Misc Hodgepodge

We've experienced the circle of life this past week. Saturday A's cousin/J's Godfather got engaged to a fabulous girl in Paris! A friend of mines Grandfather died last Wednesday. A friend's healthy baby girl was born on Thursday. Another friends healthy baby girl was born on Friday. Last night we lost a wonderful family friend to stage 4 lung cancer. My heart is full of happiness and sadness this week. Please keep all of these families in your prayers.


What have we been up to? A's parents were in town Sat-Tues and then Baby J's Godmother and one of my best friends was in town this past weekend. We had a great time with everyone!

Baby J decided to not honor daylight savings time in the morning. My perfect 7pm-7am sleeper decided to wake up at 5am, 5:45am, etc the past few weeks. The past two days we are finally back to 7am, but I am no early bird and those mornings were killing me. His top two teeth are almost in so I'm sure that had something to do with it to.

What else is he up to? He is the cutest thing in the entire world, but he is the reason for my lack of blogging. He's 10 months old today and he is into EVEYRTHING! He is crawling, cruising and standing on his own for about 15-30 seconds. I feel like those first steps are coming soon. He has a great personality and smiles so much. He loves to go for long strolls and he is OBSCESSED with Daisy. The two of them together melts my heart. He'll be ONE in two months !

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. We are staying in the city and A's sister is coming to stay with us. We are going to watch the balloons be inflated in Central Park and go to the parade on Thursday! So fun! Are you doing anything interesting? What's on your menu? We need to start planning ours. Anyone have a great dressing or cranberry sauce recipe? I want to mix it up this year.

My sister is graduating from Alabama on December 12th so Baby J and I will spend 1/2 the month in Alabama going between the Gulf Coast and Birmingham. I can't wait to visit with friends and family! We will be in the car a lot though! Any tips for THREE long car rides with a 11 month old and 2 plane rides? We have got to move closer, this travel is killing me.

For those of you that have kids, what are your favorite 12-18 month toys? I need to make a list for the Grandparents for Christmas and Birthday! Can't wait to hear your suggestions!
We're thinking about getting this or this?

It's time to start planning Baby J's first bday! Any suggestions on themes? We'll probably just do it at our apartment since it cost like $1000 to rent anywhere in the city and it will be too cold in January to have it in the park! Yikes!

I've been busy with Junior League. Email me if you live in the city and want to get involved! We have a great holiday shopping thing coming up soon. Check out the website for details or email me.

I got another check from ebates this week! Y'all they have sent me $430.00 this year!!! How awesome is that! If you have not signed up, you are crazy. Click here and get started. (You get $5.00 and I get $5.00) If you have any questions, let me know. Basically if you can remember to go there and then search for whatever store you are about to make an online purchase from, you will get cash back. The big fat checks get paid every few months. I use it the most for diapers.com and ebay. It's just one extra step, that pays! Do it for all of your Christmas shopping and you can treat yourself to something!

That's it for now. I need to take a shower before the little one wakes up. We have music class today! I love Little Maestros!

A Special Trip

Tomorrow morning, we are packing up and heading to Memphis until Tuesday. This will be J's sixth state to visit in his 9 months of life (NY, GA, AL, FL, NJ.) We are going to Memphis so that J can meet his only living great grandparent, A's grandmother, "GaGa." (You might remember that my Grandmother passed away two weeks before Baby J was born.) GaGa has dementia so she probably will not understand our visit, but I know how much the trip means to A's Mom and A. I pray that she will have a few moments of understanding this wonderful event. We will be staying with A's Uncle and Aunt. I'm hoping to eat lots of good BBQ and maybe do a little Southern shopping. Any Memphis readers out there have suggestions for baby stores and stores for me?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll be back on Wednesday. BTW, I'm typing this on my NEW laptop! Lots more posts to come.

In Memory of 9/11

In memory of all the people that lost their lives today and all the soldiers that have lost their lives fighting to keep us safe. Keep their friends and familes in your prayers today.

Pray, Pray, Pray

Please say a prayer tonight for Katie. She is 16 years old and goes to the high school where I graduated from. I don't know her personally, but being from a small town, I know a lot of people who do. Katie has a severe lung infection and has been on ECMO and dialysis while the doctors try to stop the infection. Please keep her in your prayers tonight.

