It's A....

BOY!!

Chap and I found out this past Thursday that we have been blessed with a baby boy on the way! I was in total shock. I just "knew" it was a girl, goes to show how much I might need to work on that 'mother's intuition' thing ;) Chap was literally bouncing all around the tiny ultrasound room when he saw his son, pointing out every inch on the screen that he recognized (as if it was the nurse's first rodeo). Even though I had to repeatedly remind him to move so I could see my little man, it was very sweet and very exciting.

His first profile pic, isn't he handsome??

Here's a frontal view, it looks like his mouth might be wide open...remind you of anyone??
His sweet little feet.
Evidence. Chap asked the nurse if she was 100% sure...to which she replied, "Honey if it's not a boy, then we'll most definitely have some parts to remove when it comes out."

Even though we found out Thursday, it was REALLY difficult not to share with everyone till today...but totally worth it. We knew we were going to Greenville to see my dad for Father's Day today (since I was out of town last weekend) and we wanted to be there to see their surprise...hence the reason I waited so long to post :)

Uncle Normie and Amanda (he's going to be an AWESOME uncle!)

Needless to say it's been an exciting weekend!! Chap and I couldn't sleep at all that first night we found out and ended up at Bojangles Friday morning at around 5:00 a.m. Krissee and Daniel came Saturday to help us paint his nursery (more on that later). We are so excited and grateful for this time and cherishing every moment. We can't WAIT to meet our little guy in November, and are excited about getting prepared for his arrival till then!

Grover's Back...with an update!

So, I’ve always known that I’ve had the greatest dad in all the lands, but this week my understanding was validated, yet again!

A couple months back, I asked my parents what happened to the Grover stuffed animal I toted around throughout the majority of my childhood (I literally drug this poor Grover around everywhere and his arms were a little gangly so he had several encounters with mud and dirty floors.). Anyway, mom shared with me that Grover might have gotten tossed many, many years ago. I tried my hardest not to let them see how disappointed I was…but I think they kind of figured it out.

So this week, my dad is in Charlotte on business and calls to let me know he’s stopping by. I was so excited to see him, but even more excited when I saw the package =) After ripping into it I found the sweetest gift ever…there was Grover, swaddled in the pink hooded towel that was made for me when I was a baby by my grandmother, Tutu, and a poster sign that said, “I’m Baaaack”. Evidently, my dad…the greatest dad in all the lands, had been searching for weeks to find a replacement Grover for Baby Rollings. He's just as I remember, except his arms and legs don't quite fit around my waist the way they used to =)

He's back...and ready for the next generation! Dad, thank you so much!! I can't wait to share this story with your grandchild so they, too, will know how amazing you are, though I'm sure they'll have no problem figuring that one out!!

Update:
Well, not too much has changed…no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get the doctors to give me an ultrasound!! I’m a little eager, to say the least, to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl?!! Chap is thoroughly annoyed with my antics. He’s worried one of my calls to the doctor’s office might actually work; they’ll have me come in for an ultrasound while he’s in Charlotte working and miss the entire thing. I told him if that’s the case, then he better move quickly. =) So, till more news can be shared, here are a few pictures.

15 weeks

17 weeks (please excuse the workout mess)


Hello mom, Tutu, and Annie!! I love you all soooo much and am super jealous I'm not in Arkansas with you right now! I'm sure you're having fun, I miss you all bunches!!!

Happy Birthday Carter!!

I can’t believe our Carter turned ONE year old yesterday!! It seems like just last week I was rushing to Columbia so I could witness his entrance into this world (still by far one of the most memorable days of my life!)

Amber and Scott had such a fun b-day bash for Carter this past Saturday. The theme was ‘bubbles’ and it was hilarious to watch all the kids try to swat, pop, and eat the bubbles.

Birthday boy about to have his birthday cake =)
Aunt Dawn and Carter in his sweet outfit that his Granny made for him

Carter and one of his many lady friends =)
Sweet Addison, one that definitely tried to eat the bubbles =)

Carter, we love you so much and have enjoyed this year watching you grow and discover new things. You are such a strong and handsome little man with parents that love you so much! We look forward to all the joy you’ll continue to bring to our lives!!

Love,
Aunt Heather & Uncle Chap

A Crib Story

Yesterday we had Carter’s b-day party in Columbia (another post on that will come this week!!) Towards the end of the fabulous party, Chap looked at me and asked if I was ready to go pick up our new crib?? I was so surprised!! We had gone shopping the weekend before in Columbia, but I wasn’t expecting to actually make the purchase this soon (evidently he had planned this out in his mind, I usually do a good job of messing those spontaneous plans up, but this time I did not somehow.) So, after a few phone calls to Mommy Marilyn, we were on our way!

