Last night we were reading in bed and I was on my side cuddling on my glorious Boppy pregnancy pillow that my cousin Jenn recommended (and I LOVE!!) when I started to feel the flutters that I've been feeling for weeks. All the sudden, I was kicked (or elbowed, punched, something!) and it was definitely the baby. I was so excited I started to cry. Of course, yesterday was a hormone charged day and I shed tears for far less important and monumental things, but I was so overjoyed. I grabbed David's hand to try to get him to feel it as our little bean did it several times, but alas it's too early for him to share in this with me. It was so very exciting though!!
When we were trying to get pregnant this was one of the 2 things I really wanted to experience that I would miss out in any other type of child rearing - the other is nursing. I have such fond and vivid memories of feeling my nieces and nephews and dear friends babies moving around inside and I absolutely love it! Most recently I got to feel my little Jane Dare who is due just 10 weeks before our bean moving around in Lacey's tummy and it was so awesome. Since I don't believe that pregnant bellies are public domain, I always have loved sharing this with the women in my life and the children I came to love long before I knew them and now I am experiencing it myself. God is good! Of course, in typical Red fashion, I prayed that I would never begrudge feeling the baby kick me and that I would retain this joy...even in my last month at 3am when I'm exhausted and can't get comfortable enough to sleep. :)
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Sunday, July 05, 2009
First Belly Shots
This morning before we headed off to church David snapped a few pictures of my rapidly expanding midsection...
We're at 20 weeks tomorrow and I can't believe how big I am already. This baby really popped out sometime in the last week, but I feel bigger and bigger every day so I can't pinpoint exactly when this happened. I guess it was Wednesday that David came home and really noticed my belly for the first time. :) I am still convinced I won't have that adorable basketball belly, but I'm pleased that I at least look pregnant now.
We're at 20 weeks tomorrow and I can't believe how big I am already. This baby really popped out sometime in the last week, but I feel bigger and bigger every day so I can't pinpoint exactly when this happened. I guess it was Wednesday that David came home and really noticed my belly for the first time. :) I am still convinced I won't have that adorable basketball belly, but I'm pleased that I at least look pregnant now.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Ahhh...Diet Coke
Those of you who know me well know that I LOVE me some Diet Coke. If it was available in IV form and I could still taste it, I'd be permanently hooked up. ;) I had a brief period in college where Diet Pepsi rocked my world, but those days were numbered and haven't been seen in over a decade.
I am such a snob when it comes to my Diet Coke. When I go to a restaurant that only serves Pepsi products, they automatically go down a notch. Could be great food, but without Diet Coke it just isn't a quality dining experience. When I'm in David's hometown, all the restaurants serve Pepsi products - yuck! I'll stick to Lemonade or Water, thank you very much. And all Diet Coke is not treated equally either. The best Diet Cokes in Atlanta come from one of 2 places - Chick-Fil-A (and bonus for them - they have caffeine free on tap!) and Zaxby's. I'm told the reason their Diet Coke is so unbelievable is because they actually follow the coke recipe - what a novel concept. The worst Diet Cokes hands down are from McDonald's and gas stations/convenience store fountains...probably because they are cheap and water down their mix.
Anyway, during this pregnancy (and in 2 week increments for the years we TTC) I have given up Diet Coke. I know I don't have to, but we both thought cutting out the caffeine and the nutra sweet from my diet during pregnancy would be a good idea so I've made the sacrifice. Hey, David is 100% responsible for the cat litter, so we're both making sacrifices. ;) Well the last few days I'd been seriously craving a diet coke. I made it through Tuesday, but yesterday I was out and about and I caved. I hit the CFA closest to my house and got myself a large diet coke. Sweet nectar - I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout the day.
There isn't really a point to this rant, I just wanted to share and give some props for my favorite drug of choice, Diet Coke.
I am such a snob when it comes to my Diet Coke. When I go to a restaurant that only serves Pepsi products, they automatically go down a notch. Could be great food, but without Diet Coke it just isn't a quality dining experience. When I'm in David's hometown, all the restaurants serve Pepsi products - yuck! I'll stick to Lemonade or Water, thank you very much. And all Diet Coke is not treated equally either. The best Diet Cokes in Atlanta come from one of 2 places - Chick-Fil-A (and bonus for them - they have caffeine free on tap!) and Zaxby's. I'm told the reason their Diet Coke is so unbelievable is because they actually follow the coke recipe - what a novel concept. The worst Diet Cokes hands down are from McDonald's and gas stations/convenience store fountains...probably because they are cheap and water down their mix.
