If You Really Knew Me

Summer tv is terrible! There is absolutely nothing worth watching during the summer months and Jamie and I both LONG for September when all of our favorite shows start back up. During the tv lull, I've tuned in to alot of MTV.. I know I know, but what can I say, it's a late night guilty pleasure! Majority of their shows are junk (umm, Jersey Shore) but I've come across one, "If You Really Knew Me" that I've watched a couple of times. It comes on at 10pm on Tuesdays. Can I say, WOW! This show visits different high schools throughout the country that deal with discriminations, stereotypes, and cliques (ummm, isn't that just about every high school, college, and even work place?) They bring in a couple of counselors or team leaders for a "Challenge Day" and place the kids into random groups and encourage them to each open up about their family life, the hardships they've dealt with in the past, pressures they feel... basically things that have molded them into what and who they are. The counselors break down the barriers that are set up because of the differences among each of the students, whether it be from race, gender, sexual preference, interests, extracurricular activity (whether you're a cheerleader, jock, popular, band member, outsider, etc.) It opens up these kids hearts to reach out to others outside of his/her social circle because you never really know what someone is dealing with or has dealt with in their past. It really is a powerful show and it honestly does make one examine themself, as well as their heart. It encourages compassion and acceptance to each and everyone... talk about a positive, feel-good show! And yes, it is airing on MTV! How much easier high school would have been if something like this would have taken place during my 4 years there!

I better get used to this...

We had an appointment with Noah's new neurologist yesterday, Dr. Mathison. Our original neuro, Dr. Valero, left Children's a year ago and back in February, we saw the neurologist that was taking over Valero's patients. To be honest, she didn't seem to have a clue what she was talking about, so I asked around, heard good things about Dr. Mathison, and got Noah in with him. We really like him and he was very informative and knowledgeable. He was more definite about things... with Dr. Valero, he was always saying things like, "we'll have to wait and see" or "I'm not sure" or "only time will tell..." however, Dr. Mathison was more factual. He told us that only 1 out of every 6 patients that have a developmental delay will get an actual diagnosis as to WHAT caused the delayed. He also explained several other things to us regarding Noah's past MRI (things that I didn't understand when Dr. Valero explained them). Of course, we still don't have a diagnosis and there's a good chance we may never get one. However, he said it was his gut instinct that it was something genetic with Noah. As of now, the genetic tests that have been performed haven't revealed any answers (everything's come back normal) but in a few years, so many new tests will be available. Needless to say, it was a good appointment and I feel good about him taking over as Noah's neurologist. He DID say that the chance of whatever it is causing Noah's delay showing up in Collier's genome is around 1 - 25% but much closer to 1%. So please pray that that doesn't happen and that Collier is 100% healthy.

Now on to other news...
This evening while I was finishing up dinner, Jamie was outside finishing up cutting the grass, and Noah was at the front door watching his daddy. I heard Noah fall down and cry out but then he was quiet so I assumed he was okay... well then he yelled out and was screaming crying. By the time I got to him, he was COVERED in blood. It was all over the floor, his clothes and all over his face. I couldn't tell where he was bleeding from, due to all the blood. I freaked out!! I grabbed a napkin to try and wipe some of it away to figure out where it was coming from, and thats when I saw that he had a gash on his forehead above his right eye. And the bleeding was not slowing down and it was swelling pretty big by this point. I took Noah and ran outside looking for Jamie. I'm sure my neighbors thought I was a nut, because I was screaming Jamie's name at the top of my lungs, trying for him to hear me over the leaf blower. Like I said, I was completely panicking. When Jamie saw us, he threw down the leaf blower and ran to us. We got Noah inside and applied pressure to try and stop the bleeding. It slowed up some and I was ready for us to take him to the ER. I grew up with a sister, where neither of us ever had stitches or any broken bones... we were pretty accident-free. Jamie, on the other hand, grew up with two brothers where this kind of thing was a regular occurance. He examined the cut and said he didn't think it needed stitches so once Noah calmed down, we cleaned him up and got a butterfly band-aid on it. After lots of hugs and kisses from me and Jamie and a couple of chewable Tylenol, Noah was fine and playing in the floor with his trucks. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this won't be the last of these kind of accidents since I'll be the mom of 2 boys! I just hope my nerves can handle it.

