Simply Skelton

Farewell Summer...

2011-09-27T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well September flew by! With my birthday being the first day of fall this year, I was quick realize how fast summer came and went.

Random reviews:

Food - Tusk & Trotter off the Bentonville square. Awesome lunch spot for great food! Product and meats from local farms. My fav - The Mixed Grill Pasta

Website - Youversion.com. Great site to help you pick a bible reading plan that you can follow and track progress online or on their iphone app. I'm enjoying the New Thru 30 new testament in 30 days plan now. Check it out!

Here are some memories from the last few weeks of summer!

Grahm riding the four wheeler with Gma!

..or "Go Ride" as he calls it.

One of my oldest friends is due to have her baby on Oct. 22. Miss Haley will be welcomed by a lot of 'aunts!'. I've known Meagan since elementary school at Elmdale so it's so fun to see our families grow!

LJ, myself, Ashley & Jessica at Meagan's shower!

LJ, Meagan (momma), and I

We play hard & we rest hard :)

I love this lil' belly!

Woo Pig Sooie! Hanging out at Trent and Naomi's for the Hogs game!

Grahm hanging out on the couch, he can't quite call the Hogs but he'll

shake his arms up going "Woooo...GO!GO!"

Grahm and I with aunt LJ watching the Hogs!

A few weeks ago, Grahm caught a bug and it was just awful. He had a fever for over 5 days and would hardly eat. He would fall asleep anywhere, he even fell asleep sitting up in the shopping cart at Walmart. After a couple days on antibiotics he began feeling better but it was tough to see our wild beast down for so long.

Hogtown Creations - I'm doing 6 paintings for a lady's neices and nephews for Christmas presents. What a fun idea! Here is the first one for Miss Kaitlin (who is obviously the princess in the family!). I'm also working on a custom razorback painting as a wedding present for a friend's brother. So fun!

Happy Birfday to Me!
Well we can pretend but we all get older. Last week we celebrated my 21st birthday (no?). I took the day off, hosted a garage sale with Grant, then we went golfing! Afterwards we picked up some delicious cupcakes by Sweet Nothings and had dinner with friends at Sassy's Red House.

Yep! This was me!

I love this picture because Grahm makes this face!

Gma watched Grahm while we went out with friends...

I think it's safe to say they had a blast.

Love this one! Thanks mom!

Our lil' fireman! His teacher's dad is a fireman and brought the kids hats to school one day since they were learning about firemen, policemen and service men and women in general.

Woo Pig!

G&B + g

Loonnngggg Overdue!

2011-09-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I knew it'd been a long time since I'd posted, but wow - since May?! I guess you could say things have been busy at the Skelton house. There is just so much fun to be had, getting on the computer doesn't make the cut sometimes. But, it's time to update our friends and family on our not-so-Simply Skelton lives!

Grant & I -

God's Glory!
We both got to go with our FSM students to Estes Park, CO in June for Ravencrest. This trip was dear to my heart as I went when I was an FSM student almost 10 years ago! This is where, as a new believer at 15, first really grasped God's glory through his creation! It was amazing to get to see our students experience the same thing.

Snow sliding on a mountain in Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park

A baby deer right by our rock climbing site!

Me...rock climbing (I don't like heights, but had to try!)

Our activity team on the boulders in Estes Park

Hubby and I at the base of Mount Lady Washington & Long's Peak

This was before we climbed the last couple miles to summit Mt. Lady Washington!

About 20 of us from the trip accepted the challenge of trying to summit Mt. Lady Washington

Elevation 13,281ft (you can see Long's Peak at 14,255 behind us)

Here was our victory pose!

We all made it with no altitude sickness or injuries!

My rockin' Springdale girls striking a pose on the boulders at Estes Park rec. park

5 Years!
We celebrated our 5 year anniversary May 20th of this year. WOW! 5 years already...I must say it's been a great 5 years. We waited until August to take an anniversary trip and went with our good friends Laura Jade and Joe to Saint Lucia, West Indies. It was beautiful!! See below for some fun pictures courtesy of LJ as we "lost" our camera (unfortunately we think it was stolen on the shuttle bus).

Grant is going back to school to finish his B.A. this fall. I'm so proud of him! He's going to do the JBU online business program. Hopefully this will help him to make a career change into something he really enjoys :) The thought of him loving a job and being home with us on nights and weekends brings me so much joy.

LJ & I rubbing Buddha's belly at Kimono's Japanese Resturant at La Toc

A beautiful Hibiscus

The chocolate bar in the resort lobby one night! Mmmm. You should have seen the women standing

around ready to pounce when the chefs moved out of the way. ha!

One of St. Lucia's major exports is cocoa, I want to say they said 80%

of their cocoa goes to Hershey!

I got pulled up on stage to dance at one of the shows!

A pretty cactus flower on the cliff of one of the mountains we hiked

The four of us before dinner one night :)

Joe, LJ, myself & Grant at Rodney Fort

St. Lucia has changed hands 15 times between the British and the French,

the final time was for their independence.

One of the National Park Mtns we hiked near the resort

A view of the Carribean from our hike

LJ & I lounging on the beach!

Grant & I having a relaxing lunch at the Barefoot grill

Grant & I in our ziplining gear!

We got to zipline through the rain forest, it was incredible!

I wish I had my camera as I got video footage going through the forest on the highest and

longest zipline, the video turned out so cool!

Wwweeeeeeee!

LJ & I before dinner at the La Toc resturant, this was by far my favorite meal!

That night we had scallops, ahi tuna, sea bass, & salmon...with the works. It was food art I assure you!

Watching the locals catch bait in huge nets from the shore

We went on a half-day tour of the island. The first attraction was this arch which

is where an opening scene in Pirates of the Carribean was filmed!

The Piton Mountains are the most famous landscape on the island. They are breathtaking in person!

One of the waterfalls we hiked to after doing the natural mud baths near the volcanos.

Natural hot spring baths under the waterfall! So fun!

A view of our resort/beach from our rooms

Grant and I on the last day. This was when we realized we weren't

going to find our camera so we had LJ & Joe take a picture of us to prove

we were there haha.

On the way home at ATL airport, we met Anthony Anderson. He's an actor

in numerous comedies. Super nice guy to take a picture with us cheesey fans ha.

Grahm -

This boy....wheew! He is...he is....I just can't even put words to it. He has the most amazing and defined personality, showing off that toothy smile and those sweet deep dimples. We're just so blessed! He's talking quite a bit now saying things like: Dada, Momma, puppy, Bella, Jax, yellow, cracker, nana (banana), Grandma, MeeMaw, Lula, Ara (aunt Sara), di-pah (diaper), more, please, thank choo (thank you), cow & moo etc...Bright Haven did an amazing job of teaching him sign language before he could speak for 'more', 'eat', 'please' & 'thank you' so it's been fun adding words to his communication and hearing that sweet voice!

Below are a few (understatement) of my favorite pictures of G since May since I've been slacking so you can catch up and see his developing and fun character.

Grahm at Chuck-E-Cheese on his actual 1st bday

He was king of this castle

Grahm and I on Mother's Day!

Grahm in his very own camping chair at Devil's Den park

G's 1st birthday party cakes!

Rachel Jardot with Rachel's Cakes and Bakes did a great job!

As you can see it was Razorback themed.

I love this picture of Grant and Grahm :)

Checking out his cool new toys!

Me, I was thinking "where are we going to put all of this?!" haha

Grahm playing in the back yard in June

He was dancing on the lounge chair at the pool haha

Grant and G watching the fish at the Tulsa Aquarium!

Our little family!

G was very tired at the end of that day. He loved going with us, his Gdad, MeeMaw

and neice and nephews!

Grahm showing off his cool shades (notice Blankey in tow ha)

Fun in the sun!

Grant built Grahm a tunnel/fort out of cushions on the couch. They played so hard!

Grahm loves his daddy!

Work Hard to Play Hard-

Back in late May, after 6 1/2 years I made the tough decision to switch companies. I accepted a Sr. Analyst position at Timex (yep, 'Takes a Lickin', Keeps on Tickin' - that Timex). I've missed my old co-workers but have kept in touch with our monthly golf outtings and occasional lunches. We have a great group at Timex, it's myself and 4 others so quite a different dynamic from JBHunt! We are the Wal-Mart team, our corporate office is in Middlebury, CT so our office is fairly small. About two weeks after I started I got to take my first short business trip with the team to NYC and CT. It was my first trip to NYC and I loved taking in the city! Luckily we had a little extra time to play around our meeting schedules! I get to go back in December - looking forward to seeing the city at Christmas time!

The Empire State Building from our hotel

My co-worker JC playing chess with Asa Hoffman, Master of Games chess player and

cornerstone of the NYC chess scene. So fun!

The fountain at Bryant park with city buildings behind

Bryant Park and the New York Library

It doesn't take much to make me feel short, but wow!

Time Square!

The red steps at Time Square, this place is packed constantly.

I took this picture around 10pm on a Wednesday night. No down time in Time Square!

Hogtown Creations-

I have a do a shameless plug for my site Hogtown Creations on facebook. Check it out for fun customized paintings and decor! Most people request Razorback or nursery paintings but if you have an idea, let me know and we'll see what we can work up! Here's a few fun samples, but go to Hogtown Creations page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hogtown-Creations/124839387588051

16x20 acrylic on canvas Hog silhouette painting to match Miss Abigails room

8x10 nursery door hanger to welcome baby Brooklyn

22x28 "Hog Face' painting for Connie's office

Congrat's to The Mabry's! What better way to start their new home than with a custom family name Razorback painting!

Well, I feel like I've done a decent job of updating our friends and family so I'll say farewell for now!
One final and very imporanting thing...today is the first Razorback game of the season so...
WWWWwoooooooooooo Pig SSSOoooooiiiiieeee! Go Hogs!

Love,
G&B + lil g

January

2011-05-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

Grahm loves being at the windows!

Relaxing on the couch

Daddy & G playing before bed!

A boys best friend :) A random beautiful 72 degree day in January!

Grahm Emerson 9 Months

Christmas Fun Like Never Before!

2011-01-22T12:36:00.000-08:00

Wheew!
Now that Christmas and New Years have passed, I've finally got a little time to sit down and tell you all about our best holiday ever! Get ready for an overload of fun family pics! Ok, they are mostly of Grahm..but isn't that really why you're looking at this anyway ;)

Grahm is getting very mobile! He's been scooting around doing the army crawl for a couple months now, but now he's added pulling up, standing, and crawling on all fours to his activities. He keeps us on our toes!

One of his favorite places to play is still under the coffee table. Apparently that's where I used to hang out when I was a little girl too, I would even go under there and fall asleep haha.

Grahm playing under the living room table!

Grahm and his toys have taken over the living room..
I can't say we'd have it any other way!

My first attempt at making a deco-mesh wreath.
That stuff is tricky!

When Grant put up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving, Grahm loved it.
One night he lay under it and looked at the lights, too cute!

Grahm and his 'aunt' Laura Jade

Morgan and I at the 2nd Annual Black & White party.

Grant and I hanging out by the food, nom nom nom.

A pose in front of their Christmas tree

Grant and I at the Black & White Christmas party 2010.

Grahm is at such a fun stage right now. Every time we turn around he's doing something new, or learning how to play with something in a new way. We're having so much fun!

Back in November Grahm figured out how to pull up in his crib and stand up!

We snuck in and took a picture. And then of course, lowered his crib. :( So big!

He loves playing with toys that he can crawl after, including the dogs haha.

They're doing really well with him so far.

Playing under the table again...

This night we had so much fun! I was cooking and he was playing in the kitchen.

I put the whip cream bucket on his head and he loved it! He just crawled around with it using his spatula to make noises on other buckets and pans.

I loved this picture! I think he looks like a "Who" from Dr. Suess's Whoville.

Our Christmas tree has always matched with balls and ribbon of red and gold. But this year we were excited to introduce some new ornaments to our tree!

Grahm's Baby Razorback ornament

The ornament Grahm painted at school with the help of his teachers.

Our 'Baby's first Christmas' ornament.

The family ornament my mom bought us at what used to be my Grandma's flower shop in Cassville, MO. What's so fun about this is that my sister and I visited the shop right before my mom went and bought this. I picked it out, almost bought it for us, but put it back and regretted not buying it later. My mom had no idea until I opened it and told her.

Our mantel...crazy in just 4 1/2 years it went from 2 stockings to 5! Of course the two on the right are for the puppies haha.

Christmas Eve at my Mom's house.

