Our Top 11 for 2011.

2011 has been a good year for us.  We have so much to be thankful for this year!  As I reflect on the past 12 months today, I wanted to make note of a few milestones in our lives and family this year.

1. Celebrating 4 years of marriage this past January at the Treehouse Cottages in Eureka Springs.  We enjoyed a quiet weekend away, watching movies by the fire, cooking and eating in, enjoying the view from our treehouse, and getting a couples massage at the famous Crescent Hotel.

2.  Taking our dream trip to Europe in April.  We spent 2 weeks overseas, stopping in London, Paris, Florence, Venice and Rome.  Seeing all the famous sights from the history books in person, was truly amazing.

3.  Finding out we are expecting our first child!  This definitely tops the list, it's been all we have thought about for the past 9 months in preparing for his arrival.

4.  Finding out the gender of our baby- it's a boy, and seeing him via ultrasound.  This was an experience I'll never forget, seeing our baby for the first time, moving and healthy.  I have never felt love like this before, we haven't stopped dreaming of him since.

5.  Adding on to our house.  With our family growing, we decided we needed a little more room in our house for the new addition.  This summer, we transformed our screened in porch to a sunroom/playroom for Elliott.  (We've still been putting the finishing the touches on the room, so be looking for pics of the finished product in the near future.)

6.  Celebrating 3 years of business for Katherine Grant Salon and Spa.  Our business continues to be successful.  We had a few changes in staff, but the Lord has been faithful to provide for us again this year.  We currently have 5 stylists (including myself), 2 nail technicians, and 1 massage therapist.  Our clients often compliment me on our team, and I'm thankful to know I'm leaving things in good hands while I'm out on maternity leave for the next 6 weeks.

7.  Gary placed in the top 3 for sales at Jenkins Enterprises (out of 10 sales reps) for the second consecutive year.  Less than 1% separated him from the #2 rep.  I'm so proud of all he has accomplished at work this year!

8.  Gary went on his first overseas business trip to Hong Kong this year.  He was able to learn a different side to our family's business, meeting the people who manufacture the goods that he sells.  He also got to experience a new culture, eating some interesting things, including the little guy he's holding in the photo below.

9.  My parents bought and flipped a house on the lake in Hot Springs this year.  We enjoyed spending several weekends relaxing with my family on the lake this summer, and we're looking forward to the memories we will all make there as a family in the years to come.  Some of my best memories growing up include spending time with my family at my grandparent's lake house.

10.  Spending a long weekend with the entire Grant side of the family in Nashville, TN.  Each year, Gary's grandparents plan a trip/family reunion for the entire family to gather and catch up.  We enjoyed spending time talking, eating, shopping and even line dancing with his family in Music City over the 4th of July weekend.

11.  Our continued involvement and community at Epoch Church has been such a source of joy and encouragement in our lives this year.  We have been encouraged weekly through the Sunday evening services, and small group sessions at Nathan and Natalie's home on Wednesday nights.  The church wide fall retreat, and women's retreat were much needed get-aways for us to refocus on the Lord.  The people in our community at Epoch threw us a wonderful shower for baby Elliott, and constantly encourage us to strive to be better people.  We could not make it through life's daily struggles without this strong support system in our lives.

As 2011 draws to a close, we reflect on all we have to be thankful for this year, and look ahead to all that 2012 will hold for our growing family.

Just For Fun.

...and to think, I thought I had a "bump" at 12 weeks!

39 Weeks.

Elliott:

Well, we're still waiting for you to make your debut.  This week you should be between 7 and 7.5 pounds, still about the size of a watermelon.  We celebrated Christmas this week. Our last Christmas as a family of two.  All anyone could talk about was how exciting next Christmas will be with you here.  You'll be the center of attention, I'm sure.

We went to see D. Chang yesterday, and to my disappointment, we had made no progress. Looks like you are nice and cozy for now.  He told us we could induce labor as early as tomorrow if we wanted, but your Daddy and I decided we want to wait and let you come when you're ready.  Either way, Dr. Chang won't let you stay in there longer than 1 week past your due date (Jan. 5th), so in two weeks or less you will be here for sure.

