11.19.2013

Introducing...


Adilynn Faith.
This sweet girl made her grand (and fashionably late) entrance on September 26 at 9:11pm.
She weighed in at a whopping 7lb. 4.8oz and was 19 inches long.
These pictures were taken when we met for the first time.
I think her and I were thinking the same thing,
"Hey, I've been waiting for you."
I'm so glad my sweet husband snapped these pictures.
I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life. 

 Our first time as a family of 3.
So many happy tears.

The delivery was nothing like I expected.
I found out at 20 weeks pregnant that I wouldn't be able to get an epidural,
so it was all natural.
Tyler was amazing.
He was my rock through the entire process.
 It was pretty intense,
and there were some scary times.
But there were some wonderful times, too.
I would do it all again, to meet my sweet girl.

That's all I'll say about the labor/delivery for now.

We have been on a babymoon since Adi arrived.
I can't believe she is almost 2 months old!
Time seriously needs to slow down.
Now for a picture overload!
(If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably already seen most of these)
Still can't stop staring at her :)
lips :)
So tiny!

New romantic text messages.
5 days old
Adi wasn't thrilled with the nice head lick she had just received.
Sunday morning cuddles with Daddy.
1 month old :)
Adi pooped her pants.
Girl time!



Being a mommy is the best thing I have ever experienced.
And to all if my blog friends who have been struggling/diagnosed with infertility
(like me)
please don't lose hope.
God is bigger.
You're going to be a mommy, too.



9.14.2013

spaghetti

Remember how exciting everything is in the beginning of a relationship?
You're nervous. Your palms sweat. You're constantly terrified that you have a booger in your nose.
And that person. They seem so perfect. Flawless. You could just stare at them all day.
Poop? No. They don't do that. Only imperfect people poop.
Fart? Of course not! Even if they did....it would smell like cotton candy and roses.
Get on your nerves? Never! They will never, ever, ever..EVER get on your nerves.

After a while, the guy gets super comfortable. Comfortable enough to not be uncomfortable. The plug is dislodged...and the winds blow. After that first bridge is passed, he never goes back. The winds blow forever and ever. And as you sit there with your nose hairs burning, you think to yourself, "wow....how can something smell like that?....he's so gross...but somehow I still love him."
Next comes the nerves. He does something that makes you stop and think..."oh my gosh. I want to punch him in the face....but....somehow....I still love him."
Then comes the day when you innocently walk into the bathroom and are smacked in the face with the dinner from last night that traveled through 20+ feet of your sexy man's intestines. Air freshener? He's too comfortable for that. And while you're dry heaving over the toilet that holds the left over contents that held onto the side of the bowl....you think to yourself..."wow. I still love him."
We realize they aren't perfect...but we love them anyway.

A few months pass and you finally decide to be "comfortable."
So you fart. You poop. And you get on his nerves.
But to your surprise, he isn't even phased by it. He doesn't "still love you..." no, he looks at you with eyes that say, "I LOVE YOU MORE THAN I EVER HAVE IN MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE! YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL AND AWESOME!"
(this is from our engagement shoot in 2010...he's all like "mmmmm you're so perfect")

























All of that brings us to last night.
2 years of marriage.
Many poops, farts, and nerves later.
And my husband still thinks I'm perfect.

I started having contractions last night.
Nothing consistent, but definitely different from Braxton Hicks.
I have an overwhelming feeling of "Oh my gosh I don't know how to use my boobies!"
So I go to the nursery, grab my basket of breast feeding gear, and plop myself in the floor.
I pull out the user manual for the manual breast pump....and before I knew it, I had the breast pump on my right boob....still reading the step by step instructions.
I heard Tyler looking for me, but I was so deep in thought that I didn't respond.
The next step I read was to squeeze the handle with significant force.
I argued back and forth with myself
"No...no I can't squeeze it. That's weird. I don't even have a baby yet. What if something comes out? I'll freak out if something comes out. But I need to know how it's going to feel....yeah. I have to do it. I have to. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Ok. Go."
And there I went. I squeezed the handle with significant force.
...I watched in horror as the suction from the pump stretched my nipple into the funnel.
And little did I know, my husband had found me...and was also watching in horror.

By the facial expression I observed on his face...I know that he finally had an "I still love you" moment.

