Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Clayton: 11 Months

It is just so hard to believe that My Baby Boy is already 11 Months Old. 
Unreal really and hadn't even completely sunk in until I started making out his invitations 
for his upcoming 1st Birthday! (I Cried)
Via Instagram anmcgowan

It seems like every day he is becoming more and more independent and it breaks my heart.

At 11 Months he is:

Walking
Has 8 teeth and cutting 2 more
Throwing Fits =)
Into EVERYTHING
Becoming more and more vocal
Waving Hi & Bye when he wants too ;)
Eating pretty much everything well with some exceptions
Still Breast Feeding 
Loving Bath Time
Favorite Thing to do is Swing at the Park
Enjoying 2 hours naps (most days)
Sleeping mostly through the night
Climbing Stairs
Trying to climb onto furniture and chairs
Did I say into EVERYTHING?!
Favorite Cartoon: Mickey Mouse Playhouse


This age is so much fun and I love being able to be with him as he learns all of these new experiences! 
I can't wait as he starts to talk more and starts even more first. Being a momma truly is the most amazing thing in the world and the joy it brings me is so wonderful. 


With Much Love,
Ashley

Monday, June 11, 2012

What Inspires you from Sweet Little Somethings

I am super excited that my oh so sweet sister and myself are swapping blogs for the day! 
She is such a beautiful person inside and out and I love how much her blog reflects that, so please make sure to visit her over at Sweet Little Somethings and also see my post on her blog.



Hello cuties! Jessie here from sweet little somethings. If you didn't already know, Ashley is my beautiful sister. We're swapping blogs for the day and today I'm writing about what inspires me.


I try and find inspiration everywhere possible. To me, it's the little things in life that keep me going. I try my hardest to slow down, even if I'm having a busy, hectic day, and take a few seconds to take in the beautiful world around me.

 I especially draw inspiration from nature. Everything about nature inspires me. Baby animals. Sunsets and sunrises. Beautiful green grass and lush trees. Cute little mushrooms. Hummingbirds and honey suckle. Old, beautiful trees on the river. Listening to the birds sing while I sit on the porch with my morning coffee.








Something else that inspires me is little treasures that I find while thrifting and antiquing. It's something that I have really grown to love - I think that secondhand items, expecially vintage and antique items just have so much character and personality. Even if I can't afford most of the items that I love, I still try to set aside some time once every few weeks to go and explore my favorite indoor flea market in town. Sometime I'm mostly just looking for the sake of looking, but sometimes I manage to find some pretty neat little treasures...








And last but not least, the whole blog world inspires me! Blogging has become a pretty big part of my life and daily routine. One of my favorite times of the day is when I first wake up and get to sit around and drink my coffee while reading blogs. There are so many inspiring, beautiful blogs and the ladies behind them that I draw inspiration from. I seriously can't imagine my life without blogging or what I would do.


Thank you so much Ashley for having me today!

xo,
Jessie

I love her so very much and she makes this big sister so proud everyday. 
Make sure to visit her blog and show her some love. =)
Until Next Time,
Ashley

A Mother's Loss...This Mother's Loss

I have sat here for the longest time trying to think of the best way to tell you my story.
The only thing I can come up with is from the beginning. 
I know that sharing this will help with my healing.

Four weeks ago Saturday after being 3 days late for my monthly cycle,
 I took 3 pregnancy test and much to my surprise they were all POSITIVE! 
We had been talking about how we wanted to start trying soon 
so Clayton could be close in age with his brother/sister, so with him almost being a year I was so excited.
I love being a mother and everything about it and want nothing more than to have a large family.

I did the next thing that I should do which was make a doctors appointment for the next week.
Where they did blood work to confirm for sure and that came back the next day positive. 
They also gave me my estimated due date from my last cycle and I was beyond giddy to find out that it would be on January 22nd, this was my daddy's birthday! What an awesome gift.
So we scheduled my next appointment for 8 weeks out.

In the mean time we are telling all of our family, excitedly talking about the babies room and themes, how I want my birth plan to be a little different this time, all kinds of babies names. Will it be a boy or a girl. What an amazing big brother Clayton will be! All of the fun stuff that goes with expecting a baby.

I then started cutting things out of my diet like caffeine, of course alcohol and added folic acid and a prenatal vitamin back to my everyday routine.  Along with lots of water and healthy foods.

Everything was going fine for the first two weeks after I found out I was pregnant. 
The normal stuff being extremely tired. Hormones starting to go crazy. A little Nausea and so forth.

Then the middle of week three I started having some very light spotting. 
Which of course freaked me out because I didn't have any of that with my son.
The doctor wanted me to come in the next day. They did blood work, an exam and an ultra sound.
The ultra sound didn't show anything but the doctor thought maybe we just had my day off and the spotting was from implantation bleeding. 
We got the blood work back the next day and my HcG numbers were at 87. 
Which seemed kind of low so he wanted me to come in Monday the next week and have it ran again.
In 48 hours with normal HcG #'s it should at least double. 
We had 72 hours in between my test and on Monday my numbers only went to 130.

