a wonderful christmas

We had such a great Christmas this year, full of laughs, food, fun, and exchanging gifts. I have always loved Christmas, and as my mom says, I am her Christmas girl. I just love it! I love buying for everyone and finding the perfect gifts. Some people are harder than others, but I guess that is part of the challenge :) It was fun and exciting knowing this would be our last Christmas as the two of us and knowing next Christmas we will be trying to keep up with our little one! For the last several years we have spent Christmas Eve night at my parents house so we can all wake up together Christmas morning. We still get up early :) Of course, its much later than all the years my brother would run in at 5 am waking us girls out of our bunk beds...I think we started unwrapping around 8:30 or 9 this year. With 8 people and TONS of presents it takes hours to get through presents, so my mom always fixes a great breakfast to end the morning with! Growing up my parents always put all of our presents in "towers"- my most favorite tradtion. One year I came home from college and my mom had already started putting the presents under the tree...I couldnt stand it, so she carried them all back upstairs so we could have towers Christmas morning. This year even Miss Hannah had a tower of course! My dad didnt quite understand why someone who wasnt even here yet needed a tower, but she does need the most stuff! Her tower was appropriately, pink :) We had alot of laughs Christmas morning and exchanged alot of great gifts. Jeremy got his GPS Tom Tom he had wanted (although we dont go too many new places!), new golf shoes and some new golf grips for his clubs. And, lots of clothes! I know men dont really like getting clothes for Christmas- but he really needed some! I got way too many cute Hannah things, and pyrex glassware with lids...wow...you know you are old when!!
By the end of the night we settled in for some games with Elf playing in the background. Now, my dad being the gambling man that he is (never misses a big meet at Churchill Downs or always ready for a competitive Fantasy Football season) had a little game in store for us all. He brought down a big jar of change and we all had to guess how much we thought was in the jar (the winner gets the money!). I am NOT good at that stuff, at all. I was hoping Jeremy could come through for us. We had to be within 10%...the lowest guess was $30 and the highest was mine at $160. As dad weeded through the wrong guesses it came down to Alex at $90 and Jeremy at $135. There was $139 in the jar! We won!! I know, Im probably way to excited about that but one of my Christmas presents to myself today was new tires (not excited about that!). So, $139 definitely helps! Next, dad had all the kids sit down for a game of Racko (if you have never played, run out and get it- I have loved this game since I was a kid). After we all sat down, he put a $50 Visa gift card on the table for the winner! Lindsay was the winner- Lucky girl!

Lindsay & Alex preparing Christmas Eve Appetizers

Jeremy kicking off Christmas Eve festivities with a cocktail!

Ruby at our house on Christmas Eve..she cant wait to go see her cousin Maggie!
The Christmas towers...I tried to squeeze them all in, I think I left a few out!

Hannah's Tower!
Ruby posing with antlers on...not too happy about it!

My moms "wacky" tree as she calls it, isnt it adorable!
Overall we had an awesome Christmas. Nothing makes me happier than being with my entire family. I have this next week off and will be filling it with alot of projects! I have a ton of organizing to do and just odds and ends things we have to do before she arrives. I think we have most everything we need for her, we just need her! We have an appointment to check on Hannah on Wednesday and Im sure Ill have more of an update then!
Ive been getting a little more tired as we wind down this last month and she is still so high up that eating and breathing are getting a little hard! Two kind of important things :) I told Jeremy today, "I dont even remember what my waist used to look like." How easy we forget!
I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and is preparing for a great 2010! We don't have big New Years plans, obviously, but I am really trying to savor each moment these last few weeks as the two of us. We will probably just enjoy a nice dinner out and a movie. One of my favorite things to do with my hubby. It's a weird feeling knowing you wont ever be the two of you again. Its a GREAT feeling!

35 weeks & 35 Days

WOW! We have reached 35 weeks, which leaves us with 35 days left! (Maybe!) The rate this chunker is growing we will see! I think reality is starting to set in as I walk past her stroller/carseat in the kitchen, the pack-n-play in our room (it has an adorable bassinett feature that we will use for the first few weeks), or just looking into her room. Or maybe the mounds of her laundry that we have already done so she can wear all her adorable things when she arrives! We do so much laundry now, I cant imagine how much we will have when she's here. We had our tour of the Labor and Delivery floor last week and that was pretty neat to see where Hannah will arrive. All the rooms look really nice, and they even have a nice pull out chair/love seat for Jeremy to sleep on :) I feel like we have done about everything we can to prepare for her...now we just need HER! I am getting really excited and VERY Ready! Especially when I wake up at 3 am and can hardly roll out of bed because my back hurts so bad. I will say that really has been one of my biggest problems. Despite the first 11 weeks, I shouldn't complain too much. It just gets so hard to move as you get bigger. Doing everyday tasks are a little challenging! Here is a pic of me at 35 weeks...YIKES!

Doing the Math

We had another appointment to check on Miss H today and after doing the math…this little one is going to be a chunker!! Are you ready for this…at 34 weeks and 5 days she weighs 6 pounds 3 ounces!! WOW! Our last growth ultrasound was on Nov. 24th and she weighed 4 pds 4 oz. That’s a little over half a pound a week! I still have 5 weeks left! The ultrasound lady said she had chubby cheeks (again) and a nice size tummy. I said, uh oh…that’s nice for “big” but she said, no, you would definitely rather have big cheeks and a nice size tummy than a big ol head! TRUE! Everything else was good and we get to see her again next Tuesday, and every week after that until I deliver. I love having all the pictures that we have of her. Today we got a glimpse of her face and another shot of her nose and mouth. I just can’t wait to meet her! Im just hoping she is not earlier rather than later…I know by January I’ll probably be ready to get her out, but it doesn’t flow with my daycare/babysitter schedule! I plan on taking 12 weeks, so if she comes on time then I will go back to work late April. My mom is going to watch her all summer (SO happy about that!) so I will only need someone for May and a week or so in June. Then we will start daycare in August. So, she can’t come early because then I would need someone earlier! I want to come back to work as late as possible! So…little chunker…stay put. For a while.

