I'm Back!!!

Hi there! I am sure you all missed my blog posts tremendously! Well, I am sure you are all wondering what the heck I have been up to and the answer is, everything!!

Let me start with Ellie's room. We got our furniture delivered earlier this month and we are so excited about it! Please excuse the grainy pictures but they were taken with my phone.

Her changing table/ dresser

Isn't this clock precious? 

Her BEAUTIFUL crib!!

We are really excited about how things are coming along. Her chair should be here right after Christmas and then it is time to decorate those bare walls. I really enjoy doing her room and can't wait until she is here to enjoy it!

Next, I spruced up our living room with a new couch, loveseat, side table, and other decorations. I am still on the quest for the perfect decorative pillows to add to the couch and loveseat but so far, I am happy with how it turned out. Not to mention, the couches are super comfy! 

We moved the old old ones upstairs to the playroom. I found some cute wall decals that we are going to put up and we are on the hunt for a bookshelf. This will be my January project.

My parents were just down here visiting for turkey day. We had a lot of fun. My mom and I went shopping ALL DAY Wednesday. She got me and Ellie some really cute stuff. Here is a little bodysuit she got Ellie, I love it!

Not sure if you can tell but it has little penguins on it!

It is so hard not to go crazy in baby gap for her, especially with my mom. Overall, it was a great day and I really enjoyed spending time with my mom.

We spent turkey day at the Elrod's house, which was very nice. The turkey got a little burnt but there were so many other delicious things it didn't even matter. 

We lounged around most of the weekend. My dad, Brett, and I went to the Predators/Rangers hockey game on Saturday night. We had AWESOME seats and it was a great game. We ate some great food and had some laughs. It was a nice week.

Last week Brett and I got our maternity/family pictures taken by Chris and Adrienne Scott. They are GREAT!! If you need pictures for anything, use them. We go tomorrow to look at them and order and I am so excited. They put a sneak peak for us on their blog so check it out! 

http://www.chrisandadrienneblog.com/

Looks like it is time to get studying. Classes are over next week and finals start the week after, eek! I am really looking forward to the end of this semester and going to NY to see everyone!! I will leave you with this picture of my little guy, Miles. He loves to get in the bed when Brett leaves and the other morning he wiggled his way in between my snuggle (pregnancy pillow). He looks so cute and innocent, don't let him fool you!!

Nesting

This week has been a LONG one! We started it off right by going out to dinner with our friends to the Cajun Steamer (really good cajun food). We finally got to meet our friends, Justin and Tiffany's, baby boy Colton. Seriously how cute is he??

Colton and Audrey (Evan and Jessie's little lady) are the most well behaved babies I have ever seen. We had a great time oh-ing and aww-ing at both of them. Brett and I are SOOO ready for February. It was funny to all of us how much dinner conversation changed since they had babies and I got pregnant. No more wine talk, it's all about breast feeding. And forget about weekend plans, it's more like "how many diapers do you change a day". I LOVE it but now I realize why our non pregnant and child-less friends stopped calling, ha-ha! We were really getting together to celebrate the upcoming launch of the boys' new business venture, fantasynews.com. It is going to be the go-to site for all fantasy sports. Brett, Evan, and Justin have all been working hard on it and we are really praying all the hard work pays off. No need to check the site everyday to see if it went live, I will keep you guys posted!!

I was quite the study bug the first part of the week since I had two pretty tough exams on Wednesday and me being a hermit paid off, I got A's on both!! I never cared about my grades before but since I started back I make sure I do the best I can! That is the difference between going to school when you are ready and going to school just to go. 

