24 weeks

How Far Along: 24 weeks

(16 weeks left, makes me panic a little when I think about it!)

 

Size of baby: Ear of Corn (1.5lbs, 11 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +20 lbs total, yikes!

Maternity Clothes: Mostly everything is maternity, I've worn a few dresses that weren't but I have to wear leggings under them.

Gender: It's a boy! So excited to finally know!

Movement: He's moving all the time now.  It's the neatest feeling.  Patrick was finally able to feel him Saturday morning.  

Sleep: Hasn't been great.  My arms keep falling asleep and it always wakes me up, then I have to use the bathroom then the baby starts moving so i'm usually up for a few hours.

What I miss:  Sleep.  Energy.  Being able to sit up with minimal effort.

Cravings:  I can't think of any this week.  I had greek yougurt for the first time and I'd really like some more but I wouldn't call it a craving.

Symptoms: Indigestion.  I've also had some inflammation around my ribs that is causing me pain every now and then.  My hands fall asleep all the time.  I was trying to dry my hair and my hand was asleep. 

Best Moment this week: Patrick feeling him kick.  Patrick also ordered the light fixture for the nursery, I'll just wait to show you that.   I'll just go ahead and warn you that he also picked it out.  Taking Harper to her first Alabama game which made me that much mroe excited to take this little guy to his first Alabama game! 

Harper's First Bama Game

Saturday we got to take the kids to the game!  They were so excited!  Porter and Ava have been to a game before but this would be Harper's first game.  You can read about Ava's first game here and Porter's first game here.

I took this of the kids before we walked to the game.  Porter was so excited he started asking around noon what time we were heading to the game.  Dad took them on a walk to the quad and they saw the real Big Al.  Around 3:30 we finally headed to the stadium.  Dad took Ava and Porter with him.  Harper wanted to sit with Hope and me but really just Hope :)  The band was on the field when we got there and the team was approaching the tunnel.  I showed her where they were on the field and she was so excited.  She shook her shaker in every direction possible.  I love this picture, can you tell she's having fun?
After we scored twice she started to get bored.  So I took her down to see the cheerleaders.  We were almost on the jumbotron. She was following directions and not climbing on the fence and they showed the kid right next to her that was climbing on it.  Luckily she didn't know she was so close to being on.
Not long after we returned to our seats, she passed out in Hope's lap.  We watched the band at halftime and headed back to John's apartment.  When we walked in she looked at me as said "Where'd everybody go?"  I guess she thought she was missing out on a party at the apartment. I love getting to share these moments with these kiddos.  I always feel so emotional sharing these moments.  I felt the exact same way with Harper as I did with Ava.  When she started cheering my eyes just welled with emotion.  I didn't cry cause I didn't want Hope to think I was a lunatic (which I'm pretty sure she already knows I am!) One of my favorite parts of tailgating has always been after the game when everyone slowly comes back to eat again and talk about the game.  All in all it was a great gameday.  I'm ready for this Saturday even though it's going to be a late one. Roll Tide!

4th Annual SEC Road Trip

 

Friday afternoon we loaded up and headed north to Arkansas.  This is our 4th year to make a road game and I'm so glad my cousin Bullet helped start this tradition.  Now Elizabeth and Amy went to almost every road game last year but we plan to make at least one together each season.  Last year was Ole Miss (here), 2010 South Carolina (here), 2009 Kentucky (here).

I'm not going to lie, I was nervous about the trip only because I'm 22 weeks pregnant and haven't traveled that far by car in a while.  I didn't want to bring the trip down. Luckily my dad has been training me to travel with men my whole life.  He's from the you only stop when you need gas.  I tried not to complain and only had to stop once or twice so I think it was okay.   I will say that it was a long trip.  We stayed in Conway, AR which was about 6.5 hours from Birmingham and 3 hours from Fayetteville.  I could not get comfortable enough to sleep.  Amy and Liz both read, I can't read in the car, so I just kinda chilled.  Clay was a great driver for the weekend!  We did have an in depth conversation about Abby & Brittany, the TV show on TLC about the conjoined twins.  I'm fascinated by them. 

