5 years

Five years ago today I was pregnant with a sweet baby girl.
Five years ago today I was finishing up my student teaching.
Five years ago today I lost a great woman- My Grandmother.

She lived a great example of what a strong, giving woman is. Some of the best memories I have are those with her. I miss her everyday. We named that sweet baby girl Nola. I am grateful and honored to be able to have named my daughter after my Grandmother. My Nola has already shown the strength and determination my Grandmother had. Jonathan and I chose the right name.

Now five years later I am pregnant with a sweet baby boy.
Five years later I am teaching.
Five years later I still grieve for the woman I lost.

I love you Grandmother.

Fun at the Beach Part 1

 Ahh, Cape Sand Blas - Our new favorite beach. It is Florida's "Forgotten Coast." We loved it- not commercialized - no souvenir shops every three feet, no crowded beaches, basically we had the beach to ourselves! This was perfect for us- our last getaway before we become a family of four. 

 The house - Nola called it The Beach House. 

 Duke headed to see the ocean for the first time- JB fulfilled his promise to his daily work buddy. 

 Nola loved her Dora sunglasses and digging in the sand. 

 Duke wasn't too sure about the waves. 

 We were taking a walk and Nola would just randomly sit down and start playing with sand. 

 That's our set up- As you can see, we had the beach to ourselves! :)

We did see someone that offered to take a picture of the entire family! 

Oh my!

32 weeks today! 

Baby Silas is getting bigger everyday! There are so many things we have to do before he gets here. The nursery is still nonexistent- it still has to be painted. Then we can put the crib together, etc. I am getting very anxious that everything won't be done before he makes his appearance.

Speak Easy

Please join us for Memphis Oral School for the Deaf's Speak Easy. This is a major fundraiser to continue to their amazing work for children like our sweet Nola. 

It will be Saturday, April 14 at Lexus of Memphis. You can find more info here. 

Trigon Sports is a participating sponsor. This is Nola's class with the big check! :)

28 weeks, 2 days

I am 28 weeks and 2 days! Knock on wood, this pregnancy has been very uneventful. I am very grateful for that! Nola says she's gonna give Baby Silas a kiss and plants a sweet kiss on my belly! She is going to be such a great big sister! I do worry about the transition, but I am sure we will all adjust smoothly.
The room that will be the nursery is currently an almost empty room. We have chosen a paint color- now it has to be painted and decorated! We need to get on the ball!

Here's a picture of of our sweet Nola playing a tambourine at school with her friends! She wore her snazzy rain boots that day! 

Eric Carle's Treasured Stories

We took Nola to the Orpheum to see Eric Carle's treasured stories. They were the neatest puppets and included the stories, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? , and Poppa, Please Get the Moon for Me. Nola LOVED it! She wasn't too sure about the big brown bear puppet, but loved everything else.

I forgot to take a picture during the performance...boo. 

I love these two! :)

Random Iphone Pictures

 This balloon is still flying around my kitchen; it's the "It's a Boy!" balloon from our gender reveal party on December 22!

 Nola has to pick up Luckie and put her in her bed every night. Luckie stays in there until Nola falls asleep. :)

 Nola helped Daddy out in the warehouse!

 Silly girl!

 The famous mad face!

 Nola saw a gummy making video on YouTube. Every since she has been asking to make gummies. Yes, we do monitor her YouTube video watching! The funny thing was the video was in Chinese!

 More gummy making fun!

 I FINALLY found fabric for Silas' room! Yay!

Nola's little foot- She takes random pictures when she has my iphone!

Kelly's Korner

This week at Kelly's Korner the theme was Working Moms. Being a working mom is hard. My day doesn't end when the school bell rings. I would love to be able to be one of those work from home moms or stay at home moms, but unfortunately, that's not in the cards for us. With Nola's hydrocephalus and hearing loss, the health insurance from being a teacher is a must. Just like any mother, I will do anything for my children!

Craziness......

This week's wrap-up-

1. I cannot believe I am starting my last week in my 6th month of pregnancy! My back hurts, but what pregnant lady wouldn't say her back hurts?! By the end of the day at school, all I can do is sit.

2. ASU Master's Program....I hate statistics! I have one more quiz to take by tomorrow and then I am done with this class! Ugh!

3. Nola's dance class is beginning to learn the steps to their recital. It is so stinking cute! I am so sad that I probably won't be there since the recital is June 2- the day after my due date. Boo! Hopefully, my scheduled c-section will be before the recital so that everyone else can attend it!

4. I have really struggled at school this week. It has been a challenge.

5. Jonathan's feet seem to be doing better with the stretching exercises and physical therapy. Thank goodness.

6. We are going to try once again to find fabric! We didn't have any luck last weekend.

7. I need a nap. :) But there is no rest for the weary.

This week's wrap-up!

Baby Silas is growing along with my belly! 

The theme this week at Nola's school was community helpers. She loved this week's show and share; they were supposed to bring something related to community helpers. Nola brought her doctor's bag- she said, "I going to show my friends!" 

We are going to pick out fabric for the nursery this weekend! I am so excited!! I don't like "themes" so we are just getting funky fabric in the colors I have chosen. 

Jonathan has tendinitis and it's very painful. I hope that going to the physical therapist helps ease the pain and he can get some relief!