Every year we go to the Christmas Eve Candle Light service at Fellowship and then to my mom's for a non-traditional dinner. We pick whatever sounds good for dinner and open 1 present each. This year my Grandad came down from Cassville, went to church with us and spent the night! Dan, Melissa and Emily came, as well as our best friends Laura Jade and Joe.

Grahm getting sleepy on Christmas Eve. There was just too much going on he wouldn't give in to sleep, at least not until Daddy got off work to say goodnight.

Grahm loved tearing off bows and paper...and then eating the boxes!

Emily helped get started, but Grahm had no problem tearing into presents.

Grahm loves wearing 'uncle' Joe's hats!

Whoa! A Tigger rocker from Grandma!

Ha!! Grandad wearing Grahm's Hog beanie.

Grant had to work Christmas Eve, but he finally got the store cleared out and got over to mom's around 9:30. Grahm just needed to see Daddy and he was out.

Christmas morning at home!

Grant and I were like kids again, we couldn't wait to wake up Grahm and have our first Christmas morning at our house with our little dude!

Grahm was excited to finally get to touch all the presents we'd being saying "no, don't touch" about for the past few weeks.

Grahm opening his first wrapped present on Christmas morning - new razorback PJs!

Grant helping G learn how to play with his new giraffe toy!

Grant thought he knew what all his presents were. But he wasn't expecting his own Razorback Baggo set! It's hard to get a surprise in with Grant, yay!

Mommy and G on Christmas morning!

Christmas morning continued...off to my mom's for our first stop of the day!

We had breakfast at Mom's and we all opened the rest of our presents. My mom and dad & his wife went in together and got Sara her own laptop, she was very excited! Then, as if she needed to be spoiled more, we got her an iphone along with some other goodies. I don't know if she was that good this year. :) And mom, oh mom...last year we got her a digital picture frame for Christmas. I know how she is with electronics so I told her if it was still in the box a year later, I was taking it. Well, just like I expected, it was still in the box so I sneaked over one day in December and took her memory card, uploaded her pics from her computer and compiled some family pictures onto a flash drive. She opened the flash drive on Christmas Eve and didn't even know what it was (yes...it's that bad). I dug out the digital picture frame and plugged it in, she loved it (or at least pretended to, but hey at least it's doing something now ha).

Grahm, Sara, Grandad, me and Hubby on Christmas

Sara, mom, me and Grahm

Our lil' family on Christmas!

Christmas afternoon with the Skelton Family!

We headed to Gravette after breakfast to see Grant's family. We had a delicious lunch and got to visit with the kids and Grandma Janice before they had to go.

MeeMaw and Gdad with the grandkids on Christmas: Trynity (Nathan's), James (Anjean's), Grahm (well you know who he belongs to) and Tryston (Nathan's). And Miss Summer, Anjean & TJ's second baby will be here in February!

Grahm and Gdad!

G playing on Christmas day at MeeMaww and Gdads!

Christmas Evening with the Bruns Family!

That evening we took off to Van Buren to see the Bruns side of the family. My grandparents, Aunt Lula, Dad, Tiffany and little sister Hannah, as well as my Aunt Karla & hub Clay from OK made it in!

Grahm got a Sophie the Giraffe teether (well we call it Jeffie, ha). These are fantastic!

He also got some very cool books, a singing/learning dog and a piano that interacts with the T.V. (at this point I was already pondering what store would have a nice toy box for the living room)

My Dad and his Girls! Me, Hannah & Sara

Happy New Year! 2011

We spent the New Year with friends at Trent and Naomi's playing games while the kids ran around like the wild animals that they are. Good times!

Grahm in his tuxedo onesie! Happy New Year!

Walking around mom's bedroom with his new musical walker

He loves his talking dog. He ended up getting two for Christmas so we keep one at home and one in the car. Can't go wrong there!

Ha! Belly shot! Wearing my mom's hat. He's got a thing for hats, good thing because hopefully he'll be in a baseball hat and football helmet in just a few years ;) we'll see!

Splish Splash I was taking a bath!...

Grahm LOVES bathtime! He got his duckie bath tub for Christmas and we have a blast!

He'll go crazy splashing the water everywhere! :)

Play time!

Well he's growing big and we're having a ball. He's doing great at Bright Haven and we love it there. One of his favorite times of the day is when they take a ride in the bye bye buggy around the building. I usually get there right after they are about to ride, it's so much fun to watch him get so excited. He's crawling, pulling up and standing on everything he can hold on to. He's doing great with eating and so far the only thing he doesn't like are his peas and freshly mashed bananas (so I blend those into other foods haha). He 'talks' constantly, bless his heart he got that from me lol. We're starting to try to teach some basic sign language like 'hungry, eat, thirsty, drink, bed, pacifier. We'll see how it goes...

People were right when they say you have to plan date nights or you'll never get them. We're getting better about trying to go out with friends or just us a few times a month. It's tough to leave him, but it's good for us. We recently got an afternoon and night to go to a movie, dinner and out with friends for Grant's birthday - we missed lil' man but it was very nice.

We also just recently booked out 5 year anniversary trip to Sandals in St Lucia! We're so excited! We're going in August with Laura Jade & Joe. Oooo can't wait!

Our friends Trent and Naomi had their little girl, Zayley Hope Bratcher on January 6th. She's healthy and precious! Bryley is very excited to be a big sister!

Well that's whats going on in our crazy wonderful life! Updates to come later!

Happy New Year & Go Hogs on making it to the Sugar Bowl!

LOVE,

G&B + Grahm

Oh How He Loves....

2010-11-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hello hello everyone!

Well it's been too long as always, but as you'll see we've been very busy living life and having a blast! Before you dive into our crazy life, take a break and see these beautiful pictures my sweet friend and photographer Maura Johnson took for us a couple weeks ago. Shout out to Maura, she and a couple of her wedding shoots will be featured in the next CitiScapes! To see her work or if you're looking for a photographer, check out her website MauraDawnPhotography.com

Our sweet boy

16x20 Cross painting I just finished for a silent auction to raise money at Bright Haven.

Purple, black and white Hogs painting for Zayley's nursery!

Pink and brown Hogs for big sister Bryley's room.

Brown and white Hogs painting.

Obviously the Hogs paintings are the most requested, but I'm hoping to experiment with some new ideas I have!

Gourmet? Not quite, but edible!

Just call me a baby food chef. Ha! Ok not really...but it was interesting and fun making Grahm's baby food myself. The first round I made sweet potatoes, pears, green beans, peas and carrots. I made a pretty small batch of each and everything lasted about a month! Steam/bake, chop, blend & freeze...easy-peasy! Last week I made a second batch of everything but also made baked butternut squash and apples. He should be set for quite a while haha. Grahm likes everything so far, expect the peas...not a big fan there but we keep working on it. He also loves fresh smashed bananas and avacodo. Well now that you know our kiddo's meal preferences, check out some "first-bite" faces haha.

Momma making baby food!

First bite of sweet potatoes. MMmmm they were a hit!

Carrots took a little getting used to, but he loves them now.

Green beans - a success! He likes those just like momma and his Grandmas.

He loved his first try at peas. Now he puts up a fight so I have to mix them with rice cereal.

Lil' Mozart

I grew up playing the piano. I can't remember what age I started lessons at but at least by age 9 or 10 so I've been playing for about 15 years or longer. I don't remember pieces well, so I generally need sheet music to play. I got pretty rusty since I moved away after highschool because I didn't have access to a piano since I left mine at mom's for my sister to learn and play on. But this last year my dad was remodeling a house and the lady wanted to get rid of her Kimball piano and told him to take it if he wanted it. I was sooo excited. We didn't have much room for it, but you don't pass up a free piano so we managed to squeeze it in the living room! So I play around on it when I get the chance and Grahm likes to join.

Playing on the piano with momma

Happy Halloween & UCA Homecoming!

My step-sister Brittany and her husband had a great family & friends Halloween party at their house. Dad went as Joe Dirt & Tiff was an Indian. Grant & I were MaryAnn and Gilligan.

"Do it Like a Big Bear - Grrrr"

Yes...we actually say that for the UCA Bears haha.

As we get older fewer of our Spring '04 Alpha Tau pledge class make it back to Conway for UCA tailgating & homecoming game. I didn't know a single girl in the active classes from our sorority, lol - I think that means I'm getting old! :) We still have fun coming together, catching up and cheering on the Bears. Grant & Grahm got to go this year, so showing them off to my old college friends was the best part of my day!

A few of my sorority sisters...

Nikki (now lives in Dallas), myself, Kara, and Natalie (from L.R. area) at the Alpha Tau tailgate!

Our lil' family at the UCA homecoming tailgate & game.

Natalie (or Grahm's "Nini" as she's called) chillin' after the tailgate.

Grahm was just too cool in his shades.

Grahm & Momma headed home from UCA. The stomach flu actually made its attack that morning but we'd been looking forward to the trip so I toughed it out. It ended up being a rough afternoon so we didn't stay long. I knew I was going to get sick and ran into the gym where the UCA basketball team stared at me, the crazy girl searching for a good place to lose her cookies. Grant & Natalie got me some sprite & dramamine at WalGreens in Conway and I slept the whole way home.

Halloween weekend

Grahm playing with his puppies Jax & Bella

Grahm also had his two bottom teeth break through Halloween weekend! Hopefully they'll all come in two at a time :)

Grahm the Lion with Joe, Laura Jade and their dog Ginger on Halloween!

Mom made him a little Halloween basket of Pedialyte popsicles and a tshirt. He enjoyed his first popsicle!

Grahm with his Aunt Sara (and her boyfriend hiding in the background lol).

Grahm's first Halloween! We had fun taking him up to J.B.Hunt on Friday for tricking-or-treating at the office, Brittany & Nathan's party and then around to friends and family on Halloween night. One of the managers at Grant's store actually let him off a bit early so he wouldn't miss out on Grahm's first Halloween - yay!

We decided on a Lion costome because Grahm went through this phase when he would make this raspy growling sound all the time. I read that babies do that when they start 'talking' because they like the feeling it makes in their throat while discovering to make sounds. Well he must have loved it! So we started calling him "our little lion" and thats what led to his first Halloween custome.

A lion on the prowl!

Watching football with daddy! Grahm thinks he needs to eat and drink whatever we're having.

Go Hogs Go!

I came across 4 tickets for the Hogs vs. UTEP game, but Grant had to work so I took Sara, her boyfriend Kyle, and my friend Laura Jade with me. It was Kyle's birthday and Sara was looking for something fun to do for him. He had never been to a Hogs football game! Now that's just crazy! So she surprised him with a scavenger hunt that ended at my house and we all headed to the game. Laura Jade had never been either so it was fun getting the opportunity to take them all to the game. It was cold that night but luckily Trent and Naomi sat in their family's box seats since she's prego and it was so cold so they gave us their lower level seats so we didn't have to sit up high in the cold! haha. The view is much better from the lower level 50 yard line!

Me, Sara, & Laura Jade...cold but ready to cheer on the Hogs!

Sara and her boyfriend Kyle with us at the Hogs game. Happy Bday Kyle!

Go Hogs Go!

A few shots of Mallet completing a hand off and then a pass. We stomped UTEP! 58-21

"GO HOGS" UofA Marching Band at half time

Me and Sissy at the Hogs vs. UTEP football game!

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him"

1 Samuel 1:27

On November 14th, 2010 we took part in the baby dedication ceremony at Fellowship during the Springdale community worship service. Our family, friends, community group members, and others were there to support us in dedicating Grahm and committing to teach and raise him according to God.

The verse we picked for Grahm is Ephesians 1:18-19

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his imcomparably great power for us who believe."

Zayley Hope Bratcher
That afternoon, Naomi's mom, mother-in-law and I threw a surprise baby shower for Naomi! Her second little girl is on the way, due in January. Naomi generally finds out everything, so we were pretty excited to have kept it a secret. When she showed up with her slurpee, she thought she was going shopping with Christi, Trent's mom. It was a fun afternoon with her family, friends, and our cell group girls.

Sarah, Benita, Naomi, Sarah & I

Here is the painting she asked me to do for Zayley's room. Her decor is purple, black and white. They are huge Hog fans too!

And big sister Bryley couldn't be left out, so she got a brown and pink Hogs painting to match her room!

Grahm hanging out with Joe & wearing his camo hat.

Grahm's second go 'round with a popsicle. He was hilarious! He wanted to hold it himself but he would start crying because it was too cold on his hands. I tried to hold it for him, but he would whine so I just took the wrapper off and let him make a mess and learn. He went straight to the bath tub afterwards.

