A Summer Evening on the Porch

We decided to switch up our Monday evenings for the summer. Instead of Monday night spaghetti night at my parents house we are going to have an evening on the porch with dessert and games at our house. Cami came over in the afternoon after swimming to help me make 6 dozen chocolate chip cookies!
We got the porch ready - brought out a long table for games, another table for the milk, cookies, and citronella candle, plugged in a fan to get a gentle breeze blowing. It ended up being a Hawaiian theme for the evening - lei's, Hawaiian music playing in the background, a gentle rain falling. It really was very relaxing!

We played the old game "Pit." Most of us had never played before, but it was really fun!

While the grown-ups were shielded under the porch from the rain falling outside, the little kids decided to have an evening playing in the rain. They at first put the umbrellas upside down on the side walk to collect the rain. When the umbrella just wasn't filling up fast enough for them, they resorted to using the gutters to catch the water. What the plan was once the umbrella was full...who knows!

Dylan and Cami - walking in the rain

Cal, Chandler, and their neighborhood buddy on the porch swing.

What will the next evening on the porch bring? Homemade ice cream? Peach cobbler? Smores? More cookies and milk?

A New Little Cousin

That is right! Our little baby is going to have it's own new little younger cousin when it is about one month old! My sister Tara had her first doctors appointment today and saw this little cutie! Her due date is on February 5th - one month after mine (January 6th.) This is like a dream come true for us! We always thought it would be fun to have babies around the same time and now we are! The new little cousin

12 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights: Seeing a picture of the baby this week. It continues to amaze me how much it has grown!

How Far Along: 12 Weeks
Size of Baby: 2.5 inches and half an ounce - the size of a plum

Maternity Clothes: Yes, I have given in. Last week it got to the point where I could either no longer button my shorts or if I could it was very uncomfortable! So I am now wearing either maternity shorts, regular shorts that are stretchy, or regular shorts unbuttoned with my new bellyband. I'm still fine with my regular shirts, although I have found some cute maternity shirts that I may go ahead and start wearing since they are longer and cover up that elastic band around the waist of the maternity shorts.

Gender: Still waiting. Maybe we will know something more in a few days with the detailed sonogram. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. It still seems so early to know.

Movement: Haven't felt any yet. We saw it moving all around during the sonogram though.

What I Miss: Nothing. Loving it!

Sleep: Still getting used to sleeping on my side. I tend to toss and turn a bit trying to get comfortable. Other than that, all is well.

Symptoms: I actually got sick for the very first time this week during the pregnancy. I think I must have just eaten too much popcorn at the movie theater and the baby just didn't like it.

Cravings: Nothing this week

Emotions: Super happy and excited!!!

Best Moment of the Week: Getting a good report from the doctor and seeing our baby - head, body, arms, and legs. It is so cute!

What I Look Forward To: Seeing the baby again in 2 days for our next sonogram!

Parade

This past weekend was the annual Independence Day Celebration in Savannah which consists of a parade, bounce houses, music, food, shopping, and fireworks! We have been out of town during this time for the past 2 years that we have lived here, so it was nice to finally be able to attend this year. Barrett was able to take part in the parade. Our super handy and creative back door neighbor got busy Saturday afternoon on building a "float" for the parade. Barrett offered his jeep to pull it, and it turned out amazingly well! Here is the creator of the float getting a ride home after the parade.
During the actual parade these 2 boys sat in the back of the float and went "fishing."

Barrett drove nice and slow. The little girl in the front threw out candy to the onlookers.

This was so much fun to watch! After the parade and festivities we ate a DELICIOUS dinner of barbecue chicken, corn on the cob, and fabulous bread- thanks to our super duper neighbors!

Our Little Miracle at 12 Weeks

12 weeks We had our 2nd baby appointment along with our 2nd sonogram today!!! What an amazing sight to see the growth of the baby in the past 4 weeks! At our 8 week sonogram the baby looked like a little jelly bean. Now just 4 weeks later at the 12 week appointment you can see the head, body, arms, and feet (the feet aren't shown in this picture, at least that I can tell.) So far everything looks normal. The doctor recommended that we go have a more in depth sonogram done next week with another doctor. (He recommends this to all his patients.) With this other sonogram they can see more clearly that everything is going as it should and that the baby is healthy. He also said there is a chance we may be able to find out if it is a boy or a girl at that appointment! I hope so!
This is the same picture, just a close up. For those that need me to interpret the picture, the baby is laying upside down. You can see the arm sticking out on the left of it's body.

Today he said the due date was more like January 6. Last appointment it measured January 8th. Pretty close either way. It is not too often that babies are actually born on their due dates anyway so I guess it doesn't really matter to much. It will come when it is ready! I guess for now I will say the due date is January 6, 2011. Could this really only be almost 6 months away??? Wow!!!!! We can't wait!!!!!!!

