Hungry Jack.

In case we aren't friends on facebook (what a shame) I would like to share my most favorite picture of my little guy. My husband took the picture yesterday with Jack being 10 weeks old.

It is a stunning picture and I could not be more proud!

All Images are the property of mJoy Photography

Feel free to visit my husband's websites:

www.mjoyphotography.com

mJoy Facebook Page 

Like what you see?

Book a session and be a fan :)

The Hungry Caterpillar Set was crocheted by Havenly Hooked Crochet

Havenly Hooked Crochet Facebook Page

       Go ahead and check her stuff out too. It is high quality and affordable. We are big fans :)

3 Weeks + Belly Bump Shots Finale.

Happy 3 Weeks to our little man Jack!

Time seems to be flying by but honestly I am a little ok with that at this point. Nobody tells you how rocky the first few weeks post-partum are. These past few weeks have been a time to adjust and figure out how this little guy fits into your life. Things are becoming a little more smooth and enjoyable as time goes by. I am excited for the time that awaits ahead for us :)

He has grown so much already and changed. Last Tuesday, he weighed over 7 lbs! That means he had put on over a pound since he was released from the hospital. He also has become more active with moving around his arms and legs. Its fun to see him develop these skills by the day.

Also the last few weeks of my pregnancy belly bump shots :)

All Images Property of mJoy Photography-- www.mjoyphotography.com

Hard to believe my belly was that big! The memory already seems distant but I am so glad that we took all these photos to document our path to parenthood. They are precious memories that we can share with Jack when he gets bigger!

Maternity Shoot Pt. 1

Here is a sampler from my indoor maternity shoot. 

They were taken by mJoy Photography (my husband!)

All images property of mJoy Photography

To see more images from the shoot, click HERE :)

While there, be sure to "like us" :)

Babymoon.

This past weekend Mitch and I took a babymoon as our final chance to escape as a couple, no baby. Seemed like a good opportunity since we didn't have plans yet and it was my last chance to feel like I could be safe traveling out of town. We went to Sioux Falls, SD. I didn't realize how many great things there were to do in this town. I have went there many times but only for shopping, never for site seeing.
We got into town late Friday night and only had time for visiting my brother and his family. Then checked into our hotel.
Saturday we went Great Plains Zoo.

It is such a nice zoo and the weather was nice and cool so that helped me to feel more comfortable.
Here are a few pictures that Mitch took while we were there. (Thinking of maybe putting together an animal album for Mini Bee when he gets older and we can share our trip with him!)

A baby monkey with his mom--so cute!

 LOVE the cats!!

 A baby rhino--we bought a stuffed baby rhino for Mini Bee as a reminder of our special trip.

 A  (big) 1 yr old tiger getting a drink.

 A very feisty and cranky cat!!

Seems like a good time to travel to the zoo. Lots of babies were born recently and in the cages on exhibit!

All Images Property of mJoy Photography

After the zoo we went to the mall to check out a kids clothing store, a few parks, Falls Park (beautiful), World Market to browse, Sonic to try their slushees, and finished our day off with a swim in the hotel pool. Thankfully the pool water was warm so it was enjoyable to swim in. 

I learned a few things while swimming and being pregnant.

My body feels super light in the water---BUT feels twice as heavy out of the water afterwards!

My body floats very easily in the pool!

Doing the backstroke leaves your tummy hanging above the water like a turtle shell :)

Sunday we went to the Sertoma Buttefly House . Pretty cool experience. A little spendy but understandable with all the butterflies they purchase to fly around and apparently the butterflies only have a 2-4 week lifespan. The day we were there, the butteflies were super active and a little intimidating by flying at your face and landing on you. A little creepy but honestly they were beautiful. It has to be warm in there for the butterflies so naturally I started to puff up. After the visit there, we headed back home to the fur babies--our pets.

Here are two pictures from the butterfly house.

Again, Images property of mJoy Photography

It was a refreshing getaway for the two of us and now we are home and ready to take on our next adventure as new parents :)

Teacher Perks.

My husband took this picture today and as a teacher I found a different light of humor to it than he did.

I feel like it explains the way us teachers are feeling at this point in the school year.

 Begging for the end because we feel ragged and worn out.

Then a few things happened this week that were pretty cool and helped me get through the week. I thought of a few perks I get as a teacher.

1. I get to meet famous people--exhibited below :)

2. I have kids who love me and can really make me feel good (of course they can do the complete opposite too) Kids have a way of being honest and really playing their cards right at times. Some mornings I will hear that I have the most beautiful hair, cute clothes and am so nice all within an hour. Heck, my co-teacher was even told she "is as beautiful as a shower rod". HAHA Hilarious because the kid really meant it as a compliment and could not have been more serious! Kids are priceless and they are what make teaching worth it. 

