April Photos

Earlier this month, I decided I would try to attempt the April Photo a Day Challenge:

I give myself a B-

I didn't get to it everyday. Sometimes I just plum forgot! But here are the days I did get :)

Day 2: COLOR

This was a leftover rose from the shower I threw for Liz and baby Avenleigh

Day 3: MAIL

The day I went to check the mail and ended up bringing these two sweethearts back to their family

Day 4: Someone that makes you happy

My Moxie dog :)

Day 5: TINY

This is Lily. We were playing dress up while her mommy went to the doctor. 

Day 10: Cold

The inside of my fridge :)

Day 11: WHERE YOU ATE BREAKFAST

DAY 13: SOMETHING YOU FOUND

I found a very excited Grace at Disney On Ice :)

Day 14: HOW YOU FEEL TODAY

I was feeling very pampered this lovely Saturday!

Day 16: Flower

I got to go to the hospital and hold sweet Avenleigh ROSE for the first time!

Day 18: HAIR

They say that heartburn means the baby will have a lot of hair. However, there were a few days where it was so intense, I would've been okay if she didn't have too much hair! :)

Day 22: THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT

New lamps!

Day 24: GRATEFUL

I am so very grateful that I work from home!!

Day 25: LOOKING DOWN

I can still see my feet! (Barely!)

Day 26: BLACK AND WHITE

I looked down and this was my everything on my desk. Black and white!

Day 28: 1:00pm

This was what I was doing at about 1:00! My sisters and my Lindsee threw me a baby shower - another whole post to come about that later this week!

That was a fun project... maybe I should try it again in May and stay on top of it a bit more! :)

Pinterest Makes Me Laugh

A few months ago I jumped on the Pinterest train and never looked back. I love the nursery inspirations I have found there, the clothes for baby girl, the tips and tricks from people who are smarter than me, the recipes for yummy desserts... but most of all... the funny stuff. Y'ALL. I FIND THE FUNNIEST STUFF ON PINTEREST. So I'm going to share a few of them here.

Here is one of the reasons I don't like the end of the movie Titanic: 

Here's a few more funnies :)

I HATE THIS COMMERCIAL. 

There is no greater weapon in my arsenal. 

When Husband Is Away...

...the wife will eat a lot of carbohydrates and spontaneously decide to do a mini-makeover on the master bedroom.

Oops.

Once a year, Grant goes to a golf tournament for a whole weekend in Lake Charles. He plays golf for a few days, hangs out with some dudes, and I'm left here to get into trouble. Let's just say that this weekend I ate a LOT of pasta. I visited with lots of friends. And I also accidentally redecorated the master bedroom.

Okay, okay, okay, I didn't do a full makeover. The furniture is still the same. And the curtains are the same too, though I want to change those. But I did get new bedding, new sheets, and new lamps. 

I love these lamps!

Here's the problem... they don't really go with my furniture. My furniture, is big, heavy, formal dark wood. These are light and modern. But I decided to buy lamps that will go with the bedroom I want to have eventually rather than the bedroom I have right now :) 

I watched the movie "We Bought a Zoo" this weekend and I LOVE THAT MOVIE. 

Also, I spent some time over at Elizabeth's on Saturday so I could love on baby Avenleigh. There is not many feelings that are better than holding a sweet, sleeping newborn baby on your chest. 

I'm looking rough in that picture... but look at that sweet girl! Not gonna lie, she was making me ache for my little one. 

My husband is home now... Praise the Lord... and I'm so very glad. It's just better when he is here. He liked the bedroom and didn't get mad :) 

Plus, he made me some breakfast this morning and I love that about him. 

Someone Has Been Very Busy

I've had somewhat of a "symptom-less" pregnancy. Not a lot of morning sickness in my first trimester. None of the typical pregnancy symptoms. I counted my blessings and didn't complain, and I was hoping that this was a sign that my Little Miss was going to be an easy child.

But something has happened this week. Tomorrow I'll be 26 weeks and apparently my daughter has been working hard on growing because TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGING.

The first thing that started to hit this week is heartburn. I've never really struggled with heartburn, so naturally my initial response to the feeling was I AM HAVING A HEART ATTACK. Thankfully, WebMD assured me that this was a typical pregnancy symptom and heartburn tends to creep up towards the end of your second trimester. I've been poppin' Tums like nobody's business and sleeping on an incline and all that jazz. Everyone has told me that heartburn is a sign that baby girl will have a lot of hair. While I would love to see her in pretty bows from the get go, I'm also not really enjoying this heartburn stuff.

