Jazzercise in July

Pics from class in July... we won our beach towels after taking a certain # of classes over a period of time. We won for the most creative pic :) I love the friends I've made through Jazzercise!

Bump shot before class at 22 weeks!

Dallas Trip with Mom

As soon as we found out Baby H was a boy, mom and I chose a weekend to head to Dallas to shop around. Surprisingly, NWA is short on baby stores and we wanted to get some fun baby loot!

We left on Friday morning and came home on Sunday. It was the first trip with just the two of us we've had in a LONG time. Loved every minute!

As soon as we got to Dallas, we shopped for a few hours before the stores closed. One of my favorite stores was Baby Bliss - and they had cribs! I was hoping to look at some cribs and found one I liked on day one! 

Mom mom is getting a crib and changing table from Aunt Billie Sue (passed down from Spencer), so she got baby bedding. LOVE it all :)

This is the crib sheet she got... it is from one of my favorite baby brands - the softest material EVER.

That night, we stopped at the ZaZa for a drink and went to Avanti for dinner. It was fun showing my mom the places that I usually go to at market with Mary Ann! 

We got up on Saturday and shopped some more... with a pit stop at Gigi's cupcakes :) A pic of the trunk we sent my dad and Tripp ha!

Aunt Ann wanted to see our loot, so we laid it all out on the bed in the hotel and sent her pics! My mom has been so excited and generous - she bought Baby H quite a few goodies :)

This is "Sox" the Fox... a perfect addition to the nursery.

This was a bump pic the Monday after our Dallas trip... bump is growing at 21 weeks!

Surprise at Work

On Tuesday at work, I got a call that I had a delivery at the front desk. I opened up the package and it was fresh chocolate covered strawberries with this note!

Love my family! :) The strawberries were DELICIOUS! 

Good News - Quad Screen Results

Monday morning, I was in line at Starbucks after a meeting at P&G and saw my Dr's office was calling. I had been anticipating this call since we left the Dr last Wednesday and it was GOOD NEWS! The Quad screen results were negative and we have a less than 1 in 5000 chance of the baby having any genetic disorders (including Down Syndrome) which is the best result we could have received.

Praise. The. Lord. I hadn't been able to sleep well since we got the news and I've tried to not be worried or sad, but it's definitely been in the back of my mind constantly. 

Yes the results are only a risk level, but I'm so grateful to have some relief for the next 8 weeks until our next ultrasound. 

We also just planned a date for our first baby shower! October 9th in Fayetteville... the Sunday of the Alabama game! :) WOO PIG!

Sarah's Baby Shower

Two weeks after Claire's shower... we had Sarah's shower in Little Rock! 

I drove down on Saturday... hit up a few stores in Little Rock and then met up with Mere and Claire for pedicures. We spent hours talking... from about 3pm through dinner and it was perfect. Every topic known to mankind - babies, husbands, life, work, etc. Miss being close to my friends!

A few pics from her shower - which was at Claire's house. Fun celebrating baby boy Beach - can't wait to meet him!!

It's a BOY!

Wednesday, July 6. A day we will always remember! Our offices were closed Mon and Tues for the 4th... and I took off Wed and Thurs since we had our big ultrasound and I knew I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else :) Tripp had to work everyday but Monday.

I taught a Strength60 class on Wed at 9:30am, got ready at home after and Tripp came to pick me up and head to the appointment. I ate a PB sandwich with chia seeds sprinkled on top and a honeycrisp apple on the way :) We stopped at Casey's to get a small orange juice since I was planning to have blood work (trying to avoid the near-fainting episode last time this happened ha). 

It was such a surreal feeling - walking into the Dr. office and knowing in a few hours we would know if Baby H was a boy or girl... after almost 19 weeks of wondering and dreaming!

We went back to the ultrasound room. I was surprised at how warm the ultrasound thingy that goes on your stomach was - for some reason, I thought it would be cold and gross because of that jelly stuff. The ultrasound tech (not my doctor) immediately got to work. She would tell us what she was measuring and we could see her measuring and taking pictures... but that was it. Nothing else. No reassurance. No smiles. Just measurements and pictures. 

I got overwhelmed and teared up multiple times. Here we are both staring up at our sweet babe, but we have no idea what any of the measurements or pictures mean. We told her not to tell us the gender and so we kept our eyes closed while she clicked around that area :) I honestly didn't like the experience at all compared to our first ultrasound with Dr. Markell. The ultrasound tech was nice, but the whole situation was tough - I didn't expect that at all as I had been so excited to see the babe again.

