It's About Time

October 3rd was a while ago...opps.

A couple weeks ago our life group friends had a small baby shower for us. They are so sweet and we are so glad they are a part of our lives and will soon be a part of baby boy's life, too.

They fixed us a yummy menu of beef and chicken enchiladas. Our one friend Chris is very into details...these cute cloth diapers made from a napkin and diaper pin dressed everyone's plates :o)

They also saw this cake I posted on Pinterest and Steve decided they should make it for me. I'm not usually a chocolate cake fan but I think baby must like chocolate cake. This had a yummy oreo cream cheese filling. And the ducks were white chocolate on pretzels. My favorite!

Our friends Tim and Tammy provided us with the essentials:

Here are some REAL cloth diapers ;o) I'm not sure how I feel about actual cloth diapering but I did sew some ribbon and quilt binding on some to make some pretty cute burp cloths! 

 Wipes

 And real diapers!

 We also played a cute game where the guys wrote directions on how to do something and then we read it as a way to do something else. It would make sense if you were there ;o) Really I'm just too lazy to explain.

I should also mention Steve got baby boy his first little football and NC State jersey! I can't believe it escaped a picture!

We had so much fun and are so grateful for such great friends!

Last week we got the chance to go away on a "babymoon" to the Smokey Mountains! Of course right before we left this little girl showed up on our back porch...

When I opened the door I expected she would run away but instead she came right up to me! Picked her up and found she was declawed so I couldn't just leave her outside. I took her to the vet to see if she was microchipped but she wasn't and she had no collar so before we left for TN Andy and I put up signs throughout the neighborhood and I had posted an ad on a petfinder website and on Craigslist. No one contacted us so she had to stay in the bathroom while we were gone. Thankfully Amber was nice enough to be watching Allie and came to feed our other cats anyway so it worked out and she seemed happy. Thankfully right as we pulled up to our resort my phone rang and it was the owners! Unfortunately she did have to stay in the bathroom for a few days but now she is happily at home! I'm still not sure why someone would let their declawed cat outside but whatever...if I find her again I know where she belongs.

Anyway, on the the mountains!

Thursday we spent most of the day in downtown Gatlinburg to do all the touristy stuff. It was crazy how busy it was down there even in the middle of the week! We did a lot of walking around and took the sky lift up the side of the mountain. The view wasn't everything we had hoped for but it was fun nonetheless AND on the way back down we say an actual black bear! That made it worth it. We also spent some time at the aquarium.  I LOVE the aquarium there and we even got to touch stingrays! Too cool. On our way in this older couple came up to us saying they had these combo tickets but they were so worried about their dog they didn't want to go in. They wanted to sell them to us and promised they would stay with us until we got in. Turns out it was legit and we ended up getting a great deal! We got into the aquarium cheaper PLUS the tickets allowed us to do 7 other Ripley's activities while we were there. So to kill time we went into some of the museums, did a mirror maze, and played mini golf one night. I would have never paid to do any of those things, especially after seeing them. Though the mirror maze and mini gold was fun :o) Sadly we didn't bring our camera this day so there are no pictures...

Friday and Saturday we spent in the woods. It was wonderful. The weather was great and the colors were beautiful! Forgive the overload of pictures about to happen. Friday we tried to find this one trail that was a strenuous 7 mile long trail. We missed it on a one way road that took FOREVER to get through and although we were disappointed I'm pretty sure that was God's way of saying there is no way you can handle this...We ended up going to a different area and did a moderate 4 mile hike to this place called Andrews Bald...I found it hilarious...it took Andy a minute to figure out why ;o)

 Surprisingly there were a few flowering plants still flowering on the way there.

 Taking a rest at the Bald

 The incredible view

 And on the way back...

We stopped a few times on the way back to the resort to a) give the slow people a chance to get a move on and b) because some of the colors were just so beautiful!

Saturday the weather wasn't quite as nice but we went out looking for some waterfalls. We ended up at 2. Laurel Falls which was a similar hike to the day before but a little easier:

 We saw these plants occasionally. I was fascinated by the colors. If you happen to know what it is I would LOVE to know!

 The second hike that day I'm not sure you could actually call a hike. If you walked without stopping it would probably only take 30 minutes and was perfectly flat. To Cascade Falls we went:

 It was pretty puny compared to Laurel Falls but a waterfall nonetheless.

Sadly come Sunday we had to leave and head back to reality...jut as well considering it was supposed to snow soon anyway...



On the way back from our babymoom we had the chance to stop and see my family in Catawba. We hadn't seen them in so long and it was so nice to hang out for a few hours! They fixed us an AMAZING lunch/dinner as well as had some gifts for baby boy. It's not AS far as I thought so maybe I can visit more often after the baby comes. I didn't get any pictures there, though I wish we had but here are some of the fun things baby boy got...as well as a carseat from Grammy and a diaper bag from my aunt and uncle! These things are from my cousin and her family :o)

 

When we arrived at home we also had some fun packages waiting for us!

