Random Thoughts

So I'm sitting on the sofa watching "The Price is Right" looking through old pictures while waiting on my laundry to get done so I can go fold it. As I'm looking through the pictures a lot of things are coming to mind.
1. I haven't looked at my baby's ultrasound pictures since we first got them. There's one picture of her profile and I swear I already see Chris in her!
2. Chris and I have know each other for a lot longer than I thought we had! Time flies when you're having fun, I guess!
3. Chris is a very handsome man! I don't mind my daughter having his features at all.... as long as they aren't too manly! :o)
4. People keep saying I've lost weight since I got pregnant.... I am starting to believe them! I looked really bad in some of those pictures, and my face seems to be thinning out! YEA!
5. I look much better with long hair.... maybe it just makes my face look thinner!
6. I miss the times Chris and I used to spend together before we were married... I guess he was trying to impress me, but we had a lot of fun times! Hopefully, once AJ comes, we can all spend fun times together!
7. I looked really good in my wedding dress (not to toot my horn too much)!
8. I miss the wedding cake....it was so yummy!
9. I miss my friends from back in the day... I used to have great times baking cookies with Diane, going to bars with Gail (well, glad I grew out of that one!), going out for drinks after work with Ray Ray, and going to Pablo's with Denise and Lucy! I guess it's true that time changes things!
10. I wouldn't give my world up now for anything... not even to go back and hang out with old friends!
11. Am I going to be a good mom?
12. I've never held a newborn before... Hopefully AJ will know what to do!
13. I keep thinking that my baby is going to be different... quiet, a sleeper, happy, well-behaved, etc. Hopefully I'm right!
14. I think too much! And it is always very random when I do.
15. I have to go finish touching up the baby's room... I see some mistakes that I made, no one else might notice, but I know and that will drive me crazy every time I see it!
So, I hope you enjoyed my random thoughts for today. I definitely recommend taking a stroll down memory lane sometime, but don't stay there. The present is definitely much better than the past!

31 Weeks

I can't believe I'm almost there... only 9 more weeks to go and she'll be here (well, give or take a week or so)! It seems like one day I have everything under control and I am ready for her arrival and then the next day I get so scattered with everything that we have left to buy! I have finally made a list of what we need and when we need it by, i.e. we need a car seat, but not until she's 30lbs, so we can wait awhile on that, but we do need a pack 'n' play, so we should buy that now. I'm trying to not stay overwhelmed since I know Chris can't handle any more of my craziness, but it's hard and he doesn't seem to get how important it is to me that we have this stuff now, so we don't have to go shopping after Allie is born! I mean, I might want to get out of the house, but I'm not sure Walmart or Babies R Us is where I would like to head to!
Anyway, so Sunday Chris and I went to church and then decided to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast... probably not the smartest idea, but we did it and was able to be seated within 20 minutes. Well, while we were waiting, we shopped around and they had all of their Halloween stuff out, which I have to say is one of my favorite holidays to decorate for... I love the fall and the colors and ghosts and everything. They even had baby costumes like bumblebees and monsters and stuff, so I'm falling in love with this and I had my first random person come up and ask me when I was due. It made me realize that my favorite season will come with the best gift! I just hope I can enjoy the season this year! Anyway, so we continue to shop and I had 3 more people come up and ask when the baby is due! Apparently I have finally reached the point where I am no longer "fat" but I am Preggers! Allison is definitely ready to take the spotlight and be the center of attention!
So here is the picture of what I was wearing that makes AJ "POP!"

Baby Shower Part 2

I know it is taking me forever to blog, but things have been really busy around here, going to Birmingham, working, napping... anywho, I finally have a day off, so I am getting back to the way things have been. I started cleaning, then got tired so played some Mario for a bit, and then organized the baby's room... I think I made more of a mess than I did to organize it! I have to admit, as I am a little OCD with cleaning, it gets on my nerves when things don't have a place, and well, I don't have a baby yet, so I am having to make places for everything! This is so frustrating because I put something one place and then realize, "No, it would be better to have it here" and then move it and then realize "No, this needs to go there, but this needs to go here too.... AHHH!!!!" I'm sure when Allie finally comes everything will instantly find a home... be it in the closet or under the crib, it will have a home!
So I did go back to Birmingham because one of my best friends threw me a shower! It was so fun, it was Dr. Seuss, since we all know how much I love him, and she went all out for it! It was amazing the things she came up with! She decorated beautifully and everything was amazing, and to think.. she is moving in 2 weeks to Atlanta! And has 2 boys under the age of 3! I don't know how she did it, but she is definitely super mom!

