Tattoo Link Up!

Ashley, at I Love You More Than Carrots, posted here about her new tattoo. She asked fellow bloggers to link up and show off their ink {and any meaning behind it}.

I actually have 2 tattoos and am planning to get a couple more. They are kind of addicting. ;-)

I got my first tattoo in 2004. A couple co-workers of mine were planning a visit to Iron Age. I had been wanting to get a tattoo, but would have never done it by myself. So the three of us went on a Sunday afternoon. For a very long time I've LOVED dolphins. So I got 2 dolphins on my lower back.

Here I am in the chair getting the tattoo. My mom and sister came along for moral support and to take a few pictures. :-)

My co-workers and I after getting our tattoos.

 My "twins" as I lovingly call them. I love the vibrant aqua color and believe it or not, they are still very vibrant 7 years later.

Then, a year later in 2005, one of the same co-workers decided she'd like to get another tattoo. I was up for it, so one Saturday we met up at Iron Age again and got another tattoo. I got this one on the inside of my left ankle. Its a paw print to represent my LOVE for dogs. :-) I had just gotten Libby that spring and it will always remind me of her.

The next tattoo I plan to get is going to be a hummingbird in memory of my Grammy that recently passed away this past April. She loved hummingbirds and the weekend after she passed away, my cousin thought it would be cool if we all went and got a hummingbird tattoo together. Since my sister and I are pregnant, this tattoo will have to wait til after the babies' are born. I want it to be small and I'm not completely sure where I want to get it yet, but I know I'd like to get a hummingbird that looks like the one flying in this picture. I love the colors. I'd also like to get Grammy or her initials above or below it. 



So those are my tattoos and future tattoos. :-)

4 Years of Wedded Bliss

Four years ago today, I married the love of my life and best friend. I'm so excited that four years later we are expecting a precious baby boy into our lives. :-) The last four years have been great and I'm looking forward to many, many more.

Since we're saving all of our vacation time and money for the baby, we aren't doing anything too big for our anniversary this year. Jake is planning on fixing a Fillet Mignon dinner for the 2 of us and we're probably going to watch So You Think You Can Dance on TV. Maybe for our 5 year anniversary next year, we can take a nice relaxing trip somewhere tropical. :-)

Here we are 4 years ago today.



26 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 26 Weeks.

Size of Baby: The baby is around 14 inches long, from head to heel. The length of an English Hothouse Cucumber. He weighs around a pound and two thirds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: At my 24 week Dr. appt. I had gained 18 pounds total. The baby was also measuring 2 weeks ahead.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, all maternity pants and mostly maternity shirts.

Gender: Its a BOY!! Jackson Thomas Smith

Movement: Yes, he's moving around A LOT now, and I love it.

Food Cravings: Still no real food cravings. Just anything that sounds good at the time.

What I miss: All the little things I miss are so worth it, knowing we'll be meeting our little baby boy in just 3 more months. :-)

Sleep: Still sleeping okay. Just wish I could sleep later in the morning and didn't have to get up for work. But I felt like that even when I wasn't pregnant, lol.

Symptoms: I'm still having this pain under my right ribs. The chiropractor seems to have helped my back a lot, but this pain under my ribs has gotten worse. The chiropractor seems to think its the ligaments pulling due to my ever expanding uterus. Not sure there's much that can be done about that, other than giving birth. Unfortunately its not time for that yet.

Best Moment this week: Having some downtime at home. This summer has been super busy and I've needed some downtime.

What I am looking forward to: Getting Jackson's room ready, my baby shower on Sept. 10th and getting to meet Jackson in Oct.

Another Weekend Down

Well, here we are, back to Monday again.

Our weekend was pretty low-key for a change, thank goodness.

*Friday night we went to my Mother-in-Laws house for dinner and to celebrate a family friends birthday.

*Saturday, Jake golfed while I stayed home and cleaned the entire house from top to bottom. Believe me, it needed it BAD!! As much as a Saturday of cleaning sounds like no fun, it feels good to have a clean house again. :-) Saturday evening my Brother-in-Law brought their new puppy over for us to dog sit this week while they're in California. Buddie is sooo adorable and we're enjoying having him at our house. Our dogs don't know what to think about this tiny little puppy. Buddie is a Pomeranian-Shih Tzu puppy and is teeny, tiny compared to our 3 labs. Here's a couple pictures of him. He's so cute.

*Then Sunday we went to church and then had lunch with my parents and my Sister, Brother-in-Law and nephew. After that Jake and I went to see the new Transformers movie, which was a pretty big disappointment, unfortunately.

Then, after the movie we spent the rest of the evening at home. Jake mowed the yard and I played with the dogs. :-)

Hope you all had a great weekend.

25 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 25 Weeks.

Size of Baby: The baby is around 13 1/2 inches long, from head to heel.  He weighs around a pound and a half. About the size of a rutabaga.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: At my Dr. appt. on Friday I had gained 18 pounds total. The baby was also measuring 2 weeks ahead.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, all maternity pants and mostly maternity shirts.

Gender: Its a BOY!! Jackson Thomas Smith

Movement: Yes, he's moving around A LOT now, and I love it.

