The last leg and a lately list

As of tuesday, this belly is officially 28 weeks, which means we are in the last leg of pregnancy! What.the.heck. How did 3rd trimester sneak up so fast!? I will say, we are getting pretty anxious about meeting baby girl soon, so the fact that it's getting closer is definitely exciting! But then... I think about labor getting closer too...and thats when a little bit a fear sinks in and trumps that excitement sometimes. *sigh*. I've talked to plenty of mamas, read stories, watched documentaries (whoa is all I have to say about that)... so basically have heard it all. But I still think nothing can fully prepare me for what lies ahead in the labor and delivery room. Because if there is one thing I have taken away from everyone I've spoken too and everything I've read - it's that every labor is different and no two women are the same. So as we embark on this last leg of pregnancy and prepare for D-Day, we just keep praying that we would not let fear get the best of us, but that we would trust God, my body, and this process that He has designed. And what a sweet gift we will be blessed with at the end of it all :) So keep praying for us, folks!

So...enough about labor. Let's get you caught up a little on what us Whites have been up to! Since I've been pretty bad about updating regularly, my favorite way to "effectively" give a catch up-update is by just giving you a Lately List (as I like to call it), which is pretty much a picture list of a few things we've been up to over the last couple of months/weeks. First up:

1) Weddings! Baby girl has already been a guest to 4 weddings so far! We love this season of dear friends uniting in this sweet covenant and feel so blessed to take part in this special time in their lives. Here's a little shot of us at a wedding for a dear friend of mine from high school! It was so fun to catch up with friends from the past and see where everyone is at now...it was sort of like a mini reunion :) So best wishes to the new Mr. and Mrs. Lapastora! Thanks for including the "3" of us in your special day!

 
2) We moved...again! ha. Yes, hello 4th address in 2 1/2 years! Yikes. But want to know the kicker? We just moved 2 houses down....so at least we can say it was the easiest move ever! As to why we moved just 2 houses down? long story. But lets just say it was for the best. AND, if gave us the opportunity to finally paint some walls before we moved in. We never found it worth it to paint our other rentals because we knew they would all be pretty temporary  - but I'd had enough of plain white walls this time around, so we finally agreed to add a little color! And ALL the thanks goes to my wonderful in-laws for doing ALL the painting! Seriously - big thank you. The way you continue to love and serve us is such a blessing!

3) The nursery is underway! Of course I made sure this was the first room to be painted, as I was dying to get the first step started :) And I made sure to snap this little "sneak peek" picture to document the first little look. So stay tuned for the rest of the progress and final product!

 4) Andrew is now a 2 time Softball Champ! ha ;)  Andrew played on a softball team that my Step-dad put together , made up of mainly close family and friends.  So it was always a good time to go watch them play every week, as the "fans" were mostly family. And of course, these boys are always a hoot to watch and be around. So congrats WGTR for your second season as champs!

 5) Mini Beach Vacay: After having some crazy busy work weeks along with moving houses, Andrew and I decided it was time for a little "getaway". Our goal: A beach. Relaxation. Cheap. Fortunately, we have a friend who owns a little place down in Sandbridge, and was kind enough to let us stay there for free! So we packed our bags, extended our 4th of July vacation from work and headed down to Sandbridge for a long, relaxing weekend. Let me tell ya - time away, especially at the beach, is SO good for the soul! And exactly what this very-pregnant mama needed! It was SUPER hot the couple of days we were there (in the 100's), but was also the perfect excuse to live in the water the whole time :) BLISS, I tell ya. So thanks again Mike, for your generosity! These 2 "almost-parents" were so refreshed and blessed by this time away together, relaxing, and soaking up this last little bit of time "us" time before baby!

 Why, hey there, big ol-sun bathing belly!

