Sugar and Spice :)

Well as I am sure ALL of you know... we are expecting a sweet baby girl!! And here she is...

Look at those legs! Definitely has her momma in her ;) First of all, yes-- totally love at first sight. But, I will not be like those ignorant mommas who think this does not look like an alien. A beautiful alien, but an alien nonetheless. What surprised me most about her, was well she was a she .lol Seriously, from the beginning I thought she was a boy. I don't know why-- maybe because "they" say boys are easier to carry, I carried low, blah blah. According to the old wives' tales I was having a boy.... but she shows just how much truth those tales have! Ok, and I have to talk about her position in there right now. Maybe it is because I am on a crusade to end the "twerking" that has taken over the youth and our social media....but OF COURSE my cheerleaders would say "Hey Mrs. Matte, she's twerking!" I tried to fire back with "she's praying.." but the damage was done. Now every time I look at her pic, I'm like " (sigh)... already questionable dance moves." -- truthfully, as long as she doesn't have Eric's rhythm she will be alright!!! ( sorry Eric.. love u :)    )


Speaking of Eric, yes he wanted a boy. But every day since we found out he has told me how excited he is about his little girl. It makes me seriously teary eyed whenever he talks about it!!! And when the technician told us it was a girl, for some reason I immediately thought about her dancing with her daddy, her prom, her wedding... yea. I lost it. Maybe it is because I am so close with my dad, but the relationship between a daddy and his little girl is one I see as so special. And I am so excited our little girl will have Eric as her dad. He is going to be so great. If you can't tell I am so in love with this man, and he just surprises me more everyday. He is a great husband, and I know will be a great dad.

Now on to the gender reveal party--- definitely a memory I will not forget! I know a lot of people rag on them... but I don't really care! Seeing the look on my family's faces and being able to share it with them was so special. I want to thank all my family and friends for helping throw the party! I am sure you all saw... but I have to repost some of the AWESOME decorations we had...

There were plenty more but you get the idea! Everything was just perfect! I was so surprised at the turnout for our party! I really feel so blessed we have such supportive family and friends. And nearly ALLLL of our guests were team blue! I obviously can't blame them...I was one of them at a time! But of the 52 people we had come, 42 thought it was a boy!! Weird how that happens... Here is the LOSING team ( lol leave it to me to turn it into a competition...)

And the winning team... 

Mother knows best I guess... despite all the blue loving mom and Mawmaw were adamant from the beginning that I was having a baby girl. And of course, the reveal was just perfect! I am glad Eric and I knew before hand, because we got to see everyone's VERY SURPRISED reactions...

And here is probably my favorite reaction.. my mom was just ECSTATIC! Go watch the video and it mirrors a price is right announcement. Hilarious.

 And, for one last surprise, Eric and I decided to share her name! We had originally wanted to wait until she was born, but we both agreed to just get it out there so everyone can crazy with the monogramming. Don't judge- you know you like it. So.. in one of my more (and rare) creative moments, we revealed her name as well...

Aria Marie Matte. For those of you that are curious, NO... we did not name her after a Pretty Little Liars character or Game of Thrones character. Am I fans of those shows? UH YES... but no, sadly she is not named for a teenage wreck or a medieval noble lady/butt kicker. However, recent allusions to it did alert us to the name, and I could not get it out of my head. I teach and I am a cheer coach, so I know A LOT of girls. And I have known a lot of girls, having gone to three high schools and a very large college. I knew from the beginning I DID NOT want her to be named the same thing as any girl I have known . And that is hard.. so we knew from the beginning she would probably have a different name. I also wanted something super feminine as well as meaningful. Aria fit that bill perfectly. I personally do not know anyone named Aria... and in Italian it means "musical solo" (sort of perfect if you know my personal history and love of singing) and in Hebrew it means "lioness" (really important to me that she is not just called a little princess but a strong woman). And it went really well with the middle name we wanted "Marie"- both me and my mother's middle name. So there you have it.. Aria Marie. I just love it more every time I hear or say it! And very glad my family reacted well to it. It wouldn't have been changed if they hadn't, but it's nice to hear such positivity surrounding it!

And quick update- I feel her now !!! That is something I cannot describe. It's exciting and strange all at the same time. She is VERY LOW, surprisingly low actually.. so it honestly feels like nothing I have felt before. They say it is like gas bubbles or butterflies. No. Sorry. It's neither. It's more like you have one of those old toys like this in your belly that randomly twitches at intervals...

truth. And..this is not a good sign...but she decides to become very active WHEN I'M NOT. Like when I am trying to relax, nap, or sleep.... let's hope that changes in the future! 

Stay tuned for a post I am sure soon about my hopes for my baby girl. While I am ecstatic about a girl, I feel like a whole new wave of worries comes with raising a girl! I definitely will be needing to talk these out with you! 

XOXO

Brittany