3 Months Old!

Wow, how much does time fly?!?!?!?!?

Josiah turned 3 months old on the 11th. The past 3 months have just gone so fast, I can't believe it. At 3 months old, Josiah is full of smiles and coos. His smile brings us joy daily. He likes to rock in the rocking chair, play with his toy that lights up when he kicks it, and watch "Baby Einstein". You might think to yourself, a 3 month old baby does not watch t.v. but let me tell you, he does! He sits in his bouncie seat and he will watch all 30 min of it straight through. It's the most amazing thing to watch. He is getting to be such a fun little boy and we can't wait to see all the new things he does.

He had his dedication the Sunday after Thanksgiving and Josh wrote a song that we sang to him. Afterwards we had friends and family over for a luncheon. It was a really great time.

We feel so blessed to be given this little boy to call our own. Isn't he the cutest?!?!?

2 months old

Josiah is 2 months old today! Happy 2 month birthday Josiah, we love you!

Halloween

This was obviously Josiah's first Halloween and I was quite excited to get him all dressed up for the occassion! We were invited to our friends the Laniers for a Halloween bash. There were lots of people and lots of kids, but we had the youngest little one. I purchased Josiah's pea pod costume a long time ago, but Josh came up with the idea for us to go together as the " black eyed peas". We were a hit, it was fun! Isn't he the cutest little pea pod you have ever seen?!?!?!

Busy Busy

So I have been wanting to write another post for some time now, but life has been quite busy. I am finally taking a few minutes while Josiah is asleep in his swing to write. Josiah will be 6 weeks old tomorrow. I can't believe how big he has gotten already! I took him to the doctor this week, because he keeps spitting up and I was concerned that he was not getting enough nutrition from all of the spitting up. We were surprised to find out that he has gained 3 pounds since birth. He now weighs 9 and a half pounds which puts him above the 50th percentile, for his age. I commonly refer to him as my little chub chub. He is still just as sweet as ever, but my baby that never cried has now gotten a voice. He does not cry often, but definitely has some moments now where he is fussy... and just wanting to be heard probably. He is still so sweet and I find myself spending lots of time holding him and giving him kisses. I want to cherish this special time, while he is little and lets me kiss him often. Josh said to me the other day as I was giving him a kiss, " you're not going to do that when he is 15 are you?"... To that I say, why not he is my son! Ha ha, I am sure he will love that...

We have been priviledged to have a lot of visitors and we are now looking forward to my brother Shawn coming for a visit in the beginning of November. He has never been to our house since we moved to Wilmington, so we are excited for him to come and see out house and meet Josiah! The pic above is one that I took on Sunday as we were getting ready to leave for church... he is just so cute I can't stand it!

Motherhood....

So Josiah will be 4 weeks old in 2 days. I have been sitting here thinking about motherhood and how much my life has changed since Josiah has come into our lives. He is a great baby and I am so thrilled to be his mom. It has definitely been a very busy time, laundry never ends, Josh and I rarely go to bed at the same time or are in bed at the same time, and I am quite tired but things seem to be going well. I look forward to the weekends when Josh is off and can help out some at night... Obviously I am the only one who can feed him, since I am strictly nursing but Josh helps out so much on the weekends if he gets fussy at night and wants to be held. Josh has been such a great daddy! During the week, I take over completely at night and during the day... Surprisingly I keep pretty busy with the day to day tasks at home, running errands and an attempt at a little exercise... trying to get these pregnancy pounds off! I have my 4 week ob appointment tomorrow and I am hoping that the doctor tells me I have healed enough to start really working out. Matt and Sarah are coming in for a visit this weekend and to meet Josiah. We are excited, also its supposed to be sunny and in the 80's! Needless to say we will be spending some time outside! Also, more news.... my parents are going to be moving to Wilmington! Of course, we are all excited about this news. The Lord has opened up some doors for them to make a move close to some family, come January. Josiah is excited to have his grammy and grampy be close to spoil him. Of course there are a lot of details to work out but my parents feel called to move on from full time ministry into more of retirement type jobs... Keep them in your prayers as this is a time of transition for all!

More About Josiah...