Food Cravings: Still no real food cravings. Just anything that sounds good. I do seem to be hungrier more often these days, which is not helping my ever expanding waist and hips. Guess that comes with the territory though.

What I miss: Nothing really at this point.

Sleep: Having to get up at least once a night to use the restroom and just can't seem to get comfortable sometimes, but otherwise sleeping fine. I don't seem to have a problem going to sleep cause I'm usually very tired by the end of the day.

Symptoms: I'm still having some issues with my upper back and under my right ribs, but its tolerable and I think the chiropractor is helping some.

Best Moment this week: Spending time with family, my mom buying Jackson's crib set and registering for Jackson at Babies R Us.

What I am looking forward to: Getting Jackson's room ready, my baby shower on Sept. 10th and getting to meet Jackson in Oct.

Our Fourth of July Weekend

We had a super busy 4th of July weekend!

I was off work Friday, so I spent the day at Dr. appts., shopping and getting ready for a wedding I was attending on Saturday evening.

I had a chiropractor appt. at 9:50 a.m., then I went and picked up my mom and we went to my baby Dr. appt. at 11:30. We had lunch with my sister and nephew and then we did a little shopping and I registered for the baby at Babies R Us! After that, I dropped my mom off at home and went and got an airbrushed tan for the wedding on Saturday. Then Friday evening we went to my MIL's house to watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Saturday we got up and did some chores around the house. My car was extremely dirty and needed to be cleaned before we went to the wedding and out of town to Hannibal over the 4th. So I cleaned it all up and Jake cleaned our gutters and trimmed an overgrown bush we have on the side of the house. It was an extremely hot day, but we managed to get it all done. I also made a couple patriotic pies for our church picnic on Sunday.

Cherry Pie

Apple Pie

Then we got ready for the wedding. It was Jake's cousin that got married and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to. It was at the Coronado Ballroom. Here are a few pictures from the wedding.

Jake's cousin Jason and his fiance, his Aunt Deb and Uncle Paul, Jake and I, Jake's mom, our SIL Liz, friend Jim, Jake's bro. Pat, our SIL Amie and Jake's brother Larry. 

The beautiful centerpiece on our table at the reception.

Another centerpiece at the reception.

The bride and groom cutting the cake. This picture turned out really dark. :-(

Jake and I at the reception.

Jake and I at the wedding. The bride and groom got married under this beautiful chuppah. The candles and flowers lined the center aisle during the ceremony.

Then Sunday we went to church and stayed after for the church picnic. We only stayed for lunch because we were leaving for Hannibal that afternoon. Here are some of the yummy desserts people made for the picnic.

The amazing dessert table!



Sunday after lunch, we drove to Hannibal, MO with Jake's family for the 4th. Its where Tom Sawyer grew up and it was a fun little getaway for the family. Here are a few pictures from our overnight trip.

The whole family standing in front of Mark Twain's boyhood home.

Becky Thatcher's home.

The Mark Twain Dinette, where we had dinner Sunday evening.

The Mississippi River running along the edge of Hannibal, MO.

Mark Twain Statue down on the landing.

Jake and I with the river in the background.

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn Statue.

Little shops in Hannibal.

Huckleberry Finn's home.

Lighthouse that overlooks Hannibal and the Mississippi river.

Stairs leading up to the lighthouse. There are 244 steps!!

The view from the lighthouse.

Lighthouse.

We drove home on the evening of the 4th and made it back just in time to see some fireworks in Florissant, where we live. They put on a show every year, so we thought we'd drive up there and watch them before heading home.

Hope you all had a happy 4th of July weekend!!



24 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 Weeks already!! I can't believe we only have about 3 1/2 more months until we get to meet our little Jackson. I can't wait!!

Size of Baby: The baby is around a foot long, from head to heel. About the length of an ear of corn. He weighs just over a pound.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm not entirely sure, I should find out on Friday at my 24 week appt. I'm kind of scared cause i think it might be a lot. :-(

Maternity Clothes: Yes, all maternity pants and mostly maternity shirts.

Gender: Its a BOY!! Jackson Thomas Smith

Movement: Yes, he's moving around A LOT now, and I love it.

Food Cravings: Still no real food cravings. Just anything that sounds good. I do seem to be hungrier more often these days, which is not helping my ever expanding waist and hips. Guess that comes with the territory though.

What I miss: Nothing really at this point.

Sleep: Having to get up at least once a night to use the restroom and just can't seem to get comfortable sometimes, but otherwise sleeping fine. I don't seem to have a problem going to sleep cause I'm usually very tired by the end of the day.

Symptoms: A sore muscle in my upper back. Other than that I don't seem to have any other symptoms.

Best Moment this week: Going to dinner and shopping with my hubby this past Monday night. He HATES to go shopping with me, but his cousin's wedding is this Saturday and I needed a new dress. So he offered to come along!! I was shocked, but happy. He was sweet and sat there as I tried on 6 or 7 dresses and gave his opinion on each one. :-)

What I am looking forward to: The long 4th of July weekend, and our little overnight trip to Hannibal, MO with Jake's family on Sunday/Monday.