Today IS the day...

August 30th is what we have all been waiting for for 8 months plus...

Well, today is that day, and Ryder is still inside my biggo belly! Ha!

It's okay though....if he is happy, then we are happy. Going AGAIN to the Dr. tomorrow...but I just looked @ Jake & thought...I honestly don't REALLY wanna go! Ha! It just gets my hopes up that something has changed, only to hear it hasn't.

Four years ago Thursday is when Jake & I met up at the Firehouse while he was working, and I was doing volunteer community service work with DBS for Hurricane Katrina! We talked about how cool it would be if he came that day! Guess we'll wait & see!

STILL in there...

I am still here. And he is still in THERE.

Dr.'s appointment on Thursday was not at all what I wanted to hear. I cried the whole way home.

Still nothing....NOTHING. He is due SUNDAY.

Go back on Monday. I walked last night, and almost all day today (around Hobby Lobby, Target etc.).

I'm gonna be a busy little crafty girl around here tomorrow to keep me busy!

I am afraid he is just gonna hit me and come ALL OF A SUDDEN. :/ EEECCCKKKK!

STILL waiting...

I'm still here...

At home.

WAITING.

I have completed the cakepops & boy did I make SUCH a mess! Maybe pictures later!

Currently trying to keep my feet up, and drinking that water, no contractions.....I KNOW SERIOUSLY! & Ryder sleeps all day & is up ALL night.

small update

Just letting you know he's still in there! Ha...nothing seems to be happening, just killing time @ home ALONE for the last few days!

Dr.'s appointment on Thursday though...and Jake said we'll probably take our bags, JUST in case!

WONDERFUL Saturday!

Today was such a BLESSED day!

I got up & did a few things around the house & then got ready to meet Allie @ one of our favorite places in town...STOBY'S! I hadn't seen her or spent much time with her just to chat & catch up in a good while. I was so blessed that she drove ALL the way down here to spend her Saturday with me! I had mom take some pictures of us...but I will not be posting my chubby checks...SORRY!

Of course we hit up Target afterwards...and we both got some good stuff! Of course some BASKETS (my current trend & favorite!), a table for Allie's room and some cute on sale clothing items!

We met my mom & aunt @ my house & we were busy lil bees ALL day long! We got things hung around the house, as well as the nursery! It just needs Ryder's letters above his bed, and it will be ready for pictures & a blog post! =)

Here is Ryder's coming home outfit which Jake picked up for me on Friday! =) I planned on him wearing a classic outfit when he came home from the hospital, then I decided on something more modern, personal & just...ME! I ordered the brown long-sleeve newborn onezie online as well as the hat. I got the argyle socks @ The Kitchen Store which have my GREEN in them, and found the lil newborn pants on sale @ Target. I got someone in town to monogram it, and now his outfit it COMPLETE!

I started to make my Cupcake Pops, which I am going to be handing out to guests when they come to see Ryder in the hospital (whenever he decides to make his appearance!)

A few pictures from my project:

ALL the stuff!

-1.25 inch flower cookie cutter (bottom right), vanilla almond bark, chocolate sprinkles, candy coloring, and food coloring (if needed)

-Vanilla frosting, chocolate almond bark, & cake mix

-Lollipop sticks, clear baggies & twisty ties

-Styrofoam to stick lollipop sticks to dry.

Here is the website I am following directions from ....mine will be all GREEN & CHOCOLATE BROWN to continue with my theme!

Step so far...baking the cakes! More to come as each step is completed!

I'll leave you with a 39 week belly picture! WOOOOAAHHH--

ANOTHER week....

Dr. on Thursday's EXACT words..."Well, this baby must really like his due date." Sad day in my life...but I guess it just gives us a few more days to prepare for his arrival!

I went & got my manicure & pedicure today which was SO nice! I just read a magazine during my whole pedicure...it was nice just to lean back & relax!

The hubs & I went to Lowe's tonight to get some stuff for some of his jobs, ate McAlister's (which both of us LOVE!) & then came home...and he put Ryder's stroller together! WAHOO! He asked me if I was going to take pictures & I said yeah in just a minute...but I never got the camera fast enough! Ha! We're watching the Soloist now...

