Christmas!

Upon walking to the guest house at 3:30 a.m. on Christmas morning, I said to my mother, "I don't think I have what it takes to be a parent on Christmas Eve. Can we say EXHAUSTION? And I had all of my presents wrapped! I just joined the family assembly line to get everything else together and ended up with 4 hours of very interrupted sleep. 

That's one of the pregnancy luxuries I do NOT enjoy. Peeing five to seven times a night is damaging to sleeping habits.

My dad and mom watching Little S. make cookies with my aunt and cousin-

 Christmas morning - Little S. was armed with "Poodle" and her milk.

Greeting her cousins in the overflowing with gifts living room!

Little S. watched intently while she felt out how the gift-opening process was going to work.

Family photo!

The first gift of Christmas!

It was Hello Kitty jams from Gigi and Pop!

 And she put them on right away!

A Buzz Lightyear lunchbox from Pop! Sweet!

 

It's filled with Spiderman stickers!!!

Yes, my kid is awesome.

On the Farm ... Sorta

We had Christmas in Hampstead, NC, at my uncle's house. He lives right outside of town, but has a huge lot of land, goats that live in the field behind his house, and random sheds and gardens throughout his property. My mom and I took advantage of one of the sheds that had old rusted farm tools around it for Friday afternoon photos.

dress: Old Navy

boots: Soda/Shoe Department

And this is my beautiful momma...

My very best friend.

She wasn't too pleased when I made her cheese with me on Christmas morning, but I think the photo turned out really cute! Everyone was making fun of me for wearing lipstick to open gifts. My mom gave it to me the night before and I promise I just thought it was a lightly tinted chapstick. I didn't even look in the mirror before leaving the guest house and voila! The photo tells the truth. Coral on Christmas day, anyone?

A Holiday Beach Excursion

The Thursday before Christmas, my parents, brother, Little S. and I trekked from Hampstead, NC down to North Myrtle Beach, SC to visit some of my dad's family for the holiday. Lucky for me, my uncle lives 2 blocks from the beach and it was in the 70s. So what if it was raining!

dress as top: Target

maxi skirt: Old Navy

sandals: handed down from Aunt

necklace: The Word Jewelry

Also lucky for me? This skirt was on sale at Old Navy last week for $11.99 and it's super stretchy, so I'll be able to wear it for a LONG time through this pregnancy. 

P.S. - Thank you, second trimester, for calming down with all the yuck.

Bigger Elf Legs

On Sunday, we went out to lunch with my MIL and our cousins that live across town. Little S. insisted on wearing a dress and tights, so I decided to follow suit. Kid's a genius. I mean, it was only 40 degrees and dresses are much more comfortable than anything else. And this dress is a big stretchy knit thing with no seams that hit anywhere! Perfect for a casual, but comfy Sunday, of course.

dress: Ross, birthday gifted from Rochelle

scarf: Old Navy

tights: c/o We Love Colors

booties: Payless

Looking back, I wish I'd tied my scarf differently/shorter. But you know, hindsight's 20/20. I'm *SO* excited that we're leaving today to go to my uncle's to spend Christmas with family! Can't wait to hug my momma and my nanny (that is flying in from CO tomorrow!).

Little Elf Legs

Little S. has been nothing but a beacon of Christmas spirit, so over the weekend, we both donned elf legs. Today, she'll showcase hers!

dress: Target

chambray top: Thrifted by Rochelle

tights: c/o We Love Colors

bow belt: from one of my dresses

shoes: Nike Air Force, gifted from Uncle Ryan

There's really nothing those baby blues can't convince me.

A Letter to Baby P.