Loving you is like a walk in the park...

The Bruns side of the family is spread all over, from NWA and Fort Smith, to Tulsa/OKC and West Palm Beach, FL. But once a year we try to get together at Devil's Den park, relax and enjoy catching up. One of my cousins, Kelly, and her family were able to make it out this year from FL. I haven't seen her in probably 5 years, she'd never even met Grant it's been so long. It was so great to spend the day talking and playing with family.

Dad, Tiff & Grahm by the camp fire

My dad and his Grandson. I have a feeling there will be a lot of fun memories made between those two.

Me and my sissy! You just have to give her a big squeeze every now and then.

Taking a walk down by the creek. Grahm loved looking up at the leaves and trees all around us!

Well here's our crew! And it all started with that cute couple on the far right over 50 years ago!

Picaso or Picas-toe?

My favorite kind of fridge decor.

Ya know, I thought it would be a few more years before Grahm started bringing home little art projects and what not from school. However, it's been a wonderful surprise to have his little hand and foot prints turned into fun art and sent home from Bright Haven. Leaving him is still a struggle but we really feel blessed to have a place like Bright Haven!

Happy Turkey-Day!

We spent most of Thanksgiving at my Grandad's in Cassville, MO. There was a big turn out with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and all the kids. It started snowing around noon and everyone ran to the windows to watch. It was beautiful and the roads cleared up before we drove back home that evening. Grant had to work Thanksgiving, but we brought him home a big turkey leg and lots of sides. I put Grahm to bed around 8 and went straight to bed myself because I had to be back at Wal-Mart 3 hours later to get ready for the big Black Friday sales! Most of the toys we wanted for neices, nephews & Grahm went on sale at midnight so I got there around 11:30pm. After I was done with the midnight shopping, I checked out and loaded up the car. I came back in and checked out the lines for the electronics I would be trying to get at 5am. There were already lines forming for the laptops! Ahhh! Sooo, I grabbed my book (a wonderful Francine Rivers piece) and walked the store to plan my shopping strategy. Grant and I decided this year to get a new laptop since our computer, passed down from his family, is ancient (although we're appreciative to have used it, it was time haha). So I got my ticket and was 4th in line for the HP laptop I'm currently typing on (yes, we opened our big present early!). As a few people may have noticed on my facebook, I was humored to see that Walmart sells toilet seat lids with flowers and dragon flys on them. Interesting...Anyway luckily our line was in the stool aisle so most of us grabbed a stool off the shelves and had a seat...for 4+ hours. WOo hoo. Anyway, I got our laptop as well as the other items we were hoping to get our hands on for Christmas presents. It was a sucessfull Blitz shopping day!

Grandad playing in the floor with Grahm on Thanksgiving.

All played-out, snuggle time with Grandad.

Grahm and Aunt Sara

Grahm has been army-crawling for a while now, but he's really starting to move around. About a week ago, I was making his baby food and I went in the kitchen to check the green beans in the steamer and I noticed Grahm was too quiet. I went back in the living room and he was gnawing on the dogs bacon flavored bone! Eeewwie! This past weekend, I was cooking and Sara was watching TV while he played in the floor. Next thing we know, he crawled under the table and got his hands on the picture albums. He knew he was busted! haha. Time to super-baby-proof!

Shout out to the Hogs for winning the boot and beating LSU! Looks like we're headed to the Sugar Bowl!

Go Hogs!

Love,

G&B + Grahm!

Our lil Punkin'

2010-10-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall!

We're so excited to get to experience all of Grahm's 'firsts'! He's getting ready to have his first Halloween and I can't wait to get him in his little outfit. He's going to be a ...well, you'll have to wait and see!
Here are some fun pictures of our lil' punkin next to his big pumpkin.

More Babies!

So there's no confusion, when I say 'more babies' I don't mean in this Skelton house (not quite yet anyways haha)! We're looking forward to another baby season with friends and family though.

Grant's sister, Anjean, is expecting a little girl in January! She has a son, James, who is four & he is a cute lil' monkey! We're all so excited to have another little girl in the family!

One of my neighbors and co-leader for our youth group is also expecting her second. It'll be a while before she finds out the gender, but we're praying she has an easier pregnancy this go-around with less sickness. This will make 6 kiddos growing up around our youth girls haha. But hey, we've got a great pool of baby sitters!

Our good friends Trent & Naomi are also expecting their 2nd! They have a precious 2 1/2 yr old, Bryley who's looking forward to having a little sister. I've been helping her paint the nursery and it looks so cute so far! Her bedding is going to be black, white, and purple with dots, stripes and the swirls that we stenciled on the wall below. I'm finishing up a huge razorback painting to match also. It's going to have her name in the razorback. They are naming her Zayley...how unique & fun! She also painted Jeremiah 29:11 on the wall above where the crib will be. Bryley also got her verse above her headboard and I'm working on a brown & pink Hogs painting for her room as well. So much fun!

Family Fun!
We've all got pretty crazy schedules but we try to get the Bruns family together as often as possible. Usually this involves way too much delicious food!

My dad & Grahm hanging out at Joan's

Grahm and his G-Gma Daisy...she can never give enough kisses

This kiddo LOVES bath time. He just kicks & splashes! He's amazed to watch water dripping and landing on his hands or belly. And of course if he can steal a wash cloth from you, it goes straight to the mouth. I finally learned just to give him a clean wet one to chew on from the start and he lets me keep mine to wash with.

Fashionista!
So Abby, our college leader for our youth group, has this amazing talent that none of us knew about until recently. She is a clothing designer! I don't mean sketches of little barbie outfits in her school notebook. I'm talking she designs and personally creates high fashion clothing. She's so talented! Her label is called MaryClaire Couture and she recently had a fashion show at the Pi Phi house at UofA. We went out and supported her as she displayed her fall line for family, friends, professors, and local boutiques. I wanted to take home every outfit! Here are some pics from our fun night out and her fall line!

A few of our girls after the show at the courtyard reception.
Bethany, Sara, Savannah, & Shelby

Jordyn, Allie & Arden

And out came the models. We had no idea what to expect. Wow! I love it all!

Savannah & Bree sitting along the runway.

The final model walk down the runway...

Congratulating & visiting with Abby after her show!

Back row: Shelby, Arden, Bethany, Bree, Allie, Tonya w/Lillian, Brittney w/Grahm

Front row: Jordyn, Abby AnnaClaire Unruh, Sara, & Savannah

Fountain at the Pi Phi courtyard

Sara with her nephew Grahm!

Me and Grahm playing!

Abby came out after the show to take a bow and thank everyone for coming out.

Great job Abby!

Game Days, Birthdays, & Lazy Days!

He's going to take off crawling in no time! He gets in position but just hasnt quite figured out how everything works together lol.

Well we strart him out in the sleep positioner & when we check on him later...he's like this ha!

Booty up!

Playin' in my room...

Game day with daddy! My two favorite Cowboys fans!

Best buds!

We went out to eat for all you can eat crablegs at Across the Creek for my bday! Natalie came into town from Little Rock so after a long day of cheering on the hogs against Alabama, we all went & chowed down.

Go Hogs! Natalie & I at the Razorback tailgate at the Hogs vs. Alabama game.

Hub & Wife tailgating at the Hogs vs. Bama game...we won't talk about the results of that game...

Lazy mornings! Grahm and Grant snuggling in bed & watching Saturday morning cartoons!

This is one of those sterotypical "when I have kids" things I always looked forward to...laying in bed and watching Sat. morning cartoons with our kiddo/s and it's apart of our weekends now. I love it! :)

Grant & Grahm watching the Springdale vs. Har-ber football game together.

Us taking a few quick shots in front of the house with little man. We just want to capture everything!

OK...it's hard to tell in this picture, but it was the craziest thing. The sun was setting and you could see the physical line between daylight and dusk. It was so pretty.

Grant & I before a date night...a what-night? Dates are less frequent so we defintely cherish that time haha.

My cousin Emily with her Grahm :)

Grahm playing with his Grandma in his Hog hat!

I can hear it now...."Woooo pig sooie!"

Fun at Las Fajitas with the Skelton fam. for Sept & Oct bdays! Here's MeeMaw with the grandkids.

James, MeeMaw, Grahm, Tryston & Trynity

Our neice & nephews.

Munchkin pose! They're all getting so big!

Brother & sissy hug!

Uncle TJ & Grahm. He'll have a little girl in his arms soon!

Chow time! One of Grahms favorite times of the day. He was laughing so hard that night!

Hmmm that bite of cereal made a funny face!

Happy Sweet 16 Sissy!!

Mom forgot candles so she got a huge candle stick instead ha!

Great Gma Daisy holding the sleepy boy at Sara's party.

Grahm & his G-Grandad

I love Tryston's serious face here. He was so focused to go after the ball!

Go Tryston!! I forget, but he either made 2 or 4 goals this game!

Grahm & MeeMaw watching Tryston play soccer!

Well I started making Grahm's baby food from fresh fruits and veggies this weekend! Stayed tuned to see how that turned out and what Grahm's thinks of the new flavors!

Movie review: Grant and I saw "Life as we Knew It" last night. SOoooo good! I cried in quite a few scenes and then there were parts where you blurt out an huge embarassing laugh. It covered all the bases. It's about two single people who come into a situation of taking on a parent role to a baby with all the humor that entails. There were so many parts that Grant & I were all too familiar with! Definitely a good date night movie.

The Hogs beat Ole Miss this weekend!!! Woo Pig! We needed a big win...and yes I'm one of those annoying fans who says "take that Nutt!". He left, we beat him, it's just how it goes. The game had two rain delays, but Mallett & Wilson did a great job leading the team. Proud weekend for these fans!

GO HOGS!

Love,

G&B + Grahm

It's 'Fall' Fun & Games Around Here!

2010-09-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

Too big for my britches!

Well he's getting big and he's getting there fast! At Grahm's last check up (4 months) he was 26.5inches long (90th percentile) and almost 15 lbs. He just turned 5 months on Oct 2nd, and he just babbles on and on. Music to our ears! His next appt is Nov. 4th, for his 6 month check up. He likes to lay on his belly while kicking his legs & pushing up with his arms. It won't be much longer and he'll be crawling all over the place! Right now he's our lil' rollie pollie, rolling all over the place and telling us all about it.

Here's a few 4 month pictures! The first one is our fav!

Hanging out with the big boys...

Grahm wearing 'Uncle' Joe's hat at dinner.

3 Strikes You're Out!

Grahm continues to love being outside and he's becoming one of the Naturals biggest...well, smallest..fans!

Grahm & Daddy chilling on the bed with Jax before the game

Sweet boy, resting in Daddy's arms....too much excitement for one night!

We got a picture with Strike, the Naturals mascot!

...and he's out.

It's a bird, it's a plane....it's GRAHM!

Hannah's Hope 2nd Annual Run Buffalo Wild 5k

This year Hannah's Hope asked our youth groups to help out again at their annual 5k event. We love working with Tiffany Boles & Jamie Vansickler to raise money for the organization. Tiffany created Hannah's Hope after her daughter Hannah's battle with pediatric cancer. Hannah went to be with the Lord in 2008. They now help provide financial assistance to other local families who have children battling various types of cancer. The students helped with registration, water stations, sales & snack tables, cheering on the runners and judging the BWW hot wing eating contest! As you'll see below, the Bella Vista fire department wasn't able to make it for the wing eating contest so a few of us entered last minute haha!

MMmmmm!!! I guess you could say I won the girls division!

Ok I was the only girl...but it was delicious!

A few of our fabulous judges!

Bree, Kendall, Arden, Jordyn & Allie

Luke & Grant having a water drinking contest....

ehhh...boys will be boys. :)

A great day to Run Buffalo Wild!

Arden, Naomi, Savannah, Allie, Reagan, Kendall & myself

Going to the Big D!

Back in September we got the chance to go cheer on our Cowboys at the new Dallas Stadium! We loved watching the 'Boys play (and beat!) the Dolphins!

Huddle time!

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

Let's go Cowboys!

NOM NOM NOM
We started Grahm on rice & oatmeal cereal a while back. He loves it! If he's really hungry, he gets a little impatient and frustrated & wants the immediate gratification of his bottle. But when we time it just right, cereal time is fun for all.

I'm going to attempt, based on other friend's successes haha, to make his baby food myself. The fruits & veggies anyway. It should be interesting...so stayed tuned to see how that goes. It'll be another few weeks before he's ready for "real" food, but we're excited!

MMmmmm rice cereal...this kid never turns down a spoonfull.

