March

Is March really almost over? This has been a crazy month - very social and very busy. This weekend is the Ladies' Retreat with church friends - we're all driving about two hours north of ATL for Friday night and Saturday. We do a lot of singing and bonding, and I think there's a talent show that involves lip-synching to Vanilla Ice. :) Steve will be hanging out at home with the guys. A bunch of them are getting together for a BBQ and possibly a golf game. I think Steve's just happpy to not have to do anything baby-related for an entire weekend.

Floors!!!

Here's some before, during and after pics of our new floors. They've been down a week and we love them! I couldn't get them to post in order so the light wood and carpet is the "old" and anything dark wood is what we had put down. We have several rugs that fill the space as well now. The dogs are learning they can't run on them now, they're much slicker than the old floors. Harley ends up spread eagle several times during the day out of excitement, he'll learn soon enough!

Baby Toys!

Here are the latest and greatest...and final...toys for Baby Bella. We received a pack 'n' play from Steve's coworkers, and today we grabbed a bouncer and bathtub. She can come anytime now!

School Lockdown

My middle school was on lockdown for about 2 hours this morning. The police got a tip that some students were going to bring a gun to school. They ended up grabbing two male students who had an unloaded handgun and found a third guy at home who had more guns with him. It all went down very undramatically, but I guess it could've been a lot worse. Our teachers and students handled it really well. The rest of our day has been pretty pointless - our front office has been mobbed with parents coming to check out their kids. I only have 5 kids in my class right now. Such fun! And here I thought I was moving to suburbia and getting away from weapons and drugs. Why is it always the white kids that end up being the crazy ones?

Steve's Crazy Job

Life has been crazy for Steve lately. His department was originally supposed to be moving downtown at the end of February to the company's skyrise. There was a lot of back and forth discussions and compromise on the issue. Steve's immediate supervisor was dead-set against the move, but his department head really wanted it to happen, and she's the boss. Now plans have been changed again, and Steve's group is staying in Alpharetta for now. Steve doesn't seem to care either way - there are pros and cons for him in both scenarios. I think at this point, he just wants it done. We'll keep you posted...

Baby Shower, Car Accident, and More...

Instead of doing multiple posts on different subjects, I'll just give one long run-down of our Florida weekend and include some pictures of the shower.

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty low-key. I got to spend some time with individual family members, which was really nice. Wednesday afternoon, dad and I ate lunch and ran errands together. We met a woman who said she was a twin and both of them weighed 9 pounds at birth! (someone had better be praying that doesn't happen to me!)

Thursday was mom and I's day to run around - lunch at a cute little restaurant on Venice Island called le Petit Jardin ("the little garden").

I spent Thursday night at Mel's apartment, which was a ton of fun! She lives over an hour away, but it was definitely worth it - we went out to dinner and rented a total chick flick. Mel's not usually the girly type, so it's always a treat to watch her be girly over a movie aimed at 13 year olds.

My goal on Friday was to drive down to Englewood (about 30 minutes south of Venice) and surprise dad for lunch at his school. On the way there, I got in a minor car accident. The only positive was that no one was hurt...and it wasn't my fault. A witness showed up at some point to talk to the cops and must have verified my story, because the man was cited and I was allowed to leave.

Saturday morning was the shower! It was a great success! Mel and mom did an awesome job of food and games and all that. We had almost 40 ladies there, which was a little overwhelming, but also made it fun to see people that I hadn't in years. The ladies were unbelievably generous with their gifts - we got a bunch of stuff from out registry. My grandparents and parents got us the stroller/travel system we had picked out, lots of bathtime supplies and cute clothes, and a few ladies made beautiful homemade gifts. The were beautiful!

Here's all the great food that mom made - quiches, baked brie, cupcakes, yum!

Opening a present filled with bathtime supplies - towels, soap, a tub, etc.

A beautiful scrapbook that mom's boss made - it already has the pages filled and ready to go with pictures. She also included a ton of "extras" like stickers and quotes and lettering.

A shot of the ladies of the family. We're exhausted, but happy.

And last, but not least - Rachel's birthday party! Steve actually got to be involved in this one (He's Rachel's favorite anyway). It was Saturday night, which meant by this time, everyone was tired, but we still had a really good time. Here' a picture of the "kids". This is the Stuckey family that Mel and I grew up with, plus some assorted fiances and girlfriends in there for fun!

Whew! And you wonder why Steve and I always come back from Florida exhausted! This is why trips to Ohio are so relaxing - we get to read and eat and sleep. :)

Heaven's Touch Massage

Steve's Valentine's present was a 90 minute pre-natal massage. I've been looking forward to it for two weeks and it felt so good! The woman was very "feel-goody" which made me chuckle - Steve would've gotten such a kick out of it! She is also a doula, which is like an extra support person in the delivery room, so she chatted a lot about what to expect in delivery, etc.

