Looking Back, part one

As part of our moving process, I have been on our old desktop computer (does anyone use desktops at home anymore? they are starting to become antiques!) consolidating our files and backing everything up in case of disaster. It's taking me twice as long as it should too because I can't resist looking at all the old photos and videos. The ones that especially give me pause are those right before and during my pregnancy with Avery. We had just started moving into this house.

 

I was so excited to buy this couch. Sage green, soft and perfect.

Even more excited to move into this home....it really was

a dream come true for me.

 

We had a very precious kitty adopted from CAPS.

Her name was Duchess and she always slept with

a paw covering her face. She was a great snuggler too.

 

We had just bought a new fancy digital camera, and this was

photo number 1, me and Nana. A rare time I broke out

my glasses....I feel like I look so young here.

 

 

This is photo 2 on the new camera, one of our

first dinners in the new house. It was spring 2007.

 

 

This is one of my favorites, for lots of reasons.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed when I look at it. We were at a good friend's wedding over Memorial Day weekend in Galveston. It's one of those moments that I just remember very vividly. Like, how the sea air felt amazing. And how much fun it was catching up with old friends. How happy and settled I felt...how in love I was (and am) with this dude. It was, simply, one of the happiest moments in my life.  Now I get overwhelmed looking at the person I was in this photo because so much has changed...so much that sometimes I feel like I don't even know the girl in this picture anymore. I stare at myself and think- that was a different life.

 

I felt nauseated after the wedding, which was a random enough event that I decided to take a pregnancy test the next day. It was positive...and we were pretty much in shock. Definitely a surprise, but a happy one for sure! Really and truly, I don't think we could have been any more excited to be starting a family.

 

As most of you know, I was pretty sick during my pregnancy with Avery. I couldn't keep anything down at all. I would come home from work every day and just collapse on the couch. Duchess and our new kitten, Ernie, would always keep me company.

 

 

I can look at this photo and remember how icky I felt, even though I am smiling for the camera. For four solid months, I felt absolutely terrible. I lost a bunch of weight and could barely stand the sight of food. Bub the hub took good care of me though, and eventually I started to feel like my old self.

 

 

We celebrated hub's 27th birthday not long after. I made him chocolate cupcakes with oreos and sour patch kids on top, his favorite then and now! I was 5 months along here, and we had just started telling our family and friends.

 

 

I have to laugh when I think of how proud I was of this tiny 5 month bump! Nothing compared to the second time around, that's for sure. I felt like I worked hard for this bump though. Five months of sick, sick, sick! But after that it was like a dream. I felt so much better, finally started gaining a little weight, and then we found out we were having a little girl. I couldn't stop looking at the ultrasound photo they gave me.

 

 

Her little profile was so pretty! We were totally over the moon.

We started working on her room after that.

 

 

Another moment I remember well. A pretty pink room, a dollhouse bookshelf, and two very excited parents-to-be. Pretty much just pure happiness radiating out of me here. Not like we didn't have all the normal, first time parent nerves! But we just couldn't wait to meet this little pumpkin. Of course, we had no idea what was waiting for us, and no parent ever really does, right? A part of me is glad that we had this precious time to anticipate and dream of what was to be. ..no clues yet that our journey would be so drastically different.