 

It was after 10:00 when we got settled into our hotel and we knew we had an early morning so we called it a night.  We got up pretty early to hit up the hotel breakfast.  They had waffles and everyone was happy.

Clay's only request of the whole trip besides actually seeing the game was that we drive over to Oklahoma to at least take a picture.  We obliged since he had driven us all that way.  We snapped some photos and then stopped at McDonalds for coffee before we headed back to Arkansas.

 

This is our picture in front of the stadium.  It was not easy to get all that in one shot. 

Fayetteville has the best smelling tailgate of anywhere i've visited.  I will say this though I have a hard time trusting fans that eat their own mascot. 

We saw this sign at a tailgate.  I thought it was cute. 

Sister and me.

Huge jumbotron.  The weather was not ideal.  We kept seeing girls in boots and scarves carrying jackets and sweatshirts.  I vocalized my concern that they knew something we didn't.  We asked someone at a tailgate we were at and she confirmed my fears that we were indeed probably going to be cold.  I guess it's the terrain and the way the wind blows around the mountains. 
This was the Arkansas side after halftime.  Can't say that I blame them.
Okay these bama fans sat in front of us and I thought I'd seen it all but they proved me wrong.  They had this Alabama garden gnome with its pants down that they brought in the stadium and took pictures with. I was impressed by her ability to accessorize a poncho. All in all the game was a blow out.  52-0 It rained most of the game.  My rain jacket didn't exactly fit around my new frame so the front of my jersey was soaking wet and it got cool.  Sometime during the 3rd or 4th quarter Patrick sent me a text asking if the game was a bad in person as it was on the radio.  I just responded not if you're a Bama fan.  I'll admit it wasn't the most exciting game but I'll take it over a loss any day.

 

I really enjoyed Fayetteville.  It was a beautiful place.  I will say that when we parked and were told it was about a mile to the stadium I was not expecting it to be straight up a mountain.  It was a climb but I made it.  I was pretty proud of myself.

Luckily all the Arkansas fans left at halftime so traffic was minimal on the way out.  We headed to dinner at Cracker Barrel then back to the Super 8 to watch some football.  I wish I'd taken a picture of my swollen ankles.  They were horrible at one point I think they were compared to Big Al's ankles.

We had a pretty uneventful ride home.  I started feeling a little carsick around Memphis which is not at all surprising but made it to lunch without getting sick. 

We were gone for exacly 48 hours in the car for about 18-19 hours total.  It was all worth it! 

I'm hoping maybe next year we can do another day trip like last year so we can continue the tradition.

Roll Tide!

23 weeks

How Far Along: 23 weeks

Size of baby: Large Mango (1lb, 11 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +17 lbs total
 

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.

Gender: It's a boy! So excited to finally know!

Movement: Yes, he's a wiggle worm.  I've felt it a few times from the outside but no one else has. 

Sleep: I slept great in the hotel this weekend.  I've been sleeping like crap at home.  I'll sleep good for 4 or 5 hours but something will wake me up and then I can't go back to sleep.

What I miss:  My closet full of clothes I can't wear. 
 

Cravings: None really this week.

Symptoms: Indigestion. Swollen feet.  I should have taken a picture of them this weekend.  They were bad. 

Best Moment this week:  Getting the crib set up! Now for the bedding.  Some of the cute outfits I've ordered arrived.  They are so precious!  Traveling to Arkansas to see the Tide beat up on the Hogs.  It's been a good week!

Fall and Hardwoods

About 4 months ago Patrick and I started throwing around the idea of putting in hardwoods in our main traffic areas.  We knew we wanted to get rid of the carpet in our living room and on our stairs before the baby was born because it was so nasty between our dog and the previous owners dog it was just gross.  We had laminate in our foyer and hall.  At first we thought we'd just take up the living room carpet and put the wood there for now. We thought that was all we'd be able to afford.  Patrick was going to do the work but the more we thought about it he decided he would rather just pay someone and have less done.  Well after Patrick talked to a contractor friend to get some names we were able to buy some wood that he had left over from his own home he just finished building.  It turned out it was exactly what I wanted.  It was perfect.  We plan on staying in our home for a while so we decided we should go ahead and make upgrades that we can enjoy but will still hopefully give us a return on our investment when we do sale.

