31/40

So this blog normally gets updated on Fridays...but it has been a little busy with traveling. :) This week has been spent enjoying time off for Christmas with family. 

First - we celebrated Christmas in Nashville, just the two of us! It is the last Christmas where it will be just the two of us in Nashville for Christmas. 

We love to do stockings! Its a tradition

Every year Christopher gives me an ornament that has  also been a tradition. This is our 6th Christmas together married. He did good on the ornament! :)

Baby Phillips first ornament!

On Sunday, the 23rd we left for Douglas, GA to spend Christmas with Christopher's side of the family. We arrived late Sunday night and enjoyed some good time in South Georgia.

His family has a street!

We have gotten lots of exciting heirlooms and vintage items from when Christopher was a baby. We looked through lots of photos, tractors, blankets, and clothes. Our baby is going to be able to enjoy his dad's toys, blankets, and outfits for a long time! I love it!

Christopher was quite a cutie! :) We might need to re-enact this photo with our baby!

Christopher's baby clothes! So cute!

On Christmas day we went to Christopher's grandparents for Christmas lunch. On the way, we read from our first Bible for our baby, the Jesus Storybook Bible. My friends who have kids all say this is the best story. So we read the Christmas story on the way to granddaddy and grandmommy's house. 

Jesus Storybook Bible - Christmas story

On Thursday, we left for Florida and went to visit my grandparents, parents, and siblings. We drove straight to Orlando, the happiest place on earth. We didn't go to Walt Disney World; rather we walked around Downtown Disney and Celebration. 

Downtown Disney with the family!

The whole family at Downtown Disney! :)

My Grandpa turned 80 this month, so we had a birthday party for him Friday night. It was good to be with my grandparents. We ate, laughed, and enjoyed some good family time.

Christopher and I with Grandma and Grandpa at an amazing Greek Restaurant in Tarpon Springs, FL called Hellas!

We have really enjoyed being off and just enjoying down time in addition to our parents. Baby Phillips has been great on the long drives and multiple beds. I hope that the ease of the pregnancy translates into an easy baby! Cross our fingers...

Until next week! :)

30/40

It has been a busy final work week of getting things ready to be out of town for Christmas. We did some Christmas shopping, christmas wrapping, and spent some good quality time with friends. It can't get any better than that! 

Christopher had a pretty busy weekend last week with doing an event at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. It was a private party for a local company and it was just incredible. I was so proud that Christopher was able to perform for the first time on that stage (to many more...). It seriously is the most beautiful building in Tennessee. I love it every time I walk in. 

Christopher and the Christ Church Choir performing at the Symphony Center

We had a doctors appointment this week and baby is wonderful. Our doctor said he is right on measurement. My glucose test came back perfect. He is head down and hopefully can hold out that way for 9.5 more weeks! :) 

He has been kicking non-stop at night after I have settled down from busy days. Its incredible. It feels like popcorn popping. 

We scheduled a 3d/4d ultrasound of our baby this week when we get back from family visits in Georgia and Florida. I cant wait to see those amazing "pictures" of our baby boy!

Until next week...

29/40

I tried as hard as possible to keep off the cold that I feel everyone in my life has...unfortunately the cold beat me this week. Monday = soar throat, Tuesday = runny nose, Wednesday = horrible horrible head/sinus pressure-breathing issues, Thursday = cough, Friday = coming out of the fog!

I know this is cliche but its never fun to get sick...but its really not fun to get sick when you are 7 months pregnant. Wednesday it was so bad I left work at 10:30 in the morning and slept the whole day. 

Thanks to Trader Joes, Savannah Bea Company, and a gift from my mom...these 3 things in the picture made the world of a difference. ;)

This week we did get to meet our official Pediatrician for baby Phillips, Dr. Ladd of Green Hills Pediatrics. We are very excited and comforted by his method of handling patients. He also seems to be a lot of fun (he has a wacky mirror in his office) :)

Also this week at our staff Christmas Party: Christopher received an over stimulation of sweet baby goodness from The Carlson twins. They were 12 days old and he was pretty anxious the whole time, but it was so cute.

Until next week...

28/40

Had our 28 week check up. Baby Phillips is progressing perfectly our doctor said this week. He is measuring correctly for his due date...in 2 months and 2 weeks! :) WOW!

I had to do the glucose test at my appointment this week :( It tasted pretty awful!

I also got blood work drawn...JOY TO THE WORLD! :) We are now on the every two week doctor appointment schedule now. 

