An Active Baby and a Hilarious Husband

We went for our ultrasound yesterday. It's still a girl. She wiggled the entire time. I've been telling Bradley that she moves all the time...especially after I eat. We went out for lunch just before our appointment so she was definitely on the move during the ultrasound. It's a little early for a 4-D but they tried to let us see her face. She wasn't very cooperative. She wouldn't stay still long enough to get a good picture. As I sit here, it feels like she's turning flips.

I had a workshop in Troy today and I wasn't sure where I was going. My sweet husband put the address in the GPS and put it in my car before I left. As I started down the road, I looked at the screen and realized he had made me a blue monster truck with HUGE tires. He makes me laugh. Last night we were driving through our neighborhood and there was a man on a motorized wheelchair walking his little dog. Bradley made some comment about how strong that little dog was to pull that man in that chair. (That is SO something my daddy would say.) And earlier this week we were in a local store. There was a metal pole laying on the counter that they use to get clothes down from the top racks. Bradley leans over and whispers that he thinks they handle snakes in there. He's been on a roll lately. And I love him.

We're off next week for one last hurrah before we have a baby. I can't wait!

Halfway There/20 Weeks

A Broken Bone, Exhaustion, Swollen Ankles, and Laughter

We took off bright and early Tuesday morning for cheer camp in Auburn. This is my first experience as a cheer coach, but I'm learning a lot. FAST. I will begin this post by saying we have only 3 returning girls and 6 brand new cheerleaders. We've ALL come a long way (myself included). Tuesday night, we competed in a Home Pom competition. We placed 4th. They did SO GOOD. It was their best performance yet. Because there were only 7 JV squads there, we were all grouped together for competition, rather than divided into small and large. We were the smallest squad in our division, competing against a squad of 20 and a squad of 18. I was more than proud of them.

We had a small crash on Wednesday morning that resulted in a broken wrist. The wrist belonged to our main flyer so it threw us for a loop. But the girls recovered well, and she came back to join us, cast and all. She even brought her meds with her and there were a few times I thought I might need to borrow some. We competed again this morning with 2 routines. We placed 3rd with one of those routines. Also, 2 of our girls went out for All Stars and both made it. Our varsity girls won camp champs for both of their routines. They were great.

I was very unprepared for the heat and the walking. I don't know how far it was from our dorm to the coliseum, but it was A LONG WAY. We walked there and back 3 times each day. I thought I might not make it. To say I was swollen was an understatement. I did catch a ride at least once a day, but not often enough. Last night I got to visit with the couple I lived with in college, The Ingalls. Right after I finished college in Troy, they moved to Auburn. I was so glad they came to see me. I enjoyed seeing them.

My girls were entertaining (as always). They shared a lot of laughter, most of it probably when they were supposed to be sleeping. It hasn't been so long that I've forgotten what camp is like as a camper. We all came home exhausted. I am so proud of them and enjoying this experience. While I was gone, my husband cleaned our carpet and rug. He also cleaned our bathroom and put clean sheets on our bed. He probably did more, but those are the things I've discovered. He's the BEST. Our plans for this weekend and next week are few. It will take me that long to recover....

And by the way...Jim is now a Slocomb Redtop. Yah!!!

A Weekend with the Bowers Family

My husband played in a golf tournament yesterday (and won) which I thought entitled me to a day of shopping alone. I can do some damage when I'm alone. But I was given a spending limit. I adhered to that...kind of. I bought my first things for Ella Kate. I told Bradley that did not count towards my limit because it was not for me. He shook his head. (I get that response all the time!)

My nausea has been better than ever for a couple of days. I'm scared to type that for fear that it will return. I had forgotten what it was like to not feel sick. It is a nice feeling and one I don't plan to take for granted. Thank you, Lord. I have prayed and prayed to feel normal again. It's a good thing because I will be leaving bright and early Tuesday morning for a week of cheerleader camp in The Land of Evil. That's right. We're heading to Auburn. ; ) They've worked really hard and come so far. We compete in a home pom competition Tuesday night. I hope all their work pays off. I'm definitely proud of them regardless of the outcome. If you run into my husband this week, and he looks hungry, please invite him over for dinner. If I were my mom, I would have his meals prepared for the week. But I'm not her. I did buy sandwich meat and frozen pizzas. Does that count? This will be the longest we've been apart since we got married. I'll let you know how that goes.We're being lazy together this Sunday afternoon. I've made brownies and he's promised to grill hamburger steaks tonight. The picture above is what I've been looking at as I blog. Bradley's practicing. Have an extra good week. I'll try to have pictures to post when I return.

