andrew is growing

Today I can really feel Andrew getting bigger. I don't know how to explain it but I feel a lot of activity in my belly today. Not to mention my belly button is disappearing before my very eyes. Such a neat experience to be able to go through this. I know I am lucky and blessed to being carrying Andrew. I think about him every day. I am doing research on baby gear such as car seats and strollers at the moment. This weekend Owen and I are going shopping to register and to buy a few things. We did pick out the paint color. It is called Merry Go Round which is a form of blue. It is a soft muted blue. We (Owen) will start painting soon.

I hope this weekends shopping trip goes well. All of this can be very overwhelming but it is starting to make sense to me since I have done some research. I made a "to buy" list and already need to add more things to it.

I know time is going to go by fast, but today I am feeling like time is standing still. Not sure why but today feels like such a long day.

1st outfit

I can not stop looking at Andrew's sonogram pictures. I got a sonogram frame when I was in Columbus, MS for MUW's spring homecoming. I was 7 weeks or so at that point. I put the picture of Andrew sucking his thumb and have it in our living room. I will put it in his room at some point but right now I like looking at it.

Well today I bought him his first outfit. It is a 6 month onsie type outfit but I have a feeling he will wear it sooner than that. It is from Ralph Lauren and I was able to put his initials on it. That is why I got it. I have been dying to get things monogrammed and this outfit was the perfect thing to monogram for a boy.



I don't know maybe it was the blond haired baby or the Ralphie puppy that got me! If you look at this picture it has Andrew's initials on it. Too cute!

background

Hey! I tried to update the background to get in the baby boy spirit of things but my fonts and text are not cooperating...maybe tomorrow it will look more put together :)

Baby Boy Andrew

It is official Owen and I are having a baby boy. WOW! There are so many emotions in me right now. On the way to pick Owen up for the appointment I started crying. I kept telling myself to keep it together b/c I would see his parents and co-workers at work. Then when we got in the car I cried again. This day has been on our mind since we found out we were pregnant. This was the big reveal. I couldn't sleep last night thinking about the appointment. I compare it to Christmas morning as a young child. So much anticipation, nerves, and other feelings I can't even describe. We have a wonderful doctor and go to a wonderful facility so we were seen immediately. The ultrasound tech is nice (not very talkative, but nice). She explained what we were seeing and I told her we definitely wanted to know the sex of our child. Now that I have seen a boy sonogram it is quite easy to tell.

Owen's mom and sister made pink cupcakes and blue cupcakes over the weekend so we could have a celebration dessert after the big reveal. We went to their house yesterday for Owen's birthday dinner (his birthday is Wednesday). When we got there Abby ran to hide the cupcakes. They were going to be a surprise for us. An hour or so later we noticed Ralphie was not in our sight. So we called for him and Owen found him in the dining room. Ralphie ran as fast as he could with his head down and lock jaw. We knew he had something. Abby opened his mouth and he had a whole blue cupcake in his mouth. Also he had bitten another cupcake (blue) before taking a whole one for himself. So we all said that Ralphie was predicting a baby brother for himself and sure enough Ralphie was right. He is now 100% accurate on predicting babies.

Another prediction that came true was the needle and tread prediction test my co-worker did. On my mother's side of the family they took a poll and it was 100% boy for Owen and me. Well they were correct as well. It is fun to be able to get family and friends involved in the pregnancy.

Here are some pictures of our baby boy Andrew.

Kylie's Shower

Kylie, Me, Kelly at Kylie's shower in Mobile. This is the shower I went to a couple of weekends ago for my childhood friend Kylie.

Weekend Project

In an attempt to get our upstairs ready for baby munton, I needed to organize and go through my wrapping closet. It has been neglected since Christmas. Speaking of Christmas I have made it a goal to get all of my Christmas shopping and present wrapping completed by Thanksgiving. With our new addition coming in December, the last thing I want to worry about is Christmas gifts. If I wait my poor friends and family may get presents that really don't match their personalities. So that is my goal and I am pretty confident I can make it work.

I did take some before and after pictures of my closet. Owen doesn't think there is that much of a difference because all he sees is stuff. I however see a wonderful closet full of wrapping paper, presents and various door decorations for the different season. Also an important point to make is - if I did not have this closet where would I store these items??



