I Love This Time of Year...

Seeing as how it has been a month or so since my last post, I figured I should write again and update everyone on what has been going on with us! Since we last chatted we spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with Eric's family then on to have two more with my family to finish out the weekend! Needless to say my craving for Thanksgiving food that I have been having since the begining of my pregnancy has been sufficently satisfied! This year we did again brave the cold & the crowds and go shopping on the dreaded day after Thanksgiving! I however did not have the worst end of this deal, as I got to sit in my car with the heated seats on until Babies R' Us opened, while my wonderful husband & mother-in-law stood outside to be first in line to get us a glider & ottoman for 50% off! Waking up at 3:50 a.m. wasn't all that fun...but I know the minute I unpack it all from its box it will have been totally worth it. Here is a picture of me at a little over 24 weeks right before Thanksgiving.

For some reason we only remember to take these pictures at night when I could not possible look anymore ragged!

So far this December we have kept busy! We got our Christmas decorations up shortly after Thanksgiving so we would have plenty of time to enjoy them, since we spend most of the week of Christmas in Dallas! We have purchased lots of the big items for our little girls room...all of which still sit in bags & boxes in our guest room/soon-to-be nursery! This past weekend was full of fun and exciting things. We spent Friday night at a great restaurant/bar here in Tulsa at a Christmas party for one of Eric's clients. We had great food & great company! It was lots of fun! Saturday was a very exciting day as we made our way over to Fayetteville, Arkansas to see Eric's best friend's fiance & very very good precious friend of ours, Hope, graduate from Nursing school! They are getting married some time this summer & we are so excited!

For those of you who are wondering that is me at almost 28 weeks or a week or so into my 7th month!

We came back late Saturday night so we could get up & help with Toys for Tots at our church on Sunday. What an amazing day that was!! While the parents shop in other parts of the church their children attend a Christmas party where they get to see Santa, watch a movie, see a magician & make crafts! Eric & I helped in the craft area where we got the chance to talk with some amazing kids! I think this is one of the most amazing things our church does & I love it. I haven't heard an exact number of kids that accepted Jesus & got baptized but Eric and I talked to a ton that had!!!

Well, I think that gets us caught up until now! This is Eric's last week of work until after Christmas & then he only works three days after that! We will probably spend a lot of that time cleaning out & rearranging so we can get our nursery set-up in January. But I can't wait just to spend some time with him! I am offically in my third trimester! I'm really excited about that. I go to the doctor tomorrow for my normal check-up & the fabulous glucose test! Which I am sure I will fail & then have to take the three hour test because I JUST LOVE SWEETS! From this point on I start going every two weeks to the doctor!! Exciting & scary at the same time...exciting because it is really hard to wait an entire month to see her move & hear her heartbeat between visits...scary because that means the end is coming near! But we are really excited! I leave you with some holiday pics!! Merry Christmas!

A quick update...

It has been a while since my last post so I thought I would give a quick update on what has been going on with us lately!

• Last Saturday we went to Oklahoma City and did some shopping. We both agree it was one of the best days we have had in quite a while. It is so nice to get away from your normal day to day lives and go somewhere...even if it is only a couple hours away.
• While in OKC we ate lunch at an all time fav of ours...Moe's (which we haven't been able to since they closed the one in Tulsa)
• After finding some great shopping deals we headed to Norman for the OU v. A&M game!
• Love, Love, Love my sooners but one of the highlights was watching the Aggie band perform! Something I have loved to watch for most my life!
• Finished off with a dinner that can only be found in Norman & then headed home!
• Went to the doctor yesterday for our last monthly visit & everything looks good!
• Next month we start going every two weeks and we get to have another big ultrasound that I am very excited about...but I also have my glucose test which I am not very excited about!
• Our little girl is moving around sooo much! Eric can feel her move & now you can see my stomach move when she does. Sometimes at night we just sit & watch my stomach as she dances all around!
• Our guest room that will become the nursery is begining to be taken over with baby stuff. Her furniture came in the other day & it has added to the chaos that has become that room!
• Eric continues to melt my heart with the love he already has for our daughter. I find him on baby websites looking at outfits & things that she "must have"!
• I'm excited because Eric took the day off tomorrow! Then he only works two days next week before we head to Dallas!!

Have a wonderful day!!

Lessons learned...

I will be the first to admit that sometimes when I am at school, frustration gets the best of me. But a sweet little eight year old girl today made me realize two very important things about children.