Sorry for not posting more on this awesome little boy... I have been extremely busy the past three weeks with changing, feeding, cleaning, bathing, changing, feeding, cleaning, bathing, changing, feeding, etc... you get the picture. Motherhood is FABULOUS. I am loving every minute of it despite how incredibly tired I am. For a while Josiah had his days and nights confused and now he sleeps at night, but keeps me awake with all of his noises. I am constantly getting up out of bed to make sure he is ok. Josh has been a great father so far, he has been a huge help and I have been totally shocked with how involved he is in every aspect of this child's life. We have been super blessed with an awesome baby. He rarely cries except for when he is really hungry and when he gets changed... he does not like to be nakey. Other than that he never cries and is a constant joy in our lives. We have had the priviledge of having lots of visitors. My parents have come, Josh's parents, and Aunt Elise. Matt and Sarah are coming for a visit this weekend which we are excited about! Also, Elise is pregnant with a boy, and Sarah with twin girls, that makes for 2 boys and 2 girls for the Mitchell side! We are all excited about babies and the gift of life. Babies are blessings for sure!

Josiah pictures

Thought I would share some pictures of Josiah for those of you who are non facebook users... We think he is perfect :)

Josiah Kaleo Mitchell is Here!

Josiah Kaleo Mitchell was born on Saturday, September 11th at 2:13 pm. Weighing in at 6 lbs 12 oz and 19 inches long. He is super cute, super sweet and we are so blessed! I will update more once I have some more time, little man sure keeps his momma and daddy busy!

Contractions...

Today I started having contractions. I have had them all day, however they have not been consistent at all in their timing... We will see what happens I guess... other than that, I have been trying to keep myself busy with organizing, cleaning, and just preparing for little man Mitchell. So far, all the baby's clothes are washed and put in their proper place, the hospital bag is packed,and we have everything we need for him. I am starting to get nervous about giving birth, especially after experiencing these contractions, but I am very excited. I can't wait to be a mom and to hold that little boy in my arms. What a joy he is going to be! Other than the excitement of the baby coming, we spent some time in North Topsail Beach with my family, while they were on vacation. My parents and my brother and his wife all rented some condo's on the beach. We had a blast. The boys played lots of bocce and a lot of time was spent relaxing in the sun, and walking on the beach. Fun was had by all! And I even got compliments from several people on still wearing my bikini!

This is for Elise...

35 weeks.... yes, my butt is getting bigger too... prob time to cut back on all the choc chip cookie dough ice cream!

Baby's room

Please excuse how blurry these pictures are... a new camera is on the list before I go into labor! Also, it's not fully complete yet. I am having a script printed for the wall behind the crib and going to put up some blue polka dots!

33 weeks!

Seriously, I do not want to get any bigger!

Hot Hot Hot!

I would just like to share that the scene from Father of the Bride 2 is running through my head... the one where the dad and son have their winter coats on because they have the a/c so cold, and the preggo women are super hot. Well, that's me right now. Josh and I are watching t.v. and he is sitting here with sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt on. While I am in shorts and a tank top. We have the a/c and 2 fans going... finally after Josh set up the 2nd fan, I am now cool. Thanks Hubby!

Bye, bye sugar!

I went to the doctor yesterday and found out that my blood sugar levels are sky high.
I passed my glucose test for gestational diabetes a few weeks back, but for some reason
my levels were really high when I went in yesterday. I think its because I have been seriously kicking back the sweets! Before I got pregnant I would have sweets every so often, now that I am pregnant it has been a different story. I have been really sluggish lately, also and have not been working out like I used to. So, the doctor told me to cut out eating sugar this week and to come back in next week and see if the levels have gone down. I really don't want to have a big big baby, so I am listening! It is day 2 of no sugar and can I tell you I already have more energy! I got up this morning and actually worked out and even though it is a little more difficult now that I am getting bigger I feel so much better! It's amazing what just a little bit of a difference can do. I love my sweets, but if cutting them out makes me feel this much better than I am glad I was told to do this! Also, I never shared what Josh and I did for our anniversary. He took me to a romantic dinner at a place called River Boat Landing. It's down town on the river and we had our own private balcony. We watched the sunset on the Cape Fear and ate AMAZING food! It was a lovely night!

HAPPY 3 YEARS!