This of course was a concern for my doctor along with the pain I was starting to experience he was concerned with it being ectopic. Then we are faced with having to tell family what is going on when we don't even really know. How do you explain something when you are yet to have all the answers?

He scheduled more blood work for Wednesday and these numbers went up from 130 to 220.
Yet again another increase but not doubling like it should.
 Soooo more confusion and pain and lack of answers. 
Normally with a miscarriage when you are spotting like I was your numbers will decrease not increase.

By the next afternoon I was in extreme pain and bleeding heavily. 
This of course meant my body was taking care of this on it's own. 
This past weekend was extremely heart wrenching. I was in so much pain I could barely get myself to the bathroom. I was completely exhausted from the pain, crying and not being able to eat.
Also, dealing with all the mental questions and burdens of why and how could this happen we had been so careful. 

I had a complete miscarriage this weekend and we lost our baby.

 I guess if you want to be technical which I am sure some people would love to be it wasn't just yet a baby. In my eyes and heart it was though.
It was the addition to our family that we had prayed for and wanted. 
I loved it so much already. Started my cheesy little conversations with my baby.


I have done a lot of soul searching the past few days and though I know I have a long way to go and that I will forever question and wonder why and what this baby would have grown to be. 
I know that everything happens for a reason and it was God's will. 
I may not understand why he does everything he does or what his reasons are, but he has never let me down before. In time we will try again and if it is God's will then we will one day welcome another precious little one into our lives. 

Thank you for reading my story and allowing me to share. This is a way for me to get things out and try to find a way to heal. If you think about it or wouldn't mind send a prayer up for us as we still find a way to cope with this chapter of our lives.


With Much Love,
Ashley


Saturday, June 9, 2012

Summer Days



An Irish Prayer 
May God give you... 
For every storm, a rainbow, 
For every tear, a smile, 
For every care, a promise, 
And a blessing in each trial. 
For every problem life sends, 
A faithful friend to share,
 For every sigh, a sweet song,
 And an answer for each prayer. 


 Friends I hope that wherever you may be and whatever the
 weather may bring your way today that you find a peace and comfort.
 I hope the day that puts a smile on your face and a warmth in your heart. 
Happy Saturday! 

With Much Love, Ashley

Friday, June 8, 2012

The Greatest Man I Ever Knew



Today was one of those days when I wanted nothing more than to be able to talk to my daddy and hear his kind words and amazing advice.
 God truly has a time for everything a reason behind all he does.
Of Course I would go through such a trying time on the day my daddy passed away 4 years ago.

I was able to feel his love and compassion and hear just what he would say to me if he were still with us.
It was calming knowing that even though he is gone from this earth he still surrounds me and looks after me like he always said he would.

My daddy was such a kind man who would do anything for anyone who needed it. 
My mom, sister and myself were his world.
He never stopped showing us and never stopped trying to take care of us
 even up to the very moment he said his last word and took his last breath.
 In that very moment he was still more worried about us more than himself. 
I hope that as I grow and continue to mature in a better woman that 
I can one day have half of the selflessness that he had!

I miss you more today than I did when you left daddy and
 I love you more today than I did yesterday
 and less than I will tomorrow. 
Thank you for all that you always did for us and for still showing me the light when I sit in the darkness! 
You are my Hero and always will be.

2007, Tybee Island 

My Daddy
With Much Love,
Ashley 

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Patience My Child

5.

This is something I have NONE of.
They should offer these classes at the hospital along with the Birth Prep Class, since it is something as a parent you HAVE to have.

Life can be so confusing and well let us down at times and as I am trying to figure out just the reason for my current trials I am working daily on trying to become a more patient woman. momma. wife.

I may not understand everything that we are currently facing and
 let me tell you that is gut wrenching.
However, I can control my happiness and how productive I am with our day.
Reminding myself that I am so blessed to have the amazing son that we do and such a loving husband gets me through each and every day.

one day at a time.


With Much Love,
Ashley

Friday, June 1, 2012

Pandora and Pinterest

What a wonderfully relaxing Friday evening this girl has had. 
Got some wonderful cuddle time in with my sweet son.

Now that he is asleep and resting well, 
I thought I would indulge in some Mommy time with Pinterest and Pandora.

I haven't done a Pinterest post in awhile so I thought I would share some wonderful things I found that make me happy, inspire me, remind me of why I enjoy summer.

What I am listening to

Wish I was there


Want a Pin-up girl Tattoo!

Adore this office

Love Summer Layers

Beautiful

Yes Please!

I vow to have a Pinic with my hubby in June

Love

Nudes are my favorite

going to try and keep up with this month on
 instagram @anmcgowan

I will take all this...

and this

and this!!!
Happy Weekend and June 1st friends. 
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

With Much Love,
Ashley