Chapter Two: ...and Baby Makes Three

"Chapter One: Gettin' Hitched" was so great. From dreaming, to planning, to execution.. everything was wonderful. However, I never recapped our wedding. To be honest, I couldn't recap our wedding until January 2011 - a full six months after our wedding. This was because our wedding was selected to be one of three featured weddings in Seattle Bride Magazine. They frown upon blog inclusion until after the issue has been printed... and by the time that the issue came out I was so consumed with other things that I just didn't make time to blog. I have so much to share from our day - so many special moments, memories and photos... and that will come with time.

...but right now I have something more important to share.

We are expecting a baby! Our son (name TBA) will be making his grand appearance sometime around December 4, 2011. We are so incredibly excited to be adding to our family - and yes, even Miss Grace is excited to be a big sister. :)

We started trying to get pregnant in October of 2010. It happened almost immediately. By December 5, 2010 we had a positive pregnancy test sitting on our bathroom counter and smiles plastered on our faces. The joy we felt was indescribable. We were going to be parents - our estimated due date was August 16, 2011. We interviewed doctors and found the most incredible team at Evergreen Woman's Care at Evergreen Hospital. We announced our pregnancy to our families on Christmas morning and our closest friends at a holiday party we hosted. Life. Was. Perfect.

And then, right after we told our families on Christmas, I started spotting. I was terrified. I spotted continuously between Christmas and New Years Day. And then it stopped. During the spotting I was on the phone with my doctor's office daily with updates. They explained that, if I was in fact losing the baby, that there was nothing that could be done to save the baby... that it was too early in the pregnancy... 

Sure enough, beginning of January we learned that we had lost our baby. This was/is quite possibly one of the hardest things I have ever experienced in my life. It's so hard to explain the feeling... We were only approximately 6-8 weeks along in the pregnancy when the spotting started, but by then my body and emotions had definitely been taken over by the pregnancy. Changes had taken place and I was very attached to the thought of being a mother. I felt like a failure. And, even though I know that there was nothing that could have been done  by doctors to save the baby NOR was there anything that I could have done differently to ensure that the baby would keep and continue to grow, I still felt like a failure. I felt like a horrible wife - that I couldn't give my husband a child. If you've read or seen The Help - the character Celia Foote does an incredible job depicting how I felt after my miscarriage. (Not sure if it is the same for all women...) The miscarriage really affected me. Looking back now, I can say that it definitely was the catalyst that spun me into a depression. I drank a lot of wine, spent a lot of time alone, and just wasn't myself.

By March I had realized what was happening. I wasn't happy and I was stuck. I started working hard to make positive changes in my life - figuring out what I needed to do to better myself. If I was happy and healthy, I could get pregnant again. So I joined Weight Watchers, started walking/exercising, and cut back on the wine. I was seeing results and was feeling great.

One weekend I was getting ready to start an Advocare cleanse and I was reading the instructions... "If you are pregnant or suspect you are pregnant, do not participate int he cleanse." That's when it hit me. I couldn't remember my last period. My husband went down to the local drugstore and came back with a test...

Beginning of April, only four short months after our miscarriage, we were pregnant again... and this time we weren't even trying. We were almost 8 weeks pregnant.

Weeks 8-12 were really difficult. I was absolutely terrified that I was going to go through everything that I had just gone through a few months prior... We went to the doctor at 12 weeks and confirmed our pregnancy. Everything was textbook perfect. Week 13 we went to Hawaii with our close friends to celebrate a marriage. We shared the news with the world the week of Father's Day at 16 weeks pregnant. Everyone has been so incredibly supportive and excited for this pregnancy, it really has been incredible.

We are currently 28wks 6days pregnant with 11wks 1day left on the countdown. We have a huge, healthy, active life growing inside of me. I am so in love with my son and I haven't even met him yet. The pregnancy has been wonderful. I love being pregnant - especially now that we are in the "safe zone." Everything is great, and I'll even take the swollen feet/ankles/legs and jabs under my ribs.

I can already tell he takes after his daddy - he likes to bother me when I am trying to sleep. :) 

Here are some photos from our 20wk ultrasound. He's gorgeous, isn't he? 

 Sucking his thumb already... and it looks like his left hand. Maybe he'll be a lefty?

 I love his button nose. 

Definitely a big boy. When we shared this photo with our doctor he exclaimed, "Wow! Nice sac!" and my husband simply smiled proudly. :)

So, that's it. We're expecting. Can't wait to re-enter blog-land....and catch up on everything!

Wedding Teasers

It's official. We're married!!! The day could not have gone any better. The day was absolute dream. We are still on a high from everything - the laughter, the tears, the dances, the speeches. It was so surreal and incredible. Things could not have gone more perfectly.

Life is great. ... except on our way home from our "mini-moon" to Cannon Beach we were rear-ended by some poor schmuck that wasn't paying attention. My back is killing me, but at least we're not in the hospital or anything.

