Letter to Grace...

Hi love! Still baking in there, aren't ya? Don't you think that it's about time for you to come out? Okay...maybe to wait a day for your Nana to get here from Boston...but aren't you ready? Surely it's not THAT comfy in there! Throughout my pregnancy, I have been so thrilled to meet you. I never would have thought that the feelings of anxiousness, nervousness, and just excitement could really take over my whole body. You are what I think about day and night. And that won't ever change. I feel so silly for being so ready and impatient to meet you. I'm the lucky one that will get to have you for the rest of my life, what's the rush--right? For 9 months I have been nourishing and protecting you, and I plan to keep it that way for the rest of my life. Your Daddy and I are so excited, and just can't wait to see your beautiful face. What are you going to look like? Of course, I know you will be stunningly beautiful in our eyes...but whose features will you get? Will you get my hazel eyes, or your Daddy's brown eyes? How about your nose? Hopefully it's mine ;). Joking! Your Daddy has a smile that can light up the room--so I really hope you get that from him. And I'm SURE you will be a chubby one. You've had quite a bit of time in my tummy, so surely that reason is to gain more weight and not just to drive me crazy! I know that you are going to be full of energy, all you've done is move around since I could feel you. I hope that you get a combination of your Dad's energy, and your Mom's sense of calm. I did acupuncture today to get your labor jump started--and through the whole process, the one and only thing that I thought about was our little family. I thought of the way that your Daddy will look holding you, the way that I will look at you, the way your other family will love you, and the way that the puppies are going to totally freak out (and also love you) the first time they hear you cry.

Regardless if none of these traits describe you, you are going to be so loved. Now come out already, so we can meet you! Lots of people are waiting for your debut! :)

Cloth Diaperin' Mama

So, I can't even count how many times that when I told our friends and family that we were cloth diapering--the "oh my gosh, are you crazy?!" and "Oh, I'll give you a month" looks that I got. Hell, I even got that from Dan. At first! (Don't tell anyone, but he actually told me he's really excited about it!) But, I'm here to tell you--the cloth diapers aren't going anywhere people. I'll have the luxury of staying at home with Grace for the first 6 months or so of her life, and I think it all just works out perfectly.

So, when you first think of cloth diapers...how many of you think of safety pins and a peice of cloth? Yeah, me too. Not so much! Cloth diapers have come a long way, and I was convinced from my dear friend Lacey that it's the way to go. Not only are you doing your part to save our planet, but it's the more economical choice too. I'm not sure if I will be saving bundles of money, since I chose to not go the cheapest route...but over the past 9 months I have kept my eyes open for any type of sale I can get.

Here's a peek at what we've got so far. Yes, I said so far. Sorry Dan! This is by far my favorite drawer to show people when they have come to check out Grace's nursery.

Helllllooo cuteness. Can't you just see that cute little cloth bum crawling around? I'm so excited, and I can't wait to prove everyone wrong show everyone, that cloth diapering isn't that much harder and is a better choice! Enough about me being a brat to prove everyone wrong... ;)

This last weekend my Mom, Leslie, Grandma, Eme, and Steph came to visit us! We had such a great time, and it was nice to see all the ladies in my life. We're all getting so excited for Grace's arrival, and my poor mom thinks that every time my name pops up on her phone--it's me telling her I'm going in to labor. As if she wasn't already such a worry wart! Here's a few pictures!

I told Eme to make a funny face, this is what she came up with. I just love her!

5 generations! Soon to be 6! I love this picture!

So, what do you think about cloth diapering? Are you mad at me for admitting that I want to prove most of you wrong? :) Anyways, well I hope y'all have a blessed Thursday! Is it really already Thursday? My goodness. 37 weeks next week!!!

After 2.5 years, I have FINALLY figured out what's wrong with Gabby.

Yes, you heard that right. If you know me, you know Gabby. Gabby is my sweet, sweet chocolate lab that I love SO much. However, she has easily been the most high maintenance dog in the whole world. See, Miss Gabby has a little tummy problem (or so we thought!). She throws up, alot. Probably atleast 3 times a week. It's the saddest thing I've ever seen because her eyes water, and she shivers. Just like a person really. She just looks so miserable, and it's made me so sad over the years. I genuinely thought that it was a food allergy, so I've always bought her the best best dog food...have tried cooking her chicken and rice...have bought little balls to put in her food to make her eat slower. You name it, I've tried it. So, the other night, I ran across this term called Megaesophagus. Sounds pretty weird, huh? Well, apparently it's common in labs and I found a blog that also has a sweet little chocolate lab that has the same problem. Who woulda thunk it? I was so surprised that someone else out there has been going through the exact same thing as me! There are dogs out there that have more serious cases of this, but luckily Gab's isn't so severe. So, get this. The way to treat it at home? Make the dog sit in this ridiculously cute (but has to be so torturous, especially for an insanely hyper lab!) chair!

Or, just go see your vet like we will do. For now, our treatment is whenever she is acting like she's going to be sick...we'll just go play ball with her outside. It's like it relaxes her, and seems to do the trick 90% of the time. Anyways, I know this information isn't for everyone, and I doubt anyone really cares--but it was a huge milestone to finally figure out what's wrong with Gab!

