A HOT WEEKEND OF FOOTBALL

This was such a big weekend.  We had so many friends come into town, many who stayed at our house for the football game.  I should have so many pictures of all the fun times we had.  And we did have many a fun time! BUT, YALL! IT.WAS.HOT.

Mississippi State played UAB at 1PM.  So we all managed to get out of the house, lug all of our stuff to the tailgate all to realize that it was just so miserably hot.  The kids were even lethargic,whiny and miserable.  Elle pretty much sat in a chair the entire time before she insisted we go into the game for a little bit.  I made the biggest mistake of all and wore jeans and barely spoke to anyone the entire time we were at the tents because I really just wanted to go home.  We did go into the game for parts of the first and second quarter hoping that we would have a breeze where our seats are but there wasn't a breeze so we left.

After we packed up the tailgate we took the party on the road to our house and things got much better.  All of our friends were in town with their kids and we ate leftover food from the tailgate and a someone brought a bunch of pizzas.  The kids ran around outside and we watched football and just relaxed in air conditioning. It was a late night for the adults and the kids but we had so much fun!

Elle asked me to take a picture in her Bulldog dress that she wore for Maroon Friday.  She has school on Friday and it is so fun to see all the kids in their maroon!

When she got home from school I had her try on a new rain jacket and rain boots to see how they fit and I couldn't get over how cute she looked.  After it monsooned for the last game I wanted her to have some gear since the forecast was calling for rain. No rain so we didn't get to wear any of it.  

The one picture we managed to get with all the friends that were in town.  We were excited to get a picture with us and the kids.  We were all exhausted but it was a fun night.

Sunday morning my friends were so sweet to prepare a wonderful breakfast for me and give me a little Sprinkle for Walker.  All the guys took the kids to City Bagel for breakfast and then to the park to play so we had a great morning of girl talk and sweet baby gifts.  I was so grateful.

The rest of Sunday was spent resting and cleaning. We have a couple away games in the next two weeks so we will enjoy the break and hopefully it will be much much cooler the next time we tailgate.

26 WEEK UPDATE

So I am quickly realizing how fast these next 14 weeks are going to fly by with the start of football season. You barely recover from one game weekend and house guests only to start all over for the next weekend. It doesn't help that I could very well go into labor early (hopefully not) so I might not even get those 14 weeks!  I am trying to check some major things off the nursery. It is time to get that all in order!

For some giggles and since I just did the first football game post.  I was texting a friend what I was wearing for the game this past weekend.  It was a white out and my Mississippi State maternity wardrobe is only so vast so I was throwing some things together. Here was the finished look which I was pretty okay with.

Then my friend and I noticed that that mirror was doing me ALL SORTS of favors! I didn't even look pregnant! I even looked kind of skinny! She commented so I had to send her a more accurate depiction of what would be arriving at the tailgate.

There we go.  That is more like it! Fat face and all!

How far along 26 weeks.  My What to Expect App says Walker is the size of a eggplant. He is 9.2 inches and weights 2lbs. 

Total weight gain/loss? Scale is still going up.  It really stinks that I have to go stand on the scale once a week for my progesterone shot.  Kind of disheartening.  

Maternity Clothes? Yes.  Of course.  Just got a few more fall things in and I should be pretty set for a little bit.  Have some cute maroon things to wear to games and already have a cute maternity coat from when I was pregnant with Elle for when and if it ever gets cold.

Stretch Marks- No. No stretch marks.

Sleep? I am still so tired from this weekend with the football game and all the late nights girl talking with Susan.  Not to mention Elle has been padding down to our room pretty early the last few mornings.  But I am wearing my earplugs more at night and that is helping with other noises (cough cough) that have been keeping me from sleeping.  I love you Kenny!

Best Moment Last Week?  Watching Elle cheer on the Bulldogs all on her own accord.  She loves the games and the Bulldogs and is so much fun to bring to games now.  Also enjoyed spending the weekend with a bestie!