When we get there, we ran into a few small obstacles…

1.) They didn’t have the actual crib we wanted in stock. Well, Chap quickly sidestepped this challenge by making his #2 pick (he gets to pick out the crib; I get to pick out the bedding). So, after some pleading, the nice people agreed to let us have one of the cribs in the back that was obviously on hold for another couple. I felt bad for a second, but then watched how excited this made Chap and the guilt quickly disappeared.
2.) We had my XTerra and the crib box measured 49 in. across, while my car only measured 47ish. So, after Chap swears to the employees he can make it work, he was not successful. After a few minutes, it was decided that the crib would be taken out piece by piece to fit in our car, so we could take it home that day. Can you tell we were a little bit excited??

So, by 11:00 p.m. last night, we had Baby Rollings’ crib assembled, with some pretend bedding to get the full effect.

Some of you have heard us talk about 'Silly'. This is our pretend baby that Chap made after mom and me went on the gender neutral shopping spree. We felt a little disappointed that we had all these great clothes, but no baby...so Chap made Silly (a onesie stuffed with hand towels). I know, we are huge dorks.

We are sooo excited to have our baby’s crib, it makes things seem a little more real. First thing we did this morning was go in there to look at it some more. Thank you soooo much Marilyn, we love you and couldn’t be more happy or excited about our new crib!!

Now it’s on to the bedding, which we won’t be able to make a final decision on till at least July 1st (when we find out the baby’s gender) so till then we’ll continue with the preliminary choices. Chap has mentioned several times that the bedding I like will give our baby headaches and he/she will resent me forever (he thinks my choices are busy and loud) so we’ll see how this next part works out.

Baby Bump Pics

Alright, so I know this isn’t monumental or anything…but I’ve had some requests and since I’m actually quite proud of my growing belly (whether it’s the baby…or the 12 lbs. I’ve gained) I figured I’d share.

First couple are bare belly, cause you couldn't see too much with the shirt.

9 weeks

11 weeks

13 weeks

So, we're gowing...slowly. The pants aren't buttoning, so I'm grateful for the Bella Band since I haven't purchased many maternity clothes yet. I'm kind of over this in between stage...ready to pop already!! Everything is still going great, heartbeat has dropped a little bit from 170's to low 160's. Yes, I still listen every day =)

The Graduates...Again

This post makes me VERY happy!! Chap has been working so hard, ever since we got married three years ago, to earn his second degree…of PLS (Survey Degree). He’s been doing all this while working full time for an engineer firm in Charlotte. Needless to say these first three years, we’ve seen very little of each other during the week. He usually doesn’t get home from class till 9:00 pm most nights, just in time for me to feed him and us to go to bed!! I am thrilled to finally be able to enjoy my husband now a little more during the week…and maybe have some mac & cheese waiting on me when I get home from Challenger?? =)

Last weekend we had a little graduation celebration for him and Justin, a great friend of ours who also graduated with an architect degree. I think he might have picked the wrong major…he’s quite crafty, as you can see, with the Photoshop. Maybe a little side business is in his future?? If not graphic design, then maybe a hobby in karate??

Aren't those hilarious?? They had a little photoshoot over at the Smith's the night before the party and Justin had these displayed at the entrance on Friday...they were a hit!

This was the wives trying to get husbands to cut the cake 'bride and groom' style. They didn't love this idea so much.

Congrats guys, I'm so proud of you!!

A Gift from Gramps & Update

So the baby got its first gift from Gramps this week! My dad, the ever loving Harley man, sent Baby Rollings some lovely Harley bibs this week in the mail. Chap and I loved opening the package from ‘Gramps and Gigi’ that was addressed to ‘Little Spit’ (thank you Normie for that name =). When I called to thank my dad for the bibs, he said, “Well, even though mom told me I had to wait to buy things for the baby till closer to the due date, I went ahead and got them anyway.” Ha! If you saw my earlier post regarding mine and my mom’s shopping spree, you’d understand why that one’s funny! Thank you Gramps, we LOVED getting something in the mail from you for the baby, very exciting!

UPDATE:

We had a doctor’s appointment this week, good news: we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time! We had seen the heartbeat, but actually hearing it was pretty amazing. My sister-in-law, Krissee, gave us her Doppler device to use so every day since the doctor’s appointment I’ve been rushing home from school to listen to my baby’s heartbeat! It’s my new favorite thing to do!! It ranges between 170-180 bph which is pretty fast I’ve learned.

Not so good news; I’ve already gained 12 lbs. and I’m not even out of my first trimester yet!! I almost panicked when I saw the scale at the doctor’s office…NOT used to seeing numbers in THAT range, but the nurse assured me it was accurate. I guess that’s what I get for eating almost every second of the day. =)

I haven’t been sick really, but I think that’s only because of my overeating habit to compensate for the nausea. I get pretty sleepy in the afternoon’s…but my fourth graders don’t let that effect our days =) I’m still working out almost every day, just not as much running as I’m used to. I’m thanking my lucky stars for how well things have been going so far, and hopeful it continues... minus the speedy weight gain of course.