What have we been up to?

Kind of a loaded question! I have been bad about blogging lately-- sorry! Things are going a mile a minute around here.

I will say first that I am 32 weeks pregnant today.  I still feel great, but the tiredness is really kicking in around 8:00 every night.  I just know I have to make myself lie down and rest my back.  Cal has been a handful and a half lately and I think that's contributing to it.  I was going to do a post last Thursday about a reallllllly bad day with Cal (it involved biting, kicking, and getting hit in the head with a golf club...all in a grocery store parking lot....with people watching.....), but then I thought, who wants to read about something that awful, albeit funny??  So I skipped it...but I think that's adding to my levels of exhaustion!

We had the inspection on the new house yesterday and everything looks great-- the inspectors were in shock at what great condition everything was in: phew! What a freaking relief.

I am not sure when I will find the time to blog with everything we have going on, but I realllllly want to, so the posts might be some brain dumps and might not be very good for a while.... just know I'm trying!

More on the house---

We have decided to replace the carpeting before moving in and we also want to paint the entire inside of the house prior to moving (so preggers lady doesn't have to smell it).  I have been running like crazy pricing out carpeting and painters and we are also looking at some granite countertops, so I am pricing those too.  It's like a full time job!

I just have to keep telling myself: it will get done, it will get done.......


Some people have been asking about decor for the new house.....good question!

For the boys rooms:
Cal is getting a big boy bed....he isn't in it yet, but he will be sometime soon, so we have that (and the most adorable bedding EVER for it).  We are borrowing my brother's extra crib to go in the room also...and since we don't know how long Cal will be in the crib, my (fairy god)mother is making a crib skirt that matches the bedding (navy and white stripes with lime green piping) and it is about the cutest thing I have ever seen.  The skirt is navy blue with lime green grosgrain ribbon around the bottom.  She is also making the curtains to match--SO SO SO cute!  We found some big boy sheets and matching crib sheets, so Cal's room is pretty set.  Pictures will come once we get it all put together :) I am also debating painting one wall navy blue, but that's up in the air still...

Andy's room is going to be adorable too.  My (fairy God)mother is making his bedding as well.  She is doing the crib skirt and the bumpers as well as the curtains.  Have I mentioned that my mom is Martha Stewart? She made the entire crib bedding for my cousin's baby and it turned our adorable.  We are going with a nautical theme in Andy's room  and the skirt for the crib will be navy, red and white.  The bumpers are going to be navy blue with red piping, and I think we are going to put his monogram in the middle of the back bumper that faces out (when you are looking into the crib, it will be facing you).  The curtains are going to be roman shades that are blue with red trim...I think....they might be red with blue trim, I can't remember. 

Their bathroom is going to be SO fun....it's going to be a lime greenish color (it's off of Cal's room, so it will tie in) and have a car theme....

We are sticking with a neutral wall color throughout the house--I think Wicker or something close to it.  If we want to change that later on we can...

soooo, it's been a little busy around these parts!

Here are some pictures from recent happenings:

We had 2 showings this past Sunday so we headed to Lowe's to look at paint, flooring, etc, etc.....not on our list? A tractor.

 We took Cal to the Country Club to watch the Tar Heels.  Sadly, they lost.  Cal wasn't too upset though.

 It is tough work being Cal. 

 No, he isn't potty training.  Yes, I covered his "parts" with a blur.  The kid loves to sit on the toilet.  He has yet to actually "go" while sitting there, but he climbs up (and holds my hand) and cracks up the entire time he's sitting there.  I might need to grab some books or something for him to look at while sitting there.  He thinks this is the funniest thing ever. 

