HE has arrived!

Jackson Kiyomi Newsom

born October 10,2011 at 9:32 am

weighing 8 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,the fruit of the womb a reward.Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth."
Psalm 127:3-4

*I will post more when I have a brief moment :)

spoiled rotten and not even here yet!

this child is sooo spoiled...or should i say BLESSED! we have had 4 baby showers...FOUR! i can't explain to you how thankful we are for all of the things we have gotten from our friends and family! the outpouring of giving is unbelievable and makes me tear up. it's amazing to see how much people care about someone who's not even here yet! as i look into the nursery i'm overwhelmed by all of the sweet thoughtful gifts that baby j has been given! my heart is full. the past week i've been getting numerous surprise packages from friends and family! it makes those not-so-fun pregnancy days so much better!! so, THANK-YOU.

we had another dr. appt today that went VERY well! we have our pre-op appt. next friday! ahhh! 9 days...if you're counting..and I AM!! :)

so, not only are ya'll spoiling this baby so am i...baby gap had a HUGE sale and i could not resist!!! i can't imagine how i'd be if i knew the sex of this baby...WOW!!

October 10, 2011

Well, we have our c-section scheduled! Baby J will be here on October 10th! I can't wait and am counting down the days! Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

my little breech baby

well, baby j is still breech (turned the wrong way) so as for now we will be having a c-section at 39 weeks which will be sometime during the first week of October! while this was not my plan this is God's plan and I trust in Him! I know that HE knows what's best for baby j and I and will guide the Dr and the medical team. While Baby J COULD still turn I'm preparing myself for a c-section. I'll let yall know the date soon! It's kinda crazy to pick my child's birthday...

I'm still feeling pretty good. Fall is FINALLY here. It's been in the upper 60's this weekend and I'm in HEAVEN! It's so much nicer not to sweat everywhere I go. I even got cold last night! I can't remember when I was cold last! :) My sleeping is still a minor issue but I know I'm just getting ready for life with a new born! Other than that no complaints! Just a few weeks left! So crazy!! here we are in the nursery at 37 weeks = FULL TERM!! :)

i love this man.....

let me tell you why... (warning-this post is alittle sappy)



he loves history! he eats, sleeps and drinks it and i know he will teach our kids about it (which is a good thing!) he is always learning and exploring! i love this trait about him.

he loves football, tailgating and everything about this time of they year and so do i! we like to say that we fell in love on the tailgating field at mtsu! it's definitely a hobby that we both share. while we don't always (or ever) agree on the same team we always have fun!

he keeps me in check on my spending. he's a total saver and well, i have some issues with it sometimes :) i know he wants the best for our family and future and he plans for it. while i don't always agree with him on our spending i know that he is usually right. (this pic he sent to me when he was on his way to denver for work-his way of saying no more vera! :) haha!

he is CRAZY! anyone who knows him thinks this! he always wants to have a good time and act up. sometimes i feel like i'm married to a 5 year old but i think that's what i love MOST about him. i am very serious and get worked up about the littlest things. jes on the other hand lets things go-he's a no worry kinda guy! i worry about EVERYTHING on the other hand. that's why we're perfect! he reminds me to HAVE FUN-life it too short not to!

so these are just a few reason why i love him! i really could go on and on but it's 1:30 in the morning and i need to try and get some rest. i am so excited about our future and hope and pray that i never stop feeling this way about jesse...EVER!

natural disasters

so to say these past 9 months have been un-eventful would be lying! i think baby j is going to come out kicking and screaming and an emotional wreck (ok not really). we have been through so much these past 9 months...loss of a grandparent, i changed jobs (both have been stressful) and i've traveled a ton (atlanta 3 times, tn 5 times, indiana and ky, south carolina, CALIFORNIA and not to mention ALL over NC).

we have also been through 4 major natural disasters in the past 9 months!

a destructive tornado ripped through nc this spring and caused a ton of damage and even 1 death in our county (actually less then a mile from our HOUSE). a few counties over it killed 4 people! CRAZY for NC!

