just catchin' up...

For real....I have fallen into the no blogging world...and I really really want to jump back in. Although I don't think that I ever really JUMPED into blogging - however, this is my goal. So we will see :) Parker is now a whopping ten months old and is a blast - oh, such a blast! He is crawling all over the place and just tonight Steve was chasing him on the floor and he was squealing with delight. Love it!!

This parenting thing is no doubt the biggest change we have ever gone through - it is so much work and so much harder than you picture it to be. Those books that everyone (me) reads to prepare? Yeah, well they don't prepare you. Nothing does. It is the biggest life change to go through. A very ....humbling transition. And wow, it is seriously the most awesome thing in the world to watch your child change every day. We feel so blessed and thankful that God has given us this precious gift in our little boy!

Time has flown - Parker will be one in just a few weeks - that is crazy. They say you forget things - well, yes - pregnancy/mommy brain or not - you do. I was trying to think back and recall the first few weeks of hazy life with a newborn. I can't remember much - except our first few weeks with him were chaos and stressful and we just had a lot of life circumstances going on....that's all I remember:) Not to mention it poured like Noah's ark the entire first week of Parker's life - not a great time for him to get jaundice....ahhhh. Nonetheless, we made it!

We've had so many adventures - too many pictures to post. This past spring Steve's brother, Nathan, came down to visit. We also were able to fly up to Delaware for Memorial Day Weekend. Steve was on a work trip in FL before our scheduled visit to DE so Parker and I ended up going to DE early - and Steve met us up there. We had a great time. It was fun catching up and seeing family and friends.

This summer we spent a good chunk of time in Michigan with my family. Perfect weather, and lots of fun seeing everyone. We enjoy spending time up there on the water and just hanging out - enjoying the LACK of humidity!!

Steve started a new job last week! God put this position in front of him and through many months of waiting and waiting, things worked out and we felt this was the right fit for now. It is a much closer commute - this is a huge deal living in a big city that is known for its awful traffic!

Right now we are just soaking up summer with a baby who is transitioning into...well, a little boy....so much fun watching him figure out the world around him. We are grateful!

Tomorrow is our FOUR year wedding anniversary. They say time flies when you're having fun - we've had lots of adventures, that's for sure.

Where Do I Even Begin?

This post is long overdue. I feel like this blog has rust on it, as I haven't touched it in so long and so many changes and updates have taken place! Our little man, Parker Noah, was born on September 11, 2009 here in Hotlanta. Yes, that is quite a birthday to have - but we ended up picking that date since we were overdue and our amazing doctor was working that day. We thought "Okay, it's a sad day for our country, but it can be a happy day too!" And so it was...

Parker will be six months old next week. People have always said to us, "Enjoy it. It goes by too fast." I think you can try to understand what they are saying - but when you are actually in PARENT shoes you really do see what they mean. It's like the blink of an eye and Parker is already rolling, grabbing (everything!), babbling, standing, scooting, and doing so many other fun things. He is definitely in the "fun" stage now, and it is so awesome to see his little personality emerge.

My parents are headed here right now for the weekend. It will be great to see them and we know they can't wait to see the little guy! This weekend I also turn THIRTY. I guess age doesn't really matter - but it's weird to look back and think that I started college almost TWELVE years ago. Yikes! The 20's for me seems like a blur - where did they go? Lots of fun times packed into the last 10 years for sure. I look back and think that God sure is creative and humorous in the way He does things sometimes...for instance, I never would've imagined these things for my life:

-that I would meet my HUSBAND online...ha!! He's a good steal!! :)
-that he would be from the smallest state ever - Delaware
-that I would actually end up living in Delaware for two years
-that we would move to Atlanta, Georgia (it's been neat to experience Midwest living, East coast life, and now Southern life!)
-that we would currently have a new child in our home (we kept saying "Oh we just aren't ready yet..." but God had other plans, and we are so thankful that He intervened because I don't think we ever would've come to a place where we felt prepared for this adventure called parenthood!)

Here's some fun pics...trying to catch up! I feel like we take so many pictures of Parker - and it's neat to look back and see how quickly he has changed before our eyes! Enjoying these sweet moments...

Way way overdue...

