Lillie's first concert!

On May 1, Jimmy Buffett came to Nashville.  I had never seen him before and was determined we were going to the concert, no matter how pregnant I was!!!  So we bought tickets and "took" Lillie to her first concert.  We both loved it!  I mean seriously, who doesn't love JB, I know I do!   Well Lillie loved it too.  While Matt and I danced throughout the whole concert, Lillie kicked and squirmed and moved around the whole time too.  I think we might have a little parrot head on our hands!!  Which is fine by us... Anyway, so at 35 weeks, we headed to the Bridgestone arena and had a blast! We sat with our good friends Chad and Heather!  Take a look at Chad's gear below.  Little did he know, he might actually need that snorkle later on!

So we knew it was raining outside, and that it was bad weather, but we had no idea how bad.  During the concert, Jimmy made a comment about the Nashville flood of 2010.  Well, flood it did.  As we were driving home in the torrential rain, we just thought what a bad storm.  We turned onto Hillsboro road to get home and it was flooded.  I mean standing water no telling how deep.  When we woke up the next day to horrific rain again, my parents decided it was time to bolt!  and I'm pretty sure they are glad they did. The flooding only got worse and come Monday, Matt and I were stranded in Franklin.   Every road out was underwater.  What we didn't realize was that other parts of Nashville had it so much worse than we did.  The whole city pretty much flooded.  I have never seen anything like it.  So while we couldn't leave Franklin, we were very fortunate that our house didn't flood and we were ok.  Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone who lost so much!

Baby Showers Galore!

Matt, Lillie and I were very blessed to have such wonderful friends give us baby showers in Jackson & Nashville. 

My sweet girl friends in Jackson (and a couple of wonderful friends who traveled, thanks Kimberly & Jason) gave us a wonderful baby shower Easter Weekend.  Madison opened up her beautiful home for our shower and we had a blast.  We got so many amazing gifts!  Everyone was so sweet.  Our hostesses gave us our car seat and we were totally surprised.  It was the exact thing I wanted and was so worried about getting.  Thanks girls for making this so special! Uncle Adam gave us the big lamb you see in the picture above.  I love it and it is literally huge!!!!  It will be perfect for Tummy time and for Lillie to love on!

So excited about our carseat!!!!

The next weekend, our wonderful friends in Nashville had a shower for us!  It was a wonderful party at Mike and Lisa Whitten's house.  We enjoyed getting to see everyone so much.  Again, Lillie was showered with wonderful presents.  We really got everything we needed! Matt was especially excited, we got a BOB stroller!  One of the major items Matt really wanted.  Thanks Marsha!  Thanks so much to everyone!

Lastly, the sweet girls I work with and my sweet boss hosted a baby shower for us at work.  They were so sweet to get my favorite dessert, cheesecake!, and have punch.  We enjoyed everyone getting together and really appreciated all they did for us.  Lillie is all set now! My boss' wife even came and brought his 2 adorable little girls, Sophia and Sara.  As you can, we got a little practice with Sara!  Thanks so much to Pam, Halley, Kelly, Amber and Ben!

Birthdays, Bedding and Birthing classes!

So, alot has been going on at our house lately.  Where do we start?!!  A two weekends ago, Matt and I made the trip to Jackson for my dad's birthday.  Dad knew we were coming in town for his birthday, but what he didn't know was that we had been planning a surprise 60th birthday party for him.  So in typical fashion, Dad wasn't very cooperative.  He wanted us to cook redfish from his recent trip and couldn't figure out why Matt and Adam wanted to spend all afternoon Saturday at the country club watching basketball.  Neither of them really cares about basketball, so you can imagine Dad's confusion. Luckily, Adam and Matt can be very convincing and managed to get Dad out of the house for a couple of hours so we could set up and get ready. All of our guests arrived around 7, and Dad got there around 7:30.  I think he was surprised.  We had a great turnout, with friends from Jackson and out of town coming to celebrate.  I think Dad was truly honored at some of the guests who came from so far away!  The party was a blast.  In typical fashion, it ran late.  Of course, after Dad's friends left, Adam's friends were still there and the party had only started at 11:30!  We had a blast!  Even the dogs had fun.  Adam and Carmen brought their puppy, Swayze, to meet Shelby.  They seemed to get along great, well until Shelby chased Swayze into the pool.  Poor Swayze couldn't get her footing and fell in.  Luckily Mom had heated the pool so it wasn't freezing, but not to be out done, Shelby promptly jumped in the pool.  So the night turned into a pool party, with some of Adam's friends following suit.  And of course, an evening would not be complete without a trip to Krystal.  Being the sober one, I probably should have taken Carmen to get the food, but Nicole was sweet enough to do it.  And thankfully, she was in good shape too!  

