Baby Turner (in 4D)

We were given the opportunity to see baby Turner through 4D ultrasound this morning, and...

it. was. amazing.

We could see her features, not necessarily clearly, but see them nonetheless. She opened her eyes a handful of times, she furrowed her brows when the ultrasonographer shook my belly in attempt to get a better view of her face (can't you just hear her say, "leave me alone!"), she opened her mouth and swallowed, she hid her face behind her hands, rolled, kicked, punched... This little girl has a personality already, and an appearance... and a soul-- all that the Lord has knit together according to His design and purpose. His goodness and His grace. Upon comparison with Clayton's 4D, she looks very similar to him, although Clay and I think we can see some differences as well. I wonder about the color of her hair, her eyes, her skin tone... I can't wait to see what she really looks like when I can hold her in my arms!

"My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there were none of them."

Psalm 139:15, 16

Better... and Bigger

Has it really been five months since my last blog? Indeed, it has. I know I'm not supposed to explain myself or the reasons for my absence here, but I just can't help it. We found out I was pregnant a few days after the last blog and shortly thereafter I was feeling very, very sick. I was so sick and so tired for the first 20 weeks of this pregnancy... so naturally, the last thing on my mind and to-do list was blogging. But I am feeling much better now, and so hope to get back to blogging at least occasionally, though I can't promise frequently. My to-do list before the baby arrives seems a mile long.

She is fluttering around in my belly right this minute. I can't believe she's a girl. I can't wait to meet her, can't wait for her to (one day) adore her big brother, can't wait to know her and (hopefully) be her friend, can't wait to see her make her daddy melt... She's our Turner Grace, and she'll be here July 24(ish).

Clayton is getting so big, so fast. He is growing taller, running, repeating the alphabet and numbers 1-10 with us (sometimes beating us to the letter or number that comes next), developing preferences (being outside all the time, wanting to eat fruit for every meal, playing with balls, etc.), "talking"... My little baby is now a little boy.

Life Is Good

For several weeks now, the leaves on the trees have looked as if they are holding their breath, about to burst into brilliant colors. And now, they have taken a deep breath, and come alive. We headed to Oak Mountain for a picnic and a hike to enjoy the magnificence of it all, the magnificence of fall. Ah, life is good.

Election day

Most of us treasure our right to vote for the leaders in our country... and we proudly display our "I Voted" sticker on this, election day. Clayton and I went to visit Clay at the office today... I was chatting with a friend when Clayton came back to me with this sticker on his shirt. I thought it was adorable and thought I'd take and post a photo of it. That is much easier said than done! He is getting harder and harder to photograph these days; he would neither sit still nor stand still for one moment!

Halloween

Halloween wasn't so happy for our little boy this year; he had a fever around 102 degrees all day and night. Nevertheless, we still dressed him up in his bear costume long enough to snap some photos and trick-or-treat at five of the houses surrounding ours. We couldn't pass up an opportunity to enjoy his cuteness in that costume!

Almost

walking

Step 1, get ready

Step 2, get set Step 3, make sure mommy is there

Step 4, go!

Happy, happy birthday

It is amazing that while it seems like yesterday we were coming home from the hospital with Clayton, those first weeks and months with him seem like ages ago. It was fun celebrating Clayton and his first year this weekend...

more pictures here

Daddy's boy

Lately Clayton can't seem to get enough of his dad. These pictures show Clayton, first, at the door after Clay has walked out for work, and second, at the door watching Clay mow the yard. Anytime I mention "daddy" as I'm talking to Clayton, he immediately starts looking for him... when Clay comes home from work, Clayton is so excited he is almost like a panting puppy... he wants Clay to hold him and follows him around the house... It has been so sweet to see this attachment, this enjoyment, this delight, this love...

It goes both ways.

Vacation

We spent a weekend at my sister's house in Columbus celebrating my sisters' birthdays; Clayton and I stayed the week. The change of pace was great for both of us. My six nephews and nieces entertained Clayton every moment of every day-- if they weren't actually engaging him, he was entertained by just watching them. Most of our time was spent by and in the pool, as usual at "Camp Sidor". It is such a wonderful place to get away and to entertain kids-- complete with pool, hammock, Jimmy Buffett music playing overhead, Kevin's famous smoked meats and mixed drinks and fresh cut fruit enjoyed poolside, go-carts, golf cart rides, feeding the fish at the pond... It is chaotic, to say the least, with seven kids under one roof, but so special to be together with family.

Clayton and I met Clay at Lake Martin on Thursday and his parents joined us Friday for the weekend. We had a relaxing weekend-- boat rides at sunset, grilling out, watching movies, reading, taking naps, good conversation on the porch...

New toy

for husband, not for baby.

Clayton and I will be in Columbus this week spending time with my sisters and their families; Clay will be at home without us. I love knowing the details of Clay's days, especially when we are apart. There is no question in my mind about what he will spend his time doing while we are apart this time...

11 Months

I can't believe our baby will be ONE year old in one month.

Some of his favorite things right now include:

waving at EVERYTHING (including mostly inanimate objects),

pulling up on EVERYTHING,

playing "fetch" with himself,

turning the page for us when we read to him,

puppy dogs,

making a clicking noise with his tongue,

looking at himself in the mirror,

drinking out of his sippy cup (and spitting out half of it),

throwing food on the floor...

he is not an easy subject to photograph these days; he is always on the move. every time i tried to snap a picture he was moving so quickly toward me and the camera that this is what i found in my viewfinder

I love today

To me, today was the perfect Saturday. We had no "plans" for the first time in a while. We made the most of a sunny, lazy summer day; we made today fun. It didn't start out the best, with Clay having to deal with some unexpected work issues, but it quickly got better. I love nothing more than spending time with my men, alone, outside, relaxed...

We started out at Botanical Gardens for a picnic lunch and a stroll...

then took a drive through Market Day in Mountain Brook Village and residential Homewood (we love that community), then home for Clayton's nap, then ended the day with dinner at The J. Clyde...

Clay and I both agreed that it feels like vacation to spend an evening on Cobb Lane

the J. Clyde is Clay's favorite place in Birmingham to get a good beer

Clayton wearing his dinner

he has started another quirk as of late-- wrinkling his nose, furrowing his eyebrows, and saying "nana" in a very nasaly voice

And now we're home. I love today.

rug burn

or hardwood burn or deck burn... I feel sorry for Clayton's little knees and shins and the tops of his feet. It doesn't seem to bother him, though; he still drags those legs across any surface with amazing speed.

He always crawls with his left leg out to the side like this...

and that is what makes rug burn on this leg so bad!

There it is

Finally a picture that shows Clayton's tooth! It is hard to even catch a peek of this tooth, and the second one just beginning to show, much less get a picture of them! The reason for this picture was not even the teeth, but rather the Cheerio stuck on his chin that we thought was hilarious. I love that he was oblivious to the Cheerio being there; he probably wondered why in the world we were all laughing so hard.

Coffee Geek

Most of you may know that Clay is a big coffee geek, or coffee snob-- however you choose to look at it. He got the itch to roast his own coffee beans this weekend. He had heard that an old fashioned popcorn popper could serve as a personal roaster, so he dusted off my family's old popper and gave it a try.

green beans from one of our favorite local coffee shops, Primavera

Clay stirring the beans as they "roast" in the popcorn popper. (The black and white was an accident but makes the process look a little less redneck than it is.) If you look closely, you can see the chaff flying off the bean.

cooling the beans

dark roasted beans

the finished product

Clay is waiting at least 12 hours to grind and brew the beans, so we don't know how they taste yet, but hopefully he'll be satisfied!