Today

...is my due date. And as of right now it looks like it will be coming and going with no sign of this little lady coming. I'm going a little bit crazy with this waiting game but still trying to be positive. I mean, I'm still closer than I was a month ago, right?? It sure doesn't seem like it though! Every day seems to pass soooo slow! Luckily my mom is awesome and has a bunch of presents for me to unwrap each day so that I have a little something to look forward to every day instead of just being sad that I don't have my little lady in my arms yet. Also it is wonderful to have Race home all day every Tuesday through Friday {although when he's at work for twelve hours Saturday through Monday I don't like it quite so much}. He is being so sweet to me. He is tickling my legs, putting my shoes on for me, cuddling me when I have multiple break downs throughout the day, and feeding me lots of yummy food. I am being spoiled and yet somehow I am still going a little crazy. I'm guessing that's pretty normal though.

So here's the update: I went into the doctor's today and at my office they don't check for dilation or effacement or anything. {No making fun if I'm not using all these words correctly...I still don't really understand what all that junk means. Haha.} I am working with Certified Nurse Midwives and they are not very invasive which I love. I do kind of want to know if anything is happening but I think I would be really sad to find out nothing was progressing so I'm okay with just waiting it out for now. I really do not want to be induced so I am planning on walking lots more with my mom. And my midwife said to have lots of sex so I guess we'll be trying that too! {Sorry if that's TMI!} Hopefully something works! This Friday I go in again to do a Non-Stress Test just to make sure things are okay and then next Thursday {41 weeks and 1 day} I have to go in again for my weekly check up and for an ultrasound to make sure there is still plenty of fluid in there for my little girl. I am really really hoping that I don't make it to that appointment though! I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Well, there's my little life update. I'm just waiting around and trying to get things going. I'm so ready to meet my baby girl and while I'm sure there are things I have forgotten to do I'm really not too worried about it. I'm more just looking forward to meeting my little lady. I think I have all the basics covered so I'm not going to stress too much about all the little things. Race and I can't wait to be parents and to be a part of such an amazing thing as bringing life into the world.

I'll leave you all with a quick bump update from today. I am still managing to get dressed occasionally. {Mostly just for my appointments and I throw sweats on as soon as I make it back home!}

Breakdown: 

Shirt- Shade $8 

Pants- Shade Maternity $19ish

Headband- Made by my sister-in-law

And here is a picture of my belly and Race putting my shoes on for me. I can not even close to reach my feet these days. I love him for doing this for me! :]

My Wiggly Lil' Lady & Other Random News

It is really hard to balance a laptop on your belly when your baby is constantly kicking and wiggling. I love her squirminess though. I hope it means that she's just as ready to make her appearance as I am ready to meet her and hold her in my arms! I am 37 weeks 1 day today and am so ready to have my little girl with me! I packed our hospital bags yesterday and we had our weekly appointment yesterday. The CNM {certified nurse midwife} surprised us with a quick ultrasound to double check that our little lady is head down. {She is! And has been since around 28 weeks} It was a 3D ultrasound and although we didn't get any good pictures we did get to see our little girl wiggling and opening and closing her little mouth. She had her little fist up by her mouth and she kicked the ultrasound thing while they were moving it around on my belly. It was AMAZING! And she already looks like she has cute chunky cheeks and possibly some adorably huge lips! It was the coolest ultrasound we have had! It just made me even more excited to meet her. As hard as I try to convince myself that there is a very high likelihood that she will be late I just can't  help but want her to come now! I guess we'll just wait and see what she/my body decides! So there's a quick update. In other news I am spending lots of time in the swimming pool and hanging out with my family and sisters-in-law. Race has started his new job {out of training} and works three twelve hour days and then has four days off. It's an interesting schedule but one that we're hoping will allow him to have the time to find a different job in possibly a different place that he would enjoy more. {If you hear of anything send us an email! He's willing to do just about anything that would support our little growing family. And we are willing and would love to move just about anywhere! emsmilesss {at} gmail {dot} com} Anyway, that's life lately. Surviving the summer, trying to survive the end of pregnancy, figuring out new jobs and schedules, hanging out with family, and constantly trying to figure out where we will be headed next! I hope everyone is having a happy Thursday and I'll leave you with a picture of le perfectly round bump {This picture cracks me up}.