 His new favorite word is GOLF!  Eddie is thrilled.  He actually has a really good swing and has mastered swinging with one hand so that he can hold his other clubs with his free hand. :)

 And finally, yesterday, it was beyond time for Cal Boy to get his second haircut.  We went back to see Miss Donna, who did his first cut and she gave him a lollipop for being so good and he was in heaven!  She did a great job again and we were happy with the result!  His hair was SO long in the back.  It was def a mullet :)

OH!  And for all of the local moms (or moms that have a Chick-fil-a near you--see if they offer this service!), the Chick-fil-a near Southpoint mall has started a "Mom Valet" service.  I watched it in action yesterday and was amazed:  A woman drove out of the drive-thru and parked her car next to me.  I walked in with Cal and she walked in with her kids.  A person who worked there greeted her at the door and said: "your table is ready right over here!"  I watched in absolute awe and she walked her kids over to a table with all of their food already set up with the placemats already placed with the highchairs already out and ready.  All they had to do was walk in and eat!  She placed her entire order when she went through the drive thru and by the time she parked and walked in, it was ready for her.  You tell me that isn't amazing!  I was carrying Cal, a purse the size (and weight) of a small child and juggling our drinks and just staring at this woman.  The people at this Chick-fil-a are amazing regardless though....they carried all of my food over to my table.  Just wanted to share that little tidbit with you!

Pictures from August

The talented photographer, Tamara Lackey, held a workshop in August where photographers from all over the country came in to her studio to learn hoe to be a better photographer.  Tamara did our wedding and did Cal's one month pictures, so I feel like she's family to us. 

Tamara asked if I would mind bringing Cal in so she could "shoot" him and show the others how to take pictures of babies.  Of course, I would to!  As "payment" for our time, we would receive the disk of some of the pictures taken that day. 

As the title of this post suggests, it was August...and it was SUPER hot.  Cal was a great sport in the beginning, but then when he saw all of the people there, he put his hands in his mouth, causing his drool factor to increase by 100%.  Oh, also, three days after this shoot, he got ALL FOUR of his upper teeth.  He started the shoot in an adorable polo shirt.  I did not bring a change of clothes because I didn't think we would have a fountain coming out of his mouth... Tamara suggested we just take the shirt off!  So we did...

I wasn't supposed to be in the pictures, but he was being kind of difficult, so my sweaty self made an appearance in some. 

When I went to pick up the DVD this past week, she told me they were doing another workshop this week (yesterday), and would Cal want to do it again... um, of course!  So yesterday we headed out to a park-- he was much happier there!  And Cal got his picture taken again.  I can't wait to see how those turned out-- hopefully we will see them sooner this time around! But, hey, I can't complain...I didn't have to pay anything! :)

Moving ahead

Well, we have decided to bite the bullet and get going with this move....!!!!

Eddie and I have been talking about it a lot lately and we realize that it is just too hard to have the house on the market with all of our stuff in it with a toddler and a dog (not to mention a husband.....).  We are going to take our chances and move into the new house and just hope that our house sells as soon as we get everything out!

We are SUUUUUUPER excited to get moved and (hopefully) settled before Andy arrives.  We have the inspection on the new house on Tuesday and, fingers crossed, we will be closing on the new house April 19th.  We are getting new carpeting and new paint in the house, so I am hoping to get that going on the 20th (why waste time??) so we can be in by the end of the month....2 weeks before Andy arrives! 

Are we crazy, or what????

Here is a picture of the new house taken from the flier:

 And here is a picture from the kitchen looking into the family room. 

 To the right (where the door is open), is a screen porch that leads out to a bigger deck.  Straight ahead is the downstairs bath, and to the right of that is the guest room.  If you turn at the stairs, there is a formal living room and a dining room...

There are a lot more pictures to come, but I wanted to share a few!

My fingers and toes are crossed that everything goes well with the inspection next week!!!  I am going to go over there with Cal after his nap to measure windows....My saint of a mother is going to start working on the curtains for the boys rooms!  Also, my saint of a mother is making all new bedding for Andy.  I will do another post on his nursery soon.  I haven't done the FIRST thing for him yet....that will be coming....all in time, right???

Cross your fingers for me, k??

Save The Date!!!

Save the date! Steven Andrew Williamson is scheduled to be delivered via c-section on MAY 18th!!!  WOOT WOOT!

