face to face.

If we were to have a conversation right now, in person...

You would probably stare at my stomach for a few seconds before asking how far along I am (because you don’t read my blog and know already; we’re pretending here.)

I would respond that I’m a day short of 36 weeks.

Your eyes would shoot back to my stomach and you would announce that you never would have guessed, that I look so small. 

I’ll smile politely and refrain from saying, Everyone says that; way to be original. Because my husband likes my sass, and it makes my mother–in–law laugh, but some people just don’t get it. 

You may notice me rubbing my feet. And upon further inspection you might also notice that they are three sizes too big and that my toes look like small sausages. 

At this point, you might become concerned. Because my stomach is smaller than you think it should be and my feet are much larger. 

You won’t say anything about this, though. You’ll just try to take my mind off of it by asking if it’s a girl or a boy. And if we have a name picked out yet. 

After I tell you the names we’re thinking, I’ll probably make you pinky promise that you won’t steal them. Because identity theft is not a joke and it took us a long time to come up with those names; they’re technically our intellectual property. 

You might respond by laughing, but then you’ll see my face and realize just how serious I am. 

You’ll probably notice my stomach jumping a bit as we talk. You’ll ask if you can feel and you’ll sit there with your hand on my stomach for three minutes, just waiting. And she won’t move. An inch. And she does that to everyone (except Jordan on occasion) so please don’t be offended. You can’t expect her to be anything less than sassy with the genes she’s getting. 

The conversation will probably end somewhat awkwardly, as most ones like this often do, and we’ll part ways (hopefully in different directions. It’s always awkward to end a conversation only to find out that you’re both headed in the same direction; do you keep talking or ignore one another for the next five minutes as you walk eight feet apart?). Either way, please don’t mention the slight waddle I’ve developed, or my limp. 

And if you see my husband first, you’re welcome to have this conversation with him instead. Except don’t ask to feel his stomach. That would be weird. 

pregnancy apparel.

I saw these t-shirts today. And was honestly tempted to buy one. Because A: answering the same questions over and over again every day can be a little exhausting. And B: I think they’re pretty funny.

Maybe I’ll just make my own and answer all the questions in one swoop. 

July 28
Girl
Emmalynn or Elsie

Today I walked into one of my classes and my teacher hollered, “When’s that baby due!” Then the shocked TA admitted that he didn’t even know I was pregnant. “You hide it well; you’re so small.”

I get that every day, too. And I’m never quite sure how to respond. Yes, I know? Or, Thank you? Neither seem to work very well.

I mean really... think about how much time I could save myself in the next 36 days if I had that shirt. I’m estimating about 18 hours.

It might just be a must. And this shirt might be a must for Jordan.

sixty-four is a good number.

All I can think about lately is staying caught up on school. So that just in case this little girl decides to come five weeks early like her dad did, I'll be prepared.

That's left little time for things such as blogging. And lately, sleep.

But I found a few minutes to squeeze in a post because a lot has been going on lately. We've now reached the 30th week of the pregnancy. Only sixty-four days to go.

64!

A few weeks ago at our monthly doctor's visit, we had an unplanned ultrasound to make sure Baby Girl was safe and healthy (don't worry, she is). And while it wasn't done under the best of circumstances and while I was a little (ok, a lot) worried the entire time, it was a nice little first Mother's Day gift to get to see her. She has grown so much these past ten weeks and I can't wait to see her again in July.

And did I mention that people can finally tell I’m pregnant? Yes, that baby bump has officially shown up. Here’s the proof. 

In other news, our little giveaway from Love, Kelsie Rae (yes, it's long overdue, I know) finally has a winner:

Just shoot Kelsie an email (kelsieraec@gmail.com) with your address, she'll get this cute little headband sent off to you!

letter to baby.

Dear Baby,

Your dad and I have been married for a year and a half and yesterday was the first time he saw me tie my shoes. He laughed at me. And told me I did it weird.

And I told him that he better get use to it because that's how you'll be tying your shoes; I'm going to teach you.

