We still do!

So much to update on!!!!

Steven and I have had a wonderful two years of marriage (and we had a great day celebrating it). I'm amazed at how fast the time has flown by. God has blessed me so much with Steven Andrew Swindell!

We had a wonderful celebration on our Anniversary. To start the day off we had the privilege of bonding with our baby a little more. We know our baby now... He is John Steven Swindell!!! We couldn't be more delighted. We were excited to meet the baby before, but now it's just ridiculous. I will post more later.

Then we headed to a state park to hike! It's cheap and good for momma and baby. We actually explored a little of Huntsville State Park. We are always amazed by God's creation and it was so much fun walking and talking about John!!! (I just love saying that!)

Then we headed towards Houston. We shopped a little... well is it really shopping if you don't buy anything? We are having a hard time with Christmas gifts this year. I'm sure ideas will come! We also looked at baby clothes!

Honestly, (this is silly, but...) it was a wee bit difficult realizing that I wouldn't be able to indulge in those adorable baby girl dresses and bows and ribbons and little Marry Jane's and.... But then we found the sweater section at Kohls... little vests, sweaters and Polo's just melt my heart. I will still get to dress up a baby!

Okay.. back to to our Anniversary. We finished the day off with a lovely dinner at my FAVORITE restaurant... Olive Garden. OH so yummy!

We've only celebrated two years, but both times it hits me at the end of the day. Man... I just love having an entire day to spend with my sweetie. Talking about the past year and planning for our future... no other "task" except each other. I love Anniversaries and I propose we start celebrating every month... or day! We are blessed to wake up each day with each other!

YAY MARRIAGE!!!!!!!!!!

:)

Bum giv'n genius!

I really want cloth diapers this year for Christmas... but some people need diaper this year. I'm glad to say that we are going to support Bumgenius, flip & econobum all the way! I'm very impressed with Cottonbabies.com

To come: an updated cloth diapering report... I just have to graduate first!

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving was great! Although, I am worn out... we had a blast visiting with both sides of the family. The hardest part for me was all the sitting in the car... the baby is in a growing stage (and I guess has been for all of it's life) but I'm really starting to feel it now. Once we arrived at our destination and I could stretch out I was a much happier camper.

The holiday started at my mom's house. We basically ate food and talked! I love Thanksgiving. I didn't take a ton of food pictures because... let's face it, those get old fast and never turn out as good as they really look. However, I couldn't resist taking a picture of our turkey. My mom has a rotisserie and it was so good to eat and look at! I brought one of my pumpkins, and even though it didn't ripen up enough to make a pie it made a lovely little decoration.

After lunch/dinner we had a little birthday party for my youngest sister. She turned 2o on Thanksgiving day this year.

After watching the Cowboys we went to see a movie. The Blind Side. All I have to say is, "Go see it!" It was great and Steven and I will probably purchase it. I was prepared for a tear jerker, but I didn't cry once (& have I mentioned that I am pregnant?). There were tons of hilarious parts and the story was wholesome.

These next couple of pictures are kinda random... but I wasn't sure where to put them. The first one is of my brothers "play" fighting... I thought it was funny. Then the law growing in my sister's gutters... sorry Amanda, it just cracks me up! An of course the cuteness that is Charlie... he was helping us decorate the Swindell's place.

On Friday morning we gave my old cat Buttercup (who I don't think I've ever blogged about) to my old roommie Amber. Amber and her kitten, Dante, are going to give Butter a try. I really hope it works out because we aren't sure what we are going to do about Buttercup if it doesn't. Buttercup is a wonderful cat, but Steven's mother is allergic and she hissed at one of my friends' baby carriers. I'm not sure she would do well with young kids.

It was an interesting morning. We put both cats in separate carriers and put the carriers next to each other. The kitten was adorable... it just meowed and played with anything it could find. My ol' Butter on the other hand was ridiculous. She hissed and growled (the lovely way that cats do) and continued to show extreme disapproval. Everyone is hoping Butter get over herself and learns to love the Dante. I think he would make a great playmate if she would warm up to him.

After we got the cats situated, we drove to Angleton. Nothing to eventful happened. We talked about baby stuff and listened to the Christmas music on the Christian radio station. Aside from the pain of sitting for 6.5 hours, it was a lovely drive.

On Saturday we helped the Swindells decorate their house. Jim thinks he sucker us into it, but I really enjoy helping. You just can't not be in the Christmas spirit when there is music and lights all around. After decorating we had an amazing meal with the Family... we had so much to be thankful for this past year!

While decorating we moved away the couches for the tree I took a picture of Cathy's new quilt (made by a friend down the street). I love this quilt! It is a civil war reproduction quilt and the colors are so beautiful. The picture doesn't do it justice, but I had to try. I would love to be able to make one like it (smaller of course) because Steven likes it too!... and he usually doesn't like quilts. I took a picture of my favorite block... it's kinda like the colors I would like to do the baby's room in.

Finally, on Sunday we took Christmas card photos and the Padres, Steven and I headed to a Texans vs the Colts game. The game was good until the end when the Texans decided to give up. It was fun to watch live NFL so close though!

