This still doesn’t feel real even as I type out these words to you but it’s true, we are going to be parents!

Sweet Baby Bosse
Expected January 2016

I’m a fairly unfiltered person by nature and often read like an open book so it’s easy to know what I’m feeling. If you follow along with me and my business over on social media, you’ll also know this journey to baby has been an emotional one. Andrew and I wished, longed, prayed, hoped, dreamed and desired for some time, the day to come where we would experience the tremendous joy of growing our family. Enriching our lives with a child has been on our hearts in a big way. The Lord truly has a beautiful plan in place for all of us, Andy and I included, and to share that here today with you all leaves me full of thankfulness and hope.

It’s funny because I always told Andrew in our endless talks about parenthood how I would love to have a babe in any month except January. January is usually a down month for me because of the severe Midwest winter and the sense of post-holiday blues that hit me hard. Bringing home a new baby and settling into a new reality on top of everything else I typically face in January, felt like a bold move and one I wanted to avoid. But if becoming a parent isn’t the biggest lesson in leaving to let go of control, then this blessing would be it. January 10th is our due date. Maybe I’ll learn to love January and the snowy tundra of the Midwest a little more now right?

Some questions and answers if you’re wanting to follow along in this new chapter!

How have you been feeling? Even though I struggled with a two week morning sickness battle and have a hard time feeling energized and rested (unfortunately my insomnia has returned) I feel extremely grateful and those emotions beat out any of pregnancy symptoms. As we enter my second trimester I look forward to hopefully getting some stamina back so I can continue to service my clients this year. Not to mention so I can host a really remarkable Trouvaille Workshop in six weeks. I’ve had some bizarre foods cravings like green peppers, lemon juice, chocolate chip pancakes, potatoes with hot sauce, and nectarines and peaches like crazy but luckily there isn’t much food-wise that hasn’t sounded too gross for me to steer clear of. I also recently decided to go back to an amended paleo diet in an effort to eat smarter so any tips for a paleo pregnancy are welcome!

Will you find out the gender? Absolutely! I have a lot of respect for mamas who wait until birth day to reveal their babe’s gender! Maybe it’s the planner in me or the inability to stand any sort of suspense (I wikipedia every single movie before I step into the theatre), but we will know in four weeks what we are having! Andrew and I are absolutely convinced it’s a sweet boy as are my parents and a few close friends. But there’s a handful of people who are sure it’s a girl (like my in laws) and well, we are grateful for either as long as Baby Bosse is healthy! We are planning on finding out the old fashioned way in an appointment with our doctor.

Will you be sharing your journey here on your blog or on social media? For a select few things yes but Andrew and I have decided to keep many things private until after the babe comes like our name choices, the nursery, and a few other special, personal details. This journey has been so incredibly sacred and meaningful to us and we want to make sure we are treasuring every little bit with all our hearts, just the two of us. But we do have some intentional names selected (we have for a while now), a few nursery details nailed down, and some other preferences and that makes this so much more real. God has been preparing our hearts for so long now!

And if it IS a boy like we think, I mean how cute will he be? Look at the proud papa! Love you, Apb.

Are you showing yet? Yes! Guys, I had to google if it was normal for women to show at this stage in a pregnancy and turns out it is in smaller women. While there are some days when the bump is less pronounced there are some days where it feels a little surreal to notice the incredible changes my body is already making. Most nights we fall asleep together with Andrew’s hand on my belly and I can’t wait to see it grow over the next 6 months. My jeans are already a little snug and some other clothing items are going to need some temporary replacements!

What will happen to Hey Gorgeous?! I love love love this question! For two years now, when this baby first became a prayer on our hearts, I started making very intentional decisions with my business to prepare. The goal was whenever we would be blessed with a baby, I would be as prepared as I could be to be both responsible with my business and clients but committed and present with our child as a new mama. The thought of handling a night feeding while simultaneously fact checking a client’s timeline made me feel nauseated!

I understand having a baby lends to throwing most control and any formulated plan out the window but I will say I feel pretty proud of how I grown my business quite purposefully to accommodate a growing family too. With that being said, we will be hosting ONE Trouvaille Workshop next year, most likely in the summer or fall (location to be announced soon but we are leaving towards North Carolina!). I have handful of amazing clients for 2016 and 2017 who have been completely supportive and so excited about our news. And I have a husband, family and team behind HGE who have already made this new transition easier and full of joy for me. I feel at peace and I am so grateful and so excited to still run this brand as I always imagined.

To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, emailed, snail mailed encouragement to me over the last year, you are so loved and appreciated. To have a community of peers and friends who support and selflessly love on me and Andy, means so much. And to everyone who has celebrated our news over the past few weeks, we are grateful for you, your kind hearts, listening ears, and celebratory hugs.

I also owe a big thank to one of my dearest friends, Beth who snapped these photos for us when we went home a week ago to share the news in person with my family. Beth was one of my first industry friends I met years ago and has become like a sister to me. Beth, we love you! We will treasure these memories for a lifetime. And to Miya from Layers of Loveliness for the sweet onesies with Answered Prayer hand lettered on each. My Grandpa wanted to keep one and the other will be put to use come January.

Answered prayer. We are so grateful for you and you are so fiercely loved already, little one. Xoxo