21 Weeks: A Happy Pregnant Lady

21 weeks today and never have I been happier to be pregnant! It is absolutely amazing the increased amount of movement I am feeling each and every day- she's an active little thing in there! I have it down to pretty much an exact science of when she is going to be playing around  throughout the day, but sometimes she surprises me.... today I was in a meeting for work and could not hardly focus because I was so in the moment of enjoying feeling my little Caroline move around. Poor Bennett is still waiting for his turn to feel her move, but I cannot wait until he can experience it too. The bump continues to grow... and so does everything else {I know I know, that is just part of it}. Good news is, there is absolutely no excuse now for people to not immediately be able to tell that I am with child. It seems this has cut down on the number of retailers who feel the need to inform me that I have gained weight {or as one man so eloquently put it, "padded"}. They congratulate me instead... now THAT is appropriate.

{Chalkboardless this week- it is still packed up until tomorrow}

This weekend was an exciting one for sure. Not only did we move out of The Lofts, but Caroline had her very first shower on Sunday! My dear friend Emily is moving to Japan {tear, I can't think about it} and was so sweet to host that very special day for Caroline before she moves in about one week. We had so much fun talking about what is to come and learning from Mom and Mrs. Kerr who have both birthed and raised 4 children {kudos to them- that equals over 3 years of their life spent pregnant!!}. Although I will say that they included some details which made me oh just a tad bit nervous for the big delivery and aftermath, and I think made my poor sister {Whitney literally gets anxiety over the idea of enduring childbirth... I'm talking breaks out in hives} almost faint. Aside from leaving with lots of new knowledge that you don't exactly read in the books, we left with some great new goodies for sweet Caroline! I absolutely cannot wait to put her little room and closet together....it's going to be a room fit for a princess- for OUR princess!!!

{I love my sweet friend!}

How far along? 21 weeks today

Total weight gain? Wait for it..... 12 pounds.... And I suppose it could be worse. Bennett was talking to a nurse in one of his offices the other day and she gained EIGHTY pounds during her pregnancy. So, yeah if that is my benchmark... then I'm doing juuuust fine.

Maternity Clothes? I have a pair of skinny black maternity pants that I wear almost every other day {and I think I will continue to do so even after pregnancy, those things are comfy}. I also wear my Gap maternity leggings alot. Thankfully I can still wear my normal pants with the bella band, and have been buying non maternity shirts that are just bigger in size and/or a baggy fit.

Sleep? I've surprisingly been sleeping WONDERFULLY. Poor Bennett is still getting the short end of the stick when it come to that. I think he eventually will become sleep deprived enough that he moves to the spare bedroom once I fall asleep... or maybe he'll just make me sleep on the couch... I gotta be honest though, I feel like after a certain point I probably won't fit on the couch?

Best moment this week? Celebrating our sweet girl on Sunday with some of my favorite ladies!

Miss anything? I miss shopping for normal clothes :( 

Food cravings? I'm honestly not really having any cravings anymore. My apetite has just greatly increased.

Anything making you queasy or sick? I actually had my first "run to the bathroom and get sick" experience on Tuesday night. It was random, and out of nowhere. After I "got sick" I felt like a million bucks... who knows!

20 Weeks: A Special Post for our Half Way Mark!

Today marks the official 1/2 way point of the pregnancy, and I absolutely cannot believe it! In 140 days {give or take a few I suppose}, we will finally get to meet this precious little girl that has already completely stolen our hearts! On one hand, thinking about "only" 140 days makes me ridiculously beyond excited- and on the other it makes me ridiculously beyond nervous..... so much to do before Sweet Caroline arrives! We will be moved into our new place soon which means we will finally be able to start her nursery. I think I'll probably just sit in there and think about what it will be like once we have her here. Bennett already will find me just staring at her little clothes {she already has QUITE a few} and smiling all to myself.... I just can't help it!! I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up just dressing her up and taking her picture multiple time per day. I'll go ahead and apologize for flooding all of your facebooks and instagrams in advance!