"Thanks be to God for His unspeakably precious gift!"
2 Corinthians 9:15

Weekend in San Antonio

This past weekend we had a surprise trip to San Antonio, TX. The rest of my family was going there for a conference and it just happened that there was an extra hotel room available for us to stay in, so we made the spur of the moment ride down there.The Riverwalk We took a couple walks all the way around the riverwalk. It is such a beautiful area.

Barrett and the elephant ears.

We took a boat ride through the riverwalk Saturday morning.

After the boat ride I got a very delicious Mint Chip Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Barrett was even lucky enough to sneak a few bites too!

Saturday night there was a Luau at the hotel with the conference - Flower Lei's and all!

Dad, Hannah, and Mom at the Luau.

After the Luau we took another evening stroll along the riverwalk.

Sunday we toured the Alamo.

We all ate lunch outside on the riverwalk on Sunday at Casa Rio. Yummy Mexican food!

Our group

For Barrett's first Father's Day as a Daddy-To-Be we got to spend it in San Antonio. So exciting! Kind of funny that for my first Mother's Day as a Mommy-To-Be we were in NYC and Long Beach Island, NJ. We can't wait until next year when we get to spend these special days with our baby in our arms. Can't wait!

The Great Outdoors

Nothing better to do on these hot summer days than to spend it outdoors. Barrett and my Dad did some fishing and Kayaking this weekend and then we all went to the pool a couple times to cool down. Barrett caught a fish! Look at that beauty!
It was a catfish that measured about 15 inches. Fishing in Savannah is catch and release only so the little guy was returned safely back to its home.

Barrett in the kayak.Barrett and my Dad. They saw all sorts of creatures while out in the water - a snake, crawfish, and remember the GIANT frog Barrett caught many months ago, well they found its lovely home by the lake. It is so much fun to live in a place with so many fun outdoor activities and lots of family around to enjoy it with. So much fun and very relaxing!

10 Weeks

Here is the start to documenting our journey to the arrival of our first child!!!

I found this list of prompts on another blog and thought it was a good idea. Pregnancy Highlights: Knowing that there is a baby growing inside me!!!

How Far Along: 10 weeks today

Size of Baby: Different sources say different sizes. One site says the baby is the size of a prune, another says it is the size of a kiwi. I'll go with kiwi.

It sounds a little cuter and bigger than a prune :-)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'll skip this question for now. Maybe later.
Maternity Clothes: Not wearing them yet. I have noticed my shorts getting more snug. I do enjoy getting into what I call my comfy pants (nice and stretchy waist) by the end of the day. I own some maternity clothes thought. A few weeks ago there was a garage sale I came across that was selling maternity clothes - 25 cents a piece! And they were nice looking too!

Gender: Don't know yet. What do you think????

Movement: Haven't felt any yet, too early, but I read that he or she is moving all around already.

What I Miss: Nothing yet

Sleep: I'm sleeping well. Just trying to get used to sleeping on my side. Normally I always sleep on my stomach. I guess that won't work anymore.

Symptoms: I like to eat - a lot! I get nauseous if I need to eat, but normally after I eat I feel better. Certain foods don't sound so good anymore. I have never been a very picky eater, so this is new to me.

Cravings: Chocolate Milk Shakes - Yum!!!!

Aversions: Seafood - Yuck!

Emotions: SOOOOO Happy and Excited!!!!!!

Best Moment This Week: Today was pretty exciting. We went to our first baby store (BuyBuy Baby) together to just browse and see all of the fun things we will need to get soon.

What I Am Looking Forward To: Getting to see another sonogram of our little baby at the 12 week appointment - less than 2 weeks away!

Staying Home

For the past 3 years I have been a 1st Grade teacher. Today marked the end of that chapter in my life. I have always known that once we started having kids of our own I wanted to be a full time mom. Well, the time has finally come!!!!! I could not be more excited to be a house wife and a stay at home mom!!!! The baby is not due until January, but I didn't feel right about teaching through Christmas them leaving little first graders with a brand new teacher for the remainder of the year. I also didn't think driving an hour each way to and from work sounded like too much fun when pregnant. Teaching has had its challenges (okay, lots of challenges) but there were also sweet, happy, funny, and rewarding memorable times. I have also made many wonderful teacher friends and look forward to keeping in contact with many of them through the years. Growing up I always dreamed of being a teacher. I'm glad I got to have that dream fulfilled for the past 3 years. Now I am ready to have my next dream fulfilled - being called "Mommy." I am so thankful to Barrett for supporting me in my dream of staying home. Funny, this topic of staying home with kids actually came up on our first date if you can believe that. I knew he was the man for me when he brought up that he hoped his future wife could stay home with the kids. Here I am 3 years ago when I first started teaching. Hardly any gray hairs then.

My how 3 years can make a difference :-)
My 1st Grade Classroom.
It has been a privilege to be the 1st grade teacher to around 60 students these past years.

4 Year Wedding Anniversary

4 years ago today we became Mr. and Mrs. Walch. These past 4 years have been so wonderful because I have had Barrett to spend life with! I am so thankful for all of the special memories we have made together and look forward to how life will change this next year as we become parents!

Happy 4th Anniversary Barrett!