So the title of this post is "Nesting" because that is exactly what I am doing!! After staying with Jane and Matthew in their beautifully decorated home, I have been driving Brett crazy about what I want done to our house. I would love to just build a house tomorrow and start from scratch but that obviously isn't going to happen. We had a serious conversation and decided that we will start seriously saving so we can build a new house in the next couple of years which makes me really excited!! But until then I need to get this house in tip top shape before Ellie gets here. My parents are coming to town for Thanksgiving. Even though they could care less what my house looks like, I decided today I was going to get the most done in this house that I could before they get here! I few posts back I posted a picture of the couches I found and really wanted. Well, I went a different route. I went to buy the original couches at American Signature today but I couldn't commit. I went across the interstate to Haverty's and as soon as I walked in, fell in love. Forty-five minutes later I walked out the proud owner of this couch and love seat set:

 I could barely contain my excitement when I called Brett to inform him that he too, was a proud owner of these couches. I think he was just shocked that I finally bought something and I know he is happy he won't have to listen to me complain about our current couches! I am going to get some smaller, blue, accent pillows to tie the room together since we have blue and green decor. I am very much looking forward to the delivery man to get here on Tuesday!!

Speaking of furniture, Ellie's furniture is getting delivered tomorrow!!! We are going to wake up early and head to USA Baby for their one day sale to order the rocker and ottoman for her nursery then come home to clean the carpets (I rented the "carpet doctor" from Publix) and wait for Pottery Barn Kids to knock on the door! Here is the chair we decided on (we are going to order it in an oatmeal color with the matching ottoman):

We picked it because it was smaller than most of the other chairs and her nursery isn't that big. I don't want the room to feel too cramped so I think this will be perfect. Not to mention it is pretty comfy, I already practiced sleeping in it! 

Something really neat started this week, I can see my stomach move when Ellie moves! It used to be I could just feel her but now I can actually see her, crazy!! I also can feel my belly and tell where her head and her tush are (not sure which is which though!). This is honestly the coolest thing ever!! She is almost 1.5 pounds and the length of an ear of corn. I will be 25 weeks Monday and according to my super cute pregnancy calender (thanks Jessie!), she will be the size of a rutabaga (if only I knew what that was!). Overall, she is getting big and so am I! I will leave you with a picture of me I took on Monday at exactly 24 weeks. Hello belly (and booty!)!!!

Painted

I hope you all had a happy Halloween!! We had a TON of trick or treaters and ran out of candy, I felt terrible!! We had some adorable kids come but nobody as cute as these little ones (I bet my friends and family are really going to enjoy when I stop having to steal pictures of their kids for my blog. I can't help it, they make beautiful babies!!!):

Grace as the most precious flower I have ever seen!

Audrey is such a sweet pea!!!

Eli is so darn cute as a giraffe!!!

Aunt Missy's precious little pumpkin!!!!

Brett and his mom spent the afternoon painting Ellie's nursery and they did a fabulous job!! The room is definitely pink but I think with her furniture and green and blue accents the pink will be toned down. We should be getting her furniture in the next week or so and her bedding next week. I am so excited to start decorating!!!

Room before paint (so boring!)

Room after paint (hello pink!!!)

Ellie has been moving around a lot and I love it! Brett can finally feel her, like really feel her, and I LOVE how excited he gets!! Well I really need to get back to writing my paper on Gwendolyn Brooks (exciting, I know) so I can make it to yoga tonight. I am in major need of a workout especially after the weekend of unhealthy eating I had!

Registering and Getting Things Done

We went to Knoxville Saturday with the intention of going to the UT Alabama game but wound up staying at our friend's, Matthew and Jane, house all day with their little guy Eli. Eli is such a handsome little guy and Brett and I really enjoyed being around him and catching up with his mom and dad. LSU played Auburn (and lost) and Brett didn't even yell because of Eli which got me really excited for a quiet house next football season! Who would want to yell and scare this little cutie? 

When we got home on Sunday I was even more in baby mode! We are blessed to have such generous family and friends that offered to throw us baby showers so we started registering. I had so much fun registering for our wedding but this has been a bit different. It is fun but also overwhelming. It isn't like registering for pretty dishes instead you have to check the reviews and make sure it is safe for your little one! We got off to a slow start but after doing tons of google-ing we started making decisions. My friend Jessie went with me to Babies R Us and helped me pick out some things. It is definitely helpful having friends with babies to tell me what they use and what they don't. Here are some of the choices we made:

The Bumbleride Indie stroller. I have heard great things about this stroller and hope it works out well for us.

Friends of ours have this swing and once Brett and I saw it, we knew Ellie had to have it!