{The Man Behind the Bump}

Recently I started thinking to myself that there is someone who is a very important part of this whole pregnancy thing and he doesn't exactly get as much attention as Caroline and I have been getting lately. He makes me the luckiest wife in the whole world and Caroline the luckiest daughter in the whole world... he is Bennett, of course! 

Just over two years ago- I was graduating from the University of Georgia, Bennett was graduating from Dallas Baptist University {in Texas}, and both of us were about to begin our first "grown up" jobs with Altria Group Distribution Company.... as big bad tobacco sales reps. {for all of you who did not know this, yes I still work for the company, no Bennett does not, yes my company is better known as Phillip Morris, no I don't deliver product, and no I have not seen the movie "Thank You for Smoking"}. Who knew that both of us taking jobs which neither of our parents exactly approved of {I thought my Mom was going to have a nervous breakdown when I told her... Love you Mom} would end in the two of us finding each other, falling ridiculously stupidly in love, one big cross country move for Bennett, a wedding I've always dreamed of, and now a sweet baby girl on the way.... all in under 2.5 years?! {I believe "WOW" is an understatement here}. The truth is, I thank God every single day for every single day that I have been blessed to spend with this man and would not change one bit of anything that has happened.

When Bennett and I first started dating, I remember telling my Mom and a few close friends that I felt as though God had given me a piece of paper- told me to write down every single quality I would want in a spouse, and then created Bennett from what I listed on that paper. Corny? Maybe, sorry. But so so true. I don't exactly have the best history with choosing great guys {lets be honest though- we all made mistakes in college, right?}, so the fact that I finally ended up with someone like Bennett still blows my mind. He is my support on a hard day, my comedian when I need a good laugh, my housekeeper when my pregnant energy has me down, my dance partner when I want to two step, my shopping buddy when I need {ok, want} new clothes, my masseuse when my pregnant back hurts, my dishwasher after I cook dinner, the source of my smile, and my very best friend. I absolutely cannot imagine going through life or embarking on the journey of parenthood with anyone besides him. He has been such a trooper throught this whole pregnancy so far. Poor guy probably has not had a decent night sleep in 20 weeks {he even bought me a body pillow the other day in hopes that it would help me sleep rather than waking him dozens of times a night by throwing my legs on him.. oops!!!}. Truth is, I absolutely adore every single thing about this man that I get to call my husband and am thankful more than words that Caroline is blessed with such a wonderful Daddy. I get butterflies in my tummy and tears in my eyes just thinking about it. Thank you, Bennett for making life so much easier by letting me spend it with YOU!

{He really is going to be the BEST dad, and the most handsome!!}

19 Weeks: A Miracle in Me

Our sweet little Caroline is growing fast, fast, FAST! Today is the 19 week mark which means almost halfway through the pregnancy and she has most definitely hit a growth spurt. Last Friday morning when Bennett and I woke up, there was a very noticeable difference in my little {now not so little at all} baby bump! The bump is officially not disguisable, not mistakeable, and not getting any smaller {I guess it is a good thing I finally told my boss on Friday.... better late than never, right?}! To be honest though, I actually kind of prefer being able to rock my baby bump. It is exciting for the world to finally know that I am pregnant and not just carrying around a bit too much  leftover holiday weight. Yesterday was the first day that I wore a top and pants that are both maternity. Although I can still wear my normal pants with the bella band, I actually very much prefer the maternity pants... can you say comfortable. I might hold on to those bad boys to break out every now and then when I eat a big meal {haha}. Along with the continued bump growth has come LOTS of movement! Feeling this sweet girl move around in my tummy is enough to make the most horrible of days seem so much brighter. Bennett is absolutely dying for the day that he will be able to feel her move too {we found out at our doctor appointment that she is actually laying under the placenta, which will make it more difficult to feel movement from the outside until later in the pregnancy}.