Also, the acid reflux side of heartburn makes my vocal chords all jacked up, so now I'm talking funny. All deep and raspy. I sound beaaauuuuuutiful.

The second thing that has just started happening is the leg cramps in the middle of the night, or what some people call a Charlie Horse. I'm not sure why they are called Charlie Horses, all I know is that they hurt like the dickens and they wake me up going "oooh ooh oooh!!!!!!!" and I have to lay there and wince in pain while massaging my calf at three in the morning. And that really disturbs my pillow situation that takes forever for me to perfect. (Also, I'm not really sure what "the dickens" is or what it feels like, but it hurts like the dickens. So there.)

Between the twelve pillows I've got propped up around me, my hacking cough from the acid reflux, the snoring, the Charlie Horses and the ever-growing belly, I'm sure I'm really a beautiful sight for my husband to see when he rolls over.

Oh, little girl. You're already rocking my world..... it's a good thing I already love you a whole lot.

FACT: I walked through Baby Gap on Tuesday and I smiled like an idiot the entire time. I walked around and COULD NOT GET THE SMILING TO STOP. It was either that or start crying so I opted for the smiling.

And then I bought her a dress and a cardigan because I really think she needed a cardigan. Now I just need to find a matching headband. Which will look great with all the hair she seems to be growing.

Togetherness: Working From Home

I've been working from home for the better part of a year. I enjoy the freedom, flexibility, the working-in-pajamas situation it allows.... it's all just awesome. Some days I sleep in later than other days. Some days I  work for 7 hours straight (seriously) and other days I only work about 2 hours, depending on my work load.

Granted, sometimes my work takes me to meetings throughout the city, so that's not necessarily working from home. But, for the most part, I'm here. I don't have to go into an office everyday. And THAT is a BLESSING.

I was somewhat excited, somewhat nervous when I found out that Grant's new job would have him working from home as well. Excited because "Hey I happen to really like being around him and we get to be together a lot and he won't be gone all the time!" and then nervous because "Hey I've kinda got my routine here and I'm not sure how having my husband here all day will affect my little world I've got going on".

So far... I love it. But we've had to establish our zones! We have to work in different parts of the house. We have to have doors. Both of us are on the phone a lot for work (especially Grant) and we are "competing" when it comes to volume sometimes. Sometimes both of us are out at meetings all day and neither of us are here. Sometimes we wake up together, eat breakfast, work a bit, have lunch, work some more, take the dog on a walk, work a bit more, and then call it a day. And those times.... it's like heaven.

There were some adjustments to having him here all day. When I was the only one here, I would have a cup of coffee and a bagel for breakfast, and then make myself a peanut butter sandwich or a Lean Cuisine for lunch. Apparently, my darling husband needs a bit more food than that. The people-pleaser in me has a hard time watching him stand in front of the pantry or fridge for 10 minutes, staring aimlessly with that "we have no food" look on his face. I feel like I need to make him something to eat. So I'm definitely eating a heartier breakfast now that he's working from home too!

He tends to use the guest bathroom since it is closer to the study. I use our bathroom since it is closer to where I'm stationed all day. It makes me laugh since we seem to have implemented a Women's Restroom and a Men's Restroom, just like in a real office. Maybe I should put signs up that say "Employees Must Wash Hands Before Returning to Work" :)

I think he gets a little annoyed by me sometimes, too. Maybe it's cause several times throughout the day I'll holler things like:

"What are you doing?"

"What are you eating?"

"Hi!"

"COME HERE AND SEE THIS! It's a YouTube video of a dog and a pony on a surfboard!"

"What are you eating now? Do you want to share that?"

"GRANT. GRANT. Graaaaant!!!! Oh. You're on the phone. Sorry. SORRY!!"

I'm actually getting to the point where I email him from the other room.

All in all, I am SO BEYOND THANKFUL that we have this freedom and the blessing of jobs that require not much more than an internet connection to get our work done.

And I'm also thankful that we both have lunch meetings throughout the week so we can get a little breather from one another. Sometimes it is a lot of togetherness :)

Welcoming Avenleigh Rose

Last week you read about the little shower I threw for Elizabeth and her sweet baby girl. Well, Miss Avenleigh Rose decided to grace us with her presence yesterday!

Liz called as I was getting ready for church and I drove straight over to her house to watch Lily while she and Jim went to the hospital. I had a great time with Lily girl. We got a phone call from her mommy and daddy around 2:00pm... "We're at a 9, you better get over here!"

