Moved In!

We have officially sold the house, and we are moved in to our apartment. It's so nice having three rooms and knowing Kya will have her own bedroom especially when grandparents come to visit. I had to have an ultrasound last week because supposedly I was measuring small, but thankfully, everything is great, and she was weighing in at 5 pounds and her head is a little big. This past weekend we were able to use our friend Jordan's parent's lakehouse on Lake Martin, and we enjoyed a few days of relaxation. It was the last trip we'll take where it is just the two of us (plus, Fletch). We bought Fletch a life jacket, and he still didn't like swimming very much. Here are a few pics from the nursery and the lake. Only four and a half more weeks!

31 weeks!

So, we have gotten the appraisal over with and completed all of the requested repairs. All we have left is the closing, which will be in about 2 and a half weeks. We are so excited! I also finished my class, and I only failed one student out of 53, so I thought that was pretty good. I still feel weird walking around campus, and I feel like people are always looking at my stomach. I'm not sure why I am so paranoid, but I am. I just want to be like I'm almost 27 and married! Like they really care or honestly give me a second look.... We are taking a birthing class right now, which has made me definitely not want to watch the baby being born. GROSS! Seriously, it is so disgusting, and I don't want to see anything I don't have to. We got to visit the hospital, and they have just remodeled the maternity wing in the past year or so, and it is really nice - well, for Auburn, AL, I was pretty impressed! We got to see some babies in the nursery, and I just can't wait to meet little Kya! Also, I am ready for her to stop giving me acid reflux and kicking me in the ribs. She also hiccups a lot, which is the funniest feeling. It's still crazy to think there is a person inside of me. She also stays on the right side most of the time. It almost feels like she is diagonal because she always kicks my ribs on the right side. Sometimes it actually hurts....crazy to think a 3 pound baby can cause so much pain! Here is a picture from Mother's Day! Fletch and Eric got me a really cute picture frame that says I love Mom and they pre-ordered a book for me. Eric is so good at giving gifts - he really does listen and remember things I want (even when I forget about them - like the book he pre-ordered).

29 weeks and Proposal Defense!

10 weeks and counting

So, I am blowing off working on my research, but on the upside, I am officially a Ph.D. candidate! These past three years have not been a waste! I will post a picture of the signed document soon. I made like 5 copies! I know the process for getting a Ph.D. is different at each school, and here at Auburn, I had to take written exams from each of my committee members (which of course, they all gave me exams) and pass those. Then, I just did my proposal defense, which is where I present what I am going to do, and defend my ideas and future work. Thankfully, it was only 2 hours, and they only asked me questions for about an hour - where most of the time we just talked about extensions for one of my ideas. Awesomeness!

We are closing on either May 27th or 28th, and we are just waiting to make sure the appraisal went well and we won't need to do any more negotiating. Our inspection went okay, but it shouldn't cost us too much to fix some things she requested. I know we don't have to do it, but at this point, we are still so thrilled that we sold our house we will do whatever (as long as it doesn't cost too much!). Thankfully, we have some friends at the church who are pretty handy, so that will keep costs down as well.

We are excited about our 3 bedroom apartment, and the fact that grandparents will have their own room. I am not looking forward to packing, though! You can accumulate a lot of junk in 3 years! My mom always taught me to give stuff away, so I actually do go through closets every year or so and give stuff to goodwill. Thanks Mom! Goodwill will probably get another nice donation after I am done cleaning everything out.

I have my Auburn shower this weekend, and I am really excited about it! I have been so thankful for my friends Jolie (who is expecting a little girl of her own!!!!), Vaughan, Laura and Tollie who have thus far thrown me two showers between the four of them. I felt so loved!!! I am so thankful that God has given me such great friends! I still can't believe we only have a little over 10 weeks until my due date. My doctor's visit went well yesterday, but the little stinker wouldn't stop moving for them to get her heart rate. She is definitely active pretty much all the time - especially when I am ready to go to bed. Eric and I are so excited about meeting her and Fletch (our little buddy as I call him) said he was going to be a good big brother for her (I don't know how he's going to do without getting all of the attention all the time, though). Poor puppy!

We sold our house!!!