We don’t have big plans this weekend and I’m very glad about that. I have Christmas shopping to get done and a baby’s room to organize! Oh and I need to sleep. Have I mentioned my sleeping is a little off? I wake about 4 something almost every morning (whether it’s Ruby gracing us with her presence or I have to run to the bathroom) I toss and turn and cannot fall back asleep. Oh and since being pregnant Jeremy has picked up snoring. It’s awesome. So I would just love one full night of sleep. However, I think those days are over!
Alex is in town…YAY! Im sure I’ll capture him at some point and make him hang out with us. I just love that he will be home for so long. I work Monday and half of Tuesday next week, then I am off until January 4th! That’s great because I have lots of projects!!
I’ll try to post the ultrasound pictures we have from today. They show her face a little bit, and those of you that are great at watching scrambled TV might be able to make out a nose and a mouth!

Surprise!

I had the best surprise at work today....they threw me a surprise baby shower! The original plan was to have a Christmas Potluck with everyone but instead it was really a baby shower for me! Best surprise of all, they invited my mom and Jeremy to come too! I loved seeing them there, it was so fun! We had lots of great food, fun, and I got the most adorable stuff!! The biggest gift, they all chipped in and got me a $300 gift card! WOW! I was touched!! That helps so much and can really round out everything we need for little missy. I figure whatever we have left can be saved for several trips for diapers and wipes :)
My day started out AWFUL...I was going to treat myself to a big unsweet tea from McDonalds, with extra lemon, just the way I like it, so I left a little early to give myself enough time to get it. When I pulled out, I noticed the styrofoam cup had a small leak in the bottom which was quickly filling my cupholder, so I put a small rag in the cup holder to sop it up, but the cup was not in there very well and as soon as I took the corner, the whole cup went sloshing all over the passenger floor board. So I quickly grabbed it, put it back in the same cup holder (dumb I know, but it had a little bit of tea left and it was still leaking) as soon as I took another corner, the rest of the 32 oz. splashed all over the floorboard again! AAHHHH!! So it was filled with 32 oz of tea, ice and my 4 lemons I specifically requested (at least McDonalds got that right!) I didnt know if I was more upset I lost my tea, or that I had just cleaned my floor mats! So...I stood out in -12 wind chill weather cleaning out ice, lemons and tea. Not fun! Work was a little hairy that morning as well and I was just hoping for it to get better! I knew we had a potluck that day, but had no clue it would turn out so fun!
LAST Baby class tomorrow night and our tour of the Labor and Delivery floor. Kind of glad its our last class...we have been to SO many, I think we know all we possibly can. After all, I think you just learn as you go anyways! Check up on Miss H on Friday, then onto the weekend! Next week is a short week for me, then a MUCH needed vacation!! I AM so excited for Christmas this year, and looking so forward to spending time with my family. Lindsay and Alex will be home and that is always fun! Except we wont be waking Lindsay at 4 am to go Black Friday shopping this time. She will be glad! We dont really shop the day after Christmas, the only thing I like to get are Christmas boxes and wrapping paper anyways. Im looking forward to almost 2 weeks of relaxing and getting ready for Hannah. When I get back to work it will be January 4th and I will be 20 days away from my due date. I knew it would fly by during the holidays!

Getting There!

We are getting so close to the nursery being finished! We picked up the dressers on Thursday and I am SOOO happy we went with those dressers. They match the crib perfectly and look great! We have 12 whole drawers and they arent even filled yet! We still have to decide where we want some picture frames to go and also leave room for pictures of her, but for the most part, she could move in today! Here are a couple pictures of her changing dresser and the glider- where I know Jeremy will spend so much time!

We had such a nice weekend! Friday my mom came over, we ordered pizza and worked hard in Hannah’s room. It’s getting more organized, but I figure once she is here I will have to re-organize a little once I figure out the things I use the most and the least, etc. But it’s a fun process! Saturday we met with a pediatricians group to determine who we want to see her in the hospital. We met with All Children Pediatrics and really like them. I can check that off my list!
Right after that, we headed to Owensboro for Christmas with Jeremy’s family. We even took Ruby, which we will never…..do…..again……She was awful. I mean awful. Surprisingly, she was REALLY good with the kids. Which did give me some relief. For the most part she didn’t even bother them, unless they had something she wanted. But it was a CONSTANT battle to get things out of her mouth. With 3 kids running around of course there were tons of toys but that dog cant leave anything alone. And she NEVER stops. She didn’t lay down once. During the night she just paces- she never sleeps. So we don’t sleep either. Poor Jeremy had to take her out 3 times in the middle of the night. Is this supposed to get us ready to be parents? If so, we need a break…we need our sleep NOW before she comes! By the time we got home, she was passed out asleep. So were we…I am embarrassed to say what time we got in bed, but I think I got a FULL 9 hours which I havent had since probably September!
We had a great Christmas with his family; I got a snuggie- which I am VERY excited about! Jeremy got an air compressor, which he has wanted for so long and we got a great little video camera to record Hannah!
We had a lot of fun playing with the kids, especially playing “Guess Who” with Jacey. That was a game I loved growing up and I even had fun playing it now! Jacey and I beat Jeremy about 6 times in a row!
I hope everyone had a great weekend too! We are getting SUPER excited for Christmas! Especially me, because I am off for almost 2 weeks and looking SO forward to a break. I have so many things on my list to get done!

