Life with the Rutledge's

Area champs!!

2012-02-17T04:23:00.001-08:00

We were undefeated in the Area and tonight we sealed the deal on being undefeated at home.
Now....we advance to Hanceville in the Sub-Regionals!
Yea girls!

Gracie's 1st Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T19:52:00.002-08:00

A little cold hasn't stopped Gracie girl from celebrating her love. I got her an Elmo movie. Adam got her a big frog stuffed animal because she loves her Baby Faith movie that has frogs in it....so thoughtful! She touched the frog so gently and jabbered away. He also gave her a sweet card and would you like to know what she loved the most? The envelope. Ha! Adam gave me a heart locket with he and Gracie's picture in it. I love it! Adam is definitely a keeper ;) I got him a Quest Study Bible. I also got me one and look forward to studying more. (I need to improve in that area).
We had planned on going our to eat but little girl has a cold so we stayed in and had a family night.......watching game film. How romantic!! Ha Adam and I do enjoy talking basketball strategy so it was fun!
Big game tomorrow against Tanner...sub-regional tomorrow at 7:00 at our place. Winner advances to Regionals!
I hope your Valentine's Day was relaxing and enjoyable. Xoxo

Bible Class

2012-02-12T19:02:00.001-08:00

Gracie sat in on the end of Bible class for the first time. She was amazed and watched the teacher with those big blue eyes. She also flirted with Bryce (not to mention she flirted with him 2 nights before at the basketball game). She would occasionally look around for me like, "Mom, don't you leave me." she's going to start full time nest week. She'll be 6 months a week from today!!! Where has the time gone?! When I was watching her in Bible class it made me think wow, time keeps going faster and faster. How is she big enough to sit in those seats? But... I also thought I am so thankful she will start really learning about God and his love. What an amazing God we serve. I'm so thankful for his greatest blessings!

Faculty Basketball Game

2012-02-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

Friday, our faculty played against the Senior guys. I'm used to playing with guys so I was not phased one bit. I always played with my brothers and the guys with our youth group.
I had a blast. The elementary kids (especially my Kindergartners) were cheering for me. I loved it.

But the best part was my players. They made shirts and signs for me.
They chanted for me and it was so much fun to have our roles reversed.
They threatened me with sprints and suicides if I had turnovers but they said I did really good and didn't have to run. I had 2 threes so I was pleased.

Thanks to my Lady Panthers for cheering me on!

The signs cracked me up!

5 months

2012-02-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe I am posting another monthly update. In 2 weeks I'll be posting another one.
Time flies!

Gracie is rolling back to forth with ease. She can sit up on her own, not to the point where we leave her by herself because she is still a little wobbly.
She loves to jump in our Jenny Jump up but loves to play even more in her Baby Einstein bouncer. That thing rocks! She is jabbering all the time. She's a little squealer. haha

We tried rice and cereal and she doesn't love it just yet. She still loves taking a bath and splashing!

I'm waiting for a tooth to pop through because she's been a drool bucket. She loves Sesame Street, Baby Faith, and Yo Gabba Gabba.....oh, and still loves ESPN. ha!

She still sleeps fairly well. On my birthday she slept 10 whole hours. That's a record for her.
We're still working on sitting through church without getting up. haha She gets bored I suppose. I think she's getting to an age now where she can sit in our laps longer and be content.

When I get home from work or practice she smiles ear to ear when I walk through the door and those are the moments I'll remember forever.
She loves watching Adam. This morning he was walking around and talking and she kept trying to position herself to see him. DADDY'S GIRL!

I love you Gracie Lou and I am so proud of what a GREAT baby you are.
xoxo,
Mommy

Area Champs & Cousin Lovin'

2012-01-29T20:03:00.001-08:00

Saturday, we went to Hatton to play our last Area regular season game. We won!! Which means we are not only 1st place but UNDEFEATED! I am so proud of these girls. They've worked so hard a deserve it. Not many people suspected us to do this well this year due to the fact that we are a younger team but this team is making believers out of many!! Go Lady Panthers.

My sister-in-law brought her kiddos down for a weekend visit. We always enjoy these since they live in Birmingham. Haley is due with her 3rd child in April. Can't wait to hold that sweet bundle. Gracie has a lot of cousins that are all close in age. I love it!

Sam and Gracie played so great together. Sam would say her name and point to her. She would just laugh at him. It was cute. Mary Ella was a hoot like always. She's a character!

Props to my sweet husband who voluntarily took night duty TWICE in a row. He rocks! Not to mention Gracie is a daaaaaaddy's girl. Anytime he walks in a room she grins ear to ear. It's precious.

We got to celebrate Ann Marie and I's birthday. Mine is Tuesday and ReRe's is Wednesday. I got lots of goodies. I especially love my brown TOMS from my in-laws.

The picture of Gracie bundled in a blanket cracks me up. That's Aunt Haley's doings. She would swaddle her up and nothing would move except the sucking of her pacifier. Gracie has been extremely happy the past 2 days. I hope this means the teething has not been as painful as normal.

Great weekend! Memories made.

Thanks Aunt Haley for making me snug as a bug in a rug. And....that's contentment right there.

Birthday Gal

Sam and Grace

Time for a stroll with Mom and Dad

Lookin' pretty in her Valentine's dress

What a sweetie!

And this is how we ended the weekend....She was plum exhausted!

Put me in Coach......

2012-01-27T09:45:00.001-08:00

I'm READY TO PLAY!

Sitting up

2012-01-24T12:15:00.001-08:00

Sorry, I still don't have gracie's 5 month post. Maybe I'll get it done this weekend.
Adam has the stomach bug :( boo, poor Adam. So...Gracie and I came and stayed with my parents in Tennessee. I got 9 hours of sleep! Thanks to my mom and dad for taking Gracie in as their sleeping buddy. We have had a great morning watching Mommy's high school basketball films. Haha
Gracie decided to sit up all on her own. She sat up for about a minute then slowly wobbled over. So proud of her!
Have a blessed day, friends and family!

Date night with Daddy

2012-01-20T18:45:00.001-08:00

Gracie and I took Daddy out on a date to 5 Guys. She was so good and got lots of attention from others.... Like usual.
We are excited about being in the County Tournament Championship tomorrow night. Gracie has agreed to go home and watch game film with me.
What kind of shows do most parents show their kids? Barney, Sesame Street, Yo Yo Gabba Gabba (unfortunately, Gracie loves this show)....well, tonight I got on YouTube on my phone and typed in "Lady Vols Highlights." She watched that video like she was watching something so important. She loves some basketball. :) It's awesome!

Area Champs & my Rollie Pollie

2012-01-15T20:30:00.001-08:00

This weekend has been packed so I'm so thankful we have off tomorrow!
We sealed the deal for AREA CHAMPS! We will host the Area Tournament at our place. I'm so proud of this team and their hard work and dedication. Not only are they good ball players but the are great girls! We are currently 7-0 in the area and 17-4 overall. Go Lady Panthers!

Gracie has started rolling belly to back and back to belly. She does it right when you put her down. Tonight she pushed up and got in the crawl position! Slow down chick ;) she has also started reaching for me. It makes me feel so good! Love my sweet girl!!

Adam and I enjoyed date night Friday while Gracie stayed at Mimi and Poppa's. We ate at George's. It was good but I'll have to say Dale's is better. I enjoyed time with Adam and it was nice being with him and only him for a few hours.

Saturday, the 3 of us went to Buffalo Wild Wings to cheer on the Saints. Unfortunately, they lost. Sorry Drew Brees. Gracie got a lot of attention. The waitresses would stop by and talk to her and brag on how adorable she is... I agree :)
Has anyone ever noticed how many waitresses BWW has??? That's a pet peeve of mine. You look in each corner and there's several waitresses doing nothing. I'd like to know why they have so many.

We celebrated Betsy's 26th birthday at Grandmother and Grandaddy's. Lunch was soooo good! Happy birthday Boodle!

Billy and the twins have been sick all weekend. :( poor kids and brother...the stomach bug is the worst. Praying Lindsay and my parents won't get it and the sick crew gets well soon!

Here are some pictures from the weekend.
I put Gracie in her MHBS outfit and we played with her basketball. She made some good catches and then decided to do toe touches. :)

BCS Championship

2012-01-10T06:22:00.001-08:00

I was a good sport and let Gracie dress up for her daddy's team. I will have to say she can make crimson look good. She was a little ham all night long! She was laughing all night and came very close to rolling from her back to her stomach. She can already roll stomach to back. While I was rocking her I realized how big my baby is! Her legs are starting to hang off my lap when I rock her. She's growing like a weed and her personality is shining out.
Congrats to my hubby on a BCS win!
Mommy still says Go Vols ;)

Babies...babies...babies

2012-01-03T08:48:00.001-08:00

On New Year's Eve Adam, Gracie, and I celebrated with our friends. They are all expecting babies!!
Eric and Melissa will welcome Molly into the world in February.
Jon and Rebecca will welcome Charlie Kate in the beginning of March.
Lee and Magen will welcome Sam in March.
All 4 of these kiddos will be in the same Bible class and they'll all graduate the same year. All 3 of the girls will probably be fighting over Sam...ha
I think it's awesome we will all have kids together. Anytime we hang out we'll all have our babies in the same room. :). These 3 couples are going to be amazing parents. I'm so excited for them and I know Gracie is ready to welcome her little friends into the world!

Gracie's 1st Christmas

2011-12-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

Gracie has had a great break with Mommy and Daddy.

Santa Claus was very good to her this year. Of course, she has been the best baby so why wouldn't he be?

Thursday night, we went over to my in-law's. Haley, Chad, Betsy, Chris, Robin "Poppa", Amy "Mimi, Mary Ella and Sam were all there with us. We experienced the "12 Months of Christmas." For each month Robin had wrote a poem and Amy presented a gift. It was really neat. For September "Football Season" we all got our team's gear. I was the only one with a VOLS sweatshirt ;) It was a fun experience! Gracie got lots of cute outfits, toys, teethers, one of her favorite dvd's "God loves you", and more. Mary Ella, Sam, and Gracie got a "jumpaline" (as Mary Ella calls it). Gracie also got orange shoes with white polka dots from Haley. Perfect for her VOLS gear. Mary Ella is at the best age for Christmas. You could have given her a rock and I think she would have been excited. She was a hoot!

Friday, we went to Adam's grandparents. There were A LOT of us. There are 5 great grandkids and 2 on the way. Gracie got showered with more gifts and she got passed around. She did really good and she had a great time....as did we :)

Saturday, we went to my Nonna and Papa's house. Our BIG family got together and we eat, exchange gifts, visit, and play "Dirty Santa." I love seeing this side of my family all together because we don't get to do it too much. Will won the "money jar." We also watched a video that my cousin put together of old home videos from my dad's childhood. They were silent films. We got to see my great-grandmother and grandfather, Nonnie and Daddy Fred. I didn't get to know either very well but have heard so much of them. Daddy Fred was smoking a cigarette and working on his golf game (they said he did this all the time) and Nonnie was gracefully skipping around and blowing kisses. She was so beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes. We also got to see my other great-grandmother "Mother Helton." I got to know her for 12 great years. It was great to see her in action again and it also brought tears to my eyes. I can't wait to be reunited with my family in Heaven one day. I didn't realize how much I missed them.
My dad's personality was the same then as it is now. He was being a ham. I was laughing so hard. I loved seeing him as a kid.

Sunday, we stayed at my parents. Everyone went to church (I stayed with Gracie because she had a bad cough). When they got home we opened presents and ate finger foods (weenies, meatballs, nachos, veggies and dips, and LOTS of mom's cookies). It was delicious. Gracie opened her Santa gifts. She got several things. Some of her favorites are her big caterpillar stuffed animal, books, Elmo's dvd, and Violet her leapfrog puppy.
One of the best things she got was a dvd player for the car. Our trips are now peaceful :) Thanks Mom and Dad. They also got her a rocking horse, books, and other toys. Gracie got the cutest purple sperry's from Billy and Lindsay. Cant wait to put them on her.
The twins both got fisher price cars. Billy's is red and yellow and Brooklyn's is pink. I can't wait to see them in action with those things. They might get a ticket, though.

