Yes, we are THAT family!

I have decided that holidays, even the small ones, are so much more fun with a little one! And we're about to embark on some BIG holidays....Thanksgiving and Christmas! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about spending this special time with our Annie Louise!

When I found out Annie Louise would be making her arrival sometime in early September, I started thinking about Halloween. Always the planner, I guess! Anyways, I had several ideas for her costume, but didn't want to do anything until after she arrived since we wouldn't know her sizing and whatnot (good thing we waited). Then, she made her big arrival, and everything kind of went to the back burner, if you know what I mean. Having a newborn kind of puts everything in perspective! So, when my mom and I begin to think about what Annie Louise was going to be for Halloween, I was stumped. She can't sit up yet, so I wanted something that would be cute and practical. And I wanted B and myself to get in on the fun, too - so it had to be something for the whole family. My mom actually came up with the idea....

A family of scarecrows!

I can't believe my husband actually dressed up, too! I don't know if I'll ever be able to get him to do it again! It was definitely a hit, and we had so much fun! We went to our downtown "square" for a trick-or-treat event, and Annie Louise was definitely the star of the show :)

I mean, how stinkin cute is this sweet baby? I could just eat up those cheeks!

Stitched with love...

I only have a minute to post - Annie Louise is sleeping, and I am going to try and catch a few zzzz's before she wakes for her next feeding! I had to post this picture of our sweet doodlebug (that's one of her many nicknames) because I just think it's too cute for words...

After lots of rocking, patting and soothing, we finally got this angel to fall asleep during her newborn pictures. For some reason, my child would not fall asleep for her pictures, and I was just dying to get some of those "sleepy" baby shots. Thankfully, we had the most patient photographer, Joy Dement, and she was just so nice to stay with us until she finally gave it up!

Now for the story behind the picture...all of the quilts in the picture are very special to my family. Some of them were quilted by family members, and some of the squares in the quilts were put together by family members. Some of them were even quilted by Annie's namesake, my Great-Great Aunt Louise. The fabrics are very plain, nothing fancy - probably from old feed sacks, from an old shirt, some are probably from old dresses that weren't wearable anymore.

The very top quilt (the dutch doll) was quilted by my Great-Grandmother Harris, and I believe it was one of the last quilts she made. I still love to snuggle with that quilt, and the wear and tear on it shows. I had this "vision" of Annie Louise laying on the quilts because they are just so very sentimental to me. I am so thankful that Joy was able to capture it. I don't know why, but whenever I see these quilts (or wrap up with them), I am reminded of all the time and love that someone put into it. And it's beautiful. It's like our families - sometimes it's not easy, and we have to really put a lot of effort and work into our relationships, but it's all worth it when we have someone to snuggle up with. So, thank you, Joy, for capturing this all-too-beautiful picture for me. I will always treasure it.

She's here!

So, most of you that read this blog already know that our sweet baby girl FINALLY came, but for those of you that don't know...

Annie Louise

arrived on

Friday, September 10th

at 2:01 p.m. (after 18 hours and 25 minutes of labor)

weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces

21 1/2 inches long

We are so over the moon with joy - and now you know why I haven't updated my blog in a while! Having a newborn is exhausting, but oh-so-worth-it! I can't believe our little doodlebug will be 7 weeks old tomorrow! They are so right when they say time flies! I am working on a blog post about Annie's "birth story" - if I ever finish it, I will put it up! Lots of details, but it's something I NEVER want to forget :)

After an hour of pushing, she finally made her appearance! This is one of the most special pictures I own - I was so exhausted, but seeing that sweet little face just changed my life!

Our first picture as a family of THREE :)

Waiting on our Annie...

So, since I have last posted, we had 2 more showers (I will post pictures soon, hopefully!), I had my maternity pictures made by my fabulous wedding photographer, and we have completely finished the nursery! Actually, we have done a lot of things - we have installed the car seat, packed our bags, cleaned our house from top to bottom and packed our fridge and pantry to the brim. So, where's our sweet girl?




Well, it looks like she's taking her time. Today, I am 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant. My due date is in TWO, count them, TWO days! I have been out and about this weekend, and everyone just looks at me and says "WOW, when are you due?" And I love seeing their reaction when I say, "Wednesday!"




I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, but my doctor said not to expect anything to happen on that day. In fact, she will let me go a week over my due date. I have not dilated or anything...and I can't tell you how frustrating it is. I have walked and walked and walked. I have eaten spicy food. I think our Annie Lou is just taking her time - she's going to come when she wants to come, and you know what? That's just fine with me. But y'all, I am NOT complaining at all, but I have been pregnant for almost 10 months. I will try to keep everyone updated when our baby girl gets here! In the meantime, it looks like the name of the game is WAITING!!!!




