I am sad to say I did not get out my Christmas cards this year. :( I had them all picked and ready to go but with the arrival of Finley I figured no one wanted a baby bump picture now. Oh well, Merry Late Christmas!

The last blog makes me laugh.. I just thought I had 6 weeks to go, try more like 3 days!! So no,  the crib was not in, the chair nor the rug was ordered and neither was the dresser or curtains. So when the doctor told me I was having her on Sunday I burst into tears with the thought of the nursery not being finished. Little did I know at the time that was the least of my worries.


It all started Saturday in birthing class. Sure it was educational but more then anything I think it made me realize this was really going to happen. In a short 6 weeks I would be here laying in that bed, hooked up to those machines and bringing a baby home to live with us forever! Needless to say I was a little nervous... Ok a lot nervous and the butterflies stayed with me all day. After class we headed to Birmingham to our friends annual Christmas party. Still not feeling so hot we decided to stay the night in Birmingham before heading to Memphis the next morning for a baby shower my sister was hosting. I went to bed with my butterflies and terrible heartburn. I never thought heartburn could hurt so bad to the point where I was in the bathroom all night and did not get a wink of sleep. When the alarm went off at 7am and woke Thomas up to head to Memphis I suggested calling the doctor and asking how long heart burn can last. Whatever was causing it had to be digested by now! Well the doctor suggested we come back to Montgomery to get checked out. In my head I was thinking, can't he just call in some medicine to a walgreens up here?!? But we headed back to Montgomery anyways hoping we could get right back on the road and head north to Memphis and arrive before the shower started. Well, I missed the shower... when we arrived at the hospital they had me do the standard tests and then we sat and waited. Impatiently thinking we have got to get on the road! Well when the doc came back in with the results he also came with the tool to break my water. Needless to say that was a scary moment! I had developed HELLP syndrome accompanied with preeclampsia. It stands for : Hemolytic anemia, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count. Aka.. not so good and the only cure was to deliver. 


So a few short hours later, our little girl arrived into the world six weeks early coming in at 4lbs 1 oz and 17 inches long. And she was perfect! No oxygen needed or anything major. She spent the next 10 days in the NICU and then made it home for Christmas. I will never forget this Christmas. It was the first away from both mine and Thomas's families but the first of our new family, just the 3 of us. God showed us his power and strength through this whole thing. We are very blessed to be where we are today and have our health and little girl. Thank you to all our friends and family for your prayers.  

I know you have been on the edge of your seat with my fabric/crib decision.. :) j/k but I did finally decide which made for a very happy husband and a few friends that I was driving crazy along the way. I went with the bright pink/green fabric and a different brown crib all together. The only problem is I have never seen this crib in person before! Yikes! It will be delivered on the 17th and I am hoping I love it. Now if I can just get the grandmas on the bedding. :)

We did get the room painted! Thomas's parents were sweet enough to spend their weekend painting when they visited us for a shower.



Besides the crib and paint I still have A LOT to do for the nursery. Rug, Chair, Curtains, Dresser.. when is it all going to get done!?!? The next 6 weeks are going to be BUSY!

And I would love to share shower pictures that my amazing friends threw me in Montgomery but some how I lost them :( It makes me sick! I have been working on my photography career and spending a lot of time editing pictures for people and I think somehow mine got lost in the mix and deleted. :( Thank goodness I do have the group picture on a separate camera :)


These girls know how to throw a shower! It was filled with awesome food, flowers and even bottled coke! Thanks for an awesome shower girls!

Life has become a whirl wind of work, photography, and baby. If it doesn't fall under those three categories then I have either forgotten or haven't thought about it. Thomas is getting a little frustrated with my forgetfulness but I just say "hey, blame it on the pregnancy brain." But with that pregnancy brain comes stress from getting ready for the baby. I never realized how many choices there are in this world when it comes to cribs, strollers, bedding, bottles, and on and on! Thank goodness for all the help registering... I would have never made it out of the stores alive.

I am currently stuck on the crib/bedroom decor decision. My mom and Thomas's mom offered to make the bedding (because in all those bedding choices I couldn't find anything, sad I know) so I have been hitting the fabric stores from Memphis to Montgomery and even Eclectic Alabama. And of course I am still suck on the first fabric I saw. Typical I know, just like a wedding dress when most brides buy the first one they tried on after the other 100 they try on after that. The only dilemma with my fabrics is the choice of crib. Thomas and I finally narrowed it down to one crib (after a month of debating) but it comes in several colors. I was looking for something a little more fun and funky so I picked out the "sea mist" crib and Thomas picked the traditional brown. But the problem occurs when the fabric that matches my choice is more blue and purple and limits room color and accessories. The fabric swatch that matches Thomas's is more my speed in bright yellows, pinks, and lime greens. (Did I mention this is not the typical pastel baby room??)
Side Note: That was my plan, baby pink and grey. Well until I walked into a yellow nursery at a friends house and decided I want a bright nursery too!

Anyway, below is the crib and fabric swatches. What do you think? Green and funky or bright and cheery??

I am officially taking the a big leap and starting my own photo business. Photography has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl and I feel like it is time to get out there and finally use what all I have learned all these years. I hope to bring joy to families lives by capturing the big leaps of life so that they may cherish their memories forever.

I could have never done it without the love and support of my family and friends. Thanks for all encouragement and support!

So hop on over and check out my new photo blog... Big Leaps Photography.

http://bigleapsphoto.blogspot.com/