Weiner Dog Races 2010

This morning we headed out, before the sun was up, to make our way to Savannah for the annual Weiner Dog Races. Linda, Alyssa and Ashlyn joined us this year. They enjoyed watching all the dogs race and checking out Savannah. The day turned out to be beautiful!

This was Jackson's third year to race. There were 150 dogs racing this year and as always they are grouped up by age and weight. When it was our turn to race, Jackson got a purple bandanna, which is proving to be our lucky color! He knew exactly what to do and came in first yet again! We were super excited and the girls had so much fun cheering for him.

This year his time put him in the top 10 dogs and he got to race in the finals. When it was time for the big race he got right into his chute and was ready to go. Unfortunately, there were a few dogs faster than him and he came in 4th. Only the top three dogs win prizes. We were super happy though, 4th out of 150 dogs is not to shabby! Next year...we win!!!!

After the race a news reporter came up to me and asked if she could interview us. After she did a quick little interview, she told us we would be on the 6 O'clock news. You can go to the link below to see us in the segment. We are near the front end of the video...and yes, I am aware that we look like dorks!

27th Annual Savannah Oktoberfest WSAV TV

After the races, we hit the usual Vinnie Van GoGo's for the best pizza in Savannah and then did a little walking around at the German Festival. I couldn't walk for long though I am slower right now than normal! Here are a few pictures from our day.

Daddy Diaries Vol I

So this weekend with mom in town we set out to do some shopping for work clothes to fit me. I am growing faster than I anticipated and my pants no longer fit. Heath joined us for some shopping and this is the conversation we had in the maternity department in Macy's

Heath: What the hell is this? (Picking up a pair of maternity pants)
Me: Um, they're pants...
H: What's this in the top? (Stretching out the band)
Me: It's the band...
H: What does it do?
Me: It stretches over your belly...
H: But it doesn't have a zipper. How do you get them on?
Me: You pull them on and they stretch over your belly and the band holds them up.
H: Why don't they make men's pants like these?!?

2 Months Ago

I can't believe it has been two months, two months since Nana was called Home. It seems like a lifetime ago and it seems like yesterday. Some days I can't believe she is gone. We have missed her like crazy, we have been sad and we have also been relieved that she is finally truly happy. I have tried many times over the past two months to write this post only to stop because the words just don't seem to come.

For those of you that don't know, Nana passed away the day after I had my IUI done. I wish she were here to celebrate our wonderful news but, the truth is she already knows. She knew even before we did. I know she gave this sweet baby a kiss as they passed one another. One going in Heaven's Gates, the other going out. God had a perfect and precious plan for us. This sweet baby is due to arrive on April 8th, her birthday. I think to myself, she would be thrilled if she knew that...and then I remember she does know. Maybe it was her request. Ever time I look at this sweet child, I will think of her.

Nana was such an incredible influence on my life. I have so many wonderful memories of time with here. When I still lived in Texas I tried to include her in nearly everything that was important to me. We shopped alot, a couple Saturdays a month Mom would call her and ask her to join us for whatever we might be looking for. We would go pick her up or Grandaddy might drop her off at the mall. Sometimes we would go out to dinner or they might join us at church on Sunday and lunch after. She loved for us to make things for her house or to help her fix it up. Once I moved away I always called to talk to her all though, over the last few years she had gotten to where she wouldn't really talk on the phone. She came out to visit me in Georgia several times. She loved it out here, she loved to walk around outside and to watch the birds. I treasure those visits so much. The last time I saw her was at Easter and even though she said almost nothing I could see in her in her eyes that she was happy I was there.

Nana was such an amazing woman. She helped to make me into the woman that I am today. She taught me how to be strong, how to have fun, how to be silly, how to be a good wife. She was an amazing teacher and friend to those that knew her. Her heart was always so open and ready to give. She will forever live in our hearts. I know when I look into my new baby's eyes for the first time that feisty sparkle that she had in hers will be there. Thank you God for an amazing Grandmother and for a sweet baby too.

LilyMae Noble
April 8, 1928 - July 12, 2010

10 weeks and counting

On Thursday I went in for my first OB appointment. The absolute best part of my day was the fact that I had to have another ultrasound. I could not believe how much had changed in just two weeks.

I was a little disappointed when I first saw it on the screen. It just looked like a bigger blob and I REALLY wanted it to look somewhat like a baby.The U/S tech said it was all curled up in a ball and she wasn't sure she could get a good measurement. It is curled up, face down with the head to the right.


She pushed on my stomach a little and surprise! The baby jumped up arms and legs spread out and turned over on his(or her) back, so we could get a nice profile shot and a good measurement. I am actually measuring closer to 11 weeks, but they did not change my due date, which I was glad about.

Then after a minute or two it rolled over towards the screen and we got a peek at a tiny little face. It was really moving around and I was so excited that it looked like a baby that I kept laughing making it extremely hard to get a picture. Apparently you have to be still...who knew!?! So I would hold my breath while she snapped the shot.