I'm pretty sure it went something like, "I just saw my wife experimenting with a breast pump.....I saw her nipple turn into a piece of spaghetti.....but I still love her."

When Adi gets here, he'll get used to the breastfeeding thing...and I'll probably go back to being perfect...but right now, right now his mind is pretty scarred.

9.03.2013

furry weirdo

Oh my crap.
The little person that has been living in my uterus is officially FULL TERM.
The question now is whether she'll decide to come out medium-well or well-done.
My doctor seems to think it's only a matter of single digit days now....and I sure hope she's right!
For the past 3 days, I've stayed up until the wee hours of morning...CLEANING.
Can we say, nesting???
And my poor feet are ginormous. Seriously. 1 week after they started swelling, my weight went up 5 pounds! Crazy. They don't hurt....it just freaks me out to look down and see nothing but calf and toes.



















Something else that is crazy?
This guy.



















He has been pretty obsessed with my belly for the past few months.
His head or paws are constantly in contact with it....which is super cute...but last night he got weird.
He jumped up in the recliner with me last night, and laid like this for 2 hours.















He has never laid on my belly that long. EVER. Because Adi likes to kick him...so it's usually like 5 minutes, tops.
After hour number 2, I started thinking how "in tune" dogs can be...and I decided I should take a precautionary "I may go into labor and I don't want to be skanky" shower.
Baylee followed me to the bathroom.
I got in the shower.
Baylee laid beside the shower.
I got out of the shower and started getting ready for bed.
Baylee laid on my feet.
I got in bed.
Baylee slept in my buttcrack.
He is a very lovey dog...but not THAT lovey.
As I went to sleep last night I was positive that I was either 1.) going to die or 2.) going into labor.
Neither of those things happened.....but he is still being weird. I'm pretty sure he is staring into my soul as we speak.


8.23.2013

30 days

As I was randomly browsing through Facebook this morning, a post from my photographer caught my attention. She had posted a picture of a pregnant lady...so naturally I clicked on it, and to my surprise, the pregnant lady was me.




I immediately felt so many emotions. Disbelief, mostly. And then I read what she wrote about the picture.

"'Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.'- Job 37:14  
I know this is a time that Autumn and Tyler are standing still and considering another amazing chapter in their story. When I got to this image, I stopped. I remembered so much about how Autumn and Tyler got to be Autumn and Tyler(and now Adi, too) and God reminded me of how big His plans are."

And the tears flowed. And they continue to flow.
Three years ago, around this time, I got a phone call from a doctor who said that my test results were back. She told me I needed to sit down. I sat in silence as she said,
 All of your tests show that you have no eggs. If you were considering having children in the future, I suggest you start looking into other options. You will never be able to have a baby of your own.
I don't know if I said anything. I think I just hung the phone up. I tried to comprehend what I had just heard, and I broke down. My whole heart shattered into a million pieces. My world stopped. I had never felt such devastation...even when I received the news of having cancer.....that was nothing compared to the thought of never experiencing the feeling of having a little life growing inside of me.
The next 2 years were a rollercoaster of emotions. There was never a day when I didn't think about that phone call. I rejoiced with couples who were announcing their pregnancies and the births of their babies....but I also mourned inside.
My sweet husband would find me in bed during the day, crying...and he always said the same thing.
Babe, if God wants us to have a baby, we're going to have a baby.
I wanted to believe his words more than anything...but I couldn't. I had no eggs. How could I ever be pregnant if I didn't have eggs? It felt impossible. It was impossible.
But 8 months ago, I woke up at 4 in the morning....to pee. And while I was half asleep, I dug through my bathroom cabinet and pulled out a dust covered pregnancy test, took it, and no more than 5 seconds later, God showed me just how possible my impossible was.....I was pregnant.

And today marks exactly one month until my due date!

No matter how hopeless and impossible your situation may seem, just keep reminding yourself...
God loves showing us just how possible our impossible is.

8.15.2013

from Tyler to Daddy

Besides watching miss Adi grow and move inside my belly,
what has been  my favorite thing about pregnancy?
My husband.
The man who has never been around an infant.
The man who I find (often) standing in front of Adi's closet with tears in his eyes.
The man who is madly in love with the tiny girl in my uterus,
but is terrified that he is going to break her neck off.
He's been my favorite.
Especially here recently.
At our last baby appointment, my doctor made a statement that has caused my husband to have sleepless, upset stomach, and nervous diarrhea-filled nights, ever since.
You need to start watching for signs of labor because she could make her appearance ANYTIME.
I was extremely excited to hear that.
Tyler looked like he was about to pass out.