We started on our birth-plan this week as well. Gosh there is a lot to think about when it comes to those hours around having a baby.

That is about all that has been happening in the baby world this week. I did add some more stuff to our baby registry for Amazon. It is getting so exciting to see all the cute and fun things that baby needs! It also seems to be like a lot of stuff in general...babies are needy! :)

TWEED REGISTRY

AMAZON REGISTRY

BABIES R US REGISTRY

TARGET REGISTRY

Until Next week...

27/40

Well this was another busy week. Christopher was busy with the Choir Christmas Concerts (Which PS they just went amazing...so proud of him!) 

My friend Jessica helped me this week make a bed skirt for the baby crib. It is so cute. I wish I would have taken pictures of it. Pictures Coming soon!!!

We also received two very generous boxes in the mail from our friends in Jackson, TN. It was some of the most adorable baby clothes.

Wow!! Lots of baby clothes!

and shoes! Look how cute! :)

I also washed about 4 loads of baby clothes from hand me downs that others have given me. I think this boy is set for the first 12 months of life that's for sure! :)

This past weekend my in-laws came in town to be here for the Christmas concerts. We shopped, ate, and had a good time together. We are headed to Georgia in 3 weeks for Christmas. Can't wait to spend time with the family again.

Boy, December is upon us. I need to continue to keep checking things off the Christmas gift list and the baby list. :) 

Until next week....

26/40

Wow! Week 26...a week that lots of stuff got done for the baby's room. My family was in town for Thanksgiving and my dad painted the baby's room and this amazing dresser that our dear friends gave us. It looks wonderful. 

Dresser - Before!

We were able to do some fun things with the family for Thanksgiving as well. Took a walk at Radnor, Shopped, went to the traditional Thanksgiving movie (Skyfall). 

Christopher, me, and parents on a hike (Photo courtesy of my brother)

Speaking of shopping. On Black Friday...my dad had been looking for a piece of luggage and we happened to go into the Essex store in Franklin. Little did I know that my dream stroller (Uppa Baby Vista) would be there...1/2 price!!! I was so excited. Lucy looks like she is not sure how she feels about  it in this picture below. :) 

Christopher - the proud dad!

Dresser and room: After a lot of work. 

My parents were a huge help in getting the house ready for baby and for Christmas. Saturday my mom helped us even put up our Christmas decorations. The tree looks wonderful! 

My brother was a big help too. He took our Christmas photo for cards, helped me put shelves in my attic, and changed a light bulb. He is quite the handyman himself. :)

Christmas tree 2012!

Looking forward to my in-laws flying in this week to do some fun baby stuff as well! All the grandparents want in on this bundle of joy! I am very thankful. Also, they are coming in for Christopher and the Christ Church Choir Christmas Concerts coming up this weekend!

Until next week.

25/40

Baptist hospital training

Wow what a week this has been. We went to Baptist Hospital last weekend for 2,  5-hour days of birthing and parenting classes. I definitely think we can both say that we learned a lot from that experience. We had a great instructor who had lots of experience at being a nurse and a mom. Below is a picture of Christopher trying on the pregnancy suit. That was pretty hilarious. 

Christopher's maternity suit! :)

I think my growth spurt has stopped; at least for this week. I felt like from week 22-24 baby boy was growing mighty fast. This week it has tapered off..perhaps we are flat lining for a few days/weeks (lets hope).

My dad was in Florida this week visiting my grandparents (who I am so excited to see in about 6 weeks.) He sent me this picture and it brought back a lot of memories from 17 years ago. My brother was the first child that I had a huge role in taking care of, Jr. Mother if you will. I know I wasn't always the sweetest big sister to him, but he definitely gave me some good experience in preparing for having my little boy in 3 months. Little Phil-Phil is no longer little...he is big Phillip Jr. and I am excited about him spending the holidays with Christopher, me, and my parents next week. We have baby projects, shopping, eating, and fun for sure in our Thanksgiving plans! :)

Me at 12. Phillip at a few weeks.

Until next week...Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

24/40

Had our 24 week check up! Baby is happy and healthy. Been kicking more this week than the week before. Its so funny...it doesn't get old. Every time! :)

This week...

The adventures of nursery prep have begun. We decide on our paint color for the nursery and our fabrics that we will be using for the bed skirt, rocking chair pad, pillows for love seat, and side table. I was super nervous about the fabrics because once they are cut...they are yours! No stress there right? My friend Jessica and I went to Calico Corners in Green Hills that was going out of business...40% off sale. Woop Woop! When I got the fabrics home I was no longer nervous...they are going to look great. I have a great helper to help me make all of these fabrics become cool pieces for the room (Jessica Brown my friend...makes the cutest homemade stuff animals). 

