i am in love.

My, oh my! How times have changed! It's been over 2 months since I've been on here! Sorry for the delay, although I don't know that you noticed I was gone! ;)

I am indeed a Momma to the sweetest little boy there is! Aiden Christopher Wescoat graced us with his presence 16 days early on July 27, 2012. I promise to write a birth story out asap! I am in love with son.

6lb 13 oz, 20 3/4 inches

So peaceful

So tiny

So precious

 Being a Momma has been amazing! I spent 5 weeks at home with him before heading back to work. (Heading back to work is a whole different blog post waiting to happen - I am blessed!) The first couple weeks were tough on me as I was figuring out caring for a sweet boy that didn't want to eat, couldn't keep it down, and was losing to much weight. After a few weeks of regular weight checks, switching up feeding, and lots of tears we got him figured out. ;) I am in love with being a momma.

First time holding baby Aiden

Aiden is blessed to have an amazing Daddy. Sweet hubby has been the greatest! I have always known he would be a good dad and he is living up to that plus so much more! He is not only a great daddy but a great husband. And he's had almost a year to get that figured out, we're celebrating our first anniversary in 5 days! I am in love with my husband.

Aiden's first bow hunting trip @ 7 weeks old :)

As much as I love this picture, I wish I had at least one other picture of us together at our wedding...

I have said it so many times and I hope you believe me when I say I truly mean "I am blessed!" God has taken care of our little family in so many wonderful ways over the past couple of months. He's blessed me with a wonderful support system to lean on when times get tough and to celebrate the happy moments. I am in love with my Lord and Savior!

Be a blessing!

I'm Back!

Hello there!

Chris and I on 4th of July
watching the Springfield Cardinals!

Thanks for sticking with me while I've been taking a break! The last several weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement for Chris and I!

I'm going to just stick with a baby update for today but I can't wait to share my experience with my first craft show and where to tell about where I plan to go with the sewing biz!

We are now 35 weeks pregnant! I know, right?! Where has time gone! I was just telling Chris last night that I really do feel like the time has flown by and its kind of sad to me! Not only has the time flown by through the pregnancy but life in general! Chris and I have been married for just over 9 months now and I feel like there is so much more we could have packed into our first months as newly-weds! Luckily, we have the rest of our lives together to make those memories!

Ok, back to baby. ;)

I went to the doctor yesterday and had my first exam to check for progression. (If you don't want the details scoot on down to the next paragraph!) I was dilated to a 1-2 and my cervix has softened. Hearing this totally blew me away! Umm.. really? Not that it means I'll go before my due date but we're heading in the direction of labor! Reality check!! We're having a baby!

Ok, its safe here. Aiden's room is coming together a bit slower than I would have liked but I've decided to quite worrying about it because even if it's not together when he arrives life will go on! My parents came down a couple weeks ago and we did some serious DIYing! We painted a twin bed that was in their basement to be the spare bed in his room. I'm SO pleased with how well it turned out! I've also painted a dresser, end table, and a couple of shelves for his room. Pictures will be posted when it's all done. I'm working out with my sweet cousin to get his crib in the next week or so and I think that'll send me for another reality check!

We were thrown 3 baby showers for this little man and let me assure you God has blessed us! We feel like we have what we need for him to arrive plus so much more! I really have a bad relationship with laundry but I have loved washing and folding his tiny little clothes and diapers! I can't remember if it was ever brought up on here but my cousin and his wife gave me their entire stash of cloth diapers! Yep, I told you we were blessed! I have purchased a few newborn diapers if I found them for a steal but I haven't had to put much in to them at all! I can't wait to see all of this cute fluff on him! Here are some pictures from the showers!

Chris and I at our shower at his parents house!
I need to track down some more pics from here from my SIL!
It was a fire truck theme and they were so creative! It was adorable!

My fun siblings! I think Justin is trying to compete
with the watermelon I have apparently swallowed!

33 Weeks along!

Me and my amazing parents!

And here is a shot of the diapers!
Plus we have inserts, wet bags, and a Moby wrap!

taking a break.

I'm going to be gone from blogging until at least the beginning of June. Not that I am around here too often but I don't keep up with it well. So, blessings until I "see" you all again. I will have so much to share when I return!!

Baby Wescoat: 24 Weeks

My oh my! We're 24 1/2 weeks along! The reality of everything has totally set in and I cant wait to hold my little man! The thought of him is totally mind consuming now and as I was explaining to my sister last week I think it is that way because he makes his presence known so often! I feel him squirming around all through out the day now instead of just when I'm relaxing.

I've developed quite the baby bump and there are very, very few pairs of regular pants I can comfortably fit into anymore. I can still wear the majority of my shirts but they are starting to become quite short. Weight gain has kind of hit hard this past week. I have been gaining the right amount of weight since my last appointment but I am starting to really notice my body expanding other than just the tummy. I struggled for a few days with this because although I knew it was coming it still is hard to just move on and be "OK" with such quick weight gain(especially for a newlywed!). I have been really blessed by friends letting me borrow maternity clothes though!