Movement? You can officially see all of his kicks on the outside now.  I sent a video to Kenny yesterday because you could see him moving around under my shirt.  I can also tell we are both getting bigger because the movement is no longer in my lower abdomen but around my ribs.

Food cravings? No real cravings to speak of this week. Still have my sweet tooth.

Gender? It's a boy! Kenneth Walker.

Labor Signs? No labor signs. As the weeks tick by it is great to know viability is getting better.

Belly button in/out? In but getting shallower and shallower.

What I miss? As expected, football season makes me want a little drinky drink.  

What I am looking forward to?This weekend is going to be absolutely nuts.  We are going to have a house full of our closest friends and their kids.  Then a lot of other friends are coming into town too since we have appointed this our reunion weekend of sorts.  Trying to get it all planned is a little overwhelming but all part of the fun.  Then the same friends are throwing Walker and I a little Sprinkle which is so nice of them!

Funny things Elle has said this week about Walker: Earlier today we somehow got on the subject that babies are born without teeth.  This absolutely blew Elle's mind.  She had no idea.  The questions that were coming.  So just boy babies don't have teeth?  I have teeth.  I had teeth when I was born.  Did you have teeth when you were born?  It was hilarious. Then she she says "Walker is going to chew on my toys."  I told her yes he might but that we would get Walker his own toys to chew on.  "I'm going to put my toys in a drawer up high so he can't chew on my toys.  But I am going to share my toys too!"

FIRST FOOTBALL WEEKEND 2014!

Well football season is officially here! We just love living in Starkville as that first home game approaches. There is just so many things to do centered around Mississippi State and our football team.

Friday night we were so happy to have Kenny's parents and his aunt drive up for a night.  We grabbed an early dinner at the Grill and then walked over to the Downtown Block Party. It is a small event but fun for kids Elle's age.  The highlight was the jumpys and hanging out with Bully.  At one point Elle was in the jumpy with three other little girls and Bully got in with them.  He was hamming it up with them and they were pretty much ignoring him which was funny!

Later we ran into Bully in a store.  Elle talks about Bully nonstop but then refuses to give him a hug or a picture with him when he sees her.  Then after we leave she talks about how she is sad she didn't give him a hug.  When we saw him in the store he was giving her lots of one on one attention and she eventually warmed up enough to give him a high five.  A small victory.

He was copying her by putting his fingers in his mouth like her.

Here we go! A high five for Bully!

Another festival fave! Face painting!

We stopped in at Tutti Fruiti for some froyo before heading home to put a sleeping Elle into her bed.

Saturday morning I made a big breakfast before Kenny's family hit the road.

The plan for the rest of the day was to wait for my friend Susan come in town from Memphis and then tailgate in the afternoon and go to the game against USM at 6:30.  But the weather was just absolutely terrible.  Poured and poured and poured all day! Tailgating was just out of the question.  As much as we wanted to it was just going to be impossible with Elle and luckily for us we had not put our tailgate up this game since some of our friends were out of town.  So about an hour and a half before the game we walked onto campus and into the stadium.  We were pretty wet, hot and I was worn out from the trek but our seats are covered so once we got settled we were good to go. This was Susan's first time to a Mississippi State football game and we were excited to have her with us! Elle was so happy to be back cheering for the team too!  We had a great time and left at the end of the third quarter and completely shut out the Golden Eagles!

Walking into the stadium.  A little damp but still excited!

Watching the Bulldogs take the field with Daddy. Cowbell in hand of course!

Woohooing with her pom pom.

And I despise this picture so much.  I officially have preggo face and this selfie was doing me zero justice!  Oh well!

Sunday was spent resting, doing a little shopping at the Brunch and Browse downtown and Susan and I went to dinner and a movie Sunday night.  Susan left Monday morning and now it is time to gear up and do it all over again!  We have UAB this coming weekend and a completely full house of people with lots of children! Going to be fun!

