A little catch up on this pregnancy

I know I haven't blogged in what seems like forever, and I know that even the time before that it was sporadic and posts were few and far in between, but I definitely don't want to let this pregnancy slip by without documenting some of the important details that I know I'll want to read one day in the future. I also promise that this won't be just about the pregnancy blog. I'm hoping that as I start feeling better and getting my energy back that I will also get a little spark of inspiration again.

I hope.

So. This pregnancy. Let us start from the beginning.

I knew we were ready quite some time ago. Probably around 6+ months prior to getting pregnant. Graham was roughly around the age Elli was when we started talking about it, and since I loved the age gap between the two of them, I definitely didn't want to wait too long before we considered bringing another little on in the family.

Problem is, we were working around one my of closest friend's wedding. We knew two things: 1} It would be the summer of 2015 and 2} It would be oversees. Around November, we heard the news of the final date as well as the final location. Immediately, I headed expedia and started doing a little rough estimate of the trip and how we would make it work. Well, it didn't take long for me to figure out that this trip would cost us about $2,000 more than we had anticipated, and it was definitely something we would have to talk about more in depth.

In the meantime, I still longed for that third baby. After talking it over with Andrew, and realizing that we wouldn't know for another few months whether our finances would allow such an expensive trip, we both realized that this was all silly for us to sit back and delay our longing for expanding our family. We really wanted to take it out of our hands and let things happen if they happened, and we would figure out things as we go.

So in December we officially started trying and at the end of January, we found a big fat positive. Here's the funny story behind that:

I started taking tests like 8 days prior to my expected period. Why? Because I am such an impatient person. I remember going in to work with the test that I had just purchased on my way in, and being completely devastated when I saw that negative. I kept the test in my pocket and just kept staring at it, thinking that somehow I would turn the test into a positive. I even took a picture of it, thinking maybe a line would a appear. It truly was as crazy as it sounds.

Day 7 and day 6 went the same and I saw a negative.

Day 5, I took a a test and saw a negative. I threw it in the trash. I came back 5 minutes later, just to be sure, and what do you know.... there was a positive on there. Faint, but positive. I then ran up the stairs to the bathroom that I took the test the day before and dug through the trash and what do you know... a big fat positive as well. Like I said, I'm an impatient person.

How did I tell Andrew? I just laid the stick on the counter that morning for him to find when he came down the stairs, and of course he saw it right away and of course his reaction would be something like this :

"What is this?"
"Well what do you think it is."
"Is there a line, I don't see a line, it's really faint."
"A line is a line. Regardless how dark it is."
"Wait is that from last night?"

And then I put my head down in shame. He didn't really just say that. Please tell me he's been through this process 2 other times to know a little better than that. We laughed about it, and I let him off the hook since it was early and clearly he was in a state of shock.

But we are having a baby! Another baby. It was really real.

We waited to tell anyone {including the kids} until after our ultrasound at 8.5 weeks. That was just a couple weeks ago and we brought the kids along. Unfortunately, Elli was sick and could barely move {yet alone comprehend the extent of what was going on}, and Graham was really more intrigued about the aquarium and all the fish in it. But seriously, after being there for 2 hours, I was amazed at how great the kids did and it really made me thank the Heavens and Jesus above.

The ultrasound looked great. The baby's heart rate was 174 {it's a girl.. I'm sure of it}, and it was really nice to see my favorite doctor {who delivered both E and G}.

How we told the family? We just face timed and I let Elli tell them {about a week later} after she was feeling well and was super excited. She told everyone all about the "sister" that she is having. She is convinced it's a girl and she doesn't want to hear anything about it being a boy. It's kind of cute and funny at the same time.

So how am I feeling? Crappy. Really really crappy. No vomiting, but constant nausea and feeling like a piece of blah. Smells are super strong these days and bother me like crazy. I cannot cook meat nor watch meat be cooked, nor be in the same room. It really is so terrible. I have no cravings, no appetite, but I force myself to eat. The only things I can eat is fruit, a little veggies, and fries with this terribly bad for you seasoning on them. Oh, and pickles. I bought my first jar of pickles {in like 2 years} a couple days ago and it's already gone.

Gosh, I should be an ad for first trimester.

How for along am I? 11 weeks on Saturday. Due date is approximately October 3rd. Elli was 1 week early, and Graham was 2 weeks early. So it can either be a September or October baby. If it was October, I would have: October, November, December babies.

I already feel like time is flying by, and I know that with spring and summer coming soon and all the activities we have planned with our family {as well as a family beach vacation}, that fall will be here before we know it. Am I prepared, ready, or even thinking about it? I can't say that I am. I haven't opened up a baby book, nor have I thought about a nursery {we probably won't be doing another one, just keeping G man's for the baby and G man can just be a gypsy, bouncing from one bed to another, haha}. Really? I really like that I am not stressing at all about this baby. That I'm really at peace, and that I'm not worried about "loving him/her as much." I already experienced and proved myself wrong when Graham was born, and now I get to really enjoy this pregnancy and really be excited at the thought of having another child to love and to hold and to watch grow.

It really is the most beautiful feeling, and I am every bit grateful for it.