It turned out more beautiful than we could have ever imagined.  We both absolutely love it!  Ally on the other hand hates it.  She can't jump on any of the furniture unless we put a rug or blanket in front of it.  It usually takes her two tries to get up the stairs but she's learning. We want to get some sort of rug for under the coffee table but haven't found one yet.

Looking down the hall from the nursery.  This is probably the most true color of the floor.

Looking down the hall into the nursery.  You can sneak a peak of the paint color in the nursery!

Going down the stairs.  We still have to paint the trim.

The foyer

Fall wreath!

Living room.  Kinda blurry.

Living room.

More fall decorations, my mercury glass on the coffee table filled with pumpkins!

I love these pumpkins and my fall flowers. 

 

I think thats all.  We were so thrilled with how the floors turned out.  We feel like the room is cozier without the carpet. I'm also so excited it's starting to feel more like fall!  It'll be Christmas before we know it! Then time for a baby!!!

 

 

22 weeks

How Far Along: 22 weeks

 

Size of baby: Spaghetti squash (1lb, 10.5 inches)

 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +17 lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.

Gender: It's a boy! So excited to finally know!
 

Movement: I'm starting to really feel him move around in there.  I've felt him from the outside a couple of times but nothing consistent.  Patrick wants to feel him so bad but he hasn't been able to yet.  Hopefully it'll be soon.

Sleep: I don't know if it's just a fluke but I've slept so good this week.  Like some nights 12 hours.

What I miss: Eating anything without getting indigestion. Still miss my old clothes. Having energy.  If I'm being honest, having a beer while watching football.
 

Cravings: None really this week.

Symptoms: Indigestion. Pregnancy brain. My wrists have been really sore.  They feel like they did when I cheered and tumbled a lot.  I'm pretty sure my feet are starting to swell.

Best Moment this week:  Getting the nursery painted and the crib ordered!  I have the best friends, Kristen and Lorie came last week and painted for me.  Brittany came to help motivate!  I was so excited to have that finished!  The crib should be here this weekend so maybe Patrick will have it put together when I get back from Arkansas.  I loved going to the football game. I can't wait to take him when he's older!

It's Football Season

It's my favorite time of year.  I love football season.  I love our tailgate "family".  I love getting to visit my baby brother in college.  I love The University of Alabama.  I loved my time there and I love going back to visit.  I also love football.  I love pee wee football, high school football and college football (I'll watch the NFL but I wouldn't say that I love it). 

This year we had a new spot.  My parents sold the house we'd been at for the previous 5 years and moved John into an apartment.  We've never been in an apartment so we were a bit anxious at how it'd all work out.  John's place isn't big by any means but I think we had enough room.

We drove through a monsoon and I just knew it was going to be raining the whole time but it didn't rain a drop once we got there.  It cooled off a bit and actually turned out to be a nice day.  Hope sat by me and John came over from the student section to join us.  I am so thankful for my tickets but that climb to the top of the upper deck proved to be a bit more of a challenge than it has in previous seasons.  I'm thinking its the extra 15lbs I'm carrying but it's so worth it. 

All in all I think our first tailgate at the apartment was a success.  I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.



The resident manager moved his big screen out into the breezeway so people that didn't have tickets could watch out there.  It was a pretty nice little set up. This was the only picture I took at the game.  I didn't even take my big camera to Tuscaloosa.  I am a slacker.  Don't worry it'll be the first thing packed for our road trip this weekend to Arkansas. 

Labor Day Weekend

Friday we had book club.  We read Emily Giffin's new book Where We belong.  It was so good.  I really enjoyed the book.  Its about a 18 year old girl who was adopted at birth and she seeks out her birth parents.  It was an easy read that really kept your attention.  Marion hosted and made some wonderful lasagna.