1. They ask things because they are learning and they don't know any better.

2. They are so observant...it makes you realize how unobservant adults are.

I have been pregnant for a little bit over five months now & I have not had a single person ask me if I was. Now, don't get me wrong...I will be the first to say that until this week I have looked more "Pudgy" in the middle then I do normally instead of preggers. But on our way out to recess today I had a little girl ask me in the most innocent tone "are you having a baby?". When I replied "yes" excitement broke out with all the surrounding girls.

She made me realize that adults won't ask until it's obvious because they don't want to be rude or hurt your feelings if you are in fact not pregnant. This little girl had an aunt that was expecting & connected how I look and how she looks...she is just learning.

It also made me realize how much more observant children are then adults. As adults we get caught up in the business of our lives that we forget to pay attention to anything that does not pertain to that exact moment. It makes me ask myself how much have I missed out on since I have too "busy" to observe the little things. And what have they observed me doing in a moment of frustration or irritation that I didn't even realize they were paying attention to.

Little kids just make me smile sometimes!

We're Having a...

For those of you who haven't heard yet...we are having a GIRL!! We went to our doctor about three weeks ago and she told us that she thought it was a girl but she wouldn't start painting pink just yet. She told us that the ultrasound technician would be able to tell us for sure when we went for our big ultrasound. Well, we went this Monday morning and and she confirmed for us that is was a girl!

For those of you who have never been pregnant, they make you come to the ultrasound with your bladder full!! I don't know why! It makes it extremly uncomfortable. They press down on your stomach in order to take all different types of measurements and though you want to pay attention to the screen in your mind your telling yourself "don't pee in your pants!" She asked me if I could feel her move yet, and as of Monday that answer was no, and she said that was good because she was kicking me in the bladder!

Yesterday morning however, I am almost positive that I felt her move! It was not like anything I have felt before and now I want to feel it all the time!! Lots of people have been asking to see ultrasound pictures so I leave you with our latest ones...

Great Giveaway...

One of the girls I went to high school with is doing an great giveaway!! She is giving away the most adorable hand made baby beanies (made by another Berkner Grad)! If you don't have a baby or know one you can get a beanie for check out her website just to see her adorable baby Hudson! He is the model!! Check it out at The Pettijohn's !

The Tulsa State Fair...

I don't want to say that I have become a hermit in my second trimester but, I have however, definitely gone out of my way to avoid coming down with what Eric calls "the swinenies". I am armed with Germ-X and Lysol wipes at all times and never hesitate to whip them out! But this Saturday I had to crawl out from my shell to go to the state fair! This has some what become a tradition for Eric & I, being that we have gone for the last three years. For those of you who do not know about the fair here in Oklahoma, let me enlighten you a little. Unlike the fabulous State Fair of Texas that is only held once a year at Fair Park in Dallas, the Oklahoma state fair travels, and is held twice. It starts in Oklahoma City and then makes it way here to Tulsa.

This Saturday was the second to last day for the fair. The weather was suppose to be sunny and the low 60's. Due to other commitments and just plain gross weather earlier on in the week, we decided that Saturday would be the day we would go. Apparently, so did everyone else. We spent the morning around the house, Eric watching football and me researching car seats and strollers online. We watched the first half of the OU game and then headed out for what should have been a short 20 minute drive to the fair grounds. Did I mention everyone else decided they were going today too? So, after an hour of driving to the fair and trying to find somewhere to park we made it. Armed with my Germ-X in pocket, we finally started our solid half-mile hike (uphill) to the fair grounds, my pregnant self huffing and puffing like an asthma patient! Half-way through the hike Eric tells me his stomach does not feel that good and he doesn't know how the fair food is going to do on it. At this point in time I have two things on my mind, any guesses...a bathroom (like a good pregnant lady I went before I left, but remember I thought it was going to take us 20 minutes to get there!) & food.

So, the first stop of course the restroom then onto one of my favorite parts...the livestock/animal area! This was one of the perks of just going with Eric this time and not a whole group of our friends...I got to drag him through the cows and goats and all that fun stuff! As we walked through the fair I was making a mental note of everything I smelt and everything I wanted to eat! Cotton candy, kettle corn, turkey leg, cheesecake on a stick, funnel cake, cheese on a stick...and the list could go on. It got pretty cold out after the sun went down so we stuck to things inside the Quick-trip center.