Hannah's Got a Brand New Bag

Well...I have a brand new bag that I will carry Hannah’s stuff around in :) This is Hannah’s new diaper bag and I think it turned out pretty cute. I got the actual bag from Pottery Barn, but then had it monogrammed and put a pink bow on it (of course!) Im sure at some point Ill be tired of lugging it around but I cant wait to fill it full of stuff!


Oh and our dressers are IN!! I am so excited! It made my day! (I told Jeremy that I didn’t even have one ray of hope that we would be getting them this week, so when he told me they called I was very excited!! It doesn’t take much!) We are going to pick them up tonight and I will work on putting stuff away until I need to go to bed! Tomorrow I am taking a half day off- so I will Christmas shop and organize! (Yes I am one of those crazy people that organizing and having a clean house make me complete!) I'll post pictures as soon as her room is a little more presentable!

Overdue!

Not me! My blog posts! But we have been so busy and our computer is acting up, I haven’t really had a chance to squeeze one in! We have had a lot going on lately- all things baby! We had our last childbirth class on Saturday- we learned all kinds of breathing techniques, and at the end of class I learned that hopefully I won’t need to know those breathing techniques because I will be all drugged up with an epidural! Ha! Of course she did say Kentucky has a 17% epidural failure rate, so I started paying attention again!
After our class we left for our baby shower in Owensboro which was so much fun! Jeremy’s sister and his aunt threw us such a nice shower. The highlight was the “Bobbing for Pacifiers”, that game was hilarious! And much harder than you think! The kids loved it too!
Yesterday we had another Biophysical profile test for Hannah and she passed with an 8 out of 8, perfect score! I said her Granmommy, the teacher, would be so proud she aced her test! The ultrasound lady said she had chubby cheeks! (I told Jeremy, “you know she tells us that everytime, right!?!”)
This ultrasound was so neat because as they watch to make sure the baby swallows, we got to see her swallow over and over again. We saw her mouth and tongue moving and Im not sure why but it really touched me. Even though we’ve had several ultrasounds, and have lots of great profile pictures of her, to see her actually moving and doing the things that babies do outside of the womb was just incredible to me. She put on a show for us and I loved it! It’s like she was saying, Im doing good in here mom!! Even though Im counting down the days until she can get out of there!
Less than 50 days! About 6 ½ weeks and it could be less than that! I hope not too much less because we need her dressers to get here! Ha! Her room is almost ready, but quite a disaster area. Basically the floor is a giant shelf right now. I have started washing her clothes, and her bed is ready for her, but we have a lot of things we need to put away. I loved washing her clothes and seeing a sea of pink in the washer!
I am taking a good amount of time off at Christmas and I’m so glad that I am because we have a lot to do! Once her dressers get here- I will be so relieved but I have a lot of odds and ends things that need to be done…I do believe that is nesting, correct!?! Im probably creating more work for Jeremy and I, but we wont have much time for anything come January.
We are heading to Owensboro again this weekend to have Christmas with Jeremy’s family. I am really looking forward to it. I absolutely love Christmas time, so anything I can do to spread it out, is great! I wanted to go earlier rather than later, because even though Owensboro is only 2 hours away, you never know what could happen as I get further along. Of course Im a crazy planner and organizer so I probably wont travel too far from Louisville in the next coming weeks…HA! I am already working on a hospital bag…I know, I know! Way to organized, but I can’t stand the thought of being in a situation where I am not prepared with all the things I need for my little stay!
I hope everyone has most of their Christmas shopping done; I have lots left to do!

Thankful

I can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am for my amazing family, a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful 6 day vacation spent with my favorite people. I miss Alex and Lindsay, because they both live in Lexington, but when they come home it makes our time together that much sweeter. We had such a fun Thanksgiving break with the whole family; it was filled with lots of food and lots of laughs!! From our crazy game of Catch Phrase, hilarious You Tube videos, to bowling and Bw3’s (yes, I beat Jeremy in both games of Bowling!!) it was a great time! I sure paid for bowling the next day…I don’t think I have moved that much in 8 months (ok- pathetic I know!!) but I was SOOO sore! And we had to drive to Lexington the next day to help my sister with a washer, dryer and mattresses- luckily I had an excuse to get out of carrying things!
Black Friday was a little crazy….Walmart was just CRAZY!! But we had a lot of fun. We dragged Lindsay along and she hung in there with us! The longest line we had….believe it or not- Starbucks! How sad is that!?! I got some Christmas shopping done but definitely have more to do!
I’ve reached 32 weeks- 8 months!! I can’t believe how fast it has gone from 18 weeks! It’s been a lot of fun but Im ready to see this precious face and meet our little girl! (A little too early to be ready, I know!)
We are still waiting on our dressers to come in- which we really need because we have stuff all over her floor! We have a baby shower in Owensboro this weekend, which I am really looking forward to! We haven’t been there in a while so we can’t wait to see everyone.
I hope everyone has a great week and is decorating for Christmas!

31 Weeks- Hannah Update!

Well...we sure do have a healthy chunker in there, she already weighs 4 pounds 4 ounces at 31.5 weeks!! I couldn't believe it when she said how much she weighed! We had a growth ultrasound and biophysical profile done yesterday and everything looks great. Hannah is in the 63% and I could even see her chubby cheeks this time! The ultrasound tech got a picture of her face (nose and mouth) and she really does look chubby :) Everything is measuring great and she passed all her "tests" for the biophysical. Basically they give the baby a certain amount of time to give a swift jab, practice swallow, breathe, and they check the fluid. She checked out and passed! The ultrasound lady said she even could see HAIR! What!?! You mean, she might have some hair for some bows :) Of course, I have no idea how they see what they see on those screens, so if she says hair, I believe her!
Our ultrasound kickstarted my vacation and it was so nice to feel like a stay at home mom (a girl can dream!) I ran alot of errands, took my little brother captive so he would have to go with me, oh and had total pregnancy brain and locked my keys in my car (things like that are happening ALOT!). I am so excited for Thanksgiving Day- it always consists of TONS of food (and if you know my mom we always have about 3 appetizers, a huge dinner, and delicious desserts!) I love spending Thanksgiving day with everyone- lots of relaxing, the guys watch football, we always watch Elf to kick start the holidays- its tradition, we usually find a couple funny You Tube's to make us laugh hysterically and just enjoying having everyone together. I have a MILLION things to be thankful for this year, I hope everyone has an AMAZING Thanksgiving and Eats way too much!
(Here is a pic of me at 31.5 weeks- Before Thanksgiving Dinner- Im a little afraid of how I will look after!)

