30 Weeks and Counting Down!!

Kelly & I are 30 weeks today! We are always amazed at how quickly our pregnancy is going by, but now we're starting our official countdown. 10 weeks to go - 70 days left! We are going out tonight to celebrate & begin our Anniversary Weekend Getaway. Tonight we're going to Chow Baby for dinner - Chow Baby
After dinner, we're heading to the movies to see the new Transformers movie! Kelly & I both have been wanting to see this since we new there would be a 2nd.

Our day is definitely a lot different than we had planned 3 months ago. We were planning on heading out of town tonight to celebrate our 1-year Anniversary a month early in Gatlinburg, TN. We were going to drop Willa off in Hayesville, NC at her Nana's house and head to our destination. However, on top of everything else going on this week, an important meeting was scheduled Wednesday of this week for tomorrow (Friday morning). Kelly's new CEO & CFO from Center State Bank will be present and they are delivering information about the company, our new insurance plans, and other important things. So, our Anniversary trip has been postponed until tomorrow at noon. Therefore, we're going on a date tonight to celebrate and still spend some time together just the two of us here in Atlanta.

For our 1-year Anniversary - we're going on our trip exactly a month early because my twin brother, Mark & his wife, Bridgette are due on our anniversary - July 26th. We are so excited about our new niece that we didn't want to be anywhere but Atlanta or Greenville the last two weeks in July. We are so excited about our trip to Gatlinburg this weekend! We are staying at The Fox Trot Bed & Breakfast
The bed & breakfast looks fabulous and we cannot wait to get there. It is very small and cozy with only 4 bedrooms available. We are staying on the top floor in the Honeymoon/Anniversary Suite called the Leconte Sunrise
We told them ahead of time that it was our Anniversary weekend and they are making us a small anniversary cake, chocolate covered strawberries, and a fruit basket for us to celebrate over the weekend! We have our wedding cake here at home in the freezer that we're waiting to cut on July 26th. But, I do have to say - I am quite excited about having some cake this weekend too :)

I'll definitely post pictures and talk a little bit more about our trip once we get back!

Kelly & I got our A/C unit put in on Tuesday afternoon and it has been wonderful. We are just thanking God everyday that things worked out the way they did, especially financially! We were also able to take back our portable A/C unit to Costco and get a full refund.

I am still feeling pretty good these days. I am starting to have more aches & pains, but I tend to push through them on a daily basis - sometimes with the help of Regular-strength Tylenol :) My gym closed this week so I have been working out hard-core from home and am seeing wonderful results! I am still walking Willa every morning - she wakes up begging to go for her walk these days. I am also using my elliptical we have at home in the mornings as well for about 20 minutes completely inclined. I definitely feel the burn, which is great! I also got a Fitness Ball from Target - amazing - so I can continue my Ab workout routine as well. We have free weights - 8lbs. & 12lbs. at the house that allow me to continue my upper body workout too. The only thing we do not keep in our home is a scale, which is probably a good thing since I almost obsess over weight gain. I'll know next week at my check-up how the weight gain has been over the past two weeks, but I think I have been doing a great job still. We'll see!!

Lastly, my most favorite thing as of yesterday - I went to Polished to get my nails done!! I got Gel Nails done with a French Manicure - something I have wanted to start doing for a long time. I don't know how long I'll keep it up since I have to go every 2-3 weeks, but for the next couple of months, it'll be nice being pampered!!

Again, check back next week for Anniversary pictures from our trip to Gatlinburg! I can't believe this time next month we'll celebrate 1-year and be 1 month from meeting our baby girl. God is good!

A/C Unit Adventure

Many of you already know our story, but some of you have yet to hear....

Two weeks ago our AC slowly stopped cooling & I started researching for companies to come out & service/fix our unit. We had someone from CoolRay come that morning - located the problem - said our coils were dirty & we were extremely low on freon (sp?). He cleaned the coils, added freon, and we were then $160 down the drain.

The added freon seemed to help for about a week. Thankfully, God allowed the weather to stay in the 70's & gave us plenty of clouds & rain during that week. Our house at the time remained around 73*-77* F, which is considered normal for most homes! However this week, our home has slowly progressed back to it's normal state of enjoyment - 80-90* F day & night.