He has his bag packed, he packed his "manly" diaper bag, the car is constantly filled with gas, he calls me/texts me 1000 times a day, and like I said....he hasn't slept a wink.

It's the cutest/sweetest/funniest thing I've ever watched.

The night before last, I got into the shower at 11pm.
He ran into the bathroom.
Autumn, why are you taking a shower so late??? Are you ok??
I'm fine, I just used dry shampoo this morning...and I don't want to have nasty hair when I go to the hospital.
YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL?!!? ARE YOU IN LABOR!?
No babe. I'm just being prepared.

I slept like a log that night.
Tyler didn't sleep at all....and he puked.

Even though I giggle at a lot of the things he's been doing,
I have never been more in love with my husband.
Watching him turn into a Daddy....
it absolutely melts my heart.
I can't wait to see him hold Adi in his arms for the first time.
My heart just might burst.

7.26.2013

my husband IS my soul mate

A lot of you have probably seen a blog post floating around social media recently.
It's called my husband is not my soul mate.
In a nutshell, it talked about how theology pointed towards the idea that God didn't make that one perfect person for us.  It talked about the evangelical storm that took place about a decade ago that taught teenage girls (and boys) that God made their husband/wife specifically for them and that they should wait for them. A lot of love notes were written for those future husbands and wives.....and in the post's opinion, it was just a way to try to keep teens from going crazy in the dating world. It said that God gave us free will to choose who we want to marry and the one was technically not real.

That blog post showed up on my Facebook news feed more than once... and I read it more than once.
I tried my hardest to agree with it (because a lot of people were re-posting it), but I couldn't.
So here is my view of the one.

I believe 110% that God made the perfect person for each one of us.
Is my opinion backed up with a bunch of deep theology? No.
It is backed up with this: God made Eve SPECIFICALLY for Adam.
God knew Adam from the inside out. He knew everything there was to know about him...and He made Eve for Adam. Adam had free will, but God didn't make 2 women for him to chose from. He made one. Eve.

Of course not everyone marries the one...because God did give us free will. Sometimes we are impatient. Does that mean that those marriages are destined to be horrible? Of course not! As long as God is the center of the marriage, it will be successful. 

I personally think that, today, we are guilty of putting too much emphasis on theology, and not enough emphasis on the face value of the verse. Sometimes theology is used in order to make Bible verses mean what we want them to mean. People try to go too deep...instead of simply reading the verses. I was brought up in a church that never just accepted verses for what they said. There had to be some hidden meaning.
Over the past 3 years, I've realized that God didn't write the Bible for scholars and theologians. He didn't write it for us to crack the code. He wrote it for normal, average, every day people.  It's not some sort of puzzle.

I was one of those little girls who wrote letters to my future husband. I prayed for him. I told God what I hoped for in my husband- and let me tell you, I was extremely specific. I didn't search for my husband....but I found him. And he was everything I had prayed for. God knows me from the inside out, just like He knew Adam. He loves me just as much as He loved Adam. Why would he not make an "Eve" for me?

My husband is my soul mate.



7.22.2013

diaries of a mad pregnant woman: entry #2

As Adi (and my belly) has grown the past several weeks,
there has been an influx in belly comments.
I used to receive sweet comments:
AWWWWW how cute is your little baby bump!
You're finally starting to show!
You have the cutest little belly!
etc, etc...
These new comments, however, have awakened the mad pregnant woman within.
I have started making a list. I have labeled this list: 

TOP 3  BELLY COMMENTS YOU SHOULDN'T SAY TO A PREGNANT WOMAN IN THE THIRD TRIMESTER...if you want to live.

#3. Oh, WOW.....
So when are you due?
September!
Oh, WOW....

Oh, WOW? What exactly do you mean by that? Never mind, I could tell my the emphasis you put on the WOW.  You just told me that it looks like I'm going to give birth in the next 2 minutes. Oh, you didn't mean it that way? Yes you did. I want to karate chop your esophagus.

#2. Doubled.
Oh my gosh, I think it's doubled in size since I last saw you.
............oh, really?