Busy!

We had such a busy weekend, I think I am just exhausted!! I can’t wait for a nice long relaxing week to catch up on some sleep and rest! Saturday we had our first Childbirth class, then we headed to Babies R Us to buy our stroller and car seat which was a gift from my sweet, sweet Nana! I had my mind set on the travel system by Graco, which had my favorite pattern. But after being convinced that the Chicco system is safer…I figured safety over looks was better! I had a 20% off coupon which was so helpful that I was able to get the little Baby Snugli too! That way Jeremy can pack his little Hannah around! After that we headed to the U of L game- came home and Jeremy had a reception to go to at his course and I just did not have the energy to get ready to go. So I met my mom and my sister for dinner and there was a big surprise for me- Alex came home too! I was so excited to see his face! We had such a fun dinner catching up, so glad I get to see them both again this week for Thanksgiving! Sunday we had an early Thanksgiving dinner with friends, which was a great start to the week! I am off work starting Tuesday until next Monday- SO excited for a break! We have an ultrasound tomorrow that will kick start my vacation. No better way!

Showered!

This weekend was amazing and so much fun! We were absolutely showered with awesome gifts and love from all our family and friends! Saturday night, my sister and our friend Courtney threw us a couple’s shower- it was a blast!! Lindsay and Courtney came up with the best games! We had the Guess the Baby Food Game (Chicken is AWFUL by the way! And surprisingly- Chicken and apples tastes like applesauce!) We had the Candy Bar Diaper Game, which is where they melt several different candy bars and smoosh them up in a diaper and everyone has to guess which candy bar is which- without tasting! They looked awful!! We had awesome food and great laughs! Especially watching the boys chug beer out of baby bottles! We got the neatest baby gifts- including Baby Uggs from Aunt Courtney :)

Jeremy and Me in the middle of games!

Love these girls! Emily, Me and Jessica
Lindsay and Courtney- the hostesses!
The guys after the "Beer Bottle" game
My brother Adam and me- I love this pic!
Jeremy is all ready to be a dad to a daughter! He's got his neice over his shoulder and her baby doll in his pocket :)

Sunday my mom’s teacher friends threw us a beautiful shower with amazing food and great company!! We have decided the Hawaiian roll Ham Sandwiches are by far the best sandwiches ever- if you want the recipe just ask! They are addicting! Hannah got the cutest outfits and the most beautiful blankets and quilts. This was definitely a blanket shower. We cannot wait to wrap her up in these blankets and cuddle her, especially because it will be freezing January out there!

The quilt that my Auntie Carol made for us- matches the room perfectly!
Me, Nana, My mom and Lindsay
I do have to brag on my mom for a minute because she made pretty much every gift she gave us for Hannah and I have no clue how she does it! The woman has the mind of Martha Stewart and the talent of her too. She goes above and beyond and I truly am BEYOND lucky to have her. She made everything from picture frames to diaper bag tags, to a night light for the nursery!! Where does she come up with this stuff? I am so blessed to have her but I also wish I had half her talent and ALL of her patience! Her craft room looks like a pink bomb went off! Just to show you how crazy she is- Jacey asked her to make a headband for her baby doll and she went right up stairs and sewed a headband for her! How funny! I don’t think she sleeps, she’s like the elves from the movie Elf, she only needs 20 minutes! Here are a few things she created!
LOVE this Baby Book!

Her beautiful frames!!

This is one of the shower invites- she is SO creative!

I am still recovering from an awesome weekend, but it’s a good kind of tired! We put all of the stuff in her room, closed the door and went to bed! I cannot believe Thanksgiving is almost here! We have another busy weekend coming up and then I will be off for 4 days for Thanksgiving, cannot wait! This weekend we have our Childbirth class on Saturday morning; we have tickets to the U of L game that day, and then off to a wedding reception that night. Sunday we will celebrate an early Thanksgiving dinner with friends and more great food! Good thing I have an excuse to eat for two! We will spend Thanksgiving in Louisville, and then my mom, sister and I wake up super early to head out for Black Friday. There is never anything that we have to have, but we love grabbing a Starbucks and heading out among the craziness!

I hope everyone’s work week goes fast and weekend goes slow!

"H" Is for Hannah

We finally got Hannah’s name finished for the wall above the crib. It turned out so cute! Thanks to my AMAZING mother who has world’s best ideas. I truly wish I was blessed with her talent. She can make anything and most of the time she sees things in magazines and can re-create them beautifully! We wanted her name on the wall but wanted to do something different than traditional wood letters. I think this spices it up a bit! I love the yellow because we have so much green and pink going on, it breaks it up. Hanging them…not so fun. It was ALOT harder than it seems. But, we got it finished and I love the way it looks!

19!?!