Wednesday night (6-17-09) Kelly & I went out on a search for a portable air conditioning unit. We went to two Wal-Marts, & Sears. We finally found one at Sears, but we didn't want to "rush" our decision since it was $600. We headed to Wendy's for a quick, LATE dinner since it was 8:30pm, and headed back home. Our house was around 87* when we got home. We took showers to cool down, and waiting for our unit to slowly drop to 82* F before we headed to bed.

Thursday morning after my check-up with Dr. Walters, Kelly & I went to Costco where we found our portable AC unit for $450 - we were sold! We brought it home and Kelly began putting it together. Around 3:00pm our thermostat already read 86* and our unit finally kicked in and started working. However, it was already too hot in our home for our sweet, portable AC unit to fully function. We stuck it out, had our bible study that night in our home, and tried to get some rest later that night. Around 10:30pm, I told Kelly I couldn't handle it anymore and that we needed to call CoolRay back and have them come out again without paying an additional service charge. I got my wish, and they came out - however, it wasn't until 1:00AM that they rang our doorbell :) I LOVE late nights!! HAHA, that's a joke! The technician looked inside our home & outside and finally told us our compressor pump was completely damaged and would need to be fixed. We found out the cost for our small 2-ton unit was going to cost us $2,000. I about threw up in my mouth at this point. I emailed my mother-in-law to vent & mentioned that I would rather purchase a new home (very expenesive) than to fix a pump. It was late, and I'm pregnant - that explains my crazy thought process. Anyways, needless to say - I was upset! After the technician left, Kelly sat down and emailed our HOA to find out if they would reimburse us at all to have this fixed. He also wrote a letter to the Board - this was a must in order to have them even consider reimbursing us. CRAZY!

We made it through what was left of Thursday evening with our ceiling fan on high, 2 additional fans blowing, plus our portable AC unit pushing air in our bedroom - we slept for about 3 hours. Let's just say we were exhausted Friday morning when we got up to start working on our problem again at 6:30AM.

Kelly began calling CoolRay to discuss different options - to replace our entire 2-ton unit was going to cost us a good $4,000-$5,000 from their company. Plus in 6-months the brand was getting discontinued & replaced so if something happened over the next 12-18 months we would be up-a-creek. We ended up calling another company to get an additional quote after our lesson-learned with our refrigerator. We called Casteel Heating & Air. OMG - I fell in love! One of the workers explained to us that the $2,000 price to fix just our compressor was completely overpriced. He asked to come out immediately to look at our AC unit - we of course accepted his kind offer & he was there within 30 minutes. After looking at our unit, going back to his office branch - we got a call explaining that we could REPLACE our entire AC unit for $2,000. Kelly & I both were so very happy at this point and said "Let's do it!!" A few minutes later we received an email saying we were approved to finance this purchase. When we thought we were going to spend around $5,000 Kelly immediately filled out the form to see if that would be possible. We're still planning on financing the cost, but at least we're only financing $2,000 and not $5,000!! That was the best blessing from God that Kelly & I could have received yesterday afternoon.

After accepting the offer & saying "yes" to a completely new AC unit - a TRANE nontheless- we found out the quickest this could take place would be Tuesday. I was not too happy about the idea, but was thrilled with anticipation of getting an AC unit that would work! Around 11:00am, Kelly tried to lay down and get some more rest, but that lasted maybe 30 minutes. We fixed lunch, and watched some of the US Open to just relax. Around 4:00, I looked at Kelly & started crying. I explained to him that the past two days were absolutely miserable and that I couldn't do it anymore - we had to get out of our home one way or another.

The problem = we were having Grandmother June down for the weekend. Her birthday is Sunday & she would see my dad for Father's Day.

Around 5:00PM, an hour later with our home thermostat reading at 99* F INSIDE, we made the decision to leave our home, got on the phone & called my brother, Mark who was meeting us in Commerce early the next morning with my grandmother - called Grandmother June, my dad, and my mom in Greenville. It took us 10 minutes to pack our bags, grab Willa's things and get into our amazingly cool AC car.

5:30PM - we had a "cleaned-out" dog, a packed car, and we were on the road in rush hour traffic to Greenville, SC. It took us an extra hour to get to my mom's house last night, but it seemed as though we were in the car for only an hour. Kelly, Willa & I were so happy to be somewhere cold that we didn't think about 285-rush hour traffic and we just cruised on by with the rest of Atlanta.

