Savannah and our "Low Country" Adventures

Last Wednesday, Jamie, Noah, Lindsay, and I headed out before noon for Atlanta. We decided that with our trip to Savannah being close to 9 hours, it would be best to split it up into 2 days of travel. We made it to ATL around 4 (their time), checked into our hotel and headed to Lenox Square Mall for some shopping. I was able to find some cute summer, maternity items. Noah had only napped for about an hour during the drive and with our shopping and then dinner, we didn't get back to our hotel until around 9:30... at that point, he was deliriously silly and wired! After an hour or so, I was able to get him to calm down and go to sleep. Thankfully, he was great the whole day and didn't fuss or cry at all.

My parents drove to B'ham late Wednesday night so Thursday morning, we left our hotel in time to meet them as they were passing through ATL, that way we could follow them the rest of the way. We made it to Tybee Island in about 5 hours and unfortunately, our vacation got off to a rocky start. As SOON as we pulled into the parking deck of our condo, the electricity went off in the entire complex. This meant the elevators were out of order (with someone trapped inside!), so we had to tote all of our luggage up the stairs. When we got everything out of the car and get settled into our rooms, we realized it was HOT in the condo. There's no telling what it had been set on since it was unoccupied and at this point we were still without power... with a heat index of 110 outside. After an hour or more, the power finally came back on, so we decided to head out for dinner. My dad got into a conversation with the maintenance guy on site and he recommended we eat at a place called Burneys, which was located on a pretty busy street called Tybrisa. It wasn't quite what I was expecting when we pulled down the strip to park, but it reminded me of something that you would find on the Jersey Shore! Several t-shirts shops, souvenir stores, and small bars lined both sides of the street. Jamie, Noah, Lindsay, and I rode together and got there before my parents (who also have my grandmother, Nonnie, and my aunt Carol with them.) We walked into Burney's and the first thing I realized is that it's basically a bar with a couple of tables. Next thing I see is a rather large couple in their bathing suits, making out at the bar. Ummmm... I didn't want to be the one to veto this place but I didn't think it was for us. Lindsay pointed out pretty quickly that there were quite a few smokers and she didn't want Noah around it so we left quickly. My parents still hadn't gotten there so I called my mom's cell to find out where they were... turns out, when they parked the car, my Nonnie hastily opened the car door and slammed it into the neighboring car (which happened to be a brand new Tahoe), putting a dent in the side of it (and in the door of my parent's car). The owner of the Tahoe was LIVID and started mouthing off to my dad, despite the fact that it was obviously an accident! My dad was trying to calm the guy down and get everything situated (as far as exchanging insurance) but apparently that wasn't enough for this guy... he was looking for a fight. My dad finally calmed the guy down and we head out looking for another place to eat. The next attempt was AJ's. We found it easily, however, the parking lot would only hold about 10 cars at best. We drove around searching for a spot to park both of our cars with no luck, so we headed out looking for something else. We decided on The Crab Shack, which had been voted "Best Seafood on Tybee Island" for something like the past 10 years in a row so we thought we'd found a winner. We waited for about an hour or so but it passed pretty quickly because we sat outside and watched kids feed the alligators that they had in an enclosure. They took us to our seat and it immediately became apparent that the restaurant was without air conditioning. The food was okay, but nothing to call home about. A tired 3 year old, a 80-something year old lady, and a 6 months pregnant girl plus the rest of my family... in August, 100+ degree weather, no a/c, and all worn out from traveling all day ... it just was not a pleasant experience. We were all hot, sweaty, miserable, and tired.

