Madi's prom

My little sister, Madison, and her boyfriend, Billy, went to prom last night. Mike and I ventured home yesterday afternoon to spend the day with her, see her off to prom, and then celebrate hubby's birthday with my side of the family. Yep, it's hubby's birthday today :) Madison was beautiful yesterday. Well, she's beautiful always, but wait til you see the pictures. I might be biased, but she is the cutest of them all! Here are some of the pictures I captured of my baby sister and Billy last night:

 a close of up Madison's pretty flowers

 Madi and Billy with Billy's parents, Congo and Anelle

 Mom and dad with Madison and Billy

 The girls

 My family. I gave up on trying to find a picture where we all had our eyes open and were all looking at the camera. If you knew our family history with taking pictures, then you would know this is entirely too typical!

 Riley and Madi

 Poor Brit, she was cut out of all of the family pictures. In a couple you can see her arm on the left. Sorry Brit!

Wasn't she just b-e-a-utiful?!

28 weeks

Mike and I are now 28 weeks into the pregnancy. We have officially started the last trimester and Addison will be here before we know it! I can't believe that we are already on the "final leg" of this journey. I feel like it's gone so quickly, but I have also heard that the last trimester is the one that seems to creep by. Either way, I still can't believe there are only 12 weeks left until we meet our daughter. 

Addison is now the size of a chinese cabbage. I had no idea how big that was, so I googled it and here is what I found:

Compared to a quarter she is pretty big! She should be weighing about 2 1/2, almost 3 pounds by now and is measuring 15 inches long. She can now open and close her eyes, which are sporting eyelashes by now and her eyes have some pigment in them. They might not be the color that she will have for the rest of her life, but they are at least starting to develop some kind of color. She is also continuing to accumulate fat. 

I have been looking at some of the babies that were born early at around 27 weeks. Weird I know, but I wanted to see what she actually looks like at this point instead of seeing an animated version of a baby at this stage in development. It's amazing to me that Addison looks like an actual newborn baby at this point and would have a 95% chance of survival should she enter this world early. I do not anticipate that happening (THANK GOODNESS!) but it's nice to know that she would live at this point. 

I am feeling good this week. I can tell that I've been doing a lot of walking around the school lately because at the end of the day MY. FEET. HURT! We gave our students a practice KPREP testing environment on Friday and I was proctoring for about 2 1/2-3 hours. My little toes were screaming by the end of it! I will definitely have to break out the tennis shoes when actual testing rolls around. I've also been having a lot of heart burn. At first I would only get it when I ate tomato based foods or carbonated drinks, but now it seems like I get it all the time. Some days I feel like a fire-breathing dragon! I guess if you go by the old wives tale then Addison will have a head full of hair based on how much heart burn I've been getting. I am still feeling great, but I can tell my belly is growing. I get little pains every now and then when I turn from side to side while I am sleeping. No new symptoms other than those, just growing daily!

Thanks for your continued support and prayers. Mike, Addison and I appreciate every single one of them!

Things you never say or do to a pregnant woman

So over the past few months I have been a little offended on a few occasions when people have said  or done certain things to me. I was telling Mike that people must think that pregnant people don't have feelings, but I promise, we do! And to make it worse, we have hormones to go along with them so you better watch out! I have collected some of the things that have been said or done to me since being pregnant that NO ONE ELSE should ever say/do. Let me just share with you some things that have made people "cross the line" :)

Never, ever under any circumstance...

1. say "You don't look that small anymore." SERIOUSLY?! You think I can't see that?! I might be pregnant, but I am still a girl, which means that I watch the way that I look even if I am growing a human. For a woman to hear that she isn't small anymore will hurt her feelings even if she isn't busy growing another human.

2. say "You must be tired." I look that good, huh? Well I am tired! I work my tail off, try to sleep but there is a dance party going on in my stomach at all hours of the night and I haven't slept in a comfortable position in about 2 months.

3.say  "I can't wait to watch you get fat." There are no words for this one. You seriously can't wait to watch me get fat? What's wrong with you?!

4. say "How much weight have you gained?" You don't ask someone this even if they are pregnant. Even though I am suppose to be gaining weight right now and I know that it's a good thing, no woman likes to see their weight creep up repeatedly on a scale when they watch their weight at all other points in their life. It seems completely backwards to us women. It actually scares you when you see it go up because whether we admit it or not, we all watch our weight! Just don't ask it!

5. Rub my belly- Ok, if you're my husband, parents, siblings or close friends then I don't mind if you rub my belly. Here is what gets me...I was walking through Wal-Mart one evening and I passed an older woman (mind you I have NEVER in my life seen her before) She steered her cart closer to mine so that as we passed each other she reached out and touched my stomach. It took all I had in me to keep my composure! Really, woman?! I've never seen you before and you think it's ok to touch my stomach?! I told Mike that I should have rubbed her stomach back. I bet that would have made her feel equally uncomfortable!

