Veterans' Day Weekend in Bama: Football & Family

Veterans' Day weekend Mike had a guys' golf trip to Birmingham so we all flew up to enjoy some awesome Fall weather! My aunt/Godmother decided to come to town as well since we hadn't seen each other in 4+ years. And slowly it turned into her whole fam- husband and two awesome daughters- coming along. It was wonderful seeing them and catching up. And letting them meet Mike and pay with Brennan as a big kid. :) 

Brennan playing in some leaves (and coincidentally the only pic of him from the whole weekend). He was excited after talking about it in school. So deprived living in warm, sunny South Florida.  

Saturday night we went to the Bama vs. LSU football game. It was chilly and rainy- but it didn't matter cause we had a ball!!

It was my Unca Jim's first Bama game in YEARS! And even though he somehow lost the beer I smuggled in for him- I think he had a blast! And games with my SamB are always fun. 

With my Libby!! 

My Brennan cousins came to visit on the quad as well. Tommy has definitely turned into a handsome gentleman. Ah- since he looks so much like his Dad (and my Dad too) and Brennan does too, this bodes well for my little man one day. :0) 

 And the always handsome- total Brennan- David!!  These boys are so much fun and it was great to see them even for a short time. 

Can't believe that I didn't get any pictures of the Browning crew. Just too much fun being had all weekend so stop to take any. 

21 Weeks: A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

We took Brennan to the pumpkin patch last Sunday morning to pick out to be our jack-o-lantern. It was sunny and hot! But fun, all the same. We did a hay ride, picked out the "perfect" pumpkin, and perused the small farmers' market. I was very excited to have an excuse to wear my jack-o-lantern maternity shirt more than once.

Here are a few pics from our morning...

Ready for the hay ride.

Tow Mater was there... along with Herbie the Love Bug. 

With my little pumpkins. And Brennan with a pumpkin in his shirt as well. 

And, Brennan had a great time trick-or-treating on Halloween with friends from school. :0)

Roll Tide!!  

As far as the pregnancy goes...
I'm still feeling good, but definitely exhausted at the end of the work day. I have reflux/heart burn all the time, so the Tums in my purse get lots of use. Mr. Aiden LOVES to do flips while he's still got lots of room in there. Love that feeling.

20 weeks... It's a....

BOY!!

I went for my sonogram a couple of weeks ago and got to peek in on Baby H. Brennan went with us and he loved getting to check it all out. He's measuring about a week early and at that time, was already weighing in around 1 lb!! Eek!
We can not wait to finally hold sweet baby Aiden Thomas in March!! Better get shopping and planning! :0)

17 weeks: Trip to Bama

It's been almost 11 months since our last trip to Alabama. Too long to not see so many precious faces. Brennan had a blast getting to play with his cousins. It was a very quick trip, but fun none the less. We got into T'town at 10:15 on Friday night and left at 9am on Sunday morning, but we crammed lots of fun into our few short hours! Needless to say, I'm still playing catch up on sleep and Brennan went to sleep in 2 minutes tonight. 

Saturday we took Brennan to his first Bama football game as the Tide took on Ole Miss. 

 My favorite boys right before kick off.

The best of our multiple attempts at a family pic in front of Bryant-Denny. 

These two may not see each other often enough... but it's like they've never separated when they're together. 

Mike took the littles back to the quad to hang out at half time. So it was just me, Mom, and Sam left to cheer on the Tide to their 25-0 victory. What a fabulous game on the defensive side. 

Pregnancy updates...

Weight gain: up to about 3 lbs now- all put on this past weekend!

Sleep: Up a couple of times, except for the nights when I'm exhausted- then I'm down for the count til the alarm goes off. 

Symptoms, etc: I've been feeling great! Some swelling in my hands and feet by the end of the day, but so far so good on going back to "normal" in the mornings. 

The coming days: Just waiting to schedule my sonogram appointment. Hopefully just another week or two!! And looking forward to a low key weekend of doing nothing!

Thanks for checking in!

14 weeks

Phew! These past few weeks since I've been back to work have just flown by! That's a positive and a negative. Getting closer to finding out what Baby Heller is, however sooo much to do everyday at work and there don't seem to be enough hours in the day!!

 This past weekend was super busy. Saturday we went up to Okeechobee to celebrate sweet "Baye Dub"'s 2nd birthday. Brennan loves hanging out with our sweet 'Chobee family. And Saturday night we went to the rodeo for Bull riding championships. Brennan got to ride the mechanical bull. (Video below) Sunday was a back to school pool party for church... see busy, busy! But lots of fun! 

So here's a little update on Baby Heller... 

Weight gain: Still only at 1 lb. Here's hoping we don't get to the full 50 lbs this time around. However, the cinnamon rolls I made for dessert are calling my name!! 

Sleep: Doing alright still. Just have to get used to trying to sleep on my side. 

What's new: I am starting to feel the baby occasionally!! Mostly when I lie on my back and am  really still. Or when I start poking around and he/she fights back. :) My kids are starting to figure it out- which means the parents too. 

The coming days: Busy week ahead at work. Other than that- same old same old. Sleepover Friday with Brennan's little bestie. And Bama football on Saturday! 

A pic with my little photog

13 weeks

Weight gain: 1 lb, but I'm definitely showing a lot more this time around than I did at this point with Brennan. 
Sleep: Aside from a busy weekend, and a 4am wake up call this morning, I'm still sleeping well. 
Symptoms, etc: I have to make sure I eat otherwise I definitely feel sluggish and nauseous. 
The coming days: Only a two day work week this week (Rosh Hoshannah Thursday) and this weekend a 2nd birthday party and the rodeo Saturday night. Will be a busy, busy weekend, but fun, fun!!
And 7 more weeks til we find out if Baby Heller is a boy or girl!! 

Footballapalooza!

Well this past weekend, Mike and I decided to attend two college football games in two separate states- whoo, I'm tired! Alabama and Florida State were playing on separate nights for opening football weekend and Mike and I decided- what the hey- we'll go to both. So Friday night we flew to Atlanta for Bama's game against Virginia Tech. Fortunately after a sort of rough start Bama blew them out 35-10. Wehung out with some friends in the area before the game, ventured through the World of Coke (my first sip of Coke in 10 weeks- aah, refreshing), and took in the sights of the good ole South, along with the awesome game! Roll Tide! So glad Mike decided to take advantage of having to fly through ATL on our way to the FSU game and take me. 

Bright and early Sunday morning, we got on another airplane and headed to Pittsburgh, Pa to watch FSU take on Pitt in their inaugural ACC game. We stayed right in downtown near the Pirates ball park and a couple of parking lots away from Heinz Field where Pitt (and the Steelers) play. Fantastic hotel location! We didn't see too much of the city what with hanging out with all of Mike's fraternity brothers and the few wives/girlfriends who also came along. We did get to go to an old Catholic church that has been converted into a brewery/restaurant. It was very pretty and a neat atmosphere. The game wasn't until Monday night, so we spent a  lot of time just hanging out and catching up with Mike's FSU family. FSU had a rough start as well, but ended up having a phenomenal game and won 41-13. The stadium was cool- had a great view of the river and mountain from our upper deck endzone seats, and my favorite part was whenever the home team got into the red zone (which wasn't very often) two giant Heinz ketchup bottles "poured" onto the jumbotron. Our flight home was at 6:30 am and a 4am wake up call was not fun- but it was still a fantastic weekend with my favorite Nole, who will say "Roll Tide!" for me anytime.