Paradise found...

That's how I feel every time we pull into Sandestin... ahhh, paradise! My in-laws were so sweet to let us use their condo last week before our little family of 4 becomes 5. September/October is one of my favorite times down there because everyone has gone back to school, the weather is perfect, and it is so peaceful.

I've often said I could live there... that is, if every member of my family and all of my friends since birth uprooted and moved. I would also need Dr. Coffman from Highland Pediatric, all of the preschool teachers at Hixson Presbyterian, my adored OB/GYN, and my favorite drive thru teller from Regions.

The only thing lacking in Destin (besides all of those people) is a Captain D's. Believe me, I have scoured the city and nada one in sight. I did find an adequate replacement for my sweet tea fetish in McCallisters, but I don't know how long that would last. The drive thru window is technically just for "call-in orders", but I claim I'm from out of town and keep forgetting, and then secretly feel them scowl at me as I pull off.

We did the typical "Florida" things... pool, beach, playground, golf (I just drive the cart), eating seafood, shopping. Can you believe I only bought Gerby two little $8 outfits down there. I'm trying to pace myself. It's hard... girl shopping is SO much more fun than boy shopping. I may have to go back to work to support my habit! ha!

This time we ventured out onto Jolee Island (which is in Sandestin) and discovered we had it all to ourselves! So I went back to the condo and got Ginger and she got to swim in the bay. She loved it!
Jimmy got some good baby bump/big brother pictures on the point one night before sunset. I turned 20 weeks while we were there, so she's halfway here!


After our photo shoot, they did a little fishing...

Trace played his first "official" hole of golf once Sisty and Granddaddy got there at the end of the week. They even kept his score on the scorecard. He shot a 23... 14 in the fairway, and 9 on the green.

They asked us to join them on the last few holes of their round one day and it took nearly 2 hours to play 3 holes... don't know that we'll be invited back again. He loves it though and of course they think he's just wonderful.

The next Phil Michelson. (I used to say Tiger Woods, but... shame on you Tiger)

Teeing it up...First drive...
Begging for Daddy's juice...


It's goin' that way...
Yes... sunk it!
He's more of a "dragger" than a putter. Not much of a backward/forward motion yet, it's more like a slow drag to the hole. The greens keeper probably cringes watching from the clubhouse.


BP, in an effort to make nice with the Emerald Coast, scheduled a free "Back to the Beach" concert with Vince Gill while we were there. The day of, they shut the whole place down, and went to work preparing the driving range of the Links golf course for 10,000 people. There was a shuttle running that took people in and out the one and only entrance into Sandestin. It was wild!

Trace was so excited to go to his first concert. He met a little girl named Hannah on the golf course, and after they played and ran, he gave her a big hug and said, "See you at the concert!" It was like a little date... so cute!!

Waiting for Vince (self portrait)...

Minutes before he was to go on, the heavens opened up and it poured, soaking everyone to the bone. The shuttles started up again and most everyone left. We sat, drenched until it cleared out and then went back to the condo to change clothes and waited to see if it was canceled.

Jimmy and I went back about an hour later and walked right up in front of the stage. 10,000 people had quickly become less than fifteen hundred but the show must go on, and he didn't disappoint! I would have sat there for hours, soaked to my undies, to hear him sing Go Rest High on that Mountain.

THE TRAIN! THE TRAIN! This was probably the highlight of his trip.
The boys rode the train that runs through the middle of Destin Commons.

I passed.

Honestly, I was afraid I'd get stuck in the little door you had to climb through to get in. (Now that would have been a Kodak moment.)

When I called my mom to tell her we were home safe and sound, she said her and my dad had been laughing about "poor Jimmy" having to drive his 5-month pregnant wife, 14-year-old geriatric dog (that birthed 6 puppies) and a preschooler drinking Sonic slushies home. It's a miracle we made it back to Chattanooga without catheters and a Route 44 cup full of tee-tee!

God willing, the next time we go to Destin, we will have a healthy baby girl to tote along... along with a pack and play, breast pump, stroller, exersaucer, bouncy seat, blah, blah, blah, blah...

Details from the Doc

I apologize in advance if this seems off-colored or offensive to anyone, but I said in a previous post, this is like my running diary of pregnancy... and this is just the talk that comes with it.

I'm must more observant of the things I write now that my 82-year-old grandmother has a laptop and internet access. ha!

But, this blog is about my life, and unfortunately, this was my morning...

Jimmy and I went to the doctor today for my 18 week check-up. When they called me back to the room, the nurse (who I really like and see every time) jokingly told us to walk slowly because she needed to finish cleaning the room.