Adam and I exchanged gifts on Wednesday. I got him Call of Duty 3 but gave it to him earlier this monty. He opened his present and saw a Jets NFL jersey. He loves NFL jerseys and the Jets are his favorite team. I acted like that was it and then I told him to look under the tree for a present from Gracie. He opened it up and it was a Mark Ingram Saint's jersey. He was so surprised! I love seeing him surprised. He got me the cutest outfit, jewelry and a HUGE surprise. My coaching office is a gray color that looks like a jail cell. I've been meaning to fix it up but have not had time. He painted it, added a white board, a new chair, and a motivational poster. This was the BEST gift! It was so thoughtful.

We are so blessed with the BEST families. I couldn't ask for better. I am so thankful God gave both of us Christian homes to grow up in. Gracie is loved by all her family and she is one blessed baby. I pray that she will grow up to appreciate her family as much as we appreciate her. She's a blessing!
I didn't have my camera at Adam's parents' house and I hate I didn't get pictures but I will share some that I got everywhere else.

Thanks Courtney for taking good care of Gracie.

Gracie got to stand with Grandaddy as he said the prayer.

I love Charlie!

Chad and Adam

Grandmother and Gracie

Sweet girls hugging

She loves her toy!

Poppa time

Mimi time

Adam and Grandaddy....love this picture!

Gracie in her "Baby's 1st Christmas PJ's"

Billy Jr. and Billy IV

Santa came!

The twins were the happiest with their .99 light up bouncy balls. ha

"The Journey of Gracie Adalee" book...I made it for both set of grandparents

Big Daddy and Netty time

Sweet :)

Billy III, Billy IV, and My Pet Monster....Billy III just to have one and he carried it everywhere.

Billy IV loves Gracie. He would crawl everywhere she was.

Mom preparing the food

Billy and Billy taking a snooze.

Gracie and Adam taking a snooze too.

Jenny got Gracie this hat and shirt from Bass Pro.....too cute!

Watching A League of Their Own. Love my girl time!

4 Months Old

2011-12-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

On December 19th Gracie turned 4 months old.

I can't believe it's already time to post again for her new month milestone. Time flies when you are having fun.

Gracie's Favorite things:
*Watching the Lady Panther in action
*Watching football on t.v.
*Today we started her in her "Jenny Jump Up"---she was a little weary at first but now she's getting the hang of it
*Being sang to
*Oswald----Nick Jr.
*her paci
*Bath time---she loves taking a bath. Lately, she's become quite the splasher
*Her daddy's face. She gets so excited when she sees him

Gracie started teething and had a cold last week so she didn't sleep very well.
Now, she's back in her routine. She might wake up once but usually she sleeps from 10:00ish-6:30.

She is starting to like her car seat. I thought we would never reach the day. Car rides are so much easier now. She got a dvd player for the car from my parents for Christmas and Adam's parents got her a dvd (God loves you---lots of puppets and singing). She LOVES that so we hardly hear a peep from her now.

Gracie did good with her 4 month shots. She cried but was a trooper. She weighs 15 lbs and is 24.5' long and has a 16" head (90th percentile)...big brains ;)

Dear Gracie,
I love you more and more each day. Anytime you smile it's an ear to ear smile. You can light up a room. Everyone loves seeing you at the games. They think you are the cutest thing and I do too! You are definitely going to be a Daddy's girl. You have him wrapped around your little pinky. You will be my girl too :) We will have so much fun together. I will always treasure the times I rock you, play with you, sing to you, pray for you, and kiss on you. You are simply the best!
xoxoxo!
Mommy

This girl sure does love bath time

I see myself! I'm pretty cute.

Time to splash and play.

I'm watching you, mommy and daddy.

She did this all on her own. Talk about a relaxing bubble bath.

Yay, I love being 4 months old!

I love this picture. It captures her little personality.

silly girl.

Beautiful baby

Those big blues sure do melt mommy!

After our photo shoot we laid down and watched an episode of Oswald while holding onto the big caterpillar Santa gave me.

The best way to spread Christmas Cheer

2011-12-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

is "Cooing" loud for all to hear.

As I type this I am looking at the sweetest thing. Gracie is asleep on her daddy's chest and he is asleep also. Tomorrow she will be 4 months. What an awesome 4 months it has been! I am so thankful for my Gracie. I have not updated this in a while. Please forgive me. I don't get home til late and when I get home all my time is with my baby girl and Adam. I will say she LOVES going to basketball games. She is at her best when she is sitting with my Mom and Adam at a game. I love that she loves it. That just goes to show she will be a little baller ;)

I wanted to share some Christmas photos of Gracie girl. We took a family one today but I don't have it downloaded to my computer yet but will share later.

I hope you all are having the BEST holiday so far. This time last year we just found out we were pregnant.
What an exciting and scary moment all wrapped into one. I can't imagine life without our Gracie Adalee.

Gracie and Kirby---of course, when she is older we will explain that she can't touch him but for now she can love on him :)

She's such a big girl. She loves holding her bottles on her own. Every now and then we help but for the most part it's all her :)

Helping Big Daddy at the bank.

Ready to see Santa!

Unwrapping gifts that Mommy just wrapped.

Right before the game in my office.

Watching her favorite Christmas movie, ELF ;)

Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

Our elf arrived from the North Pole on Sunday night. His name is Kirby. He's a cute little fella. Gracie is enjoying him.

Welcome Kirby!

Look at my toes, Kirby.

I love Kirby, Momma.

Kirby is watching.

While I read the Elf on the Shelf to Gracie she was tapping the book and talking to me. It was a fun moment that I will treasure forever.

Gracie showing Kirby how to do a toe touch.

November Celebrations

2011-12-04T22:05:00.000-08:00

Woah, wait....is November already over?

Time goes quicker once you have little ones. November is a busy month. Basketball, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Kindergarten feast, and Grad School.

Let me fill you in on some highlights. I wish I had more time to blog and write about each one but I just do not. When basketball season is over I will be more active in the blogging world.

First of all, our season is in full swing. I'm proud of the girls and their hard work. We are 4-1. Should be 5-0 but the game we lost was to a 5A school and seeing that we are 2A that is understandable. It was a lose in which we learned a lot and it will help us down the road. Guess you gotta have those every now and then.

Yay for Gracie's first game. She loves it. She sits through the games without making a peep. The only time she gets fussy is during a timeout or half time when we are not playing. Most kids like to watch cartoons and don't get my wrong she does too but she calms down when we put ESPN on. This is a girl after Mommy's own heart. Loves her sports.

Eating at Sweet Pepper's before the big game.

Lindsay turned the big 2-6! I am so lucky to have her as a sister-in-law. We were friends before we were sisters and I couldn't ask for a better friend and sister. Love you Lins!

This was us celebrating her birthday last year.

The TWINKIES turned ONE!
Can't believe that these sweeties are already one. I feel like it was yesterday that I was rushing to Maury Regional to meet them for the first them. They were the most perfect little babies and still are!
Their personalities are so different and I've enjoyed watching them grow. Billy kicked back and ate his cake one little dip at a time. They even tried to stick his hand in full force but he wanted nothing to do with it. He loved taking his time. Brooklyn on the other hand dove in after a few minutes. It was all over her. ha. We all laughed as we watch them enjoy their first birthday cake.
Gracie Lou couldn't come to the party :( She was not feeling well so she stayed with my in-laws.
Lindsay did a wonderful job on the party. It was an owl theme seeing that Billy and Brooklyn are "little night owls"...just like their parents. Happy 1st Birthday B and B. Aunt Ash, Uncle Buzz, and Gracie LOVE YOU BOTH very much.

I'll never ever forget this sweet moment when my big brother and walked out with his 2 little sweeties. I cried and cried. I couldn't help it. This was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever witnessed.

Seeing the babies after they were cleaned up. Billy IV on the left, Brooklyn Rose on the right.

Brooklyn digging into her cake. YUM.

Check out those finger marks...taking his time and enjoying every bite.

This was the first Thanksgiving that my grandparents did not spend with us. My Papa Cooper started preaching in Cambridge, OH so it couldn't work out for them to come down. I am very thankful we got to see them in August. I look forward to seeing them in February. I love them so much and treasure all the moments we spend with them seeing how we are 10 hours away from each other. We spent Thanksgiving at my grandmother's in Lawrenceburg and had a great time. But...It was not the same not to be with Papa and Mama Cooper. We missed them very much!

This was last year.

Another picture of last year's Thanksgiving.

I missed my cousins this year too! I will be looking forward to next year!

I love you Papa and Mama!

Newest edition to Turkey day. Check out that face. ha!

Right here she is yelling, "GOBBLE TIL YOU WOBBLE, FOLKS!"

One of my biggest accomplishments is receiving my Master's in Administration. My friend, Jenny and I have been working on this since May 2010. It's been a long, hard, exhausting and rewarding journey. I have 3 more weeks of class. Graduation is next Saturday. I have a game and won't be able to attend. A little bummed. :( I am glad Jenny will be there to represent both of us! Go Jenny!

This past week my advisor came and picked up my portfolio. This was a CHALLENGE times a hundred. It was one of the most stressful tasks I've ever completed. It took over 120 hours to put together. I did this all while being pregnant and a new mother so that was even more stressful. It was picked up last Wednesday and I must brag that my advisor told me it was the best one she had seen. It made me feel so good and I felt like it was all worth it.

With all that said I would like to WELCOME DECEMBER....one of the best and busiest months of the year. Our Elf on the Shelf just arrived from the North Pole so I am excited to share pictures of that.
Thanks for all the encouragement and prayers for being a new mom, going back to work/coach, and getting my Master's. You all have been wonderful and I am so thankful for your love and support.

3 Months old

2011-11-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm a little behind on the post but I've been so busy with teaching, Grad School, basketball, and mommy hood I am doing good to keep my head about the water.

We went to the doctor the other day and Gracie weighed 13 lbs 14 oz. She has had a cold but we are just now getting over that. Now, she has an earache. She's constantly tugging on her left ear so she is on medicine for that.

Every month gets better and better because she is constantly growing and learning something new. However, I do look back at her newborn pictures and find myself saying, "Aww...I kind of miss that." I guess that's how it is, your baby is constantly growing in the blink of an eye.

Things Gracie likes to do:
Watch Football
Playing in her gym
Look at a book
Lay on her diaper table (she loves having her diaper changed)
Listening to Daddy sing
Take a bath
EAT. EAT. EAT :)

Things Gracie is NOT so fond of:
Riding in her car seat
Having her nose suctioned out (and we've done that a lot lately)

New Happenings:
Sitting in her Bumpo seat
Sitting in her bouncer at Netty's house
Gracie is starting to gibber gabber
She can scoot on her belly
She rolls to her side
Sleeping through the night (5 days in a row this week)
Possible teething

My favorite time of the day

First time to sit in the Bumpo seat

Flying with Daddy

Watching Football

Playing in her gym

Laughing at herself while looking through the mirror app on mommy's phone

Her MHBS hat...Go Lady Panthers

First time in the bouncer

Loves bath time!

"Listen pig, it's okay. Gracie is here and I'm gonna take care of you."

Sweet sugar to pig

Sweet smiles before bed time.

Dear Gracie,
You are the sweetest baby girl. I love it when you smile first thing in the morning and when you smile while I am changing your diaper. You are such a happy girl. Thank you for blessing my life so much. I am so glad God let me be your Mommy. You're the greatest gift of all!
I love you most,
Mommy xoxo

The many faces of Gracie Rutledge

2011-11-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

The many faces of Gracie Rutledge.
Since day 1 I love all the faces she makes. Her smile and laugh light up a room. I could sit and stare at her for hours. Some of these are when she was a week or so old. I will always treasure these pictures!

Sitting there so prim and proper

She was a week old here. So content and happy.

The first big smile I caught on the camera.

Her surprised look. This one cracks me up!

She was around 4 weeks here. She started to give us a smile here and there. Check out those chubbylicious cheeks!

Smiling at Daddy

Well, I didn't say all the pictures were happy ones. She wasn't too happy here. She's still cute when she cries.....well, most of the time. ha

What a HAM!!!

This one is my favorite. What a funny kiddo.

Showing off her tongue.

Gracie listening to her Momma. She loves to watch you talk.

Funny girl.

Say what, Daddy?!?!

My favorite smiling picture. She had just waken up in church.

Then she started to coo to mommy. Melted my heart.

What a little character.

What? It's almost Christmas!?!

I have the iphone 4 and it has an app where you can see yourself in the camera. I put it on that and let Gracie look at herself. She was cooing and laughing. I got so tickled. She was enjoying talking to herself and I am so glad I snapped a picture. That smile is GREAT!

Did you say I can't have turkey this year?

Loves her bath time. Happy camper.

