Team Ballard

Nursery Progress

2011-06-30T19:03:00.001-05:00

We've come a long way, and we're still not done yet... but it's fun to see the progress. This room was originally our 2nd guest room, our Christmas decoration storage room, and the room where we kept Mia in her crate while we were gone to work. Our first step was to re-organize closets and floor part of the attic to get stuff out of this room.

I found the bedding online first, then my mom found a store in Rockwall that had it in stock. It was on clearance because it was on display, so we got all the pieces for a pretty good price.

One day while Brian was at work, my mom came over and we (let's be honest... mainly she!) painted the wall behind where we were going to put the crib. It was fun to surprise him!

We found our furniture at Lonestar Baby in Frisco and had it delivered and assembled. Definitely worth it! We bought a crib, a dresser, a hutch, and a night stand.

The bedding set came with a valence, but I really wanted to add longer curtains to the window treatment so that we could make it darker in the room... and add a little more color contrast on the wall. My mom added a black out liner to the back of the panels and trimmed/sewed them to the right length. My brother, Jake, and my dad helped put up the curtain hardware.

We found the glider and ottoman at Lonestar Baby too. It took a couple weeks for them to put our fabric choice on it, but it was finally ready to be picked up last week. Love it!

Brian was busy last week sanding, painting, adding the rod, and hanging the shelf that I wanted to display the comforter. He did a great job! I think this corner looks so cozy!

And our little helper, of course. Sweet Girl had to give up her room and everything! She knows something is going on, but she has no idea how her world is about to change.
Can't wait for her and Olivia to meet!

Girlfriends Shower

2011-06-20T15:16:00.008-05:00

On June 18th, some of my friends threw another perfectly pink and girly shower for Baby Olivia. A huge thanks is due to Hannah, Aubrie, and Rachael! I can't wait until I can repay the favor for each of them one day... These girls are truly my family! Initially, Remy began the planning process, but as she got closer and closer to her due date and eventually put on bed rest the other three girls took over and went way above and beyond. I'm not sure whether to be sad or excited about it, but Remy wasn't able to even come to the shower, because she was a little busy with her new baby boy, Tucker! More on that special day in another post...

The hostesses: Rachael, Hannah, and Aubrie

The gorgeous set up

Sweet guests

So glad that Dani and Baby Graham were able to make it :)

Mrs. Pam and Mamacita

The grandma's! Mimi and ???
Any suggestions for Mom's grandma name?

The sisters :)
Wonderful future aunt and babysitter!

More super cute clothes!!!

Brian's parents got us the Pottery Barn chair I had been wanting! I tried to buy it the other day when Brian and I were at the store, but he talked me out of it... Glad I didn't fight him too much about it :) It was a great surprise! My plan is to get her name monogrammed on it and take monthly pictures of her in it, like several other of my friends have done.

The hostesses were so generous!
They got us our Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack diaper bag!

Can't wait for Olivia to get here!

Hometown Shower

2011-06-20T12:02:00.012-05:00

On June 12th, a group of my mom's best friends and family members threw a shower for Baby Olivia. It was perfectly sweet and girly and completely overwhelming! Olivia is already an abundantly blessed (and spoiled!) little girl. Sadly, I didn't get a picture with the amazing hostesses, but I want to thank Mrs. Cheryll, Mrs. Pam, Sue-Mama, Mrs. Karen, Mrs. Kandis, Mrs. Pat, Aunt Sara, Aunt Donna, and Mrs. Nancy for all their hard work and thoughtfulness! They served ice cream with all the fixings to make a perfect-for-preggos sundae, scrumptious mini cupcakes, and the most refreshing pink lemonade! Cool fact: my mom's friend, Mrs. Cheryll, who graciously opened up her home for this shower for me, is the same special friend that opened up her home for the baby shower for my mom when she was pregnant with me!

Sadly, a few of the pictures are blurry, but you get the idea...

Lots of super cute clothes!

I had a few helpers throughout the day too...
My sister, Anna, and her friend Abbey, my niece, Kinley...
the Porch girls, and the not-so-little anymore, Miss Caroline!

Besides a lot of precious outfits, we did get a few things off our registry, too!
Thanks to Becca and Tyler for our bumbo seat and tray!

One of the sweet ladies that came to the shower, Mrs. Dana, gave Olivia a beautiful handmade quilt that matches her nursery.
It says, "Eat... Play... Sleep... Repeat..."
Check out that baby bump too! Haha :)

My aunt Donna and Mrs. Nancy are so creative and thoughtful... and they wanted to make sure Brian felt included in the shower festivities... They put together the perfect "triathlon-themed" gift for the father-to-be. The doll has running shoes and a swimsuit on, and the bike came with a personalized helmet, water bottle, and Barbie bell!

A few weeks ago, I saw a picture of a hand-painted canvas online that gave me some inspiration for Olivia's nursery... kind of like Royalty/Princess, but the daughter of the King-type, not the spoiled diva-type. On the website, the canvas was in the wrong colors and I wasn't sure if we had enough time to order something custom from the website anyway, so I talked to my mom about hiring the art teacher at Covenant to do something for us... When I opened the canvas at the shower, I was immediately shocked that it was already done... but was even more shocked when my mom told me that my sister had painted it!!! I couldn't speak. Anna is very creative and does impressive doodles with markers, but painting on a canvas?! Are you kidding me?! It's ridiculous! ..and so much more meaningful that Aunt Anna made it for Baby Olivia! I can't wait to find the perfect place for it in the nursery...

Work Shower

2011-06-20T11:33:00.007-05:00

On June 9th, one of my co-workers, Amanda, hosted a shower for me. We went to Uncle Julio's.. yum! The girls were so generous, and it really made me so excited for Olivia to get here! She needs to get started wearing all the cute clothes she's been given! Haha :)

The table of gifts mid-opening and the spread

The cutest little Baylor diaper cover and tutu... Sic 'Em Bears!

Erika and Audrey

Lauren and Sherrie

Robin and Ashley

And Amanda... the sweet hostess! Thanks again!

The Only Girl

2011-05-16T21:02:00.003-05:00

Olivia is the only girl. That's right, the only one. Out of all the people we know who are having babies in the near future, Olivia will be the only girl. Isn't that crazy?!

First, Courtney is due June 6th with Wyatt Christopher, then Lindsay is due June 17th with Hudson Spencer, next Remy is due July 1st with Tucker Bradley, next Abby is due August 1st with Rhett Mickey, then Jenni is due September 14th with Kade Andrew, then Becca is due September 28th with Casen Tyler, and finally Dani is due October 8th with Graham Brockman.

I'm so excited for all these friends, but a little sad that Olivia won't have a girlfriend to play with when we get together with any of these people.

She'll sure have her pick of cute little boyfriends, though! :)

What's in a name?

2011-05-10T21:06:00.002-05:00

So... it was completely last-minute decision, but for Mother's Day,

Brian and I decided to announce Baby Girl's name!

Sometime around July 22nd, we will be so excited to meet...

Olivia Lynn Ballard

Isn't it perfect? And beautiful? And girlie? And old-fashioned? :)

We really thought we were going to keep it a secret until she was born. I was worried about people's reactions. I was excited about the idea of having a surprise at her birth. And let's not kid ourselves... I love the idea of knowing something that everyone else doesn't know! :)

Brian and I have thought for a while now that we knew what her name would be, but wanted to make sure that we didn't come across something that we liked more. But Olivia Lynn stayed at the top of our list... and the more we use it, the more we love it.

If we were having a boy, his name would be Owen, so an "O" name for a girl was my first choice. The list is pretty short, and I love the way Olivia sounds and how it looks when it's written! Using Lynn was pretty much a no-brainer. It is a family name on both sides. It looks really pretty when it's written too! :) Haha!

So, thanks to everyone, in advance, for being excited for us!