while we were home at the beg. of july there was a RANDOM massive flood at mom's-it was crazy. it came out of nowhere! fortunately, mom only had minimal damage to her air/heat unit.

a few weeks ago the east coast experienced an earthquake (which is totally unheard of!) i was sitting at my desk and thought what in the world is happening? 2 ladies from the office agreed that what we had felt was an EARTHQUAKE?!? REALLY?

and last but not least we just went through hurricane irene (see previous post). fortunately, we only lost power for a few hours and had very minimal damage. unfortunately, the rest of NC didn't fair that well. :(

God is good and is in control! i can't wait to tell baby j about everything we went through while he or she was in my belly!

at mom's-all smiles b/c the water is receding!
scary!!!

after hurricane irene

35 weeks...so ready!

as i sit here to type this i'm feeling baby j wiggle around in my belly! i love it! i wonder if i'll miss this sweet feeling between us? it's so special! it makes the exhaustion, swelling, lack of sleep, heartburn and moodiness all worth it!

we are so ready for this little one to get here. the nursery is ready, clothes are washed and the hospital bags are (almost) packed! i find myself in the nursery all the time-looking at the little clothes, packing and repacking the diaper bag, rocking in the rocker and reading to baby j. i have dreamed of being a mom my entire life and now it's so close-it's surreal, amazing, exciting, scary and exhausting all at the same time.

we go back to the dr. friday to see if this baby has flipped or not. if not we will go ahead and schedule a c-section. please. please,PLEASE continue to pray! i know baby j is all in God's hands and He knows the best for us but i would rather try and deliver naturally (not THAT naturally :)) i've been talking to baby j and telling him/her to flip but i'm not sure if it's working! ;)

so here we are at 35 and a half weeks...

the nursery!

baby j's nursery is FINALLY finished...well, almost! jk! it's basically DONE! i am so happy with it and can't wait to put our sweet, precious baby in it! jes worked so hard helping me with it and was so patient with me (gotta love those hormones!). i find myself just sitting in there all the time and looking at everything . i can't wait for this little one to get here. i have dreamed about this room for years and it's finally here and all put together-IT'S PERFECT! here it is...if you didn't see the crib go back to the previous post (yes, it needed it's own post!)...

changing table and rocker

pic of jesse when he was a baby-i'm obsessed with it and his cheeks! an u/s pic of baby j-my sweet friend lindz sent us this blue frame on the day of our first u/s and robert gave me the willow tree (my first one!).

another shot of where i'll be spending a lot of my time :)

my art project above the changing table...that's as good as it gets!

ya'll come see it for yourself! it's so much better in person! :)

nursery sneak peek...

here's a glimpse of the nursery. my favorite part...the crib! i'm pretty much obsessed with it! my talented mother-in-law made the bedding and it turned out perfect! actually, when i opened the bedding at my shower i cried! it's such a sweet gift that can be passed on. so here it is...my bows need help but mom has promised to help when she comes :) just waiting on baby j...

franklin shower

my childhood friend lindsey threw me and amazing baby shower this past month in franklin. she completely outdid herself-the tea was amazing (and we drank out of super cute mason jars!), little "j" and "n" homemade cheese straws and an amazing cake that was made by the same people that made our wedding cake! lindz also had everyone sign a cake plate that we can use in the future-so special! it was a perfect saturday afternoon!

i loved seeing everyone from home and both sides of our families! everyone was so generous!! baby j is so blessed already and loved by so many people. my sweet college roomie, joanna and her mom drove over 5 hours to come! i was so happy to see them and felt so honored to have them there. here are a few pics from that special day!

opening the first gift!

my family! love these ladies :)

opening more gifts-so blessed.

we had such a great time

34 week update

we got some great pics of sweet baby j at the specialist last week. i can't stop looking at this sweet face and those cheeks! oh my goodness! i'm soo ready for him/her to be here! the nursery is about 95% completed! my next post will be nursery pics! i love it and it turned out perfect!

