Daddy Bootcamp

  

BJ is sooo excited for bootcamp! 

   

     Meg told me about a class that is offered at
     Erlanger East for Daddy's-to-be.  I took it
     upon myself to sign up my husband so he can
     attend the class with Meg's husband, Tim.  
     BJ is soooo excited, can't you tell?  If truth
     be known, BJ probably knows more about this
     whole baby thing than me!  Maybe I need to
     find Mommy-to-be bootcamps!

Early Gifts for BB (& Mommy too)

From Stephanie & Presley

     I stopped by to see a dear friend today, and I was surprised with gifts! Stephanie found some precious zip-ups that could be for a little boy or little girl, and Presley gave BB some baby books!  How sweet!  And Stephanie also passed along her maternity clothes (no picture required)!  Thank you so much, Walker girls! I am so thankful for all the love we are already receiving at only 9 weeks pregnant! Note to BB:  You are one loved peanut-sized baby!

Katie's Message to BB

Katie with BB- July 30, 2012

Baby Belue,

How excited I am for you! The Lord has seen fit to bring you into one of the most wonderful families you could ever ask for. Even now, your Mom is on this thing called Pinterest, eagerly planning out your fabulous arrival into a very stylish existence. 

Baby Belue, your Uncle Caleb and I have been  praying for you ever since we first heard you were on the way. This has had me thinking of a passage in the Bible: Psalm 33, Verse 11 says "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, The purposes of His heart through all generations." Baby Belue, I don't pretend to know the purposes of the Lord's heart, but I do know that you are an important piece of bringing them about. You are the next generation- and as daunting as that may seem right now, I have some good news for you! You are sure to inherit some amazing qualities from your parents. Your Daddy is one of the hardest working, resourceful people I have ever known. He loves your Mom so much; it is evident in the way he works so hard! And your Mom has been one of the bravest people I have ever known - she never stops loving her friends and family. She has shown me loyalty, honesty, and grace even when it is most difficult. You see, there are so many that love you already because we love your parents so much.

Baby Belue, life can be so hard. But it can also be incredibly joyful, like the very first second I heard of your coming! To me, and to many, you represent hope. Hope that the Lord saw fit to bless two amazing people with these qualities and to also bless them with you. The Psalm later goes on to say "We wait in hope for the Lord, He is our help and our shield." I think, dear one, that we have been waiting for the Lord to bring you. 

May you know the Lord's love for you every day of your life as you see your parents model it for you, and may your parents know the Lord's love for them as they see you grow to know the ultimate hope of all generations, Jesus Christ, as your Savior.

                                                                                                     Love, Aunt Katie

BB with my Kelley Family

We met in LaFayette tonight for our usual Sunday night dinner, and I brought BB's picture along.  

Granny & Grandaddy Kelley with BB

Aunt Tena & Uncle Stewart with BB

BB's First Craft!

Crafting is so much fun with a Cricut! This piece of wall art is hanging in our hallway, below my "Oh, How He Love Us" art and two pictures of BJ and I. 

April's Message to BB

April and BB- July 28, 2012

Hello B. Belue!

     This is your Aunt April, and I am very excited to meet you soon! I cannot imagine what you will look like or even how you will act! I will be eagerly waiting for March to come. 

                                                      I already love you dearly,

                                                      Aunt April

Amanda's Message to BB

Amanda and BB- July 28, 2012

Hi Baby Belue,
     Welcome to the world! I'm sure you can already tell, but you're going to have a wonderful mom.  Trust me.  I know because she's been a very protective big sister!  :)  Your dad will be great too at understanding and advice.  We all can't wait until we can start making and buying you cool stuff!  Grandaddy Tim will find all kinds of things (mostly camo) at the flea market).  Grandma Holly has already started buying stuff to record your baby years.  We just saw your first sonogram, and I'm sure you'll agree that you look a little like a frog or gummie bear, but I can't wait to see what you will be like in 8 months!
                                                             With Love,
                                                             Aunt Amanda

The Name Game- What's in Our Name?

Even though I have been thinking of baby names since elementary school, I (or I should say WE) are still undecided on names.  It seems that I come up with a new name or two every day.  To keep myself focused, I have decided on a few guidelines (but of course none of these are die-hard requirements):

1.               Since I dropped my middle name Elizabeth when I got married, it would be nice to pick that back up, if BB is a girl.  

2.         I would like to use Ann or Anne in someway.  I feel that with the significance of this past year and our early June conception date, this name is becoming more and more of a requirement. And I looove my Annie Elizabeth!  

3.  I would love to use a family name, and the name Joe is found on both sides of our families.  

4.  Following my love for all things French, using a French name would be an option.

5.  Being a language arts teacher, I believe names with alliteration have a nice ring to them.  And we are calling this baby BB, so I think I like names beginning with the letter B.

6.  And finally, BB's name cannot be typical.  Being a teacher and having worked with children for almost 10 years, I can place a face with almost any name.  So I want to give my child a unique name that is set apart from others.  

So the names I have thought of since we first found out we were preganant? Get ready!

      AnnEllee, Elizabelle Anne, Andon, Braxton, Breeanne Elizabeth, 

William (Liam), Elle, Vivienne Lee, Joe, JoeLee

When will we be settled on a name for BB?  Probably on the due date! 

