Just a few from my Maternity Shoot.

We finally were able to do my Maternity Pictures! I'm posting a few of them but it's hard to pick a favorite! They all turned out so good!!

Seriously- if you live in the area look up Wendolyn Wells Photography, I'm not just saying it because she's a dear friend of mine, she's beyond talented... HELLO there's your proof!! <3

Time is flying...

Give or take.. in less than a month, I will be a mother. A mother at 22. A single mother at the age of 22.

The thought paralyzes me at times. Knowing that *I* will be the one that will mainly be in charge of ALL of her needs. She's my full responsibility. I've always dreamed of being a mom, for as long as I can remember. Friends tell me all the time I have that natural mothering instinct, I was always the "mom" out of my friends. I looked out for everyone, nursed them when they were sick, was the shoulder for them to cry on, etc.

But it still doesn't prepare me for the reality that she's really coming. She's really MY daughter and she's going to rely on me for everything. I'm nervous and i'm scared... more like terrified, i'll admit it but I already know that no matter what SHE will always be my number one priority. From the moment I saw her on the U/S my total mindset was about her, what will be best for her, what I have to do for her. I've heard that the feeling and love just intensifies when you first lay eyes on them. As anxious and nervous as I am about it all, I'm absolutely excited. I'm excited to FINALLY meet her. To see what she looks like and whose features she'll have. Will she have my haircolor and eyes? What about my nose or his lips?

I love her already to a million pieces... I'm blessed with some amazing friends and family who have supported me through all of this. I can't wait... Here's to the next 25 days (give or take) till Little Miss McKinleigh Renee Bridges' debut <3

Life is good today

It's been awhile since i've posted anything.. for awhile I just got tired of blogging. Seemed to hit a slump, then life got crazy. Super crazy with work and drama. Ohhh the drama. It seems sometimes no matter how adult you try to be about a situation and handle it, drama always seems to follow. So life has had it's up's and down's the past few months but i'm happy, i'm healthy and i've got a whole lot of amazing to look forward to here in the next couple months. 

Throughout it all I have to say that I have met the most amazing person that has been one of the biggest cheerleaders, pillar of support and friends I could ever have. Wendy Wells.. I feel like she's a big sister to me. There isnt a day that goes by that we don't text or call each other... even if its something so random and stupid. I love her to pieces. Not only is she an amazing person but she is beyond talented behind a camera. I hope to one day have the knowledge about photography she has. Here's a picture she took of me at 7 months in the OG parking lot.... you wouldn't have guessed that's where we were, would you?

Here in the next month we're going to get together to do my maternity pictures! I absolutely CAN NOT wait to see the ideas she has come to life. I was born in South Carolina and still love the area immensely. It's absolutely gorgeous and have wanted to do my pictures in the Beaufort area for awhile. I'm also quite the history nerd. Years ago when I was little we visted this place called the Old Sheldon Church Ruins. It's an absolutely gorgeous place with some amazing history and I can't wait to do them there! We've got so many awesome ideas and plans in the works for them, they HAVE to be amazing.

Here's a link to some pictures and history!

http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/beaufort-county/old-sheldon-church.html

I hit 8 months on FRIDAY! Mckinleigh is doing good, her heartbeat is strong and averaging at about 145bpm now. She's super active like always and quite the kicking fool. She's strong. I've have a few good kicks that have almost put me on my knees. I have gained 15lbs so far. My Dr is awesome, I love him and he says i'm literally a model poster patient for pregnancy. All my tests have come back normal and he doesn't expect any problems. I'm working a new job that I absolutely love and the difference it has already made is amazing. My baby shower is in just a couple weeks (April 30th, ladies! some of you should have invites already!). Speaking of my baby shower i'm absolutely ESTATIC that my two good friends Jess and Sherree are coming for it. Sherree is flying in all the way from Cali and Jess is driving down from Tenn to spend the weekend. Can you say amazing friends or what!? I can't wait to see them both, it's been way too long.  I'm looking forward to seeing everybody that i've invited at it. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the amazing people in my life. I'm reminded almost daily how blessed I am. So today I can really say with a smile on my face that life is good... extremely good. I'm happy and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Happiness shouldn't be reliant on another; true happiness comes from yourself. From accepting what life throws at you and making the best of it."

