the wednesday after christmas

all our decorations are still up - and will continue to stay up as long as I have a say in it. Its snowing lots up here & I love it. Although it is REALLY cold too. So we're just staying bundled up. Freelands out helping a friend on his house & im working. The nugget in my tummy is kicking like crazy. The dogs are snoring & the cats are cuddled next to each other sleeping. besties.

Christmas pictures (including pictures from the party) are still coming I promise.

Im just busy wrapping things up at work for the end of the year

& enjoying every second I have left with Freeland that he doesnt have to study

(T minus 4 days until he goes back to school)

Its been a great break for him so far. (we finished everything we could on the baby room! yay!) & he has actually read other books besides books for school, slept, and enjoyed himself! (although he has squeezed in some studying here & there because of the boards.)

And I just planned a last second 48 hour trip to Dallas. Well, really Im going to Colorado next week for a work meeting but Freeland & I found a cheap one way ticket from Dallas to Erie so I scheduled myself to go back through Dallas on the way home so I could see our families! I wish it was longer than a 48 trip & I wish Freeland could come with me.. but Im thankful I get to go.

Did I mention the sacrifice Freeland is making too? This officially means that I will also be gone on his birthday. :( first time ever. And on the big 2-8!

We'll have to figure out a way to make up for it & celebrate another way!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ive enjoyed reading about them & seeing pictures.

Merry Christmas

The day was wonderful. More later.

christmas 2009 with the Ackleys

We're all decorated (and have been)
wrapped
and ready for santa!

Getting everything ready:

decorating the tree



Here are all our decorations that we added this year
(because we bought them on clearance last year)






ornaments made with girls group this year
and we finally found an advent calendar!


family dishes given to me by my nana for our wedding


Freeland & his mom grew up drinking out of Santa mugs so we added those this year too







pretty sure it wouldnt be Christmas with out Christmas cookies:



and here are the ornaments we added last year:


Allie painted this one for us (its maddie & oliver!)


snowflake from our first "white christmas" in Erie last year

true story: we wrapped a bunch of empty usps boxes to put under our tree so it didnt look bare & sad:


another true story: cam tells everyone to open the gifts we got them when they are at our house so they have to open empty boxes! :)



now we're just waiting for santa



to see all the other christmas decorations click here and here

Merry Christmas!

THE To Do List

Lets kick off the "nesting" stage of this thing. Shall we?

Here is THE list of things to be done (so far)

in no particular order:

clean & paint the mudroom
possibly change the wallpaper in the mudroom
paint basement walls
make our gingerbread house
decorate basement & get rugs for office area
repaint the sink next to the laundry in basement
sew some onesies
find a bunch of ultra fabulous beanies for the baby
paint the dresser in the attic
finish everyone's pictures (and actually send them out)
move office & set up guest bedroom
repaint all the (dirty) trim around the house & doors
get carpet cleaned
paint fixtures?
paint & bring in the wine cabinet
organize basement/laundry area
pick out baby bedding
deep clean the bathroom
clean the stairs / repaint exposed wood
get shoe rack for front closet
get rug for entry walkway
clean up all the clutter/junk around the house (the hidden junk)
re-caulk the bathroom
re-caulk the doors around house
hang pictures
send out Christmas cards
fix paint in living room (where Brooke did a horrible job taping)
Clean oven & stove top
clean behind stove & fridge (gross)
bake christmas cookies & lots of treats
make cheese fondue
finish the registry
find drawer liners
paint baby dresser & bedroom
paint the piano
get prints for the baby room walls
write thank you notes
make bows for Christmas gift boxes
fix paint in the office
find bedding for guest bed (preferably for under $30!)
find lamps for basement
clean out my email box (from 1000+ emails to 0)
organize hallway closet upstairs
send gift boxes to Africa
sleep, sleep, and sleep even longer & then take a nap
oh and we cant forget to pick out a name for this little dude!


*lets hope we dont keep finding things to add to it. Although I know we will.
*If I could add rip up the carpet and refinish wood floors that would be the only thing on my list that I cared about. Oh and I would change the living room paint from green to a light blue.
*I couldnt be more thankful that Freeland is a "to do list" type of guy right now & that he has off school for 2 weeks! (sadly, its also his last christmas break EVER but lets not mention that to him. mmmk?)
*update: Ive already added 2 more things to the list

how did this happen?

Seriously, slooooooooooow down. (but kind of hurry up at the same time)

I opened my little What To Expect tracker on my phone today.

And this is what I saw:



COMO WHAT???

"Youre two-thirds of the way through" ... starting today!

Again, Como What?

I feel like Im still in my first trimester. This is flying by. We have an appointment tomorrow so Im sure I will have more updates then. They havent said anything about the glucose testing (because it was too early) but Im sure we will find out about that tomorrow (yippee - not). I still feel good. I did have some killer back pain that lasted about 2 weeks (at which point I thought if I had to endure 3 more months of the pain I wouldnt make it) Freeland kindly worked on my back each night with his mad skills and the last 3 days the pain has been gone! HALLELUJAH!!

