Thomas and Robin

Thomas and I are so excited to announce that Sarah Claire is finally here! She made her grand appearance on November 29th at 5:25 pm. She is so happy and healthy and we are truly blessed to have such a sweet daughter. She was 7 pounds and 7 ounces and 20 inches long. Today at her 2 week appointment she was already up to 7 pounds and 15 ounces!! What a little piggy. =) She is such a good baby. She very rarely cries and is such a good sleeper. I'm totally so in love with her.

Here are some pictures of the last 2 weeks:

Before we went to the hospital to be induced:


After I got my epidural (our last family shot of just 2 of us):




I stayed dilated at 7 cm for 3 hours and the nurse said that she would give me 30 more minutes to progress or the doctor would have to do a c-section. With many prayers this was Thomas' reaction when 30 minutes later I was dilated to a 10!



Our first picture as a family of 3!


The most proud daddy ever!


The beautiful wreath my mom made for the hospital door:


Sweet shots of Sarah Claire:

So...This past weekend I was doing a little shopping at our local Target and lo and behold this kind lady comes up to me and proceeds to rub my belly. I am totally against anyone touching anyone elses belly! I mean who really thinks this is ok? I already feel HUGE and my back hurts everyday so I'm not really in the mood to deal with the crazy strangers. Anywho...this is my conversation with the lady in Target:
Her: "Oh my gosh you must be due anyday now, huh?"
Me: "Yea, in just 3 weeks!"
Her: "Three Weeks!! I don't believe that! Your huge, you will definatly go way before three weeks!!!"
Me: (akward laugh)
The lady behind me in the check out is cracking up and looking at me like, "Wow! Some people!"
Her: "Really, your belly is so big! How many are you having?"
Me: "Just the one!"
Her: "Oh"

Can you believe what some people think is appropriate?

I truly have the best friends and family in the world!! I have had two amazing showers one given by two of my best friends, Natalie and Megan, and the other was a family shower given my my aunt and uncle, Mike and Melissa.
I have had several people as for pictures of me with the belly and shower pics...so here are both! =)
These are two of the best friends I could ask for and the sweet hostesses of my shower.


These are pictures of the spread of yummy food they prepared. (And a shout out to Natalie's dad who carved the gorgeous carriage out of watermelon)


My mom (Gigi) and grandmother are on cloud nine and can't wait for Sarah Claire to get here.






I got so many GREAT gifts! My mom made this daygown.



Thomas' mom (on the left) is over the moon about having a girl in the family (besides me of course) after raising two boys.








My aunt and uncle gave Thomas and I a family shower. I was so excited to have Thomas there to open some of the girly gifts. (And you will see that had to get something "non-girly")


We got tons of great gifts! Thomas looks so cute opening up these tiny little pink things. However, on of the funniest things we got was a camo diaper bag for Thomas (so he wouldn't have to carry my ubber-cute Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake bag). After opening it up his comment was, "Awesome! It is insulated, I can take beer in this when I go duck hunting." =)





I will try to get a pregnancy pose picture up so you can get the full effect of the belly soon. Only 4 more weeks!!!! EEeee!!! We can't wait.

Sarah Claire's Room is finally finished! With the exception of a few tiny details it's complete! Thomas has been such a hard worker! He has put the crib together, built the shelves, hung the pictures, hung mirrors, put all the accesories (stroller, swing, ect.) together, and painted TONS of things that I wanted to match. =) He is so excited and is going to be the best daddy! Here are some pictures of our sweet baby's room!













Thomas made these shelves!


My mom found this chandalier and I painted it to match the nursery!


My mom made these curtains and I just adore them!!


Close up of the tie backs on the curtains.



Now that the room is complete all we need is a baby! Hopefully the next few weeks will fly by.

