Mikki gets married

Ole Michelle finally got married April 6, 

finally 12 years later! 

I flew in to Mobile Thursday night 

where Mandy picked me up. 

We spent the night in Moss Point

and then headed west for the bridesmaids luncheon 

Friday morning

in Bay St. Louis. 

bridesmaid luncheon

 We got a room at the Hollywood Casino 

and went back there to rest after the luncheon 

and before the rehearsal dinner

at the Diamond Head Country Club. 

Ashley Jennings, Mandy and me

 The beautiful bride

Mikki and her momma

 Mandy and I before the wedding

All the Kappas at the reception

Mandy, me, Ellie and Jennings

 And finally the dress broke, 

such relief!!! 

So note to self: 

I LOVE Mikki and am so glad I was a part of she and Justin's special day

but I will NEVER again agree to be in a wedding pregnant! 

My dress had to be ordered by November 16, 

3 days after I found out I was pregnant. 

Because this is my first pregnancy, 

I had NO idea what size dress to order 

so I went with 3 sizes bigger 

and thought for sure it would fit. 

Well, 

the dress came in and fit great. 

I tried it on again 2 weeks before the wedding 

and all was still fitting okay. 

And then the day of the wedding...

OMG! 

I couldn't zip the dress and breathe. 

So....

we clipped the top of the dress

and left it unzipped all day; 

for all the pictures, walking around, etc;

I only zipped the dress to literally walk down the aisle 

and unzipped it as soon as I walked back up the aisle. 

I then unzipped again 

and wore a shaw for the entire reception. 

So to say I was excited when the clip broke at 7pm 

would be an understatement! 

I thought I was going to be able to change clothes 

but Mandy informed me that I couldn't take it off yet 

because we weren't done taking pictures, boo! 

So we had to safety pin the hanging strap 

to keep it on

and had never been SO excited for 7:30PM.

Reception over, dress off!!! 

It was such a special weekend

spent with great friends! 

I am SO happy for Mikki and Justin 

and wish them a lifetime of happiness and blessings. 

Babymoon Staycation

Blake and I were supposed to go to Ruidoso for a baby moon 

but at the last minute we decided to stay put at home 

and have a nice, relaxing stay-cation! 

Glad we did because Blake got real under the weather =(

Tech Baseball game -  Friday night

 We went on a big cleaning spree

and in the meantime decided to rearrange the office. 

george henry was so sad to see his favorite couch go to storage.

big hug for the couch

The end result: 

lots more room

 Blake started to feel pretty terrible on Friday night

so this is what he looked like every night for the weekend

poor guy

He went to the on campus clinic Monday morning 

and was diagnosed with a nasty sinus infection. 

 Sunday was Easter

and after church we decided to try brunch at Manna

Cute lunch date

It was very good! 

And Blake's most favorite part of the weekend...

acquiring his mo-ped! 

And because I won't let him ride 

without proper safety equipment...

his ski helmet and goggles

And because it's too cute

george henry eating his brothers food;
they are SO confused about what's going on! 

It was such a nice long weekend,  

And now we are back in the grind.....

The Nursery is Complete!!

We were SO excited to get all of the baby's bedding on Tuesday! 

It is absolutely adorable 

and we can not wait to have a baby in this precious room. 

I know you are probably thinking 

"my goodness, baby isn't due until mid July" 

and you are correct. 

However, Blake leaves in 6 weeks for the entire summer

so we are trying to get everything in place before then. 

That way we will both feel a little more at ease 

in case baby decides to make an earlier than expected arrival. 

We are a little tight on space in this rent house

so the baby's closet is "exposed" shall we say. 

I painted an old fleur-de-lis rack white
and it is being used for "its" hanging clothes.
The green dresser I bought at a Flea Market while living in DC,
is being used for it's gowns, etc.
And because we still did not have enough room,
I purchased some more plastic drawers at Wal-Mart for "overflow". 

The cute Humpty Dumpty and Mother Goose 

were old pillows that Mimi had in her house. 

She was getting rid of them when she moved

so Momma snagged them for me. 

I cut them out, matted them on a coordinating fabric

and painted the frames white. 

The reading nook.  

We bought the rocking glider at a consignment sale in Lubbock
for $50, painted it black and had Alice recover the cushions.
Blake built the bookcase for all of the baby's books, puzzles, etc.
The plates and wall shelf were all in my room when I was a baby
but were brown so we painted it white as well!  

 The left side/adult side of the room.

This room holds all of my clothes and serves as the guest bedroom!
I had Alice make a bed skirt and king shams in a coordinating fabric
and 3 Euro shams and a neck roll to pull everything in the room together. 

 The crib. 

Since we do not know what we are having and won't until it arrives
we went with gender neutral fabrics.
I special ordered the mobile from Etsy.
And once baby comes we will get the remaining initials for the wall. 

Changing area. 

We decided against baskets
because they are expensive and what do you do with them later.
So we went with plastic boxes from Wal-Mart
and had Alice make liners for them. 

Windows. 