I had a doctor's appointment today and begged him to go ahead and schedule me...we are all set for the 18th...as in TWO months from today!!!  ACK! 

Cal went with me to my appointment.  It was a crazy morning: 

Eddie is out of town for work, my parents are out of town, and we had a showing.  Oh, and Cal is wild.  Have I mentioned that last one lately?

I got up before Cal-- he's been sleeping in until 8:30 the past two mornings.  Go figure, but I am LOVING it! I took a quick shower and raced around getting myself and the house ready.  When he finally woke up, I cleaned up his room, got him dressed and then we headed downstairs.  Before he could tear up the house too much, I let him play outside while I finished getting things ready and loading the car.  I did most of the cleaning late last night, so the house was for the most part ready, but needed the final touches. 

Cal was having a great time playing:

(I know I've said this a million times, but he is alllllll boy.  He wanted the hat and he wanted to put it on all by himself!)

We left the house early... this is a new thing I've been doing before a showing.  The realtor was scheduled to come between 11:30 and 12:30 and we were out of the house by 9:30.  It just gives Cal less time to tear things up! I swung by my parents house to check on things and drop off Hank, and then I took Cal to the mall so he could walk around and burn some energy.

By the time we arrived at the mall, the cute sneakers and socks were off and thrown into the back of the car and he was pointing at his bug boots.  Fine by me!  (see this new attitude I've taken???).  We went into the mall and walked from one end to the next with Cal waving at every person we passed.  He was having a great time pointing out neat things to me.  The kid about died when we passed a shoe store!  He was gasping and pointing and shrieking! He likes shoes....

After the mall, we went to the doctor's office.  They love kids there and always welcome them, but I make a point to never take him with me.  Normally, I don't have to, but today was a special circumstance.  We walked into the waiting room and every woman in there went "awwwwww" as soon as we walked in.  Cal had an audience!  He pretended to be shy and would come over to my lap and tried to bury his head.  Phony.  

They called us back and Cal was having fun in the examination room:

 This is gross, but Cal saw me pee into a cup and he was adamant that he have a cup too!  So, I got him his own cup to carry around.  He wouldn't put it down!  He had a great time at the appointment until the sweet doctor had me sit on the table.  I think he thought I was hurt and he started crying.  I picked him up and had him sit with me, which was a challenge since I was wearing a dress (dum dum move on my part).  So, with one hand, I was trying to hike up my dress, while the doctor was trying to cover my legs and underwear with a paper sheet.  Cal didn't like him that close to me apparently because he kicked the doctor with a big old rubber boot.  Once I got my dress up and paper sheet in place, Cal started pulling the sheet up to cover my belly.  I asked Cal to show the doctor where the baby was, and he lowered the sheet and pointed to my belly like, duh-- it's right here.  I had him "pat the baby" and he looooooves to do that, so he started smacking my stomach and the doctor was cracking up.  He listened to the heart beat and measured me and everything was right on track!

I feel like I am carrying this baby lower than I did Cal....not that I look any different (I have gained a ton lately....Andy has grown a lot lately!), but when he kicks, it feels like he is kicking SOOOO low.  The doc said that was totally normal with a second baby. 

After we were done measuring, etc, we set the date for the c-section!  I am super excited...it makes it even MORE real, if that's possible!

Cal came home and had lunch and was worn out from all the walking and entertaining:

The above picture reminded me of a time I caught Cal napping like this-- last May:

Both times in plaid shorts and white polo shirts! haha!

Hope you all enjoy this beautiful weather!  I am off to bake more cookies....we have an Open House this weekend!

18 months!

