RR's B'day!

For RR's b'day, we decided to celebrate at home. So the Bean and I threw a party for him! :) She helped me pick out the decorations - yellow balloons and streamers, Sponge Bob hats (seriously Wal-mart - you need to step up your party hat selection!!), and a handmade sign. The Bean helped me make one of Daddy's favorite desserts - cherry cheesecake - yes, the Jello kind from a box. That's his fave. And it just so happens to be very easy for the Bean to help make. We made a special brunch for RR, then he got to choose what he wanted for dinner. It happened to be Milo's, so the Bean and I picked Milo's for dinner and we all had cheesecake afterward. It was nice just to have a family day at home together. Also, a few days b/f his b'day, Mimi and Grampa came over to visit and brought him cupcakes. These were enjoyed by all. The Bean licked the icing off one and asked for another. There was icing everywhere...even in the Bean's belly button! We had to pick them up and tote them straight to the tub. Happy b'day RR/Daddy! We love you!!

My man the lumberjack

The mighty man felled the tree...

Those branches are no match for a 20 foot chainsaw.

It helps to be 6'4" sometimes.

Aren't they gorgeous!?!

As you all probably know, we moved a couple of months ago. What you may not know is that our new house had been vacant for two years b/f we moved in it. (Which helped us get a great deal...thank you Lord!) Anyway, the former owners mowed the grass when they moved out but that was about it for lawn care, so our yard needed a little TLC. So we've had some landscaping guys out here doing a few things, like trimming everything up, ripping some things out, laying down fresh pine straw, etc. Some of you who know RR well know that he has always said that he didn't think he'd be a fan of lawncare. (We haven't had a lawn up until this house.) But give a man a big chainsaw and it'll change his mind!! (Plus, since RR grew up in the country (and I mean country), he's cut down trees before. Like big trees. Who knew?? And he worked at a sod farm during HS too, so the man knows his grass.) To save money, RR did a few projects himself, like sawing down some low branches, small trees, and general underbrush-ishness. (Yes, I made up that word.) He worked for several hours over a couple of days and was quite the lumberjack. I wish I had before and after pics of the yard, but I don't, so I included some action pics instead. My "contribution" to the landscaping was to cut off some hydrangea blooms and put them in a vase. It was so fun cutting flowers from the yard!! I was quite proud of my man the lumberjack for doing a lot of hard work (and not chopping off an appendage in the process - whew)!

Daddy's b'day

Donning the party hats...RR's had already broken. :)

The Bean's cake decor philosophy: the more sprinkles, the better.

Helping Mommy clean up

Mommy's little helper

Daddy turned a whopping 35 years old this month, and we had a big par-tay for him. The Bean was the party planner, coming up w/ the theme ("balloons, and streamers, party hats too" - taken from her Barney movie), picking out his gift (bagels - also from her Barney movie, and pajama pants), and helping Mommy make the cake (she chose the cake decor - sprinkles). She insisted that we all wear party hats like Barney, but Wal-mart was out of them (what?!?!) so I made some from elastic and cardstock. They weren't my best work. We had a big breakfast for Daddy that the Bean helped me make too. Oh, and RR and I did actually go on a date for his b'day too...Firebirds and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". RR loved his b'day weekend and a great time was had by all!

A fun weekend for the whole fam!

This weekend the Bean and I went to the 'coe (my hometown) for a shower for Baby G. It was given by some good friends of our family. We had a great time and got lots of good, needed stuff for Baby G. Some of the gifts I was most excited about: a swaddler (the kind that velcros!), some adorable appliqued burp cloths, a shadow-embroidered bubble, and of course...some diapers!!



The highlight of the Bean's weekend was getting a new tricycle from Mimi and Grandpa! She loved it, and even learned to use the pedals a little bit.



As for RR's weekend plans, on Thursday the crazy guy decided to take a road trip to San Antonio, TX w/ my brother and another friend of his for the Spurs vs. Suns NBA playoff game. They drove about 12 hours there and 12 hours back, just to go to this game. And they had a blast! The game went into double overtime and the Spurs won. The Spurs are RR's favorite NBA team. He loves Tim Duncan.

The hostesses and I

The Bean showing us where Baby G is...this is my mom in the picture w/ me for those of you who don't know her...

The Bean trying out her new tricycle!

Spring cleaning

Today after lunch, the Bean wanted to play in the car (don't ask me why she likes to do that), so I just sat and watched her play and roam about the car f0r 5-10 minutes. What was she doing that whole time, you ask? She found a napkin and cleaned the entire front and middle rows with it. I mean, she wiped down the console, steering column, leather seats, her carseat, windows, etc...even the ceiling. And she put her car toys up too. For those of you who don't know, RR is a major clean freak (me not so much, but I am still pretty tidy), so I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree!! :) Like father, like daughter.

The Big Day

Since I have been berated by many of you over the waiting period to find out the sex of our baby, I am, as a gesture of good will, posting this tonight instead of tomorrow or Monday. You are welcome. :)

It's a....

BOY!!

