The Love of Fall

Fall is one of our favorite seasons. We love football, the colors of fall, and the wonderful smells that come along with it. It's such a great feeling when the chilly weather starts to roll in. We love to make food that captures the taste of fall, like pumpkin muffins! Our list could go on and on but instead of telling you everything we love about this season, we thought we would share some photos.

We love to go apple picking. Two years ago we got engaged at an apple orchard.

A picture of my mom, sisters, and me at the pumpkin patch.

A quick picture at a local church's fall festival. We had so much fun eating various types of chili during the chili cook-off. 

I loved this tree so much we had to stop for a picture. It had every fall color on it. 

Paul loves dark trees with bright leaves (especially orange leaves). 

We carved pumpkins and watched Beetlejuice, which was Paul's first time seeing that movie. 

Shelby and me admiring Paul's pumpkin carving skills.

Shelby had to wear her rain coat when ever she went outside during Hurricane Sandy to go potty.

Because Hurricane Sandy hit during our one year anniversary, we were not able to go out for dinner, so my family made us a great homemade meal - topped off with sparkling cider. 

Paul's dad carving his pumpkin. He's a little scary with his knife. 

A silly picture of Paul and his dad. 

The three Myers men admiring their dad's pumpkin.

Randy and me comparing which is bigger: my belly or Randy's pumpkin. I think the pumpkin has me beat...at least I would like to think so.

I love my father-in-law's chili - it's sweet and spicy! So yummy! 

Baby Myers: 38 Weeks

38 weeks, only 2 to go...hopefully!

How Baby is Doing:

Caleb has been making his way down - it feels as though he likes to just sit right on my bladder. He still makes little movements, but they are not as frequent. I think he is resting for his hopefully soon to be entrance. I have been loving the fact that when he does move, his body parts are sometimes visible! He loves to stick his butt out, usually in the middle or right side of my belly. In the past few days he has also been pushing his foot out to the right side of my body. He is actually pushing his foot out at this moment (what a ham)! He still gets the hiccups all the time.

With him not moving around so much, we have both been sleeping a lot better. I guess our bodies are trying to prepare us for the big day.

How Mommy is Doing:

This week I have really started to feel the level of pregnancy that most women complain about. I wouldn't mind it so much if the swelling in my feet, legs, hands, and face weren't so bad. They have been swollen for so long that my joints feel broken. I have also been in pre-labor for about a month now which has been more annoying than painful. At least I have dilated to almost 3 cm and 70% effaced. I almost feel like Im back in my first trimester because Im so exhausted all the time! So when Im not cleaning, Im sleeping.

Im very excited to meet my little one whenever he is ready to come out, but I hope it's soon!!

How Daddy is Doing:

Well...I am well. I feel like I'm watching a ticking time bomb, but it's exciting. :)

I think I am as ready as Amanda is for this baby to come, but don't tell her I said that. Her hands and especially her feet look like balloons! I feel so bad! I feel that I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping up Daddy duties though. I rub the feet, oil up the belly, get endless water refills, and I know that it's all going to be worth it as soon as I see that little boy's face.

I can't wait to meet the little guy and see what he looks like. I hope he gets the best of both of us. Like Amanda said, I'm ready when Caleb is ready, but I sure hope it's soon! Like now! I just looked at Amanda...no luck.

Baby Myers: 36 Weeks

36 weeks, only 4 weeks to go...maybe!

How Baby is Doing:

Caleb has finally flipped. He is head down and ready to go! In his ultrasound this week, his little hands were pushing his eye brows down, almost as if he was thinking really hard about something. Maybe planning his grand entrance!?! He weighs 6 pounds 14 ounces with a heart beat of 143. He is growing a week ahead of me, meaning I'm 36 weeks but he is measuring 37 weeks. So needless to say he's a chunk!  He gets the hick-ups all the time, and it's so cute. When he moves around, my whole tummy moves with him. The first time felt so strange, but now I love it! He is still very active, but has longer spans off time where he likes to sleep and be lazy.

He's still a little stinker and usually stops moving when someone other than me or Paul touches my belly to feel him.  Caleb really enjoys it when we sing to him or when I read my books out loud.

Caleb is no longer waking me up at strange times, in fact we love to sleep!