Thank you Gracie for your smiles, laughs, and even your cries. I love them all. I like the Smiles better, or course. I know you will be a funny girl and I love watching you grow every day.

SUPER BABY

2011-11-13T19:07:00.001-08:00

I love this picture my sister-in-law took. Gracie is flying high.
When she gets really fussy Adam holds her like this and she stops crying. It has worked 98% of the time.

My little lucky ladybug

2011-11-11T14:58:00.000-08:00

From now on, Halloweens will be a lot different...in a good way.
It's so much fun dressing a baby up. I assume I have a few more years to pick Gracie's costumes and then she will decide :)

This year we handed out candy to trick or treaters. Gracie dressed up in her ladybug costume. When bedtime came she transformed into a spooky skeleton....okay, she wasn't spooky at all. She's just too cute to be spooky. Adam saw many of his students at our doorstep and I saw a couple of my Mars Hill kiddos. It was a fun night to stay home, eat pizza, watch a scary movie (The Rite), and hand out candy...and of course, we ate some of that candy too.

We enjoyed our first Halloween as a family of 3.

Bless her heart. This was the first time we tried on her costume. She was hungry and wasn't in the mood to be a ladybug. She liked it better the night of Halloween--see for yourself.

Time to go outside, take pictures, and look for our trick or treaters.

I guess you can see where she gets her blue eyes from :)

Daddy has his Tennessee....I mean his Halloween pants on.

He loves his baby girl!

The prettiest ladybug I know!

Happy ladybug!

It was all gone at the end of the night. We had a lot of visitors.

Time to get in her Skeleton PJ's.

See how scary she can be? ;)

Look at that form. Already knows how to open candy.

No, Gracie you cannot have a whopper until your teeth come in. Maybe next year.

The Helton's Halloween Bash

2011-11-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Well, it was that time again. Billy and Lindsay geared up for their 4th Annual Halloween Party.
I am amazed at how much better it gets each year. I always think there is nothing they could do to improve but they always top the year before. Bravo to the Helton's. There is not telling how much time, effort, and money they put into this just for us to have a great time. And boy...do we have a GREAT time!

Here are some pictures from the previous years....

Our first Halloween as a married couple

These took 3 1/2 hours. Take a nice look because I won't be making these anytime soon. They turned out cute just very time consuming.

Halloween 2009

Halloween 2010---By far my favorite costumes for Adam and me. Zombie bride and groom.

Check out Billy's cool graveyard.

The infamous pumpkin head fate.

Now....for Halloween 2011.

Adam and I could not think of what we wanted to do. We thought and thought and tossed several ideas around. We ended up with this.

Adam is the joker from "The Dark Knight" specifically from the hospital scene. Adam LOVED this outfit. He was in character all night. He had the creepy walk down to a "T." I was his crazy patient, in a straight jacket and mouth guard (almost like Hannibal Lecter.)

The Spartan cheerleaders had a whole routine. They were the best half time show I've seen in a long time!

Sister Anna the zombie

Not one of my better days you could say

Me and Beetlejuice...Beetlejuice....Beetlejuice

Who you gonna call? Only at Billy's party will you see the Ghostbuster's car.

This Spartan cheerleader lost his spirit when his fate was to be chained to the graveyard fence....for 15 minutes....and it was COLD.

My creeper.

The William's

The Maggard's

Sorry Amanda. haha

Planking fate. GO zombie GO!

Mummy fate

This was the newest fate....eating chocolate covered grasshopper legs and larva. eeek!

I am thankful I just had to run up and down the street and howl like a whowl. It was quite refreshing.

The Girls!

The Men.

Best Costumes. Rightfully earned. Go Leggo Donnelly's!

The Bounty Hunters with their pumpkin carving trophy.

The Hostess with the Mostest. Beetlejuice and the receptionist on the movie Beetlejuice.

Ouch.

Happy Hauntings from our family to yours.

Until next year.....

Coach's Favorite Little Girl

2011-11-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in forever it seems. I have so much to update on but for now I will just do one little post. I've been so busy with going back to school, basketball practice everyday, and coming home and spending my free time with my baby girl....which is my favorite part of the day.

Gracie went to her first practice a few weeks ago. She loves coming to the gym. She is very aware of movement and bright lights so she loves it. I am so thankful because she will be at most games. We are putting a glider in my office in case she is fussy or wants to sleep. My mom has nominated herself to be the official rocker of Gracie during games. ha!

She has come to several practices and loves watching the girls work hard. Which by the way, the team is looking great and I am so pumped about this year! It's going to be awesome.
My dad is still helping me. He comes down on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help with practice. I am so thankful to have him on the coaching staff. Go Coach Helton!

I had to put Gracie is a MHBS jersey for fun. Of course, I put her in Momma's number #33 ;) She looks good in it!

Those big blues sure do make me melt :)

Gracie 2 Months old

2011-10-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm writing about my baby being 2 months old. Last Wednesday she turned 2 months. When people say time flies when you have children they are not lying. I love this stage she is in.

She is such a morning person. She loves laying on her changing table and will smile from ear to ear. She loves looking at pictures. She's very ticklish on her belly and under her arms. She will stare at you while you talk to her and she tries to move her mouth. I can tell she wants to talk so badly.

Here's a picture of her telling pig a secret.

Smiling for Mommy during her 2 month photo shoot.

This was before we went to get her 2 month shots. I gave her Baby to keep her company. It made her so brave too :) Of course, I am the one who needed to be brave. My stomach was in knots the night before. I dreaded it so badly.

This was before Dr. Freeman came to check her out. She was smiling and cooing at me.

My happy girl weighted 12 lbs. 10 oz. She is 22 3/4 inches long. They said, "No she hasn't shrunk it just weighs differently sometimes."

She has a 16' head. That's in the 98% percentile. I told Dr. Freeman it was all of her brains cause she is so smart. ha! She definitely has a "Helton Head."

I was so glad I didn't cry during shots but I came close. Her face got really red but she did SO good. She didn't cry much. This was going home. Bless her! Look how pitiful she looks and look at the death grip on Baby.

LOOK FAMILIAR?

1 month crying picture.

2 month crying picture.

I guess we will start making this a tradition each month. ha!

Gracie,

You amaze me everyday. You grow and pick up something new really fast. You make me so proud. I can't imagine life without you! You will definitely be a Mommy's girl. Sometimes you cry and stop once I get you. It melts my heart and makes me the happiest! I hated going back to work and miss you while I am there but I know you are in good hands and Papa is enjoying it so much! Every day I get very anxious to go home and see you!

We took you to your first basketball tip off. I was worried you wouldn't like the games in the gym and it would be a long 4 months but to my surprise YOU LOVED It. You like to watch the games and all the bright lights.
You even got announced with the team and all the fans cheered loudly for you!

I love you most!

Mommy

Gracie Smiles

2011-10-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

This was when Gracie was 4 1/2 weeks old. She is not 8 1/2 weeks old. This was the first time I caught her pretty smile on video. Now, I have several videos of her laughing and smiling. This one will always be special to me.

What have we been up to?

2011-10-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot going on in the month of October. October is one of my favorite months. So many fun activities.

One of my favorite books. She enjoyed it too :)

Gracie is her ghost PJ's. She has more Halloween clothes than I know what to do with. I can't help it, they are so cute!

Talking to my Mommy!

She loves to stroll

State Fair in Lawrenceburg

After church, it was Baby day. They called all the new babies of 2011 to the front and said a special prayer for them. She did so good :)

Shopping at Hobby Lobby with Mommy.

I got her a pink, glittery nutcracker. Her very 1st nutcracker :) She loves it as you can see.

I also got her little Christmas tree with all the pink theme ornaments. I can't wait to put it in her nursery!

Another trip to the pumpkin patch. She looks like she is doing the pumpkin pledge.

Her shirt says "I love my Mummy." ha

Gracie and Adam after church. He wore pink she she was wearing pink. Too sweet

She is growing so quickly. I love seeing all the new changes. She is such a good baby! I have so many more pictures but that will be for a new post. I am so grateful for a sweet and healthy baby. I love her so much! God knew what he was doing when he created babies. What a precious gift!

2 year Anniversary

2011-10-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

It's safe to say I am WAAAAAY behind on blogging. I'm more busy than I thought I could ever be but it is a GREAT kind of busy. Our little girl keeps us moving, laughing, and taking quick naps when we can get one.

On September 25th Adam and I celebrated our 2 years of marriage. We celebrated by going out to eat and to a movie. We plan on taking a small trip in the next few months. Right now our weekends are full.

I am so lucky to have Adam as my best friend and husband. I feel like I am always bragging on him but he deserves every bit of it! He is the best husband and daddy. If you know Adam really well you know there is not a serious bone in his body. Ok, there is but he is always goofing off. That's what I love about him. About 3 years ago I remember meeting him for the first time. I remember thinking he was the best looking guy I had ever laid eyes on. He was so whitty and funny! He had me laughing the whole night. He was a teacher and I think that says something about his character. He wants to help kids out and I love that about him. He is a fantastic teacher; the kids love him! And he was playing and singing the guitar and I thought, "Wow, I've never dated someone that talented." He is extremely talented. Gracie loves listening to him and so do I.

Adam has been a great Christian leader for our little family. Again, I am so blessed to be his wifey.

Here's a little recap of the past 2 years we've shared together.

September 25, 2009

We went to Sandals Resort in St. Lucia. There we played in a "Lover's Game" which is like the Newlywed game only there were couples that had been married for several years playing. We played in front of a group of 100-150 people. We dominated and WON! Go Team Rutledge

Our 1st Halloween together we were Buddy and Jovie from the movie ELF.

Ruby had puppies and we helped deliver them. Adam cut the umbilical cords off and I cleaned off the puppies. What an amazing experience it was! It started at 5:00 am and ended at 9:30 am.

Ruby was a champ! We gained a dog and named him Jack and he's been a great addition to our family.

We're both teachers so we have spent many snow days playing at home together.

Jack and Adam

We went to Myrtle Beach on our Spring break together. There we vacationed and I went to the Nike Coaching clinic. This picture is of us golfing. Had a blast!

We ran the Country Music 1/2 Marathon together.

We coached an Upward Soccer Team.

Our nephew Sam was born.

Celebrating our 1 year anniversary in Huntsville

Our 2nd Halloween together. We were a Zombie bride and groom.

Our nephew and niece, Billy and Brooklyn were born.

Early December we found out we were pregnant!

Our gender revealing party with our family...we found out it was a girl!

Our greatest gift of all, our baby girl Gracie.

This was definitely the best experience of all!

Happy Anniversary to my best friend! I love you so much. Thank you for making our life an exciting one and thank you for giving me the best gift you could give me and that's our daughter.

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-09-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Billy, Lindsay, and the twins met us and we all went to the Pumpkin Patch. This was a first for the twins and for Gracie.
They all picked out their own little pumpkins. We made some great pictures and had a great time. It was really warm outside. We were sweating!

First Pumpkin

My lil' Pumpkin

This was carved out of a tree. So cool!

Too bad Adam couldn't be here...He was at work.

He was so proud of his little pumpkin.

Only $5? I'll take him! Check out his "I'm Alive" Frankenstein shirt

2 for $5 special

After the pumpkin patch we went to eat at Zaxby's. Let's just say people knew we were there. We had 3 hungry youngsters but it didn't bother me. They were pretty good.

Then, we headed to Spirit Halloween. I LOVE HALLOWEEN. I love the decorations, the weather, the costumes, the Halloween parties, the candy.....I love everything about it. It's just a fun holiday. It's a fun time to be a teacher too. We checked out all the creepy things they had running in Spirit Halloween. They had some crazy stuff. I felt like I was walking around in Billy's house at Halloween time. haha

Gracie and her Halloween buddies....Does taking this picture take my opportunity for the running of Mom of the year away?

This is actually a picture of Gracie and her parents. Yeah, that's Adam and me. Guess the lack of sleep has really got us looking run down.

1 Month Old Gracie

2011-09-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Last Monday (September 19), Gracie turned 1 month old.
What a sweet month it's been.

This week she has started to smile when we talk to her which is the BEST thing to watch. She is so sweet. I can't imagine life without her.

Here are some 1 month old pictures. ENJOY! Yes, I used a sticky note and red sharpie to write one month...haha A little ghetto but hey, that's okay.

Hi, everybody....I'm ONE MONTH old!

Do you like my pig? Her name is Penny like my grandmother so naturally I love my Penny the Pig.

I'm such a big big girl!