You saw me YESTERDAY.  Is that supposed to make me want to hug you? Would it make you happy if I told you YOUR belly doubled in size since yesterday? Well your face has also doubled in ugliness since I last saw you.....how about that? Yeah, that's right.

#1. ARE YOU SURE???
How many weeks do you have left?
Oh about 8!
Goodness. Are you sure there aren't twins in there?
Oh I'm sure.

I'm also sure that I would like to punch your mouth off.

And that concludes the top 3 things you probably shouldn't say to a pregnant woman in her third trimester.
If you have made one of these comments and the pregnant woman has responded with a soft "chuckle"....you have been very close to death.

See, we are very happy that our bellies are growing because that means our precious babies are growing. But the belly growth is obvious. There is no need to reinforce the impending stretch marks, the current difficulty we are experiencing when trying to shave our legs, or our new walk waddle.
We are very aware of the tiny humans growing in our bodies....just tell us how beautiful we are....that's safe. Comments like Oh your belly has grown! or Oh my goodness, look at your belly! or something along those lines are safe, too. Like I said, we're proud of our bellies. Just don't be stupid.

In case you missed it on Instagram, here's my 30 week bump!



















Happy Monday!

7.15.2013

counting down the days

baby.
That word.
That's all I can think about. It consumes every thought of my day.
I walk into the kitchen and think not much longer until we're washing little bottles.
I sit down in the living room and think not much longer until I'm laying in on the couch with Adi sleeping on my chest.
I walk into the bedroom and think not much longer until I'm awakened in the night by tiny cries to be fed.
I walk into the bathroom and think not much longer until we're having bath time.

And then...I walk into her nursery. And as I look around the room- at her crib, at the colors, at the little clothes hanging in her closet... every single time....tears fill my eyes and I think she's really coming...the baby we were told would never happen...the baby we prayed fervently for....the baby I wept and cried out to God for....our baby girl. Adilynn. She's really coming.

 
The day is getting closer, sweet girl. I can't wait to hold you in my arms.

7.10.2013

diaries of a mad pregnant woman

When you're super pregnant,
your doctor makes you do a nice little ditty called a "1 hour glucose test."

It goes something like this:
Oh hey! You can't eat or drink ANYTHING from the time you get up in the morning,
until the test is finished.
So now you're pregnant and starving.
HAHAHA.
But don't worry, we're going to give you a cocktail.
It's called orange syrup. 100% straight up sugar.
You have to drink the whole bottle.
THEN we will take your blood 1 hour later.
AND CHECK YOUR SUGAR.
If your sugar level is normal, you win.
If it's high, you LOSE.

If you win, you can skip happily into a field of wildflowers. 
If you lose.....oh, if you lose, do we have a surprise for you.
It's called a 3 hour glucose test! 
Are you excited!?

The 3 hour test goes a little something like this:
Hi again! You can't eat ANYTHING from 11pm the night before the test,
until the test is finished.
So now you're pregnant, starving.....and angry.















As soon as you come in,
we're going to take your blood (1).
If your sugar level is high, you lose, and you now have gestational diabetes. 
You can't eat sweets until the baby is born.
If your sugar level is normal, you lose, and now we give you a super-sized cocktail.
DRINK IT IN 5 MINUTES OR LESS.
OH, AND DON'T VOMIT.
When you're finished drinking the cocktail,
you will wait for an hour.
You still can't eat/drink.
Your hangry state will increase.
We take your blood again (2).
You will wait another hour.
STILL NO FOOD.
HANGRY.
We take your blood again (3).
You need to vomit?
If you do, you'll have to start all over.
SWALLOW IT.
Wait one more hour.
You are now starving to death. Do you have a last will and testament?
HANGRY.
And we'll take your blood one last time.

If all of the sugar levels are normal- you WIN!
If just one of them isn't normal- you LOSE..and you have gestational diabetes. You just went through 3 hours of hangry-ness, swallowing yarf, and 4 needle sticks for nothing. You suck.

In case you haven't already guessed,
I failed the 1 hour test a couple of weeks ago.
And it may or may not have been because I caved and ate a fruit and yogurt parfait before the test.
I was for sure that my healthy little pancreas would keep the secret and take care of it...
but my little pancreas turned out to be a ginormous blabber mouth.