Here are a few teasers from our photographer, Kristen Honeycutt. I will start recaps and explain everything once I have all the images. Enjoy! :)

Our first look:
I wanted a "serious" pic. Nobody got it....until they saw this:
Our first dance as Mr. & Mrs - Crash (Live Version) by Dave Matthews Band:

I will post more and start recaps when I have all the pics!

Love,

The Mrs.

Engagement Photos by Kristen Honeycutt

With my life as crazy at it is right now, I have decided to post recaps of everything. Between work (with a fiance who has been laid off), travel, more work, wedding, family, and everything else... writing daily blog posts has taken the back burner. I still check my reader, I've just been silent.

We're getting married in 17 days. SEVENTEEN DAYS!!! I can't believe it.

To start "recaps"....here's some of our engagement photos courtesy of the ever-so-amazing Kristen Honeycutt.

Ahhh...Kristen Honeycutt. So thankful to have found you. :)

She's Alive......SHE'S ALIVE!!!!

::whispers:: Is anybody out there?

Hi. Guess who? ::blushing:: :) It's me, Eva. Over here at ...and what about grace?. Yeah - I kind of disappeared. Ok, I'll be honest. I totally disappeared.I sill read all 200-something of the blogs in by Google Reader on a daily basis. I've just.....completely neglected you.

You might be wondering where I went. In all honesty, I didn't go anywhere. I've been working, drinking wine, and putting the final touches on the wedding.

Live has been overwhelming, to say the least. Work is challenging me more than ever - but I am determined to power through it. Things are picking up significantly, and I am the type of person who thrives in an uber-stressfull, "too-much-work-to-do-in-eight-hours" work situation.

My fiance was laid off last week. That was a shocker. The week prior he had been talking to his boss about his annual review started negotiating a raise. Well - his boss and the owner must not have been fully communicating, because when Trevor went in for his annual review, he found out that he was one of six employees being laid off. (This is a small company - there are less than six people working there now, including the owner and receptionist.) To be jobless in this economy is pretty much terrifying and paralyzing. To top that? To be jobless in this economy in the Heating And Air Conditioning industry during one of Seattle's most mild winters on record is pretty much terrifying and paralyzing. No cold snaps = no broken furnaces = no work. And obviously it's not hot enough for Seattlites to want to use their air conditioning units (all six of those on Mercer Island who own A/C......I kid.), so there's none of that work either.

Talk about wedding stress. The economy coupled with crappy unemployment pay makes paying for this wedding extremely stressful. (But, no complaints about unemployment, we'll take it!)

Oh - yeah - and I was totally convinced for about ten days that I was going blind. Turns out that, from excessive crying, uncharactistically warm winter weather, and my fabulous change in diet (I am eating healthy and I love it, seriously!) has caused me to suffer from dry eyes. I might be farsighted too, but we're checking on that in four weeks. (I wouldn't mind rocking some cute glasses - not to sound vein or anything - but I think they look pretty sweet on me. There. I said it.)

Even though our work lives (or lack thereof) have been challening so far this year - we have been blessed in other ways:

• My baby brother, who really isn't much of a baby, was accepted into the Masters of Education program at University of Puget Sound. A huge achievement! We are so proud.
• My other brother, the middle child, has 99.9% decided to remain living in South Korea for another year. He's making excellent money teaching English over there - able to pay all his living expenses, massive student loan payments, and still save. I miss him like hell, but can you blame the guy?
• Trevor had a job interview on Tuesday and things went great! We're praying and keeping our fingers crossed and putting out all of our trolls and horseshoes and rubbing buddah's belly....hoping that there's enough work at this company for him to be hired as a full-time team member.
• I have changed my eating habits in a serious way....and just from making changes I've already lost 10 pounds!!! It feels incredible. I'm eating 5-6 small meals a day (that includes snacks)....focusing on measuring/weighing all my foods, eating tons of veggies, fruit, fish, lean beef, chicken, all whole-wheat carbs (no refined sugar, white flour, fast food, energy drinks, etc.). I feel incredible. My energy levels are increasing....and I am bound and determined to make it in to the gym or go for a jog at least once this week. I have been walking Grace with my Mom and her boyfriend (Grace's boyfriend) Buster on a pretty regular basis, too.
  

So. That's my life right now.

I'd really like to start blogging again, if you'll take me back.

I have so much to share with you.

Here's a list of the projects that I have worked on since December:

• I made chalkboards. TONS of chalkboards. To be used throughout the wedding day as signage. I've decided I love chalkboards.
• I re-finished frames. Some are being used to make chalkboards. Others are props for the faux-to booth.
  
