Looking back on 2014!

I am so excited for a new year to begin! This will be the year of Baby McNamara! I understand that no one probably feels that way or is as excited for that as Sean and I but I LOVE the idea of being able to say that baby girl will be born THIS year!

In honor of the new year, I'd like to take a look back on 2014...

January (Seriously lacking pictures from the beginning of the year...)

-We kicked off the new year with my brother and his girlfriend! It was a quiet and simple night but I tend to prefer it that way! =) 
-Shortly after New Years, my parents moved out of my childhood home and into a new home about 4 minutes way.  We helped them move and promptly got stranded 4 minutes from home when a major snowstorm hit! Thus began the winter of snow storms, 50 below, and snow days!
-We spent time with family, and celebrated many birthdays! Both my brothers, multiple aunts and uncles, my grandma, and both Sean and I have birthdays in January so there were MANY celebrations!
-Sean and I went to a Bulls game.  We have been to quite a few in the past and always have so much fun when we go!

 

Feburary
-Sean was playing in an intramural basketball league so a couple nights a week were spent in a gym watching him play!
-We found out that my sister's baby was going to be a BOY! Yay!
-Sean and I planned a great Wintry date downtown, and as usual when we plan something that is supposed to be romantic, it didn't work out! We attempted ice skating in Millenium Park but decided against the 3 hour wait to enter the rink! We walked around and ended up in Miller's Pub! It ended up being a delicious, super fun, dinner in the city!

March
- We celebrated 1 year of marriage and 8 years of dating!  We went away for another "supposed to be romantic but was kind of a disaster but still amazing" weekend!
-We also visited some of our best college friends and caught up!

 




April:
This appears to be the lost month! I did not blog about what I did, nor did I post many pictures!
-I DO know that we attended the wedding of other college friends and loved catching up with everyone!
-I also got an Iphone this month which means more pictures! =)

May:

- We celebrated both of my Papa's birthdays.

-I did my very first maternity shoot with my sister!

-We celebrated Mother's day with my entire family together and a White Sox Game! 

-Little do you know, but this is the month Sean and I decided we were ready for a baby!

-I attended the bachelorette party of one of my best friends! 

 

June:

-Bring on the busy! I finished my 2nd year of teaching and said good bye to an amazing class!

-My mom and hosted my sister's baby shower! We were so excited to meet that baby boy and celebrate my sister! 

-Sean and I left the county for the first time and went away on our first big trip together! Mexico! 

-Shortly after getting back from Mexico, we headed to Virginia for my BIL's wedding and a great visit with family!

 

  

 

July:

-We started July with the Hit and Run 5k with my family.  

-2 weeks into July my nephew was born! 

-I did a small photo shoot with my nieces.

-I was the matron of honor in my best friends wedding.

-Oh, and on July 31st, I found out I was PREGNANT!

 






August:
-Morning sickness kicked in just in time to leave for our Spagnoli family vacation to Door County.  Regardless, it was a blast! It was so difficult to keep our news a secret!
-Sean started a new job and I began my 3 year teaching and 2nd year teaching first grade.

September:

- We saw our baby on an ultrasound for the first time and announced our news to our families!

-We celebrated our niece's first birthday and enjoyed Sean's family being in town!

-My mom celebrated a birthday!

- Weannounced our pregnancy to the social media world

October:

- The month began on a sad note with the loss of Sean's grandfather.

-We visited an apple orchard in WI and a pumpkin patch with just us 2. 

-We had our 12 week scan where baby was measuring right on track and looking oh so cute!

- I jumped back into blogging!

 

November: 
- We celebrated my little sister's birthday at BD's Mongolian Grill.
-I couldn't wait and put up our Christmas decoration (except the tree) about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving!
-We had our 20 week anatomy scan where we saw a beautiful healthy baby and found out we were having a GIRL!
- My parent's hosted Thanksgiving so we enjoyed great time there and announced to the social media world that the baby was a girl!

 

December:

- We put up our Christmas tree and officially began the holiday season!

- I ended up being monitored in labor and delivery for possible contractions.

-We visited Santa with our nieces. 

-We attended the annual Spagnoli Christmas Party. 

- We headed downtown for our annual trip to Daily Plaza and Bella Bacino's.

-We celebrated Christmas at my Papa Tom's.

-Sean's family came in town and we spent great time with them!

-We celebrated my dad's Christmas Eve birthday, made cookies and coffee cake, and relaxed.

-We had our 2nd married Christmas morning and our last Christmas just us 2! We went to my parents to exchange gifts and spent the rest of Christmas at my sister-in-law's house.

- We had a sewage leak in the basement and spent 2 nights at my parent's house.

-We had our first annual Spagnoli cousin's night!

-We registered for the baby!