Snowfall - Sherwin Williams

Fabrics for nursery

Funny story about the fabrics. I love Dwell Studio for baby stuff. It is so cute. When I got home, the diamond-like fabric in the bottom of the picture was Dwell Studio fabric. Had no idea when I purchased that I was purchasing Dwell fabrics. Its the small things. :)

We also got a great dresser from our friends grandma's house that will serve as storage and as our changing table. It needs a little TLC and paint before we can use it but it is going to look awesome in the room! :)

Below are some of the pieces that I am ready to get off my dream list and into reality so that we can make make the big pieces to the nursery finally complete!

Jinny Lind Crib

Pottery Barn Black-Out Roman Shades

23/40

TWEED REGISTRY

Last weekend we registered at maybe one of the cutest stores in Nashville. Even better, its a baby store! :) We are so excited about Baby Boy Phillips coming along when you see all of the cute stuff that this place has.

Other than that, this week was a typical week pretty much. We had a harvest festival this week at Christ Church on Wednesday night. It was quite the turn out. Baby Phillips was kicking and jumping around like crazy.

This week we have now been able to just see without touching the baby kick. It is quite exciting when other people are able to see it! This upcoming week we have a doctors appointment. Time is flying by! :)

Other registries we have been working on! 

AMAZON REGISTRY

BABIES R US REGISTRY

TARGET REGISTRY

22/40

One really special thing happened this week in the world of baby Phillips. Christopher was able to feel the baby kick for the first time on Wednesday night this week. Baby Phillips has been quite the active one for the past 5 days. His kicking has increased by the day. It's great because it is a constant reminder of a miracle to me. 

Being that this is my first pregnancy, all the firsts are sometimes overwhelming. We received a beautiful handmade blanket from the crochet club here at Christ Church. It was so sweet this week that they wanted to bless our baby with a really sweet blanket. 

I know the days seem to be moving faster and faster as the pregnancy go on. Lord, help me to get everything I need done before Christmas and not stress out about the STUFF! :)

Until next week...

21/40

So this week not a lot of changes have happened in the world of Baby Phillips. I am 21 weeks along and definitely feeling the flutters in my stomach. I think Baby Phillips is about 6-7 inches long and way about 12 oz. THAT IS CRAZY! My waist line (or lack of waste line) is definitely showing your daily growth. Wow! It is crazy to think that we are now at the 5 month mark...and only 4 more months to go. 

We started some baby registering this week. The big stuff that is not seasonal of course... I have the sites definitely in the early stages...but here is sneak peeks!

AMAZON REGISTRY

TWEED REGISTRY COMING SOON!! 

BABIES R US REGISTRY

TARGET REGISTRY

Also this week we received some mail for our sweet baby boy! Ms. Billie Goodman sent his first book. So cute! We just love Billie and are so excited that she is coming back to Nashville very, very soon!

 Last night, we hosted at Christ Church the children's choir from Uganda, Ugandan Thunder. Their leader gifted us with a bird mobile hand made in Uganda. It is so cute! So now baby Phillips has a Japanese mobile from our sweet friend Yuki and an Ugandan mobile from the Ugandan Thunder. 

Until next week...

20/40

Officially half-way there! It definitely feels like it has been 20 weeks...but I cant believe that in 20 weeks...life will be a whole lot different.

We have done some preparations for the baby's room. Mainly by selling some stuff on Craigslist and getting some stuff shipped off to Goodwill. It is very exciting and overwhelming all at the same time to pick out what you want in a nursery. I think most of it is self-induced stress. I dont want a "themed" nursery; yet I want it to match somewhat. I want it to be fun and bold but relaxed and peaceful. I want to use some of the items from the room that I already had and then match new/new-used stuff to it.

All that to say, we did purchase a rug this week and some burp clothes that have the giraffe print on them that I want so that I can look at other fabrics and paint to match up with those purchases. In the end, we have a lot left to do and it doesn't help that in most mom-to-be's planning that we have huge holidays that fall right in there. So lets hope we can get a bulk of it done before thanksgiving. :)

Until next week...

19/40

So this was a big week for us. On Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012 - we found out that we are having a boy! I am so excited about having a boy! I know this...it will definitely keep the shopping down...because boy stuff is just not near as popular as girl stuff...so that is a blessing in disguise. But seriously, we are pretty excited about having a boy. Christopher had a special little surprise waiting for him in the choir room when he came in Wednesday evening for rehearsal. :)

Proud papa!

