LeeLee and B name a baby!

Naming our baby. A HUGE task. But what girl hasn't thought about what she wants to name her children? I used to have a list written down in one of my journals - most of the names were names I thought were cute, names I had heard somewhere or names that were special to me. When we found out we were pregnant, I immediately started picking names with B. We had a list on our refrigerator for the longest time of our "top picks." I am SUPER old-fashioned, so most of my names were old family names, while B tends to be a little more contemporary, he chose names that were, well, different.


We knew that if we had a boy, his name would be James Harris, and we would call him "Hank." B's mother's maiden name is James, and my mother's maiden name is Harris, so it fit perfectly. We actually had another girl name picked out until I was about 12 weeks pregnant. (and no, I won't say, because we may use it if we have another girl).


Anyways, it was my Papa's 75th birthday, and we had a HUGE party for family and close friends at my grandparents' barn. I, of course, was HORRIBLY sick with morning sickness. I pretty much laid on the couch the entire time just watching everyone else eat. Not fun. So, I was wrapped up in this pretty little quilt that my granny had put together from old quilting squares from some family members that have been gone for quite some time. And on the back of the quilt, my granny had monogrammed all of the names of the women who had worked on the squares, and that's when I saw it....

Annie Louise

I had always known that I had an Aunt Louise, but never before had I known that Annie was her first name. I looked at B and said "If we have a girl, her name is going to be Annie Louise." And that was that.

My Aunt Louise died when my mom was young - she never married and lived in the same house she was born in with her 2 other sisters, who were also unmarried. I have grown up hearing stories about these women, and I hope that my own Annie Louise will leave her own legacy like her namesake did.

Introducing...

our sweet baby GIRL!

Yes, you read that correctly, we are having a baby girl. I have been so bad at blogging, but I have been religious about writing in my "Expecting a Miracle" pregnancy journal. That counts, right? Anyways, I had a feeling early on that we might be having a girl. Then, a couple of weeks before we had out big ultrasound, I just knew we were having a boy. I started picking out fabrics and outfits, and I even started calling my belly by our boy name we had picked out.

The week before our ultrasound date, I started having some mild cramping. I immediately called my doctor, and she had me come in. The second I heard that sweet little heartbeat, I lost it. Never before have I heard a sweeter sound. They did an ultrasound to check my cervix to make sure it wasn't preparing for pre-term labor - they squeezed me in really quick, and because B wasn't with me (my mom was - she came and picked me up from work to drive me to the doctor), the ultrasound tech identified the sex and wrote it down in an envelope and sealed it so we couldn't see it. Well, we had this BIG gender reveal party planned for the next week, so we quickly changed our plans and had everyone over for dinner that night. B and I opened the envelope in front of our family (my sister even got it on video), and I will NEVER EVER forget seeing "IT'S A GIRL!" B and I were so shocked, we could not believe. We both thought we were having a boy. I definitely did an ugly face cry. It was a precious moment, and I will always remember it.

So, here's our precious little miracle, named after my Great-Great Aunt, Annie Louise!

My "preggo" addiction....

I only have a few minutes to post, but I HAVE to let you know about the one thing that I am absolutely addicted to right now...no, not preggy pops (although B thinks we should have purchased stock in them because we have bought so many packs)...it's actually an iPhone application called iPregnancy! If you are pregnant and have an iPhone, then you need need need this! It is the most informative app I have ever purchased - lots of information, diagrams, pictures and recording tools! I don't like to think that I am a tech savvy person, but I am DEFINITELY obsessed with this thing!

for all you pregnant or have-been-pregnant gals....

What got you through your pregnancy????

Let me know what books, magazines, food, whatever worked best for you!

Blessings from above!

"Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."

- Isaiah 25:1

I have claimed this verse for the past couple of months - and for good reason. God is unbelievably faithful! B and I got a late Christmas present this year....

A POSITIVE pregnancy test! Two pink lines = we're having a baby!

