Friendsgiving Dinner :)

2nd Annual Friendsgiving Dinner

{33 Weeks}

This past weekend we celebrated our 2nd Annual Friendsgiving Dinner! Friendsgiving is a night my girlfriends and I started a year ago and now plan on doing each year around Thanksgiving. It's a night where we all get together, eat large amounts of traditional Thanksgiving food, play drinking games (for the non-pregos ;)), and just celebrate the fact that we are so lucky to have such a great close-knit group of friends. What better way to kick off the holiday season?!

I could not be more thankful to have these amazing people in my life :)

 

Look at all that food...and that was only one side of the kitchen. Each couple pitches in on a dish and the food was amazing...a pregnant lady's heaven (can you tell by my plate? Ha!)

Thank you Tara, Nancy, and Chess for hosting another amazing Friendsgiving Dinner! Can't wait until next year :)

Happy Halloween & 32 Weeks!!!

First off, I wanted to take a moment to welcome all of my new wonderful followers that found me through Aly's blog!  How great is Aly? I just love her!

Thank you all for the kind words about our videos and blog; it truly means a lot to us.  None of your comments went unnoticed; however, I'm still working on commenting back to everyone. I love inspiring others to capture the moment! I've been really busy these past couple of weeks, but have a lot of posts coming soon! For now, here is a bump update :)

How far along?  32 weeks (I can hardly believe it! Time is flying!)

Total weight gain/loss: 27 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yep
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Sleeping through the night (except for the occasional bathroom breaks)
Best moments: My baby shower this past Sunday! Our parents really outdid themselves! It was such a beautiful shower and a day I will never forget. It was one of the most special days spent with family and friends. A post with lots of pictures coming next week on all the details of our shower!  
Miss Anything? I miss my energy! I'm a lot more tired this trimester but overall no complaints! 
Movement: Yep, lots! I love feeling her movements get stronger each week! There is no better feeling!
Food cravings: Nothing strange! My favorite foods currently are pizza, chocolate chip cookies, french fries, and apples (probably why I've gained 27 pounds ;))! 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, but the heartburn at night is terrible
Have you started to show yet: Yep!
Gender: GIRL :) 
Labor Signs: None
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very Happy!!!
Looking forward to:  I'm looking forward to so much! I can't wait to meet her and see what she looks like. I can't wait to cuddle with her next to the fire and kiss her little face! I'm also so excited to celebrate Christmas this year as a family of 3...if she decides to make her debut by then :) 

We also have our annual "Friendsgiving" this weekend, which I am so excited for! Each year, our group of friends get together and celebrate Thanksgiving like a family.  We all pitch in and make a homemade traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It's such a fun night spent being thankful for great friends and great food :)

Happy Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Patch & Weekend Recap!

10.13.12

7 1/2 Months Pregnant :)

I LOVE FALL!!! 

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  I love the crisp air, vibrant colored leaves, cozy fires, pumpkin patches, apple cider, Halloween, and the fact that Christmas is just around the corner, which makes me all giddy inside...especially with the arrival of our little girl :)

This was our first wedding-free weekend in almost two months and we made sure to make the most of it! Friday night we had a date night at one of our favorite restaurants. We spent the night talking, laughing, and eating entirely too much! We are making sure to get in as many date nights as possible before our little Leah is here and they become few and far between :)

Fuzzy iPhone photo from our date night

Saturday we spent the day at Stony Creek Pumpkin Patch picking out our pumpkins and Leah's little pumpkin. It was a perfect day for hot apple cider and pumpkin picking. We then spent the night with our good friends. My best friend is getting married this Saturday so we spent the night talking about all things wedding! We even tested out one of their wishing lanterns, which was so much fun! We each wrote a wish on the lantern and then watched it disappear in to the sky.

Sunday, we spend the day photographing a surprise anniversary proposal for one of our favorite client couples, who have also become good friends of ours! Have I mentioned how much I love my job? Being able to capture special moments in people's lives is what I love most. We then finished off the weekend carving our pumpkins :)

My hubby, dental student during the week and photographer during the weekend, at our session Sunday.

Our Pumpkins :)

Leah's Pumpkin :)

Yes, I know! Everything we do is baby related...can you tell we're excited?
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

Happy Wedding Week To My Best Friend!!!

