Just the two of us...

Luke and I have been dating since my freshman and his Junior year of college, around May 2003. Since then we have had too many up's and down's to count, lots of fun times shared, lots of different addresses and different occupations, but shared one thing, a strong love for each other.
Soon it will not be "just the two of us" anymore, we wont just pack up and leave for a weekend, we wont decide late in the afternoon to go to a Cards game because I had extra tickets at work, and I am thinking that second...achemm third glass of wine, just because... maybe be a thing of the past.
BUT, words cannot even begin to express how excited and thrilled we are for it to be the THREE of us! I have wanted to by a mommy ever since I can remember. When I was little if I wasn't found playing house with my baby dolls something was wrong. Here is a little look back on some memories before we start this next amazing chapter of our lives.
I love you Luke. I fell in love with you, then you made me the happiest girl on earth when you asked me to be your wife. I will never forget our wedding day and how incredibly happy we both were. Now you gave me the greatest gift I could ask for, to be a mommy, here's to the next chapter.

This is as far back as I can go on my shutterfly account, yes Luke and I dated PRE digital camera days.... makes me feel old! 2006 Cards play off game before we won the world series!
2007 Joey and Lindsey wedding at the Lake, They just welcomed their first son Burke into the world. Okay, so this must be right after the 4 wheeler accident where I broke my arm/shoulder, I can tell by the boney neck and short hair.

2007 (i think) Luke left for 5 months and went on a fishing tour with Berkly promoting products, I flew in to see him ONCE for my birthday, it was a long five months!

Before he left I threw him a little good bye party at Helen Fitzgeralds.

New Years 2007 (i think) at D. Dooleys

2006, man, on one hand I miss the days of going out all the time on the other I don't... here we are at Broadway Oyster bar a popular hangout for us.

Okay, I know I know, it wasn't exactly ever just the two of us ;)

Parasailing 2007 Mexico: day after he POPPED the question

He couldnt get the words out and I couldnt get the word Yes out...

We are both huge cry babies, William is doomed.

2007 engagement pictures, Union Station

Engagement Pictures, Happy Family of 3, Forest Park

September 2007 awesome couples shower my girlfriends threw for us. Such a fun day!

Fall 2008 Pumpkin picking at Eckarts, Fall has always been a favorite time of ours and we cant wait to share this with William.

Fall 2008 Halloween Party

Table Number Picture taking for the big day.

April 2008 Our amazing wedding

Will he ever be able to lift me like this again?

On our honeymoon, a cruise to St Maarten, St Thomas, and San Juan Purtio Rico

Welcoming Bennett my nephew into the world minutes after he was born. February 2009

Valentines day 2009 Taste of Soulard

Mexico November 2009, Last trip before we were "trying" Cant wait to go back and take William!Cardinals Game April 2010 my birthday.

August 2010 Anxiously awaiting our little miracle.

37 weeks, photos, and full term baby!

Sweet profile, eyes, nose, and cute mouth... he was practicing his sucking motions!Adorable face, one hand is covering up the chubby cheekers!

37 Week Baby William Wilson belly!Top two cravings have definitely been cereal and ice cream (Oberweis YUM!)

Happy Mommy to be at 37 weeks.

37 weeks: Baby's now the size of a watermelon!Your full-term (yay!) baby is gaining about 1/2 ounce a day and getting his first sticky poop (called meconium) ready. He's also brushing up on skills for the outside world: blinking, sucking, inhaling, exhaling, and gripping (it's getting strong!).

We are there, baby is a watermelon and cant get too much bigger these days! The whole pregnancy you read about your baby and hear about how they are a blueberry, a kiwi, or some fruit you don't know what it is but this week my friends we made it to watermelon status!

Went to the doctor today, not dilated... ohh well. She was running an hour behind so that put a damper on my plans of running up there during my lunch time. So once I had her I kept her and chatted for a while about the big day, glad we are on the same page about everything, makes me feel prepared and good. I have been right on my measurements but last week I was still at 35 cm and this week went down to 34 cm she said she wanted an ultrasound done right away, everything should be fine and could just be his position or something but wanted to check the amionic fluid etc... The ultrasound tech could squeeze me in in an hour. Down to lovely St Johns cafeteria I went, my thoughts of going back to work to continue a busy day drifting away.

