25 weeks

Baby boy DOES have a name & I wanted to tell everyone!  

Well, we've actually had a name this whole time but didn't really announce it.  From the second we found out we were pregnant we have been talking about names... boys and girls.  Boys seemed to come easier to us and by the time we had our gender ultrasound we realized that we had a boy name picked but didn't have a girl name.  We frantically started talking about girls names again but realized we weren't coming to an agreement so we would just wait and see what it was first to see if we could just forget about girls names anyway... and we could!  The day that we found out it was a boy we told our families and other friends that his name was definitely Wells!

We always wanted to use a middle name that was a family name and the first name would just be anything we liked.  I had a whole lot more naming criteria than that, but we won't get into all of those!  Wells came to my mind and we both were in love.  Robert is Ben's dad's name and his maternal grandfather's name.  The picture above was the first time I saw his name in print (on notecards that Will & Amy gave us for Easter) and I LOVE it... and him :)

Wells already has an Easter "basket"/bag that was filled with goodies at Ben's parents' house, too!

We went through some of Ben's old baby clothes on Easter Sunday and picked out several outfits that Wells will be able to wear 

 I've been continuing to feel great and minus heartburn and a growing belly, I feel WONDERFUL! This picture was last week (as of today I am 25 weeks + 2 days).

24 weeks + 5 days

 For Christmas, I got a sewing/embroidery machine and finally started to learn how to use it this past weekend.  The sewing part I have down pat, but I have lessons coming up soon to get the monogramming part of the machine figured out because this machine is pretty advanced.  I can't wait to monogram all of Wells' clothes, bibs, bags, etc.  It's a southern thing and I LOVE it :)

We have a painter coming to our house this week to start painting the nursery (YAY no more ugly green walls).  We are looking for a gray that leans a little gray/blue... so hard to find but I am thinking this might work (anyone have a favorite grey/blue that they want to recommend?):

Our rocker/glider and ottoman were delivered today and I LOVE them!  I sat in the chair on the phone for at least an hour this afternoon just loving being in the room! I can imagine a few sleeps in this chair in my future :) 

 I got the drapes, crib bedding, and pillows all ordered 2 weeks ago and they are all being made right now.  EEEEK! Through a long indecisive process of picking out fabrics (thank you Natalie for your patience) I am finally SO happy and excited about our fabric choices and of course they will be making their debut on the blog after it's all done.  Our cute little bookcase is ordered and should be on its way soon:

We still need to find a table and lamp to go next to the rocker and finalize some artwork/wall decor choices, but that's about it for the room choices (minus all those baby necessities we kinda have to have before he gets here, haha).  We did start our baby registry at Babies R'Us a few weeks ago though; a fun 2 hour long process.  


After much discussion and research about artwork for over the crib, Ben asked me if I would paint a canvas for Wells' nursery.  I haven't painted anything in years but I decided to give it a go... I started on Saturday night and have a feeling the perfectionism in me will never allow it to be DONE, but I'm excited to see how it will turn out.

SO there is the current baby update at 25 weeks and 2 days... we can't wait to meet you Wells!

not as planned

Well I may have promised a baby post but a little something came up, so that post will be next.  Here's how last weekend went for us... basically, not as planned):

Friday night Ben and I went to dinner with some newly engaged friends and then went to another high school friend's Engagement Party!  It was a fun night but we had plans to go up to the Camp for the weekend for my Dad's Birthday so we left after the party and got there around midnight; much later than planned.  

Saturday morning we woke up at the Camp to a beautiful day.  The boys put 2 pigs on a homemade firepit/smoker... and were quite proud of their setup

These boys had quite a fun day rolling around in the dirt, swimming in the lake, and playing in the woods (Harper L, Steele R)

 Speaking of puppies... Rachel & Hollis get themselves a most precious little 8 week old Cocker Spaniel Puppy last weekend too... his name is Mosley and I can't wait to meet him and watch him play with the big pups

I decided to get some baby carrier practice and carried this adorable 4 month old around for a while

After a yummy lunch and a little lounging in the sun reading Hunger Games, I looked out on the lake to notice that Ben was going for a little ride in the John boat with Bennett.  I was holding Emory and brought her outside to ask Ben if we could join them!  

A few minutes later we were out on the lake.  There isn't a motor attached to the small boat so Ben & I took turns oaring the boat and Ben taught Bennett how to use an oar too.  

After a while the oaring became tiresome and we decided to move on to our next adventure off the boat.  We handed Emory off to Natalie, and then Bennett, Ben, & I got off the boat.  There is a rope tied to the front so that you can pull the boat out of the water onto the shore and Ben gave it a tug, but there was a problem.  First, he was wearing Crocs, and second, he didn't have good footing on the rocky and sandy steep incline... We both heard a pop and when I turned around I saw Ben on the ground.

Long story short: we knew it wasn't good... my dad came and assessed the situation, popped some bones back in place (ouch!), made a splint out of cardboard and duct tape for his probably broken ankle, and my brother-in-law Stephen rushed us back to Mobile and straight to the hospital.  My dad's coworker, and family friend for years, met us at the ER to be ready in case surgery was necessary...