Our 3D/4D Ultrasound

2011-05-05T10:03:00.004-05:00

So... we weren't originally planning on doing one of these type ultrasounds... Not that there's anything wrong with them. They basically just kinda creeped Brian and I out. The fact that technology has advanced in the last few decades to the point that you can literally see what your baby will look like is amazing and, frankly, scary at the same time. But.. due to a miscommunication between us and my doctor following our 20-week ultrasound, we didn't get a sonogram we thought we were going to have 4 weeks later. She told us at that point we wouldn't have another one (assuming that everything continues to progress smoothly) until 36 weeks. 36 weeks?! That's almost full term! That's too far away! Brian especially was disappointed... I think because he doesn't get to feel her or have to watch his body change because of her, like I do. Seeing her through a sonogram helps him connect even more. So, he sweetly asked for an sonogram for his birthday present, and it didn't take any convincing for me to agree to that plan!

So last Thursday, April 28th, we met at First Vu Imaging in Plano and got to see our Baby Girl again... and she was much more cooperative this time than she was at our 20-week sonogram. I stopped by Sonic on the way to the appointment and got a Cherry Limeade thinking that the sugary drink would make her more alert for the appointment and I think it worked! She loves Sonic drinks, just like her mama!

I have no idea how to read this sonogram..
but I'm happy to have one more confirmation that we are having a GIRL :)

Here she is!
All the shadows and blurry features are typical...
They are only able to focus on a small area at a time.

In this picture, she is holding the bottom of her foot up against her cheek.
She even tried to put it in her mouth while we were watching.

Over the course of the 15-minute appointment, we watched her yawn, open her eyes and blink several times, purse out her lips, stick out her tongue, and smile. It was incredible! I just kept saying "This is crazy..." and Brian was pretty much speechless. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was so much more! We text messaged pictures to our families and they were pretty impressed too... I think she looks like my sister's baby pictures, and she'll be pretty lucky if she turns out to be as cute as her Aunt Anna!

Baby Girl Ballard Update

2011-04-21T21:45:00.010-05:00

Even right now, as I start to type this update, Baby Girl is movin' and groovin' in my belly... She must have liked those snickerdoodle cookies I ate earlier! It's still crazy to me sometimes, but I love it! So blessed to be part of this miracle happening inside me.

Recently Brian has been working down at the TI office in Richardson more often, and it's pretty close to my office. One day we decided to ride together, and on the way back home that evening, he suggested we stop and get ice cream... Hmm, let me think about it.. okay! I guess we're old enough now to ruin our dinner if we want to :) I loved the logo for this local ice cream shop, and just had to take a picture under it! Doesn't the phrase "Ice Cream Makes You Pretty" make you want to eat more ice cream? It was good ice cream, too. If you're in the Plano area, check out Henry's Homemade Ice Cream!

Once Brian got back from his 3-week trip to Taiwan, I gave him about a week to re-adjust to life back in America... his body clock was off by 13 hours... but then it was Honey-Do List City! :) First on the list: Baby Furniture Shopping! At one point, we went to Pottery Barn Kids, and the picture below is proof that he was a good sport throughout the "torturous experience". (By the way that is a Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack he's sporting... super cute, if I do say so... the boy and the bag.)

We also made our way to Lonestar Baby, which is where we found our furniture. I had been looking online for several weeks and had narrowed things down to two different brands/collections that I was interested in checking out. I wanted to be able to touch them and see them, though, and this place had them both in one store. We ended up ordering 4 pieces from the Ragazzi Classico Collection in Snowdrift.. just a fancy name for white :) We got the convertible crib, the 6-drawer dresser, the hutch, and the nightstand. Here are a few pictures from the website.

I've also been trying to decide on bedding for Baby Girl, and it's been an emotionally up-and-down process. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to make the perfect decision, and really thought I was going to mess up. Last weekend I realized that I just needed to make a decision and get the process of decorating started. From the beginning, I thought I was going to use apple green and a few shades of pink... but then again everything else in my house is green! I started to talk myself into thinking outside the box a little bit... I also noticed that a lot of the fabrics I had been looking at seemed better for an older girl, not a baby. I ultimately decided to go for more sweet than cute :)

Originally I found the bedding I chose online at Sweet Peaches, but my mom found it semi-locally at a baby store in Rockwall called Wee Dreamscapes (very cute little store, by the way). On Wednesday, she and my Nana and I drove out to Rockwall to look at it in person. Turns out, they had it on display in their store so it was on clearance, and they offered me an extra 10% off if I would take all the pieces. I was tempted by the deal, but I wanted to see it on white furniture before I made my final decision. They had it displayed on a brown crib, like the picture below. The lady at the store obviously wanted to make the sale, so she completely undressed her white crib display and put the bedding I was looking at on it. As soon as I saw it all together I said, "I'll take it!" :)

We also found the perfect glider at Lonestar Baby the same day we ordered our furniture, but since I hadn't picked out the bedding yet, I wasn't sure what fabric to get put on it. Now that we have the bedding decided on, I need to go back and get the chair ordered. I love that it looks like a recliner, but it's still a glider. We'll be getting the ottoman too.. don't you worry!

I think that about does it for an update... We are going for an 3D/4D sonogram next Thursday, and then we have a regular dr's appointment the following Wednesday. Can't wait to see our Baby Girl again! Here's a picture from Week 27.

A lot to catch up on..

2011-04-06T19:20:00.009-05:00

First of all...

IT'S A GIRL!

Wow! Can't believe it took me so long to post that! On March 1st, Brian and I went for our 2nd sonogram appointment. We were so excited to just see our baby again, but couldn't wait to find out pink or blue! The sonographer took lots of pictures and we also have it all recorded on a video tape. Now we just have to get it on a CD or DVD so we can actually watch it! :) She said that she's been doing sonograms for 16 years and she's never been wrong, so we're going to trust her and start getting ready for a baby girl. The rest of the doctor's appointment went well, too. Still having heartburn issues, but I'm managing it with Zantac and lots of cold water. Everything was measuring great and my weight gain was right on track. Here's a little comparison...

Week 10

Week 20

That night we had a party at our house to reveal to our family and friends what we had found out at our doctor's appointment. The week before I had arranged with a local bakery for us to be able to call after we found out the baby's gender and for them to get started on a cake for the party. The outside was to be all white, but the inside would be either pink or blue. We had pizza and salad planned for dinner, but I kept suggesting that we just have dessert first! We finally made it through dinner and took pictures of everyone dressed for Team Pink or Team Blue. It was pretty evenly divided, but Team Pink might have had an edge. Then it was time to cut the cake... The anticipation was mounting and everyone screamed as the piece of cake fell. That moment was so fun and we appreciate everyone being so excited for us! Bring on the ruffles and bows!

The very next weekend I had a conference in Houston for the Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association. I was gone from Wednesday night until Saturday night. The conference was fine, I was able to see several friends (including Courtney Broaddus, who was sweet enough to bring me maternity clothes to try), and I got my continuing education units taken care of for the entire year... but the most exciting part for me was getting to really feel Baby Girl kick! I had been feeling flutters and slight movements for about a week or two before that, but I was waiting for a legitimate kick or poke... and I got what I was waiting for! So awesome... and let's be honest, weird! But as weird as it is, I'm so thankful to have another regular reminder and confirmation that she is continuing to grow and develop inside me.

A week later, Brian left for Taiwan for a 3-week business trip. He left on March 13th and didn't get back until April 1st. It was such a long time! It was difficult at times, but we both made it through, and the time apart made us realize how much we love and appreciate each other. When he came back, I pretty much just stared at him all weekend :) He sent me this pretty flowers while he was gone with a card that said "Missing you from around the word."