Anyway, during this pregnancy (and in 2 week increments for the years we TTC) I have given up Diet Coke. I know I don't have to, but we both thought cutting out the caffeine and the nutra sweet from my diet during pregnancy would be a good idea so I've made the sacrifice. Hey, David is 100% responsible for the cat litter, so we're both making sacrifices. ;) Well the last few days I'd been seriously craving a diet coke. I made it through Tuesday, but yesterday I was out and about and I caved. I hit the CFA closest to my house and got myself a large diet coke. Sweet nectar - I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout the day.
There isn't really a point to this rant, I just wanted to share and give some props for my favorite drug of choice, Diet Coke.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Latest Baby Pictures
We got to see the baby again today! We thought this would be our last ultrasound, but the Doctor couldn't get a good enough view of the heart so he offered for us to come back in 4 weeks for another peak, which of course we agreed to. :) Once again our little bean was super active and crazy in there, so we didn't get a ton of great pictures but we did get a few keepers. Hope you enjoy looking at our little guy or girl (and no we didn't find out!!)...
Baby Bilbo's face smiling at us
Baby with an open mouth...he/she looked like they were waving at us with their mouth open, (perhaps saying "Hi Mom & Dad!!") but we didn't get a good picture of that.
Baby's spine - so cool!!
Precious profile, can't wait to meet this little one!
Baby with an open mouth...he/she looked like they were waving at us with their mouth open, (perhaps saying "Hi Mom & Dad!!") but we didn't get a good picture of that.
Baby's spine - so cool!!
Precious profile, can't wait to meet this little one!
Friday, June 26, 2009
At long last!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in May we travelled to DC to shoot my friend John's wedding. Because of my headaches it has taken me forever to get all the pictures edited, but I am so thrilled to have them done so I can share them with the bride & groom. There were so many pictures I loved, but I tried to narrow it down to just a few to share here. John & Shannon - I hope you love them as much as we loved taking them!!
It was such a great trip and the wedding was beautiful. I'm so glad we were able to be a part of their special day!!
The Beautiful Bride
The Handsome Groom
John & his brother Rob
We're Married!
I love this picture of Shannon, John & Kristina - priceless!
Pretty Rings
Dancing, Dancing Dancing!
Kiss at the end of the Rainbow
Living La Vida Loca!
The Grand Exit
I absolutely love this picture of Mr. & Mrs. Dooley!!
Here I am with several of my closest friends from high school, Jennifer, Marleah, new addition Shannon, John, Me, Kristina and Joey (who now goes by Rex. =) It's always so much fun to catch up with these dear friends and now that we're spread across the country, it really takes a special occasion to get as many of us together as possible.
The Handsome Groom
John & his brother Rob
We're Married!
I love this picture of Shannon, John & Kristina - priceless!
Pretty Rings
Dancing, Dancing Dancing!
Kiss at the end of the Rainbow
Living La Vida Loca!
The Grand Exit
I absolutely love this picture of Mr. & Mrs. Dooley!!
Here I am with several of my closest friends from high school, Jennifer, Marleah, new addition Shannon, John, Me, Kristina and Joey (who now goes by Rex. =) It's always so much fun to catch up with these dear friends and now that we're spread across the country, it really takes a special occasion to get as many of us together as possible.
It was such a great trip and the wedding was beautiful. I'm so glad we were able to be a part of their special day!!
Baby Update
I went to the doctor yesterday for my regular 4 week followup. Once again baby & I got a great report. My weight gain and vitals and baby's growth and heartbeat are all right on track - couldn't ask for more than that! We have our mid term ultrasound on Monday and we're looking forward to seeing the baby for what will probably be our last time before we meet in person.
Since my Dr was out on an emergency C-section, I saw the midwife and she couldn't tell me anything in addition to what I'm already doing to help my headaches. (For those curious, what I'm already doing is trying tylenol - which works about as well as taking a tic tac, I've tried a little caffeine a few times, I'm regularly get lots of sleep, I tried chocolate, I'm taking my allergy meds, nothing makes a dent...) It's been almost 4 weeks and while most days it's just a dull ache, it does affect my ability to be on the computer for more than an hour at a time (sometimes less) and some days it's downright debilitating. With lots of photo editing to do from John & Shannon's wedding in May as well as the prospect of trying to sell my photos this has been an issue. I'm hoping to get the wedding pictures done today so I can send them off to J&S...I am thrilled with how well they have come out and I can't wait to share them with them!!
Other than that, we've been working on our registries and organizing all the stuff we already have for our little one. It's exciting to know we'll soon get to use all of this stuff we've been collecting for so long! I've been organizing the house too trying to make room and sense of all of our stuff and purging what I can. I finally sat down a few weeks ago and made a master list of everything that needs to get done before the baby comes (that I know of now anyway!) It could be daunting, but we have plenty of time, so I know we'll get it all done. Next big job is to get the bookshelves installed in the basement. We're hoping to have the contractor do that in July so when David's folks are here in August they can paint them for us. ;) Once those are done we'll be able to move forward with alot of the moving & reorganizing I need to do. Exciting stuff!
