Louisiana Trip 2013 {In Pictures}

I know I blogged a little bit about the Louisiana trip but I am pretty sure I just focused on the fact that we told everyone about the Baby which was pretty much the best part. Haha! 

Anyway, here are lots of pictures we took during the trip with commentary thrown in!

We decided to leave super early on the morning of May 24th, so Matt packed the car ahead of time. 

Here's my guy! P.S. I LOVE packing the car because I feel I am superior at it. ;-) However, as a pregnant woman I am prohibited to lift that much weight. Therefore, I taught Matt everything I know! I kid :)

EARLY!!!

Matt got these sunglasses at the Color Run and they fit perfect over his regular glasses so he wore them the whole time. It became an obsession. :)

Ready to go! and as happy as we can be at 5:30 a.m. 

At some point on our journey when we had awakened a bit. 

Gas station break, tired of being in the car mostly because we were tired of keeping our secret! haha! 

Alright, this is at the bottom of the stairs at my mom's house. We had put away all of our things are were about to tell her about her grandbaby!! It was so fun to surprise her. She was thrilled to hear and we were glad that the secret was out! :) We gave her an apron that was monogrammed "GiGi's Kitchen". My step dad was also there and we gave him the announcement photo to tell him the due date which happens to be his birthday! It was fun! 

P.S. There is video of all of this that Matt hopes to compile but life is busy right now and it just hasn't happened!

 

The next morning, we met up with my friend, Brittany and were able to tell her! She was excited too, of course. We gave her a few wedding gifts and in the first card I said "It's so fun to think that as you begin this season of marriage, we are beginning a season of parenthood"

She was getting married the following friday which is the main reason this particular trip to Louisiana was planned to start with. 

Saturday late morning and early afternoon was spent with Dad and Susan. We gave Dad a child's fishing pole to reveal the news to him. He was SHOCKED and thrilled. :)

**Between Saturday and Tuesday, we were able to tell most of our family and friends, some via video and phone calls since we couldn't see them in person yet. Saturday night, we told my best friend and her husband. She is due 3 weeks before me and it was soooo hard to keep the secret that long! Sunday, we attended church with Mom and told all of our friends there. Sunday afternoon was reserved for lunch and shopping for maternity clothes. Monday was a chill day and Monday night was dessert with Mark and Pam. Sad I didn't get a picture there! 

Tuesday evening, we headed to Dad and Susan's for crawfish with the family. Here are some of Matt's artistic shots from there! 

Matt had his share! (pardon the belly shot!)

My precious step-mom, Susan, got this cake for us! It was such a surprise and so special. My favorite cake is carrot cake and also she called/still calls me "Carrot Top" so it's extra special! 

One day, Mom and I were cleaning and found these glasses that were my grandfather's. Hehehe

On Wednesday night, we went to see a soccer game. Matt got a few fun shots! 

Thursday night was the rehearsal dinner. Mom and I grabbed a quick pic before hand. Oh, and Daizee had to pop in too! She is so photogenic! 

My love! 

The rehearsal and wedding were held at the local Catholic church which is so pretty. Matt grabbed a few shots while there. 

Baby Cohen thought it was boring! 

Rehearsal dinner followed at a restaurant called "The Boston". It was nice! Matt wanted to take more pictures but it was a little dark in there. 

Friday was the BIG day! Here are a few pictures from that day! 

Saturday morning, we headed to Montgomery to spend a quick 24 hours with Matt's parents. We didn't get any pictures there but had a good time! 

3 years ago!

On this day three years ago, Matt asked me to marry him! I am so glad he asked that I said yes. Wow, how much can happen in 3 years!

Here are few pictures from that day. :)

Anatomy Scan {Baby Morgan}

On July 3rd, we had our BIG ultrasound. As I mentioned yesterday, I was both thrilled beyond belief and slightly nervous. We both couldn't wait to see the baby. We got to spend about 45 minutes in the ultrasound.

The ultrasound tech was great...a good mix between funny and knowledgeable. Our little one was spine up the whole time and looked so uncomfortable but was apparently quiet cozy because other than extremity movement and head turning, there wasn't much movement. That little stinker! ;-)

I had been told by friends to drink a caffeinated drink but the problem is that I don't really drink caffeine and what little bit I do drink (sweet tea), I don't drink at 8:00 am. Therefore, baby was sleeping. We decided Baby likes to nap like Daddy!