I love these wraps! I really hope Ellie does too because I plan on putting her in them while I get stuff done!

The Peg Perego car seat is one of the safest out there and I have read great reviews.

Is there anything baby you couldn't live without? Let us know!!!

I have been keeping myself busy with getting home stuff done. As I mentioned last post we finally got our new bedroom carpet. I am on the hunt for the perfect chair and side table for the corner of our room. I was in TJ Max and found a cute comforter set for $50 that I got to hold me over until I fell in love with something ( I haven't found anything I just love!). I went to Lowe's yesterday and picked out tile for our upstairs bath and they are coming to measure on Tuesday. I am excited to get the tile laid so we can put up the wainscotting. We painted the bathroom brown last year and we like it but think the light tile and white wainscotting will really make it look great. I also picked out a couch and love seat and hope Brett likes them as much as I do in person so we can order them sometime this month. 

I think (and hope) this will look nice with our white furniture and some dark colored lamps and accent pieces. 

We are going to move the couches from downstairs upstairs to the office off of our bonus room. Our bonus room is Brett's "man cave" and he said he was going to make our office into a "lady lair" for Ellie and I. I'm not sure if we are going to paint it but we are going to get a cute chandelier, some book shelves, and cute pictures for in there. It is where we plan on keeping all of Ellie's toys. We are putting off granite countertops until January or February (not even sure if we will even get around to it). I know what I want but granite is a lot of money and if I can get everything else done I can live without granite. We want to hopefully buy land and build a new house in the next couple of years so I know I will get my granite countertops one day!

Brett and his mom are going to paint Ellie's nursery this weekend and I can't wait! Her furniture should start arriving next week (her crib mattress should actually get her today) and her bedding the week after. I am really looking forward to putting everything together and seeing how it all turns out. I think I found the perfect chair and hope to show Brett soon so we can get that ordered.

I also have to leave you guys with this picture of my friend Diana's baby girl Grace. Grace started crawling this month and is just the cutest little girl ever! This picture was on her Halloween card and I just love it!

Happy Halloween!

New York

I went to New York for my fall break this past weekend and had a great time. I was only there from Saturday - Tuesday but I feel like I squeezed a lot in! My parents picked me up from the airport and we went straight to Brian and Kate's so I could FINALLY meet Brady! Let me just tell you, pictures do not do this boy justice! He is ADORABLE and I love him so much! GT, Amy and Grace came over too and we all had a blast catching up and eating yummy food. I kept thinking about how fun it is going to be with all the kids running around together in a few years, I can't wait!! I really enjoyed spending the day with my family.

Brian is already training Brady to be a baseball player.

I love my niece and nephew!!

Me and my little meatball!!! (Wow, I need a tan!)

After spending the day with my family I went to one of my favorite restaurants in East Hampton, Turtle Crossing, with my friend Beth and her husband Craig. We had a great time catching up and they gave Ellie some super cute swag! She got her first pair of loafers! It was so great to see old friends and eat good food! 

I woke up bright and early on Sunday to pick up my brother Stephen and cousin Danielle (Yellie) and headed to the Giants game. My brother got the tickets for my birthday (he also got Ellie an Eli Manning Jersey) and we had a great time even though it was so hot! I had to buy a t-shirt (I had on a heavy long sleeve shirt) and the only one they had in my size was a guy named Bavaro. It didn't sound familiar but I figured I would become a fan of his since I had his shirt on. Let's just say I felt pretty dumb when we realized he was retired! Before the game we got to spend some time with our New Jersey cousins at their tailgate which was nice. We NEVER see them and they are so fun and sweet! Yellie and I had some good laughs and caught up with each other which was lovely. We also got yelled at by a cranky Giants fan because we went out his side of the row to use the bathroom (how dare we!). I came to the conclusion that New Yorkers are just cranky people. The picture is the view from our awesome seats, thanks Stephen! When we finally made it back to Long Island I ate dinner at Lisa and Don's house which was very yummy (I love chicken cutlets!). It was also great to catch up with them and my cousin Dana. She is a freshman in high school but is taller than I am! She is an incredible soccer player and I hope she remembers her favorite cousin when she makes the olympic team!