Here is her Caring Bridge website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katiehamlin/mystory

What's Going On

We had a WONDERFUL Father's Day weekend. Baby J bought his Daddy a new ipod holder for when he is walking Daisy, a DVD, and some Vineyard Vines Chappy trucks (currently on their whale of a sale) for our upcoming beach trip. We had brunch at a friend's house. They have 2 month old twin girls, so both Daddy's were celebrating their first Father's Day and we figured this was most easily done in the comfort of our own homes instead of at a restaurant with 3 babies. After a yummy brunch, we ALL took afternoon naps. When we woke up the sun was shining and we RAN outside. The sun has been a rarity in NYC for this past month. I think it has rained like 18/21 days. We stopped by Crumbs Bakery and got A a Father's Day red velvet cupcake (key lime for me). We took Baby J to Central Park and he went on the swings for the first time. He LOVED it!

BTW, as you can see in the pictures above we went with the rainforest jumperoo. GREAT CHOICE! I LOVE THAT THING! Baby J goes CRAZY in it and he is SO happy to bounce around. It is worth every single penny. If you have a baby or are expecting, you HAVE to buy this thing. It is worth its weight in gold! My child will literally be having a temper tantrum and I put him in this and he starts laughing. It's magical.

My heart is so heavy today. One of my sister's best friends was killed in a car accident on Monday morning. She was 22 years old and was to spend the 4th of July with my family at our beach house. Please say a prayer for her family and her younger sisters and friends. Please say a prayer for my sister. She has dealt with more hardship than anyone her age should have to. Her new boyfriend also just broke up with her via email. What an idiot. It breaks my heart that I'm not there hugging her tonight. I know God has his plans, but at times like this it is so hard to understand them. The wake is this evening and the funeral services are tomorrow.

The good news is that I do get to give her a hug on Friday!! A, J and & I leave for Bham tomorrow night. A in his his best friend's wedding this weekend so we have the rehearsal dinner on Friday night and the wedding on Saturday night. Baby J is being baptized on Sunday at A's parent's church. My entire family is also coming in town. We have a Sip & See at A's parent's house on Monday for my MIL's friends and my friends that have not met Baby J yet. We'll drive to my parent's house in South AL on Tuesday (which is also our 2 year anniversary). On Wednesday we are heading to my parent's beach house to spend 4th of July week. A heads home on Monday and I stay until Thursday! Whew, I'm tired just typing that all out! I am so excited and currently trying to figure out how to pack for a 5 month old and myself. Hmmm. We have so many necessary outfits!

I will probably be absent from my blog during the next two weeks so I can enjoy every minute with my family and friends. I may stop in here and there...I might actually have time to catch up on all of your blogs because there are going to be lots of hands wanting to hold my little munchkin. I'm praying that he does well. He's on such a good schedule right now (1 morning nap, 1 afternoon nap and sleeps 8:30/9:00pm-8:00/8:30am). I know this trip is going to throw him for a loop and he is not used to being around so many people. I'm sure he'll do fine.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Stay cool!

Thanks for Your Prayers

Just a quick update for those of you who have kept my friends in your prayers. Sweet Baby Scarlett just celebrated her 1st birthday. She is now crawling, pulling up and taking steps. While she still has ACC and infantile seizures...all other major syndromes have been ruled out by a genetics doctor.

My friend's sister was released from the hospital this past weekend and is on the road to recovery! The doctors blame a recent surgery for the bleeding. We're just glad she is doing better and expected to make a full recovery.

God is good! Thank you for keeping them in your prayers.

Please Pray

One of my best friend's sisters needs your prayers right now. She was rushed to the emergency room late Saturday evening with internal bleeding. They moved her from the ICU to another room today, but she still could use all of your prayers today as the doctors scramble to find out what is wrong with her and figure out how to stop the bleeding. She got married a few months ago and was supposed to leave for her belated honeymoon on Wednesday. Please say a prayer for her today. Pray that the doctors can figure out what is going on . Pray that the bleeding stops. Pray that she is not in pain and discomfort. Pray that her family and friends have continued strength to help her through whatever lies ahead.

Thanks friends! I'll keep you posted.

Rainy Day

My Grandmother's memorial service just concluded moments ago in Palm Springs. I just got off the phone with my Mom and she said it was a beautiful service. A, Baby J and I obviously are not there. We decided it was just going to be too much and it was more important for my Mom to have us come down to the beach house next week. My Mom is surrounded by her five brothers and countless friends of my Grandma's. I wish I could be there to give my Mom a hug. I know this is going to be a tough day for her. Please keep my family in your prayers today.

