Sunday Happenings

Today was a busy day. The weather this week has been gorgeous but the heat was definitely back in full force today as Justin and I headed to Lowe's after church to collect the shed he ordered a few weeks ago. In addition to the shed, we needed pavers, paver sand, and potting soil. Obviously, that was not all going to fit in our car in one trip. Poor Justin worked so hard loading, unloading, and hauling all the heavy stuff and not allowing me to help a bit. Below are the "before" pictures of the storage area behind the fence.

First, the storage shed. "Some assembly required," as in 6 hours according to the directions. And that is with TWO people! Yikes.

Next is the view to the left and right side of the fence. It needs to be weeded, the junk and old lumbar removed, the ground leveled, sanded, pavers laid, and finally the shed built and placed. I'm pretty sure we're going to have to someone secure it to the fence. My word, that is quite the project.

If only it were the only thing on the to do list. We also need to pack up the junk in the guest room/nursery, paint, assemble the crib and other furniture, decorate and find a rocker. Thankfully, we have 10 weeks left. We may not get everything done before he gets here but we will certainly give it our best. I'm hoping our October schedule doesn't get too full. So far, there is only one thing on the list...

Our baby shower!!! Invitations were sent out this week. Mom and Katie worked very hard on them. From poor copies at Kinkos to jammed printers, there were many obstacles to overcome but I think they look wonderful. As for the name, well we're not 100% committed but it'll make for a very funny story if we decide to go another direction. :) More shower details to come! For now, I leave you with a new baby bump picture and "my view from the couch."

30 weeks and feeling great! No cravings, no issues. Heartburn under control with Nexium and still sleeping soundly. I haven't spotted any kankles yet either but, I may not be the most reliable source as I rarely see my feet. :)

"My view from the couch" complete with convenient food shelf. Loving all-things-protein: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and these yummy Nature Valley Protein bars that taste more like a dessert than a  protein bar. Gotta love that!

Baby update

I haven't done a great job at capturing the baby bump but below is my most recent at 26 weeks.

Whoa baby! Everyday I feel like he gets bigger and stronger. Kicks are not just flutters and in fact, are becoming more like slithers b/c he's running out of room. The first time he sent a foot slithering across my belly was a few nights ago while I was sleeping. It was so forceful and foreign that I shot up in bed, wide awake, and threw the covers off of me looking for a snake...well, I'm not sure what I was looking for but I thought something was in the bed. Nope, just a baby in the belly.

Other new things, I've gained a total of 24 pounds so far (as of my 28 week visit). They want you to gain 24-30 total so I'm thinking I'll surpass my goal. I always was an overachiever ;o) The Braxton-Hicks contractions are very routine. Nothing too uncomfortable and baby is always so active, I am reassured that all is well. Heartburn has completely improved with Nexium. I love that little purple pill! 

Additionally, I've developed sciatica down my right leg which involves numbness that extends into my calf. Feels like my leg is asleep sometimes making a little awkward to walk but it did earn my a coveted parking space in the parking garage near the building I work in. My commute that is usually 45-50 minutes b/c of parking and shuttling in to the hospital is now 15 minutes from start to finish. I repeat, 15 minutes! I leave my house at 7:30 and am in my office my 7:45. It almost makes me want to stay perpetually pregnant so I can keep this parking space. I'd be willing to go through natural labor for to keep this space! Okay, enough about the parking space.

Lastly, Katie and mom are coming down this weekend to look at the baby shower venue. So looking forward to spending some time with them. I'm nervous but excited for the shower and it is coming up very soon...October 6th from 12-2 at the Harbour Club downtown. Such a great spot and amazing food. It's going to be great!

That's all for now. I'll leave you with a teaser picture of the crib. :o)

Fall is in the air

Today was the most gorgeous day! So much has happened around the Archie house since my last post so please excuse me if I ramble...

