21 weeks

I know it's been quite a while since we've posted a bump picture, but the last 9-10 weeks haven't been as exciting as the weeks are now. Here's 21 weeks:

I've been feeling really great. Walking every day with Kobe and exercising a lot more. Lawton and I started taking a birth class last week. It's been...interesting, but for the most part it's been educational. It's getting us more and more excited about the arrival of baby Graves!

Our house is currently in the closing process. Just a couple more weeks and we will be homeowners! YAY! Big thanks to our realtor Jamie Goodroe for all her hard work.

12 weeks

This week we had a pretty exciting week. I had a doctor's appointment on Friday and we heard the heartbeat! It was amazing. I could have sat there and listened to it all day.

We also found a house we're putting an offer on! It's only a few miles away from where we are now, so the move would be pretty easy. It's all brick 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The only downside is that is has a pool that needs some work. We actually don't want a pool (yet) so we would probably have the pool removed. It's a good thing we've made some good friends at church who have the proper equipment to remove something like a pool. We'll see what happens. Should have some more news soon on the house!

For now here's the 12 week photo:

August 23, 2011

Our family is expecting a new addition in August, and no it's not another puppy:) Kobe will be the only puppy in our family for a while. Baby Graves is due August 23, 2011. I'm about 12 weeks along now. Here is my belly photo from 11 weeks. I would have put up the 10 week photo, but it doesn't look any different from this one. Not much going on, but hopefully my next photo will be a little more exciting!

2011 Trips

We are very excited about 2011 in our house. We've had A LOT going on recently and are excited for what's to come. One thing we're excited about in particular are all the trips. Here's a list of what's on the calendar so far:

Weddings:

Palazzo Lavaca in Austin, TX

Our friends Hayden and Sean (who went viral: see here) are getting hitched this April here. We're psyched about spending time with old friends and sight seeing in Austin. I'll be celebrating this occasion early at the bride's bachelorette party in New Orleans!

The Warehouse in Tallahassee, FL

Our friends Matthew and Rachel are getting hitched this May in a place that's dear to our hearts, Tallahassee. We met Matthew at our church and became BFF4L right away. Lawton is in the wedding and also gets to go on a bachelor weekend. Look out! We're so excited about going back to Tally to celebrate this amazing couple's life together!

Cliffs at Glassy in Landrum, SC

One of my dear friends from high school, Grace, is getting married here this July. We're so excited for the happy couple and can't wait to celebrate!

We have a couple more wedding here in Jax that we're excited about too! Congrats to Whitaker & Heather and Kim & Mike!

Family Vacations:

Hood River, Oregon

We're pumped about going to see the Chambers family in May! We've recently been planning this trip and can't wait to hang out with family!

And of course we're always excited about seeing our Graves family in Raleigh. Not sure where the destination will be yet, but we'll be seeing one another for sure! You have to make sure you see this family every few months with kids as cute as these:

Here we come 2011!

Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving this year in Jacksonville. It was a fun filled week with kids, catching up with family and ping pong...lots of ping pong. :)

Here are a few photos of the festivities:

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch

We've been planning for a couple weeks now to carve pumpkins to put in front of the house. I've been very excited to finally have the opportunity to give out candy to all the little kids for Halloween! Here are some photos of our pumpkin carving extravaganza.

We didn't even make it to the end of the patch...this place was HUGE

Lawton found a not-so-pretty one.

Hard at work.

Lawton made me take the guts out first.

Kobe was very skeptical of the pumpkins.

They came out pretty well:)

Seaching for our first home.

Well, not really our first home. Since Lawton and I have been married (it was 2 years in July!) we've lived in 3 different places. All rentals, all great experiences. Now we're ready to begin looking for our first home...to BUY! We're very excited and can't wait to start the process. We don't want to actually purchase the home until sometime next year, but we want to get a head start on feeling out what we like.

Here's a trip down memory lane. The different places we've lived since July 2008.

This was our first place. We had a great deal from one of Lawton's friends.

This was one of the three bedrooms we had. The place was really meant for roommates: 3beds/3 baths.

  

This was our 2nd place, but Kobe's first home. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise living across the street from one of our now very good friends.

 We lived next to great people, but the down side to this place was that it only had ONE drawer in the kitchen.

  

The kitchen was teeny, but it was functional enough for the two of us and Kobe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is our most recent rental. Lawton's great uncle has been so kind to let us rent his carriage house. It's in a beautiful neighborhood and is just the right size for us.

 We've made a lot of changes to this house. Here's the living room. You can't find those smaller pillows in a store. The material can be found at Joann Fabrics, but Lawton's sweet mother made the pillows.

View of the windows. Curtain material can also be found at Joann Fabrics. Curtains made by Betty Ann:)

Our kitchen is once again teeny,but it's functional enough.

And we have four drawers!

  

This is my favorite room. It's filled with furniture Lawton's grandmother refinished for us and photos of our family.

This place has been the best so far. It's got a big yard that Kobe can run around and the details of the place are charming, definitely my style. We looked at four houses today that all ranged from 1600-2000 sq feet. Some had great yards with a porch, some had smaller yards with a deck. It was fun for us to decide what we liked most and what we didn't like at ALL! It was also a great experience to see what we're willing to compromise on and what we're not. One thing is for sure, older homes that have been added onto in a cheap way are not our style, but kitchens larger than 150 sq ft right up our alley.