The cut actually looks pretty small in the pictures, but it was fairly wide (in my opinion). Small or not, this thing was bleeding profusely! Even Jamie admitted that it was alot of blood. And we're still not sure what he hit his head on! Like I said, he was at the front door, so the only thing I could think of was either the door handle or the door hinge because there wasn't anything else laying around for him to hit his head on.




(Please excuse the crazy hair)

I'm in love...

with my chubby little baby boy! Yesterday, Jamie, Noah and I headed south to B'ham for my final checkup with our Genetic OB, Dr. Biggio. He wanted to take one last look at Collier's skull to make sure it wasn't closing up prematurely and we got the A-Okay! Everything looks great and his head is perfectly round and big! Because of the craniosynostosis, Noah's head was long and skinny but not this baby. Praise the Lord! Craniosynostosis can be genetic so we are so happy that everything looks like it's going to be okay this time around. The reason I said his head was big is because it is measuring 3 weeks ahead of what its supposed to be and Collier is already a heavy weight at 3 lbs and 10oz... which puts him in the 78 percentile (the average is around 2 lbs 10oz for 29 weeks). I got several cute pictures of his chubby little face and we even got a shot of his headful of hair!

I also finished up the nursery this morning and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. I had been working on a shelf that I mentioned previously; I decided to paint it off-white and add and a stain to it to give it an antiqued look. I also received all of the other items I had ordered so I got them hung on the walls this morning. This morning, I was screwing in the light bulb to the lamp and turned the switch to cut it on. Well the lamp made a popping sound, but the light didn't come on so I turned it a couple more times, only to hear a huge POP sound, followed by smoke from the light switch AND the plug outlet! Scared me to death!!! I thought, "I've worked so hard on this nursery, and I'm about to burn it down!" I tried to yank the plug from the wall but the cord was really hot so I grabbed a towel and pulled it out...needless to say, the lamp no longer works and thankfully I didn't cause a fire. Guess I'll be returning that lamp...

Tonight, my best friends from college are all getting together to have a joint baby shower for me and Chenequa (who's exactly 5 weeks ahead of me with her 2nd baby girl). We're going to dinner and then coming back to my house to catch up. A few are going to stay the night at my house (Jamie and Noah are staying with my parents). I'm looking forward to us all getting together this evening to honor these two new babies into our ever expanding group! Among the 9 of us, there are a total of 13 kids (plus these 2 on the way). It seems every year, we add another child to the mix... since several of the girls are from out of town (from Nashville to Birmingham, and all the way to GERMANY) we try to get together several times a year for "girls weekend." For the past 3 1/2 years, we've been talking about taking a trip to NYC but it seems someone is ALWAYS pregnant or just had a baby! Maybe 2011 will be our year to make the trip! :)


...chubby cheeks...








...my craft projects {the shelf and canvas that i painted}...




...picture frames that found on etsy...

We have a nursery!

Here's what we did do on our anniversary...

We put Collier's furniture together! While we were out of town, the painters painted Collier's room so on Monday we picked up our furniture and Jamie and my dad put it together. We also put one of the vinyl decals on the wall...which I LOVE. My sister-in-law borrowed our glider for her baby's nursery so she returned it to us and we've added it to the room. Basically, the room is about 85% complete. I'm still waiting on another vinyl decal to arrive (of a big tree to go behind the crib) and I've ordered some distressed picture frames to hang on the walls. I purchased a shelf that I'm going to paint (just have to figure out the color... either dark espresso stain or distressing it a pale blue). I've also ordered a lamp/lamp shade that I'm waiting to arrive. The last thing is to clean out the closets and add some more shelving. Other than that, we are READY for Collier... or at least, we have a place to put him for when HE decides to get here! :)

