Showered with Love

As time gets closer to Dylan's arrival, I think to myself, we are REALLY about to have a baby boy at our house! :) We are very excited, but I truly don't think we will understand the magnitude of it all until it happens! We had our 34 week OB checkup yesterday and it went great. I got to ask lots of questions about labor, delivery, etc. and she answered them all. I just hadn't thought of several different things until we went to the Saturday Childbirth class at Baptist LR. It was very informational, and I would recommend it to any 1st time mom and dad-to-be. Here is a picture of me yesterday, 34 weeks complete: 7-23-09

This past Sunday was my church shower. I will say that the Levy Church of Christ is a very giving and compassionate congregation. I was truly overwhelmed by the generosity of them all. It was a lot of fun, but boy was I tired by the time I finished opening gifts! I spent all day Monday laying on the couch resting and Tuesday getting to work in that nursery! I washed clothes, blankets, bibs, and burp cloths but I have it all ready for him. I just washed newborn and 0-3mos outfits for now, but it all smells so good. You gotta love Dreft Baby Detergent! It was so much fun putting all of those things away. We still have to put together the swing, bouncer, etc., but I needed Jonathan to help with that. Hopefully we can do that this weekend.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I spent some time with my mom and sister yesterday afternoon. It was my mom's b-day! Happy Birthday Mom! My sister was at Williams-Sonoma earlier in the day and found candy bars wrapped in packaging by Dylan's Candy Bar. She bought 2 for me and the back had a website on it. I went and looked, and let me tell you, it was SO COOL! It is the largest candy store in the world and the main location is downtown NYC. You can order candy, clothes for adults, babies, and kids, bags, purses, jewelry, stuffed animals, and it all has the logo Dylan's Candy Bar on it. I am going to get several things for sure! I was so excited that my sister found these candy bars. If you want to take a sneak peek it's: dylanscandybar.com

That's all for now, my sister and I are going to the American Idol Tour Saturday night at Verizon Arena. We are excited to see Kris Allen in his home state of Arkansas! (Yes we are a little nerdy!) Have a great weekend! Rachel

Dylan vs. Mommy

We went last Thursday for our 32 week checkup. Everything is still great and we go back in 2 weeks! It is bizarre to think that there are only 8 weeks 'till Dylan arrives! We can't wait! I am still feeling good, just not quite as mobile as I have been, plus its really hot these days. Thanks to Arkansas heat and humidity, the double whammy. We got most of Dylan's nursery completed this week, but you still have to wait for it to be 100% before I post pictures. (That doesn't sound like a perfectionist talking does it? ha!) We worked one evening for several hours and I was completely spent by the time we finished our "to-do" list. Jonathan said it was the first Dylan victory in the Dylan vs. Mommy war of who wins, he won because he sucked all my energy out! We both know that will be the first of many of his victories! :)

31 weeks complete (7-2-09)

We enjoyed Fourth of July festivities with the Arnold side of the family at the lake and then with some friends that evening. I got some really cute pictures that night of our friends and their kids. I also learned something new about my husband, he secretly loves FIREWORKS! Just what we need, an interest in fire. It was fun, and yes, the guys were safe with it all (as safe as you can be).

Ally Beth, Aiden, Kale, and Cameron enjoying the pool

Stephanie, Susan, and me

Jonathan enjoying bottle rockets :)

Susan and sweet boy Briley

Steve and Stephanie

Cool nightime firework shot

I hope to get some of the finishing touches for the nursery done this week and we should get our rocking/reclining chair in about 2 weeks. That should do it! It truly is flying by, and I feel blessed to not have too many complaints. Once again, stay cool, Rachel

32 weeks 4 days (7-13-09)

5 Fantastic Years!

I thought in celebration of our 5th Anniversary today I would let you all take a walk down memory lane with us from one of our first ever pictures together in 2000 to Dylan on the way today! It has been a fantastic 5 years of marriage.

To my husband, Jonathan,
Thank you for being the love of my life. You are a Christian, a leader, a nurturer, and the man I admire. Thanks for taking care of me and providing for our now growing family. Little did I know that September 30, 2000 would mean more than a 1st date. I didn't know then that we would be where we are today. I thank you for taking charge of life's ups and downs as a man much older than your 26 years. You have made my life what it is today.

I hope you all enjoy the slideshow. I must say it was lots of fun going through all of these old pictures and remembering what was happening in our lives at the time! :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy x 2 !!!!!!!!!

Over Father's Day weekend, Jonathan and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary one weekend early. HAPPY 1st Father's Day AND HAPPY 5th Anniversary! On Friday night, we ate dinner at Capriccio's Grill at the Peabody and spent the night there. Dinner was excellent! We had 3 dessert shooters: Strawberry Shortcake, Praline Cheesecake, and Chocolate Mousse. Yum! Our room was on the 11th floor and we had great views of the river, the Capitol, the Old State House, and Dickey Stevens Park. It was a nice "get-away" even if it was just 10 minutes from our house! Jonathan's father-to-be gift was matching Titleist hats with his initials and then Dylan's initials on his own hat.

We ate lunch on Sunday with the family at Cock-of-the-Walk. I will add more pictures from that later.