 

Before we went to book club Kristen and I thought we should put Ellie's birthday present together.  I mean how hard could it be.  Well your answer is very hard.  About 100,00 pieces and 2 pages of directions later we finished.  I'll be honest Kristen did most of the work.  Which shouldn't surprise you at all.  I made some cute vinyl decals for the side so she'd be riding in style.



Ally had to give it a test drive!   Saturday morning Ally and I slept till 9:00 and it was wonderful!  She usually wakes me up earlier, she must have been tired too.    

We quickly got up and turned on ESPN's College Gameday.  I was so happy to see the guys again!  They were live in Dallas!  I didn't watch for long because...

This cutie was celebrating her first birthday and there were errands to be run.  I got ready and rode with Lorie to get the cakes and finish the last minute decorating.

How cute is she.

This might be my favorite picture from the whole day.

She loved her new ride.  All the other kids took turns pushing her around the party.  She just waved and honked her horn like she was in a parade.

 

2011

2012

I had to put these two from at the hospital last year and this weekend.  For the record it was raining and humid as everything Saturday.  I'm blaming my appearance on that!

 

Saturday night I headed home and watched the Alabama game and all I can say about that is Wow!  It was a great game (if you're a tide fan)!  I'm so excited about the season.  I'm heading to Tuscaloosa this weekend!

 

Sunday morning I headed to the lake to spend the day with my family!  It was a nice day.  I never got in the water but I heard it was cold!  I was home in time to watch Big Brother.  Have y'all been watching.  It's my guilty pleasure of the summer and I love that it always ties up the end of summer and the beginning of fall for me.

Monday was a very lazy day for me.  I slept 12 hours Sunday night into Monday and it was glorious!  I watched a movie marathon on LMN.  Finally, I put out a few fall decorations (I know it's early but it is September and I'm ready!).

I have so many posts I want to write and catch up on.  Hopefully I can do that this month.  I want to post our new hardwood floors that I love so much.  We're working on the nursery tonight starting with paint so I hope to keep the progress updated here. 

This is my favorite time of year!

21 weeks

Y'all, I feel like I look like a moster.  My hair will not do anything, my boobs are huge and I feel like I weigh 300lbs.  I've been told I look bigger in these pictures than in real life and I hope people are not just saying that to me.  

How Far Along: 21 weeks

Size of baby: Carrot (12oz, 10.5 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +17 lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.

Gender: All boy! So excited to finally know!

Movement: I'm starting to really feel him move around in there.  I think I've felt him from the outside a couple of times but nothing consistent.
 

Sleep: It's getting harder and harder to get comfortable. I was hoping this wouldn't happen until later.

What I miss: Eating anything without getting indigestion. Still miss my old clothes. Wearing my engagement ring.  I feel like people judge you when they see you're pregnant and not wearing a ring so I've been wearing this obnoxiously huge ring the last couple of weeks.

Cravings: None really this week. 
 

Symptoms: Indigestion. Pregnancy brain.  I wore a shirt backwards last week to work.  I locked myself out of my house.  Just little things that make me think I'm going to lose my mind before this baby is born.

Best Moment this week:  Feeling him move more and more.  I'm so ready for him to have a name but I'm scared to commit to one so early.  I've loved ordering him some sweet baby boy clothes.  I've limited myself.  I did buy him a swimsuit for the lake next summer, it was only $3!  Lorie got him some sweet little cowboy boots!  Every time  something that I've ordered him arrives it makes me want him here so badly.   We are painting the nursery this week!  I think I've chosen bedding and curtain fabrics so hopefully it'll all come together nicely!

Non baby related best moment this week...It's Football season!!!!
I've been slacking in my football posts and by slacking I mean they've been nonexistent.  Hopefully that'll change after we tailgate this weekend.

20 weeks!

How Far Along: 20 weeks

Size of baby: Large banana (11oz, 6.5 inches)
 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +17 lbs total
 

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.

Gender: All boy!  So excited to finally know!

Movement: Some thumps and flutters. It's getting more regular.  He's definitely more active in the afternoon.