Breakdown:

Maternity tank top: Target $6 

Cardigan: Old Navy $5

Belt: Came with some other shirt

Skirt: Made by me ~$5

Oh, and how awesome is Fry's? Thank you for not making me walk as far in this ridiculous heat with my ridiculously huge belly! 

Dressing 'Le Bump {#7}' & An Update

First off, here's a quick update on life lately! Race is mostly enjoying his job but still is planning on looking for something else now that he is out of training and has a little bit more time to do so. We are still in limbo somewhat and not sure where we'll end up long term. Any job ideas/suggestions are much appreciated! :] I am 36 weeks and 5 days pregnant today and so far I'm not going completely crazy! I am getting more uncomfortable everyday and I am definitely not enjoying the heat but I am super grateful to have a pool in the backyard, a cute swimsuit, lots of sunscreen, and air conditioning in the house! I am surviving and am so ready to meet my little girl! Only about three and a half weeks to go! There is still a lot that we need to get done before she comes but I am still not really stressing about things too much. Thank goodness! I am enjoying time with my family and with Race before our little one joins us and we are getting Bahama Bucks lots! Life is good. 

Second, does anyone have any ideas on the best websites to use to make a cute book out of all of my bump pictures?! I was going to make one on Prinstagram but you can't choose the order of your photos and that's kinda important to me considering what the photos are of! Anyway, I don't want the book to be too big because then the pictures will end up grainier than I would like. So, any ideas?? Also, I am working on making a baby brag book for my mom that will have pictures of all her grandchildren and was wondering if anyone knows a good place to make that. I want something sturdy so she can throw it in her purse and not have to worry about it falling apart. And it needs to be relatively small so that it isn't taking up all the space in her purse. Anyway, any ideas/suggestions would be very appreciated!! :]

And now for some bump photos!!!

 

Breakdown: 

Lace Shirt- Forever21 sister's 

Cardigan- Target $5 

Skirt- DownEast Basics $18 

Shoes- Target $10

Breakdown: 

Shirt- Charlotte Russe $5 

Pants- Shade Maternity $18

 Breakdown: 

Shirt- Shade Maternity $8ish

Dress made into skirt- Ross $8

I am honestly super surprised that I ever get dressed these days. Most outfits really only last me a couple of hours {while I get things done} and then I come home and either live in my underwear {in my room} or sweats and a t-shirt. So many t-shirts barely even cover my belly anymore! I just need to last for a few more weeks though! I can't wait to meet my little girl! :]

Happy Monday everyone!

Dressing 'Le Bump' {#6}

I haven't done one of these posts in a while! So I thought I should do one since my belly is significantly bigger these days! {It's hard for me to believe it has six{ish} weeks left of growing to do! AH!}

I have noticed that I take less pictures because I have been wearing a lot of repeat outfits but I need to keep taking pictures because I still want to document the bump growing. So, there might be repeat outfits {for those of you who follow me on Instagram--emmaashby}. Either that or I'll just go out and spend money on new clothes! We'll see which one actually happens.

On the blog I'll just show you the new outfits though!

{This was a week ago. So now I'm 34 weeks along.} 

Breakdown: 

Shirt- Old Navy girls' section- $5

Cardigan- Old Navy- $6ish

Belt- Charlotte Russe- $2

Maternity Pants- Shade- $19 

{I got them with an extra 30% off so they are a little bit more expensive now}

I need to wear fewer layers now that we are living in the hotter part of AZ. In other words, no more cardigans or undershirts. Any tips for dressing cool down here?? I knew at one point since I grew up here but living in Flagstaff for four years and being pregnant are two things that are not helping me adjust to the heat very well. Maybe I just need to live in the pool for the next six weeks. Good idea, eh?

Happy Wednesday everyone!

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}

Dressing 'Le Bump' {#5}

Right now I am most likely sitting at work studying for my first of two finals before I graduate. I can not wait to be done! I got lucky and have had a pretty easy last semester but it's still kind of nerve wracking not knowing if you've for sure passed your classes. I'm pretty sure I've got this graduation thing in the bag though! :] So wish me luck and while I study you can enjoy a quick bump outfit post!

