A Shower and Icings

What a fun weekend! It all started Thursday night when I went to a neighborhood Bunco get together. It was great meeting a bunch of the girls in the neighborhood without them having to chase their kids around. We stayed up chatting until about 11:30. Mark and Bentley hung out outside with one of our neighbors and their dogs while I was at Bunco. So all three of us were tired!

Saturday morning I went to my friend, Jenny's, baby shower. It was at our friend's, Ginger's, parents house in Mountain Brook, and it was gorgeous! We had some excellent food and it was just fun visiting with everyone. We're looking forward to meeting Jenny's little girl, Maggie, in about a month or so. I hope our children grow up being good friends!

Saturday afternoon we went to our friends, Jason and Rebecca's, house for a cookout. The weather cooperated and it was so fun seeing everyone. We had some great food, and Mark and his friends enjoyed "icing" each other. Watch the video below of Gabe getting "iced" and Alex saying, "Woahhhh Gaaaabe" in her hilarious NYC/Miami/Las Vegas/Oxford, MS accent.

I have my 29 week appointment tomorrow, and I actually have a couple questions this time. Usually I don't know what to ask and the appointment lasts about 5 minutes. I have been having horrible middle of the night leg cramps and they are getting more frequent, so I think I'll see if there's anything I can do about that. Other than that, things have been going great! I actually really love being pregnant, and I think I'm actually going to miss it. I know, some of you think I'm crazy!

Catching Up

This summer has gotten off to a busy start. Now that it's all settling down, I'm hoping to post a little more often. My last week of school was just crazy. Mark took his final section of the CPA exam on Monday. My last day was Wednesday. We were closing on our house and moving on Thursday and then closing on our new home Friday. That was the plan at least. Everything was going great, and then we were told our closing on our new would be moved to the following Friday. Only one problem... we were left homeless for a week. Thankfully, the owners let us move everything off the truck and into the house, but we couldn't actually live there. So, we packed Bentley up and headed to the lake house. I must say it was a wonderfully relaxing and quiet week at the lake that was much needed. Bentley and I enjoyed a lot of walks and swimming together. Unfortunately, my camera was packed up somewhere at the time so I have no pictures of that week.

Anyway, things have settled down now and we're enjoying life in Ross Bridge. I have been walking a lot and lounging in the pool. We have made several new purchases including a king bed, dining room table, sofa, and furniture for our favorite place in the house- the front porch! Needless to say, baby's room has been a little neglected. I did put together a bouncy seat from my shower at school and Mark put the crib together. It took a total of about ten minutes, but I guess that's a start. Yes, I know the room is pink and there is a 50% chance that it's not a girl. It was pink when we moved in, and we're waiting on the bedding before we decide what color the room should be. I'm sure we'll paint over the pink and then have a girl! I am 28 weeks now, and I'm really wishing my shower were sooner because I have plenty of free time and I'm wanting to get things organized and ready. I'm trying not to shop too much until after my shower, but it's hard to wait! More exciting news... I think we have names picked out. We're withholding that information too and making everything a surprise in September!

Bentley was a big help!

All this assembling really wore Bentley out!

Final product... ready for Baby!

My mom painted these many years ago, and I can't wait to see them in the nursery!

First Thing's First

So we don't even have the beginnings of a nursery, but we did buy Baby an Auburn outfit to cheer on The Tigers this fall!! We are ready to share one of our favorite places with Baby. I just could not resist this cute outfit. I'm hoping it will work for either a boy or girl.

My sweet friends at school are throwing me my first shower on Monday! I'm so excited. Here's a belly shot at 20 weeks. I feel huge already, and I know it's only going to get more out of control. I still feel like it's a boy and Mark is thinking girl. We love being able to feel it moving around. I have another appointment next week at 22 weeks. September still feels so far away, but I know this summer will fly by as always.

Baby Carter Pictures

I had my 18 week appointment today. I love my doctor, but the appointments and waiting take forever. We got some great pictures and a DVD of the whole ultrasound. It was so fun watching he/she move all around in there. He/she kept pulling his/her feet up by its head. We stayed strong and didn't find out what it is. I'm glad we didn't because I think it will be really special to wait. I feel relieved now knowing that everything looked normal. The spine, heart, and face formations were all normal. The baby is actually measuring a week bigger than 18 weeks, but they aren't changing my due date just yet.

Other fun news... Robb and Megean (Mark's brother and his wife) have officially moved to Birmingham! They are having a little girl in May, and we're so excited to watch our babies grow up together! We're going over to their house to have dinner and show our ultrasound DVD. We'll get their votes on what they think the baby is!

I have been feeling great the past few weeks! I can even feel the baby moving now, which is such a great feeling! I am so grateful and happy to be pregnant. I can't wait to hold this sweet baby! Here are a couple pics from today.

Baby Update

It has been way too long since my last blog entry... sorry! Baby seems to be doing great! I had my 15 week appointment today, and I was able to hear the heartbeat. At 12 weeks, the heartbeat was 162 bpm and today it was 153 bpm. I just love hearing that sound! I go back to the doctor in three weeks for the "big" ultrasound. We won't be finding out what we're having... we're just so happy to be having a baby we don't care what it is! I still can't wait to see what Baby looks like, though.

Most days I feel great except I've had a few migraines that have made me sick. I'm hungry all the time, which is taking some getting used to. My clothes options are getting limited, so I'm excited that spring seems to be here, which means loose, comfy dresses! Our house is still for sale, and we're not sure where we're moving next, so no I have not begun to get anything for the nursery. We don't want to set anything up and then have to move it all. But, I can't wait to get everything settled and organized.... soon hopefully! Here are some ultrasound pictures, but of course I'll have some better ones to share in a few weeks.

Baby at 9 weeks showing off some big feet.

Baby at 12 weeks.

He/she was moving around so quickly that it was difficult to get a clear picture.

Snow Days!

Well, we have had some unusual Alabama weather. We are usually excited over a day of flurries, but it has actually snowed here this winter.... and more than once! I do love the snow, but it's March and I'm ready for spring to come and stay! Bentley just loves the snow! I got out of school early a few weeks ago, and we played in the snow for hours. His girlfriend, Lily, even showed up to play for awhile. Bentley's favorite part is catching snowballs and rolling around in the snow. Here are a few funny pictures.

I hope everyone is staying warm!

Very Exciting News

Well, we can't keep it a secret any longer. We're going to have a baby in September! We are just beyond excited! There have been a few scary moments and I'm still taking nightly shots to keep my progesterone up. I have been feeling great, though. I've had no sickness, but instead I'm hungry ALL the time! The ultrasound pictures have been so fun to see. Each week, I can see a lot of growth. Yesterday, we saw arms and legs moving all around (even toes)! I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories over the next several months. September seems so far away, but maybe it will be here in no time. I feel like there is a noticeable pooch forming already, but I'm trying to wait until spring to do some shopping. However, spring seems like it's not coming anytime soon. If anyone has any used baby things they'd like to donate I'm willing to take anything! I can't wait until I have some baby pictures to post! Oh, and yes, Bentley is going to be the BEST big brother EVER! I'll keep everyone updated.