This Weekend

This weekend we were, once again, on the road. 

First stop: Niceville

My Aunt & Uncle were in town all the way from Texas so we went one night early to spend a little more time with them. 

College football consumed our morning, afternoon & evening. As it should. Haha. 

Go Noles. Roll Tide. 

I woke up Saturday morning craving donuts after dreaming about them all night.

When in Niceville, the only place to satisfy that craving is Tasti-o's. 

Best. Donuts. Around. 

[if you aren't familiar with them and you're in the area, you really need to check them out. great choices, extremely fresh & a lot of southern hospitality]

I was specifically craving a raspberry filled pastry- so I made sure to get one.

Then we did the usual, chocolate with sprinkles and the never just basic glazed. 

And of course, my dad & Jimmie went all out with breakfast that morning as well.

Eggs. Pancakes. Bacon. Toast. & then donuts :) 

That evening was the main reason we were in town for the weekend.

We had a fundraiser dinner for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

The Harley Raffle.

[ if you aren't familiar with the foundation or the event, please look in to it! ]

[ if you'd like, I'd love to give you information on how to get involved ]

The evening was filled with laughter and food and catching up with people we hadn't seen in years. 

Caroline danced with Uncle Matt a good bit - on his shoulders and all.

Their most well known number that evening: "Born in the USA"  - Bruce Springsteen

She also had Nonnie, GiGi and Opa chasing after her a good bit. 

She waved to everyone hello and when we were done talking she would say Bye-Bye and blow a kiss. She was a huge hit.

Caroline even made friends with a little girl that was her age. The pushed chairs around for a little while, explored the military uniform shadowboxes and had some fun stare downs. 

None of us won anything but it was a successful evening anyway.

You'll find us there every year. 

Second stop: Brewton

Sunday we were headed back to Alabama for a Baby Shower & for (of course) a round of golf.

Sweet little Harper will be here in November and it was so exciting getting to celebrate her arrival and her sweet momma that day.

It was such a pretty shower, with lots of fun favors.

Caroline was tired by the end of it for sure.

She did a lot of running around with her friend, Pheriby. 

[could've had a sugar rush from the m&m's she was obsessed with]

But now we're home & plan to be here for a few weekends in a row.

Ya know, unless something comes up ;)

19 Weeks Appointment

Are you serious? We're already at 19 weeks..

So I'm seeing that it's true what they say- you're so busy with your other child(ren) that time will fly by during pregnancy. It's fact, not fiction.

I'm going to admit, I feel like a bad mom already to this second child. Because time is going so fast, and because I'm trying to keep up with Caroline and fill her days with productive activities- if you were to ask me a question about where we're at in this pregnancy- I'd have to check the app (because it's not something I do on a regular basis)

I couldn't tell you what fruit/veggie she is this week,

or how much she weighs and her length.

I consider myself doing pretty good when I don't have to count back the weeks to tell you how far along I am, OK. 

Soooo- yeah. I'll try to get better though, I promise. 

Any of the who- I was fully aware of this appointment and I've actually been looking forward to it since the last appointment. This week was ultrasound week!!! Which means we got to see our precious Hadley (Haddie). 

It was such an enjoyable experience. We got to watch her kick around and "jump." We got to see all different angles :) - She was laying face down though, so we couldn't get a view of her little face. But, she was healthy & active which is all we care about. 

& Caroline was the sweetest during the ultrasound. She seemed just as excited to see baby Haddie as we were. She sat with me on the table and held up my shirt. Every once in a while she would touch my belly, say "hi Haddie" and get some of the gel on her haha. We were melting. 

Next appointment is in 4 weeks! Yay, October! 

We're getting closer every day to becoming a family of 4. 

Mini Post: We Have A Fence!

The Fence is done, The Fence is done!

I'm having a little party over here.

And so are Ace & Caroline!

We have a fenced in backyard!

We are ready for lots of running around and playing

& all in the privacy of our own fenced in yard!

I know, I'm maybe a little overly excited. Sue me.

We have been patiently waiting & the day has finally come!

A big shout out to my boys Joseph & Ben.

You guys made it happen.

The 3 of us thank you.

Beer and Dinner on me, anytime y'all want!

Labor Day Weekend

This last weekend was Labor Day weekend and we spent it at the beautiful Lake Martin.

No matter how many times we're there at the lake house, the view will never get old. There is just something about it. I couldn't possibly do it justice to make you fully understand but it is just gorgeous and completely relaxing.

The weekend was full of boating, swimming, football and family.

We take the boat out quite a bit while we're there and always give the dogs a few trips to go play in the water and get some energy out. The boys got 3 trips this time - and if you know Ace or have been with him on a boat, you know that I have the best husband in the entire world for allowing him to go 3 different times. :)

Caroline loved it, as always. She is such a water baby- the only time she gets upset is when we take her out of it haha, and even then the sadness is cured in an instant. In the morning you just ask her "ready to go swimming?" and she is ready to go!