5) Prayer Request: I wanted to include this in here not really as an update about us, but more for my family - and our need for extra prayer right now! Without getting too detailed, I will just say that my Aunt is currently at UVA preparing to receive a liver transplant tomorrow. My family (particularly my grandparents), have been through so much throughout this process with my Aunt, and we have all been praying hard for her, and her health and recovery. I so strongly and firmly believe that God is bigger than ANYTHING, and any sickness and illness -- so we have been praying hard that He would be with her and my family during this time to bring her healing. Because I also believe that prayer is SO powerful, I would like to extend this need of prayer, and ask if you all would pray for my Aunt and my family - for her healing, health and protection, and for my family who is at UVA with her now - for their strength and emotions as they support her bedside.

Bless you all for taking the time to catch up on our lives, for praying for us, and for always encouraging us!

XOXO
Brittany

So far....

Hi there, week 24 bump belly!

...this pregnancy has been pretty nice and easy for me (other than the few beginning weeks where food in general wasn't exactly my favorite). And for that, I am SO grateful!

So far:

-no crazy cravings like pickles with peanut butter, but I have had a few main cravings, like apples, fruit, blueberry waffles, and lately...half & half (Tea & Lemonade -not the coffee creamer). Unfortunately, there have been 2 aversions: seafood and sweet potatoes...blah! Crazy, right? Can't touch them, can't think about them, can't go near them. Praying, though, that I can go back to liking these after baby girl arrives!

-I've managed to only buy a few pieces of maternity clothing and have somehow "creatively" found ways to extend my pre-pregnancy wardrobe (which also has helped extend the wallet. score!). I've even found it to be quite a fun "challenge" :)

-sleep has been great! I think I have to give this credit to my mothers day gift. I now swear by this thing for a restful, sleep-filled night.

-my favorite tips/advice/things I've learned so far have all come from current/new mommas and their first hand experience. So forget the books. Just tell me what you know!

-Baby Girl has been VERY active. My favorite is how she always lets me know she is (er, we are?) hungry by giving me some good nudges when my belly starts rumbling. It's quite cute. And I'm thinking she's already taking after her momma...who gets kind of cranky when hungry. oops! And then, every time, about 20 minutes after I eat, she always gives me some more good nudges and kicks...which I hope means she's happy!? Either way...I love feeling her move. LOVE it.

-every check up has been good, her heart beat has been strong and healthy, and there have been no complications or concerns. Extra praises for that!

-I've had to restrain myself from buying out the entire baby girl section at target, and ordering every sweet and cute baby girl outfit from Gap and other online retailers. SELF CONTROL is definitely being practiced here, people. But I have loved browsing baby girl nursery ideas! Adorable, to say the least. And surprisingly, (taking into account my very indecisive nature) I've been able to pick out a color palette and "main idea" for her nursery. If you're a follower on pinterest, I'm sure you can tell what it is :)

-I haven't had any crazy strangers come and touch my belly or say crazy things to me. But yes, I know...I'm sure it's coming as baby girl gets bigger. Oh, lord, please help me to be nice!

-the thought of having a girl does make us "nervous" at times, (trust me, I understand the differences in sons and daughters) but most of all we're just thankful for this little life and know & trust that the Lord has placed a daughter in our lives on purpose. He never does anything by chance or mistake. I love picturing Andrew as a father to a daughter and love knowing that she will have such a loving daddy to lead her, teach her, protect her and nuture her. Also thanks, Mark Driscoll, for your awesome sermons where you mention your own daughters and give some great examples, encouragement and truth to raising them. We can't wait to see how this little girl does, in fact, change us at the very deepest level.

Little LADY on the way

I'm officially the worst at blogging in a timely manner. ugh. It's only been...oh...almost 2 weeks since we had the big reveal!? Oh well. Forgive me? Besides, thats what facebook is for...to "officially" announce stuff on there, right? ha.

Anyways, just in case you still care to know how the big reveal happened, here's a little recap post!

 Saturday, May 19th, we had a lovely little gathering where we finally found out that we have a sweet little LADY on the way! :)

Andrew and I always knew (even before the baby-on-the-way was a reality) that we wanted to do something fun one day when it came time to find out whether we were having a boy or girl. So once it was a reality, the planning was in place! I always thought a reveal cake was a cute idea and it just so happens that my best friend Jessie is pretty legit at making awesome cakes...so I knew it would be a perfect fit and a perfect plan! Her cake ended up exceeding anything I could have imagined (as I knew it would), and I love knowing that we will always have this fun, sweet memory of finding out about our baby girl! (Thanks a million, JK!) So yep...sweet Baby White is now sweet Baby GIRL White :) And we couldn't be more thrilled!