so at our appt we learned a lot 1-baby j is BIG-almost 6 lbs already (80th percentile)-can we say..WOW!!! 2- the White spot on the heart is fading-the tech said that if this was our 1st ultrasound she wouldn't even mention it to us (God is so good!!) 3-baby j is breech and if he/she doesn't flip in the next 2 weeks we will schedule a c-section a week before my due date. (i DO NOT want a c-section..please pray this child flips!) i've been looking up old wives tales to try and get the baby to flip...some crazy things but i'll try anything at this point! let me know if you have any ideas!

i've been loving some ice cream lately-sometimes that's my dinner. i think it helps my horrible heartburn that i've been haivng lately! tcby white choc moose with cookie dough is my FAVE. the closest one is about 2+ hours away. jes went to charlotte last week and brought me home 4 huge containers of it! isn't he the best?

other than heartburn, swollen feet, unable to sleep, little braxton hicks contractions and moodiness i feel great! :) haha! no, i'm def. to that point where i'm ready to meet our little baby j! how cute is she/he??? i can't wait to kiss all on those sweet cheeks!

33+ weeks

here we are at 33 and a half weeks. i know it's been a while since i've put a pic on here. what can i say? i'm a slacker! we have been sooo busy! it's been great! we've had 3 showers and are so blessed by our sweet friends and family! our sweet little one is so blessed by so many people who love him/her already!

i'm feeling as good as i can this close to the end. getting bigger and bigger everyday. i didn't know my stomach could stretch and get this big. baby j is still very active. jes actually felt him/her move for the first time the other night. i have pretty bad heartburn at night and am not really sleeping anymore. the other night i got up at 2 am and started cleaning-so i'm most definitely in the nesting phase! we are getting sooo excited and nervous at the same time. i can't believe in just a few weeks baby j will be here! almost everyone thinks baby j is a boy. we will just have to wait and see though. i'm loving ice cream and peanut butter milkshakes! (not the greatest choice i know but it's what i'm craving). 5 and a half more weeks....but who's counting?

coming soon....the nursery post! it's getting there! i'm totally in LOVE with it and it's all coming together! i can't wait to share it with you!!

a tennessee wedding weekend

my cousin rachel (ray-ray) married her best friend JJ on july 9th! we were fortunate enough to be able to go home for a week! we had a wonderful time catching up with family and friends!! the wedding was spectacular and perfect! ray-ray looked like barbie bride. she seriously was gorgeous!! here's a few pics from the wedding...i have more but i can't get them to upload!

jesse and i and baby j at the rehersal

whit and i getting ready!

Xander's first trip to the beach

lindz and xander came in july to celebrate lindz and i's birthdays! we had an AMAZING time! i'm so fortunate to have such a wonderful, caring and thoughtful friend! while they were here we took xander to the beach and HE LOVED IT!!!! he made a b-line straight for the water! he wasn't scared at all! i have a BILLION pics but these were my faves! isn't he a DOLL!!???

irene...the storm of the century!

so this week has been very eventful! on tuesday i experienced my first earthquake (jes didn't feel it). while it was mild it still caught me off guard. i was working in our greenville office and though...am i going into labor? :) jk! but it was super crazy!

now, i sit here and wait for the "storm of the century" (as the weather channel likes to put it) slams into us! ok, so that's a little dramatic. but irene is HUGE! we've decided to stay in, hunker down and pray! i'm so worried about our beautiful nc beaches and what will be left of them once irene comes through! it really makes me realise how much i love nc and it's now my home!i long for the day when i can take baby j on these beautiful beaches with the dogs. for now all i can do is trust in Him! we are prepared-we have all the essentials (i'll blog about that later) please pray for us! i can't wait to tell baby j about the storm of the century!!

every day is a blessing

i think sometimes God lets things happen in your life to make you realise just how fortunate you are and to count your blessings everyday! this week had been hard for me emotionally. a friend of mine found out that her baby boy (who's due in dec) has stopped growing and will probably not make it. her blood work was positive for downs the first time they did it and then negative the second time. they did an amnio test yesterday and they will find out the results soon. i am so heartbroken! everyday that i have carried baby j is a true blessing from God. I feel like i had hit a point where i was becoming negative and focusing on all of the not-so-fun things of being preggo like the heat, not sleeping, GAINING SO MUCH weight, hearing comments from strangers about my stomach, i could go on and on! God has reassessed my focus and made me realise that i should enjoy this-all of it-b/c it is a blessing from HIM and baby j is HIS...not ours! please keep my dear friend in your thoughts and prayers. i can't imagine what she's going through...