6. say "How are your parents doing with this?" What in the world do you mean? I didn't do anything wrong! My husband and I are very much in love, settled into our marriage and are ready to bring a child into the world. If I were in a different situation then I could see this question being appropriate, but they are over the moon with excitement to have a grandchild!

7. Pull up my shirt to look at my belly. Word to the wise: Do not, under any circumstance, lift up a pregnant woman's shirt and look at her belly. Her blood pressure will rise and she will want to punch you! To make it even worse, don't pull her shirt up and then proceed to rub her belly with both hands for an extended period of time. This will make her head spin around. Yes, this has actually happened to me. I have never wanted to crawl in a hole and die so badly in my life!

8. say "You look like you've gained _____ pounds." Here's the thing with this one. You might  mean it in a nice way, but I've had two different people tell me that I look like I've only gained ___ pounds. Each of them overestimated the amount of weight I've put on! Not good!

9. Here's a conversation I had last weekend. See what you think is wrong with it:
Older man: "What is the baby?
Me: "A girl."
Older man: Oh (with disappointment in his voice) Will you try for a boy soon?"
We are thrilled that we are welcoming a little girl into our family. Actually we are more than thrilled that God has chosen this perfect little girl to be a part of our family. We will have more children in the future, but not because we are disappointed that we are having a girl. We will add to our family because we love one another and want to have a family together.

10. say" I bet your husband wanted a boy." As a friend of mine once put it," God knows which child will be perfect for your family and he knows what you need." Exactly! My husband is more than happy to be welcoming a little girl. In fact, he has said before that pink is not only his new favorite color, but his new attitude. :) Just like me, he wanted a healthy baby, whether that be a baby boy or baby girl!

Can you believe some of this?! I mean really, I am sure that I've said things before that I thought were a compliment at the time, but some of this stuff you just can't make up! I had to share!

Words every child should hear

As I was sifting through Pinterest, go figure, I found this great link for parents. The title to the link was called, "They are listening." As I read through the list of things that we should be telling our children, I decided I wanted to share these words of wisdom with all you mommy's and daddy's out there. Basically what I gathered  from this post was take the time to build a relationship with your child, encourage them, let them know how much you love them, listen to them, discipline them when necessary and love, love, love them to pieces. I was actually reminded of my husband as I read through this post. Mike became involved with a group of young boys when they were entering middle school. He met with them at least once a week until they graduated high school; one of which he is still meeting with and guiding through college. He took the time to form relationships with these boys and many of them found Christ through meeting with him. They have such a great relationship together and I love watching him interact with each of them. In fact, many of the boys tell him that they love him when they get off the phone or are leaving. The funny thing about this is that sometimes they say it in a joking way, but they are ultimately being serious. They really do love my husband, and my husband loves them because he spent the time getting to know them, listening to them, encouraging them and building a lasting relationship where they feel comfortable being themselves. This is what I want for Addison and the relationship that we build with her. So, in reading through the post on Pinterest, I want to share with you the words that we should be saying to our children because whether we think it or not, they are listening! These are also things that I want Addison to know about how her mommy and daddy feel about her. Here they are:

1. I love you! There is nothing that will make me stop loving you. Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that.

2. You are amazing! I look at you with wonder! Not just at what you can do, but who you are. There is no one like you. No one!

3. It’s all right to cry. People cry for all kinds of reasons: when they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or lonely. Big people cry too. I do.

4. You’ve made a mistake. That was wrong. People make mistakes. I do. Is it something we can fix? What can we do? It’s all over. You can start fresh. I know you are sorry. I forgive you.

5. You did the right thing. That was scary or hard. Even though it wasn’t easy, you did it. I am proud of you; you should be too.

6. You can change your mind. It’s good to decide, but it is also fine to change.

7. What a great idea! You were really thinking! How did you come up with that? Tell me more. Your mind is clever!

8. That was kind. You did something helpful and thoughtful for that person. That must make you feel good inside. Thank you!

9. I have a surprise for you. It’s not your birthday. It’s for no reason at all. Just a surprise, a little one, but a surprise.

10.  I can wait. We have time. You don’t have to hurry this time.

11. What would you like to do? It’s your turn to pick. You have great ideas. It’s important to follow your special interests.

12. Tell me about it. I’d like to hear more. And then what happened? I’ll listen.

13. I’m right here. I won’t leave without saying good-bye. I am watching you. I am listening to you.

14. Please and Thank You. These are important words. You should use them and if I forget to use them, will you remind me?

15. I missed you.

16. Just try. A little bit. One taste, one step. You might like it. Let’s see. I’ll help you if you need it. I know you can do it. I'm right behind you!

