Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm 23 years old. Actually, about two weeks ago I realized it was almost my birthday and then had to honestly sit and try to remember how old I was turning. It seems like 23 is a little bittersweet for me. On one hand, I have what I always wanted in my life. I have my bachelor's degree, a great resume and references, and husband that (most of the time) I'm very much in love with, and my son who is such a blessing I can't even put it into words. That's what I really wanted when I was little, I wanted to be a mom and wife, and I wanted to go to college. We're even at the point of moving into the process of buying a house. We went to North Carolina earlier this month to house hunt and have found basically our dream house. Well, my dream house that has becomes Nathan's dream over the past couple years. It has land, I could have a horse and chickens, I would have space, and it's exactly the type of environment I want Jace and my future children to grow up in.
But at the same time it's weird because I feel a certain disconnect from where the rest of my friends are. They're in undergrad or went straight to grad school, they're having adventures on their own or with a boyfriend, and they have that freedom. Now, I would not trade Jace for anything. Ever. He is my miracle baby that, once I was set on Nathan, I was afraid I could never have. Even when he has a meltdown because I won't let him climb the stairs or he throws his lunch all over the floor and himself, I usually end up laughing at him. But it's hard when the friends I've relied on my entire life can't really relate to where I'm at in my life. And we still talk, we still hang out, and they are still and will always be the greatest friends I've even had, but it'll be nice when they also get to this point and then we'll have more to connect on again.
I do have to look at the bright side though: Nathan and I have been attending church more regularly and I'm starting to befriend some of the women there. Women that are wives and mothers and that understand me when I say that I put Jace in baby jail because I just couldn't take the tantrum any longer.
And church in itself has been an upside. Don't get me wrong, God and I still have our issues because I have difficulty understanding how a gracious man who is a Muslim or an altruistic woman who is a Buddhist is not bound for heaven and eternal life, but we will continue having this dialogue until I can understand this.
Well, I guess that's pretty much me at 23, I feel a little older than I really am, but overall I know that I am very blessed with a good life. I have a good job lined up for the summer, I have a loving family, and my dreams of moving to a warmer state are not only possible, but we are taking the steps to make it a reality. My actual birthday shall be a bit dull: Nathan has to work at all of his on campus jobs today and has, I'm sure, a ton of homework and research to do, but maybe Jace and I will find some way to celebrate this afternoon. If it wasn't so cold he and Luna and I could go to the park, but somehow it's always cold or snowing on my birthday.  

Christmastime is here

My little man is really loving all the decorations :)

Welcome Back!

Shockingly I ran out of time again to keep up, and then forgot about it completely, and then when I revisited this page I remembered how much I adore writing and how having Jace has given me an entirely new world of things to write about.
Right now I'm focused on the upcoming Christmas holidays! Jace has started crawling and whenever we are in the living room he heads straight for the tree. He loves the lights and finds it absolutely thrilling to try to pull ornaments off of it. But I can't be upset because his face is so adorable as he tries (okay, who am I kidding, he succeeds) to destroy my living room.
Today I spent a few hours baking Christmas cookies. That's a family memory I was so happy to recreate today: I remember being really young and spending time at my Grandma and Papa's house helping to frost cookies that Grandma had made, then making cutout cookies with my Mom and sister every year and getting into flour wars. Jace is obviously too small to partake now, but he hung out in the kitchen with me in his exersaucer while I made mint chocolate chip cookies and M&M cookies. I think that tomorrow (technically today) I'm going to tackle making buckeyes and try a new recipe for fudgey brownie cookies!
Tonight I'm suffering from serious insomnia, which is troublesome because I'm pretty sure I work a 12 hour shift tomorrow night. Working nights at a warehouse is tough, but I keep reminding myself that it's only temporary and I'm doing it so that Jace doesn't have to be in daycare. Don't get me wrong, at the right daycare I'm sure he would be fine, but if I have the opportunity to be home with him during the day and he can hang out with daddy at night, why would I leave him with anyone else? I'm lucky in the fact that Nathan thinks the same way I do, that every moment we spend with Jace is a precious gift, and we don't want to miss one moment more than absolutely necessary.
<3 

26 Weeks (Only 14 left!)

 Well there's not too much to report this week, Nathan and I are getting ready to go back to classes, we're home from the holiday's with our families, and I've been trying to get more organized in order to make my life easier for when Jace gets here!
Everything still seems to be going very well with Jace, he's active and moving every day and still growing like a weed. Nathan has gotten to feel him move several times now, it's pretty much the best feeling in the world to share that with him.

Last Post of the Year!

