Allow a big sister a moment

Allow me to brag on my brothers a bit. When I left home at 18, Stephen was 16, Chase was 12 and Patrick was all of 8 years old. It is still an adjustment when I go home and I see my brothers all grown up into such handsome young men. They have become really wonderful and interesting young adults and I couldn't be prouder of them. Unfortunately while I was home, I didn't get to see as much of Stephen as I would have liked since he was working and Mom and I went out of town on Saturday so I didn't get any pictures of him. I am impressed, though, by his domesticity. He is always working on his house. I had no idea he had such skills!

I got pictures from Chase of his trip to California. The man can take some pictures! And he had such a beautiful part of the country as his subject matter. Here's a sampling:




I finally took some pictures of Patrick's art work while I was home, as well. Patrick loves to play with shapes. I asked him where he gets his ideas from and he says he just starts. He loves morphing an image into another image. Trees, eyes, unicycles, and oddly figured people are a favorite in his paintings Here's a taste:

He's been using a lot of natural materials, lately.
Here he has used moss and limbs to frame the picture.

This is one of my favorites. I like the colors and the simplicity of it.

Baby Shower Week - Friday

On Friday, mom had to go back to work so Tim and I relaxed around the house until that afternoon. Well, I relaxed. Tim had to go over to Mobile with Chase to pick our car up from the dealership. It needed some AC work while we were there. When he got back, we headed down to the pier and ran some errands. Here is my 30 week baby bump picture:


And here we both are:

Baby Shower Week - Wednesday & Thursday

I have so much to share with everyone regarding our visit to my parents. I am going to break it down into several posts.

We arrived at my parents on Wednesday afternoon. It was so good to see everyone. We hadn't been back to visit since Christmas. My mom came up to see us to attend our last ultrasound appointment where we found out the sex of the baby but it was a short visit. Mom had Wednesday and Thursday off so we spent some time shopping and visiting. Dad left on Thursday for Thunder on the Beach in Panama City.

Mom received a gift from the baby to welcome her into the world of Grandmother-hood:


It is a little pink heart made from dichroic glass. The daughter of a co-worker made it. She sells her jewelry in galleries around Birmingham. I should have gotten a closer picture of it. Can you see how happy she is? My mother was beaming the whole time I was there. She's had so much heartache over the past ten years. I had noticed something different about her while I was there but didn't put my finger on it until I left. My mom is radiating sheer joy and she looks beautiful!

Baby Bump - 29 Weeks

Here's my weekly picture:


As you can see, the baby is definitely growing. I, on the other hand, haven't gained that much weight lately. The dietitian said that might happen with the low-carb diet I'm now on but that it would eventually change once I got used to the diet. We're going down to Fairhope this week and I'm planning on loading up on some fresh local seafood. I imagine I'll find I've gained a few pounds when I return home and get on my scale.

Baby Gifts

I was thrilled this morning when Tim found a package on our front stoop and it turned out to be our first gift from our registry! We received from his Aunt Linda a bouncey seat. I, of course, immediately put it together and it has been so much fun to see it sitting in our living room. Thank you, Linda!


Last weekend, our baby girl got a couple of other gifts as well. Our friend Stephen brought a beautiful blanket that his mom had knitted together along with a pair of pink booties. I know she'll get a lot of use out of those booties! I can't wait to put them on her cute little feet! And she's going to love the feel of the blanket. Stephen gave her a leather box that she can collect mementos in. I already have a few cards to put in it and I know she'll have lots of little treasures she'll collect as she grows up so the box will be the perfect place to store them. Thank you to the Crimmins family!

About the baby...

She seems to be doing well. All her measurements are on target and her heart rate is where it should be in the 140's. She loves to do somersaults, although she is starting to run out of room for this activity. She loves it when her daddy kisses her good-bye in the morning. She enjoys it when we read her stories or talk to her. She gets very active when mama has chocolate or sweet tea. She also gets very active when I lay down at night and doesn't like it when I change positions. Since she is a little bigger now, I can feel it when she sinks real low in my abdomen which causes me a great deal of discomfort and makes it hard to breathe so I poke at her until she moves. Tim and I can now feel where she is located, most of the time, and can even see where she is located.

I have gained around 20 pounds now. The weight has been coming on a little slower lately but I'm expecting it to pick up soon since the baby will start really putting on a lot of weight. I've been testing my blood sugar regularly since getting my supplies on Monday and I am testing well. I have also been sleeping much better lately and I am looking forward to sleeping in this weekend and having the energy I need to get a few things done around the house and to do some shopping for our upcoming trip next week. I am really hoping to be able to go to Dothan for the day with my mom next Saturday for my cousin's baby shower.

I will post a baby bump picture next. Stay tuned!

How's the pregnant lady?!

I had my gestational diabetes class yesterday and it went pretty well. I got a great machine, the Freestyle Lite, and it doesn't hurt nearly as much as the one at the doctor's office. My fingers were bruised by the machine in the lab. The diet is very doable and isn't too far of a stretch from what I already eat. I'm hoping I'll be able to manage this with my diet.

I think I have finally figured out how to sleep better. While in North Carolina, Tim and I were both having a hard time sleeping on the hotel's mattress. Tim has been trying to talk me into getting a foam mattress topper because he knows how hard it has been for me to sleep lately. I gave in and we went to Wal-Mart and picked one up. We both slept better that night. I also discovered after coming home that by propping my head up with a couple of pillows, taking two Tylenol and sleeping on the mattress topper, I could get a good night's rest. I have been doing so much better since discovering this magic combination.

Well, I am finally in my Third Trimester!!! Time is flying by! Tim and I are really looking forward to meeting our baby girl. There's a lot to get done, though, before she arrives. We still have to paint her furniture and build a dresser (by we I mean Tim). There are also a few things around the house that still need to get organized. I think we've made good progress, though. My baby shower is coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm really looking forward to that.

Here's my 28 week baby bump!


We have guests this weekend. Our friends Dave and Stephen are in town. Dave starts a new job in Indiana in a few weeks so he wanted to come over for a visit before moving so far away. We'll post again soon!