I'm currently in the middle of the 3 hour test.
I'm waiting for stick #3. 
I almost puked up my guts during the last stick.
Not because of the stick...
but because the woman sticking me had dorito breath and dorito debris in her mustache.
Yes I said she had a mustache.
Don't judge me.
I'm hangry.
 
I hope y'all have a fabulous day!
And please know that even though this whole glucose test thing is annoying,
I am SO incredibly thankful to be pregnant! I'm just a little hormonal and hangry ;)

6.27.2013

Let's get personal. FOPP.

My husband made a HUGE step today.
I might even venture to say it will change his life forever.
For 27 years, he has had one fear.
A fear that constantly ruins his days.
Sometimes it even controls his life.
It is the fear of public pooping.
We'll call it FOPP for short.

If the urge hits him when he's out in public,
he fights it.
Instead of using the convenient bathrooms that are located in public places,
he chooses pain.
Beads of sweat run down his head,
he releases gases that would have killed Goliath,
and he turns into the most hateful person on earth.
All. Because. He. Refuses. To. Poop.

So I am constantly giving him the Carpe Diem Poop Talk.
It goes something like this:
Tyler, why torture yourself? What do you think public bathrooms are for? I used to have FOPP too, but one day I was like, what the heck, it always smells like poop in there anyway....I might as well go for it. And you know what? It was glorious. Just make a huge nest and seize the day babe. SEIZE THE DAY!
If that speech isn't convincing, I don't know what is....
but it never worked.

But today.
Today I had a few OB appointments.
The first one was at 10am. We live 2 hours away, so we had to leave at 745.
15 minutes into the trip he said,
oh no....I have to do-do....today's gonna be a long day.
I just shook my head and laughed.
Soon it was 11 oclock. And he was crop dusting me like no body's business.
(crop dusting: verb.  The act of briskly walking in-front of someone while letting farts slip out the butt.)
He was right.
It WAS going to be a long day.
At 4 oclock, my appointments were finally finished.
And my husband was still full of do-do.
Not only was he still crop dusting me,
but the sweating and hatefulness had begun.
I was starving. So we went to a buffet. And he added 3 more plates of food to his intestines.
I was sure he was going to die.
We headed home around 5 oclock.
We stopped to fill up the car at 530.
I went into the gas station to pee.
When I came out, I found my car....but my husband was MIA...and the car doors were locked.
I walked back in,
and to my surprise, he was walking out of the bathroom.
We made eye contact.
He had a big grin on his face and gave 2 thumbs up.
He did it.
He conquered his FOPP.
And let me tell you,
from that point on,
he was in SUCH a good mood.
Talking, smiling, laughing....
as happy as a lark.

His My life is going to be so much better.

6.03.2013

amazingly overwhelmed

Blogging has taken a major back seat for the past couple of months.
I just can't even begin to describe how overwhelmed I've been.
And when I say overwhelmed, I mean it in the most amazing way.
I'm 6 months pregnant today.
6 months.
That is just so crazy to me. I feel like I just found out. My belly is growing, and I've been feeling her tiny kicks and punches for a couple of months now...but it still doesn't seem real.
I feel like I'm dreaming.
Every time I look down at my belly or feel her kick, I think, is this for real? Was that really a kick? Is there really a baby in there, or am I just getting fat?
Tyler finally got to feel her kick a couple of nights ago. His reaction was the cutest thing ever.  We were laying in bed and I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly. I thought I had waited too long, but she kicked SO hard. He sat straight up and was like OH MY GOSH! I FELT IT! I FELT IT! THAT WAS MY BABY! I've never seen such a goofy grin on his face.
After Tyler told my family about feeling her kick, they ALL wanted to feel it. Since it's impossible for them to feel it all at once, I laid on the couch last night and put the remote on my belly. While everyone's eyes were glued to the remote, she decided she would make them happy and kicked the remote straight up in the air. It was so cool.

Here's a picture of my bump from last week :)






















I hope you all have a fabulous Monday!

5.11.2013

IT'S A.....

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Adilynn Faith Ingram showed her little "goodies" to the ultrasound tech yesterday- so much so that when asked "how positive are you?" the tech responded "VERY." 
That little exhibitionist ;)

I can't even begin to explain how amazing our reveal party was tonight.
Over 100 guests came to celebrate the moment with us.
We were so overwhelmed with love.
Cutting that cake was the most exciting moment of my life so far.
I can now call my tiny human by name!

