We have really lucked out with (at least) three weeks of gorgeous weather! After a gross, rainy winter - I'll take it.

We joined my parents and Papabear at the Braves game on Tuesday night, and the weather just made the win even more enjoyable!

Thanks for the awesome picture, Dad! Don't mind us not looking...

My adorable hubs found me some soft serve ice cream - something that always sounds good now that I'm pregnant. (Also, if anyone knows where I can get this without buying my own machine - trust me, I've looked into it - I would greatly appreciate it.)

Fun times!

On Thursday, it was back to Taste of the Nation! (Didn't I quit this job?) My friend/old boss, Allison, is still on board consulting for the event and her C-Section was planned for the day before the event. I was happy to help her out and run day-of logistics in her absence. In exchange for working the day-of, I was able to grab a few tickets for family. I was most excited that Meagan and Nathan got to join in on the fun this year!

How cute are these centerpieces??

This year's Honorary Chef was Wylie Dufresne and Honorary Chair was Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Not too shabby. (And both very nice!)

Allison's new intern, Jessie, did a great job!

With my handsome! 

After a long day (and night), my feet and my belly were so ready for bed! Then it was up and at 'em Friday morning to get ready to head to Milledgeville for Kelsey's graduation!

Debbie, Meagan, Gram, Jude and I headed down in the early afternoon and then we were joined by the boys later in the evening. We all enjoyed a fun little concert on campus before heading back to the hotel for our beauty rest. 

Kelsey's graduation started at 8:45am (goooood morning!), so that was a fun alarm to set. But who cares, we are so proud of her! Her heart has always been called to Africa, and she turned down a pretty awesome job opportunity to do just that in January 2016. We will all miss her, but know God has better plans for her than we could ever dream of! Yay for Kelsey! We love you! 

I sadly don't have any pics of us with the grad, because that girl growing in my belly decided to cause a little scare. Saturday morning I was getting ready and had a gush of (what felt and looked like) water. I thought it was really odd, but tried not to stress out about it. During graduation it happened again and I figured it was just another weird thing my body was doing during pregnancy. (In case you didn't know, pregnancy does some crazy things to your body.) Regardless, I felt like I should call the doctor just to make sure. Because there was a chance it was my amniotic fluid (aka - my water breaking), they recommended I head to the hospital to get checked out. (Who knew they couldn't diagnose fluid over the phone??) After some prayers (and a car ride full of prayers), Adam and I jumped in the car and made the two hour trek back to Atlanta. She kicked a couple times on the ride home, which was comforting! (She had also been pretty chill the last couple days, but I figured it was because I had been nonstop and didn't really notice her. Still, it was a bit unnerving.) 

When we got to the hospital, I checked into triage and they hooked me up to the heart rate monitor. We immediately heard her strong heartbeat, which was a relief. The amniotic fluid test came back negative (yayyy!!!), but we hung out for a few more minutes to meet with the midwife on duty, Leah. While we were waiting, baby girl decided she was sick of the heart rate monitor and kept kicking it. It would make a funny bump noise on the machine every time she did it, and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. Leah finally came in and she was awesome! Apparently sometimes things like this just happen. However, since there's no way of telling unless they do a test, I'll need to go back if it happens again. All in all, I was really pleased with our experience! We were in and out in about an hour (including the time it took to run the tests, etc.), and everyone was very pleasant. Now hopefully we won't be back for another 14 weeks!

After that crazy afternoon, it was time to relax. We spent the rest of the evening laying on the couch watching movies, and baby girl decided to take it upon herself to practice gymnastics. She had a lot of pent up energy after those busy couple days! And even more exciting, Adam finally felt her move... twice!! 

Sunday was Mother's Day (how fitting), and I was so excited to spend the day with my awesome moms! Adam was also the sweetest and made me pancakes and bacon for breakfast! He also got me a pool float (life saver!!), a puzzle and a Baby on Board sign for the car. I complain about how stupid those signs are every time I see them (sorry I'm not sorry), and he thought it would be hilarious to buy me one. It was! 