Well, it's kind of hard to believe the year is nearly over, it was a seriously crazy year. I moved into my own place, learned who my real friends were, started counting on them more than I ever imagined, got married to the love of my life, and found out that my family has started and I will get to meet him in April!
As far as I can tell, everything is still going very well with pregnancy. Nathan was finally able to feel Jace kick for the first time! It was adorable because he got kind of teary-eyed and emotional. But then looked at me and was like, "I cannot imagine how weird that feels for you." And truthfully, he can't. The stronger the kicks get, the more it sometimes feels like there is a little alien living in me. But at the same time I am completely and totally in love with it because it means that he's okay and still growing. Okay, well, I love it a little less when he manages to kick my bladder, but that's part of pregnancy and I'm getting used to it. Technically, I won't be at week 25 until tomorrow, but I know that I won't have time tomorrow to do pictures and post with all other chaos, but one day didn't seem like a huge deal. It's funny looking at the first picture from week 7, I look unbelievably skinny. But my transformation is nothing compared to Jace's. He was smaller than a blueberry that first week, now he's about 13 inches long and weighs about a pound and a half! It's hard to believe I have only 15 weeks left, I'm over halfway done and getting so close to meeting him!
I've spent a lot of time the last couple days on pinterest getting ideas for the nursery and baby shower. Some of the ideas are too cute, like a punch bowl of blue punch with rubber duckies. And doing a thumbprint tree of family members to hang in the nursery. Oh and I cannot wait to do a maternity photo shoot, I've found some really creative shots that I want to do when I get a little rounder. Speaking of photos, being home this week we got our wedding pictures back! They are adorable and I love them! I'm still looking through them because I need to figure out which ones to print to make our wedding album, which will be my next project.
Well, I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years Eve and a great start to 2012! 

Nursery Craze!

So, for the last couple days I have been setting up the nursery and organizing as well as researching and shopping for furniture. I think it's because I know that if I set it up now I won't have to stress over it while also doing classes and homework and everything else. Nathan keeps telling me to chill out, that we have plenty of time still, which we do, but I know that the sooner I get it done to better I will feel and the more prepared.
I did get one piece of furniture, a bookshelf that I found for $10, and over Christmas while I'm home mom said I can have all the baby books that I read when I was little, so I can start filling the bookshelf with bedtime stories! I know we have a lot of Dr. Suess, but I don't remember what all else, so I think it'll be lots of fun to look through all of the old stories I grew up with and know that now I get to pass them on to Jace.

Here are some of the pictures I've taken of the nursery so far, as well of some of the things we've collected for him. 

Week 23 (The start of a kicking baby boy)

My belly keeps on expanding, but the best part is, I can finally feel Jace moving! I'd been unsure before, I'd feel weird sensations from my belly, but I couldn't be sure it was him. Then, the other night, I was laying on the couch, relaxing and playing angry birds, and I felt a definitive kick below my belly button. Followed quickly by another one. It was an amazing sensation because I knew it was him, not just my body being weird. So, of course, I tell Nathan to come feel his son, and I put his hand right where I felt the kicks and... nothing. Still as ever. Nathan sat there for about ten minutes and finally gave up and said that I was just crazy. So now I keep trying to have Nathan feel it, but Jace is a stinker and for some reason will not kick if anyone else touches my belly. I guess for now it's just for me to treasure, but before too long Jace will be too big to hide it, so soon enough Nathan will get to feel too.

Oh, and have I mentioned that I love my husband? With the ever expanding bump, my wardrobe keeps shrinking because, well, nothing fits me! So, as part of my Christmas present (that I got early) he ordered me adorable maternity clothes that fit, are comfy, have room to grow, and that make me feel pretty again. The sweater in this week's pictures is one of them, it's warm and fuzzy and spacious, which means it's pretty much perfect.
Tomorrow we have another appointment and ultrasound, so we'll get to see our baby boy and hopefully he'll be active again. I do like getting all the check ups, as much as I dislike doctors, because they really make me worry less. And I can't help but worry sometimes because I want my baby boy to be healthy and strong when he's born.
This week Jace is papaya sized, about 10 to 11 inches or so long and about a pound. So he's getting pretty big, and in the next four weeks his weight should double as he starts to store up fat. He's also getting more and more sound, so he definitely knows my voice by now, hopefully he knows Nathan's too. Of course, with my little fur babies, he probably also knows the sounds of a purring kitten because both Belle and Mischief like to sleep on or near my belly and purr. Loudly. But hey, at least that's a calming pleasant sound to get accustomed to!
I'll update again soon, now that finals are over and so is the wedding and a lot else, I will have more time and should be able to blog more often!