I have a big day planned for tomorrow...and I'm really looking forward to seeing a good friend! :)

Update w/ pictures tomorrow....OR the next!

So...Jake's side of the family shower was on Saturday @ Josh & Amanda's new house, which I hadn't been to yet! I still didn't get a whole tour, but I'm sure I'll be back! Jake's side of the family was there, as well as all his buddies & their wives! It was a GREAT turnout, and we got some much GREAT stuff!

Here are some pictures from the day...

His adorable lil diaper cake that was chocolate AND vanilla!

The real "DIAPER" cake! Haha! Taking that thing apart taught me how to make one!

All the delicious food set up so cute!

Mother-in-law & Sister-in-law....Hostesses

With Jake & his mom-

All the guys! Most of their first "baby shower!" Ha! I thought it was fun for couples!

I spent ALL day Sunday unpacking/de-tagging...washing, organizing, & putting away all our baby stuff! He got over a load of clothes, I almost had to wash it all in two loads, lots of diapers (which we needed) and some super cute other stuff!

This diaper bag being one of the wonderful gifts! It is SO perfect for Ryder & couldn't match the rest of his room ANY better!

The last few days I have just been SO tired...which is I guess normal. People have told me to rest while I can, so I'm trying to, even though there is still stuff around the house I could be doing.

I'm going to try & go get a pedicure & manicure tomorrow with my gift certificate, b/c it expires in 90 days, & who knows when I'll have time to get out & enjoy myself like that again!

I'm currently watching Miami Social...and Lena is completely INSANE! I can't believe she is actually a REAL person! Ha! George needs to DITCH her straight up!

Back to school for mom & bro tomorrow...I can't believe G is going to be in the 11th grade. That is actually a grade I can REMEMBER being in! Scary SCARY...

SWEET STERLING...

Looking @ these sweet pictures almost just make me tear up. Isn't he PRECIOUS? These pictures are old, but the most recent ones of him I have from when he had his 3rd birthday party @ Chick-Fil-A in December. He is @ that precious age where you just can get enough of him!

ADORABLE....I CAN'T WAIT TILL RYDER IS THIS AGE!

With the book we got him. I had this book as a child, and we let them "borrow" it and it wanted it read to him so often, KeeKee bought him his own copy!

All this to say...

Friday I got up earlier than usual & drove to Searcy to spend the day with my 7 sweet cousins & my Nana. She was babysitting for the day while my aunt & oldest cousin were out for the day.

Before I could even turn my car off in their driveway, the door was wide open & 6 lil feet were running out to greet me. Sweet Sterling, Lil A & Ben! They give the BEST hugs & sometimes I almost feel like they are going to squeeze me to death! But I wouldn't trade it for the world!

We were laying up in Karleigh's bed reading some books, and Sterling (again...3 years old) looked @ me and said, "Why your belly sticking out like that?" How could I take offense to that? I just laughed and laughed, and then got it together enough to tell him that there was a baby boy in there, and that he would be out for all of us to see in a few short weeks. I grabbed his little hand and let him feel the hard spots on my belly & told him that that was baby Ryder. The look on his face, for a 3 year old to be thinking all about what he was just told was priceless, and one of the sweetest things I have ever witnessed.

Later on that day, we were sitting up @ the bar, and you could tell he had been looking @ me thinking about something for a while. And then he said, "Kati, so your a mommy now?" & I just looked @ him and said yeah, I am! I guess to him, I have just always been a big cousin "kid" like him and all the other cousins (even though I'm the oldest). He put it all together that I was going to have a baby, and that would make me a mommy, even though I would still be a cousin of his, it was just different for him! I couldn't wait to get on the phone & share my precious moments throughout the day with Sterling with Jake on my way home.

I just love that boy...and it's hard to imagine I could love anything or anyone more than I love ALL of my little cousins. I guess I will find out what it feels like VERY soon! =)

Uplate later on my shower yesterday...

the Dr. said...

