Our Blog Award

We received our first blog award from my friend Julia aka The Soler Family Blog.

This is how our award works: we are to post 7 things about us that few people know and then tag 5 of our readers.

1. On Tuesday morning our pug Duke got us in trouble with a neighbor. Poor Duke thinks that he is a guard dog. This causes some problems when our neighbor is mowing his mother's yard. Does anyone have any tips on how to control insane barking?

2. This past weekend I had the BEST steak EVER! At Outback I ordered a 6 oz steak. Parker and I enjoyed it so much we had to order another.

3. And speaking of this weekend...boy am I glad I was out of town. Chris honestly watched the entire NFL draft. Picks 1-256.

4. I LOVE to vacuum! Seriously. I love the lines it makes in our carpet. I love the fresh smell it leaves on the carpet. I love how it removes dog hair instantly!

5. You'll never believe this...Chris was at one time a Spice Girls fan! He loved the movie Spice World!

6. Our Basset Hound Copper wakes us up early every morning. He is seriously our alarm clock. We will be in a dead sleep and then we'll hear his tail hitting the hallway followed by a yawning howl.

7. Chris and I have decided on a paint color for Parker's room. It's a light yellow color from the Disney collection at Home Depot. It's Tigger's Tummy!

We tag:
Jacob and The Edwards Family
The Ingram Gang
The Huntingtons
Read Abby Reed
Jaclyn's Blog

Parker & Mommy Midland Weekend

***A special thanks to Abby for making us the cute new baby Parker heading. Thank you for thinking of us!*****

I spent this past weekend visiting my girl friends from college. This time our girl's (and Parker) weekend was in Midland, Texas.

Although I was excited to see Linda, Claudia, and Jessica I was dreading the drive to Midland for two reasons.
1. It's not a far drive but I have always been nervous on two-lane highways.
I would say about an hour of the drive is on a two-lane highway and that is a long time to hold your breath!
2. After Chris and I have Parker I know that it will be difficult for me to continue with our reunions four times each year.
There will be no problem with me leaving Parker and Chris behind for the weekend, but will I want to four times each year? I will be the only one of us with a baby. I can not believe how ready I am to have a little family and to be a mommy!

When I finally got to Midland early Saturday morning I was so excited to show the girls my baby belly. They have not seen me since January and I have grown a lot.

Of course we went to eat dinner and then a movie, then back to Claudia's for 'remember when' stories and tons of junk food. The next morning they made the momma (me) make Claudia's birthday breakfast. Our weekend went by so quickly.

I must say I think Parker and I might have really done some damage this weekend. Both Jessica and Claudia got puppies after our visit.
Aw...maybe I won't be the only one with a baby next year!

Our next girl's weekend is at my house and the weekend of my baby shower.
I can not wait to see Lin, Claud, and Jess and I know they are looking forward to seeing Chris and my belly bump again!

Parker's Cake Adventure

Chris and I are thrilled and we appreciate the comments, text messages, and emails that we have received about baby Parker. Our families are also very excited! This will be the first grand baby on both sides. Parker Bailey will more than likely be spoiled!

My parents and my sister told Chris and I not to call them after our ultrasound yesterday morning. Instead we were told to wait until after work and then go to my parents house for a celebration dinner.

My mom was so excited about her clever celebration dinner and this weekend she bought a cake.
In blue writing half of the cake said "it's a boy" and the other half in pink writing said "it's a girl."
Chris and I were to cut either the boy or the girl half and that is when they would know our exciting news.

Immediately after our ultrasound yesterday morning it hit me that this might not have been the best idea.

Chris and I were so thrilled to hear about Parker and we just could not tell enough people. Before I knew it I was telling EVERYONE!
People in the elevator.
People in the parking garage.
I even told some lady at Sonic!
Of course I also blabbed to my co-workers. Which was not a good idea.

I had been at work for less than 15 minutes when my mom called and a co-worker answered.
I heard: "Panhandle MDA thissss Laneta. Well hello there...I hear you're having a little man!" (L-o-n-g pause) "Oh dear...well...well...I'll get Amber."
My mom was upset at my co-worker but that didn't last long because she was more than anything excited to hear about Parker Bailey! She promised not to tell my dad or my sister so that we could still enjoy our celebration dinner.

Before we had dinner my dad, my sister, Chris, and Paula (Jamie's mother-in-law) were all sitting around the table predicting "our baby's" birthday when I did something STUPID.
Me: "Little Robert might have been wrong about the sex, but I am thinking he might be right about the August 29th birthday."
A few blogs back I wrote about how little Robert told us that the baby would be a girl.
YIKES!!! Just like that I ruined the cake cutting surprise.
Of course everyone laughed and was thrilled to see Parker's pictures.
Keeping that secret ALL DAY was tough!