Grahm spending the afternoon visiting with his Great Grandad!

I hope to post again soon! So much has happened recently.

GO HOGS!!!

Love,

G&B + Grahm!

Grahm's First Laugh!

2010-08-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Grant was making 'raspberry' noises at Grahm before bed and he just burst into laughter! He's giggled & kind of chuckled before but this was his first big outburst of laughter. Best thing ever!!

One cool dude...

2010-07-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

Our lil' man is one cool dude!

FATHERS DAY 2010 Grandpa with Grahm at our Father's day cookout!

All spread out & comfy while napping in our bed

Sitting on MeeMaw's lap at Gma & Papa's on Father's day!

Hangin out with Daddy on Father's Day in his "My Daddy Rocks!" shirt

Grant trying out his new camping chair he got for Father's Day!

Nap time with Daddy

OFF TO SCHOOL AND BACK TO WORK

It was a tough couple of weeks for me going back to work on June 28th. I took him to Bright Haven and of course cried most of the time I was there. They were wonderful but it didn't make it any easier. I went back and visited him on my lunches. After visiting Grahm and getting to know his teachers on my lunches it slowly got easier on me. Grant gets to keep him a couple days a week so they try to pick me up for lunch at least once. Now Grahm gives Miss Meredith a huge grin when I take him in his room in the mornings and it makes us feel good knowing he's in a good place while we're at work.

Leaving for Grahm's first day at Bright Haven & my first day back at work

June 28th, 2010

OOOoo school!

It was defintely a tough week for me.

And it's 1 - 2 - 3 Strikes you're out!...

Grahm watching his NWA Naturals play baseball!

Grant, Grahm & I at the Naturals game.

Grahm got to take home a foul ball!

What more appropriate than baseball socks? lol

He's learning to blow spit bubbles haha

Mommy and Grahm...

Funny story - I actually have my shirt on backwards here. Vneck, front pocket & all...I'm lucky to fix my hair somedays, who says I have to wear my clothes the right direction? ha!

Sweet little man hands resting on Daddy's arm

A visit from Great Grandad!

Grahm and my Grandad just giggling!

Grahm and his Great-Grandad Chet

Catch the crabby butt!

"Catch me if you can"

I'm afraid that'll be a true statement here pretty soon!

Emily & Grahm

Playtime!

My first 4th of July!

Grahm's first 4th of July!
We watched the fireworks at the Elks Lodge & he loved them!

4th of July, 2010

Grant, me, Grahm & Sara

Boom!

Grahm sitting on Grandma's lap watching the firework show

Wow!

Grahm & Daddy on the 4th...hanging out in Daddy's new chair

we got him for Fathers day!

Grahm after his 2 month Dr's visit. He was so tired after his vaccinations :(

Grahm & I both cried...

Grahm loves bathtime more and more!

We went to visit Great Grandma Daisy, Gpa & Lula in Van Buren

Showing off his big grin

Grahm on his playmat..chewing on those hands

Grahm & miss Hollyn

Is it tecinically his first kiss if she's eating his face? haha

Grahm loves all the bright colors and pictures in his "Hug Me" and "Bug Me" books!

Yo!

More Baseball Please!

Hanging out with Daddy before his 3rd Naturals game

Back in uniform to cheer on the Naturals

As usual, he was out in Daddy's arms about an hour into the game

The Skeltons with Strike!

Love

G,B & Grahm!

2010-06-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

How time is flying by...

Grant and I cannot believe that Grahm is already 6 weeks old. It has been the most wonderful six weeks and our world has been altered in the most incredible way! We've been so blessed by Grahm and everything he has brought to our little family.

Grahm has brought unity to pieces of our family that were previously not speaking.

Grahm has brought some a reason to give up hurts and habits that might limit their life.

Grahm has brought a new joy to those who were feeling complacent.

Grahm has added to the ways in which we were already greatly blessed by God.

Grahm has added to the things that Grant and I love about each other.

Grahm has allowed me to see Grant as the amazing father I knew he would be.

Grahm brings happy tears while holding him and sad ones at the thought of leaving him for even a day.

Grahm has brought us yet another reason to praise God every day.

Day to Day

Each day has something new and fun in store! Grahm is growing so fast and learning new ways to amaze us. We're starting to get in somewhat of a routine (which I partially credit Baby Wise for). He only wakes up once a night and has been sleeping longer each week. He slept 7 hours one night this week. He eats about every 2.5 to 3.5 hours and has about an hour of play time in between feeding and nap time. He used to get really fussy around 9pm. But since we started a bedtime routine he does great! At night he has bathtime, then a massage with bedtime lotion, we read a story, and then he goes to bed without any fuss.

Milestones:

At 5 weeks we moved him from the bassinet in our room into his crib in his room. He's been sleeping in his own bed since then. So proud of our lil' man.
He's really starting to enjoy bath time now! (until it's time to wash his face...ha).
He can push himself from his tummy onto his back.
He smiles big grins, talks baby talk & responds to familiar voices and faces.

Bitter-Sweet

Tomorrow (Friday), we're going up to Bright Haven Christian Learning Center to get Grahm enrolled in part-time daycare. I'll be going back to work on June 28th so it's time to get everything situated. Over the years we've done a lot of grumbling about Grant's work schedule...nights, crazy rotations, long hours, etc. However, during this season of life it's really a blessing. Because of Grant's 3 days on-3 off rotation, Grahm will only have to attend daycare part time and will get to stay with Daddy on his days off. This will give him social and learning time at Bright Haven, while also getting days off to hang out with Grant or I and visit family, go have fun or just relax at home. We're really confident about our decision to use Bright Haven. It's a Christian based facility with an impressive teacher-student ratio and a lot of fun activities and curiculum for the kids, especially as they get older. We have friends with their children in Bright Haven and they've been very impressed so far. And a small detail that we love...they have live feed cameras in every room so we can get online & see our little man any time we want! I think that'll help curb the anxiety a little.

Brag Book

Well as always I have tons of pictures - so here's my newest online 'brag book' - ENJOY!

A ministry called Picture the Mission took these newborn pictures of Grahm. He was 2 weeks old here. Picture the Mission helps mission teams raise funds by offering photography in exchange for support donations for the specific team their working with at that time. During this session PTM was helping our Junior High Belize teams raise funds for their trip this summer. Two of the girls from our group, Mary & Jordyn, are in Belize right now. They'll be there through June 27th, keep them & the people of Belize in your prayers!

Here is our sweet little man at 2 weeks old:

Play Time!
Being off during the first part of summer has been amazing and Grahm & I get a lot of play time while Daddy is at work...and even more when he's home!

We like to go visit Morgan and Miss Hollyn, one of Grahm's first friends! He's definitely catching up to her in size haha.

Morgan & Grahm

Grahm & Hollyn at their play date

Grahm seems to have some of the most fun on his changing pad haha. This where we often play our little 'kisses' game after diaper changes and we make noises, give him a big kiss & make smacking noises. He responds with big grins & baby talk. Here's another great big grin with dimples.

Tom & Marilyn came to visit from Colorado. Grandma Janice & Papa Lew had us out as well as Chris & Meredith so everyone could meet and visit the kids.

Chris & Meredith with Chase & Skyler, Grant and I with sleeping Grahm in the background.

Grandma Janice with Alex, Papa Lew, Nancy, Marilyn & Tom

Pool Time!

We got Grahm a covered kiddie pool so he can have fun in the water but stayed covered. We put him in his little sun hat that goes with his swim trunks and he looked at me like "seriously?". He's been wearing hats since day 1 so he's used to all these sun hats I put him in. He loves being outside and spending time in the water.

"seriously mom?!"

Grahm's first time in the pool!

Memorial Day

We had some friends over for a Memorial Day cookout, volleyball, baggo & pool fun for the kids. I tried to play volleyball at the cookout...keep in mind this was 4 weeks after having a C-section. Yea...I don't do well with physical restrictions, but I learned my lesson by #1) looking-a-fool trying to play haha...and #2) being very sore the next day! It's the first summer that the majority of our friends have kiddos so we're having fun getting everyone together.

Lillian and Benjamin playing in the pool on Memorial Day! So Sweet!

Grahm in the background sleeping in the pool, haha. I'd say he's pretty relaxed.

Bryley spashing in the pool, Jax decided he needed to cool off too and jumped in with her!

Before all the kids got out of school and the pool got crowded, we took little man up to the Elks Lodge pool and let him try out his new floatie.

Sleepy boy waking up to play in the pool

Ok maybe not 'play'...instead he sleeps in the pool haha.

Grant & I with Mr. Grahm

Ohhh so sweet!

Grant & I after the Tim McGraw & Zac Brown Band concert

Goooo Hogs!

Cutest little Razorback booties
We my break the record for youngest child able to call the Hogs! He's already started training ;)

Daddy!! I will eat your nose!

Grahm & I having dinner with friends at Sassy's Redhouse BBQ

6 week old! He's so strong!

I see a critter looking at me!

Grahm's lil' hoof!

Splish Splash I was taking a bath!

Grahm enjoying bathtime!

More fun in the tub!

Well that's our latest update! Life isn't so simple these days, but it is WONDERFUL!

Tune in for more posts & take care!

Love,

G&B + Grahm!

Matthew 22:37

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."

Song suggestion: How He Loves, David Crowder Band. Love love love it!

Grahm Emerson Skelton!

2010-05-24T03:27:00.000-07:00

Wow so this post is wwaayy past due, but hey...I've had more important things to do than be on the internet haha! So I finally got on here early while the boys are still asleep to post some of our first pics with our little man! So here are the details:

Grahm Emerson Skelton arrived May 2nd 2010 at 4:44pm. 8 lbs 11 oz and 20 inches long!

On Saturday, May 1st we went out to dinner at Sassy's with Laura Jade, Joe, Tony & Bailey. Afterwards LJ & Joe came over to watch a movie. I hadn't really had any 'progress' yet so when I started feeling contractions I thought it was possibly in my head knowing that my due date was the next day. Well..the contractions didn't hurt but they got closer and longer through out the evening. Within a few hours instinct told me to go finish packing our bags, we would be making a trip to Willowcreek very soon! While they visited in the living room, I anxiously finished going through our packing list. After they left, Grant and I decided to call one of the nurses and ask if we should come up there since the contractions were just minutes apart. The nurse advised that if they weren't painful and I could sleep (it was now almost midnight), to go ahead and try to sleep. So..to sleep we went. At 3:56 (yes, I vividly remember the bright red numbers on the alarm clock)...my water broke! Now talk about good luck, I happened to be in the bathroom for one of my every hour bathroom breaks.
Ok, so about my contractions not hurting...WOW! After my water broke, the pain set in. No phone call necessary this time, we grabbed our bags & headed straight for Willowcreek (ok and by "straight for" I mean minus the stop at McDonalds for a 4:30am breakfast since I wouldn't be able to eat again for a long time)! We were checked into Willowcreek E.R. by 5 & making the long awaited call to our parents. On a side note - the nursing staff in the E.R. was amazing. We spent an hour or two in the E.R. where my pain progressively got stronger and I learned why they call it 'labor'. I wasn't too nervous until they wheeled the girl into the curtain-divided room next to me and we had to listen to her scream and cry in pain. Grant was there, holding my hand and we waited for our 'real' room. By 7am I was in my own room and the dr's were impressed with my contractions, they were close and big! I was quickly introduced to Anethesiologist Dr. Jech and her big needle - woo hoo for the epidural (p.s. - that hurt!). After the epidural set in, I didn't feel anything from the waist down...I mean anything.
Ok fast forward about 8 hours....
Crazy contractions, petocin & many check-ups later...I still had barely dialated to a 3. This is when Gorman made the call. Mr. Grahm would be arriving via C-section. They had me prepped and wheeled into the O.R. within 30 minutes where Dr. Gorman performed the C-section and our perfect 8lb 11oz baby boy was delivered! Seeing Grahm carried across the room and handed to Grant was the most emotional & amazing moment ever!

SO...here are some pictures of our journey to starting our family!!

Grant & I waiting (looks like I'd had my epidural at this point lol)

Mom, Sis, Dad & me...they were about to become Grandparents!

Only at a 3?! C-Section, here we come...

Grant suiting up for the O.R.

He's here!!! Grant carryin Grahm to the nursery

Stop and pose for the family! Grahm's first introduction

Grant with Grahm in the nursery. They let him stay and help with everything

Our first family picture & my first time to hold Grahm! So incredible!

Here he is - Grahm Emerson Skelton!

It's a BOY!

Wow...I'm a Mommy!