here's our sweet little blessing at 30 weeks... we are 31 weeks now...time is flying by!

what do you think...BOY or GIRL!?? let me know!

jack and jill baby shower

i know i know it's been FOREVER! we have been sooo busy!! in a good way! we went home for my cousin's AMAZING wedding and have had a TON of guests come and visit! i'm going to try and catch ya'll up this weekend as well as work on my baby to do list! there's soo much to do!

last sat our AMAZING friends threw us a jack and jill baby shower! it was FABULOUS and so much fun! kim and leah worked their butt off on this. we are so blessed to have such amazing friends esp. since we care so far away from family. i don't know what we would do without them and i thank God everyday for them.a ton of our friends came and spoiled baby j for sure! this child is already loved by so many people. my old college roomie drove over 5 hours to come to the shower and spend the weekend with us! how amazing is she? :) enjoy these pics of the posh shower! i felt famous! :)

sweet baby stuff
fab desserts and CAKE!

opening presents with jes

amazing decoration! these girls are talented :)

jo, me and theresa

nursery progress and 24 weeks

so here we are at 24 weeks (almost!) i feel like we are growing EVERYDAY!

i have a dr. appt. this morning. i don't think it's any big appt.-just the routine...pee in a cup, blood pressure check and my LEAST favorite part-weight.

next month is the FUN glucose test. NOT looking forward to that! oh well!

we go back to the specialist in a few weeks-and i can't wait to see baby j again!

so, i've been asked a BILLION times, "what color are you doing the nursery? yellow? green?" nope! BLUE!

i LOVE blue and i don't think it's gonna change baby j if he/she is a GIRL and sleeps in a blue room! so yes, it's blue! i thought i'd post progress pics for ya'll to see!

my amazing and talented mother in law is making the bedding for us! i know it will be perfect and can't wait to see it and post for ya'll!

i LOVE the crib!! :)

feeling big at 23 weeks

so i'm really starting to feel big! :( here we are at a little over 23 weeks. granted the shirt i'm wearing isn't maternity :) so that makes me feel a little better! i know all the weight gain will be worth it in the end!

besides starting to feel huge-we are doing good! still walking as much as possible in this nc heat will allow. still LOVING watermelon...just thinking about it makes me want some. my heartburn has been getting worse but that's to be expected! 3rd trimester is just around the corner!! where has the time gone???

we are working this weekend on getting the nursery ready! yay! so, HOPEFULLY in the next post there won't be all that crap in the background. HOPEFULLY!

pics of our sweet baby

we had our third ultrasound thursday at a specialist. when we went for our 20 week ultrasound they saw a white calcium spot on the baby's heart and wanted to check it out. so, we got to see sweet baby j AGAIN! it was an amazing experience! i love seeing this little one! we have another us appt. in a few weeks b/c baby j us stubborn(imagine that) and wouldn't roll over so they could get some good pics....not sure where he/she gets it from :)

enjoy these sweet baby pics...i'm obsessed with them and CAN NOT stop looking at them!

sweet baby and fist
baby foot

baby j with his/her mouth open

22 weeks and growing!

i can not believe that i am over half way through my pregnancy! where has the time gone? i'm still feeling pretty good-most days :) we are growing bigger and bigger everyday. i've been having really bad heartburn the past couple of nights and have been having alittle trouble sleeping (mainly b/c i have to get up and go to the bathroom a lot!).

i've been craving watermelon all.the.time! i love it and can't get enough of it! i don't know if it's the heat or what (it's sooo hot here and only june). i'm seriously eating a whole one every few days. i'm out of control!

