Columbus Day

Caroline & I decided to take a little day trip over to Niceville for Columbus Day.

& what a great day to do it! 

We went to my mom's house and my brother & dad were both off work for the holiday so we got to see everyone today!

We went to lunch at our favorite Mexican Restaurant on that side of the bridge - Pepito's. 

[I think it's Caroline's favorite too - that girl loves some cheese dip & quesadillas] 

& we went to one of my favorite places to shop in Destin and got me a little more prepared for Joseph's and my 1st Thanksgiving. [this year we're doing a big Thanksgiving at our house] I couldn't be more excited. I'm probably killing Joseph with all my talk about planning it - haha he ever so sweetly reminds me how far away it is. But, we all know a good party takes some planning :)

& that's kinda my thing. 

I'm now loaded down with casserole dishes & serving platters - I've got our table's attire for the day and some extremely cute Fall/Thanksgiving decorations.

I'm not done yet but it is a great start!

Couldn't have done it without the help from my mom! (xoxo)

After shopping, we all played outside for awhile. 

Caroline loves my mom's backyard. 

There are so many pretty flowers (that Caroline loves to help water) #mynaturechild

& she loves playing chase! 

So we wore her out before I loaded her up for the journey home.

I'm so thankful to only be living an hour and a half away from the people I love the most.

Couldn't be more blessed to have the family I have. 

Blood & In-Laws :)

Holland Farms

We went to Holland Farms today for a little bit of fall festivities.

It was a lot of fun. A lot more people than we expected. And it was a lot hotter than we expected. But all in all it was a success. 

Holland Farms has so much to do. They have a corn maze, hay ride, a pumpkin patch, sunflower fields, zip lining, a petting zoo, a playground and some excellent food choices. 

Caroline had a blast. As far as she is concerned though- we could've just gone for the animals and she would have been 100% content. [my little girl got my love for animals :) melts my heart]. 

There were chickens and goats - little calves - horses and miniature ponies. And some people brought their dogs with them- so Caroline had them to look at too!

I did say there were some great food choices - we got their boiled peanuts [regular & cajun, of course]. & we also got their humongous snow cones. #happypreggo Team grape & Blue Raspberry all the way. Delicious. 

Downside? My lips turned black - butttttt it was a good laugh :D

I would highly recommend checking this place out. My only suggestion would be to maybe wait until a little bit later in the month of October. It would probably be a little cooler - as well as there might not be SO many people there.

But it was a great day with my baby, MIL & sista's :)

Great way to finish off the weekend!

Mini Post: Pregnancy Update

So today we had a doctor's appointment.

Just a regular check up (check-in)

No ultrasound, no special tests. Just a "hey doc, yep still pregnant" kinda appointment.

Well, one new update - thought I was 22 weeks, well I'm 23 instead. So that's exciting!

One week closer than I thought I was. 

First week of February out little one will be here! 

Next appointment I get to do the fun glucose test- woohoo.

& we also get to pre-register for our hospital stay!

So that's something to look forward to!

The weeks have been flying by!

We've been so busy I've hardly noticed the time passing so quickly.

Hadley will be here before we know it :)

Mini Post: It's Here!

I get very excited over the little things.

[personally, I think that's a great quality if I do say so myself]

Caroline's Halloween costume has arrived!

I prowled the internet in search for the cutest. costume. ever.

& I found it!

Unfortunately though- when I found it, they didn't have Caroline's size.

Needless to say, I was extremely bummed.

I almost gave up but I continued scouring the internet 

& thank goodness I did because

I FINALLY FOUND IT. in her size.

So it has arrived! & It is now in our possession!

 I've tried it on her of course.

It is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

[it could be my child though] ;)

I can't wait for Halloween to reveal it!

& take 100's of pictures of her in it lol 

Mini Post: New Morning Ritual

Since the fence was finished we have been spending a significant amount of time outside

and every child should.. it's good for them. 

We have developed a new morning routine in just a short amount of time.

Now, when Caroline gets up in the morning we still have a few ounces of milk,

but instead of following it with breakfast- 

we now go play outside for about 30 minutes (give or take).

& since it's in the comfort of our privacy fence, we're in PJs or no clothes at all

[^Caroline of course, I'm fully clothed]

We play tee ball and we hit golf balls, 

we play on the grill and make ketchup covered everything

(pretend ketchup... don't get crazy now)

we chase Ace and play with our shovels and buckets.

You name it, if we've got it- she's playing with it.

No toy gets left behind.

After playing outside, and only then, is she ready to have her breakfast

and morning dose of Disney Junior or Little Baby Bum videos. 

No complaints over here, it's not a bad morning.

I even get to get some sun during this new ritual. 

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!