I've returned!

It turns out that I turn into a really bad blogger when I'm in Kentucky. In defense, I was totally busy doing important things. Like going to Clayton's baseball games, playing Mario, working on my tan, snuggling with a newborn, having conversations with Hudsie, and stuff like that.

Busy, you see.

But today I returned to Virginia! My plane landed at 2pm, and Mark was there to meet me in his cute ABUs, since he came straight from work :) I might be in the 2% of wives who still think their husbands are super handsome when in uniform. Anyway -- not much had changed except his hair was "too long" (for my taste) and he had a jumbo grin on his face! He says my stomach "hasn't gotten any bigger" (he later retracted this statement) and said I was more beautiful than ever.

(/heartmelt)

When Piper laid eyes on me, she nearly went into convulsions and was happier than ever. Since then, she hasn't really left my side and is currently glued to my left leg. Mark and I "celebrated" my return by having dinner at Cracker Barrel, the place of our engagement, where we both scarfed down grilled spicy catfish. Wednesday is broccoli casserole day, so we both had that too. Then we went to Motherhood Maternity, and I got an adorable dress (on sale!) that doesn't really look like a maternity dress, and I know I will be wearing it next summer!

Since then, we've been lounging around the house, washing the clothes from my trip, and enjoying our time with one another.

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Just a few mental notes about my trip:

-It's super boring to travel alone. Thank goodness I'm re-reading Eclipse in preparation for the movie.

-Jamba Juice is TOTALLY delicious. I must admit that I only tried it because of the movie Baby Mama, where Jamba Juice is mentioned multiple times. I ordered the Mango-a-go-go, and it changed my baby's life. It was some kind of pure mango-pineapple-(& other fruits) concoction, but boy was it good. And healthy. And refreshing.

-It's probably a good idea to brace yourself for impact on the runway and not assume that your pilot is a good driver.

-The breakfast burritos at Wendys (who knew they had breakfast? I didn't!!!) are pretty disgusting. When you have to squirt hot sauce on your breakfast to cover the taste, that's a pretty bad sign.

-Not everyone has that good old southern hospitality. In fact, some might just maul you over in order to board the plane sooner. No, really.





Well, that about sums it up. I'm glad to be "home," but I sure miss everyone in Kentucky. We'll all (me, Pi, and Mark) be in Kentucky in roughly 5 weeks. We're really looking forward to it.

finally, an update!

I promise I'm still alive in Kentucky! I've been preoccupied with this new, adorable, scrumptious, sweet, flawless, edible nephew:

I could eat him with a spoon.

C & H have adjusted beautifully to this 7lb 13oz addition to the family. Clayton is an extremely proud Big Brother and takes his role very seriously. Hudson thinks Graydie is all that & a bag of chips. He says, "I want it!" and reaches for the baby. Holding Graydon is his new favorite past time.

Who can blame him? Holding him is my new favorite past time too!


Graydon "bought" C this new "Pop Up Book Maker" that comes with two blank books and lots of accessories to make the book 3D. We've been working on a book on animals, which C cleverly named, "The Eye of the Tiger." He's chosen animals such as: skunk, shark, t-rex, dog, etc. and we've practiced writing a sentence about each animal along with a drawing.

Here's his first page:

Complete with gigantic green shark
& blood dripping out its mouth.

I'm already re-attached to my nephews and want to spend every moment with them. But nap time is always welcomed with glee :) Clayton has become so expressive of his feelings, and I'm so impressed with his abilities to tell me exactly how he feels. He has told me so much in the past few days -- especially during late nights in bed when the lights go out. Few things are sweeter than those moments :)

Huds can sit and listen and carry on little conversations. His little eyes say so much, and he is such a wonderful child. This morning, we were alone for many hours, and he was just perfect. He's grown up so much over the past few months, and I'm so proud of him for tackling his new role of Big Brother so well.





Becoming an aunt was the best decision my sister ever made for me. I love these children :)

here's here!

Graydon Wyatt is here!
7lbs 13oz
20in
10:16am

He's healthy, perfect, sweet, and everything wonderful. He makes a funny sound like a door creaking open. His brothers love him, and Clayton thinks he's "cute" -- probably because he looks just like Clayton!

Labor was fast (super fast..) and "furious." We all love him so much.

And of course more photos will follow!

stream of consciousness: kentucky style!

I haven't blogged in days. And, really, I haven't taken many photos! But I promise that will soon change. Somehow, I get caught up playing/swimming/holding/cuddling my nephews.. and I just forget to photograph anything!

I've been alternating between spending the night with Clayton and my parents. This morning, C let me "sleep in" and woke me up at 7:40! What a treat! He leaned over and whispered, "Shannie? Are you ready to get up?" And how could I say no to that?!