As of this morning - Saturday - we have a very relaxing weekend ahead of us spending time together in my mom's COLD home!! She works this weekend, so Kelly & I will be able to just relax and spend some time together. We're heading to my brother's house tonight to have dinner with them. We're also spending tomorrow with my grandmother for her birthday, here in Greenville. I truly hate we couldn't have her down - she was really excited about staying in the nursery & spending time with us in our home. However, Kelly & I are making the trip and bringing her down to Atlanta in the next two weeks once we have everything settled with our AC unit. We're planning on staying in Greenville until mid-afternoon on Monday. We'll leave, head to our hot house - grab a few things & our additional car, and drive to my dad's house in Powder Springs. We are staying with him Monday night. Kelly has to leave early Tuesday morning for a day-trip to Valdosta, GA and I will be awaiting a phone call for our new unit to arrive. However, I will be relaxing in my dad's home until I get that phone call. No worries - I am planning on letting them in and staying OUT of my home for the following few hours!!

We will update you on Tuesday once we have our new, cold, AC unit in our home!!

Joint Baby Shower & 29 Weeks

This past weekend Kelly & I headed to Greenville, SC for another baby shower for Miss Kaitlynn :) One of my mom's best friends, Sally Burdette, and one of my close girlfriends, Blythe R. hosted the shower for both Bridgette & I. I was completely blown away by the turn out and how generous all of my close friends & family were towards baby Kaitlynn & Elizabeth. Kelly & I feel completely blessed to have so many wonderful people a part of our lives! We definitely couldn't do this alone - marriage or becoming parents! Here are some pictures from the shower this past weekend!!

Our yummy cake!!

Bridgette opening gifts for baby Elizabeth

'Momma' opening gifts for baby Kaitlynn


The four pregnant ladies!! Left - Right: Blythe R. (20 wks),
Sally Mertens (33wks), Me (28 wks), Bridgette Watson (34 wks)

Blythe & I with Tish Pitman - she was our coaching group leader growing up
and has continued watching us grow in our marriages & now soon-to-be moms!


Left - Right: Jaja, Me, Halie, Bridgette, & Tammy
*My mom's side of the family*

Bridgette & I with Grandmother June - my dad's mother


Kelly & I awaiting the arrival of our baby girl in 12 weeks!

Bridgette & I with our sister-in-law & nephew,
Bonnie & Troy Watson

*Bridgette**Tammy**Me**Anne*
The mom's-to-be with the Nana's-to-be
**Missing from picture: Nana Crawford**

Today also marks week 29 for Kelly & I. We are moving right along & quite ready to meet our precious baby girl. I cannot believe we only have 11 weeks left! It feels like yesterday when I woke Kelly up at 5:00am to tell him the exciting news of being pregnant :) Yes - if most of you remember, I couldn't wait. That shouldn't surprise many of you!

We had our 'bimonthly' check-up this morning. We have finally switched from once a month to twice a month which is an exciting milestone mark! Two weeks ago I had to take my glucose test which really wasn't bad at all. The verdict is: I PASSED!! I do not have to take the 3-hour test thank goodness!! Baby Kaitlynn checked out great. Here are some updated stats for everyone!
My blood pressure: 102/60 = normal
Kaitlynn's heartbeat per minute: 156
Kaitlynn's measurements (uterus): 28cm = 11in.
My total weight gain at 29 weeks: 15 lbs total!!

My doctor said I was the "ideal" patient - very healthy, which made me extremely happy!! All the hard work with eating healthy & continuing my workout routine is really paying off in these last weeks!

Our next appointment is Thursday, July 2nd at 9:00am.

Evene Day Spa

http://www.evenedayspa.com/

My trip to the Evene Day Spa was wonderful! I was having a very stressful morning and almost talked myself out of rescheduling. My wonderful husband told me to go ahead and keep my appointment because I needed some relaxation & rest!

When I first got there, I checked in and sat down in the waiting area. I had my 1-hour Prenatal Massage first. I was taken back to my room where this would take place and was told to completely undress expept for the undies! Because I was in my 3rd trimester, they had me lay on my side with a body pillow. They did one side for 30 minutes and then I flipped over and they did the other side. I know I fell asleep because it was over way before I thought an hour had passed! At this point, I was completely relaxed and not wanting to get up :) In all of the rooms, they have it dark, lit with candles, and soft, relaxing music playing in the background.

