i love bean

Our cat, Buckeye, is the biggest grump of life. That...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:18:51 -0400

Our cat, Buckeye, is the biggest grump of life. That doesn’t stop Quinn from adoring her anyway.

I came across this super-awesome photo shoot last night as I was...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:55:02 -0400

I came across this super-awesome photo shoot last night as I was cleaning out the guest room to make room for Baby Sister. Look how cool
we were, even way back when.

This was 2001 and we were living in Memphis for a year while Jeremy took his first real job at the University of Memphis as he was finishing up his dissertation from Ohio State. Right before he officially became Dr. J.

This was probably one of the worst years of my life. He was stressed at his first job and trying to graduate. And I was working as a school photographer during the day and a bartender at night. I woke up at 4:30am most days for job one and didn’t come home from job two until 10-2am most nights. I worked at one point that year for almost 3 months straight without a single day off. It was hard.

We were exhausted and stressed and had no money at all. He bought me a broken candle and a giant calculator out of the dollar bin at Bed Bath and Beyond that year for my birthday because it was all he could afford. We still laugh about that now.

We had no friends or family anywhere near us and were in culture shock living in the south for the first time. This was only the 2nd year we were dating.

We went through a lot of rough stuff that year. A lot most people will never know except the two of us. It was hard and we hated it, but we survived. And any time things get hard, I think of that year. “The Year in Memphis” as we call it. Memphis sucked, but it bonded us forever.

Finding these pictures (that were taken by my coworker at the studio as a graduation gift to Jeremy) make me laugh now of course because they are sooooo cheesy. But, they also make me smile as I think about all we have been through since that year, 12 years ago now.

Amazing how time flies.

Dress up with the big girls and gardening with her buddy Finn at...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:14:12 -0400

Dress up with the big girls and gardening with her buddy Finn at one of our favorite friend’s house over the weekend. We love the Kents! :)

Thank you to these three men for being amazing fathers. And all...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:37:42 -0400

Thank you to these three men for being amazing fathers. And all the rest of you amazing fathers out there. We love you, appreciate you, and need you more than you will ever know.

Getting ready for a Saturday morning run to celebrate 31 weeks....

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 09:44:51 -0400

Getting ready for a Saturday morning run to celebrate 31 weeks. After weeks of not gaining weight, I gained 3lbs overnight. Feeling stretched but good.
And funny, when I got this shirt at 15 weeks I was upset it was way too big. Ha. Yeah.
#fillingout #31weekspregnant #pregnantrunning

The difference in one year amazes me. Definitely, no sign of...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:02:00 -0400

The difference in one year amazes me. Definitely, no sign of baby anymore.

an afternoon with old friends

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:08:20 -0400

One of the things we were most looking forward to on our trip out to California, was the opportunity...

At Disneyland. June, 2013.

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:51:25 -0400

At Disneyland. June, 2013.

nursery design

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:08:27 -0400

Can we talk about something important here for once? Design. Well, nursery design. Today marked the...

30 weeks.

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:25:30 -0400

30 weeks.

Just two cool chicks.

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 19:37:22 -0400

Just two cool chicks.

Kind of dying at this year’s school picture. Hello, 6 year...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:10:28 -0400

Kind of dying at this year’s school picture. Hello, 6 year old! When did you get here???

I have to dig out her pics from the last 2 years to compare when I get home. They were kind of cute, but she looked like a baby in them. This year she looks like…I don’t even know.

She picked out her own dress for picture day and when I saw the picture last night, she proudly told me,

“Mommy, I sat in the chair and said, CHEEEEEESE!”

Ha! My girl.

Our midwife, Ronni, had a little helper tonight at our 29/30...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 22:57:00 -0400

Our midwife, Ronni, had a little helper tonight at our 29/30 week appointment. An old pro at listening for the heartbeat and measuring the belly. :)

dakota graduates

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:28:45 -0400

Of course, we didn’t travel across the country this past week to go to Disneyland, see the...

The last day of our trip to California, after all the graduation...

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:17:06 -0400

The last day of our trip to California, after all the graduation ceremonies were complete, we decided to take the whole family to Disneyland.

We went with Grandma, Grandpa, Dakota and his girlfriend Stephanie (who Quinn is obsessed with). It was Quinn’s first experience with Disney and my first time at Disneyland. Since I’m a Florida girl, I’ve been to Disney World a million times, but never Disneyland. We all had a blast.

I asked Quinn what her favorite parts where and this is what she said:

Riding the teacups with Dakota and Stephanie.

It’s a Small World.

Getting her picture taken with Mickey Mouse even though she was scared of his outfit and liked the characters better on her TV. (She was terrified of them).

The parade, which she looooved and I cried the entire time watching her love so much.

Meeting Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Ariel and having her pictures taken with them all by herself. Ariel is her new favorite even though she has never seen The Little Mermaid.

The new Tinkerbell jewelry box that Grandma and Grandpa bought for her new necklaces.

So many great memories were made yesterday. And it was so fun to see it all through her eyes. She probably won’t remember any of it, but we will. :)

Guess where we are?

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:41:18 -0400

Guess where we are?

Family

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 13:43:04 -0400

Family

Just one of a million upcoming graduation weekend photos. So...

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:18:45 -0400

Just one of a million upcoming graduation weekend photos. So proud of this guy.

Jeremy’s parents were nice enough to babysit Q for us so...

Fri, 31 May 2013 15:31:46 -0400

Jeremy’s parents were nice enough to babysit Q for us so we could have a night out to ourselves. All this pregnant lady wanted was a good, low-key Mexican meal and some Pacific Ocean time. As always, J didn’t disappoint.

Our first two days in California included over 10 hours of...

Thu, 30 May 2013 11:46:27 -0400

Our first two days in California included over 10 hours of travel with lots of driving/riding in cars and buses, a 5.5 hour plane ride, 1 hour wait for a rental car, a 3 hour time change and a very well behaved and patient 3 year old. I couldn’t be more proud of her.

She was rewarded with an In-and-Out burger, a strawberry shake, and lots of playground time when we got to Grandma’s house. :)