Annual Thanksgiving Beach Trip

We left our remaining “to dos” in Fayette and came down to relax.   It felt really weird arriving here by lunch instead of late in the evening.    After we unloaded the car, we headed over to Doc’s on Canal for lunch.  We LOVE Docs.  I did have a pretty strong craving for raw oysters and cold draft beer.  However, that’s one craving that I won’t be giving into until Darby’s born.  So I stuck with the crab claws and sweet tea for lunch.  Isabelle enjoyed the crab, slaw and her Dad’s shrimp.  I’m thankful we haven’t hit the picky toddler stage yet.  This kid eats anything. 

Here’s a few pics from our first day and morning…..

View from the condo

   Enjoying the view

  Minnie goes everywhere with us

  Seriously, everywhere :) Calling JC and Gucci”Ya, ya, ya” That’s all she says on the phone….she gets that from Gucci Glad we are here Reading one of our fav books

Darby’s Nursery

I feel like I’m so far behind this time around.  Life was a bit simpler when we were pregnant with Isabelle.  With all the changes going on, Darby’s nursery was pushed down on our priority list.   However, I knew I couldn’t keep putting it off.  Caleb and I couldn’t find anything we liked in the stores, so we started looking for fabric a few months ago.  I would find fabric I liked; he wouldn’t like it.  He’d find something he liked, I wouldn’t like it.   We just couldn’t find anything that we both liked……until today.   And now, the bedding is ordered and will hopefully be here by Christmas.

 

Honest Scrap

Thanks to Angie at Cannon Creations (Frogs, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails) for the award.  I apologize in the delay for posting, but our house has been a little chaotic to say the least.  We are still unpacking/organizing and have more to do.

Here are the rules for the award:
1) You must thank the person who gave the award and list their blog and link it.

2) You must share "10 Honest Things" about yourself.

3) You have to present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

4) Last, you must tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

"10 Honest Things"

1) I didn’t realize I was a pack rat until we moved.  Honestly, Caleb is worse than me, but as we are unpacking boxes I find myself thinking “why did I keep this?”  And more importantly “why did I move this half way across the country?”

2) I LOVE shoes.  Whether they are random flip flops or my Jimmy Choos, I just can’t get enough!

3) I never imagined in my wildest dreams I’d want to be living in small town Alabama again.  I swore when I left, I’d never be back.  And, I think I surprised my family too.

4) Having Isabelle has changed my life more than I could have thought.  She definitely brings a whole new perspective. 

5) I never thought I’d want to be a stay at home mom.  See #4.

6) I look forward to spending Thanksgiving at the beach.  It’s a tradition Caleb and I began years ago.  It’s our time to relax and unwind. 

7) I am obsessed with Disney.  Even though the next trip isn’t until late 2010, I’ve been planning since we got back from our May 2009 trip.  I even have spreadsheets - eek!  (That’s the CPA in me)

8) I like to cook/bake, but don’t do it enough.  I hope I can find more time to cook now that I’m not working.  Seriously folks, that 2 hours/day in a car really eats into your free time.

9)  I cannot live without Golden Eagle syrup.  It wasn’t sold in the DFW area, so when my family would visit, I requested a jar (or two).

10) I love to read “sad” blogs.  I don’t enjoy reading about others suffering.  But in reading their stories, I find myself appreciating my life a bit more. 

I give this wonderful award to:

My sister in law Jennifer - http://kylerjenniferolivia.blogspot.com/

My sister in law Tabitha - http://fabfabian4.blogspot.com/

My friend Jill - http://jjj-ourfamily.blogspot.com/

My friend Rebecca - http://the-porterhouse.blogspot.com/

My friend Jaedeanne - http://the-shaver-family.blogspot.com/

My freshman roommate Julie - http://djnsharingourblessings.blogspot.com/

My grad school roommate Katie - http://emersonyates.blogspot.com/

We're Here

We are here! We had a long drive out on Friday, but we finally made it. We left McKinney around 8:40 and pulled into Berry about 9ish. The trip normally doesn't take this long, but we had to stop every few hours for me to get out and stretch my legs. Saturday morning we headed over to Fayette to begin to unpack and settle in. We are still trying to unpack, but we are home.

We finally have our internet hooked up! I was ready to go crazy - felt so disconnected with the world. And eventually I'll get some new pics up (when I can find my camera). But for now, we're unpacking little by little and enjoying being close to family.

Darby

I was looking through some of my posts and realized I haven’t talked much about Darby lately. Between chasing a toddler, transitioning to move and saying our goodbyes, he’s just not made it to the blog.  I hope this doesn’t make me a bad mom.  Trust me – I haven’t forgotten about him.  I think about him all the time.  He’s so active, there’s no way I could forget about him even if I wanted too.  I can sometimes see his movements through my stomach.  It’s just as amazing this time as it was with Isabelle.

We had our last sono here in Dallas a week ago or so.  He’s measuring right on track and weighs about a pound.  My doctor is also watching me for any signs of preterm labor.  With Isabelle, I had no signs of labor until my water broke.  Honestly folks, I felt nothing.  The week before I had Isabelle, I had a sono which didn’t show anything labor signs either.  So, our concern is the same with Darby.   I am still taking the progesterone shots weekly and hopefully they will help keep me pregnant, but there’s no guarantee. 

Pumpkin Patch

Isabelle and I met up with Jana, Grayson, Shelby and Abby at the Pumpkin Patch on Friday.  Our kids had a blast – Jana and I did too.  Isabelle loved the pumpkins.  She was constantly trying to pick them up.  She tried out the bounce house again.  This time she was much more comfortable and enjoyed it.  She even wanted to go in a second time!

  Abby and Isabelle

My constant battle…. …..trying to take a picture…. ….Isabelle is more interested in the pumpkins…. ….picking out “the one.” On the Train Bounce House Off she goes again She loved every pumpkin she saw!  Shelby and Isabelle Bounce House round 2 Abby and Jana

Time to go home.

Eighteen Month Check Up

Isabelle had her 18th month checkup this morning.

She's -27.2 lbs (80%) and 32 in (75%). I don't remember her head measurement, but we are in the 75% there too. We only had 1 vaccine this morning. She did as expected, but the promise of a sucker really cheered her up afterwards.

We are also having some success in the potty training area. I'm not pushing it too hard just yet. But we do sit on the potty about 2 times daily. She has went twice for me. Who knew how exciting it would be when your little one goes tinkle in the potty! Once we are settled in Alabama I'm going to step it up and see how that goes. If anyone has any potty tips, I'm all ears.