Pregnancy Ponderings

I love being pregnant. It's true. I love the idea of having a baby. l love feeling him move and more recently, hiccup. I love finally having a metabolism and being able to eat whatever I want without gaining weight.

I don't mind not drinking alcohol or eating raw sushi. I don't mind the protein aversions or insomnia.

I love the attention. I love talking about the baby. I love making old ladies smile when they see my belly. I love picking out baby items. I love my maternity clothes- they're so comfortable and were a great reason to buy new stuff.

I don't mind doing this all by myself while Aubrey's in Baltimore. I know that without this baby, this past year for us would have been a lot harder. He's given us something to look forward to no matter where we live.

I get Max back on Sunday. The packers arrive on Tuesday and Aubrey flies in to Charlotte on Tuesday afternoon. We drive to Richmond on Wednesday night and then on to Baltimore later next weekend. We officially move into our new house on Monday, November 28.

Molly arrives in Annapolis after Aubrey meets her in Arkansas for their hunting trip during the second week of December. By December 12, the Swinsons will ALL be back together again.

It only took us seven months and seven days.

Housing Update

So, as many of you know, I ventured to Baltimore last weekend for a house-hunting trip. We've decided to rent a house until our home in Charlotte sells and until we determine exactly where we want to live in Baltimore.

We spent three full days driving ALL over Baltimore and its surrounding counties. Exhausting. I had NO idea how expensive housing would be up there. Like, double what it is here in Charlotte. Needless to say, it was an exhausting, exasperating trip. Our Realtor was incredibly patient as we increased our budget every day and she had to keep pulling more houses for us to look at.

Friday night we had dinner in Baltimore's Little Italy complete with dessert at Vacarro's. Check out our tasty treats!

Now, these tasty items might explain my two pound weight gain so apparently Newton LIKES sweets. No more desserts. At least this rich. :(

We decided that we like Annapolis as a potential place to live. We've filled out an application for FIVE bedroom, three bath home. I realize this might seem like a mansion but we really need the space. One bedroom for us, one for Newton, one for my office and one for a guest. Plus, there's not a TON of storage in this house (i.e. attic, etc.) so I think we'll use the extra bedroom for storage- maybe put in some temporary shelving... need to have a place to store all that holiday and non-maternity stuff. Ha!

Wish us luck that we'll be approved and get the house!

Hanging out in Hotlanta

So, I feel like all I've been doing to my friends and family is complaining lately so what better way to cheer everyone up then to do a blog post.... yay!!

On October 21st, Aubrey and I met in Atlanta to see Sugarland - the tickets were a birthday present from my parents... It was so great to see him since it had been four weeks since we'd been in the same city. I drove down to Atlanta Friday afternoon and met him at the MARTA station by my sister's apartment.

We did TONS of eating and shopping all day Saturday. We started out at hearth off Roswell Road. It's a super yummy pizza place. These are eggplant wedges with a spicy aioli sauce. Divine.

Then of course, we had pizza. We can never agree on what to share so we always end up getting our own. Aubrey ordered meat lovers something or other. It had a much fancier name but basically had a lot of meat on it.

I ordered the special of the day. Again, I forget the fancy name, but it had pumpkin, butternut squash, brown sage butter sauce, kale, pistachios and red onions. OMG. Soooo amazing.

After lunch we headed out to do some shopping for Newton. Up first, Blabla to see the mobile I picked out online. Coincidentally, their only store is in Atlanta so we trekked up to Alpharetta to see it in person. Then, once I saw it, I had to buy it.

Of course, with my baby shopping addiction, I couldn't just stop there. This little hat reminded me of Molly so, of course, Newton had to have this too.

Then, it was on to the concert!!

I mean, what else did you expect me to wear? I look drunk in the picture thanks to Aubrey's photography skills but oh well!

Shopping Problem

It's true. I'm now obsessed with all things baby. Specifically boy baby. I need to win the lottery. I type this as I'm about to head to a 25% off sale at my FAVORITE baby boutique in Charlotte. BAD!!! At least Aubrey doesn't read the blog. Hehehehe!

I got this adorable outfit a couple of weeks ago and LOVE it because it's blue (number one) and there's an adorable puppy embroidered on the pocket (number two) and there's a matching hat (number three). Too cute!

I got this for Newton because it's sure to be freezing in Baltimore when he's born and I don't need my baby coming down with hypothermia. It's kind of hard to see but it has little bears on the feet and ears on the hood so he'll look like a bear. I am such a nerd. Heaven help him.

