The Past Couple of Weeks

The past couple of weeks have been busy.  Unfortunately, I haven't been the best blogger, but I do have a few pictures, so here's just a few of the fun things that we've been up to.

A couple of weekends ago, our local WTS chapter hosted all of the other chapters in Texas for a leadership conference.  It was a lot of work on our part, but everything went great, and I'm pretty sure everyone had a wonderful time.  On Friday night, we went on a dinner cruise on Lady Bird Lake.

We left from the Hyatt {where the conference was held} and headed east while enjoying fajitas wine {except for the two pregnant ladies who had water instead}.  The weather was perfect.  It had been raining earlier that day, but thankfully it had cleared up, and a cool front had even come through.  On our way back to the hotel, it started to get dark...

...and just before we got back to the Hyatt, we stopped to watch the bats.  Everybody loved it.

The next day, I spent the morning at the conference and then left a little early to go to LizAnn's {Ben's cousin} bridal shower.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures, but it was a lot of fun, and Aunt Lisa's quiche was delicious!  That afternoon, Ben and I hung out at home, and Miles came over for a little bit while Cheryl went to the grocery store.  After playing pretty hard with Ben, he was ready for a snack, so after getting a graham cracker out of the pantry, he helped Ben get the milk out of the refrigerator.

I tried so hard to get him to look at the camera, but apparently, that's the last thing you want to do when you're a 2-year-old.

He's such a big boy now -- drinking out of a big boy cup.

 Apparently graham crackers make a great drum set, too.

 Hmmm....I wonder how all of those crumbs got there.

After church on Sunday, we went over to Scott and Amanda's house so that Ben could finally meet Bradley, Amie Kate, and Carly {how cute is it that all 3 of them are laying in the exact same position?}.

The babies were just finishing up eating when we got there, so they're tummies were full, and they were happy.  Amie Kate and her daddy...

...and Ben and Bradley.  We had a great time hanging out with the Egberts {all FIVE of them}, and after we left, I asked Ben if meeting the triplets made him more excited or more nervous about what's to come in February.  His answer was "both", but honestly, I can't say that I blame him. ;)

This past Saturday, we spent the entire day volunteering at the Special Olympics aquatics tournament.  I worked the volunteer table in the morning and then spent all afternoon helping the athletes out of the pool.  It was such a fun job -- I got to be the first one to congratulate and high-five them as they were getting out of the water, but it was super exhausting, too.  As soon as I got home and out of the shower, I put on my pajamas, propped my feet up, and enjoyed this fall{ish} weather with a good magazine.

The dogs were even nice enough to join me.

Have I ever mentioned how smart Annie is?  I'd never seen her there before, but it's a pretty good idea.  Why lie on the rock when you have another option that is much more forgiving?  And technically, she's not on the furniture either.  What a smart girl.

It wasn't long before I had a peeping Tom...I mean, Miles.  He kept saying "Uh...Lindsay?  What are you doing, Lindsay?" and asking me to open the fence.  I love that kid.

The next day, Ben and I were still pretty exhausted and not really feeling 100%, so we decided to skip church and sleep in.  We spent most of the day just hanging around the house, and that night, we went next door to eat some of the fish that Jason had caught at the coast last week.  It was awesome, and while we were there, Ben built a fort for Miles.

He stayed in there for quite awhile just watching TV.  I'm not sure what was on, but whatever it was, it definitely had his attention.  If I had to guess, it was probably either Dora or Bubble Guppies.

And last, but certainly not least, as of Sunday, I am now officially 19 weeks pregnant.

So far, things are still going pretty well.  Not much has changed since last week except that I experienced a little bit of round ligament pain for the first time on both Sunday and Monday.  It was pretty painful at the time, but thankfully it's starting to feel better, so I'm thinking that it might have had something to do with the fact that I slightly overdid it on Saturday at Special Olympics.

The only other change is that I think I might have {maybe?} felt the baby move on Sunday.  That night, while I was reading in bed {and eating a very large sugar cookie -- haha}, I felt a little bit of fluttering in my stomach.  I'm still not completely sure that it was the baby {or just the cookie working its way down}, but if it was the baby, it was pretty exciting!  It's hard to believe that I'm already 19 weeks and that my pregnancy is almost half way over, but you know what they say -- time flies when you're having fun. :)

18 Weeks & LOTS of Presents

As of this past Sunday, I am now officially 18 weeks pregnant.  Baby Boy is growing quickly, and as you can see, so is my bump.

According to my weekly email, Baby Boy is now the size of a sweet potato -- approximately 5 1/2 inches long {from head to rear} and almost 7 ounces.  People are constantly asking me how I feel, and to be honest, I feel great.  I really don't feel all that much different, which I consider to be a huge blessing -- other than the fact that my abs feel somewhat different when I stand up in a hurry and that my tailbone hurts a little bit after I run.  Overall, I'd say I'm doing pretty good though, and as crazy as it sounds, now that I know that we're having a boy, I feel even closer to the little person that's been hanging out with/in me for the past 4 and half months.  Believe it or not, being pregnant is actually pretty fun, and all of the presents aren't too bad either.

