For the past weeks, my mom has been visiting and helping. Mainly helping. She took over the cooking and cleaning for me and also did babysitting duties while I ran errands. She even stayed an extra three days so I could take care of a (loooong) dentist visit without having to take the kids. Moms are the greatest! The kids loved her and she could even usually get Dax to burp. My favorite part was when she would cover the nighttime feedings for me :) Talk about being spoiled! Thanks, Mom!
In two weeks, Julia will take her first out-of-state road trip. Heck, in two weeks Julia will take her first road trip of any kind!
My parents are coming up the weekend of March 17th to see Julia and babysit for Dave and I as we go out and celebrate our (SIX YEAR!) anniversary. When they leave, Julia and I will be going with them. We'll all hang out in Mississippi (with a short trip to Louisiana to visit my friend Stacy) for a week and then Mom and Dad will bring us home!
Echo will stay here with Dave. It will be stressful enough for me with just the baby without worrying about a dog.
I'm excited about introducing Julia to her Great-Grandparents, but know that we'll both be missing Dave a lot.
This will be good practice for when I take Julia to the Cochran Family Reunion in June. Hopefully Dave will be able to go too, but chances are good I'll be flying solo on that trip as well!
Hmmmm ... what have we been up to?
That's right! We had visitors! We've been looking forward to seeing Christopher and Jamie ever since they finalized their plans to come to Knoxville. Jamie's grad program had a long weekend planned of campus tours, Graduate Assistantship interviews and social events. Christopher had plans to attend an MBA class and meet with current students in the program. Dave and I provided meals and entertainment when they had breaks in their schedules and a place to sleep once their busy days were finished.
Our guests arrived Wednesday evening after a long drive from Paris, TX. We fed them lasagna, salad and garlic bread. Then, I went to bed and Dave, Christopher and Jamie stayed up chatting. (That was pretty much how every evening ended!) Julia was already pretty cranky by the time they arrived so they didn't see her at her best. We did get a good picture of the three of them showing some Lumberjack Spirit.
On Thursday, Julia had her shots and came home just in time to wish Uncle Christopher good luck with his campus visit. While Christopher met with the MBA folks, Jamie, Julia and I chatted and then ate lunch at a new restaurant near the house. It was a girly lunch place with sandwiches and salads. The food was good. We picked up Christopher and drove back to our house to take advantage of the nice weather with Echo. That evening, Jamie had dinner with her group as well as a social activity. Dave, Christopher, Julia and I went out to eat at a new burger place, Gridiron Burgers. The burgers were really great and, as an added bonus, they use cheese from Sweetwater Valley Farm (a nearby farm that gives free tours of their cheesemaking facilities).
On Friday, Jamie was busy all day long with interviews, etc. Christopher, Julia and I bummed around in the morning and then met Dave for lunch. We ate at Calhoun's on Bearden Hill. Afterwards, Christopher, Julia and I left Dave at work (poor guy) and headed home to relax. Dave joined us after work and Jamie got home around 8 pm.
Saturday was the last full day here in Knoxville for our visitors. Jamie had interviews in the morning, but after lunch was free to hang out with us. So, once she got home, we headed to downtown Knoxville to walk around Market Square and show them the sights. We shopped in Bliss and Mast General Store, showed them the Tennessee Theatre and just enjoyed the pleasant weather. Jamie and I browsed around Reruns, a vintage clothing store, and found some interesting garments. It was a good day topped off with chili made by Dave and Christopher. They make really good chili!
Sunday, Dave, Julia, Echo and I watched as Christopher and Jamie drove away. Then we partied! Just kidding. We'll be glad when they move to Knoxville this summer and we can all hang out again.
PS--David and Jackie, we wish we could see you again soon, too. Thanks for sending help with the grocery bill! :) Love you!
Nannie and Pa came by on Sunday to meet Julia. They thought she was incredibly beautiful, amazingly strong, remarkably brilliant and exceptionally well-behaved! We agreed. Unfortunately, Julia missed them so much after they left she turned into a cranky-puss. I guess this just means we'll need to go visit McMinnville soon! 
(They also took us out to eat at Puleo's Grille. The food was fantastic! I loved the roasted red pepper topped with melted fresh mozzarella on the "Italian Sampler" appetizer. I'm going to try to make that at home! Thanks, Nannie and Pa!)
Thanksgiving
Nannie and Pa drove in from McMinnville to see our house and take us out to eat for Thanksgiving. We were excited to add "Not having to cook" on our "Things We Are Thankful For" list!! They arrived around 11:30 and took the guided tour of our property. We had snacks out (cheese, crackers, grapes, carrots, tomatoes) because our reservation wasn't until 2:45, and I knew I would have to eat before then! (The Peanut likes her food and doesn't like to be kept waiting! Definitely our child.) They brought The Peanut a teddy bear and a very cute dress that matches the teddy bear's outfit! And Pa picked out the "I Love My Great-Grandpa" bib. :)
Lunch was at the Italian Market and Grill. (This is the same restaurant we went to with my parents for our Birthday Brunch.) There was quite a bit of food: salads, roasted turkey, fried turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans, broccoli casserole, chips and spinach dip, and other stuff I don't remember. Of course, the big attraction was the dessert table. Yummy cakes and pies with a big bowl of the homemade whipped cream just ready for eating! No one walked away hungry. Thanks Nannie and Pa for a great Thanksgiving Day!
