spooks.

...from my pumpkin to yours.

beach and babymoon.

John and I took our very last beach trip of the year this past weekend. My good friend, Ann Wade, married the love of her life, Briggs, in a beautiful ceremony in Watercolor Saturday evening. John and I felt very honored to attend all of their wedding festivities throughout the weekend and witness the love that Ann Wade and Briggs have for each other, but especially the love that they have for the Lord. It was very special and brought joy to my heart.

We attempted to throw in some babymooning while down on the gulf. With limited time it was quite hard, but it was now or never. My ideal babymoon would be the trip I mentioned here, but John has been itching hard to get in the woods to hunt. With wedding after wedding and trip after trip plus the upcoming arrival of our little one, I had to give...and he took.

It was still very nice to be down there just the two of us. And I must say, October is the PERFECT time to go to the beach. The weather was beautiful, the ocean was idyllic, and the sunsets were out of this world gorgeous.

orange paw-paw hat | sunset in october 

steps | handsome hubby
dunes | wonderful tonight

pool time | indecent bump
sunny palms | beach walk
majesty | photo booth fun

I am so thankful this trip and for my time spent with John. I love that man so much...

friday funny.

Early on in my pregnancy I signed up for the BabyCenter Pregnancy Bulletin. I get an email or two a day and honestly end up deleting them without reading. This week, however, I received an email titled "What Labor Really Feels Like: The Real Story on What it Feels Like to Give Birth - and Just How Painful is it?" and it sucked me in, naturally.

I'm sure most women who read this bulletin went into extreme panic mode and headed for the hills, but not me. No sir, it cracked.me.up.

Here is a little taste of what I have to look forward to in t-minus 49 days, give or take:

• I felt like I was being run over by a train.
• I begged my hubby to throw me out of the car on the way to the hospital, it hurt so bad.
• It was like someone was squeezing my insides as hard as they could.
• It was like being slammed in the uterus with a sledgehammer while simultaneously being squeezed by a powerful vise.
• It felt like I was being impaled on a hot fireplace poker.
• It was like someone took a serrated knife and stabbed me in the top of my stomach slowly, slowly sawed downward to my pubic bone, and then stopped for a few minutes and started all over again.
• It felt like a Mack truck running over my spine over and over again.
• It felt like a knife in my back with every contraction. I was literally trying to get away from my own back.
• It felt as though a 400 pound man was pressing down on each hip.
• It felt like a big poop to be completely honest.
• Pushing felt awful — like I was constipated times a hundred and trying to push a baby out of my butt!

Sweet. Can't wait.

the dresser: revealed.

My, oh my. I have definitely not been on top of this transformation. It was a slow process. First, John had to put the entire thing together. We are talking approximately 500 pieces. While my mom and I were out shopping I received this picture from John...

...with the text, "You have got to be kidding me. ...Never again." HA. Bless him. Due to his macho skills, he got the entire dresser put together in under 2 hours. I was fired up and ready for him to stain it, but as you can imagine, he didn't share the same ambition (football was on the tube).

A day or two later, he appeased me by putting on the first coat of stain. We mixed together "Dark Walnut" and "Weathered Oak" to get the color that we wanted.

This is what the dresser looked like after one coat:

It looked good and I liked where we were headed, but it still had a lot of yellow from the pine showing through. Time for round 2! 

 Much better. And what John thought that I would hate, I ended up loving: the woodgrain! I think that it makes the dresser unique.

After another coat and a few touch-ups it was ready to be sealed. For this, we used a water-based polycrylic finish. Once the topcoat dried it was time to add the hardware. The knobs that came with the dresser were heinous. It needed some spicing up. I ended up ordering these cute jute rope knobs from Etsy:

We had to wait until the room was finished being painted to move the dresser into the nursery, which delayed my reveal yet another day...

But, the dresser is in place now! Oh happy day! I am so thankful for the hubs' hard work and devotion. He made this momma-to-be very happy. I think Brooks' will love it too. Here is the finished result:

Not bad for under $350.00, if I do say so myself!

The drawers are loaded up with baby goodness, but I am still waiting on the changing pad cover, the lamp, and two more prints to arrive before we can finish up this space. Gotta love backorders...

baby steps.

I had my 32 week appointment on Monday and, like the other appointments, everything looked and sounded great, glory to God. My belly is measuring on track and Brooks' heartbeat is strong and mighty...just like those kicks.

Speaking of kicks, little one's movements have changed dramatically. He jerks around quite a bit now and presses against my innards hard as he tries to get comfortable. My belly tends to look very contorted. You can see where he is positioned because it juts out. It's the strangest thing! I have also been experiencing round ligament pain this week. This pain is a lot worse than I had expected. Paralyzing, I tell you. Luckily, I only experience it when I switch positions in bed at night.

As for my mood, I have been very indecisive and emotional this week. I feel like these hormones of mine took a little vacation during my second trimester and are back to badger me in my third. I am extremely sensitive. Look at me the wrong way and I will burst into tears. I am ready for this vulnerability to pass (so is John).

On a different note, all off Brooks' clothes are washed and put away in his dresser drawers. We are one step closer to being ready for his arrival. In the wise words of Bob Wiley (What About Bob?), baby steps.

P.S. Pictures of the dresser transformation coming soon. I promise.

and soon there'll be three.

Last Tuesday evening my talented friend, Ann Wade (who I ranted and raved about here), reunited with us at the Bryant's house to capture life with the bump. I debated whether or not to have maternity pictures taken because at this stage in pregnancy (almost 33 weeks) I am not feeling very attractive. No pregnancy glow for this momma-to-be. But, in the grand scheme of things I am so glad that we did. I will enjoy looking back at them down the long and windy road and I hope that Brooks will one day too.

