Who is your mama...

I wanted to write a letter all about who I am before you came along. Your YaYa and PaPa grew up in Michigan (they moved to Austin right before I was born) so I spent most of my childhood swimming in Lake Michigan, playing with my cousins, Kayla and Jordan, picking cherries, running up and down sand dunes and of course rooting for Michigan Wolverine football. I grew up an athlete, I loved playing softball and volleyball. Then I got into running...I've run a 38 1/2 mile trail run, the Austin marathon, an Olympic triathlon and quite a few sprint triathlons. I was on the triathlon team in college... I went to Texas State University. I double majored and got a degree in English and Public Relations/Marketing. As soon as I graduated I moved to New York City, I wanted to make it big. I thought I would climb the ladder and marry a banker and reside in upstate New York.

I definitely found myself in New York, I traveled, had to rely on myself and built a strong relationship with who I am. I developed many beneficial relationships in New York and rekindled ones that needed rekindling. I had an amazing time in New York...I met Tyler Florence from Food Network, Sandra Lee from Food Network, Donald Trump, LeBron James. I was part of the team that executed some fantastic events in New York City. I had a fabulous time tromping around the city, eating fondue, drinking fancy cactus margaritas, lobster rolls, the best sushi in the country at Morimoto's, drinking lychee martinis, interior Mexican food, eating Ethiopian food (with your Uncle Chase) with my bare hands! I felt like the world was my oyster and I experienced everything. I interned at Taylor PR for the summer, lived in Chelsea...Murray's Bagels was the best!!! Then in August my internship ended, I knew I wanted a job in NYC so I interviewed everywhere. I ended up getting a job in Armonk, NY which is outside of NYC. I moved with Marlee (your big fur-sister) and bought a blue jeep. I lived in an old apartment hidden in the trees. I worked for Gold n Fish Marketing and it was an awesome job. I worked amazing events and spent amazing weekends in the Big Apple.

 

 

But after a year I started to miss family and didn't find anyone to spend my life with. I had some amazing people come and visit me including, your Aunt Dana, PaPa, Uncle Chase, YaYa, Rachel but in May I was ready to come home. I moved back to Austin and lived the life of a girl in her young 20s. Then in August I met your daddy. I think God placed him in my life on purpose, he was a solid, handsome, tall, athletic man with a heart-melting smile. He was such a gentleman and so smart! He swept me off my feet pretty quickly. We dated for seven months before he was transferred to Dallas for his football coaching position. I decided to move with him because I knew he was the love of my life and I didn't want to lose him.

We lived in downtown Dallas for one year, I worked as a nanny and at a catering company. I met Mandalee there! That is when I decided to become an English teacher. Then your dad was transferred to Frisco, farther north in Texas for coaching. We moved together and I started teaching. That was one of the craziest years of my life and became even crazier when your daddy proposed. We stayed in Frisco for two years and decided it was not the place for us.

Your dad got a job in Denver, Colorado...we were so excited! We moved to Colorado in June and immediately reunited with your Uncle Kurt, Aunt Kari, Aunt Sharon and all your cousins (Jeremy, Cali, Loren, Lariel, Kenzie & Jack). We had an incredible year full of adventure and travel. We skiied 13 times! We went snowmobiling, hiking, I ran a half marathon in Boulder, we went all over the state. Then your cousin Crash was born in September and as soon as he was born an ache started in my heart that wouldn't go away. After Christmas I decided I'd rather raise our family near our immediate family in Austin. In June of 2013 we moved back to Austin. After living with YaYa for the summer your daddy and I bought our first house. And barely a few weeks into living at our new house we found out about you! Now our lives seem to be on their way to being complete.

Things to know about your mama:
- I love food!  I think I may be a foodie...my favorites are lox n bagels, eggs benedict, migas, your YaYa's chicken dumpling soup, your YaYa's lasagna and I LOVE cheese!
- I am an athlete, I love competition and hope after you're born I can get back into running, racing in triathlons and becoming part of a volleyball and softball team
- I love to travel. Your daddy and I hope to do a lot of traveling when you come into the world. We have SO much to show you! The sand dunes in Michigan, the ocean, Disney World, Hawaii, Europe and SO much more.
- I am very passionate about life. I love to celebrate the little things. Birthdays are ALWAYS a big deal. I love holidays, I love decorating. I love making big family meals.
- I have been praying about you all my life. I have always felt that I was meant to be a mama and now God has answered my prayers. I can't wait to feel you kick. I can't wait to find out your gender. I can't wait to hold you and welcome you to this world. I can't wait to teach you all the wonderful things God made for us on this planet. I can't wait to watch you grow and to develop a wonderful relationship.

My goals with you:
- To teach you about Jesus and how important your walk with him is
- For you to develop amazing, unique relationships with your YaYa, PaPa, Uncle Chase, Uncle Matt, Aunt DeDe, Aunt Dana, JuJu, Nicey, Aunt Jen Romberger and so many more
- To show you the world: I want you to touch, taste, feel, experience, smell and hear all the wonders of the world.
- I want to teach you how important our family unit is. And no matter what your daddy and I love you unconditionally and will ALWAYS be there for you. How important honesty, integrity and humility are. How to always cherish your relationship with your parents and siblings.
- I want to teach you about sports and your daddy and I think you'll be a fantastic volleyball player or football player!
- To teach you about believing in yourself and there's nothing you can't do...as long as you believe in yourself.

Your mama is outspoken, friendly, exciting, loving, extremely giving, sensitive, athletic, strong, supportive and most of all...ready to be your mom.