The final tally was Adilynn 44; Zander 42!

After we revealed the pink cake, 
I looked over at Tyler (who was trying to hold back tears)
and whispered bows, sparkles and boyfriends in his ear (as soon as I said boyfriends those tears let loose).
She already has her daddy wrapped around her teeny tiny finger.
He already told me that I was going to be the bad guy.
He said he wasn't going to be able to disipline her OR say no.
When asked what he WAS going to do,
he replied with: I will say, I know baby, mommy's so mean. 
Daddy's little girl?
Um...yes.



Other random thoughts:
I'm going shopping tomorrow.
We need to start saving for prom dresses...
college...
and a wedding.

I can't wait to meet my baby girl.   
  

5.10.2013

baby crazy

I'm going crazy.
We had the gender ultrasound today.
Currently, 2 people know what our tiny human is.
Those 2 people aren't us.
They are the ultrasound tech and the cake lady.
I thought it was going to be easy to wait an extra 24 hours.
But as soon as I saw the tiny human's precious profile....
watched it yawn,
watched it suck on it's fingers,
and wiggle around...
I realized that the next 24 hours were going to be torture.
I'm about to gnaw my arm off.




5.07.2013

the end of a chapter.

I did it.
It's done.
It's finished.
It's over.

I've completed one of the biggest accomplishments of my life.
The journey I began in 2008 has finally come to an end.
There were times when I never thought it would happen.
A time when I cried and stayed in bed for a week straight.
So many tears. So many things learned. So many memories.


I took my (FINAL) final, today...
and have officially passed my last nursing class.
This Thursday I (along with my tiny human) will walk across the stage and be pinned as an RN.
I just pray I don't slip and fall on all of the tears that will be gushing from my blubbering face.









5.06.2013

this might make you uncomfortable.

20 week update!



Caution: this post may make you uncomfortable..... :)

I am officially 20 weeks pregnant- HALF WAY!
During the past few weeks, I have made some discoveries. Things that current/post-preggo women don't tell you about. I'm not sure if they are too embarrassed to share it, or if they (secretly) want you to freak out when crazy stuff starts happening. I'm thinking it may be a mixture of both.
BUT lucky for you, I am all about being open. Nothing embarrasses me....I guess being a nurse does that to you. AND they DON'T teach you about this in nursing school either. So why not share the glories? Sure, every pregnancy is different, but just in case you (too) think your nips are falling off one day, I'm here to help.

Discovery #1: Oh my gosh I just peed my pants.
At first I wasn't sure what was going on. You know that "OHH NOOOO" feeling you get when you are out somewhere (unprepared) and just KNOW you started your period?  I experienced a very similar feeling when I was sitting in class and felt a very uncomfortable yet familiar (I guess my brain still remembers what it feels like to pee in diapers) feeling. No, my whole bladder didn't give out. I didn't have a wet spot on my butt or have pee running down my leg, BUT just enough pee leaked out for me to think to myself "did I just pee my pants? Yes, I just peed my pants." It's become an every day occurrence now, and there's not a thing you can do about it....so my solution? I bought some SWEET panty liners (that I have also seen in my grandma's bathroom on many occasions). Sexy!

Discovery #2: Oh my gosh my nipples are falling off.
One night, I was in the bathroom, performing my nightly ritual of bathing myself in cocoa butter...when I just happened to catch a glimpse of my nips in the mirror.   My first thought was, "wow, they are as black as coal..." My second thought was, "....and as big as a piece of bologna" and my last thought was, "....what....what is that?!?!?" So what was it? Well, since they are black as coal, it wasn't difficult to spot the white crustations on the tip. I grabbed a washcloth and rubbed them. To my HORROR, the tip (which was in reality a giant crustation) FELL OFF and left a LARGE HOLE. I panicked. I called my mom. AKA: the boobie expert. I explained everything to her and as she held back her laughter, she assured me that my nips were NOT falling off...that the white crustation was dried boobie juice, and that the hole was my nip dilating to get ready to feed the baby.  Double sexy!

I'll just leave you with those for today. I don't want to freak anyone out. And honestly, I don't mind my pee leakage or my weird looking, crusty nips. Why? Because there's a tiny human in my uterus....and I'm madly in love with it!

