22 weeks: Castle in the Sea & 23 Weeks: Yomitan Bluffs

Today is your lucky day! Two weeks of pictures for the price (or click?) of one! I somehow let last week get away from me without posting my 23 week pictures. I feel like babygirl popped out a bit more at 24 weeks and it's fun to look at these pictures next to each other and see the difference from one week to the next! I know I say it often, but I will be so so thankful to have these pictures to look back on one day. 

Not too much new to report. I think I am in the sweet spot of pregnancy. Over the sickness that comes with the first trimester, but not huge enough to be uncomfortable yet! I'm feeling great and sleeping great.

I booked a flight this week for a trip to Charlotte in October and cannot wait! I am so excited to hug my family and friends, and indulge in some American cuisine. And my sweet bestie is marrying the man of her dreams. 

So many things to look forward to!

Week 23:

 I don't think stripes are doing me many favors, but I'm trying to be comfortable and confident in my ever changing body. It will all be worth it when we finally get our hands on that sweet, squishy little girl. 

Happy Wednesday, friends! 

21 Weeks: Southeast Botanical Gardens

Oh, babygirl, how we adore you! We can't wait until you are here and 

dream about snuggling you all the time. 

Working on nailing down a name for her, but goodness! Naming a human is hard. Enjoying feeling her move around more and more in my belly and growing bigger with her each and every day. Trying to get used to my ever changing body and remembering that weight gain is a GOOD thing. It's a hard mindset to grasp, but luckily my man is good at reminding me. And he thinks I'm cute.

Still so thankful to be in Okinawa throughout this pregnancy. The sunshine and warm breeze are always reminders of God's faithfulness to us throughout this healthy pregnancy and throughout our lives. He is so so good. 

Thank you all for joining in this journey with us and loving us well from afar! 

20 weeks: Kadena Marina

We are officially halfway to meeting our baby! And did you hear? She's a lady!

We had almost convinced ourselves that she was a he, but she is definitely a she! At our 20 week ultrasound, babygirl promptly opened up her little legs and showed us what she was and then crossed her ankles for the rest of the ultrasound. What a modest little thing. Making mama proud. 

Brian is going to be the best girl daddy ever. He would make a heck of a boy dad as well, but I can't wait to see him love the mess out of this little girl and I can't wait to see her have her daddy wrapped around her little baby fingers 

(not that I would know anything about that, right dad?).

We scored a precious white Jenny Lind crib for $20 this weekend, and are starting to dream about what to do with her room. I know it's a long way off until she will actually sleep in there, 

but it's so fun to decorate and have a project to work on. 

Babygirl, we can't wait to meet you!

 As usual, thank you Mands for the pics! I will love having these to look back on 

and the memories of taking them each week with you!

19 weeks: Shuri Castle

Almost 1/2 way there, crazy! I am feeling baby move more and more each day. Craving hamburgers and watermelon all day, everyday. My belly is feeling much more round and itchy these days. I'm getting out of breath much, much easier (even though I'm trying to work out everyday!). Prenatal yoga and spin classes have been my go-tos as of lately. I don't feel guilty taking my daily afternoon nap knowing that I got a little working out done in the morning. 

Next week we have our 20 week ultrasound and find out what kind of human we are having! Excited doesn't even begin to describe it! Any guesses as to what gender our babe is?

 

(Brian and I pre-baby on our first trip to the gorgeous Shuri Castle)

18 weeks: Hamahiga Island

My sweet friend had the wonderful idea to take belly pictures all around this beautiful island that we get to live on. I loved that idea and decided to steal it, thanks Mands!

As much as I want to remember this pregnancy and what an honor and blessing it is to grow this sweet babe, I also want to remember how blessed we were to get to live in this amazing place throughout this journey. Brian and I have definitely found some special places in Okinawa that continue to take our breath away. We want to remember the memories that were made in all our special places with this tiny baby in belly.

So, here we are at 18 weeks! It might not look like much, but to me, my body is changing daily. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat this week and I'm convinced there is nothing sweeter and more reassuring than that swooshing heartbeat. I felt the baby move for the first time this week as well! Lots of little pops and flutters throughout the week to let me know baby is doing ok. 

I continue to crave meat, meat, and more meat. I'm not usually a huge red meat eater, but I cannot get enough steak, ribs, and burgers these days. And watermelon! So much watermelon. 