 

Needless to say, 2014 was very good to us! We made so many great memories, spent wonderful time with friends and family, and began the journey of becoming parents! I know 2015 will be great adventure for us and I cannot wait to see the blessings it brings! Happy New Year everyone!

Bumpdate: 25 Weeks

How Far Along: 25 weeks! Wow! I can't believe how far along I already am and how quickly time is going by! Baby girl will be here before we know it!

Clothing: I am wearing all maternity pants and leggings and mixing in some maternity shirts. 

Stretch Marks: None yet!

Sleep:  Sleep this week was rough! I was up a lot! I had a few nights where I woke up in the middle of the night and laid wide awake for over an hour.  This mama is very tired during the day but it is definitely all worth it!

Best Moment This Week: Spending the holidays with family! My sister and sister-in-law felt the baby kick! I was hoping my MIL would since we won't see her again until the baby is born but I never had an opportunity where baby was consistently kicking and she was nearby =(  Sean's family was in town for Christmas so it was wonderful to get to see them! We spent Christmas Eve with my family celebrating my dad's birthday so we had a good dose of everyone! I can't wait until next year to share all this with baby girl!

Complaints:  My back has been aching and I was battling a cold this week which wasn't fun!

Movement: Kicks are stronger and more frequent! She kicked Sean's face today and is more active more often! I am loving every kick and movement!

Missing...:  Not too much.  I am loving this baby girl so much and so happy that she is growing and healthy! Although, there were a few times I wouldn't have minded a nice glass of wine during all the holiday celebrations this week!
Extra: We had to spend a few nights at my parents due to a sewage flood in the basement of our home.  The smell was awful and we were concerned about methane gas so we packed our bags and headed over for a slumber party! Luckily my parents live close and it was easy to accommodate us! Although climbing up and down from my sister's loft bed 3-4 times during the night was not necessarily fun or easy! 

Craving: Panera Bread broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl! yum!

Belly Button: Still an innie but getting more shallow!

Emotions:  Happy as a clam for the most part!

Looking Forward to: Registering! We are starting to register and also getting the babies room ready! We have some painting and projects we will be working on and I cannot wait to get started!

**Christmas recap and nursery inspiration coming soon!

Bumpdate: 24 Weeks!

How Far Along: 24 Weeks! This week we have reached viability! If the baby was to be born premature then there is a good chance she could survive! But, we want this baby to keep cooking for a bit longer!  

Clothing: I am wearing all maternity pants and leggings and mixing in some maternity shirts. 

Stretch Marks: None yet!

Sleep:  Like before, a bad night has me waking up 4-5 times and a good night 1-2.  I also am officially using pillows behind my back to help me stay comfortable! This week was a bit rough because I had a bad cold so sleep was even more difficult.  

Best Moment This Week: Sean feeling the baby kick! A few days ago I saw the baby kick from the outside so I knew I was not going crazy and her kicks were getting stronger and this morning, exactly at 24 weeks, I woke up and she was moving like crazy! I caught it on video and showed Sean and then he was finally able to feel her kick, twice!! He was so excited and so was I! 

Complaints:  I still have had some cramping but it is lessening.  I have been getting foot cramps as well which I know means I need to drink more water.  After a work day, my legs and feet hurt so badly that I usually am in tears.  Lower back pain has begun! I had a cold which was just miserable! I did not want to take anything but I did take a few tylenol to help with some aches.  Luckily, it is finally getting better. I have also started experiencing some acid reflux which is no fun.  

Movement: Baby girl's kicks are getting stronger! Her kicks can be seen AND felt from the outside! She has very active times- the most active is when I wake up in the morning and as I lay down to go to bed.  I know her kicks may become uncomfortable as she gets bigger but right now I cannot imagine a more incredible feeling! 

Missing...:  Walking fast! I did a lot of walking around this week as we finished some Christmas shopping. I am usually a really fast walker but realized how much I have slowed down; mainly out of necessity.  My back, legs, and feet are usually hurting so my walk suffers...

Craving: Nothing specific! 

Belly Button: Still in! I had a really deep (weird right?) belly button pre-pregnancy and noticed that now it looks more like a normal belly button so it definitely is getting pushed forward!

Emotions:  Still mostly happy but hormones have taken their toll a few times.  I am crying a lot more; not over nonsense things but over things that would normally upset me anyways, it just seems as though how upset I get is amplified! 

Looking Forward to: Christmas! This is our 2nd Christmas as a married couple and last Christmas just us.  We are both excited to spend it together and keep daydreaming what next year will be like! 

Last night my little sister helped me capture some Pinterest inspired belly shots in front of the tree! I am happy with how they turned out!  

Also, a comparison shot for your viewing pleasure! 4 weeks - 24 weeks! What a difference 20 weeks makes! =)