{27 weeks}

With a busy Tuesday at work and then the hustle & bustle of the holiday, I'm a little late posting this week...

WE'VE MADE IT TO THIRD TRIMESTER!!! Somewhat hard to believe.

Baby at 27 weeks: Weighing in at 2 pounds and measuring about 14-15 inches. He is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening & closing his eyes and possibly sucking his fingers. His brain is very active and lungs are getting stronger. Hiccups are likely (though I haven't felt these yet).

Mama with 13 weeks to go: This week has been one of the tougher ones (at least the last few days). I've been doing a lot - helping with the nursery, decorating for Christmas, visiting with family for Thanksgiving. I think I've been overdoing it because I've had some serious bodyaches!

Friday I had to get my glucose blood test done for gestational diabetes. I have a doctor's appointment next week so I'm assuming I'll get the results then (fingers crossed that all is well there).

Last week I mentioned we had a name but didn't share what it was. Our baby boy is officially Coleman Rhea!! (Rhea is pronounced "ray" and is Matt's middle name).

digi layout {halloween 2006}

I just happened to have one template and some halloween papers saved to my hard drive, so I decided to see if I could whip together another page based on what I learned. So, here are the results - pretty cool. Please note I can't take much credit for these creations, see below.

Template is by Patti Knox. Papers are by Cherie Mask.

digi layout {i create}

The free Jessica Sprague class is almost over. Today she offered a tutorial on how to create a digital layout using templates in Photoshop. So, basically she made this layout. I just followed her instructions on how to drop everything into place. It was a very helpful video for me, as I have little knowledge of Photoshop and no knowledge of digital scrapbooking. Though it's not why I took the class, I still played along and enjoyed throwing together this little page. Without a lot, I learned a lot in a short period of time!

{26 weeks}

Baby: He weighs almost 2 pounds and is 14" long. His eyes are beginning to open though they don't have much to look at right now. Brain activity is increasing and he can not just hear noises, but react to them. Plus, his hearing is improved so he's picking up on more of the sounds in my world. In fact, all senses are in tact and functioning at this point.

Mama: Look...I found a new diagram chick that actually LOOKS pregnant :) I'm excited that we've settled on a name and Matt is working on the nursery this week - Yay!! I'm still having the same typical pregnancy bothers - heartburn and trouble sleeping. I've had daily headaches off and on the last several days, which has been quite annoying. My belly just keeps getting bigger and bigger (which I guess is a good thing)!

{what a bargain!!}

last night, i got the best bargain!!! super huge thanks to my friend lissa for thinking of me and calling to let me know about it. it's sold out this morning, so i would've missed out if i didn't snatch it up last night! anyway, it's a britax marathon seat - for $43!!!! The one we registered for was $310...i keep waiting for the phone call from target that says "april fool's day" or something :)

{25 weeks}

took this new belly picture tonight - lordamercy, i'm getting big. i might not be smiling in the next one :)

photos {dave & buster's}

sunday we went shopping at concord mills (a big mall). for spencer's patience he was rewarded (as were we) with a little play time at dave & buster's. then we had an early supper at carraba's.

photos {carolina game}

saturday, we went to the carolina v. arkansas game. we invited a friend, austin, to come with spencer. we also tailgated with a few other folks - including two girls spencer's age. it was a great day (good weather, especially for november). and we won 34-21. Lots more photos here.

we had great seats (9th row at the end zone on the home side). this shot was taken without a zoom, so it kind of shows where our seats were.

our tailgating spot

there was a surprise visit from michael phelps (he kind of had a thug look going on - very strange)

matt and i

our crew - me, matt, austin & spencer

photos {stores in hand}

our class assignments for the first three days (monday thru wednesday) were basically to compile the tools we'd need for the rest of the class. there was a TON of printing and trimming. i created my "stories in hand" notebook using my zutter bind-it-all machine (my first attempt at it!) in a 6x6 format. i also used the machine to bind my notebook for jotting notes. i wasn't able to work on the project monday or tuesday but was glad to get caught up today so hopefully it'll be a tad easier to play along from here on out. i didn't stray far from the basics provided by jessica sprague, but i did experiment in photoshop and was able to personalize the family member dividers (which i also added b&w photos to).

photos {baby stuff}

I know it's strange, but I've been taking pictures of our baby purchases to include the pregnancy album I'm doing. I thought I'd share some recent ones.

I've seen a lot of Gamecock baby stuff and I'm sure we'll end up with our share of it. But while in Charleston, a store had all the components - onesie, hat, and booties - so I couldn't resist. A bit frivilous and unnecessary, but what a great photo op!


Also while in Charleston, I just happed upon this in a scrapbook store. I have NEVER seen this before and couldn't believe how lucky I was to find it (this was the last one). Of course Grandma Sharon was sweet enough to buy it for her unborn grandson. And speaking of great photo ops, this thing even comes with a mini version to include on the scrapbook page.

This is what happens when I go to Old Navy to exchange some jeans for Spencer. Bad news. I love the little owl. I had to get it. Not only do the colors match the nursery, but the owl was my sorority symbol. I may not be having a legacy, but at least I can keep a little bit of Chi Omega around!

The amount of research that went into my diaper bag purchase is ridiculous. I am such a bag lover, I wanted it to be "perfect" though I'm sure that's impossible. I found several I liked with hefty price tags, but finally decided on these two by Skip Hop. I love the striped pattern. It's very "me" without being girly. The bigger one should be large enough to hold the essentials without being a piece of luggage!