The Tri-State Tour

Wow, Spring Break has been a blur! We left last Friday on what we like to call the Tri-State Tour, which includes North Alabama(close to Tennessee), North Georgia, and South Alabama(ON the Florida line). Ben and I used to try to make this trip to see family twice a year, but has dropped to once a year for the past few years. Even though we drove through North Alabama, I guess this time we should have called it the duo-state tour because we didn't stop to visit my family there since they met us in Georgia. Needless to say, we are exhausted! While we were in Georgia, Ben's sisters threw TWO baby showers for us! They are such a blessing and his family was so generous to us! Then we drove to South Alabama to visit my Dad and he took us on what felt like a shopping spree at Babies 'R' Us. I can't get over how amazing everyone has been to us and how people want to take their limited funds during this difficult economic time to do something special for us. We drove back to Texas with the car loaded to the roof! We spent today unloading and looking through all of baby Ethan's exciting new things.

Yep, you heard it ...the name will remain. Ben is in love with it and in his opinion it was good enough 7 years ago when we came up with it and NO ONE had the name, so it's good enough now even though it's one of the most popular boy names and we even have friends with a toddler named Ethan. Precisely the reasons I wanted to explore other names. Don't get me wrong, I do really like his name, you just want to think of your child as being the only one with a unique name...which it was 7 years ago!

For those that do not know, Ben and I have had a little bit of an issue finding bedding for the nursery. I love that he has been very involved since the very beginning of the pregnancy, but we both have our own ideas about bedding. We finally found a website, Polkatotdesigns.com that has super cute fabrics for custom bedding. Magically, they are located in Mobile, Alabama, which we drive right through on our way back home. So...we made an appointment with my superhero, Deb, and she helped create something that Ben and I are both excited about, I can't wait until it's done! It's not too frilly for Ben, nor too simple for me, and has just enough compromise for both of us. Now, anyone up for painting???

Consignment Heaven!

I had the best time Saturday night! Leigh Ann and I went to the First Time Moms consignment sale at the Convention Center in Plano and it was SO MUCH FUN! It was an all out shopping spree! It was the first time that I had ever been to a large consignment sale and I am hooked. I can't wait for the next one! After we came home, we took everything out so that we could take it all in and the formal living room was where it all ended up. Now I get to come home and look at it every day. And, of course, Alex loves our new play area! Not that we will need these items anytime soon, but our current debate is where the permanent playroom will be. Ben is quite satisfied with getting rid of the foofey furniture and turning the living room into the playroom but I haven't been convinced of that yet.

Ben's Getting Jiggy With It

Ben is doing his happy dance because we found out what we are having.

It's a...

...BOY! We went to the Doctor today for some tests and got some exciting news! We have learned that we have a VERY ACTIVE little BOY full of energy! There wasn't one moment during the ultrasound that he was still. And I promise that I have been steering clear of caffeine. It was amazing to see our baby grow from just a little spot on the screen with a heartbeat to where he was today. A complete little baby boy. Ben couldn't stop grinning the entire time and is already preparing himself for our unruly little bundle. He is positive based on the activity that we saw today that this little boy will be following in his Daddy's footsteps and will be a complete terror from the moment he enters the world, not to mention a teacher's worst nightmare. He's already determined that we have to monitor what he eats and take care not to overstimulate him and is currently trying to figure out which method of discipline will be best suited for him. All decided at 4 months in the womb. Meanwhile, for the first time I am able to really start looking at baby bedding and furniture. It's so exciting!

The News is Out!

Everyone finally knows that we are expecting our little addition in July! Currently our due date is July 28th, but I already feel fat so we'll see about that! Ben and I found out our exciting news on November 19th when we were only 4 weeks along, then we announced it to our family around Thanksgiving. Everyone is absolutely thrilled and we got the occasional "Well, it's about time you've been married 7 and a half years!" This ultrasound was at 7 weeks, but we've just reached 12 weeks. Ben is force-feeding me healthy food and it was so hard going through the holidays with all of that yummy food thinking that I should be eating an apple when rocky road candy tasted so much better! But don't worry, Ben's making sure that I eat plenty of fruit and yogurt and stay away from sugar. He's convinced that our child will be born with ADD because of his genes and my sweet tooth. However, what he doesn't know won't hurt him!

Playing Hard

Lucy's new best friend is Charlie. Charlie is a King Charles Cavalier that belongs to my brother, Chad. He and Lucy played so hard together that we actually caught them napping in Chad's lap. There weren't too many lulls in doggy laps around the house, but here was one of them. It's just too precious not to post! So sad for Lucy, but now that Charlie has gone home, she is going through doggy depression. She misses her buddy and walks up to Charlie's room looking for him every morning.

Going to the Dogs

Tug-of-War was a holiday favorite at our house this year. Our house went to the dogs as we had a house full of family and 4 little four-legged friends running around. Of course, Lucy was determined to be friends with all of them! Her sense of humor in playing Tug-of-War was a little different from the other dogs, though. She would take a toy to another dog for them to play Tug with her, but Charlie and Tisha had other ideas and wanted to keep it. One great thing worked in her favor, she was the biggest of all...and the one with the most energy. What a shock! They provided all of the entertainment for the rest of us!