Beach Bums

We are currently mid-vacation and enjoying the life of beach bums. Ahh. It's so nice to be lazy and have time on your hands with nothing to do but eat, sleep, and hang out at the beach. My little man is having a ball playing in the sand, swimming in the pool and ocean, riding and pushing buttons in the e-vader (elevator) and just enjoying the cation (vacation) with the whole fam. Here's a little preview into our week so far...

Ready to head down to the beach on our first full day

This is SO fun

Playing in the sand is one of his most favorite things to do!


Walking out to the ocean with daddy

Doing his most favorite thing again

Those waves are looking big...

My two guys in the ocean (little man decided he wouldn't be intimidated by those waves after all)

Look mama! I have sand in my cup and this cation is just the best!

..... lots more fun to have and memories to make before we head home! And don't worry, I'll be sure to document it all. =)

28 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 28 weeks~ yay for the 3rd trimester!

Size of Baby: About 15 inches long and 2-3 pounds. He is growing and I can tell (along with everyone else)! He's still about the size of an eggplant. =)
Total Weight Gained/Lost: Now I'm at 16 lbs total because I went down a pound at my appointment. My guess is that it's because all I could have for breakfast was dry toast and water (for my glucose test). I was starving by the time I left the doctor's office!

Maternity Clothes: A must!

Gender: A little brother for Garrison!

Movement: Baby boy is moving a lot. His favorite times of the day to be active are first thing in the morning, mid to late afternoon, and once I'm finally sitting still and relaxing after Garrison goes to bed.

Food Cravings: Popsicles and ice cream

What I Miss: Being able to do normal things around the house like vacuuming or dusting or taking care of Garrison without it wearing me out or feeling out of breath!

Sleep: I've now gone from sleeping good, to just okay. Terrell had to find my boppy cuddle pillow for me to sleep with this week because I've just been uncomfortable and tossing and turning a lot. The pillow helped with my pregnancy with Garrison and it's helping with this pregnancy too, thank goodness!

Symptons: Feeling tired and sleepy, being hot, and making lots of trips to the bathroom

Best Moment This Week: Garrison placing his little hands on my bare belly and saying, "move around Ausin, move around" and him giving my belly kisses. So sweet. I have tried my hardest to get Garrison to feel Austin move, but so far it hasn't worked out. Hopefully one day soon. I can just imagine the precious look on his face!

What I'm Looking Forward To: The beach, pool, Disney World, family time, and new memories

The big brother who now pretty much requests to have his picture made by the door just like mama

Father's Day Weekend

We had a great Father's Day weekend and enjoyed spending time with both of our families. The weekend started for us on Saturday at lunch. The Selph side of the family all met at a Mexican restaurant to celebrate Father's Day and Kara's birthday together. It was so good to see our nieces and to have some to time to catch up with everybody.

I love that my baby loves babies!

"Baby Shannon" as Garrison likes to call her

Garrison with the birthday girl

The 3 cousins (Can you tell Garrison has mastered the fake smile?)

These two were so happy to see each other and looked precious as they left the restaurant holding hands.

After lunch we went back to Terrell's parents house and got the little man settled down for a nap. Lately he's been doing really good with taking naps away from home. I guess we'll see how things go on vacation. I'm not sure if naptime will be a priority or not. A part of me thinks it will be really dangerous to basically do away with naptime for a whole week, but another part of me says it's vacation and we'll be out of our routine anyway and he'll be fine getting back into a routine once we're home. I think I'm just going to see how each days goes. Anyway, back to Father's Day... after Garrison's nap we gave Pops his cards and gift.

We told Garrison to go give Pops his present and so he carried it over to him, opened it right up, and handed Pops his present. Oh well, I guess we need to be more specific next time.

After the present was opened, they read the cards together.

Saturday night, Terrell's mom cooked a yummy meal for us and then we enjoyed hanging out and watching the Braves game... and eating a Dairy Queen blizzard once the little man went to bed. So good. Garrison wanted Nana to give him a bath and put him to bed, so it felt like a lazy night for me! We really enjoyed our low-key, relaxing evening.