I promise to update this blog soon. Our little Parker Noah is 3 1/2 months old already after arriving on September 11, 2009. I have been a super slacker in the blog world. Not that I haven't been busy entertaining our little one!! He is so much fun and the biggest blessing! Steve is talking to him right now and Parker is laughing back at his daddy....he is getting to be so much fun as we see his little personality emerge. Parker can roll tummy to back, loves to talk, loves to sing with mommy, and loves to grab at toys. He loves to bust out of his swaddle and put his hands above his head to grab his ears. He is also starting to drool a lot and chew on his fingers...teeth in the near future? Where did the past 3 months go?

We are in Michigan right now celebrating Christmas with my family. We had freezing rain on Christmas Eve and woke up to snow this morning, the 26th. It is very pretty looking out across the lake seeing all of the snow-covered trees and the icy lake.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas with their loved ones!!

Less Than Four Weeks...ish...

...until we get to meet Baby Henry! We are getting so excited to meet our little guy - can't believe it will be so SOON!! A couple of weeks ago my sweet friend Nicole from work, who happens to be an amazing photographer, did a photo shoot of Steve and I at an old mill not too far from our house. It was a hot day, the trails were steep, and I even almost stepped on a poisonous snake! Thankfully, Steve intervened just in time. Aside from the snake, we had a lot of fun! Here's some of the shots....thanks Nicole :)











And last but not least...the scary snake!!

6 Weeks and Counting...down!

This week I will be 34 weeks pregnant. Still feeling pretty good overall ..just feeling more comfortable sitting as opposed to standing a lot :) We toured the hospital a couple of weeks ago and it made everything so much more real! Steve's family came to visit last weekend and it was fun to see them. This weekend my mom is here visiting. My friends here threw a shower for Baby Henry yesterday - it was so much fun! We've been working hard at putting the nursery together and I think it's looking pretty good! Take a peek...check out the awesome fish paintings that our friend Rachel made to match the bedding. Thanks Rachel! We are planning to put his name above his bed once Lil' Buddy (as we call him) arrives - you will just have to wait on that because it's a SURPRISE!

Ten Weeks and Counting...

I know it's been awhile since I've updated the big blog! The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy for us. I went to Michigan for 11 days to be in my childhood friend Heather's wedding - and Steve went to camp in Florida with the high school students from our church. I was bummed that I wasn't able to attend this year, but grateful that I could be there for my friend Heather's wedding festivities! Steve left camp early to fly up to MI to attend the wedding, and then my parents threw us an awesome baby shower in their backyard. It was such a beautiful day, and we had so much fun catching up with about 60 of our family and friends. I even got to see some of my favorite college people :) Loved it.

Steve is such a handyman - so grateful for this! He's been working hard on the nursery these past few weeks. I wanted to post some pics for you all to see. He and our friend Tim started it off by putting up the beadboard. It really turned out great! Next was painting, and then came the furniture! Oh, not to forget that Steve put in a new ceiling fan. The old one was about to fall out of the ceiling. Poor Steve had to climb into the 140 degree temperature in the attic a number of times to try and fix the problem. He was drenched in sweat - it looks good now though! :)

This week I will be 31 weeks. Hard to believe. Feeling pretty good overall - just a bit more tired :) I still love lemonade and any summer fruits. Here's a couple of recent belly pics:

Almost 26...

Above is my belly at 25 weeks!

Tomorrow marks 26 weeks of pregnancy. Wow! Yes, it seems to be flying!

Let's see...what is new. Steve and our friend Tim worked on putting up beadboard in the nursery yesterday. It looks so great! We planted some new landscaping in the front of our house, and Steve got his garden ready for the summer last weekend. The weather has been beautiful this weekend - perfect, sunny skies with no humidity. You can't beat it! It really feels like Michigan summer weather....I'll take it. Just wish there was a lake in our backyard :) I know the heat is probably coming soon enough though.....we've had so much rain this past week that the mosquitoes at our house are just horrendous!! You can literally see and walk through swarms of them after dusk outside. It's gross and can make anyone itch just thinking about it.

