Alex turns 7

We spent this weekend in Mississippi for our nephew's birthday.  On Saturday we got to see him play football.  It was pouring down rain so there are no pictures.  Alex is such a great football player.  He scored all three of his team's touchdowns.  Unfortunately, they lost the game, but it was so close.  Alex had the ball, running towards the end zone carrying a couple of kids on his back.  They tackled him within inches of the goal.  It was a heartbreaker.  But we were very proud.

On Sunday, we went to Lynn Meadows (A children's museum type place) for his party.  Andrew, Carly, and Grandad played "grocery store."

 Andrew selling lobsters

 Daddy demonstrating the power of the pulley system

Then it was cake time (made by yours truly) Can you tell it's a Star Wars Legos theme?

 The birthday boy and some buddies

 "Happy Birthday To You!"

 Make a wish...

 Time for presents

 His biggest surprise was a bb gun from his daddy.

 It was a great party...lots of fun!  As soon as the party was over, we all loaded up (Grammy, Granddad, and Alex included) and headed back to Florida for a very important Monday. *See next post*

Day Trip To PCB

After church we drove over to Panama City to visit my cousin, Jason and his family.  Andrew was so excited to get to see Raegan.   They had a lot of fun playing in the water.  

 After all the fun, I think they were a little tired.

 Before heading to diner, we took some pictures of them on the beach.  Andrew wanted his picture with Rae, but as you can see, he didn't want to smile. 

Jason, Traci, and Raegan

With Traci's Parents

 Waiting to get a table at Margaritaville.

 We had a beautiful sunset

 It was a great day.  I'm glad we got to drive over and see some family...even if Jason is an Alabama fan!  Every time we get to see them it makes me wish we lived closer.  

20 Week Ultrasound

Today, I had my 20 week appointment and anatomy scan ultrasound.  Drew is in Tampa and Andrew was at school, so I went by myself.   The doctor said everything is fine and dandy with both mom and baby!  My weight gain is right on the money and my blood pressure (so far) is doing well.  My top number creeped up a little bit, but nothing to worry about at this point.  I'm practicing lots of mind over matter "I will not have preeclampsia.  I will NOT have preeclampsia."  So far, it's working! :)

I've been feeling great!  Occasionally I get out of breath, but that's pretty common.  I've been feeling more and more kicks, mostly at night or when I eat chocolate!  Drew even got to feel a kick the other day.  I still listen to her heartbeat pretty much every night.

My cravings aren't as intense as they were in the first trimester.  At times I still want salty or protein, but my love for sweets is slowly making a comeback.

I think we've narrowed down our nursery furniture.  The bedding, however, is a totally different story.  I have NO idea what we're going to do in there!  Oh well...we still have time.

Ok, now for the part you've all been waiting for....the sonogram pictures.  She was head down today and boy, was she LOW!  It was really hard to get a face shot because she was so snuggled up down there.  The first time I saw her today, she was curled in a ball with her hands under her chin.  Wendy poked and prodded until we finally got her to move a little and turn her face towards us.

Heartbeat 154

 all curled up

 All the clothes can stay...she's still a girl!

 Finally got a profile shot

 4D-had her hands in her face "no pictures...no pictures"  

 The she started cooperating.

 So far she's a baldy like her brother!

Isn't technology amazing!  I love being able to get a little sneak peek of our sweet baby girl!  When she gets a little bigger, we're going to "4D Peek-a-boo" for a full 4D session.  Today she weighed in at 14 ounces and is measuring 20 weeks and 5 days.   Grow baby girl, grow!

And here's a belly shot at 20 weeks:

My next appointment will be in 4 weeks.

Busy Baking Weekend!

September 15th must be a very popular birthday.  (I have a cousin with that b'day)  I had two cake orders for today and turned down two others.  (I HATE having to do that, but I can only do so much.)

So now run on over to Sissy's Sweets to check them out!

DIY Project and Road Trip for Mommy

Last week my parents got to come to down for a nice long visit.  They came to watch Andrew while I went on a trip.  Dad's off days allowed him to come a little early.  They were here for 10 days and it was great.  
Dad and I had planned on doing a little home improvement project before I left on Thursday, so we headed to Lowe's on Monday and got our supplies ready.  
*backstory* We bought our front loader washer and dryer in Hawaii.  Our hookups were in the garage and there was a ledge, so we didn't need the pedestals that they sell separately.  Well, in our new house, we have a real live laundry room sans the ledge, so I've been in need of a little height under there!  My protruding belly makes is more and more difficult to bend over.**

I decided that I wanted Dad to build some instead of buying them 1) building them would be way cheaper than buying 2 at $250 each! and 2) I wanted to be able to slide my laundry baskets underneath.  And being the great Dad that he is, he happily obliged.  

We built it and had it painted before I left.

FYI they make these great paint sparkles to add to your paint.  They made the paint job look just like the shimmery paint on my washer and dryer.

 When I got home on Monday, Dad already had them in place!

 I'm a big fan!  No more bending over for me!

Now you're probably asking about my trip.  Well, I flew to Orlando to meet Drew at a Real Estate Conference.  We took a class on Creative Financing.  It was very helpful and we met lots of interesting people, some were even from Pensacola!  We're ready to expand our portfolio....looking for our next investment property.  (By the way...we have a Real Estate business on the side, but that's a totally different post)  To get the general idea, you can visit our website, which is always under construction:  Liberty Coast Investments.  And as always, if you need to buy or sell a home, let us know! :)

And since the conference was in Orlando, there had to be a little Disney in there somewhere.  We attended Night of Joy at the Magic Kingdom on Friday night.  Night of Joy is a 2 night Christian concert event and it was Ah-Mazing!  Friday night featured:  Need to Breathe, Disciple, Red, Fracesca Battestelli, Brandon Heath, Chris Tomlin, and Casting Crowns.   It was so great to see so many people praising Jesus in front of the castle!  On Saturday night our conference lasted until 9 pm so we didn't make it to see Mercy Me and Third Day (and many others).  

*It was raining so I didn't take my camera with me to MK*  Alas, there are no pictures.  

It was a great weekend.  It was nice to spend some alone time with Drew even though we were "working."  We stayed at Disney's Boardwalk and had a nice, quiet breakfast at Sunrise on Friday morning at the bakery.  Good times!  I'm looking forward to seeing Drew again next week when he comes home for a quick couple of days.