Pregnancy {Looking Back...}

The big day is almost here! It's so hard to believe that we will be holding our precious daughter soon. Pregnancy has been one of those things that has gone by so slowly, but so quickly at the same time {the slowest parts were definitely the ones where I was at work}. So, before this sweet little girl comes into our lives, I thought I'd take a few minutes and write about a few of my favorite moments during this pregnancy. It has been one of the most joy-filled and exciting experiences I've ever had and I want to remember as much of it as I possibly can.

We found out we were going to have Emery on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. I remember that when we saw that the test was positive, we both just looked at each other in shock, laughed, cried, and hugged. We felt so many emotions in that moment...thankfulness, joy, excitement, responsibility, fear. We stood there and prayed for this little poppyseed-sized blessing that God had given us...thanking Him for this precious gift, asking for wisdom in raising this little person, praying that he or she would grow up to live for Jesus. The sheer magnitude of responsibility that hit us in that moment was both frightening and humbling. God has entrusted us with one of His children. We are so grateful.

{Source}

Once we got over the initial shock {actually, I'm not sure we're over it yet}, we took a few pictures to document the special day. They make me laugh. I think you can see real fear in our eyes! :)

And then, like everyone does, I'm sure, I joined The Bump and started reading like crazy. It was kind of like how I joined The Knot right after we got engaged. Daniel headed straight for the room that would be the nursery and started planning things out. I knew he would be a great daddy, but that just made me know it even more. We were already so excited.

A few days after finding out, I was in full on Pinterest-searching mode for a way to announce the big news to our family. And that's where the chalkboards began.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial!

I honestly can't believe I kept up with them, but I'm so glad I did. I think Emery will love to look at all of the pictures someday. I've had a few favorites along the way that were tough to erase when it was time to do the next week.

This one where we announced we were having a girl was so exciting and fun to do!

I also loved how this first chalkboard of 2014 turned out. I remember thinking, We can say we're having a baby *this year* now!

And my most recent favorite, just because it turned out so darn cute, was the Valentine's Day chalkboard. I already love all holidays, and I can't wait to do fun little things to celebrate them with Emery! Heart shaped pancakes next year, for sure!!

I have so many happy and fun memories from this pregnancy that it's hard to narrow them down. I think one of my very favorites was when we did a mini gender reveal party with my family to share the exciting news that a new little granddaughter/niece/cousin would be joining the family! It was so much fun sharing the news this way!

My baby shower was definitely another highlight of my pregnancy. My mom and sister made it so pretty and special and I had so much fun celebrating with everyone who came!

In January, we had maternity pictures taken which was something I had really been looking forward to. I'm glad we have these pictures to show Emery someday.

We went on our babymoon to Nashville in February and had the best time {even though I was sick}. We ate {and ate, and ate}, did some shopping for Emery, enjoyed the gorgeous hotel, and ate some more.

He took it very seriously!

We made so many memories as we put the nursery together, too...mostly good ones {I should just leave the room when anything is being hung on the wall}. It started out as our "overflow room". Whenever we didn't know where to put something, we'd just say, Put it in the little room. We did that for two years. It wasn't pretty.

My friends are probably shocked right now because I'm someone who hates clutter and wants everything to be in its place. This room drove me nuts, but I could just shut the door and not look at it. Anyway, we got our act together, cleaned up the room, and turned it into a sweet little {still not finished} nursery for Emery.

There are so many great things about being pregnant that I'm going to miss!! These were some of my favorites:

• Feeling the baby move was so amazing! Daniel and I had so much fun feeling her and watching her move around. It's such a miracle and was definitely one of my favorite things about being pregnant.
• People are nicer to you when you're pregnant! {With the exception of a certain woman who works at a body shop in town, but that's a story for another day...} People offered to do things for me, gave up their seats for me when there was a wait at a restaurant, the lunchroom ladies at school gave me extra food. It was nice!
• Guilt-free eating. Enough said.

• And one that goes along quite nicely with guilt-free eating: maternity pants. Oh, how I'm going to miss them.
• A solid nine months of not having to suck in my tummy. I embraced the baby bump early! :)
• The naps. I have taken so many naps during this pregnancy and I have loved every. single. one. The best part? I don't feel guilty about them!
• Ultrasounds. We were so excited every time we got to have one. From hearing that heartbeat for the first time to seeing her little chubby cheeks on the 4D ultrasound, every single one was magical and evidence of the miracle that God created.

7 weeks | 18 weeks | 28 weeks | 38 weeks

• My absolute, most favorite thing of all about being pregnant, though? Sharing all of these moments with this guy.

He has filled every moment of this experience with so much joy and laughter. Just days after finding out we were pregnant, he downloaded an app on his phone called "I'm Expecting" and would read about how the baby was growing and all the symptoms that I might be experiencing around that particular week. I would tell him that I had a headache or something and he would usually reply with, "About 78% of women experience headaches during this week." I would catch him reading What to Expect When You're Expecting along with all the other baby books and pamphlets we had around the house. He went to all of my doctor's appointments with me, handled my wild emotions so sweetly, rubbed my balloon feet, spent countless hours shopping, registering, and looking at nursery accessories online. He supported me when I would get worried or scared. He completely entertained all my food cravings, even when it meant leaving the house at 11:30 in our pajamas to go to Taco Bell. He cooked, cleaned, did laundry, brought me my vitamins {and anything else I wanted} every night so I wouldn't have to get off the couch. He's been everything I need, everything I want, and so much more. I could not ask for a more supportive partner in this journey of parenthood that we're beginning. Now I just can't wait to see him be a daddy.