It is getting harder to bend down these days, to shave my legs in the shower, and to do little tasks. But overall, I feel great and Baby Henry is definitely moving around. I think he especially enjoys when I drink lemonade!! Still loving Cheerios and OJ before bedtime....

Over halfway there!

Tomorrow marks 22 weeks into my pregnancy. Yay! We bought our nursery bedding last weekend and are super excited about that. My mom got some adorable little outfits for Baby Henry - he's going to be a stud! I'm starting to feel him move a little bit more - it's such an amazing feeling. Right now I am loving lemonade and juicy fruits like watermelon, strawberries, and clementines!! Still digging the Cheerios too. And EGG SALAD!!!! Enjoy the pictures!



My belly at 21 weeks!

Steve wanted his own belly pic. He was feeling left out.

IT'S A....

BOY! Yes, we are having a little boy! We weren't sure if we were going to find out, but we just were so excited and wanted to find out being in that ultrasound on Monday. I will never forget the look on Steve's face when we confirmed that the baby was indeed a boy. And boy was it obvious! No pun intended. Haha. We are so excited!

My current and favorite snack before bed: Cheerios with a glass of OJ. It does wonders. I have to eat before bed or I wake up starving...

Here's me at 19 weeks!

Do you Smell That?

Isn't it so awesome how powerful our sense of smell really is? It is amazing how we can forget things - distinct memories - and then as soon as we smell something - BAM - we remember! Perhaps it is that I'm pregnant and my sense of smell is hyper sensitive right now - but I've been remembering many things lately as I smell the world around me! I went for a walk at the park today, and I smelled this: a charcoal grill. Instantly I was reminded of being on the lake in our family's boat. We would park our boat in the water along the channel at the beach of Lake Michigan and drag all of our stuff to the sand - including a charcoal grill! The smell of the grill comforts me - reminding me of family and lots of fun times! It also reminds me of the summers spent at Girl Scout day camp - making lots of tinfoil dinners.

The other day I stopped into Hobby Lobby (LOVE that place!) and I went to use the restroom (seems to be a more common occurrence these days) and a sweet "grandma" looking lady was in there - immediately I smelled her perfume. It reminded me of my great Grandma - she wore this cheap Walgreens perfume that we bought her every year. I imagine that she had about twenty bottles of it sitting in her dresser at the senior living center. Emeraude was the name. When I smelled the "grandma" smell it also reminded me of all of the sweet little old ladies serving us snacks and helping us with crafts during the many summers I spent at Vacation Bible School.

What about you? Does this ever happen to you!?

Tulips. So Hot Right Now.

One of my favorite things about spring is that these pretty flowers bloom! We have some in our front yard right now - love it! Back in Michigan the city of Holland has a Tulip Festival with thousands of tulips. It's a big Dutch partay with wooden clogs and all. I remember hearing on the news many a time that people would drive down the road with their car door open to rip the flowers off the tulips in the median. Honestly, who does that? And how is that a big enough deal to be on the news? I guess when there's a festival about tulips it deserves some press.

My growing belly...

At 17 weeks here are some pictures! I think my belly seriously grew overnight! NO JOKE! Right now I am really loving lemonade, lemon water, and fresh salsa from Chipotle!

Was It Just My Imagination?

Yesterday marked 16 weeks into my pregnancy. I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by already! People keep asking if I've started to feel the baby yet - and I can only say that I've felt maybe a little twitch here and there - although I'm not really sure if that's BH (baby henry!) or not! Well - today I was teaching in one of my classes...and I was sitting in the front of the class (that's my new thing - sitting when I have the chance!) and I felt this flutter for a few seconds in my belly - I looked down at my tank top and saw it MOVING a little!! It was only for a few moments - but it was so exciting! Now - was it just my imagination!? I dont' think so - it was pretty awesome!

It's Finally Here...

The blog has arrived. After many requests for me to start us a blog, here it is!

I turn 29 today - my last year in the 20s. Wow! To throw in some more excitement, this is my last birthday without a child in our home! I can't believe that I will be 14 weeks pregnant on Monday - crazy, but so cool and such a blessing.

I am hoping that the sun starts to shine here soon because we are hoping to go hang out at a park downtown and relax for the afternoon. Yesterday it was in the 70s - definitely okay with me!

Sara