week 18: ultrasound pics galore! & week 17 too.

eighteen weeks eighteen weeks!  our baby is growing & my belly is growing & all is good in the world.   maternity clothes are becoming very wonderful.  multiple outfits this week have consisted of maternity tops & maternity bottoms.  it's a good thing i am pretty darn good at shopping.

our anatomy ultrasound was this week!  blakey & i got to see our little baby girl for twenty whole minutes!  we saw the important parts of her brain & the four chambers of her heart.  she has an adorable little nose & lips {no cleft lip}.  she sucked her thumb & grabbed her little bitty feet with her little bitty hands.  miss nora belle is growing big, measuring sizes of about 19 1/2 weeks & weighing 10 ounces.  apparently, little us made a big baby.

 {nora belle's little bitty feet}

 {& her little arms crossed}

last week, i was a little too busy napping to blog, but i did take my bump date photo!  it's a rough life being pregnant :)

love love,

kjp.

week 16: it's a girl!!

oh my goodness gracious, we are having a girl!!!  a beautiful little baby girl.  & her name will be Nora Belle Porter.  i'm going to call her nora belle.  blakey is most definitely going to call her nb.  you are welcome to call her what you like.  well, within reason here.  but we are going to have a precious little baby girl.

the little miss was once again having a party inside my belly while we did the ultrasound.  she was waving her arms & flipping all over the place.  if this little girl has half as much energy out of the womb as she has in the womb, we are in trouble.  this awesome ultrasound captured above is her upside down with an awesome view of her spine up top.  her little head is to the right, her legs to the left, & her little bitty hand below her tummy.  hello, sweet girl!

16 weeks!  a little baby girl!  whoa.  

love love,

kjp.

from week 14 to week 15: i popped!

yes, friends, i popped.  my belly is out in full force announcing to the world, "i'm pregnant!"  which is certainly better than "i could be fat or pregnant!"  don't you think?!

for the first time, a complete stranger asked me about my being pregnant.  & in one day, two friends who have known we are pregnant for awhile said to me "oh my goodness!  you ARE pregnant!"  yes, i popped.

but my favorite conversation of them all {so far} was with my husband.  while attempting to find an outfit that simply fit, i looked over at blakey & exasperatedly said "oh. my. gosh.  i'm pretty sure i'm getting bigger every day!"  he looked back at me with an expression like i had just announced to the entire world that two plus two equals four.  "i'm 100% positive you are getting bigger every day." oh, this isn't news to an obgyn?  got it.

so happy gummy bear is growing & has a big ole environment in which to grow.  happy week 15, gummy bear!

love love,
kjp.

happy 4th anniversary, byrds!!!!

celebrating a very happy 4 years with the love of my life!  four years.  four years of creating a life together, creating an even greater friendship, creating an even stronger love.  & now onto creating a little porter!

 {1st year of happiness in montevallo}

{2nd year of happiness in memphis}

{3rd year of happiness in nola}

i love you, dear love of my life.  you are truly the man of my dreams.

love love,

kjp.

celebrating 13 weeks with the vandaveers in birmy!

13 weeks!  the second trimester has arrived & i've welcomed it with open arms.  i'm feeling much better, like i could conquer the world even!  my appetite has returned to a normal schedule, not eating every hour or two.  my biggest cravings are still orange juice & v8 juice.  so random, but i'll certainly take it.  & naps are still my most beloved afternoon activity.  but conquer the world after those naps i can!

to celebrate these 13 weeks, the vandaveers came to visit us in birmy!!  it was little man's first time to our neck of the woods out of the womb.  {julie byrd & little aveer were here when she was 7 months pregnant, almost 2 years ago.}  we ate some amazing food {moe's & saw's, of course}, played at parks & the museum & watched choo choos {malcolm's favorite}, & celebrated easter together!  it was a wonderful & so loved weekend.

 {a sunrise swing date}

 {all 4 fellas on a trip to the park}

little man celebrated his 2nd easter with us!  we made a huge feast with our favorite pioneer woman spicy dr pepper pulled pork, super cheesy potatoes, corn casserole {you know, for a "vegetable"}, spinach & kale wontons {julie's idea of easter food}, coconut cupcakes, & carrot cake cake bites!  little man got an easter basket full of eggs & bubbles & stickers & an easter book & an easter lamb.  he was pretty pumped about the bubbles.  & then he had his first easter egg hunt!  with stickers & bandaids abound.

 {cheers!}

{or boom! if you're blakey}

{a little frat guy in the making}

{love you, julie byrd!} 

happy 13 weeks & happy easter & happy weekend with the vandaveers!

love love,

kjp.

oh my goodness! we must tell you...

oh my goodness, we're pregnant!  13 weeks pregnant, in fact.  we lovingly refer to our little one as "gummy bear," as that is pretty much what it looked like at the first ultrasound.  an adorable little gummy bear blob.

we found out about our little miracle the day after valentine's day & told our families a few weeks later.  it was so fun to share our big news.  we {haha... i} sent each family member the book are you my mother with "mother" covered in washi tape & with their future name/relation written on top with a little note inside telling them congratulations!

of course, i'm taking bump date photos!  the family has been dying to see them, so, family, here you go:

7 weeks: we just got back from our baby moon vacation in puerto rico!  it was fun to get to talk out loud about being pregnant & our future baby, as no one there knew us anyway.  we got to relax & walk the beach & enjoy some rays in the happy bliss of being new soon-to-be parents!

8 weeks: our first ultrasound!  {well, our first ultrasound that showed a baby blob.}  we got to see the little heart beating so fast.  it had arm buds & leg buds & was the neatest thing i'd ever seen.

9 weeks: lisa & dave came to birmy for the last time before we move!  lisa bought me my first maternity clothes - an amazing pair of maternity jeans!  they don't fit quite yet, thankfully, but they are going to get so much good use very soon.

10 weeks: is that a little baby bump i see?!  yes, yes it is.  my sweet big sister was so kind to point that out while i visited her & my bro-in-law & my adorable nephew in philly!  playing with little man made me all the more excited about having a little one of our own.

11 weeks:  still feeling pretty great, as long as i ate every hour or two & took a little afternoon nap about every day.  not too shabby.  raw greens were finally starting to not repulse me.  my meals finally included a few things other than carbs & cheese {although that was pretty awesome}.  & i remembered the fine points of fruits & veggies & actually having energy to cook a meal for my sweet husband.  oh, 11 weeks, i appreciate you.

12 weeks: we got to hear gummy bear's sweet sweet heartbeat again!  it's an anxious little thing, just like it's mother.  155-165 bpm.  & then i got to experience another ultrasound!  gummy bear was waving its hands in the air & kicking its feet.  the doctor said it was a stubborn baby, when it wouldn't turn over for quite awhile.  of course it's stubborn, it's related to me!  this was the first time i realized i might actually have a human inside of me.  an incredible blessing.

love love,

kjp.