Keep growing little one! Love you to the moon and back.

~Your mama

Baby Reveal

It was so hard to keep you a secret. It didn't last very long. I told YaYa right away, daddy of course, then Papa and Amy. Everyone was so excited.

Then on your cousin, Crash's, 1st birthday party I told your Uncle Chase and Aunt Heather that they would be an aunt and uncle. Your Uncle Chase was in disbelief! Then on my birthday, September 11th we had dessert with your Uncle Matt and Aunt DeDe, we told them and they couldn't be more excited. Your Aunt DeDe started crying she was so excited.

Then on Saturday, September 14th we went out to dinner with our immediate family to celebrate my 29th birthday. Afterwards we had a special party at PaPa's house. Everyone thought it was for my birthday but I really had some exciting news to share. After everyone got there, the Curbys, Dana and Daren, the Mathison's, Kathryn Cox, Di Di and Tory, Nikki and Blake, I decided to reveal the big news. Your daddy and I stood up in front of everyone and announced that we were expecting!!!! I started to cry! It was the first time I got emotional about you sweet baby. I think it all hit me and being surrounded by my loved ones made me feel like this was truly real. It was a great party and everyone was overjoyed! We told everyone your due date of April 30, 2014 and I was 7 1/2 weeks pregnant. Everyone thinks you are a baby girl! Hehe.

We shall see little one. You can be anything in this entire world, I don't mind if you're a boy or a girl...I just want you to be healthy, strong, beautiful inside and out. Daddy and I are so excited to show you this world. And we are both confident you'll impact this earth with a resounding footprint. :) We are already incredibly honored that God chose us to be your parents. I am starting to feel some pregnancy symptoms, my tummy is uneasy a lot, I am leaning toward comfort foods, I am exhausted, things are pretty smelly around here and I find myself running to the potty quite a bit. So those symptoms at least remind me you are here! :)

Snuggle in little blueberry and get comfy! We have seven more months together and I want every moment to count.

 

Here are many of the people who will love you so much!!

The best sight we've ever seen...

On Thursday, September 5th, your daddy and I went to Dr. Swenson's office for our first prenatal appointment. I was SO nervous. My tummy was full of butterflies. I was praying all day and asking for our family to pray for me and you too. I just wanted you to be in my tummy, healthy and growing.

Daddy and I asked the day off of work so we could enjoy this first appointment together. We went in and Dr. Swenson was so excited we were expecting (she's a family friend). She gave me an ultrasound and sure enough...there you were! A teeny, tiny sweet pea at this point. We saw your heart beating super fast on the screen. Daddy and I were so excited and I was SO relieved!!!

We scheduled our next appointment for two weeks later so we could check on your progress. After the appointment, we went to lunch at Cafe Express and met up with your PaPa (Grandpa), we showed him the first picture of you and he was SO excited! He thinks you are a baby girl...we will see :)

Then we went to Central Market to buy some prenatal vitamins. Then we met up with your YaYa, she saw your picture and was SO excited too! Then daddy had to go back to work, he is a football coach and works busy hours.

YaYa and I went to some baby stores and found these awesome letters. We spelled out your name for if you are a girl or a boy. It was a great day! I can't wait to go back in two weeks and see you again. Daddy and I framed a picture of you and pray for you every day. Mommy is reading books on how to stay healthy and how to best prepare myself for your arrival. Keep growing sweet pea & we'll see you in April! xoxo Mama & Daddy

The day I found out about you...

Hello sweet baby! Today I woke up really early in the morning and took a pregnancy test...and sure enough...I was PREGNANT! I was so excited I left your daddy sleeping soundly and drove to your YaYa's house a few miles down the road. I told her the amazing news & grabbed the coffee mug I made your daddy for this very day. I then drove back home and woke him up. He was not happy. I told him we had somewhere important to go. Finally I convinced him to get out of bed. We got ready and drove downtown to the Driskill Hotel. I had made reservations for breakfast and the staff took such great care of us! We sat in a reserved booth by the window and they served us with coffee (for daddy) and tea (for mommy). Your daddy's coffee was in a giant orange and blue mug that said, "Big Daddy" on the front that I has made for him at a pottery shop! I think he instantly knew he was going to be a dad but I told him to drink his coffee and at the bottom of the mug was the message, "You are going to be a daddy!" Your wonderful daddy started tearing up and was SO excited that you were going to be ours! We ordered breakfast and enjoyed this moment together. 

The Driskill Hotel has always been special to us because your daddy proposed to me there almost three years ago and we spent our wedding night there two years ago. So I figured what better place than to tell him we were going to be a family. :-)

After videotaping your daddy's reaction of us having a baby the manager brought us a box. He said he wanted to give us our first gift. So we opened it and inside were two onesies, for a boy or a girl! We were flabbergasted that they would be so generous! We only expected a nice breakfast together. Then the chef came by our table to congratulate us and offered us to come stay for a night and he would work out a special deal. We were again, blown away. Then to top it all off they paid for our breakfast! We couldn't believe it and were overjoyed with how special they made our day. 

We took a lot of pictures with the coffee mug and onesies then I had to drop your daddy off at work. But we were smitten with you already. Now begins the countdown of 9 months til meet our sweet orange seed (that's how big you are right now!)

We already love you so much! Mama will give you everything you need and daddy will be our cheerleader. Grow in grace, in God's vision you will be quite a sight. See you in 9 months baby! 

Xxoo Mama & Daddy