We are family.

One of the greatest joys I have now is taking Hannah to see her great grandparents and much of her extended family.  I love seeing them and hearing stories about what I was like compared to what she was like, or hearing what her daddy was like when he was little.  

Hannah with her great grandmother, Betty O'Connor, 88

Hannah and Aunt Abby

Meeting her second cousin, Audrina.

Myself with Hannah, Melissa with Audrina

Our babies are just two months apart!

Abby holding her pretend baby

Needing some ceiling fan time at great grandma Rish's house

Aunt Abby loving on Hannah

Pooped.

Great grandma Rish

Morning.

I'm lucky to make it to midnight, and mornings are my favorite part of the day.  

This is the one time of the day that I'm guaranteed big smiles and sweet coos.

Star Spangled Banner

I've never been HUGE on the 4th of July... but having Hannah makes everything so much more special.  I get to experience her first time watching fireworks, get her dolled up for the event, and everything is an opportunity to get pictures together as a family. 

I just love it now.  

Hannah Michelle in her festive outfit! I made her headband out of old t-shirts!

"Grammy and Hanny"

For her first 4th of July, we had my dad, step mom, and step sister up for dinner. We grilled out, then went to Geist reservoir to watch fireworks and listen to music. All in all, it was a great day!

A room for Hannah.

So, while I was pregnant, my husband was gone for 6 months. I was busy with planning a lot of things and being a nanny to four kids full time, but I was also given free reign over the design of the nursery! 

YAY!

I love interior decorating.  I decided on the room color while Greg was home for the holiday break so he could help me paint,  and we picked out furniture together when I went to Georgia in February.  But other than that, it was a surprise for him when he got home.

The yellow frame was originally neon pink, I spray painted it yellow to match.  I didn't know the glass was attached and it broke out (whoops!).  I put a butterfly from her late great grandmother in the frame. 

I am not a fan of mobiles.  So, I opted to make my own.  The pom poms were made from styrofoam balls that I covered in felt circles.  Then I attached ribbons and nailed them to the ceiling. The oval mirror I found at Target on clearance for 13 dollars! (originally 52)

I added the grommets to the  curtains for a more polished look. The pillows I found at Homegoods for SUPER cheap.

The mirrors were originally black (from Target), so I taped off the glass and spray painted them white.  The lamps were originally 100 each, I got both of them on clearance for $35 a piece at Homegoods.

The frames were all different colors, I painted them white and put fabric in them and attached them all together. 

I think it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself!

A little you. A little me.

On September 20. 2011 my whole world changed when I found out I was pregnant.   It was a big surprise for Greg and me.  We had just got Moose, our baby boxer and weren't planning on going any further than that for a while.  But life had other plans!! 

Moose, a long long time ago! 

The boy is STUBBORN! When he was done walking, he was DONE! (He is much better now and loves walking!)

So, the first thing we had to do was make sure everyone was healthy, and on October 11, we got confirmation that I was pregnant... it was real. So, here was my journey.

9 weeks, 5 days. The little stinker was standing on it's head, waving hello. 

17 weeks and still not showing!

The tastiest way to let everyone know we're having a GIRL!

21 weeks and you can finally start to see a bump!  :)

27 weeks, I'm finally noticeable!

28 weeks with Hannah and Moose (her canine brother)!

At Callaway Gardens in Georgia at 35 weeks.  The doctors said not to travel... I'm a little hard headed.

This was exactly one month from my due date.  I was getting so excited at this point. Everything was ready to go! 

38 weeks, I'm ALMOST DONE! 

The only complaint you gave me this whole time was HEARTBURN!! and LOTS OF IT!

On May 15, 2012 we met her and fell in love instantly. The labor and delivery was a breeze. I literally coughed her out. She's just been a delight since the beginning.

Here she is, Hannah Michelle.

One day old.  

My heart just melts.

1 week old.

3 Weeks old.

5 weeks old. 

This is about 7 and a half weeks. 

She gets more beautiful every day.

The Wedding.

I had about one month to put together a wedding (MY wedding) by myself. 

Here are the results:

Can't you just feel the love in this picture? :)

This picture cracks me up!

The photos from the canal are my favorite. Such a pretty area!

 The dress was bought without ever seeing it from David's Bridal.  It was originally about 800, and I got it for under 100!

My beautiful sister Abby - my maid of honor. 

My BIL Chris, SIL Laura, and my husband, Greg.

 Instead of a wedding cake, I had a cupcake tower made.  Each cupcake was filled with pink filling as a surprise reveal of the sex of our baby!

 The centerpieces were made from sticks I cut off a fallen branch on the side of the road, plastic Christmas balls that I got for 50 cents, and blue ribbon.  

(Photos by www.thepros.com)

Imagination never took me here.

I decided on a whim to study business administration for my associates degree.

I chose marketing as my concentrated study for my bachelor's degree, solely because my cousins had done really well after college when they studied it.

I joined the military on a day when I did not know where to go in life after college.

I decided to put all (or as much as I could) of me aside and befriend the unlikeliest of people to make my relationship work.

I chose to bite my tongue and have faith that this is what life was leading me to.

Overall, I am more than pleased with the outcome. 

My new job doesn't deal with business administration for the most part... nor does it deal with marketing.

I rarely made honor roll throughout college, though I was working full time, studying full time, and partying overtime.

I have done great in the military. It has given me the best experiences of my life, and is what I am most proud of.  I am so sad to see it go. 

Thus is life, and so it goes on.

Testing waters with "new" friends who I was not so certain about has pushed me to my limit, only proving to myself that I have no limit.  Oprah said it best, "anything is possible to those willing to make the sacrifices."

My relationship has grown into everything I had hoped for.  I have never felt so comfortable with someone before.

I recognize that I take my luck for granted. 

Greg deserves credit for keeping me sane and driving me to the brink of insanity all at the same time.

In a few days, I will be in the Bahamas with Greg and his family. I'm most excited to spend time with his family. We could go anywhere... But the Bahamas is a nice option. :) 

Hopefully I will start my job soon after that... Still waiting on a start date.

Life is amazing.