A monitor from Aunt Renee and Uncle Kenny

And some super awesome onesies that came all the way from Turkey! There was also a translation included in the card ;o) Thanks Allison and Josh! It will be so fun when baby boy gets to wear these!

 This one is a family tree:

Grandma - Grandpa                               G'ma - G'pa

Mom                                               Dad

And here's me!

This one says:

Things to do today:

Wake up

Cry

Eat

Be Naughty

Sleep





Alright, that's it for now! Hopefully that was lengthy enough for now ;o)





Hello 3rd Trimester!

It's hard to believe there are only around 12 weeks left before we meet this sweet baby boy! It's another one of those things that seems like it has gone so fast yet so slow. We are still hoping he'll be home for Christmas. How awesome would that be? Not too much before though, of course.

Things around here have been busy. Well at least for my sweet husband. He has been working so hard to get things fixed at work. 80+ hour weeks last week and projected for this one as well. It's been hard not seeing him but his dedication to things is one of the things I love so much about him. Even though he may not HAVE to stay he does anyway because his guys have to (and maybe slightly because he wants to be a super hero :o) ).

The weekend before last they came and finished up our roof. We've had a nice amount of rain and no leaks from what we can tell so that is a huge yay! It's nice that all these big projects are getting done before baby boy arrives. Having to spend the money stinks but it's awesome having friends who are willing to help out and save you thousands of dollars :o)

While they were working on the roof I met my mom halfway where we had Cracker Barrel for lunch and did some outlet shopping. We don't do things like that often and neither of us had ever been to the outlet mall so it was a good time. Baby boy got a TON of new clothes but the deals were wonderful. Again, I really wanted to try the used thing but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'd rather pay a couple dollars extra for something new that I know exactly what it has been through...I'm sure that will change eventually but for now I'm sticking to it.

Our little boy is going to be sylin' come his birthday. Now to figure out what we are going to bring him home in!

He's a LaGrange, so the flannel was a necessity. They are two of my favorite outfits though :o)

Mom's getting him started out right. Now he just needs the NC State hat to match! Go wolfpack!

 While mom was waiting for me at Cracker Barrel she found this sweet little teddy bear. So he now has his first teddy bear that will play peek-a-boo with him. You squeeze his hand and he plays peek-a-boo about 5 different ways and giggles like a baby. Hopefully it will create a lot of laughter for baby boy once he learns to laugh :o) There is nothing sweeter then the sound of a baby giggling!

 

Our new countertops are being installed next Thursday. I'm REALLY excited about them. It's funny how the things that excite you change over the years. Andy took off so he can be here to supervise and I just happened to get a dentist appointment for the same day ;o) I figure he's been gone so much it will be nice to get some time together. I'll have to take some before and after photos even though the bottom cabinets still aren't painted.

 

As for me I'm still feeling fine. Things seem to be going well. I've managed to come down with another cold which is annoying but other than that all things pregnancy related seem to be great. I go Monday for my next appointment. I have to do the glucose test which I'm a little nervous about. More so that I can drink the stuff in under 5 minutes than anything else. You hear about people throwing up from how sweet it is and feeling miserable afterwards but nope, I'm just nervous about being able to drink it in the first place. I think our secretary at school is getting frustrated with me being out a lot but there isn't much I can do about it. I feel bad but part of me doesn't. In the end I'm more than likely not going back so it is what it is I guess.

 

Here is a 27 week almost 28 week belly shot along with the questionnaire:

 

How far along: 28 weeks

 

Total weight gain: ~13 pounds

 

Maternity Clothes: Let's just say yes

 

Stretch marks: Not that I know of

 

Sleep: More comfortable now that Andy got me an awesome body pillow. I do wake up a lot though :o(

 

Best moment of the week: Feeling baby boy move like crazy. Almost took my breath away earlier this week! And realizing there are only 12 weeks left :o)

 

Miss anything?: Not really. Maybe not feeling guilty since I have been sick and having tooth issues and baby appointments a lot lately...

 

Food cravings: I believe they are starting...tonight would be Mexican and cake with whipped cream icing!

 

Anything make you queasy or sick?: Nope

 

Gender: BOY

 

Labor signs: I should hope not!

 

Belly button in or out: It's still hanging in there...for now.

 

Wedding rings on or off: On but I think they might be getting snugger :o(

 

Happy or moody most of the time?: I'd say a good mix. Trying to be more on the happy side though!

 

Looking forward to: Getting to hear baby boy's heartbeat again on Monday :o)