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready for church. I loved being back at my home church and enjoyed the service so much. Unfortunately, Garrison did not handle going to the nursery/Sunday School very well. It's such a shock to me when I have to leave him crying because he just hardly ever does that. Like I think it's happened 2 or 3 times in his entire life. Terrell checked on him about 2 minutes after I left and he was fine... but we found out after church that Terrell's mom had to get him early because he wasn't playing or interacting with anyone. He was just sitting by himself. I felt so bad when I heard that. It makes me really sad to think about him sitting by himself not doing anything, and it's just not like him at all. Hopefully this isn't going to become a recurring thing. At least I'm praying it's not.

After church we went over to my parents' house for a Father's Day lunch with my family. My mom cooked a feast for us and my grandparents, aunt, and cousin came over to eat. When it was time for us to say the blessing we were telling Garrison that Papa was ready to pray and he said, "God is great, Papa", so an entire dining room table full of adults said the prayer, "God is great, God is good..." before we ate. It was sweet and funny at the same time.

Before everyone came over, Garrison gave Terrell his Father's Day present and cards. I am so thankful for Terrell and for what a great dad he is!

Then after lunch Garrison gave Papa his Father's Day present and cards. He loves opening up the present for Papa or Daddy or Pops (whoever), but he also really loves opening up the envelope and hearing what the card says now.

We had a great weekend with our families are so thankful for our dads and their examples. Both of my boys are going to have great men to look up to in their dad and granddads. Happy Father's Day!!

Special Thanks

As you've noticed, I have a brand new blog look... finally!! I am SO excited about how it turned out and absolutely in love with the new design, header, background, fonts, everything! One of my very good friends (going all the way back to childhood) Megan, designed it for me. She got my input and ideas, which were limited, and then ran with it... and totally exceeded my expectations. Graphic design is her thing and she can work wonders! She is extremely talented and creative and I'm blessed to have her as a friend! (Not just because of all the cards and invitations she does for me! ha!) She is so easy to work with, so reasonable, and so good at what she does I just had to give her proper recognition! Thanks again Megan!!!

Our Trash Man

Garrison has loved helping Terrell with the trash every Wednesday night for quite some time now. It's become part of our Wednesday night routine. He has always loved going with Terrell around to all the rooms with trashcans and bringing them to the kitchen to be emptied out. He has loved walking with Terrell outside to take the big trashcan to the road so the trash can be picked up the next day. And he even loves putting a new trash bag into the trashcan when he comes back in.

Well, we now officially have a new trash man at our house. After supper for the past 2 Wednesday nights, Garrison has gone and collected all the trashcans in the house by himself. Terrell and I are usually cleaning up the kitchen while our 2 year old takes care of his favorite chore. He brings them to the kitchen one at a time, and with a little help, dumps the trash into our kitchen trashcan and then returns the trashcan to it's appropriate room and location. Tonight when he finished emptying out the last one and Terrell got ready to take out the big trash bag, Garrison insisted on carrying it himself. It was so funny. He struggled with holding it by the strings at first, and then just decided to grab the whole thing. I had to run and get the camera because he looked so cute!

Then, he wanted to lift it up into the big trashcan

Next, it was time to pull it down to the road

Once it was safe and secure at the road, he ran back up the hill/driveway to head inside and put in a new trash bag.

He has got to be the cutest trash man ever!

26 Weeks

My little man, the scuba diver had to be in the picture with me and Austin. =) Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 26 Weeks

Size of Baby: 14 inches long and about 1 and 2/3 pounds... the size of an eggplant!

Total Weight Gained/Lost: 17 lbs gained so far. Thankfully I have some really sweet friends who tell me I don't look big at all. Haha!

Maternity Clothes: Pretty much all I wear now

Gender: Baby Boy #2!

Movement: He is really active, especially at bedtime when I'm trying to fall asleep. And I think I've felt him having the hiccups. I'm not sure though because they don't seem to last very long and I don't remember feeling Garrison's hiccups until near the very end of my pregnancy.

Food Cravings: Pretty much ice cream and sweets. It's funny because I'm not really craving any real food.

What I Miss: Garrison being able to sit in my lap without it making me uncomfortable. Reading books at bedtime is becoming very interesting when he insists on sitting in my lap.

Sleep: I'm still sleeping good except now I wake up every single time I want to change positions or roll over.

