walk and not faint...literally

So I realize I've been a little absent from the blogging world these past few days and trust me...I have a great excuse. You see my most recent dr's appointment from last week was rescheduled to Monday morning because my dr. and also the nurse practitioner were unable to see me due to unforeseen circumstances. So...Monday morning Hubby & I head up to the dr's office for a quick visit and maybe most importantly...the results of my glucose tolerance test.

Well, I failed the test. And yes, those are the exact words the nurse used..."you failed the glucola test." Let me just tell you that the word fail or any variation of the word is not something that a pregnant woman wants to hear. What does failing mean you might wonder? Well, it's not pleasant. Failing means that you are then required to make an appointment at the actual hospital for a 4 hour test. The timeline goes like this...fast for at least 8 hours prior to test, fasting blood draw, wait for fasting lab results, drink super duper sweet glucose drink on an empty stomach, blood draw at 1 hour, blood draw at 2 hours, and blood draw at 3 hours.

Needless to say I was freaking out. I DON'T DO NEEDLES, or blood draws, or really anything that might make me even feel weird. I was freaking out to the point of yesterday having to lay down in the floor at work just thinking about it, like freaking out crying because I was so scared. 4 blood draws in 4 hours...I just knew that I couldn't do it.

And then I remembered something and was reminded of something from so many of those who love me, it's not about me anymore. It's about this precious baby girl growing inside of me and it's about me doing anything and everything I can to protect her. My mom fully believes that she helped me through the blood draw last week and that she would help me through this test as well.

This morning I woke up and definitely didn't feel well. I was feeling panicky already as I thought about what the next several hours would hold. And so I prayed. I had been praying for the last 48 hours. I prayed as I was going to sleep last night and when I woke up this morning. I prayed in the shower and as I was brushing my teeth.

And when I was ready to go this morning with a few minutes to spare, I decided to sit down and read my devotional even though I figured I wouldn't be able to focus on anything but the task at hand. I said a quick prayer that God would show me his power and show me something to give me peace...and this verse is exactly what I found...

Isaiah 40:31~
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Those words were exactly what I needed to read. I realize that God probably had a much more spiritual meaning when he gave these words to Isaiah, but more me today they were very literal. Because from that time forward I knew I could do it. I knew that even if it hurt a little bit or if I felt a little sick, that God would pull me through. I knew that all those prayer warriors who had been called to pray on my behalf were going to be interceding for me in ways that I've never experienced before.

Let me just tell you, God showed up today. For something that might sound simple to so many, this might have been the time when I absolutely needed Him the most, and he certainly didn't disappoint. I was absolutely terrified. He held me each and every time I walked into that lab room and he held me when I thought I was going to be sick from the syrupy drink and he held me at the end when I thought I was either going to fall asleep or pass out from the lack of energy & calories in my system.

He made me strong, even when there was no way I thought I could be strong on my own.

Busy Start, Slow Finish Weekend

It was definitely the tale of two weekends for Hubby & I the past three days. Friday night & Saturday were both busy, busy but thankfully today included practically no plans which was a welcome relief!



Friday night was the bachelorette party for one of my best girlfriends! We had a fairly casual, but fun night planned for her and I think she definitely counted the celebration a success. We started out with heavy appetizers & inappropriate cake at one of the other girls' homes and had a quick little personal shower before heading out.

The beautiful bride-to-be with one of her gifts! ha!

Being preggo, I was of course one of the designated driver's, and also got the privilege of being behind the camera to capture all the fun! However, to protect the guilty and also the innocent, I decided to leave most of my pictures safe & sound on my computer! ha!

A serious group photo before heading out for the scavenger hunt...

and of course a funny shot as well...

After opening gifts, we headed to downtown Springfield for some fun and to help Andrea out with completing her bachelorette scavenger hunt! It was seriously such a blast & she was such a great sport...but this preggo's feet & legs were exhausted by the end of the night. It was close to 1 a.m. before I made it into bed, and trust me, this girl didn't stay up until 1 a.m. even before I was preggo!

All the girls' at one of our downtown stops~not sure what's going on with Bethany in the middle of the photo!

