Weeks Go By

The title to my post could describe a couple of things right now - the nauseating weeks of my first trimester (12 weeks as of yesterday!), as well as the amount of time that seems to pass between my blog posts as of late! I really do appreciate all of your words of concern and statements that you miss my posts - so very sweet. I'm hopeful that now that I am in the home stretch of the first trimester, the morning sickness eases up. My OB/GYN told me this week that my blood work at my last appointment tested borderline over active for my thyroid. She said this is typical in the first trimester and could explain my overwhelming nausea - she checked it again this week and if it continues to be somewhat over active we will see about treating it with suppressants.

So...my little bean is 12 weeks! We had an ultrasound this week and got to hear his or her heartbeat for the first time, which I believe is just the loveliest sound in the world. He/she jumped around some during the ultrasound, and just like that, I was transported back to 3 years ago during my pregnancy with Alexandra. It really is amazing how time flies. Alexandra started her "big girl class" at daycare this week, and now plays on a new playground (the "big playground" she explains to me with eyes as big as saucers) and eats breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria with her class. I dropped her off a little late at daycare yesterday morning and left her with her friends in the cafeteria, eating Cheerios. I found myself standing in the doorway, just watching her - and then cried on my way to work. I can't believe she is getting SO big! Man am I in trouble when she is ready for kindergarten, if I am getting this worked up over the cafeteria!

Wanted to leave you with a picture of the little bean (which Alexandra has already named with a REAL name, not just Elmo or Mickey Mouse or something like that. We will see if the baby ends up getting the name his or her big sister picked out.). This is a 3-D scan at 12 weeks - I know it's difficult to tell parts, but the baby is facing the screen. I labeled the various parts, but I know even that probably won't help!


I'm off to Little Rock this afternoon for a deposition...have a wonderful weekend!

Birthdays & Baseball

Sunday nights always make me a little sad, don't they for you, too? The work week drags by until it is Friday afternoon and you are giddy with excitement at the prospect of two whole days of nothing (well, not nothing - Kroger, Target, laundry, and cleaning always seem to wiggle their way in there). The weekend flies by in typical fashion, and the next thing you know it is Sunday night and you have another long week that lies ahead of you.

This weekend was particularly wonderful for us, full of a birthday celebration, family visiting from out of town, and almost pleasant temperatures (around 90 as opposed to 100 - hey, I'll take it). Friday was my husband Ryan's 35th birthday and I picked up a dozen cupcakes from Gigi's to celebrate.


These cupcakes are downright sinful - every one of them (and I do mean EVERY LAST ONE of them) that was eaten this weekend was devoured but there was a huge gob of buttercream icing left on everyone's plates. The icing is as tall as the cake part itself.


They are about as delicious as they look, though some were better than others. My personal favorite was the Strawberry Shortcake that you see in the middle of the box. Ryan's pick for his first taste was the White Midnight Magic.


Ryan's dad and step-mother, and our nephew, John Michael, came up Friday night to visit for the weekend and stayed through Sunday early afternoon. After breakfast Saturday morning, the kids headed outdoors to play with sidewalk crayons/chalk.


Maybe I'm just a bit OCD, but man are those things a mess - chalk was all over every square inch of Alexandra's skin. Plus, the texture of chalk really makes my skin crawl. Perhaps I am just a bit sore because one furry and lovable misfit of ours made off with two of the sidewalk crayons and had a green tongue as proof of her shenanigans.


After our adventures in chalk and a little time spent on the slide, we headed in to watch a movie - John Michael was adamant that Ryan and I had to watch "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", which he assured us was hysterical. It actually was a very cute little movie, we were glad we watched it with him. Alexandra climbed into the seat right next to John Michael and seemed to be spell-bound for the first 15 minutes before she got distracted.


She did love sitting next to her big cousin, and he seemed to enjoy himself as well. This picture is my favorite from the weekend - Alexandra had just leaned over to give John Michael a hug, and just laughed and laughed afterwards! He's a pretty good sport!


Following lunchtime and naps, we headed out to the backyard again so John Michael could show us what a great t-ball player is and how he could knock the wiffle ball over the house or across the fence, which he did repeatedly. What surprised me was how much interest Alexandra had with the wiffle ball bat - she picked it up and did NOT want to let go.

This series of pictures cracks me up...

Biting her lower lip with excitement...


Showing Pappa how far she will hit it...


Wrinkling her nose in concentration...


Pure joy!


With so many wiffle balls flying around, Pearl was beside herself with excitement - you could see in her eyes that she was just begging for one of the balls to play with and call her own.


I finally lured her away from the wiffle ball bat with promises of the water table. I ask you, is there anything cuter than a toddler with bouncy curls and a little ruffle on the butt? I think not.


Hope you all had just as nice a weekend!

Farm Fun

Hello friends! I am pleased to announce my return to the living! Work has settled down (a bit) and the morning sickness is starting to ease off (hopefully there won't be a rebound). I've been woefully inadequate with blogging (posting, reading, and commenting) as of late, but I'm hoping to rectify that in the coming weeks.

I'm so behind in blogging, I'm just now posting pictures from our trip to my hometown of Harrodsburg - which trip was over a month ago! Alexandra and I drove the hour from Louisville to see my parents and some of my extended family - she has such a love of animals that I also wanted to take her to my grandmother's and uncle's farms to see a few of her favorites.

At my Mamma's farm, Alexandra and Mimi (my mom) were greeted by Lily, the sweetest dog that has ever graced God's green earth.


Alexandra was intrigued by the rooster and chickens. In case you haven't had an up-close experience with chickens, they are the dumbest and meanest animals EVER. No, I'm not being cruel, that's just how it is. Alexandra would have walked right into that chicken coop if we would have let her.


Alexandra wanted to search for some cows but alas there were none at my Mamma's farm - so instead she enjoyed standing on the fence like a little cowgirl and watching Kit and Kate, two horses my grandparents have owned for years.


Looks like a natural, doesn't she?


From Mamma's, we headed to my Uncle Steve's to see some more horses and to see those elusive cows that Alexandra kept issuing demands for.

Horses are my personal favorite...I snapped dozens of pictures of this handsome guy.



Alexandra was a little skittish around my Uncle's large tractor, but she thought the riding lawn-mower/tractor was just her size.


We headed out of the barn in our continued search for cows, though I couldn't seem to turn my attention away from these beauties.


At long last, we found the cows, who were smart and had chosen to stand under trees for shade, out in the field. Uncle Steve wanted to make his little great-niece happy, so he called for the cows and summoned them closer with a bucket of feed. Alexandra wasn't content with just observing them from outside of the gate. No, my child wanted to go out in the field and stand with the cows while they ate. I swear, my daughter has absolutely no fear - at least when it comes to large animals. I guess the fact she has been around an 80 pound Lab all of her short life has made her pretty confident around animals!

Uncle Steve leading Alexandra out for a closer view of the cows:


I swear, this one looks like he was actually sticking his tongue out at the camera....rude little bugger.


Enjoy your weekends! Today is a special day for us, it's my husband's 35th birthday. Happy Birthday Ryan, we love you!