He insisted that he'll be doing the teaching, and that if I try to interfere, he'll just reteach you. We're going to have to settle this issue before you reach shoe tying age. That kind of inconsistency would not be good for you.

And then there's the whole issue of how you'll make your tacos. And your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I'll let you take after him with the tacos (because let's be honest, he does make them better), but take my advice on the PB&J: peanut butter on both sides, jelly in the middle. Trust me on this.

And please trust me when I say that you are heaven sent. And that your dad and I love you to pieces already.

We will always be here for you. Even in matters as trivial as how to make a good taco.

patience.

All I can think about lately is this little girl. And motherhood. And beginning this new stage of life with Jordan. And how great of a father he'll be.

I can't stop thinking about car seats and cribs and onesies and hospitals. Our neighbor showed us the quickest route to the delivery room yesterday. And the pregnancy checklist keeps on thebump.com keeps getting shorter and shorter.

Our neighbor had her baby last week. Seven weeks early. (That equals a lot of time at the hospital which equals knowing the fastest way there.) And that's made all this planning seem like it should be happening that much faster.

And yet, there's still not much of a baby bump around here, which makes that due date seem a long while off. She can take her time, though; I'll be patient.

For now, we'll go shopping for a car seat this weekend with my parents. And maybe decide on a crib. We'll keep going to our monthly doctor's visits and I'll keep wishing that every one included an ultrasound. I just love watching this little girl; feeling her move and grow is magical, but seeing it is a whole different kind of wonderful.

I can't wait to see what holding those wiggles will be like.

addition.

pictures from a beautiful, quiet Sunday drive. 

I don't think we fully appreciate certain blessings until we receive others; they build upon and magnify the previous ones.

It took expecting a child to help me understand womanhood. Twenty-one years, marriage, and countless experiences as a woman, and that one little moment brought it all home.

As I understand my role as a woman, I begin to get a better handle on marriage. Understanding my role in the partnership has helped me to see the big picture and the purpose of it all has become more clear. Understanding my role helps me to understand my husband's and has made me love him even more.

Those things, womanhood, motherhood and wifehood complement one another so perfectly. As you grow in one capacity, you grow in the other two as well. As your understanding of one deepens, you gain a greater understanding of all three. They are inseparable.

As I draw closer to becoming a mother, I become more thankful for my opportunity to be a wife; I grow more thankful for the blessings and opportunities that come with womanhood.

Good things like this never take away from one another, they only add.

simple solutions.

The other night a friend and I were talking about our homes. She said that she doesn't like to bring things that aren't beautiful into her home; and that she wants to fill her home with unique things, items that can't be found in every other home on the block.

I find myself feeling the same way. And I don't think that's a bad thing. We all want to create a space to call our own, a place that reflects us, individually. And we can't get that when we mimic page 38 of the latest IKEA catalog. (Although I'll be the first to admit that just about everything in the catalog makes me swoon!)

While that has been an unconscious goal of mine, it's been hard to do on a college student budget. I've had to dig deep and squeeze out all the creative juice that I can to create a space that Jordan and I can feel at home in... without spending a ton of money.

It's also taken some compromise. For nineteen years, my room was my space, to be decorated how and with whatever I pleased. Now, each decorating decision needs two stamps of approval instead of one.

We've learned together, however, that the best things for us and our home are the simplest. And that's how we try to approach the decorating problems we face: with the simplest solution.

And I'd like to share a few of those solutions with you. So next week will be devoted to doing just that: starting Monday, we'll talk home and how we can each make our's a space where we (and the men in our lives) can feel comfortable and how we can do so frugally.


In other news... it's about time I shared some baby bump pictures with you all. (You might have to squint a little, but there is a baby in there. I promise.)

week 19

week 20

it's a...

We're having a girl! It took the ultrasound tech quite a while to get a clear shot, and even though she could already tell what it was, she wanted to wait to tell us until we could see for ourselves. It was a rough couple of minutes waiting for this little girl to calm down enough to snap a picture.

By the time they were ready to take pictures of her face with the 3D sensor, she had worn herself out and was done. She curled herself up in a ball, hid her face behind her hands and started yawning. But really.

