Big Week!

(No, we didn't decide on a name for our Ladybug yet, so stop asking! My lovely husband is being indecisive and dragging his feet. Love you honey! Anyways, we hope to have one soon.)

No, the reason this has been a big week so far is b/c I found the bedding for both Ladybug's nursery & Nate's big boy room! (This is major news, people. I have been obsessing and up all hours of the night making lists of lists of lists. Just ask Greg.) I do love decorating a nursery, but wow, putting a big boy room on top of that is giving me a little anxiety. But, now that I have the bedding picked out, I can search for all the fun stuff.....wall art, baskets/buckets/bins (my fave), and knick-knacks. So fun!!

Here's what I've got so far. First up, Ladybug's nursery.....the colors are going to be lavender & sage green. (With a HINT of pink!) :)


And here's a throw pillow for Nate's big boy room. I've only bought him a quilt so far, and it's actually edged in navy instead of light blue like in the picture. But, you get the picture. It's not going to be TOO themey, but will have a few cars & trucks (or as Nate calls them "beep beeps") around. I had to find something that stuck with the primary color-theme, since he is staying in his old room and we don't want to repaint!

Gotta love Target deals!!

And I'm also doing some prelim-furniture shopping for big boy beds, b/c when my parents come next week for Nate's bday party, they are going to buy it for us. So nice! And then sometime in September we'll make the switch....crib no more for Nate. It is going to be traumatic I'm sure!

Presenting.......our little Ladybug!!

We got great news today at the doctor: Bug is healthy, & measuring well, and.....is a GIRL!! I think I am still in shock. I was sure it was a boy, just b/c my pregnancies have been so similar. But, I was wrong with Nate too, so, so much for my maternal instincts!

We got a ton of ultrasound printouts this time (thank goodness b/c at our 12 wk appt the printer was broken). She wasn't as active as Nate was (even though I had my 12 oz coke this morning!), but thankfully they were able to get a good view anyways. I just still can't believe it's a girl!!!!!!! (Mom, Bec, and L - please don't buy TOO much pink stuff!)

So, we haven't finalized a name yet....will do so soon though. I told Greg I needed a name for sure in 48 hrs, haha. Right now, he's just calling her ladybug - too cute. He is already wrapped around her little finger.

I posted a belly pic yesterday on my slideshow, since I was 20 wks. Definitely a belly there!! The doctor said my weight gain is on track though, whew. Only 7 lbs gained so far. It still looks like I need to lay off the mac'n'cheese though! :)

According to www.babycenter.com, our little ladybug weighs 10.5 oz and is 10 inches long from head to heel. Like a long banana! Crazy that she's so big already. It was sooo wonderful hearing her heartbeat today and getting confirmation that she is healthy.

Gosh, it's so weird to say "she"....I am going to have to get used to this!!

A Friend's Adoption Journey

Some of our good friends, Mary Leigh & Nick Brown, have decided to adopt a baby from South Korea!! We are so excited for them, as they start this journey towards parenthood. They are going to be AMAZING parents, and we want to help them in any way we can (b/c if you didn't know, international adoptions are expensive! :)

Please feel free to look at ML's new blog anytime: www.bringinghomebabybrown.blogspot.com to follow their journey. Or, I have a button on my sidebar titled "Jumping Off" that will take you directly to their blog, where you can make a donation or just offer some encouraging words.

Congrats, ML & Nick!! We are so excited for you guys!!!

ANXIOUS

I am counting down the hours till Thursday morning --- we find out whether Baby Bug is a boy or a girl!!! I haven't really been thinking about it *TOO* much these past few weeks, but now, it's ALL I can think about. Gosh Thursday, hurry up and get here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(And just keep your fingers crossed that he/she is active that morning and wants to show off the "goods!" I am drinking a coke before the appt just to help and make sure! :)

Nate's visits with his grandparents

Like mentioned in my Biltmore post, Nate got to stay with his Grandmum & Granddad last weekend in Johnson City, TN. He loved all the toys Mum-Mum had...a big dump truck with blocks, wiffle balls & bat, and of course, Mum-Mum's car keys. He had a good time exploring everywhere and even got to go to the park one day! They said he was super good while we were in Asheville and he loved watching a NASCAR race on TV with them one night...dear Lord. Greg and I were happy to see him Sunday when they brought him to Asheville. He was making a new fashion statement, wearing socks with his crocs!! All of us met up with my parents (Nana & Pops) and headed to Chili's for a family lunch before going our seperate ways.

After lunch, Nana & Pops took Nate & I to Clemmons, NC (about a 2 hr drive) and Greg headed back to TN with his parents. Nate got a special visitor that night - Aunt Bebe! She came into town just to see him (and spoil him). We ate at my fave Mexican place, where Nate proceeded to eat a pound of rice, and enjoyed licking the salsa off his chips. He is his daddy's son for sure!! Bebe even brought presents & an oreo cake for Nate, b/c she can't come to his bday celebration in August. So sweet! So we had a little bday party and he went to bed happy.