Miss Avenleigh Rose was born at 3:21pm. 7lbs, 5 oz, 20.25 inches long. 

Miss Lily in the car on the way to meet her little sister!

Avenleigh Rose and her Daddy as she was on her way to her first bath. I snuck a quick picture :)

They are now a family of FOUR! So crazy!

Of course, Liz looked absolutely gorgeous and didn't even break a sweat! She is such a natural mama. I've loved walking this pregnancy journey with her... I can't believe she's not pregnant anymore!

My little girl was kicking all day yesterday. I think she knew that her new best friend was out in the world having a party without her :) 

I honestly got a little teared up yesterday knowing how much this new little precious one is going to be a part of our lives. Liz and Lily are such a part of my everyday life and I know that our girls are going to be such good friends!

Praise the Lord for sweet babies!

25 Weeks

Today I am 25 weeks pregnant.

OH. MY. MERCY.

It's just going by so fast. I'm at the tail end of my second trimester.

Which means third trimester is almost here.

Which means SHE is almost here.

SHE.

My little girl.

My sweet, tiny baby girl.

She's only a pound and a half.

But she certainly makes her presence known.

She wiggles when she's hungry. She likes to camp out on the right side of my belly. And around 6:45am, she likes to party like it's 1999.

I'm eating a lot. I've gained a lot of weight. I've officially decided that I am no longer going to weigh myself. The way I see it, I'm clearly gaining weight and if there is a problem my doctor will tell me at one of my checkups.

I'm loving our time together. Sometimes I poke my belly and she'll kick me where I'm poking. She's funny.

In the meantime, we have much work to do before she arrives. This weekend is full of tasks around the house and various errands as we prepare for Little Miss.

15 weeks to go. WOW.

I Love Easter

On Thursday we decided that we would go to New Orleans for Easter. It worked out with our schedules, plus we could see the family and celebrate Grant's dad's birthday. So, we left bright and early Friday morning and headed East on I-10.

The drive was longer than usual, or so it seemed. The last time we made that drive was Christmastime and I was in my first trimester. This time,  I was 24 weeks pregnant, needing to pee every few hours, and unable to get comfortable. I don't think I was a very fun travel partner for my dear Grant :)

The weekend itself was great. Grant got to play golf, I got to spend a lot of time sitting at the breakfast table visiting with mom, we relaxed, we ate and ate and ate, and most of all, we played with babies!!

Evan, Emmy, and Olivia (and their awesome parents, too!) came Saturday and Sunday and they make me ever so happy. They were all feeling good and showing off their little personalities. I realized at the end of the weekend that I never saw any of them have a meltdown, misbehave, or even cry! And that's saying a lot for 3 babies age 3 and under.

Emmy, Olivia and Evan opening their eggs from Baba and Papa. They were filled with all kinds of goodies!

I love this Olivia Claire! And yes... that hair is for real. 

Evan Charles wearing his new sunglasses.

 All of my individual pictures of Emmy were a blur, literally. She doesn't stand still :) She walked around in her light up Cinderella shoes from Baba and wouldn't take them off. She is such a girly girl. Oh, I love her.

Grant was a happy boy. Saturday night we got in the car, drove to Sal's, and he got 5lbs of crawfish. And some root beer. And he PUT IT DOWN. 

Sunday morning we got up and went to church! It was a lovely Easter service. We so enjoyed this time and such a lovely morning to celebrate our Risen Savior. 

Please excuse the squinty-ness of this picture. But here we are Easter Sunday morning. All 3 of us!

We came back to the house and had a big family lunch. Gammy and Paw-Z came as well as Grant's cousin and his family. We had delicious food cooked by Mom. Roast, mashed potatoes, broccoli, bread, corn... I know I'm forgetting something. Oh, and leftover cake from Dad's birthday celebration the day before! After we were sufficiently stuffed, Grant told me it was time to pack up.

We put our Moxie dog in the car and started the long trip back to Houston. 

Clearly, I got Instagram and I'm having fun with it :)

The drive home was more comfortable than the drive there. I was well fed and well rested :) We stopped and got munchies and Grant was very shocked at my choices. Fudge cookies, Cheeto Puffs, and Diet Coke and Vitamin Water. I'm ever so healthy.

It really was a great weekend that was over WAY too quickly.

My parents spent Easter in Austin with Juliet and Scarlett. Are they not darling?!

Hope you had a very Happy Easter with you and yours!