Today is our three year anniversary! It all seems so sureal! The Lord has brought us through so many things and I am so excited about our marriage. I am so happy that no matter what challenges we go through we go through them together! I have to admit that it has been hard at times, but mostly really easy... I think the real challenges are about to come soon though, now that we have little man on the way. However, I also think it our lives are going to become even more joyful and more fulfilled. I am excited about our future! Josh has something special planned for us this evening but I don't know what it is yet, I will be sure to post the events of the evening later. Cheers to three years!

30 weeks!

I am officially 30 weeks preggo as of today...

I seriously can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is going!

I am still feeling pretty darn good considering I only have 10 weeks or less left

of carrying this baby. This week has started some serious heart burn, but that is probably my fault. I actually wanted to have heart burn because I am so desperate for this baby to have hair ! ha ha!

Josh and I attended a few birthing classes, so we know some of what to expect when its time for this little man to make his grand entrance. I have to admit that I am a bit nervous about labor, but I keep telling myself that everyone has a mom, so thats a lot of women that have gone through labor themselves!

Josh took the time a couple weeks ago to paint the baby's room and its starting to look really great! I have a few things that still need to be done and once we do that I will be sure to post pictures of his nursery.

I am still nannying, however the oldest has gone to school, so for the most part its just me and the 17 month old. She is as sweet as sweet can be and we enjoy going to the pool and when its not too hot , going for walks.

Baby Shower and July 4th Weekend!

For the weekend of the 4th, we decided to take a little trip back home to Salisbury. We asked our friends Brian and Melody to come with us. They have never been to the eastern shore of Maryland before so we decided we had to give them a true eastern shore experience! We had an extrememly busy bust fun weekend. We got there on Friday and spent some time with my family having burgers, dogs, and my favorite.... strawberry pretzel salad, YUM! We also enjoyed a visit from Elise and Bryan. Then on Saturday, Josh and I went for our maternity photos( check a few out at www.bluebugphotography.com go to blog and scroll down til you see me! ), then the boys were off to play disc golf and eat yummy Mexican food and the girls were off to my baby shower. It was a great time. Both of the grandmas put the shower together and it was fabulous. The food was amazing and the presents were awesome. I am sooooooooooooo blessed! After the shower we wanted to take Melody and Brian to Assateague Island to hit the beach and see some ponies. It was perfect, ponies walked right up onto the beach. Then we hit up Hooper's Crab House with the Mitchell clan for a good ol' eastern shore meal! Mel loved the crabs, Brian however, not so much ha ha. The evening ended with a few games of Nertz and some brownie sundaes yum!
The next day we had church and hit up Zia's then Ocean City for some fireworks. The crowd was nuts, but thankfully we took all backroads to get there and didn't hit too much traffic at all! It ended up being a long weekend, but a great one and an experience to share with friends! Also, Matt and Sarah got engaged! Congrats you two!

Repeat

Please excuse the fact that I repeated myself in my last 2 blogs....
I think being preggo makes you lose your mind sometimes! I was re-reading my blogs the other
day and realized I wrote the exact same thing on my last 2 entries. Well, if you can't tell,
I am shocked by how fast this is moving... in just a few short months he will be here!
By the way, I went blueberry picking the other day and I now have $19.00 worth of blueberries in my freezer. If you don't know this, that is a LOT of blueberries! So far I have made muffins and eaten them on my cereal, gonna try out my first cobbler this weekend when we have some friends over for dinner! Have a great week everyone!

24 weeks...

Here is my 24 week picture... I can't believe I am already 6 months along! My how time flies!

The boy is a Kickin'

So I am now 24 weeks along, I can't believe I am already 6 months preggo!
My how time flies! I have been feeling the baby move for quite some time now, however now
the kicks are getting more fierce and more frequent. I am beginning to think this boy does not like to sit. I feel him most when I am sitting or laying down. It is quite amazing to feel that little person inside of you. Josh felt the baby kick for the first time while we were on the cruise, since then he has felt him multiple times and so have others. Josh's parents came down for a visit 2 weekends ago and unfortunately I got the flu :( ,But Momma M did get to feel little bean kick.
It is quite magical to feel him inside and I usually chuckle a little bit when I feel him. It is truly a miracle, growing a baby inside of you and I feel so honored that the Lord has given me this gift. I can't wait to see and hold this little boy, I am thinking one day he is going to be a soccer player! P.s. I love being preggo in the summer! I was telling my friend Jen that came to visit me this weekend that if I can plan to have all of our kids around this same time I will, I feel like its been perfect because next summer he will be old enough to take to the beach! Can't wait!