How did he grow up so fast?? Just yesterday, I was 8 and my parents were bringing home ANOTHER baby! (Just kidding- what would I do without all 3 of my siblings?) Now he is 19, his last year of being a teenager. I loved that I was old enough to really watch Alex grow up. He has grown into such a sweet child and one of the best teenagers I have ever seen. Now he is in college and enjoying every single bit of it!! We miss him a lot but we are so glad he is having fun. He celebrated his 19th birthday on the 8th and was actually in Louisville to let us celebrate with him. Just how sweet is he? When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he told me to save my money and buy something for Hannah…what a sweet kid!! (Of course I couldn’t, I have to spoil him too!)
This weekend was beautiful to say the least and a really nice one. Friday was my half day and my mom and I ended up running a lot of errands and got a lot of things accomplished. We picked out all the pieces we needed to make Hannah’s name on the wall above her crib- its going to be so cute! And we found a TON of adorable stretchy headband ribbon at Hobby Lobby. Having your very own Martha has tons of advantages!! We always say its scary when Elizabeth starts crafting (I have no patience and most of my projects end up badly!) but I successfully painted the canvas boards for Hannah’s name, but I chose to let my mom use the staple gun! I’ll have pictures as soon as we get it up.
Saturday we celebrated Alex’s birthday with dinner at my parent’s house and Sunday we took him back to Lexington. We stopped by my sisters new house and to see our friends Crystal and Tony. Crystal just had a baby 4 weeks ago and I fell in LOVE!! Her name is Mya and she is beautiful!! Jeremy wouldn’t hold her though…he better start practicing!
This week will be a really nice one- I just have to get through the work part. We have two baby showers this weekend and I can’t wait! My sister and our friend Courtney are throwing us a shower on Saturday night and my mom’s great teacher friends are throwing me one on Sunday. I can’t wait for a BABY weekend!
(I wish I had pictures from the weekend but I HATE being photographed…isn’t that sad!) I’ll definitely have some baby shower pictures though!

beautiful.

I found these bows on a friends blog and fell in love. they are absolutely beautiful! I sure hope Hannah has hair....if not- she will own ALOT of headbands. Headbands, dresses, and leggings...my favorite.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/hallejean

3rd Tri's a Charm!

I’ve made it! I am 28 weeks and have reached the third trimester! Im so excited to be in the home stretch. This just means Little Miss Hannah will be here before we know it. I don’t want to wish my days away but pregnancy definitely has its ups and downs! Overall it’s a fun experience, knowing at the end you will have an amazing bundle of joy, but there are some things that make it really hard! We go back around Thanksgiving for another ultrasound and a biophysicial profile test which basically tests the baby on a number of things- swallowing, movement, fluid, etc. (just gives me another chance to see her!)

Then with the holidays- January will be here before we know it!
Everything else is going well- we have the nursery painted and ready for everything else that needs to go into it. The chair is beautiful and I love seeing it in there. My mom has lots of surprises in store and we just bought the letters to put her name on the wall. I cant wait to get those painted!

Jeremy and Ruby trying out the chair for the first time! I think Ruby thinks we have a room all for her!
This weekend was nice and relaxing- Saturday we went to the U of L game with some friends and Sunday Jeremy left for a night at Belterra Casino with work. It looks like today will be a beautiful day for golf! Hope everyone has a beautiful week!

a GREAT problem to have!

We have a name!! We have finally decided to name our precious little girl-
Hannah Elizabeth Adkins. I think it is such a sweet name and the fact that Jeremy has wanted to name his daughter Hannah before we even found out about her, is super sweet and endearing. I love that he loves the name Hannah. Here’s to hoping she will be as sweet as her name!
Hannah is the Hebrew word for “Grace”. Elizabeth also originates from the Hebrew language and means “Pledged to God”. I have always loved Elizabeth for a middle name for my daughter and now I finally get to use it. I think both are classic and beautiful.
I always thought it would be so easy to name my children, but once I was faced with the decision (what an amazing problem to have!) it was harder than I thought. This is forever! Its amazing how many names are out there and how easy it is to narrow down your choices to just a few.
I can now monogram everything I can get my hands on and get her name up on her bedroom wall!
Even though I will cringe every time I hear Hannah Banana- it won’t matter because that name belongs to my little MIRACLE!
We LOVE you Hannah and can't wait to put a face with a name!
(oh and it gives my mom something to teach her right away- Hannah is a palindrome; it is reads the same front and backwards!)

Adorable!

My sweet friend at work found the cutest little hair bow for Baby A (yes, I realize I have 5 days left to vote on my poll...a name is coming soon!- and Im tired of calling her Baby A too!). She found this bow at a cute little store in Middletown and I just had to google the designer to see if there were more...well, my eyes have now been opened to worlds cutest hair bows for little girls. Here's to hoping that she comes out with hair! On the website, http://www.littlepinkladybug.com/ they have a section called "Bitty Bugs" the hair bows look like lady bugs, and they even have a spider for halloween! They have bows for all seasons!
This weekend was very nice and productive...Friday we touched up some spots in the nursery and by Sunday we had the chair rail painted and on the walls! It looks SO adorable! I cant wait to start hanging things on the walls. Its all coming together! Saturday Jeremy had his "Superintendents Revenge" scramble...sounds so serious. But really, its where Jeremy makes the course as hard as he can for the members and he and some of the other guys try to beat the members and vice versa. They had a really good time and I think Jeremy made it tricky enough for everyone, including himself! My mom and I ordered the last of the baby furniture...so exciting. It takes 8 weeks! Yikes! Good thing, because I have 90 days left :) My chair should be in this week, I cant wait to get that in there. Its probably my favorite thing in there (besides Little Miss A once she gets here!) I also had the carpets cleaned on Saturday which was such a luxury for me. I know to most people that's not a luxury, but I always try my best to clean the carpets myself, but after 2 years in this house and one crazy golden retriever, it was time. We got a great deal and they look great too!