This weekend was the opening weekend of college football. Saturday our teams played & Saturday our teams won! So excited for this season! Go Noles & Roll Tide, y'all!

We had such a great time- now it's back to reality. But hey, we have a lot to look forward to this week:

Tuesday we go to Brewton for the afternoon so I can take care of some business

Tuesday night Aunt Kitty is coming to stay the night with us

Wednesday we have a doctor's appointment with an ultrasound

Friday we go to Niceville

Saturday we have a fundraiser

Sunday we have a baby shower in Brewton

If there is one thing for sure around here....there is never a dull moment- we keep things moving! 

Mini Post: What It's All About

This morning came extra early (which is extremely rare. We've got a little one that loves to catch her zzz's).

But this morning was different.

I woke up to my sweet baby singly poking my face and saying "mama?" and doing it repeatedly until I opened my eyes.

The second my eyes cracked open her tone changed "MAMA!" :) :)

The excitement in her voice when she realized that I was awake got me right in the feels. She just lit up.

And then she wrapped her arms around me as in to say good morning with no words at all. oh my gosh, you are seriously the sweetest. 

& that's what it's all about. That excitement she gets from me. Little old me, I make her that happy. I didn't even do anything, I just simply woke up when she wanted me to. & that's all that she wanted.

That is all. That's all I have for this morning. My little is currently eating her breakfast and watching some early morning cartoons - so I'm going to get back to enjoying watching her watch those.

Have a magical day everyone!

Mini Post: Pregnancy #2

Pregnancy #2, you've been good to me for the most part. 

The First Trimester, you made me tired (that's to be expected)

You have me some headaches BUT

you only gave me one migraine- I'm very thankful.

Second Trimester, I was just bragging on you the other day.

Why do you make me a liar?

Can I please wake up & go to sleep one full day without a headache, please?

Or send me a sign & let me know what I can do that might make you rethink

cursing me with these awful headaches..I'll do anything.

I love you, Hadley.

Everyone knows I'm not a fan of pregnancy.

But I'll do whatever it takes to get to you. 

I know the second I lay eyes on you I'll forget about what it took to get there.

Time has gone by quickly so far, I'm 17 weeks and didn't realize it.

Lets.Keep.It.Up

Minus the headaches, you can scratch the headaches at anytime!

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

"Celebrating our 2nd anniversary on August 24th- It's been a busy two years- to keep it short I'll just say that I love doing life with you. I wouldn't trade it for anything. You're a wonderful husband and an even better father. Your girls love you more than you know. Happy Anniversary babe, cheers to many more"

We spent our anniversary this year in Biloxi, just the two of us. [Caroline went to Sassy & G's house and got to spend a couple days with them & Aunt Kitty & a few other members of the family]. 

We gambled and ate, and gambled and ate and most importantly- spent those 2 days just us, enjoying one another's company. [with all the eating we did, thank goodness we had comps for all of it, otherwise we would have burned a whole in the pocket! haha]

The food was phenomenal. 

When we checked into our room we had a nice spread of meats and cheeses with some wine waiting on us (compliments of my dad, mom, Jimmie & Matt). Thank you again, seriously so sweet!

[as much as I wanted to, I couldn't drink the wine...so we saved it for a later date]

-I know you were just thinking "but wait, you're pregnant??"

:D

After a little rest and a little gambling - we had dinner at the Half Shell Oyster House at the Hard Rock. Once again- phenomenal. Our entrees were great but I want to single out the appetizer and the dessert that we had. Oh. My. Taste-buds. We started with their Fried Green Tomato & Blue Crab Cakes. Heaven in my mouth. We like fried green tomatoes and we like crab cakes - so it was a killer combo! Dessert was another excellent combo: banana fosters cheese cake. Yum!

After dinner, I willingly stayed up until 3:00 AM... AM people! (if you know me well, I'm in bed by 10:30, every.night.) So this was one for the books! It was all in good fun though. & of course Joseph & I said to each other "ahh, can't wait to actually sleep in tomorrow" Yeah, that didn't happen- we both popped up by 9:00. Eh, I was thinking more like 10 or 11, come on body get with it!

We had the lunch buffet at the Hard Rock - The Satisfaction Buffet. A ton of choices. After one small plate, this momma hit up the dessert buffet. Oh, Hadley. I think the soft serve swirl of vanilla and chocolate ice cream was the winner for us! 

Joseph & I gambled again- for the rest of the day, side by side at our new favorite game! We had such a blast. It was so cool to find a new game that both of us actually love. It's fun gambling but it's much more fun gambling together. 

We had dinner that night over at the 24/7 Grill. Another great choice. AND they had fried pickle spears for an appetizer- which i just could not say no too! 

