One Month

Four whole weeks have past since the day that Jonah was born, and it's almost impossible to put into words how in love we are with this little boy. There are times that I just look over at Jonah and smile to Keith, "he's just SO CUTE!" It's overwhelming. He certainly has been keeping us on our toes, and keeping us pretty tired since he arrived, but overall we couldn't be more thankful for our happy, sweet baby (and all the googly eyes he gives us). These past four weeks have been some of the fastest of my life, but they have been full of smiles, laughter and just a few tears. Thankfully he loves to eat, and loves to sleep... with just a little fussing in between occasionally. We're so happy that this month has been filled with friends and family, and that we've gotten to share Jonah with so many people who love us so well. In this month we've been blessed beyond belief with meals, groceries and visitors who've come with open arms to help in any way we've needed. It's beyond amazing! 

Here are some of Jonah's milestones for the month:

He's gained almost 3 pounds, and grown 2 1/2 inches 

He has lost most of the hair on the front of his head (making him look even more like an old man)

He has fallen into a fairly regular 3 hour schedule of eating, playing and then sleeping

At night, he's been giving us some longer stretches of sleep, the best being 6 consecutive hours!

He's cheeks and belly have expanded generously, but we're still waiting for some chub on his arms/legs

He calms to the sound of our voices, and falls asleep when we rub his forehead

He loves/hates the swaddle and spends most of the night trying to break out

His baby acne is starting to clear up, but he still loves to scratch his face

He has been giving us lots of smiles, and has started talking and cooing at us

He tries to fight it, but the car puts him to sleep every time. 

He has peed on pretty much everyone who has changed him (dad being the most common victim)

He loves his bouncy chair, and the swing

He took very well to a pacifier, and has already drank 2 bottles with daddy in prep for school

He's been to a couple restaurants, and slept through it every time

He and I have gotten out of the house together quite a bit, and though we try to time it perfectly... we've nursed in a couple bathrooms, cars and friends houses. He doesn't seem to mind very much

He LOVES to kick! (which I already knew from his time in the womb...)

He likes to be held and rocked, but doesn't mind when we lay him down in his crib to sleep

His eyes are getting bluer by the day

He makes lots of startled/grumpy faces in pictures, but he's such a happy boy :)

We love you Jonah!

3 Years

I can hardly believe that three whole years have passed since we said vows and promised to be a team forever. So much has changed in these years- for better or for worse, and we made the best of it all together. Never once in the past 1096 days did I ever want to quit or give up. This life journey we're on wouldn't be nearly as exciting without my partner. Husband of mine: you are the greatest! Here are some of the highlights these past three years:

We've lived in 2 different states, and 4 different homes.

We've had 8 different jobs between the two of us (5 for me, 3 for him).

We've bought 2 cars and a scooter.

We've travelled high and low; in cars, planes and boats.

We've loved and lost our first pet.

We've spent holidays with family, and alone.

We've gone on adventures in our cities and eaten all kinds of amazing foods.

We've run for miles and miles together, and biked a few too.

We've stayed up late talking about all the things that may come next.

We've watched countless movies and tv shows together on our brown leather couch.

We've acted like kids and fought over who does the dishes next.

We've jumped in the snow and lounged in the sand.

We've gone on hundreds of dates.

We've made new friends, and felt thankful for the old ones.

We've gone to sporting events and concerts.

We've watched dozens of friends get married as well.

We've cooked, and baked and hiked and climbed and all the while... we have loved.

But the greatest thing that we've done in all three of these years? We made a BABY! and he's the sweetest and squishiest little baby there ever was. Thank you Keith for giving me Jonah. If he grew up to be just like you, I would have no complaints.

Marriage has made us the best of friends, and now it has made us parents too. Here's to many more fabulous years together!