We had our 29 week OB checkup Friday morning. Dylan is still doing great and seems to wake up and move lots between 5:30-6:00a.m. I told Jonathan that means he will be up ready to play while he is getting ready to go to work. Perfect timing right?! :) We go back in 3 weeks! I am in my 30th week and it will be complete this Thursday (6-25-09). We had our maternity photo session yesterday, and I can't hardly wait to see all the pictures. It was soooooo much fun. Christy Hollingshead is amazing!
Take care, stay cool!

In my 30th week! (6-20-09)

Daddy Vell and Mom

Dad and Sis

Baby Shower at Aunt Margaret's

We had a wonderful shower at Aunt Margaret's on Saturday morning. The ladies from the Arnold side of the family showered us with tons of great gifts for Dylan! Brunch was great, and the decorations were over the top as usual! We had a Old Mother Goose/Nursery Rhyme theme that was so cute! Enjoy the slide show and turn off my regular blog music so you can enjoy the classical tunes with the slide show! :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dylan looks like.......?????

Seeing our sweet Dylan again was so much fun! We think that he just might be the cutest thing ever! :) Shea at Baby Views did a great job. She is so personable, and knows so much about doing in depth ultrasounds. She measured him and checked for abnormalities. He is perfectly healthy, a big ole' 2 lbs. 13 oz., 16 inches long. He has NO hair on his head, long legs, and chubby cheeks. Her prediction is that he will not be a small baby, which will surprise everyone! I think he has Jonathan's nose, and my chin. His face is definitely not shaped like mine was as a baby, and Jonathan's mom says that his face was shaped liked this, so who knows?! It made us even more excited for his arrival. He chose to be cozied up to my placenta the entire hour that we were there. Shea tried to move him around, and he wiggled, but not enough to pull away from me. He is comfy right where he is, and very low. She asked if that is where he stays, and I told her yes. He has all this room and prefers to rest on the bottom! As long as he is happy and healthy we are good! Enjoy, and tell me if you think he resembles anyone? I don't think its anything drastic, just one STINKIN' CUTE BOY!

Smiling for the camera! (my chin, Jonathan's nose)...and chubby cheeks!

Snuggled next to his mama

Loves to keep his hands right next to his face, right now covering up his mouthThat blob over his mouth is my placenta, cute button nose!
"Mommy and Daddy, I'M DONE!" check out those long fingers telling us to quit taking pictures! :)

I am at the beginning of my 29th week. Its hard to believe there are only 11 weeks to go! I am still feeling good, minus a tad bit of indigestion. I can handle it though. MyAunt Margaret is hosting an Arnold Girls Shower tomorrow morning. I can't wait! They are so sweet to do this for us. Hope you all have a good weekend.

What a Whirlwind!

The past two weeks have been absolutely crazy! We have been trying to get all of our "traveling" in by the end of May and it just so happened that we did it all in 2 WEEKS! :) It was all fun, but I am truly ready to settle down and get Dylan's room ready for him. Here is a run down of what's been going on with us.....

"When the Sun Goes Down We'll Be Groovin..."

We went to see Kenny Chesney May16 with Kevin and Susan Koone. Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert opened up for him. We had great seats, 14 rows up from the floor (thanks Aunt Linda!). It was INCREDIBLY loud, but a fun place to be for almost 4 hours.

Sun, Sand, and Shopping!
We took our annual beach trip with Jonathan's family a little early this year. I guess that is my fault, but it was nice because we seemed to beat the normal summer rush. The group was: Jonathan and myself, his parents, his Aunt Judy, and the Leckbee's (basically more family). We did most of our "sunning" on the back deck of our house because the wind down on the beach caused huge sandblasts that didn't feel to good while we were trying to layout. Our top 4 restaurants in Gulf Shores: 1)Bahama Bob's 2) The Hangout 3) Sea n Suds 4)The Beach Club (where we ate before we got engaged, kinda dressy, awesome food). We ate great food, and bought WAY TOO MUCH stuff for Dylan!

Dinner at the Hangout

Yes, the maternity tankini exists, it is what it is. :)

Jonathan & his dad on the golf course

Photo shoot on the beach

Starting 26th week (5/21/09)

The result of a)1st baby b)Outlet shopping in Gulf Shores

"Who Loves You Pretty Baby..."

After returning from Gulf Shores on Saturday, I left on Tuesday to fly to Atlanta to visit my childhood friend, Janell Stewart. We have been friends since we were 3 years old! She moved to Atlanta 8 years ago, and this is the second time I've been to see her. We realized we both love the Broadway show Jersey Boys:The Story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I got to see the show in NYC soon after it opened 4 years ago, and now its touring the U.S. She asked me to come see it, and we went Wednesday night with her mom to the show. Great show, great 2nd row seats, great fun! I enjoyed the laid back trip and came home on Thursday.

Janell thought she should be "preggers" too!

Outside Fox Theatre after seeing Jersey Boys

Back to Reality...
Now its time to kick things in gear and get ready for Dylan. The room will be painted the beginning of this week, and the crib should be here this week as well. I can tell he is growing and getting longer, because now when he moves it happens on both sides of my belly button! Its so much fun to see him wiggling around in there! I guess that is all for now. I am in my 27th week and still feeling good. My hips occasionally get sore at night, so that lets me know its time for another visit to my chiropractor. Oh what a saving grace that is for me! Hope this hasn't been too overwhelming. I was way overdue on a post! Enjoy the sunny days of summer! :)