I have another heartfelt prayer request. One of my very best friends recently found out her 11 month baby girl, Scarlett, has "Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum," meaning, during the 2nd trimester, her corpus callosum never developed. Your corpus callosum is the tissue between the right and left side of your brain, so it is what sends all those synapses/messages back and forth. Scarlett's right and left side can't communicate, which means she may have coordination, perceptual, and/or visual problems. This is extremely rare, and its effects range greatly. Therapy is the best remedy to exercise the brain and rewire itself. They also found out that Scarlett is having infantile seizures. They are currently trying to rule out Aicardi Syndrome. My friend A and her husband M have a deep faith in God. I'm so proud of how well both of them are handling this, but they need your prayers. Please stop where you are today and say a prayer for sweet Scarlett. She needs as many prayers as she can get and I know from past experience that I can always count on you girls to pray for my friends and family! I am so lucky. A&M have a long road ahead of them during the upcoming weeks and months and they also need your prayers. Thank you!!!

ONE LONG POST!

***My sweet first baby had to go to the vet yesterday. She continued to freeze when it was time to go up the stairs to our apartment. Luckily we live in an elevator building so it is not necessary that she climb the stairs, we just normally do it (when we don't have the stroller) for exercise. Anyways, her dog walker said she started crying when she was rolling around with her best friend Chloe. I called the vet and they asked me to bring her in. I bundled up Baby J, put a leash on Daisy and headed out with the Bugaboo and walked everyone to the vet. We were quite the sight! The vet examined Daisy (she nipped at the tech when he put her on the table---she has NEVER done that before so I know she must have REALLY been in pain) and had me walk her a little outside. He says that he is pretty sure it is just a pulled muscle. She was given a shot and is on partial bed rest. =) She can only go outside to do her business and no dog walker for one week! Poor baby! I also had the vet check Daisy's ears as she had been rubbing them the past few days. She had not one, but TWO ear infections. He said dogs with floppy ears like hers often get infections. So, one exam, one shot, two bottles of drops, and $170.00 later...we now know what is wrong with our sweet girl. I'm so glad I took her in and had her checked. Baby J was an angel and slept the whole time! ***

***I am so excited! I am going home for Easter...for a WEEK! A, Baby J and I are leaving on Good Friday and heading to my parent's beach house on the Florida Panhandle. My Dad will FINALLY get to meet his Grandbaby. My younger brother and sister are coming too. It will be the first time all of us have been together since Christmas and the first time ever to all be with our new addition. A is flying back to NYC on Monday, but I'm staying until Friday. Yep, that means that on the way home I'm on my own with Baby J! Should be interesting. I can do it though. Right? Any tips?***

***They were filming a new romantic comedy with Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker outside my apartment on Wednesday night! They did a scene in our little pizza place on the corner. The movie is called "Did You Hear About the Morgans" and is set to release on Dec 18th. The only "star" I saw was Elisabeth Moss. No Hugh or SJP. So sad. I did get a few cool pics though. I'll post soon.***

I received a sample of the Buxom Dolly lip gloss from Sephora with my last order and I LOVE it! It has that little tingle and the color is great!

***Today, I went to a Babybites New Mom luncheon. They had a mini photoshoot with a professional photographer for us, complete with a makeup touch up. I'll post some pics when we get the code. I had SO much fun meeting other Upper East Side Moms. I was also invited to take part in a Mommy Discussion Group at a local hospital. It is for Moms of babies born in Jan and Feb. It last for 5 weeks so hopefully I will get to make even more new friends. I'm so excited and I'm so proud of myself for trying all this new stuff! Gotta go out there and make some friends for Baby J and I to hang out with. ***

**Update on prayer requests**

*Please add my sister to your list. She is having some medical problems and will need more testing done.

*Wilson has his first round of chemo tomorrow. They think think they will have to do chemo for 9 weeks. Yesterday, they took him to get his hair shaved since it would be falling out. His AWESOME Mom decided instead of a buzz cut that this cool kid deserved a mohawk! His mom is also a photographer so she is documenting his journey. She requested some hats for him to wear and I would love to send him one. Anyone have any good ideas for a 5 year old boy? (I've never met him, but he is my husband's best friend's nephew and I really want to do something for him.)

