B is for Breakfast

B: Breakfast, Battleship, and the Box Office, 5/9/11

*If you're wondering what this is all about, read here.

This past Monday morning, Trey and I went on our second ABC date. It was my turn to plan. I chose to take Trey to breakfast at IHOP because we used to go on breakfast dates to IHOP when we first met. We slept in until 9 and arrived at IHOP around 10 (we live 30 minutes from it), so it really turned into brunch, which still works with the B theme so no big deal :).We both ate delicious meals with eggs, sausage, bacon, and pancakes. Then we sipped on coffee and played the game Battleship!

Trey sitting there with childlike excitement, waiting to play Battleship!

I look a little sleepy, but it's OK!

It was a very intense game of battleship, and it came down to each of us finding our captured man on the other's board (this is a newer version of the game...I couldn't find the old version at our Wal-Mart).

 

 

 And just in case you're wondering, I did win :). 

After breakfast and battleship we weren't quite ready to head home, so we decided to...wait for it...browse at the outlet mall right there. Trey has been looking for the perfect pair of new shoes, and we found them! I didn't take any more pictures, but they are some very cool Sperry's. Then we were even more spontaneous and decided to hit up the box office! We love going to see movies, but when the nearest movie theater is 30 minutes away, you enjoy a movie when you can! We saw the movie Thor, which is a comic book movie. I have never known much about comic book heroes and stories, but I married a man who read them all as a child. Therefore, I have seen all the comic book movies that have come out. Thor is by far one of the better ones. I rank it up there with Wolverine and the first Iron Man movie. 

That's our B date in a nutshell. It had multiple "b" activities to it, and we had a very relaxing and enjoyable time!

A Dog Party

Our dogs turned one on May 5. For a good laugh and for fun, we decided to throw them a birthday party. It ended up being really fun, with a few family friends bringing their kids to join in the festivities. Here are some pictures and a wonderful video of us all singing Happy Birthday in dog to Pete and Dapple!

(Above) Dapple wasn't so thrilled with his hat! (Below) Pete wasn't a big fun, either.

The party animals in their birthday hats!

The dog biscuit shaped cupcakes.

And last but certainly not least, the video you've all been waiting for: Trey's debut singing of "Ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff" (That's happy birthday in dog, by the way!).

Week 36 Survey

We are at 36 weeks today - WAHOO! Even better, we got to see Kate in our final sonogram. It makes it so much more real to see your little baby in there all squished up and ready to thrive when she joins us in the real world. I can hardly wait! She measured at weighing about 6 pounds 10 ounces. If she comes on her due date, she'll be around 8 pounds, but it could go half a pound either direction. I can handle that.

Week 36 Survey

How far along? 36 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: To be honest, I really have lost track. I think we're around 40. I can't ever remember what number they say I am and do the math fast enough to figure it out.

Maternity clothes? Yup. Don't think I'll be going backwards on this one...maternity clothes are in my future whether I like it or not!

Stretch marks? Nope. Mom didn't get them, so I'm hoping I don't, either.

Sleep: Not so much. I am tired! Sometimes it's because of heartburn, sometimes it's because I can't stop thinking about my baby girl. Also, the swelling in my wrists has caused me to develop carpal tunnel syndrome. I wake up frequently throughout the night with numb hands. It is annoying! But thankfully I am not really affected by it in the day time.

What I miss: Being able to bend over. And my normal clothes!

What I am looking forward to: Kate getting here already!

Best moment this week: Seeing Kate on the sonogram today, watching her practice breathing, seeing little hair sprouts on her head, and seeing little chubby rolls on her skin. She measured a week ahead in size due to her little chubby self :)

Movement: Yup! She is head down, so I now know that it is her head bouncing on my bladder, her little tushy sticking out up top, and her little hands and feet poking me in the side. What a cutie pie she is!

Belly Button in or out? a flattie :)

Wedding rings on or off? off  :(. I miss them. But I wear a bigger ring on my ring finger that fits and does the trick for now. I feel naked without anything on my ring finger!

Weekly Wisdom: I got nothing.

Milestones: We have weekly visits from here on out. Hooray!

The Shower of all Showers

Last weekend our wonderful church threw us a baby shower. I did not know what to expect going into it, but I definitely did not expect to receive so many wonderful things for our sweet girl. The Lord really met some needs for us last weekend! We even received some of the big items that I had been wondering how we were going to be able to afford, including a baby swing, high chair, and car seat (we can bring Kate home from the hospital now!). We also received many cute outfits, blankets and 3 handmade afghans, towels, burp cloths, shoes, and accessories. We also got her diaper bag, changing table, gift cards, and other little odds and ends that we are so thankful for. We ended up swapping out the car seat I had originally chosen for a car seat/stroller combo that I love. Here are some pictures from the shower!

With Marilee, my niece, before the shower. She was quite the helper as I opened gifts!

The belly at 34 weeks pregnant!