Visit to Dr. S yesterday wasn't very eventful. "Not Today" are his usual words.

I told him a/b my abscess experience (since I forgot last week). He measure my belly with his tape measure. Listened to Ryder's heart beat...it sounded fast to me, but who am I to know?! I asked him if he would induce me if Ryder hadn't arrived by the 30th. He said it depends on what my body is saying then. The lovely internal check as I stare up @ the ceiling..."NOT TODAY!" I had thinned out since last week, but still closed. :/ NOT what I wanted to hear, but I guess I should be thankful I have however much longer to finish getting things ready!

"Go have some contractions & I'll see you next week." HA! He thinks he is SO funny! Ha!!

The only appointments they had open next week were on Monday, and I was like I'm not coming back on MONDAY for him to tell me that nothing has changed! So they squeezed me in on Thursday! & Jake is going to try & go with me..it might be the last time...but I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up... :/

The last few nights I have gotten NO sleep @ all what-so-ever. I move from the bed to the couch for a few hours...back to thinking I can sleep in the bed...BACK to the couch...then realize THAT hurts my back too...so back to bed before hubs wakes up and realizes I'm not there! Ha! But really...it's NOT fun. Another problem is that Jake likes to sleep DIAGONAL in the bed. I'm all for snuggling, and we always like @ least our feet to touch, but when I'm BIGGER than normal...I need ALL the room I can get on my side of the bed. It also sucks that I only have two sleeping options. Right side or left side. No stomach...DUH, and I can't even THINK about laying on my back without having sharp pains in my lower back. SO...sadly, I look forward to his alarm going off every morning so I can stretch out and get some good, half-way decent, as good as I can get 9 months pregnant sleep. PHEWWWW....

I got a pre-natal massage today which was FABULOUS!!!!!! I thought they would have a table for me with a big hole in the middle for my belly...but they just did it on each of my sides for thirty minutes with a big body pillow to hug which was still great. I enjoyed it so much! As much as I enjoyed it, it FLEW by! That was a GREAT birthday gift from my great in-laws! =)

Enough about me for tonight...

bullet form tonight...

• I was a pretty tired girl all day today.
• The hubs came home & crawled in bed with me for a lil bit this morning, which was nice! One of my FAVORITE things!
• I went & had lunch with my dad @ Something's Brewing in Pickle's Gap
• I was gonna go to Target to exchange somethings, but was just too tired.
• I came home & took a nap...my first real NAP in a long long time.
• I made the hubs go to the grocery store tonight to get me pickles & ice cream....NOT to be eaten together! I laughed when I realized that's what I wanted though! haha...ice cream for tonight, pickles I was just craving earlier!
• I went through a few hours of just plan uncomfortableness earlier tonight.
• I hope I'm not like that for the rest of my pregnancy.
• I just ate a whole peach.
• I think I chew on more ice in a day than I actually eat food.
• I have started to realize my husband is right...I am crazy.
• Lina on Miami Social makes me feel a lil sane though.
• I got nothing on my "T0-Do List" accomplished today.
• I go to the Dr. tomorrow for my 37 week check up.
• I am hoping I'll be @ least a LITTLE dilated.
• If I see something to eat on TV, I want it.
• It's getting harder & harder for me to breath...it's like I have to concentrate to do so.
• I'm ready for my shower on Saturday!
• I'm going to ask the Dr. tomorrow if Ryder has not made his debut by the 30th, if he will induce me or not--(I WANT HIM TO!)
• I'm thinking about starting to pack my bags for the hospital tomorrow....JUST in case.
• I can barely shave my legs any more.
• Painting my toenails is an IMPOSSIBLE task.
• I'm getting a prenatal massage on Thursday.
• We need to put Ryder's stroller & carseat together.
• I'm ready for Housewives of Atlanta on Thursday night.
• My hubs told me the house looked good tonight. I didn't even do any cleaning today. Ha! Thanks anyways though....
• I'm running out of things to wear. AKA-sick of wearing my maternity clothes over & over again.
• That's all for tonight.
• Sorry for the rambling.
• & boringness.

