Are we there yet…

An early morning trip to the farmers market to pick out fresh, local produce…

The kindness of friends and family who continue to bring meals to the house after Hutson’s arrival. This week Aunt Lynn and Joshua came over with clothes, diapers, and a roast with all the fixins’. We also got to enjoy a delicious homemade lasagna by our new friends and neighbors, John and Alyson.

MR ranks Aunt Lynn right up there with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Aunt Lynn never comes empty handed and always has special surprises for the kids.

The love between a brother a sister…

Receiving surprise packages in the mail from Cook and Uncle Brother…

Celebrating Hutson’s first month of life by going to a Braves game with great friends…

Watching the littlest Braves fans enjoy the game …

Cheering on the Braves to another victory…

Eating breakfast with locals at a favorite hole in the wall…

Spending the afternoon making banana bread with sweet Mary Reese.

The trip wasn’t near long enough, but it sure was good for the soul…

Our journey down south included a quick visit with Meme and Papa Joe in Waycross,

a Friday evening walk on the beach,

a journey through downtown Fernandina early Saturday morning for the annual Shrimp Boat Fest,

a long ride down a big slide with the help from G, who never once complained about carrying 30 pounds amongst mounds of overly excited children,

an $8 failed attempt at the bungee jump,

MR patiently waited her turn in line for 5 minutes; her expression (pre jump) should have been the first clue that she was not interested.

This was as high as sweet MR got and although she never cried, it was apparent that she was less than thrilled with the experience.

an afternoon at the swimming pool,

and lots of sandcastle time on the beach.

We also snuck in plenty of good seafood, lots of giggles, and some fun time with MR’s cousins, Jay, Aaron, and Laine.

We’re headed southbound for a weekend of fun in Fernandina Beach, Florida. And although my bathing suit is a lot bigger than it used to be, I couldn’t be any more excited if I were arriving in a size 4 bikini. Looking forward to great seafood, lots of beach time, and a weekend away with G and sweet MR.

The old sewing machine has been busy preparing for our long weekend way. I wanted MR to have a few new outfits for the beach. Wish I could take credit for the dress with the red ric rac. I found it at out local goodwill and covered up the monogram with a blue whale and initials.

I also made a monogram top and madras ruffle shorts for MR.

We’re hoping some good salt air will help MR to feel better. She’s spent most of the week recovering from the croup.

Worse than the stomach bug was spending 3 and a half days away from sweet MR. Our little girl brings me so much joy and laughter! As I lay sick in bed on Tuesday with my face burried in a garbage bag, MR replied, “Mama, what you lookin’ for in dere. Did you lose somefin?”

**Poor Gran C is the latest victim to the stomach bug. Please say a prayer that she recovers quickly!**

My sweet friend Kristi celebrated her birthday this past Thursday. To honor her special day, we invited her family over for a Mexican fiesta. G made his infamous guacamole and fired up the grill for marinated steak tacos. Kristi made a delicious Mexican salad and I baked up a two layer brownie cake with whipped icing and strawberries. The kids played beautifully together, allowing the grown ups a chance to relax, laugh, and reminisce.

The night couldn’t have been more perfect, or so we thought. About half way through dinner, I started feeling nauseous. Never one to pass up a meal, I chalked it up to pregnancy and proceeded with dessert. By the time our guests left, I knew I was in trouble. From 10 pm to 2 am, I hugged the toilet while G desperately tried to get in touch with the on-call OBGYN and line up a sitter for sweet MR. By 2:30 am, we were on our way to the hospital. We left MR in the care of Aunt and Uncle B, who were kind enough to make the 30 minute drive to our house in the middle of the night.

What we thought would be an hour long visit to labor and delivery ended in a 3 and a half day stay, eight bags of IV fluid, three sonograms, and over 24 hours of NPO (no food or drink) . Pancreatitis was the initial diagnosis, but a nasty bug seems to be the more likely culprit. Since my discharge on Monday evening, both G and Julie have come down with similar symptoms (Julie spent several hours today at the same hospital).

This bug is sure enough a nasty one; as of yesterday (day 5) I was still making frequent trips to the bathroom. We are praying that the end is in sight and so thankful that it has not had an effect on Baby Hutson and my sweet niece-to-be, Anna Bea.

Browinie Delight- 1 box of brownie mix (follow directions on box); strawberries for center of cake; combine a container of cool whip and a box of instant vanilla pudding for the icing; chill and serve with vanilla ice cream and cut up strawberries.

26.5 weeks pregnant and back home with my #1 girl!

We’re down to less than a week and half before the big move. The house is full of boxes, there have been no (major) meltdowns, and we are beyond excited about moving into our new home.

At 22 weeks, I officially look like a linebacker. With big boobs. Hoping to become brave enough to post a pregnancy picture soon.

Spring is here. Well almost. We’ve had a couple of days of great weather and have loved every second of it.

We’ve taken on a few projects to get ready for the new house. G dusted off the skill saw and I have embraced the role as pregnant, project manager. I’m a big fan of the arrangement.

Our old white rocking chairs got a fresh coat of black spray paint to match the new front porch. Black buffalo-checked fabric pillows were also added to make the chairs pop.

I convinced G to turn our old wood filing cabinet into a reading cubby for the playroom. I’ll post more pics as soon as its complete.

March has proven to be another busy month for Petey Pie’s. My sewing machine has taken permanent refuge on the dining room table, alongside a bag of Doritos and a box of Little Debbies.  

My friend Kelly is one of those women who makes pregnancy look easy. She is one of the few who actually had her baby on her due date. She looks fabulous throughout her pregnancy and is back in her old jeans shortly after giving birth.

Not me. By week 30, my nose is three times its original size, my stride is more like a waddle, and my bra cup looks more like an industrial sized mixing bowl. When my weight surpasses my husbands, I write off the added weight as a 20 pound baby. That way, I don’t feel as bad about carrying around the extra 60 pounds.

While most men wouldn’t dare say something about a woman’s increasing size, I found the one who would. He’s my new OBGYN and he certainly has an opinion about excess weight gain during pregnancy. As my weight begins to creep up and my next appointment draws near, I have decided to follow my friend Kelly’s suggestion and sign up for a prenatal exercise class.

The class started on Monday. Two days later, I can barley walk. Surrounded by waterbirth lovin mamas-to-be in their thirtieth week of pregnancy, I did my best to keep up. I survived a hour of cardio, strength training, and yoga and immediately came home to take advantage of MR’s bag of potty training M&M’s. The reward will certainly be my incentive for the next 7 weeks of class!

We’re off to Waycross this weekend to spend some time enjoying warmer weather, family, and good ole southern food. See you at the start of next week with new pictures from our adventures!

I took a total of 8 pics from my last pregnancy. I’m vowing to do better this time around.

Thank God she still lets me dress her…

because if she had her way, this is what she would wear.

Sometimes its the simple things in life that we enjoy the most.

Holding hands,

Being brave,

Letting go,

 and lots and lots of laughter!