* My classmates funeral was today. Please keep her family in your prayers.

*S leaves for Germany tomorrow! Please keep her in your prayers for a good flight and while I know she will have a heavy heart leaving family and friends, I hope she remembers all the excitement that is to come.

PRAISES!!

*My Dad passed a follow up stress test!! He is on the road to recovery!

*Baby J had a WONDERFUL day today. Thanks for all of the suggestions about everything. If things don't improve I'm thinking about cutting dairy out of my diet (I'm breastfeeding so I can't switch formulas as some of you suggested.) I asked my pediatrician about it and he said he didn't think I needed to do that at this point, but I am certainly willing to try if that might be what is causing some of his problems. I'm thinking about doing an infant massage class. Has anyone done one of those?

***Have you entered my giveaway yet? You have until April 1st! Click here to do so and win a 8 X 8 of this beautiful photograph!***

Prayer Requests!

Please pray for my Aunt R. She was diagnosed with breast cancer right before Baby J was born and she has 3 young girls. They caught it early, but I know the past few months of treatment have been so hard on her.

Please pray for my husband and I's friend's nephew. He is 5 years old and started treatment today for Hodgins lymphoma. His name is Wilson.

Please pray for the family of one of my classmates from high school. Julia passed away on Saturday evening. There were only 34 in my graduating class so although we were not close friends, we really were all one big family.

Please pray for Daisy. This evening she refused to walk up the stairs back to our apartment. A had to carry her up, something is wrong with her legs. She is eating and walking fine, but she must have pulled a muscle or something. I'm going to take her to the vet tomorrow if she is still showing signs that she is in pain.

Please pray for my friend Sarah. She got married a few weeks ago and is moving to Germany on Friday. I know she is excited and scared as she begins this amazing journey.

Please pray for one of my best friends. She is having a really bad day. I can't go into detail because it is personal, but she really needs lots of prayers today.

Please pray for my Dad as he continues to recover from his stent procedure.

Please pray for Baby J. He continues to have reflux issues and he is so fussy. He had a great few days after we switched his meds and now he is having issues again. I just wish I could make him feel better. Today he had green poop and I called the pediatrician! I was so worried---apparently the doc says green is okay. It sure doesn't look okay.

Please pray for my friends C, K and I. They are all due with babies in the next two months!

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!!!

Doctor's Orders

I had a surprising appointment yesterday afternoon. Some good news and some not so good news. The good news is that baby J's heartbeat sounds great and he seems to be doing well. Dr. A said based on my measurements that perhaps he won't be a 12-lber after all and she guesses that he just had an early growth spurt that has evened out. She estimates he is around 7.5lbs right now. (But, still growing of course!)

The bad news is that my blood pressure is too high and I've been put on partial bed rest. I was only half kidding with my coworkers yesterday afternoon about not coming back today. I was not expecting Dr. A to actually tell me that I had just concluded my last day of work. She said I can take one outing a day, but the majority of my time needs to be spent on the sofa. I'm 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced and she said my cervix was very soft (how delightful!) She said the good news is that since I'm 36 weeks, if she needs an exit strategy due to preeclampsia (they are currently running my blood work to rule that out--so please say a prayer I don't have that!) that she can induce me as early as next week if she feels it is necessary. She said I certainly will not be pregnant for another month (thank you God!) I have to go back to get my blood pressure checked again on Friday, so please keep your fingers crossed. Otherwise, I'll just be seeing her every Wednesday at 5:30pm until baby J arrives!

Good thing I have lots of thank you notes to write and books to read! This could be a long couple of weeks of waiting for my precious little boy to arrive so you'll be hearing a lot from me!!

Getting Back to "Normal"

I want to start by thanking each of you that took the time to leave me a comment with your condolences and prayers after the death of my Grandmother. Grandma was an absolute amazing woman and I already miss her dearly. I think I cried after reading each and every comment and I really appreciate the support from my sweet readers. I truly believe God has a plan and although I may not understand his plan and his timing, I know it is perfect. At this point, it looks like baby J and I will get to attend my Grandmother's funeral and he will get to meet his 5 great uncles and aunts and some of his 2nd cousins. The service is set for the first week of April in Palm Springs, CA. While it is strange to not have a service right now, it is what worked for my Mom's large family and I know it is going to be a perfect service. Grandma planned it all out--down to the each song and prayer, so how could it not be perfect? She did a lot of other planning as well. She set aside money for her Priest and her good friend Sister Eileen to each go on special surprise trips. They don't even know this yet, but Father will be sent to Assisi and Sister will be sent to Ireland complements of my Grandmother. She also requested her home in Palm Springs not be sold for two years (good thing with the market), but she wants her family to be able to gather there for a few more vacations if they chose. She truly left no stone unturned. I am so lucky to have had her in my life.

