Father's Day Weekend, Lesson Learned, and More....

Well.....it was Nolan's FIRST Father's Day so he was super excited! He really LOVES being a Daddy...even more than I thought he would! He does a great job with him and I can't wait until Jake gets to be old enough to fish and play ball with daddy! It will be so cute!

We went to the lake for the weekend, since that is Nolan's favorite place to be. We actually bought a small fishing boat last week. It was Nolan's Father's Day/Birthday/Graduation present! ;) He could NOT wait to try it out. It's not one of those fancy ones, but is definitely an upgrade from the canoe he was fishing out of! :) Stupid me did not bring my camera this weekend, so I am just attaching the few pics from my mom's camera. My grandparents were able to come up from Montgomery too, so it was great to be able to hang out with them....and they loved being able to spend time with Jake. Jake really did love watching them and laughing at them too!

Jake wore a "Happy Father's Day" shirt for Daddy!

Jake's new jammies! I love him in navy blue!Nolan in his new boat with me next to him in the paddle boat....getting my leg workout in! ;)

This picture is actually a few weeks old, but I thought it was too cute! It was drizzling some outside, but I wanted to go on a walk with Jakey. He slept the entire time. He LOVES the carrier. If you look close you can see how wet it gets around his mouth because he loves to slobber and chew all over it!

Back to this weekend, I was going to share a valuable lesson for those "nursing mommas" out there. If you have been outside at all lately, you know it has been SCORCHING HOT. Just walking outside for 2 seconds makes you sweat. The water at the lake was 90 degrees, if that tell you anything. Well I was REALLY looking forward to laying out this weekend. I'm white as snow since I can't exactly go to the pool and lay out several times a week like last summer. My mom was planning on watching Jake so I could spend a couple hours in the sun. Well, I wanted to pump a bottle before going so I wouldn't have to worry about coming back up to feed him. I ended up getting 10 ounces!!! Then...me being as smart as I am...went right into the BLISTERING sun right after that to sweat another 10 ounces probably! About an hour passes and I was just too hot, so I decided to go up to the house for some water. I walk into the house and all of a sudden everything turns black. I try to make it to the fridge because I was just thinking in my head....if I could only get some water, I'll be fine. Well..I didn't quite make it, but I decided to pass out instead. Luckily, my mom happened to be cooking in the kitchen at the time and turned around just in time to catch me and preventing my head from splitting open on the hard floor! She must be a strong woman! She has two bum knees and I am definitely not a lightweight! So thanks mom for saving me!!!! So after finally waking back up we figured that....DUH....if you pump 10 ounces out its probably not the smartest thing to go lay out and sweat without drinking any water! So that was the drama of the weekend!

On a lighter note, I have some cute Jakey pics from the past couple of weeks to share

He is starting to really love his jumparoo! He hasn't gotten the jumping thing down pat yet, but he loves to make the music and lights play and hit all the toys.

Jake in his high chair. I put him in it while I am cooking dinner and he loves to watch and play with his toys.

Jake loves his bouncy seat. We actually feed him cereal from it most of the time since he still can't sit up good enough to eat in his high chair just yet. He is finally starting to eat most of the food, rather than spit most of it out. He tries desperately to feed himself and grab the spoon most of the time. He is a mess! :)

Paige, Bobby and all the kids left today for a beach trip to Gulf Shores. It worked out so that they could stop by in town to eat lunch, so I met them for about an hour. It was so good to see them all! I haven't really been able to spend time with the kids since Christmas. They are getting so big! I took some pics of them in the car before they got back on the road.

Me and my mom are leaving Wednesday morning to go to Gulf Shores and spend the rest of the week with them all. I can't wait! We are all staying in the same condo, along with another couple and their little boy, so this should be interesting! :) We all come back Saturday, but go straight to the lake and Paige and the crew are staying until Monday. So it should be a great visit! Hopefully I will be good and take lots of pics! :)

Now to catch up!