Since my Dr was out on an emergency C-section, I saw the midwife and she couldn't tell me anything in addition to what I'm already doing to help my headaches. (For those curious, what I'm already doing is trying tylenol - which works about as well as taking a tic tac, I've tried a little caffeine a few times, I'm regularly get lots of sleep, I tried chocolate, I'm taking my allergy meds, nothing makes a dent...) It's been almost 4 weeks and while most days it's just a dull ache, it does affect my ability to be on the computer for more than an hour at a time (sometimes less) and some days it's downright debilitating. With lots of photo editing to do from John & Shannon's wedding in May as well as the prospect of trying to sell my photos this has been an issue. I'm hoping to get the wedding pictures done today so I can send them off to J&S...I am thrilled with how well they have come out and I can't wait to share them with them!!
Other than that, we've been working on our registries and organizing all the stuff we already have for our little one. It's exciting to know we'll soon get to use all of this stuff we've been collecting for so long! I've been organizing the house too trying to make room and sense of all of our stuff and purging what I can. I finally sat down a few weeks ago and made a master list of everything that needs to get done before the baby comes (that I know of now anyway!) It could be daunting, but we have plenty of time, so I know we'll get it all done. Next big job is to get the bookshelves installed in the basement. We're hoping to have the contractor do that in July so when David's folks are here in August they can paint them for us. ;) Once those are done we'll be able to move forward with alot of the moving & reorganizing I need to do. Exciting stuff!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Floral Beauty
David and I worked really hard getting our flower beds beautiful last year. Since we did all the work during the summer, most things we planted died as soon as we got them in the ground. I kept all the receipts, but have been thrilled that everything has come up and the flowers are gorgeous. I love driving down our street and pulling up to our house to see all the pretty flowers in the beds. Here are a few shots of the various types of flowers we have out in full bloom this summer. I'm seriously considering selling some of my nature photography. Nearly all the art in our home is art we have created and we have alot of our nature shots blown up and displayed throughout the house. There are lots of logistics to figure out, but I may give it a chance, we'll see. ;) For now, I hope you enjoy the pictures of the lovely floral beauty from our yard.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Busy, Busy, Busy
The last few weeks have been crazy! Lots of travel and good times with close friends, which is wonderful, but certainly makes for a busy time.
On June 3, David's folks came back through ATL after meeting Grady, our newest nephew in Colorado. It was a brief visit, but good to see them.
Saturday, June 6, the Baby's Room was having a big sale and we got our Britax car seat for a steal - woohoo! This is actually a gift from my Dad & Stepmom (thanks so much!!), but I was able to get a much better deal here than they would have been able to in WV. Saturday is also the day that I finally caught up on all my scrapbooking. 2 weeks of marathon scrapping to catch up the nearly 1 1/2 years worth of scrapbooking that I was behind. It is such a sense of accomplishment to be 100% current on the scrapbooking...now I just need to start on the baby's book!
On June 7, I headed to Clarksville, TN for several days with Lacey and the kiddos. I didn't take any pics with my camera, but took some with Lacey's. I'll need to get her to send me the pictures. Highlights of the trip (besides obviously getting to spend time with 4 of my favorite people) were:
I got home from that trip on Thursday June 11, just before dinner, and had just enough time to do laundry and repack before leaving the next afternoon for Greenville, SC to visit with our dear friends the Carpenters. It was such a nice, relaxing visit. Somehow I once again didn't take any pictures, but that's ok. ;) Saturday morning we hit the outdoor market in downtown which was great fun and we got some yummy fruit. Then we had "the best pizza in Greenville" at Barleys Tap Room, and it was quite good as well. They boys took the kiddos home after lunch and Court & I ran around for some girly time which was great. We repaid them that night by hanging at home while the boys went out for ice cream and to work on Cory's portfolio. Sunday before we headed home we went to Red Robin for lunch and it was so tasty. Man I wish there was one closer to us! It was such a great weekend, but I was pooped after all that travelling. We were both asleep by about 9:00 Sunday night and slept clear through til morning.
This week I've just been playing catch up. I finally sat down and made a master list of everything that needs to happen before the baby comes. Thankfully, I'm not overwhelmed by this list. David's folks are going to come up for several days in Aug and will be our designated painters so that takes a huge chunk off our shoulders. For everything else I am just going to pluck away at the list. I still have 22ish weeks to go, so I feel like I still have plenty of time to get everything done if I am diligent and try to do something every day. We'll see how it goes.
On June 3, David's folks came back through ATL after meeting Grady, our newest nephew in Colorado. It was a brief visit, but good to see them.