I do have a fun story about the day he left though... He got up really early Sunday morning and drove himself to the airport. I slept in until about 10 or 11, then got up and started doing things around the house. About 1 o'clock I realized I was a little bit hungry, so I decided to drive up to Subway to get a sandwich. As I was ordering my sandwich, I realized I was getting a little hot and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I only got hotter, though, and as I stood at the counter handing the lady my credit card, I realized what was happening and told the lady, "I think I'm about to pass out". She just stared at me. Thanks a lot. I started walking away from the counter to find a place to sit down. There happened to be a chair not far behind me, beside the drink machine, and I sat down just as I blacked out. I was only out for a few seconds or so, but as I came to there was a customer in line telling the employee to get me some orange juice. At this point, I was shaking uncontrollably and had broken out in a cold sweat. I did start to drink small sips of the orange juice she handed me and I found myself eating a sugar cookie, although I don't remember how I got that. One of the employees asked me if they needed to call someone for me, and at first all I could say was "My husband is on an airplane...". A few minutes later, I got my bearings enough to call my sister-in-law, Loree. I felt bad asking her to come get me because she would have to bring along her two kiddos, but she lives the closest to me and I knew she would understand my predicament. She took me home and I ate my sandwich and felt more and more like myself as the day went on. I even took Mia on a walk back to the Subway to get my car before it got dark. I learned my lesson, though, and have not gone so long without eating anything. Even if I'm not hungry, I eat something for breakfast and don't eat lunch later than noon. I haven't passed out again, or even felt faint, since then... just gotta keep my blood sugar up!

While my sister, Anna, was on Spring Break and Brian was in Taiwan, she came to stay with me a few nights.. partly to keep me company and partly to give her something to do while my parents were out of town, but mostly for some sweet sisterly time! She is growing up so fast and I love getting to hang out with her one-on-one. She's so funny and so excited about the baby. I can't wait for Baby Girl to get spoiled by her Aunt Anna! Even though I had to work during the days, we managed to fit in some shopping, some movies, a trip to the dog park, and a pedicure. Our friend, Hannah, came to the house to keep her company during part of the time I was at work, and I know Anna loved that too. Love you, Sis!

We haven't made much progress on the nursery, but we have cleaned it out... Now that we know it's a girl and Brian made it back from Taiwan, our to-do list is definitely going to become more of a priority. I am currently deciding on fabric for the bedding and narrowing down my choices for furniture. Once we get the fabric chosen, we can talk about paint colors and decor. I'm excited, but a little overwhelmed by all the choices we have to make. I keep reminding myself to take one thing at a time, and that the "stuff" is not the most important part. It'll all work out!

If you're still reading this, bless you! We've almost caught up to the present... Yesterday, we had our 5th OB appointment. It was just a regular check up, and everything was still progressing smoothly. I have officially gained 15 lbs overall, which is right within the normal range. Obviously, as a girl it's hard to watch the numbers go up on the scale, but I know it's for a good reason and want to do what I can to help our baby grow strong and healthy. I haven't had too many food cravings, but I still don't want to eat some of the foods that I ate while I was experiencing morning sickness. I am wearing all maternity clothes, and sleep is still okay. I do get up every night to go to the bathroom, but I fall back asleep quickly, so it's not too bad. Every time I start to complain about something pregnancy related, I try to remind myself that it'll all be worth it when we see Baby Girl's face! The picture below is a beautiful self-portrait from Week 25. Pardon the mess on the counter... I will try my best to get a good one in front of the fireplace this weekend! :)

Week 19 Update

2011-02-19T12:11:00.005-06:00

Weeks 17, 18, and 19 have been fairly uneventful. Lots of working, resting, eating, and growing. I have had a new pregnancy symptom creep up on me, though.... Heartburn. Yuck! I really sympathize with any of you who have acid reflux or indigestion symptoms on a regular basis. I first started noticing it around the beginning of week 17 just at night when I was laying down to go to sleep. It gradually got more and more noticeable as the nights went on, until I wasn't able to ignore it anymore, and had to prop myself up to sleep. Then, after a few nights of minimal discomfort, I started feeling the heartburn symptoms earlier and earlier in the evenings, then in the afternoon. For the last few days, I've been dealing with this from about lunchtime on. I have bought some Tums and take a few of those occasionally throughout the day and drink lots of ice water, which makes me feel a little better. I'm still hoping not to have to take any sort of medicine regularly during my pregnancy, but if it continues to get worse, I may have to start taking some Zantac... which my doctor assured me is perfectly safe. Boo! My in-laws suggested drinking a little bit of milk at night to coat my esophagus. Any other natural suggestions from experienced heartburn sufferers?

We had our 3rd OB appt between week 17 and 18 (Feb. 16). Initially, Brian wasn't going to be able to go because he had a meeting scheduled, but it was moved and he decided to tag along again. I think he feels a little self-conscious going with me to the appointments, but he likes to hear the heartbeat and be assured everything is progressing smoothly, just like I do. This time, we even saw another guy there with his wife! You're not the only one, babe :) The appointment went well. The doctor said everything looked and sounded normal, and my weight is up 5 lbs overall.

We're scheduled for our 2nd sonogram appointment on Tuesday, and I could not be more excited to see Baby B again, make sure everything is still progressing smoothly, and find out PINK or BLUE! Can't believe we're already to the mid-point in the pregnancy. We're announcing the results to our family and close friends that night at a Gender Reveal Party, and then we'll share with everyone else on Wednesday! We'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post some soon after!

Here's a picture from week 19... I took this one myself in the mirror, but I'll try to remember to have Brian take a real one tonight.

Week 16 Update

2011-02-09T14:54:00.007-06:00

Weeks 15 and 16 have been good... pretty laid-back, especially considering the ice/snow days. My work follows the Richardson ISD weather cancellations, so we were off Tuesday through Friday last week and we're also off today... there's a chance we might still be home tomorrow too, if it doesn't get above freezing. Brian also stayed home with me, since he's between his job rotations right now and he can do a lot of things from home on his computer. The unexpected days at home have given us a lot of time together and we've tried to use some of it productively. When Brian wasn't on his bike trainer or running hill repeats in the snow (check out his blog: http://watchbritri.blogspot.com/) and I wasn't watching TV or sleeping, we did a good amount of filing, laundry, cleaning, and organizing around the house.

For example... we are turning the guestroom closest to our bedroom in to the nursery. In the past, that room has been a catch-all room, Mia's room, the treadmill room, the Christmas gift/wrapping room, and a few other things. As is the case with so many projects, in order to do one thing, another thing has to be done first. In order to move all of my Christmas decorations out of the closet, we needed to floor the other half of the attic for storage. My handyman-in-training did that last weekend before all the crazy weather started, so we were able to move a lot of things out the nursery closet. Here are a few pictures of the room in the process of being cleaned out...

Pregnancy-wise... I can definitely tell a change in my body. Even my scrubs are getting a little uncomfortable. I need to find another option or I'm going to be grumpy at work a lot. It's kind of weird because my belly is growing, but my weight is staying the same. I have my 3rd OB appointment next week, so we'll see if I gain a few extra pounds before then. The appointment is just for a heartbeat check. We don't have another sonogram appointment scheduled until 2 weeks later. I'm so ready to find out if Baby B is a boy or girl... a lot more anxious than I thought I would be. I feel like once I know if it's a boy or a girl, I won't be in such a hurry to move through this pregnancy. I think it's weird because I'm not typically a negative or worrisome person... but I am a realistic person. I was so nervous early on about something going wrong with the pregnancy that I didn't allow myself to become attached emotionally. I think that knowing if the baby's gender will help me to connect more than I have already. Also, I think I might have been feeling a little bit of movement while I was laying in bed the past few nights, but I'm not totally sure. I'll keep ya posted :) Oh, right now Baby B is about about 5" long and weighs about 5 oz.