34 Weeks

Week 34 was an extremely busy one! We started by taking off for New York for a family wedding and to spend some times with friends. I wasn't nervous at all to fly so late in my pregnancy, but apparently I should have been! We had some annoying delays on our way there that just made the day feel so much longer. I think I've mentioned this before, but I feel like I have some sort of pregnancy claustrophobia where I get super uncomfortable if I'm in a confined space... so the airplane was not my friend. I just couldn't get comfortable any way I sat and was SO relieved to get off. We had a jammed packed weekend that consisted of a lot of driving around Long Island to get to various things for the wedding. Thursday night was the rehearsal dinner, and Friday before the wedding we made a trip down to the beach. The wedding Friday night was a BLAST, so much delicious food and dancing. It was actually one of the most physically exhausting days that I've had my whole pregnancy; we were up so late and I don't think I ever stopped dancing haha. The pain in my back and feet was well worth it though! We got to see family members we hadn't seen since our own wedding, AND got to spend some time with my grandmother (who may or may not have been confused about why I was pregnant haha). Saturday morning we were all moving pretty slowly, had breakfast in the hotel and said goodbyes to some family. Then we headed to visit our good family friends the Arnones for the afternoon. We had sandwiches and spent time out on their deck... I even got to take a nap! Then it was into the city to drop our stuff off at Jakes apartment. I forgot how HOT it gets in New York, and how no one has central AC. Geez was it hot! We did some walking to find a restaurant for dinner and by the time we sat down my hands and feet were thoroughly swollen haha. After dinner we went back to Jakes to relax on the couch and got a chance to see some more friends who were around. On to Sunday, I started the day with a delicious REAL bagel and then we went to a baby shower thrown by some of our best friends! It was so dang fun, they really put on quite a party (for people who have never had babies, or have plans for babies anytime soon haha). We also got to see my brothers band play before we headed off the the airport. Like I said, jam packed trip!!

BUT the real highlight of this story was our trip back to Nashvillle... oof! We got to the airport and found out our flight was going to be delayed an hour. Bummer, but not the end of the world. We ate a real dinner and settled in. When we finally boarded our plane at 10:30pm, I was already uncomfortable but just ready to be home. We sat on the plane for an HOUR because there was a mechanical problem and they needed to replace the computer? Craziness. It took them until about midnight to realize they weren't going to be able to fix it, and we would need a new airplane. At this point though the crew was going in to overtime, and weren't going to be able to fly unless we were able to get on a plane by 12:30. Obviously that didn't happen, so we sat around the airport until they finally cancelled the flight and we had to wait in line to make new arrangements. By 2am we found out we would have a flight in the morning at 6am, but had to connect through MIAMI (New York to Nashville via Miami? Totally on the way...) so we got a hotel voucher, slept for maybe 2 hours and were back at the airport for more. Mind you... within this time frame Keith had to deal with maybe 4 or 5 emotional breakdowns? Lots of tears and exhaustion related frustrations. 36 weeks pregnant is not a good time for major travel problems... gosh it was the worst! We didn't end up making it home until Monday afternoon, we ate some food, took a nap and then headed to a midwife appointment (and she wondered why my blood pressure was high haha). We slept pretty well that night :-) and were pretty delirious the rest of the week.

So I guess in summary, my biggest pregnancy complaint for week was very swollen hands and feet. Obviously I think that traveling on an airplane, doing lots of walking and some extreme heat were the cause of that. The other thing that made me a little sad during our whole traveling catastrophe was that our little bug never got a chance to sleep. He was awake and rolling around in my tummy the whole night; I think he knew I was stressed :-/ We'll take the bad with the good though, for as awful as it was to be stranded at the airport all night, we're SO happy that we got to spend that time with family and to celebrate our soon-to-be little boy with so many people who already love him!

Non-Beer Tour

There's a new-ish brewery in Franklin called Turtle Anarchy and they put out a groupon last fall for a tour and tasting. We love trying new brews with our friends the Berger's, so Keith purchased the deal for the tour but kind of forgot about it until this past month when we realized that the coupon was about to expire. Obviously... some things have changed since we made those initial plans (like my ability to drink beer...) but in an attempt to get our money's worth, we met with friends Saturday night to go on the tour. The atmosphere at the brewery was pretty ehh... along with the middle of nowhere location, and a lackluster tour guide BUT from what everyone else said, the beer made up for all of that. All I can say is it smelled DELICIOUS, but I drank some dr. pepper instead. It was a great evening adventure with friends... although I think everyone agreed that instead of driving all the way out to Franklin again, we'll just drink their beers at the bar down the street haha