WOW! Can my sweet little guy really be 18 months old today?? Before we know it, he will be TWO!  Everyone said that from 15 months to about 19 or 20 months are extremely hard with a baby.  They are developing their own opinions and are not afraid to share them (read: he likes to say NO).  I will say, things have gotten so. much. easier as of lately.  Maybe it's because we took the trip last week and I got a little break from the wild child, or maybe it's because he's growing out of this tough phase.  Or maybe it's because I am learning how to pick my battles and to relinquish some control (you wanna wear your rain boots all the damn time?  FINE!).  I think it's been a combo of all of the above that have made life so good lately. 

this morning: getting ready for our appointment! Brushing teeth, sporting a stylish robe

I love being a mom.  I really really really do.  It's hard.  But no one said it would be easy.  I love the challenges that I am faced with in this journey and I think it's so much fun to watch my son grow and learn (it'll never get old saying my son.....I can't believe how lucky I am).

Speaking of growing and learning: we had Cal's 18 month check up this morning! He was quite a ham at the office.  We got there a little early- not sure what was up with that.  I've been wayyyy late to every other appointment.  Go figure. Anyway, we were there early, so Cal had some time to play with toys in the waiting room.  Oh, and he wanted to wear his bug boots.  I tried to put on his cowboy boots because they look really cute with jeans and there was almost a meltdown to end all meltdowns in the parking lot of the office (yes, I travel with multiple pairs of shoes), so I choose to not pick that battle and he got to wear the bug boots!

 Playing in the waiting room!

When we got called back, he waved BYE to everyone in the waiting room (who were all cracking up at his boots) and grabbed my hand to walk back with the nurse.  Let me just say how much it melts my heart to have him reach up and grab my hand.  I don't know what it is about his little hand in mine, but he loves to hold my hand and I love love love love to hold his.  I don't ever want to let go....

Distracted, sorry...

We went into the "triage room" to get weighed and measured.  The nurse tried to help by removing the boots.  Ohhhhh buddy.  Not a good idea, ma'am!  After I calmed him back down again, Cal was measured and when she tried to measure his noggin, he got SO upset.  Apparently, when they reach 18 months, they aren't big fans of people touching them...good to know!  The nurse swore it was fine and totally normal.  I felt terrible.  As soon as she was done, Cal (in just a diaper), put on his boots and tromped through the entire office to the complete opposite end of the building to the examination room.  People were coming out of their rooms to look at him.  It was hilarious.  He was holding my hand (sigh), and holding his head high and clomping down the hall like he owned the place!  Cal would say "HI" to every single person we passed, and he swung his free arm.  It was great.

hanging out in the room wearing just a diaper and boots waiting for Dr. Kathy (have I mentioned how much we love her??)

Here are his measurements for 18 months:

Weight: 24 pounds, 11 ounces-----> about the 25-50th percentile (this is the lowest he's ever been in weight--percentile wise....I think it's because he is SO SO SO busy)
Height: 32.5 inches-----> about the 50-75th percentile
Head circumference: 50.2 cm -----> 97th percentile!!!!!!  hahahahahhahahaha....it's from the brains, really!

She was really happy with him developmentally, and therefore, we are too. 

We talked about his lack of TV watching... I know it's not great for a kid to watch TV a whole lot, but this kid doesn't watch it AT ALL.  I mean, we try....we try all the time (which I am not bragging about at all!), but he doesn't care a thing about it.  I didn't know if this was odd, since all of the other kids his age we know love to at least watch one show on TV.  The only thing he will ever pay attention to (other than GameDay and The Today Show) is Wonder Pets and that's only when he's strapped down in a chair, which is a trend I am not fond of.  I just didn't know if this was a sign of some ADD for later on down the road.  Okay, make fun of me, but the kid will not sit still long enough for 30 seconds of a show..... we just decided that he would much rather be going going going and watching TV takes up too much time.  I guess I should try to adopt that mentality....maybe?  But, I love the Bachelor..... (hmmm, does he get his ADD from me, perhaps???).

We had a big afternoon that ended with us playing in the yard and me taking a ton of pictures :)

Here is our monthly shot:

I just love this one....an airplane flew by and he was so excited:

 He's so serious in this one, but I love the expression on his face:

 The "boys" were having such a fun time together.  Cal would find a stick, Hank would take it from him and Cal would crack up.  This went round and round and round....

