Valentine's and Vacation planning

This is how our our Valentine's Day looked (minus the wine, pizza, and Bachelor viewing).
We have never been huge V-Day people, so we had a low-key night hanging with the bebe and my older sister,  Crystal. Even though we never splurge on big gifts, I do love decorating for the (hallmark) holiday and getting all festive! When we were little both of our moms had little things waiting for us when we woke up in the morning and I wanted to continue that tradition for Harper. Fun times!
A few things on our March to-do list are as follows:

1. Buy a bigger car!
2. Continue house projects (like painting and putting in the bar area along with a few other updates)
and the most exciting...
3. Planning out our spring and summer vacations!

We aren't sure where we want to go yet, but we are planning two different trips: a short one over spring break (somewhere beachy) and then a longer one this summer. This summer we are thinking somewhere westcoast-ish like Portland, Seattle, or maybe visiting my best friend in LA. If you have any suggestions let us know! It has been well over 1.5 years since our last vacay so as you can imagine we are getting pretty excited to get the H E double hockey sticks outta here!

Four Months

The night she was born.

Four Months ago today our daughter, Harper Louise, was born. She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 19 inches long with a head full of dark brown hair. It's no coincidence that it has been four months since I posted because motherhood is the most precious, yet time consuming job in the world!

I've had a hard time trying to describe how our lives have changed because it's more than this or that it's something in your soul that morphs and grows with each passing day. Yep in this post I'm going to be one of *those* people, but I'll try to get back to normal things soon.

Harper Lou is now about 12 pounds and about 23 inches. From the beginning everyone said she looks just like her daddy, but now people are saying she looks a little more like me - it's not like I did all the work or anything;).  Overall, she is a great baby and loves her sleep (praise God), but she is very picky about what she likes. She likes being bounced a certain way and held looking out when we are public and doesn't really care for her swing or bouncy seat. She in a nutshell is picky, but of course most babies are. She is smiling and giggling now, which is my favorite sound in the world.

Here are some of my favorite pics. of her over the last few months:

 Her first bath-she screamed throughout the entire thing!

 Love those lips.

 One of her first smiles - about 1.5 months.

Her and Daddy in the hospital.

And here are some more recent pics.:

 Getting up from my nap.

 Going for a walk.

 Trying to catch her smiling, but it's so hard!

I guess I should also mention that compounding the busyness of the last four months was the purchase of our FIRST HOUSE!!! It is 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, with a large unfinished basement. It is in Decatur (about 10 minutes from downtown Atlanta). We have a lot of work to still do and hopefully by springtime we can host a housewarming and post before/after pics. We love her:

This was back in the Fall before everything turned blah. 

I guess that gets you up to speed on our lives. Pray for more long naps out of Harper Lou so I can continue to update a little faster than every four months.

August

August was quite a busy month. Let's see where to start.  At the beginning of the month Jeremy got a call back to a school he interviewed for at the beginning of June (yes folks a callback 2 months later!). It is a long story, but basically they had some organizational shifting which is why they took so long to offer him the position. He is now working at a science and technology charter school in Alpharetta. He just finished his second week of school, and besides the drive, it is an amazing place to work. It is the exact opposite of his last school in many ways. We were a little unsure of how it would be for him to work at a charter school, but it has been the biggest blessing ever! If I told you the details you would agree that only God could have worked this out.

I'm not going to lie it has been a tough summer. Moving across states without jobs and a baby on the way isn't exactly a combination for a stress-less summer - ha!  Despite all the craziness though, we have so much to be thankful for. We live in a great house with the best roomies and are surrounded by loved ones.

At the beginning of the month we had to get away and with a beach more than 6 hours away there aren't many options. We decided a daytrip to Helen would have to suffice so off we went...

Probably the most interesting thing in Helen...

Actually, anything having to do with food is way more interesting these days ;)

 

Had to visit Babyland!!!

If you aren't familiar w/ Babyland it's where cabbage patch kids are born!!!

If J were a cabbage patch kid! 

It's quite hilarious visiting a baby doll factory when you are 7.5 months preggo. You get the funniest looks! When we walked in J actually asked one of the "Doctors" working there where the labor and delivery room was - you should have seen the look on his face...PRICELESS!

