything, she just won't leave my side until they do. So when it came time to tell her mom that I was pregnant, I wanted to talk to Hollynn first. I wanted her to know that this baby no matter what it was, was going to be her baby too. And that I was always going gombe her Ni. I asked her what she thought and I could tell she was a little hesitant but quickly got excited when I included her in the reveal to my sister. In fact, Hollynn was actually the one to tell my sister "she was getting a cousin" and showed her the ultrasound photo. She was so excited and proud and I'm glad she could be included.

Well now that we know its a little girl, she is just as excited. She loves shopping for clothes and dresses and has even picked out the name "Hannah" for our peanut. (Sorry Hannah, it's not sticking, haha) During Thanksgiving, it was brought to my attention that maybe Hollynn wasn't quite ready to share her Ni. She went up to my sister at some point and said "Mom, I wasn't ready for Ni to have a baby". Talk about break my heart!! Now mind you, I can't sit and wait on a 6 year old to get ready for me to have a baby and it wouldn't change the outcome but it is very important to ,e that she knows that she is still my little girl too. During the gender reveal, she got to be there so she had a step up of her entire family. That made her feel special and she is always helping me shop (I kinda created a monster, haha, sorry Angela).

Hollynn is my sweet special little girl. I don't think you can find a picture or a time where she wasn't in my arms. And she will always have Ni's heart. There really wasn't a reason to write this blog about her but she has been on my mind a lot and even though I just saw her last Thursday, I miss her already! And I know she misses me.