Unfortunately, my body has been so accustomed to NOT sleeping in, that I wasn't really able to catch up on much sleep on Saturday morning. However, we didn't have any plans so I took advantage of that and managed to stay in bed until close to 11...even if I wasn't sleeping, at least I was resting! I was really worried that after the night before my ankles would be all swollen...thankfully I was wrong!

We did receive a package especially for Elyse from her Mamaw & Pappy in Michigan! It came on Friday, but Hubby & I weren't home together to open it until Saturday morning! While I love these fun packages, I'm so happy we won't be receiving them much longer...since they'll be moving back in hopefully less than a year! Yippee!

Inside were some homemade baby washclothes, a receiving blanket & a matching burp rag for our precious baby girl. I just love all the homemade items!

Saturday afternoon Hubby & I headed down to Branson with hopes of finding some good deals on summer clothing closeouts for Elyse. I hate to admit it, but it was a big fat failure in that regards, but we did have a fun time looking around and looking at various things for our little girl!

We finished off the evening with pizza at Reeds Spring Pizza Co. Several months ago, they were voted by USA Today as having the best pizza in Missouri and we had yet to try it out! We were definitely happy with the pizza, but I'm not sure I would vote it as the absolute best in Missouri. Honestly, I'm not sure how you would even choose the best pizza in Missouri...there's just too much variety!

We came home and I hit the couch early...I was exhausted from being on my feet so much!

Today we had a laidback morning and went to the 2nd service at church because Hubby had a meeting after the service for small group leaders. The meeting was short & sweet and instead of working around the house or getting much of anything accomplished, we've spent most of the entire afternoon lounging on the couch watching tv and snoozing! It's been a great change from the past two days!

Tonight we'll head off for another small group meeting & then it'll be time for another work week...I can't believe that this week marks the start of September! The summer just flew by!

Elyse Love ~ 23 Weeks

23w4d

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I was planning on getting another official number yesterday, but my dr's appointment had to be rescheduled due to my doctor being in surgery longer than expected. In the last week, I've really tried to make an effort to avoid lots of extra "junk" snacks and I'm trying to really only eat when I'm actually hungry. The weight seems to be appearing more in my thighs and backend now, but I guess that's all part of being almost 6 months pregnant!

Gender: We're having a precious little baby girl...Elyse Ann. As everyone learns her name and starts calling her Elyse or Leesy, I fall in love with the name even more and more. I just know it's going to be the perfect fit for our precious girl!

Movement: YES!!! A ton of it! Recently I'm wondering if this little girl is sleeping or resting at all!!! Not a good sign for the future of sleeping in our house. She seems to be moving at all hours of the day (and night) and I've even been able to witness my belly moving as she kicks and moves around in there!

Sleep: Sleeping without my Snoogle has been a great transition. I feel like I can move more easily throughout the night and I'm not noticing that I sleep on my back anymore than I was before. If I wake up on my back, I just use that as a good sign to turn over. Sleep is still great, you know, minus the trip to the bathroom every night!

What I miss: I can tell that the physical things I will miss are going to start appearing...I miss being able to paint my own toenails. Yup, I did that for the last time on last Friday night and it about killed me! Needless to say it was a less than perfect job. I also miss just being able to bend over easily and pick something up or not be out of breath as soon as I finish a very easy, small activity. I'm also starting to miss the way all my clothes USED to fit. Talk about a dose of humility for a pregnant woman...

Cravings: It's still so crazy that I haven't had any super weird cravings. I still enjoy my sweets, and my fresh fruit but honestly I've always enjoyed those things...even pre-pregnancy. As I mentioned above, I'm really starting to watch my food intake. No, I'm not dieting but I'm also really trying to avoid the "I'm pregnant so I can eat WHATEVER I want" mentality. I know this will be good for both Elyse & myself in the long run!

Symptoms: The easyness of this pregancy still continues to amaze me and I hate to even mention it for fear of Sure, there are times when I get a slight headache or I have a minor case of heartburn, but those were all things that would have happened pre-pregnancy so I certainly don't consider them symptoms!

