The Nursery...a work in progress

We are starting to work on Drew's room and it has been so much fun!  We found a changing table/dresser for a great deal on craigslist.  Then we found a crib on sale at Children's Fair.  The bedding is ordered and I am so excited to see it all come together!

The crib:

Michael painting the dresser:

The bedding:

Now we are on the lookout for some colorful pieces of artwork or I may just go photograph our city's carousel in Coolidge Park.  Not sure yet.  And we still have to find fabric for recovering the purple rocking chair too!  It's a work in progress but so much fun!

Whats in a name?

Michael and I had no trouble naming this sweet boy.  We have chosen, Andrew Joseph.  He will be called Drew.  I can't wait to monogram something!

Andrew: strong, manly, courageous.
Joseph: God will add, God will increase.

May God bless our baby boy, keep him strong and healthy.  This is our nightly prayer.

Gender Reveal Party!

At our last doctor's appointment I was 14 5/7 weeks, Dr. B asked if we wanted to find out the sex if he could get a good shot?  We stared blankly at each other surprised by his offer, previously we had been told we would find out at the 18 week visit.

So, we told Dr. B that if he felt really confident then please write it down and seal it in an envelope.  We were planning to have a party with our family and find out the news together.

He did the ultrasound and had us look away when he ventured south so we wouldn't see anything.  Afterwards, he printed 2 pictures and gave us one of them.  I asked if that meant the other picture was our news and he said yes.  Gulp!  We immediately called our families and invited them to our party which was scheduled for 2 days later.  (Yes, Michael and I waited 2 whole days to find out!)

We had a cake made and the inside was either pink or blue...

 We asked family members to wear their color, pink or blue.  More people showed up in blue.

 It's A Boy!

We are so excited about this little boy!

Baby Laymon!

We found out I was pregnant on Friday August 10th.  We kept our HUGE secret to ourselves for several more weeks when we finally told our parents, all 8 of them.  The secret was killing us, but we wanted to wait until the 1st trimester was behind us before sharing the news with the rest of our family & friends.

Lets back track...
On that night in August, I just had a feeling.  I took the home test right before bed and placed it on the back of the toilet.  When Michael came in the room a few minutes later, I asked him to go check and see what it said.  He was a little frustrated with me, because it was REALLY early and he worried it would be negative and perhaps upset me.  I reassured him and asked him to please check the test.  When he came into the bedroom smiling from ear to ear, I knew.  I love that Michael told me "we are having a baby"... cool twist to the usual.

I felt pretty yuck for a few weeks in that 1st trimester but it has dramatically gotten better since 10 weeks.  Thank you Lord!  We are so excited!

Saturday October 13th we told the rest of our families and began sharing with our friends.  That has been the most fun!  We are due in April 2013.

This was our post on Facebook...

Not sure how she feels about this announcement, she usually just stares at us when we tell her she will soon be a big sis.  We hope to find out the gender in mid November.  Every night we pray for this little person, we love he/she so much already!

2nd Anniversary!

Michael & I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary on September 25th.  Hard to believe it's been 2 years!  We ordered Chili's take out and Michael let me pick the movie we rented.  It was a wonderful evening spent at home together.  Several days later we headed to Ormond by the Sea in Florida.  Friends of ours, Chris & Leanna, invited us to tag along on their vacation, so we did.

We had the best time just relaxing and eating good seafood!  Most days were spent at the beach, reading a good book and watching the dolphins.  We did travel to St. Augustine for the  day to shop and meet up with Shawne & Larry for some delicious Italian food.  I failed to take many pictures on our trip, but here are the few I did get on my phone.

Thanks to The Smo's for inviting us!  We had so much fun!

Weekend at the Lake

Once again we were invited to the lake with our friends Chris & Leanna along with several of our friends from Sunday School.  As our group seems to be growing lately, during the 3 days we had a total of 3 infants & 2 toddlers with us, plus all the "men"!  There was never a dull moment!  We had a blast and made some great memories!  Thanks to the Smos for asking us!

Little Viv with Leanna 

Michael enjoying the Sea Doo

Sarah & Chris

Daniel and Levi sharing a moment

Daniel, Vivian, & Meghan

Levi, Matt, & Jill

Lake Time

Our amazing hosts...Chris & Leanna

And the weekend mascot...Bailey

The boys putting their "diaper butt jackets" on, really does make playing football in the lake easier

Oliver, Micah, & Vivian...just chillin

Granny turns 90!

On August 18, 2012 we celebrated 90 years with my grandmother, whom I call Granny.  This is the matriarch of our family on my dad's side and I have so many wonderful memories of her throughout my life.  I am so blessed to have her and I cherish each memory we make together.  I love you Gran!

Happy 90th Birthday Gran!

Christian, Camden, Kelsey, Caleb, Jack, & Carson came to party

Dad shares a few things..

Aunt Trese tells a story

Gran says a few words too

Ashley, Leslie, Lindsey, Gran, Brad, Colin, & Me.

Nephews Take Over!

Michael and I hosted our 4 oldest nephews for 3 days in early August.  We had so much fun!  Kelsey, Christian, Caleb, & Jack joined us for the fun.  A few things we did: St. Jude Rodeo, Splash Park & Pool, Scavenger Hunt, Pizza Making, Movie Watching, Cookie Eating, and many more fun things.  I hope this is a great memory for them, it sure is for us.  Thanks Mark & Tara, Stacey & Laura, Sean & Leslie for letting us barrow your kiddos!

St. Jude Rodeo

Fun at the Splash Park

Obstacle Course!

A little DQ for lunch

"Roller Coster Ride" = any time you cross a RR track, bridge, or speed bump 

Stretch Caleb!

Scavenger Hunt with Uncle Michael

Happy Birthday Jack!

Jack turned 5 at the end of July, where does the time go?  He starts Kindergarten this year and I am feeling older by the second.  He celebrated with his friends at the pool.  Power Rangers was the theme, which I guess was fitting since he aspires to be one when he grows up.  It was a great day to celebrate this sweet little boy who is growing up way TOO fast!  I love you Jack!

The big 5!

Cake time!

Checking out the movie..