Mommy! Mommy! *sip* Mooommmy!

1. In the Kiser household, we love Allstate's Mayhem commercials.
This one, though, takes the cake in my book.



2. I know that many of you probably saw our post on facebook, but yesterday afternoon I felt Little One's very first without-a-doubt-it's-baby kicks! It was unmistakable. It felt like little, tiny pokes or bumps from inside, just below my bellybutton and to the left. I have been able to feel them a few more times since then, and it brings a huge smile to my face every single time! I know there is nothing unique about pregnancy (the vast majority of women are blessed to be able to conceive more than once!), but it sure feels special and miraculous.

3. Any time I talk to others about being pregnant, they almost always ask if I've had any weird cravings. I haven't had anything interesting to report at all, sadly, except what DOESN'T sound good. Well, my friends, I have one that takes the cake. On Colin's way home last night at 9 pm, I had the most intense desire for a chocolate iced glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut... and... an eggroll. It defies explanation, but eating both of those things, side by side was heavenly. (Before you call the prego police on me, I have been monitoring my diet carefully and don't often indulge in super sweet or fatty foods!) My husband is incredibly loving and serves me so readily. I am very, very blessed.

4. I totally missed blogging about it, but this past weekend our wonderful Mama K came to visit us! We love her, and she is one of the most gracious house guests you could possibly have. We were able to eat, relax, get outside (for walks and Colin's soccer game) and play games. Such a leisurely time with one of our favorite people!

Completed a game of Monopoly. for serious! Who does that?

Got to see Colin score a goal on Sunday! Go, husband!

Hope everyone stays warm, it's going to be our first chilly weekend in the South!

Seventeen Weeks!

-This past week I popped! The bump has now gone from one-too-many-donuts belly to little bump. It's there when I wake up in the morning and when I lay down. I love my body right now and never want to stop looking at it and touching my tum. I can't help but walk around the house, pull up my shirt and say excitedly to Colin, "Look how pregnant I am!" I hope all of you moms and further along pregnant women are laughing and saying "Just you wait" at this point. I know, I know.

-Ah, the glorious moment where you think the morning sickness is mostly gone, you get cocky, then.... have to run to the bathroom and projectile throw up out of your mouth AND nose. Classy.

-Appetite is back, though, and I'm still getting used to being hungry every 2 hours or so.

-Baby is now the size of a large onion! Mysterious Kiser can now hear from inside the womb. I love listening in on his or her's little one sided conversations with daddy. Usually I get shut out but eavesdropping is easy :)

grace and peace!

Colin's Ideal Baby Gift.

Yesterday we received a package from our sweet friend, Renel. When she found out we were pregnant, she was eager to send us something she called "the perfect gift", and here it is, and how right she was! Most of you know Colin. He's a Biblical languages nerd (and I use that term affectionately, because I love it) and it goes without saying that he hopes to pass such things down to our offspring.


...Yes, this is a teach your baby the Greek alphabet baby book! When we opened this gift together... Let's just say I really wish I had my camera on-hand! Colin had the biggest grin on his face as he flipped through each page and we read each other what it said. We laughed SO hard and our hearts were so grateful for thoughtful friends. This is by far our favorite baby gift to date!


I sincerely look forward to the nights of walking into our nursery to find Colin rocking with little one, saying "THE-TA! can you say Theta?"

grace and peace!

15 weeks! I love you, second trimester!

So, we're at just 15 weeks today! Hoorah! No more throwing up, constant fatigue, back in love with food, fewer headaches... what's not to love?

Sadly this is still my night belly, which is way cuter than day belly. Day belly still says to the world, "I ate a few too many oreos." I did go buy a Beband at Target this weekend, because my jeans are getting pretty uncomfortable. That thing is amazing! It slips over your unbuttoned jeans and holds them up while providing comfortable, breathable, elasticity. The longer I can stay in my pre-pregnancy jeans the better!

Little One is the size of a navel orange this week... doesn't that sound big? His or her joints are now moving, can see (through closed eyelids) light if shined into the womb, and is developing taste buds!

Colin seems to be having some sympathy food cravings. It's really cute. The other day at midnight, he really NEEDED ice cream, so we made a trip to McDonald's. We saw a few people there we knew, who asked what we were doing there so late, and the fact of the pregnant wife saying, "Colin had a craving" still makes me laugh!

love to you all!

At least I can laugh at myself!

Hello all! I trust some of you are enjoying the chillier weather (I, for one, am not!). It has always comforted me in some small way, though, that there are people who come alive in the winter. So, hurray for you!

In celebration of fall, Colin and I will be going out of town this weekend on our respective CotA youth camping trips. I'm excited to smell like campfire and spend some quality time with some middle and high schoolers!

Also, thought I'd share because to be honest, it makes me laugh... Two things that have made my pregnant hormonal self cry this past week (And I'm not talking about the time I was on my period and started crying at the last verse of Taylor Swift's "Romeo and Juliet"-- True story).

1. The trailer for this movie-- "Being Elmo".


Who doesn't love Elmo? I can't wait for our children to discover the joy of Sesame Street. The fact that his birth is an underdog story made me choke up. Here's the trailer.