In other news....as of yesterday, I am 9 months pregnant!!! I feel like a whale about 1/2 the time and I'm amazed at my body the other 1/2. Who knew it could do this? I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty uncomfortable. I'm VERY ready for baby J to make his big entrance. I start my weekly appointments on Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to our appointment this week, maybe the doc will have an update for me!

The nursery is almost done, I'm waiting on some boxes my Mom is shipping and I promise I will post pictures. I'm trying to get all of my last minute errands done and checking things off my list left and right. I feel like I'm getting close. A and I went to a nice dinner here on Friday night. It was a fabulous date with my wonderful husband after a long week! The chocolate souffle we shared was to die for! We picked out baby announcements from The Paper Cafe. I'll share soon. We put together the baby swing this weekend. A's had two failed attempts at installing the chandelier, but insists "he can do it." I'm just going to let that one slide for now. We are ordering our Bugaboo tonight. (It only takes a couple days to get here so we held out until the last minute.) Our rug came in and looks really cute! I haven't packed my bags yet because I feel like that might jinx me and I'll have to be pregnant longer. But, I'm going to start laying out the things I'm going to pack. Any suggestions of things I should not forget?

On Saturday, a few of my NYC friends hosted a baby shower for me. It was absolutely perfect and I had a blast visiting with the girls! I broke down on Friday night and went to Destination Maternity for a new dress. I promised myself since I would probably only wear it once, I would buy something cheap...but something that actually fit and flattered my large bump. I lucked out and found this brown dress from Motherhood. I wore some brown maternity tights (yuck) and then dressed it up with my gold Tory Burch flats and some gold pearls. Solid colors really do look best at 9 months. =) Baby J and I were spoiled with generous gifts. I will post some pictures as soon as my friend sends them to me. We had great food including red velvet cupcakes and yummy spinach/artichoke dip. It was a really fun day. Tomorrow, at lunch, my coworkers are having a small shower for me as well. I am overwhelmed with the love and support of all my new NYC friends. I can't wait to share baby J with them.

I hope each of you is doing well and had a great weekend.

Happy New Year!

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for my grandmother. Please keep them coming! She had a really tough day on Wednesday, followed by a much better day yesterday. She is awake, but still in ICU. My Aunt works at the hospital in Honolulu where she is staying and my Uncle is a doctor nearby so they upgraded Grandma to the Presidential suite in the ICU and the nurses and docs can't do enough for her. Her 86th birthday was yesterday and my Mom was able to speak with her and said she was in good spirits. Her road to recovery is going to be a very long one and it will probably be awhile before she is able to go back home to Palm Springs, but I'm so thankful that she is doing better. Of course, she is not out of the woods yet. She just underwent major surgery that would be a lot on anyone, and much more on a 86 year old. I know that baby J and I will be making a trip to see her just as soon as he is allowed to travel. It is so important to me for him to meet this amazing woman, his Great Grandmother.

A & I had a great low key New Years Eve. We went to our friends N & I's for dinner. "I" is pregnant with twin girls (due in April) so we sipped on sparkling grape juice and departed before midnight since both of us just wanted to get in our pjs! "I" made a wonderful pregnancy friendly version of baked brie (she used another pasteurized white cheese with apples and cinnamon--so yummy!) Yesterday, we took down our very dead Christmas tree and cleaned the apartment. My nesting instinct is in full force and I just can't organize and clean enough. I still have a long ways to go, but things are coming together.

I'm at work today and it is nice and SLOW. Oh well, not too much longer! =) Tonight we are heading to another friend's apartment to watch the Sugar Bowl. Alabama is playing Utah and she is making shrimp gumbo! See we can be Southern even in the North.

