The stork has nested

As many of you know in November we decided to try start a family. So on December 4th I decided to take a test in the wee hours of the morning to make sure I was not pregnant and could indeed drink freely at my company Christmas party that evening. And low and behold - the letters Y-E-S appeared! Of course I freaked a little as it was unexpected to be successful so quickly that I then understood the reason for the second test. Except I didn't 'plan ahead' and had a bit of a problem completing the second test. Wow - I hope I'm ready for this!

I went back to bed and slowly woke Heath up, checked his mood to be sure the timing was right, and then let him in on the news and that I would need a lot of help 'faking it' at the Christmas party that evening. He was very sleepy-excited. Being newly pregnant during the holidays is a tricky task. We had three weekends in a row of parties and the lack of drinking on my end would be a dead give-away. Plus seeing family was tempting to share our news, even if a little early.

So once the morning sickness began (all day, every day) at six weeks along there was definitely no hiding it. We slowly told friends and family starting on Christmas Eve. It was really fun and exciting, even though I felt icky. We told Heath's family by hints through their Christmas gifts and it took Heath's mom and sister-in-law longer than Heath's dad and brother to figure it out! We had a good laugh over that :) And we told my family in the car on the way to grandma's funeral - ah, the circle of life... (5.5 months along in photo)






















All check-ups have gone smoothly, morning sickness is long gone, we have a healthy baby boy (go team BLUE!)growing rapidly and he loves to kick and punch. It took Heath six months and two rum and cokes to finally get enough nerve up to feel him and boy was it worth the wait! His reaction was priceless. We are in the middle of labor and delivery classes right now (2 beer requirement for Heath before each class begins) and we are learning a lot! (YIKES)





















Heath and his parents surprised me Mother's Day weekend by getting the nursery going. I left for Iowa on Friday to a lavender guest bedroom and returned Sunday to a slate blue fully decorated baby's room! It was such a wonderful surprise and fun to know Heath painted, shopped, decorated, and cleaned for me :) I'm a lucky girl! My dad made the cradle and my grandfather made the piece of furniture being used for the changing table (previously a TV stand).
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As you can see, I love to lay out all of his clothes that we have acquired as gifts or hand-me-downs and imagine him in them. So far we have 19 newborn-3 months outfits, 15 3-6 months, 6 6-9 months, and 2 9-12 months. I have no idea if this is enough or not! Its just fun to get them :) Also - the 'vintage' outfits that belonged to Heath and me as babies are fun too, here are a few examples.




Now we are entering our 7th month, third trimester. ALREADY!

Mastering Bricktown

Every time Shiloah and Holly have a child Heath and I get to go to Bricktown Oklahoma City's version of The Plaza and Westport combined. We didn't really plan it that way but they keep having children around the same time as our 'dating' anniversary so we like to break up the long trip to see the new baby by stopping in Oklahoma City for a night and spending a nice evening together.

Our first trip to Bricktown was almost 4 years ago when Hooper J was born. We didn't have much of a budget. So I got on the Bricktown website and called the 4 hotels they had listed for their rates. The first three were $100+ and the last one was $85. Done. We budgeted for two nights including one fancy dinner. Turns out the hotel we booked was less than acceptable, our first indication were the 'just married' vehicles in the parking lot. These weren't cars from fancy or classy weddings. The hotel was thick of stale smoke and we knew immediately we couldn't stay there, except for the cancellation policy. Looked like we were stuck for the night. So I told Heath we had to stay out as late as possible and avoid the hotel except for a few hours of sleep. So feeling frustrated we went to a brewery and I drank a lot, I couldn't face the hotel sober. It worked, except for my 3 am bathroom visit to find a cockroach crawling across my makeup. EEEKKK!!! I couldn't wait to get out of there. So the second night we decided to just take the financial hit and enjoy ourselves. (needless to say, that hotel is no longer listed on the Bricktown website)

So we got a room at the Sheraton and proceeded to jump for joy on the massive, clean, soft, quality bed as soon as we got the room. Then we dressed up and went to find a fancy restaurant. Sure enough, we found Mickey Mantel's Steakhouse. Super fancy, super expensive, and the service was amazing.

Then we went for a stroll on the boardwalk and found a little cigar/piano bar tucked away. It was amazing, perfect for us. A woman playing Norah Jones on the harp, big, warn, leather couches, a fireplace. We stayed there for hours. Then we headed back to the hotel, and Heath declared that wanted a brownie. Of course. So I decided I wanted ice cream, and wine. Of course. We figured, why not and ordered room service :) Although it probably took us months to pay it off we had a wonderful time :)

Celebrating 3 years together

The second trip to Bricktown was this past August when Boston was born, we decided on only one night and thank goodness our budget was a little more flexible than it was 3 years ago. So now being veterans we knew where to stay, and where to go. We ate at an amazing restaurant that somehow managed to get Heath's steak undercooked so badly we had to send it back three times! And we never do things like that! But the final time the chef came out to ensure it was correct, they were incredibly nice. And the food was AMAZING! Then of course, we went to the cigar/piano bar.

Celebrating 6 years together

Thanks Hooper J and Boston Ren! (PPPssstt! Shiloah and Holly - time for another kid - we need a trip to Bricktown!) ;)