Symptons: Being hungry and tiring out easy are pretty much it lately

Best Moment This Week: Hearing Garrison talk to Austin and include him in lots of our little conversations

What I'm Looking Forward To: Vacation! It's almost here!! And I'm really hoping one day soon that Garrison will be able to feel Austin move.

30 Day Challenge

This has taken me a few days to write, and it's pretty long and kind of personal, but in a way I feel like by putting it out there it will help hold me accountable and serve as a reminder about how I reached this decision and why I'm working hard to follow through on it.

I am now officially participating in a 30 day challenge that I hope leads me to some lifestyle changes. I think I'm on day 8 but I'm trying not to count days because I want this to be a long-term thing. It has nothing to do with dieting, even though that's how it sounds. I'm sure I'll need some kind of dieting challenge come this fall, but as for now I'm enjoying eating a lot of pretty much whatever I want... without getting crazy. I can't have ice cream twice a day every day, even if I am tempted occasionally.

Anyway, the challenge I'm referring to is a devotion/quiet time challenge. A challenge for my spiritual life and my daily life. A challenge to spend a specific, set-aside part of my day in the Word and in prayer- every day. I discovered the challenge randomly (although I know it couldn't have been completely random because God doesn't do random) through another blog and really felt drawn to it and like I needed to dive in and participate. She had a link on the blog to listen to a lady (I had actually never heard of her) named Nancy Leigh DeMoss speak about the importance of our devotional lives. It was long- over an hour, but I was able to listen to a few minutes here and there and when I finally finished I was determined to participate in the challenge and make some changes.

Just a little background... I have had a devotional time/quiet time off and on daily for a really long time, probably going back to childhood. I've gone through stretches of never missing a single day and stretches of rarely having one. It usually depends on whether or not I'm super attached to my devotional book. Also, I've always done my devotion/quiet time in the evenings before bed. Always. I've never been good at waking up and immediately trying to read something. It just puts me back to sleep. I like to pray every morning while I'm getting ready to start the day, but my official quiet time has always been at night. In the evenings before bed is when I'm typically most relaxed. I've taken care of everything that needs to be done, gotten ready for the next day, and I'm finally ready to get settled in with my devotional book and Bible.

Okay, here comes the lifestyle changes. First of all, as Nancy says, your devotional life must be regular, must be a priority, and must be devotion to God- not devotions that you're checking off your to-do list. Guilty. I have definitely had times when I'm so determined to have a quiet time every single day and not miss one that it's become something I'm just trying to check off my list.

She also talks about how, ideally, it's best for it to be early in your day, and alone without distractions. Again I'm guilty since I definitely don't have mine early in the day. She also had a solution for those of us who don't consider ourselves morning people. Go to bed earlier. My family probably thinks this one is funny because I already go to bed pretty early, especially compared to my hubby. However, you have to know yourself and determine for yourself (and your season of life) the best bedtime for waking up the next day at the time you need to. And at times it means rearranging your priorities. (Once Austin arrives I may have to have my quiet time while I'm nursing, or during naptime. Who knows.) When I was teaching I was asleep before 10:00 every night... because I knew the alarm would be going off around 5:00 and I would feel horrible if I didn't go to bed that early. It was a priority. Now that I've been home for 2 years it seems like my bedtime is creeping back later and later and I'm paying for it the next day when I'm wiped out by naptime. So one of my lifestyle changes in an effort to prioritize my morning quiet time is an earlier bedtime.

She also recommends journaling. Even though this takes a little time, I definitely see the benefits of it. Keeping a journal gives you an opportunity to jot down what you're learning, how you're applying it, prayer requests, praises, etc. So far I've enjoyed jotting down (not writing a paragraph) a Bible verse that's really stood out to me or that I've prayed, my prayer requests for the day and the more long-term ones, and praises and blessings I'm thankful for. Writing some things down has actually helped guide my devotion time and keep me on track (instead of letting myself get distracted or my mind wander when I'm supposed to be praying or reading the Bible). Another change- journaling through my quiet time.

