Our Annual Tour of the South

Right after school was let out for the summer, Neal and I left to visit my family and our friends in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. We usually wait until July or August to make this trip, but seeing as how I will most likely prefer to sit on the couch in a nice air conditioned house at that time of the pregnancy (and my doctor would be pretty mad at me if I travelled that late), we decided to go a little earlier for that trip this year. Here is a picture from our trip last year:

This was taken on my grandparents' porch when we were leaving to come home to Fort Worth in 2009. My how things have changed in the last year!

This is my 24 week belly picture which was taken at my grandparents' house by my Nana's beautiful hydrangeas. I wish that I had inherited my grandparents' green thumb, but Neal will tell you that I somehow manage to kill even plastic plants! This time, we started our trip with a visit to Nana and Grandpa's house in Alabama - they will be Camden's great grandparents on my Dad's side of the family. We had a great drive through Louisiana and Mississippi, and Neal was very patient with my frequent need to stop for restroom breaks. He was really surprised when I did have to stop only 30-45 minutes after the first time that we stopped on the trip, but when you take a few elbows or knees (I'm not really sure which) to the bladder, it's time to find a potty! I also listened to my doctor's advice and remembered to get out and walk around every time that we stopped. I'm sure people thought that I looked pretty crazy pacing around behind our car at each stop, but I'd rather have stares from strangers than blood clots. While in Alabama, we were unexpectedly blessed with toys, storage items, videos, and other various kid-friendly items from my uncle! It's a long story, but he had recently purchased a day care that he will be converting into another business, and he needed to get rid of all of the toys and other "kid stuff" that was no longer going to be used. So Camden now has a few toys for when he gets to be a little older! What a blessing!

We also spent a morning on the lake in my grandparents' pontoon boat - this was so relaxing, and we even managed to make it back inside before the rain hit! Even though I know they were tired of the rain, I appreciated the milder temperatures that came along with the daily rain showers that we experienced in Alabama. Plus, everything was so green and vibrant! On our way to Nashville, we stopped for a night to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins in Atlanta. We were able to visit and catch up, enjoy some great food (speaking of, Neal is still raving about my aunt's Boston creme pie), and see my cousin Carly perform in a patriotic show at church. As a social studies teacher, I loved all of the historical references, and Carly is a natural on stage. She knew all of the dances and songs, and I noticed that she was frequently placed in the front of the group. I think it was because she was one of the best! Unfortunately, all of my pictures from Atlanta were from the next morning when we were leaving to drive up to Nashville and half of the group was in their pj's, so I didn't want to post pictures of that, since I know that I certainly do not look my best when I first wake up. I did have a picture comparing my belly to my Grandpa's belly, but unfortunately blogger deleted it tonight, and it is way too late to start this over. I know that this is an OCD thing, but I really want my pictures to be in order when I blog, so check out facebook if you want to see the "belly comparison" picture. When we arrived in Nashville, we met up with our good friends Brantley and Adrienne for lunch (chicken fingers at McDougal's - one of our favorite Nashville spots) and we met their daughter Ainsley - so sweet and precious! Here I am holding her:

It was so neat to see how much our friends have grown up since having a child - it makes me wonder what everyone will think of us when Camden arrives in a few months. We enjoyed lots of great food, conversation, and plenty of laughter in Nashville. Plus, it was great to practice (a little) of what life will be like soon! Neal even took a turn holding Ainsley - I think he's going to be great at this! He was willing to feed her, change her, and help out with anything he could - I have to admit that I was very impressed and excited to see how much he will help out when our son arrives!

Adrienne was so sweet to take me to Target while we were there, so I could do the last half of our registering. I have to say that it was so nice to have someone who had experienced the first few weeks of having a baby, so she already knew a lot about what works and what doesn't. It made it so much easier and faster! I also experienced the not so polite person in the baby aisle who basically told me that I looked like I should be delivering in the next week - not in three months. I just have to say as advice to anyone out there who may not really know how to speak with a pregnant person, just remember that we are hormonal and extra sensitive, so now is not the time to think that it is remotely okay to tell us how huge we look or comment on the number of calories we are eating. Would you say that to someone who is not pregnant? I didn't think so. And, by the way, according to my doctor, I have gained the normal amount of healthy weight for a pregnancy (not too much, not too little) and my uterus measures exactly the same number of centimeters as the number of weeks that I am pregnant, so don't tell me that I look like I should deliver tomorrow! Sorry for the ranting, but really some people need to be informed!

The girls (+Camden - I know he can't wait to meet his future girlfriend!)

We made it back home on Sunday, and since that time, I have been catching up on house work, preparing for a sixth grade workshop that I will be presenting with two of my good friends next week, and going in for another doctor's appointment. This week I had the dreaded gestational diabetes test. I have to admit I was very nervous about this, but I was pleasantly surprised that the glucose drink was not unbearable - in fact, it reminded me of Hawaiian Punch. Also, the hour wait in between getting my blood taken was not bad, because I had a visit scheduled with the doctor. Everything is still fine and normal. She was happy that the trip went well, and she reluctantly allowed us to keep our Florida trip scheduled for the end of June (as long as I promised to stay hydrated and get plenty of "shade"). Camden's heart was still beating a strong 150 beats per minute, and my weight was right where it needs to be (Again, take that, Target lady!). And today, I received my results on the blood work and (drum roll, please) . . .

I PASSED!!! I was so relieved to hear this, because I kept hearing about friends and friends of friends who had failed, so I was worried that I would somehow fail as well - and I was feeling guilty about every single dessert I enjoyed while on our trip (until I found out that this doesn't really affect the test results), so I definitely feel very blessed to know that things are continuing to smoothly and that our little boy is still healthy! Neal and I have also seen my stomach move for the first time (which further convinces Neal that I have an alien in my bell), and Neal has been able to feel his pulse when he puts his hear on my tummy! This is definitely a very cool stage of the pregnancy!

Thanks again to my in-laws who came in for the day today to help Neal install a ceiling fan, a new sprinkler head, lights on our front path, and fix our back door! Ok, so Neal's dad helped with all of that stuff while his mom and I shopped for maternity clothes at Grapevine Mills! We had a great time visiting and bonding today! It was so fun to spend time with Camden's future Nana and I really appreciated all of the new clothes. I feel like I get to be one of the most stylish pregnant ladies thanks to Camden's very generous and wonderful grandmothers! It's great to know that they care so much about our family!

Stay tuned to find out about the red, white, and blue World Cup party that we are attending tomorrow! All I will say is that Neal has big plans for his outfit . . . (think American flag - in the form of pajama pants).