So we walk in, (and let me just stop here and paint a picture for anyone never having the good fortune of being in an OB/GYN exam room) to see the exam table complete with fresh, crisp white paper and stirrups (oh joy!) , the lovely paper vest and drape to "wear" folded neatly in a drawer underneath, the hanger on the wall for your clothing that will have to be removed (joy again), the sliding stool with casters set at rear end height (after all, they aren't examining your tonsils), the chair in the corner for the unfortunate person having to accompany the patient, the table and sink with various metal instruments, bottles, extra long q-tips, and latex gloves, and of course the huge double window facing the parking lot with the blinds appropriately turned downward.

Can't you just wait to get back there ladies!?!

I was thrilled beyond words when the nurse skipped the paper outfit drawer and said I could leave my clothes on, Dr. Adams would only be measuring my belly and listening to the heartbeat today! So I climb, clothes and all, onto the step to get on the table and wait for the doctor when I notice the bottom of my shoe is really slippery. I look down and find... how do I put this nicely? (my Nanny is reading this)... a big glob of lubricant on the step. Oh so thankful I left my shoes on!

So, I of course call Jimmy over at once to "examine" the glob and determine that yes it is in fact lube, when I go to step down off the table and slide in it. Thankfully, Jimmy was standing in front of me and I managed to grab him before I hit the floor or the table with my belly and/or head. I twisted my ankle and scraped up my wrist, but you'll be proud to know I managed to avoid falling directly into the "glob."

I've never been a graceful faller, nor a quiet one... so after we both realized little missy and I were alright, we burst into laughter.

I couldn't help but think, what a story... Pregnant woman falls off exam table, busting her head open, after slipping on a glob of KY Jelly.

Oh, the horror.

I carefully reposition myself back up on the table. Quickly, then did the question arise... "Was that glob of lube from before or after the exam???" Ya know what I mean???

Gross!

I chose to think "before" and proceeded to clean off my shoe very, very carefully.

When Dr. Adams came in, I was still a little shaken from my near lube fall and told her about the mess on the step. She looked horrified and immediately grabbed paper towels and soap to begin cleaning it up. She bypassed the gloves, which again reinforced in my mind that it was indeed from "before" the exam. Then she washed her hands thoroughly before measuring my belly.

Just another day at the office.

In other news...

Belly bump at 17 weeks... I'm a little behind.
Trace has taken to calling his little sister "girl baby" and when he says it quickly it resembles "girby" so we have dubbed her in utero nickname Girby (every baby needs one, Trace's was Tator Tot) until an official name is decided.

I will be 19 weeks tomorrow, and have felt her move randomly at times but most often at night.
Girby measured perfectly today and had a heart rate of 151.

I have been thinking about some similar comparisons to my pregnancy with Trace. I'm not normally a "statistical" kind of person, but it hit me today that this pregnancy has been strangely close to the last one. For example...

We found out we were pregnant both times in June, with Trace on June 18th (Father's Day), this time on June 7th. That's 11 days apart.

Trace's due date was February 21st, Girby's due date is February 10th (they changed it from the 11th). That's 11 days apart.

I drug out my belly book from Trace and at my 18 week appt I had gained a total of 13 pounds.

Today, although I started 6 pounds heavier with this one... sigh... I have gained a total of 13 pounds at 18 weeks. Strange, isn't it?

Both of these 18 week checkups showed my iron was low and I began iron pills.

I wrote in the belly book when I was pregnant with Trace, that my kindergarteners figured out I was pregnant and asked me about it for the first time on September 12. My secret was out, they rubbed and kissed my belly everyday after until I went on maternity leave on January 30th.

Just this Monday, September 13th, I took Trace to get a haircut and the hairdresser asked me when my baby was due. I've had a lot of people look at me like... is she pregnant or just fat, but that was the first time someone I didn't know how "known" and commented on my belly. It's official... I'm huge!

My cravings throughout both have been for soy sauce, and Mexican type food. They didn't have Blue Coast Burrito when I was pregnant with Trace, but the steak taco salad has become a MUST for Girby at least once a week. She. Just. Needs. It.

I can also add avocado to the list with this one, which I don't think I had ever even tried before when I was pregnant the first time. I was a late bloomer in the "grown-up, healthy" food department! I used to order a taco salad without the lettuce and tomato. It's no wander I can't get Trace to eat a green vegetable.

My hips ACHE at night, causing me to constantly turn and rotate sides every 1 to 1.5 hours. Getting into a comfy position takes a lot of pillows and re-situating is long and drawn out. I've heard a lot of deep sighs from Ginger at 3 a.m. (Jimmy knows better ha!)

I'm sure I'm a joy to sleep with.

Sometimes the comparisons are scary, but if they continue on this path, I will be 3 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced by 36 weeks (I don't really recommend that), and Girby (hopefully she'll have a real name by then) will be 15 days early just like her big brother. That would actually make her a January baby instead of a February one.

We'll have to wait and see... only God knows!!!

