1st day of Preschool {2012-12013}

Barrett started preschool (Pre-K 4yr) this week!

After being in pre-k 3yr at Trinity last year, Monday morning was a breeze!

We are so excited for this school year! Getting up early Monday morning was an adjustment for both Barrett and I, but we survived! He was so ready to get to school, and there were no tears from either of us! Next year (when he goes off to kindergarten), I am pretty sure I'll cry. I thought I would this year, but it was just so easy to drop him off, and we LOVE his teacher, so it was all just like we'd been doing it for months already. 

I love our first day of school photo sessions :)

Barrett was being ornery, as usual...but he gave me some super cute pics. 

Once I got them downloaded, I was shocked at how grown-up he looked. 

Might be because I haven't actually used my camera and taken a picture of him all summer (thank you pregnancy). 

2012                                                                                                                                    2011

ALL of the teachers at Barrett's school are amazing, and we would have be happy with any of them.

BUT...we were super excited to find out that he would have Mrs. Mettling! 

I have known her for a long time, as she and her husband have been good friends with my parents for as long as I can remember. My mom and her husband worked together at the same school for many years. AND her oldest son, Josh,  is one of Justin's best friends. When Barrett was born, Josh was not married yet, and didn't have any nieces or nephews in his family yet, so Barrett started calling him "Uncle Josh" as soon as he could talk. So, we are still working with Barrett to call his teacher Mrs. Mettling, and not "Uncle Josh's mom." haha!!

1st day of school gift for the teacher!

I was not on top of my game this year, so I went with the same thing as last year :)

THANK YOU again, Krenzer's Kreations for the cup!

(you can see cuter cup pics and link to the flag download in last year's post here)

Yesterday afternoon, he sat down beside me at the kitchen table and said he needed to do his homework! 

This is from today! Day #2 at school! Such a happy boy!

Can't wait for Fall to get into full-swing! Football games, cooler weather, Bluegrass, class fieldtrips and parties AND just enjoying our first FALL in the new house! 

14 weeks

I really, really didn't want to post any pictures of me...but it's for the baby! LOL ;)

(since you can't really read the text -darn, here it is:)

*baby is the size of a lemon: 3-1/2 inches, 1-1/2 ounces

*new tricks: baby might be sucking his/her thumb

*cravings: not much...chocolate shakes & peaches

*symptoms: still nauseous most of the time, energy and motivation are starting to come back. horrible headaches this week. still taking zofran.

*highlights of the week: Left the house for the first time in 2 months AND got back on Pinterest again!

After losing around 18 pounds total during the "terrible time." I am back up about 5 pounds this week. Motivation to do anything but sit on the couch is increasing. I certainly have a bump. I don't think my bump was even close to this big until around 17 weeks with Barrett! I wish I had belly pics from earlier weeks, but this pic here is the first time I felt like taking any. I haven't worn makeup, jewelry, hair products, etc. since July 5th...that explains my pale, scary look here. Sorry :)

With Barrett I think I started taking belly pics at 6 weeks, I was so excited (and not quite as sick). But this time around, I haven't felt like taking any pics until this week. AND I certainly have been picture-ready in the last 8 weeks. I haven't worn anything but t-shirts and yoga pants for the last 8 weeks, so I'm not even sure if I would still fit in my pre-pregnancy clothes, but I feel huge! My belly is certainly jetting out. Not that it was flat before though! I was still losing baby weight from Barrett--haha! 

I wanted to try and wear the same shirt every week, but I'm not so sure this shirt will stretch that far. We'll see. My belly might be hanging out the bottom by the last few weeks. You know..."fat guy in a little coat."

This week has been full of ups and downs so far.  Just when I think I'm in the clear, I have a horrible day. BUT I'm trying to just stay positive and be thankful for the "good" days! A few weeks ago, I never had any of those.  I'm still on Zofran. Supposed to take it every 8 hours, but I've started skipping the evening dose. I usually feel really good in the morning and early afternoon, but evenings are not so great. For some reason when I do take that late dose, I always end up getting sick within the hour. I don't know why, but with this pregnancy that Zofran has just not been working as well. It's frustrating! With Barrett I remember I quit taking the Zofran by 17 weeks, so I'm hoping before long I'll be able to get rid of that!!

