Time Is Flying...

...suddenly we're already 6 months pregnant! As we approach 25 weeks in a couple of days, changes are continuing to take place. My belly is noticeably getting larger (people we don't know can actually tell I'm pregnant now). Clinton's performances are becoming grander in scale. Rodney and I often like to sit and watch the waves across my belly as Clinton moves around. He tends to move the most at night, and I keep having dreams he's trying to get out. The other night I dreamed he crawled out of my belly button, was actually a girl, and was so small I lost him trying to get him to the hospital. I spent the rest of the dream looking for him.

WE HAVE GOOD NEWS IN OUR HOUSE!! Rodney finally took his GMAT (after a 6-week crash course study session) and got the needed score to start grad school. Originally, he was going to start in January, but has decided he would like to be able to focus on me and the baby...so grad school will start next fall. I think that schedule will accommodate us all a little better! Clinton and I are so proud of Rodney and this commitment he has made to benefit our family...Gracie Mae is just sad when anything takes her daddy away from play time!

Speaking of Gracie Mae, we FINALLY got our new fence put in last week and our little spoiled princess is in doggie heaven. She goes outside in the morning and stays out until the sun goes down. She spends her days napping in the sun, monitoring the fence line and greeting every person who gets within 1000 feet of our yard. We opted for a semi-private fence so Gracie could see out, and it seems to have been a great idea...which I must give Rodney credit for (I wanted a 6 foot privacy).

Rodney is currently in Pennsylvania for 2 weeks, so I have been looking for things to pass the time. Yesterday I went and set up our baby registry at my favorite store...Target. Today I made lots of goodies for the trick or treaters who live on our street. I made Texas Cowboy Cookies, Chewy Cocoa Brownies and Rice Krispies Treats. I made really cute bags with each of the kids names on them. I also made some glitter pumpkins I saw on Martha. I just took those little baby pumpkins and smothered them in gold glitter. With the pumpkins, some red leaves off of my tree from outside and a cute runner I got at Target, I have a very wonderful center piece on my dining room table. I would take a picture...but I still don't have a camera! I was going to carve some really cool pumpkins for the front porch, too, but everyone is sold out of pumpkins...boo. I have also already started making plans for Christmas. My family is coming up here for the holidays and I am looking forward to hosting my very first Christmas! So I do spend a lot of time in my cookbooks and on Martha's website working on decor and menus. I'm sure I will continue to find a number of other things to pass the time until my husband returns to me...otherwise, my hormones and I will just have to sit and cry about being all alone!

...and oh, the hormones. They are making me do things that are completely out of character for me. I have been crying...about nothing. I have been craving all that mushy romance stuff that usually strikes me as corny. AND, I put in all caps because this a big one,...AND I have been cleaning house...like crazy. Anyone who knows me knows that a spotless house is not, and never has been, a priority for me. I think a house should look lived in and be comfortable for those who visit, not so clean it becomes too sterile for people to relax--or require every ounce of my energy to impress people. In the past, I have asked my husband several times for a maid...and have been denied. I have driven him crazy with my lack of concern about that load of laundry that's been in the dryer for a week, or the dishes that are piling up because I won't unload the cleans dishes from dishwasher, or the 15 pairs of shoes by the door. NOW...I do laundry every other day. I have a spotless kitchen at all times. I sweep the floors everyday. I've been vacuuming very often. And I even cleaned the bathrooms the other day...which Rodney is usually gracious enough to do for me because I truly hate it. Maybe Rodney will get lucky and this will become habit....or, honey, maybe you should enjoy it while it lasts. We'll just have to see! :-) Last Saturday I went on a cleaning frenzy! When Rodney came home, he just walked around with wide eyes...and actually said to me, "Wow. Our house smells so good...it's never smelled like this before."

Anyway--that's a week in the life of us (and by us I mean me and my hormones). We will continue to keep you updated. Hopefully with pictures, soon. We would love to hear from you all. Lots of love...Courtney

Baby Belly Update Week 21...