Also on Monday, I had my 28 week check up and my glucose tolerance test. Dr. Keith and I had a discussion about when to schedule my C-section. Because of Noah's lungs being underdeveloped when he was born at 38 weeks, I'm terrified about choosing my date. Majority C-sections are performed at 39 weeks, however, I do NOT want a repeat of what all Noah went through. I've decided to schedule it on Nov. 1 or 2 (which is the day before / day of my due date). We are actually really really hoping that I'll just go into labor... that way we know FOR SURE that Collier is ready and it's his timing not ours. The only "risk" is that if I do go into labor on my own, there's a chance Dr. Keith won't be on call. Since I had a bad experience with my first C-section, I'm not thrilled about that thought but I know God's in control and going to take care of us. He told me that once it was time for the weekly appointments, that he would check me and if I began dialating and progressed each week, then we might move the C-section up a few days, that way, Dr. Keith for sure would be the one doing my surgery. He told me NOT TO WORRY and that he really thought everything would be fine. Needless to say, I feel good about things and I'm glad he respects my choices. Of course he completely understands where I'm coming from. He did say that he rarely has this kind of request, that most moms are begging, "is that the soonest you can schedule it?" Other than that, everything else is going well. I passed the glucose test, however, my iron is even lower that it was in the beginning (I didn't do so well with taking my iron pills on vacation so I attribute the low levels to that.)

I'm getting more and more excited about meeting this little guy. He's quite the active little boy! And it's getting to the point where his jabs kind of hurt. I feel pointy things, like elbows, feet, etc. As much as he moves, it never gets old to just sit there with my hand on my belly feeling him squirm around. I'm looking forward to these last 11.5 weeks because THANKFULLY, it should be cooling off soon. Plus football season (and my birthday:) is RIGHT around the corner, so I know that will help in making these last months fly by.

And here are some nursery pictures. Once I get all my frames in, shelf painted and hung, and the decal hung, the walls won't look so bare. The last picture makes the walls look like a yellowish-green, but they aren't... it's a very light shade of green.


... Here's a little craft project I did today ...





... "for this child I prayed, and the Lord answered my prayer." 1 Samuel 1:27...

Reminiscing on the the Past

Back in 2000, Jamie and I had a class at UNA together and we would always "eye" eachother, but neither of us made the first move. Turns out, we both had a mutual friend that was also in that class who we would each ask to introduce us, and because she had a thing for Jamie, she would never do so. I had such a crush on him and I remember telling a friend, that I should just call him out of the blue and take him to our upcoming sorority winter formal (I, of course, didn't though.) Its so fun, now, to go back and talk about that time with him. Back then, I had long, BLONDE, curly hair, which apparently, Jamie loved. One day, I came into the class that we shared and had cut it and darkened it some. Jamie told me that at the time, he told his friend, "I can't believe she changed her hair!" We went that entire semester, never actually meeting.

The next semester, in January 2001, the first week of being back in school following Christmas break, I was the DD for one of my sorority sisters. She was begging to go to 7 Diamonds, so I took her. While we were there, she bumped into Jamie and he asked for her number. I remember taking her home being so disappointed after she told me that. (He later told me that he thought she and I lived together and the only reason he asked was so he could call me; he later found out we didn't live together and never called her.) Then a few months later in April 2001, at an SAE party (Paddy Murphy?) Jamie came up and introduced himself to me (FINALLY) and said, "so what did you make in that class?" I still make fun of him for that 'line'! :) The following weekend (it was Easter weekend), I ran into him one night and we really hit it off. He asked for my number and came over that night to the house I shared with a friend. We watched a movie and stayed up talking until 4 or 5 in the morning. I remember I had to be at work that morning at 8 o'clock and despite being tired, I was on cloud 9. We were inseperable after that. We literally spent every day together and within weeks were dating eachother exclusively. That summer, he went with my family to Destin (which I had NEVER brought a boy with me on vacation) and one evening, while walking on the beach, he first told me he loved me. :) My mom said the only reason she let him come with us was because she already had a feeling that he was "the one" and it wasn't some fling. We got engaged the following year, September 17, 2002 at the beginning on my senior year in college and were married on August 9, 2003, 3 months after I graduated from UNA.