"Gracie, do you want me to let more of you friends sit with you?" -Mommy

I did not want my other friends to come up here! I just wanted it to be me and Penny the Pig.

Mom, get them outta here!

I'm serious!

I love that I could catch one of her little fits on camera. ;) She's cute even when she cries.

Weekend Recap

2011-09-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we had! Friday Adam and I went to my high school's football game. Gracie stayed with my parents. Saturday, we watched football all day. Tennessee did not have the outcome we wanted against Florida but we had a great time grilling out and cheering them on.

Gracie and I matched from our black pants to our orange tops. All that was missing was a bow on my head. ha! She looked adorable.

She moved up from newborn diapers to 1's. It only took her pooping through 3 onesies for us to figure it out. Bless her.

Adam went fishing and caught several fish including a 3 pounder.

Sunday Gracie looked like a little princess. She did great in Church. She slept the whole time til the end.

I love how she is looking up at her Daddy. Such a Daddy's girl :)

We had my favorite meal, chicken and cornbread, salad, and banana pudding for dessert. YUM :) My Nonna and Papa were there too. I love getting to spend time with them. They always have some good stories.

Sunday afternoon we headed to Adam's parents and spent the evening with them. Needless to say little girl was super tired when she got home. Adam gave her a bath and she hit the hay.

She got up 3 times which is not too bad. I think I am about to try her in her crib for naps and see how she does. We have video monitors which are super helpful.

She's been sleeping in her bouncer. Right now, she is out cold in her swing. She loves her swing. She's been napping for over 2 hours. Whoo Hoo!

What a great weekend! I love spending time with our families. It doesn't get much better than that!

4 weeks old!

2011-09-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today marks 4 weeks since our little sweetie was born. Monday she will be one month old.
I have 4 more weeks until my Maternity leave ends. I'm really enjoying her and I will miss her once I go back to school.

She has hit the stage of where she is so alert. She loves being talked to or sang to. She makes the sweetest noises. In no time she will be "cooing" and babbling. She wasn't so sure about her swing but now she loves it. In fact, she naps in it sometimes which allows me to clean a little bit or grab a cup of coffee.

She still sleeps around 2-3 hours at night and then wakes up for a feeding. Last night, she woke up every 1.5 hours but I think she's going through a growing spurt. Speaking of growing, this girl wears a lot of her 3 month old clothes. ha! I bough the sweetest "I love Mommy" shirt and it was a newborn size....did she fit into it? Um, no. Didn't wear it once. TOO SMALL. ha! She's our big girl.

We have started supplementing her on formula. She can belch like a man when she eats it. She laughs in her sleep. I love when she's having a good dream and I catch it. It usually happens at 2:00 a.m. and she must know I need a laugh at that time. She enjoys bath time. Daddy always washes her hair. He's really good at that. She loves to be rubbed or her hair to be played with....typical girl.

I love you sweet Gracie. Happy 4 weeks!

College Football Game Day

2011-09-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we went to Lawrenceburg and watched the Bama vs. Penn State game at the Gargis's house. I took Gracie over to my grandparents' house to visit and she also met my Aunt Holly and her girls, Maddy and Libby. They loved her and spoiled her with many cute gifts.

Daddy got to dress Gracie this weekend so she was in her Bama dress and black leggings. I'm still 110% for the Vols no doubt about it, but I have to say that my little girl can pull off the crimson. Although, I think she looks really great in orange ;) Adam and I will try our best to keep it fair with her. This coming weekend she gets to wear her orange.

We had a great time at Jeremy and Katie's house. I always love going over there. It takes me back to when Adam and I met. Jeremy grilled deer meat and it was my first time to try it. It was SOOO good! Katie made some yummy veggies to go along with it. Gracie did really good at their house. She pretty much slept the whole time.

After the game we went to see Mary Ella and Sam

Watching the game. She's not too interested.

Gracie Lou-Hoo

2011-09-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

This Friday Gracie will be 3 weeks old! I can't believe it. It really does go by so quick.

Some things I've learned about having a newborn:

*Mommies can function off little sleep.

*As each day goes by I feel more confident as a mom. At first I was very anxious, constantly watching her wondering if she's okay. I watched her like a hawk.

*Laugh. Don't stress over getting peed or pooped on. Just laugh it off. Adam and I have had plenty of laughs.

*You find out really quick what she will like and what she will not like. I've been using her Little Lamb bouncer lately and she loves it. It only took me 2 weeks to figure that out. ha!

*The house will not be spotless for long. I don't have time to do a big cleaning. In between feedings and naps I find myself trying to quickly clean a room or load the dish washer. Just realize it's not all going to get done and that's okay.

*Showers...what are those? Kidding but I do have to take them when Adam gets home. When she gets older I'm sure I can lay her down and hop in the shower but right now I don't feel confident about doing that so I just wait til Adam gets home.

*A cup of coffee a day is a must. I make sure to make a little time for myself to sit down and enjoy my coffee.

*I see her change every day. I like to just stare at her. Sometimes she looks like Adam and sometimes me. I love that she has features from both of us.

*Take advantage of having Mommy friends. I have quite a few friends who just had babies and we are always asking each other questions or sending helpful tips.

*I'm thankful for facebook. If I have a question I put it on my status and I will get a lot of comments and recommendations and that is so helpful.

*Little girls will always be "Daddy's girls." She's got Adam wrapped around her pinky ;) It's sweet.

*Prayer is more important now than it ever has been. I pray for her well-being and spiritual life each and every day. Praying for her to grow into a strong and happy Christian.

After my 1st big girl bath

Happy baby!

Home Sweet Home

2011-09-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Gracie will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. Time flies when you're having fun....or is it time flies when you get no sleep? I am not sure...either way so glad to have this little 2 week old blessing in our life!

My mom has been here since Saturday and I don't know what I would have done without her. She's been so much help! I've gotten used to get sleep here and there so I am so thankful she has been her. Not to mention the constant cleaning and cooking she has done. That's what mommas are for. One day I'll have to do that for Gracie. :)

Here are some pictures from her first 2 weeks at home.

My parents with the grandkids

Grandaddy and Grandmother came to visit

First bath time

This was her second bath

She says, "I'm not a newborn...I'm a big girl." Yes, that's her pulling that head up all on her own. She's been doing that since she was born. Strong gal.

You like my hair do?

Cousins Addie Jane and Jack

Mary Ella loved her

I'm a big girl!

Hospital Photos of Gracie

2011-08-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to share some pictures from the hospital.
I have over 100... So, I'll just choose some. I'd love to share so many but that would take too long and let's face it Gracie will be waking up before then. I'll be lucky to get a few pictures uploaded ;)

Headed to the hospital...My water had broke an hour before this was taken.

Were we planning on staying for weeks? Looks like it.

This was at 7:30 a.m. when I found out I was almost 10 cm and we were getting close to pushing.

Adam cutting the cord.

He was a great Coach.

"Where am I? It's cold and bright out here!"

First kisses

Time for my 1st bath

Love at 1st sight

First Family Shot

Dr. Allen and Gracie

Our family

Gracie's door canvas

Gracie and her cousins

Our first girl to girl chat

Daddy's chest is the best sleeping spot

This is when they brought her in for an hour and then had to take her back to the nursery for a check-up from the pediatrician.

Netty and Gracie girl

Big Daddy and Gracie are only 6 days apart in their birthdays

Poppa, Mimi, and Gracie Adalee

Billy wanted to hold her so bad. It was the cutest thing!

A big thank you to all of our friends and family who came by to visit us. Thanks for the gifts, food, snacks, thoughts, and prayers. We love you all and will always remember your thoughtfulness.

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

2011-08-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

I would like to share the all the little moments of Gracie's arrival. I need to share it before I forget some of the little moments.

Thursday we went to the doctor. I was 4 days passed my due date. I thought maybe he will tell me I'm ready to go to the hospital. He checked me out and said I was dilated at 1.5 cm. That's only .5 more than last week. He also said, "You might want to call school and tell them you won't be there Monday. If the baby doesn't come before then, let's set a date to induce on Monday." I was a little disappointed cause I wanted her to come sooner but I wanted her to come naturally when she was ready.
Then, Dr. Allen said, "Well, how about we induce in the morning? Yall go to the hospital around 2:30 a.m. and they will set you up and I will come in at 7:30 a.m. and break your water."

Right then Adam and I fist pumped. We were so pumped! We were about to be PARENTS! We rush home start packing, make phone calls, and Adam headed to school to finish up his plans while I ran to Dollar General to grab a few things. My legs started aching really badly and I felt weird. I got home...my water broke. It wasn't like what you see on tv. I was wondering if it really broke which I thought it did. I started having contractions 5-8 minutes apart. I called Adam and said call Dr. Allen and tell him my water broke. He told us to head up to the hospital. We were making calls, packing like mad men and were grinning ear to ear. Our baby girl was coming!

We got there around 8:00 p.m. They put my in a bed. We watched our show Big Brother and they gave me some sleeping meds and said they would be ready to go in the morning. I took the sleeping pill....bad decision. It made me crazy. I was strapped down to monitors and I kept trying to get up and go to the bathroom even though I had a catheter in. My legs could not keep still. The nurses had to come in a few times and tell me to stay in bed. I was miserable. At 2:00 a.m. I started having hard contractions. I was hurting badly. I started to cry to Adam and he told the nurses. They decided to give me the epidural which I am so thankful for. The epidural did not hurt. I don't really remember a lot of it due to the crazy pills I took. After the epidural it was smooth sailing.

At 7:30 a.m. Dr. Allen came in and checked me, I was at 10 cm. It was time to get ready to push. He went to be with another patient and when he came back around 8:00 a.m. he told us she was crowning and it was time. My mom and Adam were in there with me. Adam was at one knee and my mom was playing with my hair. I am so thankful for both of them.

I pushed for 20 minutes and he said, "Ok...one more push and here she comes." The pushing was not bad at all. Even Adam said he was expecting a "TLC Baby Story moment" of screaming and crying. I will have to say the doctor and nurses made me feel like a champion. They bragged on my pushing. I remember being out of breath. I had an oxygen mask on and had to take it off because I thought I would suffocate. Dr. Allen said, "Oh, what a head full of hair." And he was not joking. My baby girl has got some great hair! One final push and I heard the best sound I've ever heard....Gracie's first cry.

They put her on my chest and the tears starting rushing down. I couldn't control myself. She was perfect. She was here and I loved her more than anything in this world. Adam stayed with her during her bath, her check up, and in the nursery while the doctor took care of me. I could write a novel about our hospital stay. So much went on and it went by fast. Before we knew it we were home. Gracie did have jaundice and had to stay another day but after her treatments she was ready to go home.

Gracie weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and was 23 inches long. She was born at 9:09 a.m. She is one big beautiful girl!

It is so overwhelming being a parent for the first time but it was the best experience I've ever had. I wish I could go through it one more time. But...I am so thankful she is here.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, visits, prayers, and gifts. We are overwhelmed the out pour of love. We love you all and are doing great at home.

I love you Gracie Adalee more than anything! God blessed us with a beautiful, cuddly, little baby girl. We are so thankful!

Gracie is HERE!

2011-08-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

What a long 40 week and 5 day journey. Thank you for following and encouraging me throughout this time. My friends and family truly have helped this time be even more exciting!
It went by fast and my baby girl is finally here. I just wanted to drop a quick post saying that we are doing great and Gracie Adalee Rutledge is here. Mommy and Daddy could not be any happier.
Being a mommy is my proudest moment. I'm also so proud of my husband for being the sweetest daddy. I still haven't got him back from Cloud 9. :)

August 19, 2011 (a.k.a the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE)
9 lbs 2 oz and 23 inches
A big beautiful girl with a head full of hair. We love you Gracie and life is complete with you in it.

Chocolate Chip Cheeseball

2011-08-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is my 3rd post for the day. It's my 3rd RECIPE post for the day.
That means a.) I am bored at home. b.) I finally have time to cook. c.) both a and b

For mommies who get put on bed rest....I think a lot of you. I am not on bed rest but I have a cold and refuse to get out too much. The past 3 days I've felt pretty bored. I did call my nurse and she said I could start taking Tylenol Cold & Sinus. I had no idea I could take anything because I thought when you were pregnant it was pretty much tums or tylenol. This tylenol cold and sinus (the liquid kind) is really helping.

Ok, back to the recipe.

One of my high school teachers used to make this and I LOVED it. I was so excited when I found the recipe on Pinterest. Another easy recipe for a great dessert "snack." This would be great to take to parties or to have with coffee (which is my choice).

