Christmas Wedding

One of Brian's best friends for pretty much his whole life got married this past weekend. I absolutely LOVE Christmas weddings. This time of year is so beautiful and there is so much celebrating going on that I think it's a great time to get married. All of the decorations, the church, the reception... everything had a beautiful Christmas feel to it. At the reception, the favor for guests was a special ornament to remember their wedding. So cool!

Here are some of the CBHS guys at the rehearsal dinner... this is one tight group of friends! Brian is so fortunate to have known these guys for so long and for them to have stayed close, even though they all went to different colleges.

The rehearsal dinner was at the Dixon... the food was really good and we had a fun group at our table :)

A few of the guys.... the groom, Blake, is sitting and has on a red tie.

Girlfriends and wives at the rehearsal dinner... Mary Hall, Ashley, me and Ashlea

The next day was the wedding. Brian looked so cute in his tuxedo. I always think he is handsome though :) Here are the bride and groom dancing their first dance. It was great!

Brian's family was invited to the wedding as well. Here's his dad and little sister having fun on the dance floor!

Brian and Robert loved the suspenders that came with their tuxedos :)

Towards the end of the wedding, CBHS class of 2001 took a group picture of all the guys that came to the wedding. There are even a few guys missing in this photo that were there, but had already left. Brian was pretty sure that it was the largest gathering of his class since they graduated. It was great to see so many people after such a long time!

It was a great wedding and we are so happy for Blake and Christina. They are an awesome couple! They are leaving for their honeymoon Christmas afternoon... hope you have a great time!

Nicknames & Getting Closer

Do you come from a nickname family?

I don't. Brian does. Brian has lots of nicknames for me. I just call him Brian.
Somehow, our little Preston has already acquired multiple nicknames. Some from us, some from friends, some from family.

Our favorite nickname for him is Master P. Runner up is Mr. P. We use Master P and Mr. P a lot these days. I have a feeling that when he comes and we get to know his personality, we will think of more for him.

Brian and I are starting to get really excited about meeting him. As his due date approaches, it seems like he is the only thing we can talk and think about. I think he will look exactly like Brian (dimples and all), but act like me. Brian thinks he will look and act like me.

I think he is going to be crazy... bouncing off the walls and constantly getting into stuff. Maybe I just think that because of how ACTIVE he is all the time. My doctor told me that his movements will become less and less the bigger he gets in my belly, but they have yet to slow down. Brian put his hand on my belly the other night for a solid minute and felt him move 20 times.

While attending a wedding recently, we had someone tell us that you can't even begin to understand how much you can love someone until you have a child. She said what struck her the most was here is this person who has never been in your life before and suddenly IS your life. Brian and I both looked at each other and I think we were both thinking the same thing. While we already love Preston, we can't wait to feel that kind of love for him that only comes when you first lay eyes on your child.

Hurry up February 4!

33 Weeks

Preston is the size of a pineapple.... whoa!


He is still super active and seems to be happy in there. He has passed the 17 inch mark and weighs over 4 lbs. Here is what he looks like:

I haven't felt any contractions or discomfort this week. Swelling has gone down, and I am back to my "normal" pregnant self! What's funny is that I have taken on the pregnancy waddle.. no more smooth strides for me. But my belly is just SO big that waddling is the only way I can walk! Still not sleeping much at night, but glad my body is preparing for sleepless nights :) Unfortunately, Brian is also experiencing some of my pregnancy symptoms - not sleeping, hungry all the time, anxiety over when P will decide to come. It's funny how it's all part of God's plan to get us both ready for our world's to turn upside down when P comes.

Here is what I look like at 33 weeks:

33 down, 7 to go!

Life Right Now

Two weeks ago, we moved out of our starter home and into our family home. It's bittersweet. On two separate occasions I burst into tears over the loss of our little house on Whitewater Road.

Some things we will miss:

• It is totally updated
• We were so proud of the backyard and all our hard work out there
• The garage is connected to the house and gave us easy access off of the kitchen
• It was our first home - Brian proposed to me in that house, we came home from our honeymoon to that house, found out we were going to be parents in that house, held countless get-togethers and made tons of memories there

While we will always love our first home, we had to say goodbye and embrace the next step in our lives.