This past Saturday Thomas and I went to our childbirth class and let me just say...WOW! Wow on so many levels 1) it was a 7 hour long class 2) we had a 400 pound teacher who huffed, puffed, and sweated ALL DAY 3) way too many graphic videos and 4) why did I have so many "granola" people in my class who wanted to have a natural birth?!?!
First of all seven hours...one classroom...enough said! Thomas and I opted for the one day class instead of the once a week class for 6 weeks.
Second, our teacher weighed literally 300-400 pounds. She was dripping sweat and totally out of breath after passing out the papers at the beginning of class to the seven couples! Bless her heart she was so nice and informative, but the sweat and huffing and puffing was totally distracting. AND no one prepared me for her to lay on the floor and demonstrate how to breath and push. Let me just paint a picture for you. All seven couples are on the floor on yoga mats with the girls sitting Indian style and the boys sitting behind them. Then this 400 pound woman proceeds to heave her legs in the air and hee-hee-hee-who and start to push. Well it might not sound that funny but she was really pushing so hard that her face was the color of a tomato! I couldn't stop laughing! Thomas had his head buried in my back laughing his head off and I being in the front had no where to hide my head. I laughed until I cried! But of course Mr. and Mrs. Granola just looked at us like, "You immature little couple, this is a natural process." And no one else in the class cracked a smile! I was totally shocked! Who wouldn't think that a 400 pound woman on the floor with her legs in the air and grunting until her face was bloodshot isn't funny? I did!!
In fact I laughed so hard when we first got on the floor. The girls were supposed to lay on the yoga mat and relax, and think of a calming place. Well I while I'm just laying there and Thomas is sitting beside me, I see one couple and the guy has decied to lay down with his wife and spoon and rub all over her. It looked like they were trying to make another baby. OK...There is another couple that I can see that the guy is massaging the girls back and another where the guy is playing with the girls hair and rubbing all over her. Well I look back to smile at Thomas and make sure that he is seeing what I am (we aren't a couple who rubs all over each other in public, much less spoon in public) and he is leaning back against a chair and just about asleep. HAHA!!
Next, the videos we had to watch...well if you have been to a class like this then you know what I'm talking about. GROSS!!
And finally to all the peeps in my class who were natural birth advocates...Don't get me wrong, if you are woman enough to have a baby with no drugs...Great, but honestly what are you proving? We had this couple in the class who just gave off the impression that if you didn't have a "natural birth" then you were just doing something wrong. I want to have drugs as soon as possible! I am the first person to tell you I am a HUGE baby and don't want to feel the pain, and after watching previously mentioned "graphic videos" I know without medicine there will be immense pain!
I must say although it was a long, sometimes too graphic day Thomas and I did learn alot from the class. We are both so excited about welcoming our little girl into this world! I think Sarah Claire already has Thomas wrapped around her finger even now. We were out shopping the other day and usually it is me who is doing alot of buying but sweet Thomas was picking out things that Sarah Claire "needed". He got her some of the cutest outfits! It was priceless seeing him looking at these tiny little pink outfits and carrying them around. I love it!! He is going to be the best daddy!!
Well that's all for now. Sorry no pictures. =( However, the next post will be filled with them! I have a shower given by my sweet friends in Montgomery in a couple of weeks!

Thomas and I found out last Friday that we are expecting a GIRL!! I was totally shocked! I would have given money I was so sure that we were having a boy. I don't know why I was so sure, but I was. I even told Thomas on the way to the ultrasound that I felt like I should be more excited, but I just knew they were going to say boy and it wasn't really a surprise. Well...much to my surprise they said 100% sure it was a GIRL!! We are going to name her Sarah Claire.

Thomas and I are beyond excited and can't wait for our little Thanksgiving baby. The ultrasound tech said that they would probally bump my due date up a couple of days because she measured a little further than I really am. So as of now our due date is November 28. That is just three days after Thanksgiving! It seems like my due date is so far away, but when I think about Thanksgiving it doesn't seem that far. Hmmmm...

So now I am focused on finding crib bedding, which I am finding harder than I thought. I am probally going to have to have something made becuase it seems like everything out there now is SO THEMEY. I mean is it too much to ask to find some beautiful bedding that doesn't have a butterfly or flower or some other type of animal on it? If anyone has suggestions about where to look for bedding or even fabric plase let me know.
On another exciting note...our nursery furniture came in!! Here is a picture of it. I have been in LOVE with this furniture for a long time so when I found out I was pregnant I went ahead and ordered it. (I know maybe a little early, but I was excited)



Well that's all the news I have for now...

Life lately has been pretty great! First, morning sickness has finally started to subside. I have gone from being quizzy all day to just at night. Hip Hip Hooray! I have been so grateful that I have not actually thrown up. Thomas laughs at me because when I found out I was pregnant I bought all of these baby books. And read them all the time. When I got to the part about morning sickness, some of them said that morning sickness is a sign of a healthy pregnancy. So what did I do...I wasn't feeling quizzy and automatically started to worry. So like any crazy person, I started praying that I would feel pregnant so that I would know everything was o.k. I know what your thinking, "This chick is out of her mind! Be happy that you don't feel sick!" Well...it finally happened about a week after that, I felt it. And I felt it ALL DAY LONG! Well I couldn't do that much complaining because I had asked for it. Literally!! But it did make me feel more pregnant, so I was a semi-happy camper. Now I'm a very happy camper because I don't feel quizzy anymore!