We finished up the ultrasound, then waited to see Dr. Markell to get the results. Once she came into the room, she said everything looked good and we were measuring right on track. She did have two concerns... 1) the placenta is partially covering the cervix. So, if that doesn't correct itself I wouldn't be able to deliver vaginally and would need a C-section. She thought it would likely correct itself as my uterus gets bigger and causes the placenta to move up. 2) the baby's kidneys were measuring a bit large. Again, she said she wasn't concerned as babies grow at different paces and it was a tiny, tiny amount that they are enlarged compared to the parameters they set. However, she wanted to schedule another ultrasound in 8 weeks (when I am almost 27 weeks) and see how they are doing then. If they are still enlarged, they would engage a high-risk OB. I wasn't too concerned based on her comments until I asked what enlarged kidneys means in babies... and she said it can be a sign of Down Syndrome. I was getting the Quad Screen today (bloodwork) to test for the risk of DS and a few other genetic disorders, so we will get the results on Monday and go from there. My heart sunk. I was sad and trying to digest the information. 

They led us back out to the lobby where Tripp and I waited for about 30 minutes for me to go back and get my bloodwork done for the Quad Screen. It was a long 30 minutes. We couldn't really talk about anything because there were people everywhere and I felt like I was on the verge of tears. I didn't want to overreact... I didn't want to freak out... I know that God's plan is the best plan for our family... but I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. 

After the bloodwork (which i NAILED and required no orange juice), Tripp and I drove to campus to open the ultrasound pics and reveal the gender. We didn't want to find out in the ultrasound room (and I'm SOOOOO glad we didn't based on how that went) and we also wanted the 2 of us to find out together before the rest of our friends and family that night... so we went to our spot on campus that we used to park at during college. Before we were dating, we talked in Tripp's car for hours one night in that parking lot. We had lots of memories there :) 

So across from the Chi-O house in the circle drive by the library is where we learned Baby Hollowell was a BOY!!!!!!!! I saw it first and I could NOT believe it! I could have paid money it was a girl - the entire pregnancy, I have felt girl. i was shocked!! Tripp was so excited and loving that I had guessed wrong and he guessed right ;) It was such a crazy moment! We're having a boy... a son. OMG.

This is us right after we found out!

We ran a few errands, then spent the rest of the afternoon getting the house ready for the party that night! We stuck with a fourth of July theme and decorated the house a bit :)

Jess Lais brought cupcakes :)

6:30 - everyone started showing up and at 7pm, we went outside to do the smoke bomb reveal! It was SOOOO fun!!!!!

I absolutely LOVE Tripp's reaction in these pics. Even when we already knew, he was SOOOO excited and proud to tell everyone! A lot of people were shocked! So many people thought it was a girl... too funny.

Sweet Sawyer found out he is going to have a best friend soon! :)

Trey & Courtney Becton just moved back to AR after Trey's medical school! He will be working at Washington Regional which is where the baby will be born.

Dad, Mr. Spendio & Aunt KK

Caroline (our flower girl), Julia and Jane Spendio + Mom.

Mr. Spendio & Uncle Scott

Jess and I - can't believe we are going to be #boymoms together!

Still cannot believe it! We love him already.

So many people brought sweet gifts, so I opened those. Everyone left a bit later and it honestly felt like the party was a dream. I have thought about what it would be like to be pregnant, tell our family and friends what we are having... but it still feels so crazy that we are actually living it! 

We got in bed and talked about the concerns from the ultrasound earlier that day. I was laying on Tripp's shoulder and was IN AWE of everything he was saying to calm my nerves. He was reassuring me that no matter what, it was exactly God's plan and we will love this baby regardless. This is what parenthood is - worries and concerns and this is just the first we've experienced it. He is our son and that's all that matters... etc etc etc. It was just what I needed to hear. We are in this together. He is our son, created by God and we are so lucky to have gotten pregnant quickly and had a wonderful pregnancy so far. I am beyond thankful Tripp and I are in this together. More than ever, I'm realizing he is my rock. 

4th of July

Spent the 4th of July on the lake, of course! It was a rainy morning, but it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. The Spendios were in town and have officially moved back to AR - so we didn't have to worry about goodbyes after the festivities were over. So excited to have them here!

We went to the lake on Saturday and missed the fireworks that night at Lost Bridge - first year in a long time to miss them. Oops! Sunday we had a lazy day at home and mom, dad, tripp and I got shaved ice and watched the fireworks at the crosses. The amount of people parked around this part of Rogers was INSANE. People were pulled off on the interstate, every parking lot you could see was full, there were tailgaters too. 

Monday - the 4th - I taught class and then we headed out to the lake around 1pm. Julia wrote this cute message at the lakehouse! :)

The water is so low this year... it made things a bit interesting. We didn't have the dock to pull up next to our lay on, but we improvised! Tripp whipped out the flag when the boat was coming back in. Where he is standing is where the dock is and the water used to be up to. 

We grilled out, had lots of food and drinks... and then all ended up inside watching a re-run of the Bachelorette. HI

Mr. Mike dancing ha.

A smaller group went back out to the lake on Tuesday - it was the best day and I was so sad Tripp had to work! Next year, he is taking off too! It was hot, sunny day and we nearly had the lake to ourselves. We rode around on the boat, floated in the water in Castle Cove, tubed and had a blast.

This view is right when you get to the lakehouse... it makes me smile every time I pass it. I LOVE the lake and I LOVE the 4th of July!