Holding my little man.

Smile Skeltons!

(Great) Grandma Daisy with her G-Grandson

Aunt Lula with Grahm

Grant's Mom - MeeMaw with Grahm and cousin James

I'm 1 day old! 4:44pm May 3rd

My Dad - Grandpa holding his first grand baby!

My sissy - Grahm's Aunt Sara!

There were a ton more pictures from the hospital since we had so many friends and family visit (see facebook for more!).

Headed home! Grahm was wide eyed and taking in the world!

GG & Papa Lew Skelton with their newest Great-grandson

Daddy & Grahm!

Grant's sister - Aunt Anjean & James with baby Grahm

Grandad holding his newest Great-grandson

Grahm playing with Daddy - he's so alert

Chillin in the swing

Grandad with me, Grant & Grahm

Snuggle time with Daddy

Snuggle time with Mommy

Relaxing with Laura Jade

Ha this one cracks me up.

Grahm checking out my mom - Grandma

Sweet boy...

Grahm & Hollyn hanging out!

Mother's Day!

(still had my kankles lol)

Mother's day dinner

Mr. Smiles!

Trent & Naomi's daughter, Bryley holding Grahm

Just chillin in his shades

Grahm's cousins - James, Trynity & Tryston!

Gdad Skelton with all the grandkids!

Why hello...

Monkey toes..

Such a tough life being a baby...

"I do all my own stunts!"

Grandpa talking to little man

Hanging out on the Naturals lawn, listening to Josh Wilson perform

Grahm's first Naturals baseball game!

Well there are definitely more memories to be shared, hopefully it won't take me a month to get more pictures posted. Take care & more updates soon!

Love,

G&B + Grahm!

Maternity Pictures!..and then what you really want to see...

2010-05-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

So by now most have heard that Lil' Mr. Grahm is here!!! Warning - this is just a teaser post! We can't wait to update everyone with all the amazing experiences and pictures of his 1st week here. I just have time to post our maternity pictures by Maura (Mauradawnphotography.com) and I'll be on soon to tell you all about our incredible blessing! Enjoy some pictures of the last days before Grahm arrived!

Thank you Maura for these wonderful keepsakes of our last week preparing for Grahm to be here. I can't wait to get some prints of her work up in his nursery!

Love,

G, B & Grahm!

Let the countdown begin!

2010-04-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well we're 39 weeks now! We're just waiting on lil' man to decide he's ready to come join us!

This morning I met Dad, Tiff & Hannah at Neals cafe for a delicious breakfast and then they came over and checked out the nursery (see below for a great pic of Dad and I haha). Then Morgan & I went and got one last pedicure before Grahm gets here! It was amazing and my piggies (although rather fat at the moment) look pretty good! And then...Sis and I went shopping for her Spring Semi-formal and I picked up something to wear for our maternity pics tomorrow!
Tomorrow (Sunday) Grant is off work - yay!!! My friend Maura is a photographer and she's taking maternity pictures with Grant & I tomorrow. We're sooo excited for her to capture a few shots of us with our little guy while he's still 'in the oven'. Check out her website at http://www.mauradawnphotography.com/!
Then Grandma & Papa are coming over! Such a fun weekend :)

I'm a little behind on updates...sorry!
Two weeks ago we had our 37 week appointment with Dr. Partridge. She was great like everyone said. At that time, I still wasn't dialated or effaced and everything else looked good so we planned to see Dr. Hix the following week for our 38 week appt.

Last Wed. we had our 38 week appt with Dr. Hix. He asked how baby's activity has been and we reported that he's very active and his movements are quite strong haha. Shortly after that conversation, Hix went to check his heartbeat and said something along the lines of "let's find her hearbeat". As soon as that doplar touched my belly, Grahm started kicking it and bouncing all over. Dr. Hix looked up at us and we said "his heartbeat"! Haha...Dr. said "He didn't like being called a girl much did he?". Guess Hix should've read the chart first, ha. Anyway, belly measurements were good, weight, BP...and all that jazz. And Hix said we were barely dialated to almost a 1. Well progress is progress right? So this Tues. we go back for our 39 week appt. with Dr. Gorman where we'll discuss inducing if needed.

38 week baby bump!

Grant and Jim finished the dresser last week and brought it home!

The nursery is now fully furnished and the only thing we're waiting on is....well, Grahm!

Daddy hanging Grahm's name above his crib! :)

Grahm's nursery...ready & waiting!

Ha..Dad's turn to compare bellies.

I don't know..I might have him beat!

Daddy installing the carseat!

I tried to tell him that he doesn't fit, but he wouldn't listen...

(ok..ok he's just reading the levels on the side)

Snap on...snap off..

The gorgeous cake Rachel Jardot made for my JBHunt

baby shower! And delicious too!

Nothing like taking a 2 hour break on a Friday at work to hang out with friends

and open baby gifts! We got a ton of must-haves & goodies.

We're so thankful for all our friends and families helping prepare us for Grahm's arrival. He definitely won't go without!

Well my next update will either be after our Tuesday appt or after we get home from the hospital if Grahm comes before then haha. Everyone take care!

Love,

G&B + Grahm!

37 weeks!

2010-04-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

No fun sun!...
About a week and half ago Grant and I took a couple days off together and went fishing out at the lake. I ended up with a severe sunburn after just a couple hours (yes, yes...I now know that my body doesn't react to the sun while pregnant like it used to - ouch!). It was 3 nights before I had a decent nights sleep after trying aloes, lotions, & even vinegar. My skin was so tight on my legs I couldn't even walk normal b/c there was no elasticity - Grant had to help me in and out of bed! I got dehydrated so my legs, ankles & feet swelled up huge! Can you say 'Kankles'?! My feet finally fit in my shoes again & lesson learned, so please...wear your sunscreen! P.S. if you do get a sunburn and certain lotions irritate your skin, Eucerin brand lotions were a life saver!

36 Week Update...
Last Wed. the 7th we had our 36 week appt with Dr. Bailey. He didn't get nearly as upset about my sunburn/swelling as I thought he would. He just made a few jokes about a great new invention called "sunscreen" (yea, ha..ha). My BP was 110/60, weight gain still on track, and my belly measured at 36 which he said is right where it should be for 36 weeks. Grant guessed my weight exactly- stinker! I guessed less but forgot to account for the water retension from all the swelling. Bailey said Grahm's head appears to be progressing in the right direction and his position is good. He also said I don't seem to be dialated at this point which is normal and we would check again next Wed. We meet Dr. Partridge for our 37 wk appt on the 14th (then we will have finally met them all! lol). I hear she's great. So stay tuned for next week's update.

37 week pictures!

He's getting heavy!

Almost time for Grahm to be here!

The dresser/changing table is almost done now! Ibelieve all that's left now is the drawer fronts and then the stain!

Grant working on trim pieces

Sara helping sand

It was such a gorgeous day when we went out to the farm last weekend. Perfect amount of wind for flying kites!

MeeMaw flying kites with James & Tryston

James, Tryston & Nathan flying their kites

My Grandma Dora was a florist so I've always loved flowers and taking pictures of them.

Here are some new blossoms on the farm!

Easter Sunday!

We spent Easter Sunday at Grandad's house. Grant had to work so he couldn't make it. But we had a great time with family.

Aunt Mellisa, Mom, Sara, Shane, Britt, Deanna, & Vanessa

The kiddos - Emily, Alex & Isaiah

Me and Grandad showing off our bellies!!

Cell Group Baby Shower!

We had an awesome get together Saturday with cell group girls, some moms & other leaders! Thanks everyone for all the sweet gifts & fun. We played a game where we passed around numbered baby food jars and everyone tried to guess what was in them by smelling. THEN, whoever guessed the most correct got to pick their jar for the next game. Luckily I got quite a few right and picked apple sauce because the next game was a baby food eating contest! We paired up and had to feed our partner half the jar & then switch. I felt so bad for those who had peas, sweet potatoes, squash, etc! Mom and I won, but we had an unfair advantage with the apple sauce lol.

The adorable guitar & minky blanket from Bellas!

I love these!!! Grahm's new Razorback booties!

Baby Lillian (Tonya's little girl) decked out in her Hogs gear, even her Piggy hat!

Do you think it fits him? lol

My cell girls & co-leaders! (and Bryley)

Amelia, Allie, Jordyn, Savannah, Bethany, Naomi, Arden, Me, Tonya

Mary, Amanda & Bryley!

I can't wait until we actually get to Welcome Baby Grahm!!

Only a few more weeks at most!

Thanks everyone for all the sweet prayers, gifts & advice. We're so excited for him to be here to meet all of our friends and family!

More updates soon!

Love,

G&B

Getting closer...!

2010-03-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

We're 35 weeks, approaching 36 now!

Last Tues. we had our labor and delivery class ('Cliff's notes' version). Let me tell you what, that was an educational video...haha. The nurse was great, answered a lot of questions, and all the dads were thoroughly traumatized between the video, pictures & instruments being displayed.

Last Friday we had our 35 week appt. with Dr. Cole (we've almost met all the doctors now haha, all but Dr. Patridge). This was our last standard checkup and Dr. Cole was happy with the progress. I've gained 22 pounds so far (yes...I, a female, just admitted how much weight I've gained, take record lol) and will probably gain about a pound a week for the remainder of the pregnancy. Doc says based on my belly measurements and weight gain he would estimate us to have a pretty average sized baby, approximately somewhere around 7.5 lbs. Of course, this is just a guess on his part. Cole found Grahm's heartbeat very easily and looked at us and said "now thats a strong and regular heartbeat!!". We're proud, little man is sounding good! My BP was 110/70 and I've only had a little swelling in my hands and occasional feet/ankle swelling after working all day, etc...
OH! Speaking of, let me tell a quick story about ankles. So the other day I get off work, a little stressed and decide it'd be a nice evening for a long shower. So I hop in and just relax, then I think..hmm I actually have time to shave my legs and Grahm isn't buried in my ribs at the moment so lets give this a shot! As I'm shaving my legs I think to myself, "gotta watch the ankles and 'boney' areas" and at that moment I realize "oh no! WHERE ARE MY ANKLES?!". This was the remarkable moment where I discovered my new, fluffy..kankles. Good times.
Ok now that you have a visual of my fat ankles (that my sister tried to snap a picture of to show her friends...turd.) let's get back to the dr. appt. My belly measurements are on track and like our recent appts we didn't get much feedback other than "well looks good". Our next appt. is April 7th and we'll have one every week after. Next time they will do the 'fun' exam and we'll get to find out how dialated and effaced I am! We'll keep you updated more often after that because he'll be here soon!!

Grant and Jim are back in the shop working on Grahm's final piece of furniture! Here is some progress on the dresser. It's designed to match the crib with the same corners, trim and angles. After my first baby shower this past weekend, I'm going to need this soon to put some of the goodies in! We're going out to the farm again later this week to visit and work on it some more.

Progress on the dresser

It angles between the large and small drawers like the headboard of the crib.

Grant working hard!

So this weekend was very fun and eventful! Friday night we had dinner with friends for Trent's birthday. Then Saturday my sweet Natalie came into town from Little Rock so we spent time with her and enjoyed some delicious grub at Noodles. Sunday was my first baby shower! Laura Jade, Ashley & my Mom hosted it and they did a wonderful job! Sunday night we spent some time with Uncle Tony & his girlfriend Bailey (that's one of Grant's best friends) who was in town from Tulsa. We saw the movie "Bounty Hunter" with Jennifer Anniston & Gerrard Butler, it was really good!

Sara took over my camera and took some wonderful pictures at the shower. I had friends I've known since 5th grade and family from all sides there, it was such a great day to celebrate Grahm's upcoming arrival!

Natalie aka "Momma Petty" & I
She was my Discipleship Group leader at Kaleo 6 years ago in
Colorado and we've been amazing friends ever since! Love ya Nat!

Grahm's goodies! Wow, he won't go without!
He got so many pair of shoes - you know he's my kiddo lol.

Bailey, Naomi, Natalie, Sara, Ashley, Me, Morgan, Laura Jade, Meagan & Anjean!

All my girls! Love you guys :)

My Vera Bradley diaper bag from Naomi!! Thank you!!

Opening my diaper bag from Naomi, it was quite the suprise!

My lil' sis Hannah and cousin Emily carrying gifts to the table

Welcome precious little one...

The must-have Boppy pillow from mom!

This was too funny because she made me a carebear pillow

when I was born and I randomly named it Boppy! (Yes! I still have it)

So may cute outfits! Grahm is going to be styling!