Sleep: It's getting harder and harder to get comfortable.  I was hoping this wouldn't happen until later.

What I miss: Eating anything without getting indigestion. Still miss my old clothes.

Cravings: None really this week.  I bought a bag of clementines Saturday and I've been enjoying them.

Symptoms: Indigestion.

Best Moment this week:  Seeing the baby on the ultrasound.  I loved seeing him move.  Finding out the gender.  Starting our registry.  I was so overwhelmed in Buy Buy Baby.  We barely made a dent in the things we need to register for but we got most of the big things out of the way.  I also bought a few things for him this week.  I can't wait till they get here.

I can't believe we are 20 weeks.  It seems like it's flying by.  I've been saying all along if I can get to this point the last half will {hopefully} fly by.  The fall always seems to be over in a flash followed by the holidays.  This week starts football season which means there will be games to watch everyweek until the baby gets here!

Boy or Girl?

Yesterday we had our 19 week ultrasound.  I loved getting to see "baby H"!  I was a little nervous going in but it quickly went away.  The tech did all the measurments for the doctor first then she turned the screen so we could see.  I was so excited to see the sweet babe just hanging out. 

We were also excited to find out our baby is a sweet baby

BOY!!!

he gave us a "thumbs up" then started sucking his thumb it was so cute and so neat to get see.  I felt like it was a boy the whole time but in the last few weeks Patrick and I both had dreams it was a girl.  So I wasn't convinced either way going in this morning!  My parents were shocked..they both just knew it was a girl. 

Patrick and I both took a vacation day and started our registry and got a sweet little gown for the little man.  My boss is crazy...I wanted to tell my parents before we told anyone else...we'll he just couldn't stand it so he started searching for a registry.  He found the one thing we registered for that was gender specific.

Care to guess what it was...

it was coathangers, blue coathangers!

He was pretty proud of himself!  My sister admitted that she'd looked for a registry but didn't find one.  I don't think she really wanted to find out that way.

We had lunch with my dad and then took lunch to my mom's work.  Last night we celebrated Patrick's brithday with his family.  They were all so excited to find out.  All the kids wanted it to be a boy.  Now it will be even 3 boys, 3 girls. 

All in all it was a great day.  One that I'm sure I'll remember forever. 

Baby BOY H's first gown!  I can't wait to snuggle him in it!

Just some random feelings...

It's the night before our big anatomy scan/gender ultrasound.  I am filled with emotion.  I am so excited to be able to say he or she and know for {almost} sure.  I'm also so nervous.  I don't really know why.  I'm not worried really if something is wrong, if it is we will get through it.  I can't believe I'm almost half way to the end.  We really don't care if it's a boy or a girl.  I go back and forth almost daily.  I thought for sure Patrick would want a son but he says he really doesn't care.  We've both taken the day off and we're going to spend it together shopping and registering.  I don't know how far we'll get in that process, it all seems a little overwhelming to me.  We have decided on the big items like car seats and such.  I just can't decide how much of it is stuff you really need or not. 

Overall being pregnant has already been such an amazing experience.  I've been feeling the baby more and more.  I already love this baby so much.  It's also so exciting to me that some many people that are close to me are so happy for us.  It really makes you realize how much people really care. 

I'm sure I won't be able to sleep tonight. It feels like Christmas Eve and I'm waiting on Santa.

19 weeks

How Far Along: 19 weeks

Size of baby: Large mango (8oz, 6 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +11lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.

Gender: We find out Thursday and I can't wait!

Movement: Still just little flutters that I'm not even completely positive are the baby. I'm pretty that's what it is.  I can't wait till its more consistent.

Sleep: Not bad, just wish I could get more of it.

What I miss:  Eating anything without getting indigestion.  Still miss my old clothes.

Cravings: I've been craving turkey or chicken and dressing for about 2 weeks now.  I finally got some last night at Cracker Barrel.

Symptoms: Indigestion.

Best Moment this week: We are finding out the gender.  I can't wait to see the baby on the ultrasound.  Last time it was just a little blob now it's going to look like a baby!  Our hardwood floors were put down we were very excited about that!