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (softened or cubed), softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Graham cracker sticks

Directions

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Serve with graham cracker sticks.
I couldn't find the graham cracker sticks so we used chocolate graham crackers. You can use vanilla wafers. So, the possibilities are endless.

Adam loved it. It was a great treat for us after our Crock Pot Orange Chicken. I actually had some with my coffee this morning (shame on me).

Crock Pot Orange Chicken

2011-08-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I thought, "Hmmm, that looks awesome and easy."
And yes....It was BOTH.

Adam and I love orange chicken from The Cheesecake Factory. It's the best orange chicken I've ever had so if you go there, TRY IT!

Crock Pot Orange Chicken Recipe
(If you have most of the ingredients, it's relatively cheap...and it's not that fattening....double score)

Ingredients:
• boneless chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks (I used Chicken tenders because they were cheaper)
• 1/3 cup flour
• olive oil
• 1/2 T salt
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 T ketchup
• 6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate (thaw or throw it in the microwave for 45 seconds)
• 4 T brown sugar

In a bowl, mix the orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and ketchup. That's all to make your sauce. I placed it in the fridge for the time being.

Pour the flour in a small bowl.
Cover the chicken breast (or tender) chunks in flour and shake off the excess.

Pour a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and brown the flour-covered chicken.

The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked since it's going in the crock pot.

I cooked it for 5-6 minutes. You probably could cook it for less and it be fine.

After the chicken is done cooking, pour the pieces into the crock pot.
Then cover the chicken with your sauce mixture and give the pot a stir.

Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3. I did it for 3 hours on high.

I cooked white rice with ours and we loaded it down with soy sauce. Can't beat that. And it really was SO good and easy to make. All that was missing was a fortune cookie.

Adam's Ribs

2011-08-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

2 nights ago Adam made baby back ribs. We thought that might be a good meal for the baby to eat and decide to come on out. Obviously, it was so good that she decided she would just stay put.

Here's his tips on his ribs (This is me typing this w/out asking him so I won't be 100 % accurate):
*He puts the rub on and wraps them in aluminum foil (The rub he uses is called "Butt Rub" ha)
*He puts them at 325 degrees for almost 3 hours (they get nice and tender)
*Takes them out and puts them on the grill. He does this for about 10 minutes. This is to put the sauce on it and it gives it a "char."
He usually used Cattlemen's Gold. You can get it at Wal-mart. It's the BEST!
He recently used Sticky Finger's Carolina Sweet.

I put on some corn on the cob, which has been a favorite side of ours.
We also had baked potatoes. This meal was DELICIOUS. Thanks Buzz!

Favorite Things

2011-08-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

Today started the first day of my maternity leave. I had plans of working until she got here but I've picked up a bad cold and it's gotten into my chest. I woke up to get ready for work and realized it would be best to stay home. First, I was having early labor pains last night. Second, I would hate to pick up something at school. Third, I teach Kindergarten. That's a lot of up and down and moving. I would be uncomfortable all day. I am so thankful I've taken off and relaxed at home. I feel less anxious about the delivery now.

I decided to do a "Favorite Things" post thanks to my friend Amy who challenged her followers to do it.

I love my Pandora bracelet that Adam got for me. Each one of the charms are very special to me.

This is my FAVORITE reality show. In fact, one of my favorite shows all together. I even put it above Bachelor, Bachelorette, and the Bachelor Pad. Yep, I said it. It comes on 3 times a week. Adam and I have Showtime 2 which means we get live feeds from 11:00 pm-2:00 am. I don't know a lot of people that watch it compared to the Bachelor or shows like that but I can tell you....START it next summer and you'll be hooked. In my opinion, it's too late to start now.

This is our favorite drink right now. I picked it up as a special from Target and Adam and I love them. SOOOO GOOD and refreshing. Try it.

Bubble baths. I take one every day. I've had really bad back pain throughout my whole pregnancy but it's gotten worse here at the end so this really helps my back. I use Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea Bubble Bath and turn on my ipod and I am good to go. It's good for your mental health :)

I love my Kindle. I just purchased Baby Wise in hopes to start it tomorrow. Hopefully it will give me good tips on good sleeping babies :) I also have Beth Moore's Breaking Free downloaded. A few of us girls are going to do a study on it together and I'm really excited about that.

I just got the white iphone 4 and LOVE IT. I've got an otter box on it so you can't see it's pretty white self but if I do not use the otter box I will be doomed. Luckily, I haven't dropped it yet....knock on wood. This phone really rocks. I like the camera and video options. Some of my favorite apps are: Hanging with Friends, Words with Friends, Contractions counter (hope to use that very soon), Martha Stewart Everyday Food Recipes, Pinterest app, White Pages, Color Splash (which is REALLY cool), Hey Tell, Big Brother Pocket, Fitness Buddy, and of course, my social networking apps.

You can get these at Wal-mart. DELISH!

We have an amazing shaved ice shack here in Florence. I'm 12 minutes away from it. I started going about 3 weeks ago. I'm on my 2nd punch card. The guy that works there said the other day, "You are here all the time. " Then he proceeds to ask me how I liked the flavor I got the time before. ha!

I've tried the Twitter, Facebook, Helen Keller, Josh Willingham, Superman, Blue Raspberry/Strawberry Daiquiri, Tiger Woods, and Pina Colada. My favorite so far is either the Helen Keller (kiwi and heavy cream) or the Twitter.

This is hanging on my door at school. My friend Emily did this for me. She does all kinds of paintings and they are amazing. If you are interested, let me know and I'll give you her info.

Mmm Mmm Mmm....enough said.

Now, I will challenge my friends to do this. :)

Mrs. Rutledge's Class of 2011-2012

2011-08-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful I have made it through the week. I really wanted to meet all of my kids so they would know me and understand when I would be back. I am coming back towards the middle/end of October so I told the kids when the pumpkins come out and Halloween is close Mrs. Rutledge will be on her way back. Of course, I'll come visit them every now and then. Adam's aunt Amanda is filling in for my leave and she will be so awesome. It will be a smooth transition so I am very thankful. She's been with me all week and boy, has it been great! I'm 39 plus weeks pregnant and I have 16 kindergartners on my hands so you can see how that would be exhausting!

The first week and couple of weeks we focus on getting down the routines which can be hard for 5 year olds. It takes a lot of time and repetition. On Thursday we read The Gingerbread Man. That afternoon, we baked and decorated a Gingerbread Man. My co-worker and Adam's other aunt, Kristi baked it for me because she knew there could be a chance I didn't come in that day. She helps me out a lot! When the kids got back from gym the Gingerbread Man was MISSING! Ahhh! We went on a scavenger hunt around the school to find him. This allows the kids to become familiar with our school building. We found him and gobbled him right up! YUM! They had a big time. Friday, we read The Gingerbread Baby. We compared and contrasted both books. They do really well with this. Kindergartners are very observant.

Here's my new and awesome class. I look forward to a FANTASTIC school year with these kiddos.

Some funny and sweet sayings in the first week:

(as the child rubs my belly) "When you're fat that means you are having a baby and the baby will be very "baby-ish" and you're baby Mrs. Rutledge will be big and baby-ish"

"I've never been to a school like this. And I'll tell you that not even Pre-School is as cool as this. I love Kindergarten. Now, when do we go outside?"

(This little girl had cried the first day) She comes up to give me a hug at lunch. "My dad told me if I stayed I would have a great time and I am so glad I did because this is the funnest."

This is really going to be a GREAT group. I love teaching at Mars Hill and being a part of this family.

I will have to give a shout out to my last year kids who are now BIG 1st GRADERS! They have been good to come up and give me big hugs....every day and more than once a day. One little boy said, "Woah Mrs. Rutledge, you sure have grown." haha.

To all the teachers, students, parents of students, and administrators......HAVE A BLESSED SCHOOL YEAR and I hope you enjoy every bit of it. Truth is summer vaca will be here before we know it. It goes by so fast.

Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Surprise BabyMoon

2011-08-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday Adam told me to clear my schedule after our doctor's appointment. I was so excited. He didn't tell me until Thursday to pack my bathing suit and an overnight bag. After our appointment we headed south.

I knew we were going close to Birmingham. He blind folded me once we got 10 minutes away from our destination. We went down some curvy roads and I had no idea where we were going.

Not to mention we had already had Chik fil a milkshakes on the way down, so I was in the BEST mood!

We pulled up to our destination and I took my blind fold off and I felt like I was at Hogwarts. We were at the Renaissance at Ross Bridge. It was beautiful. It was like pulling up to a castle.

Our rooms were so nice too! They ran out of king size beds so funny enough we had 2 queen beds. ha
For those of you that have been pregnant you know it's so nice to sprawl out on a bed because night times are the most comfortable.

I was so impressed that he did all this without me knowing. Yep, I am one lucky lady to have him as my husband. He told me this was STAGE 2. STAGE 1 was when I got my Rainbows. He told me there were 5 STAGES so I was pumped that there was more.

We went to the pool for an hour and then it started to storm so we came back to the room to get ready for our date. Adam let me choose Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Changs. I picked P.F. Changs because I was ready for some lettuce wraps. When I came out of the shower this was waiting on my bed.....

This was STAGE 3.

Inside the bag was another charm for my Pandora bracelet. It's the 3rd from the left. It's a little girl which stands for Gracie.

Adam got me the Bible charm and R charm for Christmas. He got me the pumpkin charm for my birthday. He got me the orange and white checkerboard for Mother's Day. Adam's mom got me the cupcake charm for our first baby shower which stands for how we revealed the baby's gender. I love all my charms.

Little did Adam know I had a little surprise for him. He deserves a treat for being such a good daddy and husband. I got him a $50 gift card to Bass Pro Shop. He was so excited. He used it the next morning. That night he got on the web to scope out what kind of fishing tools he would get.

P.F. Changs was awesome. It was our STAGE 4. I got this fortune in my fortune cookie. I thought it was quite appropriate since we will be having a newborn soon.

Poor kid doesn't have a shot.

Almost 38 weeks.

STAGE 5 was a Spa day for me. I got a pedi and a mani. It was amazing because I got to get in a robe, go to a "quiet room" where there were delicious snacks and calming music. It was the best. I really needed that and enjoyed it.

When I went to the spa Adam went to Bass Pro so we were both were in our happy places.

The cucumber water was great.

After the spa, I am one happy camper.

To finish our day off we stayed at the pool. It was the prettiest pool I've been to.

Big kid.

Thanks to Adam for making our little getaway so special.

I love you very much!

38.5

2011-08-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

We went to the doctor yesterday. This Sunday I will hit week 39.

I am 1 cm dilated and 50 % efaced. My blood pressure, weight, baby's heartbeat, and measurement is all on track. Dr. Allen said if he was a betting man he would bet that I would go another week and a half....meaning a little passed my due date. That's actually okay with me because we start school on Tuesday and I was really hoping to start. Adam's aunt Amanda is taking over my leave so she will be there to help me. I don't want me students to be confused when I come back so this will work out good if I can start school and get to know them.

I will come back in the middle of October....I already dread that but I am blessed to have a job that I love and people I love to work with. Gracie will stay with Adam's dad until Christmas. Then, we plan on putting her in Mar Hill's baby school meaning she will be right there beside my school and I can go see her on my breaks. That will be great for mommy :)

Thanks for all the prayers. We are very excited about the next couple of weeks. I am not nervous really. I am to the point of being so ready for her to be here. I am very uncomfortable and ready to be in my normal body again and ready to have that sweet little girl here.

Pinterest is my new Interest

2011-07-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

A few of my friends and family have been on pinterest and have been talking about it.
It is the coolest thing!

It's hard to explain via blogging but basically it's a great virtual way to store any ideas you find on the web.

Halloween, Christmas, Classroom, Crafts, Furniture, Clothing, etc......the list goes on. You have these pin boards and you pin up websites (plus a picture) that you like on your boards.

Go check it out. You will be addicted. I have so many gift ideas, craft ideas, and classroom goodies I want to get started on. Thanks to those who have been talking about it so much to make me interested.

www.pinterest.com

Here is my board if you would like to take a look. ENJOY! Find your interest and pin it, girls!

Ashley's Pinterest

Gracie's Goodies

2011-07-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

After 6 showers Gracie girl has been showered with many goodies. We are so blessed to have so many people that are so supportive and giving. This little girl is spoiled already.
We have the nursery ready except for the curtains. I am waiting to post a full picture of the nursery once we get them up.
But...I have taken pictures of some of her favorites.