Of course it was a broken Fibula (as you can see on the right side of the poor picture of an X-ray), and surgery was required.  They moved pretty quickly and got everything going (it was 8pm by now)

7 screws and a metal plate later, Ben's ankle is back to being held together.  Main problem- he can't put any weight on it for at least 6 weeks... a very long and painful 6 weeks he will be on crutches... and crutches are NOT fun.  Right now he has a splint cast and when we go for his checkup on Tuesday, we are hoping for a boot... 

It's been a long week already of so much pain for Ben, discomfort in sleeping or even moving an inch, inability to move around, and me helping him doing everything.  He has been a trooper and we have only thrown ourselves a couple of pity parties.  He is gradually getting better at moving around and even drove himself to work on Friday.  We're trying to remain positive and say that it could have been worse, or thank goodness this wasn't a few months ago (when I was super sick) or a couple of months from now (when the baby gets here).  We are hoping that he will be healed and healthy by the time baby boy gets here.  But in the meantime, the sleepless nights and constantly waiting on another human being are good practice for when the baby comes (looking at the positives here)!  


We planned to have a birthday celebration for my Dad on Sunday, but everyone ended up coming back home following the accident... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!    
We planned a pre-baby vacation to Las Vegas for the last weekend of April (next weekend)... but we went ahead and cancelled that since Ben can't walk, or swim, etc.  Ben says we can go on a nice post-baby-moon now :)  


Basically the weekend changed in a split second from a small misstep and now we don't have any choice but to work around the inconvenience.  We appreciate all the help and thoughts from our family and friends!

weekend roundups

My 28th Birthday was the last weekend of January and we went up to my parents camp house for the weekend.  I haven't featured the building and finishing of the hunting camp much on my blog because my older sister designed and helped make their vision come to light and she has blogged about it along the way.  Everything turned out absolutely amazingly and we love going to visit.

incase you don't click the link... this is our room

and the massive great room

we planted trees by the lake... can you spot all of the participants? 

three men, one woman, one 4 year old, three dogs... and I watched :) 

We had a huge bonfire on my birthday that was both warm and beautiful

Emory enjoyed it

My mom made me an absolutely delicious strawberry birthday cake and my parents gave me these awesome Tory Burch earrings that I had been wanting (and now wear almost every day)!

About a month later, the last weekend of February, my mom and I went to Houston, TX to visit my younger sister Rachel.  I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but after Rachel & Hollis got married in September they moved to a great apartment in Houston and started their new little life together.  They both have wonderful jobs there and have made themselves at home and are enjoying their new adventure.  I wanted to go visit before the baby comes and while I was beginning to feel better.  

The Houston Rodeo (apparently a huge deal) started the weekend that we were there... as evidenced by the random parade of horses and buggies going down the street while we waited at a red light.  

Friday I had a lunch date at Nordstrom's Cafe with a wonderful friend, Megan, and her son Jackson.  A very long & somewhat crazy story short, we have been friends for at least 2 years but this was our first time actually meeting in person.  It was such a wonderful time and I loved visiting with Megan and sweet boy Jack.  We talked for hours and then went shopping at the Galleria and in our favorite store!

We met back up with my mom and sister and I was able to find some maternity clothes and finish up our exhausting but fun shopping day.  That night we went to a delicious restaurant for dinner "Benjys."

I can still remember how delicious this fresh-made ravioli was...

We got plenty of driving around Houston time and seeing all the different places that Rachel & Hollis, go, visit, eat, shop, and work! We stopped by Hollis' work:

Went to their new church on Sunday... it was great!  

Ate at more delicious restaurants: Tiny Boxwoods, Chuy's, BRC, and cooked a fantastic dinner at the apartment one night (I sent Ben this picture text and he thought it was from a restaurant)

and did more shopping in Rice Village... finally finding some goodies for the baby boy! :)  

I had a work event in Houston on Sunday night and then we came back to our lonely, missing-their-sweet-wives husbands on Monday.  Thank you Rachel & Hollis for being such wonderful hosts and we absolutely LOVED our visit.  Need to do more visiting, somewhere, SOON!  

In March, we made a weekend visit to see Ben's grandmother; his mom, Amy, and Leigh came too.  Every bit of time we spend with her is such treasured moments... country home cooked meals, feeding ducks by the lake, eating at restaurants Ben grew up visiting when they were younger, etc.  A wonderful visit, never long enough!  

Last weekend we helped host our friends Austin & Stephanie's baby shower.  It was a couples shower/brunch and was a lot of fun celebrating the upcoming arrival of baby Caroline.  Their baby girl is due exactly 3 months before our baby boy and we anticipate a lot of fun times together watching our babies grow up and learning the craziness of parenting along the way.  Ben & Austin have been taking the parenting Bible Study based on the movie Courageous together so I know they are mentally preparing themselves.  :)

I made the Diaper Cake for the party and will warn that these things are not easy to make (this was the 3rd one I've made before)... Worth it in the end though!  

 I've been meaning to catch up on all of these weekend activities for months now but have just had baby on the brain.  Next post will be all about the baby I promise :)