We get to find out the gender this SATURDAY!





If you follow me on Instagram, you saw this picture last Thursday.
We're down to 5 days, now!














4.21.2013

today's menu

I want to take a moment to document what I've eaten today.

2 pieces of toast with butter and jelly.
1 very large salad with ham and turkey.
1 very large order of some kind of nachos that were wonderful.
My husband's leftovers from lunch...aka 2 slices of BBQ pizza.
1 hot dog.
A very large amount of potato salad.
1 pack of (6) mini crunchy donuts.
1 chicken quesadilla.
Chips with cheese and salsa.

And you know what?
I'm not full.
.....
During the next 14 days,
my 5 inch long nugget is going to have a growth spurt and double it's length.
So I guess that will be my excuse for today....and the next 14 days.
If baby wants it....this mama will eat it.
Or maybe the correct phrase would be,
If this mama wants it, you better back away or I'll eat your arm off.

Excuse me while I go lather my belly with 12 layers of cocoa butter.


4.15.2013

my huge navel.

In case you haven't noticed,
I have MAJOR baby brain.
I eat, sleep and breathe baby.
Well,
I don't eat baby.
I just eat.
A lot.
You can imagine how ecstatic I was when I went to the Chocolate Festival this past weekend.
 Best day of my life.


I tried to act lady-like and control the urge to shove my mouth full of samples,
but I ended up being tagged in a random picture (on Facebook) that someone took...


and of course I was stuffing my face. 
If you zoom in, I actually have whipped cream on my upper lip.
It's probably the most attractive picture I've ever seen of myself.
 
According to the scales at the doctor,
I weighed in (today) 11 pounds heavier than my pre-preggo weight.
I was pleasantly surprised with that.
I'm not exaggerating when I say I've been eating everything.
I had convinced myself that I had probably already gained 20 pounds,
so an 11 pound weight gain at 17 weeks is cool with me. 
The bump is finally starting to show itself!
Here's my first official "bump picture" from last week.


Our gender ultrasound/ gender reveal party is going to be May 10th!
I am so ready to start buying it's wardrobe.

Oh. Random fact.
My navel...also known as my bellybutton,
is HUGE.
My belly button has always been fairly large and shallow (jealous?).
If I had to make a comparison,
I would say it was roughly the size of a quarter.
But now?
NOW it is roughly the size of a 50 cent piece.....
and the inside is almost level with my stomach.
If it continues to expand it's current rate,
I should be navel-less by next month.

4.11.2013

changes

I don't think I've ever had so many changes happening all at once.
I've always loved changes.
Maybe even looked for changes.
I constantly change my hair,
my "style",
my nail polish
my sub from Subway...
just small changes that keep life exciting.
 But these changes.
The ones that are quickly approaching aren't small.
They're HUGE.

1. SCHOOL
In less than one month,
I will be finished with school.
I will finally be able to put those two little letters behind my name, RN.
This always felt so far away.
But it's here.
I have my little white nursing dress,
my little white nursing hat,
my BLINGIN' RN pin,
some sexy, white, thigh high pantyhose,
and my graduation announcements.
Doesn't that outfit sound hot?
Don't worry,
I'll be sure to show you a picture of how smokin' I look on May 9th.
I realized the other day that I have never had a break from school.
I won't know what to do with myself.


2. FINDING OUT WHAT MY UTERINE OCCUPANT IS
yes!
In about 3 weeks,
we find out if this baby is a boy or girl!
And we're having a gender reveal party!!!
This is how it's gonna go down:
We will go to the ultrasound.
The ultrasound tech won't tell us what it is.
She will write boy or girl on a piece of paper and stick it in an envelope.
We will immediately take the envelope to the cake lady.
The cake lady will make a cake with either blue or pink cake on the inside.
The reveal party will be that evening,
and we will cut the cake in front of everyone to find out what we're having!
I am so excited, I can't even stand it.

3. HAVING THE BABY
I'm going to be a mom in 5 months....
HOLY COW.
life changer.
I will be able to kiss all over MY baby's chubby cheeks.
I always want to kiss on other baby's chubby cheeks...
but I never do it because I feel like a weirdo.
So my baby better brace itself for all of the smoochin'.
I can't believe our names are getting ready to change from Autumn & Tyler to Mommy & Daddy!