And finally, just some other fun shots of Mr. Cal Boy!

 Thanks for reading all the way to the end....phew!  This was a long post!

Birthday celebration!

What a beautiful weekend we had!  We had a showing on Saturday and on Sunday, we celebrated Elizabeth (my sister-in-law)'s birthday as well as Catherine (my niece)'s first birthday.  We had a GREAT time with all of the cousins out on the back deck playing together. 

Here is the one year old birthday girl, working on a cupcake:

 

 Notice the bathing suit?  That is what Eddie and I gave her :)  gotta love it!

The boys:

all three cousins-- love this picture

 

 

copying each other

I mean....honestly.  How can you not love some chubby thighs??

Cal is not afraid of a cupcake!

After playing on the deck, the kids headed down to the swing set to play.  Cal was on a sugar high and was having a ball!

So much fun watching these cousins grow up together!

xoxo

We're baaaaaaack!

Ahhh, it feels good to be home!  Eddie and I had a wonderful trip out to Utah, and really enjoyed spending time together, sans baby.

 It's snowing!

It's funny-- this trip was unlike other Jones trips that we have been on where you meet a bunch of people to hang out with during the week.  I guess that's because everyone skis on different levels and does their own thing during the day.  That being said, Eddie and I did not get ONE picture together (other than the self portrait above) this trip!  HA!  The last night, we had someone take our picture, but she was kinda short, and we are both looking down at her (since, apparently we are giants!), so we both have about 30 chins...and it's out of focus to boot.  I deleted it.  HA! No reason to keep it.  :)

We had a rental car while we were there, so while Eddie was out skiing, I was able to go out exploring.  It was a really neat place...and it's a good thing I'm pregnant, because I could have done some damage shopping! 

It snowed A LOT while we were there.  Like over 3 feet, which is a LOT to someone from NC!

Mr. Cal had the BEST time staying with his Grandma and Grandpa.  I made my mom promise to send me daily pictures and she actually did it!  It was so fun to talk to them and hear about their daily activities and what they were up to.  Cal had such a fun time-- I honestly do not think he knew we were gone or missed us one bit!  I can not tell you how great it is to be away from your baby and not be worrying about him.  I missed him like crazy, of course, but it was so great knowing he was so happy with my parents.  Yes, I realize how unbelievably lucky I am to have parents like mine who are willing and able to take care of a VERY busy almost 18 month old.  I can not thank God enough for my parents...

Mr. Hank went to the best camp EVER.  For those of you in the triangle with a pet, you have got to try this woman.  She runs the "camp" at her house and the dogs all sleep inside.  Hank usually ends up in her bed...!  He has so much fun when he goes there and usually sleeps for a solid week after we get him.  She is cheaper than any kennel we've ever been to, and he never goes into a cage!  LOVE it!  This woman's 3 year old niece came over to visit and she loooooves dogs.  She was pretending to be a doggie doctor and was checking out Hank and another pup.  After the examination, she rewarded them for being so good:

I LOVE this picture.  That is the epitome of a good boy... it gave me a huge belly laugh when she emailed it to me.

Here are some pictures from our trip, if you are bored enough to want to look!

Me at 29 weeks pregnant!  Wanted proof that I took this baby on a trip!

smiling at all the SNOW!

walking through the resort-- it was reallllly coming down this day

there's eddie!  I was up in the room and saw him getting into his skis.  I was excited :)

this is the resort-- I took this picture from the gondola ride up to the midway point of the mountain.  The area with the fence around it is the bunny slope.  I have never seen anything so cute as these little nuggets learning to ski in there! 

So, it was a great trip and I got to do a LOT of relaxing.  I read a ton, played some Words With Friends (hello, addicting), and got a fabulous prenatal massage.  It would have been nice to go to a tropical resort and sit by a pool all day long working on my tan, but this was something Eddie has always wanted to do...and hey, he earned it!  I was happy to let him pick a trip and I was just thrilled to get to go along for the ride. 

me = hot mess

I am not one of those moms that drops off their kid when they go on vacation and skips away happily.  Things would be easier if it was like that....

