Sunday School Party

Since I've been gone so much lately, my Sunday School Class was kind enough to have their party when I would be home.  (Thanks)  We got together at the Kell's house Sunday after church for a bbq pool party.  The kids cracked me up because they wanted to get in the hot tub!  As if it weren't hot enough outside!

 Our gracious hostess on the left!

 Some of the girls from our class.  The others were in the pool.

 Collin wanted in on the hot tub action too!

It was a fun day of food and fellowship with some great friends! 

Pregnancy Update: 12 weeks

We got home from Disney last night around 8 pm.  This morning I had my 12 week appointment with the baby doc. Andrew went with me and we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time.  It was kickin' it at 158.  (Any guesses as to the gender?)  Not that we know...there's just an old wives tale about heart rate and gender.   The doctor said everything looks good.  I found out early in the pregnancy that my progesterone levels were low, so I've been taking a supplement since week 6.  Luckily, I only have 5 more days and I"ll be done with that stuff.  The placenta will start producing enough in week 13.  (There's your preggo lesson for the day.)

So far, I've experienced the following symptoms:  
EXHAUSTION-thank you child of mine for napping with me every day!
OCCASIONAL NAUSEA- I blame the Progesterone pills.
MOOD SWINGS- ok, I'm ill as a hornet! (again...blaming the progesterone)  I mean think about it....pregnancy hormones are crazy enough, but I'm taking MORE?!  
Did I mention EXHAUSTION?
I'm really thankful that I don't suffer from morning sickness.  The little waves of nausea were plenty!

As far as cravings go:
The saltier the better!  You know me...I'm a chocoholic and I still need a little bite of something sweet, but I haven't been craving it.  This go around I want the salt!
I also crave whole milk and Silk chocolate milk.  I swear I drank a whole half a gallon the other day.  I just can't get enough milk!

Food Aversions: 
CHICKEN! (which I love)  However, I can't stand the smell of it.  Mom was in town a few weeks ago and decided to make some chicken in the crock pot.  I normally love it and can't get enough of it because it's so tender and delicious, but the smell of it made me want to puke!  (I didn't, but it was bad)  So, I'm laying off the poultry.  Steak, however...bring it on!

My friend from church bought a hospital grade doppler when she was pregnant.  She was kind enough to let me borrow it, so now I get to listen to baby's heartbeat every night! (or pretty much whenever I want!)  It's the sweetest lullaby.   Andrew really likes to listen too!  

I've been a real slacker this time with the belly photos, but I'm really not showing yet, so there's no need for a photo.  Soon enough though...

The next appointment: Aug. 23

Back to Disney

 After the family vacation in Cape San Blas, Andrew and I drove south to meet up with Drew on his next few days off.  We just so happened to meet up in Disney!  (Shocker, right?)  :)  This trip we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and I must say I'm a fan!  I loved being able to walk out onto the balcony and watch the animals.  So fun!

This next picture is a good summary of our trip....it rained a LOT!  Which was good because it kept the crowds away.  We had ponchos and umbrellas.  Andrew's stroller was covered with a poncho so he was nice and dry.  At one point a soaking wet man said, "You must tell me where you got your weather information."  I told him this wasn't our first rodeo.  

Our first day was kind of laid back since Andrew and I didn't get there until around 4 pm.  We went to church and then headed to the Magic Kingdom for dinner at Tony's.  (You know?  Tony...from Lady and the Tramp...which is currently Andrew's favorite movie.)

The next day we headed to Animal Kingdom per Andrew's request.  He helped this cast member arrange some dinosaur bones. 

 Then we got rained on while riding the dinos.

That night we went to magic kingdom for extra magic hours.  They were open until 2 am.  And yes, we made it until close.  In fact, we were in line for Peter Pan at 2 am.  So it was about 3:30 by the time we got back to the hotel. 

My little pirate

 The Carousel is a must.

 And according to "Disney Must Do" so is trying to pull the sword out of the stone!

 The boys barely made it back from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in time for the parade.

 Drew ran the whole way with lil man on his back!

 Daddy waving at Donald.

And it wouldn't be a trip to the happiest place on earth without a picture with the mouse!

Family Vacation

This past week, my family rented a beach house in beautiful Cape San Blas, Fl.  It was a great week!  We had some rain, but that just meant more naps for me!   Due to Drew's work schedule, he was only able to join us for the first day and a half, so we had to take our family pictures the second night.  Now the cape is on Eastern time and we were headed to dinner, so even though these pictures were taken at 7 pm, it was still WAY too bright!  This first picture cracks me up....as we're all looking into the sun!  And someone please remind me to CLEAN MY LENS....I don't think I realized it was dirty until around day 4!  *Fail*

 Gracie and Andrew waiting on the new location.

 This one is a little better.  At least we're not looking directly into the sun.  

 Family photo

 Then we headed over to the Dockside grill, where we had lovely views of the harbor.  We walked around looking at all the nice boats, dreaming of a life out to sea. 

 Andrew hanging in the bunk bed.  (Note: he didn't sleep here...only watched TV)

 Building sand castles with Gracie because she's the best sandcastle builder!

 Our little slice of paradise for the week! "Sea Forever"

 We loved the seclusion!

 This is the most people we saw all week.  

 Toward the end of the week, we headed over to the Sunset Coastal Grill.  But before we could eat, we had to take some more pictures for Mom's mother/daughter frame.  

 Jefforey was our photographer for the night and he loves taking "candid" shots.  I have no idea what was so funny, but this picture makes me smile!

 There's our photographer!

 One night we had a little visitor.  He was also very good at waking us up every morning.  Andrew fed him a roll.  He was very appreciative. 

 On our last night on the beach we took all of our extra bread and tried to feed the seagulls.  But not before posing for some MORE pictures.   (I love this one of Granny and Andrew)

 Andrew and Granna

 Andrew, Paw-Paw, and Granna

 Granna and Paw-Paw

 If you know my Dad, you know he can't be serious for very long.  So, dear 'ole Dad picked a sea oat and tickled Granna's neck, making her believe there was some critter crawling on her.  I just so happened to catch him in the act.  (This one also cracks me up!)

 The seagulls here on the cape are not quite as adept to human feedings as they are in Pensacola, so you had to throw the bread really high to get their attention.  I literally pulled a muscle trying to throw it high enough.  Sad, isn't it?!

Andrew just wanted to eat his bread.

 Doesn't that face just make you melt!

 My beautiful Granny!

We had such a great time, that we didn't want to leave.  We played board games EVERY NIGHT, I took LOTS of naps, Dad and I found an undiscovered sea turtle next complete with turtle tracks, and we spent some time in the sun.  (Ok, some of us did....every time I tried to go out, it rained!)