gamecock update {vanderbilt}

I'm late posting my update, but it took a few days to recover. We played Vandy on their territory on Thursday night. The first half went well, but it didn't last long. In the end, we lost 24-17 to a team we should've beat. Smelley played the whole game and did fairly well but did throw 2 interceptions. We had several penalties that really hurt us, as well as some screw-ups by special teams. It was a sad day.
The worst part was that it was a late game (started at 8:30) and it took all my willpower to stay awake for this thing. I made myself do it, all just to watch them lose.

This is Kenny McKinley catching a touchdown pass before he got hurt

and had to sit out the rest of the game.

photo {me at 14 weeks}

I'm a little late posting this, but I finally took my first "belly picture". This was me at 14 weeks. I can't believe I'm even posting this.

{15 weeks}

15 weeks...seems like we're starting to get somewhere now. The baby is about 4 inches long and about the size of an apple or orange. The legs are growing longer than the arms and he/she can move her joints and limbs. The eyelids are still shut but he/she can sense light. Tasting buds are forming.

As for me - the word on the street is that I'm starting to show a little bit. My nice friends are telling me I don't look fat, that I actually look pregnant - aren't they sweet to lie to make me feel better?
We have a doctor's appointment this afternoon...

Update (Thursday 9/4):
We had our doctor's appointment and were finally able to hear the heartbeat! It's nice to know something is really in there! I've officially gained the first pound. This morning I also signed Matt & I up for some childbirth preparation classes. He may not need it, but I do - so he gets the pleasure of tagging along. He's been a great sport about it. Heck, it's been 10 years...he could probably stand a refresher course :)

{gamecock update}

I'm a little late in my update on Thursday's night game. It was definitely...interesting. The first three quarters were horrible. Beecher was in as QB and he stunk it up something fierce (4 interceptions). We went into halftime only up 3-0...not good. We managed a touchdown (somehow) in the 3rd quarter. Thank goodness our defense was decent enough to hold NC State back from capitalizing on those interceptions. Finally, Spurrier yanked Beecher - supposedly because he got knocked around, but I think 4 interceptions is a much better reason. As soon as Smelley hit the field, it was a different game, a different team, a much better offense. Quite the turnaround. Amazingly we ended up winning 34-0. I have never seen a game that was all in the 4th quarter like that. Needless to say, Spurrier announced today that Smelley will be starting QB against Vandy this week. Garcia (the mystery QB that is supposed to save our team but no one has seen play) is 2nd...supposedly Beecher has some type of injury. Whatever.

Here he is: Chris Smelley

photos {scrap studio}

I finally took pictures of my newly remodeled scrap studio. I love this place :) I tried to put a lot of detail in the comments at Flickr, if you're interested. You can find all of the photos here.

photos {beach vacation}

Here are some shots from our beach vacation last month...

Matt reading on the beach.

The boys at the Japanese Steakhouse - scraggly bunch, huh?
Spencer & Grant rough-housing in the pool.
Alex, Grant & Spencer messing around in the sand.
Matt & Britt at Creek Ratz. Cute with their matching shirts, huh?

{welcome football season}

It's that time of year again...finally!!! Tonight is the kickoff to college football. Our Gamecocks are playing NC State. Of course, we're expected to win and all the fans are just praying that we can pull it off without too much trouble. Our real test will be in two weeks when we play Georgia. They are always our first conference game, but this year they are ranked #1 going into the season. Not #1 in the division, not #1 in the SEC, but #1 in the country! We're coming off a TOUGH run from last season (five straight losses), but we DID beat Georgia last year.

GO COCKS!!!

photos {30th birthday surprise party}

Warning! This is long. If you don't care about the details, but still want to see pictures, click here.

I must confess, they really got me. I had very tiny suspicions that they might be up to something, but not enough to make me seriously think it would happen. So, let me back up...

As usual, I gave Matt a hard time about planning something for my birthday – asking who he had called, etc. We were just going to go out to eat at Charanda’s since he had to work the next morning. The plan was only for Scott, Cameron, Tara & Warren to join us. At the last minute, Sherry was going to come too and asked us to pick her up (the first thing that I thought was a little off). She also told us not to drive around back because of some hanging tree limb (sadly, this did not raise the suspicion that it probably should’ve).

So, when we got to Sherry’s I wanted to take something inside to her and Matt acted like he was going to stay in the car. I looked at him like he was nuts. Considering the “something” was a gift revealing that I was pregnant, I told him to come inside with me. When Sherry opened the door, I was floored. There were tons of friends and family yelling surprise. I broke into tears immediately. I remember seeing Mom and Michelle first and that is probably what set me off. I didn’t even know they were coming into town! Then I remember seeing Maggie, then Sydney, then Sarah. Gradually I started putting together who all was there – Lissa, Greg, Hank, Teddy, Brigitte, Scott & Cameron – even Kim & Mark had came down! It was like little surprises over and over again as I realized who all was there.

After that settled a little, I was able to see that Sherry & Matt threw me a FIESTA. The entire house and back porch were decorated in a seriously festive manner. I loved it! And of course the menu was Mexican!

Now that everyone had surprised me, it was my turn. I still had the gift to give Sherry. I had bought supplies to make the exact same thing for Michelle and Mom but I didn’t bring them – not knowing they were in town. So, I gave the gift to Sherry and then passed it on. Of course, everyone freaked out in a serious manner. It was really awesome to be able to share it with everyone like that.

Eventually, the evening calmed down a little bit and we ate, enjoyed some cold beverages (luckily, Matt had told Scott to bring me some O’Doul’s), and just hung out. We had a piñata (Dora the Explorer!) that the kids enjoyed. The night passed quickly and I felt really blessed to be surrounded by friends and family. I do wish that Spencer could’ve been there, but other than that, it was pretty near perfect.

{14 weeks}

here we are...at 14 weeks. The baby can do all sorts of things now - squint, frown, grimace, pee, suck his/her thumb... lots of movements in general. The size is about like a lemon now (3.5 inches or so). The spleen and liver should start working some of their magic this week. There might be some hair sprouting already too!

as for me...not much of a change. still no official weight gain. the relief from the constant fatique hasn't come, but i've also caught myself a little cold so that might make it more difficult to tell.

photos {rat}

this rat was spencer's reward for making straight a's again (2nd year in a row). the main reason we gave in to his odd request is because he rarely asks for anything. however, the little rodent (named flip) only lived a few months.