A relaxing weekend ...

It was a fantastic weekend at the Peppers' home. We started off with an opportunity to watch our two nephews, Jackson and Pierson, and niece Julia Hope for a few hours on Saturday. Suffering from a little bout of the allergies, I opted to take the opportunity to get some cleaning done around the house and keep the boys occupied. Julie got to spend the afternoon with the cutest little girl in her arms. I love this picture of Julie holding this little angel! I can look into my wife's eyes and know that she is going to be such a great mother. I can't wait to see her hold our very own child in her arms as he drifts off to dreamland. And there is nothing sweeter than the smell of a baby.

Saturday night was the annual Service League of Cherokee County Ball. These women do such great work in the community and I am so honored to be married to one of these great women. Julie and I enjoyed the opportunity to dress up for the event, although Julie did panic a little about how to look dressy and pregnant simultaneously. She wore a beautiful black pant suit and was stunning. I easily had the best eye candy on my arm!

Finally, we finished off the weekend by taking Jackson and Pierson to Dixie Speedway, one of my favorite places, to see the Monster Truck and Motorcross show. I was so excited that Turner got to go to his first Dixie event and kept thinking about how much fun it will be to bring him back after he's born.

Julie has been watching her sugar closely. We have both been enjoying a diet of 30 carbs at breakfast, 60 at lunch and 60 at dinner with 2-3 30-carb snacks per day. It's amazing how you cherish your food when you count each carb! She has been checking her blood sugar 2 hours after each meal. So far, so good.

We're 9 weeks away and I am so psyched about this baby joining our lives!

Rockin' & Rollin'

Oh boy! Our last major piece of furniture arrived this afternoon and I love it! Julie got me this recliner for my birthday. We went down to Priest Home Furnishings in downtown Woodstock and tested several models. We decided we liked this style, wanted it in leather, and wanted it to swivel, glide, and recline. This is the most comfortable chair! I'm so excited thinking about all of the days ahead of us, gliding along with Turner in our arms in this chair. I can definitely see Turner and his Daddy napping in this one!

I thought it would be great to test it out fully and it got the Daddy thumbs up!

We had a fantastic time this past Sunday in my hometown. My mother put on a fantastic baby shower with my family. We were so blessed to have so much family present and great friends from Trion Heights Baptist Church. The shower was in the fellowship hall and we almost needed a U-Haul to get home! So many great clothes, diapers, bath items, an overhead gym, and Turner's first Bible. It's so hard to pick favorites, but my mother and grandmother take the cake (which was delicious, too). They both had made blankets for Turner. Mom made blue and Nanny made green. Both came with the cutest little crochet hats! I can't wait to see him in that hat and post pictures! We're having some camera issues and can't get those photos up yet ... keep checking for shower pics! (A special thanks to Aunt Sue for the great cakes and Aunt Becky for the Diaper Cake)

We're a little more than 9 weeks away, but after this week, we are Rockin' & Rollin'. Nap time for me :) in the new recliner!

Getting Closer!

I am sooooo excited! It's hard to believe it, but we're in the stretch where Julie has to go every two weeks now to the doctor. It's the middle of April and we are both counting down the days to the end of June. I can't wait to see my little buddy :)

Julie is looking so cute right now! I know that she is my wife, but she just looks so adorable pregnant! Neither one of us get a full night's sleep anymore. Julie wakes up for bathroom trips, leg cramps, Turner kicking any part of her stomach or ribs, or because she just isn't comfortable. I wake up, too. Last night, we decided that Julie needed a larger pillow to sleep with along her stomach and legs. Last night, I also determined that we should invest in a king-sized bed. My half of the bed is shrinking the further we get into this pregnancy. I've decided to get used to smaller bed space. I'm excited about thinking about tiny steps down the hall and our little one crawling into our bed one day soon.

This weekend, I spent most of my time stooped over. Julie has hired me without pay to be the gardener :) I got everything planted and mowed the pollen off the grass. The yard looks great, but I could tell Julie wanted to be out there with me digging in the soil. She took the opportunity to work on a few things around the house, including a little bit of washing. Did I mention that I absolutely love the smell of DREFT! I can't wait to hold my little buddy in a few more weeks!

Chair!!

Today was the last day of my Spring Break...so what did I do with my time? I went SHOPPING for Turner of course!! I found a great deal on a Pottery Barn Kids chair...I am so excited...it matches the room perfectly!! I can't wait until he is sitting in that chair reading a book!! Check out the picture!!

Also, I went to the doctor today for my 28 week check-up...everything is going great...he continues to kick everyday especially in the morning...I tell Billy that Turner is going to be a morning person like his mommy so he needs to be prepared!! :) He also like to kick at 2 am...he is like clockwork...I love it...I am already on a routine...I get up and go to the bathroom and then drink a big cup of water...God is doing a great job preparing me for the sleep deprivation that is going to come in just a few short months. So far so good! I did take a nap today for the first time in a bit...I was taking a nap everyday during the first trimester!!

Furniture Arrives

It is so hard to imagine that Julie hit 28 weeks today. It seems like almost yesterday she greeted me at the bottom of the stairs with our first positive pregnancy test. She gets more beautiful by the day. I knew that I loved her the very first time I saw her and now I just can't imagine life without her. She's more beautiful because I get to see an all new side to her. This motherhood thing definitely makes my heart melt for her even more.

We had a really fantastic arrival on Friday ... baby furniture. Thanks to the fantastic help of Mr. Herb Priest at Priest Home Furnishings in downtown Woodstock (free commercial for the nicest furniture man in the world) we saw the arrival of our crib and our dresser/changing table. The crib is a beautiful cherry sleigh design complete with a Sealy Beauty Rest Matress. The bedding is Pottery Barn with faded blues and greens. We wrestled between cherry and black, so we decided to do both. The dresser and changing table are black. I'm going to change out the brushed nickle pulls with cherry and we're going to integrate more of both colors in the room.

Having the nursery come together makes the whole adventure all the more real. I can't wait to hold my son! Tomorrow is also a big day for me and Julie ... it marks 18 months of wedded bliss.

I love my growing family :)

A new first today...

Well, today I am pretty sure the baby had hiccups!! It was a very light rhythmic "kick" that lasted about a minute or two. It was weird and I had not felt it before so that is why I am thinking it was hiccups...it was what, if I could imagine, hiccups to feel like from him.

Sorry it was short and sweet, but Billy has on a scary movie and I don't need to watch a scary movie before bed so I must remove myself from the computer now! :)