1. Our first shower was this weekend in Mooresville, NC. Justin's grandmother and aunt threw us the sweetest shower with a nautical theme. Food was yummy, company was great, and presents were flowing! We got our pack and play thanks to Sherry and Shannon, bath tub full of bath goodies from Sherry, and our Little Einstein activity chair from Jojo just to mention a few. What a great time we had. So blessed and so undeserving of all the love. This is one lucky little boy!

2. Justin and I had our first lamaze class last night. After a long day of work we went over to Mount Pleasant and joined about 12 other nervous couples to learn the basics of child birth. Not pretty but very informative. There was one girl in the front row who...how shall I put this...made me seem charming and calm on my worst day? I think she had Justin counting his blessings. We're looking forward to going back next week. I learned that I need to up my protein intake this third trimester so we hurried to Harris Teeter at 9pm to load up on the protein (cereal, edamame, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc). I was also reminded that I can't lay on my back anymore or the weight of the baby may compress my vena cava and reduce blood supply to the baby. Not a good thing so side-sleeping it is!

3. Working on finding a place or person good enough to look after my sweet boy after I go back to work. I still have a long way to go but Justin and I interviewed our first candidate Sunday afternoon when we got back into town. Let just say, it isn't going to work. She informed us that her granddaughter (who she also babysits during the day) will be two in December and is still on formula b/c all she will eat is M&Ms and chips. Hmmm...not to sound critical but that's just nuts. We thanked her profusely for inviting us into her home and promptly marked that one off the list. Then we went to eat Basil. Yum!

4. The nursery: Well not much to update here. So far, we've ordered the furniture but that's about it. It arrived last week and I LOVE the color of the crib (which is sitting boxed in the hallway). It's a rich espresso and just to die for. The end table on the other hand was the wrong color so I have to send it back but is very exciting to walk into the house everyday and almost trip over all the baby things in the dining room. I can't wait to see it all come together in a few weeks.

5. Baby names are still up in the air. My vote was for Robert Holden but Justin likes Robert Jackson. Well he really likes Robert Jack but I just don't think that flows. We'd call him Jack either way which Justin says is an "honest, nice-guy" name. Other names that I volunteered but were quickly nixed were Owen, Bennet, Jake, and lots of 'C' names (Carter, Collin, Carson--all no's.)

But look at this sweet profile. No matter what we call him, he'll be just perfect!

That's all for now. Promise I'll do better with the updates!

Nesting

While Justin's parents (aka. the best inlaws on the planet) were in town a few weeks ago, major work was done to the condo. New landscape out front, planters out back, and anything that would hold still was pressure washed. It was a lot of hard work, especially for the guys braving the heat outdoors, but so worth it. Everything came out beautifully!

First, the plants. I would have been lost without Sherry. She knows what grows where, what needs shade or full sun, and basically everything about gardening. We went to Lowe's and (lucky me) all shrubs were 50% off. It was meant to be. So we packed the Mountaineer to the max with Chinese fringe or loropetalum, azalea, nandina, and knockout roses and headed home.

Poor Justin...he tore up EVERY last shrub in the front of the house with his bare hands, no exaggeration. It was at least 100 degrees. Then he tilled the soil, mixed in fertilizer, and planted the new shrubs around our existing sega palms that he transplanted since they are getting so large. They're beautiful.

It was a messy job but he did great. A little mulch and we had a brand new entry way. I think it looks so beautiful now but I know it will look even better when the shrubs mature a little and bloom, hopefully this spring.

Meanwhile, Cliff was in the back pressure washing the fence, the arbor, and the patio. Isn't the difference between the old and new amazing? It looked gorgeous when he finished. Then he moved around to the front and pressure washed the front of the house and the entire driveway. It was quite a job but holy smokes, made the entire place look brand new!

It wasn't all work though. We took a break that evening and grilled out. Justin showed off his master grilling skills and made stuffed burgers. It was a lot of fun. 