Okay, okay...so it's been a while. A month, perhaps. I've been busy traveling for work and actually working. I have been in Florida and Indiana and will be in Michigan next week. We have also not yet replaced our camera, and I didn't want to make a post without giving you something to look at. Today we went in for another ultrasound and got to see Clinton again. He is something else....definitely a mover and a shaker. He spent a lot of time with his fist in his mouth, so it's apparent one gene has passed from both of us....a big mouth.
I'm continuing to get bigger. I'm a little over 5 months and have put on 12 pounds since prepregnancy. I'm handling it a little more gracefully than the last time I put on 12 pounds! :-) I'm actually not even back up to my college weight yet--so that tells you something about how healthy I was then. I have been craving lots of cheeseburgers. I think it's the texture of the ground beef. There is something about whole pieces of meat that is difficult for me right now. I also love fudge pops (the healthy kind made with Splenda) and Snickers (but those don't come in a diet version). I work very hard to give Clinton all the whole grains and vegetables we both need.
Clinton has been doing lots of moving. I feel him dancing around in there every time I lay down to rest or sit down to my computer. He presses his little feet pretty hard on my stomach to stretch out his little legs, so you can actually see it from the outside now. Rodney has started reading him books at night, because his hearing is now developed. His favorite is The Three Little Javelinas, a very Southwest version of the The Three Little Pigs. If anyone sees any great cowboy children's books, please let us know....we want lots of books for Clinton's room!
Our nursery is coming together. We've got the twin bed put together with new mattresses and bedding. We're just waiting on mother to finish the crib stuff and then we have to paint the room. I have picked out a shade of green called Pacific Pines that I think will just look really good and flow with the rest of the house. We'll post pictures AS SOON AS WE HAVE A CAMERA!
In the posted picture you'll see Clinton upside down in the first one, his head in the second one and him sucking his fist in the third one.
Hope everyone is doing well! We miss you all. Much love--Courtney

Baby Belly Update Week 17...

It has been a while since our last update...seeing as we still have not replaced our camera. Mother was kind enough to take our picture while we were in Texas this past week for the Holiday weekend.

Things are moving along smoothly. I have gained 8 lbs. up to this point, two of which I will blame on my grandmother and her sweet tooth. I spent the weekend with my grandparents while Rodney and my parents went to the river. Grammy and I ate lots of cake, ice cream and apple pie...things I rarely allow in my house! That's okay, Grammy, it was delicious! My belly is starting to grow and this week I have found myself in an awkward transition phase. My regular clothes really aren't comfortable and my maternity clothes are still too big...so I just look like a sloppy dresser. The heartbeat continues to be strong and we have our next sonogram on September 18th. We will be able to get a video of the sonogram and I'm going to try to get it digitized and posted on here...we'll see how computer savvy I really am.

Texas was fun. It was our last trip to Texas until Clinton is born. Rodney, Chelsea and my parents went down to the Rio Grande with the usual group. They caught lots of fish and whatever else they do down there. I just hung out with my grandparents taking lots of naps and eating well. I came home with an extra suitcase....Mother, Deb McMullan and Grammy & Grampy loaded us up with gifts. Thanks, guys!

We will continue to keep everyone posted. Hope all is well! Lots of love--Courtney

Baby Belly Update Week 14...

Okay...so no pictures for this one, but I promise my belly is growing. While I haven't put on any more weight, my belly is bulging...but I can still button my skinny jeans....just can't sit down. My cravings remain at watermelon, pastas and Mexican food....and I drink water like it's going out of style.

I have a few THANK YOU's to pass out. I would like to thank Amy Cranfill, Kelly Smith, Janene Day, my mother, Rodney's mother, Rod & Brenda (our neighbors), and Samantha Kadish for all the cute gifts and cards. We really appreciate all your thoughtfulness during this very exciting time.

The only new things we know about the pregnancy is that it is causing me heart burn and the baby is about 3 inches long now. As soon as we have a camera, we'll post some more exciting news!

Best to all....Love-Courtney

A little rewind...

Several weeks ago I sent out an email titled Baby Belly Update. This idea came from several people asking to see my belly as it grows...but apparently no one thought the pictures showed a belly. I PROMISE I WAS SKINNIER THAN THAT! My intent was to continue those updates weekly, but our digital camera was misplaced somewhere in Chicago. Anyway...thought I would post the original Baby Belly Update, then post a pictureless update and then continue them from here on out (as soon as we replace our camera).

So, here is the original Baby Belly Update (sent 7/21/06)...

Several of you have asked for pictures and updates because you are either my mother, grandmother or you have taken on the role of helping guide me through life. Some of you are getting this because I thought you might also enjoy the updates.

Baby Belly Update
Week 10

The belly is starting to grow and I'm working diligently to make sure the arms, legs and butt do not follow! Rodney, Gracie and I are taking daily walks through the neighborhood, and we are making fairly genuine attempts to eat really healthy. The all day nausea and complete exhaustion that have consumed me over the past five weeks have significantly declined in the past week. Rodney and I get about 10 hours a sleep at night and that helps to eliminate the afternoon naps. While the all day nausea has passed certain things such as fish and leftover chicken make me pretty queasy. My current cravings are watermelon, brownies and anything with cheese (which means lots of Mexican food!).

I have started setting up the nursery. My Grammy was here a few weeks ago and helped me select a beautiful antique dresser which we purchased and set up in the nursery (see picture attached). I have also obtained some antique twin beds that were my mother's when she was a little girl and that my sister used. I have set one of those up in the nursery for now. I was also able to get my hands on the little table and chairs that my grandmother, my mother and my sister and I had as little girls. Rodney's aunt Cathy also gave us a really cute antique rocking horse that I am working on fixing up.

In September we will find out the sex of the baby. We are dying to know so we can get to work on the rest of the nursery and decide on a name. Our boy name is decided, Clinton Robert, after my dad and Rodney's late grandfather. Our girl name is narrowed to three as of now-- Luella Rose, Josephine "Josie" Bailey, and Heidi Sage. We may wait until we see the baby to choose one.

We have a hunch it's a boy because we came to a clear cut conclusion on the name, we know what we want to do for a boy nursery, and if you ever ask Rodney's 2-year-old niece, Emma, she always says it's a boy without hesitation.

Below you will see a few pictures attached. One of the antique dresser and two of my growing belly. More updates to come!

And the shopping begins...

Well, we went to our 12 week appointment today to hear the heartbeat. The heartbeat was just beautiful. With a heartrate of 164, our baby is healthy and strong. My doctor, being a good friend of mine, also allowed me to go in for an unscheduled sonogram. And there we saw it....a little wee-wee. It's a boy! Rodney is beside himself with excitement and I am excited to start shopping. There are so many things I can do now that I know what we're having. Little Clinton put on a little show for us, rolling around in the belly and waving his precious little arms. Sonograms are amazing. We were able to see all the little fingers and toes. We could see the heart beating and, of course, there was no mistake it was a little boy! And he's only about 2-3 inches long! Hope you enjoy the pics...

And so it begins...

Thanks to Dana Henderson, I have been introduced to blogspot.com. Seeing as we have great life changes ahead of us and friends scattered across the country, I will be using this as a way to keep everyone informed of everything that is going on. There are a number of things to tell.

We recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary and so enjoyed remembering the wonderful wedding that we had. We were so appreciative of all the people who drove and flew great distances just to share that moment with us.

We are also coming up on the one year anniversary of buying our first home together. We love our house and are continually working on making it our home. For some time now we have felt like outsiders out here in the suburbs of Nashville. We seemed to be the only carefree couple not pushing a stroller....but that is changing!

In February we, too, will join the ranks of parenthood. With a due date of Valentine's Day we are preparing to welcome Baby Williams. I have already started the nursery and Rodney is helping me with all the heavy lifting. Because I love old things, we have pieced together some beautiful antiques for the nursery. We won't find out the sex of the baby until next month...so decor has yet to be selected. My favorite purchase so far was a gorgeous antique dresser I found at one of my favorite stores. I visited Mom and Dad last week in Iraan, and mother had already started shopping. I came home with a bulging suitcase last night full of baby stuff. We are going to the doctor today to hear the heartbeat for the first time. 1:30 is not going to come soon enough!!

Okay, okay...I've heard from several of you, and believe me I've struggled with this too, but we all have to come to terms with the fact that this baby will not be a Native Texan...gasp. However, I truly believe my husband loves me so much he will one day concede and we will move our little selves to the Lone Star State...it could be 20 years, but one day. For now my husband and baby will be Tennesseans and I will remain a Texan on hiatus.

Rodney has also decided to take on another challenge. He will be starting his MBA in January on a two year track. We look forward to all the blessings we hope that will bring...

And of course, our baby, Gracie Mae is cute as ever. We celebrated her first birthday in June with some doggie treats and puppy ice cream...she's really only slightly spoiled. We are sure she will encounter some adjustments with the new baby, but trust she'll handle them gracefully. She is full time entertainment for all the neighbor kids and we think she'll be fine with our baby.

I will continue to post things as they happen. I know I already sent out one Baby Belly Update via email to a few of you, but I will start posting those here.

Hope all is well wherever you are. Much love--The Williams