One more thing... My friend, Remy (check out her blog: http://thewebbssite.blogspot.com/), and I are trying to be healthy preggos, so we've started going back to the gym 2 days a week to do some cardio and lift weights. It's making me feel better already and the chats are pretty therapeutic too!

I think that's all for now..
Goodnight!

An Announcement Worth Blogging About...

2011-02-01T16:09:00.011-06:00

Okay... so not quite a year since the last post... wow, that might be a record :)

So many times, I started to write a new post, but I wasn't exactly sure what to say or know exactly who would even read it. Recently, though, I've had a few requests for updates from sweet friends that we don't get to see enough. As nice as Facebook is for quick posts and random pictures, I guess it doesn't serve as the best place for telling stories and recording memories... This first post might end up being a little long to help us catch up, but here goes...

Although most of you have already probably heard... the Ballards will be a family of 3 this summer! Baby B is due July 22, and we couldn't be more excited! Let's be honest... this blog will probably become mostly about the pregnancy and the wonderful changes our family will be going through to prepare for having a child in our home. Here's a picture from Week 14. My plan is to post a new one every 2 weeks until the 3rd trimester, then every week after that.

Although, I was pretty sure I was pregnant already, I decided to wait and take a pregnancy test on my 26th birthday, November 21. I'm a pretty forgetful person, so I thought that would be a good way not to forget the day we officially found out we were pregnant. I took 2 tests just to make sure, and then left them on the counter for Brian to see. He was excited, and I think we both just said, "Cool, huh?" or something like that. Haha! It was all pretty surreal. I was just over 5 weeks at that point. We had a birthday party for me with my family at the house that night and kept it a secret!

Our original plan was to make an announcement on Christmas Eve to my family, and the night before to Brian's family... But I really wanted to be able to tell them both together, so we planned a graduation party for Brian (yay for no more school!) at our house the weekend before Christmas, on December 19th. Everyone from our immediate families was able to be there, and we couldn't wait to tell them. I had been having morning sickness from right at week 8, and evenings were a hard time for me, so it was difficult keeping it a secret for most of the night. When it was finally time for Brian to open graduation gifts, he said he wanted to thank everyone for their support and encouragement while he was going through school. He said it felt like at this point in our lives we had so many "blessings", and that we had one more "blessing" to tell everyone about. After a pause that felt like a minute, we both yelled "We're having a baby!" Everyone cheered and clapped and hugged... and several people may have been teary-eyed. It was so fun and sweet, and I was so glad I didn't have to keep the secret from my family any longer.

Over the next few weeks, we told the rest of our family members, our friends, and our co-workers.... then made it Facebook official! Everyone was so sweet and excited for us. We were really humbled by all the encouraging words and still covet the prayers from everyone for a healthy pregnancy and upcoming adjustments to life with a baby at home.

Pregnancy-wise... I had morning sickness from about week 8 until week 12. Although, I did feel queasy in the mornings while I was getting ready for work, I felt worse from the late afternoon into the evening. I never actually "got sick", but feeling nauseous for weeks at a time really wears on you. I was extremely tired and, as Brian would attest, I still lack energy in the evenings. I lost a total of about 6 lbs. during that month because I wasn't eating as much as normal. As soon as my morning sickness symptoms started to subside, I started noticing a little belly bump, around week 13. I'm still wearing my normal scrubs to work everyday, but I'm down to only 2 pairs of regular jeans. I broke down and bought a couple of pairs of Gap maternity jeans (the demi-panel kind) and they are now my best friends!

We have started cleaning out the guestroom closest to our bedroom, to make it into the nursery. Brian floored the other half of our attic, so we can start storing more things up there. Once we find out if Baby B is a boy or a girl (I'm taking a poll - look on the side), which should be the first week of March, we will start to make plans for decorating! I can't wait!

So, that pretty much brings us to the present.. Week 15, day 5.

Please comment if you made it all the way through this post! :)

Just thought I should add some random pictures....

2010-03-28T22:54:00.002-05:00

My first 5K and Brian won 3rd place in his age group

Mia and my niece, Kinley, dressed as Dorothy for Halloween

Loree, Allison, and I at the Women of Faith Conference.

Baylor vs Tech at the new Cowboys Stadium

New bedding for our master bedroom. I've since added some pretty ivory quilted euro shams.

Update on the past 7 months

2010-03-28T21:30:00.002-05:00

Well, it's definitely been a while since I was motivated enough to update everyone on Team Ballard... but I constantly feel guilty for reading everyone else's blogs, but not keeping up with ours. Here goes, in no particular order:

I'm so proud of Brian right now. He comes home from a full day of work, helps fix dinner, and then usually does school work. As of January, he was halfway done with grad school. He's also training for triathlons, so usually 2-3 times a week he goes swimming in the morning and running at lunch time. The biking has been harder for him to schedule, but he fits a ride or two in during the week as well. And amazingly, he still finds time to fit me and Mia into his schedule too.

My new hobby as of January has been getting healthier. I've tried not to view it as dieting, but I have lost about 12 lbs in the process. My plan all along has been to make this a life-long way of living. I haven't been doing anything crazy; just keeping track of my calories taken in and calories burned. I have been using a Body Bugg, a calorie and step counter that 24 hr Fitness sells, and that they use on the Biggest Loser (one of my favorite reality TV shows). Brian and I have cooking more at home, making healthier choices when eating out, and trying to be more active altogether. One or two nights a week I make it to my favorite work out class, Turbo Kickboxing. If you haven't seen or done it, google it. It's basically choreographed punches and kicks set to current hip hop music. It's great!

Both of my sister-in-laws on Brian's side (just want to clarify so I don't spread any rumors about Aubrie) are pregnant. Loree, Brian's brother's wife, is due April 30th with her second baby. Their first, Kinley, is 2 1/2 now. They are going to have a boy and name him Cade James. Allison, Brian's sister, is due June 9th. They are also having a boy and naming him Michael Marius. It will be so fun to be aunts and uncles again! We are thoroughly content with this, by the way.. in case any of you were wondering. :)

We have really enjoyed the NCAA basketball season this year. As many of you know, Baylor's men's and women's teams have been playing really well in the tournament. Well, as of tonight, the men lost to Duke. But we are proud of their efforts to make it to the Elite 8. The women's team is still in the game, so good luck, Lady Bears! Sic Em!

Well, I think that's all I have the energy to write for tonight. I know there are lots of other things I could include, but after 7 months, it's kind of overwhelming to decide what to write about.

Until next time... Goodnight!

Team Ballard Update

2009-08-08T09:26:00.004-05:00

Hey Hey Blog Friends,

I still read all of your blogs religiously, but can't bring myself to spend the time to update ours. I've been given a hard time recently (including last night.. by my father-in-law, no less!), so I decided an update is crucial.

In no particular order:

1) We closed on our house at the end of May, and have been working on getting everything in order for the past few months. It's a lot of work, but we love it! If anyone's ever in the Plano area, give us a call. We'd love to have you stay with us.

2) Brian went to Taiwan for almost 2 weeks at the beginning of July. It was our first time to be apart that long since we've been engaged! TI sent him over there (his first business trip... and he went all by himself) to work with a customer of theirs. He did a great job, ate weird food, and came back safely. Thank the Lord. Mia and I were fine here, too. My parents came over a few nights to help do some stuff around the house, my sister spent the night with me, and we went to my grandparents lakehouse over the weekend for the 4th of July. That helped the 12 days pass more quickly.

3) Jake and Aubs got married on July 25th! The wedding was beautiful and fun, and Brian and I felt so lucky to be a part of it. We're so happy that Aubrie's officially in the family, and can't wait to see what God has in store for them. They're living in a cute little apartment in downtown Fort Worth, and I know they're loving it!

4) Remy and I are work-out buddies again. As of July 23rd, we've been meeting at 24 hr Fitness 3 days a week at 6am. It's hard to get up that early (most of you know, I'm NOT what they call a "morning person"), but I feel so much better and more productive now that it's in my routine.

