Welcome to the World, Lily Ann!

Thursday, February 4th
12:59 p.m.
7 lb. 8 oz.

Don't Mind Me....

Just getting all of the important last minute preparations out of the way...

(Sorry... forgot to snap an after and I've got bed head right now!)

Monday: Last Work Meeting and Hair Appointment
Tuesday: Manicure and Pedicure
Wednesday: 3rd Anniversary
Thursday: My Daughter's BIRTHday!

(Although, I did feel some really weird pains last night and woke up about every hour.... so I'm just hoping we make it to Thursday!)

No baby yet....

Still here. No baby, yet. I've been pretty busy at work lately, trying to prepare for my short time off and my transition to working from home (for a while, anyway). There are many last minute preparations taking place before Lily Ann's arrival, including a class on breastfeeding last night. So, I'll leave you with an image of how I feel right about now....

Happy Tuesday!

Loads of Laundry

I can't count how many loads of laundry I have done this weekend. But let me share with you this beautiful sight....


ALL of Lily's clothes for her first 3 months of life - washed, dried (almost, a few sweaters hanging in the back still drying), ironed, and folded. That includes socks, booties, hats, headbands, bibs, burp cloths, towels, blankets, etc. You name it - it's been through my wash. Now I just need to transport it all upstairs and back into her dresser and closet.

Before this weekend I brushed off all of the comments about how many clothes we had for her... especially from my husband. I thought we had a lot - but not excessive amounts. Well, after washing each piece I now agree: we have way too many clothes for one little girl. Oh, well! Better too many than too few!

It's almost time to bring her home and try on every single outfit! Don't worry ~ I think you'll see her picture at least once in each little outfit.

But those aren't all of her clothes. A few are already packed and ready to go!

Lily Ann's Hospital Bag(S)
...because what little girl can survive her first two days of life with only one bag? I have to teach her right from the beginning. :)

Necessity or Not?

Because I have no pictures of progress on the house to show you, I figured I'd throw this topic out for debate....

We have one last baby related shopping spree to go on to finish buying all the 'necessities' we need to bring Lily Ann home. I have a feeling that my husband defines 'necessities' differently than I do! There are two items on the list that I am having trouble with. Can you experienced mommas help me out?

The Baby Swing

I argue that this is a necessity to have when she comes home. I know that the rocking can soothe some babies who otherwise could be quite fussy. What if Lily Ann is fussy and the only thing that soothes her is the gentle rocking of a swing? I want to have this on hand just for that possibility. Lucas argues that she may not like the swing and it would be better to maybe test her out on our friend's swing before investing $150 in a big plastic contraption to set in our family room. But it might be a few weeks before we travel to their house to test it out. That is a few weeks that it could be needed. But we won't know if we don't have one. I want to go ahead and get it with our registry completion coupon (10% off ~ whenever BabiesRUs gets around to sending us the coupon). Lucas would rather spend the extra $15 later. Sigh. Such a life altering decision, I know.

Landon, our friend's baby, didn't like his swing for the first month or so but eventually grew to like it. Did your baby use his/her swing from Day 1 or did it take time for them to actually enjoy it? Do we need this when we come home from the hospital or should I wait a month or so? Or does she need it at all?

The Wipes Warmer

Our same non-swing loving baby friend loves his wipes warmer. I mean - who wouldn't? This is a fairly simple purchase that I would buy without thought except for one little problem: where do I put the thing? There is no extra room on the changing table; I don't have a table near the changing table; I really don't want to hang shelves on the wall to display ugly diaper paraphernalia. I am using the top drawer of the dresser to house all of her diapering needs. I thought about drilling a hole in the back of the dresser and setting the warmer in the drawer, but mom mentioned this might be a fire hazard I wouldn't want in the nursery.

So, do I really need the wipes warmer? Will it make the diaper changing process go smoother? Because I'm all for that. I want little Lily to be as happy as she can be. If I don't wipe her butt with a warm wipe am I a bad mother? (Okay, I know the answer to that but humor me.)


What else did you consider a 'necessity' in the first few days at home with your baby? I want to be fully prepared but feel I am falling somewhere short of that goal.

Alabama's Winter Wonderland

First of all, I have to say.....