Jenny, I can't wait to stand with you this weekend on your special day!!! Let the celebrating begin! 

I love you!!! 

Wine & Onesie!

This past weekend my girls and I had a Wine & Onesie Party! We took the same concept as Wine & Canvas but decided to decorate onesies for baby Leah :) We spent the night next to the fire drinking wine (and sparkling grape juice), decorating onesies, and having girl talk...what's better than that?! We had the best time and are already planning our next one! Thank you girls for making Leah some of the most adorable onesies! She is going to be one stylish little girl! 

I'm so lucky to have these ladies in my life and Leah is lucky to have such amazing aunts :)

Our wine markers :)

I decorated a onesie for baby Max! We thought these would be the perfect onesies to put them in for their first date ;)

The onesie I made for Leah! Just like her Mama :)

How amazing did these turn out? I have such creative friends!

 I love having these great memories of my pregnancy.
I say it all the time but I have the best friends a girl could ask for.
Love you girls :) 

Gender Reveal Video!!!

One of the Happiest Days

7.20.12

The day we found out Baby Wood's gender :)

Baby Wood's Gender Reveal!!! from Rachel Wood on Vimeo.

I'm so grateful to have these short videos that perfectly capture our special and intimate moments of being pregnant with our first child. I'm so fortunate to have a creative husband that cherishes memories as much as I do. He is the one behind the magic of all our videos :)

Friday, July 20th 2012. This is a day I will never forget. I've started to notice that I've said this a lot lately. Being pregnant has been the most amazing experience and there are so many days that I never will forget. I hold days like these close to my heart. 

The day started off with us being excited, nervous, and anxious! You see we originally went in on Tuesday, July 17th, 2012 to find out the gender, however, our little one did not want to cooperate. She had her legs crossed the entire time and the ultrasound technician was unable to determine the gender, so we had to reschedule for Friday (3 days later). We were so bummed. We thought we were going to leave that ultrasound room knowing if we were going to be having a son or daughter. We also had a gender reveal party scheduled for that Sunday so I was worried we wouldn't know in time for the party. Come Friday we were so excited but also nervous that we would have the same experience we did on Tuesday. When we started the ultrasound the technician said to us that her legs were still crossed but he promised we wouldn't leave without knowing, so that put us more at ease :) About ten minutes later he was really quiet and focused. I knew he had seen something...and then he typed the most beautiful words on the screen:

IT'S A GIRL!!!

I immediately started crying! David looked at me like "wait, what did I miss?" He couldn't read the small print on the screen across the room, so he wasn't sure what the technician had typed. As soon as I pointed and said "IT'S A GIRL!!!!" he immediately gave me a kiss and hug with excitement. It was the most exciting and overwhelming experience. We spent the rest of the day having lunch together and shopping for our little girl's first outfits! It couldn't have been a happier day :)

We had to keep the exciting news from our family and friends until our Gender Reveal Party that Sunday. It was torture, especially when your closest girlfriends are calling you every hour trying to get it out of you ;) It was definitely worth the wait though! If you happened to miss the post of our Gender Reveal Party just click the link below!

Gender Reveal Party!!!

Leah, 

The love we already have for you is indescribable. We are enjoying every moment of watching you grow and can't wait to meet and hold you :)

24 & 25 Week Update :)

Post written back on 9.10.12

How far along?  24 & 25 week update!
Total weight gain/loss: 16 pounds!
Maternity clothes? Yep
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Sleeping through the night (except for the occasional bathroom breaks)
Best moments: Feeling her movements get stronger! There is nothing I love more than laying on the couch or bed and just feeling her move. I still smile at every movement she makes. To me it's such an amazing experience.
Miss Anything? Laying on my stomach but that's pretty much it!
Movement: Yep, lots :)
Food cravings: No strong food cravings. I do enjoy apples more than I ever have in the past.  
Anything making you queasy or sick: Overeating and the dreaded heartburn I always here about from my mama friends is starting to come late at night :/
Have you started to show yet: Yep!
Gender: GIRL :) 
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!!!
Looking forward to:  I'm looking forward to so much!!! Meeting her and feeling her movements get stronger! Celebrating Christmas with family and our new bundle of joy!  Cuddling next to the fire with her! 

