So Much to be Thankful For

24 Weeks

We have had such an amazing, productive week with our parents and I am so thankful for their continuous love and support.  Brad has been so wonderful throughout my pregnancy and he is always willing to do anything that I need him to do, but having our parents around this week has really helped us move forward with our baby planning and preparation.  It is such a relief to have so many things checked off of our to-do list!

My mom arrived on Saturday with my thirteen year old cousin, William, in tow.  William was only here with us for one night before he joined his grandfather in Augusta for a deer hunt, but boy did he earn his keep!  After a little tennis practice and dinner at El Porton, Brad, William, and my mom were charged with moving furniture so that we'll be ready for the baby furniture when it arrives.  This involved moving a 100 year old chiffarobe into the nursery and the desk into the guest room.  The chiffarobe has been in almost every bedroom I've had since I was a child and my mother has refinished it twice in my lifetime.  I am very attached to it.  It probably isn't normal to have such an attachment to a piece of furniture, but I'm fairly certain that it is in my genetic makeup to love old furniture, so I won't worry too much about it.  While the chiffarobe is beautiful, it is not exactly what I would call structurally sound.  I was so nervous about them moving it that I couldn't even watch.  My mom helped guide Brad and William while I sat downstairs with my fingers crossed, trying not to listen to every bump and creek.  After successfully moving the chiffarobe, it turned out that moving the desk was a breeze.  In the end, they all did a great job of rearranging things and placing the furniture exactly where I wanted it and I am so thankful to have that huge item checked off of our to-do list. 

On Sunday, we went to mass and then my mom and I drove William to meet his grandfather, while Brad worked in the yard.  Afterward, my mom and I went to the mall and to lunch before heading to Publix to stock up on groceries for the week.  On Sunday night, my mom and I washed and sorted all of the hand-me-down baby clothing that we've gotten from my co-worker, Sandy, and my sister-in-law, Christina.  It was so much fun looking through all of those tiny, adorable clothes! 

On Monday, while Brad and I were at work, my wonderful mother cooked chicken and sausage gumbo for us and went to Babies R Us for more clothes for Little E, as well as some blankets, bibs, and burp cloths to help stock the nursery.  After work, we went for my third and Brad's first tour of Primrose.  At the end of the tour we registered Little E for his first school experience, which will begin in August, when I return to work.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I spent several weeks researching child care centers in our area, but in the end, we decided that Primrose is the best choice for us.  Getting that done enabled us to check another huge item off of our to-do list.  My mom came to work with me on Tuesday and Brad's parents arrived at our house shortly after we got home that afternoon. 

http://www.kookoobearkids.com/

Wednesday was definitely our most productive day.  After breakfast, my mom, Brad's mom, and I went to Koo Koo Bear Kids to order the furniture for the nursery.  Because I had already ordered the bedding online and because I had already researched and made decisions about the crib and changer that we wanted, the whole experience was really fun and exciting.  The staff at Koo Koo Bear was really friendly and knowledgeable and the whole order was placed in a matter of minutes.  Of course, Koo Koo Bear is such a cute store that we spent quite a while looking around and getting ideas for wall decor for the nursery after placing the order.  The best part of all is that the furniture should be here in three weeks or less, which is a lot sooner than we expected!  We celebrated our success with manicures and pedicures before returning home where Oscar and Brad were hard at work replacing the light fixture in the hallway upstairs, as well as the fan in the guest room.  Unfortunately, they were unable to replace the light fixture in the nursery with the fan we purchased because it isn't currently wired for a fan, so we'll have to call someone to install that one for us.  Mom, Mary, and I spent the rest of the day in the kitchen.  My mom cooked her amazing spaghetti and meatballs from scratch, while Mary and I worked on preparing some of our Thanksgiving dishes.


Shopping at Koo Koo Bear Kids with My Mom and Brad's Mom

Brad and Oscar Hard at Work

On Thursday, I made a yummy spinach and bacon quiche and blueberry-lemon coffee cake for brunch and then we spent the rest of the day watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and various football games while cooking the rest of our Thanksgiving dinner and setting the table.  Everything looked beautiful and dinner was delicious!  We made turducken, rice dressing, balsamic mashed sweet potatoes, spinach madeleine, bacon-wrapped green beans, cranberry salad, and pecan pie.  YUM!!!

Our Wedding China, Crystal, and Flatware

Hard at Work Again, This Time on the Turducken

Our Second Thanksgiving

On Friday, Brad and his parents took a break from all of the hard work and went to see the movie Unstoppable.  While they were out, my mom and I went to Hobby Lobby, where we purchased fabric for the nursery.  My mom's sister, my Nanny Kay, has graciously agreed to make window treatments and pillows for the nursery that will coordinate with the crib bedding.  It is all going to look so cute!  That evening, to celebrate all of our hard work and productivity, we went out for dinner at JCT Kitchen and to see Cirque Du Soleil's, OVO.  Dinner was delicious and OVO was incredible!  It was a great evening and a great way to end our week together. 

Dinner at JCT Kitchen

The week flew by and it is nice to be back to just Brad, Hank, Little E, and I around here.  Our parents all made it home safely and I'm sure they are enjoying a little peace and quiet as well.  We are so grateful for all of their hard work and generosity throughout this week as we checked off several items from our baby preparation to-do list.  It is hard to believe that by the time we celebrate Thanksgiving together next year, our baby will be around 8 months old!  Like I said, we have so much to be thankful for!