 Welcome to the party!

 I absolutely loved the diaper cake! So cute and SO useful!

 Not only was this cake beautiful, but it was yummy too!

 A HUGE thanks to my Aunt Rita for sending me a gift! She is amazing and I keep saying one day I want to be her!

 Denise made these letters! So crafty!

 And AJ has a "Horton" outfit to wear!

 And of course, a "Green Eggs and Ham" bib!

 I think Chris is already scared as to how many diapers he will be changing! At least the dogs wont get in to them now!

 Apparently this will be my motto after AJ is born? Hopefully not, but we'll see!

 Micah was fascinated with the boppy head rest! Now AJ wont have a flat head!

 Micah was so sweet to give us his rattle from when he was a baby! I know Allie will love it!

 There's the awesome hostess and one of her boys now!

There's the hostess' husband with the other boy! Apparently we wore him out!

So I had such a great time and can't believe all of the great things that Allie is going to have! Thanks to everyone for making me feel so special and blessed! I love you all!

Baby Shower Part 1

Now's the time that the baby showers are starting! I do love getting presents, but I'm having to take the backseat since they all seem to be for Allison! Oh well, I still get to open them! We have so many cute outfits now, I think I am going to have to have a fashion show to put her in them all before she gets too big for them!
So this was my first shower, and I have to thank everyone from work for coming and hanging out and especially thank Kendall for having it at her house and preparing everything! Everything was so perfect and Chris and I really had a great time!
These are some of the pictures from the shower (there were like 60 pics, but these were my favorite!)

 We played the guess the poop game (melted candy bars in diapers)

Lots of presents of AJ!

We love Elmo in our house! These are some great hooded bath towels!

I love this little outfit! She is going to be so stylish!

Great little onesies!
 

I love my new diaper bag! I will be just as stylish as AJ!

She now has a huge lamb to snuggle with!

Now everyone will know that she loves her mommy! (Not just her daddy, like all her other outfits say!)

 This outfit is going to be perfect for her! (At least I think with her skin tone!)

And we did get lots of diapers which I am super excited about! (But a little scared that we might use them all!)

Here's Kendall and I with baby Leah! She is 8 weeks old, so we got to try our hand at motherhood for an hour! We both passed with flying colors!

One Of Those Days

You know when you are going somewhere and you are really looking forward to it, like something special is awaiting you and you can't wait to get it or see it. Like when I look forward to going to the doctor because I get to see my baby or hear her heartbeat. Yesterday was NOT one of those appointments! I had my glucose screening test so it started by me starving because I couldn't eat anything and then almost throwing up because I had to drink this horrible version of a flat Sunkist but with a much thicker consistency! It was doing ok for the first half, but then it got too sweet and too thick for my tummy to handle! Fortunately, I was able to control my tummy and made it stay down! But then I get to the doctor and they have to draw my blood, well, my normal vein decided it didn't want to work, so after she stuck me it started to drain and then right as the blood was flowing into the tube, it stopped! So, then I had to get pricked on my other arm! Fortunately, I absolutely love the nurse because I have very tiny veins so she uses very small needles on me, so it doesn't hurt too terribly bad! Well, this vein was small and mighty! Once she got the needle in, the blood just swooshed right out and she got 3 tubes in no time! One would think the day would end there, but no. Next I go see the doctor who did let me hear Allison's heartbeat, but then stuck me with a huge needle and some very painful fluid called Rogam (I'm not sure how you spell it, but I do know that it really hurt)! I'm not one to complain when I get shots, I really don't mind them all that much, but this one was not like the flu shot! She stuck the needle in and I thought she was done, NO... then she started pushing the medicine and it burned like nobody's business. Then she pulled the needle out and that hurt really bad too! Meanwhile, Chris is sitting there talking about how long the needle was and how much medicine she gave me, not helping the situation AT ALL! Well, that was it. The Doctor talked about some things that I need to start taking care of, like birthing classes, hospital tours and looking into cordblood banking and we were on our merry way!
Yes, there are some appointments I really look forward to, but  it looks like those appointments are now in the past. I don't get any more ultrasounds, unless I am having "complications," and the only thing left to look forward to is contractions and my baby! (But that's not coming for another 11 weeks!) I have my first baby shower tomorrow night, so that is really exciting! I can't wait to see all the great things that Allie is going to get! I have to say, we really need those things too! We don't have crib sheets, bottles, or anything else that we are going to need! So until next time.