18 Weeks

How Far Along: 18 weeks

Size of baby: Large mango (8oz, 6 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +11lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.

Gender: We find out August 23rd and I can't wait!

Movement: I was laying down last night and felt little flutters.  I actually felt it several times so maybe it was the baby.

Sleep: I've slept better this week.

What I miss: Sleeping all night. Being able wear anything I pull out of my closet.

Cravings: I had a random craving apple juice yesterday, we were in the car and it was like we had to stop right then and get apple juice.  Patrick thought I was a little crazy.

Symptoms: Some headaches.  I've been really emotional.  Patrick was showing me a video ( here's a link)of a walk on player from Vandy getting offered a full scholarship and I was crying like a baby.  Patrick just laughed.

Best Moment this week: I went to the lake for the day Saturday and took our big dogs.  They had a blast.  It was worth all the work it took to get them there.  My little brother asked me if I felt like I was drowning the baby when I was swimming in the lake. For the record, it didn't.  One week closer to finding out what this sweet baby is!

17 Weeks

(I've got to relearn how to use the self timer on my real camera, these pictures are terrible!)

How Far Along: 17 weeks

Size of baby: Sweet Potato (5oz, 5.5 inches)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +11lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, no. The pants are just way more comfortable.

Gender: We find out August 23rd and I can't wait! I had a dream this week that it was a girl.  We were at the ultrasound and the tech said "It's a girl!", it was so vivid.

Movement: I felt something the other day that I thought could be a kick, it felt like someone thumped me from the inside.  I've felt this a couple more random times.  It always surprises me I'm guessing it is the baby.

Sleep: I've slept better this week.

What I miss: Sleeping all night. Being able wear anything I pull out of my closet.

Cravings: This week I've craved salad peppers and vegetable soup.  I guess I'm not getting enough vegetables.

Symptoms: Some round ligament pain, that made me terrified for labor.

Best Moment this week:  I've chosen a paint color and bedding.  I think I've decided on a crib, now just need to get it all ordered.  We're getting hardwood floors in our living room, foyer and the stairs going to our basement room (we'll only have carpet in the bedrooms and I'm so excited).  Lorie came over with Ellie to watch gymnastics last week and I loved seeing Ellie and Ally interact.  I think Ally is going to be a great big sister if she can get over the initial shock of not being the center of attention anymore.

16 weeks

I feel like I look bigger in this picture than I do in real life.  I might be in denial though.

How Far Along: 16 weeks

Size of baby: Avacado

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +11lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, no. The pants are just way more comfortable.  I did try to wear a dress to church Sunday that wouldn't zip. Kind of a bummer.

Gender: We find out August 23rd and I can't wait!

Movement: I felt something the other day that I thought could be a kick, it felt like someone thumped me from the inside but I haven't felt it since so who knows!

Sleep: Sleep has not been great this week.  I've been ramdomly waking up at 2:30 or 3:30 and not able to go back to sleep.

What I miss: Sleeping all night.  Being able wear anything I pull out of my closet.

Cravings: Nothing really.

Symptoms: Not sleeping is really it.

Best Moment this week:  The baby's room is competely cleaned out.  I've narrowed the paint choices down.  Having a date to find out the gender.

The Summer Games

Long post, no pictures.

I love the Olympics. I credit (or blame) my parents.  I always assumed that everyone had this undeniable love for the games.  In the three days since the games opened I realized, I'm wrong.  I unknowingly married an Olympic scrooge. (He's slowly coming around, but those weeks leading up were brutal.)