I tried to label it because this one is a little harder to see. How cute is that!?!? I mean I realize it kind of looks like an alien, but a REALLY cute alien, right?!?

After performing for us a little, it rolled back over and they measured the heartbeat. We could actually hear the heartbeat while they did the ultrasound. So you can see it beating and hear it at the same time. As for hearing it, all I can say is amazing. It is amazing that that tiny sound is coming from inside me. Heath and I both couldn't take our eyes off the screen. What a beautiful sound.

The baby is on it back, with a profile shot again. The heart is right between the two tiny horizontal lines and the heartbeat is along the bottom. We had a good strong heartbeat of 165.

After all the ultrasound fun, we met the doctor and he went over all the do's and don't's with me. Did all the lab work and went over the payments. All the fun stuff that I could have done without. I just want to go in a have the ultrasound. Sadly, this was my last one until 20 weeks. I cannot believe I don't get to see this peanut again for another 10 weeks. Because I didn't go to the OB until 10 weeks my appointments are off a little so, I will go in every 3 weeks until I am 20 weeks at which time they will stretch me out to 4 weeks between appointments.

After my appointment Heath and I went for an early lunch. We spent our lunch laughing and talking about the ultrasound and about how it all seems so unreal. Once we finished lunch we headed over to Build-A-Bear. Grammie and Poppa had sent us a gift card to make our jellybean a bear that has a heartbeat inside. We spent quite a while trying to decide on which bear we wanted. We were both happy with our choice in the end. His name is Baby Bear and his birthday is Sept 9th...the same day we heard that sweet heartbeat for the first time. What a fun gift for a fun day!

Overdue Vacation Post

I realize I have been very bad about blogging lately mostly because I haven't felt that great. I will however be catching up this weekend, I promise. We did, in fact, go on vacation about a month ago and I never posted about it. In an effort to catch up on things I am going to keep this one pretty simple.

So, we all managed to meet up in Panama City Beach, FL for a family vacation on August 15th. It has been several years since we were all there together and our family has grown since then. We enjoyed each others company for the week. We had a fantastic vacation together, which included, laying on the beach, swimming, eating...alot, drinking...alot, playing games, the dog track, family pictures, and water slide fun. I could go into more detail but I don't have much time so I will let the pictures do the talking!

Fun at the Beach:

Dollar Night at the Dog Track:

Evening Fun:

Family Pictures:

I love vacations with the whole family. We always have such a fantastic time. I can't wait until the next one. Love you guys!!!

Baby Mish-Mash Update

I have a ton to post about so, I thought I would lump all the pregnancy related stuff into one post.

On Wednesday Augsust 25th, I was officially release by the fertility doctor to a regular OB. We did get an ultrasound that day at 8 weeks which was shown in the previous post. I will have my first OB visit on Sept 9th, at which we will get another ultrasound...that hopefully will look more like a baby and less like a blob. We will also get to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Up until now that tiny little heart has been to small for us to hear on the outside. So, we are looking forward to that. Here is a picture of us with Dr. Butler at our last visit (or Dr. Babymaker as I like to call him) Three cheers for Dr. Butler, he is a brilliant man!

So far, I have felt pretty good. The only two things that seem to bother me is being extremely tired...it's like having mono all over again, and food and I seem to have some issues. Most of the time, especially in the evening, the thought of food makes me sick and if I do eat I have raging heartburn. So I eat very little at night. Other than that it hasn't been to bad. Oh, on second thought, those round ligament pains are no joke, but they are not as frequent as they were a few weeks ago.

I also wanted to be able to see my tummy changing (I say that now, 5 months from now I will probably feel very different about it!) So, I took shots at 1 and 2 months. You can't really see any difference right now, except for the fact that I look much more tired in the 2nd picture and a little thicker.

The wait is over....

Twinkle, twinkle little star

how I wonder who you are...

We hoped and prayed

it would happen someday

and

Oh I'm pregnant by the way!

Estimated Delivery Date: April 8, 2011

Heath and I thrilled beyond belief to announce we are in fact going to have a little one. We give God all the glory, for only he could bring something together this perfectly! We thank you all for the hundreds of prayers that have been said for this baby, the kind words, the texts and emails. We are so truly blessed to have so many amazing friends and family. The are not enough words to describe how excited we are.

We found out that the IUI worked on July 22 and after good blood work reports we shared this amazing news with our families on July 25th. This teeny tiny ultrasound was done on August 11th at 6 weeks and I will have another done at 8 weeks on Aug 25th. I did manage to write a few posts that I left unpublished, I have posted those so you can see my initial thoughts. These posts are listed by the day they were written. Shortly after that our computer got a virus so there are only a few.

In the upcoming days I have several posts that will be coming so I can catch back up. I have some other amazing things to share regarding this little miracle!

Please continue to pray for my health and the baby's over the next nine months. We love you all and thank you for being part of this amazing journey!