IT'S A.....

So last weekend I celebrated my 30th birthday. I was blessed to have multiple days and ways of celebrating the milestone. My parents and sister were able to join me outside of Atlanta. We rented a lake house on Lanier to host a weekend's worth of activities!

On Friday Chris and I had our OB appointment to confirm the gender. That evening we entertained both of our families at the lake house for dinner and dessert. We had cupcakes made with corresponding filling (pink for girl/blue for boy) so when the family broke into the cupcakes they would know if we were having a boy or girl. We were excited to announce that we are having a BOY! We have decided to name him Montgomery Patrick Harris. We will call him Monty.  It has been pointed out that his initials will be MPH (miles per hour) and I hope he chooses to "follow the speed limit" once he is born!

On Saturday, I had friends join the family at the lake house for some hanging out in the sun, playing on the boat, and floating on rafts. It was a great afternoon that lead into a spectacular evening. Chris surprised me with a video of pictures from three "categories" of my life- my childhood/family, my friends, and us as a couple. He followed it up with a speech that left many a person speechless and seeking tissues. I was so lucky to be on the receiving end of the speech :)

 "group" watching the video

 watching the video and Chris giving his speech

In short, it was an amazing weekend that I will remember for the rest of my life. I was so lucky to be able to bring people that I love together to thank them for their love and friendship over the past 30 years. I have been very blessed and look forward to the next chapter of my life- welcoming little Monty into the world!


This weekend has been full of interesting and emotional experiences as well. Saturday morning we posted our pregnancy news on the almighty Facebook- which if you have an account then you know makes your news official to the world. Below are the pictures we used to share the news with the online friends.We were overwhelmed with "likes" and well wishes!

Last night, Chris was the officiant of a wedding for two friends- Natalie and Ryan. He is very modest about the whole thing, but he did an AMAZING job. He kept the tone serious yet funny- which is exactly what the couple was looking to achieve. He used "interview" questions to create a poem about the couple, reflected on the high and low points that can come with a marriage, and cleverly opened the floor for them to exchange the vows which they had written. I have some video of this event which I will try to add in later (currently the technology is not allowing me access!). I was very proud of him :) Two weekends in a row giving speeches with the WOW factor!


Today we participated in a satellite 5k in honor of my cousin, Lauryn. There is a race held in Pittsburgh in her honor, but since we are no where near the area we made our own race closer to home. It was more emotional than I expected it to be and I was glad that I completed the miles with Chris. Here are some pictures of us after we finished.

Summer Conculsion

We have finally started to settle into our home and I look forward to returning to work tomorrow. We have had an eventful final month of summer with moving, a week in Hilton Head, and a week with my nephew Luke visiting.
Hilton Head was a great trip yet again. Chris and I enjoyed the time with our families very much as well as time alone. That week always goes by so quickly! We were actually so busy that we didn't really take time for pictures. How weird of us? I guess our memories will have to get us by till next year!

This past week I got to play "mom" to little Luke while my sister Anna was at a continuing education class in Indianapolis and brother-in -law Alex was flying planes in central USA. It was a busy week but a fun week. I did capture a lot of THIS trip though! 

We went to Monkey Joe's and had a BLAST. I have to remember this gem for the future. Inexpensive and wore-him-out!  When we first arrived he was not too sure about this place, but after Lee Lee acted a fool with him, it became an amazing place to play.

We went to the Aquarium the next morning. It was fun to look at fish for about 30 minutes but afterwards we became much more interested in the little children around us. The fish became much less entertaining at that point! 

We also did a lot of fun things around the house. This is a sample of our good time!

the power went out- playing with chris' head lamp

bubbles outside- trying to figure out how to get the wand in without wanting any help while a lawn mower distracts us!

playing catch with uncle chris- i have some speed in my first pitch ;)

Since Luke has left the house has been much quieter and cleaner, but it was a great preparation for the fun that is coming our way! I know Anna and Alex missed their baby boy so much, but I loved having the one on one time with him :)

Daddy's First Prank

We got our first "congratulations" present from my Aunt Sheila- a soft little star that you can record your own voice to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  When I was writing my thank you note I was so excited to think of it's purpose in our home. With Chris traveling regularly, I loved the idea of him recording his voice to the star so that even when he travels the baby can hear his voice at night.
So while watching TV last night, Chris asked me about the present and it's function. I described to him its recording abilities and my desire for him to record his own voice. He was so excited. He asked how it worked. I explained that the original "store"  message was some awful shrill woman singing and that I preferred not to listen to her voice again. He insisted on listening to the model saying that it would help him to understand how the little star worked.
So I eagerly pushed the button to model the abilities of the toy- but to my surprise Chris had already recorded a "special song" on the star for our baby. I have video taped the result to be saved (as this will have to be recorded over immediately and not heard by our baby for YEARS) and the lyrics are written out below.
I about died laughing as I listened to Chris' sweet Daddy voice sing such mean things about Mommy. I hope you appreciate the humor in Daddy trying to get a "leg up" on Mommy through sweet song. Daddy always loves a good joke....

 

To Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Daddy is the one you love

Mommy is the one we shove

Daddy gives you toys and treats

Mommy's love is incomplete

So when you sleep and dream and snore

Remember Daddy loves you more