The 3 aspects you must have during your quiet times are: reading of the Word (there is absolutely no substitute for God's Word, even though I can forget this sometimes and even though there are some really good devotional books out there) praises, and prayer. I love that. So simple and to the point, nothing crazy or elaborate or intimidating. So far, this is what I'm doing every morning and so far it's working out pretty good. I did order Nancy's book "A Place of Quiet Rest" and just started reading it so hopefully that will be an even better guide for me. I have to admit that it's sometimes really difficult to just open up the Bible and know what to read or where to start. I'm hoping her book will give me some starting places and some direction on Scripture reading.

One of the things that really led me to not only take the challenge but to make some lifestyle changes in order for this to last much longer than 30 days was something she said near the end of her session. I can't remember it word for word but I jotted down the jist of it. If you don't seek God and truly know Him in the "light" and when things are good, you will trip and fall and struggle to find Him in times of trouble and distress. Wow. That is so true when you really think about it. If you don't have an intimate relationship with Him when your life is good and things are going along like normal, how can you expect a close relationship with Him when life is hard and unfair and unexpected things happen? How can you truly trust in Him and put your hope and faith in Him when you weren't even really doing that when things were good? These questions really made me think and ultimately led me to make a conscious decision to implement some changes to my daily life in order to make my time alone with the Lord the priority of my day. That part isn't going to be easy. The priority of my day right now is getting to the things on my to-do list... time with Garrison, groceries, laundry, cooking supper, etc. That's one of the reasons I'm not really counting the days. I'm praying that this does become the priority of my day and the changes I need to make become second nature too.

Going to bed earlier so I'm able to set my alarm for 15-20 minutes earlier
Waking up, getting ready (while praying), and having my quiet time
Reading the Bible everyday... and not letting anything replace it
Taking my to-do list before Lord (As Nancy says, "What's on your to-do list may not be on God's to-do list for you")
Becoming aware of His guidance and presence throughout my normal everyday tasks and responsibilities instead of just first thing in the morning or right before bed at night

Okay, one more (technically two) really special people led me to this decision and these changes... Garrison and Austin. It is SO important to me that Garrison and Austin see my relationship with Jesus. That they know He's real and that Terrell and I love Him and pray to Him and have a relationship with Him. We are responsible for raising, training, teaching, etc. our children what it looks like to be a Christian and know Jesus. We have to live this out for them. We can't just talk about it or expect them to see and learn everything at church. We have to be their primary example. It all starts with us, at home. They are going to continuously soak up and take in everything we say and do (we are well aware of this already since Garrison loves to repeat everything we say) and if our relationship with the Lord is distant or lacking, it's going to show through in our words and actions. As Nancy also pointed out, you eventually become like the people you spend time with. Therefore if you want to become like Jesus, you have to spend time with Him. If I continue to spend time with Him daily and make it a priority, it's going to shine through in the things I do, the things my children will see me do.

So there you have it. There are many reasons I'm participating in the challenge (she gave 8 purposes of a devotional life that were really good) but I think the most important reasons are to grow in my relationship with the Lord, and for my children. It's not going to be easy, especially on vacation and busy weekends and time away from home, but I am choosing for it to be a priority. Even if it's only for a few minutes or if it has to be later in the day instead of first thing in the morning, or if I can't journal every single time, etc. Pray for me as I continue with this challenge... and do it yourself. =)

Garrison's Thoughts on Austin & My Growing Belly

Garrison seems to have already formed a "bond" with his little brother, even though they haven't met yet. He has been really fascinated with my growing belly throughout the pregnancy and loves looking at it, touching it, and his favorite thing to do is get really close to my belly and talk to "Ausin". He has been so precious I just never want to forget his sweet, funny comments to me and his little brother.

The majority of the time he wants to talk to Austin or look at my belly is during his naptime or bedtime routine when we're sitting together on his bed reading books. He usually starts off sitting beside me or across from me while we read but always ends up sitting in my lap about halfway through. That's when he wants to lift my shirt up (the only way he thinks Austin can hear him) to include Austin in our reading of books or singing of songs. And he especially likes seeing and touching my belly.

Below are some of his comments as he leans really close to my bare belly, usually with his mouth touching me as he talks. (I just had to give you that mental picture because it's so precious and funny).