Baby Moon

Josh and I had the opportunity to go on a " baby moon" aka, vacation before your first baby comes. We decided to go on a cruise, because the prices are so much better for what you get, than if we booked flights and got a hotel and rented a car and the whole bit. It was 7 days of AMAZING weather to and from the Bahamas. We had 3 days at sea, 3 days on islands of the Bahamas, and way way too much food! Other than the fact that I did not sleep very well on the boat, due to its rocking nature we had a FABULOUS time! Our first stop at port was to Nassau, there we got to take a glass bottom boat to Pleasure Island and take a tour of the Atlantis Resort. I have wanted to go to the Atlantis since middle school, so this was part of a dream come true. They are known for the fact that they have the largest lagoons/ aquariums in the world. It was really neat to see all the sharks , fish, and sting rays. We also got to do a little shopping in town and went to the straw market and talked to some of the Bahama Mamas ha ha.

Our 2nd stop at port was Half Moon Cay. This was amazing, Half moon is an island owned and operated by Carnival. So only people who are on the cruise get to go, the water is crystal clear and warm. They have their own facilities and the grounds are beautiful. The cooks from the ship came to the island to cook all of us lunch, it was great!

Our 3rd port was to Grand Turk. Grand Turk was probably my favorite day. Yet another day being lazy in beautiful waters, but also a trip to Margaritaville. If I was not preggo I would have tasted one of their 58 margaritas, but instead I settled for a virgin strawberry daiquiri and we had lunch there also - delish! On this day, I also was one of 4 people picked to sing in the talent show that night. I got to sing with the ship's band, in front of over 900 people. It was a lot of fun and makes dream bigger dreams for life. I sang Whitney Houston's " I will always love you" and was surprised at how many people were clapping and cheering. I felt like a diva for a night, it was truly a special moment. This trip will definitely be one we remember and if you have a chance to go on a cruise I definitely suggest it! They are truly grand.

Oh and p.s. I LOVED how every night the room steward would put chocolate mints and a towel animal on your bed... it's the little things I guess :)

Half way done!

So I am officially half way done with my pregnancy if I go full term.

It is a great feeling to be where I am in this stage of pregnancy. I feel good most of the time,

people can tell I am pregnant now and not just a little chubby, and I am feeling the little guy move around. No one else has had the priviledge of getting to feel him kicking yet, but I am sure it won't be long. For now, I am just enjoying this amazing time all to myself! The nesting stage has also gotten a hold of me. I have been putting people to work around the house. This weekend we organized and did a makeover on our office/ music room. It has been driving me nuts for quite some time now. I think I might be driving Josh a little nuts though, because I keep adding to the list of things to do in the house before baby boy gets here. I have decided that I want to re- paint my kitchen a different color already. We also need to have both bathrooms painted and the master bedroom and the babies room. We have our work cut out for us, but I have decided if we don't get to all of it before he gets here, its ok I just want to make sure we at least get his room done. We installed double hangers in the closet so I have 2 shelvings and places to hang his clothes. This is a really fun time and I will be sure to keep you updated on the continued progression of me, the house, and baby boy.... Here is a 20 week belly shot, and some before and after shots of our office. P.s. Please excuse the fact that the after pics are before the before pics, I could not figure out how to switch the pics around...

It's A......

BOY!!!!!! Yup, there is a little man in there! We are super excited. We found out on Friday and Saturday we decided to head down to Myrtle Beach outlets to do a little bit of shopping for him.
We got a few outfits, and when we were on our way home decided to hit up a yard sale. We ended up getting a pack n play out of it for a great deal and it looks brand new! Yes we have come up with his name, but we decided to keep it a secret until he comes.
Other news is that Josh was offered a permanent position with the Army Corps of Engineers! The only draw back is that it is about an hour and 20 min away from our house. He will be in Conway, South Carolina. He has quite a commute, but we are hoping he will be able to go for other positions once he starts at Conway, and get in with Wilmington office again. It's too much trouble to sell our house, leave our church, and our friends. So we are going to make due with what the Lord is giving us. Good knowing He never gives us what we can't handle!
Also, we are going on a baby moon... that's right a baby moon. What is this you ask? Well for us its a vacation before the baby comes. One that we might not be able to take after we start having kids, because lets me honest... they are expensive and we might not have the extra money for such things. We leave May 23rd for a 7 day cruise in the Bahamas. We are totally excited about this time to relax. We just found out, that cell phone use on the boat is very expensive, so it will be like a 2nd honeymoon! I am excited to proudly show off my baby bump in a bathing suit and be able to eat whatever I want without feeling guilty! Life is gooooooood!

