Thursday, July 26, 2012

A Fulfilled Dream

Yesterday we drove to the most adorable little town called Brantome.   We had time to kill before my sister got back from Spain so we decided to go exploring.  Our GPS was taking us all sorts of back woods routes to this little town and we were a bit concerned we would never get there....

This may sound a little bit silly, but there are some moments that I have imagined in my head that spark magic.  Your very first kiss, "Will You Marry Me?", walking down the aisle at my wedding, the positive pregnancy test, holding our first child... those are the BIG moments.  But I'm talking about some simple, small moments.  Someday catching fireflies in the front yard of a house that we OWN,  go sailing on crystal blue water and pack a picnic, swim directly next to a waterfall, and stand in the middle of a field FULL of sunflowers.  

So sure enough... after all these twisty roads, we stumbled upon about 10 SUNFLOWER FIELDS! You can ask Logan... I was completely and totally in awe yesterday.  It was even more than I had imagined. The scene before my eyes had literally walked out of my dreams.  It wasn't just a few yards deep... it was HILLS upon HILLS upon HILLS of straight sunflowers.  It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever laid eyes on.  So naturally, we pulled over and I snuck onto this private property and had a "moment."  I looked around, closed my eyes, and thought about how this was a gift. I think that God can reveal himself to different people in different ways.... yesterday, for me, it was a sunflower field.  I am convinced that if I have a backyard in heaven... it would most likely look like yesterday. 

 
P.S. To say these iPhone photos do my experience "justice" is a HUGE understatement. But it will live on in my memory forever. 

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

My Growing Bump + A Confession

Confession first: I am a bit self conscious about how much I am showing already. It's hard not to compare myself to other girls who are either right around my due date or due a few weeks BEFORE me and I am showing so much more than they are.  It makes me nervous about what is to come... but I truly have been eating completely normal- In fact, less than normal because for the 1st trimester NO food sounded good! I guess the moral of this story is that I have always struggled with comparison and being pregnant is no different.  I honestly have had a bump since Week 8ish.... GRANTED, that bump was mostly  BLOAT, not BABY...but now the bloat has been replaced with Baby Frenchy and when the Pregnancy App on my iPhone FINALLY said most women have started showing by now... I breathed a sigh of relief! Finally, it is "normal" and okay to be showing. Am I crazy for thinking these things? I am sure everyone will catch up at some point and we will all be huge together, but I have been uncomfortable in my jeans from about week 8... seriously! Any other early showers out there? 


*Disclaimer: We are NOT having TWINS... My book said sometimes you show early when there are 2, but that was not the case with moi :) The PRO in all of this was that I knew there was something growing inside of me... there was no mistaking that! 

Monday, July 23, 2012

How I told my girls :)

The night I told my girls was a fun surprise for everyone... We scheduled a girls dinner for Tuesday night because my close friend Bromli was going to be in town.  We showed up at Cheesecake Factory and once everyone had arrived, I said I needed to go to the restroom.  Little did they know that I snuck outside so my Mom could hand me a tray filled with cupcakes announcing our pregnancy. (Shout out to my Mom for going above and beyond in making them SO CUTE!) I hid behind the hostess stand until the drink orders had been taken and then walked up to the table and said "I have a little surprise for you girls from France!"  Then one by one I started passing out the cupcakes that had little flags on them saying "Aunt Katie" "Aunt Alexis" "Aunt Bromli" etc. etc.  It took a few seconds to register for everyone but when it did we had quite the reaction and lots of hugs and celebrating! It was such a blessing to get to share such GREAT news with my best girlfriends all at the same time.  We spent dinner going over the details of when / how we found out, the due date,  boy and girl names, pregnancy symptoms, and all that other girlie stuff :) 


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PRESENT AWARD OF THE YEAR GOES TO NICKI COCHRAN!!! She MADE this onesie that says: MADE IN FRANCE and on the back... 
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LOVED IN TEXAS... Since receiving this both my Mom and Stepmom have requested one haha :) BF LOVES Aunt Nicki! 
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The night was perfect.  I am so grateful to God for all He has redeemed.  I really was convinced that our January pregnancy was perfect timing... but this time, with this NEW life inside of me, we got to share the great news in PERSON with everyone that we loved.  Yet again, He never ceases to amaze me in bringing good things out of the bad. Shout out to all my girls who came/ were there in spirit - y'all mean the WORLD to me! 


XO,
Abs 
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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Baby Frenchy's 12 Week Appointment

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Little thumb sucker already! 
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Our 12 week appointment could NOT have been better.  For starters, my sister KATY was in town and was allowed to sit in on the sonogram with us.  Baby Frenchy was actually sleeping on its tummy when we first pulled up the sonogram and my doctor had to somewhat violently push my tummy in certain places to turn the baby onto its back.  It was weird watching the baby float around, perfectly protected, but so affected by the prodding of the doctor.  He was able to measure the baby and we are still on track for a January 28th due date.

