I know I'm a little tardy to the party (as usual) but happy 2016 everybody! :)
We finished out 2015 with a cross country trip to Texas to spend time with our families over the holidays. Multiple days in the car with a pregnant lady and a dog... What could possibly go wrong? ;) Well on the way there I somehow managed to completely mess up our travel itinerary. I got it in my head that our second day of travel was from Atlanta to Lafayette, Louisiana and so that's what we set our course for. It wasn't until we were halfway through Mississippi that my mom called me and reminded me that our hotel reservation for that night was in Mobile, Alabama! ...yeah. So after a few tears and several handfuls of salt & vinegar potato chips, I calmed down and we decided to just drive straight through to Houston. A 12 hour day in the car is definitely not ideal, but having an extra day with my family was completely worth it, and Lou was a champ!
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| This lazy pup slept the whole way! |
We spent the next six days in Houston spending time with my family. We stuffed our faces full of delicious food, saw the Nutcracker downtown, and enjoyed Christmas day complete with over-stuffed stockings (my mom's specialty) and cream cheese danish for breakfast! The day after Christmas my grandfather drove in from New Orleans and we spent our last day in Houston catching up with him before packing up all of our stuff to head to Austin.
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| Did I wear denim and flip flops to the ballet? I sure did. I'm pregnant, give me a break! ;) |
We stopped by my mom's for breakfast before hitting the road and other than a brief but CRAZY rainstorm, we made it to Austin with no trouble at all! The day we arrived, my in-laws were kind enough to throw a little baby shower for me and it was the perfect opportunity to see (almost) all of Mike's brothers and sisters and our nieces and nephews! The afternoon was full of visiting, awesome baby gifts, and delicious red velvet cake, and by the time it was over I was one exhausted mama! We were ready for a good night's sleep and a few more days of quality family time with the Beards :)
While we were in Austin we were crazy busy, but we had the best time! Lou had a HUGE backyard to play in all week, I got to go shopping with my mothers-in-law and they spoiled me big time with a crib and dresser for baby girl's room, and Mike spent lots of time with his dad doing all the manly things they love to do. New Year's Eve was the last night of our trip and this year we stayed fairly low key. We went to a matinee showing of the new Star Wars at the Alamo Draft House, one of those theaters that serves dinner with the movie, and even though some of the plot was a bit lost on me, I really enjoyed the movie and the pizza that came with it! We finished out 2015 on the couch - Game of Thrones season 5 finale on the tv, neighborhood fireworks popping in the background, and a baby girl dance party in my belly. I truly couldn't have asked for anything more :)
2016 is going to be a huge year for us, so it seemed fitting to start it off with a 3 day road trip home hauling a trailer full of goodies! Aside from our second day of travel - the 9 hours from Lafayette to Atlanta was a little rough - the trip went really well and we got a chance to stay with our friends James and Megan in Atlanta* before heading home! It was a busy but perfect two week trip, and I'm so glad we decided to take it!
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| Our little helper inspecting the trailer! |
*side note - James and Megan were kind enough to open their home to us on both ends of our trip and I think that is a big part of what made the trip so easy! A huge thank you to them for giving us a comfy bed to sleep in, a play mate for Lou, DELICOUS Christmas cookies, and even a sweet gift for baby girl. We are so lucky to have friends like you guys! :)
We are almost a full week into 2016 and I'm already loving it. It really is going to be our craziest year yet, but I'm looking forward to every second of it! 2016 is the year that our sweet baby girl will be born, and I'm getting more excited to meet her every day! It is also the year that Mike will potentially make a HUGE change in his career. I don't want to say too much about it just yet, but it's a really exciting opportunity and hopefully I'll be able to share more about it in the next few months! With everything that's headed our way in the new year, I've decided on two major "resolutions" to try and make this the best year I can...
1. Exercise more patience. Life is hard y'all and it demands A LOT of patience. I know that adding a new baby into the mix is going to test me in ways I never though possible and one way I plan to deal with that is by working on my ability to roll with the punches. Messy is ok, things may not always go exactly as I plan, life will go on if things don't look perfect at every moment... Patience :)
2. Prioritize time with Mike. My hubby is a busy man and with each year that passes it seems like he just gets busier! He works harder than anyone I know and it's a quality that I love and admire, but I do have moments where I wish he wasn't quite so dedicated to his job! That being said, it's incredibly important that we take advantage of all the free time we can get our hands on, especially now with a new baby on the way. To me this means putting down my phone, shutting down my laptop, clearing my mind, and just being present (mentally and physically) to spend good, quality time with the man I love. It's not always easy because my preggo brain is usually going a million miles a minute. I'm constantly thinking of chores that need to be done, tasks that need to be accomplished, baby items I need to research and purchase, it never ends! But I want to work on putting that all aside so that I can enjoy the peaceful moments we have with just the two of us :)
So to wrap up this long post, Happy 2016! I hope that everyone enjoyed their holidays, and may you all have wonderful new year :) Next up - a 23 week update!
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