Also, this weekend, we got our bedding for Lillie's nursery.  We couldn't be more thrilled with the way it turned out.  Here are some pictures below.  I LOVE IT!  And it, of course, has a little sentimental value too.  My first grade teacher, and some of my close guy friends mom, made this bedding for Lillie.  She did a fantastic job!  Now all we have left is for the chair to come in and get some curtains done.  Mrs. Owen is going to do a curtains for us with the leftover fabric.  I can't wait to see how they turnout!

Also on the recent agenda was birthing classes at Baptist Hospital where Lillie will be born.  Well, our teacher was great, but what can you say about birthing classes??!  We learned alot....It was all good information to have, just kind of overwhelming to do it all in 2 days.  But we couldn't find 6 consecutive weeks we would both be in town to attend a class.  So 2 days it was.  So what all did we learn?!  We learned to change diapers, bathe the baby, wash her hair...we learned that you don't put baby powder on a baby anymore, it can cause pneumonia....we learned where to check in, about the new visitation rules, and we learned that an epidural is God's gift to women when they are in labor....yes I will be getting one as soon as I can.  According to Baptist, they won't let you have an epidural until you show some progress in your labor....my doctor said I could have one whenever I wanted....I'm sure it will be some mix of the 2, but in my mind, why suffer when you don't have too.   As soon as possible please!! 

Other than that, and working, not too much going on here. I had my glucose and anemia test 2 weeks ago.  I haven't heard my results yet, so we are going with no news is good news.  We have started our every 2 week rotation with the doctor, so we go again on Thursday and I figure I can get my results then.  We are headed to Jackson this weekend for a baby shower with all my sweet friends.  They are so kind to honor Matt, Lillie and I in such a sweet way!  I hope to do a better job in the picture department than I did at Dad's party.  Maybe someone else will take some pictures too!  Oh well, more later!

28 weeks and 3 days plus a name!

Alright everyone!  After many ignored requests, here are some pictures of what I look like pregnant.  As of today, I am 28 weeks and 3 days.  We only have about 80 days to go.  I can't believe time is going by so fast!  It's crazy!!!!  Well other than how large I am getting, we have finally settled on  a name and couldn't be more thrilled.  By the way, Matt says these pictures make me look bigger than I am.  Bless my sweet husband for attempting to make me feel better :)  We have decided to name her...

Lillie Haynes Henson

We are so excited to have a name, something to call this little one!  and let me tell you, she has personality already.  She kicks all the time and loves ice cream, just like her mama these days!  She has both of our "wild" streaks we think because she seems to party in my stomach all the time!  Other than kicking up a storm, she seems to be perfectly content!

I go for my 29 week check up on Thursday, thats when I have my lovely glucose test.  They give you a small "bottle" of water that contains 50g of sugar for your test.  You have to drink it in about 5 minutes and then wait an hour to have your blood drawn to see how you processed that much sugar.  The doctor gave it to me at my last visit in case I wanted to drink it in the car on the way to my appointment.  She made it sound like a great idea, but then said, it can make some people throw up.  So I had visions of driving up i-65 chugging my glucose drink and then having to pull over in rush hour traffic to throw up.  lovely, so I think I will wait until I get there to drink my hummingbird food!  I'll let you know how it goes!

Adventures in Registering for Baby Girl!

