Thursday, August 30, 2012

Last Day of Work - Hello Mommyhood!

Today is my last day of work! I'm extremely sad to go, but at the same time really ready. I had the pleasure to work with the most incredible people and I couldn't have asked for a better job. However, for many different reasons, I've decided to be a stay-at-home-mommy and I could not be more excited!

I'm also excited that I have a few weeks completely to myself. I can sleep when I want, nest when I want, and basically do whatever I want when I want....but I'm mostly excited about the sleep part. I'm having troubles sleeping at night. Its to the point where I get up about every 1.5 hours, so come morning I'm so tired.

Also, my to-do list keeps growing so I know I'm going to have to start tackling that.

Even though this job is ending....I'm so excited for my new job to start! I know it is the most rewarding job a girl could ever have! So lucky :)

Pink roses from the hubby to celebrate me going on 'mommy leave!'

Monday, August 27, 2012

Preggy Pics!

We had Preggy pics done last night! I almost cancelled because I was feeling AWFUL. I had been having braxton-hick contractions all day, I was beyond exhausted, and I just felt plain yucky. Plus it was 100 degrees and super humid, so being outside in the heat, smiling was the last place I wanted to be haha. Buttt I'm glad I sucked it up and put on a smile and had our maternity pics done.

Here is a sneak peek!

No, I swear my butt and legs are NOT that big haha, damn dark jeans blended my legs together.



Emma's First White Dress

My Mom found the perfect baptismal gown for Emma! It is gorgeous! If we are able to go up to VT for Christmas we hope to have her baptism then :)

This gown will become a "Durfee heirloom" all my, Andrew's, Matthew's, & Emily's baby girls will be baptized in this gown. And then all their children's children....and etc etc etc! My Mom wants to then have each baby's name that is baptized in this gown embroidered in the slip. Such a sweet idea!

Perfect
The back with the bonnet

The next "white dress" she will wear is for her First Communion....and then her wedding dress. Oh man lets not get ahead of ourselves, overprotective Daddy may have a breakdown! :)

Thursday, August 23, 2012

32 Weeks!

We are getting soooo close people!!!! Only 5 more weeks until she is full-term!

Baby is a size of a squash!
In one word to describe this week.....exhausted. At night I wake up on average every 2 hours from not only having to pee....but also from Emma kicking. She is the most active little peanut! I love feeling and seeing her move around...however since space is limited she is now starting to kick organs....and its not pleasant. Sometimes I have to completely stop what I'm doing, wait until she is done kicking or punching whatever organ she is, and just breathe. Silly baby! Speaking of breathing....yeah that is getting hard too. I can not wait until she drops and relieves the pressure on my lungs. I forget what it feels like to walk up the stairs and not feel winded.

Highlight of the week....Jeff installed the carseat!

Emma's chariot!

Happy Birthday to the Best Guy Ever!

Happy, Happy Birthday to the most incredible guy I know!

We spent most of Jeff's actual birthday in the car traveling back from New Orleans, so we celebrated the next day :)

May 26 be an incredible year for you...I know it will be! And just think, next year Emma will be here to help you blow out all those candles! Love you!

Lexi giving Daddy his annual Birthday gift!

And of course...birthday kissys!


31 Weeks in New Orleans!

So instead of resting and nesting like a normal pregnant girl should, at 31 weeks we headed to New Orleans for a wedding. I was probably the only pregnant person in that entire city. Why else would a pregnant person go there? Its known for its spicy, seafood, fried food; its late nights of debauchery; and its hot weather (well ok I guess I'm used to that because GA is usually hotter). Overall, it sounds like a preggers worse nightmare.

Seeing the Mississippi!
At Cafe Du Monde!
Well Jeff and I are good people and travelled the 6.5 hours to NOLA to attend the Brigman-Baines wedding. And I'm so glad we did! The entire week I had been hyping myself up to not be a party-pooper. I knew it was going to be exhausting and take everything I had in me to make it through that weekend. And let me say I was a trooper! I walked more then I had in my entire pregnancy, I stayed up later then I had in months, and I was NOT a party-pooper!

The wedding was beautiful. It was an evening wedding on an old Southern plantation outside the city. It was also a military wedding and Jeff was part of the saber arch. Their wedding pictures are going to be breath-taking. Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Brigman, we are so happy for you both!

Isn't he SOO handsome!? Love him in that uniform!
Congrats Brigmans!
Yes, I looked awful & huge in this pic, but Jeff is just so dang handsome! How did I get so lucky?
It was really nice to get away with Jeff for one last weekend, just the two of us. We both agreed that we were really happy we went and glad we crossed NOLA off our bucket list.....but we don't think we would ever go back. Not really our scene and not what we were really expecting. It was stinky, dirty, hectic, and overall I didn't feel safe anywhere we went. But the one plus was Jeff LOVED the food!

It was a great weekend but we were soooo happy to get home. 

Emma's Georgia Baby Shower

On August 5th my Ft. Benning girls threw me such a sweet baby shower! Emma is a lucky little girl to have two amazing showers!

The girls did such an amazing job and I had a blast! Everything was perfect and soooo cute and well thought out! Everything from the cake, to the food, to the games was perfect.
Allison killed everyone in this game!

Such an adorable and yummy cake! Thank you Ellen!
Pin the bow on the baby!
 Emma also received so many cute outfits and gifts!