I also have to brag about Adam, because I don't think I've done it enough. He has been so amazing throughout this entire pregnancy, and I love him more and more each day! It was the best Mother's Day, but to be honest - he's that awesome to me on a daily basis! He was also the perfect combination of calm, comforting and funny during the drama on Saturday, which was so necessary. My heart could explode just thinking about how much love he has for me and our little girl already!

We spent brunch with my family, and Mamabear read her Mother's Day card three separate times. We couldn't help but laugh! This was after she told me my stomach was "HUGE", without knowing I was pregnant. Good to know she's ok just going around saying that to people! Regardless, we love that she's still around to celebrate! (And we would not laugh at her if she was in a bad place. She's happy as a clam!)

After a lazy afternoon, we all headed over to the Bakers for a Baker/Reaves/Causey celebration (plus Gram, too!). I love family time, especially when it's spent celebrating some of my all-time favorite women! I feel so blessed to have my mom and Debbie in my life - they are both such amazing women and I pray I become a fraction of the mom they are!

At church on Sunday, all moms got a rose. Guess what? I'm a mom!! (Adam recommended I pose smelling it - ha!)

In true mom fashion, she wanted to pose with a prop.  Only three more months until she's officially Nonna!

We had a great, fun-filled week and we're looking forward to a busy three months before the babe makes her debut!

23-25 Weeks

23 Weeks: April 21

Baby's the size of a: Grapefruit and her face is fully formed! We can't wait to see who she looks like!

Weight gain since last appointment: 6 pounds (Total: 12 pounds)

Baby's heart rate: 140s

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty great, but thanks to my stuffy nose - getting up and ready for the day is miserable.

Best moment of this week: Adam got baptized!! I also had my 23 week checkup and met with one of the midwives for the first time - Beth. She was also Meagan's midwife, and Meagan really liked her. So far she's my favorite! Very comforting and took time to ask me questions and thoroughly answer any I had. 

Miss anything: We visited Mitchell for A Day this past weekend, and the mimosas looked pretty good on Saturday morning...

Food cravings: Donuts and waffles.

Anything making you queasy or sick: My dad's driving. :)

Symptoms: Lightheaded, sore abdomen, blurry vision, stuffy nose. But I'm not complaining! 

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!! I'm getting rid of this question. 

Looking forward to: Adam finally (if ever) getting to feel baby girl kick. I've felt her a handful of times, but she decides to get shy every time Adam tries. It's actually kind of funny (to me).

24 Weeks: April 28

Baby's the size of a: Cantaloupe (they're really reaching when it comes to the fruits here, aren't they?). She's now gaining about six ounces a week… growing girl!

Sleep: Let the tossing and turning begin! And by begin, I mean - continue.

Best moment of this week: We started our Bradley Method classes last week and we're so excited! Our teacher is awesome and we've already learned so much. We also got so much done around the house, which is a huge weight off my shoulders. 

Miss anything: A fun cocktail in this beautiful weather. 

Food cravings: Overall, everything's been pretty tame. Still love Frosty's… and Reese's Eggs.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've really been paying attention to my protein intake, which has cut back any remaining queasiness.

Symptoms: It's crazy how much my posture has changed. Still have some round ligament pain, but I've been trying to drink at least 100 ounces of water a day, which has definitely helped! Don't get as light headed or tired these days, thanks to the protein I've been eating. (Only two classes in and look at how much the Bradley Method has helped!)

Looking forward to: Getting her nursery together! 

25 Weeks: May 5

Baby's the size of a: Cauliflower and she knows which way is up and which is down!

Sleep: Wahhh, I can't get comfortable. Even with my trusty Snoogle I'm tossing and turning all night.

Best moment of this week: Adam and I had a really great weekend and the weather was beautiful. So I'll go with that.

Miss anything: A fancy cocktail for the Kentucky Derby! I made myself a Pellegrino mocktail instead.

Food cravings: Nothing too crazy, but I did really want my mom's chicken and broccoli casserole - so I made it for the first time, ever. It was delicious and we ate it all weekend. The first leftovers that haven't creeped me out. Hooray!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really.