The following day, my mom and sister had some last minute wedding details to finalize, my dad and Jamie wanted to check out a local golf course as well as make a grocery stop, so I sat with Noah and Nonnie at the condo. I woke up that morning feeling sick with really bad congestion, headache, and a sore throat/bad cough so I didn't feel like doing much plus my grandmother has Alzheimer's so there was no way I was venturing out just the 3 of us, especially after the run in she'd caused my dad the night before! :) That evening, we had reservations at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons, with Derrick's (Lindsay's fiance) entire family. Because of our party size, we had to choose the buffet, which was really good. Fried Chicken, Steamed Shrimp, Macaroni-n-Cheese, Corn Casserole, Yams, Mashed Potatoes, Peach Cobbler, Banana Pudding and more. The best thing on the buffet was the Mac-n-Cheese... YUM! The one thing I wanted to try but it wasn't offered this particular day was the Gooey Butter Cakes. Follwing dinner, Jamie, Noah and I went ventured off by ourselves to see Savannah. We headed a couple of blocks towards City Market and then turned up near some shops, however, with it just a few minutes to 7:00pm they were all closing. And let me tell you, it was HOT, despite it being 7 in the evening. In fact, that doesn't even begin to describe just how hot... I've always heard that it's much more hot and humid in Savannah and that night I experienced it! With full bellies from our meal, our clothes literally sticking to us, and huffing and puffing as we wandered around through downtown Savannah, we finally decided to just head back to the car, with hopes of returning to explore another day.

The following evening, Saturday night, was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. All I can say is this was the first time I actually saw where the wedding was to take place at the gardens of the Westin Savannah Harbor (other than pictures on the internet) and the scenery was gorgeous! Dinner was to follow at The Olde Pink House and it was wonderful... but the service was even better! It was flawless and so impressive. We all thoroughly enjoyed our experience there. Between Jamie, Noah, and I, we were able to try all of the options that were available on our menu. I had the She-Crab Soup, Shrimp and Grits, and Key Lime Pie... WONDERFUL!

Here's my observations:
1. Savannah is beautiful! However, being 6 months pregnant in one of the hottest months out of the year, I didn't get to fully experience it... it was just too hot and required alot of walking that I didn't feel up to doing. The combination of the heat/humidity, being sick the whole week, and pregnant just left me drained! I honestly didn't feel like doing anything, other than Lindsay's wedding activities. I hate that I felt that way because I know I really would have enjoyed Savannah with different circumstances. I would love to go back at a different time of year, and when I'm NOT pregnant, so that I can enjoy all that it has to offer.

2. When we were planning our trip, we were told that Tybee Island was only a 15 - 20 minute drive to Savannah. However, we found that it took about 30 - 45 minutes depending on traffic therefore, we didn't get to venture into Savannah much during the day since we were there so much each evening for wedding activities. None of us were impressed with Tybee Island and I wouldn't recommend it, except for maybe a day trip, but not somewhere to stay for a week. It didn't seem to be geared toward tourists, but more so a getaway for locals, because there wasn't anything there other than the beach, some tacky touristy shops, and a few hole-in-the-wall restaurants, majority of which didn't have air-conditioning. However, I know others feel differently because I had heard nothing but great things prior to our trip. I guess I'm just spoiled by Destin and the beautiful Gulf Coast!

Obviously, our number 1 purpose for the trip was Lindsay's wedding, however, Jamie and I were also using this as our summer vacation too. Since we didn't really get the vacation experience we were hoping for on Tybee Island, Jamie arranged for to get a hotel for 3 nights on Hilton Head Island, which was only a 45 minute drive from Savannah. His birthday is 8/3 and our 7th anniversary is 8/9 so he thought we should enjoy a little time with just the 3 of us. The plan was to head there following our departure from Tybee on that Tuesday morning. WHOO HOO!! But before that, we had my sister's wedding...


a little alligator-watching to pass the wait at The Crab Shack


the crab shack's slogan "where the elite eat in their bare feet!"


outside of paula deen's the lady & sons


river street


practice makes perfect!


the bride and her favorite nephew




our rehearsal dinner menu


family shot outside of the olde pink house

Little of This... Little of That

First, let me begin by saying that Noah is doing great in his big boy bed. That first week was a bit of a challenge during naptime but he adjusted and is doing fine. The past few weeks, we've been busy with my sister's wedding festivities and finalizing all the last minute things. Last weekend was her Lingerie Shower hosted by her high school friends and that Sunday was her Bridal Tea at our church. She racked up with TONS of stuff so she and Derrick should be set! Now we are just counting down the HOURS until we are Savannah bound! I've spent the day doing laundry, packing and cleaning the house so that we can come home to cleanliness!

