It’s been a whirlwind of excitement over on this end. In the beginning of August, the hubs and I found out that we are pregnant! We’ve been hoping and praying that God would send us a little babe and I’m thrilled to say that we are 16.5 weeks into the pregnancy and loving every moment of it! It’s pretty hard keeping a tight lip about this sort of thing, but we decided early on that we’d play it safe and wait until I hit the second trimester before we spilled the beans. And boy, are the beans spilling now!

Okay, so maybe there are some things I don’t love — like the lack of energy I experienced in the first trimester and the constant bathroom breaks I had to take right in the middle of only the important things it seemed — but I’m not complaining because I would much rather choose any of those over constant nausea. I had perhaps five minutes of that total and couldn’t be more thrilled. I have a bitty bump that seems to grow with every week, and honestly, it seems a little bigger than what I thought it would look at 16 weeks. But who cares, right? There’s something precious growing inside me — and please belly, keep growing!

I’m really looking forward to our first ultrasound in four weeks when we find out the gender. I want to know just for the sake of knowing. I know that most folks find out in order to prepare for either a boy or a girl (and I guess we’ll be doing that as well in many cases), but I’ve never been the patient sort to wait months to find something out.

On a more business side, things are really going to be changing for me. I’m sharing in a separate blog post about what changes exactly, so you can read all about that tomorrow.

I remember my middle school days and my teen years, dreaming about one day finding the man I’m going to marry (and marry him, of course). When that time came, I remember thinking during my engagement period that my wedding day will never come. It felt like eternity waiting for that day and it was always ‘not today.’ So many emotions, so much joy and fear at the same time, and then boom — I was married. It’s been nearly four years since and I still find myself in awe of how things come and go, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. The anticipation of getting married was slow going, but married life is fast going. I almost just want to hit the pause button to take it all in. Thank you, God, for all these things you’ve brought into my life, both the slow ones and the fast ones.

Recently, the husband and I had a little love shoot to commemorate our four years together (yes, we’re just a tad bit early on that one). We had Yuriy and Julia of The Manchiks capture photos for us in freezing fog and I can’t believe how awesome these photos look. I can’t stop going over them. You can see more over on their blog as well.

I was hoping to get back to blogging earlier this week, but I caught a little cold over the New Year weekend, so I took it easy this week in hopes I would get better sooner if I did. So things will be back to normal starting Monday instead.

So how were your Christmas + New Year celebrations? My husband’s birthday is just three days before Christmas, so things were pretty packed. We had a little party at our place with our friends to celebrate his birthday, two Christmas Eve family gatherings, and a fun trip to Sunriver, Oregon for the New Year weekend with my family and some friends. Enjoyed every bit of it.

1   My husband made me a latte to keep me going as I wrapping up the last of the Christmas presents. And surprise, it wasn’t just any latte, this one had a snowman in it!

2   With my husband’s birthday so close to Christmas, I couldn’t resist wrapping up his presents in Christmas cheer.

3   The views were gorgeous on Mt. Bachelor.

4   I bought a loaf of walnut apple raisin bread at a local bakery to enjoy on vacation.

5   We spent the whole weekend working away at this one puzzle. We eventually finished it, but long past our predicted finish date.

6   On our way back home, we stopped by the famous Sisters Coffee Co. in Sisters, Oregon for a cup of coffee and an almond croissant.

Follow me on Instagram: @anastasiamika

Yesterday was my birthday. I have officially lived a quarter of a century. Every year I try to come up with a fun theme for my birthday party. Past years have been Noah’s Ark, Kate Spade, bright colors, etc.; this year was all about things that sparkle. I’ll be putting up pictures of the decor later on today, as well as the party inspiration palette I put together (after all the partying was all over actually). But in the meantime, here are are some snaps from my Instagram:

1   Putting together some glittery details for the party.

2   Picking out a glittering/sparkling outfit for the party was fun.

3   My sis and I at my party all decked out.

4   Left: a handmade card I received; right: my party invitation (which I’ll put up on the blog Thursday).

5   Birthday crepes with my hubby on my actual birthday.

6   A little stroll through Portland followed afterwards.