Eddie and I are leaving tomorrow morning for Utah.  I am calling it our Babymoon.  Cal spent some time over at my parents' house today since we had a showing and I went over when he work up from his nap.  I was all weepy starting from when he went down for his nap, and it's been downhill since. 

I put him to bed in their crib (and let me tell you-- he LOVES being over there. LOVES it), and started bawling.  It hasn't stopped yet.  I am such a baby.

My sweet little Cal Boy is going to have the best time over at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and I know he will, I am not worried about him....I am worried about me!!!!  The last time we left him we were headed to a tropical island where the rum drinks were flowing, and every time I started to miss him, I would order another drink (makes me sound pretty bad, huh?).  This time, Eddie will be skiing all day and I will be.....??   Resting?  Sleeping?  Walking around?  NOT drinking!  And NOT thinking about Cal....right?!?!

So anyway, I am going to take my blubbering self upstairs to finish packing and then I am going to bed early.  I am going to need lots of rest to make these puffy eyes go down :)  I am such a drama queen-- don't you love me??

PS-- I would love it if any of you reading this that can sympathize would comment telling me that I am not alone....thank you :)

Sunday Funday!

Eddie was out of town this past weekend and by the time Sunday morning rolled in, I was ready for him to get his booty back home.  He was working, so I can't really complain, but it did make me appreciate him even more.  It may not seem like husbands do a whole lot when they are home (at least in our case), but when they are gone for a few days, it really makes you realize how much their help HELPS! Cal and I both were missing Eddie.

 Going through dad's sock drawer.  Just giving it a good cleaning out.

Getting a better view of things...it's a much better view from on top of the tractor!

Anyway, by Sunday morning, Cal was sick of me saying NO and I was getting sick of his tantrums :)
My brother was over at my parents house with Jackson.  Chris was helping my dad with something on the computer and my mom and Jackson were playing.  I was originally going over to my parent's neighborhood to walk (like I do every other day), but when we pulled into the driveway, Jackson greeted us and started climbing up on the running boards screaming "HI, CAL!!!!"  I am telling you, these boys love each other!  I couldn't get Cal out of the car seat fast enough.  He was tearing the straps off of him, and Jackson was climbing up to see him and "help" me expedite the process.  :)

After i free Cal, he and Jackson ran down into my parents side yard.  They were chasing each other and playing with the balls in the yard and throwing them at each other-- so sweet.  My mom has this big creek that is next to her house and she was taking the boys down to throw rocks in the water and "look for turtles."  It was the sweetest thing to see my mom with a grandson on each side, holding her hand and following her wherever she went. 

After doing some exploring in the yard, the boys went to the treehouse/swingset:


Cal was scoping it out (notice grandma's hands ready to catch...Cal is pretty fearless): 

 I LOVE THE NEXT TWO PICTURES:

 (trouble)

 Just the boys hanging out

 After they played so hard, I tried to take Cal's under shirt off.  To do this, I had to remove both of his shirts.  Jackson decided he wanted his shirt off too. so the boys kept on playing with their shirts off!  It was 78 degrees out, so if they wanted to be shirtless, that was the day to do it!

 Having a little snack with Grandma...these boys love each other, and the each LOVE their grandma! Look at how Cal is looking at her in this picture.  He is crazy about her.

 And, not sure if you could see it in the above pictures from the treehouse, but Cal got super muddy playing so hard outside.  He was head to toe dirty!  He had a great bath and we were having some snuggle time on my bed before Eddie got home.  One of my favorite things about Cal are his sweet eyelashes...especially after bath time.  I tried to get a picture of them here, but I don't think the picture does them justice. 

Hope everyone else was able to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend...Sunday especially!

I am 28 weeks pregnant tomorrow, by the way.... ;)