Saturday, June 6, the Baby's Room was having a big sale and we got our Britax car seat for a steal - woohoo! This is actually a gift from my Dad & Stepmom (thanks so much!!), but I was able to get a much better deal here than they would have been able to in WV. Saturday is also the day that I finally caught up on all my scrapbooking. 2 weeks of marathon scrapping to catch up the nearly 1 1/2 years worth of scrapbooking that I was behind. It is such a sense of accomplishment to be 100% current on the scrapbooking...now I just need to start on the baby's book!
On June 7, I headed to Clarksville, TN for several days with Lacey and the kiddos. I didn't take any pics with my camera, but took some with Lacey's. I'll need to get her to send me the pictures. Highlights of the trip (besides obviously getting to spend time with 4 of my favorite people) were:
- Watching Jake go down their inflatable water slide, he's so funny
- Trekking out to Patty's Settlement for a beautiful morning with the kids and a nice lunch at Patty's restaurant
- Lacey & I getting some girly time alone that included breakfast at Waffle house - don't judge...it was yummy!!
- Ainsley painting the wall with pink icing - long story. Lacey will post it and pictures on her blog soon
I got home from that trip on Thursday June 11, just before dinner, and had just enough time to do laundry and repack before leaving the next afternoon for Greenville, SC to visit with our dear friends the Carpenters. It was such a nice, relaxing visit. Somehow I once again didn't take any pictures, but that's ok. ;) Saturday morning we hit the outdoor market in downtown which was great fun and we got some yummy fruit. Then we had "the best pizza in Greenville" at Barleys Tap Room, and it was quite good as well. They boys took the kiddos home after lunch and Court & I ran around for some girly time which was great. We repaid them that night by hanging at home while the boys went out for ice cream and to work on Cory's portfolio. Sunday before we headed home we went to Red Robin for lunch and it was so tasty. Man I wish there was one closer to us! It was such a great weekend, but I was pooped after all that travelling. We were both asleep by about 9:00 Sunday night and slept clear through til morning.
This week I've just been playing catch up. I finally sat down and made a master list of everything that needs to happen before the baby comes. Thankfully, I'm not overwhelmed by this list. David's folks are going to come up for several days in Aug and will be our designated painters so that takes a huge chunk off our shoulders. For everything else I am just going to pluck away at the list. I still have 22ish weeks to go, so I feel like I still have plenty of time to get everything done if I am diligent and try to do something every day. We'll see how it goes.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Mae's 3rd Birthday
Still playing catch up, but making progress! On May 8, we headed up to Dayton, TN to our sister Carol's place to celebrate our niece Mae's 3rd birthday. As always it was a blast to be with the Clarks & David's folks, and we had a great time. Here's a few of the highlights:
Anne playing with beads
Uncle David tickling Wilson, who's loving it! ;)
Birthday girl and her Tinkerbell Cake
Mae riding her new bike - such a big girl!
Mae (and the boys - LOL) loved this princess umbrella
Stylin' in her new glasses
Anne enthralled with the process of opening presents
I just liked this picture. ;)
Tinkerbell! We found this Fairy Village on clearance at Target last fall and saved it for Mae's birthday - she loved it! It even had a wand that made Tinkerbell fly. Too cool.
Uncle David tickling Wilson, who's loving it! ;)
Birthday girl and her Tinkerbell Cake
Mae riding her new bike - such a big girl!
Mae (and the boys - LOL) loved this princess umbrella
Stylin' in her new glasses
Anne enthralled with the process of opening presents
I just liked this picture. ;)
Tinkerbell! We found this Fairy Village on clearance at Target last fall and saved it for Mae's birthday - she loved it! It even had a wand that made Tinkerbell fly. Too cool.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Avi Moon
In fulfilling my promise, here is the first catch-up blog post.
So way back in April I made a trip over to Jackson, AL to visit with my friend Marleah and take some pictures of her daughter Avi. Avi is such a sweetie. I managed to get a few non-distracted moments with her in her grandmothers' garden. It was a beautiful day and I so enjoyed getting to visit with Leah & Avi and see their new home. We even got to squeeze in lunch with her hubby Randy, whom I also love, which was a treat. Hopefully we can get them up here soon for a game night. ;) In the mean time, here are some pictures of Avi in the garden.
So way back in April I made a trip over to Jackson, AL to visit with my friend Marleah and take some pictures of her daughter Avi. Avi is such a sweetie. I managed to get a few non-distracted moments with her in her grandmothers' garden. It was a beautiful day and I so enjoyed getting to visit with Leah & Avi and see their new home. We even got to squeeze in lunch with her hubby Randy, whom I also love, which was a treat. Hopefully we can get them up here soon for a game night. ;) In the mean time, here are some pictures of Avi in the garden.
Feeding the goldfish with Grandpa's help
More to come this week as I make my way through my to do list!
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