Maternity Clothes: The bump is definitely showing! I did breakdown and order a couple of pairs of pants from Old Navy this week...most importantly a pair of maternity jeans and some new leggings. Contrary to what everyone has told me, I'm carrying this baby girl extremely low...which is resulting in my pants not fitting as long as I would like them to. I'm still able to wear most things with the Bella Band, but there are a few pairs of pants that have been officially retired until this whole process is over! Hopefully I'll be able to get back into them after Elyse arrives!

Best Moment this week: Well I hope it continues as a best moment...I survived the glucola drink and the blood test after it (which if you've been reading my posts at all, you know that this is a huge accomplishment)! I didn't even feel light-headed or start sweating or anything! As silly as it is, I'm so proud of myself! I won't hear the results until Monday morning but hopefully I passed...I may not be so courageous if I have to undergo the 3 hour test! It's also been absolutely incredible to feel her moving around so much more in there...when I stop to think about the little miracle growing inside of me it truly becomes a bit overwhelming!

Baby To-Do List: Well, the baby registry is practically complete! We decided not to register at Walmart, and just complete the entire list at Babies R Us or our local baby boutique. The selection at our local Walmart just isn't great and if people decide to order online they can just use Babies R Us. I've also finalized the plans for which fabric goes where in regards to the bedding & window treatments along with starting to research some options for the wall above Elyse's crib. I'm so excited to see the finished product...even if it will be several weeks before it's even close!

And of course, here's the belly photo...complete with the Bella Band working it's magic!

Dinner with Schmucks...err...Friends!

In the last few weeks, Nick & I have had the opportunity to have a wide variety of "double-date" nights. Some of those have been actual dinner & a movie, some just dinner, and others had another activity thrown into the mix. We've met up with friends from college, friends from high school, couples from church, and couples from small group.

But one thing has become so very apparent and has remained the same no matter what the details, life without great friends would be so incredibly boring! I am so thankful each & every day for the group of people that God has brought into our lives through such a variety of ways.

We need those people each day to lift us up and provide support for us in times of need and in times of triumph. We'll need those people even more as we embark on this next great adventure of bringing a child into this world. And we'll need them when life gets us down and we don't have anywhere to turn except to those who love us and know us the best.

There are definitely things you learn as you grow even just slightly older, and the importance of friends and strong relationships is one that I don't think I have every fully realized until now. The fact that Nick & I enjoy hanging out together in a "double date" setting and that we don't have our own "group" of friends has only served to strengthen our marriage and to give us so many different sounding boards as we walk down the paths of life.

Don't get me wrong, there's always a place for an occasional girls' night or guys' night but you know what...those girls' nights or guys' nights almost always include the husbands & wives from our mutual friends. And that my friends is one of the greatest blessings from God that I could have ever received...

A Baby-Full Weekend

It was a full weekend for Hubby & I, nothing too crazy but time just seemed to get filled up in a hurry! However, Friday night we had absolutely NO plans and decided to take advantage of it. Breakfast for dinner (french toast, eggs, bacon) had been on the menu, but after a quick little tweak and my attempt to try and eat healthier for Elyse & I, I decided on a different breakfast for dinner. A simple bowl of cereal and a peach...and it was perfect! ha! We watched the movie Limitless while vegged out on the couch and I couldn't have asked for a better Friday!

Saturday things were pretty much go, go, go from the time I woke up. My mom was helping to host the family shower for my cousin at her house so I headed down a little early to help out. We had a great turnout with some yummy food and my cousin got lots of great things for her precious baby boy! I can't believe I'll be having my own family shower in a little over a month!

My cousin Virginia with her two hosts...my momma and my Aunt Belinda!

And no...my mom and I did not plan to dress alike! But don't we look fabulous in blue??

I headed home from the shower in time to rest for just a bit before Hubby & I headed out for some more baby fun. Yup...Saturday was the day for registering! I was already prepared to be overwhelmed, and I definitely was. We first headed to Babies R Us for most of the essentials & then we headed to a local baby boutique called Bella Baby for some of the more fun stuff! I did pretty well, but I was absolutely exhausted!

I didn't ever have an official breakdown, but I may have possibly plopped myself down right in the middle of the baby monitor aisle while Hubby & I discussed our options. I totally should have had Hubby snap a picture but let's be real, I was too tired to even think about that. Now to be honest, the nice employees had said we could come back to the registry desk for a rest at any time...but that was all the way at the back of the store and at that point I really didn't care if I was sitting in the middle of a store aisle!