After the massage was over, they took me to another room where I would get my 1-hour European Facial. Also known as pure bliss :) She looked over my skin really well before starting and told me my complexion was excellent. That made me feel really good! Everyone that knows me and has seen my eyebrows knows that they are thin and non-existent. She applied color to my eyebrows after slightly shaping them (again, non-existent) that will last for 4-5 weeks! I was so excited when I saw them and that I don't have to color them everyday just to see them on my face :) After working on my eyebrows, she spent the rest of the time on my face, neck, shoulder, hands, & legs. I have no idea what she used, but all of it felt absolutely amazing!

Definitely one of my top 5 days in a REALLY long time! There is nothing quite like being pampered & completely relaxed at 28 weeks pregnant!

NEW EMAIL

Yahoo has really been messing up lately so I've created a new email account through GMail. Please update your email address book!!

KristenCrawford08@gmail.com

Thanks!!

Hello 3rd Trimester! 28 Weeks & Shower Update

Happy Week 28!! Only 84 days to go!

Baby Kaitlynn had her 1st shower this past Saturday which was hosted by some of my best friends! A huge thank you goes out to Ginny Sneed, Angi Sklar, Christy Ellis, Megan Marshall, & Karen Ponds! They definitely know how to throw a wonderful baby shower. We had 'mocktails' since that was the theme - this included Strawberry Lemonade that represented Strawberry Margaritas, and Sparkling Grapejuice that represented Champaigne. The finger foods & cupcake cake were all so delicious! Baby Kaitlynn got quite spoiled with adorable outfits, her snap & go stroller, Graco Carseat, baskets of goodies & toys, nursery accessories, plus much, much more!! Here are some pictures from this past weekend!! Enjoy!

Kelly & I have experienced some "firsts" this week with baby Kaitlynn!! She has found my rib cage and enjoys pushing on me at the top of my stomach!! It is only really uncomfortable when she does it and I'm sitting down. Also, Kelly & I felt her very first hiccups!! She may have had them before, but Sunday night was the first night we were able to feel them through my belly! It was really cute, & pretty funny, although I am sure babies don't enjoy them.

My belly button has almost come all the way out! Our doctor said she always laughs when she hears people ask, "when will my belly button 'pop out?'" Your belly button doesn't pop out, however for some women, your belly button moves from the inner position outward has your uterus expands and presses on your upper stomach! :) So....my belly button keeps inching its way out each week! I thought it might feel uncomfortable, but I can't feel anything changing except for the occasional tightness in my stomach as it begins to expand again to allow more growing room for Kaitlynn!

This past Tuesday I had the blessing of watching Jackson for the day!! He had a terrible fever this past weekend and wasn't going back to daycare until Wednesday. It was a great experience having him for 8 hours since I'll have baby Kaitlynn 24 hours everyday starting in 12 weeks!! Jackson did a great job over here - ate, slept, played with Willa, "talked," and made some really cute faces :) It's definitely hard not to adore him to pieces!

Last night Kelly and I went on an amazing date! We usually stay at home and cook dinner during the week, but this has been an exciting week for our family! Kelly spent yesterday in Birmingham with his sales group visiting Center State's headquarters. Things went extremely well and we're hoping tomorrow or early next week brings more positive things!! To celebrate, I decided to plan a date night to one of our favorite restaurants - Blackstone
http://www.blackstoneatlanta.com/
Once I heard from Kelly as they were leaving Birmingham yesterday afternoon to head home, I told him that I decided not to cook dinner and that I made us reservations to go out. He was thrilled and very excited! Dinner at Blackstone is always wonderful and it was just as wonderful last night. It's just nice to get out of the house and spend time together. Here is a picture as we left home to head out for dinner!



I am going tomorrow at 1:00pm to get my 1-hour prenatal message & my 1-hour European facial that Kelly gave me for my 25th birthday!! I am so excited about having a day to relax and be pampered - especially before baby Kaitlynn's next shower this Saturday!! I will post about my Spa experience and baby Kaitlynn's 2nd shower early next week!

I have been feeling great this week! I have continued with my workout routine yet another week, which is great! I am still walking Willa in the mornings and then going to the gym late morning/early afternoon as well. It is a blessing to still feel so good and have enough energy & desire to continue working out during this last trimester! I have not gained anything this week, so I am holding at 13 lbs. total right now. The past three nights I have slept amazingly well, and so has Kelly which is amazing! Usually one of us has a rough night which makes the other not sleep extremely wonderful. The saddest thing about this week - my Curves is closing on June 30th! I have met some wonderful ladies and have had amazing workouts there over the past year. Kelly & I are starting to research gyms that offer child care - I'll let you know what we end up landing on!