Hockey Fail

Last season we got lots of chances to see our local hockey team the Nashville Predators, but since the lockout ended it's been REALLY tough to get decently priced seats. Every Saturday home game the team has a raffle for $10 seats which is much more in our budget than the usual $60-$80 stubhub price tag. Our friends Cory and Jamie asked us to join them, plus, the more people you bring the better the chances are of winning tickets (if your number is called you can buy up to 4 tickets). We got up early in our PJs and headed downtown to wait in line with mostly scalpers haha but alas! We were not so lucky this time around. In lieu of hockey we had a delicious breakfast together at Sky Blue and then met later in the evening for root beer floats and a movie on the couch. The day started with uncertainty, but even though we didn't get to go to the game, we still had a great time with friends.

Superbowl Sunday

Not that it's ever a HUGE deal, but this year's Superbowl was much more low key for us. We had previously hosted a party at our place, but this year most of our friends were out of town or busy with other plans which was totally fine by me. We grabbed some wings, and headed down to Franklin to watch the game with good friends Trent and Jordie. They cooked up some great (and terrible for us) appetizers and we watched (or didn't watch) until it got too late to be out on a Sunday night. I am quite thankful that Keith has friends in town that love sports with him, and that they all have cool wives too. Can I get a hip hip hooray that football is over (for a little bit)?? Here's a look at past Super Bowl posts: 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Cookeville Trip

Last weekend Keith and I had considered the idea of driving over to Knoxville to see a couple of his bands that were playing together, but quickly changed our minds when we were invited to tag along with friends out to Cookeville. Brittney and Brandon had both gone to college there and Brittney actually grew up on a farm not too far, so we were excited to do some sight seeing and see some of their favorite local spots! We started by dropping by the farm to meet Brittneys parents and say hello to some of the animals before we drove up to Cookeville and had dinner and drinks at a new spot in town. The boys enjoyed their happy hour beers and I try to work off some unfortunate car sickness I developed on the way out there :/ The rest of the night we explored the Tennessee Tech campus, drove past a new park, got some coffee, had a second dinner (since I was too sick to eat with them earlier) and then finished off the trip with some doughnuts. Mmmm! We got back to the Berger's house in Smyrna pretty late, so Keith and I stayed the night there and had a great breakfast with them Sunday morning compliments of the boys! We are thankful for great friends and great weekend adventures!

This was actually the night before, the boys went to a concert together in their weirdo matching coats

Keith tasting Brandon's latest brew of beer

On the road

Passengers

At dinner

Goofballs

Brandon and the Golden Eagle at Tennessee Tech

Climbing things they don't need to be climbing

Like little boys

Pretty girl

Guess while ones are mine?

Late night doughnuts

Our morning breakfast makers!

"Snow" Day

I didn't know this about Nashville before I moved here, but now that we've spent more than 2 years in this city I can say with great certainty that we have some of the strangest and most unpredictable weather I've ever encountered. I guess it's just a Southern thing to have a week which includes: a mild 50 degree day, a balmy 70 degree day which lead to severe thunderstorms and TORNADOS and then a mega drop down to the twenties which led to 2 days of actual snow. I'm definitely not a winter lover, but I'd much rather just have it be cold, snow, and then be done with it. These weird days where it's warm and then cold are just odd and confusing. Thanks to the tornado storm a couple weeks ago our power was out for about 18 hours, and then just a couple days later the weather man teased us with a snow day. Compared to the crazy dumping of snow they got in NYC, this dusting seems so silly... but here are a few photos from this winters "snow" this still didn't call off school (for me at least):

Birthday Karaoke

Saturday night a great group of friends got together to celebrate Bennett's birthday at a couple of his favorite spots. We started at a bar just down the street from us called 308, and the night eventually (after many shots by the men) led us to a local karaoke bar where we sang until our throats hurt. It was such a great evening with lots of laughs, and something we haven't done with friends in way too long. I will say, this is the first time since I've been pregnant that we spent the night hanging out in bars, and despite having a great time I found myself much more tired without a drink in my hand as well. Regardless! Thanks Bennett for getting older and giving us all a reason to celebrate you! (ps- ignore the terrible quality of most of these photos :/ I was having trouble with the flash settings on my camera, and my phone made everything blurry in the low light, oh well!)

