The Beach and The Baby Girl

We have been computer-less for the past week so excuse the lateness and lengthiness of this post. And I can't use any of Adam's cool editing programs at the moment so this will also be a little sloppy. I'm just glad to have the internet back! On to the good stuff....

Last Saturday was Adam and I's 5th wedding anniversary. Part of me can't believe it's already been 5 years. Sometimes I feel like it was last week we were unpacking all our wedding gifts into our crappy little rental house in North Vernon. Then other times it's hard for me to remember what it's like to not be married with kid(s). But then I think about how my grandparents celebrated their 53rd anniversary this year...5 years is just a drop in the bucket! It's crazy to think about.

We wanted to do something special to celebrate 5 years and I said we should definitely get away now while we can! Once Baby Girl arrives it will be awhile. So we (ok, me) decided we should spend the weekend at a bed and breakfast in St. Jospeh, Michigan. We had never done a bed and breakfast before and Adam riddled me with questions like "Will there be a tv!? Do we have to share a bathroom!?" You can tell where his priorites lay. ha! I wasn't exacty sure what to expect either, but it was wonderful!! I would recommend The Dove Nest Bed & Breakfast to anyone looking for a quiet and relaxing stay.  The landscaping was beautiful, the atmosphere was quiet and the hosts were very sweet. Our room had fuzzy bathrobes (yes, really!) and they left chocolates on our pillows. The best part: we were served a delicious three-course breakfast each morning!

our room

view from our window

the gardens next to the patio where we ate breakfast each morning

The proprieters have an aviary housing over 100 doves and pigeons! Hence the name, Dove Nest Bed & Breakfast. They had these few living next to the house for guests to admire. That is, if you like birds....which I don't.



goofball

 We had a different breakfast both mornings we were there. On Sunday morning I was a total dork and took pictures of our food....


course #1: yogurt and granola with fresh fruit



course #2: sausage, kale and egg casserole

course #3: pear streussel...with icecream

 The weather was perfect while we were there. High 70's and not humid at all. We spent most of Saturday, our actual anniversary, at the beach reading and laughing at all the suckers around us with their kids toting 10 beach towels, coolers, sand toys, umbrellas and so on. That night we went out for a nice dinner to celebrate.

Silver Beach

enjoying the beach...preggo style

the lovebirds at dinner

You know that Brad Paisley song "Letter to Me?" If I could write my 17 year old self a letter it would say, "you can't imagine the blessings God has in store for you." At 17 I thought I knew exactly how my life would turn out...and it certainly didn't involve Adam. Even after 8 years of dating/marriage I feel so honored he chose me for his wife. At the end of the weekend we said what we always say after a date - "we should do this more often!"

enjoying the beautiful views and the perfect weather

Adam playing photographer trying to get a cheesy love pic. I included this just to make our kids gag later. haha

BABY GIRL UPDATE:
In case it wasn't obvious enough in all the previous pictures, my belly is really growing! I'm 32 weeks now and boy do I feel it! My feet are swollen, my back hurts, I can't find a comfortable sleeping position, I have to pee every 30 minutes and I'm so freaking tired. And can I just say...WHAT is WITH the HEAT!!?? For a matter of record keeping: The temp today was 102 degrees and the heat index was 115!! Which broke a record from 1934. Sheesh.
For whatever reason, this pregnancy has definitely had it's share of hiccups. The most recent is my bloodwork came back showing that my iron and B12 are low, in addition to my already low blood platelets. This girl is literally sucking the life out of me! So now I have to take prenatal vitamins and folic acid twice a day and get weekly B12 injections until delivery. We also had another ultrasound this week. At my last appointment my uterus was measuring small and they wanted to double-check Baby Girl is growing okay. Although, the dr and I both agreed it was probably because she always lays transverse (sideways) and hadn't stretched out the uterus. I could totally tell something wasn't kosher. I just didn't feel right. If that makes sense.
I'd been feeling kind of rotten and was nervous about the ultrasound. Me? Nervous? Yes, everyone is surprised. But it turned out that Baby Girl had pretty much turned and was head down for the most part. Which I think is why I had been feeling bad. The ultrasound actually turned out to be the highlight of my week. Not only is she growing fine, but is measuring in the 61% percentile and already weighs over 4 lbs. We could see she already has some hair. And we even got to see her smile!! I had been feeling sort of down and totally over being pregnant, what with all the extra annoyances. But when I saw that little smile, I knew it was all worth it. We were also able to schedule the c-section. August 23rd is the big day! The end is in sight, only 7ish weeks. What's cool about August 23rd is Abi's bday is Sept 23rd and our anniversary is June 23rd. That's a lot of pressure for the next kid.

It's amazing this little miracle is growing inside me