First of all, read the blog below about Jake's birthday (it's a new post too)

Ok...now that I blogged about Jake's birthday, this is going to be a catching up blog about his first 4 months. I am posting some random pictures from the last four months. For more pictures you can always go to my facebook page. These pictures are in reverse order, so they start with the most recent and go backwards (I didn't feel like spending forever rearranging pictures). Enjoy! :)

I stayed with my parents until Nolan got done with clinicals, so it ended up being about 10 weeks or so. My parents were AWESOME letting me and Jake stay there. It was so good having mom there to help me out with baby advice and cooking for all of us!
After Nolan finished his Montgomery clinical, we moved back into our house and Jake finally got As many of you know, Jake is a chunk these days, despite being born at only 6 pounds 1 ounce. I guess he thought he had to catch up to his daddy quickly (Nolan was born at almost 10 pounds!) For his first several weeks, Jake was gaining an average of 2 ounces a day! I think I have some pretty fattening milk! But we love his chunky cheeks and precious rolls!

Now that summer vacation is here (one of the perks of teaching) I will hopefully have more time to stay updated. Hope you enjoyed the pics and hopefully I will blog soon. Some upcoming events are lake trips, Jake's first beach trip with Paige and her fam, and more lake trips!

A Productive 6 months! :)

Well.....don't worry, I am still going to try to keep this updated! I've been kinda slow about blogging. Ok, let's be honest...I've been a HORRIBLE blogger.

So let's start where I left off. I was 30 weeks pregnant. I think I have a couple more belly pics to post. I think the last one I took was when I was 34 weeks pregnant.

On February 1st (this was a Sunday), Nolan left for Montgomery for his first clinical for school. On that same day I moved in with my parents so I wouldn't be pregnant and alone...I was a scaredy cat about being by myself. That was an emotional day because I knew that Nolan would be gone for 10 weeks, and was very worried that he would not make it in time to see Jake be born when I went into labor. Well the following Tuesday I went in for my 37 week checkup. The doctor said I was 1-2 cm dialated, and the week before I was 1 cm. So I did not think that was much progress. Well......two days later I wake up to get ready for work and noticed some odd feelings in my stomache. I have been having some crampy feelings for a couple weeks, but they had not been painful. That day I could tell they felt different. It was slightly painful and hurt in my lower stomache, all away around to my lower back. I didn't think to much about it and went on getting ready for work. I got downstairs to eat breakfast and told mom about it, because by this time I was noticing that the pain was kind of coming and going-which seemed like contractions to me. Mom thought otherwise...she was sure it was just braxton hicks contractions. I kept telling her I thought this was for real, so we read through several pregnancy books to look for signs for real labor vs. false labor, and it seemed like I had signs of both. Since we still weren't sure, I decided to go into work anyway. I told her to be prepared for a phone call!

I called Nolan on the way to work and told him I might be experiencing some contractions, and he didn't seem to believe me either, and told me to just check in with him in a little while.
I got to work, and the pains were getting a little stronger, so I called my sister Paige, and I FINALLY found someone who believed I was in labor! She told me to call the doctor, so I did. The nurse I spoke with wasn't sure if I was descrbing true labor either bc I had not been really timing the pains. She made an appt for me to see the on-call doctor at 2:00 (that was the earliest time available.) Keep in mind that at this point it was about 11:15. So I continued teaching and timing my contractions at the same time, which was no easy task! I tried not to make it too obvious that I was in labor or my 9th graders would have flipped out! Finally, at about 1:30, I left work and drove myself to the hospital. At this point I was hurting very badly, and the contractions were coming every 3-4 minutes!