Dear Annie Lou -
We are so ready to meet you, sweet girl! We want to count your fingers and toes. And see if you have black curly hair like your daddy. We have lots of cute outfits to put on you - I promise it won't be so bad out here! We love you, Lulu! Hope to see you soon!
Love, mommy and daddy

Annie's Shower in Georgia!

This past weekend, B's parents threw us a Baby Shower & Cookout at their home in Georgia. It was a ton of fun to get out of our hometown for a few days - we even made a trip to Ikea! I will have to admit, B and I went a little crazy in "kids' world," and we can't wait until Annie Louise gets here so we can take her, too! We have big plans for our office - and a lot of it involves Ikea! Anyways, it was a great shower, and it was really nice to see family and friends that we don't get to see often enough!

There's LeeLee + B aka Mommy & Daddy!

This was one of the gifts we received...a "Medicine Chest" given to us by B's aunt who is a pharmacist. She had taken the time to get us all the important medicines, plus on the inside, she listed all the dosage information! What a great gift!

LeeLee with the two grandmas - SheShe & Mimi!

That's my B, always the jokester! He looks a little like "Little Bo Peep" don't you think? That's a "portrait tutu" my mom made for Annie Louise - it doesn't have any tulle on the belly, so when we take her picture in it, it won't rub her little stomach :)

I wanted to take something for the guests for the shower, so I got these little boxes and tied tags on them...what was inside, you ask? The absolute BEST sugar cookies with PINK icing! They were a hit, for sure!

It was a wonderful shower, and we can never say THANK YOU enough to all of our family and friends! We love you all!

A Baby Shower & Tea for Annie Louise!

We had a wonderful Baby Shower & Tea thrown for us last month, and I am still just so thankful and blessed by how amazing our friends and family are to us! Two of my very dear friends, Charlene and Susan were the hostesses for the day, and they left made sure every little detail was perfect! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day....

Adorable cupcake bands that said "welcome annie louise" - the cupcakes were my favorite pregnancy cravings - lemon & raspberry!

All the delicious food - my favorite? The apricot punch!

The gift table with an adorable arrangement of pink roses and baby's breath!

Myself with the two hostesses, Charlene & Susan!


Myself with my grannie, mom and sister!

The table was decorated with pink gerber daisies and those sweet baby's breath balls - it was just too precious for words!

That's me with two of my favorite gals, Megan and Lauren! I'm so excited to be joining the "mommy club" with them!

All in all, it was a wonderful shower - Annie Louise got so many pretty little things! B and I are still overwhelmed with all of the generosity of our friends and family!

Annie Louise's nursery

So, if you know me at all, you know that I love, I mean L-O-V-E to decorate rooms.



And when we found out we were having a baby, I immediately started thinking, well dreaming, about the nursery. We have this little bitty room in our house that was our office. It's actually the room closest to our bedroom, and I had always secretly wanted that room to be the nursery.



And as most of my friends and family know, I have a bit of an obsession with fabric - actually, it's a huge obsession. Whenever B and I travel to a new city or town, I immediately look to see what fabric stores might be there. And because I am so curious, I found a FABULOUS fabric store not too far from B's parents' town near Atlanta.



And y'all, it's bad, I mean really bad for my banking account.



We are actually going down there this coming weekend for a baby shower, and I am hoping that I can squeeze in a visit! Anyways, when we made a trip to the fabric store after Christmas, I lucked upon this adorable bird fabric. I mean, it screams LeeLee! So, I bought a piece of it and decided that if we were having a girl, that would be my inspiration fabric. I chose all the other fabrics around that one piece of bird fabric. When we found out it was a girl, I was just beside myself. B's only request? NO pink walls - really, he wanted as little pink as possible. So, we went with soft yellows and blues - with some pink accents.



It's seriously my favorite room in the house now. Everytime I walk past it, I just stop and stare. It's everything I could have hoped for, and MORE. It's old-fashioned, eclectic and shabby chic. Oh, and girly, too! So, here's a little preview of Annie Louise's nursery....we still have a few more pieces to add here and there, but for the most part, it is finished! Hope you love it as much as I do!

A peak inside the room from the door in the hallway. The armoire and wicker chair are 2 antique finds. Really, I still can't believe we found them!

The inside of the armoire.



