I like to call this Progress!

Beau and I woke up early both Saturday and Sunday this weekend and my what a difference it makes! Not only did we wake up early but we got out of bed early too! That's always the trick. We certainly are pros at laying around, hanging with the doggies in bed. We were so productive and back home from running errands by 11am both days! What?! That's when we are usually wandering in to the kitchen to make breakfast. I would say that we are just taking advantage before the baby comes but that's not true. We have always done that ;-)

Saturday - Beau painted the middle section of the wall (I know!) and it's finished!! I'm just happy to have that off our plates. Then, we went to get the furniture from Lone Star Baby. They have only called FOUR times to tell us to come get it. Geez. Like it's not a priority of ours? Buying furniture of any kind is exciting and major so if we haven't come to get it yet, you can bet there is a REASON! Like wall paint. Anyway, this is what our living room looked like by 11 yesterday morning while the paint dried....

Then, by the end of the day we Beau had the furniture assembled and the boxes cleared out....

I would show you the dresser but the Espresso just doesn't photograph well and it looks like a black box in the picture

. 

We also made a little trip over to Babies-R-Us to get our car seat. We went in wanting the gray/black one and came out with this one. But, I like it. and maybe it won' get as hot as the black one. Seeing that little tiny area made it all more real! Our baby will fit in there in 4 months! :-)

So, had we laid in bed until almost noon, we wouldn't have made such progress. AND we also went to a friend's house for lunch, I had patio time and dinner with my girls and Beau went to the car show and dinner with his buddies. Oh, and Starbucks in the morning with the doggies. Such a productive day!

Sunday - Not as much to report. Babies-R-Us in the morning (went in looking for tummy lotion and came out with the most precious $8 2-piece outfit!), breakfast at a local Kolache place and Wal-Mart for groceries. We don't typically shop here but will begin doing so. We were shocked at how much we saved! If you can deal with the obnoxious crowds....really?! The entire family of 7 needs to go to the store AND hover in the same aisle together?! What's the point? SO annoying. Now, we are back home watching movies & doing laundry and will cook dinner later. But still, it's only 3:45 and we are on our second movie! So crazy.

24 Week Update (or A Foot Long)

Shelby and Grayson may be the same length at this point and can both be considered foot longs! ;-) Anyway, I officially look pregnant and strangers aren't as scared to ask me if I'm pregnant. They also aren't afraid to STARE. I feel like a spectacle. Mainly b/c the stares aren't matched with joyous smiles but flat, stone-cold faces. I can forgive the children and men but what's up with women staring at me like that? Aren't we supposed to be some sisterhood of reproducers? Makes me wonder if I stared at pregos with a look of discomfort - no doubt, I was thinking it....And don't say that it's in my head b/c it's not! Beau has noticed it too.:)

Shelby is struggling with finding a new way to sleep on me on the couch. Gone are the days where she could lay on my stomach but it's not for the lack of effort! Poor girl. She's not happy. She actually tries to drape her body over the top of my belly - uncomfortable for both of us :-)

How your baby's growing:
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

 

23 Week Update (or Tiny Dancer)

I'm hoping the rest of my weeks fly by the way 22 did! 21 took forever - both personally and professionally. I can tell I'm getting bigger and bigger and last night I actually felt sorry for my stomach skin for the first time. It just looked so tight and thin (and veiney). I just know it will never be the same. It's getting more and more itchy and my muscles are feeling so stretched and uncomfortable. I know, this isn't even the beginning of discomfort! I had a bout of "Should I go to the E.R.?" gas pains Saturday night. My. Goodness. There aren't words. I got some Spring time maternity clothes this weekend! I'M READY FOR SPRING! Who do I need to talk to to get this season moving along?! Jebus. Happy 23rd week, Grayson!

Below is the update and a bonus animation of what this little somethin' looks like right about now...

How your baby's growing:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

The 24 Hour Flu

Well, I have it. That thing that makes your body do things that just aren't natural. It was about 3:00 this morning when I awoke with the worst stomach pains! It didn't take me long to recognize what I thought was a stomach bug. After a call to Beau at 3:30 (he's in Houston this week on biz) and one quick plea via Facebook that I needed my mommy, I emailed my team at the office saying no way, no how was I making it in today. Oh, and I'll share this little life lesson with you - if you call your hubby at 3:30am and happen to be pregnant, he WILL think the worst possible thing! Intruder, premature labor, losing the baby, I'm dying, etc. Oops. Side note: This is very reminiscent of the time that I called him while he was in the middle of a business dinner screaming at the top of my lungs b/c Brinkley brought a mouse in the house and dropped it at my feet. Of course, he couldn't understand me. It was then that I had to tell him that not only was I not being attacked by a masked man, but that the mouse was dead. Oops. 

Anyway,  I digress....nurse said I have the 24 hour flu - that it's going around and one of the worst outbreaks she has seen. Lots of liquids and I'm highly contagious. Oh good. Do I tell Beau that NOW (when he is about to board a plane early to come take care of me) or after he lands when he can't get away from me. Duh! Waited until he got home to tell him. Now, he won't come near me. Boo. Hiss. But before Beau arrived home, these are the folks that were taking care of me:

Clowns to the left of me....

 

Jokers to the right....

A doggie caretaker sandwich!

Shout out to Becca Caney - the BEST Frisco neighbor ever for bringing me a care package full of Gatorade, popsicles, soup and a SLURPEE!! I haven't had one of those in years and it was soooo good!

Still havin' fun!

My recent blog updates are probably a total snoozer to those whose aren't particularly interested in babies. In fact, pre-prego Stacey would be SO over this blog ;-) So, rest assured, I still have a social life, albeit a small one. Here are some things we have been up to lately:

JoDee's 30th Birthday! What a treat to see my sorority sisters that I haven't seen since college!! And JoDee of course looking fabulous as always....

The Ft. Worth rodeo with about 7 of our friends - SO much fun! Love me some cowboys rodeo fun!

Our friends' kids' Birthdays! We have been to 2 since I have been expecting and it's definitely preparing us for all the fun to come ;-) This pic was taken at Joseph's 2nd Birthday and he is PRECIOUS!

Thea's Birthday! Sushi and then Lemon Bar and who needs to see a picture of me when there is a SHOT SKI to stare at. SO funny to watch 4 of my friends coordinate their shots. Ha!

Snuggie Pub Crawl! What a hoot! A crazy number of people in snuggies took over Uptown one Saturday and I was thrilled to be a part of it! My friends even treated me to a non-alcoholic beer made by Heinekin. It was actually really good! :-)

 

Celebrating Nikki's engagement with the girls in the private wine room at Sushi Axiom - SO great to catch up with the girls since I don't get to see them all that often (contrary to this blog post!). And Kristi was out for the first time since Emmie was born 3 weeks ago - great to see her too!!

 

The Amazing Beau

Progress is being made on the guest room/nursery conversion and it's all attributed to Beau!! He's such a hard worker - I've always known this about him. :-) He moved every piece of furniture to the garage today by himself! Not an easy task! I was perfectly content with this big step but he didn't stop there. He just kept working back there this morning so I thought I would be nice and make him some eggs, bacon and apple cinnamon muffins (ok, the muffins were for me). He's such a sweetie and after breakfast he suggested we go buy the paint today - I was pretty surprised. That's a lot in 1 day. But he did it - isn't it pretty?! I love the progress - we can go pick up the furniture now! I'm so pleased with how the paint went on - now if we can just get this stinkin' middle panel figured out! We agree on a lot - but have different opinions on this center panel. I should just give in - he IS my painter after all ;-) P.S. I should hire him out - he did this in a couple of hours and without tape and there isn't one "oops". Amazing.

Getting back to how wonderful Beau is - in addition to the time he spent on the nursery today, he also had baseball practice, he's packing to leave for this week's trip, he made me dinner AND he's outside working with Brinkley right now. He does a lot and still he is always trying to keep me happy - I never thought I would be so lucky! On the subject of Brinkley, Beau and the breeder have big plans to get Brinkley into some competitions and he's ALMOST there. I'm so proud of Beau and Brinkley both! They have worked so hard and people (including the breeder) are always so impressed when they see Brinkley's discipline and intelligence. All thanks to Beau's dedication to training him when he's home. Love you Beaubs! xoxo

22 Weeks (or Moooving)

Beau and I saw my stomach MOVING for the first time this morning! It was really cool. Baby was going to town in there and, as always, I'm thrilled that Beau was there. Perhaps Baby Gray was waiting to begin punching and kicking me until this weekend when his dad would be home to see :-)

I'm officially out of breath when I run around the office or walk to my car after work. I'm a speedy mover so that just adds to the breathlessness (not a word?). But it's normal so no concerns. I have the black line now under my belly button (which is changing daily might I add - that thing will be an outie before we know it). I have lots of energy these days and still feel comfortable; I wish I could stay this size the whole time. It's only downhill from here ;-) I eat waffles like Eggo is closing their doors tomorrow. Breakfast and dinner. Thank goodness for prenatal vitamins!