The ultra sound went fine and baby, myself, and amniotic fluid are all measuring good, she said there are lots of things that could play into why I am measuring small but it is nothing to worry about. But I got to see William again, he is getting so big! I saw his sweet face, his fat little cheeks, and once I started laughing (did this to keep from getting teared up I'm sure) at his face, he put his little arm right over it and wouldn't move, he said "shows over folks!"

I cant wait to meet him for real in just 3... 4 weeks tops countdowns on!

Nursery fit for a Prince!

The nursery is finished! It has been a work in progress for quite sometime and it is so nice to have it all completed! All we need now is a baby! View of William's nursery
Closet, changing table/dresser

I love his bed!!!!!! Cant wait to see a sweet sleeping little baby boy in there!

Wall with windows and chest of drawers. Frames are not all filled in yet, waiting for those precious first pictures!

Reading and feeding corner!

Forth wall!

Hope you like your room Will and cant wait for you to meet us and see how excited we are for you!

Jessie's Wedding, last one while expecting!

THIS momma can still get down!
Jess with her dad, so precious!

Yup, the last wedding while expecting!

The stunning bride and I

Saturday one of my best friends got married, we have been through SO much together and so much to lead her to this point in her life. Honestly at some points I didnt know if she was ever going to find Mr. Right, just one of those girls that did not have the best luck in that department, but she did and he is great!

I read the scripture in her wedding and can not think of a better way to show her how I care, I am so glad I got to be a part of their day, everything was perfect....Their wedding was straight out of a fairy tale and she looked just that, like a princess! The best part? Jessie does not want to wait long to make lots of friends for William!

34 weeks and bump pics

My perfect cantaloupe baby!

It is a love/hate relationship, but I think I will miss my bump.

34 weeks: Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine.

By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond).

Boy, they aren't kidding about the fatigue! I sure am feeling it these days, by the time I get home, as much as I want to just lay down for a minute I have to keep going and stay busy till about 9 so I can attempt to get a full nights rest.... which I am lucky if I get! The wrist pain is still pretty bad, but still mostly at night so that is good I guess!

Shower with my favorite Girls!

This past Saturday some of my best girlfriends threw me my last and final baby shower. Everything was so perfect, from the handmade (AMAZING TASTING) cake from my friend Michelle, to the decorations, and all the laughs that were had. It was a day I will remember for a long time. I am so blessed to have them in my life, they are always there for me whether it be to bitch and moan about a problem, or to celebrate an exciting day we are all family and I love that.

I also love how excited the girls are about little William! Some of my friends already have kids of their own, and the fact that they are still so excited for us and to meet him makes me feel very special and loved, I tell Will about his cool aunts all the time and I cant wait until he is a little older and really realizes that he has not one, but eight mommies who love him dearly.

Meghan also did a POST about my shower, with some details I may have left out. Some of the girls went in and got ME a gift! I get to have a beautiful robe for the hospital and at home, some comfy slippers and a gift card to get a pedicure, just what this mommy needed! What a great idea they had ;)

Opening Gifts


Will got some Nike shocks! Pretty cool kicks for a kid! I know my sister is eyeing them up because they are Bennett sized so he might get to try them out for a bit till Will is ready!

Froggie hooded towel from pottery barn, too darn cute!

Of course Jim came to my shower, he IS just one of the girls!

Cake and cupcakes made by Michelle, the cake was like 5 layers tall and has some yummy raspberry in between each layer, and Meghan made this awesome diaper cake! SO cute!!!!

The girls.

Crystal, Me, Mom, and Nana

It's getting hot in here....

Sorry if my posts have been a little complainy lately, but I am in the home stretch of pregnancy in the dead heat of one of the hottest summers we've had for a while... I'm allowed.

At my work I wear many different hats, one of them being a sales person.

I don't have a lot of accounts just a few, one is a pretty big one.