Here is a picture I found in one of my kid's bookbag the other day. Just the sweetest boy who is so shy. He finds other ways to show his love for me :)

(The scanner keeps cutting off parts of the words--It says "I Love You Malissa") Even with the name spelling error its still so sweet. It melted my heart.

It is simple reasons like these  --   why I teach :)

23 Weeks Bump Update.

HERE IT IS....

The long awaited photoshoot update :)

Lots of work in the nursery these past few weeks!

BIG NEWS!!

Whew! Not sure this momma can handle anymore excitement after the past week we have had! Wednesday we had our ultrasound, which was the first time we really had a chance to see pictures of our baby. Soo exciting and AMAZING! We saw cute little feet and hands and of course Mini Bee was very active. I could feel Mini Bee kicking the whole time and we even have videos of baby moving around. I could have watched the whole day. Lucky for us, we did get to watch for 45 minutes! The best news ever was that our baby checked out very healthy! :)

Here is a picture of our ultrasound:

So cute right? Apparently very flexible too! Baby's arms were going crazy the whole time, moving all around...

We shared with the ultrasound tech that we did want to find out the gender but were going to celebrate together over the gender by having a baker color the inside of a cake whatever gender the card said. So she didn't tell us or show us any ultrasound pictures that would disclose the gender. Instead she secretly wrote the gender inside of our cards and sealed them. After the ultrasound we left with those cards that said the gender inside and a cd with pictures/videos of our precious baby. I could have busted with the excitement. Suddenly I felt so close to this baby inside of me when I could see the miracle that had grown inside.

FAST FORWARD............

Next night we go pick up our cake that was designed so cute. We had a hard time finding a baker that would bake a fresh cake for the next day but we lucked out with Quality Bakery. They offered to come in special and whip up this cake that told us such an important part of our future. I couldn't even hold myself together while we were picking up this cake. I realized how significant this little bundle of cake was!

The cake...

Mitch and I ate our supper super fast!! Then we shut our eyes and cut out a sliver together to open our eyes and find.....

BRIGHT BLUE CAKE!!!! 

So emotional to find out what we could expect in a few months!

Finding out what we were having suddenly I felt so close to what I am caring for and also I was able to weed out a few names. It was weird, but some of the names we had picked out suddenly didn't seem to fit the baby I am carrying. I love laying in bed and feeling our baby kicking and knowing that my baby boy is getting stronger!!!

This post is jam-packed with lots of information but seriously, it has been a crazy busy and amazing week!!    BELLY SHOT UPDATE :)

Hope this post makes you just as excited as we are!! :)

16 weeks.

We made it to 16 weeks! Woo-Hoo! We even managed to get a few pictures taken for this milestone. But first, the weekly stats on the baby...


My baby today is an....

 AVOCADO!

4.6 Inches! That seems pretty big suddenly! Crazy how fast they start growing now.

Some additional facts...
Tiny bones are forming in baby's ears, which means the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in and taste buds are forming.

Now onto the part you may be are most interested in. (The other facts are more to help me document my pregnancy and to fill in family members.)

Its getting bigger! :)
Last picture which is hard to tell what I am holding since the image is small... One of those little Valentine Little Debbie heart cakes. Yum! I was laughing hysterically because of what you cant see in the picture. My dog Mac was jumping repeatedly trying to bite the cake. In fact, his head got in the way on the shot that I liked the best.

14 weeks.

Well we made it to 14 weeks today! Yay!

Here is the info for this week:

 

Our baby is busy thumb sucking and toe wiggling. I still haven't felt any movement from the baby yet but hope I recognize it. I can't imagine how exciting it will be :)

Along with our update comes the results of our most recent photoshoot! My husband started a new project for us to remember this pregnancy by and I am in love with the idea. The word caption for that week point he actually took off of my blog and it contains notes that I was feeling during that week. Amazing, right!?! I am impressed with his creativity and hopefully it wont stifle my writing ability knowing that it will be used for a forever memory :)

Enjoy the images!! (Images copyrighted by mJoy Photography)

Maybe a shameless plug but you never know who is looking.... If you are a fan of my husbands photography work check out www.mjoyphotography.com & he also has a facebook fan page :)

A Very Special Announcement. :)

This (on mulitiple levels) is what I have been waiting for. The chance to make a very special announcement.

We are expecting our first child!! So exciting to be pregnant although I can imagine it gets more exciting as the nauseousness passes and as my body hopefully adjusts to being pregnant since I feel exhausted constantly. Either way, I feel very fortunate and excited!

Here are some things I have realized about myself since becoming pregnant...