The massage was on my back and sides. She started with a lot of work on my neck and shoulders. I rotated on to both sides and she worked on my back, legs, and did more work on my shoulders. There is no time on my stomach or a bed with the belly cut out - I think I've read that it's not healthy for a pregnant woman to be on her stomach. I'm not sure. Either way, the 90 minutes went quickly!

Steve did a lot of driving back and forth today between his Alpharetta office and Buckhead. He has closings downtown that he has to sit in on and they're all preparing for the permanent transition to Buckhead. His class on Tuesday nights is pretty pointless - they do a lot of talking about technology, but none of it is practical for business. I think the IT guys in the class do most of the talking and everyone else just sits there.

I fly out tomorrow morning for Florida! Yeah!

Valentine's Dinner...delayed

We cooked dinner tonight to celebrate Valentine's Day. It was awesome - I married a great cook. He is the king of marinades and grilling. We had sliced tomatoes with fresh mozarella and basil, veggies (spinach, of course), and filet minon with melted mozarella and sauteed onions, garlic, and mushrooms on top. Oh my WORD! Add in baked potatoes and bruschetta as an appetizer, and we were in heaven! Here's what it looked liked...don't drool on your computer. :)

A fun week is coming...

This is week is my county's Winter Break, so I have an entire week off! Steve has off on Monday for President's Day and we're planning on just crashing. Tuesday is my pre-natal massage that Steve got me for Valentine's Day. It makes me more relaxed just to think about it. :) I fly out on Wednesday for Florida to spend a long weekend with my family. I can't wait to be down there in the warmth and see everyone. Mel is in a new apartment that I haven't seen yet, so I'm going to spend a night or two with her. Steve will be driving down on Friday to spend a very short visit down there. Saturday is our baby shower with my parent's church, but I'm not making him go. There are just some things that men should not have to suffer through. :) I'll post some pictures of the shower when we get back.

Updates on Bella's nursery

We are one step closer to being done with the nursery. We put up some shelves and set up the rocker that Mom and Dad bought us. We also finally decided where we wanted the wall art that I got on eBay. The walls still look a little bare - I need to add some pictures - but it's nice to have the furniture done. Here are the pictures...

This is the changing table (and yes, a fake baby) with one of our shelves over it. It's one of the first things you come to in the room. I'm not sure yet if I want to use the shelf for practical or pretty things.

The best glider in the whole world! I come in here and rock, even without the baby! Mom and Dad got us this when they were down here visiting, and I love it! I'm still getting used to all of the pink - it's the only color of blanket that we have. :) This glider is on the corner, between the changing table and the window.

An example of the wall art we bought online. Hr name came with some decorative polka-dots, but I'm using them sparingly...the pink and green looked different online then it does in person, and the green is very lime!

Yesterday, we bought a dresser to keep in the closet. It's cute and white, but we didn't include any pictures. We'll update again when we have more!

MORE baby clothes...

Okay, so I am definitely covered in the "newborn clothing" department. Bella has gotten new clothes from grandmas and aunts on Steve's side, and news clothes, plus bags of hand-me-downs from my side. We are so, so, SO thankful for everything, but I think it's safe to say that we do not need anymore onesies. :)

She is a lot more active recently; she pretty much sits constantly right under my ribs. It's awkward when I'm sitting down, but not painful. I just try to shove her back down when she moves too high. Today I could finally tell that a rib or heel was sticking out. It's the first time that I've been able to tell an actually body part instead of just bumps.

Steve's foot is healing nicely. He's changing the bandages every day and trying not to take the heavy pain pills. I think he's surviving so far.

Atlanta Fish Market

Mom and Dad Wires are here this weekend. We went out to the Atlanta Fish Market on Sunday night as our special dinner. I usually don't love fish, but I think everyone loved their entrees. Dad had scallops, mom are fried fish and chips, Steve had bas, and I ate shrimp. Mmm.... Mom bought a postcard of this picture for her scrapbook.

Tomorrow, Steve has surgery to remove a wart from the bottom of his foot. I'm taking off work to drive him to and from the appointment. With mom and I both here, he should be sufficiently taken care of. I owe him big time after my first trimester. :)

Florida

I finally figured out how to download pictures from Snapfish onto my computer. Here are a couple of pictures from our MLK weekend. We had a really good time and got to see some of my family from Maryland. I haven't seen any of my "Northern Family" since our wedding, so it was a lot of laughing and fun.

