Thursday, December 13, 2007

100 days

There are officially 100 days left until our due date. 15 weeks. A little over 3 months. We have A LOT to get and prepare and do before the baby comes, but it will all come together, right? Here are some things we do have going for us so far... 

We bought a vintage high chair off craigslist. It is adorable and I love it. Did I mention it was $5? We let Lola be the first to try it out. She was pretty excited about it.
A couple of weekends ago I went to Dallas to be with my college friends, and they threw me the sweetest surprise shower! They went above and beyond, giving us all sorts of cute pink things and necessities...even a glider and ottoman! I am so thankful for my friends. They are the best, and my first baby shower was just perfect.


(Katie joked one day in an email that we were naming the baby "Katie II" so my cake said "Can't Wait for Katie II" :)

Kevan and I went and registered for a few things. It was both fun (scanner gun thing) and funny (no clue what we were doing). Who knows if we scanned anything we really need, but Kev did manage to find a manly diaper bag.

bonus belly pic: 25 Weeks. whoa.

Monday, December 10, 2007

oh, christmas tree

Do you know how much I love thee? As soon as November hits, I count down the days until you make our living room a little happier. It has been 4 years now that I have decorated you with Kevan. He loves you, too, even if he does think I put you up too early every year.

Decorating you for the first time with Kevan was so much fun. Oh, how I loved your ornaments and tree topper that was actually supposed to be our cake topper at our wedding just a week or two before we decorated you.

Our first ornament as "the Albrights"--the first we put on your little branches--was a wedding car given to us by my mama. Sadly, this ornament has since been lost in a move. I still love to see you all decorated, but there will always be something missing.

We moved to Tennessee before our second Christmas. When we put you up that year, I felt a little more at home.

Last year, I was excited to decorate you once again, even though this was the year I discovered the loss of your original ornaments. I did the best I could to replace them with fun and happy new ones, although I never could find one like our wedding car ornament.

And now, this year, you look a little different once again, but I think you are the cutest. I get so happy when I come home and plug in your lights. 
I can hardly wait for next year when I get to share you with our baby girl...

Saturday, December 8, 2007

thanksgiving was a while ago

We had a great time in Texas for Thanksgiving. We spent time in Abilene with my family and some time in Plainview with Kev's family. Here are some highlights:


We drove through the night to get there. In this picture, probably taken around 2 am, all 3 of us are hitting that delirious stage--Lola especially.
Meeting Zoey!

My cousins, Mindi and Danna, are also pregnant! Here are the 6 of us...
Macy and my cousin April's daughter, McKinley, have the best time together and remind me a lot of growing up with April, Mindi, and Danna.
Don't I have the prettiest Mama?
my sweet and favorite nieces
brother Paul, sis-in-law Lori, and lil Zoey
snow-covered cotton fields on the way to Plainview
Lola had to wear her red sweater to keep warm in the Texas snow.
Kevan's grandmother, Faye, his mom, Janice, and I chose to wear stripes and/or red, too.
Back in Abilene for a day or so... my daddy, Zoey's PaPa
one more sweet baby pic
in the car, once again delirious, for the long ride back to Tennessee
I hated that our Texas Thanksgiving was over, but am so glad that it is now time for Christmas trees, lights, movies, and music!  (Kev wouldn't let me listen to any Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, and he still argues that the "Christmas season" is really only the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas day. What is up with that?)

Friday, November 30, 2007

catching up is hard to do...

I have so many potential blog posts at the moment. 3rd Anniversary...Texas Thanksgiving...Nickel Creek shows...how much I love our Christmas tree...how I am about to have the best time ever in Dallas this weekend with my college friends, my girls, my BFFs... But sadly, you must continue to wait.

And, since pictureless blogs are boring, here are some things I've created lately...


a painting for the living room


burp cloths and booties for Zoey and Baby Girl Albright


Wednesday, November 21, 2007

sunday

Baby Girl,
You distracted me in church on Sunday. I tried to pay attention...Genesis 47, was it? The joy of reunion. But the details I can't quite recall. I could do nothing but stare at your kicks and punches causing my stomach to go every which way. I even nudged your Daddy for him to see. (I was guilty of some distracting myself.) But, baby girl, that was the greatest experience I've had of God's love in a while. Thank you for distracting me in church on Sunday.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

11.20.04


Kev and I have been married for three years today. I couldn't be more excited. I love any sort of occassion that merits a celebration, an interruption in your everyday life, so something that celebrates something that I have done with Kevan...well, it doesn't get any better than that.

Happy Anniversary, my Kevan! I love you more than you know, and I can't even explain how honored and privileged I feel to be your wife...