25 WEEK UPDATE

How far along 25 Weeks and 1 Day.  My What to Expect App says Walker is the size of a ear of eggplant.  He is 9 inches long and weighs 1.7lbs.

Total weight gain/loss? Welp.  I think we are looking at around 20-22lbs.  Yikes! I know the caramel cake Kenny brought me last week and the delicious strawberry cake my friends got me for my birthday sure didn't help but I sure did enjoy them.  And I can say I am officially over my cake craving!

Maternity Clothes? Yes.  Hit up Target for a few new workout tops that I can workout in.  I just feel so frumpy if I wear a tshirt. 

Stretch Marks- No. No stretch marks.

Sleep? Sleep has been downright terrible! Elle is not sleeping through the night! My three almost four year old IS NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! She wakes up and just wants me to come see her/rub her tummy/give her a kiss and a hug.  And I will honest there is just something about night time or the middle of the night that I don't want to yell at her or be stern.  I think it goes back to her being a baby and they tell you to make sure your baby knows that you are there for them if they need you.  I don't want her to feel like I am not there for her.  Contemplating a sticker chart or some kind of reward system because we have to nip this in the bud before Walker comes!  

Best Moment Last Week?  Getting a lot of stuff checked off the list for the house and the nursery.  The nursery is sort of kind of starting to come together.  It is still has a loooong way to go but starting to get some of the bigger stuff done.  

Movement? Lots of movement and I can tell he has gotten bigger because the kicks are so much harder and I can feel them a lot higher now.

Food cravings? Not really having too many cravings this week because we literally just finished off the cakes and I had a whole lot of cake!

Gender? It's a boy! Kenneth Walker.

Labor Signs? No labor signs. As the weeks tick by it is great to know viability is getting better.

Belly button in/out? In but getting shallower and shallower.

What I miss? Not missing a whole lot right now.  I will say that this heat is miserable and I just dread going outside or doing anything outside.  But it is hot to everyone not just me.  

What I am looking forward to?I am so looking forward to our first football this weekend against my hometown's college USM! It is going to be hot but so fun! And I am also looking forward to spending a morning at the spa tomorrow.  Kenny got me a 90 minute prenatal massage and a pedicure at the day spa here for my birthday!  

Funny things Elle has said this week about Walker: Hmmm....no funny stories but we have been watching these cartoons on PBS, Daniel Tiger and they are doing a whole week where he gets a baby sister.  His mom is pregnant and they go to the hospital and then once the baby comes they address how things are different in his family.  Elle loves them and we have enjoyed watching them together.

WEEKEND UPDATE

This past weekend Elle and I met Kenny in Hattiesburg so that I run a whole lot of errands, get my hair done and so that Elle could see her CeCe. It was a really quick trip as we arrived late afternoon ran the bulk of our errands then hair appointment Saturday morning, more errands and drove home that afternoon so we could be back for church and other fun things on Sunday.

I was so happy to get so many things checked off my to-do list.  A lot of it was house stuff and nursery stuff.  Elle was so happy to get to play and hang out with CeCe.

We have this big box of costume jewelery at CeCe's house from my grandmother and Elle loves loves loves putting it all on and playing dress up! The funniest is when she puts on the clip on earrings.

Taking a stroll in all her jewelry and a pretty scary Madame Alexander doll that was mine when I was little.

And the ultimate highlight of going to CeCe's...playing with the cat! Elle wants a kitty so bad!

Sunday afternoon I had a Young Life Committee dinner so Kenny took Elle on a daddy daughter date to Fan Day at the Davis Wade Stadium.  They had an absolute blast.  This was the first time the fans were given access to the new horseshoed stadium and Elle was so excited to be able to run up and down the field over and over even though it was crazy hot! She wasn't too keen on standing in the really long lines to meet the players and coaches.  I told Kenny he has plenty of time to do that with Walker.  But she was psyched to get her face painted and to see Bully and the real life real dog Bully.