Me & Lindsay at her Lingerie Shower (me at 24 weeks)


No, we still haven't done a thing to Collier's nursery even though I had hoped to begin prior to leaving for Savannah. His furniture came in a week or so ago and I did pick out the paint color and put a little sample of it on the wall. We've arranged for the painters to come paint while we're out of town (Jamie's dad is a builder so his paint crew is painting the room for us) and Jamie has promised me that it will be completely finished by the end of August, which I'm happy with. I also ordered several things from Etsy.com for his room so I'm excited to get them in.

This time around, we've decided to keep Collier's cord blood. We considered it with Noah however, opted not to. Duke University is doing trials where they do cord blood transfusions for kids with Cerebral Palsy and developmental delays and have had really great results in healing these kids of their delays. If we would have kept Noah's cord blood then he would have been a candidate for a transfusion. (oh the things I would change if I could!) I was really hopeful that Noah would be able to get a transfusion from his brother's cord blood but after speaking with someone at Duke they told me that currently, they are not performing transfusions from sibling's cord blood. However, they HOPE to be able to do so in the near future. Regardless, we've decided to keep Collier's in case a.)Collier needs it and b.)Noah can get a transfusion of it.

Noah is doing great with his walking. His strength and balance are getting noticeably better as he is now able to walk pretty good with us holding just one of his hands. And he jabbers like crazy! I know he wants to talk so bad. He's also developed a bit of a temper! When he gets upset about something or I tell him "no!" he smacks his hand down in protest. It's a good thing that he's protesting now rather than just being passive... it tells me that he knows what he wants and he gets mad when he doesn't get it, rather than not caring. It also lets me know that he understands even though he isn't expressing it through words. We've began disciplining him and he knows exactly what we're saying. We count to 3 and most of the time he stops whatever it is that he's not supposed to be doing. He's still the most loving little boy! I'm always telling him about the baby in mommy's belly and he's begun laying his head on my belly... so sweet. He loves to hug on us and cuddle... he really is such a sweet kid. Jamie and I were talking the other night and Jamie jokingly said, "I'm kind of worried about what kind of personality Collier's going to have because Noah is so sweet and it seems impossible for us to have two boys with sweet personalities!" We were both joking around saying that Noah got the good qualities from each of us so there's no telling how Collier would be! He may give us a run for our money!

I'm hoping that Noah will be walking or very close to it come October 28 (our probable C-section date) but it won't be the end of the world if he isn't. I realize that regardless if he's walking or not, I doubt I will be getting out of the house by myself with a newborn and a 3 1/2 year old that often anyway! I'm just leaving it up to God... I don't mean this to sound like I don't care (cause that's about as far from the truth as possible) but I'm TIRED of the worrying and stressing over what Noah will and won't do and when he'll do it. It is what it is. The worrying doesn't change a thing. God has taken care of us thus far and He'll continue to do so, regardless if I worry about it or not. So I'm choosing not to. Being pregnant with Collier has made me realize that. I've been so consumed with Noah and his needs for the past 3 years... I used to research everything I could possibly think of on the Internet, pray until I was in tears each night, and think about Noah's disabilities constantly. I've even thought that possibly I wasn't a "good enough Christian" and that was the reason Noah was still delayed. How crazy is that?! God doesn't work that way and I KNOW that but at weak moments, Satan can convince you of anything. The past year or so has been a lot better for me as far as realizing it's not in my hands and then I got pregnant with Collier which helped me to majorly refocus! I just hate that I went almost 3 years wasting so much time worrying about the "when's" and "what ifs" and I wished I could have had this "epiphany" from the beginning... but at least I'm realizing now instead of later on down the road! I'm not saying that I won't continue to strive to do everything I can for Noah and obviously, I will still pray for him each and every night but I'm choosing to no longer worry about his (our) future. It's all in His hands and we're going to be just fine as a family of four... and I honestly can't wait!