I got her bedding from Polka Tot Designs out of Mobile, AL. You get to design your own bedding. They have some adorable stuff. Her bedding looks a little paler in this picture verses how it looks in real life.

Polka Tot Designs Website

Owl theme

Gracie Adalee Rutledge

My mother-in-law mod podged a cardboard G with a variety of pink scrapbook paper....All of it came from Hobby Lobby.

A friend from church made her the Gracie bucket....inside I have put cards, notes, and will write down memories.

The purple and white lamp came from Target.

My mom got the little frame on the top shelf that says "Love at 1st sight" and it holds her 18 week ultrasound picture.

She has lots of books and baby Bibles that I can't wait to read to her.

Adam already read the story of Noah's ark to her. It was a sweet moment. Although, he tried to show her the pictures and I had to remind him that she cannot see the pictures just yet. haha!

Gifts from Gracie's grandmothers.

Thanks Mimi and Netty.

Mommy and baby owl. I did this one and got the general idea from a Target canvas.

I am taking this one to the hospital. I am attaching the little canvas (picture below) with ribbon and we will write her birthing details on it. I will hang the Owl canvas back in her room when we get home.

Found these pink and white polka dot drawers at Hobby Lobby. I'm excited about the wipe warmer that's on top.

My nephew's glider with a touch of pink.

Changing table

I know Gracie can't read yet but maybe she will start to get familiar with her intermediate family. There are pictures of her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, pets, and parents. It faces her changing table so while we are changing those stinkies she can be learning those names and seeing her favorite people every day!

The day gown on the left is part of her "coming home" outfit.

Hospital onesies and pj's.

Poor child doesn't have any clothes. haha These are her Newborn sizes to 6-9 months. I had to store the others.

Look at those cute shoes.

This is one of my favorite crafts and I made it 1:00 a.m. I'm surprised I didn't misspell her name or do something wacky.

Her dolls and stuffed animals.

Wipe case. Found this on etsy.com

Shipping and all it was $15.

Cute 'n Sassy Creations

Do we have enough Boppy's? Gracie even has her own.

One of my favorite outfits. I love Halloween and I love that it says she loves me "The Mummy" so I can't wait for her to be in this. Add an orange bow and some cute little tights and we are set.

House-Divided bow. Thanks Becky!

Diaper bag from Gracie's Mimi

Isn't it adorable?!?!

I told my mother-in-law this was her best yet. I'm a little partial.

You can check her stuff out at Amy Rutledge Designs

Back of the diaper bag. Love her initials on here :)

All my bags are packed and we're ready to gooooo!

37 weeks

2011-07-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

Adam and I had a great weekend.
I had to go to a seminar in Nashville for my Master's Program. It was really good but very tiring.
We stayed in Lawrenceburg on Friday. Dad grilled hamburgers and the whole nine-yards. Jenny came down and stayed with us. Lindsay, Billy, the twins, and Lindsay's friend Kasey came too. We had a great time. Adam went fishing the next day. And the day after that. You could say he enjoys it a bit.
I met Kari in Spring Hill on Saturday to eat at Olive Garden. We were reunited unexpectedly with our friend Britni. We played together at Freed. She has a sweet little boy and we got to meet him. It was a great surprise to see her and her mom. Please pray for her family. Her mother-in-law found out she had some form of cancer after Memorial Day. She passed away last week at the age of 53. Such a sad and scary situation. I cannot even imagine.

Josh and Kari came down on Sunday afternoon. All 4 of us ate at Texas Roadhouse. We had their baby blooming onion. It is a smaller version of the Blooming onion at Outback and it's $3.99. Perfect size. It smelled like the fair which made me excited about the fall. It was the best thing I've had in a while. So delicious.

Gracie moved for Kari for the first time. She also had the hiccups. Kari was amazed at it all. I don't think I gave her the "baby fever" just yet. haha

I feel like being at 37 weeks I'm just a ticking time bomb ready to go off. She could come at any time now. It's such an amazing feeling but of course, I am anxious. Her nursery is ready. Pictures to come soon when I get the curtains up. Our hospital bags are packed minus our toiletries and things we need now. We've pre-paid for our hospital stay. WE. ARE. READY!

During church Sunday morning I could feel her dropping a little. I had never felt this before and so it was an unusual feeling but exciting to say at the least. I feel the same as usual. The past 2 nights I have slept really well which is out of the ordinary.

Please continue to say a prayer for us that everything goes smoothly and baby Gracie is one healthy little girl.
We go back to the doctor on Thursday to see if I'm dilated so I am very excited about that!

Me and my little bundle.

Britni, Kari, and I

Less than a month...36 weeks!

2011-07-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

We are down to the end. I can't believe we are less than a month away from Gracie's due date.
Since I've hit week 30 it has flown.

Time to catch up...

What food am I craving?
I wouldn't necessarily say I'm craving anything but these are the foods that sound good.
Pineapple and bacon pizza. I've had it several times in the past week.
Pastas of any sort
Raw veggies: celery, cauliflower, carrots (w/some ranch)
Popsicles
corn on the cob

How do I feel?
I've had several people ask me this. I feel relatively good! My back pains are getting a little better. It went from hurting all the time unless I was laying down or standing up to only hurting a few periods during the day. My heartburn has gotten so much better. I only have it every now and then. My nausea has come back....boo! I get it every morning and before I go to bed. I am taking medicine that helps. It's not as bad as it was the first tri-mester but still not a pleasant feeling at all. I have reached the uncomfortable stage. I grunt when I bend over. I feel like she could fall out at anytime. haha Not really but she has dropped.
Adam was in the back room and I was bending over to pick something up and grunted rather loudly and he said, "Babe, are you ok?" I replied, "Yup, that's just me bending over." I definitely am okay with all of these "pains" because she will be here soon. Nothing to it!

Doctor Visit:
I meet my doctor Thursday. I'm having blood drawn and a strep test and all of those fun activities. Some of you are wondering, woah you are just now meeting your doctor? We meet with a nurse practitioner until week 36 and then we meet with our doctor. He's so busy and is very popular that this is the only way to do it I suppose. I loved my nurse practitioner and couldn't imagine not having her up until this point but I'm eager to meet Dr. Allen.

How's the nursery coming?
It is coming together! I will save that for another post. It looks so cute. All we are waiting on is our bedding and I cannot wait to see it when it comes it.

How's Daddy?
I like to include Adam. Just because I'm the one carrying the baby he is so involved and doing things behind the scenes. When I say behind the scenes I mean rubbing my back. ha No, but really he loves putting together her furniture. He's put together the crib, a shelf, changing table, and a bouncer. He's beginning to be a pro. Yesterday, we were resting and he played the guitar and sang for me and the baby. She was moving like crazy. She already loves his voice. This week and last week he has been in training and leaves before 7 a.m. He will come to my belly and talk to her before he leaves. Now, I'll be honest there's been a few mornings when I want to smack him in the back of the head and say, "We're trying to sleep. Don't wake her." But....I don't because he loves his sweet girl so much and I love how much he talks to her.

Hidden Pregnancy Talents?
Yeah, I've got one. I can put my bowl of cereal on my belly and eat it. Just call me the human TV tray.

Will I miss pregnancy?
As eager as I am to get her here I know I will miss her being my little 'womb hijacker." I love watching her move. I'll sit on the couch and just watch my belly. There have been 2 times where I feel a hard bump on my belly and I can tell it's her foot. I can feel the outline. It's crazy. She gets the hiccups all the time. She might have broke some hiccup record. 7 times in 24 hours. She still loves my ribs. She loves them a little too much. I can't wait to hold her but right now I'm enjoying the fact that she is safe as can be and with her mommy all the time.

What will I not miss about pregnancy?
I could write a book in this area but one thing stands out. The restroom breaks. WOAH. I go 4 times a night. Which is not good for a scaredy cat like me because when I walk down our dark hall I "see" images and start imaging people in my house. Typical me. Sometimes I can roll back in bed and go back to sleep. Sometimes I will stay up for an hour and I'm wide awake. I think that's God's way of preparing my body to get up and stay up. There will be times where I am sitting here and she will move and BOOM, it hits me hard that I am about to pee in my pants. I guess she rolls on my bladder. It's the weirdest thing and I WON'T MISS THAT! Adam and I went to Montgomery for a Rules Clinic I had to go to. We probably stopped 5 times on the way back. Bless him. He was patient and never complains about my constant bladder issues.

Here's a picture I took before the Harry Potter movie...which was AMAZING! I can't wait until it comes out on dvd.
This picture is not very good because I took it with my phone. I showed it to Adam and he seriously thought it was someone else. He said it didn't look like me (in the face) which I totally agree. It's weird. Someone told me that I will look back on pictures and see how I don't really look like myself in most pictures. But it's a good belly shot.

Catching up on Birthday's

2011-07-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

I just realized I do not have an entry of my niece and nephew's birthday.

Sam turned 1 on June 2nd. Mary Ella turned 3 on July 2nd. I've told several people that I'm guessing Gracie will be born on August 2nd because they would all be summer months and on the 2nd. I think that would be pretty cool.

We went to Birmingham for Sam's 1st birthday party. I cannot believe that sweet boy is 1 year old. It seems like yesterday Adam and I were traveling down there to meet him for the first time.

Time has flown by for sure. This little man is laid back and "Mr. Happy Go Lucky."

Some little cute tidbits about Sambo....

When he goes to sleep he wants to have a piece of Haley's hair in his hand and sucking his thumb. You get that to him and he is a goner. ha! He loves his big sister. He watches her very carefully. Most of you know Mary Ella is quite the entertainer. He laughs a lot and he was one of those deep belly laughs. Right now Haley has him saying "I do" but I told Adam is sounds like he is saying his name "Ad-uh" a little. I think Adam likes to think he is saying Adam instead of I do. He holds a special place in his Aunt Ashley and Uncle Buzz's heart. We love you, Sambo!

The next picture I got from my sis-in-law's blog.

Mary Ella turns 3!

Mary Ella had a Puppy Party. Although we didn't get to go I enjoyed seeing all of the pictures and it looked like a blast. We are celebrating in Florence sometime soon so I am excited about that.

Mary Ella was born right after Adam and I had met and starting dating. I actually looked at Adam and I's facebook "wall to wall" the other day and I saw where I put something about him becoming an Uncle. Crazy to think that I was saying that to him then and she would be my niece. We feel so blessed to have Mary Ella as a niece. She's an entertainer but also a kind hearted little girl. She is so much fun to be around. She's into princesses right now. I found an Ariel and Belle figurine from Dollar Tree today. I brought it to her and you would have thought I gave her a million bucks. The princesses helped her eat her lunch. haha I remember going to her 1st and 2nd birthday party and I just cannot believe she is 3! That goes to show time flies with your little babies.

We love you, Mary Ella! Thank you for always being a bundle of fun!

This is a picture is from Haley's blog. It might be my FAVORITE picture of Mary Ella. It definitely shows her outgoing little personality.

Panama City Beach Vacation Part 2

2011-07-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

I'm finally ready to finish the 2nd post of our vacation.
Thurdsay night we went to eat at Dirty Dick's. They are famous for their crabs. We were all excited about diving into some seafood. My doctor told me which ones I could have so I was ready to crack open some crab legs!

Adam got lots of practice this week with his baby skills. He did a good job.

Billy and lindsay

The girls

That's Billy and Lindsay's meal. A boat full of seafood goodness.

I'm gonna be honest. Not too sure about the jumbo shrimp. I mean you can still see its eyeballs.

Give me that shrimp!

"The original 4"

I love this picture. Brooklyn is giving Billy IV some sugar. Look how gentle she is being with her hand under his head. He's just soaking it up. They are so sweet together. I can't wait to see how their relationship grows as they grow.

Sweet morning smiles

Look at that professional! Go Adam Go!

That's Billy and Lindsay parasailing.

Adam squeezing their parasail.

Aunt Ashley introduced the twins to some Baby Einstein. They were so into it!

Brooklyn and Big Daddy

Funny little guy

We went to Sharky's on our last night. It was the best atmosphere. We sat on the porch and were right by the ocean. There was a guy playing and he play Rocky Top so we were having a great time. Our food was awesome. I loved their crab cakes! All of a sudden all of their lights go out. Well, we thought they would come right on. Someone had hit a transformer (whatever that means) and the power on the whole strip went out. We had sunlight for a while but then the sun started to set and it was getting dark. They had to do our tickets by hand. It was a crazy mess. Luckily, we walked to the restaurant and we could walk right back....in the dark. After 2 hours, the power came on. Thank goodness.