17.  I’ll help you. I heard you call me, here I am. How can I help you? If we both work together, we can get this done. I know you can do it by yourself, but I’m glad to help since you asked.

18. What do you wish for? I love hearing about your dreams, what you wish for and what you hope for!

Don't you agree? Every child should know their parents think these things about them. I know I feel this way about Addison and what I want her to know! I always want her to know what no matter what she does or doesn't do I will always love her, be there for her and encourage her! 

27 weeks

It's update time! We are starting the 27th week of our pregnancy which means that we have roughly 90 days until Addison makes her debut into this world. Wow, I'm excited!! She is now being compared to the size of a head of cauliflower which is pictured below:

She's getting big ya'll and this mamma can definitely tell it! I feel like I have lost all control of my stomach muscles. In fact yesterday Mike and I drove to WKU for his Sig Ep reunion dinner and Mike turned a sharp corner at one point in the drive. Normally I would have been able to "take the turn" but yesterday I was thrown into the window because I tried to use my stomach muscles to adjust but they just didn't work. We both looked at each other wide eyed because it was dramatic, but I seriously couldn't help it. Lord help me!

Addison is measuring well over a foot now (somewhere between 14 and 15 inches in length from head to toe) and weighs about 2 pounds. She is now sleeping and waking up at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes and possibly sucking her thumb. With all of her brain tissue that is continuing to develop, her little brain is hard at work and is functioning very well at this point. Her lungs are still not fully developed, but if she was born today (not that I want this!) she would be able to survive with medical help. Disclosure: that makes me nervous. Stay in there little girl! You need to develop and grow!!

Because Addy is taking in all kinds of food that I am eating and because she has a ton of taste buds she might start to develop a case of the hiccups on a regular basis. I have not felt her do this yet, but I hear it is pretty common at this stage of development. The books say that it only last a few moments, but that it can feel kind of awkward while it's happening. 

I can definitely tell that Addison is growing leaps and bounds. I can not only watch my stomach pulsate now, but I can watch her roll and turn. If you put your hand on my stomach you can see your hand move when she kicks because she's so strong. She has also found a position that she likes. I think it's her feet that are on the right side up by my ribs. I am still not entirely sure which body part is where, but there's a lot of movement in that area so I'm assuming it's little feet. That would make her laying diagonally across my stomach with her head by my left hip. The doctor said that I shouldn't worry about her being head down just yet. There's plenty of time to flip before she makes her grand entrance.   

Here's baby and I at 27 weeks

I am actually feeling great. Other than the symptoms that I've been telling you about in the past few weeks, I have nothing to complain about! There are little aches and pains that come up every now and then but nothing that makes me really uncomfortable. I was really worried last night when we drove to Western because everyone tells me that I have to be careful about riding in a car for too long because my ankles will get swollen. I watched them very carefully yesterday and not to fear, no kankles for this girl! 

Cravings for this preggo? Not too much except for when your husband promises ice cream! We talked to Eric and Trent last night before going to dinner with Mike's fraternity brothers. Eric and Trent were in Mike's small group during middle school and high school and now they are freshmen and Western. We decided after dinner we'd go get ice cream with them and see their fraternity house (they're both Fiji's). It was getting kinda late so we saw their frat house and then told them we'd have to take a rain check on the ice cream. WHAT?!  I'd been looking  forward to that ice cream since we sat down for dinner. I told Mike that I was playing the pregnancy card and we had to get ice cream. We found a Baskin Robins and this preggo was a happy girl!

That's about it! Have a great, relaxing Sunday everyone!

I love...

KEENELAND!!

I love, love, love going to Keeneland and betting on the horses! When I was little I remember going with my dad (on specific time I remember out betting him!) and then in college I went ALL.THE.TIME! It became a joke between my friends and I in the teaching program. When Keeneland was in session, they knew I was going to save my excused absences so that I could be at the track. Hannah and I were known for getting up out of class and leaving for Keeneland a couple of times. Man, I shouldn't tell you all that, but I want you to know that I really, really love to go! There is just something about the place. Don't get me wrong, I also like going to Churchill Downs, but Keeneland is just different. I love the location, the beauty and the atmosphere. If you've never been look how beautiful this place is: 

 

 

See I told you! It's something about this place...I just love it! Mike and I went to the races last week with my mom and dad. I had so much fun even though we didn't win one darn race! There was a couple of times that I had picked the horse that won the race, but didn't end up placing a bet on him. Either way it was a great day. Here are some of the pictures I captured:

This is Mike's favorite tree. We have a painting in our living room of the paddock from Keeneland that has this tree in it. This way we're always reminded of how much we love the place!

I was sure this horse was gonna win...it didn't!

Beautiful day for the races!

View from the paddock. It was packed the day we went!

And here we are...a beautiful day at the races!