Our Baby Boy's Name...

As many of you know, at the beginning of the pregnancy, Kyle chose for our baby's name to be a secret. Well, when we found out our baby is a boy we didn't have much of a secret because we didn't even have a boy's name chosen...only a girl name. After lots of time, we finally decided on a name. Then during my 6th month Kyle decided he didn't want to keep it a secret anymore so here we go...

Axel Austin Tillman

Axel (derived from Absalom in the bible meaning 'Father of Peace'): Kyle and I decided that an easier way to look for names is by meaning, not names themselves. We began looking at names that meant liberty. Didn't work. So then we chose peace as our second important meaning and we immediately loved and agreed on Axel. Wow...it still puts a huge smile on my face to think of us choosing this name together and how much the name and our baby Axel already means to us! What a great experience.

Austin (meaning 'great, magnificent'): This is Kyle's middle name. We decided when we found out we were pregnant that our child would have one of our middle names. The meaning fits perfectly into the whole name!

There you go!! We took months deciding on a name and we are very excited to now meet our baby Axel!

I pray that he learns from his name and treasures his name and the place his name comes from.

Easter and 29 weeks pregnant

 EASTER

For Easter this year, Blondie and I were able to go to Mom and Scott's lake house. It was such a relaxing trip, neither of us wanted to come back. Blondie actually was carried to the car by Scott because she did not want to leave the door of the house! lol As you can tell in the pictures the wind was so strong that no boats were out and Blondie couldn't go swimming...Scott's new golf cart was great to drive around and sit by the lake in! BTW, Mom was able to feel our active little baby move for the first time today! What a joy and blessing!!

29 weeks pregnant:

Things went very well this week. No braxton hicks and lots of movement!! It's crazy to think that we're at that point now where doctor's appointments are every other week, so we only have one more week and we get to hear his heart beat again! This is always a very exciting time for Kyle and I both. Here are some pictures of the lake and of the baby and I.

28 Weeks Pregnant

We're getting there!!!! Finally, we have begun the last trimester of this awesome new beginning. 28 weeks and here we are...

Kyle and I were talking about this last trimester; our hopes for this last portion of such a fun time! One of our hopes was that we could treasure this last time of it being just US. Taking time for purposeful interaction and acknowledgment of each other. What can we say...we love each other! =) Another hope was that our baby boy would come early...late enough that he's fully developed, but early because we are so ready to meet him. As Kyle said, "We've waited this long and now I'm just ready!" I mean, we have so much control over when he comes and all, I'm sure this hope will be met! lol

A little catching up to 28 weeks: weight gain (yuck) - no matter how come I am gaining weight, it stinks! and braxton hicks... our first experience of braxton hicks contractions wasn't to bad...tears were shed, yoga positions used and little sleep AND we made it through. When the baby finally moved, he moved onto my bladder - so to help me feel better, at 2 am Kyle brought me gelato and we sat on the bathroom floor eating gelato together!! I'm telling you, through the morning sickness to the false contractions we have many memories - many of which are funny...now!

Here we go:

Sneak Peaks

Here are a few pictures that show some sneak peaks to what the nursery is beginning to look like.

Some of my wishes for the nursery include original ideas, many things treasured, and a wonderful, relaxing place for our little boy to be anything he wants. So, a great friend of mine, Audrey Omenson, is making some original artwork for the walls that I am super excited about. I have ordered a handmade quilt from an individual on Etsy involving 5 different patterns of green, blue, owls, and yellow. The dresser in these pictures was my dresser growing up and the bear sitting on top was my favorite stuffed animal as a child and still now, Mr. Lucky! I have decided to test my luck in sewing by making an owl mobile by hand. And lastly, the rocker in these pictures has been passed down through our family from a great uncle of mine. We are very excited how all the different pieces of furniture and ideas are coming together!

Much more work still needs to be done, but the end is near!!

The Journey Continues...

One of the wonderful benefits of working at a school includes having breaks, like Spring Break! Well, what a perfect time to go on our 2nd year anniversary trip! Last summer we had great hopes of taking a week trip to Colorado to tour different breweries and camp in beautiful places. We didn't know then that I was going to be 6 months pregnant during my break. So, we decided instead to have a very relaxing and rejuvenating trip to Fredericksburg, TX. What a great idea it was!

Over great food and beverages (Kyle enjoyed this part!) we talked about how far we've come in two years of marriage. Reflecting back on the fun times and the challenging times of our past two years. We realized that you never really know where you're going to be a year in the future. We are very excited for what this next year will bring. Some of our goals include healthier living through food, exercise, quality time spent together and with our new baby boy!

We love each other and are very thankful for each other! This was a great 4 days and place to celebrate our life together.

This is Serendipity, the two story Sunday House that we had the privilege of staying in.




Some of the different activities we did include massages, visiting a micro-brewery, shopping, eating lots of ice cream, and touring 3 different wineries. We then decided instead of going home to drive to Lake Livingston to my parent's lake house for one more night enjoying good food and staring at the stars...

21 Weeks Pregnant...the ups and one down (Belly Pics)

Oh 21 weeks...the joy and pain you bring!

This week we were able to go for our monthly appointment and hear our baby boy's heart beat! Yes, it again brought smiles and tears to our eyes. I don't think I can ever get used to hearing that strong, fast heart beat...it is one of the best sounds a mother and father can hear. Reports show no abnormalities in development which was comforting to hear.

This week has brought to us sweet moments of movement by our baby boy. Finally I'm beginning to feel some flutters and movements. When I say that the baby is moving, Kyle always puts his hand on my stomach like he's going to be able to feel him already. =) The joy of becoming a Dad and trying to catch every ounce of love from his baby.

I asked Kyle this week to play music to our baby. My awesome, musical husband decided that playing music meant actually playing his guitar to the baby. Well let me tell  you this Mama isn't complaining. I sure did fall asleep to Kyle playing Beatles and Jack Johnson songs to our baby...so peaceful!!

Unfortunately, this week has also brought on my first round of pregnancy pain. This boy loves to curl up in my pelvic bone area which resulted in lots of pressure and cramping and back pain. Thankfully I was recommended some exercises by a Doula that a good friend of ours knows and I have a wonderful husband who will rub my back.

This sweet, baby boy is growing like a weed and we're loving every second of it.



Kyle Time...

So I haven't actually updated on anything other than myself so it's....KYLE TIME!!

When we moved down to Houston, Kyle decided to go ahead and to continue working at P.F. Changs, chosing the 610/Westheimer location. While enjoying it, the job wasn't bringing in enough pay for the work he was having to do. After praying about what to do next and guidance on living on a meager salary, God provided. Kyle was promoted to full time bar tender. Lots of positivity has come out of this promotion. Kyle is enjoying his job even more. He is also able to bring in enough money to help us keep going with the life style we have chosen (meager, but fun!).

 Also, Kyle's schedule has changed and is awesome for us! At the moment he works Wednesday night, all day Friday, Saturday night, and Sunday morning (equaling 40 hours - exhausting). With that schedule though, we have made a 'New Beginnings' kind of decision - Kyle is going to be our baby boy's care giver. We will need to hire a Nanny for 1 day and the rest of the week Kyle has the priviledge to be with our baby boy! He has expressed lots of excitement about this new decision. We've had a conversation about this time being a developmentally appropriate learning time...so Kyle's joking response was that he would teach our son how to brew that way he can learn science, math, and vocabulary words including malt, grain, and hops! haha

With all that being said, Kyle is doing great! He's super excited to be a Dad and is enjoying this place of life we are in!