Halloween 2013

Our Halloween was just perfect! The morning started out  in cute Halloween jammies and hanging out with cousin Madison. These girls just have too much fun together! Especially when they aren't fighting!

That evening we got the girls dressed up to go trick-or-treating. Holland and Madison were little Pocahontas girls. I made their tutus, Tyne found their cute necklaces at American Eagle and then we grabbed a couple of things from their closets and Hobby Lobby to complete the look. We thought they looked pretty adorable in their costumes! They had TONS of fun trick-or-treating. Knocking on the doors and grabbing handfuls of candy! Holland always wanted to go back for more! We made it to quite a few houses and luckily it wasn't too cold for the girls. It definitely wore Holland out because she slept great that night! 

We didn't get any family pictures so this will have to count. 

{Also, can you spot my 16.5 week baby bump?!} 

Our three trick-or-treaters: Ava, Madison, and Holland {who didn't look in any of the group photos!}

When we got back to the house we let the girls dig into their candy for a few minutes while we watched an episode of The Walking Dead. It is kind of Halloween tradition for Race and I. The second year we were married we watched a bunch of the first season while passing out candy. I got so scared every time someone knocked on our door--I was pretty happy when we ran out of candy. The show still scares me so I mostly tune out but it is definitely a fun tradition! 

It was a successful Halloween! I loved dressing Holland up and hey, I can't complain about free candy! Maybe next year we'll actually do some type of family costume...we'll see! I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Thoughts on Pregnancy

I never know how to respond when people ask me how my pregnancy has been. A lot of times I feel like I am expected to rant and rave about how awful and hard it is.

After a lot of time spent thinking about it I have found my answer. I love being pregnant. This is not because it has been easy. I threw up every day {or multiple times a day} for weeks. When I wasn't throwing up I was nauseous. But I have loved so many other aspects of being pregnant.

I love watching my baby bump grow. I love feeling my sweet girl move around and explore her {very small} surroundings. I love thinking about her learning how to stretch and use her body. I love dressing my bump and taking pictures every day {even though everyone else might be bored with them}. I love listening to her heart beat with my phone app. I love to watch my belly move and take videos of it to send to my family {even if it's really only exciting to me}.

I have dealt with the aches and pains of pregnancy and Race hears plenty of moaning and groaning from me. Whether it's about how I can't reach my feet anymore or get up from the couch or how my ribs ache from having HIS daughter {she's his daughter when she's making me uncomfortable and mine when she's being fun ;)} all jammed up in there. However, I have been blessed to mostly remember the good, fun things. Race will remind me that there have been days I absolutely hated being pregnant and have cried lots and just laid around because I felt so sick. But, I have been able to forget those things {the majority of the time} and I have been able to enjoy this amazing experience despite the hard times. I am grateful that my body is capable of bringing life into this world. I am excited to give birth to my sweet baby and to finally get to meet her. I think I will miss feeling her move inside me all the time but I will love to finally be able to hold her in my arms.

So, next time someone asks me how my pregnancy has been I will respond by telling them that I absolutely love it!

And now for some fun bump pictures from my pregnancy! 

{Spanning 16-32 weeks}