It's hard to believe that one normal morning last May, I was shocked to find out that I was
pregnant. At that point I couldn't even imagine what the next 10 months
would be like. All I knew was that our lives were about to change
drastically...and so was my body. I had a really smooth pregnancy, and
for that I am so grateful because I know that not everyone does. It was
such an enjoyable time for me and Stuart. We did as much as we could
before baby A came because we knew that after January 1 nothing would be
quite as simple. It was worth every pound though. Now we have a precious baby boy...hard to believe he grew inside of me and now he's a real live human being! Along the way Stu took pictures and I thought I'd
share them with you. It took a while for that baby bump to show up. This was the point that we announced to the world that our family would be growing:
Still nothing to write home about (I actually think I was pushing out to pretend like there was a bump there):
We went to South Africa with the youth group in June and got to see the in-laws. This was taken when we got back (cute face, I know).
We went on a Baby-moon Caribbean cruise with my family at 6 months. Finally a real bump!
Here's ultrasound with a high-def machine. Such a cute lil face:
Keystone had no idea what was about to rock her world:
Whoa....a lot changed in 4 weeks. Stuart's parents were in town and we all met my family in Mississippi for Thanksgiving:
Chopped off 17 inches of my hair in November. My official non-mom-cut cut:
Turns out this cute outfit is way too big for little Koa. Fit on my belly nicely though:
Stretching out that shirt to the max:
Christmas Day...so ready for Baby A to be here. One more week to go!
And Koa Clive Atkins came right at 40 weeks (plus 4 hours).
Sometimes you just luck out with the friends in your life. I have some of the greatest girlfriends here in Georgia that really make me feel at home. Moving here after college wasn't easy, but the gift of great friends helped me settle in so well. They've been there through so many of my life changes and Baby A is no exception! In October they threw me a beautiful shower and I wanted to give them a little love shout-out, but also show some of the fun pics from the fall festival. So thank you very much to everyone helped out in pulling this together! And thanks to my girlfriends for being so wonderful all the time!
First, they knew a party for Paige is not really a party if there is no food. It was all delicious:
Homemade cupcakes made by the best baker around!
Chocolate with Buttercream Frosting
Chai with Buttercream Frosting
Pumpkin with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
This was a dangerously delicious apple dip:
And of course Hot Apple Cider.
Then there were the activities:
"Write a note of encouragement or advice for Paige!"
These were so special to read afterwards.
Since we don't know if Baby A is a he or she, we did some trivia to try to narrow it down. I still have no idea.
We had a photo booth set up for people to take their own pictures and write some notes on chalk boards. I haven't seen these yet...but I know they'll be interesting to say the least. I'll post those soon!
And we can't neglect all of the other autumnal details of the party:
During my most recent (very quick) trip to Colorado, my mom surprised me with a baby shower--decked out in my nursery colors! She totally pulled off the surprise, which is not an easy task in my family. I thought we were just stopping by a friend's house for a fall party before we left for California the next day. Fooled me! It was a beautiful shower and so great to see so many people that I haven't seen in years. I wish I would have a least washed my hair that day, but I was still quite happy as you can see here...(and quite pregnant).
We don't know if Baby A is a boy or girl (another little surprise coming our way), but I've known that I wanted yellow and gray in the baby room since I found out I was pregnant. I just love, love, love the color combination. Elephants seem to fit right in with the scheme too. The room isn't quite ready yet, but here are the pictures from my shower. I can only hope that my nursery is equally as cute! Thanks to everyone who made this funny party possible!
Just wanted to share something cute my mom found. It's a bucket list with "must-do's" during the fall season. Who doesn't love that the air is cooling down, trees are changing colors, and Starbucks is serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes!? I think it might be my favorite season (top 4 at least). It's especially nice to have some cooler weather now that I have an internal heater keeping me warm all of the time. So as these last 74 days of pregnancy linger on, I'm going to try to soak up Autumn as best I can! Who's with me??
Apple Picking: CHECK!
Drink Fancy Coffee Drinks: CHECK!
So much more to do! So little time! Before we know it the PSL's will be replaced with Red Cups! Yippee!!
Back on April 1, 2011 our lives took a dramatic turn. No longer was it just the two of us newlyweds. Living peacefully in our home. Just us to think about. We opened the doors of our hearts and our yard-less town home to this little cutie, and we are forever changed because of her.
Her name is Keystone Atkins (aka Stonie, Stoner, K-love, KS, pup, dumb dog). She is a Jack Russell Terrier who loves to eat, play...eat...and play. I think maybe it was my back to back surgeries that left me wanting something soft to cuddle. Or maybe my mom's voice sticking in the back of my head when she said that before I have a baby I need to prove I can keep a plant and a pet alive...yikes. Oh, and about her name, it comes from Keystone Colorado, where I grew up skiing/snowboarding and where Stuart and I try to go everytime we make it back to CO. It does not come from the cheap alcoholic beverage...her middle name is not "Light". Just wanted to clarify that. :)
So anyway, I just wanted to give her some web-space before her little sibling comes along and takes over everything. She is very smart...sometimes too smart for her own good. Right now her tricks consist of sit, stay, lay down, go to your room, get on your couch, get off our couch, and she rings her little bell whenever she needs to relieve herself, or be on neighborhood watch. I made some videos for my family to see (my Aunt Dawn's dog had puppies and one of them was K-Love). These were obviously not made by my cinematographer husband, but she is just so dang cute, I couldn't resist sharing them with the world. Here she is...Keystone from 9 - 12 weeks old.
(The high and mighty YouTube master decided to disable the audio for this video...sorry about that).
This is a long overdue post, but now you've all met her. She's pretty much grown up now but just as sweet. The vet says she's "very-calm" for a Jack Russell (which is hard for us to believe, but we'll take it!) Here are a few pictures. They are cute but don't do her justice. Stop by and say hi/let her take you for a walk! She loves making new friends.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner:
Her favorite place to be:
Mug shots:
Here she is, just over 7 months old...preparing to be a big sister!
Hi Everyone! Welcome to my life...blog edition. I used to update this pretty frequently so that you could try to stay updated on all of my adventures. Now that I've settled down and gotten hitched, I'll just be adding the more momentous events in my life. I married the man of my dreams on 4/5/09 and we recently bought our first house in Lawrenceville, GA! God has called us both to work with the youth group at Sugarloaf UMC. He is on staff and I am a committed volunteer. We love what we do and we make a great team. The rest of my family is in Colorado and his is all the way in South Africa. So this is my life, for all the world to see. Enjoy!