5) Mom and I are signing up for our first 5k in October or November. I'm putting this on here, so that we can hold each other accountable. We've talked about it and looked at races, but putting it in print should hold us to it! Wish us luck!

6) John and Allison (Brian's sister and brother-in-law) are moving to Minneapolis, MN in September. John got a job, and Allison is looking for one. We're sad they won't be as close, but we're so excited for their adventure! I know it will bring them closer together, and make us appreciate our family even more.

7) Mia turned 2 on July 2nd! I know some of you will laugh that I'm posting about our dog, but she's our baby, as of now, and we love her! She's really such a good dog, and we can't imagine our life without her right now.

Well, that's all that I can think of off the top of my head. If something else comes to me, I'll try to remember to post it!f

Thanks for reading, and I really will try to do better about posting more regularly!

Much love,

Team Ballard

P.S. 8) Also, I'm slowly becoming a brunette. I had my hair colored brown, then had her put some highlights and lowlights in to make it look more natural. I like it.

I've been re-hired, but I'm on probation...

2009-05-22T00:03:00.004-05:00

So... most of you guys who read this blog already know, but... we have big news!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

And we're just a little excited about it... We close May 29th, and will start moving things in soon after that. Here are some pictures: (I hate that it loads them backwards....)

Rachel is fired

2009-04-28T18:29:00.003-05:00

So...in the last 4 months, Rachel's blog readers have only gotten 1 teaser update. I know Rachel is still reading your blogs, but hasn't been updating her own...that just doesn't seem fair! Here is an update on our lives the last few weeks:

-Brian went camping with all of Jake's groomsmen

-Brian turned 25, yay for lower auto insurance!!!

-Brian did a triathlon

-Brian's truck rolled over 90,000 miles last week (his 1st vehicle by the way)

-We had a big Ballard Family Easter gathering at Brian's grandma's house and the great-grandkids hunted Easter eggs

-We are still looking for a house

-Rachel had her first work trip (to a conference in Austin)

-Went to OKC for Clay and Lindsey's Wedding

Let's see how long it takes for Rachel to realize her blog has been updated. Shhhh!

P.S.-Rachel still has a job, she is just fired from blogging.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, etc, etc...

2009-01-28T23:41:00.004-06:00

I've been a bad blogger recently, but my cousin, Katie, motivated me to at least get my feet wet again. It's too late for me to spend much more time on the computer, but look forward to these updates coming soon:

1) I'm now employed!

2) Brian started grad school!

3) My parents are turning 50 :)

4) We're looking to buy our first house!

God is truly blessing the Ballard's at the moment...

The Ballards Elfed

2008-12-12T14:03:00.001-06:00

I tried to add the video to the blog, but I couldn't make it work.

Check it out on my Facebook page instead! Enjoy!

I've been tagged... Thanks, Loree!

2008-11-20T16:28:00.012-06:00

8 TV shows I love to watch:

1. Law & Order (the original one)

2. The Biggest Loser

3. House (same time as #2, and no, we don't have DVR, so I have to watch it on the computer)

4. The Office

5. John & Kate Plus 8

6. CSI: Las Vegas (again, the original one)

7. Crossing Jordan

8. Without a Trace

(and so many more... I watch way too much TV!)

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. McAlister's

2. El Fenix

3. Mi Cocina

4. Sonic (more for the drinks, but ya know..)

5. Fireside Subs

6. Chili's

7. Macaroni Grill

8. Subway

8 Things That Happened Today:

1. slept until 10am

2. took Mia out to potty

3. met Brian and his mom for lunch at Chuy's

4. went shopping at the Allen Outlet Mall

5. took Mia out to potty again (i do this a lot.. she must have a small bladder..)

6. did this blog

7. ate sushi with friends at Chaucer's

8. went to bed

8 Things I Am Looking forward To:

1. growing old with my husband

2. my 24th birthday tomorrow

3. sushi for dinner tonight

4. meeting with a personal trainer (I'm determined to get skinny!)

5. making money once I get a job

6. having kids one day (not anytime soon...)

7. Christmas

8. buying a house

8 Things On My Wish List:

1. an ivory pea coat

2. to get skinny

3. safety for my family and friends

4. a good job

5. for Brian to come home from work earlier

6. another dog (a vizsla, and only once we get a house)

7. healthy kids one day

8. to become a kinder person and better Christian

8 People I Tag:

1. Allison Ballard

2. Remy Webb

3. Dani Dillard

4. Lindsey Arita

5. Courtney Broaddus

6. Jenni Kriegel

7. Rachel Dunham

8. Erica Ladwig

I guess we'll see if any of these people check my blog...

Happy Thursday!

We are so smart...

2008-11-17T19:53:00.008-06:00

For my graduation present this August, I asked my mom if she would pay to get my diplomas professionally framed. Of course she agreed, so I decided to pay to get Brian's framed to match mine. Aren't they pretty? Every time I look at them I think how fortunate we are that we have parents who love us and value education and a college experience. I also think about how I'm "smarter" than Brian. Haha! At least until he gets his masters in a couple years...

Our Baylor Diploma's

Brian: Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Rachel: Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders

My UTD Diploma: Master of Science in Communication Disorders

Halloween at the Porch's

2008-11-12T20:31:00.007-06:00

I have the privilege of regularly babysitting for the sweet Porch family in Dallas. They have been so generous to Brian and I, and we feel blessed to consider them friends. Even though I'm looking forward to it one day, Brian and I are in no hurry to start a family... part of that I owe to growing up with a sibling 12 years younger than me and the other part I owe to the Porch family... because I feel like I get my "kid fix" by spending time with their three precious girls!

Enjoy a few pics of them in their precious Halloween costumes!

Rebecca with the twins

Anderson and Emma Jane (20 mos.)

Anderson (Annie) and Todd

Miss Mollie (almost 5)

My Pumpkin Puppy

2008-11-11T21:03:00.006-06:00

Last year for Halloween Mia was a cute little fairy with sheer pink wings. Needless to say, Brian was a little uncomfortable with the "feminine" costume choice. This year I tried to be a little more understanding of his feelings. So, Mia was a pumpkin. Good compromise, right? I think so too. Enjoy!

How cute is she? And so good to just sit there...

Okay, so she wasn't so sure about it at first....

In fact, she might have tried to get it off by rolling around...

But she was much happier once I took the little hat off...

Such a good dog.

Dinner with friends

2008-11-10T16:49:00.006-06:00

One of my good friends from college, Chelsea, came home from Florida a few weeks ago for Baylor's Homecoming and her mom's wedding. A group of us went to dinner at a really good Mexican food restaurant in Deep Ellum, and it was so good to see her and catch up. She was a bridesmaid in mine and Brian's wedding, and I love how we just pick up where we left off whenever we get a chance to see each other. I love having friends like that.

The group... it's always good to see everyone!

Chels & Me

A little more grown up than our pictures from freshman year

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-09T18:37:00.013-06:00

The week before Halloween, Danny (Brian's best friend from high school) and his fiancee, Kimberly, invited Brian and I to a Pizza and Pumpkin Party at Kim's apartment! :) We ate pepperoni pizza and carved some pretty awesome pumpkins. It's so fun to have couple friends to hang out with. I hope we can do it more in the future! Enjoy the pictures!

Danny & Brian

Our set up... we tried to not get any pumpkin guts on Kimberly's rug... I'm not sure if we were successful or not.

Look at all my pumpkin goop! Gross!

Isn't my husband cute?

My awesome Skull and Crossbones pumpkin

Brian's Happy Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin

From L to R: Kimberly's, Danny's, Rachel's, Brian's

Vote for your favorite!

Trying to mimic the faces on our pumpkins...

So proud of our pumpkin carving expertise!

Can't wait to do it again next fall!