We are thrilled! Just for the record, I was right. :) RR really thought he wanted a girl again b/c we love the Bean so much, but he was pretty overwhelmed w/ emotion when the ultrasound lady told us we were having a boy. We think we have decided on a name...we are saying that we're 99% sure, but there are a few others we're still mulling around on. But the main frontrunner is Harrison Grant Skinner. And we would call him Grant. RR thought that up all by himself! I would post an ultrasound pic, but honestly we didn't get many good ones. Plus I'm too lazy to scan it in.

Speaking of it's a boy, that's probably what the doctor was saying to RR's mom about 34 years ago...we celebrated RR's 34th b'day today. (What a great segue!!!) That's the reason we were waiting until today to tell my fam, since we were going to see them in person. Today was a perfect day for RR. He slept in a little bit (8:30 am...that's sleeping in nowadays), then I made him bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. After getting ready, my family arrived, and we played w/ the kiddos for a bit b/f putting them down for naps. Once they got up, we ordered pizza for lunch and had cookie cake. Then all of us went to Recreation Station where the Big Kid (RR) played just as hard as the little ones. RR loves an arcade. Then we came home and put the Bean down for another nap, and RR watched football. He said it was a great day. :) The only thing that went wrong today was that the Bean got her first (and hopefully last!) bloody nose. She was running up an incline at Recreation Station and tripped. She was fine about 30 seconds after she fell and wanted to go play again, but we had to stop the bleeding. Hopefully her new outfit won't be ruined, but we're just glad she was ok! Here are some pics from today.

Our front door "announcement."

RR requested a cookie cake, and Publix did us up right w/ the icing! Yum!

The big kids playing air hockey. (My brother Drew beat RR, so did I later on!!)

Evan sliding down one of the many the blow-up thingies.

The Bean and Evan playing on the bouncy thing.

The Bean in my latest project. Not the most attractive pic of her, but it was the best I could get of the outfit.

Happy Anniversary!!

This past Sunday was our 7th anniversary. It's hard to believe we've been married that long! We'll be in the double digits b/f you know it. For our anniversary, we went on a date Friday night and got a babysitter for the Bean. We were going to go to P.F. Chang's, but there was an hour and twenty minute wait (At 5:45 pm!! I know it was a Friday, but good grief!), so instead we headed over to Patton Creek to look for restaurants since we were going to a movie there. And we found the perfect place...J. Alexander's...still a nice restaurant that we never go to, romantic atmosphere, tasty food, and best of all - a 10-15 minute wait! RR HATES to wait for food. :) And being pregnant, I tend to be the same way. We also went to see I Am Legend, which is a good movie but a freaky one. Then we went to get some ice cream at Ben and Jerry's. (And I got a double scoop in a sprinkle cone...ahh, the joys of having a higher metobolism for a few months!!) A tasty end to a fun evening.

Also, I thought y'all would get a kick out of our gifts for each other. We don't make a huge deal out of anniversary gifts usually b/c it's right after Christmas and right b/f RR's b'day. So here's the story of my gift: a couple of months back, I was looking through the $200 and less section in the paper, and I stumbled across a silver tea service for $100. I figured it was probably a piece of junk, but I figured it didn't hurt to check it out. (I've had my eye out for one for the past couple of years...I wanted a six piece set, and usually you don't find them for less that $200 for silver plate, and that would be a good deal.) So I called the lady, and long story short, she was selling a six piece silver plate set in great condition for only $100. Now, this is a very frivolous purchase, even though it's a good deal, b/c I don't have high tea or throw showers every day. But I knew I could set it out as a decoration, and use it on occasion for holidays or showers, etc. So I asked RR about it, and as I thought w/ Christmas coming up and all, he shot me down. But after Christmas, I brought it back up again, and he changed his mind, as he was looking for an "easy" anniversary gift idea. (Also, in the back of his mind, he was planning on buying himself new wheels for his bike, which actually cost more than the tea set and aren't a "necessary" purchase either. I think he felt justified in buying the wheels if I got something frivolous too. Ahh, the way our little minds work.) Anyway, the lady lives about 5 minutes away from us as it turns out and still had the set, so that was my anniversary gift! I love it, of course, and even though it wasn't RR's idea initially, it is still a very generous and nice gift! I say all that to preface what I got him for our anniversary. RR never wants or needs anything, for the most part, and he is picky about a lot of things. In short, he is hard to buy for, so if he ever mentions anything he wants, I jump on it. So he mentioned something one morning recently that he needed, and I thought "Perfect!" So what did I end up getting him to compare to his nice, generous, and romantic gift?? A nose hair trimmer. How romantic and thoughtful is that! I'm like the husband who gets his wife a blender or something. Of course, he needed the nose hair trimmer and was happy to get it. I don't know what my gift-giving says about me, but all I know is this: we had a very happy anniversary and I am blessed to be married to such a wonderful man. It's been the best seven years of my life, and I look forward to many more years with him, God willing.

My husband, the triathlete

RR has started to do triathlons here lately, and I am really proud of him. He's lost weight, really stuck w/ his training, and most importantly, has had fun! Here are some photos of him in the Buster Britton from a few weeks ago. This is his 4th event. He did the Mercedes 1/2 marathon, a duathlon (bike and run), the Y-Tri (YMCA mini-triathlon) and then the Buster Britton, a full triathlon. The Bean and I were there to cheer him on! He did great.