The ultrasound tech said that everything looked great. However, since the baby wouldn't flip over, she couldn't get a couple of alternate heart views that she wanted to get. She is not concerned but just for precaution, she wants to have them.

She was also unable to tell the gender of our little one. She said Baby's legs were crossed tight. Doc said that means it's probably a girl! :) Mom said the same thing. And by the way, except for one person, everyone has said "Girl" so far. So funny to me. I'm staying neutral! :)

We do not want to know the gender ourselves but we wanted the tech to write it on a notecard for us so we could send it to Crystal @ ShopCrystalFaye in order for her to make some monogram items for us for the hospital. However, she won't be getting that fun mail for at least 4 weeks!

During my next appt, the tech will do a quick follow up US and hopefully will see all she needs to see about the heart, etc and maybe baby will opens its legs! haha!

Without any further wait, here is Baby Morgan!

Here is our little Stinker with booty in the air! :)

There is one karate chopping foot that I'm sure I'll start to feel in full strength soon!

Love this little profile! and that NOSE!!!

And here's an arm!

Cutest baby ever, right!?!?!

Just 124 days until due date. Wow, that seems so soon! :)

Pregnancy Update {22 Weeks}

At 20 weeks, 1 day---my stomach is getting very hard and I can definitely tell where the baby is. So cool and crazy at the same time!

For the last several weeks, I have craved grapes like crazy! I never purchase them at the store because they are too expensive. On Friday, June 28th, Whole Foods had them on sale for 99 cents a pound. I sent Matt to Greenville to stock up!! He purchased 14 pounds!!! We only kept a little bit fresh and froze the rest to have for the next few weeks. I really like them frozen these days!

On June 30th, I had my first big ugly unexpected cry about something completely silly. I had been hinting to Matt about ice cream. I just KNEW he would come home from work with ice cream. He showed up empty handed and I was SOOO unexpectedly sad! He said that the reason he didn't bring any was because of our tight budget which was totally logical. I was fine and then all of a sudden, I just started crying!!! It was so crazy. Matt handled it well but I did not. I couldn't believe I was crying but at the same time, I couldn't stop!!
*Side note, this week, we received a refund for something and I told Matt "you may want to set a little aside for my ice cream cravings!" :)

On July 3rd, we had our Anatomy Scan/Ultrasound. As I mentioned before, we are paying self-pay for OB fees/delivery, therefore, we are avoiding extra costs as much as possible. Because of that, this was our first ultrasound. I have to admit, I was both SUPER excited and LITTLE nervous at the same time. I was pumped to see baby but realized the ultrasound tech would be looking at everything with our baby. Everything went well! I will post tomorrow with a few pictures!

Here's me in all my glory. I have gained only 6.1 pounds and I don't feel like I look very much different but Matt says he can tell that my stomach is rounding out more!

Everything is going well. I'm still feeling great too! My next appointment is on August 3rd and I'll take the dreaded glucose test that day ;-) and have another small ultrasound. (read tomorrow's post for more on that)

Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist {A Book Review}

Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist is a book in which the author shares so many of her favorite recipes in life. Along with each recipe, in fact before she shares each recipe, she shares a story related to the recipe. Maybe the recipe is one her grandmother has made for years. Maybe it's one that she's made for many, many friends. Maybe it's one that gives her comfort. Each story is heartwarming in its own way and gets you excited for the recipe to come. Shauna brilliantly shares the information in her book and it is fabulous. 

I heard about this book several months ago when someone tweeted about it. When I saw it up for review at BookSneeze, I knew I had to review it. It took me a bit to get into it and I'm not sure why. But when I explored the book further, I read 3/4 of its pages in 2 hours. I love the recipes and I love the stories. For me, cooking is not just something I do for sustenance, it's something that brings me closer to my husband to those family members and friends that I have the blessing of cooking for. This book just spurred that on even more. 

While reading, I realized just how long it has been since we have had loved ones into our house to prepare a meal for them. I also realized just how much I miss it. We are entering a new season in our lives but I hope soon to cook more for others. Thanks to Shauna for the inspiration! 

I hope you'll check out this book! If you have any questions, please ask! :)

*I received a complimentary Copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for my review.