Symptoms: Same as last week, but seeing lots of improvements.

Looking forward to: My first baby shower this month, hosted by my amazing sisters!

Fun in the Sun

It has been a beautiful past two weekends, and Adam and I have had so much fun doing things outside! But, of course, let's start with indoor activities.

We helped my parents celebrate their 28th Wedding Anniversary on April 23 at Pricci. They had a gift certificate, so let us tag along (apparently just to take pictures!).

I hung out with my favorite little boy while Meagan ran some errands. Jude is so fun these days - scooting all over the place and just a joy to be around.

My fabulous Aunt Kathy and Granny bought us our stroller! Although she ordered it online, we decided to go look at baby stuff anyway. It was hilarious watching her and my mom pick up everything and say "Now why didn't we think of this?!"

Our church hosted a picnic at Laurel Park, so Adam and I joined in on the festivities. We've never been to that park before and it was only about 5 minutes from our house. In addition to the playground, there's a pond with ducks! I see ourselves coming here quite a bit in the future!

After the picnic, we headed up to the Marietta Square to check out Taste of Marietta. Of course I had to partake in a fried brownie! (It was obviously delicious.)

In addition to all that fun stuff, Adam and his dad successfully wired our girl's room for a light switch (it's the little things, y'all) and a ceiling fan! Now we just have to get the fan installed, and we can check off a huge to-do!

Speaking of the babe's nursery, I actually did an ARTS AND CRAFTS project this weekend! Really, I just spray painted these frames. But that meant I had to have an idea, buy the frames and spray paint, and actually do it. They turned out great, and I can't wait to start piecing her room together.

Saturday was apparently one of the biggest days for sports - Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight, the Kentucky Derby, NHL and NBA playoffs, NFL draft and MLB games. Oh, and Adam and I played tennis with my parents! So much fun! I was jealous of all the fun Derby cocktails I saw on Facebook, so I made myself a little mocktail to celebrate. It was basically the same thing (kind of, not really).

Sunday started with church (quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the week) and then Adam headed off to play golf with Doug while I headed to PDK Airport to bring Jeff and his copilot some beloved Taco Mac. His plane was in Atlanta for a few hours, so we got to go see him for a bit and hang out in the fancy jet.

Apparently the planes are not built for pregos. (Plus, Jeff squished the seats together on purpose.)

And because I'm so nice, I'll end this post with my mom's amazing chicken and broccoli casserole recipe! I made this Friday night and it fed us all weekend. It's always been a family favorite, and I was so proud of myself for (finally) making it!

Ta da! (I accidentally put the cheese on top, instead of between the layers. But it still tasted the same, so there!

Adam's Baptism

(I'm going to let Adam take the reins on this post, but just wanted to preface with how PROUD I am of my amazing husband. His baptism was one of the most awesome days, ever. He just blew me away and I don't think I've ever been more proud. He has grown to be such an amazing leader of our family and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for him!)

Hello world! Here to make my blogging debut, it's me Adam! Sorry that my first post is super long!

I'd like to start and say a big Thank You! to all of our family and friends that have given me the support and prayers that have helped me get to this day. It truly was an incredible experience. The Lord has been working in me a lot the past few months and I have been thinking about getting baptized for a while, but never could bring myself to do so. But with the push from my small group and my wife, I finally decided to do it.

I was massively freaking out about it. I was mainly nervous because I didn't know how it was supposed to go, and I didn't know what to say. The church emailed me a brief summary of what happens, but it wasn't very detailed so I didn't really know how this would go down. The email said I had to say something before I get baptized, but didn't specify how much, so I didn't know whether to say a sentence or a story. God put it on my heart to tell my testimony so I typed it all out and looked up and it was 8 pages single spaced, way too long. I finally cut it to the bare minimum and got it to about a 6 minute speech. But I was still freaking out that it was way too long.