Women of Faith Conference in Houston

2008-11-07T15:06:00.011-06:00

The weekend after we went to San Antonio, I went to Houston with some of the girls in Brian's family for the Women of Faith Conference. Even though some of them had been several times over the years, this was my first experience... and I loved it! Ava (Brian's mom), Loree (our sister-in-law), and I left Dallas on Thursday night for Houston. We made a stop in The Woodlands for an urgent bathroom break (surprise, surprise), a new pair of jeans from Ann Taylor (I left mine at home.. again.. surprise, surprise), and dinner at Chuy's! Then we continued on our way to Houston, checked into our hotel, and played several rounds of our favorite card game, Nertz, before going to bed. The next day we met up with Ava's sister and cousin, who joined us for the rest of the weekend. The Pre-Conference and Conference were great, and it was good getting to spend time with Ava and Loree! Allison, we missed you!!

Enjoy the pictures from our fun girls weekend!

The speakers at the Pre-Conference doing a Q&A

On Friday night we went to Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner.

Can you guess what I'm doing?

That's right... saving a parking space for Ava in downtown Houston!

It was probably funnier at the time... but I was pretty proud of myself!

Nicole C. Mullen was amazing.

She sang my two favorites: "Redeemer" and "Call On Jesus"

After we got back to the hotel from our long day on Friday, we decided it would be no fun just to go to sleep. So... we played Nertz and ate dessert and drank hot chocolate!

Me & my sister-in-law, Loree (Kinley's mom!)

Donna (Ava's cousin) & Ava (Brian's mom)

The whole gang.

Debbie (Ava's sister), Ava, Donna, Loree and Me

San Antonio/Wedding Weekend

2008-11-05T15:04:00.016-06:00

The weekend of October 17th-19th we traveled down to San Antonio for a wedding. Brian's friend from high school, Adam Hines, was marrying his fiancee, Laura. Friday night we went to the rehearsal dinner, the wedding was at 2pm on Saturday, and then we spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday doing tourist-y things in San Antonio. We ate at two different restaurants on the Riverwalk, and took an audio tour of the Alamo. We also stopped at the outlet mall in San Marcus on our way back up I35. My sweet husband was such a trooper! We had a really good time just being together.. I love being married to him!

We clean up pretty well, huh?!

The wedding party... Brian's on the bottom right.

Dinner Saturday night was at Rio Rio on the Riverwalk.

The food wasn't as good as we were expecting, but the atmosphere was perfect!

We took a ride on the boat that takes you around the Riverwalk. So fun!

There was a sweet family with 2 little girls on the riverboat ride with us. Of course I tried to make friends with the kids, but their mom informed me that they take "Stranger Danger" very seriously... so I gave up

and just asked her to take a picture of us.

In tour-guide mode

Ta-da! All done with the tour... we loved it!

We weren't allowed to take pictures during most of the tour but I thought the shots above and below were really pretty.

Our second meal on the Riverwalk was at the Republic of Texas. We sat right on the water this time. Such a cool environment... They should put one of these in Dallas!

Mia & Lexie

2008-11-04T10:14:00.005-06:00

The same day that we got the new flooring in our apartment, Lexie (Matt and Rachael Clark's French Brittany Spaniel puppy) got to come over and play with Mia. Every once in a while Matt and/or Rachael aren't able to come home from work to let Lexie out, so they ask me! And I love getting to do it. This time I brought Lexie back to our apartment so that she and Mia could get to know each other better. They are always super hyper for about the first 10 minutes, but when Lexie calms down, they play really well together. When Lexie gets a little bigger and can keep up with Mia, I think they'll be best friends!

They were rolling on the floor together and chewing on the same tennis ball

After playing for an hour or so, I laid out Mia's bed and a pallet for Lexie.. they immediately claimed their spot and slept

...so sweet!

Election Day

2008-11-04T09:55:00.002-06:00

If you didn't vote early...

GO VOTE!

New Flooring

2008-11-02T16:04:00.005-06:00

Back in September our apartment complex offered a choice of a few upgrades if you signed or resigned a 12 month lease... 2" faux wood blinds, a ceiling fan in the living room (which we have already installed on our own), new faucets or new flooring in the kitchen and bathroom(s). We only wanted to sign a 9 month lease, though. After a few conversations about it, Brian and I felt like we deserved an upgrade anyway. Imagine that. Here was our reasoning: We're great tenants. We've lived here for a year and a half; we pay our rent on time every month; we take good care of our apartment; and we recommended our apartment complex to some of our friends (the Clarks) who now live here. Both Brian and I talked to the apartment manager and assistant manage separately and pleaded our case. They agreed with us and we were rewarded with new flooring in our kitchen and both bathrooms! It looks (and is textured) like wood floor, but it's really still just linoleum. I was a little skeptical at first, but was pretty impressed once it was all said and done.

What do ya think?

(I forgot to take some pictures after I put the rugs back in place, so the rooms look pretty naked... Oh well... you get the idea.)

Master bath

Guest bath

Kitchen

Oh, and...

2008-10-31T13:53:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween and Homecoming!

State Fair of Texas

2008-10-31T11:29:00.008-05:00

Okay, everyone sing along:

"Our state fair is a great state fair!

Don't miss it, don't even be late!"

I love the fair! I've been several times over the years, and wanted Brian to experience it with me and my family. So... on the Sunday after the OU/Texas game... which ended up being the most crowded day of the fair all year... my mom, dad, sister, grandparents, aunt and cousin joined me and Brian for 7+ hours of food, shows, and games. We all had a great time and can't wait to go again next year!

Brian and I parked at a Dart station and rode the train and then a shuttle down to the fairgrounds... Thanks to my sister-in-law, Allison, we used 2 free "teacher" tickets!

With Big Tex himself...

Our dinner consisted of a turkey leg, roasted corn, fried snickers, and a lemonade! We also ate Fletcher's corn dogs, onion rings, Texas twisters, and several other things I can't think of right now...

Who won the only prize of the night?! That's right, it was me! I shot one of those water-gun things into a hole and made the line rise the fastest! We brought the lady-bug prize home for Mia to tear up at some point.

I'll post pics of that when the time comes...

We didn't actually ride the giant ferris wheel, but besides Big Tex, it's the classic symbol of the State Fair to me!

Where do I even start?

2008-10-29T09:27:00.010-05:00

I think I owe some of you blog-stalkers an apology... it's been over a month since I last posted! Ironically, it's not because we haven't done anything "blog worthy"... it's because there were too many things to blog about... I got overwhelmed and didn't know where to start! I'm gonna try to post one a day until I catch up.. here goes!

Kinley's 1st Birthday!

The cute set-up...

The birthday girl... not sure about all of the madness...

The Ballard kids decided it would be a good idea to show everyone how they can all eat an entire regular sized cupcake in one bite.

Then my husband, true to form, could not leave it at that...

He insisted on "one-upping" them all by shoving TWO regular sized cupcakes into his mouth at one time.

I'm so proud! ...or not!

It's no joke, folks.... He swallowed them both!

Jake and Aubrie are ENGAGED... finally!

2008-09-24T18:17:00.005-05:00

This past weekend my whole family plus some of our family friends traveled to Boston for the Baylor game versus UConn. The football game was exciting, and the trip was inspiring, but the best part happened on the tour of Fenway Park. While we were there... my brother proposed to his girlfriend of almost 5 years! Aubrie was shocked, her family was thrilled, and Jake was beaming! I'm so excited that Aubrie will be my sister-in-law. We could not have asked for a better addition to our family! Congratulations, guys. We love you both!