See, I've decided that no matter how prepared I might have been, it's still just ridiculously overwhelming to know what stuff to register for and how many and what bottles and what pacifiers and Huggies/Pampers and blankets and crib sheets (cotton, sateen, or knit?) and video/audio monitor, etc., etc., etc.! However, for the most part it's done. We still plan on registering at Walmart for some more of the practical items but the big part of the registry has been taken care of! Woo woo!

We finished off our night with pizza from one of our favorite local pizza joints, The Pizza House, and then shared a giant cupcake from The Cup. After a fairly quick stop at the grocery store, it was time to head home and call it a night. Whew, it was quite the day!

Sunday we had an incredible service at church about God being Adonai, Supreme Lord of our life. What a slap in the face! How often I claim to be a good Christian woman but I don't truly let Jesus be Lord!

We had a fairly free afternoon before it was time for Small Group to start up again for the year! Hubby is actually leading this time & we're doing Finanical Peace University (FPU) with Dave Ramsey! We've been following most of his principles for the last several months and I'm already excited about what God's going to do for us through this study! I'll post more on the study later.

I was in charge of dinner for the evening so I decided to serve Pioneer Woman's Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork, chips, ultimate chocolate chip cookie bars, & fresh sliced peaches! Yummm!!!

I also whipped up some No-Bake Cookies for a meal tonight we're having with friends! These are so delish!

It's time for another week...nothing too crazy planned but lots of things to fill our schedule!

A Gender Reveal Party Recap

I realized earlier this week that I've yet to post all the recap & photos from our big Gender Reveal Party. This is seriously one of the best decisions we've made during this entire pregnancy and Nick is already brainstorming ideas of how to reveal the gender of our next child if God were to bless us with more!

One of the best things was that it seems that everyone who came was just as excited about the big reveal as Nick & I were...to have them all in attendance was perfection. We couldn't have asked for a better party!

My mom & I spent the afternoon decorating the house & preparing for all our guests, mainly just to occupy our time so we weren't tempted to peak in the envelope, or pop in the ultrasound DVD, or cut into that cake ourselves!

And now for some pictures to tell the rest of the story...

Pink & Blue of course...complete with both It's a Boy & It's a Girl confetti!

A chalkboard for our guests to vote for their pick!

Nick & I wrote 1 Samuel 1:27-28 on a nursery wall before the party & invited our guests to write their own prayers on the wall as well.
A local baker prepared the cake...Alexandria's Cupcake Cottage...it was her first "gender reveal" cake and the entire staff at the bakery was so excited to be a part!

Some more decorations...we served an easy meal of pizza, and then finished things off with Strawberries & Blueberries before cutting the cake!

I strictly requested NO gifts, but my Aunt Belinda couldn't leave out our first born, Bogey! She brought him a giant tennis ball that has been a big hit!

We had family & friends, young & old...they were all waiting very patiently for the official reveal!

One of our neighbors suggested we should tie a ribbon on our tree to reveal boy/girl to our entire neighborhood...we actually tied one of each to the tree and later, we pulled the one off that didn't apply!

Right before cutting the cake, so before we even knew our baby was for sure a girl...Baby Layman received her first proposal.

Mr. Brooks asked first so he may get priority in the future. Complete with a red rose in hand, his adorable onesie asked..."Lucy, will you please accept this rose?" It was seriously one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

And then it was time for the big moment. We made sure that my in-laws were on speaker phone in Michigan before picking up the knife. I'm not going to lie, it was incredibly nerve-wrecking...everything was going to change with 2 slices of the knife!

Here we go!

Some of the guests were sure it was pink based on the crumbs on the knife!

But really...what color was it!?!?

As we all know now...

Possibly my favorite pic from the entire night!

We quickly headed out to take the blue ribbon off the tree!

And then Baby Girl received her first official present, A Sleep Sheep...let's hope it works!

What an incredible party...and a big thanks to my great friend Jennifer for taking almost all of the photos and doing the editing as well! I'm so glad to have those photos to remember one of the greatest nights of this pregnancy so far!