Nursery
We spent most of the Thanksgiving holiday sorting through the clothes and boxes that had been "temporarily" stored in the nursery closet. We made quite a bit of progress getting things thrown out or re-boxed for attic storage. I know my dad will be impressed that we've got all our hanging clothes in our own closets now. (We had been taking up about half The Peanut's closet with our overflow!)
My friend, Carole, is sewing the hem bias tape on the back of the quilt so we can hang it on the wall. (It can't go in the crib with The Peanut yet, but I didn't want to just store it away in the closet.) Dave has purchased the spray paint and other materials for making the animals to hang on the wall. Once those projects are finished, we're just waiting for Sam's to deliver the reclining glider rocker and for The Peanut to make her appearance. Then, the nursery will be complete.
Oh, wait ... I forgot. I still have to find a bookcase and we also have need of a little extra storage for her extra sheets, towels, blankets, etc. We're working on it.
Random Stuff
I went out with two friends to Cha Cha Tapas Bar on Tuesday night. Even though they had removed the Apple and Manchego Cheese Salad with White Peach Vinaigrette from the menu, I had a great time. After registering my dismay with the waitress over the elimination of my favorite tapas, we sat and talked and shared food and desserts until we could barely move! It was really nice to get out of the house for fun rather than for errands!
Dave's company Christmas party is tomorrow night. He also has a couple other holiday parties that are work related later in the month. Last year, we won the $50 gift certificate in the trivia contest and brought home a bottle of Jack Daniels from Dirty Santa. Since it hasn't even been opened, we might bring the Jack Daniels as our contribution to Dirty Santa this year!
I also have an appointment to get my hair cut at 2:30 this afternoon. Woo-hoo!
Oh, and Dave got to be my knight in shining armor and come to my rescue when I ran out of gas. Oops! Worse, it happened on the big hill of Parkdale (the street you are on RIGHT BEFORE you turn off to ours). If you've ever been to our house, you know that road has no shoulder, and people just speed up (or down) it. I ended up (mostly) in a lawn on the side of the road. It was owned by a very nice couple that let me use their phone since I didn't have the cell phone with me. I really need to get the gas gauge fixed on my car. My sweet husband left work and brought me enough gas to get to the gas station. He didn't even make very many comments! :) What a nice man.
It seems like forever since the last post, but it might just be that we've had a bit going on.
1. We've been hard at work on the nursery. It's still a work in progress so I'm holding off on pictures. We've got most of the wall "art" hung up and hopefully will have all our junk cleared out of the closet this weekend. It will be the only room in the house with matching furniture and decorations. Echo and I hang out in there on lazy afternoons.
2. My friends, Diana and Shara Tonn, came by two weekends ago for a visit. They were out of town the weekend of my shower and wanted to say hello and see the baby bump! We had a great time talking with them.
3. A friend of Dave's from high school, Claire, stopped by this Saturday to crash for the night. She is moving back to Texas from New York. It's always fun to see Claire even if she still calls my husband "Davey" :)
4. Nannie and Pa are coming to Knoxville for Thanksgiving! We're very excited to have them. We weren't sure when my doctor was going to decide to keep me from traveling, but had just assumed we'd be on our own for the whole holiday season this year (except after The Peanut arrives, of course!). Now, we'll be able to show off our house and the work we've done on the nursery as well as spend some time with family!
5. Dave and I went to the breastfeeding class at the hospital last night. It was a disappointment. I'm not sure what I expected, but spending the first third of class having the teacher tell us the benefits of breastfeeding was not it. It just seemed a waste of time preaching to the choir. And maybe we're just fortunate, but we haven't had anyone question our decision to breastfeed. In addition, the teacher didn't seem to have any opinions about anything ... except how awesome breastfeeding is. Every answer she gave was preceded by "Well, there's as many ways to do that as there are mothers and babies ... " Not exactly helpful advice.
6. I have another doctor's visit scheduled for Wednesday (tomorrow). I'm hoping it's with my regular doctor this time. I haven't heard otherwise, so I'm optimistic!