We celebrated J's bday at the Falcons v. Patriots game  - Thanks Bri and Chris!!!

Worked on Harper's nursery

Made our FIRST offer on a House...then quickly cancelled it after inspections (boo)!!!

Had an awesome baby shower- see last post!

Celebrated Bri and Chris's bdays

Went to see Jack Johnson - in the pouring rain!!!

And last, but definitely not least...we lost a member of our family this week. Bri and Chris have had Oscar for 7 years and he was the most wonderful boxer. As some of you know, a dog can be more than just a pet, and Oscar was their baby. He was loved by everyone and we will all miss you dearly buddy...

Ba-Bee Shower

*I wrote this August 15 and am obviously just now posting....pregnancy makes you a little bit slower;)

This past weekend my two sisters, sister-in-law, and best friends threw us the most adorable Ba-bee shower aptly named after the bee theme! I'll just go ahead and explain the bee theme because everyone kept asking "Is that your nursery theme?" and well no...it is not. Before we decided on a name, we referred to our little bundle of joy as Baby B. Then my sister found the adorable invites with a B monogram and well it took off from there!

The day started bright and early with everyone buzzing around the house preparing for the big event. I say everyone, what I mean is everyone but me, I just stayed upstairs and anxiously awaited everyone's arrival. It took me weeks to find the perfect outfit. For some reason I was obsessed with the idea of wearing white. I almost gave up until the day before the shower I found this Eli dress at Nordstroms that was perfect...found an extra big size - down with maternity clothes- and the perfect shoes to go with it (have I mentioned how unflattering maternity clothes are?).  If you know me, you know that for some reason I always think special events should be marked by special outfits.

                                             J insisting on photos before I head downstairs ~ 33.5 weeks

As I got ready, I couldn't help but think of my mom and how much I wished she could be here. I told Jeremy the other day that I think a baby's soul stays in heaven until they are actually born; and that I know my mom is up there with Harper loving on her and maybe telling her a few ways to get me back for being the difficult child I was for her. In my head I can visualize her holding her and kissing her forehead. Whenever I get sad I think of those images and it comforts me.

As I walked down the stairs to all the voices gathered in the room, it hit me - I'm going to be a MOMMY!!! Holy cow! I want to be the best mom ever and I already love this little Ba-bee more than life. The shower was A-Mazing and I have to thank my sister for being such an incredible event planner. She really thought of everything. Also, thank you to Bri for the amazing food; and  Robin, Lindsey, and Marissa for helping make every detail perfect!

                                                       The Lovely hostesses and myself

                                          Here are a few shots of all the details- I love the details!!!

 

                                                                  Take-home candy bags

                                                       Well Wishes scrapbook for baby H

                                                               Lemonade and Mimosas

                                                          Cupcakes (gluten free) and Cake!

                                                Cute picture board my sister made for her nursery

                                                                          Diaper Cake

  Katie Z. and Me

                                                             Trish looking cute!

Mama C! (J's Mom) She handmade us so many wonderful gifts!

 

Shellea and Grace (J's sister and her daughter)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I had the best Ba-Bee Shower ever!!! We are so blessed to have friends and family who want to celebrate Harper Lou and already love her very much....who could ask for more?

Busy Bs

photo courtesy of thewheatfield

We have officially been back in the Peach State for a month and a lot has happened! J has been working for a tutoring center, while searching for teaching jobs, and I have just landed a part-time job with Georgia Organics (yippee!). We are trying to juggle the one car situation, which has been difficult with living outside of the city and getting used to not being able to bike everywhere.  On top of starting new jobs we have been house sitting for friends and babysitting making for a bit of a hectic schedule!

                                                              Baby Girl - 25 weeks
(~top is a side view of her hand in her face~  bottom you can see her nose and lips even though she had her leg and arm trying to cover it up!)