Elyse Love ~ 22 Weeks

22w3d

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm just hoping that my weight gain is remaining average. I really don't feel like I'm gaining any weight anywhere other than my belly; and I guess as long as it stays that way I don't have anything to complain about!

Gender: We're having a precious little baby girl...Elyse Ann. Now that we have a gender it's amazing how many decisions we can actually make....and of course just how many decisions there are to make overall!

Movement: YES!!! A ton of it! She's definitely got those times when she's sleeping and not moving around as much, but otherwise I feel her move all the time. I'm still waiting for the movement to be strong enough for Nick to feel it, but of course he has to be patient enough to wait for her to move for him! ha!

Sleep: I know that most of you won't believe this, but the last few nights I've actually slept without my Snoogle and seem to be sleeping better. I like to sleep on both sides during the night and it was just so hard for me to turn over with the Snoogle all wrapped around me! So...I've gone back to my regular pillow with a pillow in between my legs and that seems to be working for now!

What I miss: Being able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want it...I realize that everything I put in my mouth can impact Elyse so I'm much more conscious of that right now. Of course that doesn't mean that I don't have some cookies & milk for a snack every once in awhile! I also miss being able to move easily...it definitely seems to take more for me to go from laying down to standing up or from sitting in the floor to standing up. I have a feeling that is going to get even more difficult as time goes on!

Cravings: This week I've got my big appetite back again. I'm really trying to watch what I eat and try to balance my "junk" snacks with plenty of healthy options as well. Peanut butter & animal crackers, fresh fruit, and homemade popcorn are some of my go-to snacks...they seem to satisfy my hunger without being full of too many calories.

Symptoms: I really don't feel like I have any pregnancy symptoms except for my growing baby bump...and it's definitely there. I hate to even mention the symptoms I don't have for fear of jinxing myself and having them arrive! This has been such an easy pregnancy so far that I really can't help but hope that the last half is just as easy!

Maternity Clothes: I'm basically to the point where my baby bump is apparent in almost EVERYTHING I wear. From t-shirts to dresses to blousy tops, my bump seems to make itself known. I'm still holding out on purchasing hardly anything that's truly "maternity." In the past few weeks I've realized that I'm gonna have to purchase a few pairs of maternity jeans & also some maternity dress pants because there are a few pairs of pants that I can't even wear with a Bella Band! As long as my tops continue to work, I can handle a few new pairs of pants!

Best Moment this week: It's been a pretty basic week. I'd say the best part has been getting the fabric in the mail that is serving as the inspiration for our nursery. I absolutely LOVE it and I can't wait to see the gorgeous bedding & curtains my mom puts together for our baby girl! It's going to be absolutely perfect for her and I just hope my vision looks as great in the nursery as it does in my head!
Baby To-Do List: In the past few weeks I really feel like we've accomplished quite a bit. We've got the furniture all ordered (crib, chest of drawers, dresser/hutch combo, chair, & ottoman), made some big decisions on the bedding, chosen a pediatrician, organized shower mailing lists, and have registering in mind for the weekend! I know there is still so much to do, but I feel like we're at least making progress!

And of course, here's the belly photo...

Mommy-Daughter Date: The Help

As I look toward the future and the experiences that I will have with Elyse, I can't help but be so excited about those times when she & I will have a day or a night all to ourselves to do something a little more "girly!"

My mom and I took advantage of a weekday evening with no plans & headed off for a little date night with dinner & a movie. Ok, let's be honest, dinner consisted of drive-thru Wendy's but we did manage to have our own chaffeur! My dad dropped my mom & I at the movie theater, where he met Nick to go have a guys' night which consisted of a local sports bar filled with big-screen tvs.

My mom & I had both read "The Help" and were definitely excited about seeing the movie as well...while I think both of our husbands would have enjoyed it, it was a ton of fun to see it with my momma!

While no movie is a perfect representation of it's paper counterpart, my mom & I were both quite impressed with the screen adaptation of this wonderful book. The character's seemed to have been cast perfectly and I loved that there weren't any "huge" big screen names that we saw every moment of the movie.