And we are getting closer & closer to having the baby room done. Over Christmas it should be completed. (because thats the only time Freeland has off) I dont think I ever mentioned that we ended up picking this bedding:


Imagine this without all the fun accessories, the beautiful wood floors, blue walls, gorgeous blanket/quilt & the AH-MAZING moses basket... then thats our room

we picked this one because of the exact reason I figured we would - it was the cheapest! On a serious clearance sale. OH AND we found a crib on clearance too! Which I couldnt be more thrilled about. This room is coming together & without us breaking the bank or feeling guilty that a baby's bedding cost more than ours! Im not going to make the entire room blue. (like above) I want to bring in some other colors or just leave it however it turns out. We'll see.

Okay, here's to being two thirds of the way through! I will post some tummy pictures of little TUMKIN (thanks david B. for the nickname) soon.

Henry's first ride on a horse

The Sweaters & Spirits Christmas Party was a success! We had so much fun! There are SOOOO many pictures- Im currently going through them all.

So while we wait I thought I would show you Henry's first ride on a horse.

Not really but close:







pretty adorable huh?



and here he is with Ollie:

holding hands:




kisses:




Many of you have asked about how our animals are reacting to all the change going on and/or what they are like with little kids. Really none of them are acting any different towards me so I think they are oblivious to the fact that there is a child in my stomach. I would love to say that Eddie knows because he always wants to sit in my lap - ON my stomach. But really thats normal & if I push him off he just moves over to Freeland. And I would love to say Maddie knows since she loves being in the picture but thats pretty normal too. So we think they are all oblivious.

As far as how they are with kids.. Henry is probably the first baby they have consistently been around so based on how they are with Henry I think they are going to love our child. (see pictures above as reference) Oliver probably takes the most interest in him. (Sam takes the least.. she is such a baby) When Henry was an infant Oliver would jump up if he made any noises. Its pretty cute. (he also drooled once when Cam was changing Henry's dirty diaper but thats gross) Eddie will also let Henry pull & tug all over him. So Freeland & I feel like all the animals will generally adjust pretty well to having a new baby around.

We'll see. Im just glad the dogs can serve as free entertainment once the baby is here!

tacky par-tay

Picture from last year's party .. and yes I purposely made it even more fabulously tacky just for you!

you may remember last year we attended the 2nd annual Christmas party up here.

It seems its become tradition to rotate the location each year (first year it was at Adam & Camille's and then last year at Elizabeth's) so this year Freeland & I are hosting it.

And Im super excited to get to celebrate with everyone.

We decided to also make it a wine party this year. Just to spice things up for the holidays. (although I will be sticking to the sparkling grape juice .. but dont feel bad for me. My plan is to make up for the lack of wine by helping myself to ALL the food the entire night)


another fabulously tacky picture

So today & tomorrow Im busy baking, cleaning, working, baking, working, hiding our mess, and saving up my appetite because let me tell you - there will be lots of yummy food! These girls know how to make some gooooood food!

And oh my gosh I cant wait to show you pictures. Freeland's outfit is hilarious! And he gets all the credit for thinking to do it and finding everything himself! I was a little jealous that I couldn't exactly fit into anything as funny as his costume this year! But I cant stop laughing thinking about his outfit!

Pictures to come soon.

winter wonderland

First of all - THANK YOU so much for all your advice & recommendations!! Im thankful you all had so much to share! It really does help.

Secondly.. I think winter has officially started here in Erie! It snowed on & off all day Sunday & then again yesterday afternoon but it wasnt really sticking. It wasnt until we were going to bed & Freeland happened to look outside & said:

"WE LIVE IN A SNOW GLOBE AGAIN"

I couldnt believe the blanket of snow that was already on the ground. And I couldnt believe somehow we missed that it was happening!

These pictures are from this morning before Freeland left for class:



They arent the best because 1. it was cold 2. a prego person in mismatched christmas pajamas with her hair sticking up is not a cute sight so I was seriously just trying to run back inside in fear of the neighbors seeing me 3. it was cold



but of course we had to let the dogs out to play in it:



Note: Freeland's first of many morning's shoveling snow outside.



Note: The dogs first of many morning getting snow thrown on them.



they had a blast getting to play in the snow



and getting to eat it.



We ran out Sunday morning and did our christmas card pictures. It was chaotic because there really wasnt that much snow then & we were trying to hurry. We went ahead and printed them that day too. Apparently we should have just been patient because its only 2 days later and we could have had MUCH better pictures now! Tis life!

I love that I can see the snow from my office now (and I love that I have a heater in here with me too because all these windows make it FREEZING in here!)

Registry Help

So we started looking at what to register for, what to buy, what to do etc. in order to prepare for the baby's arrival that is going to come before we know it.

and ummm lets just say its a little overwhelming.

A few things I know to get since there happen to be quite a few women around me that have done this before. And a few things our friends, The Jennings, have graciously offered to let us borrow.

But everything else we just blindly scan not knowing what we're doing.

It seems the things that we are the most lost about are:

the stroller
the car seat
ummm everything.. like bottles, pacifiers, monitors, pack n plays, bouncers .. you name it.

My question is what do yall recommend?