Hudsie says my name "Sannie" and likes to give me kisses and talk to me. I call Hudsie my little "Toot" because that's what he is! A long long time ago, Hudson met a family friend's baby, named Davis. He met him once. Since then, he thinks Davis is "our baby," and he goes around the house talking about Davis all day long. We try to say, "No, our baby is G____, not Davis!!" And he ARGUES with us!! "NO! IT'S DAVIS! DAAAVIS!!!" Okay, kid. Whatever you say.

Sprout will be born tomorrow. I'm spending the night with C&H and my sister is trotting off to the hospital at 5am tomorrow morning. I'll get the kids up, feed them breakfast, dress them, and then call my sister. Hopefully she'll be scooting right along and dilating like a pro. Then, of course, I'll be headed to the hospital to photograph the whole thing! We're all super excited to see who Sprout looks like (we're mostly anxious to see if he has hair!) and Clayton is overjoyed about becoming a big brother again. Hudsie is unaware and oblivious to it all.

Today I'm getting my hair cut and highlighted (darker!!!!) and will be spending the remainder of my day with my nephews.

Just for fun, I think I'll make a "prediction" about Sprout:

June 10, 2010
7lbs 5oz
21in
12:55pm

quite a bit of dark hair
Hudson's complexion

Can't wait to see if this baby comes out looking like Clayton:

Or Hudson:

Woohoo!

update from home!

I normally don't go four consecutive days without blogging. And, really, I could go even more -- I'm way too busy/tired/preoccupied/excited to blog. But I have a few free minutes, so I might as well do an update:


I made it safely to Kentucky! The flights home were perfect and I arrived in Nashville 20 minutes early. When C saw me, he ran across the airport so fast to hug me. It was the cutest thing ever. Then, when I got home, Hudsie looked up at me and said, "Shannie" in the sweestest, softest voice I'd ever seen. Since then, he likes to come up to me and say "Shannie, Shannie" and grin super big.

I'm a lot in love with Hudsie.

Since being here, we've been going non-stop. I'm a little shocked at how much Hudson has grown! He can speak in full sentences and ask for anything he wants. He calls Clayton "Bubby," which he came up with all on his own, and they play like little best friends!


Friday, I spent the night with C -- what an experience. He kicked and flopped all night, but it was sweet to wake up next to my little man and get a good morning hug. Saturday was filled with haircuts, Clayton's baseball game, a wedding shower, swimming, and a smidge of relaxing. Pictures will come, I promise!




I swear that my stomach has popped out even more since I arrived in Kentucky. C has already felt Punkin move, which he thought was super cool. Mark says that Piper is more depressed than ever and is sleeping much more than usual. Sniff. I miss the two of them so much, but I am having lots of fun here. We're anxiously awaiting Sprout's arrival and I CAN'T wait to be an Aunt^3.

I love love love my nephews. They are the sweetest things ever. Little boys are wonderful :)

the magnificent Puj Tub.

I can't remember where I found this neat little gadget, but it is the coolest baby bath tub I have ever seen. It's called the Puj Tub, and I want one!



Our bathroom is pretty tiny, and our sink is really... old. Mark has pretty much decided that we should just bathe her in our kitchen sink (until we move to new housing and get a pretty, big bathroom). But I found this awesome little invention. Watch the video -- it will make you want to bathe a baby real bad.

Is that not the neatest little invention or what!? Of course it would fit perfectly in our kitchen sink! Plus, that little blonde-haired baby in the beginning of the video reminds me of Mark. What a cute little thing!


I just had to share my most recent awesome find with you guys. Baby items are SO much fun! You can visit their website HERE. Just so, so insanely cute.

20 week ultrasound!

Today was our anatomy ultrasound to make sure our little girl was healthy and on target for her age! I always get pretty nervous before ultrasounds, but we're always so excited to see her! The good news is that she's still a girl! Each time we have an ultrasound, she's so relaxed. For once in her (teeny) life, she cooperated perfectly for the ultrasound technician! She zipped through the measurements.

She actually only printed out three photos for me (2 profile shots and one gender shot), but we brought a DVD for her to record the session. So I came home and did screen shots of the ultrasound!

Isn't she just gorgeous? We think so ;]

shot of the lips^
her mouth is open in this photo
and you can actually see her little lips!

It's a GIRL! ^

Hopefully you can tell what you're looking at. You're looking right at her butt, and she's sitting on her foot. That "F" means foot. BT means bottom. L means labia. The arrow is pointing RIGHT at her "parts." :) That's my girl!

my placenta ^
I just think it's neat to see my placenta. Ha!



femur bones ^

The two long white lines are her femur bones!

And another shot of her cute lil face:

Her measurements show that she weighs about 13oz and is due around Oct 13th. Her belly measurement showed her being due on October 9th, and her head measurement said October 15th. We were able to see her swallow amniotic fluid and could even see her tongue moving in her mouth -- so cool! The technician woman asked me about her name and then I started crying like an emotional pregnant woman! I'm extremely in love with her name, to say the least! :)


We love her sooo much!