Consider this my recommendation to go out and enjoy this movie, especially if you've read the book like so many of us have! It would be a great girls' night out flick or if you have the privilege of having mommy-daughter date's yourself, grab your momma & have a date night!

Mommy-daughter date night's are the best...and one of these days it will be Grandma, Momma, & Leesy...perfection!

A Perfect Weather Weekend

After such a long hot stretch, we couldn't have asked for better weather this weekend! A "cool" front came through and brought us a very welcome relief from the high temps along with some lower humidity! With the weather we've had, I can't believe it's the middle of August, it's almost starting to feel like fall out there.

Thanks to some free tickets, Hubby & I spent Friday night with some of our friends' from small group at the annual athletic's auction for one of the local university. We only stayed for the silent bidding portion but came really close to walking away with a Baby Jogger City Mini stroller for Elyse. It was exactly what we're planning to buy anyway, just a different color...and while the winner still got a great deal, it wasn't as good of a deal as it could have been. Our first bid, with only 15 min left in the auction, was for $116, for something with a retail value of $240! I guess it just wasn't meant to be...We spent the rest of the evening back at our house playing cards & just hanging out, it was a great relaxing evening.

Saturday I headed to work before the big event of the weekend...The Back-to-Small Group Pool Party! We all took advantage of my parents' pool and gathered there for the afternoon. We finished off with a cookout and we seriously couldn't have asked for better weather! It was warm enough to be in the water (which has cooled off significantly from last week), but not so hot that you HAD to be in the water. I just love all these people & I'm so glad God has blessed me with such fabulous friends!

Picture taking wasn't high on the priority list as this preggo wasn't too excited about being in any swimsuit photos! So enjoy some photos of the rest of the group!

This little darling was jumping off the board without her floaties before the afternoon was over!

Quite the crowd, 15 adults & 11 kiddos...but what a fun afternoon!

Think she needs a puppy!?!?

The kiddos...it's going to be so fun to watch them all grow up together...and of course we've still got more on the way!

After the crowd left and everything was cleaned up, Hubby & I went with my parents up to the pond just to relax. I think that's one of my favorite places to be, just sitting on the dock, watching the dogs play fetch, and feeding the fish. It's so incredibly peaceful & I'm so thankful for such a wonderful place to get away!

This morning we headed to church and then ran a few errands before coming home to veg out! The weather is beautiful again & we've already got the grill all lined up for dinner. What a perfect way to end a wonderful weekend...grilling out and taking Bogey for a walk on a beautiful evening!

Elyse Love ~ 21 Weeks

21w3d

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still no stepping on the scales for me, although I do feel like my appetite has leveled out! Thank goodness, or I think I would be quickly surpassing that 1 pound a week average!

Gender: We're having a precious little baby girl...Elyse Ann. It has been so fun shopping for her and picking out the fun, frilly clothes and toys! I've already got a little stash going in her closet, and of course several things coming from Zulily & Totsy! I can't wait to get them...

Movement: YES!!! A ton of it! Each day there seems to be more and more and I've even felt her from the outside once or twice. Of course Hubby is never around when that happens and isn't patient enough yet to wait for her to move...hopefully he'll feel her very, very soon!

Sleep: It's been ok, I'm definitely waking up more with a little bit of lower back pain but it seems as long as I roll over I feel better and fall right back to asleep. I still manage to somehow end up on my back a few times during the night, but I really think I wake up quite quickly and just roll back over.

What I miss: Cold turkey sandwiches, caesar salad, raw cookie dough..this definitely hasn't changed. We've been eating out at some nice restaurants this month because it's Restaurant Month in our area, meaning some great deals at fancy restaurants...so I'm definitely missing out on my caesar salad and some fish options!

Cravings: Still nothing absurd, which I'm very thankful for. Fresh fruit still tops my list as far as snacks go and that seems to help my in-between meal stomach growling! ha! I've also started eating a few animal crackers with peanut butter...the protein in the peanut butter really seems to help get me by between meals.

Symptoms: Definitely just my growing belly. Baby Girl is very apparent and I'm getting to the point of being obviously pregnant when I wear almost anything. As far as actual symptoms, things honestly couldn't be better. I feel great and can only hope that continues!