Before Picture



Before Picture



After Picture



After Picture

Belk

As many of you know Belk used to be McRae's. McRae's and I have had a long relationship. Not only did I shop there way too often as a college student, but I worked there as well. When I was a senior in college I had a paid internship in the junior's department. Looking back I think I worked in the junior's department and called it an internship to get class credit for the Fashion Merchandising degree I was striving for even though I knew deep down I would not last long in the fashion world. I kept that job until a couple of months (maybe 6) after graduation. That is when I woke up from my denial of wanting to work in retail for the rest of my life. So I landed a sweet 8-5 job at MUW. That job prompted me to realize I had no hobbies after work and needed to occupy myself between the hours of 5 and 9 pm. So I went back to McRae's to work in the make up world. I have to admit make up was and is a hobby of mine. I loved that job. Until yet again I woke up and realized I was tired. Working 8am to 9pm was not fun even though I loved being around my co-workers (Lynn...that is for you). I tell you this in an attempt to paint a picture of how I like McRae's and loved shopping there. So when Belk bought them out, I was very uninterested in shopping there. When McRae's was closing out I would shop and hear other customers talk down at Belk. I even partook in the bad mouthing b/c you know when you hear a rumor it is true. Then when Belk opened I did notice the quality and friendliness went away. I also noticed that every now and then I would see a really good deal and think I hit the jack pot. Then I started to noticed that every time I shopped at Belk I would get a good deal. So even though McRae's has a soft spot in my heart...I am not ashamed to shop at Belk and grab their good deals. This notion is fresh on my mind b/c in my maternity clothes shopping spree I went to Belk after work. I had been before and found a dress but decided to give it one more try. I found some jeans, a shirt and another dress. All of this 40% off. It even tally's the amount you save on the receipt to really make you feel good. So yes I do agree Belk is not the best department store, but you can still find non Belk brand merchandise and get it a lot cheaper than you can Dillards. Just thought I would share one of my life lessons with you.

Funny Dreams

This morning Owen woke up to tell me he had a dream that we were watching an LSU baseball game during Christmas. That is an odd dream in itself, because we don't watch baseball and we don't cheer for LSU. However, I said I was dreaming I was 9 months pregnant watching Legally Blond 2. Another odd dream b/c I have not seen Legally Blond 2. But the ironic part and I think very sweet one is we were both dreaming about December...which is when our baby will be here.

I had a prenatal massage yesterday. It was amazing. I just don't realize how tight my muscles are. I definitely need to pick up an exercising sport. When I was lifting weights I could tell my shoulders were alot more loose. But now that I don't do that anymore the knots in my back have returned. I keep telling myself I am going to go swimming after work...but today I conveniently forgot my bathing suit.

I am still on the hunt for maternity clothes. I don't think I am big enough to wear maternity shirts, but definitely need the pants. I am having such a difficult time shopping for this. Which is so out of the norm for me. I love shopping but when I try on the maternity clothes I get depressed. I don't know...it is hard to explain. I know I am getting bigger and I want to get bigger. Heck I am a big boned person not being pregnant so you would think this wouldn't bother me, but it does. When we went to the beach we stopped at the outlet mall to see if they had other options. I found a shirt but nothing else. It was quite disappointing. Yesterday, I went to a local baby store that carries maternity clothes. I did find a pair of pants and another bathing suit. The bathing suit I got an Old Navy really made me self conscience at the beach this past weekend. My cover up was NEVER far way. In fact I even wore it in the ocean one day. Today at lunch at I went to Kohls (thanks to my mother in law, she told me they had maternity clothes) and noticed their maternity section is quite small. I did get a couple of undershirts and one other shirt. I didn't try them on, so we will see if that purchase is a keeper. Once my belly is bigger maybe I won't feel so discouraged with shopping for maternity cloths.

Recent Pictures

11 weeks pregnant and My 30th Birthday


2nd Anniversary Picture (not the greatest picture, but at least we documenting the night)


17 weeks pregnant and at the beach for the 4th of July

Sunday Fun

This past Sunday I went to Mobile for a friend, Kylie's bridal shower. Kylie and I have known each other since we were one year old. We lived across the street from each other for several years. Her family moved before we did, but in the 4th grade we ended up at the same school. So our friendship began again. Even when I moved to Germantown, Kylie and I still kept in touch. We didn't talk every day in fact years would sometimes go by...but we eventually would catch up with each other. I haven't seen her in years so it was fun to go down for her shower. Another elementary school friend hosted the shower so I knew a couple of people. On the way home I was thinking how neat and rare it is to still be friends with someone for 29 years. We have gone our separate ways and live very different lives, but none of that matters really. We still have a long time friendship that I think is special.