Obviously Noah was the coolest kid in the nursery. Sic Em Bears!

Labor Day...

Thursday, June 5th was my last day of work. I finished up at Kerr and came home around 3:30pm. I felt sick to my stomach so I laid down and took a 3 hour nap. I woke up around around 8pm and Josh and I were just hanging out watching the Celtics.
Around 10:30pm I went to the bathroom and my water broke. We gathered our stuff together and called Josh's parents in Houston so they could start driving. We also called my parents and our siblings.
Then we headed to the hospital....knowing that our lives were about to totally change.


We arrived at the hospital around 11:30pm and had to hang out in the L&D hallway for about 20 minutes because there weren't any laboring rooms available. We finally got settled in a room and my sister arrived. My parents, Jason and Hailey quickly followed.
And I was in labor.....
Long story short, my in laws arrived around 4am. I got my epidural around 5am. I felt instant pain relief and never felt uncomfortable again.
I started pushing around 10:30am. Noah's heartrate kept dipping down and we were close to having an emergency c-section but all that was avoided and Noah came into the world at 11:55am!!
It was one of the greatest moments to hear him cry and hear the doctor announce that our IVF miracle baby was a boy!! They put him on my chest and Josh cut the cord. We spent some time together as a family and then Josh went to announce Noah's arrival to our waiting family!!




Noah has a head full of thick dark hair and looks just like Josh.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15

The baby's here....

...and it's a boy!!!

We're proud to annouce the arrival of

NOAH GREGORY

June 6 at 11:55am

Weight: 7 lbs 7 1/2 ounces

Length: 20 inches

He's perfect and we're so in love with him!!

I'll post pics later.

Big week...

It's a big week for us. Here's part of our to-do list:

1) Sign a contract on the house we're planning on buying.
2) Finish up work at KMS. I've been there 6 years and I can't believe that I'll be done on Thursday.
3) Have a baby.

We'll keep you posted on how it goes.

No house for us....

We made an offer on a house. It was low. You're suppose to start low, right?
The seller's counter offer was pretty much "the list price is the price of our house." So we went back with a slightly higher offer and again their response was "the list price is the price of our house."
So obviously they aren't interested in selling their house to us....although we're not sure they are all that interested in selling it to anyone.

Back to the search process....

Time to seek shelter....

So, Josh and I are looking for a house. We have a contract on our current one and are scheduled to move out July 14th. The only hitch in our plan is that we currently have no where to move. We've been looking. We've searched a bunch online and been out twice with our realtor and seen about two dozen houses in person.
The main problem I'm running into is that I currently live in a house that I adore. And I haven't adored most (translate to all but 2) of the stuff we've seen.
So last night we went to look at our top two houses back to back to really compare them and see if one of them was the house for us. We met up with our realtor who let us know that house #2 was under contract so we would only be looking at house #1. We were okay with this since house #1 was the front runner anyway.
We looked....
We made an offer....
We're waiting to see what they come back with....

It would certainly be one more major decision checked off the list.

By the way, Baby Weems' arrival date is looming in the near future. We're looking forward to tricking you into visiting us so that you can see our baby and then asking you to help us pack. :)
But don't worry....we're hiring movers so you won't have to help us move because we like you and we want to be still be friends.

And the winner is....

Sorry to keep you waiting in suspense about the job offers. I accepted a job on Monday but there were people I had to tell in real life before I could blog about it. There are just certain things that certain people shouldn't find out via the blog world. Blogs are a wonderful way to keep up with folks but they kind of create a barrier in a way too. That is an entirely different post though.

Anyway, I've decided to become the Campus Intervention Specialist at Boyd Elementary in Allen. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'm just nervous in general about starting a new job with new people, a new boss, etc etc. Plus, I've never worked at an elementary school before and I know it will be different then middle school---the children are so small!! Hopefully we can get some good internventions in place with the little ones and teach them to read before they get to middle school. :) Of course, any job is going to be a huge adjustment due to the fact that I've been at my current school for the past 6 years.
Hopefully this job will also give me some insight into what it might be like to be an elementary school assistant principal someday since I'll be finishing my master's next summer (hopefully) and then I'll have to decide what exactly I'm going to do with that.

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement so many of y'all have given me as I went through this whole job search, interview, decision process.

Our next big decision---where should we live?? Where should Peanut go to day care??

Job offers....

Well, I had three interviews last week. It would've been exhausting but I took those days off of work....so three days off was pretty nice. Two of those interviews have turned into job offers. I was really hoping for just one job offer.....because then things would be easy. Now I need to decide. The offers are with different districts but the schools are about 15 minutes apart. Salary is about the same in both districts as well. The main difference is the jobs I've been offered.

