thankful...

happy thanksgiving everyone! what better day than thanksgiving to reflect on all the positives in your life and all that you are thankful for...

I am thankful for...

... all that I have in life and all that I am able to give
... my family - who is definitely nutty but has taught me what it is to be a part of something bigger
... my mother - who keeps me grounded and reminds me of where I came from
... memories of my father - that teach me who I want to be and what to strive for
... my friends - who are the best support system any girl could ask for, near or far they make me smile
... my sweet puppy Oliver who has taught me the true meaning of unconditional love
... my job and profession and ability to make a difference
... my health and the health of my loved ones [and health insurance, let's get real]
... this blessing that is growing inside of me - I am so thankful to be able to bring life into this world

and most of all...

... my partner, my love, my best friend - my danny j. - the one that makes everything else worth it.

happy thanksgiving.

take time to reflect on what you are thankful for, and what makes your world go 'round.

back and beat...

I'm baaaaaaaaack. and exhausted. and blissfully happy. there's nothing like a wedding of two people you love [that truly love each other] to make you float on air for a few days. our weekend away was so amazing filled with great friends, adorable babies, fun games of phase10, late night laughs and lots and lots of love. but now we're back to reality for a few days before thanksgiving - I am so exhausted that it hurts to breathe - I'll tell you what, traveling when you're pregnant is pretty exhausting and I've done my fair share of it the past few months.

here's a short recap of our weekend in short fragmented sentences/statements: we landed late thursday night and just relaxed with lindsey and phil and caught up for a bit, then we crashed, woke up the next morning and had breakfast with sarah,  mike and christina - our breakfast was amazing [huuuge portions and great food, I highly recommend the Dixie Grill for breakfast if you're in Wilmington anytime soon].

then we had lunch with my old boss Larry at Flaming Amy's aka I was in sheer heaven. catching up with LW is always great as he can make you laugh like no other and he was giving DJ all sorts of "how to deal with a pregnant wife" and dad advice - it was just great. then DJ did some work and I ran some errands around town and grabbed coffee/chatted with my friends Christina and Kara - so great to just chat with old friends.  

that night DJ, Lindsey, Phil and I went over to Larry's and spent time with him and his wife and daughters - I've known his older daughter Emerson since she was born [she's five now] and it's amazing to me that she's not a baby anymore and truly is a little girl - she's the sweetest and cutest little thing [she also told us that the baby in my belly is a boy which made DJ love her even more]. We also got to spend some time with Harper LW's younger daughter  who I haven't spent a ton of time with but who I truly love also - she was such a trip all night, it's so funny the idea of nature/nurture -  how two kids raised in pretty much the same environment the exact same way can be so different. our visit was supposed to last an hour or so and we ended up staying and talking for hours that we stayed right through dinner and ended up just getting Indochine takeout on the way home and eating on the couch in our PJs - all in all, such a success.

saturday I woke up and headed out to Josh's parents house to have breakfast with him and Tiff and make flowers with the bridal party - we made some beautiful bouqets [pictures coming soon] and then went out to get manicures and lunch. I went back to campus and rested for a bit before DJ and I ventured out to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner - which were both a blast. 

then, sunday was the wedding day! all the pictures we took are on my Nikon which are home but I'll get those up ASAP - the wedding was just perfect and Josh and Tiffani were so happy. I felt good about my "officiating" and was so relieved when I was done that I could cry [tears of happiness] as I was holding them back the entire ceremony! more on the wedding soon -- off to knock some more things off my three-day work week to-do list... more on baby j and hopefully a baby bump picture tomorrow! :)

Tiny Prints Talent Search Contest!

To all my budding photographers out there I wanted to pass on an exciting contest that Tiny Prints is having! They're currently holding their 3^rd annual Tiny Prints Talent Search Contest!  

You can enter for a chance to win the grand prize of $1,000 cash, plus a $500 Tiny Prints gift certificate [which would come in very handy this time of year, hello holiday gifts].

They're looking for the cutest photos in the following categories:

Cutest Baby (From ages of 0-24 months)

Cutest Kid (From ages of 25 months - 10 years old)

Cutest Family

Cutest Couple

Cutest Pet & Owner

You can enter the Tiny Print Talent Search Contest via Facebook or on the Tiny Prints website. 

For Official Rules, click here.

They're accepting entries until Monday, November 21st so hurry over!

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Also, Sunday is the last day to sign-up for my Ornament Swap, so don't forget to sign up!

what I'm loving wednesday....

happy wednesday! hope you're all having a beautiful wednesday - it's a grey, rainy one in Georiga - but we need the rain so no complaints here. here's what I'm loving on this fantastic day...

