38 Weeks, Happy New Year!

Well, it's official! Luke will be a 2014 baby, although I had a scare on Monday night while Brendan was at staff duty and wasn't sure if I was going into labor! I was having a lot of contractions, and although they weren't very painful they were pretty close together! Luckily, they stopped around 1am and I was able to sleep for a few hours, but it definitely made me a little bit nervous that Luke was coming sooner than later! In the meantime, my little fingers finally swelled up and I had to take my engagement ring off and wedding band... my hands actually hurt from the swelling which I'm going to check with my doctor about on Friday because I don't know if that's normal!

This week we stayed pretty busy and on Saturday took the dogs and made a trip out to Carolina Beach State Park and Fort Fisher to walk around. It's about a 2 hour drive from here to get out to the coast and while I was hesitant to drive out there, it was nice to walk around and to be able to see the ocean. Proximity to the ocean is one thing I definitely took for granted growing up in Connecticut. Although it was the Long Island Sound, I only lived about 20 minutes from the beach and an hour or so away from the actual ocean and my grandparents lived on Long Island on the water and a 5 minute walk from the beach. I've realized that if I don't go to a big body of water at least a few times a year I get really sad about it. Living next to a lake here in Fayetteville has been pretty helpful though! Here are some photos from our adventure:

We spent New Years Eve with some of our friends at our house. It was much more low key than Christmas! I made a few easy snacks- cheese and crackers, salsa and chips and sweet potato circles (which are my go-to for having people over!) and some of our friends brought some snacks over too. Brendan made a fire in the back yard in our fire pit and we had some champagne at midnight. This was actually the first year that Brendan and I actually managed to stay up to ring in the New Year... last year, after having too much "fun" the night before in Savannah, we crawled into bed around 11 and heard the fireworks as we went to sleep and the year before I think we were awake, but didn't really make a big deal about it.

2013 was a great year for us, so I will quickly reflect on some of the highlights!

• In the beginning of the year (or end of 2012, I can't completely remember!) Brendan and I began meeting with other young couples from our church for fellowship and to discuss the sermons and made some of the best friends we could have asked for, I also began doing a Saturday morning ladies running group and bible study through 1 Samuel! 
• Brendan spent a pretty good amount of time in the field this year and 5 weeks down at Ft. Benning for a class over the summer which gave me some time to do some self reflection. 
• Brendan had a great first full year here at Ft. Bragg! In May he earned his EIB (Expert Infantry Badge) and he was assigned a second platoon which he took over in October and is currently the Mortars Platoon Leader
• In May, we found out that we were pregnant, and in August found out that we'd be having a boy!
• Also in May, I was offered and accepted a position at my church which allowed me to have more time to focus on our marriage, home life, and the impending arrival of a baby!
• My parents moved to Florida over the summer and having them a little bit closer has been nice, even though we still don't see them often it's good for my peace of mind!
• I was able to make two trips up to Connecticut this year, including one which Brendan came and we were able to spend some time in the Hudson Valley where we met, and the other one being my baby shower where I was able to see most of my friends and family!
• THREE of my bridesmaids welcomed little boys into the world this year, which means Luke will have tons of playmates
• another three of my closest friends from church and here in Fayetteville welcomed babies into the world this year (two boys and a girl!) and I'm thrilled to have so many friend in the same season of life as me!
• We moved into a new house which feels more like home than I thought it could!

These are just a few of the amazing things that God has blessed us with this year. I could really write an entire post on how awesome this year has been! The real blessing for me has been watching Brendan and I's marriage really blossom this year. 2012 was tough for us because we didn't really have a ton of time to be together. Brendan was gone for 2 weeks in January and then from February until September, and then we moved to NC in October making that year really just a series of major adjustments, and while I wouldn't change anything about that year, I don't miss it very much. 2013 has been a fantastic year, and I know that 2014 will be even better... thanks in big part to a small human that will enter our lives shortly!

How far along? 38 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: over 35... leaving it at that
Maternity clothes? I have about 3 shirts that fit, and I now wear all black, because it's slimming... right?
Stretch marks? Still none so far!
Sleep: not great
Best moment this week: Beach and New Years Eve
Miss Anything? wearing my wedding rings and not crying when I need to get up
Movement:all the time.
Food cravings: chocolate... and I never even liked it before I was pregnant
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Have you started to show yet: got asked if I was having twins on Monday...
Labor Signs: contractions are getting more frequent
Belly Button in or out? OUT
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or Moody? Happy, but self consciousness has returned
Looking forward to: Meeting with my doula on Friday and getting my hair done tomorrow!