October Tidbits ~ Life Behind the Scenes ~ Pregnancy Weeks 15 – 19

When people told me that pregnancy would start to fly by after the first trimester – they weren’t joking!! I can’t believe October has already come and gone (and how much I’ve grown in the few shorts weeks since then already)!! It feels a little narcissistic to post all these photos of myself and this growing bump (soooorry)… but I know I’ll be happy to have documented it all once the boys are here – so here we go!!

October was a veeeerry busy month around here (as all photographers know) – with 4 weddings, 10 sessions, a handful of meetings with potential 2016 clients, and growing two little boys in my belly amid all the running around and working!! 😉 I’m so thankful it was a beautiful month weather-wise, and that thus far in my pregnancy I’ve been handling the long days on my feet for weddings very well – with the help of James, lots of water, lots of snacks, and some wonderful clients! 🙂 We’ve officially hit the halfway mark (since my doctor won’t let me go past 38 weeks with twins) – so that’s kind of crazy to think! Halfway there!!

Here’s a look at October behind the scenes (i.e. waaaay too many baby bump selfies, photos of my cravings, and bad cell phone pics)! haha!

 

  1. The craving for my “homemade” donuts has gotten a little insane this month as the cooler weather settled in!! (Find the super easy recipe HERE)
  2. Tis the season for albums!! We had SO MANY gorgeous Leather Craftsmen Albums come in this month! I can’t wait to share more pics soon!
  3. Every morning starts with a cereal bar in bed before I can get up. I don’t feel nauseous as long as I do this! Trader Joe’s Pumpkin bars for the win!
  4. Adorable little nook in the nursery that is dedicated to baby things. (We won’t talk about the rest of the room that is overflowing with mine and J’s clothes! haha)
  5. A quick little snap from our first October wedding on the 3rd! I was 15 weeks 2 days here! Still pretty tiny (now that I look back on it)! haha
  6. The house is slowly but surely coming together!! Here we were waiting on our couch to finally arrive! (You can see more updated house pics HERE)

October-1

 

  1. When friends text you and ask if you’re showing yet – you take a horrible selfie in your office and text it to them.
  2. New couch!! Finally!! And Chloe celebrated by totally attacking it and then rolling on the ground. haha!
  3. I’ve been trying a new subscription service for jewelry (because you know I have a thing for statement necklaces & vintage studs!) and have been loving it! It’s called Rocksbox and if you use the code: christytylerphotoxoxo to get your first month free!!
  4. It’s amazing how the bump can change from day to day. I must have been bloated this day because this was one day after the previous bump photo! haha (I think the look on my face is because James joked that I might want to change or shower before taking a pic. hehe)
  5. In Lake Geneva for Mollie & Dave’s wedding and couldn’t help but get a photo together on the gorgeous sunset cruise for their rehearsal dinner!
  6. Travel days, plus two days of shooting straight = one tired me. Good thing I had my road dog, Chloe to keep me company (her butt is curled up behind my legs). 🙂

October-2

 

  1. Thankful James has the energy to wear this crazy girl out!! These two nuts – always playing!
  2. FALL!!! The colors were so pretty!! I only walked 36.4 miles in October… not my usual 50-60 miles (the getting dizzy & out of breath thing got REAL real this month!), but it was still wonderful to get outside!
  3. Chloe enjoys our extra slow walks too – enough that they still knock her out afterwards! 😉 hehe
  4. We found an elementary school for our next commercial shoot with Renaissance Learning!! So excited to be giving back to another local school and looking forward to casting for the shoot in December!
  5. I sent off all our leftover fertility meds to someone who needed them (it was a surreal and surprisingly hard thing to do?!) – and made sure to send some Baby Dust along with them. I actually started to cry as I packaged them up and sent wishes that these meds would bring this couple as much beauty and hope as they brought us.
  6. Living room progress!! Chloe approved.