After wiggling for thirty minutes straight, I'd be ready for a nap, too. Jordan says she's gonna be an athlete; the technician said she'll make a good gymnast because she's so flexible. Who knows. Maybe she'll do parkour or be an interpretive dancer.

Here are the names we're thinking for our new little girl:

What do you think? Which one's your favorite?

letter to baby.

Dear Baby, 

Today while we were sitting in church, a man told a story about losing his son four days after he was born. The man talked about how badly he had wanted to keep that child with him, how much he had loved him. 

But what did that child do to merit that kind of love? That unconditional, all-encompassing love?

What have you done to make me love you so much? What has any unborn child done to make their mothers love them? Make them throw up? Kick 'em?

And yet, that almost always comes. And it's come in bunches with you, my dear. I've loved you from the beginning, the very very start. Each day I'm reminded of the love I already have for you, the love I've always had for you. 

We get to see you tomorrow, to hear your heartbeat, to see whether you're a little boy or girl and dear, we can't wait. Dad thinks you're a boy, and I'm betting on a girl. We'll see. 

You're great, you're active and we love you. A lot. 

shop opening: day 1.

It's finally open! That Pair of Crutches is now on Etsy!

For the next week, I'll be adding a couple of items to the shop every day, and will introduce them here on the blog. The week-long celebration will be full of other fun surprises as well!

Join in on this week's celebration by liking TPOC's new page on Facebook and you'll get a special shop discount. For every 100 subscribers we get we'll do a giveaway!

So, new in the TPOC shop today: the "Love is Like" print and card.

When I fell in love with my husband, my whole world changed. The feeling came so subtly and was so natural, and yet, after it was rooted in my heart, everything was different. From that moment on, I couldn't imagine life without him.

That same feeling came when I felt this little one kick for the first time. That was the moment it all became real: we're having a child. That tiny kick, that realization changed everything once more. I now have someone else to love, someone else to share my heart with. And even though I can't hold this little someone in my arms yet, they are here, they are real and they are mine... and I can't imagine life without them.

Love is like having a color television set. You never wanna go back to black and white. 


Head on over to the shop to check it out and stay tuned for more products to come!

there's gonna be a baby around here and it's starting to show.

No... not in the stomach area. But in these teeny outfits* that have been making their way into our laundry. And this guy that hides in our closet.

This whole baby business hit a lot closer to home when I washed a few baby pieces with Jordan and I's clothes. It was so weird folding those tiny pieces of fabric!

And although you can't quite tell from the picture, that elephant is about two feet tall... sitting down. Maybe we'll use it as a pillow or something til baby's old enough for it, or at least as tall as it is.

*yes they are all striped. what of it?

long time, no see. and what's been happening in the meantime.

For those of you who haven't heard... we're having a baby!

We had our first ultrasound in January and what an active little thing this baby is! It took the tech forever to get baby to sit still long enough to snap a few good shots. Let's just hope they'll stay still long enough for the doc to be able to tell us the gender at our next ultrasound!

Last Tuesday we felt our first undoubtably recognizable kick (I may or may not have cried a little), and this baby hasn't stopped since. It's so weird and beautiful and amazing to feel this tiny being growing... INSIDE me! Even if that means I get less sleep at night because I can now actually feel that growth.

I read this post today, and again, might have cried a little. Because I couldn't agree with her more: I knew this little person, I know this little person, inside me. And in a few short months, we'll get to have a happy reunion. It's so wonderful and so true.

Eighteen weeks in and I already feel so connected to this beautiful child, because I already am; we started our relationship a long time ago, and now we're just picking up where we left off.

And it's a little amazing to think about...

In other news... I'd like to apologize for stepping away from this blog for so long. Our little "month of thanks" posts were interrupted with the announcement of a baby (something we're really thankful for), two holidays, finals and the husband and I both starting our own businesses. It's been whirlwind ever since.

But everything has finally settled in and settled down and I'm back. Cross my heart.


Here are the first photos of Baby Bowman. The head and body might be a little out of proportion, but we're working on it.