Alabama Homecoming

Barrett and I have a little tradition that he really is clueless about but will hopefully one day appreciate.  We've been going to Alabama's homecoming game together every year since he was 9 months old.  Yes, I'm aware I'm crazy.  I usually have a team of people helping me and it's really not that big of deal taking a kid to the game.  This year my parents had a wedding to go to and we're going to be able to make the trip to Tuscaloosa to help.  I knew we would hang out at my cousins house but I wasn't sure what the parking situation would be.  I was 5 months pregnant and really nervous about attempting this whole thing by myself.  Then it turned out to be 6:00 kickoff so I knew I'd be driving back late and I started to just bail on the whole idea.  I knew Patrick had no interest in going to Tuscaloosa much less the game but I couldn't let this tradition pass.  So I begged him to go.  I assured him he didn't have to go to the game.  He could hang out at my cousins house and watch it on tv.  I really just needed him there for moral support and getting us to and from the car safely.  He reluctantly agreed so we set off mid-morning in hopes of catching the parade and enjoying all the festivities.

We arrived in plenty of time for the parade.  We unloaded the car and a spot opened on the street right by my cousins house.  We were happy about that.  Barrett and I headed to the parade with the group.  Luckily it was just at the end of their street because he was not excited about it at all.  We watched a few floats and the band but he hated the loud engines and noises so we headed back to the house.  Plus all the big boys stayed back and he knew he was missing out. 

They played football and basketball and he was right in the middle of it all. 

The boys were so sweet to let him play.  They would throw him the ball and let him run before they all collapsed in a laughing heap.  It seriously made my heart melt.  He thought he was big stuff.  These are actually my cousins kids.  Number 42 right there started coming to tailgate around Barrett's age to my house while I was in college.  It makes me feel so old seeing him so big.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to the stadium.  All week we'd been talking about going to the football game.  He was so excited.  I'd ask him what he was going to say at the game and he almost always replied "touchdown Auburn", the response I was looking for was "roll tide" but nice try buddy. 

We got there way to early.  Thankfully my cousin Bullet (not his given name) let us use his lower level seats and he and his son took the upper level seats.  I'm not sure either of us would have made it to the top.  He said "touchdown Auburn" about 3 times before the game started.  He didn't really care for the band that much and he got a little startled when everyone would cheer.  But other than that he did great.  He shook his shaker and eventually said "Roll Tide" a lot. 

He got restless right before halftime.  I hated to leave because we were losing but I knew if we didn't leave soon I was going to end up carrying him back to the house and that was not going to be good so we left at halftime. 

He's so funny because in the moment you can't really tell if he's enjoying it or not but the whole next week he told everyone he saw he went to the football game and showed them the pictures on my phone.  It made all the worry and planning and work worth it.  I hope this is a tradition we can continue for years to come.

I couldn't get the picture of the first year to upload.

Maternity Pictures

While we were at the beach my friend Crystal took a few maternity pictures for me and I couldn't be more excited about them.  I had one request and she went above and beyond what I could have imagined.  I didn't do maternity pictures with Barrett and I knew I wanted a few to remember this time in my life.  

This was about the time some random guy was trying to take a picture of the sunset so I moved out of the way and then he was like no I want you in the picture and I was all that's kind of weird so I just stood there awkwardly.

This was the only thing I told her I wanted.  the rest were just icing on the cake.

This one is my absolute favorite!

I'm huge and don't exactly feel all that attractive but I love these first pictures of me and my girl together.  Huge shout out to my fabulous photographer Crystal and her faithful assistant Brittany (who also served as an on site stylist).

22 Weeks

How Far Along: 22 weeks 

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

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

Movement: She's moving more and more now.  She's more active at night which makes sense, none of us are morning people.
Sleep: Not terrible, just not getting enough of it lately.
What I miss: Order in my house.  My house is a disaster mainly because we've been busy at work and sick and I just have no energy to get anything done when I get home.  I miss doing things without getting tired or needing help.    

Cravings: None this week.  Still thinking about the filet I didn't eat at the beach.
Symptoms: Reflux is much better thanks to the meds.  No energy.  I guess that's really it.
Best Moment this week:  Feeling her move more and more.  Some dresses I ordered for her came in and they are so cute.  I didn't get anything done in her nursery like I'd hoped but it'll all get done eventually. Hopefully.  I got the maternity pictures back that a friend took at the beach and I love them so much.  I can't wait to have some of them printed.  They are exactly what I wanted.  I'm hoping to share some here soon.