Precious Moments

I started this blog about 2 years ago to try and capture Trace's childhood and make sure the precious moments of his young years weren't simply forgotten. I'm not a scrapbooker, don't have a detailed babybook, am TERRIBLE about getting pictures developed. Proof... the $100+ I just spent 2 weeks ago at Wolf Camera getting pictures developed from Christmas.

So... tonight was one of those moments I always want to remember...

Trace and I were sitting on the swing in the backyard, and I start doing what moms have done for all time... pelting him with questions about what he learned at school. If you're like me, you probably get the staple answers, "nothing" or "I just played on the playground". Grrrr...

But suddenly he bursts into song about the days of the week. You know it... Sunday, Monday... Tuesday, Wednesday, ...Thursday, Friday, Saturday. There are 7 days, there are 7 days, there are 7 days in a week.

He sang it perfectly, every word detectable, even showing the correct number of "7 "on his fingers. Nice job buddy!

Then he clasped his little hands together, squuuueeeezed his eyes shut and said this prayer...

Dear God,
Thank you for everything,
Please help mommy's big belly to get bigger,
Please help Sisty to feel better,
Thank you for graham crackers,
In God's name we pray... Amen

Ahhh, be still my beating heart... and my big belly.

When he was done, he said that was the Bible verse song he'd learned at school today.

Let me just write his little preschool another check.

Stupidly, I yanked out my phone and tried to recapture the moment... which we all know NEVER works, but I had to try. It was completely half hearted and very garbly and of course he substituted some firetrucks safety for Sisty's health (sorry Sisty), but the gist was the same.

Then he crawled up in my lap, and seeing the pile of tissues beside me on the chair (Sisty isn't the only one sick) he said... "Oh mommy, I know what will make you feel better", and planted a big one right on my kisser. (Give ya one guess how I got the cold?)

But, that was the best medicine I could have ever gotten!

And seeing as how I'm preggers, it's the only medicine I'm gonna get for awhile :(

Just had to write that one down to keep in the ole' memory bank!

Luke and Sara's Wedding

Last weekend we celebrated my cousin Luke's wedding. We fell in love with Sara and Nalin (her 5-year-old from a previous marriage) the day we met them. I'll never forget Luke bringing them to my mom's house for Thanksgiving 2 years ago. Nalin was just 3, and he came in carrying her. This was about their 5th stop that day, and she was sound asleep. Luke laid her on the couch in the kitchen and we began fixing plates and eating. She woke up a few minutes later to a house full of strangers, but was so sweet and adorable. I think we had them secretly married off from that day on!

They got married on Saturday at our church and we had the rehearsal dinner at our house. I didn't get to take any pictures of the rehearsal at the church because I was standing in for Sara. Her and her mom felt very strongly that the bride doesn't walk down the aisle at the rehearsal and the bride and groom DO NOT see each other before the wedding. So I got to play bride again.

We joked all night that only in Tennessee would Luke have to marry his pregnant cousin! ha!

The bride and groom...
Dad, my Aunt Patty, and Uncle Tommy saying quick greetings and prayers before we ate...
The kiddos...

Trace was the ring bearer and got to don his first tux. This was his 3rd wedding (he's quite the pro) yet ironically, he's never actually touched any of the rings... I can't imagine why??

I know I'm a little partial, but I think he's quite possibly the cutest ring bearer ever.

His first wedding was Jimmy's cousin's when he was just 1. He was sandwiched between 2 much calmer, older girl cousins and toddled down the aisle and steps (while I held my breath), until I scooped him up and ran to the back.

Last August, he was 2 1/2 at my brother and Kadi's wedding. He ran down the aisle in front of his cousins Drew and Abram where a sucker was quickly stuffed in his mouth and he was whisked away by Granddaddy before he could do anything to interrupt Kadi's grand entrance. I don't even think a video camera was able to capture his mad dash down the aisle.

This year, I'm happy to report, he walked (hard to imagine I know) with the flower girl, Kai, came and sat with Jimmy and I through the ceremony, and then walked back down the aisle!! Progress!

Sara looked gorgeous! She was very brave to have 3 kids 5 and under in her wedding, but it couldn't have been sweeter. Nalin (in the front) walked her down the aisle and then came back up to walk back down with Luke and Sara. It was precious.


Waiting for his next photo shoot...
Sisters...

Kai and Trace taking a break from all the festivities to play in the nursery... it was a long day!
Nanny and Luke... she's so proud!
Laura (Luke's sister) toasting the bride and groom...
Trace and Granddaddy playing a few holes in between dances...

Andy and Jimmy (he had already snuck home and changed clothes, cheater)...
"Would you like to dance?"
"How low can you go?"
Beautiful ladies!

I didn't get near as many family pictures as I had hoped, but chasing Trace to ensure he didn't stick his finger in the wedding cake (again), eat the entire bowl of gummy bears, or take a swig from the keg was a full time job!

It was a beautiful celebration and I couldn't be happier for the new family. We love you all 3!!