God knew exactly what I needed when he put us together and for THAT, I'm very grateful! He's a perfect fit for me and my personality. I'm just glad he's been willing to put up with me all this time! :) Monday, August 9, marked mine and Jamie's 7th Anniversary. Since we had just returned from vacation, we've decided to celebrate this upcoming Friday night with a date night, while Noah stays with my parents. I can't BELIEVE it's already been 7 years.... we've been through alot together, lots of great times and a few difficult times; but we've come out of each situation having learned and grown from them. Of all the things we've done during the past 7 years, our greatest accomplishment is our two boys and the family that we've created together. Jamie is an amazing father and nothing makes me happier than to watch him with Noah; I can't wait to see him with both of our sons. And I couldn't imagine living this life with anyone other than him by side. I love him more today than I did 7 years ago on our wedding day... and I'll love him even more tomorrow than I do today. I look forward to celebrating many many more anniversaries together!

Here we are, through the past 7 years (except '04 b/c I couldn't find any pictures from then.) WOW how my hair has changed through the years! :)


... Wedding Day, 2003 ...


... Christmas 2005 ...


... March 2006 ...


... Las Vegas, May 2006 ...


... Braves Game, August 2006 ...


... Welcome to the world, Noah! April 2007 ...


... First family photo, May 2007 ...


... Noah's 1st time to church, July 2007 ...


... Tuscaloosa October 2007 ...


... Christmas 2007 ...


... May 2008 ...


... Las Vegas July 2008 ...


... Coldplay Concert Novemember 2008 ...


... My 10 year Reunion July 2009 ...


... Jamie's 30th Birthday August 2009 ...


... Halloween Party 2009 ...


... Opryland Hotel December 2009 ...


... New Years Eve 2010 ...


... Trip to Gatlinburg January 2010 ...


... Mother's Day 2010 ...


... Savannah, GA July 2010 ...

Hilton Head, Here We Come!

Monday, following Lindsay's wedding, we were all worn out from having been out so late the night before. We spend the day relaxing and enjoying our last day with the family. That evening, we had dinner at Uncle Bubba's, which is Paula Deen's brothers restaurant. It was really good, wasn't that long of a wait, and had air conditioning:) so we were happy campers!

Tuesday morning, my family headed home to Alabama and we headed off in the opposite direction to Hilton Head, SC. Our drive was only 45 minutes so we left out around 8:30 and stopped for breakfast once we arrived. We ate at The Original Pancake House... YUMMMMM! I had a (huge) egg, cheese, & bacon sandwich, Jamie got an omelet (that was the biggest omelet I've ever seen), and Noah had pancakes and scrambled eggs. After breakfast, we decided to try to find our hotel, the Hilton Oceanfront Resort, even though check in wasn't for several hours. Once we got there, they actually had a room ready for us, but it was a parking lot view, so we opted to wait for a beach/pool view. Since it would be several hours until the room was ready, we headed to the outlets. The only person that raked up that day was Collier. We bought him several outfits and a cute little jacket for the winter. After a little shopping, the hotel called us to let us know our room was ready so we headed back. That evening, we headed out for dinner but stayed in Palmetto Dunes (the area where our hotel was located) and ate at Alexander's.

The next two days were spent out at the pool, playing in the water and laying out. Noah even napped on a lounge chair each day. My favorite meal the entire time we were in Hilton Head was from the hotel's pool bar, where I had coconut shrimp and fries for lunch...it was DELICIOUS!. Wednesday evening we ate at The Old Oyster Factory and went to Harbour Town to do some sight seeing. Harbour Town is the home of the Harbour Town Lighthouse. This famous lighthouse is visible from Harbour Town Golf Links, which is the location of the Verizon Heritage PGA Tournament. Jamie has always seen this lighthouse on tv when watching this particular tournament so he was very eager to see it in person. It really was a neat lighthouse, however, with Noah in tow, we chose not to go to the top. Harbour Town was a fun little area with lots of restaurants, shops, live music, etc.