Restaurant Week in Dallas

2008-09-03T10:52:00.005-05:00

*** I forgot to add one thing: It's confusing enough that there are two Rachael/Rachel's in the group, but the other two girls are both named Lindsey! :)

A few weeks ago Rachael and Matt Clark invited us to go with them and some of their friends (mostly from Tech) to the Capital Grille down in the Uptown area. It was KRLD's Restaurant Week in Dallas, so we got an expensive steak (and salmon for Brian) dinner for only $35 and part of it was a donation to the local food bank. Dinner was so good and the company was even better! Thanks for including us!

The whole gang

The two Rachel/Rachael's... it'd be easier if we spelled it the same...

Fat and happy after dinner...

2008-08-13T15:16:00.002-05:00

On Friday Brian and I went to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus at the American Airlines Center. Dani and David, Caylin, and Ryan Nix joined us. It was Brian's first time to go to the circus, and I hadn't been since high school. We had high expectations and were not disappointed. It was so much fun! We all left singing the theme song of the show, and it didn't stop until we got back to Caylin's apartment.

Enjoy the pictures!

Babysitting Kinley Marie

2008-08-12T19:11:00.005-05:00

Well, I've really enjoyed getting to keep my neice, Kinley, a few times in the last couple of weeks. She's almost 10 months old now, and full of personality. I'm so thankful that we live relatively close to Keith and Loree, so we get to know her and be around her as she grows up. Here are a few pictures of us playing!

Kinley loves her learning table

She was confused by the camera blinking at us

since I put in on the timer

All you need to make a kid happy is a laundry basket!

Precious smile

Babysitting with my sister

2008-07-28T22:05:00.003-05:00

Week before last, my sister, Anna, spent the night with Brian and I. We loved having her, and I think she enjoyed it too. She and I did lots of fun things during the day on Thursday, and then Brian took us out to eat at Steak & Ale for dinner. On Friday morning, she went with me to babysit the Porch girls. She was a big help, and the girls loved her. She took a "Safe Sitter" course this summer, so it was a good chance for her to get to practice. In fact, she did a great job changing her first diaper! I just wanted to brag on my little sister, so enjoy the pictures below. She's getting so big, so fast. (She'd want me to mention that she now wears a bigger shoe size than me. It won't be long before she passes me in height. But we all know that's not saying much...)

The twins with Anna

Anna reading to Emma Jane

I put the camera on a timer! Aren't I smart?!

We forgot to take pictures while Mollie was there!

It's been a while...

2008-07-22T11:02:00.007-05:00

You know what's ironic? I check for other people's blog updates daily (sometimes more than once a day!), and get frustrated when their posts are more than a week old. Here I am, updating ours more than 10 days after my last entry. Yikes! I will try to do better :)

A lot has happened, but I'll try to hit the highlights:

1) I finished school... forever! Thursday was the last day of my internship and I turned in a paper for my final. Pretty exciting! I have a few loose ends to tie up with some paperwork and then graduation check-out is August 4th. For some reason this year, UTD decided not to have a summer graduation ceremony, so I will not be walking, but I pick up my diploma on August 23rd - my actual graduation day! I can't believe I'm already done with grad school. At times, it seemed like I would be in school for the rest of my life, but looking back it really flew by. Now, I am going to thoroughly enjoy the fact that I never have to go back to school again (except that I'll probably work in a school one day...), and start looking for jobs. Brian would probably like me to hurry up with that, but it's nice just to breathe and enjoy being a little bit lazy!

2) We went to Austin this weekend for Brian's Xterra off-road triathlon. These are a little different than a normal triathlon. First, they swam 1000 meters in a lake/river and they had to get up and run in shallow water for part of it. Then there was a 14 mile mountain bike ride. Brian and a lot of the other riders felt like it was one of the most technical courses they'd ever ridden. Finally, they had a 5 mile trail run. Parts of it were so steep that they had to pull themselves up by ropes that had been attached to trees. It was hot, but it started early so we were done around noon... before it got really hot! Brian did great... he said it was pretty difficult but he ended up doing better than he thought he would. His finishing time was just at 3 hours. Mia and I were his cheerleaders. We tried to stay hydrated and cool in the shade while were waiting for Brian to finish. Mia was very well behaved... several people commented on it... which makes me so proud of my sweet puppy! Also, I got really excited because there were two other Weims (that's for you, mom) there with their owner. Her husband was the medic on call out there, so we let the dogs play for a while during the race. One of her dogs was 2 years old and the other was 5 months! It was so fun to play with a young puppy again!

3) While we were in Austin, we also got to see Jenni and Kyle... the brand new Kriegles! We got to go see their new apartment and they took us to eat at The Oasis, a popular spot in Austin, overlooking Lake Travis. Amanda Smith just happened to be visiting in Austin the same weekend, so she got to join us for dinner too! It was so much fun! Brian and I love being able to catch up and keep in touch with good friends from college.

Here are a few pics from the weekend!

At the Oasis

Finishing the race

Mia supporting her daddy at the triathlon

The other weims we saw at the race

Independence Day 2008

2008-07-11T00:13:00.006-05:00

I know I'm a little slow, but better late than never. I've been busy, people. Brian and Mia and I spent the weekend of the 4th of July at my grandparents lake house, err... lake trailer out in the little west Texas town of Breckenridge. We've been going out there since I was about 6 or 7, and it's always so much fun... minus the fire ants! It's a little on the white-trash side, but we love it! This year I think we crammed more people into that double-wide trailer than ever before. Let's see... Nana and Papa, my mom and dad and Anna and Luke (Jake was out of town with Aubrie's family), me and Brian and Mia, my Uncle and Aunt and 3 cousins, one of them brought a friend plus their 2 dogs, Greg, Pam and Hannah Hill, and my other cousin Katie... I think that brings our total to 18 people and 3 dogs. Pretty impressive, huh? Brian and I drove down there on Thursday night and stayed until Saturday afternoon. We ate a lot, played in the lake, laid out, played cards, went fishing, played with sparklers, put on our own fireworks show, experienced a brush fire, and taught Mia to fetch and swim in the water!

Enjoy the pictures below!

Brian's artful photography

Another one of Brian's cool photography ideas...

This is how Mia watched the fireworks for most of the night.

Nana directing us in a patriotic sing-along.

I think it was "America, the Beautiful".

Playing our favorite card game at the moment, Nertz.

A boy and his dog.

Brian was very proud that Mia finally liked getting in the water.

Hannah and Anna

Anna is thrilled her name is completely inside hANNAh's

07-02-07

2008-07-02T23:37:00.011-05:00

Well, Mia turned 1! I can't believe it. She's grown up so fast! I took her to the vet for a booster on her vaccinations and a one-year check up. She officially weighed in at 67 lbs! After Brian got home and we ate dinner (I made chicken spaghetti.. yum!), we took Miss Mia to PetSmart for a birthday treat... Doggie Ice Cream! They make ice cream that is safe for dogs (lactose free, sugar free, fat free), and she loves it. They gave it to her when she graduated from Puppy Training Class, so Brian and I thought it would be perfect for her birthday treat. They gave it to us for free, and she licked the bowl clean! Brian had to hold it for her, because she the bowl kept moving while she was trying to finish it off. Our trainer from the Puppy Class just happened to be there at the same time, and when she saw us through the window, she came out to say hi to Mia. She couldn't believe how big Mia was - the last time she saw her she was about 12 weeks old! :) After she finished her ice cream, we went to look at new doggie beds for her birthday gift. She tried out several, but we finally found the perfect one. In fact, she's curled up on it at the moment... so precious. We even remembered to take a coupon with us so we saved $10. Aren't you proud?

After we finished up at PetSmart, we came home because we had visitors coming to our house. First, Danny came to eat sugar cookies with Brian, and to see "Mia, Mia". I brought a box of Granny's sugar cookies home from Texarkana (more on that later), and that was more than a good enough reason for those two boys to get together. Danny and Brian have been really good friends since junior high, and he was a groomsmen in our wedding. He's been a great friend to Brian, and we love getting to see him. Then, my youngest brother, Luke came over. We needed to trade cars, so he came and ate sugar cookies with us too. It was good to see him too.