Job #1--Campus Intervention Specialist. This is pretty much what I do right now except it would be at an elementary school instead of a middle school. I would be in charge of working with teachers and other staff members to develop interventions for struggling students. I would meet with parents to discuss the intervention plans. I would also be the campus testing coordinator...which is kind of a drag but I've done it before so at least I know what to expect. It is definitely more of an administrator job than a teaching job since it will involve a lot more work with adults than with kids. All the people I've met at this school are really nice.

Job #2--Teaching. I know, crazy, right? I've been offered a teaching job....oh wait, I have an education degree and I'm a teacher. The principal said in the interview that they were interested in hiring me and that he is looking for math and science teachers. Cool. It would be a middle school job at an exemplary middle school. For those of you outside the education bubble, exemplary means that all their kids pass TAKS....and I do mean all....99-100%. It is a great school--excellent reputation, brand new building, very nice principal and assistant principal. I'm not sure about going back in the classroom but this might be a great professional opportunity since it is with one of the top school districts in Texas. Also, my friend Melissa who student taught in the classroom next to me 6 years ago is a 7th grade teacher at this school.

So, now I have decisions to make. What do I want to do next year???
I'm suppose to let the principal from Job #1 know by tomorrow afternoon.....Josh and I have talked circles around this situation all weekend. Where is a flashing neon sign when you need one??? :)

36 weeks....

Oh my goodness. I've made it to 36 weeks. Honestly this pregnancy has flown by. It seems like just a few weeks ago we got a call from the doctor's office that we were indeed finally pregnant. And last week at the doctor's office I set up all my appointments for the rest of this pregnancy...the crazy part was there were only 4 and one of them is after my due date. I made a joke about not wanting to make it to the June 11th appointment and Josh says, "Heck we might not even make it to the May 29th one." I immediately told him not to say that again.

Grad school is over for the semester! Woohoo!! I'm taking the summer off and planning on taking online classes in the fall so I won't be actually in class again until next January. It will be weird not driving out to Arlington once a week (or more) for a while but I won't miss it too much.

The job search is still in progress. I have three interviews this week so hopefully one of them will work out. The house is still on the market although we've gotten lots of good feedback and there are potential buyers on the horizon. Josh and I have gotten really good at keeping the house picked up at all times in case someone wants to show it. I wonder if that will continue after the baby arrives..... :) I'm leaning toward probably not.

It is crazy to me that I have about 15 work days left at KMS. I've been there for 6 years. I told someone tonight that the end of my time in Burleson seems kind of anticlimatic....but then I realized that really giving birth will be the end of my time in Burleson so probably not so anticlimatic after all....just a little scary. But I can't wait to meet this little one!!!

Hometown shower....

On May 3rd we had my "Hometown Shower" at my sister's house. The hostesses with the mostestes....Chris, Jaimie, Jessica, Sharee, Marcy, Carole and Hailey....threw a great party. It was so fun to have so many friends in one place.

I love this pic with my mom, sister and Ava. It looks like Ava is patting my belly. I can't wait for Baby Weems to be big enough to chase after Ava. They are going to have so much fun together.

Granny, GiGi (Josh's mom), Great Aunt Kim and Josh's cousins, Charlie and Katherine all came into town for the shower. Charlie and Katerine are such cute and sweet girls. They touched my belly too....but very very lightly and I could tell they were totally uncertain about the whole situation. It was pretty hilarious.

If you're a blog reader who went to Baylor then you know it is nearly impossible to find Baylor stuff (not to mention cute Baylor stuff) outside of the Waco bubble...but my mom found this cute cute Baylor quilt. I know we will use it a bunch....and I'm sure Baby Weems will be snuggled up in it at the Homecoming Parade. (Saturday, Nov 1st vs. Missouri....mark your calendars...we'll be in front of the sub as usual.)

Here are some of my sweet Baylor friends...Jaimie, Emily, Hailey, Kristi and Jessica.

My hostesses did a great job. They even added little touches to make the day special....like little petit fors for Baby Weems (or as I like to call them "baby cakes") and M&M favors. These baby food jars were filled with pink and blue M&Ms that said things like "It's a surprise!" and "Find out in June."

Overall it was just a perfect day.

I'm spoiled....

My friend from work, Jennifer, threw my first shower. At KMS we always do a little cake and punch in the teacher's lounge for weddings and babies but she wanted to host a little special get together at her house. I felt so spoiled by my school house girls. They are so excited about Baby Weems....they keep saying they are going to be at the hospital with us....but I think I'm drawing the line about who gets to see the actual birth....