The new stadium is super nice. The fans, not so much!

On Monday I hung out at my Dad's office for a bit then met Kate and Brady for lunch. We had a great time chatting away and Brady looked precious in the puppy dog hat we gave him. He was so good and let his momma enjoy her lunch. I love that little guy! Kate and I had a great time and I can't wait to hang out with her when I go back in December. After lunch I met Amy at Grace's school to pick her up then we went into town to get ice cream. We had a blast and I miss them already!! I went to dinner with my parents that night and ran into some friends which was nice. I went to visit my friend Diana and her baby girl but baby girl was sound asleep and Diana wouldn't let me wake her! I did get to catch up with Diana and her hubby Ryan though. Then I went to see my friend Sara who was sweet  enough to think of Ellie and got her a great book, beautiful blanket, and adorable bath towels. Again, it was great catching up with another old friend!

I love New York but it is nice to be home! I came home to new bedroom carpet which I love and two very happy dogs (and of course a very happy husband!). School started up again on Wednesday and we went to the doctor for a check up today. Ellie's heart sounded great and came in at 155 bpm. The doctor said my weight gain was perfect (8 Ibs so far even though it feels like A LOT more!) and she also told me she really wanted me to get the flu shot so I bit the bullet and went for it. It really wasn't bad but now my arm is pretty sore. I am happy I got it, better to be safe than sorry! We go back to the doctor tomorrow for another sonogram. Ellie was moving around so much last time that they didn't get all the pictures of her heart that they needed. My doctor reassured me that nothing was wrong and they just needed some more pictures. We are very excited to see our little lady tomorrow!!!

Twenty Six

Tomorrow I officially enter the later part of my twenties, wow! While I was in the car (where I do most of my "deep" thinking) I started thinking about my life so far and all the people, places, memories and things that I love. I thought I would share twenty six of these totally random things in honor of my twenty six years on this Earth (WARNING: This is LONG and very random!).