How Mommy is Doing:

I really feel 36 weeks pregnant! My belly is getting so BIG! My feet and hands are swollen all the time, and nothing really seems to make the swelling go down. I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the past two weeks or so. They have been more annoying than painful. There was only one night that they were really uncomfortable, which may have been the night that I dilated 1 centimeter.

I'm getting so excited for Caleb to be here! I cant wait to feed him and love on him. However giving birth to him is becoming a little scary. It's not so much the pain that scares me, but the things that could go wrong. I just want him to be safe. I know that its not in my hands, which is very reassuring.

How Daddy is Doing:

Much like the time leading up to our wedding, I'm not really feeling a lot of nerves about this whole thing. I'm thinking it will probably hit me when I get the phone call to come home from work or something like that. I guess I'm just staying so busy with work and everything else that I don't have much time to think about it.

It almost hit me the other day though. Last Thursday, Amanda texted me when I was about to leave work and said she was having some pains that felt like contractions. In that moment, it started to sink in a little for the first time. This could be it. The baby could be here today. What if? A very interesting feeling, indeed. But it wasn't as nerve-wracking as I would have expected. I felt excited and ready. Turns out that her contractions were Braxton-Hicks (the early, get-you-ready, this-is-a-test kind of contractions), but I think it was a good test for me too. Hopefully when I'm driving to the hospital on that upcoming day I will feel that calm.

Fun Times While We Wait:

We decided to celebrate our one year anniversary early in case Caleb decided to surprise us with an October birthday. We had a great dinner at The Cheesecake Factory followed by a movie at home. Paul was fighting a cold so our evening was romantic but relaxed.

 We stopped in to say hey to my in laws before our date, Paul's dad was nice enough to be our photographer.

One of the best things at Cheesecake Factory around fall time is the pumpkin cheesecake! I could have eaten it for dinner. 

Baby Myers: 34 Weeks

34 weeks, the end is in site!

How Baby is Doing:

Caleb is still loving the right side of my belly. He moves around all the time now. It's so fun because I can really feel and see him moving. As I'm typing it feels like he is trying to push himself out of my belly. He loves to run his body right up to my skin. I think its because he is very social and wants to hear everyones conversation (he gets that from his mommy). His favorite thing to do is wait for Paul to put his head on my belly and then Caleb will kick him.

He is very healthy. The doctor said he has a big head and abdomen just like his daddy when he was a baby!

Caleb still wakes me up around 8:30 to 9:00am every morning. But there are some days like today when he wakes me up at 5:00am because he was being a busy body and I thought it was too sweet to try and sleep through.

How Mommy is Doing:

I'm moving much slower these past few weeks! I have been doing a lot of laundry for our little guy. I have been making mental notes of certain outfits I can't wait to put on him. My belly is starting to hurt a little more because its stretching so much. I still have a lot of heartburn, but its getting better. I now understand what women mean when they talk about going to the bathroom every 5 seconds - I think Caleb likes to sit on my bladder. Oh well, it's been giving me a lot of exercise!

It's starting to hit me that our little guy will be here in about 6 weeks! I cant wait to meet him, but will miss feeling him in my belly.

How Daddy is Doing:

I feel odd talking about how I'm doing when Amanda is the pregnant one. I just watch her lug her little pregnant self around and it's motivating. I guess the biggest thing I can speak to is the more emotional, mental side of the pregnancy.

I'm feeling pressure - that's for sure - but it's not stress. I am too happy to consider what I feel stress. This whole thing is kind of motivating though. Knowing Caleb is coming motivates me to wake up; motivates me to go to work; and motivates me to get things done around the house...even when I'm exhausted. I'm starting to get used to this business and pressure though...becoming a dad. That's right, a dad. I'm getting used to that thought now. I haven't even met Caleb yet and every sappy Country or Christian song about being a parent gets me all emotional. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when he's actually here.

I'm looking forward to it. That's for sure.

North Carolina Baby Shower

Paul's family gave us a baby shower this weekend in Cary, North Carolina.  It was so great to see everyone, and to celebrate our little baby! It was really like a family reunion and a baby shower in one! The weather was great, ironically the only day it rained was on the day of the baby shower. The menu was awesome pulled pork, smoked chickens, and so many delicious sides.

Paul wanted to know what its like to be pregnant, the first balloon he tried to use popped under his shirt. Ouch! 