We spent the rest of the week trying to spend as much time with Deedee & Gregg as possible (they are Nate's great-grandparents, who live in an assisted living community nearby). He liked riding around in Gregg's walker, and playing peek-a-boo with Deedee. Another day, Nate got to meet some of Nana's teacher friends (who were my age!) and their kiddos - one was 12 mo. and the other was 15 mo. We had a fun playdate! Nana & Pops took us to Tanglewood pool our last day, and Nate enjoyed splashing around in the SHALLOW water. (I think it was about 4 inches deep.) During our picnic lunch, he tried salami for the first time and loved it. (I think it's b/c we told him it was sausage, haha!) He had fun playing outside at Nana & Pops' all week too...especially running up & down the hill in the sideyard. He was a busy bee the whole time and really enjoyed seeing all of his relatives. Nate & I flew back Thursday morning, and made it home without many problems. He is a pretty good traveler for a toddler!!

Enjoy the pics below...

Biltmore Getaway

Thanks to Joyce & Stan, Greg and I were able to have a kid-free trip to the Biltmore in Asheville, NC this past weekend!! (It was a belated 5th anniversary present.) We left Nate at their house in Johnson City, TN (a little over an hour from Asheville) and spent all day Saturday at the Biltmore...wow, what a place! I had been there twice as a teenager, but never really appreciated it. And if you've never been there, you MUST go. It is simply breathtaking....175,000 sq. ft of the most beautiful, family-owned house! And so much history....George Vanderbilt built it in 1895 and the whole estate sits on 8000 acres. We did an audio tour of all 4 floors and it took over 3 hrs. I was exhausted to be on my feet that long (and actually had a near-fainting spell on the 2nd floor, ha!) but it was worth it. The house has a total of 250 rooms and 43 bathrooms (which was unheard in those days, b/c most houses didn't even have ONE indoor bathroom!!

After the audio tour of the house, we shared a pizza in the courtyard area and browsed all the gift shops before venturing on to tour the gardens. We didn't walk through all of them, b/c I was tired and it looked like it might rain. But of what we saw, it was beautiful!






After the gardens, we headed to the winery....Greg could hardly contain himself he was so excited!! I was too...b/c I decided ahead of time I was going to have a few sips of wine. (Yes, I checked with my doctor and got the thumbs-up.) It was a lot smaller than we had pictured, but nevertheless, fun. We did a quick 10 minute self-guided tour and then headed into the tasting room. Greg and I were the only ones at our table of 8 that wanted to try red wines...everyone else only tried white/blush ones. No thanks! We hit it off with the hostess and she hooked us up. I got nervous after a few sips though, and opted for grape juice instead! We did end up buying a few bottles though, and Greg promised to wait until after Dec 9th to crack them open! :)
For dinner, Bec had highly recommended trying Tupelo Honey Cafe in downtown Asheville, so we took her suggestion...and LOVED it. Super cute atmosphere and interesting people. The food was amazing too....Greg had pork chops and I had a veggie plate. The waitress even talked me into trying "sauteed greens" - kale & chard. YUMMY!! And the best part...banana pudding for dessert. I was in heaven! We tried to walk off our food coma and found the used bookstore/champagne bar Joyce & Stan had raved about. Greg bought a book and I drooled over all the champagne & wine! We headed back to our hotel, happy and exhausted from a wonderful day together. I love spending time with my handsome hubbie!!

Meeting Colin

Nate & I went to see a good friend, Leah, today and her new baby, Colin! He was born on July 1st, weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz. He is super handsome and I LOVED holding that little guy. I can hardly remember Nate being that small! He was very cute and I loved his long eyelashes and adorable mouth! And I was glad to see that Leah seems to be handling mommyhood very well so far. Her family lives very close by, and they haven't been over too much to help yet. I was impressed!! I mean, my mom stayed with us Nate's first 11 days, and I cried when she left!! Leah is just a natural I guess :)


Nate wasn't too interested in the baby, but had a ball playing peek-a-boo with their dog (who was outside in the backyard)! He also liked exploring in Colin's room, and putting Colin's stuffed frog in the swing. And rocking it a LITTLE too fast...watch out Baby Bug!! :)

Fourth of July weekend

What a great family weekend! We took Nate to the park Friday night - since it was finally COOL - and he had a ball. I have never seen him in the swings for so long. He said "more, more" everytime we asked him if he was ready to go try something else. (Apparently, we need a swing in our backyard....take note, Nana!) We ran into an old buddy from Kindermusik, and Nate had fun running around with him at the park. Nate played peek-a-boo, went down the slide, walked on the "balance beam," and swung on the tire swing with Dad. It was a great way to wear him out before bedtime!!

Saturday, we all went out to the greenway for a long family walk. Again, the weather was relatively mild. (Meaning it was under 85 degrees.) Nate got to explore, talk to some dogs at the Bark Park, and then we had a Jimmy Johns picnic (SO good). Though I think Nate's favorite part was the juice box! That evening, we grilled out with some neighbors and Nate got to play with 2 of his favorite buddies - Haakon and Gracie. Nate LOVED the bratwursts his Dad made - he almost ate a whole one! - and pigged out on chips too. He even caught a glimpse of the fireworks amidst the rain, and before going to bed. It was a great 4th of July and I got to spend it with my two favorite guys!

Here are some pics from the park: