Rebuilding from the ground up...

Just a quick update on my parents house. 

The house has been demo-ed,

the rubble has been removed, and now

the lot is ready for its brand new foundation to be poured!

My parents have been running all over God's country trying to get permits, bonds, inspections and whatnots so that the foundation can be poured later this week. 

Fingers crossed!
I for one am not only grateful that the rebuild has begun, but that there is no longer a "house" or anything left for my parents (especially Pop) to rumage thru anymore!  Believe it or not, they continued to go thru the house trying to salvage things even 3 months after the fire, which was not only dangerous, but was def not helping them heal emotionally. 
Now they can truly begin to heal, grow and move forward looking at this new home and into their future with postive thoughts and hopes. 
Please continue to keep us all in your prayers throughout this process...we will need it!

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was so great for us me bc I we were able to not only relax and enjoy a sneak peak of the upcoming Fall weather, but mark some major things off of our "Project: Get things done before Hollis arrives" list.

Friday night, we took it easy, ate some Cracker Barrel (the hubs' craving, not mine, but still yummy) and turned it in fairly early.

Saturday, we started off our day with a walk at Cosby Lake as a little family!  It was still pretty cool out and was great to just enjoy some time with my 2 favorite boys. The hubs was very quick to also point out that not only is this preggo out of shape, but so is this guy...

We were both panting and out of breathe...so sad.

Saturday afternoon/early evening, we went to Ben and Mere's house for the AU vs LSU game.  While we did end up losing, it was a hell of a game and I'm so much more proud of my AU Tigers than I have been the 1st 3 games.

Hopefully we will keep this same momentum and start winning some games this year. :)

Note to self: HORRIBLE angle!

Mitch, Adam, Terry and Ben

My baby daddy :)

Sunday, was Hollis day-We finished returning/exchanging/buying the last major things we are going to need before her arrival-car seat, activity mat, bottles, some super adorable Fall outfits, Boppy, etc.

Afterwards, we decided to put together the swing and bouncer so that Wrigely can get used to the smells, and sounds of her toys before she gets here so that its not all new to him at once when we bring her home.  We want to make sure he feels comfortable around her and all the new things the come with her.

He has been very involved in every aspect of us prepping for her arrival-from "helping" me sort her clothes to "helping" daddy install the car seat...

Standing guard

Enjoying one of his new toys for being so "helpful"!

He's going to be such a great big brother!

35 Weeks

Phoenix-did I put the right # this time?!  :)

I need an editor! :)

How far along:

35 weeks

Weight Gain:

3 lbs this week, 27 lbs total

I'm officially ready to take a hammer to our scale!

Sleep:
Still good I guess with the exception of the multiple potty breaks.
I'm not so sure I'm getting very restful sleep every night-just can't seem to shut my mind off some times worrying about packing our bags, if she has enough clothes (anyone who was at my tea knows the answer to this, but still), what else we still need to get...etc.  Oh wait and then theres that labor and delivery thing too...

Best moment of the week:
It was a good week...

-The hubs and I got to spend some good quality time together-Friday night in, Saturday morning walk as a family, Sunday major baby shopping, and Monday doc appt and running around town together.

-We went to our breastfeeding class last Wednesday and as overwhelming as it was, it was super helpful! While I feel like some of the info they gave was a little overboard for our taste, the general tips and tricks will become very helpful and we are going to have to adapt them to our lifestyle. In general, very glad we went and again, the hubs couldn't have been a better support! Love him!
-We also got the dresser in the nursery (thanks Mom and Pop!) and all of her clothes washed! It's so much fun to go in there and play with her outfits and try to picture just what she is going to look like in them!

Food Cravings:

Peanut Butter cookies from Publix bakery have not let me down this week! Yum!

Gender:

GIRL!!!!!

Movement:

Still tons of movement! I had heard taht the further along you get, the less movement, but of course, our little one has gone against the norm and has been moving even more the further along we've gotten! :)

She also got the hiccups for the 1st time this week! Standing there at work and all of teh sudden I notice littel kicks, in a pattern...cutest hiccups ever! It's so cute and such a reassurance that she is ok, but at the same time I feel bad, b/c who likes having the hiccups?! :)

What I miss: Again, nothing major, but def not used to having to depend on others so much to do things.  I miss just being able to get things done without having to think if its best for me and her and whether or not I should just "go lay down and relax"...just not my nature. ;)

What I am looking forward to:
As of the end of this week, we will have a month until Hollis' due date! I can't believe we are already almost there! We go to the doc every week from now on and they will begin to check me for progress on Monday.

I'm going to start packing our bags this week so that the hubs will feel a little more relaxed (he's been worried about my bags being packed).


In other preggo news:
We did experience our first bit of not so fun parts of pregnancy this week...had some contractions and back pains a few times this week.
Being new to this whole pregnancy, contractions, pain thing, we were unsure of exactly what to do or what it was, but after speaking with the doc, turns out its just our sweet daughter cramping all of my internal organs around as she sees fit, causing some moments of feeling uncomfortable. 
Eveyrthing is A-ok with us both, but def a slight scare when you think that I could technically have her at any time now!



34 Weeks

**I was just made aware that the pic clearly says "33 weeks" and I'm obvi 34 weeks...true example of the power of pregnancy brain!

I need to get an editor! :)

Thanks Phoenix for pointing out my flaws! :) J/k!