Even though Baby Boy is just 18 weeks old, he has already received SO many gifts.  My mom {being the thoughtful person that she is} already had gifts on hand so that she would be able to give to me on the day that we announced that we were having a baby.  Needless to say, she is VERY ready for a grandbaby.

An Aggie knit cap & onesie

And a Precious Moments figurine that's called 
"Everything Grows with Love"

As soon as we found out that we were expecting, Cheryl bought us a few things that she loved using with Miles when he was a baby.

A couple of nightgowns & blankets

An in-car sanitation station

Not pictured is the really cute flowery outfit that she bought since she just "knew" that I was having a girl.  I ended up giving it back to her in hopes that she'll be able to use it since she is also pregnant and just 4 weeks behind me. :)  

When Donna {a family friend from my childhood church} came over to G's house to spend some time with her and with the rest of my family, she also brought a gift for the long-awaited great-grandbaby.  

A ducky sleeper

On the day that we found out that our baby is in fact a boy, Holly went shopping on her way home from work and bought him his first toy.

A monkey blankie

This past weekend, I went to a bridal shower for Ben's cousin LizAnn, and while we were there, Aunt Lisa also gave gifts to both me and Molly.  Molly is due in November with a boy, too, which will make family gatherings even more fun.

A Barefoot Buddies Puppy Blankie

The most special gifts of all though have been the ones that we found in G's house while she was sick.  Everything had been bought prior to us even announcing that we were having a baby, and everything included a handwritten note.

A Halloween bib that G bought back in 2007

{we hadn't even been married one whole year yet!}

"This bib is for my 1st {great} grandbaby. 
With love, Jo Straus 'Granny' "

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" 

& "Little Brown Bruno" 

{a book from her childhood complete with some drawings, a little bit of coloring, and her name}  

" 'Brown Bear' book for my {great} grandchildren. G

I bought this book 'Brown Bear' to go with the book 'Little Brown Bruno' that I had as a child, approximately 1934. 
Marilyn Jo Mugler Straus"

My all-time favorite find was this one, and my mom remembers the day that G bought it -- even thought it was at least a couple of years ago.  She told my mom that she wanted to find a copy that had really good pictures, so she spent a couple of hours going through every copy that Barnes & Noble sells.  I guess that's where my mom gets it {and hopefully where I will, too}.

"Mother Goose Treasury: 
A beautiful collection of favorite nursery rhymes"

"This book of rhymes is for my 1st great grandchild. Many are just read & also many sung. I hope you remember. With my love, G   Enjoy!"

In addition to her note, she also included a list of the nursery rhymes that she used to say/sing when she was a kid, so the night that we found the book, my mom, Holly, and I took it into her room and said a few.  The first one that we sang was "Mary Had A Little Lamb", and even though she could no longer speak, she tapped her fingers to music while her hand was in mine.

We also read "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and "What Are Little Boys Made Of?", which was really special.  I love knowing that my life is soon to be full of "snips and snails and puppy dog tails", and I also love the fact that so many people are just as excited as I am.  I hope that Baby Boy always knows how much he's loved -- even when he was just 18 weeks old and the size of a sweet potato. ;)

Holly's Houston Bridal Shower

Last weekend, my mom and I made the trip down to Houston for Holly's first bridal shower.

Suzanne and Diane {my dad's cousins} were the hostesses, and everything was beautiful.

All of the food was so good...

...and the cake was both delicious AND beautiful.

Diane has always been such a good cake baker and decorator {she made the cake for our wedding, and people STILL talk about how good it was}, but rumor has it that Katie {my dad's other cousin's daughter and Diane's best helper} made this one.  Amazing, huh? 

Lexi and Laynie were such great hostesses, too -- especially when it came to making sure that our drinks were filled.

We had such a great time seeing and catching up with so many people that we don't get to see nearly enough -- Holly, Leanne {Nelson's sister}, and Irene {Nelson's cousin}.

Holly and my mom with their college roommates -- Sally and Melanie.

Ling {Nelson's mom}, Chrys {Nelson's parents' neighbor}, and Holly.

Patty and Valerie.

Grandma and Aunt Ellen.

Holly received so many wonderful gifts, too -- including a really pretty monogrammed cake server set.

After some thought, I ended up getting her an ice cream scoop and a pizza pan/slicer.  My hope is that she'll remember just how much I love her every time she uses them, and because I know just how much they love ice cream and pizza, her favorite big sister should come to mind often. ;)

A beautiful bride -- from head to toe.

After the shower and before heading back to Austin, we went over to Nelson's parents' house and then out for dim sum.  The food was so good, and we had a great time with Nelson's family.  When we got home that night, I crashed.  It had been a very long day, but it was lot of fun, too.

Happy 1st Bridal Shower, Holly.  I love you and am so glad that I get to experience all of these fun things with you. :)