 Paul's Pop-Pop Stewart holding baby Nathan. I cant wait to have a picture of him holding Caleb.

 I love this Picture of Paul. 

 I positioned myself just right for this photo ;) 

 This is one of the most adorable onesies I have ever seen! There is a little monkey hoodie attached to the back. 

 Its hard to tell in the picture but this is a Pater Rabbit story book. His Nanny and Pop-Pop Stewart got it for us. She read Paul this book when he was a baby. Its the reason Caleb's bedding is Petter Rabbit.

 His mom gave us Paul's Pater Rabbit book from when he was a baby. I love that she gave us such a precious  gift.

 Paul's mom got us this blanket that I pinned on my Pinterest board months ago. I love it!

 Paul's Aunt and Uncle got Paul this gift. We went to a outside market that day and he really wanted this knife. His uncle Danny went behind him when we went back to the car and bought it for him. Paul was happily surprised :) 

We cant wait to put our little guy in these cute outfits. 

This cake is a staple for The Stewart family. The white half is butter cream and the other half is peanut butter. So YUMMY! 

We are so thankful to all the family that came out to celebrate with us this weekend. Especially to Chachi and Stephanie for all their hard work to make our day so special, we feel very loved :)

Baby Myers: 30 Weeks

30 weeks already! Its so hard to believe that I only have 10 weeks left.

How Baby is Doing:

Caleb loves to hang out on the right side of mommies belly, really close to my ribs. I jokingly think it's because he loves to hear me talk. He is moving around a lot while I'm typing this post. It's almost like he's trying to tell me what to write about how he's doing :)

We have found that he LOVES music. I started singing to him and he bounces around happy as could be. Paul is singing at the lower part of my belly to try and get him to flip. I'm trying to find some good songs to sing to him, so any suggestions would be great!

He loves to wake me up almost every morning around 8:30am-9:00am. Except today, Paul woke me up with breakfast in bed!

How Mommy is Doing:

I'm doing great! My feet and hands love to stay swollen and recently have started to tingle. Heartburn is kicking in, but really isn't that bad. Most of the time I try and keep my mind on other things so I wont think about it. I'm finally sleeping like a normal person, and loving it!

The nesting phase is in full swing. I love to clean and throw things out. I just want everything to be clean and perfect when Caleb arrives. Even though I'm sure it wont stay this way long.

How Daddy is Doing:

I'm doing well. No complaints. Time just seems to be flying by. It seems like we have something going on every weekend - sometimes busy work mess like dishes or housecleaning  - sometimes fun stuff like picking out baby furniture or visiting my NC family for some fellowship and the first baby shower. My job has me working some long days and weird hours Monday-Thursday, but it has worked out very nicely to have Fridays with Amanda. We are able to get so much done at the house and in preparation for the baby, and we're able to spend some good quality time with one another, which might decrease when Caleb arrives. Overall, things are good...I just can't wait to meet the little guy. I already love him, but I am ready to put a face with the feelings I have.

Preparing For Baby:

We finally have baby furniture! Paul put the crib together over the long weekend. It was a major task. First, it took two trips to even get all the furniture to our house. Then, when he had only three screws left to put in, he noticed we were three screws short. So the crib didn't officially get done until the next day. But it's ready for Caleb when he is done growing.

Lastly, like I mentioned before, we have been doing a lot of cleaning in the Myers house. That includes closets, pantries, rooms, and pretty much anything I look at. For some reason I have this urge to bake...I usually enjoy cooking, but I'm not the best baker, so I will let you know how that goes.

 Paul reading the directions to make the crib. Thats the babies dresser in the picture :)

 Paul told me to jump in the picture and make a pose... this is what I came up with! 

Getting the job done

This weekend we will have our first baby shower in North Carolina. We will be posting some pictures soon...

Baby Myers: Its A Boy!!

I didn't get any sleep the night before our ultrasound. I kept thinking, is it a boy or is it a girl??? I honestly had no preference, I was just happy to be pregnant. 

The time finally came, we got ready and headed to the doctors. A horrible storm had ripped through the night before, so our ultrasound tech was late coming in, because of down trees in her area. So we waited. 