Mom and me at the shower. I was really glad she came out to meet my work friends. I can't believe I won't hang out with these girls everyday next year. They've been such good friends through our entire journey to parenthood.


Hostess Jennifer with crazy Heather.

Jennifer's mom knitted this precious yellow blanket for Baby Weems. It is unbelievably soft and just perfect!!


This cute little outfit is totally girly. All of the work girls insist that Baby Weems is a girl. In fact, they gave me girl's clothing with gift receipts because they refuse to buy anything neutral.

The belly grows....

Both of these pictures were taken during my 32nd week. I thought the patterned shirt just made me look big all over so I made Josh take another picture the next day when I was wearing black. I know it is a big shocker to see me in a black tshirt since I only own about a billion of them. Anyway, this black tshirt is special because it says "Due in June" on it. It is always amazing to me how many people talk to me when I'm out and about wearing it....sales people, random little girls, all sorts of people. Of course their 1st question is "Is it a boy or a girl?" And then they look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I don't know.

Where have I been???

Well, shortly after I wrote that last post about updating my computer died. And I mean it died. The official word from the tech department was "Critical Hard Drive Malfunction" although the tech actually said, "Girl, your computer is MESSED up."
So it has taken me a little longer to update than anticipated....but here's what we've been doing....

40 days....

The ticker officially says only 40 days to go!! I really can't believe that....although sometimes I can't believe it is getting so close and other times I can't believe that I still have that many days as things are starting to get a bit uncomfortable.

We of course still have tons of things left to do--finding a new job is probably the top thing on the list. I am finishing up the semester in grad school this week which is a huge relief....and hopefully once I wrap that up I'll have some time to update the blog with pictures of my baby belly and the wonderful shower my work friends threw for me. Aren't you on the edge of your seat now??

Interuppting Regularly Scheduled Programming...

I was tagged by Rebecca....so here is my list of 4's....

4 Jobs I have had in my life:
1. Counter Girl at Sweet Temptations
2. Attorney's assistant at a title company (I didn't even know what a title company did the first three months I worked there)
3. 6th grade teacher
4. Student Advocate

4 Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once:
1. Waiting for Guffman
2. Drop Dead Gorgeous
3. Madagascar (thanks Amanda)
4. Casino Royale--it's been on cable lately so it is always on

4 Places I’ve Lived:
1. Georgia
2. Garland, TX
3. Waco, TX
4. Fort Worth, TX

4 TV Show I Watch/Watched: Only 4????
1. The Office
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Current network reality show--the Bachelor or survior or big brother, etc

4 Places I have Been:
1. St Lucia
2. Belize
3. Turkey
4. London

4People who email me regularly
1. Josh
2. Jennifer P.
3. My mom--she recently sends me weekly updates about job openings in Garland
4. Tie between Pottery Barn and J. Crew

4 of my favorite foods
1. Sushi
2. All Mexican food
3. Profiterol--sounds like medication but I promise it is awesome
4. a great steak

4 Places I Would Like to Visit
1. Greece
2. New Zealand
3. Bora Bora
4. I'd love to go to NYC with Josh

4 Things I am Looking Forward to in the Coming Year
1. Meeting Baby Weems :)
2. Setting up a nursery for Baby Weems in our new house
3. Drinking margaritas after the arrival of Baby Weems
4. Seeing my feet again :)

4 Friends who I’m Tagging
1. Sharee
2. Jessica
3. Diana--because you haven't updated in FOREVER
4. Kelli K

Sabotage update...

Well, I contacted our real estate agent to let him know about the terrible showing....and he emailed the showing agent to apologize.
It turns out that the potential buyer doesn't like dogs and that they could hear Monty barking so they never even opened the door to the laundry room!! They didn't know about the sabotage attempt and they'd like some more info about our house!!!

WOOHOO!!

SABOTAGE!!!

We think that Monty doesn't want to move. He loves his house with the big back yard. He's probably worried that if we move the squirrels and birdies will start to think they own the place. So, he's trying to sabotage real estate showings....

Take today for example. I received a call at 5pm that said they'd like to show the house from 5:30-6:30. I was still at work but we've gotten really good about leaving the house "ready to show" so I said sure. When I left work I stopped by Old Navy to look through their very picked over maternity section for a few minutes just in case the people were at our house.

I came home and noticed that there were some random lights on which is pretty typical when someone looks at the house. I opened the door to the laundry room where we keep Monty's kennel and the smell hit me!! Monty had pooped in his kennel. And I won't go into detail except to say that Monty and the kennel both immediately went to the back yard for a good hose down....after I fashioned my own gas mask from a dish cloth.
We haven't heard any feedback from the potential buyers....I'm sure their real estate agent is trying to figure out how to word "This house smells like dog poop" in a nice way. I want to call the agent and tell him it isn't always like that and to bring his people back or at least bring other people by.....

