Baby Shower

3-20-16

Last month my wonderful friend Shelby (pictured below) hosted the most perfect baby shower for Lewis and I. It was exactly what I envisioned my baby shower to be like. We had a family one the day before and this one was with friends. Of course the grandmas were invited to come celebrate too. 

The theme was animal woodland and it was so freaking adorable! She really took the time and paid attention to little details. Little details I for sure noticed and that went a long way with making the party that more special. 

And she got this mama doughnuts ( !! )

She had some games set up for us to play, the price is right and guess the baby food. They were both really fun and not your typical cheesy baby shower game. I wasn't able to take that many photos of all the friends that came out to celebrate, but here are a few that I had. 

Thank you Shelby for spoiling Lewis and I and for making this day such a memorable one. And thank you to all the girls who came out to bless us! It was a day I will never forget. 

/ leah

The end of an era

3-19-16

It's a little hard to believe that in a month or so this life we have now will be so incredibly different. I have my ideas of what life will be like with our little Lewis added to the mix. But I know things will come as a surprise. 

The other day, I spent my day off cleaning the house and writing some letters. When I write I usually do it while on the couch using a random book from the bookshelf as a table. This time I happened to grab our wedding album. 

Of course I had to look through it. While looking through I just started crying. Happy tears of course. So much is already so different from that day! We've done a lot in these last 3 1/2 years of marriage. So much I'm proud of and so much I love looking back on. It got me both a little anxious and a lot excited thinking that we'll never just be the two of us again. 

I'd never trade this next journey for anything. We are ready and so excited to have our lives change. However, we are trying our best to take time for the two of us to intentionally be together, while also being purposeful with our time alone. 

The end of an era is upon us and the feelings I'm having during this time are pretty unreal. Excited and hopeful, nervous and anxious, ready to be done being pregnant but sad to not be pregnant anymore. It's crazy how one can have so many different feelings all about the same event. 

Here's to making the most of this time of just the two of us!

/ leah

Consequence of a Sunny Day

3-7-16

There is baseball field near our house that I've been eyeing for a while. I can see it peaking through the trees on our drive to the store all the time. The girls have been so good lately. I came down with a cold this weekend and with being at work a lot last week, let's say I can't remember the last time we actually went for a walk. Today I decided to pack the girls up and try out this little baseball field. 

Little did I know how BIG this field really was! Like massive as you can see from the first two photos. It was amazing to just walk to the end of the park, sit down and let the girl run wild. A benefit that no one was there either. They definitely were able to get their ya-yas out and work out a bit. And myself, well being 8 1/2 months pregnant, it was amazing to just sit there and watch.

One down side from this park was the mud. Oh the mud. I should have known, living in Oregon, how deceiving an open field could be. Once they hit one puddle there was no sense in stopping it. We all got pretty muddy. I could ring out my socks once we were ready to head home. It was baths for all when we got back to the house. 

Lessons learned

1. Try out new parks when you find them because they could be amazing. 

2. Add dog baths to the list of things NOT to do when 8.5 months pregnant. 

3. Getting dirty and then baths are a great way to tire these dogs off. Hopefully it works for Lewis too! 

Thankful for sunny days, new parks, and some sleeping pups.

xo / leah

My Favorite Body

3-6-16

"A mother's joy begins when new life is stirring inside … when a tiny heartbeat is heard for the very first time and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone." Author Unknown

I love how when you are pregnant there is no forgetting that you are pregnant. The moment you may forget, something reminds you there is life stirring inside. Either with a kick, that nasty nausea, or the fact you can't get out of bed without log rolling. 

I've always known I'd love being pregnant. And I think that mentality has really helped this pregnancy be an easy one. Yes I got the nausea all throughout the first trimester. My feet are sore, I can't sleep, and I'm running out of clothes to wear. But I love it. I love waking up to those kicks and envisioning kissing those little toes. I love looking at my growing belly knowing that the more I grow the more he grows. I say about a hundred prayers of thanks a day for this baby and the gift I've gotten to help create him. 

Finding the joy and being thankful for it really makes a big difference. I think that's why I'm so comfortable with this new body of mine. More than comfortable; I'm in love with it. There is no reason not to love the changes that are happening to my body. My body is swelling. For a reason. It is growing another human! He needs room and my body is making him more. 

The stretch marks will come. My stomach won't ever be the same.  But I don't want it to be. I'll be reminded of this time, this time of growing our Lewis. I'll be reminded of the struggles we went through in waiting for him to arrive. And the hopeful anticipation of his birth day. 

This is my favorite body. 

xo / leah

All photos by the ever so talented Nakalan Mckay Photography

Photos taken at 32 weeks

Maternity Photos with Nakalan Mckay

3-5-16

We hired the oh-so-talented Nakalan of Nakalan Mckay Photography to capture this season of our lives, this season of growing Lewis. I've known Nakalan for a while from the periphery (Cory went to college with her husband) and I've been admiring her work ever since I found out she was a photographer. When thinking about maternity photos I knew I wanted her to take them. To say I'm pleased is an understatement! 

When thinking about a place to do our photos I scoured Pinterest for some inspiration. But the further I looked the more I realized those beautiful yet perfectly placed backgrounds just wasn't for us. Our favorite place to be is home so it made sense for us to do a cozy in home session. 

I loved that we were able to be completely ourselves, comfortable, and relaxed in our own house. I wanted these photos to capture what life was like now, with our two pups and my 32 week growing belly. Nakalan totally understood my vision and made us feel more comfortable than we thought possible. 

Thank you Nakalan for capturing our growing family. 

All the heart eyes for these photos!

xo / leah