We'll probably take it easy for the rest of the weekend. I get worn out so quickly. I think I also need to buy one or two more maternity pieces. I'm only down to a 2 pairs of pants that "kinda" fit my big bump. I am huge!!!!!!!!!! I am also in dire need of a new bra. My friends in NYC told me to try the Upper Breast Side (great name huh?) to get properly fitted for my first nursing bra--how exciting! I bet those are pretty. Any tips in this department?

I hope each of you had a wonderful New Years! Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2009!

Prayer Request

I found out after my 34 week check up yesterday (which went great--baby J and I are both on track and I'm dilated .5-1 cm) that my grandmother is in the hospital in Hawaii. My Mom has 5 brothers and one of them lives there and she was visiting his family for the Christmas holidays. My uncle is a doctor and my aunt is a nurse so she could not be with a more appropriate son right now. She had emergency surgery on her twisted esophagus late Monday night. She is in ICU now sedated and expected to stay in the hospital for at least a week or so. Grandma's 86th birthday is tomorrow and I pray that she can pull through this. Baby J is her 1st great grandson (I'm the oldest of 12 grandchildren.) He is named after her late husband, my grandfather. Please keep her in your prayers the next few days.

Preppy Preggo Club Updates

Please keep Preppy Preggo Club member LSU Melanie in your prayers today as she delivers a baby girl or baby boy wiggles. Congrats Melanie!

Please welcome A from Pink Cashmere Cardigan to the club! She is due in early July and waiting to get her exact due date after her 2nd ultrasound.

My friend C and my friend K both have recently found out they are expecting BOYS! Baby J is so excited about his guy friends.

My friend S is expecting in July!!

Are you expecting and want to be added to the growing list? Just email me at magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan at gmail dot com.

Catching Y'all Up

Whew! I have not stopped all week! I'm off today (have to work on Sunday) and I'm in the midst of my 5th load of laundry while watching the Baby Story on DVR (I cry every time a baby is born). We are heading to dinner tonight at a French restaurant with my Aunt and Uncle from Newport Beach. Tomorrow we are watching the LSU/Bama game at Brother Jimmys with a group of friends. ROLL TIDE!



I'm 26 weeks now (and 5 days) and Baby U is the length of an English cucumber. The nerves in his ears are developing and he can hear A and I talk! I better watch my language-ha, ha! He's practicing breathing movements and packing on the baby fat. He weighs around a pound and two-thirds and measures around 14 inches. I don't think he liked the take off and landing of the planes, but I know he enjoyed some of the good Southern food I ate! I'm starting to get a little more uncomfortable as I near my 3rd trimester. I have had a lot of back pain and the heartburn has kicked in full force! My few nights in the South without my Snoogle were not very comfy. Gosh, I love that pillow!

A and I had a WONDERFUL trip back to Alabama. I spent Wednesday and Thursday in South Alabama and then headed to Birmingham on Friday afternoon. I got to see my friend A at Mary Ann's and enjoy my favorite French Dip sandwich (with a side of ranch). I finally met my friend A's baby girl, Scarlett, and if it was even possible, she is cuter in person. I checked out a few baby stores in Fairhope with my Mom and she treated me to my favorite, a Fairhope float from Mr. Gene's Beans. It was great to see my parents, although bitter sweet as well because we were all dealing with the loss of our sweet chocolate lab Scarlet. My younger brother arrived on Thursday evening in route to his 6th Widespread Panic show (in two months) in New Orleans. It was great to catch up and see him.

Mom and I headed north on 65 (with a quick stop at Bates House of Turkey) to Birmingham on Friday. We had a great time catching up with A's parents and we went to one of my favorite restaurants in the ham, Bottega, for dinner with my old boss and his wife (the man that introduced A and I and was our 70 year old ring bearer). The S boys came by to Trick or Treat and I finally got to meet baby Sam and see Charlie in his fancy fireman's outfit.

Saturday morning was my 1st baby shower at a cute local Bham restaurant! It was absolutely perfect and I was overwhelmed having so many of my Southern friends that I had not seen in so long in one room. I wish it could have lasted all day so I would have had more time with each of them. One of my favorite parts of the shower was that 6 of my friends in attendance are also expecting. We even took a picture together! My younger sister said we made her feel quite skinny. =)

Baby U and I were completely spoiled by my sweet friends. The hostesses gave us his infant car seat and a swing. My Mom gave us his bouncy seat and a monogrammed outfit and diaper cover. A's Mom gave us a baby spoon (in my silver pattern), some hand sewn outfits and even some of A's old baby clothes! My sister gave us a Baby Bjorn and a Bama pacifier. My grandmother gave us a whole collection of baby books that I can't wait to read to him. He also received a ton of precious blue outfits, a boppy pillow, books, a bath towel and supplies, blankets and more! A and I are so grateful for all of the gifts to help get us started with our 1st baby!