Brian is convinced it's a boy because of my meat eating, but we will see! We find out the gender in about 2 weeks, and we can't wait! My energy comes in spurts, and some days I still indulge in hours of napping. I love that this slow, calm, island life lends itself to a pregnancy full of relaxation and rest. 

Brian and I stumbled upon this gorgeous beach on one of our Saturday drives and came back this weekend to snorkel (for me) and spear fish (for Brian). The beach is pretty deserted and we had it all to ourselves. Picnic lunches, the smell of sunscreen, and sunkissed skin. Summer is blissful to me. 

Happy Monday, friends!

that time we went to Thailand

While Brian was on his exercise in Korea he called me with a few days left and said, "Babe, I'm taking leave when I get back. I wanna take you somewhere. Plan a trip anywhere." And THAT is a good man right there. We, of course, knew at that time that we were pregnant and wanted to take one last big trip before baby and the timing just seemed right. So, I booked two flights to Thailand and off we went.

We ended up going to Phuket and just staying there. We would have loved to have traveled around the country some, but honestly, I just wasn't feeling up to it in my first trimester. We wanted a simple, lay at the beach or the pool and eat a lot vacation. And that is what we got! We spent much of our time lounging at the roof top, saltwater infinity pool at our hotel. We had a view of the ocean on one side of the pool, and lush green mountains on the other. And we practically had the pool to ourselves everyday. It was so quiet and relaxing. Just the refreshment Brian needed after his time in Korea. 

But don't worry, we did enjoy a few of the touristy things that Thailand has to offer. Because how can you be in Thailand and not ride an elephant? Am I right? And Brian played soccer with an elephant which was hilarious and so completely random. We also rented a motorbike for our week there and rode all over Phuket on that thing. It was slightly dangerous, as speed limits and road lines are non existent in Thailand, but it was so much fun to have the freedom to explore on our own. 

We got two celebrate our 2 year anniversary while we were there which was so special. I just adore this man. Plain and simple. Being married to him is a dream and I can't believe I get him for eternity. The past 2 years have been the best adventure of my life and I am beyond blessed to get to live life with this man by my side. 

And oh boy, I am so excited to see him become a daddy. 

God was so so good to me, as I was not feeling well up until leaving for this trip. But as soon as we landed in Thailand, it was like the sickness went away and Thai food sounded delicious to me! So we ate our weight in Pad Thai, thai curry, and fruit. And it was wonderful.

The beaches were great and beautiful, though we both agree that they had nothing on our Okinawa beaches. 

You just can't beat white sand and turquoise blue water. We are spoiled by living here.

 What a wonderful trip it was. I am so so thankful for our time here in Asia where we can travel and see this side of the world. We do not take it for granted. 

surprise.

It's REAL awkward to try to write a blog post after not writing anyyyyything for 3 1/2 months. 

I guess the only good explanation for this hiatus is...

We're having a BABY! 

It's true, and we are ecstatic. Brian left to go to Korea for a couple months and I started feeling real sick and then I realized I was kind of sleeping all day. I put two and two together, took a test, and that was that. We were pregnant. 

We were definitely surprised and a little bit shocked at first, mostly since Brian was away and it didn't feel real quite yet. Now that he is back and we have let our secret out, we couldn't be more excited. We feel so grateful that the Lord would bless us with a sweet new life growing inside of me. 

We've been so blessed to have gotten to see our baby and hear the little wooshing heartbeat twice already. Everything looks great, and I am a little over 13 weeks along right now. I mostly look like I have just finished eating a large hamburger, which at most times is truth. I have been craving hamburgers and watermelon and indian food like it's my job. The nausea has subsided greatly, and I am feeling 100x better than the first 12 weeks, thankfully. My taste for coffee has completely disappeared, though, and I'm praying it comes back! Will it come back? I miss my warm mug in the mornings. 

Brian has been the best caretaker and gets me snacks all day long. He always checks to see how many oz. of water I've finished and is constantly refilling my water bottle. Our midwife told him he must make sure I drink at least a gallon of water a day, and he is taking his job very seriously. And for this girl, who kind of hates water, a gallon a day is pure torture. 

So, there is our fun news! Now that the cat is out of the bag, I plan to update this here blog much more frequently than say, every 3 1/2 months or so. Thanks for celebrating with us!