Tropical Storm Nicole

Yesterday I was wondering why it was raining so much...but not complaining because we need it! My sister informed me that there was a tropical storm and today it's looked like it. What have we done while boarded up? We've drug out all the toys from the toy box, read some books, watched some cartoons, napped, baked some cookies (I did that last night) and enjoyed the lazy day. The weekend looks beautiful and I have a date with a few of my girlfriends for dinner Saturday night, where I'll be childfree! Here's a few pictures of what it's looked like out our window today.

Here's the front yard this morning. Notice, no water in the ditch......

This is the front yard this afternoon and notice the water that is now sitting in the ditch.

And here is our very own lake in the backyard. I told my mom we needed to get out our fishing poles and once Caleb heard that, he kept saying, "fish?!".

Starting the Wardrobe

Yes, I've started the wardrobe. It's going to be so much more fun shopping for a girl! Now all we need to do is clean out this closet so that it's HERS!! Where will all of daddy's uniforms go? Mom's not too worried about that yet - we'll make him clean it out when he gets home. I'm just trying not to go crazy yet:o) I am totally loving the sleeper gowns I purchased from Zulily!

Getting Into Countdown Mode

We've been getting some much needed rain the past couple of days. But that hasn't kept us indoors. Yesterday we went to MOPS at church. Today Caleb went to Playdate which let me get the oil changed in my car, run to the post office, get Wrigley's medications from the vet and drop off some paperwork on base. After Caleb - and mom's- nap, and in a small break from the rain, we went to a park near our house to try out our new camera. (I know I just got it yesterday and I'm still figuring out all the bells and whistles, but I'm not that excited about it. I feel like it's not focusing well, the flash isn't that bright indoors and it's in a weird place, and the shutter speed is really slow. I'm going to keep at it and hopefully get all the kinks out. I'm sure I'm just used to my old camera and need to get used to this one). When we got home from there, we made our "Countdown Chain". We're starting it Friday, the 1st and everyday we'll take another one off until dad is home!

The Weekend

What did we do yesterday? We ran a few errands and then watched football.

What did we do today? We went to church and then watched football.

Needless to say, I'm getting Caleb hooked on football as a sport and my sport, screaming at the team we are watching. As we began watching the game yesterday, before anything had happened, Caleb begins yelling, "Come On". I must say that alot. (Shawn told me that maybe I need to stop yelling at Notre Dame so much). We'll see how the Colts end up doing day and how much we're both yelling!

Baby Girl Update

I just got home from my 23 1/2 week appointment. We are both doing well. The baby's heartbeat was 148 and my next appointment is October 26th....just before Dad comes home! I don't remember how much weight I gained since my last appt. but total I've gained 13lbs. That doesn't seem too bad, but we still have awhile to go:o)

Well, I couldn't hold out any longer. I made my first girl clothes purchase yesterday. But to my defense, they were all on sale or clearance! I bought 11 items online for only $90.00 (my dad says to never use "only" and "money" in the same sentence). That's less than $10 per item. I thought was a pretty good deal. She's starting to get some things....now all we need is a name!

Tomorrow we are going to run a couple of errands and Sunday after church, the ladies of our class are doing a baby item swap. We're all bringing used baby things or one new item and we're swaping stuff. It should be a good time. I think rain is in the forecast for the weekend too and hopefully some cooler weather.

Happy Fall!

My fiery red Japanese Maple has begun to turn orange and yellow and is showing signs that fall is here. But the 91 degree temperatures say otherwise. We've put out fall decorations, purchased a Halloween costume, are burning pumpkin spice candles, begun planning for visitors at Thanksgiving....but where is the cool air I am desperately desiring? Maybe a trip to the pumpkin patch next week will help. For now, we'll stay inside and begin working on my "to do" list for Shawn's homecoming. Do you realize that it's only 4 weeks from next Friday??!! We can hardly wait!

Home Again!