Now, for a little picture recap of how it all went down....

No reveal party would be complete without some adorable little man/little lady decorations! The talented Jessie was also the awesome creator of these adorable chocolate candy props.

Didn't I say Jessie was legit?! As much as I was dying to cut into this cake to see the inside, I was also dying, knowing I would ruin such a beautiful thing!

We had each guest wear a little man mustache, or a little lady bow depending on what their guess was...let's just say, majority were convinced it was a boy. Sorry folks!

Currently, I'm obssesed with making these cute yarn pom poms for party decorations - perfect, simple DIY decor for any event!

 20 week bump - baby girl is growing!

Here's some series shots for ya'll, to get a glimpse of our initial reactions as we cut the cake. I'd say, they were pretty priceless :)

To sum it up - I bawled like a baby from the excitement and reality of it, and Andrew looked scared (but happy!) to death. ha! There were so many emotions going, but in the end, we were both so thrilled to call ourselves parents of a sweet baby girl!

                                    

Can't wait for baby girl to meet her awesome Aunt Jessie!

                                     

Pink Cake!

Since Jessie was the ONLY one who knew the gender before the reveal party, she was sweet enough to buy us the first gender appropriate baby outfit - the sight of Andrew holding this onesie with "daddy's girl" totally brought me to tears! I'm such a sap. And I can't wait to see him hold that precious litte girl soon.

Oh, heyyy bumps! Baby Girl White meeting her future husband...I mean, friend, Haddon! ;) (p.s. he's due in like, 2 weeks, and we can't wait to meet him! c'mon Haddon!)

Well there you have it! We love referring to my bump as our baby girl...and just in case you were wondering....yes, we will keep referring to her as baby girl because we've decided to keep her name a secret until she arrives. Sorry, folks!

Clearly, we just love secrets...can't you tell? :)

XO, Brittany and Baby Girl White

Little Man or Little Lady?

Today was the day! We woke up this morning, so excited to go to the doctor's office to see pictures of our little baby...and to finally find out if, come September, we will be bringing a home a little son or little daughter!

So the gender is known!....just not by us. YET.

Yes. That's right. We're are waiting until this weekend to find out with our nearest and dearest. I know...we're crazy. And yes...it's already killing me. But it will be so worth it to have our loved ones around us as we make the big reveal!

...So stay tuned for the results this weekend :) In the meantime...what's your guess?
I think it's a girl. Mainly because all this baby wants to eat is apples and sweets!

A day for Moms and Moms-to-be!

Yesterday we celebrated some pretty special women in our lives. Women who have birthed, raised, shaped, loved and nurtured us. Women who have been a blessing in our lives, and who we are proud to call our Moms. 

What's even more special about this day for moms, is that some of us are gaining this honored name for the first time! 

My baby may not be in my arms yet, but he/she is definitely with me! As my belly grows, I know my baby is also. As my baby kicks and wiggles, I get to feel it. I'm still getting to nurture, feed, and love my baby, just in a physically different way...from the inside. This mother/child bond is already forming, and therefore I already consider myself a mommy...A mommy who is SO excited to see and hold my very first baby for the very first time. I already love this little life inside of me.

See baby grow! 11 weeks / 19 weeks!

A mommy who is so thankful for my own mom, who is the most amazing mom a girl could dream of. A mom who I can easily say is a best friend and who I was honored to have standing next to me on my wedding day as my matron of honor. Mom, I can only hope and pray to follow in your footsteps, to be at least half of the amazing mother that you are to me! 

And to all the other wonderful mother figures in my life, THANK YOU, for being such wonderful role models. For teaching me and showing me the power and wonder of motherly love. For encouraging me and supporting me as I get ready to join your club. 

So to all you special women who hold this lovely title...I hope you felt extra loved yesterday and always!