My sweet momma

2 of my favorite guys!

Lindsay and Adam played the lobster claw game. They paid $2 and if they could grab a lobster they got to keep it and eat it. Adam had the lobster but it dropped at the last minute.

We left Saturday morning but before we left we took pictures on the beach in our white attire.

Dad and Adam trying to make the twins laugh.

This picture shows he is a typical boy. Boys don't usually like to take a lot of pictures. ha

The kids and babies

We are ready to be a Party of 3 :)

Brooklyn says, "Too many pictures."

Billy eating up his grandparents lovin'.

My favorite twinkies.

It was a wonderful trip. We made so many memories and I am thankful we had a full week together. God is good!

Panama City Beach Vacation part 1

2011-07-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

It's only taken me a week or 2 to finally post about our beach vacation. Better late than never.
This was my first time to PCB. I usually go to Destin. Panama City has become a family oriented place. There is a lot to do there: great restaurants, Pier Park, shopping, go karts, golf, putt-putt, parasailing, and so much more. I would highly recommend going.

It took us about 9-10 hours to get down there because I was told by my dr. to stop every 2 hours and get out and move. The ride was rough but manageable. My back heart and that was the main issue. The twins did great on their first big car ride.

We got down there on a Saturday and went to eat at Mellow Mushroom. This is now my favorite pizza place to eat. I had the ham, bacon, and pineapple pizza. So wonderful!

We went to Wal-mart afterwards and if you have ever went to any Florida Wal-mart on a Saturday evening you know that it's crazy land. If you go, the best time would be any other day besides Saturday and maybe going really early in the morning. It was be worth getting up for rather than fighting the madness.

This was our view! Very beautiful. There were a few days that we had to deal with seaweed. That's right, we were pulling seaweed out of our bathing suits, pockets, and hair. You can see the green area. You could actually feel the seaweed but the last couple of days it cleared up. We had 3 red flag days which made an interesting play day on our floats. We all got tossed or turned at least once. I got tossed one good time then I decided a 7 1/2 month pregnant lady, a float, and red flags don't really go together. So that was my last red flag day.

Brooklyn loved her glasses. As you can see right here she is striking a pose.

Here we have Billy Ray Helton Jr., Billy Ray Helton III, and the newest edition Billy Ray Helton IV. They are all decked out in their glasses.

Speaking of sun glasses we had to say farewell to Adam's Costas he has had for many years. It was due to a huge wave. He had cables on but when the wave got him it washed the cables over his head. He and I were a little sick over it....I mean Costa ain't cheap, people but I told him he had a good run with them and I guess this was a sign he needed a new pair. I guess this gave a shark or dolphin a good pair of shades.
Thank you Costas for being so good to Adam over the years. Alright let's take a moment of silence (pause).

Ok, thank you.

We got up Sunday and attended Emerald Church of Christ. It's funny how you always seem to see people you know when you are on vacation. I saw some people from Columbia Academy. If you go to PCB I would highly recommend going to Emerald Church of Christ. They were so friendly. It was nice to be around so many other christians while on vacation. We had a letter from them when we got home, which I thought was very thoughtful.

Sunday night we went to Backyard Burgers. Here is Mom and Dad at Backyard Burger.

The boys were very busy checking out the burgers. Brooklyn is giving me a look like, "Get me outta here!"

Lindsay and I

This little boy enjoyed every activity we threw at him. The first day we had him on the beach in his trunks, swim top, beach hat, glasses.....he was sitting back in the blown up baby pool enjoying a bottle. He was soaking it up. Little beach bum.

The joke of the week was having to wear these bands. I understand the reason behind it so that nobody is sneaking in but if you did not have it on Chuck, the security guard was coming up to say something. haha

Each couple took a turn cooking a dinner. Billy and Lindsay created and Italian feast.

Bow tie pasta, spaghetti, shrimp, chicken, alfredo sauce, tomato paste, bread, and tea. It was absolutely delicious! They did a great job. For dessert we had red, white, and blue cupcakes in honor of the July 4th holiday.

The chefs and their master piece.

We had a wonderful breakfast each morning. I felt like we were at a 5 Star hotel.

Adam cooked the first morning and made his famous Breakfast Casserole. He's pretty famous for that ;)

Mom in this picture is making waffles. Not just waffles but pecan, chocolate chip, blueberry, strawberry, or regular waffles. We had blueberry and strawberry sauce, whip cream, maple syrup. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. She also cooked pancakes with the same toppings. And one of my favorite: Chocolate gravy. You cannot beat my Mom's chocolate gravy. Needless to say we were nice and plump when we headed down to the beach.

We didn't match on purpose. It just happened :)

BOCCE BALL

If you've never played this on the beach you have to try it. So much fun and a great workout. We wish would could have brought corn hole too.

The guys and bocce ball.

The twins loved their pool time. Billy (the dad) would stretch Brooklyn out and she would just kick-kick-kick. Baby Billy was more laid back and just soaking it in. I am so glad they both like the pool. They looked so cute in their outfits too.

Creeper alert. Gotta watch out for that crazy man.

Lindsay and I enjoyed our sister time on the beach. We always have some interesting conversations.

We played a round of Bocce against Mom and Dad. We lost. oh well, we will blame it on the pregnant lady.

We cooked on Wednesday night. Adam made his famous ribs. They didn't have baby back ribs or his sauce at Wal-mart so he got to try making something new. They were SO GOOD!

We had ribs, corn on the cob, baked potato bites, bread, mandarin orange salad (which was a big hit), and of course...sweet tea.

Mmmm....Those ribs were on point!

I for some reason do not have a picture of Mom and Dad's night they cooked. They made Mom's chicken fingers. We had a side of mashed potatoes, corn, green peas, bread, and noodles. This is a dish we all ask Mom for on our birthdays. It was so good!

Uncle Buzz time.

A great picture of a great couple.

sweet couple

And we of course are so ready to be parents!

This concludes Panama City Beach Vacation Part 1. Part 2 will come shortly.

"Headed" to the finish line

2011-07-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today I had my last check up with my nurse practitioner, Kelly. I absolutely have LOVED her. She has 2 boys and has a great personality. She will sit and talk with me and never rush me off. I've asked her every question in the book. I have felt very comfortable around her. She's really helped me through this journey.

Next visit, I will meet my doctor, Dr. Allen. He attends Crosspoint and surprisingly, I have never met him. I know what he looks like and I have many friends who have delivered with him and have said wonderful things about him. I am excited that we are finally this far along. I will have an iron test aka I have to get blood draw :( I am going to go in and hope for the best. I didn't pass out last time, so I think I will do fine this time.

The visit with Kelly went wonderfully. She said that I have been smooth sailing this whole pregnancy. I have been very blessed by God with a healthy pregnancy and pray it continues down that path. She measured my belly; Gracie is growing right on track. I asked her if Gracie was head down yet. She felt my stomach and said, "I feel a noggin'." So, we think she is head down and getting ready to make her appearance soon enough. I SEE THE FINISH LINE, FOLKS! 5 weeks and 3 days to go.

On a side note, since yesterday afternoon Gracie has had the hiccups 7 TIMES! Once, at 3:00 a.m. and well, that was no fun at all. She has been moving non-stop. Dad got to watch her rumble around tonight. She was putting on a show.

My mom went with me today. Adam is out of town doing work with TNT fireworks. Can't wait to have him home on Saturday. Please pray for safe travels for Adam and his crew.
Anyways, Mom got to hear the heartbeat which she always enjoys. We ate at Cracker Barrel and had a fantastic breakfast (pecan pancakes and french toast....and of course coffee, de-caff for me). Afterwards, we ran some errands and went to my school. Mom helped me paint (well, she did all the painting), hang my bulletin boards, and clean my room. We are going back tomorrow. I am thankful she is helping me out. I couldn't do it alone. I hope to get it ready a few weeks before school even starts. What a great feeling!

I've stayed with Mom and Dad this week and it has been a very relaxing vacation! Can't beat staying with the folks :)

I want to ask a special prayer on a very special family. One of my college friends, Brandon, passed away. It was a tragic situation and I know his family and friends are grieving and will have a long road ahead of them. He was one of those guys that was always smiling or joking around. He dated my roommate for a while so I got to know him and hang out with him. He was a sweet person. His parents are precious and he has a sweet, sweet sister. I'll never forget when I was going through some rough times at the end of my college career he sent me the sweetest text messages of encouragement. They made me feel so loved and appreciated and I am so thankful for his kindness. May God bless him friends and family and give them peace and comfort for many years. Although I have not seen him in a while I am glad I can call him a friend and have such great memories of him.

Count your blessings each night. God gives us so much! I am so thankful for the many blessings he has given to me. HE is so good.

34 weeks

2011-07-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

I have reached 34 weeks. My family and I just got back from Panama City Beach and had a great time! The road trips were not easy but I made it. I can't believe I have 6 more weeks to go. CRAZY!

I loved basking in the sun all week. Being pregnant, your skin is more sensitive. I've always tanned really easily at the beach but this week I did it really quick, due to the pregnancy. So, thanks Gracie. ha I did use lots of sunscreen, take lots of breaks, and drank lots of water.

I did not have heartburn ALL WEEK....until today. I've had it all afternoon. I am thankful it's gotten better. I have reached the uncomfortable stage for sure but I'm going to make it. I'm a pretty tough girl.

The worse problems I am having right now is with my back. Funny enough, the only chair that my back doesn't hurt in was the pool chairs in PCB....if only I could've snuck one home. I'm to the point where my back hurts pretty much all day long. The only time it doesn't hurt is if I am laying on my side in the bed, standing up, or moving around. I think the chiropractor is calling my name for the next 6 weeks.

I don't want to sound like I am complaining because I realize how truly BLESSED I am! I am having a sweet baby girl in 6 weeks and I am beyond excited and anxious. There are girls I know who have had worse problems or been put on bed rest so I will take my back pain and be thankful it's not worse.
Baby Gracie has been prayed for so much and I know God is watching over us very carefully.

Ephesians 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

I am very excited to say that Gracie's crib, mattress, and changing table came in! One step closer. However, Adam has to work this week with TNT fireworks so we will be putting it together hopefully next Sunday.

Haley, my sister-in-law, is letting me use her glider which matches great with Gracie's room.
I am waiting on her bedding. Hopefully, it will come in soon. My mother-in-law is making her curtains and they will be oh, so sweet.

We are almost there and I am getting more and more excited and anxious.
Am I nervous about labor and deliver? Sure. I was WAY MORE nervous months ago. Now, I am getting to the point of being so excited about her arrival that the nervous feelings are disappearing. I am actually starting to look forward to that special moment with Adam and myself (and the doctor and nurses but they don't count. ha). I've been imagining it lately and I get really excited. Adam is so calm and laid back I know he will be GREAT in the delivery room with me. I can't wait to see his reaction to meeting his daughter for the first time. Makes me tear up just thinking about it.

Gracie is on the move ALL the time. She still loves my ribs a little too much. I love to see her move and kick. I have a doctor's appt on Thursday. Can't wait to see the changes and progression (besides the weight gain....blah).

Check us out in our shades

2011-06-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

33 weeks down

2011-06-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

I have reached my favorite number. 33!

Can't believe we are this far along but at the same time I feel like I should be giving birth already.
Gracie got the hiccups for the first time last night. What a fun feeling that is. It's really cute.

So, what's up on prego planet?

This week I am at the beach with my parents, hubby, Billy, Lindsay, and the twinkies. We are having a great time.

What's my biggest pains?
BACK PAIN!!! It wasn't as bad on the trip down but it wasn't pleasant either. My back hurts from mid-afternoon until night. I've had back pains before but this is pains up and down. It hurts pretty bad.

Heartburn is actually getting a little better (knock on wood).

My belly hurts cause it's so stretched out I guess. It's like you pulled something in your abdomen?!

Leg cramps. I get these in the middle of the night usually but they come during the day sometimes. I've dealt with these in basketball so I know how to handle them. No biggie but no fun either.

New happenings on prego planet?

Gracie has been quite the mover. She is starting to slow down a bit, I guess she is running out of room. I could see my belly rumbling and shaking. Now, I can see body parts sticking out. Her favorite hang out spot is still my left ribs. I usually have to gently move her out in which she starts kicking back. I like seeing some feisty.

How about her room?