Eve's cute gift!
My favorite thing that they did was the "Encouraging diaper basket." Each guest was asked to write a note of encouragement on a diaper. All the notes were sooo cute.
So true <3
I am soo blessed to have this group of girls in my life. Being away from my family is hard, but they make life a million times easier. I know that once Emma is here she is going to be surrounded by love from her Ft. Benning family.
My hostesses!
Thank youuuuu girls!!!! I was truly blown away with how perfect it was. I am beyond grateful.

30 Weeks!

I have said for awhile now that I wanted to have everything all set by the time I reached 30 weeks....just incase Emma decided to make an early appearance.

Well by week 30 we were in reallyyyy good shape but I wasn't close to having my to-do list done, thanks to exhaustion and a lack of motivation. All the baby things were set-up, her nursery was in good shape, my hospital bag was half-packed. But there is still so much to do! Oh well! I have time. Emma...do you hear that!? Don't come out for at least another 7-10 weeks!

Baby is as long as a cucumber!

And sad moment of this week....I had to say goodbye to my wedding rings. The swelling got the best of me and it was time to take them off before I had to cut them off. Now I just look like a knocked-up, single, 15 year old. Sweet.

Official 29 week baby bump pic!

Baby is the size of acorn squash
Fun memory for this week....we felt baby hiccuping....it is the cutest feeling in the entire world!!!!

29 Weeks and Yay for a Mommy Car!

Right when we got back from VT Jeff all of a sudden got into full baby mode. And when I mean full baby mode I mean he started acting like the baby was coming tomorrow. It was so cute. One major thing on our to-do list was upgrade my car to a mommy car. Every weekend since we had gotten back we made it our mission to go car-shopping. We must've test drove over 15 different cars from all the different dealerships. It was absolutely exhausting.

We finally made our decision on the new Chevy Equinox. It won our vote for sooo many reasons. Its super safe, has tons of room, great mpg, etc. etc. etc. Its perfect and we love it! I was incredibly sad to say goodbye to my honda, 'baby blue,' but I knew it was time and it was what was best for Emma. But I will admit I started bawling when I had to sign my title over. It was heart-wrenching. BUT yay for a mommy car!
Best car ever

My baby blue

So sad
"Goodbye to our youth"

Ricky, our awesome car salesman haha
Emma & her new ride

Hellooo mommy car!

Hello Third Trimester.... OMG!

I am officially in my third trimester.... OH.MY.GOD. I always thought that once I hit the third trimester I would think... 'oh my god...sh*t just got real.' And yeah...it kind of did! Crazy to think in a few short months I will be giving birth to our little baby girl!

I was sad to see the Second trimester go because I was feeling GREAT. It was like a timer went off and was like ok we are now in the third trimester...time to feel awful again.

Welcome back exhaustion, back pain, and hello to heartburn. UGH!

Baby is size of an eggplant!
BTW We had a Dr. appt on July 10th and Emma was weighing in at a whopping 2.2 pounds! Shes right on track!

Also at 28 weeks I had my glucose test...I am proud to say that I passed and I don't have gestational diabetes! Woo! One less thing to worry about. The test itself wasn't awful. You just have to drink this really concentrated sugary drink (mine tasted like fruit punch) sit and wait for an hour and then have your blood drawn and hope for the best. Its basically to see how your body is processing sugar. If for some reason your results come back inconclusive or abnormal you then have to have a 3-hour test done, and that just sounds awful. You have to go in have your blood drawn, drink the fluid, wait an hour, have your blood drawn again, wait another hour, have your blood drawn, wait another hour, and have your blood drawn again. NO THANK YOU! One thing that made me laugh during the test was after I drank the fluid Emma was going NUTS in my belly. Its to the point where you can definitely see her move around through my clothes. I was worried because there was a little boy sitting next to me and I was afraid he was going to notice my jumping belly and freak out. Thankfully, there were no freak outs.

All good things must come to an end

The Sunday after the baby shower we had to start our journey back South. Even though I had a blast at the baby shower, in the back of my mind I knew that the next day I would have to say goodbye to my family....again. I was absolutely dreading it. And yes, of course, saying goodbye was horrendous. I.hate.it.

After lots of tears and hugs, we were on our way back to GA in our very pink car (YES! All the gifts fit in Jeff's car! Jeff is an expert packer!)

It was such a good week in VT. Lexi had a blast running around free with Sophie, Koda, and Lilly. Jeff had a great time just relaxing and doing nothing. And I had such a good time being surrounded by those I love most.

Crazy to think the next time I go home will be with Emma!

One of my new obsessions...

One of the highlights of our trip North was FINALLY meeting baby Cameron. He is probably the cutest, sweetest, little boy I have ever seen. Robyn & Ted are SO lucky to have SUCH a good baby! Jeff & I are praying Emma is a good baby like him!!!

Too cute!

My favorites!

Lexi LOVED him!

26 Weeks!

Feeling great! Energy is great, no back pain, & loving life!

Baby is the size of a head of lettuce!

Happy Birthday Dad!

After the baby shower we then had a 'surprise' early birthday party for my Dad! Since we were all together my Mom knew it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the big 5-0!


Happy Birthday Daddy! You are the youngest, coolest Grandpa-to-be ever! We love you!


The BEST family EVER!

More Pics from the shower!

The Grandparents-to-be!

Beautiful diaper cake from Auntie Tina!
Grandpa & Debby!
My siblings :)
The Durfee girls!
Lexi had enough of opening gifts
Emma & her aunties!
Bruce teaching Jeff bad things....'the possum'
Pretty like mommy :)
Daddy helping make his baby girl's shower pretty!
Emma's cake!
My Alpha Phi loves....SOOO nice to see them!!!! LOVE THEM!
Lots of pink gifts!
My one and only <3