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I never really thought I'd have maternity portraits done, but I had this idea brewing. One day, when I was chatting with my dear friend Amanda, I casually mentioned my idea. It involved things like a floral crown and a flowy dress. I think her response was something like "OMGYES!"  We agreed to start looking for a good flowy dress for the shoot and we'd go from there. By some miracle, I found this dress--a dress I had been hoping to find for ages--that same afternoon. We planned the shoot for five days later and we invited the rest of the  Shutterbuds . I know women rarely do maternity portraits this early in their pregnancy (21w3d), but with the flowy dress and some belly huggin', I think they turned out quite nicely. One of the neat things about playing model to so many photographers is that you have photos that were taken at the same time from different angles. It's neat to see how different people can see the same thing differently. But...

A healthy baby! And the opportunity to see him again at our anatomy scan. :) When Mike comes home with little surprises. Like yummy scones from a local bakery! This ones needs more than just a sentence. James is a kid in our neighborhood who likes to hang out with Mike. Occasionally, Mike will pay him to do some work in the yard. But mostly, he just hangs out on the weekends when Mike is doing this thing. He's learned about making spaghetti sauce and roasting your own coffee beans. Well, at our gender reveal party, his grandma made some delicious food for us! Deviled eggs, potato salad, and a rotisserie chicken. I am SO thankful for her thoughtfulness! The relationship I have with my brother, we haven't always been such good friends. :) Charlemagne! And for having a baby boy!! The unwavering affection of my sweet puppy. My first Cara Box! And it was a really good one, too! The Shutterbuds. I love being part of a group of talented fe...

This was my first month participating in the Cara Box exchange  over at Wifessionals and I am SO glad I decided to join. I heard about it ages ago on other blogs, but August was the first exchange I signed up for. I LOVE making and sending care packages and that's kind of what a Cara Box is! Cara means "beloved friend" and when you sign up for the Cara Box exchange, you get paired with two lovely ladies. One of whom you will send a box, the other who will send you a box. I got paired with Megan at Grad Student Needs A Hobby and Ashley at Splash of Ashley . I had so much fun getting to know these two ladies! This month's theme was "Seasons of Life." Ashley sent me the most wonderful and thoughtful box! Packed full of things that are perfect for this momma-to-be! I pretty much love everything that was in the box. Two LUSH bath bombs: French Kiss and Honey Bee! Yeah! I have never tried any product by LUSH as the nearest place to purchase is ...

Disclaimer: These items were sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. Ever heard of Paparazzi Accessories ? Well, I hadn't either until I saw someone tweeting about it online. It's a direct sales type of company. But this one aims to bring you cute jewelry for a really, really good price. How good? Well, everything on the site is only $5. That's my kind of good price. Lori , a Paparazzi Accessories consultant, sent me a cute earring and necklace set to review. Since it is a two-piece set, is it still $5? Or is it now $10? Turns out it is still $5! Yeah! While it is a cute set, it is important to note that this costs $5 and not $50. These pieces fall firmly into the inexpensive costume jewelry department. Similar to items you might find at Target or Claire's, they are lightweight and not expensively made. This makes Paparazzi Accessories perfect for your quick, trendy jewelry fix! I'm hosting a virtual Paparazzi Accessories ...

We had our Gender Reveal party this afternoon with a few of our nearest and dearest. I know, everyone is beating down the wall of my Facebook page waiting, so keep scrolling. I'm not going to add a lot of captions because I think the story unfolds for itself through the photos. :) It's a boy! We are so excited! And here is our little secret. At our 13 week ultrasound, we had the tech make her best guess. She guessed boy and showed us shadows of boy parts. We kind of stuck with that and have been certain ever since that it would be a boy. Oh, and guess what I just found out! Apparently, Mike saw it on the ultrasound tech's monitor at our anatomy scan! He looked away from the screen and ended up looking at her monitor by mistake. She didn't waste anytime getting down to business, so he couldn't help but see. He does a good job keeping a secret! Thanks to everyone who joined us today. And thanks ...