1. ELLIE- Obviously the little lady growing in my belly is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I love her so much and can't wait to meet her. It's been an adventure just being pregnant with her and I look forward to all life has in store for me when she gets here
2. BRETT- I love him. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for bringing him into my life. Not only is he my best friend but he is an amazing husband. He loves me, supports me, makes me laugh, and I feel the most comfortable around him. What a catch!
3. MY PARENTS- If it weren't for them I wouldn't be here. I am lucky enough to have parents that support any decision I make. They let me make my own mistakes and learn from them which has lead me to being the happy girl I am today!
4. MY BROTHERS- Growing up with four older brothers sucked when I was younger but now that I am older I appreciate every taunt, hit,  and "test this bike jump for us". If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be who I am today. It amazes me to look at how much they have grown from being mean boys. Two are fathers and husbands and they are all hard working and fun. My oldest brother won firemen of the year which makes this little sister very proud!
5. LISA- I don't even know where to start with my cousin Lisa. Without her, my brothers and I would be lost! She runs the show at my dads company and does everything for us. She is like a mom, sister, best friend, personal assistant, and cousin wrapped into one! She also brought the greatest bridesmaid ever, Danielle (Yellie), into the world! Yellie is fun and sweet just like her mom and I love her to pieces! There aren't enough words to explain how grateful I am to have Lisa in my life so I will just stop right here!
6. AMY AND KATE- I couldn't have picked better sister-in laws! Amy started dating GT when I was 11 so she has always been the sister I never had. We talk weekly and she has always been there for me. Kate married Brian a year and a half ago and I am so happy she did. We have become a lot closer over the last year and I love how happy she makes my brother. We also talk often and she too is more like a sister than a sister in-law. If I could clone these two for my other brothers, I would!
7. GRACE AND BRADY- Grace is my six year old niece (GT and Amy's daughter) and I love her to pieces! She is so cute and funny. It has been amazing watching her grow up and I know she will be a great cousin to Ellie. Brady (Brian and Kate's son) is almost four weeks old and already I adore him! I haven't met him yet but I finally get to on Saturday! His parents have done a great job sending me pictures and texts and I can't wait to love on him in person!! I truly love being an Aunt!!
8. SUNDAYS AT GRANDMA AND GRANDPA TURZA'S- This is one of two favorite memories from my childhood. Every Sunday we would pile in the car and drive to Miller Place and spend the day at my grandparents. There were TONS of people there and we would swim, ride horses, play roller hockey, and eat lots of yummy food! The Turza side is a bunch of crazy Italians and I love them all!
9. BATHTUB RACES- This is my other favorite memory. Every summer we would pile in the car and head upstate to Moravia, NY with the Wyckoff side of the family. We would all camp for the weekend and sit around the bonfire. It was where I was introduced to jello shots (on accident) at a very young age! We would paint two porcelain bathtubs on wheels to match whatever our theme was that year, load them in the truck and bring them downtown to race against other teams. Two people would be in the tub with plungers to steer and one person would push. I can not tell you how much fun it was, I really miss it!
10. MY EAST HAMPTON FRIENDS- I  am still super close with my friends I met in fifth grade. We might go months without seeing each other but as soon as we are together it's like we never were apart. We are all grown up now and live very different lives. Some are married, one is a mommy, one is in Chicago getting her doctorate (smarty pants!), one is a teacher in Virginia, and a few are back in East Hampton. I am so proud of all of them and love them with all my heart!
11. MY IN-LAWS- When I married Brett I was lucky enough to inherit his family. They are very different then my family but I love them so much. Luckily they all live within twenty minutes of us so we see them often and they are always there to lend a hand. Brett and I look forward to the days that Ellie can run around with her cousins in Brett's parents large, beautiful backyard!
12. CRISTAL AND MILES- I am the crazy dog lady! I got Cristal in college on a whim and couldn't imagine life without her. She is the sweetest dog and has been there for all my tears and cheers and she is a great listener! We added Miles to the family a year and a half ago and couldn't imagine life without him either! Yes he has chewed up our carpet, furniture and even wall but we still love him! He is a big boy (some compare him to a polar bear) but he is a sweet dog that loves us and Cristal and loves to "protect" us. Brett and I have gotten so many laughs with our dogs. They are the best!
13. WAINSCOTT- I love Wainscott. I went to Wainscott school which was a one room school house, from first to fourth grade and it was just me and one boy in our grade. With a total of twelve kids in the school there were lots of memories made and I wish my kids could get the same experience. They had to build a bigger school to accommodate the booming Wainscott population and last I heard they were making the old school a museum (if that doesn't make you feel old, what will!?).
14. MY SOUTHERN FRIENDS- I have been lucky enough to make some great friends in Nashville. It can be hard to make friends outside of the college setting but fortunately Brett is still close with his middle school friends and they all partnered up with some awesome ladies who introduced me to some more awesome ladies! Some of them are mommies or mommies-to- be and I am so lucky to have them during this journey of parenthood!
15. MELISSA BRIGGS, SHAUNA LOVE, AND OTHER FAKE ID NAMES- Yes, I had a fake ID. Actually, I have had several. Since I was the youngest out of my friends I even had to use fake Id's to get into 18+ places! Some of the best memories were made in places we were too young to be at! If my daughter asks though, I never had a fake ID!!!!
16. EUROPE- I LOVE Europe. My friend and I backpacked there when we were nineteen and it was amazing. We went to Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Holland, The Czech Republic, Ireland, England, Scotland, and Spain. We saw so much and met so many different people. It really was the trip of a lifetime and hopefully in the next few years I will be able to show Brett some of my favorite places. I also hope Ellie likes to travel because I want my kids to get to see Europe and experience new places with them.
17. FOOTBALL- I always liked sports but after living in Tennessee I have become a huge college football fan. I love everything about it. The NFL is OK but to me it is too commercial. College football is the real deal! GO VOLS!
18. SCHOOL- The first two times I attempted college were a bust but now that I am finally ready (better late than never) I really enjoy it and appreciate it. After working in the "real world" I realized I wasn't going to get anywhere without my degree which made my decision to go back pretty easy! It is going to take a little long to finish with a baby on the way but I am going to finish!
19. THE BEACH- I love the beach and I miss it so much! I never realized how lucky I was to live by the beach until I moved far, far away from it! I can seriously sit on the beach all day everyday. I look forward to many beach trips with my perfect little family. Ellie is going to be a beach bum! 
20. CHRISTMAS- It really is the most wonderful time of the year! I love everything about Christmas. My family has a tradition of going to see my Dad's family on Christmas Eve, spending Christmas day with our immediate family, and having my Mom's family over the day after. I get to see most of my family and we always have a great time! One of my favorite things to do is give gifts so I am one happy elf during the holidays!
21. GOING OUT TO EAT- Another one of my favorite things to do is going out to eat. I really enjoy trying new places which is odd because I am such a picky eater. 
22. STORMS- There is nothing better than a stormy Saturday morning when you have nothing to do. I hate storms when I am driving but if I am home, I love laying in bed with Brett and the dogs and listening to the rain. It is so relaxing to me! The dogs will jump in the bed because they are scared of storms and that is the only time Brett lets them up there!
23. WINE- It took me a while to like wine but now it is my drink of choice. Obviously I haven't had wine in a few months and won't be having any until after Ellie arrives but I look forward to enjoying a glass of wine on the deck with Brett! We went to San Francisco and Napa Valley for our one year anniversary and I loved going to all the vineyards. I'd love to go back!
24. PEOPLE WATCHING- Who doesn't love sitting in an airport and watching all the people. I always wonder where they are going and why. It might sound weird but people fascinate me! It's a It's amazing to me how diverse our world is.
25. AMERICA- I love America! I know I mentioned Europe before but there really is no place like home! I am grateful for all the men and women who protect our country at home and oversees and appreciate there dedication to this country. Nothing bothers me more then when an America talks about how much  they hate it here. No matter what your political views are every citizen should count their lucky stars that we live in a country where we are free to dress how we want, worship who we want, be what we want to be, and live where we want to! American rocks!
26. BEING HAPPY- I am happy. I have a great husband, family, friends, and a lovely daughter on the way. I just love that feeling when nothing can drag you down. I have had to deal with some serious problems and some flat out nut cases but at the end of the day I am happy with me and my life and that is all that matters!