Due to our extremely late night the previous night - we hit the hay early. We enjoyed an awesome "Cage Rage" marathon (we love Nicholas Cage) and a comfy bed for the rest of the evening. 

We finished off our trip the next morning with the Satisfaction breakfast buffet. I had to have a little caffeine to start my morning and can I just say the fountain Coca'Cola was the bomb! haha, really though. I don't know what it was - but I liked it! 

We had a wonderful trip and we received such love while we were there from all our family and friends. It was truly great to receive texts and Facebook messages and phone calls of people wishing us the sweetest wishes and reminiscing with us on our special day 2 years ago! We're truly blessed.

Did I mention that I'm really craving some of those Fried Green Tomato & Blue Crab Cakes????

of course- now that we're home! 

Caroline's First Day of Nursery School

My little bean is growing up.

Caroline had her first day of Nursery School today.

She LOVED it. 

We started the day off with a good laugh. Caroline had no idea why on earth I was waking her up at 7:30. (This little one will sleep until noon if you let her). It was the funniest thing watching her try to go back to sleep while I got her changed- by the time we got to breakfast and our Disney Junior she was good to go though. 

She is such a little social butterfly. She loves other kids and meeting new people. 

Literally nothing scares her. She is so curious about everything.

Little miss independent.

As I drop her off:

1) I'm the one sad about leaving, she's pulling my hand trying to get us there just a little faster

2) I ask for a hug and I just get a swift "bye-bye" with a wave as she goes on her merry way over to everyone else.

When I picked her up though she was happy to see me. Just "talking" away about her day. Her teachers had nothing but good things to say about her. 

After getting home you could tell she was past ready for a nap. She was wore out from an adventurous day!

I'm so happy for her starting her school adventure, even if it is just nursery school. It's the first step.

We're looking forward to next week!

Mini Post: Breakfast

Breakfast. Oh how much I love you, breakfast.

All I want is breakfast- all. the. time.

Seriously. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, breakfast is what I want to eat.

& Caroline has been loving it. - she's a big fan of breakfast anyway.

Eggs. Waffles. Grits. Pancakes. Bacon. Bagels. Toast. Cereal. 

That is what my breakfast lunch and dinner consists of. [obviously not all at one time, that would be obnoxious, but individually- f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s.]

*side note, looking at this list of food items makes me realize I've been missing out on one of my favorite breakfast side items ever- hellllloooo - breakfast potatoes.. yep, i'll be getting some of those ASAP. 

We add fruit, don't worry. Or throw in some peanut butter. haha- no need to be concerned, we're still making balanced meals over here- they just all happen to contain breakfast items.

Sorry I'm not sorry, I can't help it.

Hadley wants what Hadley wants & we're not mad about it.

#teambreakfast

Projects

Now that we know that we're adding on a little girl - let the projects begin!
[well, who am I kidding- it's been project after project since we bought the house trying to get everything settled just how we want it BUT now that we know it's a girl, we can start projects in the empty room that we have and start on the nursery]

Nothing too drastic in the nursery at this point. Just a little paint :) The day before we found out that she was a she we decided the bedrooms will all be the same color - a nice gray that we picked out at Lowe's. It's perfect. [Caroline's nursery was gray in Orlando, it's just such a good color and everything goes with it.]

You know what they say, Gray is the new neutral.

So Joseph has almost completed that project now. I'm not allowed in with the paint. Not only because of pregnancy but also due to the fact that I was in the room he was working on for not even 5 minutes and let's just say I made a huge mess. Joseph banned me from entering a room while he's painting in it. Oops. 

On top of painting, we've been redoing some furniture. The first piece was completed today actually and I must say I am incredibly impressed. 

It will be the new addition to our guest room :)

And to top it all off, the boys have been putting the fence up! It's projected to be done by the end of August! Fingers crossed. Our Ace is going to be so excited to have his outside time back. He loves laying out in the sun and "grazing." 

Life is good. I'll be finding more furniture to redo. Oh & did I mention I just got my hands on some pallets? YAY! Can't wait to start some projects with those! 

The Gender Reveal

Earlier today we had our Gender Reveal Dinner with our parents & siblings.

& now it's time for the rest of the world to know :)

Boy or Girl?

What do you think?

Well if you said girl then you are absolutely correct! 

We will be adding another sweet little girl to our family come February! 

Hadley Catherine will be her name. 

Our little Haddie. 

We could not be any more excited for our newest addition. 

& we're so happy that our parents and brother and sisters were able to come celebrate with us!

Caroline loved the little party- she of course thought it was for her. Anything involving cake is right?

Duh! Haha, she's excited though. We've been telling her all about a new baby sister 

and telling her about her big sister duties- 

for now though, she just likes saying "baby" and pulling up mommy's shirt to see the tummy.

I'll take it. :)

Now that we all know the gender, let the baby girl purchasing and nursery planning begin!