We decided to take the door off the closet and make a little "nook." And I may have a little obsession with hairbows now, too!

The other side of the "nook." A lot of these pieces were antique finds by mother - she always has the best luck finding things!

Pink baskets to keep everything organized! I am going to make little tags to label each basket. And the little smocked dress was a gift given to me at Annie Louise's first baby shower.

My inspiration fabric! This is a coverlet given to me at my first shower - the back is covered in a super soft pink "minky" fabric. Oh, and it has her name on it! Couldn't love it more!

Annie Louise's crib - we went with an old-fashioned Jenny Lind crib. I actually had one when I was a baby, too! And the mobile? Made by insanely creative mother, she recycled an old mobile and made it new. It has little birds hanging on it, too! It's probably my favorite piece in the nursery!

The crib sheet is made out of the bird fabric, too! I hope Annie Louise loves birds as much as I do!

There's our little preview of our precious baby girl's nursery! I can't wait until she is here - I know it won't be complete until she is in there! I hope to update again once we have it completely finished!

How did you decide to decorate your nursery or favorite room?

LeeLee and B name a baby!

Naming our baby. A HUGE task. But what girl hasn't thought about what she wants to name her children? I used to have a list written down in one of my journals - most of the names were names I thought were cute, names I had heard somewhere or names that were special to me. When we found out we were pregnant, I immediately started picking names with B. We had a list on our refrigerator for the longest time of our "top picks." I am SUPER old-fashioned, so most of my names were old family names, while B tends to be a little more contemporary, he chose names that were, well, different.


We knew that if we had a boy, his name would be James Harris, and we would call him "Hank." B's mother's maiden name is James, and my mother's maiden name is Harris, so it fit perfectly. We actually had another girl name picked out until I was about 12 weeks pregnant. (and no, I won't say, because we may use it if we have another girl).


Anyways, it was my Papa's 75th birthday, and we had a HUGE party for family and close friends at my grandparents' barn. I, of course, was HORRIBLY sick with morning sickness. I pretty much laid on the couch the entire time just watching everyone else eat. Not fun. So, I was wrapped up in this pretty little quilt that my granny had put together from old quilting squares from some family members that have been gone for quite some time. And on the back of the quilt, my granny had monogrammed all of the names of the women who had worked on the squares, and that's when I saw it....

Annie Louise

I had always known that I had an Aunt Louise, but never before had I known that Annie was her first name. I looked at B and said "If we have a girl, her name is going to be Annie Louise." And that was that.

My Aunt Louise died when my mom was young - she never married and lived in the same house she was born in with her 2 other sisters, who were also unmarried. I have grown up hearing stories about these women, and I hope that my own Annie Louise will leave her own legacy like her namesake did.

Introducing...

our sweet baby GIRL!

Yes, you read that correctly, we are having a baby girl. I have been so bad at blogging, but I have been religious about writing in my "Expecting a Miracle" pregnancy journal. That counts, right? Anyways, I had a feeling early on that we might be having a girl. Then, a couple of weeks before we had out big ultrasound, I just knew we were having a boy. I started picking out fabrics and outfits, and I even started calling my belly by our boy name we had picked out.

The week before our ultrasound date, I started having some mild cramping. I immediately called my doctor, and she had me come in. The second I heard that sweet little heartbeat, I lost it. Never before have I heard a sweeter sound. They did an ultrasound to check my cervix to make sure it wasn't preparing for pre-term labor - they squeezed me in really quick, and because B wasn't with me (my mom was - she came and picked me up from work to drive me to the doctor), the ultrasound tech identified the sex and wrote it down in an envelope and sealed it so we couldn't see it. Well, we had this BIG gender reveal party planned for the next week, so we quickly changed our plans and had everyone over for dinner that night. B and I opened the envelope in front of our family (my sister even got it on video), and I will NEVER EVER forget seeing "IT'S A GIRL!" B and I were so shocked, we could not believe. We both thought we were having a boy. I definitely did an ugly face cry. It was a precious moment, and I will always remember it.

So, here's our precious little miracle, named after my Great-Great Aunt, Annie Louise!

My "preggo" addiction....

I only have a few minutes to post, but I HAVE to let you know about the one thing that I am absolutely addicted to right now...no, not preggy pops (although B thinks we should have purchased stock in them because we have bought so many packs)...it's actually an iPhone application called iPregnancy! If you are pregnant and have an iPhone, then you need need need this! It is the most informative app I have ever purchased - lots of information, diagrams, pictures and recording tools! I don't like to think that I am a tech savvy person, but I am DEFINITELY obsessed with this thing!

for all you pregnant or have-been-pregnant gals....