We have a little work left to do on the inside but the outside could not have turned out more beautifully. It still catches me off guard when I pull into the driveway. I think Baby Archie is going to be pleased to come home to such a cute and cozy place :o) Thank you so much Cliff and Sherry for all your hard work. We honestly could not have done it without you!!

Girls Weekend

7.12.12

Had a wonderful weekend with my college roomies!! Tara came into town on Thursday evening and we ate at Rita's. That night, she and Justin cracked open a bottle of wine (or two) and made for very good entertainment. :o) The next morning we ate at bagel nation before battling a tsunami to pick up Britt from the airport. Thankfully, the rain cleared up in time for us to go downtown and get a mani/pedi. It was wonderful! Then we walked the market, spent too much money, and ended up at Fleet's Landing. Really enjoyed catching up over lunch.

Then we went for a tour of the Calhoun mansion downtown. It was pretty amazing. The picture below was taken in the garden.

It's been forever since we've been together without any of the kiddos. Of course they were missed but it was great to relax and talk and have a completely selfish weekend. We registered on Saturday at Babies R Us, Pottery Barn, and Amazon. I can't tell you how helpful they were. We'd walk down the aisle and someone would hold something up with a brief, "You HAVE to get this," or "I would have died without that," and all I had to do was pick a color. It was amazing!

Aunt Britt and Tara were able to feel baby kicking :o)

Then it was our last day :o( I am so incredibly thankful to have such wonderful friends. They made the entire weekend just perfect and registering completely stress-free.

Love you girls!

Happy Birthday Papa!

So the following weekend, it was Sherry and Cliff's turn to be surprised. They were definitely on to us. Knowing how hard we'd been working on the condo, they thought it was suspicious we took a weekend off to go to Aiken. Haha!

I wanted to do something special for Cliff since this little Archie is carrying on the family name. It took over three hours and four trips to the grocery store to finish this birthday cake. Mainly because I'm a dodo and didn't bring a list to the store with me and kept forgetting things. But it was totally worth it!

I made the cake layers several different shades of blue. An idea that is popular on Pintrest. Below is the finished product.

Then, we sang happy birthday. Below is the video, just click on the picture. It is really dark in the room but the reaction is still there and so sweet. 

This was also a special weekend b/c it was the first time Justin felt baby kick. Saturday night (7/7/12) we were laying in bed and he was kicking up a storm. I'd felt him kicking a few times before but every time Justin would run over to feel, baby would stop. This time Justin only waited a minute and bump! There it was. He jerked his hand away immediately which made me laugh but he promised it didn't weird him out. Justin has felt baby moving and kicking several times since and it is always so amazing to feel. Definitely a fun part of this whole experience.

It's a Boy!

Boy oh Boy! We're tickled blue. Found out on Papa Archie's birthday, 6/23/12, that little Archie is little fella. We couldn't be happier. Justin is very excited and I can't wait to have a mama's little man. 

We went to Small Wonders Imaging in Summerville to have our sonogram. The tech was really nice and seeing our little guy was so special. It was really overwhelming and neither Justin or I said anything. We were speechless. Such a precious memory.

I promise Justin is more excited than he appears to be in this picture. Below is video of us surprising my parents with blue-balloons-in-box-reveal. It was my mom's birthday so we went home to Aiken and planned a low key cookout. My cousin, Kristina, helped get everyone there so it was a nice surprise and we really enjoyed seeing everyone. My little cousin Sadie, 6 years old, was a little disappointed. She said she was tired of being the only girl. Poor thing! Click on mom's picture below (isn't she so pretty?!?) for the video. I apologize to anyone in advance that would rather not have been video taped in sweltering 104 degree weather.

Then we went to visit my dad's mom, Granny, and brought her a bouquet of blue balloons. When I walked it she asked, "What are you holding?" I told her balloons and asked if she could see what color and she shouts, "You're having a boy!!" So sweet! She said boys were more fun and always enjoyed them. She was very happy for us. Overall, GREAT weekend! Happy birthday mom!