Second Attempt...

A little over a year ago, when we moved into the new house, we converted Noah's crib to a full bed. It lasted for a couple of months, but then he started crawling and didn't know how to get off the bed (other than crawling off of it and hurting himself) so we left the bed up, but also put the crib back together in his room. He now knows how to get off the couch with ease and I've seen him get off the bed by himself so I know he knows how to do it. Plus we could use the extra space in his room to put some of his toys, rather than taking them all downstairs into the "new" playroom, so we broke the crib down again and are trying to get him used to sleeping in the big boy bed once more. My only concern is that he leans over the toddler rails and I'm afraid he'll fall over them onto the floor.

Last night went fine, he went to sleep fairly easily and slept his usual 12 hours. I checked on him before I went to bed and again in the middle of the night and both times he was asleep but with his head facing the end of his bed so each time I moved him back up to his pillow. When he woke up this morning, he cried out and waited on me to come get him. Nap time today didn't go as easily.... he fussed some but finally fell asleep, however, only for close to an hour, then was back up. I laid him back down but a few minutes later heard a loud thump and crying... he had leaned over the bed rails and fallen off the bed... exactly what I was afraid was going to happen! I picked him up and laid down with him, however that only lasted 30 minutes and he was ready for nap time to be over. He normally takes one 2 - 3 hour nap so naptime today gets a C-. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll get used to being in the bed and nap time won't be such a big deal. I'm also hoping that he quickly gets used to getting off the bed the correct way rather than leaning over the rails and flipping over them... hopefully he learns his lesson quickly!

Noah was overseeing the project








Lots of extra space now that there's only one bed in his room!


All tucked in and ready for bed


And he's out like a light!

Baby Updates

To be honest, there's not a whole lot of update about, however, I want to have a record to refer back to of how this pregnancy is treating me so here goes! I'll be 24 weeks tomorrow and I'm feeling pretty good! My back began hurting a while back (which was WAAAY earlier than during my pregnancy with Noah) however, after a few weeks, it quit so I'm not complaining there! Every once in a while, if I've been on my feet or carried Noah quite a bit, then it'll bother me, but for the most part it's fine. I have scoliosis and wore a back brace for 2 years during my middle school years so I've always had a lot of back trouble. When I was pregnant with Noah, I began having some major back pain around 6 months that resulted in my doctor reducing my work hours from 50 to 30 hrs. per week. So I'm expecting it to begin bothering me the further along I get (especially since this time around, I'm caring for another little person too).

I'm still sleeping just fine, other than getting up to use the bathroom every once in a while. Around 20 weeks, it got uncomfortable sleeping on my belly and on my back, so I tried side sleeping... which I'm really not a fan of. I don't know what happened, maybe I just got used to my belly or something, but I'm no longer uncomfortable sleeping on my back, so that's how I've continued to sleep. One thing that's been different, is I have been majorly congested since I was 9 weeks pregnant! I have always had bad sinus and allergy problems. The ONLY way I can breathe and sleep at all is with nose spray. Thankfully, Dr. Keith ok'ed the nose spray and assured me it wouldn't harm the baby. So I have to keep a bottle on me at all times!

We've begun cleaning out the baby's room but that's about it as far as getting the room ready. I'm really ready to get started however, Jamie's been SUPER busy at work lately and completely exhausted when he gets home so I haven't pushed it. Plus he assures me that it will only take a couple of days to get the painters in here to paint the room. His dad is a builder so we're just going to have his painting crew come in and do the painting for us (thank goodness!) The furniture should be in any day now so I imagine we'll get started with the painting after my sister's wedding in Savannah, GA, which is the first week of August.