(found via Cup of Jo)

2. I'm a little ashamed to admit this one, as well: Grey's Anatomy. I know, I know, a little late to the bandwagon (like 8 years), but I saw that all seasons were up on Netflix when I was in the throes of first trimester sickness/fatigue, so I gave it a shot. DO. NOT. WATCH. THIS. SHOW. WHILE. HORMONAL.

Yup, totally cried.

Have a great day, everyone!

no caption could possibly do this photo justice!

Imagine waking up from a nap to this sitting in your inbox.


I can't look at this without grinning. I have so much affection for this guy! He keeps my heart light.

13 weeks, first trimester's last hurrah!

Hello, friends! I figured I should go ahead and get on track with a weekly-type pregnancy update. So, here's week 13!

1. First things first... belly. In a given day, my little belly can go from looking like this...

to looking like this...

Both were taken today. The first picture still shows the lovely thickening of my waist-line and the beginnings of a lovely little protrusion, but by the end of the day I always have a bloaty, rounder belly. Hopefully soon it becomes more permanent... I love rubbing my little bloat!

2. Food has begun to be appealing again! Whereas before I struggled to find anything... ANYTHING that sounded tasty, I'd say most things that I liked before sound yummy again. My favorite snack lately has been bread with peanut butter and sliced up bananas on it, then toasted... oh my. I also haven't thrown up since last week, which is wonderful!

3. Started getting some pretty gnarly headaches in the past couple of weeks as well. I've been trying to drink more water and make sure I'm getting enough sleep, so we'll see if that helps.

4. Little baby is the size of a peach and growing, growing, growing! Little one already has fingerprints... How amazing is that?


If there's anything in particular ya'll would like me to write about or talk about throughout the pregnancy, please let me know! I'll probably do some product reviews for the tummy products and skincare things I'm using, as well as these little updates.

grace and peace!

the most beautiful sound in the world.

Yesterday Colin and I were privileged enough to hear it. The steady, quick, and strong heartbeat of our baby, that is.

I can't explain the beauty of that moment. Colin and I both listened in awe, holding hands, crying and smiling like fools. The reality of a life being nurtured inside of my body is almost too much to handle. While our midwife was searching for the little one's heartbeat with her doppler (that little fish was swimming away from it like the dickens!) we even got to hear a few thumps... which she happily explained were the little kicks of our baby!

The past two months that we've known of the little life growing inside me have been so filled with joy. Joy in throwing up everything that I put in my stomach, joy in feeling utterly stomped flat by fatigue, joy in seeing Colin whisper, "Hi" and, "I love you" to his baby every night after he gets home from work.

Thank you for loving our little family! We are about 13 weeks along, and our little one is due to enter the world March 31st!

Checking another desire in life off the list! Seeing Ray Lamontagne live.

Yesterday, Colin and I made a quick visit to Cary, NC-- to see our good friend Ray Lamontagne! My parents are avid concert-goers, and, knowing of my love for Ray, bought us tickets to come and see him months ago. Colin and I were in NC for no longer than 14 hours (seriously), but got to spend some good quality time with my parents and see an amazing show.



Seeing Ray live was incredible. I firmly believe that he is one of the most solid and timeless artists of our generation. As I've read in interviews of his before, he's super shy, so most of the time the lights weren't shining on him. He kept his hat down low, and while he was cordial and thankful to the audience, he clearly focused on the music and that was all. We had GREAT seats , and it was at a nice venue-- Koka Booth Ampitheater. It was 70 degrees outside and couldn't have been a more perfect night. And oh, boy. If you can imagine his voice being more beautiful in person, it was. He wooed the audience. He sang with emotion. He rocked the harmonica, His band, the Pariah dogs, was awesome, and I was genuinely sad when it was over!

If you ever get the chance, see Ray Lamontagne live! I'll leave you with our favorite song of his.

Reverting back to childhood.

1. This is a new song off of Zee Avi's new CD! Celebrating the last stretch of summer...




This weekend Colin and I were able to go floating down the river with some dear friends. The coupling of spending time with them (and one another!) and enjoying the last weeks of summer was blissful. We "docked" our floats at one of our favorite spots on the river and relaxed for hours.

It's something I think about often when I reflect upon marriage, specifically Colin and I's, but I realized again how important the act and mentality of playing is. One of the most strengthening things about our marriage, we believe, is that we're best friends in the true sense of the words. Silliness knows no bounds, and the times we feel closest to one another are when we let our maturity go and just... play. Laugh. Splash the heck out of each other in the water. Push one another (unsuspectingly) down the rock slide. I sincerely believe the day that Colin and I stop playing together is the day that our intimacy will begin to wan.

I got to watch Colin's face light up with boyish excitement as he and Dan plotted their antics on the rapids. My friend, Carrie, and I couldn't help but comment on how one of our deepest wishes was that our husbands would keep that child-like excitement for life, adventure, fun... and us!

A weekend full of blessings. We hope you experienced much the same!

grace and peace.