1 weekend down....2 to go

We had a good weekend! Not too busy, not too boring! (Like that EVER happens!)

Friday night I thought I would be bored @ home...but it ended up not being so bad. I seem to get alot done while I'm here by myself...and time seems to fly by! I actually went to bed by like nine thirty. I woke up every 2-3 hours or so though...hoping & wondering if it was time for the hubs to get off work & come crawl in bed with me! He finally did...and we slept in till about ten, which KILLS him when he rolls over & realizes what time it is! Ha...he says I MAKE him sleep in!

Our neighbors that just had a lil baby boy 2 weeks ago, had a bunch of family over for BBQ & hamburgers Saturday afternoon & invited us over there. We hoped on the cooler cart & road over there. I had a gift for them and Braxton, and of course I wanted to see the sweet baby boy! The mom looked SO good for just have a baby 2 weeks prior. Braxton is still SO little! I think it made me and Jake even more ready & excited. I asked her what she would recommend doing/taking that they didn't think about since we're about to do the EXACT same thing in a very short period of time! That made me feel good and prepared...I still find myself texting her asking her random questions Jake & I think about.

We had some friends over for dinner...the hubs cooked some delicious Hawaiian chicken, his famous potatoes & grilled corn on the cob! I made brownies...haha! & sweet tea! I did end up eating the ENTIRE left over pineapple which was oh so PERFECT, and it literally BURNT the end of my tongue! Everything tasted funny & kinda hurt all night...haha! Come to find out pineapples have ALOT of acid in them, but it was worth it!

I got up & made the hubs some blueberry muffins this morning before church. I learned that next time I'll need to use TWO packages cause our "muffins" were more like blueberry cookies! Haha! They were still good I thought!

Worship this morning @ church was awesome, as always. I hate that I had to sit down less than halfway through...but I feel like I just have to hold Ryder up, and it's hard for the pain not to consume my thoughts, but I can still worship all the same! Less than 20 minutes into the sermon though, we had to leave. It's just so hard for me to sit there sitting STRAIGHT up...trying to lean against Jake, crossing my legs, uncrossing my legs...sitting up straight, leaning forward....just TRYING to get ANY relief I can. Jake looked over @ me and said you wanna go? And as much as I hated to say yes, I had been thinking it for a good while...almost bringing tears to my eyes from just the uncomfortableness.

Well...since we skipped church! :P hehe...NOT really! We went to Target and I got a bunch of travel size stuff for the hospital, some nursing bras, looked @ robes but they were all too short...and got Jake a new pillow & pillow case for the firehouse. By the time we were done, it was time to head to Market Place for lunch with the in-laws for Jake's mom's birthday. I got her a "grandma" card that I made from Ryder. I wrote MIMI on the front with my left hand, and signed it LOVE, RYDER on the inside with my left hand as well...and she CRIED! I thought it was awfully sweet! =)

I went with my dad to see Papa John @ the place his lives today. He is doing SO SO good! He looks good, talks good, his color is good, and he is just a mess like he used to be! I hate that I don't get out there more, but I'll be taking Ryder out there to see his Great-Grandfather VERY soon!

I cooked tonight...YES COOKED! Well...chicken cordon bleu out of a box, brown-sugared green beans, & left over specialty potatoes. It was a pretty good meal I thought!

I am running a trial run on what I'm making to give out to guests @ the hospital when they come to see Ryder! I'll do half of it tonight...and the rest tomorrow...can't tell what it is, but let's just hope it turns out!

America's Best Dance Crew starts tonight, as well as the season finale of Kendra. Sad day for me & Jake...haha! And of COURSE Army Wives! I'll have PLENTY to watch tomorrow! =)

Ryder-Man..

I have officially come to realize that Ryder is definitely getting squashed in there. Poor thing...It's not just when he wants to kick & squirm, but ALL the time. It's definitely getting closer to the time of his arrival for sure! I have even started to notice I can't eat as much as I used to because he is up there making my stomach all squished up & small. I'll just be honest...I haven't had ANY trouble eating what I wanted the last 8 months! Haha!