Barefoot in the beautiful grass of Bulldog country.

Getting a Mississippi State tattoo.  This was her first non permanent tattoo.  I don't really love tattoos even fake ones on children but I can make exceptions for a Mississippi State one! She gets so serious when it comes to face painting.

Having fun on the jumpy.

Relaxing at home eating some pizza before conking out from a great night with Daddy.

Elle was asleep when I got home.  At 4 AM I feel this tiny cold hand touch my bare leg.  Then I hear Elle's voice "Mommy! See my sticker!"  Her sticker being her face tattoo that she was sleeping in.  She then went on to tell me all about Fan Day and how much fun she had at 4 AM! Sweet girl! I let her tell me.  She was just happy and excited.  Then I knew there was no way she was going back to her bed.  So into our bed she went and she did go back to sleep.  And I never got back to sleep.  I ended up just getting up and getting to the gym around 5:30 so that I could do cardio before meeting with my trainer.

Elle had preschool Monday morning but I just didn't have the heart to wash that sweet tattoo off her face.  So she was thrilled to wear it to school.  I told her she had to let me wash it off during her bath before ballet class though.  She was cool with that after we promised her she would be getting a new one for actual game day in a few days.

Raising her right as a Bulldog!

24 WEEK UPDATE

The mirror selfie.  Kim Kardashian I am not.  I do not understand how people take these things and look anywhere close to decent.  Oh well.  My friend was requesting a belly selfie and for the sake of documenting here we are.  Unwashed hair, day old make up and a maternity top that I had from when I was pregnant with Elle. Getting bigger though!  So glamorous!

It takes everything I have to look up from the phone while I snap the picture so they all look like this!

Okay I looked up so we will add this one to the post too!

How far along 24 weeks exactly!  My What to Expect App says Walker is the size of a ear of corn.  He is 8.5 inches long and weighs 1.5lbs.

Total weight gain/loss? Last time at the doctor I want to say I was actually closer to 13 but I still consider myself around 15 lbs gained.  I think I was having a light moment.  I don't know.  I know the weight is coming on though.  Can see it in my face and my legs.

Maternity Clothes? Yes! Just made a fall order.  I have scheduled a fall mini session with a photographer for September.  I wanted to get a few pictures of us as a family and then try and get some good ones of Elle just in case things just get bonkers in November and December and I need one to use for our Christmas card.  No maternity photo shoots for me but I am hoping I won't be too huge by next month for a few family photos.  We will see.  Anyway I ordered some tops that I am hoping I can wear with jeans that might look cute in pictures.  Along with some maroon tops for games.  Thank goodness "burgundy" is still kind of in.  In enough it is still around in maternity clothes!

Stretch Marks- No. No stretch marks.

Sleep? Sleep hasn't been great.  Some of it is that my three and a half year old does not sleep through the night consistently! Is this normal?  I would say we/I am up at least two times a week with her.  I do my best to break the habits and to show her that she isn't going to get her way at 2:00 AM and she is crying because she wants mommy to lay down with her.  But that still doesn't stop it from happening. Not to mention a certain someones snoring has picked up lately.  So yea.  Sleep hasn't been great this week.

Best Moment Last Week?  Celebrating my birthday as a family. Watching Elle roller skate for the first time.  Getting to see a movie I wanted to see on opening weekend. Hearing Walker's strong heartbeat at my monthly doctors appointment.

Movement? Still so much movement. He moves constantly.  I feel like with Elle she would move in bursts for a period of time.  With Walker I feel like he moves constantly.  And I notice him moving even when I am up moving around or I am busy.

Food cravings? Sweets. Sweets. Sweets. Particularly this last few days. Cake! Elle's friend Miriam had the best birthday cake I have EVER had on Saturday and I was practically giddy with how delicious it was. I have also been craving caramel cake.  I had a piece last night that was so good! Cake!!!

Gender? It's a boy! Kenneth Walker.

