Welcome, Baby Hamp!

On Monday, May 24th, this little guy made his debut into the world...






He arrived at 2:09 pm and immediately filled our hearts with joy unexplainable.

8 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 1/4 inches.

We love you, Hamp! Welcome to our little family!

9 months - A Preview

I thought I'd share my 9 month belly pic a lil' differently....



Click the link below for a sneak peek of my maternity shoot:



Kari Vennard Photography - expecting:::Baby Hamp



Psalm 127:3

In case you were wondering...

...I am still with child.

Baby's still in the oven.











Although M to the Izz-A seriously thought I was gonna cough Hamp right on out last week. Being sick is no fun, especially when you're pregnant.









I finally gave in to a Z-Pak when one night last week I not so elegantly came face to face with the fact that coughing uncontrollably mixed with my less than stellar bladder control brought on by pregnancy do not mix. I humbly opened the door as my pride made its final exit.






I'm feeling much better now and am back to my normal, chocolate milk guzzling self. And greater than that, last week I was officially 9 months.


We made my belly cast this weekend. Some of you may remember the one I did with Kate. I'll post pics as soon as I get some paint on that thing.



And for once in our lives we were ready for church early on Sunday so Kate took it upon herself to go ahead and start the services with the new bible that Granny and Paw gave her.

I'm scheduled for maternity pics this evening and hope to be able to share a few with you all when they're available. I've also got my doctor's appointment on Thursday and am wanting to hear that I have made 'progress'. Only about three and half weeks to go!

Wordless Wednesday

8.5 months

(34 weeks)

Church shower

Our Sunday school class threw us a baby shower at church last Tuesday night. Somehow I managed to pull M to the Izz-A along for the ride. Somehow meaning, I told him that if he wanted supper he better get his hungry self to the church or he'd be settling for a PB & J. Or maybe even just a J cause I was pretty sure we were out of PB.

Check out that face. I'm pretty sure he was enjoying himself.

My friend, Amy, made the cake. She did an amazing job and definitely nailed the "all boy" theme!

Ya'll know the Gator hat was my favorite part, right?

Kate got her own special cupcake!

This is my dear friend, Mrs. Peggy. She orchestrated this beautiful shower and I am forever grateful. She and her husband teach our Sunday school class. M to the Izz-A and I both think the world of them.



Kate had a blast with her friends. For some reason she had it in high gear that night and never slowed down. I really shouldn't be surprised, she is her father's daughter.

She hammed it up!

I was off work today and went to the beach with Kate and my mom. It was around 85 degrees out and felt amazing. The water was still pretty chilly, but matched with the sun and the sand it was the perfect day.

I'm on Spring Break next week, which is a good thing for many reasons - one being that I am behind on some of my blogging. I was supposed to post my 8 month belly pic this week but I haven't even gotten around to taking the photo. Hopefully I'll get to it this week!

So stick around....here's a few posts yet to come:

-8 month belly pic

-Kate's first trip to the dentist (She did great!)

-and of course, Easter!

Now it's off to boil some eggs so that we can color them tomorrow. Last minute? Ain't no thang. I work better under pressure.

Here's to hoping I don't eat them all before they get dipped into their pretty little Easter colors, cause you know I love a good boiled egg with lots of salt and pepper on it.

A little less talk and a lot more pictures

Before heading to my baby shower on Saturday, we had to overcome this obstacle:

We are still trying to locate the bird that comes and makes a nest in her head every night. I promise that I washed and conditioned this before she went to bed the night before.

After we tackled that mess, we headed to the shower...

My friend, Tara, recently started making cakes for special occasions. She did such a great job on the cake - not to mention, it was pound cake. Need I say more? Thanks so much, Tara!

I loved the little name tag on the cake. For some reason it made me a little emotional.

Hair problem solved.

Please tell me you all have had coffee punch. See how heavenly it looks sittin' in that punchbowl? That is the only special request I made for the shower. And I may or may not have insisted on a double batch.

With this pregnancy I've noticed that I will sport a jean jacket like it's my job. Call it my security, call it my lack of wardrobe, call it both if you will.

Thanks Aunt Marella and fam for the "Big Sisters Rock" T-shirt!

Go Gators!! We gotta train 'em up right.

Sal Gal, Marella, Kerri, me, and Abbi

Sal Gal, my mom, and me

Kate and all of her great-grandmothers

She loves crossing her legs and even rides in her car seat like that sometimes. I think it's hilarious because she's really such a wild woman.

The shower was so much fun, even though I started sweating while opening all of the gifts. I think it was a mixture of pregnancy hormones, being the center of attention, and oh, that blasted jean jacket.

After the shower we headed to watch the season opener of Matt's Mini-Cup race.

It was freezing but we had a good time, even though we ended up getting home way past my bedtime.

And on Sunday my mom and dad came over to have lunch with us and play for a while.

Kate makes them dress-up for the occasion.

Cinderella's got nothing on that dude.