We have officially moved into our new home. We had help from both our families who loaded up a U-haul and moved us just a few miles away. We really can't thank them enough for helping us move and clean the place up. We also can't thank some of our friends enough for the meals! That has been awesome to not have to cook :)

Unfortunately, when we got the keys to our house, we were a little overwhelmed over the amount of work our new house needs. Every room needs paint... not just on the wall, but also the mustard-colored trim that seems to cover every square inch of the house and the yellow-y ceilings and closets. Of course, we knew this going in, but on moving day, the work became a reality. To paint most of the rooms, we will have to remove roll after roll of wallpaper. And I won't even get into the amount of work in the kitchen. We know it has loads of potential, but in the beginning it's hard to accept the fact that it will take years to get to that point. We look forward to the day when our friends and family want to drop by and we do not have to preface with "Please excuse the boxes... the ugly wallpaper... the half painted room...."

Currently, we are living amongst boxes, drop cloths, paint cans, and cleaning products. There is constantly something to do. Not a lot of relaxing going on over here. The first week in our new home we were sore, tired, cranky, and overall, just exhausted. We FINALLY moved into our master bedroom this past week, and we love it. It really helped us to have some feeling of accomplishment with our new house, and one room out of the way. Speaking of which, I am so proud of Brian. He has remained patient and always encourages me to rest, drink water and take breaks from unpacking. He constantly is watching out for me and I appreciate that more than he knows.

The next house post, I'll show you before and after pics of our master bedroom and bathroom and a break down of what we did. Let's just say it is turning into my DREAM bedroom!!! I love it so much and love having a grown up retreat at the end of the day :)

32 Weeks, Doc Appt & Maternity Pics

Sorry I'm a little late, but the baby is the size of a large jicama!

This week, he weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long. I'm supposed to gain about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to the baby. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth. Here is what he looks like:

As for me, this has probably been one of the toughest weeks of pregnancy. I just haven't felt great. I'm super uncomfortable, not getting any sleep at night, I feel huge, and I have an insane amount of swelling. My legs and ankles are gross. Gone are the days of pregnancy being fun :( But at least that means I am closer to meeting my little boy!

I don't have a pic to post this week, because we actually had my friend Candice take some professional pics of us downtown at the Peabody this weekend :) I may take one with my camera tonight and post one that matches the others for Preston's baby book. When I get the photos from Candice, I'll post a link to them so you can see.

32 down, 8 to go!

Christmas List

This year, we are kind of skipping Christmas. Of course we'll celebrate with family and friends, but we are not putting up decorations in the new house because there is so much other stuff to do in getting ready for little Preston. Since there isn't much holiday celebrating going on at our home, I decided to follow in the footsteps of a few of my friends who blog and put together a Christmas wish list. Maybe I could even get Brian to do the same? ;)

1. A brushed nickel Hunter fan for our new master bedroom

Kensington by Hunter

2. fresh citron de vigne

3. Anything breastfeeding related. Okay, this one is a little weird, but truthfully if I am going to do this, I feel like I need the gear. A nursing cover, pump, storage bags, etc. There is a lot of gear that comes with breastfeeding!

nursing cover from Giggle

4. Pandora "P" charm for me to add on to my bracelet

5. The gift that keeps on giving.... gift cards! Since we have so much work to do on the house, it would be nice to have a few from select retailers like Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Ace Hardware. All those expenses you don't always plan for ADD UP.

31 Weeks

So after the craziest week ever (more on that later) we are finally able to take and post a belly pic :) Here we are at 31 weeks! Preston is the size of four naval oranges.

Here is what he looks like in there:

This week, he is having a major growth spurt. He is now over 16 inches long, and weighs about 3.3 pounds. He can move his head from side to side and his body is beginning to fatten up. He moves like crazy and keeps me up at night. While it's pretty uncomfortable, I like knowing that he is fine and happy moving and kicking around.

As for me, I am definitely experiencing a lot more swelling. Most days I can't wear my engagement ring :( Thankfully, my wedding band still fits. I am feeling some small BH contractions every now and then, but nothing major.

Here I am at 31 weeks and 2 days:

31 down, 9 to go!