The gifts. And these two pictures don't even capture all of the gifts displayed after opening all these presents. It literally took me an hour and 15 minutes to open all of these!

The love of my life!

The gifts in the nursery. Needless to say, it's taken me days to sort it all out, but you can finally see the bed, the floor, and the inside of the crib now!

The pages of thank you notes needing to be written. Writing all of these will definitely help me pass the time as we wait on the arrival of our little girl!

Here is Trey being the good daddy he already is, assembling Kate's stroller and car seat. He also put together her little swing. Can you tell we're ready for her to get here?

Those are all the pics for now! I will be putting up nursery pics in the next week or so. I'm waiting on a few room decorations that Gretchen created to put up on the wall. She is so creative and does such a fabulous job! I can't wait to show off the letters of Kate's name she painted. They are adorable. Also, we are 35 weeks pregnant today! I can't believe how close we are to holding this little blessing.

A is for Art

Yesterday Trey and I began what I hope will add quite a bit of creativity and fun to our dating life. Not to make our dating life sound boring (I'm thankful we still go on dates!), but we had fallen into a routine where our dates mostly consisted of dinner, a movie, or just having a quiet evening in at home. All of these things are great, but I recently realized we have lost that creative spark that we used to have before marriage and in our early marriage. With our own little baby making her debut in just weeks, I can already see the challenge that comes in guarding and nurturing your marriage when more responsibility (and blessing!) comes along.

Enter the ABC's of dating. I can't take full credit for this idea. I read about it in an article in Home Life, a Lifeway magazine our church subscribes to. *Side note, this is an excellent magazine that Trey and I highly recommend. The author says that she and her husband, who have been married over 40 years, still work to keep their dates fresh and exciting. One way they do that is by taking turns planning each date around a letter of the alphabet. For instance, his turn may be the letter "F," so he takes her to the county Fair one evening. Her turn would be next, and she would use the letter "E" to plan that date. I loved this idea and pitched it to Trey, and we've decided to give it a try! I've added my own spin to the idea, and I plan to document each date so that in the end I can make a photo book of our ABCs of dating. We will do simple dates on the "off" weeks. Since Kate will be coming soon, we are going to do our ABC dates every other week. Trey started yesterday with "A," and in two weeks I get to plan our "B" date. I already have ideas and can't wait to get it all together! Not every date has to be big and extravagant. Some may be short, while others may last a whole day. The whole point is creativity and spending time together.


A: Dallas Museum of Art, 4/21/11

What a fun beginning to this adventure in our dating life! Yesterday was jam-packed, and Trey did such a wonderful job planning our date. Our day started with taking our little puppy Dapple to the vet because he had broken a nail on his left foot. On our way we stopped to get coffee at Canton's little coffee shop, Come Together. When we got back to the car, Pete had jumped into a box in the backseat. I just have to include this pic because it was so cute!

The visit to the vet proved to be quite a hilarious experience, at Dapple's expense. The poor little guy was quite scared when they muzzled him, and he was not going to have his nails clipped without a fight! The vet assistant was holding him tightly to her body while the vet prepared to clip. I looked down and realized poor Dap was pooping on himself out of fear! Quite disgusting, but throughout the experience the poor guy proceeded to empty himself of all the, uh, waste inside him. Needless to say, he got a bath later! Trey got a lesson in clipping dog toenails, too, then we dropped the boys off at home for our big day in Dallas.

We headed out for Dallas and Trey told me the date: the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA)! When we lived in Fort Worth, we frequently took advantage of the museums and special events going on in the area. But since we've moved to Canton, we just don't make it to the city much to do this kind of thing, so I was pumped for this date. When we got to the DMA, it was lunch time. Instead of rushing to a restaurant and then going back to the museum, we decided to try a museum restaurant. We ended up eating at the Atrium Cafe. I had a delicious bacon sandwich, and Trey had some fancy and yummy looking fish tacos. We ended up joining the museum as members, as we realized if we visit the museum one more time, the membership is paid for. I figure it's like we paid for a date in advance, but we already have plans to go back more than once, so we'll definitely get our money's worth. The museum is huge, and we didn't have the time (or the energy for this very pregnant woman!) to see it all. We walked around the European, Greek, and Roman sections yesterday. The special temporary exhibit debuts this weekend, so we'll probably check it out after our next doctor's appointment.

On our way out I realized we forgot to take pictures. I am so bad about this! I need to get a camera that works so that I'll be more likely to take pics. Anyway, we stopped in the parking garage and snapped this picture. It is terrible but so funny! We look like fat kids.

Thankfully, we stopped outside the museum and snapped another pic.

After the museum, we drove a few miles to our 34 weeks OB appointment. I love our doctor's appointments! Everything looks good, and Kate's heartbeat was a steady 145bpm. What a sweetheart she already is. In two weeks we have the big sonogram to check her weight and size. I hope these next two weeks go quickly because I'm ready!