It was about 70 degrees the day we made it out to the beach. It was a little too breezy to be out in just bathing suits, but still absolutely gorgeous.

Florida and Baby Supplies

We leave tomorrow for Daytona, Florida. We're taking advantage of the long MLK weekend and spending time at a friend's beach house with my family. I think a cold front is pretty much covering everybody on the East Coast, including Florida, but at least it's better than our high today of 31. Mom is bringing over some baby supplies that one of our friends is giving Steve and I. We're getting a swing, 2 car seats, and an activity seat thingie. She's also giving us some more clothes. We're going to set up the swing in the living room so the dogs get used to seeing it move, etc. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures when we get back from the weekend. Happy MLK!

The Nesting Stage

I was always under the impression that the "nesting stage" of pregnancy would involve girly things and decorating the nursery. For me, it has meant throwing things out! I have filled about 15 Hefty bags worth of stuff that I can't wait to get out of my house! Steve swears that the garbage guys are going to boycott our house. I'm rearranging furniture and pictures, and so far, all of this has had nothing to do with the nursery. I can't believe all of the stuff we've accumulated in the 3 years we've been married and the 1 year we've had a house. I can't imagine when a baby enters the picture. Steve has been helping where he can, but for the most part, he sticks to garbage duty and then gets out of the way. He's done an awesome job of pretending to care whether the curtain rods in the bedroom are white or black and nodding "yes" at the appropriate times. I really owe him!

Dubai Video

Here's my first shot at trying to upload videos. There's several scenes from various parts of our trip to Dubai.

Wall Quotes...Can't Decide!

I've been looking for some wall quotes for the baby's room. I actually found some on eBay that I really like; now I just have to decide which one...

Here are my favorites:

• "Isabella - a little blessing from above, filling our hearts with sunshine, giggles and love."
• "Bubble gum, jump rope, giggles & curls; fairytale wishes make up little girls"
• "Cuddles, kisses, snuggles & love - that's what baby girls are made of"
• "Cuddle bug - bundle of joy - cutie patootie - peek-a-boo - nighty-night - sweet pea - hugs & kisses - whaaaa! - tickle toes - lullaby baby - too cute - da-da - cutie pie"

I think the "Bubble gum..." one is my top choice. I'm going to wait until Steve gets home to see what he thinks, but I'm really happy about finding ones that are so inexpensive.

Dubai: Dune "Buggy" Rides

Grandma Ferguson and Grandma Wires requested more info and pictures from our summer trip to Dubai. I can't give details about names and places, but I'll do my best to include some of our favorite moments from the trip. Just a note...not all are spiritual. :) First up, our ride across the sand dunes! It's a traditional tourist activity over there and was very cool!

We all met in the middle of the dunes with about ten different Jeeps. We started out around 9:00 AM and our drivers pulled over on the side of the road to have their morning prayer time.

Here's our driver. His name was Raasman, and he was really funny. He sang the entire time and gave all the women nicknames. When he called one woman "Lela," which means "light," I was really looking forward to hearing mine. Oh well! He called me "Rohbob" which apparently is like a local guitar over there. I knew I wasn't lucky enough to get the pretty name!

These are a couple of shots from our car...

I wish I could show better angles of how our car was sliding down the dunes. The woman next to me actually threw up in the car! It was not pleasant, but overall, we loved it! Here's a picture of our whole team after we stopped for a break.

Getting Back to Routine

This morning was the first time we had set an alarm in over 2 weeks. Ugh! Steve had a foot appointment this morning and I think the doctor recommended to have the final wart surgically removed. It's not too big of a deal; I think it's a pretty quick procedure overall. Steve just wants it done at this point.

I did my best to stay focused in my classroom. I got all of my grading done, Here's a picture of my team. This was taken at the beginning of the year, so I'm not showing any pregnancy, but the girl in the middle was about 2 weeks away from delivery. I have a really good team with not too much drama, considering we're all girls. That's all for today! I have to finally put away Christmas decorations when I get home today.

Nursery Renovations

We bought a crib and changing table for the nursery on Friday. I actually remembered to take Before and After pictures. This picture actually looks pretty good - we finally got all of the junk off of the floor before moving in the furniture.

Steve was the Master Craftsman and did an awesome job getting everything built.

Even Harley was extremely interested in the process. Butters slept downstairs and Harley constantly tried to lay in our laps while we were screwing pieces together.

And the semi-final product...

It was awesome to get it more settled and be able to unpack some of the supplies we've gotten so far. We were able to store the blankets and toys beneath the changing table and separate all of the clothes we got from people. Yeah for girly things!