Let me go back to my childhood.  Growing up we had one tv (unless you count the one in my brother's room that we weren't allowed to watch unless my older brother was gone), so we were forced to watch whatever my parents watched.  I grew up watching ER, Law & Order, Melrose Place, Wheel of Fortune, the news and football.  Every four years when the Olympics rolled around we would watch the games and cheer for Team USA.  The first games I really remember watching and really grasping the magnitude of the event was 1996.  The games were in Atlanta, a mere two hours from us.  I was 11 and in the height of my short lived gymnastics career.  (Turns out going backward on the beam is really scary and I'm a bit of a coward.)  I remember being glued to the tv during the team all around finals with my sister ( and the rest of America).  My parents were out that night and I can't remember who was staying with us, that part isn't really important.  We watched Shannon Miller on the beam, I was convinced if I had a leotard from her line I too would be an olympian. It all came down to the vault.  I think you all know how this ends, the point of this story is to tell you that my parents came home after the competition had ended but they hadn't announced the winner yet so we were still in limbo.  They came in the door chanting U-S-A because they'd heard on the radio we'd won.  (Atlanta was an hour ahead of us.) I remember being so mad that they ruined it.  Fast Forward 16 years, social media is trying to ruin the olympics for me.  I'm trying to avoid any news sources that will spoil the events I'm really looking forward to.  It's hard though. I saw a headline yesterday that read something like "Surprise shake up in women's all around"  I wouldn't read the article because I didn't want to spoil it but the rest of the afternoon my stomach was in knots because I was afraid that little Gabby Douglas didn't make it.  Then while I was watching it last night and she practically ran out of bounds I was nearly sick.

My sister any I were looking forward to the 2008 games in Beijing.  She was home and we'd planned to eat Chinese food and watch the opening ceremonies together.  Well something came up and to make a long story short I ended up going to see about a puppy.  I brought her home that night, you might know her as Ally.  Well I'd set my DVR to record the opening ceremonies so we could take Ally to visit some people.  We get home and her settled to watch and everything is going well until the recording cuts off at 3 hours and we missed the torch being lit.  I'm pretty sure my sister still holds this against me.

***It has been brought to my attention that I ruined not one but two opening ceremonies for my sister.  Beijing was before we got our DVR so I think I convinced my sister that we'd be home in time for the ceremonies and we weren't.  In an attempt to make up for the Beijing snafu, I proudly recorded the Vancover opening ceremonies so that my sister and I could enjoy in without commercial interruption and the DVR cut off before the torch was lit. So essentially, my sister will never trust me with her olympic opening ceremony viewing ever again***

This year I missed the opening ceremonies.  I was sad about it but I quickly picked up Saturday morning with the olympic coverage.  (this is when I realized the twitter was going to make or break the olympics for me this year).  Sunday afternoon I went to church and then to my parents house for lunch the kids had stayed with them all weekend.  When I came in I asked what was showing in the olypmic coverage and Drew, the oldest, was like please don't make us watch any more olympics.  I'm not going to lie I felt a little pang in my heart.  My parents had made him sit and watch the opening ceremonies, he was not impressed.  As I watched water polo and beach volleyball, I was reminded of my childhood.  My parents love anything competitive.  If someone can lose they'll watch it.  We were cheering for water polo like it was the Iron Bowl.
This week will be my favorite week of competition with gymnastics and swimming but I've grown to love other events too.  The main excitement for me is to have a whole country cheering for the same team.  I love team USA, red white & blue and stars and stripes.  It's like the 4th of July for 2 weeks!

*I started this post three days ago but I'm going to add my opinions about this weeks competition so far*

So, I thought my parents ruining the news for me in 1996 was bad.  At least they'd finished competing.  Yesterday , twitter spoiled it for me around lunch time.  I was so disappointed.  But I quickly realized going into round one that it didn't make me any less nervous to watch the routines knowing they won.  Could those girls have been any more on?  I mean they nailed those vaults.  Kayla Ross made tumbling on the beam look like a piece of cake.  I loved the smiles and expressions of relief of the girls faces as they checked off each tumbling pass of their floor routines.  I loved seeing the parents reactions in the stands.  Can you even imagine the thoughts going through their heads?  Then while doing a little math in my head I realized that they too were in diapers or not even born yet with the Magnificent 7 won gold in Atlanta. Sigh.  Like any other girl that ever walked across a balance beam I was crushed that I'd quit gymnastics, I mean I could have been an olympian.  Did anyone else notice the 24 year old from Romania?  She looked like a senior citizen next to some of these kids.