If you made it this far you are a loyal follower! I encourage you to take a minute and think about all the things that make you happy. I promise if you do you'll be smiling all day!!

Shopping For Ellie

I knew if we were having a girl that meant we are going to go broke! There are so many super cute things out there for baby girls and I have no self control. Like I mentioned before, Brett and I went and got Ellie some things when we found out she was a girl. Here are some of the cute things we got her:

How cute are these??

They didn't have a LSU one so Daddy let Mommy get this one!

A few days later I got an email that gap.com was doing 30% off and free shipping so I added these ADORABLE things to her wardrobe:

Is this not the cutest hat ever!?!

For the summer. Can't beat $14.99!

If they made this in adult sizes, I would totally get one! So cozy looking!

We also got her a cute LSU dress when we were at the game this weekend. She really will be half Tiger and half Vol!

We also settled on furniture and bedding and got those ordered today since they are all on backorder we figured it was better to be safe than sorry! Here is what we got:

We still have to find a chair. We are looking for comfort so if you have any suggestions please let me know!

Here is her bedding:





I brought home some paint swatches the other night and we narrowed it down to five potential nursery colors. For the yellows (Brett's favorite) we have toasted oat and cuddle. For the greens we have aloe vera and for the pinks we have peach ash and light rose. We are going to test them this weekend.

I think I am going to get these signs for over her changing table. I think they are so pretty!





Jessie had some letters made for Audrey's nursery and they match her sheets perfectly. We are going to get Ellie some for over her crib. We are also going to add some pictures of her mommy, daddy, and family somewhere in the room.

So I am pretty sure we are on track for finishing everything well before she gets here. We still need to decide on lighting, a chair, bookshelf, curtains, and a closet organizer. Brett is also going to do crown molding in her room. He has never done it before but really wants to for his little girl. He is such a great dad already!!

I will leave you with a belly picture (I never realized how hard it was to take a picture of yourself!) and a picture of Ellie (isn't she beautiful?!)!!!

Sooooo perfect!!!