Well I officially mailed out our last two Christmas cards yesterday morning. Raise your hand if you’re a super procrastinator! Today, I am wrapping a few last gifts and we are heading to a Christmas dinner at Ryan’s grandparent’s house. I can’t wait to see everyone!

Yesterday, my sweet blog friend, Sarah sent Hamp and little sister these adorable “Mommy’s Coffee Date” shirts! She has the cutest Etsy shop – Wake Me Up Designs, and you should definitely check it out!  I can’t say enough good things about her and her adorable little girl. Thank you, Sarah!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy time with your family and loved ones. Drink lots of hot cocoa and cozy up by a fire. Open lots of presents, but don’t forget the reason for the season! My family has so much to be grateful for this year and we are looking so forward to welcoming our precious little girl in 2015. I am thankful for all of you who read and support my little blog. I am so grateful to you for taking the time to comment and share my posts, but also to those of you who read along and keep up with my little family. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Super Hero Shirt // Corduroy Pants – Old Navy similar // Converse

I can’t believe I still haven’t shared Hampton’s Halloween on the blog! Oops. Well, better late than never, right? I put a picture on Instagram, so if you follow me there, you at least got a glimpse of him in his koala cuteness.

Funny story: Hampton was supposed to be Thing 1 for Halloween since we already had everything for the costume from his party. The thing is, he refused to wear his blue hair and therefore looked like a kid in a t-shirt. That just wasn’t okay. He definitely needed a cute little furry costume. We ran to Party City the night of our Trunk-or-Treat at church (because I’m a new procrastinator aka new mom) and the line literally wrapped around the building. We definitely did not have time to stand in that check out line. We left kind of disappointed when I spotted TJ Maxx next door. I convinced Ryan to run in there with me really quick just to see if they had anything. They had one boy costume in Hampton’s size and it was half the price of all those Party City costumes. That was it. So without further ado, I give you our little koala bear:

1 and 2 – posing for mommy // 3 trick or treating at his great-grandmother’s house // 4 trunk-or-treat at church

Link up all of your mama related posts below and don’t forget to grab our snazzy button! I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

I wanted to write about August 25th. The day we found out. 5 days after our close friend’s funeral, we were sitting in the living room early Monday morning talking about everything. We were planning for our vacation to my grandmother’s house in Jax Beach and talking about how difficult it would be to have a good time when we were still so upset and just not in the right frame of mind for a vacation. I started trying to pack about mid-morning and then I started feeling light cramps. I immediately looked at my calendar and guess what? I was over a week late. Surely I just wrote the wrong date down? I got a really sick feeling in my stomach trying to think about everything in the last month. We thought we were careful. Apparently, I have a really weird body that ovulates when it wants to aka VERY late (tmi? Sorry).

I took a pregnancy test and it said “pregnant” almost immediately. I stared in disbelief. I walked into the living room and showed Ryan. He smiled and then shook his head and said “are you serious?” I started crying. Okay, sobbing/freaking out/panicking. Ryan just kept laughing and smiling saying that it would be okay. We had a 10 month old. How on earth can I have another baby right now when my hands are already so full with him and work? Of course we want more children, but we had definitely planned to wait longer than this. We wanted to be in a new house before we had another child. This is definitely not ideal timing for US. Then I started thinking…over the next several weeks. Hampton wasn’t my timing, either. He came in God’s perfect time. I would have had him months sooner than I did if it were my timing. This one must be God’s perfect timing again. We have been nervous about our house, but in reality, there are people living in far far worse situations than we are and we can definitely make it work. We have been nervous about finances, but we know that God always provides.

After weeks of letting this “surprise” really sink in, we are growing more and more excited each day! Ryan has actually been a lot more excited than I thought he would be. I have been the one freaking out a good bit. haha Honestly though, this first trimester has not been as hard as my pregnancy with Hampton. That has been a wonderful blessing. I’ve been able to hide it a lot easier this time which was nice because we needed time for the news to set in with us first. I feel like God is definitely trying to teach me a lesson on His timing vs. mine.

In a way, this is a huge answered prayer. I have prayed since my pregnancy with Hamp that I would not have to get back on clomid to get pregnant again. I wanted it to be easier for my other pregnancies. God definitely answered that prayer in a big way. I am thankful for that and for a healthy baby/pregnancy so far.

I will start bump dates SOON! There isn’t much of a bump yet, but I will start sharing updates soon!

Read all about our Christmas miracle here.

Did you hear our big news? If not, you can read about it here. I am still a little bit in disbelief. I’m not sure why. I guess with Hampton, we tried really hard for over 9 months (and 3 rounds of clomid). With this one, it just happened. No planning. Just poof. Hello two pink lines and a very definite “pregnant.” Other than a little sickness here and there, I haven’t felt a bit pregnant. No cravings, nothing yet. This has been so different than our first pregnancy. Maybe because I’m so busy with Hamp? Anyway, I am definitely ready to feel our little angel move and find out the gender! We are still about 4 weeks away from that, but I am so looking forward to it! Can you imagine Hampton as a big brother? I just can’t yet, but he is.