It's the prettiest pink in the world. A pale pink....thanks to Adam and my father-in-law. Looks great! We are about to order crib #2 since crib #1 had a crack in it and we had to send it back.

I've got things to hang including the letters of her name. I am going to paint a canvas once her bedding comes in. I'm excited about how it's going to look.

We've had 3 showers and have 3 more to go.
July 10 Shower in Lawrenceburg
July 15 Shower from my team
July 17 Shower at Crosspoint

Can't wait for that week!

What's Daddy thinking?
The following questions have been answered by Gracie's Daddy...

What's been your favorite part of pregnancy (not that he was pregnant...but you know)?
"Seeing her move in your bel-belly."

What do you look forward to the most of Gracie's arrival?
"Holding her"

What do you think she'll look like?
"I think she'll look like her momma or be awesome like me."

What do you plan on doing with her once she gets here?
"Singing to her and reading her books."

Well, 7 more weeks to go. Thank you so much for your prayers, thoughts, and comments.
I love my readers :)

Gracie's Dad

2011-06-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

I am seriously amazed by my husband everyday. When they say marriage gets better (or do they say that?) I AGREE! I'll be cheesy for a moment and say everyday my love grows for this wonderful man. He is kind hearted, FUNNY, thoughtful, and well....easy on the eyes :)

For Father's Day I told him we were going to a movie (It was on Thursday). The whole day he thought that's what we were doing and he was excited. Then, I had to tell him we were not going to the movies we were going somewhere else. We headed to Willow's Day Spa. I had a couple's massage set up. The last time he's had one was on our honeymoon at Sandal's. The couple's massage was amazing. Of course, all the girls there specialize in maternity so mine was a little different. I didn't lay on my stomach, I laid on my side but it was still great. Adam LOVED it. His comment, "Let's do this every week." And if we were rich, we definitely would but for now it will have to be special treats.

After we got our massages we headed home got ready and went to eat. We ate at one of our favorite places, Demo's. Yum. The service is really the best there. After our dinner, we went to watch Super 8. Cute movie! We have a bucket that you fill up for $2.50 with popcorn so we are alway set.

Have you heard of the Kangaroo cups?
They sold these cups at the Kanagroo gas station for $6.99. You get FREE refills for the WHOLE SUMMER. Our station has 20 selections of drinks. Now get this, you also get free refills on SLUSHIES. I have been killing the coke slushie. I'm basically robbing them legally. They aren't selling them now because they sold out so quickly. I will thank my players for finding this one out. They all have a K Cup. Now, back to the movies....

Now, let me just say we have snuck Krispy Kreme coffee and donuts into the movies (in my purse---oh so careful not to spill that HOT coffee). I have a huge purse so we snuck in our K cups with slushies. I don't feel bad because it was $18 just to watch the movie. I am not about to pay $5 for a drink. Needless to say, we were happy campers. Super 8 was really cute. Would I buy it and watch it weekly? No. But I would suggest going to see it.

I guess you can say Adam's first Father's Day was very fun and special. Although, Gracie will top the rest of them from here on out. She is already a Daddy's girl. He is rapped around her unborn little fingers so tightly. It's so cute.

Just the other day I reminded Adam this time 3 years ago to this time we had just met and started to hang out. We met at the end of May and started hanging out in June. I remember everything being so new. I'm sure everyone knows our little love story but I was in a really bad situation before summer started and then God put him in my life and I was my old self again....For about 7 months I was in a slump and so unhappy due to a certain situation, everyone could see it. Then, boom I was me again and it was all thanks to Adam. I remember the first time I saw him he was playing the guitar and singing. He had a great tan. We played games at our friend Jeremy's house. Adam was hilarious and so fun to be around. Instantly, I knew I wanted to marry him. I had a few months to convince him of this but finally he jumped on the band wagon. :) ha! I can't imagine not being married to Adam. When I talk to my girlfriends every now and then we play out our scenarios of "What if I would not have met him...or what if I would have decided to stay in my other relationship..." Anytime I think of that I am so grateful Adam came into my life. I think God lead me down this road because he knew this is where I would be the happiest and treated the upmost respect and love. During my whole pregnancy he has been right by my side, rubbing my back, rubbing my feet, doing work for me, doing ANYTHING I ask him. He's been awesome!

Happy 1st Father's Day to Gracie's sweet daddy and my best friend.
I love you!

Father's Day Belated Tribute

2011-06-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late on this but boy, it's been a busy crazy ~~week~~ summer.

This Father's Day has been a little more special than others because there is another Father in the House (Gracie's Dad)....I'll be saving that for a later post.

First of all, I have the best Big Daddy in the world! He has always wanted that title "Big Daddy." My friends call him "Big Daddy." It's just part of him now. What do I think of when I think of my dad? Well, I think of funny, giving, compassionate, christian, friend, discipliner, supportive, and awesome....yes, the list could go on and on.

Growing up we never wanted to hear our mom say, "Do you want me to tell your daddy when he gets home." Dad was the law enforcer. Billy took spankings better than me, I would cry right when he said I was getting one. It hurt my little feelings. haha I am so thankful my parents were strict on us and disciplined us. It made my brother and me who we are today. Now that I am going to be a parent I will take what they did and use it. Billy and I respected our parents greatly and still do....and that's how kids should be.

Dad has always carried me around for my sports. He coached Billy's baseball teams and my softball teams. We traveled for All-Stars, AAU practices and tournaments, and away games (Middle School, High School, and College). He was always pushing me to be the best. He would drag me to the gym and rebound for me for hours. As a coach, I look back and respect that so much. There's no telling how many hours Mom, Dad, and I spent in the gym. We had some really fun times. If he would not have done that who knows if I would have gotten my college scholarship, met my college friends, got me my coaching position....etc. It all goes back to the sacrifice of my parents. Thank you , Mom and Dad! Dad now helps me coach the Lady Panthers. He is great at what he does. I couldn't ask for a better assistant coach! The girls love him to death.

Fishing....We started fishing when I was little. My dad bought me a Mickey Mouse fishing rod. We went out fishing. He heard me and my mom screaming and thought, "I bet they caught a small fish." Nope, we had a good size bass on that Mickey Mouse rod. What a great memory! Bad memory of fishing....I got a hook stuck in my shin and Dad had to get the pliers to get it out. We laugh now because I asked them (as a 6 year old), "Am I going to die?" About 15 years later we were fishing at our pond and I got my shorts stuck in the hook. We couldn't get them out. I had to take of my pants and run back up the house. Pretty sight huh? I can't wait til Gracie gets to fish with Big Daddy. I just hope she stays away from the hooks.

Dad has always been an awesome christian example. When we went on trips (and when we still do) we find a church to stop at. When I was young I thought, "What does it matter to miss this time." Now, looking back I am so thankful he taught us how to be devoted and put God first, even on vacation. We pray before every meal. He has showed me how to help others see Christ. These are the most important lessons Big Daddy could ever teach us. Thank you God for giving me Big Daddy and Netty as my parents. How lucky am I?

I can never repay my Dad or Mom for all they do. I hope and pray I can be this type of parent with Gracie. If so, she will be in great shape.

Happy Father's Day, Big Daddy. I love you!

Who wants a blog make-over?

2011-06-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

I love my new blog make-over and that's thanks to my sister-in-law, Haley Morgan!

She is one creative momma in all aspects but now she is picking up this new talent with creating the cutest blog headers (and more).

Do you want to spice up your blog? Tired of the same ole same ole.....? I know I was. She fixed this up really quickly.

She is a lot cheaper than the other people out there. I was charged over $50 the first time I got mine redone. In my opinion, she is better too :)

If you are interested email here at haleymorgan82@yahoo.com
If you have any questions I can answer, ask away.

Thanks again SISTER! LOVE IT!

Things I will not miss about...

2011-06-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

PREGNANCY!

Let me set this up...

Yesterday was the 14th meaning we have 2 more months until sweet girl's due date.
The first week of June I had little kid's basketball camp. Every day I had practice with my team 7-9 a.m and then little kid's camp from 9-12. 5 HOURS WITH NO AIR. There was absolutely NO air in the gym. It was in the mid-90's. That week about put me under.
The next week we had Lipscomb camp. We had games all day long, had to walk the campus to change gyms. Most of the gyms had air but one did not and of course we had 4-5 games there.
This week we have been at UNA team camp. All the gyms have air but we have had to walk back and forth from the Rec center to the main gym. Today is our last day for this camp. Might I add we are 6-0...GO Lady Panthers!

Yesterday really brought this post on. We had a game at 9:00, 11:00, 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, and 7:00. No breaks in between really. Sitting on a bench all day long. Getting up and down and walking up the sidelines. Yikers.
Mom, Dad, Adam and I went to eat at Logan's and I had ribs (note to self: no more ribs until I'm post-pregnancy).

My back has never hurt so bad. I know it's from all this running around and craziness. This is the life of a coach in the month of June and usually it's NO big deal at all but for a 7 month pregnant coach.....well, it's starting to WEAR ME DOWN!

Here are some things I will be glad to wave good-bye when Gracie gets here...

*Heartburn....used to be every now and then. Then I got it every night. Now I get it 2-3 times a day. Baby better come out with a fro.

*Achy back...I am thankful for my great chiropractor but I still have some great pain mainly in my lower back.

*Potty Time....I go a million times a day. I go a few times a night. Let's just say rolling (and I mean literally rolling) out of bed at 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. is not the highlight of my sleep.

*Terrible Sleep....I realize I won't get much sleep when she gets here but I find it easier that no sleep will be due to feeding, rocking, and being with her. It won't be due to my back hurting, feeling nauseous, or just flat out being uncomfortable.

*TUMS....I'll be glad when I don't have to pop these all the time.

*"I've fallen and I can't get up" -Stevel Urkle
Ok, I haven't fallen but when I sit down in a low chair or I'm on the floor it is hard get back up without some back pain.

*RIB SHOTS...Most of the movement in my belly is adorable besides the rib shots. It doesn't really hurt but it really startles me because she kicks so hard and then she is up in my ribs. Come on Gracie, give momma a break.

*I miss running. I can power walk, which makes me feel good but I miss the hardcore exercise...I really do.

*Being exhausted....When I get home I don't feel like cooking or cleaning. I just want to lay on the couch. I'm ready to have some good energy.

*Sleeping in. It's summer break and I am a teacher and I have slept in only a few times. It's not really due to pregnancy. It's due to basketball and having to get up for seminars and observations for my Master's but still....I want to sleep in!

*People's negative comments...This doesn't happen often but when you're pregnant strangers feel like sharing the worst case scenarios with you. For example, I was at my doctor signing out. The sweet receptionist said, "Maybe you will be one of those lucky mom's who has a good sleeping babies." A lady (who I do not know) said, "I hope you don't. Every mom should have to go through the getting up all the time. It's not fair if you don't." And then I punched her. Ok ok...I didn't but I did give her a funny look.

Or people telling me about their awful deliveries. I don't mind if I ask you but people that voluntarily come up and share that with me. There should be a rule: DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL.

Well, there's my list but let me end on a positive note.

Things I will miss about being pregnant...

*Getting taking care of like you are royalty...and that's by friends, family, and people you don't know. If they see you are pregnant they are going out of their way to help you. I was at Cheesecake Factory last week and I walk into the bathroom and some college girls say, "Hold on, let us see if there's one open for you.' They did this so I wouldn't have to bend down and look under the bathroom stale. What sweet girls!

*Gracie making my belly look like the waves on an ocean. It's cute. My belly entertains me. She moves all the time and I've really enjoyed watching her.

*Eating what I want when I want and not feeling bad about it.

*Adam singing, talking, and reading books to my belly. It's the cutest thing.

*Getting back rubs on command from my sweet husband. All I have to say is, "Ahh, my back is hurting" and boom, he's there to help me out. My Mom and Dad are always offering to rub my back or neck and I'll never turn that down! ha

*Getting sweet smiles from strangers when they see my belly. I think it's adorable. I had 3 players (from another team) say, "Awww" and point to my belly yesterday.

*Hair and Nails have looked it's best thanks to my prenatal vitamins! Sometimes I go 3 days without washing my hair and it looks good. It's crazy because normally I barely go 2 days without washing it.

Ok, there's my list. Overall, I have enjoyed pregnancy but I have recently hit my wall. I'm ready for Gracie Adalee to BE HERE already! Less than 2 months. Please continue to pray for me and my sweet girl that everything will go smoothly and she will be one healthy baby.

Here's a pic I made for fun. Sorry it's a little fuzzy.