Our next doctor appointment is May 21st. We have an appointment at 11 with the doctor that is doing the neural translucency test (the genetic test for down's, spina bifida, etc.) and then our regular appointment at 2. Unfortunately Thomas is not going to be able to take off all day for this, but thankfully my mom and grandmother are going to be able to come up. I am so excited about seeing the little butter bean again. I hate Thomas isn't going to be able to come but my mom is SO EXCITED that she is. Please keep us in your prayers during this testing. Any kind of testing, needles, etc. makes my SO nervous.

And finally, I had the best Mother's-to-be Day!! Thomas is so sweet and thoughtful. He had a whole day planned out for us. And he deserves extra credit because he had just got back in town from Norfolk, VA where he had been for 2 WEEKS! We went out to my favorite restaurant Saturday night, Bella Note. I got my usual...Tomato Basil Ravioli. YUM!! The next day we went to lunch after church and then got in comfy clothes and went to the movies. We saw Date Night and pigged out on Skittles and cookies with ice cream in the middle. When we got home he surprised me with the Reebok shoes I have been wanting. You know the ones? The ones with the little blow up balls that are supposed to work out your legs and booty. I'm so excited! I can't wait to use them. I was so excited about giving them a test drive today, but it is raining! BOO.

Sorry I don't have any pictures for this post...maybe next time.

THEN COMES THOMAS PUSHING A BABY CARRIAGE!!!!

We are expecting a baby December 1st!! We couldn't be more excited. We went to the doctor a few weeks ago and saw the little butter bean and heard the heartbeat. It was amazing! Thomas and I were both in awe!

Needless to say the grandparents-to-be are on cloud nine. Thomas and I are both the oldest children, so this will be the first grandchild on both sides. I think he/she will be very spoiled. In fact both mothers have already called and said they have bought the baby something. =) I can only imagine the shopping trips to come when we find out what we are having.

I will keep you posted on all baby news to come.

And just an F.Y.I. I will never post any bare belly shots. (per our conversation Natalie) =)

Well I'm not sure if crafty is really a word, but you know what I mean. I have never really considered myself "crafty", but I am so excited about my recent projects. Thomas' sweet parents gave me these great chairs for my birthday. We found them at this FABULOUS antique store in Pell City, David Tim's.





These chairs were in good shape as far as the frame, but the seats needed attention. The canvas straps you see hanging down in the picture are the "foundation" of the seat. There was a wood frame with canvas straps to make the actual seat with fabric over that. Very primitive! So...I found this great fabric and fell in LOVE with it. Thomas was nice enough to help me recover them. (Sidenote: His mom is AMAZING at recovering chairs!! Secretly I was going to wait for her to get here to help me, but decided to take on the project and see how it turned out.)
Well...drum roll please...
Ta Da!!





Ok all you "crafty" people out there are probably thinking,"Wow...you recovered a chair, big woop." But that's not all! I decided to take a sewing class and learn how to make pillow covers. I had some extra fabric left over from my chair project, so I decided to make a coordinating pillow to put in Thomas' new chair.
Here are the raw materials to prove my accomplishments:



And here are the fruits of my labor:




Here is a close up of the fringe:



I guess I am pretty crafty after all!

And thanks Mom and Daddy for the sewing machine.


Robin

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog. After much persuasion from Natalie and my mom...I'm back! I just have to be in a blogging mood. I guess with a snow day today, I don't really have an excuse.

A few weeks ago was Thomas' birthday and I had THE BEST surprise for him. He is the hardest person to surprise AND it doesn't make it any easier that I have a hard time keeping a secret. Well let me just back up...the first of the year I started planning the "birthday surprise" with one of Thomas' best friends, Lee. I had been plotting and planning my every move to make this the biggest surprise. Lee and his fiance, Lauren, made plans to fly in on Friday to the Louisville airport. Louisville is about an hour away from Lexington, so I had some strategic planning to do to get Thomas to ride with me and not be suspicious. With the help of my co-workers, I came up with a "story" to tell him. For some time now Nicole and I have been saying that we wanted our hubbies to take us to Louisville to go eat at the Cheesecake Factory. So that was an easy way to get him to at least go up there with me but the next problem was how to get him to go to the airport. So I told him that my boss had some samples of clothing coming in from El Salvador and they got stuck in customs and I had to get them. Thomas was put out by the fact that I had "volunteered" to do this but he went along with little complaining. (the story was very believable because we produce all of our clothing in El Salvador for Little English) He should never underestimate my sneakiness. So we drove on Friday to Louisville and Thomas waits in the car while I "go to customs." I walk into the airport and a few minutes later come outside with Lee and Lauren and Thomas was shocked! He couldn't believe that I had pulled off such a great surprise without him having a clue! It was worth all the planning to see him so shocked and so happy to see Lee and Lauren. We told him that Lee and I had been planning for three weeks and that we were going skiing in the morning!




