thanksgiving

this year for thanksgiving, we did the grand tour. lynchburg, va and k-town all in 1 week. despite the long hours in the car, we had a great time. caleb even decided to sleep his usual 1 1/2-2 hours each day for his nap...that's a first for us when traveling :) we also celebrated tom's 33rd birthday this past saturday. and while i don't have the pics yet to prove it (my camera batteries were dead), his new sperry's look great. i'll make a mental note to post the pics as soon as my mom gets them to me because you've got to see caleb's "gobble, gobble" dance. too cute...the pics don't do it justice.

big al

silly me!!! i have completely forgotten to mention that tom will officially graduate from southern seminary on friday, december 12th. we are soooooo excited that one of us has finally finished. in case you didn't know, we've been on the (almost) 6 year plan...not typical, i know, but what is typical with us? however, the real reason i'm blogging is b/c i'm going to meet the president of southern seminary dr. mohler, whom my seminary roommates and i affectionately nicknamed big al. i am wildly anticipating this dessert reception at the his house. i know what you're thinking, desserts + pregnant amanda = embarrassing display of eating. not to worry, the eating will be under control thanks to a bigger mission. you see, big al has this medal (think flava flav size) that he wears only during convocation and graduation and i have always wanted to wear it. i've been feverishly thinking of ways to bring up the medal in casual conversation. so far my best line is, "so you know that medal that you wear..." not too hot, huh? good thing that i've got a couple of more weeks to work on it. in the meantime, got any suggestions?

was it ever football time in tennessee this year?

some things you just don't want to deal with...like cleaning the bathroom or plucking your eyebrows. however, a couple of weeks ago, i was forced to deal with a big it. the university of tennessee decided to part ways with its long-time football coach phillip fulmer. we all had been speculating for a couple of years how much longer he would hang on because let's face it, the past several seasons have not been...um, how do i delicately put this...good. in fact, it's been so hard to watch at times that i have had to clean the bathroom during a couple of games to escape the massacre on the field. but that still didn't change the fact that i wasn't ready for the big change. i kept thinking, "somethings just aren't supposed to change." in case you didn't know, we move like every 6 months...there's always a big change coming in our family...so things that are consistent are treasured. things like my favorite lipstick at clinique, the multi-colored lights and decades old ornaments on my mom's christmas tree, and FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE UT FOOTBALL. now i realize that i take obsession with ut football to a higher level than most people. for example, i have to be in the stadium and in my seat an hour before kickoff. "why?" you ask. because i watch the kickers warmup and eat my stadium hotdog. tom still doesn't like getting in the stadium that early, but bless his heart, he loves me enough to do it anyway. i don't know what next season holds in store for ut football, but let's just hope that mike hamilton doesn't decide to change anything else...i might not be able to handle it.

week 16 update

went to the doctor this past friday (end of 15 wks.) and everything is right on track. i still haven't gained any weight...yeah, right! tell that to my jeans. i've got to find out where to get one of those scales for after the baby comes :) the heartbeat was in the 150's. they took some blood for the quad screen test and we were on our way. we go back friday, december 5th for the big ultrasound. we're going to find out the gender, but in the meantime, take the poll and see if you're right!

fall fun

hope you enjoy the pics

caleb at 21...and 22 months

can't believe that i've skipped a month blogging about caleb's progress. the second one isn't even here yet and i'm already slacking! caleb is officially 22 months old and quite the big boy. he's started putting some phrases together. for example, "bye-bye mommy/daddy," "thank you, mommy/daddy," "blue ball," "it aht (hot)". he's also starting to categorize items. all cars are bye-byes, but trucks are trucks, all covered trailers are buses, all girls are mommies and all boys are daddies. love the way their little brains work! he also has started telling stories. his favorite is telling on daddy passing gas. the reason i know his subject matter is b/c he'll say "daddy, babble babble babble phfff." it's an unmistakable farting noise...cracks us both up every time. we've moved into 18 month clothes, but only if they have the adjustable waist. caleb's still on the skinny side, but he's steadily gaining weight. he's gotten noticeably heavier in the past month. could be b/c he's discovered that he loves mac n cheese and chick-fil-a chicken nuggets. he'll actually eat 3 of them! i thought he'd never eat protein, but i guess if you fry it, he'll eat it. other than that, he's diet is still pretty much the same-fruit, cheese, crackers will always satisfy. he also loves to just be outside. caleb will push his lawnmower around, pick up rocks and sticks, and just otherwise be happy outside for a good hour. i'm very thankful it doesn't take much to entertain him outside, but it kinda stinks that winter makes us cut our outside time short. i've also started letting him watch 1 tv show a day...gasp! since it is cold in the mornings and we can't get outside at 8:30 a.m. anymore, he watches tigger and pooh every morning. he loves it...well, about 20 mins. of it. still working on the attention span. he watches "boo boo" and drinks his "dooce (rhymes with moose)" while mommy gets a few chores done...pretty good deal if you ask me. we've also been exploring our artistic side. he loves play-doh and for the most part, doesn't put it in his mouth. and i love the crayola color wonder products. we have the markers, coloring book, and finger paint. he stays entertained for a good while and his grandmothers get some pretty cute pics. his favorite books right now are: "goodnight moon," "the little mouse, the red, ripe strawberry, and the big hungry bear," and "no no, yes yes."

oh, baby!

i went to the doctor last friday for my 11 1/2 week checkup. nothing too eventful...i peed in the cup and got to hear the baby's heart beat. it was in the 160's and i have gained 0 pounds!!! hard to believe, but the scales don't lie...or let's at least hope that they don't. next check is friday, november 7th...which will probably be the next time i get online :)