7. Echo seems to be adjusting well to all the baby paraphernalia that's popping up in her house. We set up the Pack 'N Play in the living room, and she now just ignores it. She also ignores the various mobiles set up. At first she would bark, growl and try to bite the mobiles whenever we turned them on. Then she decided to just tuck her tail and run from them. Now she just looks at us like she's thinking "That's old news, you guys!" We've been spending a little time each day with her in the nursery and trying to teach her that roughhousing is not allowed in that room. We are experiencing minimal success with that. She's given all The Peanut's toys, clothes and linens her sniff test of approval. The only problem came when I accidentally bought a toy that has a squeaker. We'll have to be careful with Henry the Hippo since he sounds exactly like Echo's favorite toy, the Heffalump Elephant. Oops! She's still not a big fan of the strollers, but we're working on it. I think we've got all the big stuff set up in the house so she can get used to it. We'll see how she reacts to the car seat that is soon to appear in her car!
8. It snowed here yesterday. Nothing that would stick. Basically, it was drizzling, then turned to teeny tiny sleet and then to snow flakes. It was pretty to watch while it lasted. The forecast calls for temperatures back up in the sixties for the weekend, though.
Now I'm sorry I made all those extravagant promises of pictures yesterday. Even though I'll be caught up on laundry and grocery shopping by the end of today, I still feel overwhelmed by the stuff left to do to catch up from the weekend.
The Weekend Recap:
Mom and Dad drove in with Lady on Thursday. They arrived that afternoon, and we tried to make our dogs be friends. Turned out to be a poor decision. Lady was still a little frazzled from her trip and took a hunk of Echo's nose fur in retaliation of Echo's repeated attempts to sniff her rear end. We decided to just let the dogs split time roaming the house for the rest of the weekend. I will say that for a dog that "never barks" [quoted from both Mom and Dad], Lady sure raised a racket whenever she saw Echo!! We were happy to see that Lady apparently learned how to play from watching Echo and Dad wrestle with each other that first day. She enjoyed hopping and pouncing around the carpeted room and on the living room rug. Very cute. Hopefully next time the two dogs meet, Lady will be feeling a little more secure, and they can be friends.
The Bouldins (David, Jackie and Christopher) arrived Friday afternoon. Dave took the afternoon off work so we could all eat lunch together and have some time to hang out. We spent the evening getting things shifted in the living room to prepare for Saturday's Furniture Rearrangement Party.
Saturday was the shower. Jackie and Mom went to Carole's early to help out. I stayed home and got all the lunch stuff ready for the guys. Grandma Steele and Aunt Bev also dropped by to see the house and eat.
We had a great time at the shower. Carole throws a mean party! It was great to see everyone and to open presents for The Peanut. How cool to have all these people show how much they love her before she even arrives!
The food was delicious. Perfect shower food.
Look at all those gifts!
Silly Meredith
Um, I didn't find myself at all attractive in any of the pictures, so I left those out. Blogger's prerogative.
While the ladies partied like it was 1999, the guys put together the crib and dresser. Well, first they moved the couch and other furniture out of the nursery! By the time I got home, the nursery furniture was arranged and ready for the little touches (clothes in the dresser, wall hangings, bedding, etc.) No pictures yet. I want to wait until it is all set up. Give the full effect all at once!
Mom and Dad left at 5 am on Sunday. Whew, that's early! After brunch at The Creamery with the Bouldins, they headed back to Texas.
Dave and I still had to attend our Infant/Child CPR and First Aid class, but after that, we came home and crashed. Everybody was pooped!
Echo does enjoy the new furniture arrangement in the living room. She has a much more comfortable view of the yard.
The Kitchen
Last month, my dad stayed with us while my mom went to a quilt show in Nashville. Dad spent three days repainting our kitchen for us. [THANKS, DAD!] Dave and I painted the cabinet doors and replaced the hardware. We've finally got everything put together and back where it belongs.
And just so you can get the full effect, a few before pictures. These were taken just after we moved in. I had already taken the doors off because I found the barn door-like hardware too hideous to even look at.
Now, one year later ...
This weekend was crazy. With the excitement of having family in town for my baby shower, I missed all my naps! I'll probably spend today recuperating. More about the shower tomorrow. Plus pictures of the finished kitchen! Oh, boy! And pictures of the nursery! That's right, it'll be a photo extravaganza! In the meantime, with extra photographers around, we were finally able to get pictures of both Dave and I during the pregnancy.
The Baby Belly at 30 weeks (hard to see since I'm not sideways!) 
Our Family :) 
We added a new perk in our quest for summer visitors.
Dave already had his grill to offer delicious, perfectly cooked meats and veggies.
And God already provided a GREAT view from the deck.
Now, thanks to Home Depot's 75% off sale, we have furniture so we can sit as we eat and enjoy the view!
To recap: If you come visit us this summer, you get to stay in the room with the TV (and cable), eat food cooked over fire, view beautiful Knoxville, TN, and sit in our comfy, swivel rocking chairs! The first ones to visit get a prize. We'll also let you play with our dog, the cutest puppy around (even if she does eat her own poop). Just don't let her lick your face.
The only picture of Kristin I took.
Julia climbed on the fire truck.
Hopefully she didn't break anything.
She sat in the truck.
And tried to drive it.
And then caught a ride out to the car.