What got you through your pregnancy????

Let me know what books, magazines, food, whatever worked best for you!

Blessings from above!

"Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."

- Isaiah 25:1

I have claimed this verse for the past couple of months - and for good reason. God is unbelievably faithful! B and I got a late Christmas present this year....

A POSITIVE pregnancy test! Two pink lines = we're having a baby!

I kind of felt like God was going to give us this amazing gift at Christmas. We had actually started with preliminary infertility tests and even had an appointment to meet with an infertility specialist in January, but God had other plans for us! We kept praying, knowing that God was going to bless us with a child!

We have just been beside ourselves for the past month! I actually switched doctors right after I found out I was pregnant, and I'm so glad I did. My new doctor's office has been unbelievably helpful - I had an early ultrasound done at six weeks to make sure everything was okay, and I will NEVER, EVER forget seeing that precious heartbeat. It was absolutely love at first sight!

Baby W's first picture at six weeks!

Then, just a few weeks later, we had another ultrasound at nine weeks. B had to miss the first ultrasound because he was in Mississippi for his grandmother's funeral, so he was just thrilled to get to see our little peanut!

Baby W's picture at nine weeks - I still can't believe how much he/she has grown in just that small amount of time! Isn't God amazing?!??

So, I am a little over 10 weeks right now. I have had horrible morning sickness, but even through all of that, I am so thankful. I always told B that even if I was terribly sick, I would still continue to thank God for this wonderful blessing, and that's what I plan on doing!

So, if you were one of the many prayer warriors we have had, I want to sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart! You will never know how much I appreciate you! Keep praying!

I will try to update more, if time permits. We have lots of plans for this special little one, and I want to make sure I am documenting everything!

Blessings!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T...find out what it means to me!

So, I did something HUGE for myself the other day - I mean something that I rarely do.

I stood up for myself.

I know it may not seem that big, but let me tell you...it was big for me. I had an awful, I mean awful experience at my doctor's office with our miscarriage in August. After lots of tears, letters and phone calls, I decided to give them a second chance. Why? do you ask? Because I'm a sucker, and I always think that everyone will prove me wrong. Well, in a nutshell, they blew it. BIG. TIME.

And you know what? I let them know that they blew it, and I found a new doctor. An a-mazing doctor - excuse me, but the whole office is a-mazing! I mean, if four of my girlfriends go there and love it, then why shouldn't I? (you know who you are...) So, I have learned a valuable lesson early this year - I am NOT going to allow anyone else to walk all over me! Watch out, world!

I know it may seem like I am a mean, cruel person from reading this post, but believe me, I'm NOT! I'm just proud of myself :)

Happy Birthday, Tessa!

Happy 8th Birthday to my crazy cousin, Tessa! I can still remember when she was born - we were all so excited to have a new little one in our family! (We were even more excited to see what her name was going to be since it took FOREVER for my aunt and uncle to name her!) She was one of the prettiest babies I have ever seen, and she was probably one of the funniest toddlers/little girls ever! You should have heard some of the stuff that came out of this child's mouth! I am forever known as "Wena" in my family - thank goodness she moved on from "Weeny" - HA!

So, Happy Birthday to you, sweet girl! Love you!

Sleeping....er, I mean RINGING in the New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve/Day! Mine was spent sleeping - yes, sleeping! I have been having a lot of problems sleeping past 5 a.m. in the mornings, so I am usually out at about 7:30-8ish each night! Ha! I feel like such a loser! We had a low-key night at my parents' - my mom and I actually worked on a new project....needle-felting! I found a GREAT how-to book at our local Hancock's on needle-felting, and I have wanted to learn for some time now, and it was surprisingly easy! Very tedious, but easy!

So for my needle-felting project....I have an A-mazing agenda - it's called a MyAgenda (from the MomAgenda line) - I L.O.V.E it! It has plenty of space to write (which is great because I write big), and it has a lot of room to make lists. I usually have a "to-do" list and a "dinner" list on each week. Anyways, you are probably wondering what in the world does this have to do with needle-felting, so I will finally get to my point. I carry my agenda everywhere with me so it has a lot of wear and tear, so last night I decided to make a cover for it! And I think it turned out pretty cute for my first try (with lots of help from my momma)....

I am definitely very proud of it, and I can't wait to carry my agenda around with me! And of course, anything with birds makes my heart smile :)

Well, it's getting close to my bedtime (HA!) - hope you all continue to enjoy your holiday weekend!