The following evening, we ate an early dinner at Scott's Fish Market (which the hotel conceirge recommended) and headed back to the hotel early. We wanted to get Noah to bed at a decent hour since we had plans to head home EARLY the next morning. The following morning, we left out at 4AM... yes, you read that correctly, 4 in the morning, since we had a 9 - 10 hour drive. It is IMPOSSIBLE for Jamie to sleep in so he's always up around 5 or 6 each morning. Since he prefers getting on the road early, he lets me sleep in the car and he drives the whole way (however, this time, I only slept for an hour the entire ride home). It was still dark when we headed out so Noah immediately went back to sleep. I was dreading the drive as I wasn't sure how Noah would do, but he really did great. We actually made great time and got home around 1 pm (however, we gained an hour b/c of the time change). Needless to say, we crashed once we got home. We had a great time on our "extended" vacation...It was very fun visiting new cities and spending time on the east coast! :) However, I realized that as much as I LOVE vacation, I'm also someone who loves my time at home... and after 10 days away, I was glad to be back!


... Views from our Balcony ...


... Harbour Town ...


... famous lighthouse ...




... my cool dude ...


... relaxin' poolside ...

The BIG Day has arrived!

Lindsay and Derrick's wedding was on Sunday evening, August 1. They toyed with the idea of moving the wedding inside because of the heat and a 60% chance of rain... however, thankfully, the rain held off and there was a nice breeze that cooled things off for us so they ultimately decided to keep it outside... which turned out beautifully!

The wedding began at 7:00 in the evening as the sun was setting. It was such a sweet ceremony and completely Lindsay and Derrick's personality. They had a local musician play the acoustic guitar and the grandmothers, mothers, and I walked down the aisle to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." ...Which is one of my sister's and my dad's favorite songs. One funny thing that happened, my sweet little grandmother, Nonnie (that has Alzheimers and the same one that hit the parked car with her door) was missing right before it was time for us to all go down the aisle. We were all looking for her and little did we know when all the guests were going outside to be seated, she headed out there with them (with my uncle) and just sat down in her seat on the front row. :) We had to go get her, so Jamie could escort her down the aisle! Hilarious... it was good comic relief for us, especially for my sister, who was a tad bit emotional. Jamie and Noah escorted my mom down the aisle, right before it was my turn, and it was THE most precious thing. Of course, my dad teared up watching Noah, which caused me to tear up... I turned away to try to regain my composure and saw that my sister was crying too. It even made the preacher tear up. He is actually from the Shoals area and my mom just randomly located him on the internet when searching for Baptist preachers in Savannah. Turns out, my dad knew him and his wife from 20+ years ago, when my dad used to sell cars. On the night of the rehearsal, he and dad got into a conversation about Noah and Dr. Connell shared with us that he and his wife had 2 grandchildren that had passed away, one of which was born with a genetic disorder that took his life at 4 months old and the other that was injured at a daycare and left paralyzed, until he passed away 7 years later. He told us that special children really meant alot to he and his wife. This of course had us all in tears and we realized that it wasn't a "concidence" for mom to randomly find him on the internet.

Lindsay truly was a beautiful bride and just beamed with happiness and excitement. Following the wedding, everyone rode the ferry across the river to Vic's on the River, which was the location of the reception dinner. Dinner was delicious and we all had a great time celebrating with Lindsay and Derrick. It was a late night for us, but Noah was a trooper. Lindsay and Derrick headed out early the next morning for a week-long honeymoon in Mexico.

It's so WEIRD to me that my little sister is now a MARRIED WOMAN! However, I'm so happy that she has found her partner and that they truly have an awesome relationship. I love that Jamie and Derrick get along so well and that Lindsay and I have become even closer over the past year. My mom and her twin sister are VERY close and when we were kids, our families always did everything together... summer vacations, Christmas and all other holidays, etc... my 2 cousins were almost more like brothers because we spent so much time with them. I hope that is something that Lindsay, Derrick, Jamie, and I will be able to do with our families!


...gorgeous setting...



...beautiful bride...




...sweet boy...




...delicious bride's cake...


...chocolatey grooms cake...


...noah's favorite person...






...stealing a moment together as husband and wife...