I'm loving... all the kind words that have poured in over the past two days with my pregnancy announcement and all the love for baby j! I've had perma-grin on my face, thank you all!

I'm loving... that we're leaving for Wilmington tomorrow! Can't wait to see some of my favorite people and have a relaxing weekend at the beach!

I'm loving... that while in Wilmington, we're going to be staying with one of our favorite couples - we haven't seen Lindsey & Phil since our wedding and we're way overdue for a fun weekend with them!

I'm loving... while in NC we'll get to attend the wedding of two dear friends Tiffani & Josh, and I'm loving [and so honored] that I'll be officiating the wedding! I can't believe I'm actually going to be the one marrying them, so crazy!? But seriously, they're such an amazing couple and I'm so happy for the two of them to continue on their journey of love and start this next chapter as a married pair!

I'm loving... that I'm going to eat at my favorite restaurants while in Wilmington - there will definitely be a trip [if not multiple] to Flaming Amy's and I think we're going to squeeze in a trip to Indochine or Bento Box too, YUM - such good food in Wilmington, I can't wait!

I'm loving... all the people that have signed up for the Ornament Swap, if you haven't signed up already you have until Sunday so sign up soon! It'll be a load of fun!

and as always... I'm loving... my sweet, sweet husband and adorable, lovable pup!

happy wednesday friends! 

more on baby j....

first, thank you all so much for your kind words yesterday! DJ and I were both so touched by all of your kind words and well-wishes! Also, did you see the post that Kristen posted on Ollie and Tugger yesterday?! SO DARN CUTE. I loved it and Ollie loves Tuggie... I told Kristen that she might get a knock on the door soon because Ollie might run away to live with them when the baby comes... I'm not quite sure he knows what he's in for [but more on that later].

Anways, we are over the moon excited and let's be real - a little nervous and scared at the same time. this definitely explains why I've been M.I.A. the past few months - first, I've been exhausted. like sleep for 12 hours and still wake up tired exhausted. second, it really has been difficult to find other things to talk about -  my mind has been wrapped around this little baby growing inside me for the past three months and I am so excited to finally be able to share my thoughts, excitement and fears!  Speaking of the baby, here's our first baby picture - I know, it's adorable even at 8 weeks...

Don't worry this won't turn into just a baby blog because let's get real - I still have all sorts of random stuff swimming around in here but this is the biggest thing consuming my mind so be warned, there will be lots of pregnancy baby talk. Consider yourself warned.

So here [in a bulleted list, because that's how my mind works] are the answers to what I'm sure are your burning questions about sweet little baby j....

• How far along are you? When are you due? I'm 14 weeks today! We're due on May 15th [and even though it's likely the baby won't come before/on it's due date we're hoping it'll be a 14th baby like its mom and dad]
• Were we trying? Yes and no - in April, shortly after DJ turned 29 we decided that we would stop "preventing" and let the powers that be - be. Well, that lasted like two weeks and then we both got into, let's get pregnant mode! More than anything I was scared that I wouldn't be able to get pregnant after being on birth control for over a decade and wanted to give my body some time to adjust... well four short months later. We got a positive, it was so exciting and surreal and it sounds cheesy but life seriously changed the instant I saw that positive pregnancy test!
• How are you feeling, did you have morning sickness? I must say, I was extremely fortunate - I only got "sick" twice - one morning after DJ cleaned out the refrigerator and I walked in the pantry and smelled the trash and one night at Tiff's bridal shower after I took my prenatal vitamin. The nausea is a whole other story - I was pretty much nauseous for a good two months. I didn't have too many food aversions but did have a handful [yogurt, chicken, vegetables - basically anything that wasn't a carb]. Luckily, that phase is over - I've been feeling great for the past week or so and have been able to eat pretty much everything [yogurt and veggies included!].
• Are you showing? Let's see that baby bump? I wish I could say no that I'm still skinny as ever - but no, no - I chunked up real quick. I wouldn't say I'm showing per-se, but my midsection definitely is rounder. People haven't come out and asked me yet but after I told people they've said "I was wondering, I saw your stomach..." [nice. thanks.] I promise to post a picture of the bump soon, if you look closely in pics from the past few weeks you can kinda see it [though I purposely didn't post any that were too showy].
• Do you know what it is yet? Boy? Girl? Are you going to find out? So we don't know yet - but we should find out right around Christmas! Yes, we're definitely going to find out [I'm way too much of a control freak not to know]. 
• What do you think it is? Oh it's a girl. I know it is. However, DJ is convinced it's a boy. Either way, one of us will be right [it'll be me].

welp, that's all I can think of right now -- 

Any other questions?? 

Oh, and don't forget to sign-up for my Ornament Swap if you haven't already! It's going to be loads of fun!