When she finally called us back I was so calm, I looked over at Paul and though his facial expressions almost never change I could tell he was excited. Truth be known, our baby loves to take a pictures! From his first ultrasound he always makes sure he places himself right where he needs to be to get a good shot. If you need a picture of his brain he will tilt his head perfectly towards the machine, if you need a image of his spine he will give you textbook worthy photo, but as we learned on that day, if you try to get a picture of his private parts he wants nothing to do with you. Honestly can you blame him? 

At first she thought he was a girl. When we both heard it Paul looked like all the air was taken from his body and I looked confused. It didn't feel like it was a girl. A few moments later his umbilical cord moved and he finally gave us a good angle to see that, yes, our baby is a BOY! 

My dad travels a lot for work, so unfortunately he was about to catch a plane to Atlanta, GA the day we found out. I called him as soon as I could to make it special for him because he wouldn't be able to make the big family dinner. Now, if you know my dad, he has always wanted a boy. I'm the oldest of three girls. He told me to hurry because he was boarding the plane, so I just blurted out, " ITS A BOY!" To my shock my dad loudly shouts back, "FINALLY! Let me call you back when I land in Atlanta (in a whisper)." The rest of the day my dad had to avoid calls from my mom because he knew he couldn't keep the news to himself. 

Words from Paul:  We also knew that my mom would not be able to be at the dinner with us that evening, so we wanted to make it special for her as well, making her one of the first (if not THE first) person to know in our family (the first person was either Gino or my mom...they can fight over that :-]). I called her on my way from the doctors to work. She could barely contain herself. I said, "Well, they told us it was a girl..." and then I continued, "but then they changed their minds...it's a boy." Mom was very happy to hear that. She said something like, "I love boys! Lord knows I had enough of them!"

That night we had my family, including my mom, sister Chelsea, and sister Lindsey; Paul's family, including his Dad, BonusMother Tammy, Bonus Brother Josh, Nanny, and Pop-Pop (his two other brothers couldn't be there that night). We had Paul's dad and my mom open two gifts. Each one had a little boy onesies in it that they could show everyone. 

Everyone was so excited! Especially when they heard what his name was going to be. Our little son will be named John Caleb Myers. John being the first name of a LONG standing tradition in the Myers family. John is also Paul's first name, but he goes by Paul like our son will go by Caleb. 

Here are some photos from that day. 

 My mom and Paul's dad. The proud grandparents to be!

 Randy and Tammy between the two have four boys. But they are so excited for their little grand baby.

 The great-grandparents Nanny and Pop-Pop.

 Me, my sisters, and mom. They didn't give me the memo on wearing either blue or stripes that night.

 The proud parents! 

Our little boy John CALEB Myers. 

Baby Myers: The Day We Found Out

Being that we started this blog so late in our pregnancy theres some catching up to do!

Paul and I were married about four months when we found out that we were expecting. The day we  found out, I had just gotten home from work and the grocery store. I was debating on whether or not to take a pregnancy test. But something felt different and I was a day late. So I gave into my curiosity and took a test. I had said a very emotional prayer before taking the test, that just once I wanted to see a positive pregnancy test, but I was willing to wait for His timing. God didn't make me wait very long, three minutes later the test read PREGNANT! I must have looked at it four or five times before calling my best friend Stefanie. I wanted to call Paul so bad, but I wanted him to be with me when I told him. I was in such shock I took three more before he got home. Each one read PREGNANT, PREGNANT, PREGNANT!

Paul called me like he does every day when he leaves work. I was bursting inside, wanting so much to tell him the news. I tried to act as normal as possible. His thirty minute drive seemed like hours. I called him when he was about ten minutes away to see what was taking so long. When he finally arrived I told him to sit down on the sofa and close his eyes. Awkwardly, he sat down next to me with eyes closed. He put out his hand like I asked and I slipped the test in his hand. He opened his eyes looked at the test and then up at me. He gave me a kiss and we hugged. I cried a little and I'm pretty sure he had a few tears in his eyes, which he will not admit of course.

Words from Paul:  I have known for a long time that one of Amanda's biggest dreams was to become a mom. I had accepted that and knew that one day I wanted to be a dad too. Due to remarks from some of Amanda's past OB/GYNs, I thought we were going to have to try harder than most couples to have our first little one due to her Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). I had put it out of my mind at the time - after all, we had just been married approximately four months, Amanda was settling nicely into her full-time job and I was about to graduate with a Master's degree in a couple short months - so we were on our way to becoming a quite successful young couple.