How your baby's growing:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Nursery Color Update

Dare I say we have final nursery colors?! After my sad, sad discovery that navy wouldn't work, we were left scratching our heads (ok, really it was just me) at what our Plan B would be. But I think we have it! Let's step back, originally our colors were cream and navy with cream bedding and navy walls (as mentioned in this post). And as I mentioned, the thought in my head didn't translate to the walls. Oh! I haven't shown you our bedding yet! We have had it since, oh I don't know, I was 10 weeks pregnant. :-) Loved it then, love it now! Here is the link. So the cream won't change and instead of navy, we will paint the bottom 1/2 of the walls a light green color. You know, the green that all the baby blankets and sheets come in when you don't want pink or blue. We think it's a safe, yet pretty, option and how soothing are cream and this shade of green together?! Now, where I need to stop myself is painting that center panel navy blue b/c I REALLY still want navy as an accent color. But I struggle b/c that will be a strong contrast between the two soothing colors. Ugh, already too much thought has gone into this and THAT annoys me about myself! 

We thought that picking up a baby blanket at BuyBuyBaby to match to paint swatches would be wise - after all, any accents that comes home from there will blend with the wall color! And so begins the next step of testing paint samples. I hate this part - too many options!! Wish us luck!

Valentine's Day

Beau and I have a similar take on this holiday (nothing you haven't heard before, made up holiday driven by the flower and card industries, yadda yadda) but we decided to do something regardless. I mean, who wouldn't want to go to brunch with their honey and see a movie with 15 uber-famous hottie celebrities?! So, you guessed it, we went to see the movie "Valentine's Day", which was really cute :-) 

Beforehand, we had Sunday Brunch at The Cheesecake Factory. I have been intrigued ever since my clients started talking about this part of their menu and while it's not new, there is one new menu item that is to DIE FOR! The Lemon Ricotta Pancakes! I would include a picture but they haven't been shot yet. But I assure you, they are heavenly and you must try them. Beau took one bite and said, "Your mom would love these!". I thought that was cute ;) And yes, Mama you must try them!

We then took a romantic trip to Kroger...gazed into each others eyes over High Fiber oatmeal and frozen pizzas. ;-) Kidding - but I love everything I get to do with Beau, regardless of whether it's a Hallmark-inspired day!

Here is my other Valentine!

(& me at 21 weeks before my V-Day date)

Grayson's First Clothes!

My sister Andrea recently sent Grayson some treats in the mail! His very first new clothes just for him :-) She sent us 2 onesies that are just precious and a burnt orange knit cap WITH HORNS! His very first horns - it's so cute! If my family had it their way, his first words would be "Hook 'em". ;) Here are the pics!

In addition to these, we can't forget the clothes my mom gave me that used to be mine! Both Grayson and I are/were June babies so a lot of it will fit him. :) I'm most excited about my winter coat - it's red corduroy - totally could be for a boy. It's such a cool thought that he will wear some things that once fit me when I was his size!

So, there isn't anything cuter than the horns beanie but this is a close second! MY very first baby outfit purchase for my very own child...(another cool thought)....isn't it CUTE?!? My poor kid will be decked out in weenie dogs and longhorns!

Front of the onesie/back of the pants

 

Back of the onesie/back of the pants 

Nikki & Brad are engaged!

Our dear, dear friends Nikki and Brad became engaged this evening in Destin! Brad currently lives there and Nikki is in Dallas. After a VERY trying day of flight cancellations and delays yesterday due to our winter snow storm, Nikki finally arrived so that they could spend, what she thought, would be V-day weekend together. Little did she know it would be their engagement weekend! :-) It's a perfect story and we are SO thrilled for them! I can't WAIT for all the wedding planning! They both have such good taste and a Destin wedding sounds AWESOME right about now! Here are 2 of my favorite pics of them - the first at our wedding and the second in the Bahamas...I'll spare everyone the pics of the 4 of us at the river ;-)  Congratulations you guys - we love you!!

21 Weeks (or Kung Fu Fighting)

I'm feeling really good! I have lots of energy and still tend to forget that I'm pregnant during the day. The baby is moving more than ever, which I love (and just realize that this is right in line w/ this week's update!). A sorority sister of mine recently told me to enjoy this time, that it's a feeling only for me. And I just love the way she verbalized that :-) It's so true and I'm really enjoying it :) However, I'm ready for this baby to be here SOON and June feels sooooo far away ;) 

In other body changing news, that dark line below my belly button is starting to show up and speaking of belly buttons, mine's comin' out! It's 1/2 in and 1/2 out and this is the first time that I've been able to see to the bottom of it! I used to have a really deep belly button so it's a little strange and it's VERY sensitive! I don't even like to touch it. What else...oh, my teenage acne has cleared on my face but not on my chest and back. TMI? Just giving my non-prego friends something to look forward to ;-)

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. Your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now.