4. FINDING OUT WHERE WE WILL BE LIVING
We're just waiting on God to tell us where to go.
And when he says go,
we're going.
We're pretty sure it's going to be either here (West Virginia), Tennessee or Florida.

5. STARTING MY NURSING CAREER
When we find out where we'll be living,
I get to start searching for an awesome RN job!

6. BUYING A HOUSE
I can't wait to see the house we're going to buy.
I already have it decorated.
Thank you pinterest.

And all of these things will be happening in a about year or less.
Mind blown.
Bring it on!

4.06.2013

my life in a picture

I want to show you a picture that describes my current life, perfectly.


 Right before this picture was taken,
my husband was like
Oh babe those look cheese fries look SOOOOO good, I'm going to eat one.
...
112 days ago,
 that would have been no big deal.
112 days ago,
I would eat half of my food and he would get the rest.
He liked that.
But something has happened that continues to blow my mind on a daily basis.
The little 4 1/2 inch human is HUNGRY...
which means this mama is HANGRY.
At this point,
trying to take a bite of my food
is as dangerous as swimming with a shark while your nose bleeds.
If you look at my facial expression,
he was approximately 2.5 seconds away from death.

The other thing that sticks out in this picture is my cleavage.
I have never used the words my and cleavage in the same sentence.
I have no idea what to do with it.
I see girls all the time who show cleavage,
and I never think anything of it.
But my new cleavage makes me feel like I'm standing in public butt naked.
What isn't helping this situation is the fact that my newly grown cleavage is also a new sight for my family.
What are those?
Audie...oh my.
Autumn, have your...?
Where did those come from?
My lack of boob-age has been a common topic of the family for years.
My new boob-age has now taken center stage.


Have a fabulous weekend!


4.03.2013

new look!

Like the new look???
If you are wanting to revamp your blog
and are lacking in the creative juice department,
(like myself)
you need to get in touch with Erin!
She is fabulous!
 
 

post signature

4.02.2013

gas bubble?

As I was waking up from an afternoon siesta with Baylee,
I felt a...
gas bubble?
Wait.
....
I've never had a gas bubble vibrate.
A teeny tiny vibration in my lower abdomen 
that left as quickly as it came.
What in the world was that? 
(I frequently forget that a tiny human is GROWING in my uterus)
...
10 seconds later
  
OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tiny human...?
was that you???
Did you just dance for the first time?
Did you just do your first flip?
Did you just fart?
Whatever it was...
HEY!
I'M YOUR MOM!
I LOVE YOU!
Please do that again soon.
Next time I'll know it's you- promise.


 I also promise that you're in my belly...not that guy's.
That guy is your dad.
He's been having some cravings, too.


3.25.2013

scandalous love.

Our church services are always awesome,
but yesterday-
it was exceptionally awesome.
I love when something so simple,
something so obvious,
just clicks.
When I sit there and think,
why did I not think of that before?
I love moments like that,
and I had one of those yesterday.

Almost everyone knows that yesterday was Palm Sunday,
and that next Sunday is Easter.
And the majority of people know what those days are about.
Jesus willingly laying down his life for us.


This Sunday our Pastor showed a video about Barabbas.
(the video below)
Remember him?
Remember when Pilate went before the Jews
and told them to chose who they wanted to be released
and who they wanted to be crucified?
Between Jesus, and Barabbas- the murderer.
Everyone knew Barabbas was a murderer.
That he was dangerous.
But they chose to have him released,
and they chose to crucify Jesus.
Every time I read that passage,
or heard that passage,
or thought about it,
I was so angry at those people.
How could they be so ignorant?
To crucify Jesus instead of Barabbas....
when Barabbas DESERVED IT.
He DESERVED to die.
What had Jesus done wrong?
NOTHING.

 What I didn't think about
was that God chose to release Barabbas.
The people didn't choose him.
God chose to have him released.

God had to treat Jesus like Barabbas...
so He could treat Barabbas like Jesus.
(that just blows my mind.)

 God loved Barabbas.
Even in his sin.
He released him so he could have the choice to accept the ultimate gift, too.

We are all Barabbas.
We are just as guilty and undeserving as he was.
But God is so crazy in love with us,
that He chose to have Jesus die in our place...
so we could be free. 


My mind will never be able to understand how He could love us THAT much.
But He does.
I am so thankful for His scandalous love.