Aaarrrggghhh Matey! Fun Friday!

Shiver me timbers...is that sweet lad Garrett? Aye, it is! :)

Ahoy me hearties! I want to start sharing something fun that either makes me laugh (Yo Ho Ho) or smile every Friday. So here is my Fun Friday post/picture. It was taken before Christmas at Garrett's second cousin's birthday party. I can't believe he actually smiled when we put the patch over his eye. I hope everyone has a ship-shape kind of weekend. Find some time to smile and enjoy the blessings God has given you. Fair winds! :)

Snow Fun with Mr. Will E. Melt! :)

Monday and Tuesday was an unexpected break with lots of snow. It started snowing Sunday night and we woke up to a blanket of the white stuff on the ground Monday morning. We got around 3 inches at our house. It was the "good" kind that stuck together so we could make a snowman. When Garrett went down for his morning nap, Jason and I went out to build a snowman, Mr. Will E. Melt, so we could get some pictures. We had to be creative when it came to the Will E.'s facial features and accessories. He was a jolly happy soul, with an oreo mouth and eyes and a carrot nose. Instead of an old silk hat, he had an old cowboy hat. He didn't begin to dance around, but he did make our sweet little boy smile. :) What a great day we had!

Where has the time gone?

Okay so I am determined to get this blog updated. :) One of my New Year's Resolutions is to blog on a regular basis so I don't forget anything about sweet Garrett's first year. A LOT has happened in the last six months. Here's a quick recap: I had two wonderful baby showers in June. We celebrated our 4th Anniversary on June 17th. Our niece, Alleigh, had her 1st Birthday on July 4th. Our precious Garrett was born on July 23rd. We began adjusting to having a newborn in the house during August. We celebrated Jason's 29th Birthday on September 4th. We had my family come in town for Labor Day weekend. We took our first family mini-vacation in the beginning of October. I went back to work in the middle of October. Garrett dressed up for his first Halloween as the cutest dragon ever. Garrett was surrounded by our loving families on November 7th for his baby dedication. We traveled to my parents' for the first time since Garrett was born to have Thanksgiving/Christmas. We kept adjusting to having an infant in the house. :) We celebrated my 29th Birthday on December 19th (this is the age I will be for the rest of my life!) :) We had our first Christmas as a family of three. And...we rung in a low key New Year's having a great steak dinner with family and watching the ball drop in Time Square from the comfort of our couch. Whewww....what a whirlwind! Enjoy the pictures!

Before the Hospital

Waiting Nervously

He's Here! 8 pounds, 14 ounces

We're Home!

First Bath

Labor Day Weekend

First Shots :(

Mini-Vacation in Arkansas

Pumpkin Time!

First Halloween

Baby Dedication

Thanksgiving at Nana and Pop-pop's

First time to eat Solid Foods

Loving the Exersaucer

First Christmas

5 Months!

Happy Anniversary to Us! :)

Today I have been married to my best friend for 4 wonderful years! I can't believe how many years pass in what seems to be such a short time. This morning I couldn't help but think about how our life has changed over the past year. We will soon welcome a sweet little boy into this world and we both feel so blessed to be given this responsibility. We will spend our anniversary night at our childbirth class instead of a romantic dinner, but we are more than welcome to do it! :) I wanted to share a picture of what I woke up to this morning from my precious husband. He is the best! :) Not only did he pick out beautiful flowers and a sweet card, he remembered that I LOVE chocolate covered raisins. :)

32/33 weeks

This picture was taken at 32 weeks. (I wanted to put one on here for my Moma.) =) I will have to post a picture from this week (week 33) when I get one taken.

I also wanted to share a cool website that I found out about from a CEU class I am taking for school. It is http://www.picnik.com/. You can upload your own pictures for free and edit them anyway you want. It is really neat...give it a try.

31 weeks - only 9 more to go

31 weeks

Alleigh and Aunt Leigha (please ignore the no make-up look)

Wow - it has really been a while since I posted. Our camera broke so we are in the process of finding a new one. Any suggestions? I cannot believe that our sweet Garrett will be here in 9 weeks (or maybe sooner). :) Tomorrow I will be out of school for a week and have really enjoyed having time at home. We visited my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and Alleigh this past weekend and enjoyed getting to visit with them. I have been cleaning and organizing since we got home. I guess you can say that I have begun nesting. Maybe it will last the next 9 weeks so I can keep this house clean. :)

Pregnancy Update:

How Far Along: 31 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss: Have gained 20 lbs. so far - whooo (pretty soon I will not be putting this number on here)
Maternity Clothes: yes, they are a must! Just bought some shorts this week

Sleep: much better this week - had some severe rib pain that has been keeping me up but feels tons better now
Best Moment of the Week: will be tomorrow when I get to hear Garrett's heartbeat again

Movement: Yes - He moves a lot but is starting to slow down -I think he is running out of room
Food Cravings: none at the moment unless you can count Tums - I eat them like candy
Food Aversions: I am at the point where anything gives me acid reflux - even water
Gender: boy - Garrett Adren
Labor Signs: starting to feel a little pressure

Belly Button: starting to poke out
What I Miss: being about to walk as fast as I used to and bend over to touch my toes :) I think a pedicure is calling my name!

What I'm looking forward to: a pedicure that I am scheduling for next week

Milestones: starting childbirth classes tomorrow night - they ought to be interesting - I am a little nervous!

26 weeks and nursery almost complete! :)

Pregnancy Update:

How Far Along: 26 weeks
Total Weight Gained/Loss: Have gained 11 lbs. so far - go back to the Dr. next week.

Maternity Clothes: yes, they are a must!
Sleep: not too good this week so far - some back pain has kept me up

Best Moment of the Week: seeing my sweet husband paint a canvas to put in Garrett's room and signing it "Love Dad"! Precious!

Movement: Yes - He moves constantly now. If you watch my stomach closely, you can even see him move

Food Cravings: a strawberry sundae with nuts and sweet tea this week :)

Food Aversions: I am at the point where anything gives me acid reflux - even water

Gender: boy - Garrett Adren

Labor Signs: none
Belly Button: is still there, but getting smaller and smaller everyday.

What I Miss: sleeping through the night without having to get up and being able to take in a DEEP breath - I really feel like my stomach has gotten a lot bigger this week. I am running out of room! :)

What I'm looking forward to: Summer Vacation! :) 22 more days!
Milestones: finishing the wall art and ordering vinyl letters to go above Garrett's crib

This is the canvas that Jason scetched and painted. We looked and looked for something that would go with our black and white toile themed nursery to put on the wall and couldn't find what we were looking for. So...Jason found an image online, printed it off, and painted it on a canvas. I think it turned out great! I can't wait to put it up.