My 100th Post

I can't believe that this is already my 100th post, time sure does fly by in the blink of an eye!  I started this blog back in January of last year right before Addie was born.  I wanted to document our lives as we went from a family of 2 to a family of 3, along with all of the ups and downs of being a first time mom.  Through my first 100 posts, I've learned that there are way more ups than there are downs that come along with being a mom and I have loved sharing every single milestone and special moment that we have had with our sweet little Addie girl.  Even if I am the only person that reads my blog, it is still totally worth it to me to have all of these memories in writing.  I love looking back at the very beginning of motherhood and I am so happy that I will be able to share all of it with Addie some day.

I hope to continue to blog for years to come and even though life continues to get busier by the day For starters, I plan on documenting our lives in the next couple of months as we go from a family of 3 to a family of 4.  I want to capture everything about Bella's arrival, all of her firsts and milestones, as well as Addie's ups and downs of being a big sister.  Hopefully these will be the first of many milestone posts and years down the road I'll hit 500 posts, maybe even 1000 if I'm lucky!

With that being said, here are some of my favorites from the first 100 posts:

Where it all began

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage - which pretty much sums up where it all began for Eric and I.  I'm lucky enough to be married to my best friend and I love the life that we have created together.  As Eric and I always say, from beach chairs to rocking chairs...

Addison Elizabeth

I cannot wait to share Addie's birth story with her and pictures from the very first day we laid eyes on her.  Our lives changed forever on February 10th, 2014 and we are so lucky to have our sweet Addie girl in our lives!

Daddy's Little Valentine

Addie will always be "daddy's little girl" and I love that we have the very first letter he ever wrote to her on the blog.  Maybe one day (a long, long time from now!) she will even go back and read this on her wedding day.

Baby Beach Bum

Our beach days may have changed quite a bit in the last year, but I wouldn't change a thing!  I love hitting the beach with the cutest little beach bum around and I love that I have our very first family trip to the beach on the blog.

4 generations

It's pretty neat that I have 2 pictures with 4 generations of women in them.  One when I was a little girl and now one with my daughter in it.  These photos are very special to me!

Two Peas in a Pod 

Addie and her Aunt Krissy have such a special bond and have more in common than you would think.  This post was so much fun to write and I laughed out loud the entire time.

Your First Christmas

There's something special about celebrating holidays once you have your own family.  We had a blast this year for Addie's first Christmas and started many traditions that I cannot wait to continue for years to come.

Addie - From Baby to Toddler

I loved doing Addie's mostly posts and this one kind of tops it all off to see how she changed from the day she was born until her first birthday.  Addie's first year flew by, so I am very happy that I have so many great pictures and posts to look back at one day and remember how tiny she once was.

Addie is ONE

A first birthday is such a huge milestone!  We had the best time celebrating, Minnie Mouse style, with all of our family and friends.  Addie is one lucky girl!

It's a GIRL

It was so much fun to share our exciting news with the world on my blog (and it gave me an excuse to do an impromptu photo shoot with Addie!)  I love having a daughter and I cannot wait to be a mommy of 2 sweet girls :)

Shopping sprees, sunshine, and strawberry fun!

I will have to admit, I am pretty spoiled the entire month of May!  Eric has his hands full with my birthday and Mother's Day just days apart, followed by our Anniversary only a few weeks later.  With spring in the air, a very active toddler, and swollen feet that come and go, I was not complaining - and actually really, really looking forward to a weekend full of pampering.

We kicked off the weekend celebrating my birthday.  Eric took me out to a super yummy kid-free hibachi dinner, followed my a kid-free shopping spree.  It was a blast and just what I needed after a long week of work!  I was happy to relax and Addie was beyond excited to hang out with her buddy, Anna, who is also our neighbor.

Saturday morning we started the day off early at Addie's first swim lesson and man, did she hate it!  Last year, we spent hours at the pool in the water, but I guess she was too little to have an opinion or figure out how to voice it.  Addie sure has found her voice now though!  She screamed almost the entire time and gave Eric and I a few looks that meant "Get me the heck outta here, it's cold!"  Eric did agree that the water was pretty cold and did his best to distract her with toys, splashing, and songs, but it was an epic fail.  Better luck next time I guess!  After our swim lesson, we met some friends at Hickory Farms for the Strawberry Jam!  It was a beautiful day and we had a blast strawberry picking and animal watching.  Saturday night, we cooked out for dinner and then Kristie and Samantha came for a quick visit before Samantha's cheer competition.  Even though celebrating this year was totally different than years past, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love spending time with my little family of 3 and cherish all of the memories we are making together!

Sunday was Mother's Day and yet another beautiful spring day!  We went to Oak Grove Lake for a walk and some mommy-daughter photos.  When we got home, we broke out Addie's water table to cool off and had a picnic lunch outside.  For dinner, Eric and Addie took me to one of my favorite local Italian spot and it was perfect!  It's not the fanciest of places, but we walked right in and got our table, followed by an absolutely delicious meal, and were on our way home within an hour.  Like I said, absolutely perfect!  Addie and Eric also spoiled me with a new charm for my Pandora bracelet and a summer candle - both of which I love!

I hope everyone else is enjoying this beautiful spring weather as much as we are these days.  Our active little toddler is at such a fun age and we are loving every single minute of it!

Baby Bump - Month 6

How far along?  25 weeks

Gender:  It's a girl - Bella Sherry Harvell!

Feeling:   Since I am nearing the end of the "honeymoon" period of pregnancy, I am starting to get a taste of some of my least favorite symptoms - swollen feet and hands, heartburn, shortness of breath, etc.  Luckily, they seem to come and go right now (obviously the humidity plays a part too!) so although uncomfortable, it's still bearable.  I've never been a huge fan of being pregnant, but as soon as I think about our growing baby girl in there it quickly makes it all okay...and totally worth it.  I cannot wait to meet our sweet baby girl in less than 15 weeks!

Maternity Clothes: I'm learning that one nice thing about a warm weather pregnancy is that a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes are still wearable.  I am loving my maxi-skirts and maxi-dresses right now!  My wonderful husband even took me on a shopping spree for my birthday, so now I have a lot of cute summer maternity clothes too!  This brings me to one of my least favorite things about a warm weather pregnancy - maternity swimsuits.  Yes, I finally invested in not 1, but 2 and am ready to suck it up and enjoy the beach and pool very, very soon.

Sleep: Still sleeping like a champ :)  No complaints here and hopefully it will keep up as long as possible!

Favorite Moments:

-Deciding on our baby girl's name - Bella Sherry Harvell!  Eric and I had a much more difficult time this time around choosing her name, but we both fell in love with Bella.  I love the idea of using family names as middle names and Sherry was the perfect fit!  We love how her name will have a piece of her mom-mom who loves her to pieces already and will be looking down on her from the moment she's born.

-Taking our mini-vacation to the Outer Banks was definitely a highlight this month and much needed!

-Last, but not least, I got a mom car!  Eric and I bought a Honda Pilot and I absolutely love it!

Missing anything?  Being able to get up and down and keep up with Addie much easier, she is getting faster these days and I am getting slower....

Movement:  Constantly - it's one of the highlights of my day!

Cravings:  I am still loving anything italian, french toast and waffles, fruit (strawberry shortcake counts right?), and iced coffee

Looking forward to:

-Scheduling my c-section in the next couple of weeks :)  My paper work will get sent to labor and delivery after my next appointment and the nurse will call me with Bella's birthday (unless she wants to make an early arrival of course!)

-SUMMER!  It's so close, yet seems so far away still!

-Aunt Krissy coming to visit and watch Addie in June, which means no more daycare bills!  All very exciting stuff!