The Big Deck Reveal

We always knew we wanted to work on the back deck, but knew it would be a pretty big undertaking with just Ryan doing all the work, because lets face it, having me help would be like a three year old out there hammering away. So Ryan went about demo-ing the existing deck and putting up the foundation for the new deck. That part of the project looked something like this...

Coming off the back screened in porch.

Looking at the back of the house and the tiny back deck that used to be there.

The back deck with the boards torn off.

The deck once it was torn out. Shadow was supervising. Not really, she's probably scavenging for some critter to chase around.

I can't have Shadow on here and not Dally. Needless to say they were both thrilled to have Ryan out in the yard with them the whole time he was working on the deck. Every once in a while he would have to stop and sit down to pet them just to keep them out of the way. Love our fur children.

These pictures are of Ryan's hard work to set the joist and other important pieces to the foundation of the deck. I don't know I stayed out of the way and would just ooh and awww at the appropriate times. I will say our fantastic neighbor, Patrick, came over and helped Ryan level out all the dirt and hang some of the longer board pieces. He couldn't have come this far without Patrick.

At this point Ryan was at a stopping place until both of our parents came into town to help with the laying of deck boards and banisters and such. It was also a really nice excuse to have everyone in town to visit. We had a blast with them and decided we would do it every year. Hopefully we can stick to that.

 And here is the finished project. Ryan, his dad, and my dad did a fantastic job and we can't wait to use this bad boy once its not hotter than the surface of the sun outside.

 All of us admiring the handiwork. That's neighbor Patrick in the blue shirt and his wife Stacia standing on the deck with me.

 We bought patio furniture while everyone was in town which was great so everyone had a place to sit, but once the parentals left we downsized to just enough furniture for the two of us.

The dogs approve as well. :)

Slacker Blogger

I'm a slacker blogger mommy to be and haven't posted pictures of the bump or lack there of so I'm combining two baby bump weeks together since all the stats are basically the same for both weeks. I can't say I'll do any better in the posting world, but I'll try. Really really try. First is 20 weeks preggo...

And here's 21 weeks. 

Symptoms: Not a whole lot of bad symptoms going on here. Still some gas pain, but getting better.

Maternity Clothes: While mom and I bought a good bit of maternity clothes to start off the school year, I don't quite fit in them yet without looking like I have on my older sister's clothes on. So for now, the belly band is my best friend and I have worn the snot out of it!

Sleep: Still no problems with sleep. In fact, I've been sleeping better than I have in a while which is nice. I'm living it up before I start getting up 3 times a night to pee. :)

Cravings: Not really. Usually if I do go for a snack its going to be salty instead of sweet. I'm a big fan of the Pringles Salt n' Vinegar chips. Mmmmmmm! But I loved those before being preggers.

Baby Size: At 21 weeks, he's about the size of a large banana.

Movement: All kinds of flutters and the occasional big, obvious baby kick. Unfortunately Ryan hasn't felt anything yet and is not happy about being left out. Hopefully in the next two weeks he can catch Cullum kicking around in there.

Looking Forward to: Ryan being able to feel the lil man.

And here's a shout out to mom. Yes I understand my bedroom is not immaculate so I will work on that for the next photo op. :)

19 Weeks (a little late)

How far along: 19 Weeks

Symptoms: Just a bit of gas pain in the morning, but I'm getting used to this as the doctor told me to "live with it" literally he said those words. Thanks. Guess I'll be living with my doubled over pain. Cullum you better appreciate this later!

Maternity Clothes: I'm still squeezing into my old pants/shorts and just smushing the belly into pre-maternity shirts. But as Ryan keeps telling me I would probably look less chubby and more pregnant if I would just break down and wear maternity clothes. We'll see.

Sleep: No problems here yet. Sleep like a champ.

Cravings: The other day I think I had my first craving...rolo's. I've done really well in this department. I haven't had crazy cravings for things, oh wait, I did have to have a fruit popsicle and like the real fruit ones from Edy's not the cheap-o ones.

Baby Size: 6 inches long, the size of a mango!

Best moment this week: Feeling the first few flutters. I'm still not 100% sure it was all flutters and not a little bit o' gas. :)

Movement: Just a few flutters.

Looking Forward to: Knowing its actually Cullum kicking me and not my most recent battle with a gas bubble.

Baby Crowe is a Baby Boy!

Let me introduce you to Harl Cullum Crowe

Now before you judge on the name here's a little history lesson. Ryan's family has had the tradition of using the first name Harl for all the boys, including brothers. Ryan's name is Harl Ryan Crowe, his father is Harl Randy Crowe, and his grandfather and his brothers were all Harl's as well with varying middle names. One of those brothers had the name Harl Cullum and Ryan has always said he wanted to carry on the tradition as well as name his son after one such Harl. Thus, we have Harl Cullum and we'll call him Cullum. I'm just relieved we have a name and can start officially calling him that even though I have called him Cullum most of this pregnancy. Call it mother's intuition or just wishful thinking, but from day one I was pretty sure "it" was a "he". So sure we could have painted the nursery blue. I'm just glad to have my intuition validated to everybody else. 

