My Little Tiger

This past Friday night, J, Gus and I headed out to the high school football game! First we met up with Gus' best friend Noah and Amy and Brent for supper. The boys were completely decked out in their team spirit. I don't have a picture of both of them yet but here is one of Gus.

It is a little blurry but it was taken with a camera phone. The noise surprisingly didn't bother Gus too much. He even took a short siesta! And, in typical boy fashion, he was mesmerized by the cheerleaders and their sparkling pom-poms. I know that it won't be long before we'll be watching him play on that field and I'll have to be running off those cheerleaders. HA! He also got to meet a lot of home-town friends and was passed around like a sack of potatoes. We are hoping to check out this week's game against the Bulldogs. Hope to see some of you there! GO TIGERS!

Season Change

Ok I absolutely love fall and I have noticed the changes in the air for the last week or so, has anyone else? I am ready for cooler mornings and afternoons so that Gus and I can spend more time outside, which is where he loves to be. Yesterday, being my day off, Gus and I spent some fun time taking fall pictures outside! I know he thought I was crazy putting him in a long sleeve shirt and jeans to go outside but I was quick, I promise! This is my favorite photo.

He had on shoes but quickly kicked them off (oh well). Needless to say I had to run to Walgreens and have it blown up to an 8x10. What better fall decorations could I have than Gus? Gus and I also picked up our other fall decorations out of storage yesterday. I know I'm starting a little early but I am so ready. Besides this month and next are going to be busy with John and Lynsey's upcoming wedding. We have less than two months to go! That will be another blog soon. We start having showers this month.

Happy Fall!

My Vacation Spot

Of all the places that I have been my absolute favorite was Yellowstone National Park. In August 2007, J and I had planned to meet some friends in Wyoming and camp for a few days in the park. In order to make our flight we left way too early but ended up getting lost and barely making our flight. We were those people you see in the movies running through the terminal with their bags flying behind them (yes we really were running)! The guy behind the counter told us that he would take care of the baggage and for us to run to the plane! I had little faith that our luggage would make it to the same destination as us, but luckily I was wrong. We flew to Denver and then on to Jackson, Wyoming and when the plane set down beside those awesome mountains I was captivated. I have never been a huge fan of the beach, just a day or two and I'm tired of the sun and sand and salt, but I love, l-0-v-e, the mountains. While the Smokies are pretty, they pale in comparison to the Tetons. This is a picture of both ranges: (J and I had the great opportunity to go to both ranges within a few months of each other)

The picture doesn't do the Tetons justice, but the sun was setting behind them and it was beautiful. We camped in the National Park, in a tent, in August. One would think that a sleeping bag would be warm enough, however J. and I froze every night!! We tried every sleeping arrangement we could think of, separate sleeping bags, share a sleeping bag, put the two bags together, nothing helped. I would get up early just to go take a hot shower and stand by the fire. J. would go to the campground store every morning and he would have a hot chocolate waiting on me when I got back from the showers! Then we would start breakfast over the campfire! We learned that people in Wyoming don't know what good sausage is, because we couldn't find it anywhere!! We had to settle in that department but he eggs and grits (Rusty brought the grits from Missouri) were delicious. We also cooked supper over the fire most nights and packed a picnic for lunch.

The park was magnificent and we only made it through the bottom loop. J and I can't wait to go back with Gus so he can see it too. If you haven't been and you get the opportunity, go! We saved a lot of money by camping and cooking most of our own meals and it was so much fun. I would do it again tomorrow if I could! Here are some more photos that I took:

My New "Normal" !