I saw this blanket on Etsy...and I think that this is what I want for the baby bed. How cute is that for a boy? 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/104224289/mustache-blanket-monogrammed-kids-throw

On Friday (October 5), Christopher and I got up and headed to the Chattanooga to spend the weekend there celebrating our anniversary...5 years!  We went to the aquarium and to the Imax theater to see the premier of a Butterflies documentary. It is nice to just get away and detach for 36 hours even if its only 2 hours away. It feels refreshing. We definitely need to take advantage of the "couple" time that we have over the next 4 months because we are going to be a family of 3 before we know it!

"Smoky" mountains

This cute little sculpture was outside this amazing museum...appropriately so the woman is pregnant. :)

I must say Chattanooga is quite the quaint, artsy little town. We ate at good restaurants, took nice walks, and went to some pretty cute places to shop. Nashville has to step it up a little bit...I think. :)

Until next week...

18/40

This past week has been a doozy. As my 17th week update said, we have been hosting guests from Japan. They went home yesterday. It is so good to have them but it takes a lot of organization and planning. Being pregnant doesn't allow me to feel on top of things as much as I felt before. Even so, the trip I think was a great success.

Well baby is doing fine this week. I splurged this week and got this L'OCCITANE product below. It is amazing. Its called Almond Supple Skin Oil. "Just say no to stretch marks" should be its motto. It is supposed to be quite the magic formula. So far so good! :)

L'occitane Almond Supple Skin Oil

My friend Jessica this week got a new app on her phone that turns all pictures into a Japanese Manga character. Hilarious. Below is my pic. It is quite hilarious. Hello 18 week baby bump! :)

Manga prego!

Next Wednesday we find out if Baby Phillips is a boy or girl! At that point, the planning and preparing will be kicked into high gear. Until next week...

17/40

Cute animal I saw in Franklin Village

This week has been a pretty full week. I dont think Christopher and I turned the tv on once. Between our catch up from being away to Japan, responsibilities at the church, co-facilitating a book club, and hosting our friends from Japan that came into town Monday....I have not had a spare moment to think about "baby phillips" other than when people ask, "How are you feeling?"

I think I am the same size from last week. According to the bump.com, the baby is the size of an onion. Seriously, who comes up with this. It cracks me up!

I definitely think we need to start looking into planning some more details of items we need to research in the next few weeks (strollers, changing tables, diaper bags, car seats, oh my!!) :)

Ok thats it for now... 

16/40

So I got an idea from a friend's friend. She did a blog post about the cravings and random eating she took on while being pregnant.

I must say, the only thing that sounds good all the time are "sour" stuff. The good sour = oranges, limes, lemons, pineapple. The bad sour = anything gummy. I am into sour patch kids more than ever before. The more sour the better. Sweet tarts...oh yeah. Basically all the really bad candy. I tried some gummy sour candy in Japan and it was really good.

Other than that, I have definitely been eating snacks throughout the day to make sure I don't get nauseous. It works great.

Friday night, Christopher and I had a date night and we went to Noshville. It's definitely one of my favorites restaurants in Nashville because it feels like home (NY). They serve you unlimited pickles, we had sandwiches, and to top it off...Carnegie deli cheesecake. I could have eaten that whole, big piece on my own. Soooo good.

Another good thing is nothing has really turned my stomach at all. I am ok with red meat still, chicken on the bone, and all other weird things that I have heard pregos don't enjoy much during pregnancy.

In the end, I am very thankful that I have an appetite.

I am also thankful for a good check up this week. We got to hear the babies heart beat with a little machine they had. We also got the date October 3. That is when we get to find out if it is a boy or a girl!! We will be very excited to share that news. Also at that appointment it will be half way through the pregnancy. I sometimes think...I am so excited; I cant wait. Other times I think...yeah I can wait; this is the last few months for just me and Christopher to be just "me and Christopher". :) 

Also, we have a lot of work to do. Nothing has been done for our nursery except dreaming up some ideas (My Pinterest baby board this is my board for baby room/stuff inspiration). Nothing has been bought! So I guess this whole 9 months thing works out really well. It really does give you enough time to get your priorities/business in order! 

Until 17!

