Well ALOT has changed since my last post, my sister had her precious baby girl! In fact, she went into labor a few hours after I wrote that post. Baby Ava Claire is so sweet and adorable and we have all just fallen in love with her :-)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of her thus far, they are from Valentine's Day:

I love being an Aunt. It is just so different than when other people have had babies in my life! Don't get me wrong, I love my friends and family members children a ridiculous amount but it is just different when it is your sibling's baby! I just see so much of my sister in her already and I just love that!

I can't wait for our baby girl to meet her cousin in just a few short months- I am so very thankful that my sister and I have had the opportunity to go through this chapter of life together- honestly she has really helped keep me from completely freaking out because I wasn't alone. I can only hope that our babies can grow-up being close like we are because having a sister is just so fun!

I am now half-way into my 25th week of pregnancy and the time has flown! I can't believe I am over 6 months pregnant- seriously? It's crazytown! I hope the remaining weeks fly by because although her nursery isn't ready and I haven't taken the classes I want to take to prepare I am so ready to meet my our daughter! The baby showers are right around the corner and that just feels so surreal...

I did finally pick-out the bedding and we registered! That was WEIRD and over-whelming. I am so thankful that my husband is so calm and knew just what to do before I started to have a meltdown over bottles... I blame it in part on the hormones but according to everyone around me I haven't been hormonal at all which I hope is true- I honestly just got overwhelmed! I mean I have been around babies and kids my whole life, I always stay pretty calm when it comes to kid stuff because I am comfortable with it but it was like all the sudden on that aisle it hit me that I was picking out stuff for my baby and I had no idea what kind of bottle she would want, much less all of that other stuff! We got through it and I am sure the chosen items will be just fine but it was a moment that I almost broke into tears which seems so ridiculous now looking back on it.

Pregnancy wise things are still going well, my weight gain is still very low which I am both surprised and thankful for b/c I was not at a weight I liked when I found out I was pregnant so I have really been trying not to gain very much. My only complaints as of now are that acid reflux is no fun and I really hate my sciatic nerve... ever since my sister went into labor and I spent 24 hrs at the hospital my sciatic nerve has tortured me. I have been working out regularly and doing some stretching, applying a heating pad but it still plagues me. I am scheduling a pre-natal massage for this week in hopes that it will help and I am really excited about this reccommendation from the dr because there are very few things I love more than massages :-) I also think we have settled on a name... I will announce it once we are for sure but we are about 95% settled which is so fun!!

In other news outside of the pregnancy world...

I am SO excited about this weekend! My bestie is getting married in May and I am so honored to be apart of her big day! This weekend is her first bridal shower and I haven't seen her in a few months because of the stupid miles in between Fort Worth and here so I can't wait to celebrate her and this new chapter she is embarking on so soon! I am also excited to see the other bridesmaids as that includes a few more of my besties :-)

March holds alot of fun weekends for us, my Mom's birthday is Friday, Rae's shower is Saturday, My little cousin Ethan's birthday is next week and the following week is my first baby shower, then it's dnow with our students and Ryan's birthday so we have a full calendar!

Are any of you do anything fun for leap year?? One of my besties and I were just saying we think it should be celebrated- I mean come on, we only get to see this day come once every 4 years and quite frankly I am much more excited about it than the coming election! Ok, I think that is all of my random thoughts for now- I am off to work-out and cook dinner!

I am the worst blogger ever!

I can't believe it is already February! I am a few days shy of 22 weeks, I have to say that this first half has really flown by! I have a feeling the rest of it is going to go at a snail's pace though because there are so many weeks in the beginning that you don't even know you are pregnant and from here on out all I am going to do is get a bigger belly!
Pregnancy is going alot better these days, I still feel a little nauseaus every now and then but it's not even on a daily basis which is nice. I am having trouble sleeping, even after I bought my Snoogle but it's not unbearable! I have also had a cold of somesort for what seems like months but I just throw back the tylenol cold and get on with life because there is not a whole lot of time for being sick! All in all I feel really lucky to have had a smooth sailing pregnancy thus far and can only pray that it continues down that road.
I am now in "prepare life for the baby" mode. I haven't really done much, it's more just about picking things out etc. We did sell all of our guest room furniture, the room still needs some clearing out but our crib is in! I really love it!! It's a dark wood, sleigh frame- it's one of the lifetime cribs that converts all the way to a full size bed which is pretty cool. We have also picked out the dresser that will double as the changing table so I feel like at least that is complete! I am still having some trouble with the bedding... I really like this one, I am looking for non-cartoon ones but I still haven't completely settled:

We have not settled on a name yet either but have a list of favorites... we are leaning towards just waiting until we see her to name her even though I would like to put the name on the wall and all that I just feel like we may pick one and then want to change it and I don't want monograms all over her clothes etc that are not the right name- that would be kind of a disaster.
In other news, work is SO crazy right now! 90% of my events happen over the next 6 weeks so I have about a million things to do all hours of the day but I am so thankful to still be working from home and feel lucky to be in this stage in life while doing so. I have so many friends that are struggling at work while being pregnant or can't find a job that allows them freedom with their schedule and small children and that is something I do not have to stress about.
We also built a deck a few weeks ago! It's so nice to have the extra space outside and I can't wait until we pick-out the outdoor furniture and all that! We have been wanting to do it for a while but would end of needing to spend the money elsewhere and finally made the decision to get it done b/c once the baby comes everything will change and will be put on the back-burner and we want her to have some space to play outside once she is crawling around.
Ryan's spring semester just started, only one more semester after this one- I am so proud of him for sticking with it, I know it has been a long, time consuming road but seminary is almost in our rear view mirror! I know it will all be worth it in the end and the knowledge and training he has gained from this experience is going to be so important for the rest of his career. We are also excited to have the extra money soon- tuition is expensive and I will be glad to be free of those payments!!

Hmm... what else can I tell you about?? Ryan and I have been trying eat healthier and working out everyday, it's been great! We have always loved cooking but meal planning and all that takes extra time and we have been really trying to make an effort which has been good! We also didn't watch tv for a month and realized how much we loved it sothe only time we will be turning the tv on is Tuesday nights to watch Mark and Chism (Ryan's boss and his son) who are so awesome and on Saturdays. My tivo go overwhelmingly full so I am also going cut out alot of the shows that I would record just because- they wasted alot of time!

Well I am off to spend the day with my sister- today is her due date and we are hoping baby Ava will make her entrance into the world soon!