Baby this, Baby that.

I'm not one to obsess and plan down to the very last detail, i've learned in my past 22 years of life that there are just some things you can't always control. When it comes to something big though... say a baby having more of a plan or an idea about it all helps. Here lately i've tried getting everything figured out. How i'm going to do this, what will the theme for the baby be, Names.. ohhh yeah.. names....

So the other week I was looking online at cribs and honestly started to feel completely overwhelmed. I know all of this is going to end up resting on my shoulders. Every crib I liked was just a ridiculous amount of money. So my sister suggested I just start looking on craigslist. That's where she got my nieces crib. So I did and for a couple days there was nothing worth the money they wanted, UNTIL I found it. It was a Jenny Lind white convertible crib WITH the mattress for $45. I quickly emailed the girl praying it wasnt already snatched up. We corresponded back and forth and i'm happy to say that crib is now in my room waiting to be set up. :)

I don't know the sex of the baby yet but i've never been one of those extremely girly girls. I'm pretty low maintence and since i've found out I'm pregnant i've honestly had this feeling that the baby is a boy. So i've been thinking of themes for the baby. Even if the baby IS a girl I don't want a ton of pink and frilly frou frou stuff. While looking online I found the cutest bedding set that could work for either a boy OR girl :)

And now for names...  I've decided if the baby is a girl she'll be Mckinleigh Renee. <3 As for a boy i'm having a harder time pinning something down I'm set on. I really like the name Colin but I change my mind every other day.

No matter what i'm always going to do what is best for MY child :)

Closing out another year...

As 2010 comes to a close I know most people look back and reminice about what happened, the good and the bad. Honestly, i'd rather not. While *MOST* of 2010 was good there was a lot of bad I just don't want to think about. But what closing out this year has made me realize is what i've learned....

1. No matter how much you truly think you know someone, you really don't.
2. The people you love and care about the most, will hurt you the worst.
3. You learn who your true friends are in the worst ways.
4. I've been through some of the worst stuff a person can go through.. and I haven't caught a break yet. BUT as people say "everything happens for a reason" and it's true. If it hasn't killed me yet, it's not going to kill me now.

Now, on to some thank you's... because I truly believe that you should always love, appreciate and thank the people that mean the most to you. Never assume they know how you feel about them.

Mom- [While my mom doesn't have a blog she still deserves her bit.] No matter the mistakes or stupid decisions i've made you've always supported me and been there for me. You've always put Alanna and I before yourself and done everything you can to make sure we have the best possible and what we need. You are truly an amazing mother and if I can be half the mother you've been to us i'll be thankful. I love you.

Dani- My amazing best friend, adopted sister. In the past 2 years [well almost] you've become one of the people I truly count on as support and trust. I say it all the time but Thank you, for sticking by me, hearing my never-ending drama, the many hysterical phone calls and late night bbm chats. I couldn't ask for a better best friend.

Wendy- I seriously can't tell you how much I laugh here lately because of you. God knew exactly what he was doing when he brought you into my life. In the short amount of time we've been friends you've shown what a true friend is. Dropping almost everything helping us move [haha well John] really meant a lot to us. I don't think we would have got any of it done on time without you two. You're such a good person. I love hanging out with you and all the random ideas you come up with :)

Jackie- Thank you for being someone I can talk to. For checking on me and supporting me through it all!

Kylie Lynn- My little pregnant buddy :D I love that this has brought us closer. It's been great to be able to talk to someone who is experiencing this all for the first time, at the same time. I can't wait to see what amazing mothers we're going to turn out to be!

Sherree- I love you. No words can tell you how much respect I have for you. You're a badass and have an amazing strength inside of you. NEVER let anyone convince you otherwise or take away that spunk that makes you, you. <3

& last but not least to my monster baby... I already love you more than you will ever know & I promise i'll do everything in my power to give you the best I can. <3

I'm 18 weeks [okay.. more like 17 weeks, 6days and a half BUT close enough] and here's the most recent bump picture

It's starting to get there :)

[December 22, 2010] was my last appt. They drew blood for my quad screening and we got to hear the heartbeat which was at 152 bpm <3. My next appt is January 19th, 2011 and at that appt Dr Dueno is going to schedule my ultrasound for a week later. I CAN'T WAIT!! This will be the ultrasound that will tell us what monster is! :D

So that's about it for now. Lots of love and thanks for reading!!