This week marked my 27th week of pregnancy and I'm not sure if I am giving birth to a baby or a basketball :) My sister helped me register a few weeks ago and boy did I never realize how much stuff is needed for something so tiny! It was really great to have her there with me because the whole process is overwhelming and you want to make sure you have everything you need for when baby arrives (no pressure or anything!). At the end of the day though, I realized it was actually good to go ahead and finish the registration process early on in the pregnancy that way you can purchase things along the way and almost use the registry as a checklist for all the necessities. Speaking of baby stuff...I had my first appointment with my Midwife here and it went really well. I had to have a second ultrasound because they were concerned about a few things, but everything looked great at the check-up and I feel much better now knowing who and where will be delivering our little girl! She has been kicking up a storm and hiccuping this past month-it's such a neat yet weird feeling. We already love her so much - and no WE HAVE NOT PICKED OUT A NAME!!! Hopefully soon though!

The boys are adjusting well to living in a house with their cousins Oscar (a boxer) and Guthrie ( a very talkative cat); however, Beau is having a harder time since he's not a super-social dog. I think he really misses his backyard and he seems more anxious than usual. Ernie loves it though because he gets more attention than ever - he's so spoiled!

It's been great being back and being able to spend so much time with family and friends. When you live away from home you always feel like you're missing out on something important so it's been nice reconnecting with old friends and enjoying time with the people we love so much!
Here's some pics. from the last month:

                                 J very excited about his Atlanta Braves hat for his first father's day gift

           Meeting my cousin Jared for the first time and having lunch with my Uncle Bobby and my Dad

 

Ernie bear

                                                                                 Beau

A baby gift for a friend...I was going to copy this awesome jungle-themed diaper cake, but at the last minute decided on a jungle-themed basket instead - I just loved the way it turned out! (to see the inspiration click here - Jungle Diaper Cake)

                                                Strawberry Ice cream pie I made for the 4th bbq

                                                                   27 weeks preggo!

 

Chillin' at Tedder's pool for the 4th!

                                                                              Besties

                                                         Girlies enjoying the 4th BBQ

                                                      Dogsitting Wilson - I love this guy!

Hope everyone had a relaxing and fun 4th of July!!! We sure did!

New Blog Title!

Since we are no longer living in Nashville, it's only fitting that we change our Blog name! Welcome to Baby Bound! We are so excited about becoming parents and bringing a new little girl into this world come October. We are 6 months along and still have no name for baby B! We will update everyone when that changes. Currently, we are getting settled into our new home and trying to find jobs! A lot of transitions, but we couldn't ask for a better life.
Wishing everyone a wonderful summer filled with swimming, bbq, and lemonade!

20 Things We will Miss Most about Nashville and One Thing We Won't!

Our time living in Nashville has come to an end and it really is like closing another chapter in our lives. Words can't really express what this city and experience has meant to us so we will share with you some of our photographs of our favorite things about Music City, USA:

1. THE PEOPLE










2. Our House and Neighbors




3. Lunches with Drew at Calypso Cafe


4. McKay Used Books, CDs, DVDs, & More (A WHOLE lot more)


5. Tuesday Pint and Pie Night at the Family Wash





6. Of Course the Honky Tonks and all the live Music Venues (Not pictured: Nashville Symphony Orchestra free summer concerts in the park...and a plethora of others)


7. Bobby's Dairy Dip (a little piece of heaven on earth...try the Barney Rubble - trust us)


8. Vanderbilt University - the beautiful campus, libraries, and learning can't be beat!


9. EAST NASHVILLE (really she's one of a kind)


10. The Belcourt



11. Rosepepper (Best Margaritas, Mexican, and Summer Patio)


12. Ashley will miss her job (a little) and the people she worked with (a lot)



13. Borders on West End (Yes, we realize they still exist in Atlanta, but we especially love this one - specifically because it is one of the only non-music places that stays open past 10 in Nashville and because we felt our Baby Girl kick for the first time here on Mother's Day)


14. I Dream of Weenie



15. 3 Crow - many great late nights here


16. Ugly Mugs - favorite coffee place


17. Fido's comes in a close second though - Try the Irish Setter (they even sell fair trade coffee!)


18. Shelby Dog Park


19. Nashville's Community Gardens




20. Stratford High School





And the ONE thing we will not miss:

NO BRAVE's BASEBALL!!!


Sorry Nashville, but Atlanta is Brave's Country :)




You will be in our hearts forever dear Nashville!




XOXO,

The Byars

P.S. Look for the new blog name soon...(OBVS!)