It's all coming together!
Today was a little rough...I had to take the 3 hour glucose test- I failed the first one...no surprise to me, so I got to spend 4 hours at Baptist East this morning starting at 5:45 am. Who is up taking blood that early? I am officially a human pin cushion. My arms hurt so bad, I was so weak and tired by the time I left there I didnt think I could make it! I came home, re-grouped and headed off to work. After work I came straight home and jumped in the tub. I am lucky enough to have a husband who doesnt mind cooking for himself every once in a while :) It's past me now and I just hope there aren't anymore tests Im going to fail...ha!

Picture Perfect

I was finally able to upload the ultrasound picture! I love this one! It looks like she is sucking her thumb but she has her arms in front of her face, and you can definitely see where she is filling out! I think she has Jeremy's nose :) She looks Picture Perfect to me!! ENJOY!

2 Years Ago Today...

I married my BEST friend and the man I will spend the rest of my life with. I can’t even believe it has been 2 years! It has definitely flown by! I look back on 2 years ago today and I couldn’t wait to walk down that aisle to marry Jeremy. I couldn’t wait to see his face, hold his hands, tell him I promised to always be his best friend and finally be Mrs. Jeremy Adkins! I am so lucky to share all of life’s ups and downs with such an amazing person. Jeremy is most importantly the love of my life, my best friend, but also so many other things. Patient, understanding, and the hardest working person I know, an amazing friend, an amazing husband, and soon to be an amazing father. He does so much for everyone around him; you can always count on Jeremy.
I love thinking back to October 20th 2007 because it started something that continues to Grow, Learn and Love. Jeremy and I have learned a lot over the past 2 years- for instance, I learned he can’t quite get his clothes into the laundry basket (they always seem to be sitting right next to it!) and I’m sure he has learned that I loathe putting dishes away! Which is probably why I do most of the laundry and he helps with the dishes :) I’ve learned that silence isn’t a bad thing, absence does make the heart grow fonder, you can love someone more each day, and watching someone grow into a husband and a father is one of the most exciting and amazing experiences. I have learned that husbands leave just enough toilet paper on the roll to where they never have to change it; their clothes never make it on a hanger and they always leave just enough milk in the milk jug to line the bottom- just because they thought you might want some :) Thank you to my best friend for putting up with me for the past 2 years, Im sure it hasn’t been easy! Cheers to MANY, MANY, MANY more anniversaries! The gift for the 2nd year anniversary is Cotton…can we say a 12 pack of Charmin??
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Ultrasound Update: Little Miss A is doing GREAT!! She weighs 2 pounds 3 oz and the ultrasound tech said she has chubby cheeks! She is right on schedule growth wise and in the 59th percentile. Everything looked great! We got an AWESOME profile picture of her (which I am trying to scan onto the computer, but isn’t working). She looks like she is sucking her thumb but she just has her hands in front of her face. We tried to get another one but that little stinker was trying to stay a surprise- she wouldn’t move her hands! And yes, it is still a GIRL! I loved checking in on her again…She gets cuter everytime :)

Nashville Nuptials!

This weekend we celebrated Jenni and Brad's wedding in Nashville at the most beautiful 1800's Plantation House. I have the neatest pictures from the wedding because the setting was absolutely perfect! Jeremy and I had a great weekend getaway! We celebrated with friends, ate way too much, and most importantly were able to relax! I say we ate way too much because I have a BIG belly now! I think I did pretty good getting to the 26 week mark...but it might be all down hill from here :)
Here are some pictures from our weekend- Hope you Enjoy!

The Bride walking down the aisle!

Jeremy and I at the wedding! Wow...I'm getting big!

The wedding was outside in a beautiful field, guests enjoyed cocktails in an amazing red barn before the reception began!

I loved the Cake!!

100 Days!!

100 days left!!!!!!!! My mom celebrates the 100th day of school every year with her Kindergarteners and First graders, so I thought I would pay tribute to 100 days left until Little Miss A arrives! We are almost in double digits! I think it will really hit me when we hit 90 days! Its crazy to think we are almost 3 months aways! I am so ready, but then I get a little overwhelmed and think of all that we still have to do (you know, like pick a name)! Of course the holidays will help take my mind off of it and help make it go so much faster!
Baby A is moving so much these days, Jeremy swears we have a soccer player in there! She is getting her routine down, she likes to kick and move around 6:30 am, lunch time, and between 7-8 pm. I like to just lay and watch her move all around. Its so neat!!
We are headed to Nashville this weekend so I will have pictures when we get back! Cant wait to enjoy a relaxing weekend!
We will be celebrating 2 years of wedded bliss on Tuesday with an ultrasound appt and a maybe a nice dinner out! (I'm not cooking! HA!)

Progress!

We are making great progress on the nursery! No new pictures to report, but Jeremy finished all the green at the top and now we just have some touch ups and need get the chair rail up. It was a very productive weekend; we registered, worked on the nursery, and had the Annual Autumnal Feast! Registering was fun, but a little overwhelming. It’s easy to register for your wedding because you know everything you need…but now you have to pick out things for someone else (of course she won’t really care what she has as long as she eats and sleeps!). Babies R Us is a little crazy too…it was packed and they had stuff everywhere. Nothing was where it was supposed to be and did I mention it was packed?!? I know there are a lot of things I missed, but Im getting good advice from my mom friends as to what is really needed and what I could do without. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!
We had our Annual Autumnal Feast on Sunday at my Nana’s house. We kick off fall with a variety of soups and a delicious fall dessert! The crowd seems to grow every year and I love that! There were 10 of us this year and can’t wait for 11 next year :)
This weekend we head off to Nashville for my friend Jenni’s wedding. I am really looking forward to a nice weekend getaway. I always feel that if we are at home I have to clean, do laundry, fix things, etc, so getting away from all that is so nice! I’ll definitely have pictures to post!
Alex Update- That precious little Ange came home for the feast and it was SO good to see him. He looks so grown up in 2 months. He is having the time of his life…I can just remember all the fun we had. I am so glad he has embraced college as he has. He rushed a fraternity and loves every minute of it. But I love every chance I get to see him!
15 weeks left for us! Im counting down too :) It is definitely going fast. Before I know it, it will be Thanksgiving, then Christmas and then BABY! But Im ready for her! I cant wait to see her face. Almost in my 3rd trimester and Im not looking forward to the fatigue that is suppose to re-visit, but I can handle tired over nauseous, ANY day!
Hope everyone has a great week and a great weekend!