October-3

 

  1. 17 weeks!! Texted a bump photo to my best friend on her birthday to update her! Eeps!
  2. I can’t help but bring the outdoors in. The leaf collection obsession during my walks is never ending!! I cannot help it!
  3. Buuuusy month and so many shoots – meant we took advantage of a shoot downtown by following it up with dinner out together!! We looked at each other when we sat down and said… “Hey!! Who are you?!” haha. Kind of how this past fall felt… just a flurry of James and I running circles around each other, never stopping long enough to even make eye contact. Eek.
  4. Fall is for plaid and flannel… am I right? Chloe and James think so!
  5. 17 weeks and 4 days! This bump pic really trips me out – because I already look SO different!! My belly button was still an “in-betweeny” (as I affectionately have called it my entire life)… now it is an outtie! The boys seem to like to kick me directly behind my belly button! haha.
  6. The obscene amount of tulips and peonies I bought for our yard back in August – that finally arrived for planting in October – when I had NO time to plant them! haha. (I thought I could plant these myself in one afternoon – but was sorely mistaken. haha)

October-4

 

  1. I’ve been trying to do one photo in this same outfit every few weeks and am laughing at this one because I still barely have a tummy (looking back on it – anyway)! This was one day shy of 18 weeks!!
  2. Chloe and James sometime just need a moment. (I mean… seriously though. The cuteness kills me.)
  3. October craving #2 – CARAMEL APPLES!! Obviously. Need I say more?
  4. Chillier weather, means more throw blanket snuggles.
  5. I was super stoked to finally have this beauty arrive!! James and I got my brother and his wife this awesome wooden keepsake box from H.H.Boogie for their wedding photos and USB drive, and I’m pretty proud of the custom etching I designed for the cover (trying to mimic the tree they were married under).
  6. My mom is quite simply – THE BEST. She drove down for a couple days just to work on our house! I’m so thankful!! She painted our bedroom and the kitchen, and helped me plant all the bulbs in our front yard!! (That photo is in the next series!)

October-5

 

  1. Behind the scenes wedding snap James got of me at Mollie & Dave’s wedding! I couldn’t get over the bump peeking out of my coat. 🙂
  2. Planting all the bulbs in the yard!! We managed to get them all in – and later planted 3 lilacs and a crab apple tree too! I can’t wait to see this come springtime!
  3. Shopping for maternity clothes – FINALLY!! Nothing was fitting anymore and I’m pretty darn stoked with the maternity clothes options and that the styles in general are very fitting for baby bumps… i.e. leggings & long shirts! 😉 This picture also coincides with when I first started feeling these little guys MOVING!! Oh my gosh – what an amazing thing to experience, your babies kicking and having a dance party in your belly! I will never stop being in awe of this!!
  4. Craving #3 of the month: Wendy’s cheeseburgers and a chocolate frosty!!! I barely ate the fries – all I wanted was the burger and the frosty!! (I seriously NEVER got Wendy’s before being pregnant. Such an odd thing for me to crave.)
  5. James may have been getting a little annoyed with my repeated requests for him to re-take photos of me in my new dress – so I posed for him like this. haha
  6. Some days you’re so tired you just don’t want to adult that day.

October-6

 

  1. A sweet friend sent me these adorable little shoes for the Little Buddies!! YEAH, Wisconsin!!!
  2. Our freshly painted and freshened up room – just in time for our first Beautiful Session held in our new house!! LOVED shooting in this space!
  3. Fall in Chicago. Am I right? Oh my gosh – so much love for this city!! So happy I got to shoot in one of my favorite gardens right during peak colors!
  4. We had a Saturday off for the first time since … since… oh gosh… seriously don’t know – months & months!! So we started Halloween morning off with pumpkin pancakes – as you do!
  5. Living in an actual house in a neighborhood means trick-or-treaters!! We had no idea what to expect, since Chicago doesn’t have any set trick-or-treating hours (so weird for this small town girl!)… so we bought 2 big 95-piece bags… and shockingly – ran out of candy!! We had so many kids come by!
  6. And who can let this post go by without mentioning Chloe’s awesome Halloween costume… Indiana Jones! 😉

October-7

 

I can’t believe how quickly that month flew by and that we managed to make it through!! At the start of the month I was a little worried about over doing it – but we managed to find the right balance and had a beautiful month (that perhaps lacked enough quality time together), but we made it!

Today we are heading back to the hospital for another ultrasound – this time it is a fetal echo with a cardiologist. My doctor worried we may have a genetic heart issue in my family – so to be safe – they’re looking closely at both of the boy’s hearts to make sure all is well. We’d love all prayers and good thoughts you can send our way!! We are praying that all is well with our little loves! Thank you in advance! xoxo

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