Ode To My Second Trimester

Goodbye second trimester,
I wanted to write you to let you know how much I have enjoyed you. I was too sick to enjoy the first trimester so you were a welcomed change from the morning sickness! We had a lot of firsts together, feeling my baby kick, finding out we were having a girl, feeling her get the hiccups! These were all great moments and I will forever remember them!
My only hope is that the third trimester will treat me as well as you have, however, I am not seeing that happening. I am already starting to feel more exhausted and uncomfortable and the whole feet swelling and making me have "cankles" is not enjoyable at all! The only good thing I can see coming out of the third trimester is my baby! Less than 3 months and she will be here (hopefully she wont take too long to get here). That is definitely something that you couldn't give me, but again, you have been my favorite!
So in conclusion, I look forward to seeing you again with any upcoming babies that I might have (nothing too soon), and I will brag about how you treated me the best and tell all of my friends to look forward to you! Thank you for treating me so well!
Love always,
Holly

Happy Fourth of July

Last week my family decided to go to Indiana to surprise my Uncle for his 60th birthday! We had to take 2 cars since there were 5 of us traveling so Chris and I decided to take the trip in 2 days, we thought it would be best for me. It really worked out great because, like clockwork, I had to pee every hour on the hour! I can officially say I was able to use the bathroom in 4 different states in 1 day! We spent the night in Columbus, IN and met my cousins and their kids for lunch (as well as met up with the rest of the family to travel on). It was so fun to hang out with them. I haven't seen them since my wedding and got to meet my newest cousin for the first time (who is now 10 months old). After lunch we travelled on to Auburn, IN and arrived in time for dinner. My Uncle was grilling in the backyard, so we snuck around and yelled surprise! He was in complete shock! Apparently everyone involved did a great job in keeping the secret! We stayed in IN for 3 days and got to spend lots of family time together, including shopping and game night! I swear, I have not laughed so hard nor seen Chris laugh so hard, while playing "The Game of Things!"It was such an awesome trip and a great time to relax and enjoy the great cooking from my Aunt! We came home Sunday afternoon and decided that we were going to take the trip in 1 day this time... I was never so happy to get out of the car for more than 5 minutes! (And yes, I did stop in every state to use the bathroom again!) We got home at 12:30ish and I went straight to bed. It's funny to me how tired I can be from riding all day! Chris drove the whole trip, yet I was the one who was so tired!
Monday we decided to take it easy and sleep in. Chris' sister had stayed over to take care of the pets, which was such a blessing, and then his other sister came over and they made pizza and cake! I took about 5 naps and still went to bed at 10. Apparently the baby is draining all of my energy! I did however stay up to watch the fireworks on tv and they were beautiful! I think that the 4th might be my 2nd favorite holiday, next to Christmas of course! I have so many memories of watching the fireworks at my grandma's house while eating watermelon or homemade ice cream!
Here are some pictures that we took whilst on our vacation:

 Here is my 27 week picture

Chris and I are so happy!

My family getting in on the action!

We're still happy!

My Aunt, Uncle, and Mom

Welcome to my family!

My Aunt and Uncle (she's the one who's amazing at cooking!)

My family taking a serious picture

And the 2 happy couples!