Baby Registry

Since we have our first baby shower coming up next weekend, Alan and I have been working on our baby registry. We decided to register at Babies R Us and a local boutique called Posh Mommy. Navigating all the baby must-haves can be pretty confusing. We have been reading a bunch of reviews and comparisons trying to decide what would be the best choices for us.

We have really liked what we read about Britax. Of course, you can't even leave the hospital without a baby car seat. We really like the B-Safe 30 Infant Car Seat and I love that the color is very neutral.

Once Baby D is over 30 lbs though, we are going to need to upgrade from the infant car seat to a convertible car seat. The Boulevard 70 G3 Convertible Car Seat is again neutrally colored and we have a friends that have been really happy with the Boulevard. 

We also are looking at getting the Britax B-Agile Stroller. The best part about the stroller is that the infant car seat snaps into it.

I love the idea of glass bottles. I know they are are heavier than plastic ones, but we use glass containers at our house to store left overs instead of plastic, so it seems like an obvious choice for us. I have read good things about Dr. Brown's bottles. 

We are also planning to cloth diaper. We like the Bum Genius all-in-one, one-size, Freetime. Of course, he will probably be too small to fit into them right away so we are just going to use disposables until he fits into them. I have done tons of research about them and we are going to give it a go. I have read that the snaps might last a little longer than the velcro, so snaps it is!

And of course, to make the whole cloth diaper experience easier Bum Genius has a handy diaper sprayer. It attaches right to your toilet and helps cleaning up messes a little easier. 

Of course, that is just the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to baby gear. I can't wait for once Baby D to get here and we can actually test out what works best for him and us. We wont know until we try!

Adventures: Helen Keller Birthplace

On Tuesday, Mom and my sister Kelsey invited me to go with them to Tuscumbia, AL to see the Helen Keller house. None of us had even been before and it was only a little over an hour away. It was fascinating to see where she grew up. 

We even saw a video there of Helen Keller giving a speech. I had no idea that she spoke as well as she did! The three of us had such a fun day together. I love going on adventures with them!

27 Weeks

How far along: 27 weeks and 2 day

Baby size:  This week, baby weighs almost 2 pound and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He’s sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. 

Sleep: I have been sleeping great pretty much the whole time so far. It was an adjustment at the beginning to not be able to sleep on my tummy. I use to fall asleep on my tummy. Luckily, I am still sleeping great now and I haven't even had to invest in a body pillow or anything. 

Maternity Clothes: Yep! I picked up two pairs of pants from H&M, two pairs of shorts from Old Navy, and a couple of longer t-shirts and tank tops from Target. 

Food cravings : Not really. Alan even commented recently that he was fully expecting to have to make late night runs to pick up whatever random food I was craving at the time. I have been thinking that fruit and veggies are extra tasty lately. 

Food aversions: Maybe not a true aversion, but only thing that I haven't felt like eating off and on is meat. I can and do eat it, but if given the choice I love starches and always have. 

Symptoms: Since the hyperemesis has passed (thank goodness) I am mostly just tired. And I am definitely starting to feel bigger. I have been less steady on my feet, obviously I am not use to the change in my center of gravity. 

Doctor’s Appointment: I have an appointment next Tuesday and this one is the glucose screen. I have heard that the drink you have to drink is not that appetizing. 

Movement: He moves all the time, you can defiantly tell there is a baby in there. 

Belly Button: An innie, I would be shocked if it ever became an outie. 

Gender: A boy!

Best moment of the week: Alan not just feeling him move, but actually feeling a baby limb push against his hand. 

What I’m looking forward to: The baby shower my Mom and Sister are throwing me in a week and a half. They are so sweet and creative, it will be a blast. 

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy. I can't wait to be able to do that again!

Lately

Life lately has been keeping us busy. After our trip to Scotland and England (which I still need to post pictures about) it seems like the month of May just flew by. June, really is it June already? 

This puppy just kills me with his cuteness. While I was folding laundry he curled up next to the pile of socks I was collecting. I usually fold socks last. As I added more socks to the pile/on top of him he just fell asleep, perfect happy and cuddly. 

Now that the weather is finally warm enough, we have been enjoying the lake to the full extent. I found the cutest swimsuit for the summer at ASOS. Baby D and I are rocking it at 25 weeks. 

One weekend at the lake Alan and my brother broke out the smoker and cooked us up some pork butts and chicken. Yum!

I am so glad I snapped this picture of Alan in his glasses. I could just gobble him up! He usually only wears them right before bed. I wish he would wear them more. He just looks so dashing in. Paired them with the ginger beard and I just melt.

Bennett prefers his own chair on the dock with a towel. Silly spoiled puppy.

Another weekend at the lake my brother, Justice picked up 32 lbs of crawfish and we had a big boil.

My cousin Andrew and his girlfriend Holly came into town from Orlando. We took breaks from eating crawfish to digest on the dock. 

Justice and his girlfriend Melanie. Justice and my Mom can eat some crawfish. Especially if given the opportunity and enough time. Peel and eat for hours.

The crawfish Justice picked up was from a local guy that had brought them back from New Orleans that morning. Alive! We took one out and let Bennett see what the fuss was about.

He was very unsure about what exactly it was.

Alan and I just waiting on the first batch to come out!

I am pretty sure that Bennett is licking up juice on the ground from the crawfish that Dad is eating. I thought they were spicy so I am not sure how he was able to handle it.

Oh lake life. Of course Justice, Alan, and Andrew had to all get in the two person tube. They just tied a rope to the tube and the other end to the dock and enjoyed floating. 

Other than hanging out at the lake, I did a few fun crafty projects. My front door has been naked for a while. I was keeping my eye out for a springy wreath, but I haven't found anything that I got too excited about. I saw something similar to this at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens gift shop for $36. A short trip to Hobby Lobby and $9 later, I hot glued this bad boy together. The D was originally black and I just used some white paint I already had and a little sand paper to distress it. Easy, easy and I like the way it turned out. No more naked front door!

I also painted these D's for Alan's brother John and his fiancé Sarah's wedding in December. I am so excited for their wedding. I cant wait! The D's are going to decorate the reception and Sarah is going to hang one of them in their new house.

I know that might have been a lot of randomness all thrown together, but its been fun and busy. A great start to the summer.

Second Anniversary

I can not believe that Alan and I have already been married two years. These past two years have been amazing together and I love him more now then I ever thought I could.

We are so blessed to have been able to experience so many things together since our wedding day. We completed building our first house and moved in, we took our honeymoon to Rome, we expanded our family with sweet puppy Bennett, we took our first anniversary trip to Asheville, we found out that we are having a baby, and we are so excited that it is a little boy! We also just returned from a Babymoon/Anniversary trip to Scotland and England. We spent 10 days touring Edinburgh, the Scottish Highlands, and London. Once I sort through all of our pictures I will definitely share them.

It seems like each year together just gets better and better. We are so excited for the changes that the next year will bring us. We can not wait for Baby D to get here! We actually have a baby appointment this afternoon. It is so special that we get to check up on Baby D on this special day. After the appointment, Alan and I are going to celebrate over dinner. I can't believe that I am already over 25 weeks. He will be here before we know it!