My wonderful mother met me there, so I was only by myself at the hospital in the waiting room for about 15 minutes. Finally, at about 2:30 I got to meet with the on-call doctor, who I had never seen before, and he said I was about 5 cm dialated, and that my baby was going to have a birthday today! So my mom got Nolan on the phone and told him to get his behind there! He got there just in time to be with me during my epidural. He was lucky to miss out on the rough contractions. My mom and my heating pad saved me during those! After the epidural I was feeling great! I got to visit with all my family and Nolan's family. And at 7:04, Jake was born! :) It was such an amazing experience!
Here are some pictures of the wonderful occasion on February 5, 2009!

We had lots of visitors in the hospital. I don't want to try to name them, because I know I will accidentally leave off some names. Paige was able to come the night I had Jake. I think she started rounding the kids up as soon as she heard I was for sure in labor. She picked up all four kids and drove all the way from Knoxville by herself with them to try to make it as soon as she could. (Bobby came up the next day) She was got there about an hour after Jake was born. It was so sweet of her and the kids to come all the way. I know it was rough on them. The kids all looked like zombies when they came in, but it was so good to see them all!

Poor Nolan....he had such a rough day! :)

A Productive Weekend! (updated pics)

The nursery is finally in the beginning stages! We decided to paint the room yellow, which really brightens up the room. Nolan's momma came down from Jasper this morning and slaved away ALL day in our house. She painted, cleaned, and cooked! Nolan's Aunt Donna also came and helped paint and put the furniture together. I can never thank them enough! What an awesome family we have! We are so blessed. Nobody let me lift a finger, and they didn't want me smelling the paint, so I went out shopping! I'm almost done with Christmas presents! But back to the nursery...it's starting to look so great! Now all we have left to do is more decorating. I bought the valence to match the bedding, and Paige said she was going to make letters to spell his name (whenever we decide what that will be) to hang above his crib. It is definitely making me so excited!!!! Here are some pics!

Nolan worked really hard all weekend and I'm really proud of him! He was such a handyman! He installed these awesome blinds on our kitchen door window, and put up a full-length mirror for me that I have been wanting forever! He also put together the entire changing table by himself, and worked with Donna on the crib! He was a busy guy this weekend, but did a great job!

I also got a new car last weekend! It's a Chevrolet Equinox, which I really love! I'll have to take a picture when its daylight and will post that below. We got it for a great deal. It will definitely give us more room than the little Sunfire! :)

I am 30 weeks as of today! I can't believe he will be here in 10 weeks! (or less) We got the 4-D ultrasound last week. He definitely looks like Nolan! He has his lips and nose for sure, and maybe my chin. But he is so precious already! I can't wait to see him! We also know he is very flexible! During the whole ultrasound, he had his leg sticking straight up, where his toes were literally on top of his head! I don't see how that is comfortable, but I guess he could move if he wants. :)

Here is my 30 week belly pic. It's been a while since I have taken one. He is definitely moving around and growing. Strangers are always commenting on how low he is, and I definitely feel like he is too! Most days, he is sitting directly on my bladder! I can't believe I still have 10 weeks to grow! I'm gonna be huge!!!!

Paige and ALL the babies visit!

Ok....this was a few weekends ago, so I'm a little late. Paige and all the kids were able to come down for a weekend, which was LOTS of fun because I was having withdrawals from all the babies! Hunter and Shelby are getting SO big! I can't believe it. Shelby turns 4 in December, so she's a real big girl. She's actually into Hannah Montana!

Nolan of course loved his "Shelby-time." He thinks she is the greatest thing in the world! Hopefully she may move down to number 2 after February! ;)

Mom got Hunter and Shelby a Junior Monopoly game which they LOVED. They were able to play with Gaggy and Poppa and Hunter won! They also played Twister which was the CUTEST thing ever but my camera was acting up, so no pics of that! :(

Reese is also growing like a weed! She is sitting up so good and is very close to crawling! She still has those precious blue eyes and keeps the WIDE OPEN all the time! (except during bottle time!)