So, Eric and I were so excited yesterday because we finally sold our house. All I can say is that God gets all of the credit for this. We sold it for $1,000 less than we paid for it, which is just crazy considering the housing prices here and the economy. We close at the end of May, so we are looking for a place to rent until I finish school. I don't know why I am surprised when God does something awesome because we prayed AND prayed for the house to sell before the baby came to give us plenty of time to move and get settled, but for some reason, I guess I was not expecting for it to be so good! The crazy thing was the girl who bought our house put in a really low offer on Friday, so we had to counter, but we were not expecting her to pretty much agree to our counter because the bid was so low to begin with. It's also awesome because she is so excited to buy our house, so it's cool how God has provided us with a nice way out and given her a cute home that she loves.

I'm about to start my third trimester, and I can't believe it! I can't believe how the time has flown. In the mean time, I have my oral proposal for my dissertation next Friday, and I'll be finishing up my first class as the instructor. I guess I've been so busy that the weeks have literally flown. I quit wearing my backpack on campus because I feel like everyone is staring at me like that poor student got pregnant. I know I'm being paranoid, but I don't look any older than the freshmen. I'm sure they just think I gained the freshmen 15, and unfortunately it went all to my stomach. My stomach is starting to get rounder, so I guess you can tell. However, I have a theory about maternity clothes - I think they try to make you look bigger than you are. They emphasize the pooch. When I wear some of my normal clothes (the loose shirts), you can't tell as much, but when I wear the maternity stuff, it is so obvious..... Why do they want us to look bigger than we are? Why?

Here's two pictures of me in front of the beautiful SOLD sign!!!!

Trip to Waynesville and such

So, Eric and I took our last trip without children for a long time. We went to Waynesville, NC with Charlie and Rebecca. Rebecca's aunt and uncle graciously let us stay at their cabin, and we had the best time. We ate lots of desserts - poor Eric didn't get to enjoy them like the rest of us did, and lots of good food. We went hiking one day at Dupont State Park, which is beautiful. There are several waterfalls within this park. I was very careful, and Eric was watching my every move. It's so funny how he is so strict about everything I do, yet he is going to get his motorcycle license today! I put some pictures from us around the waterfalls, and one embarrassing one of Eric. He was so excited that he found this hat. He called it his camping hat, yet he tried to wear it every chance he got. He also almost bought this jean jacket that had a hooded sweatshirt sewn into it. I wish I would have taken a picture of it. He thought it was the coolest jacket. I told him I would have made him take it back because I would not go in public with him if he wore it....







Tomorrow I go in for my blood sugar test, and hopefully, I do not have gestational diabetes because I have grown quite fond of my nightly milkshake, which I make with reduced fat ice cream, so I don't feel as bad (or I just eat twice as much). I have definitely been indulging in the sweets more than I normally would, so I will miss that when she comes. It is definitely harder to move around, and I am not even that big yet. Meanwhile, Kya kicks or elbows or knees me every chance she gets. She will definitely be a great soccer player! Eric says it's because she already likes him better than me, and I bet that will be true when she comes because he will let her do whatever she wants until she hits puberty and boys start coming around.

Also, I had my first shower two weeks ago, and I have never felt more loved than I did at that shower. It was so neat to have my mom's family there and our close friends from Texas. Even Mom's old friends from college and Jasper made it! Kya got a lot of great things! Her Aunt Hayley and Mimi sent gifts for her as well. She is going to be one spoiled child. We'll be going back to visit Eric's parents to pick up a dresser that they so graciously gave us to match our other set and pick up the motorcycle they also very graciously gave Eric. The one reason I got talked into him getting the motorcycle was because it would save us gas money - my husband does know how to get me to say yes! I was dead set against it, but he is so excited, so it was really difficult to say no. Plus, I know he will be really careful, and promised me he will not ride on the interstate. It still makes me nervous, though! Lastly, Kya's bedding is all here now - thanks to Nana and Pop Noah. Mom helped me pick out her bedding, and it is super cute! I wish we were already moved, so I could start setting up her room!

We Have A Name!

So, we finally have a name for our sweet girl. Her name is going to be Kya Grace Ballard. The first name is pronounce (KY-YAH). It rhymes with Hiya, so hopefully, she doesn't get that too much. We didn't pick it for any reason. Eric found it in our baby book of names, and liked it. I think it means seasons changing or beginning of season. She has been kicking up a storm as I finish out week 22. I can't believe she will be here in four short months. Here is a picture of my baby gut. Enjoy!