If you're wondering whats going on in these first photos, Trent and Jordie got Bennet a gag gift: bacon and cheese flavored CRICKETS. The boys all had quite a time trying them out, ick haha

15 Weeks

Another week gone by! How have I already been pregnant for 4 months? Yikes! Here's what's been going on this past week with baby growing:

Baby bug, you are GROWING this week! This has become more and more obvious because I'm hungrier than when I was running 20 miles a week (this time last year, crazy!) Regardless, I've also seen some belly growth this week which has made my tummy really itchy haha. I still can't wait to start feeling the baby, and I'm getting more and more impatient to know if it's a boy or a girl. I think I just can't wait to start saying he or she when we talk about the baby. Also, we're 99% sure we have names picked out, middle names are a whole different story though haha but don't ask us! We're not telling until this little one shows their face!

This week I caught a little sinus infection that hit hard during the weekend and really drained my energy (or is that because you're growing little one?) It's making me feel so ridiculous that after doing some prep work in the kitchen, I legitimately have to go and sit down for a breather. Yesterday I slept until 10, and then by 1pm I couldn't keep my eyes open. Also taking a trip to the grocery store and carrying everything from the car and into the house? That's my idea of strenuous exercise this week, boo. Keith has really picked up the slack around the house, and I could not be more thankful. Hoping that once I kick this sinus stuff I'll be back to my normal activity level. I am starting to learn my limits a little bit more, and I know I don't feel good at all when I push it too far. Friday I was up at 4am, worked all day, went to ladies night, and then had to wait for Keith to be done with his friends until around 11:45. It was way too much, and Keith and I both know I can never go that long without stopping again.

The best part about this week? My book told me that little bug can HEAR us now! Ironically enough we celebrated that by singing karaoke last night for our friend Bennett's birthday haha. Keith told me I'm not allowed to curse anymore, and we'll probably be playing lots more music for the little one to hear. Also this week I did my first peeking online at Ikea's baby things and got pretty excited to make a little space in our home for a new human. Decorating, planning and organizing really stresses me out, but the idea of crib shopping is making things a little more real I think. Now if someone can just pick out a car seat and stroller for us without me having to do any research? That would be wonderful!

Week 15, so far so good!

Highlights 2012

Just like last year, I'm a few weeks late on posting this, but I still want to have it documented. Here are some of our favorite highlights from 2012:

Top Moments of 2012

• Finding out that we are going to be parents. Hearing our baby's heartbeat, and seeing it squirm around on the ultrasound... so so so unreal :)
• Running a half marathon together, and with my father as well.
• Seeing some incredible concerts at the Ryman (Death Cab, and Mumford)
• Starting (another) new job! Thankfully though, one that is full time with benefits.
• Watching my favorite aunts get married in Key West with great friends and family.
• Moving into a new house that is way more cozy than any of the last ones haha

Favorite New Restaurants

• Lockeland Table
• Marche 
• The Pharmacy
• Maddonna's for brunch
• Hattie B's

Favorite Albums

• Fun: Some Nights
• Mumford and Sons: Babel
• John Mayer: Born and Raised
• Dawes: Nothing is Wrong
• The Head and the Heart: Self Titled

Top Movies We Saw

• Silver Linings Playbook
• The Dark Knight Rises
• The Guilt Trip
• The Avengers
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Five Year Engagement
• The Vow

Favorite New TV Shows

• Newsroom
• Duck Dynasty

Best Trips We Took

• East coast road trip to VA, PA, NYC and DC!!!
• Baseball trips to Atlanta for opening day and Chipper's last home game
• Keywest
• Destin
• Bonnaroo
• Georgia and Florida for Christmas (and baby announcing!)

Favorite Pictures

and here's to many MANY more memories in 2013! Already off to a great start haha