ROLL TIDE!!!

2010 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

AND 4 IN A ROW for the BEST Conference in the Nation!



Now on to the other exciting event in Alabama.....

SNOW!!!!

On my way to work Thursday morning:

Playing with the puppy in the snow Thursday evening:

On my way to work this morning:

And flurries are falling! At 17 degrees with a windchill of 6 degrees, I'm sure it'll stick!

Schools are closed and some roads are shut down, but we're still working (which is good because I have quite a bit to get done). Hopefully I'll scoot out a little early so the roads won't be too bad.

I'm ready to get this weekend started! We are doing lots of fun stuff like more work on the bathroom and final baby preparations!!

P.S. Another bonus of pregnancy: I always have the upperhand in a snowball fight! I got the husband good, but he didn't return fire. Instead, he got the puppy good! Seeing an 8 pound dog get pelted by a snowball is quite hilarious! Poor puppy! Rafa didn't know what to do with the white stuff but he enjoyed chasing his tennis ball around in it!
P.P.S. I left my camera at work so these were taken on my iPhone... not the best quality but they get the job done.

P.P.P.S. Please ignore the Christmas decorations. They are coming down tomorrow, regardless of how cold it is.

Colombia Celebrates Lily Ann

Not just any baby gets celebrated on two continents. But our little Lily Ann is one spoiled little girl. Lucas's mom, Cleo, is so excited about Lily's arrival. Unfortunately, she was unable to participate in our showers because she is saving her time in America for when Lily is here. And I am definitely in no shape to travel overseas to celebrate at this point. So she gathered up friends and family in Colombia and they had a baby shower in Lily Ann's honor!

This wasn't just any old baby shower. Cleo went all out with a live musician and lots of dancing (as well as drinks flowing well into the night). From what I hear, it was an excellent party. I really hate we missed it!

Here she is leading everyone in dancing.

A pretty cake....

And, of course, a diaper cake...

(donated to a local family)

And gifts galore!

I am so excited to see all the goodies and pass on the Colombian heritage to Lily Ann.

And now, if you'd like to join in....

Song and Dance in Celebration of Lily Ann

Night 2 of Babymoon '09....

was spent with some of our closest friends:

Melanie Oudin, 18 years old, 2009 U.S. Open Quarterfinalist

John Isner, 6'9", GA Bulldog Alum, Ranked #34 in the world

Sam Querrey, 6'6" Californian, #25 in the world

The Bryan Brother, Bob & Mike, #1 Doubles Team in the world

Okay, so maybe they aren't our best friends.... but we're pretty fond of them. There was a tennis exhibition in Nashville during our stay so, of course, we had to attend. The crowd was pretty sparse but our seats were close and we got to watch some good tennis. Lucas and I had a blast! Even Lily Ann was kicking around so she must have been enjoying herself, as well!

I had my picture made with Sam:

And Lucas had his picture made with John:

(Can you spot him?)

He didn't want to fight off all the kids.... I had no problem pushing them out of the way with my big belly. Haha!


We had such a great time on our babymoon. I know there will be more vacations in the future - with children and without. But it was nice knowing we could enjoy one last child-free vacation before all of the craziness enjoyment of a different kind sets in.

See, honey.... It could be worse!

Hello, my name is Ashley and I am a Christmas fanatic!

I love decorating the tree[S] and house and listening to Christmas music while drinking hot cocoa and wrapping presents (which, unfortunately, I have still yet to buy for the most part)! So much fun! Lucas, on the other hand, is a little overwhelmed by my zest for the season. So during Babymoon '09, I knew just what he needed to get him in the Christmas spirit (and realize that my decorations pale in comparison to others).


Talk about intense! The Opryland Hotel is home to one of the South's most spectacular holiday displays! There are over 2 million Christmas lights adorning this huge mansion-esque hotel. Apparently, workers begin putting up the lights in July! Lucas wondered why they even bother taking them down. See ~ it could be worse, right? I could make him start adorning our house with Christmas lights in July! How fun would that be?!? Haha!!

We had a great time touring the grounds and are looking forward to bringing Lily Ann here in a few years. She is going to love it!

Some photos of us (and Lily Ann) enjoying the lights: