1 Year Wedding Anniversary

Today we celebrated our first wedding anniversary! It's so crazy to think that a year has already come and gone. We still remember and laugh about so many things from our wedding day.

These are some of our favorite pictures from the entire day. We really had the best time! I don't want to plan a wedding again, but I'd love to go back and redo the day!

Last night, we went to Fogo de Chao on the River Walk to celebrate. Neither one of us had ever been there. Of course, it was right up Brandon's alley. I enjoyed it, too, just not as much as he did!

It was so unbelievable to sit and talk about the past year of our lives. I don't think either one of us thought that we'd be waiting for Baby Westerholm to arrive just one year later.

Today we went to church and served cookies after the service, then were treated to lunch by Mimi (Westerholm). After that, we went home and achieved two (major!) baby "things": 1) we paid for our maternity and newborn portraits and finalized our baby names.

It's been a fun year and it can only get better from here...

Pregnancy Reveal Videos

When we shared the news that we were expecting with our families, we tried to catch some reactions on video. I thought it would be fun to share some of those reactions with you!

All of these were recorded on February 4, the day we had our 12 week appointment. Some of the videos are blurry. In some cases, we were attempting to hide the filming.

Darla & McKenna (Jessica's step-mom and sister)

In this video, we had my Grandma Doris give McKenna an envelope. Inside was our Valentine pregnancy announcement, a picture of us holding a onesie that read "Baby Westerholm Arriving Aug 2015."

DeWayne & Melissa (Jessica's step-dad and mom)

In this video, we gave my mom and DeWayne a pillow that read "PawPaw & Nana, Est. 2015."

Mark & Sharon (Brandon's dad and mom)

In this video you'll first and foremost notice my father-in-law's lack of clothing. I'd explain myself, but you should know him if you know me (and you should know me if you're reading this), and there's really no explanation other than, "That's Mark!"

Sharon, however, does refer to Brandon in this video as "little shit." I know, I know! But, can I please tell you that my husband has rightfully earned this name with my mother-in-law. I feel the need to come to her defense! Can you tell?!

He has previously teased her so much by pretending we were going to announce a pregnancy when we weren't. He has been cruel! Ha! 

I hope you enjoyed them! This night was one we hope to remember for many, many years to come. I can't even watch them or think about this night without grinning from ear-to-ear. We're blessed to have so much love surrounding this pregnancy!

We can't wait to share with Baby Westerholm some day how excited his/her great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, & uncles were to hear of his/her expectancy!

14 Weeks - Baby Westerholm

This week I'm officially in the second trimester! It's a relief to think about that, but I still have a wee bit of anxiety happening deep down and in the back of my mind in between my doctor's appointments. It's hard to believe there's really a baby in there when you don't feel much going on yet. So,  although my tighter fitting clothes aren't exactly pleasant, it's comforting to "feel" something happening.

I've also decided to start taking belly pictures. I initially wanted to start taking them at 12 weeks, but there wasn't much there, so I opted to wait until there was something (albeit little, but something!) to see.

Our next appointment is this upcoming week on February 25. I'm especially excited about it because McKenna is going with us. I think she's pretty thrilled, too! Scratch that. I know she's thrilled. So thrilled, in fact, she tried to tell me the appointment was last week. Ha! 

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

14 Weeks

Due Date:
August 21, 2015

Movement:

None yet!

Sleep:

I hate to say I'm sleeping bad, but I'm continuing to wake up more and more. I'm afraid a good night's rest might be in my past soon, so I'm trying to enjoy what sleep I'm getting while I can!

What I Miss:

Drinking something other than water!

Cravings:

Lime Sherbert with Sprite - not really a strong craving, but it's soooo good!

Symptoms:

My clothes are getting tighter! Not just around my belly! Ahhh! Here it goes...
Still experiencing very detailed, crazy dreams, too.
This week I also noticed that I have occasional stomach cramps again - very light though.

12 Weeks - Baby Westerholm

I was very eager to attend our appointment this week to make sure everything was looking good with Baby Westerholm. Much to my relief, everything IS looking great!

Our appointment was short and sweet, we got another sonogram, heard the quick pitter patter of the heartbeat (in the 150s-160s), and were quickly on our way. I'm scheduled to see my doctor again in three weeks.

While waiting for our appointment, Brandon and I decided that we would share the news with our immediate family that evening, instead of waiting as planned. We ran around like crazy trying to get to all our families in one evening. As crazy as it was, it was filled with so much excitement and joy!

We shared this picture (above) with some of our family, but gave our parents special gifts to celebrate the announcement (below). My (Jessica) parents are going to be Nana & PawPaw, so we gave them this pillow as "a late anniversary present," and Mark's birthday was on February 2, so the onesie was his "late birthday present."

(Sorry for the terrible iPhone picture!)

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

12 Weeks

Due Date:
August 21, 2015

Movement:

None yet!

Sleep:

Sleeping well, but starting to wake up more frequently.

What I Miss:

Drinking something other than water!

Cravings:

No cravings, and I don't feel like I'm starving any longer!

Symptoms:

I've recently started to have notice some good changes like...
- I don't feel as exhausted. Still tired and going to bed early, but not near what I was feeling before.
- I don't feel like I need to eat all the time.
But, I've still had unclear skin. Boo! I'm hoping that changes SOON!

10 Weeks - Baby Westerholm

On Monday of this week, I had off from school for MLK Day, so I went to get my blood work done. I'm not a big fan of needles, and they often extract some tears. I know, I know - I'm working on becoming an adult!

I always warn the person drawing my blood. This time, the lady was very nice and tried desperately to keep me calm. I was actually pretty proud of myself because I hung in there - no tears - and then she blew a vein in one arm. Still! No tears! She moved to the next arm, but missed the vein!

That pushed me over the edge! Poor lady. I cried. She apologized. I apologized and reminded her that I was pregnant and over-emotional. She called in someone else to try to get the job done and luckily that lady was successful!

I was reminded of the importance of staying hydrated while I was in there. The first lady suggested that my veins were hard to hit/find because I hadn't been drinking enough water. Since then, I've tried to steer myself toward drinking water more times than not.

For the past two weeks, I've left the doctor with a sonogram to peek at constantly. This week, I don't have that! I miss those experiences already! I wish it was feasible and affordable to do that weekly. For now, my next appointment is on February 4, days before we plan on sharing the news with our families, then shortly thereafter sharing the news with our friends!!!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

10 Weeks

Due Date:
August 21, 2015

Movement:

None yet!

Sleep:

Sleeping well, but still having multiple dreams nearly every night.

What I Miss:

Drinking something other than water!

Cravings:

Food. Salty food. Sweet food. All food. Any food. I'm HUNGRY all the time!

Symptoms:

My appetite is staying steady and strong.
I'm just as emotional as last week.
I'm still exhausted! On the weekends, I've been known to take several naps. Going to bed anytime after 8:00 pm on any night of the week suits me just fine!
I'm also breaking out...yuck! I thought pregnant women are supposed to GLOW?

9 Weeks - Baby Westerholm

This week I had my first official appointment with my OBGYN, Dr. Kirchner. It was pretty quick, but I did get a new picture of Baby Westerholm. The most exciting part? I heard the baby's heartbeat!!! It was 162.

It happened so quick that I didn't think to ask Dr. Kirchner if I could record it for Brandon. I felt a little guilty, but I know he'll be at the next appointment and it will be even more special for him to hear it in realtime. I can't wait for that!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

9 Weeks

Due Date:
August 21, 2015

Movement:

None yet!

Sleep:

Sleeping well, but having non-stop crazy dreams. Then, I wake up thinking they're real - feeling mad at people who did nothing in real life. That's not fun!

What I Miss:

Caffeinated Sweet Tea & Coffee (I don't think this will change!)

Cravings:
Food. Salty food. Sweet food. All food. Any food. I'm HUNGRY all the time!

Symptoms:

My appetite is through the roof!
I'm emotional! I've officially cried and had no clue why.
I'm exhausted. Growing a baby is hard work!

8 Weeks - Baby Westerholm

On January 8, we had our first appointment with Dr. Kirchner's office. Brandon was able to go with me and saw our baby for the first time!

We met with Dr. Kirchner's sonogram technician, Courtney, who showed us just how much Baby Westerholm had grown in 2 short weeks. The baby was about 10 times the size! We were completely shocked when Courtney showed us our baby's heart beating away on the screen.

We never anticipated getting to see the heartbeat so soon, but it was a huge relief and suddenly made everything REAL! Courtney measured Baby Westerholm's heartbeat at 162 beats per minute.

We also got an official due date since the baby was easier to measure than he/she was at 6 weeks. Baby Westerholm is expected to arrive around August 21, 2015, just in time for Brandon's birthday on August 30!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along:

8 Weeks

Due Date:
August 21, 2015

Movement:

None yet!

Sleep:

Sleeping great, once I fall asleep!

What I Miss:

Caffeinated Sweet Tea & Coffee

Cravings:

Breakfast Tacos (I think it's the salt!)

Symptoms:

Still having occasional stomach cramps, but they've eased a lot.