• I can be a left-side sleeper (through a week of night sleep training) 
• My belly has always shown food immediately upon digestion and now apparently a baby too. 
• It is possible to look cute and buy cute clothes when pregnant.
• It is completely possible to develop a food obsession (eggs) in which you devour them constantly and then the next day you are repulsed by the thought of them.
• My pregnancy irony is that I am so hungry all the time but really disgusted by the thought of most solid foods. 
• For the first time in my life....I am not crazy about candy and/or pop. It feels so unlike myself. Kind of odd. Oh yeah and I can't always sleep. Also not like me.
• I can push myself to go about my daily life while feeling icky. Go me!
• I have an unbelievable husband: This was that topic I touched on a few weeks ago but said I would talk more about of course when I could explain why. When I was obsessed with eggs, he would get up at 3/4 AM to make them for me to eat because I was too hungry to sleep. He also had to put up most of the Christmas decorations this year which believe me is dedication when I put up four giant trees with decorations and several mini trees. Most of them up on top of my kitchen cupboards complete with the lighted garland on top of them. He has been a trooper so far with meeting my crazy and annoying demands that aren't completely up to me (in my defense) :) 
• I have learned that so many people could not have been more excited to find out we are pregnant. Apparently being together for 11 years without making a baby makes people just think it wasn't going to happen haha. The best things come to those who wait.
• Also, its fun to check out my tummy constantly in the mirror just to see if it has gotten any bigger. As a girl, this is a rare opportunity to celebrate :) I am enjoying it so much and love having a photographer husband. 

Speaking of a photographer husband:

Here are some pictures from our photoshoot tonight that we quick took to make our "facebook" announcement. We thought we had another night to make the announcement but it seems as though our Christmas cards were received faster than expected ;)

Here are some shots that we took: (All images property of www.mJoyPhotography.com)

Belly Shot (12 Weeks)

Non-Fur Family Member Shot

Mac wanted to be held...

An attempt at a full family shot. Wish we would have had this for our Christmas cards. HAHA Doesn't help that the cat and dog don't really like to be up close and personal with eachother. 

Anyways it feels so much better to have the news out. Hopefully that explains some of my behaviors for those of you around me who didn't know.
Yes, my belly is growing rapidly because there is a baby inside.
Yes, I am hungry all the time and it is necessary for me to shove little snacks in constantly.
Yes, I really do have to pee that often during the day. I am not escaping my classroom of kids just to get away. (Well maybe sometimes haha but I do also go to the bathroom during that break)
I look forward to sharing this crazy, yet exciting journey with you as I go along.
12 weeks today. Only 28 more to go ;)

So thankful...

Happy Thanksgiving All. Headed to a family gathering to celebrate what we are thankful for and to enjoy a delicious meal. Tis the season for yummy meals and treats :)

I am very thankful for many things....
*My husband who is always there for me and helping out
*My cat and my dog
*My family
*Our house that is always warm
*My job that I love
*My health
*All the wonderful things this next year holds
*mJoy Photography (it has given us many opportunities and provides an income)
*My AWD car...Necessary in Fargo

And just for a little extra on the post I will include some pictures because they always make it better right? :)

Mac's mini pre-thanksgiving meal. So cute right?

 How about some Cran-Slam scent in light of Thanksgiving? Yummy. 

 Mac was sitting on Mitch's back the other night and I had to capture what I saw when I looked at Mitch. HAHA. 

Also, I finished a Christmas craft last night so I will be posting pictures in the next few days to come. Depends on how crazy we go Black Friday shopping. May be tired :) 

In case you are checking, I am still here :)

I have been meaning to post a new blog but didn't think I had much to blog about. Figured I could at least have enough courtesy to tell you what I / we have been doing then at least.
Saturday was spent lounging around a bit but then my husband and I went downtown for a photoshoot.

mJoy Photography Facebook Link (be sure to hit "like" it if you like what you see)

mJoy Photography Site   The official website.


After having fun downtown, we headed home. I cleaned the house and did laundry. Fun, right? Not exactly however I do like finding time to mop with my Swiffer WetJet :)

Today brought upon a visit from a good friend. Always love seeing people you haven't seen for a while. It also brought upon a visit to Five Guys Burger and Fries restaurant. Something else we love.

Tonight I have managed to get lost in the blog world while searching for more details on a project I want to complete. However, I must go buy a few supplies to do the project. It will be great though.

Since I don't have a project to show for all my internet searching, I will share a few of the blogs  I have managed to get lost in tonight. They have a lot of good stuff packed in them.

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/fonts/    Free fonts for your computer. I love these!

http://kimboscrafts.blogspot.com/

Looking back it seems funny I got lost for so long amongst these blogs but I confess. I did. They have good stuff. Something I am striving for. :)