goodbye 2011, hello 2012!

when i think about this past year it literally seemed like the longest year of my life, probably because so much happened to me.  there are events that i will never forget; both amazing and horrible.  as the new year approaches i decided to look back at some of those times and share a little bit about why they have made such a lasting impact on my life.

firsts

mackinley is almost 3 weeks old and it seems that time is going by so quickly! hes growing so much everyday! part of me wants to say "don't grow anymore just stay little forever!" but then another part of me is so excited for all the new milestones in his life.  i thought i'd share some of the "firsts" that i've got to witness in mackinley's (almost) 3 weeks of life...

pictures!

 i have been obsessed with taking pictures of my adorable little boy so i thought i'd share some my favorites :)

welcome mackinley jack!

here is my long awaited post about my baby boy!!! :)

strange coincidence?

so i just wanted to share something about this tv show that i watched recently...
my dad came home the other night and told my sister and i that we had to watch this particular episode (the christmas episode) of the tv show Last Man Standing.  now i've never watched the show before, but i've seen commercials so i thought why not, it seems like a funny show.  well, it turns out that not only does this show strangely resemble my family (with the exception that there is no brother in the family and i have a brother), but this particular episode is almost creepily identical to my family/our life.  now of course its not going to match up in every way, but it is shocking how many things that my family and this show have in common.  after watching the show i thought to myself, "was it just by coincidence that my dad happen to stumble upon this show, that has soooo many similarities to our family?"

if you know me, my situation, and my family well enough then you should be able to pick them out.  i'll point out some similarities for you/explain them after the jump...

heres the episode that my sister and i watched:
Last Man Standing: "Last Christmas Standing"

DIY holiday hot cocoa in a jar!

yum yum!! :)

heres a fun do-it-yourself project that i've been making as gifts for christmas. i love crafty projects and this holiday hot cocoa mix is a fun, simple treat that makes a great gift! learn how to make it after the jump...

thanksgiving / updates!

 so my former roommate kayla texted me and said that some of my my friends from messiah (whom i miss soooo much!) requested that i update my blog. i think the last time i updated was the beginning of the month so i think that this post is way overdue. but its okay cuz it'll give me more to write about! :) but where to start? ....

baby shower!

 

this post took me a while to put up but I finally had the time to! :) two weeks ago (Oct. 23rd) i had a wonderful baby shower that was put together by my family and my church (a very big "thank you" to my family, especially my mom who organized everything and to the ladies of Surfside Chapel who helped her make it all possible!!). it was so wonderful to be surrounded by family and friends. we played games such as the "dirty diaper game" (i got that game from the baby shower that my friends threw for me at messiah), baby shower bingo, and we even had a game where the boys/men that attended had to be fed apple juice from a baby bottle! the whole celebration was so much fun! everyone gave me such wonderful and very useful presents! im still in the process of organizing it all haha. i felt so blessed to have friends and family celebrate with me the upcoming arrival of my baby boy.  i truly felt loved and supported! these eight (almost nine!!) months have not been easy but the support that i received from all of my friends and family has been amazing! i dont know what i'd do without that support.  even through all the trials i can say that God truly has blessed me and my baby!

there are too many pictures to post so all the pictures from the event are posted here! :)

arts and crafts

while my friends maddie and heath were home for fall break they invited me and my sister to color me mine (paint pottery place) along with maddie's brother and mom.  maddie and i decided to do mugs (mine was one of those fat kinds), heath, kels, and mrs. c all painted bowls, and preston (maddie's brother) ended up with a plate.  we had a blast picking out different colors and deciding exactly what we wanted to paint.  maddie, who is obsessed with owls, wanted to of course put an owl on a tree on her mug, heath made a cereal/food bowl for maddie, preston painted the billabong logo on his plate, mrs. c made a beautiful sunflower bowl, kels didn't know what she wanted to do with her bowl so she used some different stamps and stencils with hers, and i painted my phrase to live by: "you are more." with a purple background (the color of domestic violence awareness) and an awareness ribbon (on the outside and inside).  we all had a wonderful time creating our masterpieces and each piece turned out beautiful.  im really excited to see the finished products (which maybe i'll post about when i get them)! see pictures of our lovely pottery after the jump!