We get to church that day and the pastor shows us where to sit and says that three other people were getting baptized, two children and one teenager. I thought, "Great, I'm the only adult. This will be weird." After we all went up front and the pastor asked us questions to declare our faith, I sat down and watched the two adorable children get baptized.

Right before my turn, I looked at Lizzie and said, "This is going to be weird, it's going to be too long." She assured me over and over that it was going to be great. My wife was my biggest supporter through this and was the main reason why I decided to get baptized.

Normally when I speak in front of people, I get the shakes real bad and I use a lot of filler words. But as I walked up there, the power of God came over me, and if I hadn't wrote what I was going to say down, I wouldn't be able to tell you what I said. It was almost like a trance. But here is my testimony:

I'm here because my life changed back in August. At the time I was extremely depressed and convinced that God had left me. I would beg him to show himself to me, but I would get nothing. I was so fed up with it. My wife and I had been coming to Stonebridge for about 2 years, but it was very off and on. She was the one who would get us to go since I always wanted to go "next week." But for some reason last August, I went to church by myself.

I don't know what David was talking about that day, but one simple sentence stood out. "Faith is standing on the chair." He gave the analogy that Faith is not looking at the chair and saying, "Yeah, I bet that can hold me up." Faith is getting up and standing on the chair. 

After church I went to breakfast with my Dad. For some reason I started pouring into him saying that God has left me, and I keep calling for him and he doesn't answer and he has turned his back to me. After my rant, and a very long pause, I'll never forget as he leaned over the table, looked me dead in the eye and said, "Son, God didn't leave you. Have you thought that you turned your back to God?"

Later that night, there I was sitting on my couch thing about what happened that day. I thought, "Ok, I'll try and stand on the chair." I got out my Bible and looked at it and realized I had no idea where to start. So, like everyone, I Googled it, "Where to start reading the Bible." All the results came back Mark, Luke, and John, but it didn't feel right to me even though I didn't really know what those books actually said. So I went to page 2, and there was Ephesians. Guess what Ephesians is about: Faith.

Ephesians 2:1 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world… But because of his great love for us, GOD, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by Grace you have been saved. And GOD raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms of Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by Grace you have been saved, through Faith, not by works, so that no one can boast." 

I broke down to my knees and started praying. I told God I was going to get on the chair, I was going to put my whole life in his hands. I felt the Lord in that room that night. He was standing over me and he put his hand on my back and the whole room was flooded with light. I saw the Devil in a black hood standing in the corner and I saw him leave as soon as God touched me. It was and incredible experience, I just didn't know what to do next. 

The next week "happened" to be small group sign up, and even two weeks prior I would have never signed up for small groups, I didn't really see the point. But God put it on my heart to join one. It has been incredible. Just to hear these men of God share their experiences and struggles and pray with them. They helped me go from having an incredible experience to being a full fledge God follower who wants to share the word. 

So here I am, and if you knew me 2 years ago, heck even 6 months ago, I'd be the last person you'd expect up here. But i'm here to declare that I am saved by the Blood of Christ, and it's through Faith, not by acts, that I am saved, and I want to share the word of God with the world. And it's all because I got up on the chair. 

Here's the group that got baptized with me!

What an incredible experience having my wife, father, pastor and small group leader pour the water.

This is Scott, my small group leader.

My great family that God has blessed me with.

Travels

First things first, baby girl's crib came in!!!!! I keep shutting the bedroom door and reopening it just to look at it. Her room is slowly coming together and it just makes things seem so much more real!

Ok, back to non-baby business. (Yeah, right. Everything is about the babe these days.) I headed to Fort Worth on Friday, April 10 to spend the weekend with Jeff and Katie before my full week of meetings started in Dallas on Tuesday morning. As always, they were the best hosts and we had an awesome time! 

The weekend started with getting my fix of Tex-Mex at Mi Cocula. Katie isn't a fan of mexican food (I know, WHAT??), but she always suffers through it when I come to town. Speaking of how awesome Katie is... on Saturday morning she treated me to an amazing mani/pedi. I snapped this picture of her, which is what I looked like about ten minutes prior. It was a full-on spa experience! So relaxing. After being pampered, we headed to some adorable baby boutiques where Auntie Katie purchased some unbelievably cute outfits for the little babe! 