I gave my 14 fabulous hostesses monogrammed soaps from The Palm Gifts as their hostess gifts. I think they really liked them.




After the shower, my sister and I headed to Tuscaloosa to meet up with A and watch the Crimson Tide play Arkansas State. We won 35 to 0 and it was a blast actually being in the stands! Did you notice we are number 1 in the nation right now? It may not last for long since we have a few very tough games left (including LSU tomorrow), but we are enjoying it this week! RTR!

Here are a few pictures from the game:

(to be posted tonight)

A few of our friends mentioned grabbing a quick bite to eat on Saturday night and without any planning a group of 4 turned somehow into 14 of our nearest and dearest! I definitely miss our friends and family the most in NYC. It was great for A to get to see a lot of his buddies and I continued the visiting with my friends at Cocina Superior. I was even able to get some yummy cheese dip (remember it does not exist in NYC)!

Sunday we did not leave until late afternoon so we continued our eat-fest at our favorite locations by meeting a group of my friends at Jim and Nicks. BBQ tastes MUCH better in the South! Sunday afternoon we also caught up with a few more of our friends and their kids. E and A came by and brought their precious little girl, Mary Cate. MC was the star of the show and impressed A and I by singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and her ABCs in an impressive medley format. We stopped by A and M's new house to visit baby Elisabeth and pick up a puffy maternity coat! Elisabeth is beyond cute and the A's new place is fabulous step up from our apartment (that they used to live in it before us).

Our trip was a whirlwind and we missed seeing a few people that we really wanted to see, but overall we fit quite a bit into a short period of time! We can't wait to be back in the South for Thanksgiving and hopefully Christmas too.

On a side note, thank you all for your prayers for Bonnie. Sadly, her twin babies are now in heaven. She delivered them on Halloween morning. Please keep her family in your prayers as they deal with the loss of their first two children. I trust and know God has an amazing plan for them.

In Loving Memory

Scarlet
November 6, 1998-October 28, 2008

Our family chocolate lab, Scarlet, that we got my senior year of high school had to be put to sleep yesterday afternoon. She had a stroke about a month ago and her health was deteriorating to the point that she could not walk yesterday and fell down some steps. It was a really tough night last night to hear the news about Scarlet and know that I just missed seeing her by less than 24 hours. I'm home now at my parent's house and there is a definite void. My parent's hearts are breaking because they miss their sweet girl who has been with them for the past 11 years. I keep looking for that big old chocolate lab that liked to lay down while she ate her food. I miss hearing her snore while I watch tv. My parent's have Daisy's older sister Lily and she is so sad looking for her "mama bear." I truly believe your pets are part of your family.

Here is a picture of Scarlet on our boat. She loved to sit in the front and catch the rays.

Here is a picture of when I brought Daisy home when she was a puppy to introduce her to the gang. The other golden is Lily (Daisy's older sis) and Scarlet is the chocolate lab.


We'll miss you girl! I know we'll see you in heaven! Say hello to our other puppies up there and all of our loved ones.

Thank you everyone who prayed for Bonnie yesterday. She is still having contractions, but they have been able to hold off full blown labor. I'm not sure how this works, but I guess they will try to keep her from having the babies as long as possible. She is currently 23 weeks and pregnant with twins (a boy and a girl.) Please continue to keep her in your prayers. Please also keep in your prayers Susanne. I do not know her, but she is 30 weeks pregnant and found out today her baby girl has a genetic disorder called trisomy 13. Only 20% of babies with this disorder survive after they are born. In addition, my old co-worker Mary had breast cancer surgery today. Thanks for all of your prayers!!

Prayers Needed

Friends, please pray for Bonnie today. She is the girl I mentioned last week that is pregnant with twins and started having contractions. She has been on bedrest this past week and made it 23 weeks yesterday. Her water broke this morning, but she is not in labor. Please say a prayer for her family and her babies.

Prayer Request

A girl from my husband's class in high school has gone into premature labor today. She is only 22 weeks and is pregnant with twins. Please keep the babies in your prayers today.