The Big Expansion

Ok, "The Big Expansion" may be a little dramatic, but we've hit the 26 week mark with Harper! 

                             26 weeks with Rayleigh                                  26 weeks with Harper


I am still feeling great for the most part and don't really feel like I am any bigger at this point than I was with RayRay. (I think the above pics say the same.) This pregnancy has been so easy, and I am very thankful for that! I am enjoying these last few weeks before "Situation Uncomfortable" begins. My only definite pregnancy symptoms have been lots of Braxton Hicks contractions and just the extra tiredness that comes along with growing a baby!
 Keeping our home in "spick-n-span", functioning order has always been a challenge for me and is even harder now. It really shouldn't be that difficult. The rest of the women in my extended family seem to have it down easily, yet it seems to escape me! Right now, I am cleaning out our "junk room" to turn it into Harper's room. It seems like that room just ended up as a catch-all for everything that didn't really have a place, like all of my craft stuff, wrapping paper, Kit's guitar & keyboard, extra clothes, toys Rayleigh outgrew, books, you name it. Yesterday I started tackling that room and after 3 solid hours, I made a good dent in the progress, but I still have a long way to go. 
Part of my problem with cleaning & reorganizing is that this seems to be when my ADD kicks in the worst! (Just ask Emily. She was receiving texted pictures all day of various things I was digging out of the rubble, like me in my letter jacket from high school.) My organizational skills are pretty lacking when it comes to everything-has-a-place, so I feel like I just end up shuffling everything around. I did manage to get into a pretty serious just-throw-it-away mood yesterday, so I actually got rid of some stuff and old clothes that needed to be tossed to make room for more baby things. I am seriously considering hiring a professional organizer to come in for a day or afternoon to help me look at things and really decide how to get my house the way I want and keep it there. 
Laundry is the bane of my existence and has been since I moved out of my parents' house in August 2002. Previously, it has been that I was just too lazy to do it. I don't mind washing & drying, but it just seems easier to me to dig it out of a pile and run the steamer over it than have to fold or hang everything up. That is precious time I could spend doing something else productive, like napping or reading my Kindle. :) But with an expanding family, it seems like even though I really have been trying harder, it doesn't get any easier! (In my defense, my husband has 3 times as much clothes as I do, provided by the coaching staff of Granbury ISD and has two outfits every day: his classroom clothes and his coaching clothes. That piles up FAST!)  If any of you out there have tips for keeping up with the laundry so my mom doesn't have to help me every time she comes to visit, I would really appreciate it! Ha ha. And sadly, I'm not joking about mom. 
Well, I've rambled long enough. I hope you all have a great week!! 

Loving life!

So, I have been a bad preggo mommy and haven't taken any belly shots yet, but I promise I will soon! I have steadily been getting bigger and bigger every week and feeling little Harper move more all the time. She has been quite the little mover & shaker lately. It's been fun! Rayleigh got to feel her move for the first time the other day, and it was a really neat experience. She wasn't quite sure what to think but kept telling me to "do it again." Ha ha. Kit has finally been able to feel her move too. It seems like every time he would try to feel her, she would stop! With as much as she has been moving around lately though, there have been plenty of opportunities. 
Mom and Makemma came down this weekend, and it was so nice to finally spend some time with them when we weren't rushed or on a schedule. We got to just hang out and work on different craft projects together. Mom found some great fabric for Harper's room, so we started making plans for the nursery. It's going to be so chic and adorable. I can't wait to get going on it!!
Makemma was working on a totem pole for a class project. She had to include each family member with their like/interests/hobbies. She worked on that while I worked on a new Fall wreath that I had seen on pinterest (my most recent, yet productive, addiction). It turned out great, and I am really excited with how it looks!  

Most of the nursery planning consisted of me trying to figure out what we are going to do with all of the stuff that's in Harper's room right now (formerly my junk room). I am anxious to get my house in order and keep it that way. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I need to create a system of organization and routine for our household or we will forever be playing catch-up/clean-up. I really feel that if I can get everything in a proper place, our home would be much more relaxing and operate more smoothly. It may be time to call in a professional organizer! 
Rayleigh has been such a joy lately. I mean, she truly is the most awesome kid. She is so smart and picks up on things so quickly. We can carry on conversations and she learns new words all the time. She really is getting excited about Harper coming soon and likes to talk/sing to her in my belly. She loves her family and tells us that we are her best friends. Our morning ride to school usually consists of her telling me that "Nana, and KiKi and Doodles and Bubba and PawPaw and GiGi and Paige and Granny & PoPo are my best friend!" She is always telling me, "Mommy, I love you!" or "I love you THIS much!" or "Love you to the moon and back!" It melts my heart and I feel so blessed to have her. She is such a ham and loves to cheese it up for you! Here are few pics of her over the last month or so. 

 My little Miss Priss

 She is dressing up as Minnie for Halloween and had to try on the costume. She LOVES it!

 I just love this picture. She thought she was pretty stylin' that day!

 I am pretty sure there is a picture just like this of me when I was her age in a 5-gallon bucket. She had a blast playing in the water!

 I couldn't resist and had to get her a mum for homecoming. She loved it and it actually stayed on for almost an entire quarter! 

 She loves to be outside and play in the dirt. Here, she is helping dad plant some bulbs in pots. 

 Don't cry Rayleigh. We won't make you go to school there. 

She loves to wear that silly life jacket around the house. Try to make her wear it in the boat and it's a totally different story! 

Over the past few weeks, we've really been taking a look at our life and how blessed we are. Kit lost his grandpa, Ray (who Rayleigh is named after), back at the beginning of September. It was exactly 5 years to the day of when Kit's grandma had passed away, so we know they are happy to be together again and watching all of us from above! We are so thankful that we were able to spend the last few years with Grandpa and that he was able to spend time with Rayleigh and meet our little niece Layla. I know we will all cherish the time he spent living out at the ranch, and I am grateful to have known him! 


I feel like I have the best life, and I thank God so much for all of the blessings we have. We are so fortunate to have such great family and friends in our lives to support us and love us!