We spent the rest of the afternoon at a Crawfish Boil with their friends. The weather was nice and it was fun to just hang outside all day!

Maxi party!

This little girl is my spirit animal. Check out all that pink! So cute.

I'm not the biggest crawfish fan, so we made a few pit stops on the way home... FroYo from Braum's followed by some tacos at Jack in the Box. (And yes, I was eating my FroYo as we pulled through the Jack in the Box drive thru. Zero guilt!)

We spent Sunday relaxing and I watched them do a little gardening. Katie has quite the green thumb and their yard looks amazing!

Sunday evening we met up with my Aunt Michelle, Uncle John and cousins Luke and Brody for some grub at Woodshed. Check out this spread!

Typical boys, Brody and Luke weren't thrilled to pose for a picture.

Jeff didn't start his next rotation until Tuesday, so we were able to hang out before he dropped me off at my hotel on Monday afternoon. (He also forced Katie and I to try this Caribbean restaurant connected to a gas station for lunch. Eeeeeps.)

Saying adios to his niece for (probably) the last time before he meets her!

After a full week of meetings in Dallas, I finally landed back in Atlanta at 11pm on Thursday night. Adam was a sweetheart and volunteered to pick me up, even though I told him a hundred times I didn't mind taking a cab. I spent most of Friday catching up on work and relaxing before it was time to head to Auburn for A Day. We attended a couple years back, but Adam was still coaching and couldn't make it. This year he could! And I was way less exciting. 

Night one we had BBQ fixed by the frat house's cook (because yes, that's a thing).

I was such a trooper and even headed out to the bar with the fam for a little bit! I did, however, opt out of the shots.

Saturday was the Spring Football Game, and the weather actually ended up being pretty nice! We headed to the frat house around 10a to get the party started and were able to walk to the stadium from there. Mitchell's adorable girlfriend, Reagan, joined us for the festivities, too!

Over 62,000 attended!

After a draining day in the sun, we headed back to the frat house for a bit before heading back home to ATL. It was a fun 24 hours in Auburn, and it's always fun to see Mitchell!

20 - 22 Weeks

20 Weeks: March 31

Baby's the size of a: Banana and her taste buds are working!

Sleep: The Snoogle is my jam.

Best moment of this week: Halfway there!!!! Can't believe we've finally reached the halfway mark! 20 down, 20 to go!

Miss anything: Not really this week.

Food cravings: Still the really healthy stuff - sweets, waffles, fries...

Anything making you queasy or sick: Leftovers and casseroles. 

Symptoms: My stomach gets sore easily - all that stretching and growing! Hm, I got sick again last week (yay!), but it came and went pretty quick. I also almost passed out at Dillard's on Sunday, which was super embarrassing. Especially when I had to sit on the floor and my friend had to ask them for a bottle of water. Good news - I called the doctor and they said it's totally normal (unless it's happening daily). My body is digesting food differently and I just need to make sure I'm eating a lot of protein. Full disclosure: I've been really bad about "forgetting to eat". Adam and I are going to brainstorm a snack/meal plan to make sure this doesn't continue to happen.

Happy or moody most of the time: Pretty happy most of the time! 

Looking forward to: Baby girl getting strong enough that Adam can feel her moving around!

21 Weeks: April 7
(Officially moving into the "pregnant hand stance")

Baby's the size of a: Pomegranate and her digestive system is prepping for real life!

Sleep: The Snoogle is still my jam, but there are some off nights here and there.

Best moment of this week: Easter celebrations with the family are always fun!

Miss anything: Not really this week.

Food cravings: I've decided I don't have any crazy cravings - I just let myself eat what I want most of the time. When in real life, I just have to fight the cravings and eat a salad. This doesn't mean I sit around and eat Reese's Eggs all day (oh, wait - I have since Easter). I actually do eat pretty healthy, but will let myself splurge when I want to without feeling guilty. (Ah, it's amazing.)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Leftovers and casseroles are still pretty much my only aversions. 