PINK!

After walking in and out of Baby A's room I just couldn't get a feel for the green stripes! I know, I know! All that work! I just didn't see the contrast I wanted in the two greens. They were the same shade of green, one was flat, one was satin and you could hardly tell. If you didn't know the stripes were there you wouldn't really see them. SOOO...in my ever changing mind, I decided we needed some PINK! We went to Lowes and found a great pink, "Pink Quartz" to match the lightest pink in her bedding fabric. We painted over the flat green stripes and I really am SO happy about the change! It looks great! We just did one wall this time so I could decide if I liked it (wouldn't that have been a good idea two weeks ago!?!). And I LOVE it! Just the right amount of pink. It breaks up the green and will look great with the chair rail and solid green above. Jeremy's softball game got rained out last night so while I was at Walmart grocery shopping he painted 3 walls! We will need to put a second coat on the green and the pink stripes but they look great! It is a lighter pink so the pictures make it look really light but its perfect!Hopefully there won't be too many more changes ;)

24 Weeks and Counting!

Baby A is 24 weeks and growing like a weed! And so am I! I have converted to maternity pants…and I am slowly embracing the stretchy waistband. I will say getting to 24 weeks wasn’t easy. It was very hard for me at the beginning; I was so sick all day, for a good 11 weeks. Not until 11 weeks, but from about week 5 to 16 I was constantly sick. I would come home from work, take a nap, maybe eat a little something, then go back to bed. Jeremy and I didn’t see eachother much during that time…probably better we stayed on separate floors ;) But now I am feeling so much better. I can actually come home and not have to nap but I am still in bed pretty early. Im getting my sleep while I can! I plan on taking 12 weeks off so if I can teach her to sleep through the night in 12 weeks I’ll be a happy camper…HA!
I realize that it is only the beginning of October and January 24th seems like its forever away, but I think with the holidays time will fly by. Im almost in my 3rd trimester!! Week 28 starts the 3rd trimester and Im excited for that. It has definitely gone faster since we found out it’s a girl. But the first 18 weeks were SLOW and HARD!
Baby A is a little over 11 inches and just over a pound in weight!! She is definitely moving a lot and I love it! I love feeling her move, especially at night. I love to lie in bed at night and just feel her kick and shift around in there. It’s amazing when she moves from one side to the other. It’s like a small bowling ball in your stomach rolling from one side to the other.
Is it bad to already be SOOO ready for this precious girl to get here? I just want to see her face, see what she looks like, and meet this miracle. Im probably one of the most impatient people anyways so this is hard for me!!
The nursery is still coming along, just waiting to get the rest of it painted. I’ll post pics as soon as we make more progress!
We have some baby showers coming up and I am SUPER excited for those! Of course, we probably need to register first! Every weekend we try to register but something always comes up. So hopefully this Saturday we will get out and register!

Weekend Celebrations

This weekend we celebrated 2 birthdays- Ruby turned 2!! And our great friend Blake, celebrated his 30th with a great surprise party thrown by his wife!
I thought 2 was the magic number in puppy years for them to start settling down…well I have been informed it is different for Golden Retrievers- or maybe never for Ruby. Her and I had a talk on Saturday about how she is suppose to start calming down and being a good dog, and she ended that conversation by grabbing one of my shoes and running from me. I always tell her it’s a good thing she’s cute, because….well, you can use your imagination. She tests my patience everyday, but it’s good for me I guess. Then I look at that sweet face that is cuddled between Jeremy and I every night and don’t know what I would do without her. Here are a couple pictures of her playing Frisbee, she loves Frisbee, but mainly because once she gets it she runs from you and lays down and chews on it. We gave her a Frosty Paw (doggy ice cream) for her birthday and she LOVED it!
Such a beautiful Dog!! Doesn't she LOOK sweet ;)

Working hard to catch that frisbee!
Blake’s Surprise party was a success; I think he was very surprised! Courtney did a great job! However, she almost lost him when he was trying to book tickets a couple weeks back for a football game, those men are hard to surprise! We are also SOOO excited for Blake and Courtney because they will be having a new addition to their family too! They are expecting their first baby at the beginning of May and we couldn’t be more excited. Jeremy and Blake grew up in Owensboro together and I am just so excited to watch them become dads together. I figure this timing is great because they will need eachother for the support of their pregnant hormonal wives and Courtney and I will be there for eachother too! Im thinking BOY for them, so maybe Little Miss A will have a little man of her own! We have spent the last 2 years with Blake and Courtney at Trackside celebrating the Kentucky Derby, this year will be MUCH different! A good different and I cannot wait for it!

Mom and Dad to be!

This month we will celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary- I can’t believe it’s already been 2 years! This time 2 years ago I was in crazy wedding mode and now I am in BABY mode! It’s so wonderful. Everything has turned out so amazing in our lives and I am so glad I have him to share it with. We don’t have big plans for our anniversary but we thought about a nice dinner at Jeff Ruby’s.
We will be traveling to Nashville in 2 weeks for my friend Jenni’s wedding that I am in. We are excited for a mini weekend getaway! We will be sure to stop in Bowling Green for some old WKU favorites…maybe Puerto’s, Toots, Mariahs…would it be bad if we stopped to eat at all three? HA! I am eating for two right?
I have my 3rd ultrasound on the 20th to check the baby’s growth and I am so glad to get the extra attention. The more times I can look at her the better! The ultrasound is on our anniversary so that is a good enough way to celebrate for me!
I hope everyone enjoys the beautiful weather October brings!