My maternity leave started this week, and it's a good thing, because I've come down with a cold, and haven't felt like doing much.  I've been trying to rest up, so I'll be all better when you arrive.

We hope to meet you soon,

Momma

Christmas 2011.

We had a very busy, wonderful Christmas filled with lots of family time and good food. This year we got to see almost everyone on both the Grant and Jenkins sides of the family.  

We made the rounds this week, enjoying our last Christmas as a family of two.  Thursday evening we had dinner and games at my Grandmommy and Papa's house (my mom's parents) with my aunt, uncle and cousins.  Friday we drove to Arkadelphia to see the Grant family, including Gary's parents, sister and brother-in-law, who drove in from Texas, his grandparents, and all of his aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Christmas Eve was spent with my parents and siblings, eating a wonderful home cooked meal made by my Momma, and playing Catch Phrase.  

Christmas morning, as is tradition, Gary and I woke up early to read the Christmas story and exchange gifts with each other, and let me just say, my husband is an awesome gift giver.  I gave him very little to work with in way of a Christmas list this year, because all I could think about was getting through Christmas and getting to Elliott's birth day. However, he surprised me with new running shoes to train for my half marathon after baby, new Toms, and a hand stamped ring with Elliott's name on it.  Love him.

After we finished exchanging our gifts, we went to my parent's house to exchange gifts and eat breakfast casserole (my favorite!) with my siblings and grandparents.  This may be our last year to spend Christmas morning at my parent's house since Elliott will be here next year, so it was a special time for us.

Gary's parents, sister and brother-in-law, drove up from Arkadelphia to exchange gifts and spend the afternoon with us at our house.  We enjoyed lounging on the couch, watching a heartbreaking loss for the Dallas Mavericks, and eating leftovers, before they headed back to Arkadelphia and then to Texas.

Our final stop was Christmas dinner at my grandparent's (on my Dad's side) house with my aunts, uncles, cousins and great grandmother.  

Me [and E] with my brother and sister on Christmas Eve.

Me and Gary at my parent's house Christmas Eve.

My beautiful family.

Christmas morning at our house.

The boys in their new shirts from my sister.

The girls in our Christmas PJs Christmas morning at my parent's.

My Grandmommy and Papa Christmas morning.

My in-laws opening gifts at our house.

The Grant family at our house Christmas day.

We feel so blessed to have so much family to celebrate with each year.  I'm thankful we were able to see and catch up with everyone but Gary's mom's side of the family, whom we got to spend Thanksgiving with in Texas.  The gifts are wonderful, but the time with family and the memories made mean so much more this time of year.  We're looking forward to having a little one toddling around this time next year.

The Order's Christmas Eve Party.

On Christmas Eve, three of my oldest friends came over for a Christmas brunch.  We call ourselves "The Order of the Four."  We were inseparable in high school, but our adult lives have spread us all over the world.  Meghan is still close by in North Little Rock, but Kristin lives in Delaware, and Lauren in South Korea.  For the first time in a year and a half, we're all home at the same time.  To celebrate, we ate brunch, exchanged gifts, and watched Elf.  

Our time all together is limited, so I'm thankful we got to catch up, reminisce, and celebrate Christmas together.  No matter where life takes us, we'll always share a special bond.

Merry Christmas!

38 Weeks.

Elliott:

Your size hasn't changed much since last week, you weigh anywhere from 6.5 to 7 pounds now, maybe more.  We went to see Dr. Chang this week, and to my surprise, we've made progress.  I'm now 50% effaced and dilated 1 centimeter, meaning you could really decide to come any day now.  We go back next Tuesday, unless you decide to come before then.

We've been distracting ourselves with Christmas, wrapping gifts, attending parties, shopping, and looking at Christmas lights.  It's hard to believe you'll be joining us in no more than 2 weeks.  Just to be safe, we packed our bags for the hospital.  Now when you decide you are ready, we'll be ready to load up the car and head to labor and delivery.