Labor Signs? No labor signs.  I have a few painful-ish Braxton Hicks but still no soreness from my progesterone shots.  So that is great!

Belly button in/out? In but getting shallower and shallower.

What I miss? Being able to move the way I need to.  I told Kenny yesterday.  Already having children requires you to be constantly bending over to pick things up or crouching to help them get dressed or in out of a bathtub.  And I have just reach the point where that kind of stuff has gotten hard and I am always breathing heavy!

What I am looking forward to?I We have a couple dinners with friends planned for this week and Elle also has her first gymnastics class on Thursday.  I am sure you will be getting an update on that.  And I am hoping to get some house projects crossed off the list this weekend along with a haircut and highlight! 

Funny things Elle has said this week about Walker: Kenny was all up in arms the other day because Elle was saying she had a baby in her tummy.  A girl. Named Sissy.  I told him that was completely normal behavior to pretend when your mommy is pregnant and even a little boy would pretend that.  So simmer down silly Kenny!!

MY BIRTHDAY WEEKEND I.E. ELLE GOES ROLLER SKATING

This Saturday was my birthday.  I have never been huge into birthdays but I was happy to have Kenny come home from market on Friday and then go to dinner with one of my very dear friends, Tracy to celebrate. Tracy and I went to a newish restaurant in Starkville called Commodore Bobs.  We came home completely stuffed, watched some HGTV while we chatted and went to bed.

Saturday morning I was so excited to take Tracy to my favorite brunch place Restaurant Tyler.  But we rolled up and it was closed.  So we went and had breakfast at the Grill before coming home to hang out a little bit before Tracy had to leave.  I would of loved to have Tracy stay all weekend but we had two back to back birthday parties for Elle's good friends that afternoon.  

 Before Tracy left Elle asked her to braid her hair in pigtails! She was so excited! And I am going to have to start practicing doing them.  They looked so cute on her!

The first birthday party we attended was for Elle's good friend Miriam at the gymnastics gym.  We go to a lot of birthday parties there and Elle loves it!

Cake and ice cream with our sweet friend Kate.

After Miriam's birthday party we swung by the house to grab Kenny for our friend Anna Claire's birthday party at the skating rink.  After having been at one birthday party I needed parenting reinforcement plus we have never been rollerskating before so thought it would be nice to have Kenny there for the milestone and for the help!

Elle was so excited to go rollerskating. Have to be honest but I had my doubts on how we do. Especially with being a little worn out from the previous birthday party.  But she loved it! The wheels were pretty tight on her skates and they have these great walker things at this roller rink that really help. All the parents were talking about how we didn't have those when were little.  Just had to death grip the side. By the end Elle was out on the floor without a walker.  She told us as soon as we got back in the car how much fun she had and how she couldn't wait to go back.  Total success! It was a great afternoon and seeing her have so much fun with her friends and getting to visit with our friends too made for a great and tiring birthday afternoon.

 Tying up the skates!

Quick picture with Mommy before we set out.

And we are off-with the help with the walker.

Getting some tips from Daddy.

Feeling brave and sans walker.

Family pic.  All looking a little tired fro all the fun.

 Pizza time! Love the wall decor at the skating rink!

Like I said it was  great afternoon!  After the parties we grabbed some sushi to go and watched a movie once we got Elle to bed.  Kenny also gave me a gift certificate to the spa here for a massage and pedicure and I can't wait to enjoy that. Sunday morning we planed to go church but Elle had a little bit of croupy cough so we stayed home and Kenny went out to the golf course  Then I went to see The Giver with a friend that afternoon.  I loved the movie.  The Giver is my favorite book of all time and I thought the movie did a good job.

And I just have to include this last picture!  I was so sick and tired of having to sweep every day and our floors still being filthy so I made the decision to shave Lena.  Kenny was so not happy with the results.  I, however am already noticing a difference in our floors.  Time will tell if we will start to keep her coat shorter permanently.

Lena sporting her new haircut.