The cutest little "I love Mommy, I love Daddy" sleeper

The sports themed sock-shoes from Bellas!

Look at all the baby blues - can't wait for the lil' guy to be here!

Every little boy needs a dinosaur shirt!

"G" for Grahm petite four

The diaper cake Ashley made! So cute!

Me & Naomi

Aunt Anjean (Grant's sister), Brenda aka Mee Maw (Grant's mom) & I

Me and my Mom

Sis, me and mom

Emily, 'Aunt' Denise, me, Mom, Aunt Melissa, and 'Aunt' Rhonda

Me, Connie (LJ's mom), and Laura Jade

Connie was one of my 'moms' growing up, LJ and I

have been friends since middle school

Grandma Daisy, Joan, Tiffany, Hannah & I

Thanks for the baby swing! That's going to be a life saver!

Grahm's cake

Welcome Grahm! The delicious cake from Shelby Lynn's bakery!

Grant just hanging out feeling Grahm kick & squirm

Wooo big belly!

35 weeks!

Tryston's 5th birthday party at Mee Maw & Gdads!

We can't believe he'll be starting kindergarten next year!

Our sweet puppies snuggled up on the couch

Grant & I at Powerhouse for Laura Jade's 25th birthday

Meagan, LJ & I at Powerhouse. Aww love my girls!

A few weeks ago we got to go to the Hog's baseball game. I took Sara, Dad & Tiffany and we had a great time (Grant had to work, boo...). Sooie was hugging on sis!

Woo pig sooie!

Sara, Dad & Tiffany

Me and Sis at the Hogs game!

It was still a bit chilly out!

Batter up!

Well perfect timing! Grant just called & he's on his way home from work! Hope you enjoy the pictures and updates & we'll keep you posted!

Love,

G&B (+1)

And we will call him Grahm ______.......

2010-03-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

33 weeks! Wow...we can't believe how quickly time has gone by!
We had our 32/33 week appt last Wednesday. This time we met Dr. David Duke. He was a little more distant than the previous doctors but very informative which we really liked. It seems like often times I go in, they measure, weight, exam, etc...and then say "well, looks good. Any questions?" and there we are going "umm..uh..??". We feel like we've asked all the obvious questions along the way. Duke took time to walk us through was to expect, what to be concerned about, and such. He explained what is happening with my body and Grahm's growth in detail. I really loved his comment "now your ligaments and pelvic bones will really start to relax soon and you'll start to waddle". Haha start to waddle?...did he mean waddle more?! Oh boy, get ready for a funny sight folks!
My weight, BP, and measurements are on track and he didn't express any concerns. He was less concerned with my appendectomy scar in comparison with the other doctors. Maybe he's seen similar ones before. He did say scar tissue doesn't stretch as well which can cause tenderness (yes...this I've experienced). However, he also said pregnancy can help pull scar tissue away from things internally that it might have connected to that it shouldn't have (how delightful, right?).
Grahm's heart rate was a steady 140 with no irregularities. It's still so incredible to sit there with Grant and hear his little heartbeat! Duke said I have no restrictions right now and we go back for our 34/35 week appt on Friday, March 26th.

Now for the embarassing but necessary belly pictures...(p.s. don't hate on my hair, my CHI straightener broke and I'm lost without it, boo).

32 weeks!

He's getting so big!

Ok. So other big news! It's been a toss up for months now what Grahm's middle name will be. We've struggled between new names, family names, odd names, you name it! We also considered initials. I mean think about it, if we went with something like "Andrew", his initials would be G.A.S. - so "A" names were out. We really are considerate parents aren't we? haha. It wasn't a debate, but more that we just couldn't decide. It boiled down to us saying the names out loud and seeing what 'fit' and felt right when we said it all together. It was pretty entertaining b/c we all remember that our parents rarely used our middle name unless we were in trouble, so we felt like we were getting on to him already haha. Practice, right? We ended up chosing the one we really like and feel will fit him well. So the verdcit is....

Other news...in addition to my swelling belly, my fingers are starting to lose their slender shape. So with only a month and a half to go, we decided that it would be fun to get a ring for my wedding finger that will serve both as a temporary left-hand ring and a right-hand keepsake for after his birth. We talked about getting a plain band and having his name engraved in it or something along those lines. While shopping at Kate Austen Jewelry and Gifts, I saw these rings that could be personalized with initials. It'll be fun to look down over the next, and last, few weeks to see Grahm's initials.

Grahm Emerson Skelton

The nursery!! It has progressed quite a bit since our last blog! Grant and Jim finished the crib almost 2 weeks ago and brought it home! It was so exciting and emotional to walk into what used to be a painted, but empty room, and for the first time feel like it was Grahm's nursery where he'll be in less than 2 months! And by emotional, I mean literally breaking down and crying in front of Grant, Jim & Brenda. lol. They put the crib together and had the bedding set up and everything when I got home. I still can't get over how beautiful the crib is and how special it is that Daddy and Gdad built it themselves. Well enough babbling...look for yourselves!

Grahm's crib!

Crib with bedding

Here you can see the curved side rails and angled sleigh-bed headboard.

The detail is so impressive!

(Someone needs to start a furniture business!)

Grahm's nursery so far!

Grant & Jim have started on the dresser/changing table. So his sweet room is almost fully furnished and ready for use!

I've been on quite the crafting kick lately! I've always loved to paint, but my previous two years of grad. school in addition to working full time and being involved in all our activities prevented me from having the extra time. Our friends, Trent and Naomi's daughter Bryley celebrated her 2nd birthday today at Chuck-E-Cheese. They too are huge Hogs fans so I made Bryley a red, white, and black Razorback tutu for Hogs games. She recently got new bedding (also by Renee!), so I painted her a matching pink and brown picture frame with a B for Bryley. Tonight I finished a painting for Grahm's room! For those of you that know us well, we're big football fans, especially the Hogs and Cowboys. So Grahm has to represent! Here is the painting I did to match his room but also incorporate the Hogs!

He'll be calling the Hogs in no time! Wooo Pig Sooie!

Go Hogs!

This past Saturday we celebrated Jenni and Kent's upcoming wedding! We had a shower for her and prayed over their marriage. Jenni is on staff at Fellowship with student ministry. Not only does she minister to and bless the students, she is a HUGE blessing to us other leaders! We've all grown very close to her and are so excited for her big day! Here are some fun pictures from the shower.

Some of us girls putting on our prettiest faces! haha

(Jenni is in the grey in the middle!)

Kat, Prego, Katie, Marie, & Jenni!

Jenni & Kent's wedding invitation

Some more of the girls!

So, I feel like I've thoroughly updated everyone (and given Grant the opportunity to watch about 3 FarScape episodes lol). So it's time to go relax. Grant and I are both off the next two days! I can't wait to see Mom and Dad Skelton tomorrow and spend time with Hubby!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for

his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men.

For he satisfies the thirtsy

and fills the hungry with good

things."

-Psalm 107:8-9

Love,

G&B

2010-02-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since our last post. This weekend we'll be 30 weeks!
We recently had our 28 week appointment with Dr. Seale. Grant had been sick so he wasn't able to come this time. Dr. Seale said my blood pressure is "gorgeous" and my blood work/glucose screening came back fine. She also said my weight and 'tummy' measurements are right on track. My scar has continued to be tender so hopefully that will remain a mild annoyance and not cause any serious complications. Grahm's heartbeat was 150 the day of the appointment, still so exciting to hear!

29 weeks. "Hi little man!"

Haha let's compare week 12 and week 29 baby bumps...!

Grant is finally off overnights! His last night was two nights ago and he's off until this Sunday. He'll then start a "normal" schedule. For those who don't know, there is no such thing as a normal schedule in Wal-Mart store ops. He'll work 3 days on, 3 off from 8am-8pm. But hey, that works for us! He'll be home everynight and won't be so worn out from having to shift his sleeping schedule. We're both very excited! Praise God for such awesome timing with his schedule change and for good careers.

We've been very busy getting things ready for Grahm to arrive! His room is nearing completion as we have started getting all the pieces together. I picked up his bedding from Renee this weekend. She did an incredible job and everything matches the nursery perfectly! The crib isn't in the room yet, so we set the bedding up on the floor so we could show pictures.

Back and side bumpers, a pillow, and the little diaper wipe case she made...

The front bumper (that can also be reversed to brown & stripes) and the bed skirt

Another angle with the round minky pillow...

Here it is!

We'll post more pics when we get it all set up in the crib...

Renee McCue is a local lady who did the bedding for us. If anyone needs bedding, curtains, etc..., we would recommend her. Her contact # is 479-750-9398.

The hardest part has been getting the finishing touches on the walls! Getting all the lines straight and level was tough, but painting evenly on textured walls is even tougher!

Finally got the brown stripes painted!

This is the wall that the crib will be against.

We'll hang the "G-R-A-H-M" letters across the green above the crib.

So Grant and Jim have been busy wrapping up their big project too! Here are the latest pictures of the crib!! Today they put the sealant on and all that's left is a top coat and of course the frame & mattress! We might be able to bring it home next week! (Ok I'm a little excited!). I still can't get over how talented they are...they created this from raw wood, it's so amazing to me. It's something so special that our family will always have. Thank you...thank you...thank you Daddy & Gdad!

Grahm's crib - it's really almost done!

Mr. Grahm's bed

What else...? Middle name update...we've got nothing. Our list has grown rather than get narrowed down. So, we'll just continue to keep everyone posted on that decision!

Oh! I have had some pretty funny dreams lately. One involves pirates and a potty accident (yep...I admitted it. I poo'd my pants in my dream b/c I couldn't find an open bathroom in the pirate port...but only in my dream lol). And in the other I was a guy (Tokyo Drift type guy) that had to steal this legendary motorcycle to stay alive...it was really intense! So those have been very interesting haha!

Well I hope everyone enjoys the pictures and updates (and laughs on my behalf ha!). Grant and I are going to relax and watch a movie...we'll see what Netflix sent us this week!

Take care and God bless!

Love,

G&B

January 2010!

2010-01-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well hold on everyone...this month flew by so let us fill you in!

We had Grant's 25th birthday dinner at PF Changs with a bunch of our friends! He's a quarter of a century old! haha. For dessert we shared a Great Wall of China, we barely polished it off with 14 people to help. It's huge!

The crew at PF's for Grant's 25th!

So "it's in the water" seems to be true around here. Our friends Steve & Lacey had their little girl Iyla this month. Tonya & Brent welcomed Miss Lillian and Amanda and Tyler just brought home lil' Benjamin Robert this week. Morgan is next! We had her shower a couple weeks ago to get her all ready for Miss Hollyn's arrival.

The girls at Morgan's Baby Shower

Last weekend we had our annual Chill Out Winter Retreat at New Life Ranch. This is our final year to go to this retreat with NES (Nine, Eight, Seven) since the girls are going to highschool next year. They will move up to FSM (Fellowship Student Ministries), so we'll attend different camps and such. We're going to miss hanging out with the NES staff sooo much! I've become so close to Jenni & Kat and the other leaders and Grant has enjoyed hanging out with Simon & Pope! We had a blast in the dance competition, hanging out and playing games. The worship time was amazing and Randy from Memphis came and spoke to the students. I remember 3 years ago when they were begging me to go run around camp at midnight because they were hyper 7th graders. Now they are ready to crash by 10 haha. They have grown so much spiritually. It's so incredible to grow with them! They are such a blessing!

Some of the S'dale 9th Grade girls

Mom Skelton & James hanging out at MeeMaw's

So we've been posting pictures of the crib progress. Well much as been done! It is completely built aside from the frame that will hold the mattress. A couple more coats of stain and Grahm's amazing crib built by Daddy & Gdad will be done & ready to put in the nursery!

The crib!

Literally...one of a kind :)

Well with the crib almost done and Grahm's arrival just a couple months away, it was time to get started on the nursery! The pictures below don't show the colors very well b/c the lighting was off, but it's teal/turquoise and sage/lime green, with (soon to be) brown horizontal stripes! We hope to finish painting this weekend...we'll see! Where there is white left, those small stripes will be dark brown. We bought big brown letters to go in the green stipe that will spell G-R-A-H-M above the crib. The wall with the window is solid teal & I'm thinking about doing a huge razorback painting to match the room for that wall! Future Hog fan!

Grant taping the ceiling

Painting the first color!

Time for green! It's not quite this bright haha

The next layer of teal...(this has been a lot of work!)

Here is the progress so far!