We made it home safely this afternoon and only 35 minutes late. Caleb was a great traveler again and actually fell asleep for the entire flight from Charlotte to New Bern. We picked up Wrigley and some dinner and then headed back to the house. Caleb walked right in saying, "read", and found his way back to the tent to read his books. As I was in the other room, I knew Caleb was quiet, but I thought he was just reading. Stupid me didn't lock the front door and I guess Caleb wanted to show Wrigley that he could open the door all by himself and out goes Wrigley. Well if Wrigley goes out....guess who's going to be following close behind? You guessed it, Caleb. They were around the corner of our next door neighbors house. Wrigley with his nose to the ground and Caleb walking as fast as he could to keep up. (And all I'm thinking is I'm that mom you hear about on the news whose drunk or on drugs laying on the couch and not paying a lick of attention to their kid as the street camera catches them crawling across a busy highway - stereotypical, I know). I'm thinking I need to make sure the dead bolt is locked and probably buy some of those stupid doorlocks so my toddler isn't wandering down the street...or as Shawn just suggested, turn the annoying door chime back on. I think I'll go do that now!

Redneck Playground

It was a beautiful day for playing at the park. The only problem was that Caleb's shorts were getting in the way of him climing the stairs and going down the slide, so.........

........Grandma just took his shorts off. Kinda redneck, we know. But he was all over the place once we was pant-less.

Back Home Again....In Indiana

You may be wondering where we've been for the last week. My parents' computer won't let me get to the blog to update it. But we've been having a good time at home. The weather's been perfect and we know that we don't have much longer until dad gets home!!

This past weekend we traveled to Kentucky for my cousin Jeremy's wedding. It was a beautiful setting at the Lost River Cave and I wish the flash on my camera worked so I could have gotten some great night photos. Congratulations to Jeremy and Candice!

The morning of the wedding, just before we were to walk out the door for breakfast, Caleb decides to fall and bust his head on the door hinge. Immediately it starts bleeding and as soon as I grabbed him, I knew we were headed to the hospital. It was a pretty good gash and the doctor thought he might need a stitch, but decided the Dermabond would hold it together just fine. He was such a trooper. By the time we got out to the parking lot of the hotel, he had stopped crying and when we walked into the hospital, he was asking to color. The nurse gave me some gauze to stop the bleeding, but Adarrah and Caleb were having more fun acting like they were bandages. An hour later, we were headed back across the street to eat breakfast and Caleb was acting like nothing had happened. I bet this won't be the last trip to the ER, but let's hope it is!

The walk to the cave.

Mamaw, Popo, Adarrah and Caleb.

Caleb, Adarrah and Delaney.

September's Belly Picture

Here is September's Official Belly Picture.

Another Friday

Well, we were spared from the storm. I woke up to dry streets and damp grass. I think the news said we only got 0.14" of rain. But since I did all that work yesterday, today was a day of rest - and play. We played all day, emptying the toy box, reading books in the tent, reading more and more baby names. We are having a hard time coming up with a girls name. We still have plenty of time, so I'm not too worried about it. Even though we can't find a name we like, we did find baby bedding we liked and it arrived today. I love it even more in person!

We had chicken parmigiana for dinner and Caleb was sure to tell me he liked it.

And last but not least.....NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL begins tomorrow!!!!

Watching and Waiting

More evacuations have been issued for the beach we usually go to (about 30-40 minutes away). We are just watching and waiting to see what's going to happen. The skies are turning grey. I've moved things in the garage to get both cars in. Now we can't get out the door.We've taken in the patio cushions and moved the furniture closer to the house, which Caleb has now figured out it's fun jumping from one to the other. I thought it might be a good idea to at least throw a few blankets, diapers, wipes, candle, flashlight and some snacks in my closet...just in case we have to retreat there later. I realized that I've had to deal with more hurricanes than Shawn. I'm becoming a pro.

(And just a side note...I'm already sick of Jim Cantore:o)

Hurricane Earl

We are officially under a Hurricane Warning. We have our flashlights and candles, water, bread and peanut butter, so I think we'll be good. They're saying we should get wind and rain starting tomorrow evening, but it looks like it'll be out of here by Friday afternoon. I have stuff to make pumpkin scones and I might try to make my own peanut brittle. If we get rained in and the power's still on, we'll be in the kitchen!