{This weeks BUMP shot}

Yesterday we had her anatomy scan at the doctor. I was so excited to get to see our precious little girl again that I could barely sleep Tuesday night, literally like a kid waiting for Christmas morning! She is growing nice and healthy- currently weighing in at a whopping 10 ounces and measuring two days ahead of pace. Bennett and I both agree that we fall more and more in love with Caroline Anne every time we see her. I never cease to be amazed at the miracle of life God has chosen to create inside of ME, and feel unbelievably blessed more than I could even describe these days. As a girl who grew up in church, a Christian school, and as a Christian myself- there has obviously never been a question in my mind as to whether or not the "idea" of conception, gestation, and birth is 100% a miracle that could never be crafted by anything other than an almighty Creator. However, something about having it happen to me.. inside of me.. just opens my eyes to exactly how BIG this miracle is and how much BIGGER our Creator is. This little baby is a wonderful miracle in me. {Again here, mommys and/or pregnant ladies- do you feel what I am talking about here?}

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well"

-Psalms 139:13-14

18 Weeks: Sweet Caroline

I am still absolutely ecstatic about the fact that our little baby is a GIRL. Talk about the biggest surprise of my life. I had myself totally and completely convinced that there was a little boy swimming around in my womb. For a while, I went back and forth on girl or boy. First I thought boy, then for about 2 weeks I thought girl, and then it was back to 100% boy. I can not even count the number of dreams I had leading up to the big gender reveal. All kinds of crazy dreams about learning the gender.... Saturday though was definitely the BEST dream come true! It took a minute for it to sink in when I saw those pink balloons because I was so shocked. Actually it even was a little strange because I felt that I had already connected with my "son" in my womb {moms/pregnant ladies out there, does that make sense?} I'd be lying if I didn't say though that I absolutely 100% was longing for a sweet little girl. Often times, as I prayed for Baby Smith, I would put in a special request to God to make "it" be a girl. This would make me laugh to myself because I know that her little gender had been decided at conception... but I prayed for that nonetheless! Truthfully, even as I laid on the ultrasound table and the tech was writing down in the "secret envelope" what Baby Smith was- I silently said that prayer again to myself, I prayed specifically that little Caroline Anne Smith would be the one in there. Still, though, I just "knew" that she was a boy.

{18 week Bump}

{Bennett holding the envelope!}

After we left the ultarsound, I was actually very surprised at the amount of self control both Bennett and I had- we didn't even try to peek one time to find out what she was! {By the way, Bennett "knew" all along that she was a girl. I gotta say, he is going to be the BEST Daddy to a sweet little princess. He says he is excited about the fact that he "now has 2 girls to spoil"} I am so glad that we ended up waiting to find out until the party on Saturday with our family and friends. I was even a little concerned that when we took the big box to Party City Saturday morning and explained what we wanted them to do, they would not cooperate. But they thought it was so fun and exciting! Mom, Marty, and I handed them the envelope- told them that we wanted the box filled with either pink or blue balloons depending on what it said inside, left, and returned about one hour later to pick it up! That will forever remain one of the most special days of my entire life. THANK YOU to those who were here to share that special time with us!

{PINK!!!}

 {Mom wore pink, she was right!!}

{Love my MeeMaw and Paw. Caroline's middle name, Anne, is after my sweet MeeMaw}

Once the gender reveal party was over, we headed out to start little Caroline's wardrobe! Holy Moly there are SO MANY precious things for little girls. She already has quite the little collection going, and I think I have gone through to just look in awe at each of them no less than twenty times already. She is going to be the most beautiful and beautifully dressed baby ever! {I might be a little biased}

{First few purchases}

We are so.in.love with Sweet Caroline already. I love that we can call her by name, and find myself dreaming about what she will be like once she arrives. It is so much easier to slip into daydream mode now that we know what she is. Bennett and I have so much fun talking about what life will be like once we have her here. Last night, I realized that this time in about 2 years, she and I will be able to start Mommy and Me gymnastics!!!!

{We love you, Caroline Anne}