Let's start taking bets...

Well we had the official doctor visit today so that now I can comfortably say...yes...we are pregnant. Of course, most people who read this are family or very close friends...and you already knew :). So here is the little peanut...
We thought we were around 9 weeks along...little peanut is tinier than expected and is only measuring 8 weeks exactly today. So we are a week earlier than we thought, no harm done...kinda figured because my body likes to be off anyway. :) So...due date is March 16. We will try NOT to have this baby on the Ides of March. :) So anyhoo, here's the lo down from today's visit.

Baby's heart rate was good at 159 bpm. Fast little booger huh?!?
Everything looks good...I continue to get to be normal, which is nice....
The best news is that just because I had gestational diabetes with Alli, does NOT mean I will have it with this one. So we'll see how it goes.

Ok...so I know mom and Shannon are hoping I've got a little boy growing inside me...anyone else venture to make a very early guess??

Small achievements

Today marks day 3 of Alli waking up with a dry diaper....we're making progress here. Now if she can just mentally "want" to potty train....one day...one day

For the Love of Cousins!

Alli has the most adorable and loving cousins ever. We love each and every one of them. This past weekend was such a joy to be around family.

Caitlin adores Alli and loves to get her to play with her and we just love the bond they have!

She is so sweet and attentive

We were so excited to hear that Ashley and Carter were coming in for a last minute visit. Alli seemed to really bond more with Carter after this visit and I must say I think I bonded with him more too....He held my hand!! Love that little boy.

Holding hands with Grammy

Both love the water sooo very much

And why not get dirty while we're at it.

Jumpers Playhouse Success

This party turned out to be everything we hoped it would be. Thank you everyone who was able to make it!!! Alli loved every minute of the fun. I'm sure she wishes we had a room in our house with all these crazy inflatables. Below are some of the pictures I was able to capture. I can't wait until I see some of the others that were taken with better cameras that have faster shutter speeds. My camera isn't fast enough for action shots inside. Enjoy

Turning 2!!

I'm a little behind in posting about Alli's 2nd birthday. Alli turned 2 on July 14th. We had the party today so on the 14th we went down to see her Grammy Smith. Grammy and Papa gave her a new car! This is Alli trying it out for the first time after a couple hours of charging.

We also did a cake for Alli so that she could get to blow out candles and actually celebrate some on her actual birthday.

Thank you Marilyn for taking care of the cakes. They tasted wonderful!! Alli loves her car!

I'll post a separate entry about her party.

I heart DC24

I would like to introduce everyone to my newest best friend. I'm not a believer in buying friendship...especially friendship that costs this much money. But in this instance, I feel as though it was completely worth it. You see...I had to buy this "friend"
to take care of these friends...My allergies being the way they are and Alli sneezing all the time...we felt it was best to spend the money on a product that would WORK and LAST. We LOVE it. The next item on the agenda is this bad boy:
This...my dear friends...is the greatest thing on earth! This is an attachment that goes on my Dyson that grooms/brushes the dog and then sucks all the loose hair up...which means less hair int he air and all over my house. Can I get a hallelujah?! HALLELUJAH. Yeah, we're excited.

To be honest...I've never been so excited to vacuum in my life. That is saying a lot. If mom and dad had invested in one of these many years ago...then maybe dad wouldn't have said to me over and over again, "slow and methodical." :) Happy vacuuming everyone!

Summer will be gone before we know it

What!? It's July already! Well, Ben had his interview on Tuesday. He said it was really quick! He had heard that the other shifts had 30 minute interviews but his only lasted maybe 5 minutes. Not sure whether that means they already have someone in mind and are going through the motions or they just had a lot of guys to get through that day and were in a hurry. Who knows, honestly. Ben is ok with it however it turns out. He would LOVE to be promoted and get to go through more training...but even if they don't pick him, he will continue on pursuing his bachelors. He lacks 13 classes.

Alli's birthday is in 2 weeks. OH MY GOODNESS....I have a 2 year old. She is a lot of fun and her communication is improving each and every day leaps and bounds. We're still working on some things...like "F" sounds. Phone, Fan, Fry.....to her they are Pone, Pan and Pie. HAH Today she said phone and it actually sounded like phone...awesome! We are excited about her birthday party. It will be a small intimate group of kids and the Jumpers Playhouse and she just loves it there so I know she will have fun!

Ben and I had a very busy work schedule in June and July is shaping up the very same way. I'm so thankful to parents and aunts who are so willing and able to watch Alli to make it possible for me to work on days that Ben is working too. Alli loves being with family and we love being able to leave the house knowing the person Alli is with loves her like their own!

Alli has recently become incredibly obsessed with movies...but especially The Incredibles. No lie, she wants to watch it all day long....I love the movie but if I watch it that much I might go crazy. I'm trying to introduce her to other disney movies but she will say "NO" and go run and get the Incredibles movie jacket. She did sit and watch the most recent Shrek movie at Nana's the other day...so she might like my Shrek movies. We'll see. I don't necessarily want her "glued" to the tv watching shows and movies but she doesn't like to play independently with her toys, so if I need to get some cooking done or some work on the computer, then the movie is a good outlet for distraction and entertainment.

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We would enjoy it a lot more if it wasn't so hot. Oh well, such is life in Tennessee.