a little sweetness

tootsies!!

getting more excited!

...i didn't think it was possible...

19 Weeks!!

This week baby is the size of a mango,

and he is developing motor skills that allow him to make conscious movements.

We are going to the dotor on Friday for the detailed ultrasound

and I can't wait to lay eyes on him again.

It seems like FOREVER between my appointments!

so beautiful...

...i will try my best...

"If I had my child to raise all over again,

I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging and less tugging."

— Diane Loomans

for when i get funny looks...

Gender Reveal Party!!

Charlie and I got together with our closest family and friends

for a special party to find out if our baby is a boy or a girl.

my mom and sister put the whole thing together for us

and it was a blast!

Some of our closest friends joined us for the big reveal

and many sweet memories were made

sweet baby

I can't believe I am already 4 months pregnant.

It just seems crazy to me to think about how quickly this time is going by!

I read that I could begin to feel "flutters" of our baby moving in my belly between 16 -20 weeks and

I have been feeling little kicks right around the waist band of my jeans.

Baby Lloyd is a little bigger than an avocado...

Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

At this time, your baby is holding her head erect. Because her muscles are developing, she can make some faces now. Your baby is able to squint, frown and open its mouth. There is enough calcium in the bones that they will show up on an x-ray. Your baby's fingernails are well formed now and the legs are longer than the arms. Because your baby is moving well now, you may begin to feel his movements!

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing.

...poor charlie

love this and so true

 meggielynne.tumblr.com

oh to be so chic

How gorgeous are the new maternity collection from Vanessa Knox.  

I have never seen maternity clothes that are so simple and yet completely glamorous. 
If there is a wedding in our near future I will definitely be checking this out!

woza

Check out this incredible photo-essay about a young mother giving birth in rural Nepal.

Images and text by Toni Greaves.

Via NPR's The Baby Project.

"take me home to the place I belong, West Virginia, mountain mama..."

I am digging this maternity jacket from Mountain Mama,

Love the color, high neck, and the streamlined fit.

This would be perfect to keep me and the bump cozy on crisp winter days.

i might just get me one, here.

baby boy!!!

We cannot wait to meet the little man!

we shared our happy news with our parents on September 24th and 25th

with a little onsie that read,

"My First Word Was

WHOOP"

hugs and kisses were given all around 

we hurried over to the Twardowski Casa

to spread the word 

these are pretty big smiles! 

surprise!

we have had the BEST time telling our closest family and friends

the biggest news of our lives over the past few months...

{my lifelong friend Steph}

{our great friends Josh and Sarah...Josh still had one eye trained on the football game}

{friends since pre-school}

{a work buddy of Charlie's}

telling the family over Thanksgiving

i sported my "What's Kickin'" shirt to break the news... 

{not everyone got the gist at first}

{but they caught on}

telling Nanny in Alexandria, Louisiana 

{getting to tell my sweet grandmother, Momie}

Charlie's friend Jeremy in Mt. Pleasant, Tx.}

Sharing this blessing with others has multiplied the joy we feel in our hearts.

We are so lucky to have so many people around to love on all three of us!

oh baby, baby!

That's right!

there's gonna be a new baby Lloyd in the family

sometime around May!

We took the first test on September 20th.

After our Tuesday night bible study we stopped by HEB

{charlie explained he didn't want to get our test from a ghetto Wal-Mart..already protective}

to buy a First Response test.

Once we got home we read the instructions,

I 'ehem' followed them and waited for the results....
(sidenote: you really don't need to wait the two minutes, it shows up immedes)
...

......

There was one dark line and one VERY light line

so light that we thought, 'surely not'

Charlie was convinced it was like a watermark and only one of the lines counted.

since the box came with three tests we decided to wait

another day and take a second test.

Sure enough, one dark line and one slightly darker second line.
in teeny tiny print next to an asterisk in a hidden spot reads
 "one line may be fainter than the other. this is a positive test."
sidenote: that should be on the top of the pamphlet and in LARGE print!

As per a friend's wise advice, Charlie used one of the tests himself

just as a control because he definitely wasn't prego.

And the result...just 1 very dark line where my light line had been.

By this time we were through with all of this line business!

After I went to bed, already starting to feel exhausted,

 Charlie went out and bought a Clear Blue digital test at 11:30 pm that night.

Based on his research this was the most accurate and least frustrating

test on the market because it will actually say

"pregnant"

or

"not pregnant"

On Day 3 of taking tests we got the definitive answer

"pregnant"

We hugged and laughed and were totally stunned

in the best way possible.

It was a roller coaster and the best was yet to come...

getting to tell our family and friends