New Blog...

http://www.stephaniedesigns.blogspot.com/

I have created a new blog that has various stationary such as notecards, gift tags, and bag tags. It also has handmade scarves and baby hats that my mom makes. Please feel free to browse around and email me with any questions at designs.stephanie@gmail.com. It will continue to be updated so please check back periodically.

Several things that I like right now:

1. Built Items: http://www.builtny.com All the girls are getting the lunch boxes this year for Christmas. They are so cute and my mom had them monogrammed. They even have baby things. Coleson is getting the bib and bottle holder. They have some really neat things.

2. Clouds and Stars Zipper Sheets: www.cloudsandstars.com A friend of mine bought these for her first baby and I thought they were so neat. She loved them so I knew that I wanted to get a pair when I had a baby. My mom ordered these for Coleson for a shower of mine and I can’t wait to try them out.

3. Tyler Candles: www.tylercandlestore.com These are the best smelling candles and I am obsessed with burning them in the house. They also last a pretty good length of time. They are a little expensive for a candle but they are worth it.

4. Burt’s Bees: http://www.burtsbees.com I have used the Burt’s bees lip balm since I was in high school and I love it. I am also using the belly butter while I am pregnant to help with stretch marks. So far it is working for me!

5. Scarves: I have a scarf fetish right now. I think I am rubbing off on Abbey because she has wanted some lately so we have found her some. My mom also makes a lot of them for us. See new blog/website coming soon.


6. McCarty's Pottery: http://www.mccartyspottery.com This is my favorite pottery. My whole family collects it and it is made really close to where I was born and my extended family lives. It will defintiely be around my house for a while.

7. Life Is Good: http://www.lifeisgood.com I really like these T-shirts as well as the childrens items that they have. They have really cute kids pajamas.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday. It has been so nice doing what I wanted to today as well as they rest of the week. Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Sweet Baby...

I had my 28 week doctor’s appointment today and we had our 4D sonogram. Coleson cooperated pretty well. He did have his arm in his face but we got some good pictures of him. I love his little nose and his lips. They look so perfect to me. He doesn’t have any hair that we could tell. He gets that after his daddy because I had a head full of black hair that was wild. The sonogram tech said that his features look perfect so we were happy to hear that. He also weighs about 2.5 pounds and his heartbeat was 150.

I got some good news as well. I have not dilated. I also passed my glucose test which means I don’t have gestational diabetes. That was a huge sigh of relief for me, but I did gain another 5 pounds which puts me at a total of 11. I wasn’t too excited about that, but my baby needs room to bake in there. I go to the doctor every two weeks now so its back again on December 8th.

Our Weekend

We had a great weekend. Friday night we met Dennis’s sister at El Sombrero and ate supper with them. I love Mexican food so I was excited. We got up Saturday and went to Starkville for the last home football game. It was kind of sad to see the season end, but I can’t wait to take all three kids next year. We were also glad to see the bulldogs win another game. They were few and far between this year. Hopefully we will have better luck next year. Sunday Dennis and the kids got up and went hunting and then I met them at Ma’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. We came home and cleaned up the house some. Yes, I did say we. Dennis helps me clean which I am so thankful for especially since I am 28 weeks pregnant and feel huge. I get tired quick these days. We also had family time last night and played games. Abbey loves to play board games and Brandon is getting to where he likes them too. He gets mad if he’s not winning.

I am glad that I have a short work week this week. We are definitely in need of a few days off at my house. I love the holidays and my favorite shopping day of the year is Friday. Yes, I am one on those crazy people that gets up at 4:00 in the morning to go shopping. I LOVE it.

Did someone get up too early?

This is what happens when you wake up at 4:30 to go hunting. I met Dennis and the kids at his grandmothers house this morning and this is what I saw. Abbey was on one couch and Dennis was on another. Brandon was wide awake. Dennis said that he slept in the deer stand for about an hour in the woods.

Youth Hunting Week

Friday afternoon Dennis took Abbey and Brandon hunting to finish out youth hunting week. They had a great time even though they didn't see anything. I had to stay and work while they had fun. I don't think I would enjoy hunting too much anyway. Dennis says that Abbey and Brandon do pretty good in the deer stand as far as being quite and all.

27 week belly....

Above is a picture of my 27 week baby belly. It is definitley starting to grow now and I am moving alot slower than I was. I am so exhausted when I get home. Kind of strange, but have you ever heard of getting swollen calves? Well, that is what swells on me. I've heard of ankles and feet but not the legs. I guess everyone is different. Coleson is also a very active baby in my stomach. Dennis and I will have our hands full if he is this active in the real world. I have my 3D/4D sonogram on Tuesday so I will be sure and post pictures. Have a great weekend. We sure do have a busy one as usual!

Thanksgiving Party

Tomorrow Brandon is having a Thanksgiving party at school. They are eating desserts and we had to take chocolate chip cookies. If you know me well, you know that I would never send just a bag of cookies to school with him. I had to make them look cute. I am getting into making notecards, gift tags, etc so I made his class a gift tag from him. He loved them. He kept telling me that everyone in his class will love him when he is gone. I guess that meant when he is gone to 2nd grade next year. Who knows! The child has an imagination of his own. Stay tuned for a new blog that will have some of my notecards and things that I am making. I hope to have it up in the next few weeks.

Our Little Hunters....