I thought it was odd that Amanda called me multiple times before I could even get home from my internship, but I told myself, "she must just miss me terribly today for some reason." In the last few minutes before pulling into the driveway I heard some country song about being a father...I really think it was "A Love Without End, Amen" by George Straight, but I'm not 100% on that. As I pulled in the driveway I thought about how cool it would be one day when I have my own little guy or girl. As I walked up the front walkway I thought about the song and thought about Amanda's phone calls, and then it hit me. Could Amanda be pregnant? Now? "That's too much of a coincidence," I thought, and I put it out of my mind.

When I got into the house, there she was... gleaming. "What the heck?" I thought. She smiled at me as I put my stuff down, and I just looked around the room confused. She asked me to sit down and I reluctantly did right away. She asked me to close my eyes and before she could put the test in my hands, I knew. The long, slender shape of the pregnancy test in my hand was just the confirmation. I opened my eyes and said something like, "Really?" or "Are you serious?" and of course she was. She was happy, yet tearful...I was just happy...I swear.

We went to Noodles and Company for dinner, we both had smiles on our faces that would not disappear.  I begged him to take me to Target to get even more pregnancy tests so that I could take one in the morning, just to be sure. He laughed a little that I even felt the need to take anymore, but he gave in. So at midnight and in the morning before work I took the test, both read PREGNANT! At this point I was convinced.

One of about six pregnancy tests. I wish that I would have taken a cuter picture with the tests, but at this point I was just so thrilled to be pregnant I couldn't think of anything else. 

Our first picture of the baby bump.  I remember how excited I was to be showing. It seems so small now! 

Why We Jumped on the Blog-Wagon

It's hard to believe that it has almost been a year since our wedding. In that time we have set up a little home, Paul has graduated VCU with his Master's degree, a few job changes have taken place, and we are expecting our first child in November (you will be reading a lot of posts on this). With so many exciting things happening I wanted to be able to stop and document all the little details, that over the years I might not remember. More importantly I wanted it to not only be from my point of view, but Paul's as well.

I first heard about blogging through my bonus cousin Katelyn Perkins (if your wondering why I call her bonus cousin, it is because it sounds better to me than saying "my cousin's wife"). She and my cousin Jesse live in Florida. Even with such a large distance, it has been so wonderful to read about their day to day life. It helps to feel like they are still close.

Now I love reading blogs! I have a long list of blogs I enjoy reading and looking at. Yes - we want to share the memories of our family life, but we also want to share what we learn along the way (e.g., raising a family, managing money, trying/creating recipes, and growing in our faith). Hopefully you will enjoy reading our blog as much as we will love writing it.

Our Wedding

Our wedding took place on a cold day on October 29, 2011.  The backdrop for our big day was the Boathouse at Sunday Park in Midlothian, VA. The park has always held a special place in my heart. As a child I used to play in the same place that, many years later, I would be married. I will always treasure that connection. 

My husband Paul and I always talked about having a fall wedding. Something about the season is so magical to me. I love everything about fall - the leaves, colors, and smells - so it only seemed natural to be married in October.

Instead of typing up a four page blog on the most magical day of my life, I think it's more fun to look at pictures with a few side comments from us here and there :)

 Smiling through the nerves while prepping at the hotel.

 An obvious fake pose...random prep work.

I was surprisingly so calm...I was ready to get married.

 My mom and sister Chelsea tying me into my dress...which was not easy.

My grandma (my dad's mom) passed away a few years ago. Because she couldn't be with us in person I wore her pearl bracelet on my wedding day. 

The girls wore the guy's jackets because it was freezing outside.

I chose this picture because during the ceremony, Paul was taking his thumb and rubbing my hand. I hope I will always remember those little details. 

 This needed to be documented - it was literally the only sip I had of anything the whole night. Everyone keeps telling me how good our food and drinks were at the wedding. I will have to take their word on it because I didn't eat a thing! Paul said he slipped in a few bites of crab balls, a bit of mashed potatoes, and admittedly, "a couple of Bud Lights."

 This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole night. It's rare to get my husband on the dance floor. I don't know why.... he's got some interesting moves.

We are off to the hotel and then the next day on a plane to Disney World.