We walked and walked around the fair until I could pretty much not walk anymore! So after all the walking I didn't feel all that bad about all the eating!! All though I could have eaten alot more, my husband is not pregnant and could not have eaten much more! We both had a corn dog & cheesecake on a stick and then split some nachos. We were going to finish the night off by sharing a funnel cake, but Eric and his weak stomach wimped out on me the baby (I do not eat like this on a daily basis, just so you know)! We did stop in and see a great hypnotist show (not quite as funny as the one last year that our friend Ryan was in) and we saw all the fun exhibits the fair has to offer but neither one of us are game players or ride riders, so after the nachos we called it a night! We made our hiked back to the car in the cold!!! I will just have to save the rest of my food list for next year...

P.S.-armed with my stroller research from earlier that morning I checked out every stroller we passed trying looking to see if I could find some of the features that I had read about and trying to find patterns that I liked! I'm pathetic I know!!

A New Look...

With the weather changing, I decided it was time to give the blog a little change too! I just love this time of year with all of the Holidays coming up! Around this time every year I feel the need to do lots of baking and organizing and decorating! This is year has been no different. I think I have actually been worse this year! I know it is too early for me to be nesting but that is sure what it feels like. I spent part of my day thumbing through cook books looking for delicious treats that I could make! I hope everyone is getting their share of the fabulous fall weather & that my blog changes put you in a festive mood!!

But I had to eat it...

So far during this pregnancy I have had more food adversions then cravings. Food has been my enemy for some time now! I thought that maybe I had a craving or two along the way...you know, it had been a slight desire to eat this food or that. But whenever food sounds horrible to you that might be considered a craving right? Well, today I found out what a true craving was like. And I can now confirm that the previous cases were indeed not cravings! This is how it happened...

Today after school I had to stop by the front office on my way out. I went in and noticed two boys standing by the secretary's desk watching TV. I walked on past and droped off what I needed to and went back out to talk to the secretary. As I was waiting for her to finish talking with a parent, I glanced over to see what the boys were watching. That is when I saw it...the craving that made me cave! The boys were eating Hostess chocolate cupcakes. You all know the ones I am talking about. With the cream in the middle and the frosting on top, with the cute little white squiggle on it. I saw just a glimpse of it but I had to have it. There was no changing my mind on this one because trust me I tried to talk myself out of it. But I had to have it! I drove straight to the gas station after school and picked one up! And let me tell you it was delicious!

But I have promised our sweet baby that I would not pump it full of sweets, so after the splurge today I am taking a sweets break for a little while! I leave you with a picture of my delicious indulgence!

Right on track...

My first trimester is coming to a close thankfully and I had another Doctor appointment today! I have a wonderful doctor who does an ultrasound at every appointment, so again today I got to see our precious baby and hear its sweet heartbeat! I was a little worried about whether or not the baby was growing enough since I have had such bad morning sickness! I have actually lost a few pounds since my first visit. But when Dr. Summer's measured our little peanut it measured right at 12 weeks and 1 day, which is exactly where I should be for my due date.

We also found out that at our next appointment we will get to find out if Baby B is a boy or a girl! Maybe over the next 4 weeks while we wait for this appointment Eric and I will each make up our minds about what we think we are having. Some days Eric & I think it is a boy and some days a girl, however we are hardly ever on the same page about it! We just can't wait to find out!

Finally....

For the past 10 weeks I have been holding in the biggest secret of my life!! And finally today I can announce that Eric and I are expecting our first BABY!! Baby B will be joining us some time around March 9th! Our sweet tiny has been the reason for the lack of blogging lately. Besides having zero, zip, zilch energy to do much of anything and the morning/noon/night "morning" sickness that kept me pretty stationary on the couch for a while, it would be nearly impossible to blog about anything else but our tiny blessing! We are really excited to start this new chapter in our lives! We can not wait to see what lies ahead of us! I will keep everyone updated as our lives are sure to be changing ALOT in the next months but promise that I will not only blog about baby (as hard as it may be sometimes!).

Axo Family Affair...