Maternity Clothes: Still nothing new here...thankfully the trend right now includes blousy tops and empire waist lines so almost every one of my tops still works great! I just throw on a long camisole and/or Bella Band and almost all of my clothes still work. I realize I'll have to purchase a few things in the coming months, but I'm hoping to keep that to a minimum. Right now anything I've bought I'll still be able to wear afterwards as well...

Best Moment this week: It was another big week as far as Baby Girl happenings....the movement of course, followed closely by ordering every single big piece of furniture (I'll share what we decided on sometime soon), and then of course sharing the name with everyone. It's been so fun as we share our baby girls' identity with our close family & friends. And I'm very thankful that everyone seems to love the name we chose! We also met with a pediatrician and really liked her...enough that we really don't see the need to meet with any others! Just another thing to check off the list...

Baby Gear: I think I'll have to come up with a new topic or change it all together...as I've run out of big items to ask about. Maybe I'll come up with something next week...

And of course, here's the belly photo...I'm so thankful that long shirts & leggings are still in style!

What's in a Name?

Well...A LOT!!!! Of course Hubby & I had the perfect boys' name picked out, only to discover that Baby Layman was in fact a precious baby girl! I thought that a girls' name might be easier to come up with, but it was so hard! Did we want her to have a sporty name, or a classic name, or a family name, or a name that can easily have a nickname? Basically, we wanted almost all of those things, we wanted a name that Baby Girl could grow into and one that would fit her no matter what she chose to do in life!

We had discussed one girls' name in particular, but it was a new thing and we hadn't let it roll of our tongues enough to truly make it official. After a week or so of calling Baby Girl by the possible name, and Hubby calling out her name in the house to make sure it was an easy name to yell, we've came to a decision...

Baby Girl's name will be Elyse Ann!

We chose a little bit of a different spelling so when reading her name, it would be confused with Elsie, and we chose Ann in honor of my mom's middle name & also Hubby's sister's middle name. We think it rolls off the tongue wonderfully & can't wait for sweet precious Elyse to be here in December!

Elyse is a form of Elise, which is a form of Elizabeth, meaning...My God is a vow.

We've already discussed several nickname options for Elyse Ann. Elly or Lysey (pronounced Lee-see) seem to be at the top of the list for her childhood nickname. Of course I'm sure there will be lots of other variations as well.

We've received some great reactions, mainly from close family & friends who respond with..."Aww...it's unique, but beautiful!" I love it, and I know that it'll be perfect for our precious baby girl.

First Weekend of August

I seriously can't believe that the first weekend of August is already in the record books...good grief, Baby Girl Layman is going to be here before we know it!

Hubby & I had a pretty great weekend filled with friends, family, and lots of fun activities. We started off Friday evening with dinner & a movie with some great friends. We had dinner at our favorite local Mexican joint and while I hate to even admit it, we finished off the evening with a viewing of The Change-Up. What can I say, yes it was crude, and the language was certainly excessive...but if you like this type of movie you will definitely laugh!

Saturday morning we had absolutely nothing going on so we laid around and just relaxed before gearing up for the rest of the day. Hubby had his annual alumni golf tourney & I spent the afternoon in the a/c picking up the house and taking care of a few random things on my to-do list.

Saturday evening we joined together with my dad's side of the family to celebrate my grandma's 75th birthday along with my grandma & grandpa's 58th wedding anniversary. I failed to take very many photos, but we had a great dinner out with most all of the extended family. I'm seriously so blessed to have such a fabulous group of people to call my fam!

Nope, they didn't plan this...but Hubby and my Uncle Al sure did dress alike! ha!

Myself, my grandma, my cousin Virginia & my grandpa...the only two granddaughters, both expecting babies! Virginia is due on October with a precious baby boy!

Today we headed to church where it was awesome to see all the backpacks lined up in front of the stage. We had a time of dedication and prayer for the foster families and the precious children receiving the bags. Hubby & I had a quick lunch before he headed back to the golf course and I headed down to my parents' with Bogey for some pool time! Bogey just loves going to visit grandma & grandpa's house!

It's been a pretty fabulous weekend and is ending incredibly well as the rain is falling in buckets & the thunder is rolling across the sky...thank you God for the rain!