15/40

15 weeks

Wednesday, September 5, 2012. In Japan. On my birthday. Christopher and I led a team of 18 people to Japan for a 10-day missions trip with an emphasis on music education. We were in the city of Osaka about to perform our final concert. Everyone was getting ready and I was just taking it easy. All of a sudden around 5:30 pm Japan team (3:30am CST)...I felt a flutter. Christopher was not in the room at the moment...but a few ladies who have had children before were in the room. I asked them "what does it feel like again when..." and then I began to cry. It was so sweet and exciting. I knew exactly what had happened. Somebody went and got Christopher and he came in to celebrate this special "First". Thanks to Daniel Bell for capturing the photo quickly on my phone. :) What a fun week.

14/40

So my 14th week of pregnancy has and will be spent in Japan. We have been in Japan for 3 days now. I have felt pretty good so far on this trip. The people have been wonderful in Japan (also my team is pretty kind and sweet too). Japanese culture treat pregnant people very well. :)

I have definitely been sleepy and hungry at times. The jetlag leaves me up at 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning hungry and awake. So you can find me on the floor with a pillow, my phone, and a box of organic pop tarts at about 3:00am each day so far. Hopefully I can sleep a little more tonight and just kick the jetlag to the curb.

13/40 - "June 20th...our lives changed forever"

So I'm pregnant. It has been such a crazy past couple of weeks/months and I am so excited to finally share with the world! 

June 20th...

Wait lets back up to Tuesday, June 19th. I felt like crap. I was a basket case...had no idea why. I told Christopher...I think we need to go get a pregnancy test. We got the pregnancy test that night. I read the instructions and it said "For best results, use in the morning"...ok. Wait, wait...

So back to June 20th. 

First day of summer.

The day I got ordained at Christ Church as a deacon.

The day Christopher and I found out we were pregnant. 

I guess I could say that I was cautiously excited about this huge leap in our lives. Of course we wanted to get pregnant this year (after Italy of course)...but ITS REALLY HAPPENING NOW!

I felt pretty ok the first week. No big deal. I thought to myself...this is going to be a piece of cake. However after that week...I thought everything that I use to feel and be (energy, alertness, thoroughness, precision) was gone. Don't get me wrong, I have heard everyone say this before, but I thought I was a little tougher than everyone else. :) Oh no...so I don't know what I would do without my husband. Since we have waited quite some time to tell everyone (We did tell our parents of course!) ...he has been my "Go to" for every emotional moment and lethargic night since no one else knew.

So, baby is doing fine. He/She has a great doctor and we have moved into our 2nd trimester.

We are leaving for Japan in just a few days and I am excited to take this adventure. Please say a prayer for me. I have been feeling good as long as I am snacking and sleeping 10 hours a night. So... we shall see.

I hope to continue a blog for this pregnancy since my entire family lives at least a 100,000 miles from me. Oh, and because the "Italy" blog must continue....well we can now call it the Italy 2.0 blog.

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"Exactly what the 100 degree weather prescribed!"

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"Test"

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"Stranded" in New York

We arrived back into the states about two weeks ago.

We were definitely feeling excited and nervous about getting back into the swing of things...real life.

We arrive at JFK airport around 4:00pm and went through immigration and customs. After that process we knew we had about a 3 hour layover. Once we arrived at the gate for our Nashville bound flight....they said the plane was delayed an hour so it wasn't leaving till 8:30pm. Fine...no big deal...text our friends and say we are going to be an hour late to Nashville. No big deal. 


Then...8:30 came and there had never been any boarding. At this point we hear that the "Nashville flight has been canceled". Sooo, I got in THE line and they told us that our flight was canceled and that the next earliest flight out to Nashville was tomorrow from LaGuardia at 10:00am. By the end of the conversation with the impressively helpful Delta agent, we had a room in Flushing, food vouchers (that we had to use in the next 5 minutes at the airpot before everything closed), $100 credit to a Delta flight, and taxis to and from the hotel.

So in the end God knew that weren't completely ready to come back to Nashville Friday night and that we needed one more vacation day...in NYC! :)

Also God knew that the pilot that was flying our 7:30 plane was obviously not capable of flying us home because on the news that evening we found out that our plane to Nashville as it was coming into the gate hit a plan that was empty and the wings were messed up. So we are thankful for the delay.

Our "view" from the Marco hotel. 

It was nice to have breakfast from the local deli in Flushing and gradually ease back into life state side.

Our loot from the JFK food vouchers. :)

This is what we were greeted with when we came home. We have some amazing people in our life! 

This is who were definitely happy to see! :) We had missed our little Lucy a whole lot

Our first real day back to reality was spent with some amazing friends...

Now, what in the world am I going to blog about now? We shall see...