Today I had a meeting at the big customer. They are only about 5 minutes away so of course my car couldn't completely cool down by the time I got there. It is well over 100 out today including heat index I think it is about 115, tack on over 20 pounds of baby bump and everything seems to be harder to do... even getting in and out of the car. The good thing here is, I don't care what people think of me, nor do I get embarrassed easily, so me looking like a complete fool is a daily happening.

Back to my story:
I go in; I am hot but fine... go to meet with my guy and we go in a conference room with windows all along one wall, it is HOT in there, I don't know if the door was closed and it acted as a sauna or what but it was HOT! He asks if I am going to be ok, of course I say sure, one thing I do not want is special treatment of any kind just for being pregnant.

Half way through our meeting I completely stop listening and talking and all my attention is brought down to my legs which have been crossed.
Humm...Why in the hell are my legs all wet? I felt like I was in a bath tub.... I crossed them the other way to try and figure out what is going on under there (while still pretending to listen and nod).... I am sure you could of heard the swish from my legs moving. With my incredibly shrinking bladder of course the first thing I think is the worst... but thankfully I was dripping from my legs with sweat! I managed through the rest of the meeting agreeing with everything they said, all I could think about was how wet my dress was going to be when I stood up.... or if when I stood up I would stay up because I have a tendency to get light headed these days!

I survived and I am back in my cool office eating lunch, lets just say my underwear has seen drier days.... Is it Fall yet?

Maternity Photos

Here are some maternity photos I had taken, she puts 15 one facebook and sent me a link to more, if you want to view them all go HERE click on proofing and type in ashley1

We had set up some packages with my wedding photographer to do Williams newborn shoots and possibly a maternity shoot for me, then an old friend on facebook saw some of my "bump" pics and messaged me telling me she is doing photography but still trying to get her portfolio going, so I went ahead and scheduled a session with her. I figured if they didn't turn out good we could always still do another one, if I get pregnant again who knows if the belly will look this good the second time around ;)

Monday was a crazy day, I felt nauseous in the afternoon at work and ended up throwing up at my desk, I went home shortly after and debated canceling with Jackie but I didn't know when I would reschedule so I had a 1/2 hour (which I was supposed to be doing my hair and makeup) and I layed my head on the couch. Well I passed out and woke up to Boomer barking because Jackie was at the door! I quickly got ready, Luke got home and we got started. About 15 minutes in I had to keep sitting down I was so light headed and the room was spinning (not exactly the maternal nurturing picture setting) Then all of the sudden I had the urge again and was on the bathroom floor, mostly naked. Again I powered through thinking well, these pictures are definitely going to suck but whatever....

I didn't have time to get ready, I am sure I was pale etc from getting sick, it was hot out, I was hungry. But to my surprise they turned out really good, I wish we would of gotten a few more, and I wish Boomer would of cooperated more, but all in all we got some really good ones!

I get to pick ten to have on a cd that I can print from, anyone have any favorites to help me choose these ten?

We were also thinking of doing one for a blank wall in our bathroom, and a small one for William's room.

31 Weeks and Pics!

It happened: the Belly button is completely flattened

but I still "heart" it.


I am 31 weeks pregnant!

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too!

You may have noticed some leaking of colostrum, or "premilk," from your breasts lately. Some expectant moms experience this leaking, others don't.
Have you noticed the muscles in your uterus tightening now and then? Many women feel these random contractions — called Braxton Hicks contractions — in the second half of pregnancy. Often lasting about 30 seconds, they're irregular, and at this point, they should be infrequent and painless

I think I have felt a few braxton hicks contractions, I cant be sure since I've never felt it before but I am going to mention it to my doctor tomorrow. Other than that things are going well, I think I have the definite 3rd trimester sleepies! But who wouldn't with lugging around 20 extra pounds, something constantly kicking at you, and sleep being interrupted by an endless bladder!

I am still working full time and our FULL weekends will come to an end in about a month. Not that I mind them but it will be nice to have some time to finish up William's room and do somethings around the house we have been meaning to get to before he gets here!