Well, there's our first date of the alphabet. I'll keep you posted on each date as we take them. There will probably (or likely) be a slight pause in these once Kate gets here, but we will pick them up again when we settle in with our precious bundle! I challenge any other married friends to give the ABC dating a try. If you do, I'd love to hear the date themes you and your hubby come up with!

A Lesson on Thankfulness

Over the past few weeks, Trey and I have been hit with some very unexpected expenses and needs. No need to go into details, but suffice it to say that we've definitely used our emergency account and lived as cheaply as possible. In all of this, we haven't wanted for anything, and I can see that now. But still, in the midst of it all, I lost sight of God's provision for our needs.

The other night I told Trey my struggles, wondering when God was going to meet our needs so we would be OK. Trey said in surprise, "What do you mean? I am thankful everyday for how He continues to provide for us." He then went on to list all the ways God has provided just in the last few weeks. Sure enough, Trey was right. We have had the money to pay for unexpected expenses, we have been blessed in areas of need or want, and we aren't just "making it." Our daily bread is supplied by the Lord. How could I have missed that?

This morning I pulled out an old pocket-sized moleskin journal my friend Natalie gave me when I was in college. At the time, I decided to use it as a journal of thanksgiving, recording different ways God blesses me and meets needs. Some entries are so cool, documenting unbelievable ways God provided for my needs. Others are just me stopping to acknowledge my thankfulness to the Lord. I wrote in this journal pretty consistenly for a while, but over the last year or so I dropped that habit. I think it's high time I take it up again.

As I was flipping through some old entries this morning, I came across this one from December 25, 2009. Here it is:

"It is Christmas morning 2009, my fourth with Trey and my second as Trey's wife. I sit here now filled with joy, reflecting over this year and all we have gone through togeher - the loss of my job, my graduation, Trey's struggles working at SWBTS, Papaw's death, Burke's death November 14, my passing the NCE, our loss of Bennett on December 9 (our first pregnancy), our first vacation to Nashville, our one year anniversary. It's been a year mixed with sorrow, heartache, joy, accomplishment, loss, celebration. It's been a year of struggle and companionship. It's been a year the Lord has carried me through many days.

I am thankful for all You have done for us, oh God. I cherish Your work in our lives. Even in the midst of all our recent loss, yet I will praise You. Both the just and the unjust, the redeemed and the lost, must face this world. I am thankful to face it as your child."

I was shocked when I read that second sentence - that I was "filled with joy." I wrote those words about 5 weeks after our brother-in-law, 32 years old, was killed in a car accident. I wrote those words about two weeks after our miscarriage. And I meant them, too. How could I forget God's goodness now?

This has been a reminder for me that I must cultivate the attitidue of thankfulness on a daily basis. If I forget to see God's work and provision for my life, it's not because He isn't doing so but because I am failing to acknowledge it. I hope to not make that mistake again, but in case I do, I can pull out this moleskin journal and remember again all His goodness to me. Thank You, Lord!

Mommy Time!

This past week has been absolutely wonderful. Why? Because my mom came to visit me in Canton! That's right, I have been one spoiled and very happy girl. Last Friday mom flew in, and my aunt and two cousins from Arkansas drove in for the weekend. Trey's mom came, too, so she could come to our first baby shower. On Saturday we all went to First Monday all day. It was fun but very exhausting, with the heat and all the people! We came home and rested that afternoon, then we grilled hamburgers that night. They were delicious!

Sunday was my first baby shower. It was so much fun getting gifts for our little Kate. We recieved many sweet little girl outfits and some much needed baby items, like her little tub and a playmat for her to lay on. I am so thankful to all the friends and family who came to the shower, and especially to my friends here in Canton who threw us this shower. What a blessing! Below is a pic of mom and I at the shower.

My Arkansas family went home Sunday night, and that left mom and I here for the week. We had a huge list of things to do, and let me tell ya, we got it all done! Kate's room now looks like a little girl's nursery, and not just a pink room with a bed in it. I'll post pics of her room once we get everything on the walls. We also organized three closets and underneath my bathroom sink. We washed TONS of Kate's clothes and put them in their proper place. Basically, we wore ourselves out! Trey was also a huge help. He'd come home at night to a list of things we needed his help with, like hanging pictures and putting the knobs on Kate's dresser. I am so grateful to mom and Trey for all their help. I am one blessed woman! Trey also painted my toenails Saturday night. This was one hysterical time, but I love the picture below. He had such intense concentration.

Thursday mom got to go with me to Kate's 32 week appointment. We heard the heartbeat, toured the labor & delivery area of the hospital, and asked tons of questions. Dr. Haddock said that it's looking like Kate will be normal-sized, between 6-8 pounds, based on the measurements of my tummy. I love my OB and am so glad mom got to meet her. We scheduled our next 2 appts, one in 2 weeks and the other in 4 weeks. The appt that is 4 weeks away will include a sonogram and an exam to check Kate's size and to see if I'm dilating. I can't believe we are getting so close!!! More to come. Thanks for reading!