We have so much to be thankful for!

Steven mentioned to me on Friday (during our long trip to Houston) that it only makes since that we transition into Christmas after Thanksgiving. He said that on Thanksgiving we share all the things that we are thankful for all the blessing the Lord has brought us... including the best gift of saving the world with His son, Jesus. Then we get to enter into a season of worship because Emanuel has come! It's a wonderful time of year and we love soaking it up!

Dudley William Davis

Dudley was born April 5, 1967 and passsed away November 14, 2009. Dudley was a man of many talents. He was the first on there when you needed him to be, with a smile on his face, it didn't even matter if he knew your name. He had many passions in life, first being God, his beloved family, his Park Lake Church family, being a deacon, and spreading the wonderful news of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Dudley had a flair for cooking and would feed anybody! He loved many and is loved by many.

Dudley is survived by loving wife Jenny; daughters Savannah & Natalie; son Tate; brother Steve; sisters Roxanne Edwards & Sharon Staggs as well as many other relatives and friends.

To Steven and I, Dudley was more than an uncle, he was a friend and a great example as a spiritual leader for his family. Dudley did not have a funeral, he had a celebration. We are thankful that he is now with our Lord Jesus.

3 months!!!

2 months==================> 3 months!


I can’t believe how fast my first trimester when by. I had a lot of expectations about pregnancy that turn out to not be true for me. I’ve had it easy, but even now I still don’t feel very “pregnant” and that makes me sad.

We can’t believe that in a mere 6 months we will get to meet our first child! We won’t find out the sex of the baby for another 6 weeks, but we are having fun wondering if the baby is John or Madeline. I really don’t care which God wants us to give us, I’m just so happy we are pregnant! Steven kinda wants John Steven to come first. He isn’t sure why, but that is what he says!

We had a doctor’s visit on Monday and it was fun as usual. The main highlight was that we were able to hear the heartbeat. The baby’s beat was 141 beats per minute… and it was loud and easy to find… a comfort to me. We asked a lot of questions and got some information clarified by my doctor. We are definitely first timers and I’m thankful my doctor has patience with us.

Changes I’ve noticed

Most of my changes are still because of the shift of my hormones. My vision has gotten worse and I had to see the eye doctor (but I still need to fill my prescription). I also have a lot of little black hairs on my arms and legs… it only really bugs me when I wear long sleeves. And I have had the itchiest skin… one day I almost made myself bleed!... don’t worry I invested in some better lotion and clipped my nails off. The hormones have made me cried over the stupidest things. I cried over a Claritin commercial because the vet was so nice to help the little girl with her cat… even now, I’m a little emotional about it. And there have been plenty of perfectly legitimate things to cry over and I just don’t hold back the water works. And finally, I smell the strangest things and I think that is a hormone thing as well. Last weekend I woke up wondering why my sister’s house smelled like mustard. She didn’t even own any mustard, but I swore it smelled like she had been cooking with mustard.

I think the hormones also have something to do with the way I feel about myself. Last week I felt so bad about myself. It’s just so hard to me to gain weight when just a few weeks ago I was trying so hard to lose it. I found out at the doctor’s appointment that I have gained 6 lbs. I think it’s due to unhealthy eating when I didn’t have an appetite… if I wasn’t feeling like eating I chose to eat whatever I wanted. Looking back I don’t think that was a good idea, but I was trying not to starve the baby. Anyway I’m on a better track now so I will go from here. Six pounds isn’t that much to lose after the baby is born. I hope to gain no more than an additional 20 pounds.

A non-hormone issue that I’ve noticed is round ligament pains. The round ligaments hold up the uterus and many women can feel them stretching when they first have their baby. I’ve had them for a while, but they just recently increased in intensity. I say that, but they aren’t painful… it’s more annoying than painful. When I went to my chiropractor last week he had my masseuse massage my lower back and love handle area. They next couple of days I felt great, and I highly recommend getting prenatal massages!

Sometimes I look crazy, because I’m always poking at my lower abdomen. I make Steven and anyone else poke my stomach to try to feel the baby. I’m not expecting it until 4 ½ months, but I can definitely feel a bump down there… unfortunately, my abs were never that tight before. I think at Thanksgiving people should be able to feel it and then see the bump at Christmas. At the doctor’s appointment my doctor showed me exactly where the top of my uterus was (just two inches below my belly button). I was surprised at how high it was… I was aiming about 6 inches below my belly button.

Changes Steven has notice

I have noticed that Fallon’s lower stomach is firmer and slightly larger. Her back has gotten narrower as a result of thing rearranging. But other than that things are just like they were when she was at two months.

What the baby is up to!

This month the baby will add 2 inches of length, going from 3.5 inches to 5.5 inches! The bones are beginning to harden and the baby begins to move more… I will be able to feel the little kicks at the end of the month. The baby may suck its thumb during this month. The baby will begin to start building a layer of fat to insulate itself… up to this point it was focused on building major organs and the body structure.