Stella's gettin' her groove back

I'm baaaaaaaaaack! After a long and overdue blog post Stella is getting back into the groove of things. I did the math and it has been quite some time since my last post...well three months to be exact! Yikes, what?! But I have a (few) good reasons for my absence. Can a girl get a blogger bone?

Reason #1: All right, I'm just gonna come right out and say it...we're expecting our first!! (trumpets sound and cymbals crash) The hubs and I couldn't be more excited. Back in January we were overjoyed with the news of our new bundle coming this September. In fact, we found out the day we got back from our Auburn Californication vacay (hence the extremely overdue post on part II, still to come). Which means, I was preggo during our time there! Whoops! Don't judge me...I drank my cocktails and tailgated with the best of them. Thankfully little baby Cott was no bigger then the tip of a pen and didn't (knowingly) partake in the festivities. After our first ultrasound, on Valentine's Day nonetheless, we shared the good news with family and friends via a creative Pinterest hack and FaceTime.

After a pretty exhausting and slightly nauseating first trimester I finally started to feel better. For the record, this is not me complaining...I gladly welcomed any high-hormonal, exhausting and grotesque 'skipage' of meals during my first few months of pregnancy. (and let's be honest, I've made up for those skipped meals in my second trimester) After the loss of a baby early on this time last year, I was happy to feel anything this new miracle wanted to bring my way! Losing a baby gave me way more then it ever took away, perspective and gratitude being a few of them. But this isn't a sad story, rather one of eager anticipation, changing of seasons, oh and busy schedules.

Reason #2: Just when I was beginning to gain any energy back into my days Geoff and I prepared for a move. It was a local move just a few miles down the street and off post. After working two jobs, packing up the house, and all the while keeping my eyes pried open... oh and did I mention continuing to work on school in preparation for graduation at the end of this month? It feels like I've been in school forever, you'd think I'd have my medical degree by now for the time I've accrued. (Can I get a complimentary MD, please?) For the last few years I've been working on my second Bachelors degree in Communication Disorders with the original plans to pursue Speech Pathology. Now, I'm just a tad over school and plan on taking a break after this degree to see where God's plans take me in my career post baby Cott's arrival. Right after we moved we also celebrated Geoff's graduation from WLC and his birthday! (big guy's bday post coming...eventually;)

Needless to say, it's been a busy few months and blogging has unfortunately taken a back seat. But now that it doesn't feel like someone has slipped two sleeping pills in my water every day, and we're getting settled into our new home ol' Stella is getting her groove back in the blogging world.
I'm excited to get back into sharing our lives out here in the Pacific Northwest, posting Motivational Mondays, oh and I'll finally get around to posting Auburn Californication part II!

Teaser pic...

Happy Baby Hump Bump Day! 18 weeks and growing...

(picture update...I'm actually 19 weeks this week, unfortunately I don't have the photo to back it up. We also find out the sex of Baby Cott this Friday! It's nail biting anticipation over here at the Cott casa, but SPOILER ALERT we're waiting until our baby shower in June to reveal the sex! Gender reveal baby shower, here we come!)

Lemons to Love,