We did not want to spend a lot of money on the windows
since we will be moving in May.
I made the valance myself
and had Momma find some coordinating fringe
that I glued to the inside of the white curtains I found
at Bed, Bath and Beyond. 

 Blake getting ready for baby!!! 

We can NOT wait to meet this precious child!!!

We start our birthing classes, infant CPR, road rules classes, etc. 

on Tuesday night that will last for 6 weeks. 

We are getting there!!

Hurry up July! 

24 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of baby: Corn on the Cob

(8.5-9 inches and 1.5 pounds)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Not sure but I’d say somewhere around 18 pounds,

if I had to guess

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants and tops except the occasional stretchy (ie elastic) regular pants

Gender: Will know July 2013

Movement: Constantly feeling little kicks and punches

(am a little fearful when the baby gets bigger, they’re just going to plain hurt then!)

Sleep: Sleeping okay but it’s getting worse.  Have to go to the bathroom often and going back to sleep isn’t so easy b/c I can’t seem to get comfortable.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach, being able to bend over and do easy things without having a belly in the way and being able to see my feet!

Cravings: nothing really 

Symptoms: my stomach is getting large and in the way, ha!  

Best Moment this week: Baby Biz had the hiccups!!! 

Spring Break 2013

We were busy, busy, busy this Spring Break

criss crossing Texas! 

We started the week off by trading in the Tahoe 

for a mommy car while passing through Abilene. 

Denali Yukon XL 

We love all the space 

and everything else is exactly the same as our old Tahoe

except the color. 

And it is pet approved!!

 After swapping cars, 

we continued on to Houston for the weekend.  

We stayed with one of my mom's dear friends, 

Lisa and Walker Agnew. 

Monnie and M were in town as well dropping off Mary 

so we were able to see them while we were in town...

worked out perfectly!  

After lunch at the Agnew's Saturday

 Saturday afternoon,

we met up with Dan and Eric at the Rodeo.

It was great to see them 

and catch up while enjoying The Band Perry! 

Nikki, Dan, Eric, me, Blake and Erin

Sunday morning we left Houston 

and headed north to the Woodlands. 

Anadarko tower

We drove around for a bit, 

shopped at the Town Square (cute stores) 

and met my parents other good friends, 

Joanne and Barney Barnwell, 

at the Country Club for lunch. 

Blake, me, Barney and Joanne

We were supposed to meet Blake's roommates for the summer for supper Sunday night

but Mr. Colburn caught a stomach bug 

so we ended up just stopping by and visiting with Mrs. Colburn. 

She is delightful 

and we are SO incredibly grateful for them offering up their home

for Blake to live in while he is in the Woodlands this summer. 

After visiting with her, 

we had supper at Mi Cocina 

and then headed to the Marriott Waterway for some shut eye! 

We hit the road Monday morning

Abilene bound for a few days. 

Blake met Eddie at the farm Tuesday to work on the fence

while I did some work. 

Wednesday we went to the dentist, 

met with the financial advisor about baby Garrett

and then hit the road for Pecos. 

We stayed Wednesday night at the Quality Inn in Pecos

and it was MISERABLE! 

We had both RHETT and george henry with us

and neither slept worth a damn; 

in fact george meowed all night long at the door. 

We woke up Thursday morning, 

handled business and headed home to Lubbock! 

We were all so glad to be home 

and the pups were over the moon to see us too

when we finally made it that evening!!

We spent the remainder of the week hanging out

which was fantastic! 

We rode our bikes, 

my new Schwinn.....love it! 

finished up some things in the nursery, 

adorable mobile from Etsy

 went to the Range to hit some balls, 

got adopted by a dog, 

precious but can not stay here! 

 enjoyed the sunshine, 

helped Jill move into her new place in Lubbock, 

grilled lots of stuff on the grill, 

applied for scholarships, 

relaxed

and we are rounding out the great week 

with Blake having to visit the Emergency Clinic for ridiculous allergies! 

All in all it was a great week 

spent with my favorite guy around. 

Tomorrow it's (sadly) back to the grind...

Caddie Mae turns 29

I had a fabulous birthday although Blake was in class all day

and by all day I mean, 

ALL day. 

But because he is the BEST guy in the world, 

he couldn't leave the house without wishing me happy birthday first

so....

My 5 boys waking me up with
a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese
and a delicious caramel macchioto

I spent the day resting and pampering 

(ie. getting a massage) 

by myself...

it was glorious! 

When Blake got home that evening

 he surprised me with all my presents

his homemade bows he made himself.....melt my heart

 And sweet Crockett sharing the love with Momma

(although his wrapping didn't have a present, ha!) 

We ended the day with a delicious supper

at the Hibachi grill in town. 

Until next year.

Blake turns 32

Blake had a nasty test on this birthday this year

but what we got to do the afternoon of his birthday 

made it his BEST birthday ever!

We went and got to see our sweet baby...

and it was the most precious sight we've ever seen! 

Big Foot 

Sweet little face

 Blake has gotten semi-simple in his old age

and requested Whataburger for this birthday supper! 

It was a wonderful day! 

I hope you have your best year yet babe!!