This being a slow day at work and the first real opportunity I've had since Gus' birth, I thought I would update you guys on J, Gus, and I. This is also the first time I have blogged since becoming a mother (wow, it still is hard to grasp that I am a mother). No one can prepare you or explain to you what being a mother really means or feels like. All I can offer is that it is amazing and totally a gift from God. Children are a miracle from the moment of concepcion but His awesomeness is still visible now 10 weeks later. Can you believe that Gus is 10 weeks old already? He is such a great baby, who rarely fusses unless he is really tired and is finally starting to sleep for, what I call, all night. He weighs an impressive 12 pounds and is 23 inches long, which puts him in the 50th percentiles for his age! One smile is all it takes to melt our hearts and one frown, complete with a pooched out bottom lip, is all it takes to break it!! But those smiles, the ones that totally light up his whole face and makes his eyes shine, are something else. He even tries to snicker sometimes, not a full blown laugh yet, but we're getting closer! He has rolled over, from his back to his tummy, a total of 5 times now, but for some reason he only does it on my dad's chair at my mom and dad's house. Go figure! Speaking of my dad, you should see him with Gus! He is totally in love with my sweet baby. For those of you who don't know my dad, he can come across as being a hard man to those on the outside but he adores kids and always has and is going to be the best Papa. He has already stricken John and I from his will, as Gus will now get everything (can we say spoiled?). Daddy is just itching for him to grow big enough to ride alongside him in the tractor or to go fishing on the airboat and he is so ready for hunting season so Gus can ride with him in the hunting truck! My momma, who would like to be called Mae Mae, is in heaven any time I mention that I need a babysitter for a few hours. She seems upset when I make it back from my errand and she has to surrender her charge! On the other side of the family, Gus has Ma'am and Pap. We are so blessed that Ma'am has offered to keep Gus while I am back at work. From the first day I dropped him off, which was heart-wrenching but a lot easier to deal with knowing that he would be loved and cared for all day by Ma'am. Gus will have great memories of his time with J's parents just like J has with his grandparents. Gus even gets to see his Cousin Allie on Tuesdays and Fridays! It won't be long before those two are cooking up schemes and doing some big playing in the back yard. J., Gus and I had pictures taken a few weeks ago. They are the most recent ones I have with me so here you go:

Isn't he adorable? I hope to be able to keep you guys updated periodically, but no one told me that complete absentmindedness and inability to finish things is a result of motherhood! Therefore I make no promises about quanity or quality!!

Lastly, thank you for your prayers and thoughts during my labor and the weeks that followed. It was rough at times but totally worth every minute!!

Temporary Vacation

Obviously it has been a while since my last post! I have been busy getting ready for Gus' arrival and boy is time flying by so quick. I have less than 6 weeks left to go and that is hard to believe.

Our doctor's appointment yesterday went well and Gus is measuring exactly what he should be. We go back in two weeks for our next appointment and our childbirth classess are this weekend! It should be very entertaining for J. We also had our first baby shower last weekend at my church and Gus' room looks like a tornado went through it! I am trying to sort through all of his clothes and there is no way he is going to be able to wear them all!!!

I am actually going to take a break from blogging for a while. (It seems that I am not very good at keeping it up anyways!!) I will let Aunt Carrie keep you all updated as things progress and post pictures. Please keep us in your prayers as the day approaches. I surely will need it!!!

Mourning???

If fashion was my passion I would definitely make my fortune in maternity clothes. Those of you who have been pregnant before know that finding appropriate clothing is not only difficult it is almost impossible. I have had spring fever recently and long to wear colorful, cool clothes. Most of the hand-me-downs that I have been given were fall and winter fabrics and just make me feel blah. Therefore I set out Wednesday morning to find casual, work and church apparel, especially an Easter dress. Hah! I must be crazy. Motherhood, having the largest selection, had approximately three dresses that were not black! I guess we are supposed to be in mourning over the loss of our figure that we cannot wear anything but black. JCPenney's has three racks for maternity, none of which have any dresses.....three racks?! So today I plan to surf the web with the hope that I can find some thing. If you happen to see me and I look like I'm on my way to a funeral just know that I am trying!

On the upside, I was able to register this week! I couldn't believe how fast time is flying and I really needed to get it done because my church shower is coming up next month! Thankfully I was able to call on Carrie to be my expert shopper and she, Allie and I met at Target on Wednesday. Let me just start off by saying WOW! I can't believe how much stuff there is out there for babies. Without Carrie, and of course Allie, I would have been lost for sure. It was a lot of fun though and I am so excited! I can't wait to see what Gus' receives from our family and friends. Carrie and I decided that after all of our hard work we needed some reinforcement and MaCalister's was just down the street. On a side note we both learned that you cannont leave broccoli in your car over night and half of the next day!! I'm not sure how Carrie and Allie made it back home unless the windows were down the whole way. Anyways we split a delicious slice of cheesecake, right in front of Allie, bless her heart. I can't wait until she can nibble on goodies.

If any of you have suggestions for maternity clothing, by all means, please share! And if you have a favorite item you received as a gift that you think I should have I would love to here about it. Hope you all have a great weekend.

At Last!

Finally the nursery is begining to take shape, at least in my mind, but that is better than the complete mental block that I have had. I have found, ordered and received the baby bedding which I just love and can't wait to see in the crib. The crib and changing table have been ordered and are hopefully going to arrive within 4-6 weeks.


This is the set!!

We have big ideas for decorations and I am going to have to get with Ms. Cindy Jo and have her help with a valance for the windows. I am also picking up things as I find them, like a small canoe paddle from Wal-mart this week!

I have a doctors appointment today so keep me in your prayers, that my blood pressure will cooperate and be low.