Is there anything you have found that you cant live without?
Anything you wish you had done differently?
Anything all your friends have & love?

Any & all advice is welcome.

breaking news & sensitive exams

First of all .. I just took the dogs out & what did my eyes just happen to see you ask??

SNOW! FINALLY!

I mean its already snowing all over Texas - its about time it snows at our house in Pennsylvania!

And just to explain - it has actually already snowed in Erie. But it just hasnt snowed at our house yet because we live ON the lake now. But if you live 5 minutes away from our house/the lake - it has snowed. (lake effect snow does this apparently) Its been a big shock to me this year.

Second of all Today is a big day for Freeland in his medical journey.

Today he is doing his SPEC exam.

SPEC meaning - Sensitive Patient Exam Commitment .. meaning he is getting graded on giving pelvic exams. To actual people. Both male and female. Yowzers

He has to be up there from 7:30am to 2:00pm today. (Thats a lot of hours doing pelvic exams.) Those poor people that volunteer for this! (although they do get paid very well) I just think its bad enough having an experienced doctor do it - so I cant imagine it being that awesome having a medical student practice on you.

Strange to know your husband is going to be doing these things all day AND be okay with it.

But hopefully he will get home soon so we can enjoy the snow together. (and hopefully it will stick so we can attempt to take our Christmas card picture.. if not Im not sure we will be sending them out this year!)

the baby bedding

Okay, so I am fully aware in the end the baby bedding really doesn't matter. And Im also at the point that I really dont care what we pick.

So please dont think this is anything Im stressed out about or obsessing over.

Just know that when it comes to scanning the Internet I just happen to save LOTS of pictures that I like. (ask anyone about "the wedding" folder I had saved on my computer with hundreds of pictures) Half of these I dont even remember where I saw them (so if they are yours - im sorry Im posting them without permission - and I love your taste)

Anyway, this is because our family keeps asking what we are looking at & if we have made a decision.

I always knew I would use blue in the room (before we knew if it was a girl or boy) so all of these have some sort of blue in them.

Here was my original first pick:


problem is - its discontinued. And the only ones available (even on ebay) are in the oval shaped crib which we will not be doing.

Then there was this one:


its my friend, Brooke Leddy's baby bedding. cute huh??

And then I discovered this:


its Kate's baby bedding - THAT SHE MADE HERSELF! (adorable huh????)

she graciously told me how to make it & where she picked everything out at. But I sadly cant find it and I know if I start sorting through fabric trying to find different ones that I like - well then we wont have baby bedding until our child is 2.

SO back to the drawing board. I had these pictures saved of baby rooms and Freeland likes them too:


simple


this is one of my FAVORITES - especially because the crib is the same crib I had when I was a baby. I LOOOVE this crib. (but we are doing a different one just for more practical reasons) I also have a rocking chair that looks just like that one from when I was a baby.


probably too much white with all our animals


notice a theme here?? (the crib)


this is Freeland's favorite


one of my other favorites.. except its girls bedding. (the red is actually pink or else I would do it!)

We want to do something that could be used for either a girl or boy so we dont have to buy all new stuff when we have another baby. Like I said before - I always knew I would use some sort of blue (favorite color) so...

then yesterday I found these - and for simplicity sake - we may just end up doing one of these.





I'll keep you posted. Hopefully we will have a decision made by the end of the week. And thankfully neither of us really care either way so we'll probably go for the most affordable one in the end.

week 24

today I officially start week 24. coming up on 6 months! (not sure exactly at what point you are officially "6 months" - every book says different - but thats okay)

crazy.

I feel good. I would list all the crazy things that seem to happen & be changing - but they change daily so its hard to summarize it all. Overall I feel great!

I am an emotional wreck on & off. Thankfully its all about things completely unrelated to our child & I feel like its been good in a way to be emotional (for me) Im not one to normally get some things out unless its in an emotional state. And I know its part of the process of the Lord working in my heart & our life - getting us ready for whats to come.

Oh and I went to the dentist on Monday - seems pregnancy is definitely taking its toll on my teeth. I heard it might though so it wasnt a surprise.

As I said before though this little dude is growing. daily.

I feel him move ALL the time now. Freeland does too. I think its my favorite when Freeland gets to feel him move.

Here are some pictures for those who are interested:



(I promise these arent all the same pair of pants. Bethany & Cam were kind enough to give me some more so I do change pants now! And I wear jeans too.. just not when Im at home)


if you look closely - you can see the tag still in my shirt (typical)

Maddie is getting to be a pro at these pictures! I think she loves it!

2 days ago - so pretty much at 24 weeks:



Here is one where Oliver finally joined us:




and for those who care.. I always post more. You can see them by clicking here

We still have no idea what his name is going to be. And honestly we might not decide until we see him. Or maybe his name is just going to be "hey kid". There are a few that we like but none just stick out as the name. I feel like with a dad named Freeland - you have to have a certain (awesome) name. But I dont want to do a "unique" name just for the sake of it being "unique". You know?

And we are slowly getting the room done! Our goal is to pick out the bedding this week so we can wrap everything else up. I will post pictures of what we are looking at soon.