Baby Girl has a Name

We are not those people that have names picked out by the start of the start of the second trimester.  We had a short list and we had a girl name we'd picked out if Barrett was a girl.  For a boy we knew we wanted a "B" first name and an "M" middle name because the three of us have middle names that begin with "M".  The name we chose if Barrett was a girl was Ann Marie.  Ann is both of our moms middle names and Marie is my sister's middle name but Patrick really wanted her middle name to be after his family since Barrett's is after mine.  We loved the middle name McCarty.  I liked Ann-McCarty.  Patrick didn't.  I wanted a double name and he wasn't against a double name but he wanted McCarty to be her middle name.  So we went back and forth on names that went with Ann for weeks.  Finally one day Patrick said he really liked Avery.  I loved the name but wasn't sold because I felt like it was a little too popular.  I talked to a friend who is a local labor & delivery nurse and she said she didn't think she'd delivered a single Avery.  So we decided on AveryAnn because Patrick loved Avery (I do too now) and Ann after our moms.  McCarty is Patrick's middle name.  We think her name is perfect for her.  The more we've said it we just fall more and more in love with it.  Hopefully Barrett can say it before she gets here.  We can't wait to meet her!

21 Weeks

 

How Far Along: 21 weeks
Size of baby: Carrot (12oz, 10.5 inches) At our anatomy scan this morning she weighed over 1 pound.  The doctor said she was measuring about 2 weeks ahead. So we're looking at another big baby.

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.  I've bought several non-maternity tunics and dresses that i'm wearing now.  Hopefully I'll get by with not having to buy too many more things.
Gender: She's still a girl!  We're excited to get started on the nursery this weekend.

Movement: She's moving like crazy these days.  She wouldn't cooperate at the anatomy scan so we didn't get any good pictures of her face.  I've felt her from the outside a few times but the boys still haven't gotten to feel it.  

Sleep: Like a baby as long as I don't have reflux and everyone else sleeps.
What I miss: Well this weekend it was having a drink on the beach but that's really it.  Also sleeping on my stomach.
Cravings:  We were at the beach and I wanted to eat everything because it all looked and sounded so good.  One day I really wanted shrimp and grits so we went to the restaurant that everyone said had the best ones.  And they were fantastic but several of the other girls got a filet and I'm still kind of wishing I would have gotten to eat that too. 

Symptoms:  Just feeling large, lots of pressure and reflux that makes me sick some days.  But the doctor said the pressure was normal and she gave me a prescription for some reflux meds and also told me to eat a bland diet which stinks because all I want is spicy food which is probably why I have the reflux to begin with.
Best Moment this week:  Going to the beach with the girls.  One of the girls took some maternity pictures of me on the beach before diner one evening right a sunset.  I can't wait to see them.  The ones she showed me on the back of the camera were so good.  Getting to see the baby again at our anatomy scan and confirming she is in fact a girl.  I'm not looking forward to the work this weekend but I'm looking forward to getting the kids rooms switched out.  Hopefully we'll make it to the pumpkin patch at some point this weekend.

Our First Trip to the ER

Yesterday I got a call from school that Barrett fell and busted his chin.  They thought he might need a stitch or two.  Lets back up to Saturday while we were in Tuscaloosa, I'm not sure how we got on the subject but I was saying how my parents never had to take any of us to the emergency room.  My sister had stitches once but we never had any broken bones or any reasons to go to the emergency room.  So I get the call from school and I call Patrick to meet me at school and then I call his pediatrician to see what we should do.   Thankfully when I got to school to pick him up they already had him cleaned up and he was just sitting there like he was in shock.  Which scared me because they said he didn't cry or anything.  They only reason they knew anything happened was all the blood.  She just kept saying "there was so much blood."  The pediatrician's office said if it looked like it needed to be stitched we would have to take him to Children's ER.  So that's where we headed. 

 

We got there and almost immediately they had us back in the triage room to assess him.  He did so great except he didn't want to stand on the scale. They sent us to a room and a resident who made Dougie Howser look old came in and looked at it.  He said he thought if anything maybe one stitch but the doctor would come in a look and we'd go from there.  Everyone was so nice.  The doctor came in and said it was fine.  No need to stitch, so the resident put some (probably $300) Neosporin and a techno colored bandaid on it and we were on our way.  They did make sure he could chew and there was no damage to his jaw before we left.  We were in and out in a little over an hour.   

He keeps telling us he fell down and hurt his face.  Hopefully he learns to be a little more careful.  and I'm going to be a more careful before I brag about our lack of ER trips too.

He got lots of snuggles.  His daddy was loving it.

20 Weeks

How Far Along: 20 weeks
Size of baby: Large banana (11oz, 6.5 inches) 

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.  I'm trying to get by with tunics.  I did buy a new pair of maternity jeans and two friends let me borrow some stuff so hopefully I can get by without buying too many more "maternity" things.

Gender: It's a girl!  We have our anatomy scan next Monday.  Hopefully she's still a girl.