"That's big, mama" (Of course he's referring to my belly and it's so hilarious to hear him say as he touches me with this amused look on his face)

"Ausin make mama big. Garrsin belly not big" (As he compares my belly to his)

"Baby Ausin in mama belly" (This is probably one of the first things he started saying once he caught on that he was going to have a baby brother named Austin)

"Baby Ausin not cry?" (Whenever we are around a baby, he assumes they're going to cry. So this seems to be his way of telling me that Austin isn't like the other babies because he doesn't cry... and he says it like he wants an explanation. Oh goodness. I've tried explaining that Austin doesn't know how to cry yet but that he will most definitely cry once we bring him home.)

"Garrsin sit by Ausin" (Sweet, sweet words to my ears. He usually says this when he's ready to sit in my lap)

"I want baby Ausin listen" (referring to the book we're reading) "Baby Ausin, listen book." (telling his little brother what to do already)

"Hey Ausinnn." (He says this occasionally right after he lifts my shirt up to view my belly).

"Ausin hear us". (I've told him a few times that Austin can hear us when we talk to him and Garrison hasn't forgotten it. He says this to me when we're reading or singing songs. Sometimes he says it with a question in his voice like he needs confirmation from me, and sometimes he says it like he's reminding me in case I forgot. So adorable.)

"Night night Ausin. Time go seep Ausin." (This one melts me every time. He doesn't say it every night, but when he does I could just cry.)

I know Garrison is going to be in for a shock when we bring "Baby Ausin" home, but I hope and pray that he continues to care this much about his little brother as he already does. My parents, grandparents, and in-laws are always telling us how sweet Garrison is (and of course I think so, because he's mine and I'm slightly bias!) however, I also see him at his worst and know that he is very capable of being not so sweet. But, there is something about seeing my 2 year old love and care about his unborn baby brother that is so special and sweet. I mean 2 year olds are very self-centered little people. I know this for a fact. It amazes me that Garrison even acknowledges my growing belly and baby Austin, much less spends time talking to him and "touching" him. (Although he can definitely forget when he's playing and tries to jump into my arms or gets too rough or tries to sit in my lap but instead lands on my stomach.) I'm just so grateful for Garrison's curiosity, gentleness, and love towards Austin and this pregnancy. It makes my heart smile. And, I may even start believing he's almost as sweet as his grandparents say he is. =)

A picture of the sweet big brother I'm bragging on from earlier today at the pool.

Anniversary Weekend

Terrell and I were able to celebrate our 6th anniversary over the weekend by having a weekend away in Atlanta. We had a great time and we can't thank Granna, Papa, and AnAn enough for keeping both babies for us the entire weekend. Hopefully Bailey and Garrison weren't too big of a handful! From what I heard, everyone had a great time this weekend and I couldn't have been more happy with how things went for all of us. =)

As you know, I was a little apprehensive about leaving Garrison for a whole weekend at my parent's house. There was just something about him staying overnight somewhere else without us that made me nervous. Anyway, I drove him down to Barnesville on Friday afternoon after his nap and tried to talk to him about the weekend and how much fun he was going to have, etc. We had been telling him that mama and daddy were going on a date and that Garrison would get to stay at Granna and Papa's and spend the night with them. Well on the way down to Barnesville he told me a couple of times "mama daddy no go on date". Oh goodness. That really had me stressing at first. I didn't know if I'd be able to leave him if he was upset. But I just changed the subject or started telling him about all the fun stuff he'd be able to do at their house. Then of course once we got there he was fine. I got him settled in and unpacked a few of his things and tried to hang around for a little while before leaving. This is a picture of him before I left. He was a happy little man and had absolutely no trouble telling me bye. It made leaving him way easier. Friday night Terrell and I had planned a date night before waking up and leaving for Atlanta on Saturday. We enjoyed going out to eat and taking our time and talking SO much. We haven't been able to talk that much in a long time. It was funny because we actually talked a lot about Garrison and Austin. Friday night after we got home and finished packing for the next day, I started to miss Garrison... and even feel a little emotional/hormonal. I was trying my hardest not to call my mom, but Terrell told me to go ahead if I wanted to... and that was all it took before I started dialing! My mom said she was expecting my call. I'm that predictable. Garrison's night went great and I felt so much more at ease after talking to her and hearing what they did that night and how he'd been for bedtime. After that talk I knew he was okay, I was okay, and I'd be okay for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday morning we started our day with a tour of Turner Field. We are both really big Braves fans and I had heard about the tour from a friend of mine, so we decided to try it out. We really enjoyed it and these are the only pictures we took the entire weekend.