2 weeks ago we had our 20 week ultrasound. it was amazing to see sweet baby j! i'll post more about that on the next post and show the pics. he/she is so sweet and i'm already in love.

this child moves and kicks ALL THE TIME! especially after i eat. i think feeling your baby move is the most amazing God thing i've ever experienced in my life. it's so amazing to know that there's another life growing inside of me. i can't wait to meet this sweet little one.

i'm trying to keep that in mind as i look in the mirror or try and fit into clothes! it's so hard for me to see the weight creep back on. i worked my butt off (literally) to lose 30 lbs. before we got preggers and it's really hard to see it coming back-faster than i have wanted it to. i'm doing everything i can to eat healthy and exercise but it doesn't' seem like enough!! am i perfect???...no way! but i really try my best. oh well. i guess that's all that i can do. i know i can get it off once baby j is here and it's def. all worth it!

here we are at 22 weeks! we finally cleared out the room so we can start working on the nursery! i'll def. post pics of it along the way! ahhh!!

we have a nephew!

jes and i are so excited that our nephew is here!

james avery newsom was born on may 31,2011. he weighted 7 lbs 11 oz and was 21 inches long. mom and baby (and dad) are all doing great! we can not wait to see him and snuggle with him! i know him and baby j will be best friends!

couldn't you just eat him up? oh my goodness! i'm ready for baby j!

sorry for the lack in posting and not updating my bump pics :(

happy birthday!

can you believe that this baby boy is a year old? i know that i can't! where has the time gone? it seems like yesterday his momma (lindz) was telling me that she's pregnant with him! crazy! i'm so sad that i can't be there to help him celebrate but him and his sweet momma are coming in july to visit. yay!! i can't wait to take him to the beach!! he will love it. happy FIRST birthday alexander reuben neal! i love you!

18 weeks and counting!

here we are at 18 weeks! over the past few days i've really felt pregnant! i had a couple of people actually even ask me if i was! which was very exciting to share my news with strangers! baby j is very active already. i can feel him/her flutter all the time! i love it!!! baby j is very active in the afternoon and after i eat.
i'm not really having as many strong cravings as i was a few weeks ago for the pickles and olives. i'm just really hungry all the time now! i try and snack on healthy things like fruit, veggies and yougurt all while trying to get in some protein that will keep me full. any suggestions on healthy snacks?
so here we are...yes, i know that the room is STILL not clean-guess i'm not nesting right?haha!

thanksgiving and progress pic!

we have had a very exciting week/weekend-along with everything that's going on in the world between the tornadoes in bama, to the royal wedding, to the killing of the #1 terrorist in the WORLD!

first of all here's a picture of baby j and i last night at 16 and a half weeks! jes and i celebrated our 3 year anniversary last night! we went to dinner at our fave place The Chelsea, which is located in New Bern! It was so good!so, can you tell that i've popped? wow! i still feel good(minus the sinus infection that i'm fighting). i'm walking at least 30 min everyday! i still crave pickles, olives and anything salty. i'm pretty sure that the days of wearing my "normal" clothes are over! oh well!!...i know i still don't have any sheets on the bed in the pic but that room will be the nursery so we're in the process of transitioning and well, i just don't see the point to it! i have no excuse for all the crap piled up on the bed though...sorry!

the next 2 pictures are probably my favorite pictures EVER! my sweet proud husband! he has taken on hunting in a big way! this past saturday he got up at around 4 am to go hunting. i always thought he liked hunting but thought he really enjoyed getting out of the house and being in nature-never really thought he was too serious about it. this is the first season since we've been married that he's been hard core hunter! :) i love it! anyway, i know how badly he has wanted to get a turkey! it's all he reads about, talks and thinks about! seriously! well, he came back saturday morning and i asked him (jokingly) "so, where's the turkey?"(totally thinking that he didn't get one!) he grins and says..."oh, it's in the truck". AHHH!! i have never been so proud and excited for him! he was so excited he was like a little boy all day long! i know that he can do anything he wants to do. this proves it. i wanted him to post the story of getting the bird and calling it in and all that stuff but he wouldn't. he recorded part of his experience (not actually killing it-thankfully) and posted it on facebook. anyway, needless to say we're ready for thanksgiving!