Bluebelle's 4th Birthday

Bluebelle sat so pretty waiting for her birthday bow to be tied.


Here are Bluebelle's fatty eggy beef baby food laced cupcakes. Yum!


And Bluebelle waits patiently.

Like all good little kids she goes for the bacon and yogurt frosting first!
ALL GONE! Can I have another?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE GIRL!!!

IT'S A.....

So, If this picture doesn't make it extremely obvious to to you. (My administrator, Crystal, was confused) This picture is from his waist to his knees, with the rest of his legs tucked are behind him. My coworkers were giving Jonathan pats on the back for this one. I'm just so glad I don't have to worry about sentence formation anymore. I was always looking for a way not to refer to my baby as an it. And now I am so happy to say the word HE.

However, Baby B was still a little uncooperate and would not give us the really cute profile picture, but we did get another face-on skeletal shot. This may be a glimpse of things to come.

Anyway, the doctor came in and said everything looks really good and normal and the baby weighs 15 oz. and my due date will not change. I'm so happy things are progressing so nicely.

YEAH! BABY BOY!

Baby B's Ultrasound Pictures

So here are the pictures of Baby Brinson I promised. I will post the ones from next weeks sonogram in a much more timely manner. This first one is just at 6 weeks along. Baby B is the little triangle in the black oval. It was crazy to see this little thing with it heart beating so fast.

And here is Baby B at 16 weeks. The head was on my left side and Baby B's feet were all tucked up under my right hip.

And now for the little bit eery one. Baby B is looking right at us. Which gives us a very good look at the skull bones and really nothing more. So active! Cross your fingers for a successful 20 week ultrasound picture!

Holidays!

So the holidays have already come and gone! We had lots of parties and visitors throughout. My parents stayed through Christmas, helping us remodel the upstairs bathroom. It has come a long way. Dad did all the demo, new plumbing, new electrical, put in the window, the shower pan, and all the sheetrock and hardibacker. Of course, finding the many surprises that makes this house so "special" and time consuming. Jonathan is now mudding the sheetrock and hardibacker, so we may be able to tile this weekend. We'll see...

Mom and I got to do lots for cooking and baking over the holidays. We made cookie bags and platters for parties and friends around Atlanta. I think we did a good job because we got some rave reviews! It was really good to be in the kitchen with mom again. We had a really good time searching through recipes and deciding what to make for all the dinners and special occasions that were coming up.

Mom and I also completely finished the wedding album. Yes, Jonathan and I's wedding album. I know we got married in 2005, but I had this whole scrapbook thing I wanted to do with all the pictures Brian had taken throughout the week long event. And needless to say it has been sitting there 1/2 done for a really long time. So if you come over and I want to show you wedding pictures from four years ago you know why. They are brand new to me again!

We all went down to Statesboro for Christmas and had a really good time visiting with Jonathan's mom, Cheryl, and his brother, Travis, who was on leave from the army. We don't get to see him much because he is stationed in Alaska and has had two tours in Iraq, so it was extra special to get to hang out with him. The weather was extremely warm and it was hard to believe it was Christmas, but Santa Claus came regardless and gave us more than what we needed.

I had my 16 week appointment just before Christmas and Jonathan and I were hoping we would be able to find out the sex of the baby, but alas the baby is just as stubborn as Jonathan and wouldn't show us! But it was really great to finally see what is going on in there. Baby Brinson was facing down then flipped around to face up and clapped it hands several times then faced up looking to the sensor. Very active. My doctor kept saying "You can't feel that!? You can't feel that!?" and I just kept having to say "No, I don't feel a thing." I have a few sonogram pictures I need to scan in and put up. I promise I will do it soon. I have another sonogram on the 15th of this month, my 20th week appointment. (Halfway there!) Hopefully Baby Brinson will be a little more willing and we will be able to start planning what the final nursery plans will be and if Jonathan and I will have to start debates over what names to pick. We have it pretty narrowed down for a girl and are still in hot debate over boys names.

Christmas Picture

Just wanted to share the the photos leading up to the family christmas photo Jonathan, Bluebelle, and I took. The process was just as fun as taking the real thing.












Bluebelle actually did well once she realized we were just taking some pictures and doesn't she look good in her Atlanta Thrashers scarf! Go Tharashers!! See, even in Georgia you can enjoy some good hockey action.

Thanksgiving

We didn't take enough pictures this Thanksgiving season. But, mom managed to snap a few. This is the fresh flower centerpiece I made for the table and the BRINSON art in my kitchen.

This one is me in the lovely new apron my mom made for me with, my favorite, a pineapple on it.

And finally, Jonathan and I carving the turkey. Jonathan was trying to carve and I was trying to direct his every move. He put up with me, however. The whole family was at the house

Here was our menu. Thank goodness mom and Cheryl were so willing to help me because I thought we need to cover everything. And everything sure tasted good.

MENU

Alton Brown's Brined Turkey

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Butzin's Classic Stuffing

Sweet Potato Casserole

Spinach and Cheese Puff

Green Bean Casserole

Lillian's Creamed Corn

Lillian's Field Peas

Cream Biscuits and Onion Dip

Cranberry Sauce

Orange Jello Mold

Grandma's Apple Pie

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie

Cheryl's Pecan Pie

Needless to say we were all full. I had a lot of fun in the kitchen and a great time with the family. And that is really something to be thankful for.

The Good News...

Well... Some of you know and for some of you this is brand new news. Jonathan and I are having a baby! I know, can you believe it? I'm 13 weeks into it as of this week and all of my appointments have been going well. So, I felt it was time to share the news with all of those we care about the most. Jonathan and I are so thankful and excited to have this opportunity to raise a little one and to have a new member join our family. We think Bluebelle is excited too, she just doesn't know how to show it yet.

So, I'm including a couple pictures of my 13 week belly. Don't be too judgemental, as I'm trying to be more open and including. I do have a slight bump, however I think most of it is a part of my pre-existing condition, called "too much food." See, I'm still my old self as well. :-)

This picture wasn't staged at all. Jonathan and I often gaze into each others eyes. :-)

My great friend, Nicole, wanted me to share my first trimester nausea story on my blog and threatened that she would blog about it if I didn't because she thought it was funny. So here it goes... Yes, I had some nausea during the last 12 weeks, still do a little, but I feel that I'm very adept at handling those feelings and forcing them back so it doesn't affect me because of my childhood issues. I was a very VERY excitable child. I would get so excited, in fact, that I would puke my brains out before every birthday party I would go to and before every trip to Iowa to see my extended family I would take. Actually it was like a week of puking before the Iowa trips (I really enjoyed hanging out with my cousins). So, by the time I was 10, I myself thought it was really ridiculous that I couldn't control myself when I was really happy about something. So, I started to come up with ways to keep my cookies down and got really good at it by the time I was 12. Way too much information, I know, but as I was telling Nicole I think that those experiences really helped me get through the first 12 weeks with almost no issues what so ever. Isn't it crazy what you can be thankful for!

So I'm planning to update this blog often and use it as sort of my pregnancy journal. So, feel free to check back as often as you like.