We are ready for the day Ryder won't be so locked up & squished inside of there!

End of Summer Lunch...

Yesterday a group of people from HS met up for lunch. We ate @ the new TGIFriday's. I hadn't been yet, and I figured it would be easier to get in for lunch than dinner any time soon. I had a big juicy burger and we had a good time catching up & reminiscing on the old days! I guess the picture of my side of the table got lost!

Dustin, Kelly & White

Whit, Abbz & Dell

The boys @ the table!

& the girls...our last WHO-RAH all together before Ryder gets here!

I went to the office to see everybody...(& get my last paycheck) afterwards, and looked for a few things I needed @ the Kitchen Store, but didn't have any success!

Dell got me/Ryder the CUTEST lil New York onesies while her family was on vacation. One is FDNY, and one says I heart NY! I can't wait till he is big enough to wear them, and there will DEF. be a post about them on here!

I am finally having time to get & KEEP the house in order the way it should be, and I'm trying to keep up with my Thank You notes & everything, and it is just SUCH a good feeling! We'll see how long that lasts though after Ryder gets here!

TAH-TAH for now!

...I just realized I hadn't put up my finish product!!!

This is my favorite one I made.

All the hangers before I put them in the closet!

Just a few of them to see how they hang!

Birthday Girl & Family Shower!

Last week was a hecktic week with me being sick and all, but luckily I was a TOTALLY new person on my birthday! LUCKILY! Jake took me to Little Rock, where we planned on going to BoneFish Grill, but it was a 50 minute wait...for TWO people! So he took me to Caper's instead! It was JUST as good, and we enjoyed sitting outside on the patio enjoying the not-so-hot end of July weather!

Afterwards we went to my parent's house for Cookie Cake! My FAVORITE! & from Maggie's--EVEN better! My parents & brother had just gotten home from the beach a few hours before, and they had gotten hardwood floors while they were gone, so they were excited to get home to see them, and they were BEAUTIFUL, and I was so happy for them!

Twenty years old! I think I was the only one that ate the cookie cake! HA!

Saturday was my Family shower for Ryder. All the girls of the family got together and had lunch at Cantina Laredo in LR. I had never been, and I absolutely LOVED it! They even made the guacamole in front of you, so I got a new recipe I am going to have to try & make for Jake. I got some wonderful & beautiful things. Nana had finished Ryder's ABC quilt, and I was so excited to finally see the finished product!

Looking @ all the HAND STICHED alphabet letters. All the grandkids in the family have one, and now a lil great grandchild has one!

Hard to see...but it's white with green stitching to match his room--which it does PERFECTLY!

The funniest present from Bunky....he changed everywhere it said "Johnny Jump Up" to "Bunky Bounce Up" I can't wait to use this with little Ryder! He will be adorable in it!

Sunday Jake I had went to Michaelangelo's for their Sunday Brunch. OH MY GOODNESS is all I can say! We will DEFINITELY do that again, and hopefully AGAIN! They had a full salad bar, some cold pasta, 3 or 4 hot pastas, eggs, sausage, bacon, ham....waffles with chocolate chips & pecans!! & a chocolate fountain with fruit & marshmallows...and you could order your own omelets. It was just SO SO good! We will be going back!

Yesterday I went back to the ENT for my check up, and he said everything looked good, but if this happens again, we will probably have to talk about getting my Tonsils out. I don't like that thought, but if it does keep happening, that would be the best thing for me though.

I had my first weekly check up in Little Rock yesterday afternoon, which my mom went to me with. Dr. Singleton asked if I had been having any contractions, and I told him I thought I had...and it made me feel better with him asking, not thinking I was just crazy and imagining them! He said I had one while he was feeling around on my belly, and I had no idea! He told me Ryder wasn't coming today, but that it can all change with in the day, and that he should stay in there a few more weeks!!! AHHH!! Can't believe we are getting THAT close!