For our out-of-town family & friends...here is what arrived in NWA today! It started with ice last night (not so fun) but turned to heavy snow this morning and it's still snowing (it's 9:30pm!). It's beautiful outside! Tomorrow we might go sledding with LJ & Joe if we can find sleds. I'll be the photographer lol. I just want to get out and stomp around in it a bit!! We hope everyone will keep power and heat this year.

The back yard..covered in ice and snow

Burrr!!

So other big news... Grant is definitely getting off the night rotation!! His first day back on a normal schedule will be February 21st! We are both very excited. It's been almost a year that he's been on nights now.

Grahm update: We'll be 27 weeks this Sunday! Our next appointment(s) is on Feb. 12th. We have to go in for two that day, one in the morning for lab work and a Rhogam shot (I'm RH negative) and then another that afternoon for the typical 28 week stuff. Grahm has grown significantly in the last month and everyone is really starting to notice lol. He's moved up quite a bit with his growth, but I'm still carrying very low. Sleep is becoming more difficult and being comfortable in general...well not so much. My back hurts most of the time, luckily between Aunt Lula and Tiff at work I have a nice chair massager and heating pad to help :). The worst pain has been my upper abs where they feel like they have torn (pleasant thought isnt it) and they hurt consistently. The nurse said they may have pulled but wasn't concerned that anything is wrong other than the fact that I have to deal with the discomfort. So hopefully that will get better, but I'll have them look at it more on the 12th.

We still haven't settled on a middle name but we think we are leaning towards 'Owen'. We're hoping to decide soon! Grahm is still very active! It's so fun to feel him move around and respond to our touch. Grant still reads to him! Grahm is one luckly lil' guy to have a daddy like Grant (just like I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful Hubby)! Things are really starting to sink in as we're realizing how much our lives are about to change and that we're not going to be just an uncle or aunt, youth leader, big bro or sis anymore...we are going to be parents! It's incredible to think that we will all be meeting him so soon. It's fun to think about what he'll look like, how he'll laugh, and all the amazing years ahead of us.

Well that's our January in a nut shell! Everyone stay warm & we'll keep you posted.

Love,

G&B (+1)

Finally 40! ...(degrees that is!)

2010-01-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

BBburrr it's been a cold couple of weeks! I never thought I would refer to 40-50 degrees as "nice" weather but it's sure better than zero!

We had a fun New Years Eve with friends. We went out to eat and then spent the evening at Trent and Naomi's.

Grant & I New Year's Eve at Trent & Naomi's

Well Happy (early) Birthday to Grant! Tomorrow, January 15th, Grant will be 25! Happy birthday dear Hubby...happy birthday to you!
We've had alot of birthdays this month, we've also had Aunt Lula's, Dad's, Mom Skelton's & Trynity's is coming up on the 18th. Happy Birthday to all!
We spent last Sunday at the Farm and celebrated Grant, Mom Skelton & Trynity's birthdays.

Tryston making funny poses

Trynity blowing out her birthday candles! The big 3!

Grant's cake was really funny too. It had "25" written on it and they ran out of candles so Anjean & Brenda had the great idea to use matches instead. It was hilarious!

Jim & Grant working in the shop (it was sooo cold!)

Grant working hard

Crib progress:

Ta-da! Here is the front and sides with the first coat of stain!
The detail is incredible.

This much is completed. It just needs a couple more coats of stain!

They've started on the headboard and Grant hopes to have it completely done in the next month. So exciting!

We also ordered the bedding! Grant and I met Renee at fabric gallery and they had all the fabrics we picked out so she has everything she needs to start Grahm's bedding and curtains! We were able then to use the fabric swatches to go get paint and I even found the perfect rug (it was a steal! Naomi wouldn't let me leave without it haha). We have the walls taped up and ready to paint, the plan is to get started this Saturday! We'll post pictures of that as well! Nate & Alicia let us borrow their bassinet and it's just perfect. Things are really starting to come together!

As I mentioned before we got a new camera so we've had fun playing with all the functions. Here are some fun pictures we've taken.

Cardinals at the farm

This is the same picture but you can see the bird in flight!

Mr. Jackson after his trip to the groomer

This past Monday we had our 24 week appointment. This was the glucose screening, so I got to drink the delicious (...kiding) orange drink, wait an hour, and have blood work done. This is a standard test at this point in the pregnancy. I'm thinking the results will be fine, but if not I'll have to go in for a 3 hour gestational diabetes test (woo hoo). Grahm is very active. A couple weeks ago I mentioned that Grant felt him for the first time, well now that's a daily event! Grahm kicks a lot throughout the day and occasionally at night, he's especially responsive to juice and fruit. If I can feel him in a certain place and we put our hands there, he'll push against them sometimes! He did the same thing to the Dr. when she was pushing the doplar on my belly to hear the heartbeat haha. We saw Dr. Hinton this time. She said everything looks great: Grahm's heartbeat was 150 & my weight gain is right on track. When she saw my scar she thought I might have had a kidney transplant, she was shocked to hear that it was from an emergency appendectomy. My scar is often tender now as my belly is growing, but it's not too bad and of course there isn't anything that can be done. I'm happy to report there has been zero sickness still! My only minor compaints are typical; back pain, hard to sleep, uncomfortable, etc...but I've really had an amazing and easy pregnancy so far! Grant takes good care of me though, I've got it good! We have good reason to hope that he'll be getting off the night rotation next month too!!! That was wonderful news for both of us! We should know more details soon.
Well here is the latest picture (I was making a weird face so that's why I'm headless ha). This is from today, we're almost 25 weeks now!

We had a late Christmas get together this past week and Grahm got an outfit from my dad and Tiffany. It says "Team Grandpa". He's very excited about having a grandson!
Pretty much everything is decided and in progress except one little thing....a middle name!! We have it narrowed down to a few. See the poll below and tell us which one you like best!

Well Jackson got himself stuck under the bed again, so I'm going to dig him out and then it's time for bed!

Goodnight & God Bless!

Love

G&B(+1)

Go Cowboys!

An End to 2009...

2009-12-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is December 31, 2009. It's been an eventful and wonderful year!! We hope everyone has a Happy New Year & a great beginning to 2010.

Well our big 22 week update: Not only can I really feel Grahm moving/kicking but Grant felt him too for the first time! Last night we were watching a movie after dinner and Grant had his hand on my belly. I felt Grahm moving but hadn't said anything because I didn't think Grant could feel it. All of the sudden he gives a good kick (or punch, or something!) and Grant's eyes get huge and he just looks at me. We couldn't believe it! Grahm did it one more time. It was so exciting to see Grant's face and see him experience that! He gets pretty active after I eat it seems. Today after lunch I was in a meeting and he was going to town, I couldn't help but sit there and smile while he wiggled around.

Here are a few pics of the beginning stages of the crib. Much of it is done, we just have to finish staining the front and sides. They are starting the headboard soon. It's going to be a big piece of baby furniture!

Raw wood cut for the front

Front, done & ready to stain!

Side, also ready to stain!

Saturday we're meeting Renee. If things work out, she's going to be making Grahm's bedding and drapes! We've seen her work and she does a great job! Here are some of the colors/fabrics we're considering. We'll see what we come up with this weekend! We're ready to get fabric swatches so we can start matching paint!

& Teal! haha

For Christmas Grahm got a Sock Monkey named Jasper and his first Razorback hat from GG, first blanket from MeeMaw and first set of pacifiers (Razorback ones!) from my mom (her 'name' is undecided haha)! Grant and I also couldn't resist these tiny little Converse shoes!

Grahm's First Pair of Sneakers!

Just some fun pics of our fur children...

Jax posing for the camera after rolling around on the bed

Bella hiding from the camera! Very unusual - she's a ham!

Aww sweet Bella snuggled under the covers!

We hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!

Go Hogs!

Love,

G&B (+1)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

2009-12-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

Only a few days until Christmas! The holidays really snuck up this year. The question everyone seems to be asking is "where did 2009 go?!".

Well I'm asking the same question - but more like "where did the last 21 weeks go?!". We can't believe we're already at 21 weeks! Below is the latest picture of baby belly, he's growing! (our other little boy wanted to be in the picture too).
We bought 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and we can't wait to read it to Grahm. My mom read it to me every Christmas so I can easily recite it without the book, haha...but it's fun to look at the pictures too.
Tonight Grant was talking to him and he was talking in a funny voice and I said "talk normal so he'll know daddy's voice" and Grant put his face up to my belly and said "LLluuukkkeee, I am your father". Ha! I love it! I guess he cleared that right up :)

21 weeks!

Well I am officially graduated as of Saturday! Brittney Ann Skelton, MBA (haha..no but seriously, WHEEW!). Grant and I have already enjoyed the extra time together. In just a few days I'm already realizing how much time I spent studying, writing papers, and in class. This is a long awaited freedom, although it was worth it. Here are some pics from graduation:

Receiving my diploma from JBU President, Dr. Pollard

Getting 'hooded' at the Graduate ceremony

Grant, me, Mom & Dad Skelton and James

Me with some random handsome guy.

Ok...ok, so I know him. Thanks for all your support Hubs!

Mom, me, and Sissy

Me and my bff - lil' sis Sara, better known as "Sissy"

Natalie & I - she and Momma Petty drove all the way

from Little Rock for the big day. Love you!

Me and my Grandad!

Dad & I

Tiffany, Joan, Dad, Grandma, Hannah, me, Ryan & Sara

Grandma Daisy, me and Aunt Lula.

By the way, I forgot to tell you Grandma but someone asked

who you were and said "she's so pretty!"

Sissy, Mom, Cousin Emily, me, Grandad, & Aunt Melissa

Us with LJ & Joe aka 'mom and dad' they've helped

take care of me when Grant works nights. LJ even records

our favorite show since I always had class when it was on TV lol.

Grahm graduated too!

I'm off to finish wrapping presents.

Merry Christmas!

Love, G&B (+1)

While we were still sinners....

2009-12-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

I'm posting what a co-worker sent a few of us this past week because he so eloquently states what we should all remember this Christmas.

Romans 5: 6 - 8, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

What an amazing Christmas gift….the gift of Salvation. God asked Jesus to come to earth and die for us many Christmas' ago. And when Jesus willingly came, he did it for sinners like me and you. Wow! Very rarely would any ordinary man give his life to save even the greatest of men, but somehow God saw fit to save us. Today and this Christmas holiday rejoice in the fact that God loves us all with a crazy and eternal love that is far beyond what we know and it all started in a manger in Bethlehem.

Have a Blessed Christmas and New year!

Love,
G&B (+1)

And we will call him....

2009-12-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

Wheew it's been a fun weekend so far. Grant and I went to my department Christmas party last night. Whole Hog catered and it was delicious! The best part was playing Guitar Hero after dinner and the white elephant gift exchange.

Grant and I have been going back and forth on deciding how to spell baby Skelton's name. We were debating between Graham and Grahm. Neither of us could decide which we liked better so we tried to focus on picking out a middle name. Today I came home after shopping and Grant was just waking up. I went in our room and sat by him and said "I think I like g-r-a-h-m" and he said "me too!". Apparently he decided he liked that spelling best while texting his friend Tony just minutes before. So it's official, we will call him....

Today was the first day I've had time to finally go shopping for baby stuff since the ultrasound! I got up this morning and hit the mall to look for Christmas gifts and buy a couple outfits for Grahm that are special to us.

This one is white, orange, and brown from Gymboree, couldn't resist!

His first 'mommy' outfit.

This outfit was a must have because "Handsome" has been a name I've always called Grant. We both loved it when we saw it at Gymboree. I had to go back and get it for our new little "Handsome".

Found this at Baby GAP, pretty self explanatory because Grahm's daddy rocks of course!

His first 'daddy' outfit.

We finally finished decorating the tree and mantel for Christmas! Things have been so busy lately but the house now feels warm and cozy for the holidays. Just a few more finishing touches to do.

Our mantel with stockings for Bella, Grant, Brittney, & Jackson.

Next year we'll have one more up there!

We also hang the yearly ornaments Mom Skelton gets us each

Christmas that represent something big that happened that year.

My sister Sara is hanging out with me tonight while Grant is working. Tomorrow we have church, Chuck-e-cheese with new friends, and then papers, papers, papers. I have to finish my final papers and presentations that are due next week. I can't believe I'll officially be done with grad. school in one week from today! Hooray! Thanks everyone for your support. I'm looking forward to having the extra time to spend with Grant and to work on preparing our home for Grahm.

Please pray for peace and comfort for the Crumby family. Their 4 year old daughter, Hannah, passed away this past Monday from Leukemia after suffering strokes and complications. Her family's faith has been an incredible witness and we praise God that she is free of pain and with Him now.