I kind of felt like God was going to give us this amazing gift at Christmas. We had actually started with preliminary infertility tests and even had an appointment to meet with an infertility specialist in January, but God had other plans for us! We kept praying, knowing that God was going to bless us with a child!

We have just been beside ourselves for the past month! I actually switched doctors right after I found out I was pregnant, and I'm so glad I did. My new doctor's office has been unbelievably helpful - I had an early ultrasound done at six weeks to make sure everything was okay, and I will NEVER, EVER forget seeing that precious heartbeat. It was absolutely love at first sight!

Baby W's first picture at six weeks!

Then, just a few weeks later, we had another ultrasound at nine weeks. B had to miss the first ultrasound because he was in Mississippi for his grandmother's funeral, so he was just thrilled to get to see our little peanut!

Baby W's picture at nine weeks - I still can't believe how much he/she has grown in just that small amount of time! Isn't God amazing?!??

So, I am a little over 10 weeks right now. I have had horrible morning sickness, but even through all of that, I am so thankful. I always told B that even if I was terribly sick, I would still continue to thank God for this wonderful blessing, and that's what I plan on doing!

So, if you were one of the many prayer warriors we have had, I want to sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart! You will never know how much I appreciate you! Keep praying!

I will try to update more, if time permits. We have lots of plans for this special little one, and I want to make sure I am documenting everything!

Blessings!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T...find out what it means to me!

So, I did something HUGE for myself the other day - I mean something that I rarely do.

I stood up for myself.

I know it may not seem that big, but let me tell you...it was big for me. I had an awful, I mean awful experience at my doctor's office with our miscarriage in August. After lots of tears, letters and phone calls, I decided to give them a second chance. Why? do you ask? Because I'm a sucker, and I always think that everyone will prove me wrong. Well, in a nutshell, they blew it. BIG. TIME.

And you know what? I let them know that they blew it, and I found a new doctor. An a-mazing doctor - excuse me, but the whole office is a-mazing! I mean, if four of my girlfriends go there and love it, then why shouldn't I? (you know who you are...) So, I have learned a valuable lesson early this year - I am NOT going to allow anyone else to walk all over me! Watch out, world!

I know it may seem like I am a mean, cruel person from reading this post, but believe me, I'm NOT! I'm just proud of myself :)

Happy Birthday, Tessa!

Happy 8th Birthday to my crazy cousin, Tessa! I can still remember when she was born - we were all so excited to have a new little one in our family! (We were even more excited to see what her name was going to be since it took FOREVER for my aunt and uncle to name her!) She was one of the prettiest babies I have ever seen, and she was probably one of the funniest toddlers/little girls ever! You should have heard some of the stuff that came out of this child's mouth! I am forever known as "Wena" in my family - thank goodness she moved on from "Weeny" - HA!

So, Happy Birthday to you, sweet girl! Love you!

Sleeping....er, I mean RINGING in the New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve/Day! Mine was spent sleeping - yes, sleeping! I have been having a lot of problems sleeping past 5 a.m. in the mornings, so I am usually out at about 7:30-8ish each night! Ha! I feel like such a loser! We had a low-key night at my parents' - my mom and I actually worked on a new project....needle-felting! I found a GREAT how-to book at our local Hancock's on needle-felting, and I have wanted to learn for some time now, and it was surprisingly easy! Very tedious, but easy!

So for my needle-felting project....I have an A-mazing agenda - it's called a MyAgenda (from the MomAgenda line) - I L.O.V.E it! It has plenty of space to write (which is great because I write big), and it has a lot of room to make lists. I usually have a "to-do" list and a "dinner" list on each week. Anyways, you are probably wondering what in the world does this have to do with needle-felting, so I will finally get to my point. I carry my agenda everywhere with me so it has a lot of wear and tear, so last night I decided to make a cover for it! And I think it turned out pretty cute for my first try (with lots of help from my momma)....

I am definitely very proud of it, and I can't wait to carry my agenda around with me! And of course, anything with birds makes my heart smile :)

Well, it's getting close to my bedtime (HA!) - hope you all continue to enjoy your holiday weekend!