7 months pregnant with Little S.

photo c/o Jackie Ranson Photography

Dear Baby P.-

I've been writing letters to you for weeks, but I haven't been able to document them here until now. Your daddy, big sister, and I are all so excited about you. There is so much time to prepare for your arrival, but honestly, the first three months have already passed so quickly that I'm afraid to realize how fast you'll be here. We won't find out for another month or so, but we have some guesses on your gender. It's fun to play the guessing game, but we all want a healthy baby and know no cons to having a boy or girl. Your big sister points to you in my tummy all the time and tells me you make me feel sick. It's true! You've been a lot of hard work for mommy, but I know it's all well worth it. You have no idea how amazing it will be to come into this family and meet your big sister as soon as you're born. She's the best and she's going to love you so much. She already asks me if she can hold you when you come. I can't wait to see her smiling at you.

We're already making plans for your little room so we can give Little S. a new big girl room for her birthday in January. She's going to give her furniture to you and she's very good about sharing. So far. You've been making mommy really tired and not very hungry, so I hope you're getting everything you need. I'm sure you are! We're all preparing for Christmas next weekend and are so happy to share the news of our growing family with everyone. You are such a blessing and are going to complete us so perfectly. Not to fast forward, but I can't wait to see your little eyes on the Christmas tree lights next year. We love you so much, already.

Love, 

Momma

Lunch with Friends

Today, Little S. and I joined some girls from my bible study group for lunch at the Daily Grind and it was so nice to see them! I was really excited to check the place out, too, since I've heard so many great things! Lunch was delicious, but the company was much better. And Little S. was on her best behavior. It helped that we sat in the booth attached to a huge fish tank. I also really enjoyed spending time with some wonderful ladies, meeting one of their new babies, and getting to share my exciting news with them!

dress: Old Navy

leggings: Target

boots: Silhouettes

belt: New York & Company

necklace: The Word Jewelry

And this one is quite possibly why I've been in hiding for a while... 

 I'm so blessed to have all of you and that you've stuck around while I've been sorting this all out! I literally freaked out when I started showing so early, because with a style-related blog, you see pictures of me so often, that it'd be impossible to hide my changing body from you without some serious stealth. And let's be honest; who has time for stealth? I do not. So, thank you so much for your sweet comments on facebook, twitter, and the blog yesterday. I'm happy to share this special time in my life with you! And I'm happy to be back!

That said, yes, please expect this blog to have lots of baby/pregnancy stuff happening. And clothes. And decor. Etc. Stuff shouldn't change too much, but the epicenter might shift due to growing a human. Hope you'll come with us on our journey!

So That's Where She's Really Been...

I feel like for the past few months, I've been telling you all I've been super busy (true) and stressed out (also true) and blogging has been nearly impossible for me (very true). But there's a real, honest, underlying reason for all of my MIA-ness.

Apparently the second time around, you grow. Faster. Than ever. It's a bit early, but only if we're being extra technical. I'll be in my second trimester on Christmas day. I just couldn't hold it in any longer. And I've literally been showing since 9 weeks, which has really put a damper on my outfit choices/posts. Albeit, baby is only the size of a fig at this point, all the other parts of my body decided they've had plenty of practice and just popped right back out. Thank you, body.

And Little S is very excited to become a big sister! She tells me all the time that there's a baby growing in my tummy and we'll find out on her birthday if it's a baby sister or baby brother. True story- our gender ultrasound is scheduled for Little S' third birthday!

All in all, I've been feeling pretty gross. With S, I had morning sickness in the morning from 6-10 weeks. With this one, I have "morning" sickness in the evenings. Every night between 3 and 10 p.m. And it hasn't let up, so we'll see! Here's hoping I'll get my energy back in a few weeks or so!

And now that we've gotten that little tidbit out of the way, I can get back to my regularly scheduled outfit posts. You know, since I'm not keeping any big secrets or anything. 

My Christmas Wish List

I usually share a Christmas list around Thanksgiving, but I honestly couldn't think of anything I really needed this year. There are so many home projects I want to work on with things that we already have. Then I got to thinking... 

1, 2, 3, 4

5, 6, 7, 8

9, 10, 11, 12

... and it sure is fun to want things you don't need sometimes. My brown boots are looking pretty sad. And I think we only have about 4 matching glasses in our cup cabinet.