Judas Betrays Jesus

This Sunday at church our pastor preached on Matthew 26:14-16.
This is such a short passage, however I learned SO much from just these 2 verses. This passage is about how Judas was offered 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus. Our pastor shared with us another passage in Zechariah where a man was offered the same amount of money to betray as well. The consequences were not good. He said that as a Jewish man Judas would have known this and he did it any way. So Judas knowingly betrayed Jesus. He knew exactly what would happen. Any way, he said all of that to say this... How in our lives do we betray Jesus? We may not turn our backs on Him completely, but we definitely do not always trust in Him. This hit me so hard because for Josh and I there are so many things that are up in the air right now.
I recently quit my job as a stylist at a salon due to several reasons but mostly because the business was simply not being run well. I have been wondering what in the world I am going to do. I am going to have a baby in 6 months, we have drained our savings account buying things for the house, and oh yeah Josh's job runs out September 30th! That's 5 days before our baby is due! It's easy to not have faith and to " betray" the Lord. Then it hit me. The Lord has never failed us! He has always supplied us with jobs, food, clothing, and everything else we need and to be completely honest most everything we want. How can we be so blessed?!?!? He is awesome that's all I have to say! The Lord is already showing me that everything is going to be ok. I received a nanny job that is 2 days a week, I have been busier doing hair in my home than I ever was in the salon, and Josh has 2 leads on a permanent position with the Army Corps of Engineers. It is awesome to see how the Lord opens doors, just when you think they are all caving in. My hope and prayer is that my future child always sees our willingness to follow and obey the Lord, because in return He ALWAYS takes care of us!

Spring has Sprung!

I love Spring! I love Spring especially here in the South. I love it when my bradford pear tree blooms those white big blossoms, and my bright pink azaleas come back to life. I also love the fact that we have our own home to landscape and to plant a vegetable garden. I have never done a vegetable garden before but I am so stoked! I have to admit that Josh has been the one doing most of the work outside. Some because I am pregnant, some because I can't bend and mulch and do those sorts of things, but mostly because I do not know what I am doing! I do enjoy it though. I enjoy seeing the beauty of God's creation after a cold winter and I look forward to seeing my veggies come up! I love getting outside and enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warmth and getting beach days in before tourist season hits. This past weekend we got to go strawberry picking with some friends. I think everyone else thought it was kind of silly, but strawberries are my fave and its so much cheaper to pick them yourself. Plus they taste even better! We went with our friends Mel and Brian they are preggo too, one week ahead of me. We have a great time with them!

Bean is growing.... and so is belly!

Here I am at 14 weeks... as you can see the baby bump is growing and so is the baby.

I read this morning on my reminder that the baby weighs about an ounce and is the size of

your fist. Pretty cool stuff! We find out in 3 weeks what the sex of the baby is going to be and we are super excited! I am already bursting at the seams to start buying baby stuff!

This weekend Josh and I got to go home to Salisbury for Easter weekend. We celebrated Elise's birthday, got some sun, and some visits from the Easter bunny! I love that even though we are "grown" and out of the house , we still get easter baskets! How awesome is that?!?!? We hope everyone had a great Easter as well... remember HE IS RISEN!

BEAN!

Yes, yes it is true... we are having a baby!
Josh and I have resorted to calling our baby, BEAN.
The reason is because when we went for our first ultrasound, the baby was the size of a little lima bean. The name has just kind of stuck with us. As you can imagine we are absolutely thrilled with the news of an expectant little baby. We have had 2 ultra sounds so far, due to the fact that I have to see a specialist. I had heart surgery as a baby and they wanted to make sure everything is ok with our little one. Good news... the baby looks great! We got to hear the heart beat the other day and it was absolutely amazing!I will also be seeing a cardiologist, just to make sure I will be able to handle a normal delivery with the baby, but I am not worried. When the Lord heals, He heals! Here are some pictures of the baby and the belly! I am currently 11 weeks along.....