yummy treats

this past weekend my good friends, maddie and her boyfriend heath, came home for fall break and i surprised them with some yummy treats :)  maddie is both gluten and dairy free so i went to the organic/all-natural/specialty section of stop and shop and found both a cupcake and an icing mix that were gluten and dairy free.  i made and decorated those for her and for the rest of her family/heath i made my homemade chocolate cake with chocolate pudding filling and homemade buttercream icing.  it turned out really good and both maddie and heath loved their welcome home surprise!  :)

baby update

 yesterday i went to the doctors for an ultrasound.  they wanted to do an ultrasound to find out just how big my little guy is.  also they think he may be moving downward in prep for delivery!  according to his measurements, he is 4 lbs. 6 oz.  which is healthy for a 33 week old baby. he is a growing boy!! the ultrasound tech also told me that he has a big head (cuz he'll be a genius one day haha!) with a lot of hair (takes after me that way) and long legs (he definitely didn't get that from me cuz im short).  and i'm pretty sure he has my nose and mouth too :) .  the ultrasound tech let me see what he looks like using the 3D imaging it was so cool (he kinda looked like a little alien though haha)!   he is such a cutie and seeing him today made me so excited for him to arrive! see more pictures after the jump!

apple picking, dance parties, and a surprise!

a couple of weekends ago i was able to visit my friends and former teammates at messiah college.  i was so excited to see everyone! especially since: 1) i hadn't seen them since may, 2) i now was sporting a lovely baby bump, and 3) i am now in a better place in my life than i was when i last saw everyone.  i made the two hour ride with my sister as my trusty companion.  i got to school and saw a bunch of my former lacrosse teammates who welcomed me with open arms.  after each person got a chance to rub my belly, we all decided that we wanted to go apple picking.  apple picking was so much fun, except that it wasn't a cool fall day like i had anticipated.  it ended up being a hot, muggy day so we didn't stay out too long.  we had enough apples for numerous apple pies, which we delicious (thank you kiersten and ari)! later that night, there was a dance party in the school's student union (fully equip with glow sticks!).  i wasn't able to dance as much (it looked like more of a waddle haha) but i was able to see some of my other friends who had lived in the same dorm as me or that i had classes with.  they were all surprised to see me with my baby bump, especially since no one really knew that i was pregnant.  nevertheless, they all were very supportive, gave me big hugs, and wished me the best of luck.  the next day the girls surprised me with a baby shower! it was so sweet of them!  maddie and kayla set the whole thing up with games, prizes, crafts, and food.  the girls all wished me luck and even got me presents (lots of cute little things for the baby)! the whole weekend was a wonderful, memorable experience and i'd love to visit again soon! :)

 

apple picking :)

i wasn't able to get too many pictures, but kiersten and kara provided me with some. see them after the jump!

my little guy pt. 2

i found some videos of my ultrasounds so i thought i'd add that too!

these videos were taken during my anatomy scan (18 weeks). you can hear me, my dad, sister, and mostly my mom haha.

here's when i found out that i was having a boy!! :)

my little guy

i still have around 9 weeks until my due date but i thought i'd introduce you to my soon-to-be baby boy! i still have yet to pick a name for him but i have a couple of options. i want to wait to see his cute little face until i make my final decision (to see what fits him best).  he is already such an active boy (he gives me little kicks and punches all day long)! all my friends tell me that my belly grows more each day, which can only mean that he's growing a lot. i wouldn't be surprised he was a little chunker when he's born (although i am praying i don't have a 9+ pound baby...talk about ouch!). chunky babies are cute though haha they have those chubby arms and legs! even though i'm still so nervous about being a mom i can't wait to meet my son and get to hold, hug, kiss, and love him all day long! see some pictures of my little guy after the jump!

metamorphosis

this is my first post and i am so excited about it! first let me start off with explaining the title of my blog.  i chose the title "metamorphosis" because when you look up the word in the dictionary it means transformation from one state of being to another.  this seemed fitting for me because i am going through a very transitional period in my life right now. 

two years ago i would probably describe myself as a "normal" (who is actually normal these days?), lacrosse obsessed, non-studying (yet still manage to get really good grades), beach loving, care-free, high school senior.  then in my freshman year of college everything changed.  i met a guy my second week of school and ended up in a really bad relationship for 8 months (that whole story will probably be another blog post or posts).  so things went downhill and i basically lost all sense of who i really was.  then in the end of march i found out that i was expecting a baby.  at first i took this news as a negative thing because i never thought that i would end up a teenage mother (and a single one at that), but as my pregnancy progressed i realized how much of a blessing my baby boy (yay its a boy!) is and will be.  so now, instead being a full time college sophomore, i work two jobs, one full time and one part time, and i take a couple of online classes.  on top of that i am preparing for the arrival of my son in december.

back to my blog title, i feel that my life has been transforming.  i am no longer that care-free teenager i was two years ago.  although i am still lacrosse obsessed, i still love the beach, and i try to get good grades (its not as easy anymore), now, i have to be an adult.  i have someone else to think about now.  someone else to put first in my life.  is this where i thought i'd be at this time in my life? never in a million years, but i wouldn't trade it for anything. this blog will basically be a way for me to share my ups and downs of trying to find the balance of being a teenager while entering the world of being an adult and a mother. my metamorphosis.