Celebrate Good Times!

May has been filled with lots of dinner dates and other celebrations. We enjoyed a playdate with some friends, a birthday party, and dinner with my girlfriends. Trent and I took two childbirth refresher classes since it has been awhile since we last went through this adventure called labor and delivery! We learned some new things here and there and it was good to learn new birthing positions (I don’t think we tried too many last time once we were in the ‘throes of labor.’). We celebrated Trent’s birthday at Angus Barn where Brayden was able to go into the chef’s kitchen and make her ice cream sundae (read: it was really a sneaky cover up to make that as well as decorate Trent’s birthday cake). I bought Trent a smoker (to tag onto his love of grilling), on which he prepared us some delicious ribs and chicken! We continued his birthday celebration with a larger group dinner (sans kids) out the next night.

Mother’s Day weekend was really wonderful as well. We took it easy and watched Leo and Marley and just layed low. Trent bought me an awesome book called “Love in Spoonfuls” which will help us get creative when fixing food for Bee-Boo as well as show us how to make a lot of food from scratch (instead of from jars), which will save us money (however, not necessarily time), but we’ll give it a shot! I had a work meeting which lasted a few days where my entire team came to Raleigh, which, by default, meant eating dinner out with them three nights in a row. While the food and company was great, it was a bit exhausting. We took Brayden to the NCSU Arboretum for some updated photos and really came back with some nice ones of all of us, thanks to the Mazzolas loaning us their nice SLR camera. Brayden enjoyed walking around the gardens, smelling the flowers, and pretending that some stepping stones were her safe place away from the ‘sharks’ swimming around her (that imagination gets more creative every day).

The third weekend in May we went to Charlotte for two different purposes: Trent to go to the All-Star NASCAR race with the guys, and Brayden & I to have a “girls’ weekend” at Nana’s house. Miss B and I went to Elizabeth’s high school graduation along with Nana, Kyle, Uncle Johnny, Aunt Carrie, and all of the Buehlers. It was so great to see how everyone is so grown up now (I remember changing those kids’ diapers!). Trent had a blast at the race with the guys. They even stayed downtown and went out to the hot clubs/bars! Each year they go to a different race and it sounds like this one was really fun! On the way back home, we bought some new furniture for Brayden’s “big girl room” and stopped by Greensboro for Hawkins’ second birthday.

Mimi had surgery to remove the tumor in her lungs and the surgery was successful. The margins of the tumor were clear and they will be talking about possible treatment options to eliminate any microscopic cancerous cells from the pleura in the coming weeks. As you can imagine, the surgery was very intense and the recovery time will take a few months, but in both seeing Mimi during the visit to Charlotte and speaking to her on the phone multiple times, it sounds like she is doing as well as she could be given the circumstances. The comforting thing (being 150 miles away) is that she is such a determined woman and doesn’t give up, plus she is surrounded by so many family members who are graciously spending countless hours with her and Dadaw to bring them food, do their grocery shopping, and keep them company during her recovery. That brings me peace in knowing how much she is loved by everyone. Her minister from Florida even flew up for her surgery!

In other news, after a recent dentist appointment, Brayden and I were leaving via the elevator and when it opened, her finger got caught between the door. Needless to say, it scared me so much and I started yelling help, pushed the alarm in the elevator and then decided to take matters into my own hands (this all happened in a matter of three seconds, max!). Luckily, there was enough space that her finger slid out pretty easily and there was just a slight indention in her finger which went away by the time we got to school. Ahh, the joys of parenting. Whew, that was a scary moment, but I think we both did good under pressure! On a lighter note, Brayden has added a new vegetable to her repertoire…broccoli. And you know why? Mostly because Trent accidently called it “Barkoli” one evening when convincing her to try it. It’s the little things, right? Also (just so this post doesn’t always sound so “PolyAnna”) this pregnancy (which, at the end of May I was 30 weeks) has been a tad bit more difficult than the last. I have been feeling more tired than before, experiencing a dull pain just below my right rib (which could just be heartburn, who knows?), and more frequent and uncomfortable Braxton Hicks contractions. I know all of these things are so minor in the scheme of things, so I’m not complaining in the least bit, but just wanted to use this as an opportunity to record the progression of this pregnancy as compared to the last. We have been spending a portion of our weekends preparing for Bee-Boo as well by cleaning out Brayden’s closet and working on moving Brayden’s bed to her “big girl room.”

Our last few days of May and the first few of June were spent living a life of luxury in the Turks & Caicos islands in the Caribbean for our “babymoon”…just Trent and I (and Bee-Boo, by default). I think we are still having vacation withdrawal. I will share some photos here just to tease you a bit with the remaining ones in the June post! Enjoy!

View Photos & Video | View Belly Photos