Seriously couldn't be more excited! Of course if the doctor had told us it was a girl we would have been   just as excited! Literally Ryan high-fived me in the ultrasound room he was so excited. And of course he wanted a boy to carry on the name and to share all his adventures with! Sorry for the strange ultrasound picture, but literally he would not unroll to give us a better view. I like to think he was all snuggled up and didn't want to be bothered by showing his face. :) Of course maybe I'm a little biased.

So what do we do after we found "it" was a "he"? We went and bought the crib of course! And where did we put the crib together? In the kitchen of course where everyone puts the crib together. Now before you read anymore baby posts by moi, I want you to keep in mind that we are first time parents and thus hilarious stories may ensue.

Here's the first picture of crib building progress. Everything is going well. Sure the direction's names for parts don't match the parts given to us, but hey, we're managing and Ryan being the crafty person he is things are going relatively well.

I got in there and started holding things more than screwing things into place (this is our child's bed so its probably best if I don't get involved in the actual construction of furniture) and things really start moving along nicely.

And we finally have most of the crib finished and are so proud of ourselves and attempt to pick it up and move it to its rightful home, the nursery, and here's where the problems begin...

Notice any problems? Yup, you guessed it, that baby boy wouldn't fit through the door. Not even a little, not a chance. Of course the crib won't fit through the door, it's HUGE! So it stayed here for a few days until we had to take it apart to get in the front bedroom, which it was also blocking. Ha! Oh we had to laugh at ourselves after this, it was quite funny. But now Cullum has a bed if nothing else. We're pumped. More hilarity to come I'm sure, just stay tuned. And here's the 19 week picture. More preggers less chubby. Pretty pumped about that as well. :) Later gaters!

And yes I promptly cleaned my mirror after taking this picture. :)

Baby Crowe

Tomorrow is a big day for the Crowe's. We get to find out what baby Crowe is, other than a baby :) We both couldn't be more excited and of course we will be happy with whatever we get. Its weird because up until now I haven't really felt pregnant. I don't exactly look pregnant, I'm still in the awkward chubby phase, and I haven't really felt the baby move all that much. However, finding out what's been hanging out in there and being able to call it by name is making this whole fantastic experience a whole lot more real.

Speaking of chubby, Ryan and I have a joke for this phase of being preggo, its the "chubby girl" phase. I'll explain...the chubby girl phase is when you personally know you're pregnant and your pants don't fit and you feel like everything makes you look just well...chubby. The people around you who know you're pregnant are nice enough to say, 'yes I can totally tell you're pregnant', when really they're wondering how many twinkies I'm up to each day. The chubby girl phase also may include a husband who delights in pointing out your chubbyness when your shorts don't fit anymore or when you put on your fat pants and you look well...fat! This is not my favorite phase of pregnancy and I'm highly looking forward to moving out of this phase and onto the phase where complete strangers will know I'm pregnant and not say things in their heads like, 'aww she's had one too many ho-hos this summer, poor girl'. Hurry up baby Crowe and grow! Please before your mama loses her dignity and makes a sign to wear around her neck that says "I'm not a chubby girl I'm 18 weeks pregnant!"

To cap it off here's a picture of 18 week chubby girl and here's to hoping 19 week chubby girl turns into 19 week visibly obviously pregnant girl.

Later gaters!

My first blog!

So I decided since I live in Georgia and most of my family lives in Alabama, that I would start up a blog to keep everyone updated on life for the Crowes'. Ryan and I just celebrated our one year anniversary and are excited to welcome our first baby in December. We find out on Monday what we're having so expect a huge post of baby-ness on that day. :)

First I must introduce you to the mutts, our fur children, and our entertainment for the most part.

She is the golden child, the one who always listens, is so loving, and lives to make Ryan happy. Dally is the dog every person should have. Love her.

And then there's Shadow. While we love her, she's the special one. Shadow is the dog who digs holes and then remembers she's not supposed to and spends the rest of the afternoon hiding in the dog house. She's also the dog who will eat anything, aluminum cans, wood, sawdust, fertilizer (that one almost did her in) and anything she thinks might taste yummy. God love Shadow, she's so special you can't do anything but love her. 

Then of course is the hubs. The light of my life, my voice of reason, and my best friend. He has my heart. :) 

He can fix any mistake I've made, build anything he puts his mind to, and is a master handiman to have around. Sometimes I think I married MacGyver. And sometimes he thinks he married Lucille Ball, and there are days where he might just have done that.

Like I said earlier we just celebrated our one year anniversary and I cannot believe one year has already flown by. With that being said, last summer seems like forever ago!

The top picture is of us in Savannah on our honeymoon, the bottom picture is from this past weekend in Asheville at the amazing Biltmore. Loved both trips. The only difference between the two is the bottom picture I'm 17 weeks pregnant! Life is about to get interesting!

So that's the Crowe's. I'm sure there will be some entertaining stories to come shortly and if nothing else, updates about the newest edition to our family.