Updates

Jim has been to 2 interviews in 2 days and has a 3rd tomorrow. We're excited for him and he seems to be excited too. We're praying that God will place him in the job that he needs to be in. We do have a preference, as one is particularly close to us. But we also know that sometimes we don't know best. He feels good about both interviews so far. He can talk to anyone. He is definitely my daddy's son.

This week has been a nice start to summer. For some reason unknown to me, I scheduled cheerleader practice at 8:00 every morning this week. (they're doing so good! I'm proud of them!) I think my reasoning was practice early, tan afterwards. Well the rain threw a kink in that. I've been napping instead of tanning. We did get to swim for a few hours this afternoon before the storm rolled in. There's nothing like a good swim, then coming home to be lazy while it storms.

In other news, we will not be attending Bama Jam this year. We didn't think pregnancy/nausea/ heat/crowds would be a good combination. So we opted out. I did send my boots to Bama Jam...with Brittany. She promised there would be no mud wrestling or jello wrestling while wearing my boots. This came as a relief to Bradley. It took me quite a while to convince him that I "needed" those boots "really bad". I think I'll teach Ella Kate those words pretty soon after birth. We could team up, and get all kinds of things that we "need really bad".

Hope you all have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.

And her name will be...

Ella Kate. Unless she grows an appendage...and then we'll go with Hudson. Bradley's great-grandmother was named Kate. He thought a lot of Granny and I've heard some stories about Granny that are great. We both just like the name Ella. If you're reading this and you're due before me and take my name, I might hunt you down.

School is OUT and I am so glad. Days like today make me think if we don't get out of here soon, I could do something illegal. Too much to get done and 146.5 stories for me to listen to. I do love them. I'll love them all the more in August. My plan for this summer is to float, get bigger, and tan.

Although this was a happy day for the most of us, there are many teachers who received bad news on the last day of school. My brother was one of them. I am so upset for him. Not so much as a "thank you for what you've done here" or a "we're sorry to have to do this". It's a shame. I know the time he put into that school. And they lost a great teacher and coach. But we know that God has better plans. We've known this was a possibility for quite some time. And our prayer has been that God would place Jim where He wanted him. Please pray for him as he begins to search for a new job.

I'll end this post on a happier note. My "begin summer right" plan is this: I'm out to eat tonight with friends, swimming afterwards because I CAN, and possibly to Opp tomorrow morning to see the parents and share in a delicious Hardee's biscuit. I use the term share loosely. I will definitely have my very own biscuit, and possibly 2.

(Sidenote: I am currently watching Bradley chase Molly trying to trim her nails. It's very entertaining.)

Happy Summertime!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a Girl!

At least we're 95% sure it's a girl or so we were told. I'm only 16 weeks and didn't have a scheduled ultrasound, but Brittany, who I used to beat in basketball all the time ; ) , was working when we went for a checkup yesterday and I asked her to let us peek. First she told me a girl. Then she told me she wasn't positive. Then she told me she was 90% sure, but she wanted the other tech to look. She also told me to "leave the tags on anything pink." The other tech came in to check, and Baby Bowers has decided to sit up on her knees. (You'd think I could feel this, but I don't.) They bounced the probe on my stomach a little, and she finally adjusted so they could see. They told me they were 95% sure it was girl. She said she'd be shocked if it wasn't. I'd post pictures, but I can't figure out how to work our scanner, so when B gets home, I'll let him scan them in and I'll add them.

We're thrilled that it's a girl! I was a little surprised, but Bradley thought all along it was a girl. I think a girl will be fun. Bradley is thinking more expensive than fun. You know I can do some shopping. B is concerned she'll like to shop as much as me. I already have purchased 3 swimsuits for this summer. He just shakes his head, but I plan on exercising/floating (more floating than exercising) a lot this summer. And every girl needs a swimsuit rotation. What does he expect me to do??? Wear the same one every day?

Hope everyone's weekend is very relaxing during this busy time of year...if you need me I'll be trying out 1 of my 3 new suits and "taking a tan" as my friend calls it.