We'll have this be the dog blog today. So, the other weekend we went to this lake that had such a beautiful view (mhm...you could see a power plant in the near back ground). Regardless, it's been 40 days of 100 plus degree weather, so ANY lake is fine with Dan and I, and especially the puppies! The dogs had so much fun. I kind of worry when Gabby swims with other dogs, because she is a really strong swimmer and let's just say that Frances is not! So, she occasionally dunks him...big deal! Regardless, they LOVE to swim! I sometimes worry if they are going to come back when they go in to the water. So, here are some pretty funny pictures from our lake trip.

Dan lives to torture our dogs. Here is, throwing Gab in the water!

Check this picture out! Thanks to my awesome new camera, I can actually capture this. Even though, they look like the meanest wolves ever!

And, I apologize for no border--and I can't believe I'm putting this up here...but here I am. A lovely 8 months pregnant. Yikes. Oh, and check out the power plant in the back. Beautiful, just beautiful.

Happy Friday!

Peonies on the brain...

Pregnancy. It's full of symptoms. I'm actually one of the few who is blessed to say that so far, pregnancy and God have dealt me a pretty good hand. Morning sickness...nope...swollen feet...sometimes...moodiness...just ask Dan, I'm SURE he'll give you a great answer!...nesting...OMG yes! All that I've wanted to do is to clean and organize. It started when we were living in Abilene. We were in the middle of figuring out if we were going to stay there and raise our family, or for Dan to search for jobs as a civilian. With life being in limbo, it was next to impossible for me to nest. It drove me absolutely nuts. Luckily, now we're in our new home...and the nesting has begun. I want this place to be perfect, and clean, and organized for when Miss Grace makes her debut.

This is so me. Baby brain is no joke, and being a klutz...well, anyone who knows me knows that I'm not exactly GRACEfull! So, I think I mentioned peonies earlier. Oh yeah, the patio. See, this is babybrain at it's best folks. My sentences are filled with a lot of "umms" and "Oh yeah, I remember nows!" For someone who has never really been a.d.d. it's pretty interesting. Okay, really. See. Now this is awful. Okay, peonies and patios. Right down the street is a super awesome H.E.B. that has a pretty nice flower department. I was able to pick up some peonies that were so tight and ball like, and they transformed right in front of my eyes this week. So beautiful! Thought I'd share. Just in case anyone wants to know what my new favorite flowers are....for no particular reason, of course!

Beautiful. Okay, so now to the patio part. So, we go from having a kick-ass backyard that was perfect for entertaining, to a little bity excuse for a patio. That doesn't allow grills, for the record. No, it's really not that awful, atleast we have one. We found a patio set that's perfect for small areas at World Market (love that store by the way!) So now, we have a little bench, a coffee table, and two chairs out there. But, even though we have a lovely view of all of the suburban neighborhoods that surround us, I need a little more green in my life! I'm thinking...hanging plants, tropical plants, succulents on the tables, little box planter thingys, and of course...peonies for when we have company. Now, who's coming over? I'm dying to use my stash of entertainment-ware.

I think this whole blogging thing is going to be just great for me. As most of you know, I used to write all the time. I think it sure does beat the heck out of talking to the dogs. Oh, and by the way--Dan is totally resisting me blogging. His words: "Oh God, why am I in this thing?" Uh, hello. It's OUR life. People really do care! And, plus, what Mommy says...goes. HA! :D


Crystal

Greetings from Austin, TX!

Hey, anyone who is interested in reading this! Today starts our new family blog, which I plan to keep up with so that all of our friends and family can be informed with more information than they'd like to know about what's going on with our lives.

First off, we moved to Austin! Hellllllo amazing, full of life, land of a million patios, and not to mention beautiful city! For those who don't know, Dan got a job working with Samsung. Austin is a major up-and-coming I.T. city, and he was able to use his skills that he's learned in the air force to land an incredible job with a company that just seems to keep growing! Working at Samsung is right in line with all of his future dreams, so I think that we made a great decision by living here. We've moved in to a cute little apartment that just perfect for us...for now! Who knows how quickly we'll grow out of it? After all, we do have 2 loveable...INSANE...labs, and a sweet little baby girl on the way!

As of today, I am 28 weeks and 3 days pregnant! Time is just flying, and it seems like just yesterday Dan and I looked at each other with the eyes of of a deer in headlights when we were glancing at the positive pregnancy test. Our little blessing, Grace Elizabeth, has brought us closer together than I ever thought one single thing could. God has blessed us with a sweet girl (thank goodness! I don't know if I could have lived without the adorable little girl clothes that have already filled up her closet!) who will have the most loving parents, family, and friends. Being pregnant in another city away from my friends and family is a little challenging, but the good thing is that y'all get to see me at my best. Not, when I'm curled up on the couch and crying watching A Baby Story. Actually, I hate that show. And it makes me wanna vomit. It's more like I'm crying to ridiculous shows like Dr. Phil, and The Real Housewives of NJ. :) Regardless of my fits, I still make it apart of my every day routine to show Dan a tremendous amount of love and appreciation for ALL that he's done for Grace and I so far. Enough about being pregnant, can I get a glass of wine a.s.a.p. please?

I hope to learn a little bit more on how to make this sweet little blog prettier, but I'm just not sure if I can do that or not! So, I will do what I know how to do...and that's post some pictures. Here is some of our life lately.

 That's me! 26 weeks pregnant at that time!

 Dan doing a little fishing at beautiful Lake Austin.

Francis and Gabby loving life at the dog park at our apartments.

Well, that's about it for now.

Xoxo,

Crystal