We went skiing at a place called Perfect North. It was a blast. They had several different courses to go down and they even had snow tubing!!

This was my second time to go skiing, so I was a little nervous about busting it. (side note: the first time skiing was also with Lee and Lauren) However, I only fell ONE time. And I really don't think it counted since it was getting off of the ski lift and not actually skiing down the mountain.


I must say that the tubing was my FAVORITE!! It was so much fun. We got in these intertubes and flew down an icy luge like hill. They had the huge bean bags to stop you at the end of the hill. Thomas and I were like little kids running up the hill to go on the tube course over and over.


Here are a few pictures from the weekend:






And Yes, your eyes aren't playing tricks Lee does not have gloves on. We were in the real snow, not artificial, and it was COLD. He is crazy/ a badass!

Action Shot







Thanks Lee and Lauren for making it an AMAZING weekend!!

On a totally different note...
Thomas got me the best Valentines present


A new chair!!
If you aren't aware of what we had before this will give you a huge laugh. When we got married Thomas' brother was kind enough to give us a camoflage covered Lay-z-boy. Yes you heard right, a camo chair. So for the past 2 1/2 years we have had a camo Lay-z-boy in our living room. With a slip cover on it mind you. So to eveyone who came in a saw the brown recliner, it was really a camo recliner!
But now...the camo chair is out of there!! Just beautiful distressed leather in its place. AHHHHHHH!!!!
LOVE IT!!!

I thought I might never utter the words, "I'm so ready for the snow to melt!" But I have this week. As a true southerner and was ecstatic on Thursday when HUGE chunks of snow started falling. I was like a little kid staring out my window at work just waiting to go outside and play. I am probably the only person on my street that has taken dozens of pictures of their house covered in snow. I just think it is beautiful looking out your window and seeing snow falling and white house tops all around. But on Friday when our local weather man said, "Right now it is 8 degrees outside and tomorrow we are looking for it to get cold." I'm thinking to my self, "Tomorrow it will get cold...isn't eight degrees cold?" I have laughed about this since. However, today there is still snow on the ground and it has started to turn to ice. I can't tell you how many times I have just about bit the dust and fallen ...walking into work...getting the mail... getting in my car...pretty much everything I have done that involves walking and being outside. But I will say that my dogs love it, especially Bentley. He runs outside and gallops through the snow. He will come back to the house looking like this....



Chunks of snow attach to his hair after being out for just minutes. It is so cute!

But a HUGE rarity occurred this past weekend that I must share...Thomas shaved! For those of you who know Thomas he always has a beard. He had one when I met him and nothing has ever changed, not that I would ever want it to but sometimes it is nice to see him clean shaven. With the exception of our wedding day, I have only seen a smooth face one other time, Clayton's graduation. But today I got to see a clean shaven face once again. For those of you who are trying to remember how long we have been married it is over 2 years. Yes folks that is the last time I have seen his face clean shaven. So now that I'm a blogger and all I thought this would be something great to post because apparently it only happens every other year! =) Kind of like an eclipse or something




Handsome huh?? I think so.

Ta Ta for now

Well, I have caved in and decided to jump on the bandwagon and blog. I will say this decision has made me FINALLY organize my pictures and put them on my computer. Which is something that I have been meaning to do for a very long time. AND it has been so much fun going through the pictures and looking at the past few years. I had two cameras to upload pictures off of and it just so happens that Thoamas and I just started dating when I got the first one. So looking back over the past five years has been very entertaining and quite funny. I will post some of the highlights when I get a chance. But today I really wanted to share how talented my husband is. I saw these frames I LOVED while I was at home in Montgomery. In our new house we have alot of wall space and I have been slowly but surely trying to fill it. Well when I saw these frames I fell in love and just had to have them. So I brought Thomas to see them because they were $80 and I wanted four of them. When we got there he looked at them and said "These would be so easy to make! Let's do that instead." At first I was disappointed because sometimes when we say we are going to "make" something it usually takes forever for us to get motivated. However, much to my surprise when we got back to Kentucky we went to Lowes the next day and bought the materials. (which might I add all of the materials for 4 frames was the cost of just 1 at the store) I was super excited about my project because A. I'm not that crafty and was hoping this would turn out great and B. I would be able to pick out the colors for the frames. Well I must say that these turned out even better than I could have ever imagined. Thomas did the best job!! He made all the frames in just a few hours. He was a mad man out in the garage with the saw, sander, and all of the other tool I don't know the names of. Well this is the final result...







Didn't they turn out GREAT! Thomas is so handy. I am such a lucky girl.