* Looking forward to leaving that house again tomorrow night for Barrett's meet the teacher night at school! Gonna have to do some work to make myself presentable! Right now B and Daddy are out shopping for his school supplies. I really wanted to be able to do that with him, but I just couldn't risk getting sick in the middle of Wal-Mart! 

* A highlight from today: I made a new photog friend online! We are going to swap family sessions this Fall! I'm looking forward to shooting her family in October, and she's going to do family/maternity pictures for us in November! It's so fun to meet other photographers that are sweet and have a similar style to mine.  It got me excited to start planning wardrobe colors and styles. Something for me to do while I sit on the couch all day.  Our friends Dac and Alisha (On the Wall Photography) that usually do our family photos in the Fall are expecting their first baby in November, so they'll be a little busy this year!! I get to do a maternity shoot for them in October-yay!! But told her I'd find someone else to do our family session. It might be a little challenging for her! 

Hip hip HOORAY!!

Guess I should finally share here on my blog :)

We announced in mid-July that we were expecting baby #2. I would have waited a bit longer to share the news, but I had pretty much fallen off the face of the earth with extreme sickness, so people were starting to wonder. After being admitted to the hospital overnight for fluids and meds, I decided we had to make it public. I was having to cancel photo sessions right and left, and things were just falling apart. 

I was very sick with Barrett, and prayed sooo hard that this pregnancy would be different. BUT my body and pregnancy just don't get along. This time has been much worse too. With Barrett I was sick, and also admitted to the hospital once, and on Zofran, but I was still working full-time as much as I could at the Art Center, and leading a mostly normal life. This time around, it has taken me down!! I started feeling yucky in late June. The end of Barrett's swimming lessons couldn't come soon enough, because it was really getting hard to go sit there in the sun that last week. We were able to celebrate 4th of July with friends, and I felt pretty good. Then, I had a session on July 5th in Ark City, and threw-up as soon as I got home. That was the beginning, AND also the last time I would leave my house (except for doctor's appointments and hospital stays) for almost two months! Today-August 20th, Barrett has his first soccer practice, and it will be my first trip out of the house and into town/the public eye since July 5th!! 

Being home on the couch all day with nothing to do, might sound dreamy. And for one or two days, maybe it is. But I am not gonna lie, doing it every.single.day for close to two months is horribly depressing! Especially when you're unable to eat or drink anything, and even on an empty stomach you are getting sick between 8-10 times a day. I would count down the time to bed, knowing sleep was the only relief I could get (if I could sleep through the stomach cramps). I would go to bed by 8pm and sleep until 8-9 in the morning. So sad when I would wake up and see the sun, and know I had to face another day of sickness. I would cry myself to sleep almost every night. 

Through it all, my family, friends and clients have all been so kind and supportive! Bring meals by for the boys, taking Barrett for the day to play so I can rest. Sending cards, emails and texts. I was so very touched! I had to cancel over 20 sessions in July and August, and every client was so understanding. One client even sent me this link to a blog she'd just read about  Hyperemesis Gravidarum. I had never officially been diagnosed with this, but as I read the post I sobbed! It was as if I'd written it myself! Exactly what I was going through, in a way I never could have expressed myself! I passed it along to family and friends, to give them a better idea of what I was dealing with. It helped so very much to know I wasn't alone. 

My husband has been amazing! This has probably been just about as hard on him and it has on me! Not only does he work 40+ hours a week, but he comes home and does EVERYTHING around the house. I couldn't even walk into the kitchen for about 4 weeks in late July-early August. The thought and smells would send me over the edge. So he did all the grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry. He's learned a whole new set of talents! He's been so supportive, and I love him even more every day for it! 

AND my little man! That one jumping for joy in the pictures above! He has been my sunshine through this last couple months! He is so sweet and loving to me. He gets me anything I need, and kisses and hugs on me all the time. I am so thankful that he's old enough to be helpful during this. I can't imagine if I'd had another baby or younger child! Sure, Barrett has been playing WAY TOO MUCH iPad and eating ice cream sandwiches for breakfast, but we're surviving! 

So....that's what we've been up to around here! I'm into my 2nd trimester now...14 weeks, and looking forward to the sickness hopefully wearing off! Ready for Fall weather, Fall activities and being able to finally enjoy this pregnancy!