So we went on a little trip....

not to the beach, not to a lake, not even a weekend getaway...we took our first trip to Baptist East Labor and Delivery! Not planned I might add, but Saturday ended up a little different than I had planned! I woke up Saturday feeling perfectly fine, did what I normally do on Saturday mornings while Jeremy is at work- laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping. Then around 10:30 I got the most HORRIFIC pain in my right side and lower back. Of course my first thought is my appendix or I'm dying...ha ha. No but really, it was the worst pain I have ever felt. I couldn't move, walk, stand up straight, or hardly talk. It was stabbing pain so bad, I really thought my appendix was bursting! My mom and Jeremy convinced me to call the on call doctor, who I told my symptoms to and he told me to come in just to be sure. So I geared up for my first hospital trip ever (well that I can remember). We stopped in the ER first and they told me I might as well go straight up to L&D because I was far enough along I would end up there anyways. And as Jeremy says, if you want to get into the ER fast, just tell them you are pregnant...dont think it will work for him! We headed up to L&D and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor, which I will say it was nice to hear her little heartbeat again :) (Probably the only plus to this adventure). After talking to me about my symptoms, they told me it was probably just round ligament pain. WHAT?!?! Everything I read about RLP said it should only last a couple of minutes and go away! I was going on 6 hours! How could there not be something else going on?
Ok, long story short, I'm fine. They did take my blood and told me my white blood count was high and that I may be fighting some sort of viral infection, but Im feeling ok.
I hope that will be my last trip to L&D before little miss arrives!
Oh well, at least I have already met my deductible :)

Going Green!

We started on the painting on Friday! It was my half day and I had planned on running some errands and relaxing, but then I got the best call from my hubby, he was coming home because of the rain. Now I love sunny days, but I can't help but love a little bit of rain on my half day hoping Jeremy gets off early too ;) We had lunch together and went on our big Lowes trip. You would have thought we had never painted before. But we wanted to start fresh, so we got all the supplies we could need and headed home. Drawing the lines, taping for the stripes and painting the first set of stripes only took 3 hours! I was impressed!

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We let those stripes dry and started on the second set on Sunday. Overall there were very few glitches! I love the way it turned out. Next step will be painting the solid green above the chair rail and putting the chair rail up. I cant wait to see this completed!

The second set of stripes!

Just need a few touch-ups but for the most part the stripes are done!

The most wonderful time of the year!

Well, besides Thanksgiving and Christmas, is FALL!! My absolute favorite time of year! The colors of the trees, pumpkins, Halloween, Starbucks Carmel Apple Spice, 60 degree weather, sweaters and boots...just to name a few! Unfortunately it seems like the shortest season we have! Next thing you know, its freezing! I am so excited for this fall because we will be spending alot of time working on the baby's room and getting ready for her arrival. I say Her because we still haven't decided on a name. We do have 2 that we love, but we just can't decide....Hannah Elizabeth or Caroline Elizabeth. I think both are beautiful and classic. When I think about naming my child I have to think, is this name a good name when she is 2 years old, 28 years old, 49 years old, or 76 years old? Can I see myself shouting her name as she is running through toys r us, or shouting "Hannah Elizabeth" up the stairs when she comes in past her curfew? Ok, so I probably think about it WAY too much...but it's forever! People say, you'll know when you see her. Ok, well if you know me, I have NO patience and could not wait until January to name my little girl. I want her name on the wall, I want things monogrammed, so we will decide on one, I just don't know when!
This weekend we will be diligently painting the nursery. I know the furniture will take a while to come in but I just love seeing this room come together piece by piece. The green stripes look great so far! My mom ordered the fabric and I know she is excited to start on the bumpers too! I ordered the chair this past week, so that will be here in about a month! I will probably find myself sitting in that chair many times before she comes.
I hope everyone has a DRY weekend (although I don't know about you, but our grass needed the rain!) and a relaxing one! Enjoy the fall weather next week!

The Beginning!

We have officially started on the nursery! We were finally able to get it cleared out and now we can get it started! We already had the crib because we ordered that awhile back, so Jeremy started on that and was able to put it together flawlessly....which is amazing for a project in our house! The crib looks amazing and I cant wait to have our precious little girl snoozing away in it...ok I know, she won't be sleeping too much in there in the beginning, but a girl can dream can't she?!?
We will probably start painting next weekend, which I am excited about, but then as soon as I start painting I remember how much I hate it! I plan on ordering the chair this week- that will take about 4-6 weeks, then it will almost have everything it needs! I am still having my dresser dilemma, but I just need to stop thinking about it and then it will come to me. Why don't we have matching pieces you ask? Our crib is from Penney's and there are pieces that go with it, but they are TINY! I cant help but think long term about this furniture because the crib converts into a double bed, so I dont want this big bed and these tiny dressers. So I have been on a mission to find good sized dressers (one tall, one short) to match the exact finish of the crib, and that has been hard! I did find two at USA Baby...so that is probably what we will do. Such hard decisions :) I hope you enjoy our nursery pictures along the way!

The Room is Finally EMPTY!

Her closet already! I promise I did not buy all that!

Jeremy and his helper Ruby, putting the crib together!


Crib is Finished! I love it!

On another note, we went to Lexington this weekend to help my sister move a few things into her brand new home! I mean BRAND new! She just bought a brand new Ball Home. Its beautiful! I am so jealous...it has a whirlpool tub, nice wood floors, and a pantry! (yes, we dont have a pantry! Crazy!) She is very excited and as a house warming gift I got her a Snuggie...yes a Snuggie. The man at Target laughed at me, but I bet she loves it :)