I'll be honest, I've been kind of lazy and haven't felt like cleaning the house, I keep it straightened, but not regularly mopped, vacuumed, etc. Well the cleaning bug finally hit me and I've tackled most of the house last night and today. I guess I got carried away and decided I wanted to try to rearrange some furniture, and moved our VERY heavy and very big armoire in the bedroom... MISTAKE. I'm hurting and I think I've pulled a muscle in my inner thigh. UGH. Guess I learned my lesson, huh?

I feel Collier move ALL the time! The weekly pregnancy updates say that he's supposed to be sleeping 18 hours a day... but I don't see HOW because he moves constantly! I've been able to feel him from outside my belly since 21 weeks and Jamie felt him for the first time at the first of July (at 22 weeks). I had an appointment with Dr. Keith last week and told him I was a bit nervous about choosing my C-section date, simply because Noah had immature lungs when he was born at 38 weeks. Being the planner that I am, I've already been thinking alot about what date to schedule my C-section. His "rule" is to wait until 39 weeks however, my concern is what if my due date is off by a few days and we THINK we're at 39 weeks, but really still in my 38th week? I just don't want Collier to go through what Noah did and I definitely don't want my baby being sent to Huntsville NICU again. He told me we didn't have to choose the date to be exactly 39 weeks to the day, that we could wait until the last part of my 39th week or even wait until my due date (or even go past my due date by a few days, if I wanted). That made me feel alot better. I'm kind of hoping to just go into labor and let it be God's timing, however, I really really want Dr. Keith to be the one who does my surgery, especially since my C-section went so badly last time. I'm just trusting God that Dr. Keith (along with me and Jamie) will make the best decision for Collier!

I'm not big on posting belly pics, but I guess I'll put a couple on here that I took on July 1, at 22 weeks.

July 4, 2010

We had a pretty relaxing Fourth of July this year. Saturday morning, Jamie did his usual of playing golf at Cypress Lakes and Lindsay, Noah and I went up to the pool. For some reason, Noah wasn't in a "pool" mood, so we only got about an hour of pool time. We took Noah back to my parents house for a nap and once Jamie got in from the golf course, I headed back to the pool for a little ME time. Very much appreciated and very very much enjoyed!

On Sunday, Jamie's parents had invited all of us (all three boys, their wives and the kids) to their neighborhood pool. The pool was scheduled to open to its members at 1:00 for their annual Fourth of July party, however, Jamie's mom had arranged for us to have a "private" pool party from 11 - 1 so we played hookie from church and spent time with his family. Noah had so much fun playing in the water with his daddy and uncles. Since the neighborhood pool backs up to Jamie's parent's house and is practically in their back yard, Jamie spent ALOT of time at that pool when he was a kid. He learned how to do a lot 'tricks' off the diving board. He thought it would be funny to see if he could still do all of those things he once could do. He was flipping off the board and doing all kinds of stuff and Noah thought was HILARIOUS. Around 2, Jamie and Noah went home for a nap however, I stayed up there so I could lay out and enjoy the day. Well.... I did alright! I didn't go home until 5:30... yes, 6 hours solid in the sun! But it was nice relaxing and chatting with my mother-in-law and one of her friends. Plus, I was able to lay out on my belly (thanks to their comfy lounge chairs) which is something I haven't gotten to do much of thanks to my growing belly. However, after a couple of hours, I realized the backs of my legs and my back were getting a little pink. Other than that, I was okay, no burns just tan... so I thought! Later that evening I realized that I had burned my scalp where I part my hair... OUCH!

That evening, we went up to an area overlooking the Tennesee River to watch the city's annual fireworks show. I was curious what Noah would think, since he's never seen fireworks before. I was a little afraid that the sound would scare him but he loved it! We were far enough from McFarland Park so that the sound wasn't too loud so he did just fine. He kept saying, "Ooo..." and squealing with excitement. It was obvious that he was having a great time, despite the fact it was 2 hours past his bedtime!