Dennis has built a deer stand for him, Abbey and Brandon to hunt in. Yes, you read that right. I included Abbey’s name as well. She has been interested in hunting since the end of the season last year so Dennis told her that she could go the next season. So… we have decked her out with camo and she is now a hunter with the boys. I can only imagine what it is like hunting with the two of them at the same time. Pretty interesting I bet. They are going Friday afternoon to close up youth hunting week. I would love for Brandon to kill a deer. He wants it so bad. Don’t get me wrong, I want Abbey to kill one as well, but she doesn’t live and breathe it near about like he does.

Congratulations to our nephew Taylor. He killed his first deer this weekend.

10 Random Things About Me:

1. I love to eat Mexican food. It is one of my favorite things to eat and I could eat it 3 or 4 times a week. I also love soup, mashed potatoes and pasta.
2. I collect cookbooks. I have been collecting these since I was in high school and I love looking for new things to cook.
3. My husband says that I am OCD about cleaning our house. I don’t think that I am quite OCD, but my house is always clean for the most part and I HATE when something is out of place.
4. Coleson (our baking baby) is due on February 15th. This is the same day that Dennis asked me to marry him. He had bought the ring about a month or so before this day and I am glad that he waited. How sweet would that be!
5. I make a list for everything whether it is things I need to do that day or what I need to pack for a trip. I sure don’t want to forget anything.
6. I was not a big fan of dogs in the house until I got Rascal. It was completely my idea to get him and I wouldn’t trade him for the world!
7. I am almost done with my Christmas shopping. I will hopefully finish most of it up this weekend.
8. I am not a procrastinator. When I have something that needs to be done, I get it done right away.
9. My favorite pottery is McCarty’s. It was started about 5 minutes from where my family is from in Merigold so my entire family collects it. I hope to get more for Christmas. :)
10. My nickname growing up was Bug and to this day my dad and aunt still call me that when I see them. I gave Abbey and Brandon both one about 2 years ago and Dennis and I both call them that all the time. I hope to have Coleson a nickname also.

State Fair 2008

 

 

 

 

I know I am a little late at posting these, but better late than never right? We took the kids to the fair a few months ago. We went with Dennis's mom, sister, and her kids. We had a great time and were all worn out by the time we left. We did enjoy some yummy chicken on a sticks and a candied apple.

Sweet Boys!

Last night, I walked into the living room and found Brandon and Rascal lying on the couch like this watching TV. It was so cute. They were both laying the exact same way staring at the TV. Abbey and Brandon both love Rascal and he loves them just as much. He gets so excited when he sees them and always wants to play. On the weeks that we don’t have them, he paces the hall and scratches on both of their doors until he realizes they aren’t there. He also stands up on a table and will bark at their picture. He is such a sweet puppy!

Coleson's first piece of mail....

A week ago, Coleson got his first piece of mail. It was for a book exchange and it was so cute. I went and bought a book and mailed it to the little girl that was listed. I am excited to see how many books Coleson gets back. Thank you Tanner for sending it to him.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Momma,
Happy Birthday to you!

Today is my mom's birthday. Her and my dad are going to Cozumel with two other couples tomorrow for a week. We love Cozumel and the whole family has gone twice. It's such a great island to go to and spend a week at. The diving is great which is what we like about it. I hope they eat at Carlos and Charlie's. They have some great food and awesome entertainment. We hope yall have fun and don't get too much sun without us!

How funny is this?

 

Dennis and I met my grandparents for lunch today. My grandfather had a doctors appointment in Jackson today and so we always meet them for lunch when they come. Their favorite place is The Trace Grill. Dennis and I love it also. She brought me a bag of goodies for Coleson and these were in there. How cute are these? I've never seen anything like it, but I'm sure that I will be glad to have them in a few months.

House Renovations

 

 

 

 

A few months ago when Dennis and I found out that we were pregnant, we had to figure out where the baby was going to go once it was here. We talked about selling the house, putting the baby in our room for a few months, or inclosing our dining room and making a nursery. We definitley knew that we would not put the baby in with Brandon and that Abbey and Brandon would not be sharing a room. We both knew that it was not fair to them just because another sibling was being added to the family and that we would do whatever needed to be done to keep this from happening. They are both at the age where they need their own space. So after much thought, we decided to inclose the dining room. We decided to make it look like a dining room as much as possible so that when we put the house on the market it can be sold as a dining room still. We both want one more child (after Coleson; yes, I know we are crazy) so a 5 bedroom house was a little too big right now and we didn't want to move now and then have to move again in a few years. The project is finally complete with the exception of a few door knobs, new light, and pictures hung on the wall. My house was upside down for a few weeks, but it was definitely worth the trouble. I love the way it has made the house look and I am excited that all 3 kids will have their own space. All that is left to do now is get the nursery ready. The crib is on back order (and has been since August) but should be shipped in the next few weeks. The fun part is about to begin.

Update on Baby Steed

I had my 25 week doctor’s appointment this morning and everything went great. Coleson’s heartbeat was 166 bpm and I am measuring right on time. I also gained 4 pounds making a total of 5 now. That sounds like a lot to me but he is almost 2 pounds so the weight that I’ve gained is mostly baby. Whew!!! I go every two weeks now so we are getting closer to the due date. I am having a 4D sonogram in 3 weeks so we are excited about that. Dennis and I start childbirth classes tonight so that should be pretty interesting to say the least. We also signed Abbey and Brandon up for a sibling’s class that is in a month. We want to keep them a part of this as much as possible. By the way, Coleson’s room is finally complete. We are just waiting on the baby bed to come in. It should be here in a few weeks. Pictures to come soon of the completion of the room.