We have another showing tomorrow. Hopefully Monty will stick to just growling and barking when they are in the house and will keep the intestinal fireworks to a minimum.

Most Smartest....

Well, it's official. We've finished all our baby classes. We went to parenting, childbirth and breastfeeding. It made for two VERY long weekends but we learned a lot. I'm not sure if we feel more prepared for the baby to arrive or if only now we are able to realize how unprepared we truly are.

We took parenting first. The best part was that we got to learn infant CPR which we will hopefully never use. We also learned a lot about infant car seats. The worst part was some really awkward videos we watched about the importance of skin to skin contact. After all, we didn't really need a video explanation of what "skin to skin" meant.

Then this weekend we took childbirth on Friday night and Saturday. The first video we saw was about laboring. The instructor forgot to warn us that it would show a live birth at the end.....let's just say that it wasn't like on "A Baby Story" and nothing was blurred out. The second video was even more frightening. I looked at Josh several times and said, "I don't think I can do this." One of the videos said something about massage and how even household items could be used as massagers....it showed a rolling pin and I told Josh he could hit me over the head with that if things got too tough. Our childbirth class was very small and there were some fun people....so we got to make lots of jokes and comments such as when the instructor asked about the stages of labor being able to say loudly "Transition: that's when the yelling REALLY begins."

And then today we took our breastfeeding class. The lady was really positive and informative. She wasn't near the "la leche nazi" that I envisioned or had been warned about. I'm still not 100% sure how all that is going to work out but I feel better about it then I did before we went to the class. And strangely enough the videos in the breastfeeding class weren't nearly as awkward as the ones from parenting....go figure!

So, now I'm officially 32 weeks and despite the fact that we've finished our classes we're not really any closer to being "ready" for the baby to get here....I still have a TON of things on the to-do list such as 1) Finish grad school projects 2) Find job 3) Buy carseat....although I'm not sure those three things are the top three things....except maybe for the grad school project because it is due on Tuesday night and I'm blogging instead of working on it. Since it is already late Sunday night, I'd better get my "most smartest" self back to work on the project.

**Bonus points for you if you can name the movie that the quote "most smartest" comes from!! I'll give you a hint: "Amber is the best tapper, the most smartest"

Reality again...this time on TV

Okay, I admit it. I watch reality TV. Some people (like my husband) might even say I watch a lot of reality TV. Currently I'm into four reality shows--Big Brother 9, the Bachelor: London Calling, Survivor and Dancing with the Stars. I'm not really sure if Dancing with the Stars counts as reality TV though. Is it just a game show? Oh well.

I usually only watch shows that I've DVR'd. Ever since Jason bought us TIVO a couple Christmases ago it has become impossible to watch actual live television. So, tonight I finally watched this week's episode of The Bachelor. Now, if you've never seen the Bachelor you might think that it is about a guy dating a ton of women and trying to find the one. This is what ABC wants you to believe the show is about. The show is actually just about the drama of a bunch of girls living together and dating the same guy....it isn't about love and it doesn't matter who he picks in the end since it never works out anyway. I mainly watch to make sure that the drama queen I like makes it through to the next week to create more drama. Most of these girls are so detached from real reality that sometimes I'm not sure if the Bachelor qualifies as reality TV either.

Anyway, this week's episode of course contained the "Most dramatic rose ceremony yet" just like every other week. And the Rose Ceremony was indeed the best part....although not because of the girls. Here's what happens:

Our Bachelor, Matt, (pictured above) has 5 women to choose from but only 3 roses. He hands out rose #1 and rose #2. The host, Chris Harrison, steps in to say his famous line, "Ladies, Matt, this is the final rose this evening." As Chris is saying this we notice that Matt looks down at his hand. He's studying the palm of his hand. He looks at it for several seconds. And I wonder "Does he have the names written on his hand?" I rewind the DVR. I play it again. I call Josh into the room. "Does it look like he's reading his palm?" Josh agrees!!

And that ladies is true love right there. He's picking 3 out of 5 women to continue in a contest to maybe be his wife and he can't even remember the names of the three chicks he wants to pick!! Awesome. Truly awesome. I love reality TV.

Reality sets in....

Today I officially resigned from my job in Burleson.
Tomorrow the for sale sign is going in our front yard.
Saturday I'm going to a job fair to look for a new job.

This whole moving thing is starting to become VERY VERY real.