Matt has been at the Miami boat show this weekend, so I headed to Oxford to see my mom, Adam and Carmen!  On Friday, being the dutiful grandmother, my mom went with me to Babies R Us in Memphis to register for sweet Baby Girl!  My sweet friend Elizabeth sent me a list of items that I needed to register for and so with the list in hand, we were off!  We got to Memphis about 2 on Friday after having lunch with Carmen.  (In case you are ever in Horn Lake, have lunch at Wise Guys pizza!  Carmen took us there and it was the best pizza I have had since we were in Chicago in December.  It's Chicago style pizza and amazing!, but I digress...)  Anyway, we arrived at Babies R Us at 2, checked in to get our scanner gun, and we were off with the list in hand.  Of course, nothing is arranged in logical order in there, and its hard to find anything. I mean you would think they would have all the bath stuff on one aisle, but nope!  It's spread out over about 3.  Oh well, first up on our agenda was bottles and all that goes with it.  I bet your thinking, it's just bottles, how hard can it be?!  Well, there's about 14 different brands of bottles and each has about 3 different sub-types.  So I'm standing there, looking at my list, looking at the wall of bottles and feel this major feeling of being overwhelmed come over me.  So I take a step back, and a deep breath and make a choice.  I figure if I got the wrong kind, someone will tell me at my showers and I can return the bottles and get the right kind.  Next up, pacifiers....again no simple task.  Apparently some babies are really picky about their pacifiers and some don't care.  Some only like soothies, others like the avent kind.   So I'm supposed to pick out the pacifier that this baby is going to like without ever meeting her....great!  Again, my theory, if I get them at a shower, I'll open 1 package, let her try it out and if she doesn't like it, take the others pack and try a different kind....I think I'm seeing a pattern.  Parenting is going to be a lot of trial and error :)  So rather than take you step by step through our time at Babies R Us, I'll fast forward to the next time we checked our watch.  Remember it was 2 when we started.  It's almost 4:00 by this point.  So we decide to grab a seat, now we know why they have rocking chairs all over the store, it's not only so you'll buy one, but to give you a place to rest when you have hit the delirium stage of registering.  I sit down, take out my list, and begin seeing what I lack.  Well that was a fairly long list.  So after about 5 minutes of resting, we start again.  Luckily, we have learned our way around the store and are able to get finished by about 4:30.  We got to check out and I realize, I never found the bathtub I wanted. So I asked the lady about it, and of course, it wasn't with the bathtubs, it was over by the strollers??!!  So anyway about 4:45 we are ready to leave, with the bathtub in hand b/c it's on clearance and "may" not be there when people are buying for our showers.  I am such a sucker.  Oh well!  Mom bought a lady bug night light that shines stars on the ceiling!  It's pretty cool!  After Babies R Us, we headed over to Cotton Tails by Laurel Wood Mall.  Thanks Liz!  We walked away with some precious items.  Baby Girl got 3 outfits and 3 pairs of shoes!  They had baby Merrell's on sale, so we got a pink pair of those, and 2 pair of sandals, Red and Pink!  They are so cute!  After we closed down Cotton Tails, we headed back to Oxford for dinner at Lenoras!  YUM!  Saturday, we slept in and relaxed, but no trip to Oxford is complete without a trip to Oxford Kids Company and Neilsons.  Both were having great sales.  We got a cute Christmas jumper and a dress on sale at OKC for 60% off each.  and Neilson's had a sale too!  I got a cute pink fleece jacket for 70% off!  Man I love a deal, but when you get a precious waterproof micro-fleece coat for $17, you are doing something right!  Above is a pic of her coat!  Anyway, this sweet girl is going to have a closet full of clothes before she got here.   And some of the stuff, my mom brought me, was my stuff when I was little.  It's so neat to have my stuff mixed in.  I had some cute day gowns that are made of really light cloth that will be perfect for this summer.  Anyway, per the instruction of my husband, I better start getting my self together so I can get on the road before the snow hits...did I mention I am sick of snow....YUCK!  Bring on the warm weather!

Oh, also, today is Valentines.  My Valentine sent me a dozen beautiful red roses and I can't wait to see him when I get home!  Happy Valentines Day everyone!  Hugs and Kisses!

6 months preggo...

So today marks the beginning of month 6 in this pregnancy.  I can't believe we have crossed the halfway mark and are on the down-hill side...not too much going on, yea right?!!  Baby girl is moving around a ton.  I feel her all the time which is pretty cool, except when I'm sleepy.  Sometimes it gets uncomfortable, but what can I say...at least she's moving around.  I keep making Matt put his hand on my stomach to see if he can feel her too.  I swear I can feel her when I put my hand on my tummy, but he says he can't yet.  Maybe it's my mind playing tricks on my hand.  Oh well!  I am finally starting to show a baby belly.  I finally look pregnant and not like I've gained 15 pounds...speaking of pounds, the doctor says I'm doing great on my weight gain.  7 pounds so far....so I think that's pretty good.  I have finally outgrown my regular clothes...and have started looking for maternity clothes.  I was happy to make it to 22 weeks before having to get into the stretchy pants.  But seriously, who designs maternity clothes...they are hideous...I have found 4 pieces I like...luckily, my sweetest friend Kimberly has a sister who was pregnant recently and said I could borrow her clothes.  Kimberly and Jenn, I am forever indebted to you for this.  Not only will it save me the trouble of searching for something cute, I won't have to go to the mall or shop online! 