Gray it is! Nursery colors

No matter girl or boy, the color is light gray and cream!  No theme, just colors & patterns!

Gray with powder yellow & powder pink

Gray with light blue, light green, & cream orange

Future Friends & One Betrothed

I am creating a friends list for Baby Belue.  Baby's first friend (& possibly the betrothed) is Mr. Baby Boy Sparks! 

Lucky parents- Tim and Meg Sparks

Now moving on to the baby celebrity friends!

                     

             Adele's baby!!!                           Taylor Hanson's baby!!!

               

                  Reese's baby!!!            Dixie Chicks Emily Robinson's baby!!!

Baby Belue's First Gift

    Baby's first gift came from two very important people in my life: Kimberly Lawrence (Aunt Kimmy) and Annie Blevins (Aunt Ann).  

To: Baby Belue
From: An earthly angel and a heavenly angel

    

    Kim gave me this gift the week I found out I was pregnant, and although I had seen this gift before, I was shocked in the best way possible.  When Annie was pregnant with her first son, Noah Leif, someone (who obviously didn't know her and her bad taste in football teams well) gave her these Georgia Bulldogs' items as a gift.  I remember Annie giving these things to Kim and telling her to put them away somewhere because either she or I would use them one day.  

    And so to see these things that I had long ago forgotten about was a lovely shock for me.  I feel as though this is a gift that cannot be outdone; I mean, this gift comes from heaven!  Go Dawgs!     

Oh my! July 1st, 2012

    Sunday, July 1st, my family had lunch together at Pie Slinger's in Rock Spring.  Timothy and his girlfriend, Elise, were up, which doesn't happen too often, so Mama invited everyone (Keith, Libby, Blake, Gabby, Grandma).  Timothy surprised us all (well, most of us) by announcing his engagement to Elise!  I cannot say enough how much we adore Elise, and I am so glad that she will be a part of our family soon!  (October of this year actually)

     Later that night, I decided to take a pregnancy test, just to make sure I wasn't pregnant.  I have taken so many of these tests over the last six years, so this wasn't a big deal to me, and I expected the results to be the same as always: negative.  But with BJ working out of town a few days that next week, I decided to just be sure.  And that's where this whole new life began.
     To put it lightly, I was shocked.  BJ couldn't stop smiling, but I was in full-on panic mode!  I called Mama, and of course, she had the same response as BJ.  After two tests (and a third one a few days later, just to make sure), there was no denying that I was pregnant.  And this was not information that I could NOT share with everyone!

     BJ called his Mom and sister, JoAnn, and then we drove over to my Mama's house and shared our news with Daddy, April, Amanda, Timmy, and Elise (and Jacob was there too).  I hated that my news coincided with Timothy's and Elise's exciting news, but telling them all face-to-face was so meaningful.

     And so, that's where it all began.  Shock, surprise, and lots of smiles!  

Afternoon of July 1st
In just a few hours, we will learn about our little surprise.

Numbers & Such

    July 26th was my Mama's and Daddy's 32nd wedding anniversary.  This wasn't planned out, but it was special to give them a picture of their first grandchild on this memorable day.  (And Timmy, April, and Amanda, I think this definitely makes me the favorite child!)

This baby will be:

    *the first grandchild for my parents

    *the fifth grandchild for BJ's parents

    *my grandmother Trundle's first great-grandchild

    *my Kelley grandparents' 10th great-grandchild (I think!  I'm losing count!)

    *Timothy's, April's and Amanda's first niece/nephew

    *JoAnn's and Melinda's third niece/nephew

Our First Ultrasound & Excitement

     After three long weeks and two reschedulations, BJ and I finally made it to our first ultrasound.  I must say that at that point, I still believed that all this could have been in my head.  I mean, the terrible morning sickness (all day) should have been enough to convince me, but I still thought it possible that there was no baby.  By these pictures, it is apparent that there is indeed a baby in my tummy! (And yes, my dear family, just ONE!)

We found out that Baby Belue's heart is beating 155 beats per minute.  Baby is around 8 weeks and three days old, putting the due date around March 6, 2013.  Fun fact: BJ and I were both born on March 18th, so it looks like we will share the same birth month as a family.

    With all that nonsense out of the way, I am now truly truly excited about this baby!  We both are totally amazed at this miracle!  Baby Belue is a part of God's plan for us, and I believe that His timing is right on.  Many of my closest family and friends can understand the perfect timing of this baby with all that has transpired this past year.  It is evident to me that, in a world filled with pain and sorrow, good will prevail.  God is love, and oh, how He loves us.

And by the way: I'm no expert on these things, but I do believe that we have a Little Girl Belue on our hands! Just a feeling and nothing more!

Here are a few more pictures from today.

Third Time is a Charm!

This will be my third blog, but I am hoping that this will be my most complete one yet!  I decided to create this blog for several reasons:
    1) I want a way to share these next few months with our closest friends
      and family, and I'm not just not the biggest fan of Facebook for purposes
      like this.
    2) Many many years later, I want to share this blog with Baby Belue.
    3) And lastly, a blog doesn't take up shelf room!  Since I have been cleaning
        out, giving away, and throwing away recently, this greatly appeals to me!
So follow us and enjoy!  I can almost assure you that many laughs will follow! :)