Sitting in the Coca-Cola seats at Sky Field

Before going in the Braves Clubhouse

The Clubhouse!

We weren't allowed to go in and view their lockers up close, so a security guard made this picture of Brian McCann's locker for us

and this one of Chipper Jones'

We also got to go in the dugout

and on the field... just not on the grass

Standing in the dugout

It was a really neat tour and we got to go places inside the stadium we never would have been able to otherwise. I loved going in the broadcast booth and press boxes and especially loved seeing a suite. I would love to watch a game from a suite. Ahhh... a girl can dream.

After the tour we left Turner field and had lunch at the Varsity. Yummy. Again we took our time and talked a lot.

Once we finished lunch we went over to Atlantic Station to shop around a little and see a movie. We knew when we planned this trip we would need something to do inside with air condition since I'd be 6 months pregnant... and a movie was perfect. We went to see Fast Five and we both really liked it. We wanted to see a movie we'd both enjoy and this was the safest pick. Hopefully we can fit in at least one more movie before Austin arrives.

After the movie we checked into our hotel, The Ritz Carlton. SO nice. We discovered a deal that included parking and breakfast with a one-night stay. I'm very thankful my extremely money conscious husband made our weekend so special with a super nice hotel. However, it can be awkward to be waited on constantly if you're not used to it. More than once Terrell said he thought he was more of a Holiday Inn Express kind of guy. =) We had dinner at the Buckhead Diner and then went to Bruster's for ice cream. Saturday turned out perfect. And, we got to talk to our little man. He was so busy he didn't even really want to talk. It was sort of reassuring that he didn't miss us. I would have felt horrible if he was homesick.

Sunday morning we enjoyed our breakfast at the Atlanta Grill (the hotel restaurant) before checking out and going down to McDonough to shop and spend some of our giftcards. Shopping without Garrison is definitely easier than with him. We enjoyed our time together away and even "reflected" on our 6 years of married life. Who knew when we got married that 6 years later we'd be living in Covington with a 2 year old little boy and another one on the way? God has blessed us so much!

When we got to my parent's house about mid-afternoon yesterday, Garrison was napping. It gave us a chance to hear all about his fun-filled weekend. He got to have El Durango, go to the Georgia Aquarium, eat at Chick-Fil-A, raid Papa's Little Debbie truck, play outside, go to church, and most importantly, spend every waking moment with Papa, Granna, and AnAn. He had so much fun. Anna sent me pictures of him at the Aquarium and on the Little Debbie truck. I loved seeing what he was doing throughout the weekend. When Granna woke him up from his nap he wasn't even excited to see us. I didn't take it personal... although running into my arms would've been nice. Maybe next time. Once he was awake good he seemed happy to see us and thankful he got to go home with us. The weekend went great for everyone... now we have to decide if everyone will be up for it this time next year when 2 little boys plus a hyper mini schnauzer come with the deal. =)

Thanks again to everyone who made our weekend away possible! And Happy Anniversary to my very best friend, I love you!!!

Weekend Plans

Tomorrow starts a big weekend for us... and for some reason I feel the need to go ahead and write about it. Most probably won't view it as that big of a deal, but to me this weekend is a very big deal and I feel like by writing about it I'm sort of preparing myself for it and allowing myself to look forward to it rather than be nervous about it. (Once my babies are older, I'll probably look back at this and laugh and wish I could tell myself to chill and relax.)

Terrell and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary this weekend (the 4th to be exact) and we decided a while back to use this as an opportunity to spend the weekend together without the little man. Considering we're adding another little man to the family this fall we figured we probably won't have another opportunity like this one for quite some time. Plus, since we've been married we've really tried to get away each year for our anniversary. So far we've been able to almost every year. Anyway, we're not going far but we have made plans for Friday night, just about all day Saturday, and Sunday is still up in the air but the day we're heading home. I'm definitely looking forward to some time away and doing something different and focusing more on myself and my husband rather than "mama and daddy". We're actually planning to see a movie together... something we realized we haven't done since last July. How crazy is that? That simple fact makes me feel like we should get out more. It should be fun and relaxing, and a great way to celebrate and spend time together.