I also had my garage sale that weekend and got rid of TONS of stuff and made a lot more money than I expected! Nolan's mom came down Friday night and helped get everything set up and priced. I could NEVER have done it without her! She was such a HUGE help. Thank you so much!!! :) I'm so excited that we have money to spend on things we need. On the to do list next is to paint the room and then put together the crib and changing table! So much left to do!!!

I also got to see Kimberly this same weekend at her baby shower. Its so fun to have another friend who has a baby that will be close to mine! Of course, her baby will definitely be longer than mine! Haleigh also found out recently she is pregnant, so we took a pregnancy pic. So many babies! So exciting!

Now onto the next post of last weekend...

Halloween and Alumni game!

This post is a little past due....

Nolan and I went to Montgomery on Halloween weekend. We got to see lots of friends from college and had a GREAT time. On the way down we stopped to see Mandi, and then stayed the night with Steve and Kayla. Nolan was glad to have his guitar buddy back for a night! Saturday morning I went to the alumni volleyball game. Of course I couldn't play, but I got to serve for Brittney and I didn't miss any! :) It was SO good to see all the vball girls!!!

After the volleyball game and lunch with all the girls Nolan and I went to the Faulkner homecoming football game. It was fun and they won!!! :) Yay for them! We got to see lots more old friends at the game and it was so fun! It made me miss college so much! The real world is not fun! :(

After we left the football game, we went straight to Rick and Brooke's NEW house for the Halloween PARTAY! I was bad and didn't take very many pics. I did take one of me, Brooke, and Kelly. They were both superheros. Nolan and I went as rednecks. His mullet fit him well! :)

Some other fun news is that I ordered the crib and changing table! I'm so glad that is out of the way. I finally found a set I liked at JCPenny, and it should be shipped here sometime towards the end of next week. I can't wait! Hope Nolan is excited about spending a few hours putting it all together! :) I'm glad I finally have some time to start getting things together. We are having a garage sale at my parents' house Sat morning, so hopefully will get rid of tons of stuff to make room for everything the baby needs. Nolan's wonderful mom volunteered to come help with it. I am SO thankful for that! I could never do it by myself! The next step is to get the room painted. We are painting it light green. As soon as we get it painted, and the furniture put together I will post some pics. I haven't taken a belly pic in a while. I will take one this weekend for my 26 week picture. I can't believe I'm about to officially be in the 3rd trimester! YAY!!!! :)

Paige's visit and Tummy update

Two weeks since Mom's surgery! Things are getting a little better for her every day, although it is still very painful and hard for her. She is doing a great job with her therapy though. She makes Nolan very proud! :) Thanks for the prayers and keep praying that she progresses well!





While I'm on prayer requests, I need to mention Nolan's Grandad. He's had several medical issues lately and was in ICU at UAB for several days, but is now finally in a regular room. Please pray that he continues to improve and will be able to go home soon.





Paige got to come to Birmingham with Bobby and little Reesey the weekend after mom's surgery. I had a home volleyball tournament that same weekend, so I was not at the house very much. I spent most of it in the gym at Homewood High School! But the little time I got to spend was great! I left my camera with Paige and told her to take some pics while I wasn't there. Reese is getting so big! She is such a sweet-tempered beautiful little baby! And I don't just say that because she is my neice. :)

















Check out mom's sweatshirt she got from Paige. It says "I survived knee surgery!" She was definitely proud to wear it! :)








Reese and her "owl eyes." She always has her eyes WIDE open!








I also got a precious picture of little Reesey hugging her little baby cousin in my belly! (I think this picture is towards the top of the blog) How precious is she.
I also had a small baby shower at school during our professional development day. The school wanted to honor all the pregnant teachers at one time (there are 8 of us!). Here is a picture of the FOUR math teachers who are pregnant, and we are all a month apart starting in November.


And last but not least, my 22 week belly pic! I feel like time is flying by and we still have NOTHING DONE for the baby. We don't even have his name totally picked out. My excuse is that I have to wait until I have two seconds to spare after volleyball season is over, which is just around the corner. Then I have to get crackin!