This is my last week of work before my maternity leave starts.  I'll be thankful to be off my feet for a while, because this week you have been making me very uncomfortable.  I've had lots of lower back pain and pressure, making my usual 8 hour work days cutting, coloring and styling hair, feel like 18 hour work days.  But, we're almost there, and I know you'll be worth all the aches and pains pregnancy has brought me, so much so that I'll forget all about them and go though this all again some day.

Come join us soon,
Momma

37 Weeks - Full Term!!

Elliott:

We made it, you're now full term, meaning you can safely enter the world whenever you are ready.  Your due date is still 3 weeks away, but we're hoping you decide you are ready before then, because we can hardly contain our excitement any longer!

You are measuring anywhere from 19 to 22 inches now and weighing around 6.5 pounds, about the size of a watermelon- wow!  We went to see Dr. Chang again this week.  Your heartbeat was sounding strong at around 140 BPM.  My group B strep test from last week came back negative, meaning we won't need antibiotics when I'm in labor.  There wasn't a whole lot of change since our last appointment, so still no sure signs that you'll be arriving early (although we have our fingers crossed).

This week I had some swelling after eating Mexican food.  I've been trying to drink lots of water and lay down as much as possible to help it go down.  I'm still working 5 days a week, standing for around 8 hours a day, making it hard to get too much rest, however, I only have 7 work days left until my maternity leave begins.

We feel so thankful to have made it to full term with you, and we feel a huge amount of relief knowing that if you were born tomorrow you would be ok.  We're praying every night that your entry into the world will be safe and that you will be perfectly healthy.

We can't wait to hold you in our arms!
Momma

Life Lately According to My iPhone.

(1.) The Lyle's going away party. 

(2.) Epoch Church's women's Christmas brunch.

(3.) Snow in Little Rock! (4.) Some little someone's things are taking over our home.

(5.) Christmas time at Katherine Grant Salon. (6.) Visiting Brooke and Paisley.

(7.) Gary wins top 3 sales for 2011 at Jenkins Enterprises' Christmas party.

(8.) My 3 sleepy babies.

36 Weeks.

Elliott:

You're less than a month from being here!  This week you weigh around 6 pounds, and measure anywhere from 19 to 22 inches long, (still about the size of a large cantaloupe).  I think you've dropped some, because I feel like I am breathing a little easier, and everyone has commented that you look lower this week.

We went to see Dr. Chang for our weekly appointment on Monday.  I have not started dilating yet, but I have started to efface.  He says we still have time to prepare for your arrival, but that he wouldn't be surprised if you come a little early.  I can't wait to go back Monday and see if we've made any progress!

This week we got busy finishing all the last minute projects on our "to do list".  Your Daddy put together your cradle, and swing.  The swing is in the living room and the cradle is in our bedroom, where you'll sleep for the first few months.  Tonight Nathan and Natalie helped us install your car seat and we learned how to attach the car seat to your stroller.

I've also been reading up on everything I can find about labor, delivery and breastfeeding to prepare for the big day.  We put together a birth plan and reviewed it with Dr. Chang at our appointment this week, and I think we're all on the same page as far as how we would like your birthday to go.

This week I've been crazy hungry.  Watching what I eat has gone out the window at this point.  I did however sign up to run a half marathon in Nashville about 3 and half months after you're born.  I'm looking forward to seeing you and your Daddy cheering for me on the sidelines.

Next week you'll officially be "full term" and safe to arrive.  I'm so excited to meet you, but I'm trying to savor my last few weeks with you close and safe in my womb.  I know I'm gonna miss feeling your sweet little kicks, rolls, and hiccups in my belly.  

I love you sweet boy,
Momma

Elliott's Nursery.

Elliott's nursery is finally complete!  We had such a good time hand picking every piece, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. 

The view from the doorway.

His alphabet wall.

His bed, rocker, and "Lola" artwork.

His bedding, and the quilt Laura made for him.

His penguin, Gary already has named him Tripy. 

Changing station and a closer look at the alphabet wall.

I can't keep from going and rocking in his rocking chair picturing him playing on the floor.  It's been 9 months in the works, and now it's finally complete.  The only thing missing is our sweet little boy!