In January, Bobby and I took a mini "babymoon" to Chattanooga while my parents watched Ava and Lucas. When we met them for dinner before they took the kids back to Atlanta, we surprised them with the fact that we knew the baby's gender!! My mom was BEYOND excited. We couldn't just tell them though, we had to make it fun, so my girlfriend who loves to bake so sweetly made us some cupcakes with blue filling hidden on the inside. I could barely contain my excitement as we ate dinner together at PF changs bc all I wanted to do was hurry up and give them the cupcakes! We even got Alex and Tyler in on the surprise by calling them and I sent them text message photos with a whole cupcake and then a picture after Mom and Dad bit into their cupcakes to reveal the blue! It was so much fun!
The rest of the weekend was so nice to get away with just Bobby and just BE. Most of the attractions in Chattanooga that we were interested in (riverboat dinner cruise, incline railway, putt putt golf) were all closed for the winter, which actually turned out to be a good thing bc it forced BObby and I to do something that we almost never do-- RELAX and BE STILL!! So we enjoyed a long nap on Saturday in our hotel room and then woke up and read books in bed for like an hour. It sounds so crazy just typing it out that we actually did that! LOL
In February, I got to fly out to Maryland to go visit Alex and Tyler for a long weekend. It was WONDERFUL! I really enjoyed spending so much time with my sister and her husband bc it has been hard for me to get used to them living so far away :( They are doing great and are adorable newlyweds. Alex and Tyler had to work on Friday while I was there and Alex was so worried about me being bored in their apartment until 1pm when she got home. I laughed and said, "Alex! That's the beauty of it! I get to be BORED!" So when she called me at 12:30 to say she was on her way home, I figured I should probably get out of my pjs! Most funny part of the weekend was when Alex got us completely and utterly LOST in the ghetto of Baltimore...apparently she couldn't remember the address of the restaurant for dinner, but just guessed at what she thought it was hoping we would get there...well we didn't! hahahaha ohh man I am just laughing thinking about it right now. Of course it wasn't as funny at the time, but luckily none of us were starving, or else it could have turned ugly fast! LOL
In March, Alex and Tyler shared with us the EXCITING news that they are EXPECTING!!! We could not be happier for them, and I am overjoyed to be an aunt. Alex is already so nurturing and maternal when it comes to my children, so I can only imagine how phenomenal she will be as a mother to her own precious baby.
Ava started ballet lessons in February, and she is a hoot to watch! She enjoys the lessons, but especially the music. We go once a week on Fridays from 12-12:45pm, and I thought that was kinda short, but Ms Missy her dance instructor CLEARLY knows what she is doing bc it is almost painful to watch her try to keep the girls' attention for those 45 minutes!
On to April, we spent 2 different weekends in Atlanta, which was soo much fun! The first trip was to celebrate my best girlfriend Katie's first baby shower. She is due about 2 weeks after me (and actually as I type this, she had her sweet baby girl Addie Elizabeth 2 days ago! She beat me!) I was 34 weeks and she was 32 weeks at her shower. It was really special to share that time together as pregnant best friends!
Of course we also went back home to ATL for Easter as we have done ever since we moved to Franklin. It's a tradition that we dye Easter eggs with Bobby's family on Saturday night and then on Sunday, my dad hosts a big Easter egg for Ava and Lucas...and Alex and I :)
Now finally on to May and right now! This month has FLOWN by, but unfortunately the last week of May has d r a g g e d on as I am now 5 days past my due date and we are still waiting for our little bundle of joy to arrive! This time of waiting has been a great time of reflection for me as I have found myself spending more time in prayer asking God to continue to give me patience and to not take for granted these extra days that I have with my little family of four. Bobby has actually been sick (perhaps one reason why I have not gone into labor yet?), so Ava and Lucas and I have been spending lots of extra together time on picnics, at the pool, etc.
One thing I don't want to forget to include that we are so proud of is that Ava learned how to push herself on the swing! We have been working with her alot to pump her legs and last week, she finally figured it out! It's kinda a big deal in our house :) She turns 4 in July.
Ava also had her ballet recital this month and Bobby's parents were traveling through on their way home from St. Louis, so they got to come watch her. Her little group of 3 & 4 yr olds were quite entertaining! They did their best!
This last picture was taken on Tuesday night the 24th- the night before my due date. We have a tradition with our best friends the O'Neils to go out to Mexican for dinner and then come home and take some castor oil with the hopes of inducing labor. We had a GREAT time that night and laughed alot...but no baby :( I actually had false labor that night (4-5 hours of contractions lasting 30-45 seconds about 4 minutes apart...who would have thought that would be false?!) and have barely had any contractions ever since! Craziness...