Symptoms: Still get pretty lightheaded easily, but I've tried three different prenatal vitamins with Iron and they all make me sick immediately. 

Happy or moody most of the time: Pretty happy most of the time! 

Looking forward to: Baby girl getting strong enough that Adam can feel her moving around! I felt her kick a couple times with my hand this past week, but Adam's never around. He's starting to get pretty antsy about it!

22 Weeks: April 14

Oops - no picture! I was in Texas and didn't feel like harassing the maid to take it. :)

Baby's the size of a: Papaya and weighs a whole pound!

Sleep: I slept wrong on the Snoogle and was so sore for a couple days! I had to retire it for a few nights (which worked out since I was in Texas for meetings anyway), and somehow survived.

Best moment of this week: I spent the weekend with Jeff and Katie in Texas before my meetings started, which is always a blast!

Miss anything: Home! I was away from Adam (and the pooches) for six days!

Food cravings: Nothing new. Healthier foods are actually starting to look appealing, but not as appealing as Reese's Eggs or donuts.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Same as always. And car rides. 

Symptoms: The lightheadedness (is that a word?) is still in full force. Doesn't seem to matter how much I snack, it just hits when it wants to. My abdomen also gets really sore even after just a little bit of walking. It basically feels like my stomach is about to rip open and drop a baby out. (Oh, wait. I guess that makes sense.) In the past week, I've had two awesome new symptoms show up - my vision is blurry and my nose is so stuffed up. Pregnancy is fun!! (To be honest, it really doesn't bother me. I'm growing an adorable little human so I actually enjoy the symptoms!)

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, happy, happy!

Looking forward to: Adam is getting baptized on Sunday! He's had this planned for quite some time now and I am so excited for him!

Easter Joy

Easter is always one of my favorite holidays. Other than it obviously being a crucial day for us Christians, the weather always seems to be beautiful and I love any excuse to be surrounded by family. 

We kicked off the week by being 20 weeks pregnant! Full disclosure: I specifically put on this workout outfit because it's my fave and had Adam take a picture of me being "cute and active". Except our dogs are still re-learning how to walk on their leashes and it started raining, so it all ended up just being stressful and weird. But we're halfway there to meeting our babe!!

On Friday night, we headed to the Coopers to finally meet little Minnie! Ignore the terrible quality of the picture, how cute is she in her rain jacket??

Two visits in two weeks?? Weeeee!!

I was extra exhausted on Saturday morning, and Adam surprised me with breakfast in bed! He's the absolute cutest sometimes. 

We celebrated Easter with my family on Saturday, because Mamabear doesn't exactly know the difference anyway. I Adam made a really yummy Cinnamon Baked French Toast! I've been so bad at taking pictures recently, so I have none of our pre-Easter brunch. Whoops.

We successfully made it to 7am church on Easter Sunday! (And someone enjoyed three donuts. I'm not above bribery to get me somewhere early.) We have really come to love our church, and Easter was no exception. Always such a great message!

As soon as church was out, we headed to the Bakers to hang out before brunch. Meagan and Nathan go to the later service, so Jude always goes home with Debbie and Dave when they leave the early service. This means we got our little Jude Dude all to ourselves for a couple hours!

Obviously, that meant it was time to annoy him with tons of photos.

Cutest little bunny I ever did see! Can't wait for the little chicky to be around for next year's celebrations!

Photo Shoot Take 100 by Dave. I love these people!

Monday night was Opening Day and the NCAA Basketball Finals. Adam wanted something "festive" for dinner to celebrate it being Opening Day, so I made these amazing nachos. Chips, cheese, shredded chicken, toppings - throw it in the oven on Broil for 3 minutes and voila! Deliciousness. And the Braves won, so it was a good night!

It also must be noted that Duke won the championship game, which means my bracket beat Adam's bracket! He now has to give the dogs a bath every two weeks for 3 months. (And I'm so glad I don't have to do his ironing for two weeks.)