And, for all of you patient people... the diaper bag. TA-DA!

I bought this little guy in New York City at the original Kate Spade boutique when my mom was in town while I was living up there for work this summer. I'm so glad now that I chose a "masculine" color. I originally did that so Aubrey wouldn't look ridiculous carrying the bag (because he WILL be carrying it some) and now I'm glad I didn't chose one with bows and stuff since we're having boy.

I LOVE this one because the inside is red. Others have black interiors and I thought that would make it really hard to find something. It also has the most pockets including two on either side. Perfect for stashing cell phones and pacifiers and other random things that we need to get to quickly.

So exciting. Well I'm off to see what other goodies I can get for him...

Oh, and for all of you waiting on a vacation post. It's not happening. I totally forgot my camera and what fun is it to just read about all I did- sleep, read, lay out, eat. There, done. :)

I promise to be better about taking my camera with me. Up this weekend, meeting Aubrey in Atlanta for the Sugarland concert!! Can't wait!!

Showered with Love

I know, I know, it's been FOREVER since my last post. My life is just soo busy right now. I'm traveling most weekends and work is super busy. I've had requests for the diaper bag reveal, more pics, anything. Easy readers, easy. You do not want to throw this pregnant girl over the edge.

Don't forget I'm also looking for a house in a new city and trying to plan a move (date still to be determined), my current house is on the market, I'm trying to find and plan appointments with an all new super medical team that I've never met (that's four different specialists folks) n a city I don't know and convince them to see me even though I'll be six months pregnant. Oh, and I can't really schedule an actual appointment because I don't know when I'll be up there full time.

I'm trying to find a pediatrician and child care- also challenging when I don't know where we'll be living exactly. Thank goodness for my Super Husband who's spending his weekend house hunting and for Lovely Lisa (super friend in Charlotte) who's researching pediatricians and photographers for me. I know the latter seems silly but I really want to have some pregnancy portraits made and I figured I'd use the images for our Christmas card. Don't worry- no bare belly here. Just something nice and outside with Super Husband and the dogs.

Plus, I'm going to need someone to shoot the baby for his birth announcements. Now, do you understand why there have been no posts for the past two weeks?

Here are some lovely photos from the baby shower Debbie and Rick (in-laws)'s friends threw for us in Richmond on the 24th.

Arriving at the Wests' home....

Kind of like Christmas, huh? And, yes, the large one in the middle was ours!! Debbie and Rick got us one of our car seats. SOOO nice!

From Meredith, David and Baby Mog... so adorable. Although, I don't think our son will appreciate the bloomers. Maybe we'll let Baby Mog borrow them until we have a girl?

Party crasher!!! Who was working security and let him in????????

Rainy Friday

It's been pouring in Charlotte for days. Ok, maybe just two days, but still. I think I have rain induced depression. All I want to do is hide in bed. However, we have a big weekend...We put the house on the market on Wednesday because we're moving to Baltimore, Maryland. Commence crying now.




Aubrey was promoted within ATD and this is a great opportunity for his career but really sad for us personally. We desperately don't want to leave Charlotte. We have great friends, live close to both sets of parents and I love my job.



Thankfully, I've been granted permission to work from home in Baltimore so we won't be forced to go down to one income. I mean, it's kind of impossible to interview for jobs pregnant....

Aubrey leaves for his new role on Tuesday after my ultrasound. I'm not sure when I'll see him again because our Fall is so busy. Hopefully he can fly down to meet me at the beach week after next. I'm tentatively planning to fly to Baltimore the weekend of Halloween so we can house hunt and figure out where we're going to live and where Newton will go to "school."



So many changes, so little time. :(



This weekend we're headed up to Richmond for a baby shower. That should be a lot of fun!



Check out what arrived in the mail today. Ok, maybe she sent it a long time ago, but I just got it because we are HORRIBLE about checking our mail.

Crystal, my BFF from college, sent me the most adorable gown and hat and sweetest smelling lotion. Soooo adorable. I totally teared up when I opened it. I can't wait to get settled in Baltimore and wash all of these sweet things we're getting.

We'll I'm off to put on my galoshes and walk Molly....

Game Day

So last Thursday Aubrey's beloved Mississippi State played a football game against some other team- LSU maybe??? Because we live too far away from his Alumni Group's hang out, I made him his favorite dip. Not great for the waistline or cholestrol numbers, but he loves it all the same. And yes, that crock pot is as old as I am. No use throwing it away if it still works, right?

As a surprise to me, Aubrey also brought home these beautiful flowers.

Sooo beautiful!!