A Whirl 'Winn' Of A Week!

Last week was my first official week of summer vacation…but it didn’t feel much like a break! While we had lots of fun, I am glad I have this week to rest up from all the baby festivities!

The week started in Greenville where mom took me shopping for Baby Winn…however, most of the shopping ended up being for his mom:) I had not enjoyed maternity clothes shopping AT ALL till visiting ‘Mimi Maternity’ in Greenville (with Roxanne of course!) Thanks, mom. for making me feel as close to ‘Pretty Pregnant Woman’ as possible!

The next day, Roxanne and I traveled to Columbia to pick out the dresser/changing table for Winn’s room, along with lots of accessories to go with it. I can’t tell you how excited I am for Baby Winn’s furniture and how grateful we are to have such supportive families! Thank you so much mom and dad, I love you and can’t WAIT for Winn to see his new room!

This is it, but ours is in cherry.

The next project was making Winn’s curtains. After visiting every fabric shop in Columbia with Krissee and the Daybies (those babies were troopers…and quite the attention getters might I add), we finally were able to set up Sweat Shop U.S.A in Krissee and Daniel’s basement (no, the children did not participate in this part of the process). With lots of guidance and support from my amazingly patient and helpful sister in law, I am finally finished with his curtains, and quite proud! Besides the pillow for my mom, this is the only big project I’ve tackled with my sewing machine. Look out Martha!

Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but they are navy and white.

And finally, the last stop of this whirl ‘Winn’ week was registering at Babies R Us. My best friend, Amber, was awesome enough to come help me with this overwhelming task, and I can’t thank her enough! We got most everything done, but saved some of the big/manly items for Chap to help with next weekend ;)

I have gone to bed twice this week in tears because I already feel like I can’t say thank you enough to our friends and family for all that they’ve done. This is an amazing time in our lives right now and your love and support are making it so much fun and memorable for both of us. We love you all soo much and can’t wait for Winn to meet and love you just as much as we do!

Name & Nursery

Considering we weren’t supposed to actually find out the baby’s gender till today, I’m quite pleased with the progress we’ve made so far. In just a few short days, with a little help from The Day’s, we’ve accomplished lots!

Most of you know his name, and it’s very special meaning to both Chap and myself…but just in case you haven’t heard, we decided (years ago) to name our baby boy ‘Winston Bruce Rollings’ a.k.a. ‘Winn’. Winston comes from three of the most remarkable and heroic men that I know: my grandfather, my father, and my brother are all named ‘Norman Winston Gourley’. Bruce comes from Chap’s grandfather ‘Alton Bruce’, a man that I know Chap admired greatly! Unfortunately, Winn won’t be able to meet his great grandfathers, however, I know that their legacy’s carry on through their sons, their grandsons, and now our son. He carries on a proud name that holds a great deal of meaning for both Chap and myself.

Winn's nursery is coming along quite nicely. This first picture is NOT our nursery...only the look I'm going for (compliments of Pottery Barn Kids) No, we aren't quite there yet, but we're making some good strides.
We are VERY lucky to have such amazing family! Krissee and Daniel came Saturday to help us paint Baby Winn's nursery...just two days after we found out we were having a boy! Who's excited?? :) K & D - thank you soooo much for everything!! You helped us make some great memories that day that I'll remember every time I walk into his room!

So, here's the progress up to this point. Chap and I probably walk in his room on average 10 times a day. There's still a lot to do, but I'm excited about the 'so far' look! Krissee and I are going to work on making his curtains next week, and we hope to have our dresser by then too!

These were a gift from sweet Mimi. Winn's first and second day hospital outfits! I teared up a little when I saw his little initials and sweet name on clothes :) Thank you so much Mimi!!

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 =)