This past Monday morning, I went to Texarkana with Brian's mom, Ava, and his sister, Allison. We drove up there, spent then night, and then drove back home on Tuesday evening. We went to visit Brian's Granny, and several other family members dropped by while we were there. We just relaxed and talked and ate. What more can you ask for? It was a great girl's trip, and I was really glad I was able to go. We missed Loree and Kinley though! (That's my other sister-in-law and 8-month-old niece) I feel so fortunate to have married into such a wonderful family!

Below are the pictures we took on Mia's 1st Birthday!

Family Photo

Mia loves Doggie Ice Cream!

The princess is sleeping...

Brian, Danny, and Luke enjoying their sugar cookies!

Pictures

2008-07-02T18:55:00.004-05:00

I figured out how to post pictures... thanks for the help, Loree and Brian! They're at the end of my last post! Check them out!

Look for another post tonight!

Topics: Girls' trip to Texarkana and Mia's 1st Birthday!

Get excited! :)

Busy Week/Weekend

2008-06-29T22:44:00.004-05:00

We've been super busy since I posted last, so here's a few of the highlights:

On Wednesday I fixed dinner! That may not sound like a big deal to most of you, but cooking doesn't come as naturally to me as it does to others. I'm not bad, mind you, but I have to really read directions and follow them closely. None of this "a pinch of this, a dash of that" stuff. Not yet, at least. You'll have to check with Brian if dinner was good, but personally, I thought it was fantastic! :)

Thursday night I went to a Ginny Owens concert at Park Cities with Rachael Clark. (Rachael and Matt Clark live in our apartment complex and are in our sunday school. They got married in December. Rachael is Aubrie's cousin. Aubrie is Jake's girlfriend. Jake is my younger brother. Got it? Good.) Last Sunday they made an announcement in Sunday School about the concert, and I got so excited! I was a big fan of hers in high school. In fact, I used one of her songs for the background music of my senior slideshow video. She also came to Baylor my freshman year and performed at Waco Hall for chapel. Anyways, she plays the piano and has a wonderful, unique style of singing. She writes most, if not all, of her songs - and her lyrics are meaningful and often clever. One of the most interesting things about her though, is that she's been completely blind since she was two. I bought her 2 newest CD's (1 for $15, 2 for $20 - Mama didn't raise no fool, so I got two) and have loved listening to them in the car.

Friday's are my day off, so I usually do stuff around the house and run errands. I did some of that, and then went to babysit the Porch girls. They were great (as usual), and made me hope that one day when we have kids they go to bed as easily as those girls do. What a blessing!

This weekend we've been in Austin. It was a great trip! We went down there for Sarah Seidlits' wedding, and so that Brian could ride a specific mountain bike course. He's doing a triathlon there next month, and wanted to pre-ride it so that he's more familiar with it on the race day. Sounds like cheating to me, but he's promises that it's not. :) The wedding was beautiful, and we were glad that we went. We were just glad to be in Austin. Neither Brian or I have been there many times, so it was a learning experience for us both. Brian's great with directions, though, so he had his bearings pretty early on. I love that about him. Austin is such an out-doorsy town and very dog-friendly. Oh, did I not mention that we took Mia with us?! We found a hotel that let your pet stay in the room with you, and offered doggie spa services if needed (we didn't need them, Brian would want me to point out). While Brian was biking on Saturday afternoon, Mia and I went to what we thought was going to be a dog park. This was so much cooler, though. In Austin, they have what's called "Off-leash Areas". Basically this one was a nature trail all through the hills, and your dogs are allowed to wander along with you, off of their leash. I was a little worried at first because I wasn't sure how well Mia would do staying close to me, but I was very pleasantly surprised! She stayed within 20 feet of me at all times, and every few seconds she would turn around and make sure I was still behind her. A few times, I hid behind some bushes to see what she would do, and after she realized she couldn't see me, she came back looking for me. I was so proud! :) Needless to say, I couldn't stop talking about how much fun we had, so Brian came back with us on Sunday. I wanted him to be able to experience it too. The pictures didn't do it justice. We had a great time hiking for a couple of hours, all three of us... happy little family! :)

Last but not least, to top off our weekend, we drove back from Austin this afternoon so that we could make it for our Sunday School class' cookout. We were so exhausted, and for a second, considered not going (Mom, don't be mad..I was embarrassed because I was supposed to take a dessert and realized I wouldn't have time to make one), but then decided to tough it out anyway. And, we're really glad we did. We love the people in our Newlywed class, and it was great to catch up and laugh with several couples we haven't seen in a few weeks.

Well, I think that sums up our weekend. I need to post more often so these entries don't end up so long! Lesson learned.

*** Here are the pictures I promised! Enjoy! ***

This is the front of the hotel where we stayed:

The Mansion on Judge's Hill

Brian before the pre-ride

Mia and I posing on the nature trail at Emma Long Park

The beautiful bride and me

See?!?!

2008-06-24T21:06:00.004-05:00

I knew I wouldn't be able to control myself... Oh well! I'm just going to embrace it!

Tonight we went to dinner with 2 couples from our Sunday School class. I was put in charge of planning it, so we went to Mi Cocina. :) It was so much fun and the food was great, as always! (Side note: Try the Sunset style Fajitas - Matt and Rachael Clark got us hooked) I really love how the leaders of our class encourage us to do things together outside of Sunday morning. Every two months, they send out a list of "supper clubs". Usually it's 3 or 4 couples, with one couple being responsible for getting it together, who go out to dinner. This was our third one since we joined the class back in January, and every time we've really enjoyed it. On Sunday mornings its very easy to be superficial, and ask "How are you?" or "How was your weekend?" without really listening to the answer. But the supper clubs are a great way to find out more, and make other couples feel involved. Tonight I think I realized that God has blessed Brian and I with the ability to connect with people, and we need to use that gift more often. It's selfish of me not to put forth the effort to make sure that newer couples feel included in the group. I think I'll work on that.

Alright, gotta go take Mia out...

Our First Entry

2008-06-23T23:21:00.001-05:00

Well... it's finally time for my blogging experience to begin. I feel like I have been putting it off only because I know that once I start, I most likely will become obsessed with it. Hopefully I will be able to maintain some self-control, though. I've encouraged Brian to post too, but we'll see how that goes... I think I'll just start with a summary of our married life to this point.

Brian and I just celebrated our 1 year anniversary last month.. Crazy! We are loving married life and are learning so much about ourselves and each other. We have a two-bedroom apartment near the Galleria, and we love the area. We are somewhat preoccupied with our dog, Mia, but I've been told not to feel bad about it because most people are the same way about their pets until they have kids. So, Mia, enjoy it while it lasts! Brian has been working for TI for about 2 years now, including his internship, and feels like he's found a good fit for him. He works hard, but the hours are relatively flexible, so that's nice. He works for DLP (like HD Tv's), in the front projection group. Basically, he does hardware design and customer support. I am in my last semester of grad school - graduation: August 23rd! I started January of '07 and can't believe I'm almost finished. I am currently looking for a job, but I'm sure there will be more on that later.

Brian loves road and mountain biking; he does several triathlons a year; and he is very handy around the apartment. I regularly babysit for a family in University Park, who have 3 girls: twin 15 month olds (Annie and Emma Jane) and a 4 year old (Mollie). Also, we go to Park Cities Baptist Church and love our newlywed Sunday School class!

We feel very fortunate to live close to both our families, and get to see them often. Sometimes Brian questions why we live in a place as flat and ugly as this part of Texas, but we enjoy being surrounded by our loved ones. It's easy to take that for granted, but want them to know we really appreciate their encouragement and support as we begin our lives together.

I think that does it for a brief synopsis of our life at the moment... Until next time...