A bed fit for a prince...

This is the beautiful bassinet my sisters bought for Parker. I did not realize they were planning to do this...they actually kept it a secret, which is a huge accomplishment for Courtney, my oldest sister..she's not exactly known for being a good secret-keeper.

Anyway, the weekend of Parker's shower, Meredith showed up and told me she needed to go ahead and give me the gift from her and Courtney..I insisted she take it to the shower, but she explained that it was too big to carry around. I opened her backseat, and there it was..in the box of course, but there was a gorgeous picture of it. I was completely shocked...I don't get surprised that often. Phillip had it up within about 30 minutes. We've already got it in our bedroom ready to put the sweet little prince in....I can't wait to see him sleeping soundly in it.. (hopefully sleeping, not screaming).
Thanks sisters!!!!!

Tulip's got a friend....

I kept Karoline for a little while last week while Dayle ran an errand....she and Tulip had some great bonding time! They've met before, but we've never let Tulip actually get down around her. They have walked together, stared at each other through the window, etc., but this was their first physical encounter. Tulip LOVED her!!!!!!! She was soooo good with her. She pretty much just followed her around..she even let her step on her tail and rub all over her!

This wasn't Tulip's first playdate with a child (she plays with my nieces and nephews), but it was her first playdate with a baby this young...so we're starting to feel a little better about Parker...or is that just wishful thinking??

Karoline and Tulip in Parker's room (note the new wall color). I'll post more pics when we get the crown molding up and bed in! Check out Karoline's bow!!!!

Karoline.."What is she doing..hm...can I get that bone??"

Showered with love...

It was a very busy time around the Petty household this past weekend! Friday night, the 6th was our 5 year anniversary! Wow! Neither one of us can believe how quickly time flies!!!! I began the day by taking a personal day off work-it was fabulous! Meredith came in (and she and Courtney, my oldest sister, surprised me with a beautiful bassinet!!! I'll post pics later) and I immediately put her in the car and took her out to run errands with me. It's not often that I get to have one of my sisters here to run around with me. We went to the spa later that afternoon-thanks to my wonderful husband!
We had a great dinner for our anniversary and were home by 8:30! I guess we're getting ready to be parents, huh?
Saturday was our first baby shower! Wow! We are both completely overwhelmed by the love and generosity of our friends! It was absolutely PERFECT!!! I couldn't have imagined it any better. I am soooo mad, though, because I didn't get a single picture of the beautiful table! The diaper cake was gorgeous!!! Plus, they had monogrammed petit fours from Community Bakery-my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! So..I'm posting a picture of the diaper below at my own house since my wonderful friends put so much effort into it. (Ignore the junk on my dining room table)

I couldn't resist posting this pic of Lily and Pratt. My mom, oldest sister, and nieces got to meet him for the first time..I think they all fell in love....

Me with a great helper-Abby!

Me with my wonderful friends/hostesses! We missed you Dev, Holly, and Amber!!

Wow! I don't know if I can say that enough! Thanks to all of you who came and shared their time with me on Saturday! You don't know how much it meant to me to see all of you there...I am truly the luckiest, most blessed girl in the world. I'll be sure to get better pics at our next shower, including one of me with my beautiful mom, sisters, and nieces! Thanks Mom, Court, Mere, Lily, Abby, and Marsha for spending the weekend with me!

Fun Weekend

We had a great weekend!! Friday night was our monthly Sunday school class social. We had game night at Steven and Andrea Hollands house. The guys spent the evening playing video games while the girls talked and eventually ended up playing Catch Phrase. I think I speak on behalf of all of us when I say that we had a great time!!! Of course, I forgot my camera!!

On Saturday morning, we headed down to Texarkana. I hadn't been home since Christmas!!! I was missing my parents, sister, and nieces and nephews!! I tried to take some cute pics of the kids, but as you can see below, Gavin would not cooperate! He had just woken from a nap and wasn't really in the most social mood.

Lily, Emma, Abby, and Gavin-notice the red hair. No, none of us have red hair!! It comes from my grandfather...

Abby-she was actually the only one who behaved the entire night.

Dad and Gavin-he loves his Granddad. Dad was the only one who finally got him settled down! Something about him having a lot of practice from when my brother was little....

Mom and Lily-the first grandchild! This was before we went to church. Lily always has to spend the night with either Phillip and me (if we're staying with my parents) or Meredith when we're at my parent's house. On a side note, the night Phillip and I told everyone about Parker, mom asked Lily what she thought about me having a baby..her response, "We already have too many babies around here."

25 week update..

I went for my 25 week dr.'s appointment yesterday, and everything went well. I'm measuring right along where I should be. I did my glucose test..won't know the results until next week. My biggest fear is that I'm going to fail this glucose test. I felt like I was in college again preparing for a test-I ate really well on the days leading up to it. If they tell me I can't eat sugar for the rest of my pregnancy, I think I'll have to crawl in bed and not come out until May. I cannot imagine what I'll do if they tell me I have gestational diabetes. I guess you could say I have an unhealthy love affair with chocolate. I was that kid who had her Halloween candy eaten the next day. My sister, Meredith, however, saved hers until Christmas and it used to drive me crazy because I knew what drawer she hid it in. Trust me, if I would have tried to steal it, she'd know because I really think she kept a count on how much candy she had left... Anyway, the point is, I'm just praying I pass this thing. I told Dr. Wiedower not to call me until next week if I failed. so I could at least enjoy my Valentine's candy.

I also want to brag on my sweet husband for a minute..he drove to Texarkana Wed. night after Bible study to sit with his mom..she had surgery on Wed., and his dad had a big meeting on Thursday, so he didn't want to leave her alone all day. So, my darling husband drove to Texarkana Wed. night-got there around 9:30 pm....woke up and hung out with his mom until after lunch on Thursday, and drove back to Benton to get me for our dr.'s appointment that afternoon. Parker is one lucky baby to have such a great dad-I just hope he grows up to be like him!

Also, I don't know if any of you girls ever read Beth Moore's blog-you can find the link to the right. She has challenged her readers to memorize 2 Bible verses each month. I'm not saying I can memorize two per month, but below you'll find the one I memorized for January.
"Through Jesus therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess His name." Hebrews 13:15.
I'll post my Feb. verse when I have it memorized!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all-we'll be spending it in childbirth class all day!

Ava and Will Walker

I headed down to Smackover/El Dorado this weekend to celebrate the upcoming birth of my college roomie's twins, Ava and Will. I also got to spend some time with my good friends from college..I just wish we could all get together more often!

Holly opening gifts...

Pledge Class 2000

Holly and me: She's 34 weeks pregnant with TWINS and I'm 24 weeks...

Doesn't she look amazing to be having TWINS in 3 weeks????

This one's for you, Mom!

Ok, Mom..here I am at 23 weeks!

On the way to lunch the other day, one of my sweet students said, "Ms. Petty, I can see your stomach getting bigger." I agree with him!!!! It's definitely growing!!!

This picture was too cute not to post! Thanks to Lola Stogsdill, Tulip's found a new place to rest when we won't let her on the couch with us!