Breakdown: 

Cardigan- Target $5 

Shirt- Old Navy $8 

Scarf- Borrowing from my sister 

Jeans- Target Maternity $18 

Have a Happy Tuesday everyone!! And look forward to some graduation posts later this week! And next week Race and I are headed to San Diego {Thank you Mom and Dad Ashby!!} so look forward to some posts about that coming up as well! Life is really grand right now! 

Dressing 'Le Bump' {#4} Plus a Story About the Little Miss

So recently someone said that they think I'm going to run out of cute outfits to dress up my bump. I really hope that doesn't happen anytime soon because I'm loving dressing my little lady up! We'll see how well that works when I'm further along though! So far I can still wear all my jeans {some unbuttoned some still buttoned} and most of my bigger shirts. So we'll see how much longer I can make all of that last!

Breakdown: 

Shirt- Shade Maternity $8

Cardigan- Old Navy $5

Belt- Charlotte Russe $2

Leggings- Target $10?

I got this shirt on SUPER clearance from Shade and it's a bit big right now so I pulled it down and made it into almost a dress. Haha. It is SUPER comfy though and that's all that's important, right? I also got a peach colored shirt and some black pants that I'm going to skinny up before I wear them but they are SO comfortable and they were a good deal! Yay for cheap and comfy maternity clothes! 

Okay, are you ready for the story about the Little Miss? 

I already posted this on Facebook but I figured my blog friends needed the fun, extended version. 

So last night around 3 in the morning I got up to go to the bathroom {I go to the bathroom about three times every night}. After going to the bathroom I headed back to bed and was lying on my side with my arm around my belly. All of a sudden Little Goose started squirming like crazy. Kicking and wiggling around like she was trying to get comfortable. She did this for about ten minutes and then I decided to see if she would respond to me pressing my hand up against where she was kicking. She did! So we played around with that for about ten minutes when I decided to see if she would respond to a flashlight on my belly. I put the light up against my belly and she hit it EIGHT times in a row! It was awesome! Then I moved it around some more and she would try to follow the light and hit it. It was SO cool! She has done most of these things before but last night we really just hung out doing all of this for a good thirty to forty-five minutes and it was so much fun. She is such a wiggle worm all the time but this was the most responsive she's ever been. I love to feel her move and I can't wait to meet her in about fifteen more weeks! 

Anyway, that's the story for the day! It was tons of fun! Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of my Saturday reading on our porch and hanging out with Race and Little Goose! Happy Weekend everyone! What are YOU up to? 

Dressing 'Le Bump' {#3} & Coming Soon: The Infamous ElevenThings Post!

So, I have been tagged by some bloggers to join in the eleven things post. Unfortunately I have been in and out of the blogging game for the past few months so I cannot for the life of me remember everyone who has tagged me! I want to link up to all of you lovely ladies in my post so please comment or email me and let me know so I can link to your blog and say thank you! I am going to blame pregnancy brain for this as well! So anyway, please send me a quick email or comment and I will link away when I write the post in a couple of days! And next time you tag me in something I promise I will be a better blogger and do it faster so I don't forget!

Before I leave since that stuff is pretty boring I thought I'd leave you with a quick Dressing 'Le Bump' post! This little bump is basically the only reason I get dressed these days and I am loving dressing my baby already! I feel bad for my Facebook friends because I post new bump pictures everyday. I'm pretty sure the only person my bump is exciting for is me! Oh well though! They are still nice and comment on my  pictures! One of my friends commented and asked if my baby was going to come out dressed cute. She better! No, she doesn't have to but right now I am working on figuring out what her first outfit will be. It's so fun looking at little tiny baby clothes and imagining my sweet little one in them. I can't wait to meet her!

Breakdown: 

Lace Shirt- Forever 21 Little Girls' Section $8

Undershirt- Target $3

Cardigan- Target $5

Jeans- Kohl's $15

I still don't wear tons of maternity clothes which is totally fine with me. I'm sure the day will come when I have to wear them a lot more! Haha. But until then I'll enjoy wearing baggier shirts and belting them to show off my growing little lady! I totally bought this shirt for my little sister a while back and then borrowed {read: stole} it back a few weeks ago. I'm such a nice sister! 

Anyway, that's the bump and blogging update. Other than all of that life has been great! School and work aren't driving me too insane and Race and I are really enjoying being able to spend most evenings together. This is a first in our marriage since in the past we have had jobs that prevent this. We love it though! I am hopefully having my sister and sister-in-law come up to visit at the end of this week and then heading home with them to go through the temple with one of my best friends from high school this weekend! She is heading out on a mission to Chicago, Illinois {where Race served!} in May and I am so excited for her! I'll be back soon for more life updates and maybe a pregnancy update questionnaire thing! And of course don't forget to let me know if you tagged me! I have a list going I just don't want to forget anyone! 

Have a wonderful day everyone! 

Dressing 'Le Bump' {#2}

This is from a week ago but I was so excited that my bump was showing from the front in the bottom picture! I still have to accentuate it a little bit but this is exciting stuff ladies! Haha. I am having so much fun watching my baby grow! Tomorrow I will be twenty weeks {HALFWAY!!} and Little Goose will be the size of a small cantaloupe! What?! That's crazy to me but oh so cool!  

Now on to some pregnancy style!

'Le Breakdown': 

Headband: Made by my sister-in-law Nikki

Shirt: Hand-me-down dress from my sister-in-law Jasmine {turned into a shirt by my sister Helena--I was not happy at her for cutting this dress but it worked well for this outfit! Haha.}

Jeans: Old Navy skinnies {$4.50!!} I used the hair tie trick for the first time with these jeans. It kinda worked but I had to do extra loops because it made the jeans a little bit TOO big.

Also, this was one of my first attempts at color blocking! How'd I do?! 

Dressing 'Le Bump'

Like I said in my last post, I really have been enjoying dressing my growing bump. :] For the most part I have not bought maternity clothes. I got some maternity jeans on sale at Target that I have yet to wear and some shorts at Savers that I also have not worn yet. Before I was pregnant I bought a couple of maternity shirts that I liked just as shirts so I have worn those but that's it! I'm sure I will need more maternity clothes at some point but for now I'm enjoying leggings and skirts/dresses a lot and most of my jeans still fit so far! Thank goodness! Anyway, here's the breakdown of one of my favorite comfy maternity outfits as of late!

Breakdown: 

Shirt/Dress thing: Target Maternity {one of the shirts I bought forever ago} $5

Sweater: Old Navy $6

Leggings: Target $8

Shoes: Target $7

Headband: Made by my sister-in-law Jackie!

Necklace: F21 $1.50

Bracelets: Made by my sister-in-law Nikki!

This outfit is so comfy and cute so I've worn it a few times. I try and change it up some but it's pretty much the same thing. I guess more comfy maternity shirts like this one would be great! I'm just cheap so I'll only be buying them if they're on sale. So keep a lookout for me! 

P.S. If anyone has some awesome tips for where to buy maternity clothes and stuff I'm all ears! 

I hope you all are having a wonderful Saturday! 

Sometimes I Get Dressed

For a couple of weeks over winter break I did not get dressed AT ALL. I wore my bathrobe all day and it was wonderful (Race would disagree with that statement). Now that school and work have taken over my life I have actually had to make an effort to get up and get dressed every day. It really is a lot of work sometimes. I do know that I don't want to end up in my bathrobe for my whole pregnancy though so I am really trying to make an effort to dress cute regularly. This usually means I get my hair and makeup done and my outfit is just okay or I have a cute outfit and don't bother with my hair and makeup. Life is all about the give and take, right?

Here is an outfit from this past week that I was pretty happy with. Let me know what you think!

Breakdown: 

Shirt-Target $4

Cardigan- Old Navy $3

Skirt- Forever21 $6.50

Tights- Old Navy $2

Shoes- Hand-me-downs FREE

This outfit ended up being super comfy and I loved the colors together. AND because the skirt is so stretchy it's an outfit I hope to be able to wear for a while...at least until my stomach is HUGE.

I am grateful for cute, comfy clothes that help me get off of my lazy bum in the morning and get headed out the door in style! 

Have a wonderful day everyone!