Praise God for providing for our One in a Million Family thru all of you who generously gave! The response was amazing and we'll be delivering all the items tomorrow and then enjoying time with the kids at Chuck-E-Cheese! Thank you!

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

Love,

G&B

It's a.....

2009-12-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

(reposting because the last post on the 8th didn't display all of the text)
I've been getting in trouble this morning for not posting last night! We were so excited and busy and well the computer just wasn't calling my name. So sorry! haha. Ok so many know by now but for those who don't...drum roll....WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!

We are sooo very excited!
Honestly we would have been shocked (but still thrilled) if it weren't a boy, we were just so sure! My mom and sister, and Grant's mom and dad came to the ultrasound with us. She first took measurements and checked the heartbeat. It was so incredible to actually see the heart beat move along with the swooshing sound! The tears starting flowing at this point. Our baby boy measured at 7 inches and 11 ounces and the technician and doctor said that's just perfect. Based on those measurements we were exactly 19 weeks and 4 days as of yesterday and the due date is confirmed at May 2nd. Then...the technician said "so, are you guys ready?" and the room errupted with excitement when she announced "It's a boy" (insert more happy tears here).

Well time to get planning! We'll update with more pictures and the final name when we get the spelling and middle name down. The second picture is the 'boy' picture, although not very clear on here, there were a couple very clear shots of his 'boy-ness' during the ultrasound. The first picture is so precious too!

Baby Skelton 19 weeks
"It's a boy!"

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! Love,G&B (+1!)

Today is the big day!

2009-12-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

3 hours until we go in for our ultrasound!!! Can't wait to see baby Skelton!

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells!

2009-11-27T13:12:00.001-08:00

Yay! The Holidays are here!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Grant had to work overnight last night, and therefore sleep all day to rest up, so we didn't get to visit our Skelton side of the family. He did wake me up when he got home Thurs. morning though and we had a Thanksgiving breakfast together at Cracker Barrell haha. I went to Grandad's, we had most of the crew there and had a great time hanging out and eating too much. Well...and watching the Cowboys win!I had my first experience of having my belly continuously rubbed throughout the day. At least family made the first move and not a stranger in line at the grocery store or something! My mom's lil' hometown of Cassville, MO is going to the State Football Championship again this year so spirits were high as everyone is packing up and heading towards the dome in St Louis for the big game this weekend.

Got up this morning at 3:30am and hit the Wal-Mart blitz. We found lots of great stuff for the neice and nephews and a few things for others. Also snagged a 1-2-3 Lights and Sounds ball for Baby Skelton! It's the first toy we've bought (insert "awww" here). Luckily I got off work early, so now I'm home doing some serious damage to the soon-to-be nursery. Wheew it's time to get busy!

Oh...here is the most recent belly pic. Somedays it seems bigger, somedays not so much. But baby is definitely growing!

17 Weeks

Well if you follow my facebook you've seen a countdown for the last few days. Our ultrasound is Dec. 7th so today we're down to 10 DAYS! We're sooo ready to see the baby! I can't wait to see Grant's face!! I think we're starting to feel pretty confident that it's a boy (especially Grant!). But at the same time, I dunno, we'll see! Still feeling great minus a couple days of awful pain, the nurse said they were 'round ligament' pains and are normal, mine were just more severe than some. Doing good now though :)

We went out to the farm a couple weekends ago and stayed with Mom & Dad Skelton. Jim & Grant worked on the crib while I stained some of the finished pieces. Wow! It's amazing. I can't wait to see it all finished! I'll post some pics soon now that it's coming together.

I took some pictures of our niece, Trynity, and our nephews, Tryston and James playing in a pile of leaves. They are just too cute!

James

Tryston & Trynity

Well back to working on the 'nursery' (I have to quit calling it the office!).

Time to start putting up Christmas decorations!

Go Hogs & Cassville Wilcats!

Love - G&B + 1

And the Dr. said....

2009-11-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

We had our 3rd appt today with Dr. Hix (last time was with Gorman). We've liked both so far. It was suggested we meet with different doctors since which Dr. delivers really depends on who's on call. Today we got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! Last visit it was 160bpm, this time the heartbeat was 150bpm. We opted out of the amniocentesis (AFT) testing. Everything is going well and the Dr. doesn't have any concerns. Dr. Hix also said I might start to feel the baby's movements between now and then. We were very excited about today because they were supposed to schedule our first ultrasound...and...the big day is Monday, Dec. 7th at 3:30 pm with Dr. Bailey. So we're counting down the 4 weeks until we get to see our baby for the first time and hopefully tell if we're having a boy or girl!! On that note we have settled on first names...drum roll please....... If we have a girl we're naming her Reese. And if a boy, then Grahm/Graham. Middle names are still very much in the works :)

14 week 'baby bump'

We did some heavy duty cleaning this weekend. We started cleaning out the nursery to-be, which we previously used as an office, not realizing how much STUFF we have to find places for. So we first had to clean out other closets and areas to move stuff into. It's going to be a tight squeeze, I think some call that cozy right? lol.

We also went to the Hogs game with Trent and Naomi and then to Devil's Den with family. It was a fun weekend! Our baby is gonna know how to call the Hogs!!!

Oh and Mom Skelton...you were right...I ran into a door knob Saturday night. It's funny now because it doesn't hurt as bad. But I thought I broke my arm there for a bit (that wasn't so funny). I've gotta watch out for those walls and doors, they are starting to jump out there and bite me!

Well, before we sign off for tonight. Please enjoy a picture at our expense, haha. Again we have a sense of humor...here's a picture of Grant and I, I mean...Mario and Yoshi at Halloween.

Goodnight & Go Hogs!

Love,

G&B

November Already?!

2009-11-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

The last couple of months disappeared! It's hard to believe it's already November. Not that we can tell by the weather...hot, cold, rain, shine...that's Arkansas!
Just a few updates on the Skelton family...
We have our next appointment on Monday Nov. 9th. Mainly just optional tests and our favorite part...we get to hear the heartbeat again! We're most excited about scheduling our ultra sound this visit. We should know Monday when we'll get to see our lil' "midgee" for the first time and also when we'll find out what we're having!!
We'll be 15 weeks this Sunday and I've still gone without any sickness! The only 'issue' I've had is sleeping comfortably without waking up a lot throughout the night. I have developed a craving and unfortunately a very unhealthy one...McD's french fries. Yep...of all things. I've always loved pickles, but now they sound even more delicious - Grant even brought me one to work on his way out to the farm today! He's so funny - love it. Salty stuff....yumm!
Grant has been out working on the crib with Jim. He's loving the time he gets to spend with his dad and work on such a special project. When it starts coming together we'll post some pictures of the progress. Jim really has a special talent for woodworking. I get to see some of the furniture pieces he and Wayne create and they are amazing!
We wanted to post a few more of the fall pictures we had taken in Oct. Shout out to Colter for a great job (his info below if you're needing pics done!).

Good night everyone! Woo Pig Sooie!

Colter Barron Photography - colterbarron@hotmail.com or (419).409.8393.

12 weeks!!

2009-10-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, we are officially 12 weeks along! We read that the baby is about the size of a lime and is developing reflexes this week. It also says that if we push on my abdomen the baby will move in response (although I wouldn't feel it) but how cool! I'm starting to get some energy back which is great, there for a while I was feeling a bit comatose. That energy will be much needed as I finish up the masters program this winter. Two nights a week, 6-10pm - yuck! But hey, after 6 1/2 straight years of college, 2 more months is nothing to complain about!
Grant is going to start moving furniture out of the 'office' tomorrow and we'll slowly start to convert from office to nursery. He's awesome...just sayin'. Finding places for everything currently in the office is going to be interesting. No one told us that one of the symptoms of pregnancy is a shrinking house. We'll figure it out :)
Ok well we're posting the first 'baby bump' picture for 12 weeks. It just popped out of no where in the last week! (You can see Bella pawing at me to pick her up lol). If Grant develops a sympathy bump, I'll make sure and post that too. Ha!

Well...Look closely - he/she is saying hello!

Grant and I spent some time at UofA campus yesterday and decided to finally go find my name in the Senior Walk. We snapped these photos with Grant's phone - not too shabby!

Old Main at UofA Campus
Brittney Ann Skelton on 2008 Graduating Class Senior Walk
2008 Senior Walk

We also had some Fall pictures taken yesterday at campus. It was a gorgeous day for pictures and Colter did a great job! Here are a few of the un-edited pictures we he gave us today (a bit more professional than our camera phone!)

A quick picture of our little growing 'plus one'

Had to get a picture with Jax and Bella

Trivia:

What does a wife do when she asks her husband for toilet paper because there are only 2 squares left on the roll and his response is "fold it"?
Answer: Wait a few minutes later when he's in the shower getting ready for work and steal the towels. Try folding that.

Hehe...ok well it was funny at the time :)

Go Hogs...gave a good fight against Florida. Let's beat Ole Miss!

Lub-dub...lub-dub...

2009-10-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our second appointment. We got a little nervous when the Dr. said the heartbeat can only be heard 1 out of 3 times. But we immediately heard the heartbeat!! He just looked at us for a few seconds waiting for a reaction...we didn't know what we were hearing haha. Once he confirmed it was the baby's heartbeat he got the reaction he was looking for. So exciting! OH! And he said the heartbeat was about 160 beats/minute. The old wives tale says anything over 140 beats/min is a girl - we'll see! For those who know about my surgery when I was little, the Dr. said the scar on my stomach shouldn't cause any complications. Everything went well and we will go back on Nov. 9th. We'll be 12 weeks this Sunday. Wheew - exciting!
Grant and Jim started on the crib this week. They are using red oak with red mahagony stain, it's going to be so beautiful!

Ok well we're off to our cell groups! More updates soon.

Psalm 139:13-18
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!"

This kind..or these...or those?!

2009-10-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

Grant and I got our halloween costumes today at Spirit Express. We saw the perfect teal and brown stroller as I was going into the dressing room to try on my kids large Yoshi jumpsuit and dino hat (you see I'm a midget of sorts, or 'midgee' as my co-workers call me). Ok, what's funny here is you think I'm kiding. Yes, the stroller was perfect. And you bet I'm going to be Yoshi for halloween, and Grant Mario. Don't laugh. No really, please do. Could two people without a sense of humor honestly dress up as Mario characters?
We've been hearing some great advice and stories from parents (or aunts, grandmas, etc...) with children from newborns up to college students. One of the most common things we hear is "start stocking up on diapers now!". We can look at diapers all day, read the packages, etc...but let's be honest, we don't have a clue! We'd like to get a head start on diaper buying and would love to hear what brand/s are prefered by our friends and family. Check out the poll at the bottom of the page and vote for your favorite brand.

Thankful for the Hogs finally stepping up their defense and whooping Auburn. Go Hogs!

Wheew...Finally!

2009-10-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

With the help of a couple experienced bloggers we finally got this set up and ready to go (thanks Emily & Alicia)! We're excited to have a place to keep everyone updated on the big events in our lives. As most know by now, we found out a few days before Labor Day that we're expecting our first baby! We had our first appointment on September 15th...set up finances (oh yes, fun indeed), did blood work (more fun!), filled out paperwork, and asked lots of questions. We will be 11 weeks this Sunday and have our second appointment on Wednesday, Oct. 14th. We've yet to hear, see, or feel (other than my increasing waistline) the baby so this is going to be a big day when we finally get to hear the heartbeat! It's hard to believe that the first trimester is almost over already. The due date we've been given at this point is May 3rd! We've starting picking names, colors, furniture and even names for the grandparents (although G.G., Papa Lew, GDad, and MeeMaw Skelton are good to go already from our niece and nephews!). Grant and Gdad (Grant's dad, Jim) have talked about building the furniture themselves as Jim has become quite the woodworker and what an amazing keepsake that would be from Daddy and Gdad. (Ok...ok...I'm having a moment, that's the first time I've actually typed 'Daddy' in reference to Grant). Hmm..what else do people want to know. Oh! Nope...no morning sickness! There are probably a few mom's growling at me right now, but I've been very blessed to feel great so far. The only big issues have been fatigue and my new superhuman ability to be excessively clumbsy. Especially with food. Assuming the food actually makes it to a table without me dropping it, my hand seems to have miraculously forgotten how to get it into my mouth as it generally ends up on cheek, chin, lap or floor.
Well that's it for now! More updates to come. Thanks everyone for all the prayers, congratulations, and support.

Goodnight and Go Hogs! Beat Auburn!