I'm taking break from the olympic coverage tonight.  I haven't been sleeping well and I think all the excitment of the games has something to do with it.

Intelligender Results

A couple of weeks ago we thought it'd be fun to try the intelligender test.  I didn't have high hopes going in and if anything I think it made me more anxious to find out next month. 
The result was boy.  Patrick and I went back and forth on which was right.  We compared to samples on the website.  I finally just emailed the result to them and they replied that the result was boy.

I know this isn't very accurate.  But it was still fun!

Other old wives tales:

Carrying high or low:  I would say more high, which says girl.

Heart Beat:  160, which says girl.

Sweet vs Salty cravings:  I've definitely been wanting more salty, which says boy.

Chinese Gender Chart: Girl.

Even/ Odd: My age was 26, the year 2012 so both even, which says girl.

Morning sickness: I haven't had any, leads to boy.

So what we have here is a tie so I guess we'll have to wait!
We'd be thrilled either way!
August 23rd we'll know for sure and I can't wait!

27 on the 27th

Today I turn 27, I think that officially makes me in my late 20's. 

Yikes!

I can't really be this old.  It seems like yesterday I was graduating high school packing up my little bedroom to head to college.  That was nine years ago folks.  I came across a lot of pictures lately from that time in my life.  I really can't believe it was 9 years ago.  But it was and time is still ticking by. 

It's not fair how when you're a kid all you want to do it grow up and time seems to stand still but the older you get the faster life passes you by.  I feel like I spend so much time trying to enjoy and remember and cherish every moment, make every moment a "memory".  I don't want to forget anything.  Even stupid stuff.  My sister and I have been talking a lot about the Olympics this week (we're both super pumped) and we had a silly, hilarious conversation on twitter about it.  It was so funny to me and something I hope we laugh about in 40 years where gearing up for the Olympics again. My siblings and I have some of the best times when we're all just sitting around laughing about things we did growing up.  I'm not sure all our spouses think it's as entertaining.  Moving on, I've had a great day.  I feel like I've wished the summer away (because I have).  It doesn't make it any better that we'll find out what the baby is right at the end of summer and I positively can not wait. 
We had book club tonight and the girls got me a cookie cake, it was yummy!  It was also the first time I'd seen them since the baby announcement, so that was fun.  Our book this month was Kris Jenner's Memoir.  It wasn't terrible but it was no literary masterpiece.  I didn't hate it.  It was easy to read, I think it was written on a 3rd grade level. 
I haven't watched any Olympics yet. I'm really excited about them though.  The pictures I've seen from the opening ceremonies were amazing.  This week there's a lot of gymnastics and I can't wait!

I guess I've rambled enough. My goals for my 27th year.

• Have a baby.
• Get more organized at home.
• Just live life and love it.

Here's to my late twenties, may they be the best years yet!

Proud Wife

2012 has already proved to be a big year for the Horton family.  Patrick has accomplished a few things that have been nagging at him for a few years now.  He finally passed the test to get his journeyman electrician card.  He's taken that test so many times and he finally passed.  He got a new (hopefully) forever job. He finally got a new truck. And this past weekend we celebrated the fact that it had been 365 days since he'd last smoked a cigarette. I really thought it was something he'd never give up. After years of nagging from his mother and myself, I had all but given up hope.  We had a discussion on the way home from the beach last summer that went something like...if you ever want to have kids you have to quit smoking.  I'm not having a baby till you stop smoking.  He set his mind to it.  I didn't nag him or ask him everyday how it was going.  I offered support when I could. He set his mind to it and quit cold turkey.  Within a week he noticed he was actually tasting food. I would say within a  month his snoring was no longer a problem. He seems to be a calmer person too.  I am just so proud of him.  I'm happy that he won't have to leave the hospital room to go smoke when our baby is born.  I'm happy that I won't have to worry about my baby being exposed to 3rd hand smoke everyday, (yes it's a real thing).  Plus, I'm happy because he's healthier and hopefully he'll be around a lot longer!