There are also big things happening in my best friend's lives that I'm so looking forward to:
Standing next to my best friend, Jenny, at her wedding! Finding out the gender of Andria's baby! (My best friend, Andria, is also pregnant (about 6 weeks behind me) and I'm so looking forward to finding out if Leah's BFF will be a boy or a girl! It has been amazing sharing this experience with my best friend and I can't wait to see our children interact together :) Post on Andria's gender reveal party coming soon!

Leah's BFF is a...

BOY!!!!!
Maxwell Parker Kimberly

{Written September 17th - Forgot to post}

Yes, our daughter isn't even born yet and she already has a best friend! Our best friends, Bryan and Andria, had their gender reveal party to reveal the gender of their second child! It was an asian themed party where they revealed the gender in fortune cookies! Super cute, right?! It was such a great night with great friends! 

Being pregnant with a best friend is always a girl's dream and it has definitely been amazing to share this experience with someone that means so much to me. We are only 6 weeks apart so we know our little ones will be the best of friends, which we are so excited for! I'm so excited for all our mommy play dates :)

Andria - 20 weeks

Me- 26 weeks

Bryan and Andria (and Xander),

Congratulations!!! We love you guys and are so lucky to have you in our lives! We can't wait to meet baby Max!!! 

Over Half Way!

Today I am 22 weeks and feeling great! The best moment up to now is feeling her move! I'm starting to feel lots of movement and every time I feel something I just smile :) There really is no better feeling. I first felt her move on August 2nd, 2012. It was early in the morning and all the sudden I just felt these little movements that felt like nothing I had felt before. In that movement I knew it was her and I just couldn't stop smiling. The next day, August 3rd, David felt her move for the first time. It was so sweet to see his little face light up when he could feel her little movements. Being pregnant is the most amazing experience and I'm enjoying every minute of it with my hubby. We are both so excited to meet her but are soaking up every minute of watching her grow and preparing for her :)

How far along?  22 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: At my 20 week appointment I had gained 9 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yep
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Sleeping through the night
Best moments: Feeling her move all around, sharing this experience with our family and friends each week, and seeing all the love everyone already has for our little Leah (pics below of the sweet little packages from my sweet grandma and sweet friends) 
Miss Anything? Nope, not that I can think of!
Movement: Yep, lots :)
Food cravings: No food cravings just an increased appetite 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Overeating 
Have you started to show yet: Yep, since about week 16!
Gender: GIRL :) 
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to:  Feeling her movements get stronger! Meeting her! Standing next to my best friend, Jenny, at her wedding! Finding out the gender of Andria's baby! (My best friend, Andria, is also pregnant (about 6 weeks behind me) and I'm so looking forward to finding out if Leah's BFF will be a boy or a girl! It has been awesome sharing this experience with my best friend and I can't wait to see our children interact together :)

I love how my grandma addressed the package to Little Miss Wood...she is the cutest! :)

The adorable gown on the left was from my sweet friend, Aly! The gown is from the super cute shop SheShe Made (www.sheshemade.com).  
The adorable headband on the right was from my best friend, Andria's, mom :)   

Thank you so much sweet friends!!!

Nursery & Baby Girl's Name!

A sneak peek into our nursery!
Can you spot our baby girl’s name? :)

If you spotted Leah you are right ;)

Leah Kimberly Wood

We have actually had this exact name picked out for years!
We love it :)

I have to give my husband credit for the hard work he put into his little girl's nursery. He spent 2 weekends turning the bottom part of the chair rail into a tufted fabric wall. He took my crazy vision and made it happen! :) A lot of people on Facebook were asking about the wallpaper. The wallpaper is a Candice Olsen design that can be found on her website. It's a textured sand particle wallpaper that shimmers!
  We are having so much fun designing and decorating our baby girl's nursery! We still have a lot more to do but I was too excited to not share our progress! The dresser and changing table will be delivered next week and we are still on the hunt for the perfect chair. We also hand painted a little piggy bank at a local pottery place for the nursery that will be done next week!  We had so much fun making a little something custom and for her and I can't wait to put it on her dresser!
I will post a full blog post once all the finishing touches are done :)


In other news, I'm so excited for a weekend full of celebrating great friends!
Saturday I'm attending a baby shower for a fellow dental school wife and friend, Lacey!
Sunday I'm attending my best friend, Jenny's, bridal shower :)
Can't wait to celebrate these girls!