Red-Flag Rule Re-Instated

Now you may ask what the red-flag rule is? About a year ago a couple friends and I, after going through some rough spots with guys came up with this rule. The minute a new guy raises one of our "red flags" by doing something like ignoring, acting shady, hiding his phone, etc, etc we were to immediately kick him to the curb. Part of this rule was also the fact that no second chances were to be given. If they raised a serious enough red flag for us to stop and think about it, there was no need in handing out another chance.

Now granted I kind of bent the rule... alright, I pretty much threw it out the window when it came to this last one but with a history and feelings the way ours was, can you blame a girl? Needless to say i've definitely learned my lesson thanks to the last two exes. Now with everything I have going on in life at the moment... moving, baby-growing, looking for a better job and so forth while the red flag rule has been reinstated all for good purposes don't expect me to just jump out there head first back into the dating scene. I'm taking my sweet time and it'll be a slow tip toe into the waters. Baby comes first no matter what.

So with that being said i'll update everyone on all the other happenings.

As of today I am 15 weeks and 4 days with the tiniest bit of a start to a bump. At 13 weeks I felt the first flutters. Seeing your baby on the ultrasound screen and hearing the heartbeat for the first time is amazing, but being able to feel him or her move... that's indescribable to me. I can begin to tell you how amazing it is when I feel like my world is falling apart here lately and crashing around me to feel that little monster wiggle or poke me as if to remind me "Hey mom, can you chill out already?! we're going to be just fine!" It makes my whole day just that much better. I'm so ready to meet this little guy or girl, this blessing from God :)

Catch me up, buttercup!

Okay okay, so i've slacked a little on this. [Thanks Ashly for the reminder :P ] so let's play catch up... Major things that have happened since my last blog.

1. Sometime before I left to go out of town Andrew's mama and sister came into my work to check on me and tell me that they're excited about the baby and want to be involved as much as possible. They want me to know that they are here for me and that I can come to them about anything.. as well as giving me a hug and asking how I was doing and when my next dr appt. is......

I still almost two weeks later dont know what to think about this....

2. Kye [my gorgeous niece] celebrated her first Thanksgiving! :) We had turkey and all the fixings. Family friends came over and we ate, enjoying each others company and spending time together. She got to try mashed potatoes, some cranberry sauce and even a little tiny bit of pumpkin pie. Needless to say, Kye is a fan of food no matter which way you slice it.

3.  I roadtripped with a friend from Georgia to Colorado. We left on sunday night [11/28] around 5 PM and drove until we got just above ATL. We spent the night in a hotel, got up the next morning and drove again till we reached Blue Springs, Missiouri where we stopped again and got another hotel for the night. On the 3rd day we drove the rest of the way into Colorado. In Kansas we saw windmills which was pretty interesting so ofcourse I stopped to get a picture.

There were probably over a hundred of them down this one stretch of the interstate! I spent Tuesday- Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She showed me around , took me to Garden of the Gods and dragged me out friday night to Cowboy's which is actually a pretty cool 3 story country/western bar in downtown Colorado Springs. [don't worry the establishment was smoke-free and this girl was DD for the night]. We shot some pool for a little while and that was about it.

 Entrance to Garden of the Gods

 The Balancing Rock

Me :)

Saturday I flew home. My flight left there around 1:20pm and I flew into DFW airport in Texas. Take off and the flight wasnt bad at all.. lets just say the landing wasnt the best and made me a  little nauseauted even with Zofran in my system. While waiting at my gate for my next flight I got to watch two cops and a K-9 unit search a bag that was left unattended... probably the most exciting thing about my day. I left DFW around 5:30 and flew the rest of the way home to Savannah.. where on this plane I was stuck sitting next to a stinky Indian [sorry but he stunk!] that snored oddly. When we landed he told me when I come to Indonesia or Bali that i'll have a friend in him and would be able to stay at his house.. ohh and I should marry his son... ?!?!

My sister picked me, we swung by chic fil a to get some food then headed home.

Sunday- I had a photoshoot with the Lane family and after that Mrs. Wendy Wells took our family pictures :)

That's really about all that's gone on in since my last blog other than a couple arguements here and there with a certain someone I wont go into about...