Enough rambling. I will definitely start bump dates soon! I just don’t have a whole lot to report yet, other than excitement! 🙂

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First off, Happy Halloween!!! aka My favorite holiday! That is exactly why I wanted to save this special post for today…

So I guess it’s time to fill all of you in on why I took a spontaneous and if I’m honest, unplanned blogging break over the last couple of weeks. A lot has been going on in the Cantrell world. Hampton turned one and I have been very busy with his party planning. Also, we got an offer on our house! We were so excited and were making plans to move/pack, etc. when they rescinded their offer. Womp womp womp. Yeah, I know.

These aren’t the only reasons that I have been away. I’ve also been pretty sick during my 10th – 13th week of pregnancy. You read that right! We are expecting baby can #2 May 8th!! While this was a HUGE surprise to us, we are getting really excited. It has taken about this long to convince myself that I really am pregnant. Other than the sickness, I haven’t felt a bit pregnant. I’ve still been able to run and workout and I haven’t gained any weight so far. This has been very different than my pregnancy with Hampton. I had gained about 4 pounds at this point with him and was already in maternity pants because my uterus was tilted forward. Too much? Sorry. Anyways… we are pretty excited and I can’t believe I’m already starting my 2nd trimester. I have a feeling these next 6 months will fly by. We are being very prayerful that our house will sell before baby gets here.

So, that’s basically why I haven’t been around a whole lot. I’m hoping to start feeling better in the next couple of weeks so that I will be able to devote more time to my blog. I have missed it so much, but sometimes, I need to focus on being present in my life and enjoy it.. I will catch everyone up and start bump dates soon!

I can’t believe this day is here. It seems like yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital. So much has happened in this year. Hampton smiled, yawned, grasped my finger, laughed, rolled over, sat up, crawled, took his first steps, ate solids, ate his first bite of sugar, played with Pippa, took many walks with mommy, fell in love with Thomas the Train, learned to take naps (because he wasn’t as a newborn) and to sleep through the night. He has had so many firsts.

This little boy was an angel sent to us. I’m convinced of that. Sure, he’s not perfect, but he has brought us so much joy, happiness and I’m a little embarrassed to say, pride. He has taught me a great deal of patience and how to live on little to no sleep. He has taught me how to love unconditionally and to forgive quickly. He has brought me to my knees in prayer many times and for that I am thankful because my relationship with God has grown so much this year. He makes me laugh and smile every day. I still can’t believe God chose me to be this little boy’s mommy. I am so blessed. Happy birthday to the sweetest little boy in the world. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and all of your accomplishments this year. We can’t wait to watch you grow and mature through the rest of your years. We love you more than words can say.

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Hi mamas! We are officially 5 days from Hampton’s first birthday party (insert panicked scream here). I got so much done over the weekend, but of course my mind is racing and I keep remembering different things I wanted to do but don’t have time for now. Then there is all of the last minute details that must get done this week. I am trying to keep the food very simple so that I’m not super stressed over it, but I have seen so many cutesy “Halloween bark” or “Scarecrow mix” (thank you, Pinterest) that I would also love to make if I have time. Who knows how this will end up! haha On the plus side, all decorations are up and look fantastic! That’s something, right? Here’s to hoping that this party turns out perfect for my little man!

Emotionally, I have definitely broken down twice this week. Hampton has started walking all over the place. He has been taking steps for a while but now he walks across the entire room before he falls. Saturday he walked across the room and looked up at me like he was so excited and proud of himself. Of course I lost it. My baby is growing up and it happened in the blink of an eye. This first year flew by faster than I was prepared for.

Did you miss my post about the pumpkin patch and Hampton’s first zoo trip?

Link up below!

What a weekend! Seriously, this was one for the books! Thursday night, we went to a local benefit dinner and heard Ben Carson speak. I have been in love with his story since seeing Gifted Hands last year with Ryan. I was pregnant with Hampton at the time and his story touched me so deeply. I couldn’t get over that it was real. It was so neat to have the opportunity to hear him speak in person.

Saturday, we went to the pumpkin patch with my family. Hampton picked out his very own pumpkin and it was so sweet and special. I’ve always had a thing for the pumpkin patch, so taking Hampton for the first time was a dream come true. We rode the cow tractor and played in a box filled with corn. He slid down the big slide with his daddy and cackled the whole time. My child is a little dare devil. We had so much fun and it was such a blessing getting to spend so much time with my family and sister in particular. I have missed her so much these last few weeks.