I am so excited to tackle Mr. Aiden's room. I'm starting to form it in my mind but I am still on a hunt for a changing table/dresser and a rocker. We've decided to go with a fire fighter theme. I really wanted to do either a cowboy or dinosaur theme but I decided that we'll always have fire fighter decor mixed into our regular home decor so it'd be easier (and more cost effective) to stick with the fire stuff. And sweet hubby is kind of a fan of fire gear too! ;) My mom  and I hit the garage sales this weekend during a quick trip home and I got lots of sweet little onesies, a spider and a penguin Halloween costume (they were 50 cents a piece so it was worth it to buy both!), and some fire fighter toys too.

Please keep praying for Chris and I as we still try to grasp the reality of raising a child and seek what God has for us as a young married couple and parents. My nerves seem to be shot lately and stress is way to high some days which is just something I have to work on. Pray for little Aiden too! We go back to the doctor Thursday, I always look forward to hearing the doctor say, "everything is fine."

Here's a link to our registry! I'd love any opinions or suggestions on products! We'll be registering at Target soon too!

Babies"R"Us - Baby Registry

Be a blessing to someone who needs it today!

fun filled Easter.

Well, I called it! It was a wonderful Easter/Birthday weekend! Sunday was not only a day of celebrating a Risen Lord but also the 26th birthday of my hubby! Friday and Saturday were mostly filled with fishing and shooting guns. Lots of good food was had too! We're always spoiled when we are with family!

Pictures pretty much explain it all! :)

Easter weekend.

I am so looking forward to this Easter weekend! Chris and I are going to his parents house and I am SO looking forward to it. I'm pretty certain that the weekend will be filled with fishing, shooting guns, lots of laughing, egg hunting, and a wonderful church service. Sounds like a good weekend to me!

I love knowing that next Easter we'll have little mister here to celebrate with. To share the Easter story with. To dress up in darling clothes for church.

I feel like the true meaning of Easter, even more than Christmas, is forgotten in the egg dyeing and the pictures with the Easter bunny.

Here's a poem I found that really does remind us of the true meaning of Easter.

Easter Joy

Jesus came to earth,

To show us how to live,

How to put others first,

How to love and how to give.

Then He set about His work,

That God sent Him to do;

He took our punishment on Himself;

He made us clean and new.

He could have saved Himself,

Calling angels from above,

But He chose to pay our price for sin;

He paid it out of love.

Our Lord died on Good Friday,

But the cross did not destroy

His resurrection on Easter morn

That fills our hearts with joy.

Now we know our earthly death,

Like His, is just a rest.

We'll be forever with Him

In heaven, where life is best.

So we live our lives for Jesus,

Think of Him in all we do.

Thank you Savior; Thank you Lord.

Help us love like you!

By Joanna Fuchs

I've had quite a rough week so I'm looking forward to being reminded of the joy! I hope you are too! I'll be sure to actually post some pictures from this weekend! Be a blessing to someone!

chick-fil-a knock off

I love me some Chick-fil-A! Seriously, I could eat there several times a week and not get tired of it! Yesterday morning as I was trying to rack my brain for something to do with the boneless skinless chicken breast that I already had, Chick-fil-a started to sound so very good! So I looked on Pinterest for a knock off recipe and found an amazing one! Here's the recipe I used.I can't find the one that I sort of followed but I changed it quite a bit anyway. Enjoy!!

Chick-fil-A Bites

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pickle juice
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Combine egg, milk and pickle juice in a large ziplock bag or bowl. Add chicken pieces and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

2. Mix the flour, powdered sugar, salt and pepper in a large ziplock bag. Pull the chicken out of the "marinade" and add to the breading mixture. Shake to coat the chicken completely.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet (I needed my burner on a 5 out of 10) Add the chicken. It took about 4 minutes on each side for my chicken to really brown up and cook well. I used a large skillet but this may need to be done in two portions so the skillet isn't to full.

4. When the chicken is done, use tongs and remove it from the pan on to a plate lined with paper towel.

Here is the sauce recipe I found too. I will say, I couldn't find the right brand and my sauce was good but not exact. So, if you can find Ken's honey mustard, then go for it!

Chick-fil-A Sauce

Serves: 1 cup
Start-to-Finish: 5 minutes
Recipe By: www.food.com

Ingredients:
1 cup Ken's honey mustard dressing (no brand substitutions or lite versions here, it makes a difference)
2 tsp smoky barbecue sauce

Directions:
1. Combine ingredients.
2. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

I bought a hickory smoke barbecue sauce and it was so good. I can't remember the brand for sure but it was just a basic one. This is what I used in the chick-fil-a sauce and just as a barbecue dipping sauce as well. Delicious! 

I bought frozen waffle fries and added a little seasoned salt to top it off. Oh wow! This will be a regular dinner for me to fix!!