• I hit the jackpot at a local antique store and found 14 vintage Ball Perfect Mason Jars for $45 total. Naturally, I snagged them. I took all the other clear mason jars that I had and painted them to look like the vintage Ball Perfect Jars. They don't look identical, but they're pretty damn close. And I saved a TON of moolah.
• I inherited a ton of vintage bone china from one of my bridesmaids - and came up with an adorable way to incorporate the mis-matched gorgeous china into the wedding decor.
• I stocked up on store-bought cake stands for our desserts....and also purchased enough supplies from Value Village to make some.
  
• I frequented all Seattle-area Vallue Villages, St. Vincent de Paul, and any other thrift stores for wedding supplies: plates for cake stands, mason jars, candy buffet jars, etc.
• I finished designing the wedding invitations with my friend Sigrid. They're printed and cut to size....and I'm getting together with girlfriends to assemble.
• With the help of others, I found three of the four missing addresses on our guest list.
  
• I stamped 200 bags for the candy buffet with our monogram. They're adorable.
• My Matron of Honor, Maid of Honor, and I made 16 awesome moustaches on sticks. I know, I know, it's such a trend. But they're effing awesome. And I love them. (We even made the "Charlie Chaplin"....which can be mistaken for the "Hitler".....so watch out!!!)
• We started the music list.
• I made my veil. It's beautiful.
• I found an awesome headband to wear at a shower or some sort of wedding-related party.
• My wonderful and gorgeous bridesmaids were all measured and selected dresses. They'll be here end of April.
• I've started getting anxious about my dress arriving.
• We selected suits for all of the men and was able to snag them at an AMAZING price during Macy's President's Day Sale in January. IZOD 2-Button Navy Suits for $97.00 each Incredible. They look smashing. Classic. Wonderful.
  
• We've decided on a gift for the men. I am excited about it.
• I made customized hangers for all of my girls. Started with regular wooden hangers, refinished them, antiqued them, and then added each girls' name. Darling!!!
• The vintage hankies I ordered came in the mail!
• I started tanning. It's 12 minutes of heaven a few times a week. Most enjoyable, especially during exceptionally stressful days. The perfect lunch "vacation." I'm actually developing nice color, which I have always struggled with.
  
• We booked an amazing getaway car - at the request of my parents since we will be enjoying beverages of the adult variety on the big day.
• We booked our bartenders!
• We decided on our yummy desserts that will be proudly displayed on cake stands on each table! (See side bar for links.)
• I took an inventory of all of the items that we have finished for the wedding and started packaging things up in labeled boxes. Trying to make things easy!
• We've decided on a style for our programs - so I will start designing those.
• I started a design for the rehearsal dinner invite - still need to do some planning for this with Trev's mama!
• We finished registering! What a fun project!
• I hand addressed every. single. invitation. I am happy with the end result.
• I've started to remind myself on a hourly basis that I am the only person that will notice any imperfections on the big day. Nobody else will notice that their invitation was just a smidgen different then their neighbor's invitation. Seriously. I am my own worst critic. I've started to care less about everything being perfect, which has helped me with all of this wedding-stress!
• We have successfully invested in everything we need for the wedding. There is a laundry list of invoices with balances due - but aside from those (and a few items that we have quotes for...like candy, alcohol, groomsmen gifts...) - we don't need to purchase anything for any craft projects anymore!
  
• I scored some burlap off Craigslist for our table runners. It's awesome. I'm pretty pumped about that.

So yeah. I'm alive. I've actually been very productive.

So. Like I said, I'd really like to start blogging again, if you'll take me back....?

Update: Painting Pottery

A couple of weekends ago we celebrated my MOH Holly's birthday by painting pottery. We went to the most adorable little pottery shop called Color Me Mine in the Mill Creek Town Center. The owner is fun, spirited, and very helpful.

Here's a reminder of what I painted:

It's a cakestand! I selected the turquoise color. It's so strange painting pottery, because the paint is one color to start...and then after the piece is fired in the kiln, it's a different, more intense color. (In the photos you probably noticed it looks sky-blue...but very light...) On the top of the cakestand I drew our monogram from memory in a very dark brown...with a few artistic interpretations. I felt like the piece was missing something, so I did a row of small dark brown dots along the edge of the piece. I mirrored the dots at the base of the cake stand. On the underside of the cakestand I customized the piece with the date and our names.

I was able to pick up the piece this past Friday and I am so happy with how it turned out! Color Me Mine glazed the piece and fired it in their kiln. It fired to a gorgeous turquoise and the dark brown dots are the perfect accent.

I opted to have the cakestand plate and stand fired separately. All of my other cakestands have the plate and stand adhered together, which makes them diffcult to store. Since I had them fired separately, I can use the plate alone as a platter if I'd like. I just need to remind myself to put items on the plate in even weight when using the stand. I'd hate for it to topple over!

Here's how it turned out:

I am so excited, and Holly said that she's honored, to have this cakestand as part of our wedding. It's special and personalized. What a great keepsake!

...the easy way to make me smile.

Simply Google Image Search: Pronovias Rebecca.