We are heading to Greenville tomorrow night for the weekend! Baby Kaitlynn & Baby Elizabeth have their joint shower on Saturday afternoon with a lot of our girlfriends and some of our parents' friends. It should be a lot of fun seeing everyone and spending time together!! After our shower, we're heading over to celebrate with David & Sally for their upcoming daughter - Flip :) It's going to be amazing visiting with so many of my old friends & their husbands. Pictures will definitely be taken of all the "preggo" women and posted early next week!! Sunday morning, Kelly & I are driving to Hayesville to celebrate with Kristin at her wedding shower given by Oak Forest UMC. We had to miss her last wedding shower with Shea's church, so we've definitely been looking forward to going to this one. We're also getting to celebrate Father's Day early with Kelly's dad Sunday night. It's always so good spending time with the Crawfords!

Next Appointment: Thursday, June 18th at 9:00am

A lil of month 6 and 27 Weeks.......... 91 days to go!!

This has been an extremely busy month for Kelly & me. We’ve experienced a lot of changes with his job; thankfully it’s been mostly positive things, and I have stopped teaching for several years!! When we first got married, Kelly & I made the decision that I would stay home & raise our children. We decided we would make any necessary adjustments financially to make this choice possible. Thankfully, Kelly has been in a great position with sales and we’ve been able to save more than enough each month and are in a wonderful position financially for me to stay home!

I’m still feeling fantastic these days! We’ve done a lot of traveling this month between separate trips & trips together. I headed to SC to visit my family while Kelly went on a much needed golf trip. We also went into Hayesville for Kristin’s bachelorette/lingerie shower, and we’re having a lot of family & friends in town for our 1^st shower for baby Kaitlynn this Saturday!! The shower is going to be a lot of fun & my wonderful friends - Ginny, Angi, Christy, Karen, & Megan are so wonderful to host it! I'll definitely post pictures from the event next week!!

Work came to an end quickly for me – extremely exhausting, but the time off has already been worth it! I have been very productive at home getting things accomplished & knocked off our list of “to-do’s” before Kaitlynn. I’m walking Willa each morning for 30-45 minutes, and then working out in the afternoon at Curves for 30-45 minutes. Continuing my routine of exercising has definitely helped me to feel good throughout the majority of the day! I’m still eating very healthy and keeping the junk food OUT of our home. If it’s not here, we both don’t eat it.

I also had my 7-month appointment this morning. Here are a few updates:

I have gained 13 lbs total. Dr. Walter's told me I was doing a great job with my weight gain and shouldn't get over 25-30lbs total this pregnancy with how I've been gaining so far! I was thrilled with that news! Kaitlynn's heartbeat is as strong as ever - 157 beats per minute!! She is measuring & growing right on target for an "average" size baby. She is measuring at 26cm or 10.2in. This morning I also had the glucose test done: A.K.A. more blood work - loads of fun - I will post later once I get the results!! I also start going every 2 weeks for a check-up with Dr. Walters. My next appointment is Thursday, June 18th.

The big “talk” this month from friends, family, and baby websites that we’ve subscribed to are pregnancy classes. We’ve heard positive and negative things about taking classes verses not. Several of my friends have taken classes & said they’ve been great, but the few that have had children recently said they didn’t remember anything they learned in class once they made it to the hospital. Kelly & I have made the decision to not take any pregnancy classes except for possibly a CPR for infants. Northside Hospital is wonderful in the aspect that they prepare you once you arrive for what you should expect and the things we need to know during delivery. We are putting our complete trust in that and what we’ve heard from friends that have delivered at Northside in the previous few months!! We are looking forward to going there for Kaitlynn’s birth.

Month 6 has definitely been a good month & we cannot wait to see what month 7 has in store for us and our baby girl!

Here are a few pictures from this month! Enjoy :)

Willa is preparing herself for the lack of sleep she'll get in 3 months!!

Priceless

27 Weeks - 91 days to go!

Mama & baby Kaitlynn

Willa's cousin - Molly

Willa Grace's cousin - her BFF

Molly Crawford - 9 weeks old! She is a Miniature Doxin


Molly loves playing with Willa :)

Molly lovin' on Willa Grace

Molly Crawford