How far along:

34 weeks!
8 1/2 months!
I feel like I say this every week, but wow, already almost 9 months and it has flown by!

Weight Gain:

0lbs this week, 24 lbs total still

Sleep:

Good other than the numerous potty breaks

Best moment of the week:

Spending some time with my honey and playing in the nursery!  I have so enjoyed playing and organizing her tiny clothes and such.  While I have gotten slightly overwhelmed at times, I am learning to take it little by little and day by day.
And of course who doesn't love getting stuff in the mail?!  We have received a few gifts via mail this week and its like Christmas morning every afternon after work, only maybe not to that extreme, but you get the idea. :)

Food Cravings:

still nothing crazy or outrageous, just love food! :)

Gender:

GIRL!!!!!

Movement:

Holy Cow! Movement is an understatement!  I am convinced that she was doing "the Worm" Friday night as we were running errands!  She just wouldn't stop and by the end of the night, we were both laughing trying to think of what exactly she was up to in there!
Also, one of the funniest moments of this whole pregnancy was Friday night when Mitch was watching my belly move around and her elbow or knee or something looked like it was trying to escape or jump out out my side!  He was completely weirded out by it all and was like "is that supposed to happen?"  It was very funny and cute to see his reaction! Love him!

What I miss:

Still nothing that I couldn't live without. 
Time is flying by and I know that no matter how big of a glass of wine I want to drink or pair of skinny jeans I want to slip on, it will all come in due time and I love rockin' my maternity jeggings and drinking my bottled water like its going out of style b/c as soon as all of this is over, I'm going to miss this time!

What I am looking forward to:
Of course getting her room closer to being finished is a huge priority!
We have our breastfeeding class this Wednesday too and you know that Mitchell is thrilled about attending this one! (Hopefully I'll have pics next week!)
Also, we go back to the doc on Monday and from then on, we will be on an every week basis until we meet our little Mexican Jumping bean!


Also a few other fun facts:
-I have developed a slight case of carpal tunnel in my hands (thank you pregnancy).  Its not awful or painful, but more annoying when my hands go numb as I'm drying my hair in the morning.Can't wait for this lovely symptom to go away!
-My feet have started hurting more this week than they have been.  I have still been rocking my heels but just not as often as before.

-I am a self-proclaimed belly "molester" with my friends and family when they are preggo, so I completely expected to get it back ten-fold when my time came, but to be honest, I haven't had that many people touch the belly as I had anticpated with as much "molesting" as I did with theirs! :)

With that being said, I had always heard people talking about strangers touching the belly and I really didn't believe it...until it happened to me...on Saturday.  It was so strange and no, I wasn't bothered all that bad that she touched the belly, but it was just the thought that you showed absolutely no boundaries...just weird and I wanted to document. :)

And just for fun, here is my hubby at 34 weeks...looking good, no?

He loves me (even though I make him do stupid poses for le blog!)

A new chapter...

As of Saturday afternoon, my family began a new chapter in our lives. 

After months of going back and forth with paperwork, and checks and what-not with the insurance company, my parents house, the house I grew up in and have called home for almost 18 years was taken down. 

It is def a sight to see and certainly nothing I wish on anyone to see their childhood home in a pile of garbage, but in a strange way, it made me happy. It made me happy to see the end of this horrible ordeal that my family has gone through be taken down and their new house, their new life beginning.

They are going to rebuild, on the same lot that they have lived on for 18 years, but this time everything will be new.  There is not one room that will be where it used to be and the house will be what my parents have always wanted-spacious, open and plenty of room for grandbabies to run and play!

front of the house

what used to be the front door

from the driveway looking into the garage

before:

after:

before:

after:

I plan on documenting the rebuild process on here and their is no other place to begin but with the closing if this chapter...

Hollis' Baby Tea

Our baby tea for sweet Hollis was Sunday and I don't think there are enough words to express the love and appreciation we have for the family and friends in our lives that helped to make it all possible!

I may be biased, but I think it was pure perfection, from the incredibly crafty decorations, to the delicious food, the sweet and thoughtful gifts and all of the people who came to show their support for our growing family!
She will without a doubt be the best dressed little miss around for sure!

I think that the pictures will speak for themselves...

Her adorable door hanger made by non other than her Aunt Mere!

And can I just ntoe that the background is hand painted to amtch her fabric-so talented!

The sign in plate that her Auntie Megan painted (again, crafty) with "Wishes for Hollis" cards for all of the guests to fill out.  We loved reading these when we got home and maybe she will ove reading them one day when she is older!!

Invitation done by our in house invitation specialist, Phoenix!

Love how they turned out, so me!

Yummy food and diaper cake (also made by her Aunt Phoenix)

Just realized I didn't get a close up of it...

Donna, Della, Mom (Nana) and Nina

Phoenix and her neice Bradleigh

Besties!

Me with my 2 mama's

Overwhelmed with gratitude!

Sweet Haley-so good to see her!

Me and my hostesses minus Tiffy-so sad that she couldn't make it all the way from Tulsa :(

3 generations of women :)

Again, words can not express how thankful we are for the people in our lives that have been with us throughout this incredible journey so far!
We can't thank everyone enough (especially all of my sweet hostesses) for helping us to welcome our little girl into this world in a few short weeks!

Let it be known that Miss Hollis Laine will be so loved and will have the best group of Auntie's to spoil her and love her!