Thank you, AW, for continuing to capture the precious moments in our lives.

the forgetsies.

It is safe to say that I am suffering from what is known as "pregnancy brain," but we, in the Bryant household, like to refer to it as "the forgetsies." I know that it is just my pregnancy hormones having a good ole time, unfortunately, at the expense of my once keen memory, but lately it's been bad...real bad. All we can do is laugh it off because, really, it is pretty humorous. So funny that it must be documented to look back on when I need a giggle. 

1. Forgetting to close cabinet and closet doors.
2. Forgetting to flush the toilet - yeahhhh. Not so fun for John.
3. Having checks and deposit slip in hand and passing the bank...twice.
4. Forgetting to put on deodorant.
5. Forgetting to put on my wedding rings.
6. Forgetting our address.
7. Putting items in cabinets where they do not belong. Sometimes I find random items in the refrigerator too.
8. Forgetting conversations--Really I thought that John was just "claiming" that he told me something, but let's be real...I just don't remember talking about it.
9. Putting clothes in the dryer, but forgetting to turn it on.
10. Forgetting what day of the week it is or how far along I am.
11. (This one is pretty funny)...Forgetting that I put my phone on the back of John's truck. He decided that he would play a little joke on me so after driving off he looked in his rear-view mirror and shockingly said, "Was that your phone that just fell off the truck?!?" I went into complete PANIC.MODE. I said a curse word (which, I never do), started flailing my arms, my blood pressure skyrocketed, and I put my hand on the door handle ready to open it and jump out. Really, Lauren? Jump out of a moving vehicle during rush hour? John then started hysterically laughing and took my phone out of his pocket. OHHH, JB. Don't mess with the forgetsies.
12. Forgetting how to spell simple words. Come on, English Major!
13. Forgetting to take my prenatal vitamins.
14. Starting a conversation and forgetting what I was going to say. Lot's of "ummms" and "uhhhhs" these days. At times, I start talking and then just stop.
15. Walking into a store and forgetting what I am there to get. Once I remember the reason for the trip, I still end up leaving without it.

...this too shall pass. Maybe. I sure hope so.

If it weren't for the calendar on my phone and my handy dandy planner, I would be one-hot-mess.

painted.

Our nursery is getting painted today! I am so excited. We picked out a color from Sherwin William's called "Snowbound." It's just a fancy name for white with a slight hint of gray. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with white. Am I afraid of color? Possibly...

Once the nursery walls are painted, we can start moving in furniture, hanging pictures, and organizing. I cannot wait. In the meantime, I have put together a nursery inspiration board to see if my grand ideas and purchases harmonize. I can be quite impulsive. It's one thing to conjure up a room in your head and another to put it on paper.

I did not include the dresser and gallery wall in this board. You'll just have to wait to see the finished product! We have a couple more things to do to the dresser (should be complete by the end of this weekend), so stay tuned for its reveal next week!

TGIF!

tipping the scale.

On Monday I had another appointment. I cannot believe that I have reached the bi-monthly check-up checkpoint. Before I know it, they'll be seeing my radiant face weekly! I saw Dr. Favor this go around. She is the same doctor that was on call the night we lost our first baby. She had such a warm heart then and was even more intentional at this appointment. Everything looked great. I continue to climb the scale (+30 pounds). I'm totally over it.

I have good and bad news. The bad news (if my weight gain wasn't bad news enough): I had to get the Tdap vaccine, which protects against whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria. The shot itself didn't hurt, but I cried myself to sleep Monday night because my arm was in so much pain. It is still aching today. I came to the realization that a natural birth is probably not in the stars for me. If I can't handle a vaccine, how in the world am I going to handle labor pains?! The good news: Dr. Favor said that Brooks is a small baby. She is thinking that he will tip the scale at 7 pounds. This was news to my ears seeing that ol' Johnny boy was almost 10 pounds...

At 30 (well, I'll be 31 weeks tomorrow), I am feeling large and in charge. I have been exposed to a whole new world of awful and embarrassing symptoms. And sleep? It's pretty much non-existent, which makes for dandy days. I feel our nugget all day long. He is working with some tight living quarters. I feel like I am stretched to the max and he is crammed to the gills. I get full really fast and am not as hungry as I was during the 2nd trimester. This is most likely due to the lack of space and pressure on my internal organs. Speaking of food, grilled cheese sandwiches have been added to my "cravings" list. This is quite odd, seeing that I am not a very big fan of cheese. It's amazing what pregnancy can do...

showered.

Sunday was an extra special day for me and Brooks. My very best friends hosted a precious baby shower to celebrate our little one. Boy, did I feel the love...

My beautiful friend, Margot held it at her adorable house in Crestline Park. At 1:00 old friends and new friends started piling in. For those of you out there who have had a wedding or baby shower, you know how much it means to have the people you love present. I am so grateful to every single person who showed up. It really meant the world to me (and John). Also, a big thank you for those of you who sent gifts that weren't able to make it. You really touched my heart!

For about an hour I was able to catch up with my sweet friends and dine on some delicious food (BABY BITES. eeeeek). Afterwards, I stepped into the spotlight and was showered with some amazing baby gear.

Baby Brooks stocked up. He is already one loved little boy.

THANK YOU to each one of you who helped make this day so wonderful and so memorable. It was such a joy and will be a day that I will never forget.