Okay, here comes the big deal part. In order for us to go away overnight and have an entire weekend to ourselves, we had to make speical arrangements for Garrison. This is not something I'm extra accustomed to. If we lived in Barnesville 5 minutes from our parents, I'm guessing this wouldn't be such a big deal and Garrison would have already spent the night with them by now. But... since we live an hour away and don't really have a reason to be away from him overnight, he's never spent the night with his grandparents (without us). This weekend will be a first for him. We've been away from him overnight before (last July when I went to Texas and in 2009 when we went away for a night for our anniversary... my parents or sister or mother-in-law just always spent the night at our house). Even though we've been away from him for a couple of days before, it doesn't happen that often so it always brings a little anxiety with it.

I'm not sure why I'm struggling with this or fretting over it. I want to blame it on my personality and the fact that I'm not super laid back like Terrell and at times I have trouble letting go, accepting help, turning over the reins, etc. But I definitely don't want to be that over-protective, over-bearing parent as Garrison grows up. Please do not let that be me. I know he will be well taken care of and have lots of fun and probably not want to leave Granna and Papa's. I know he'll be okay without me for a weekend. It's crazy because I know these things in my heart, but for some reason I still allow myself to feel that twinge of anxiety and then dwell on it. I think a big part of it is because they will be keeping him at their house, not ours. Unfortunately our house no longer has a guest room and it just wouldn't be comfortable for them to attempt to spend the weekend at our house. Plus, I know he's old enough and ready to spend the night away from home, the thought of it just makes me nervous. What if we forget to pack something? What if he gets really homesick? What if he's confused about being at Granna and Papa's without us there like he's used to? Oh my. I'm starting to think I'm being ridiculous about all this (something that Terrell has felt from the beginning. ha!) Whatever the reason, I know I'll be sad and probaby still sort of nervous when I leave him tomorrow afternoon. BUT, I'll also be at peace about him staying with Granna and Papa and excited about my anniversary weekend with my hubby. At some point in the future I know we're going to need more time away or at least alone without the kiddos, and Garrison will probably start requesting to spend the night with his grandparents. This weekend will be a good first step for us.... but say a prayer for me anyway please. =)

24 Weeks

Saturday was the 24 week mark for us but I wanted to wait until my doctor's appointment yesterday before updating. Garrison went with me and it was quite an experience. It was supposed to be a simple, quick appointment but unfortunately they were extremely short-staffed (I'm guessing due to Memorial Day and people being off) so we had some long waits... in the waiting room and the examining room. The little man became really restless and I wasn't sure if we would make it through the appointment or not. Thankfully he did great while the midwife was in the room with me. He just didn't handle all the waiting so well. Anyway, here's my 24 week update:

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of Baby: 12-13 inches and about 1 and 1/3 lbs... still about the size of a papaya

Total Weight Gained/Loss: I've gained 17 lbs total. Whoa. It seems like so much, but I think I'm pretty much on pace to gain about the same amount of weight this pregnancy as I did with Garrison... which I think I'm okay with. The midwife was very reassuring and even glad I'd gained 17... me, not so much.

Maternity Clothes: I think everything but my comfy clothes are maternity now.

Gender: It's a boy!

Movement: He is still really active, especially in the evenings and before bed.

Food Cravings: Ice cream, popsicles, anything cold, and chocolate chip cookies are pretty high on the list too (looking at this list it's easy to see how I've gained 17 lbs!)

What I Miss: Not a whole lot, just being able to do things with Garrison without putting a strain on my back or feeling out of breath.

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good, although the strange dreams are back and keeping me from enjoying a deep, uninterrupted sleep.

Symptons: Twinges in my back, easily tired, slower moving (haha!)

Best Moment This Week: Terrell finally felt Austin kick a few times!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Our weekend away to celebrate our anniversary and enjoy time together (just the 2 of us, plus Austin) before we get ready to become a family of 4 =)