Other than that, we are adjusting to getting ready for the baby.  I have finally selected fabric for the nursery bedding.  Now to put my art skills to use and draw out what I want.  That should be interesting.  But it's going to be pretty cool to tell baby girl that mommy's 1st grade teacher made her bedding.  Yup, you read that right.  My sweet 1st grade teacher and mom of some really good friends makes bedding and household items and has agreed to make my baby bedding for me.  Not only will she do a great job, but it's kind of cool and sentimental too!! Also, Matt and I went and began our baby registry a couple of weekends ago.  For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of going to Babies R Us, be warned.   Not only is it intimidating, but everything they have online isn't in the store.  Or at least that was the case with our Babies R Us.  We wandered around like chickens with our heads cut off looking at all the baby stuff,  decided to make some selections, only to come home and do more research, go to a different store and change our minds.  We only got through the big items before enough was enough.  But at least we have selected a car seat/stroller, swing, etc.  My mom is going to go back with me to do everything else.  Bless her and our sanity :)

Lastly, I know I keep referencing baby girl as "baby girl", but we still don't have a name.  We have it narrowed down to 2 names, but are having so much trouble choosing...I mean this kid is going to be stuck with this name for the rest of her life and I can't imagine having a 40 year old "Gracie Lou" on my hands!  When we have a name, I'll let ya know!

Nursery in progress...

So we started working on the nursery recently.  Our furniture came in last week and on Saturday, Matt, Johnny & Art went and got the baby furniture and put it together for us. A special thanks to Johnny and Art for being such good friends and helping!  I know this wasn't an easy task or a fun way to spend your Saturday :) They were so sweet.   As you can see, we are still in the early stages, but I was so excited about the furniture I couldn't help but put up pictures.  We are still trying to find bedding, deciding whether to buy or have it made.  I just can't seem to find anything I like so unless it's cost prohibitive, I'll probably have a friend of mine's mom make the bedding :)  We still lack lots of stuff, but have made a step in the right direction.  And as you can see, the dogs are very comfortable in baby girl's room!  Matt and I really think Shelby will move in there permanently when we bring the baby home! Oh! the other dog in the picture is Layla! No I haven't convinced Matt to let me adopt another dog, we were keeping Layla for Matt's mom while she was out of town...

So while the guys were working on the baby furniture, Emily, Chappell and I had a girls lunch and went shopping.  We had a good time, just check out the smile on Chappell's face!

I couldn't help but snap her picture b/c she was having so much fun on her girl's day out!!!

PINK OR BLUE???!!!

January 11 was a big day at our house!  We finally got to find out what Baby H is...I mean besides a baby of course.  Matt and I couldn't hardly stand it!  I don't think either of us slept much the night before because we were so excited! So on Monday morning, we got up early and headed downtown to Vanderbilt Imaging Center to have our sonogram!  Everyone really thought it was a boy...and they had me convinced that my inclination was wrong and it was a boy!  Well everyone was wrong...

Baby H is a GIRL!!!!!!

Matt and I were so excited.  We couldn't stand it....I of course went out and bought something pink immediately!  And now we are getting our furniture in today for the nursery and starting to register tomorrow.  I am so thrilled to finally know what this baby is...It's so nice to say, She or Her or whatever feminine pronoun we can use.

Of course, now we begin the name game...  Seriously naming a baby is quite the challenging task...All the names I like Matt's not to fond of and vice versa.  We will come to an agreement, but man what an overwhelming task!  We also have the 100,000 baby name book.  That's the most intimidating thing I've ever looked at.  But we'll get there.

For now, I am starting to feel her move more and more, which I love.  I know Matt is ready to feel her too.  Hopefully soon!!!

 

Hayden Michelle Kaeser

So we arrived home from Dallas on January 3rd about noon.  Matt and I had intended on a day of relaxing, washing clothes and just generally taking it easy.  We little did we know that we were going to get to meet Ashley & Carter's little one that day.  About 3, I sat down to blog about Dallas.  I was going to do so good and get my pictures uploaded and blogged that day we got home.  Well as soon as I sat down and plugged my camera in, the phone rang and Matt told me to take a quick shower, it was time to head to Baptist!  Ashley was in labor!  and Carter said the baby would be that night.  So we headed to Baptist and not to long after we got there, sweet Hayden Michelle Kaeser was born!  She made her debut only 17 minutes after we all left the room.  She's adorable and everyone is doing great!  Matt and I can't wait to see her more!