He took neck measurements to check for early signs of Downs syndrome and the neck measurement came in very thin which is a GOOD SIGN that our baby is perfectly healthy.  Praise God! We got to hear the little one's heartbeat and witness BF sucking its THUMB!!! Has that already happened? This little one is only the size of a peach and sucks its thumb! The doctor pointed out the heart, pelvis, stomach, umbilical cord, brain, bladder, forming teeth, hands, and feet.  I was all puffed up like a proud Mama bear :)

Then the CUTEST thing happened... BF had the HICCUPS!!! Its the most amazing thing I have ever seen and the little wiggle worm bounced all over the place.  Was it something I ate? haha :)

ALSO... This is going to leave you hanging, but our doctor had Aunt Katy step out into the hallway and he told us his 95% sure prediction of Baby Frenchy's GENDER!!! At only 12 weeks he was able to look at certain indicators that have him convinced (Granted, sexual organs are forming, but not visible until usually 15 weeks)... Will be sharing THAT news in a few weeks!

What is your guess? Baby Frenchy PINK or BLUE???

Thursday, July 19, 2012

How we told my FAMILY

After a day FULL of travel and no sleep, I finally walked off the airplane to a "Welcome Home" BANNER and American flags, tears, and hugs from my Mom, Chris, Katy, Dad, and Kelley.  (People actually asked them if I had served in the military because of the big celebration and American flag scene, ha!)  As we all patiently waited for my luggage I kept up the small talk and we decided to go to Cheddars for dinner for my beloved chicken caesar pasta salad :)

When we got there I brought in 3 goodie bags that I had pre-packed in my carry on and told them I had brought them each a little treat from France. I also said they are all the same thing, so you have to open them at the same time.

The grandparents received a framed picture of the "Baby Frenchy Coming 2013" picture, plus a pair of baby shoes, copies of the pictures from our "day we found out" photo shoot, and our very first 8 week sonogram picture.  Aunt Katy got the same pictures but instead of baby shoes, she got a Sophie the giraffe with a little neck tie saying To: Aunt Katy Love: Baby Frenchy. 
As the gifts were opened, I heard a LOUD SQUEAL from my Mom.  I watched my Dad as he fished out the envelope of pictures first... addressed to "Pappa and Mimi" and he shook his head because in that moment he knew exactly what happening. We made QUITE the scene with lots of squealing, hugs, and tears. 

 
It was so much fun and good news squeezed into 1 night that I was literally up for 26 straight hours based purely off of adrenaline.  My family did NOT see it coming because I hadn't skipped a beat when denying it over the phone.  My Dad said it was not even on his RADAR during my trip home.  It was truly a night I will forever cherish and NEVER forget! Everyone was really happy that I waited to tell them all in person.  
PS Please excuse the iPhone pictures... I didn't want to bring in Baby Canon for fear it would be terribly obvious that something was about to happen considering we were just supposed to have a late, jet-lagged dinner. The iPhone was a handy substitute.  

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

A Weekend in Paris: The Movie

I will post pictures from our Bastille Day weekend later, but until then... Enjoy our short movie! 



Starring: Logan, myself, Katy (my sister), Evan (my good friend), and his 2 friends Priti & Khushbu who were so incredibly fun and cool! 

Monday, July 16, 2012

The DAY we found out!

Well we are back from PARIS! It was a magical weekend ...I can't wait to share it with you all.  If you missed our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, you can read it HERE.

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We actually found out the DAY that Morgan Stallings came to visit us in FRANCE! It was really funny because we had taken 2 negative pregnancy tests so I was convinced the blood work would come back negative... to the point where I told Logan to go in and get the results so I could keep chatting with Morgan, ha! Upon further consideration we figured I better join him in the case that I was, indeed, expecting.  We walked into the lab and the ladies squealed "C'est POSITIF!" Well you don't have to be fluent to know that "POSITIF" does not mean "negative" in English... we were pregnant! We hugged in the lobby as I picked up my jaw off the floor.  We walked outside and Morgan was glued to the window as I gave her 2 thumbs up! Then we had a group hug and hopped around in a circle in the parking lot haha :) It was a really sweet moment followed by an emotional prayer in the car for the baby's safety and a healthy, full-term, pregnancy with no bleeding, spotting, and an early STRONG heartbeat.  That was/ has been our prayer from DAY 1.  

Morgan then happily indulged in a photo shoot in our loft with our results!
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We then proceeded to tell the French Misegades clan (this will be their 10th grandchild!) BUT I held it in for an entire month until I could tell my family and friends in person during my visit to TEXAS :) It was totally worth the wait! Turns out I am a much better liar over the phone than in person because I point blank fibbed to my Mom and Bromli when they asked! More on their reactions later...

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