Movement: Some thumps and flutters. I'm starting to feel her more and more.  I can't wait until Patrick and Barrett can feel it.

Sleep: It would be better if a certain toddler would stay in his bed at night.  I have a love/hate relationship with him in our bed most nights.  I hate that he's sleeping in our bed so much but he always looks so sweet.

What I miss: I'm not able to be as independent as I'd like.  I just can't do as much anymore.  So asking for help is something I'm having to learn to do.

Cravings: Comfort food.  I cooked several days last week and it was so good.

Symptoms: Indigestion. I feel like i'm carrying this baby lower and feel pressure if I stand for to long.
Best Moment this week:  Taking Barrett to the Alabama homecoming game.  I'm going to order her bedding and baby book this week.  And maybe the best thing ever I'm headed to the beach this weekend with some girlfriends for some R&R.  I'm so excited, the weather is supposed to be great, I can't wait!

I just love this picture because I feel like I actually have a baby bump and not a leftover from the previous baby bump. :)

And a 20 week comparison.  The vest hides a lot but I feel like I'm smaller this time than I was with Barrett.  (And this is going to sound so conceited but you women will understand) I felt so pretty today at church.  The color of this dress is so pretty and vibrant, I just love it.

The Horton House Daily: Week 40

{for some reason I can't get week 39 to upload, maybe one day i can get it to work}

Day 273:  I told him to get his shoes on so we could go somewhere.  This is how he came out.
Day 274:  It was a fantastic Fall day so I made vegetable soup and grilled cheese.  It was so good!
Day 275:  Friends divided.  These boys have a blast together. Day 276:  Patrick's favorite day of the year.  Family picture day.  Ha.  
Day 277:  It was Patrick's off day so Barrett hadn't seen me all day.  He wouldn't let me out of his sight.
Day 278:  His face when I told him we could get donuts on the way to work.
Day 279:  He was trying to escape our the window.

19 Weeks

How Far Along: 19 weeks
Size of baby: Large mango (8oz, 6 inches)

Maternity Clothes: Pants, yes. Tops, some. The pants are just way more comfortable.  As you can tell I'm loving this long vest.  I promise I don't wear it everyday. 

Gender: It's a girl!  I'm so overwhelmed by all the girl clothes and accessories.

Movement: I'm feeling little flutters more often these days.  I love it and I can't wait until it's more consistent.

Sleep: Not bad, just wish I could get more of it. I could sleep 10 hours a day if I had time.

What I miss:  Not being out of breath when I walk up the stairs. I miss being able to pick Barrett up and tote him all the time.  I just can't carry him as much as I used to.  I know it's time for him to be walking more but it breaks my heart when he wants me to carry him and I just can't.  Still miss my old clothes.

Cravings: Fresh fruit and comfort foods.  I went to the grocery store this weekend and got stuff to make 3 different casseroles.

Symptoms: Indigestion.

Best Moment this week: We had our Fall family pictures made.  It's a little surreal that the next time we have professional pictures made there will be one more.  I got to snuggle a friends baby in church this morning and it made me so excited to snuggle another one of my own.

October Goals

It's October.  I'm not sure where September went but  it's gone and we're all in the Fall spirit around here.

I didn't do great with my September goals.  This only two things that were really important were the two things I didn't even attempt to do. I got the house decorated and I love it.  We've watched a lot of football.  I've worked a lot and we found out the baby is a girl. So I'm moving Clean Barrett's closet and Move furniture to October.

 

Clean Out Barrett's Closet.  Now that I know this baby is a girl I've got to go through Barrett's stuff and see what I can use for this baby and what I need to get rid of.  I'm not sure if this is our last or not so I'm not ready to let go of everything.  I'll probably just let my friends buy or borrow stuff so I can get it back if we have another boy one day.  Yes I'm crazy.

Move Furniture.  We need to move Barrett's new furniture in his room and the nursery furniture to the new nursery.  Our goal is to have this done by Halloween when we have everyone over to trick-or-treat.

Go on a Girls Trip.  Ok I cheated again on this one because we've had a beach trip planned for a couple of months but I'm so looking forward to 3 days away with girlfriends to relax and recharge before the hustle and bustle of the holidays sets in.

Host Halloween Hayride.  Over the last few years we've been hosting all of our friends at our house on Halloween night to trick-or-treat and hang out.  I'm so excited its on a Saturday this year.  We've got a hayride planned and some other fun things.  I've never been a huge fan of Halloween but it's becoming one of my favorite nights of the year.

Make a "To Do Before Baby" List.  I feel like we've got so much to do before this baby gets here.  So I need to get organized and get busy.  The time is going by so much quicker this time too so I'm starting to panic.  I know it'll all get done and if it doesn't not a big deal but I'd at least like for her to have a place to sleep and for Barrett to have a place to sleep.