A few weeks ago Eric & I had the honor of attending the wedding of one of the sweetest girls I know...she is one of my two beautiful lil' sisters from my sorority at OU. Natalie & Brent got married on Father's day weekend...which just so happens to be the weekend Eric & I got married on two years ago! Everything about the wedding was beautiful including Natalie!! I also got the chance to see my other beautiful little sister Lauren while I was there! I was so excited to see them get to catch up with their lives! It seems we are all so busy these days we don't get to keep in touch much! I really do miss them & I was so glad to get to spend time with them! We drove to Duncan, OK on Saturday for the wedding...a three hour drive from Tulsa. And although we only live about an hour and a half from Norman we don't get to go there much. So...we stayed there on Saturday night after the wedding to break-up the terrible three hour drive!! :-) Or maybe it was to eat at our favorite resturant on Sunday!! Here are a couple of pictures from the wedding!

The beautiful bride...

My other little Lauren...

The Great Garage Makeover

In my post about our two year anniversary, I mentioned I would post some other things that we got to do in year two of our marriage, but deserved their own post. Well, this is definately one of them! Back in the spring our garage underwent a makeover! The whole idea came about because Eric's "organized" chaos was begining to take over our office. For those of you who don't know, the Fedex delivery man pays us a visit about once a week. He is always brining us samples of different products for Eric to give to his customers. Well, when he delivers it, it never seems like quite the right time for Eric to give it to customers, so it ends up in boxes in our office floor or in the closet which was begining to literally bulge! So we decided we would utilize some garage wall space and hang some shelves so he could contain the rapid growing mess. We also decided that we would paint an epoxy sealer on our floors to make them look better. So Eric's parents came up for the weekend to help us with our mini garage makeover. Well, a few shelves and paint on the floor turned into paint on the walls because the floor made the walls look terrible, and a work station with full cabinets...not just shelves. But with the help of his parents, which we could not have done this project without, our garage looks amazing! And it makes me so happy to drive into a clean, organized garage everyday!

Before...

After...

Two years ago...

Yesterday Eric and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary! Wow, how time has flown by! I do have to say though that year two of our marriage has been much different from year one. Year one seemed like it was filled with changes and new adventures. Every time we turned the corner we were faced with another decision or another big choice. I think that the best word to describe that year would be chaotic. Year two has taken a much different (and much needed) path. It has been filled with tons on wonderful memories. This year I think we really felt like we were living our lives not watching them fly by us. Here is just a short list of some of the things that happened for us in year two!

• spent tons of time with family & friends
• found a great church
• joined a community group that we lOVE
• made lots of new friends
• took a wonderful vacation to the beach
• had family come and visit
• had a major garage makeover
• celebrated birthdays
• bought a new car

Eric's brother & sister-in-law and their kids came to visit...

Eric's company car was totalled...

went to the waterpark the day after christmas with eric's mom & brother's family...

celebrated the holidays with good friends...

Floated the river...(more then once)

celebrated birthdays...

spent time with family...

went to Dave & Buster's for Eric's birthday...

The spring was full of a lot of great things that all deserve their own post! Hopefully I will get that done soon!

1 year ago today...

One year ago today I broke my arm! For those of you who may not know the story here is the short version...

Ryan and Eric convinced me that I could totally play indoor soccer and it would be good! They needed the players...it was just for fun...the list of reasons goes on and on. Well, with about 2 minutes left in my second game to ever play (my mom was at the first game...luckily she wasn't at this one!) a guy (did I mention it was co-ed soccer) shoots a shot at the goal and in self-defense I stick my arm out and it hits me right on the wrist. Needless to say, a couple hours later in the St. Francis ER, the doc informed me I had broken my wrist in multiple places! So I thought I would include a few pictures for those of you who did not get to see me when I had my lovely pink cast last summer!

At Christie's bridal shower with my beautiful cast!

Jumping on the band wagon...

Well...after a lot of thought I have finally decided to jump on the blogging band wagon!!! I have debated for a while about whether or not to do this! I personally feel that our lives are not interesting enough for anyone to follow in a blog, but I have blogs that I read...so who knows! Just yesterday Eric & I passed a big milestone in our relationship. We have been together for 9 years! We were looking back on those years and remembering some of the things we had done and it just made me think that blogging would be a good way to kind of "log" our life together. I am also doing this because we don't live close to our family and a lot of friends that we don't get to talk to that often, but want to let them know what is going on in our world!

So...bear with me as I get started in the world of blogging! I think it is going to be a while before I get the hang of it...seeing that it took me hours to find the layout I wanted today!! But once I get going I will give a recap of some of the really fun things that we have got to do in year 2 of our marriage! Thanks for reading!!