It's a BOY!

We would like for you to meet our son; Parker Bailey Sturgess.
This morning before the sonogram we both knew that we were having a baby boy. We are so excited!!!




Chris and I had decided on our little guy's name before we even became pregnant.
If you know my husband well you will understand that any and every name he would throw out there was related to sports.
In fact it took both myself and my mother-in-law months to convince him that Champ makes a better nickname. Since he was so passionate about the name Champ (Champ Bailey, Denver Bronco's cornerback) we began thinking about the name Bailey.
Then one day the name Parker came up. I love it and Chris is a big fan of Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs) so it just worked. Even better... Parker's initials will be PBS...that is where Chris and I first met. In college we both worked for a PBS station. At that point we just *knew* Parker Bailey Sturgess was perfect!
He is perfect!

More Cowbell Please?

*Do they make this shirt in maternity sizes?*


For a spilt second this week and for the first time during my pregnancy I thought to myself... am I ready to be a parent?

My boss has been having a lot of problems finding childcare these last four months so she has been bringing her two baby boys to work. Her toddler is very cute but also a monster.
“Amner...Amner look!”
“AMNER!”
As he stands in my doorway holding a stapler and a hand full of bubble gum balls he took from another co-worker's desk.

He also found a cowbell and by the time 5pm rolled around I had a HUGE headache. Not to mention his little brother who is 6-7 months old couldn’t sleep because of the noise. I am not sure which is worse a sleepy/crying infant or a toddler with a cowbell. I definitely didn’t get any work done that day...none of my co-workers did. Am I ready for this?

After work I went home and complained to Chris and I also expressed my fears. During our conversation I realized two things:
1. Work is not a good place for babies
2. Not all kids act that way

I have such high hopes for Chris and myself when it comes to raising our baby to be respectful and well behaved. We have great role models...our parents did well.

“We are ready to be parents”

Bradley (class 1)

Last night Chris and I started our Bradley Classes. I've been excited to learn more about the Bradley Method and I truly believe birth should be a natural process.
Lucky for us our class isn't the typical birthing class you see in the movies or on television shows.
There are no large groups of people.
There is no deep breathing/hyperventilating.

As I've mentioned before... there are no Bradley instructors in Amarillo so Chris and I decided to try the DVD classes. Our instructor lives near Dallas. She films her class so that soon-to-be parents like us can still learn the Bradley way. As strange as this sounds... watching from home actually feels like you are in her class. Classes are small and comfortable (about 8 couples) and run 12 weeks.
Last night Chris and I practiced several different exercising routines that will help me and baby before and during labor.

After telling everyone I know about our interest in a natural childbirth I've been pleased with the support we have received from our family and friends.
In fact my mother-in-law actually got me in contact with our Bradley instructor. Thank you Lori!

I've also been extremely fortunate that Chris is focused and determined to learn more about natural childbirth. I couldn't ask for a better birthing coach and husband to share this amazing journey with.

Baby Bump & Signs

Um...is it Sunday night already? Our weekend was jam packed with friends, family, and odd baby signs.

On Friday night Chris and I went to a rehearsal dinner. My friend and sister's cousin-in-law Angie got married this weekend. At the dinner celebration Chris and I met Angie's little cousin Robert who came from Houston for the wedding.

Robert can remember birthday's and days on the calendar. It's not only amazing but also shocking! Chris and I told Robert that our baby was coming sometime in August and asked him to guess when the baby's birthday will be.

Without a second thought Robert said, "August 29!" "Aw, I want to meet her!"

Chris and I both looked at each other and I believe we said "WOW!"

Out of all 30 days in August how did this kid manage to pick the day after our due date? If we have a baby girl on August 29th I might just take Robert to buy a lotto ticket!

If you have been waiting to see my baby bump well I've got a special treat for you. My sister wouldn't let me leave the dinner on Friday night without a picture. My belly may look huge already...oh it is...but I am happy to brag that I've only gained 4 pounds to date!

Angie & Ben's wedding on Saturday night was beautiful. It was an outdoor wedding and the weather was in the 50's so it was a little chilly but their reception area was nice and warm! During the father/daughter dance I couldn't help but think about if Chris and I had a baby girl. The words to their song really hit me like a ton of bricks and I got to thinking about how quickly people say their children grow up.

I turned to Chris and said, "This song is kind of sad. It makes me think about if we have a girl."

Chris: "I know I was just thinking the same thing."

Some where in our conversation Chris noticed that the speakers behind me had the name we want to name our little girl across them. Shocked and amazed Chris and I both just smiled from ear to ear.