--coming soon...i had a special post in mind about our 3 years, but we are beginning our drive to the promised land, I mean, TEXAS, today after school. kev and i have an anniversary car date--

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

i'm not a woman anymore, i'm a mom


21 weeks

I am loving dressing "pregnant", but I am finding that not all maternity clothes send me into a fashion frenzy. I have a few cute things thanks to my sweet mama on my last trip home. The maternity sections in any store that might happen to have pregnant "fashions", and have them affordably, take up the same square footage as your computer screen. What's a girl to do? I'd rather stretch, and I do mean stretch, my normal clothes as far as they can go for the time being. But... even though I haven't completely fallen for maternity wear quite yet, I have fully embraced the elastic-waisted maternity jean, aka "mom" jean.

I have decided they are the greatest and I might wear them forever. Who doesn't love a "grow with you" waist band? And, while we are on the subject, who doesn't love the following SNL commercial?



Are you kidding me?! A free vest with purchase? It's almost too much...

Saturday, November 10, 2007

precious

Baby Girl, your Daddy's Daddy wrote such a sweet little rhyme for you! (He doesn't know what name we have chosen for you, just as we don't know what name you have chosen for him...)



Who??

When I read “Once I Ate a Pie”
With tears of joy I almost cried
A secret name, who will she be
The suspense is killing me
On the other hand, it might be fun
To wait until her life’s begun
And gaze into her precious eyes
While mom unveils the big surprise
And laugh a lot when our thoughts linger
About her dad wrapped ‘round her finger’
We know if she is like her mom
Then she will really be “the bomb”
Or like her daddy that’s great too
A “Little Rhino” through and through
And blended with a Godly love
Brought down from angels up above
A precious gift who will she be
The suspense is thrilling me……


Thanks so much, Steve. Little _______ is going to love reading that someday...

(i added some more sweet pics of zoey in the post below!)

Thursday, November 8, 2007

introducing...

our precious new baby niece!





zoey ruth

7 lbs. 15 oz.

20.5 in.





congrats to paul, lori, and macy!!


(thanksgiving week could not get here soon enough...we'll get to meet her then!)

Monday, November 5, 2007

well...

It all became a little more real today. We found out that...

It's

...
...

...
...


A

...
...

...
...


GIRL!!!!!!!!!

We were so glad to hear that our baby girl is healthy and doing well! She is measuring right where she should be, so my due date will stay at March 22nd for now. She is soooo cute (I love using "she"!) and was moving all over the place during the sonogram, arching her back and poking out her round belly, kicking, grabbing her legs with one hand, touching her nose with the other...most of these things at the same time. It was an AMAZING experience to feel her and see her move on the screen at the same time. The lady who did the sonogram kept saying things like, "This is a wild baby" and "Don't ever feed her sugar, EVER!" She acted surprised, like she doesn't always see babies who are that active. Kevan and I laughed through the whole thing, trying not to think about what this could mean for us when she is around 2 years old.

We do already have a name that we love...it will most likely be the one we stick with...but we are keeping it a surprise until the baby comes. I love being on this side of the secret. Speaking of secret names, my 2nd niece is due to arrive this coming Monday, and I am dying to meet her and know her name! (She may be on her way this week...please be praying and thinking about my brother Paul and sis-in-law Lori!) I can't wait for these girls to grow up together.

Introducing our hyper baby girl with the sweetest profile ever...



Touching her cute nose...




Little baby bum...is this blog-appropriate? :)



We can't wait to meet you, baby girl!


Sunday, November 4, 2007

lola bee


Kevan mentioned to me recently that I have failed to ever speak of Lola on my blog. Shame on me. Lola is our pug. She is a crazy pug, but she is a good pug. She constantly demands attention, so some blog attention she will get...

Here she is at 8 weeks old on the day we got her.

And here she is just this last Wednesday on Halloween!




Side story...we enjoy taking Lola to the dog park, and last year a "kind" pug owner man told us about Pug Day at the park. He mentioned that since the next one would be in October that all the pugs would be coming in costume. I, of course, was giddy about a pug costume party, so I made Lola this bee costume. When we arrived at the park, with Lola Bee on her leash, Kevan noticed that none of the 20 other pugs were wearing costumes. We quickly ripped off the cute bee costume, not wanting to embarass Lola in front of her friends. I'm still not sure what the deal was, but I really think it was some kind of cruel first-timer Pug Day initiation! Even the guy who told us about the costumes had his pugs there, un-costumed.

Speaking of the dog park, here is one last pic of Lola with her BFF Harriet.


Well, I am now 20 weeks - halfway there. We go TOMORROW for our ultrasound, and, hopefully, will be able to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl! I am so excited. I am also a bit nervous...please be praying that they have nothing but good news for us about the health of our baby! Here are some recent belly pics. I left my camera cord at school, so no 20 week pic today. I know you are so disappointed about that.

18 weeks

19 weeks


Check back tomorrow. Hopefully, I will have some news to share!