Baby Names??

We need help here. 

The only criteria ...

It cannot start with an M or a B
(Paul refuses to have a child with the initials BM).

2 months to go.

I was sitting here thinking how nice it would be if you only had to be pregnant for 7 months.

It's been a long day.

Girlfriend sleeping with an ice cream cone in her hand.

Why???

Mary's new favorite word: "WHY?" 

Only because she uses it in almost every sentence she says. I know it's her way of learning/figuring everything out, but really, by the end of the day ... my brain is exhausted. Some questions are legitimate "why" questions, but others are TOUGH. The hardest thing comes when she doesn't understand your explanation, she'll ask "why" 15 times until she figures it all out. I love that she's so curious about everything, but dang, it wears me out.

"Why is is cold outside?" ... "Why is it winter?" ... "Why do we have seasons?" ... "Why does the sun keep us warm?" ... "Why is the sun burning hot?" ... "What are planets?" .... "What's outer space?" ... 

By dinner time, I am positive that I cannot answer a single "why" question without losing it.

Thankfully, we get some pretty cute questions throughout the day that keep me loving her 3-year-old curiosity.

This morning:

"Why is that sheep looking up when everybody is supposed to be looking at Baby Jesus?!"

We decided he's looking up at the star, and she's perfectly content with that answer. Whew. 

I didn't want to have to go into an explanation about manufactured plastic toys and how we can't really change the direction of his head.  

Unpacking

I've been going through phases of unpacking this month. Our main living areas were easy to unpack and set up, only because the extra boxes were stuck in the basement, the office, the "pantry", and what will be the baby's room. I've been working in each room little by little, but I swear the stuff multiplies.

My goal this week is to pick a room every day and stick with it all day until everything has a place. So far, my work has paid off beautifully.

Monday - The Office

Tuesday - the "pantry"

It's really just a hallway off the kitchen/dining area ... but for now it is my pantry.

I can't argue with a little extra space for food and storage.

Our own tiny grocery store.

My goal for today was to finish the baby's room. We need to paint, furnish, and decorate this room before April. It would be nice if I could clean it out. Too bad Mary is a little under the weather and running on not enough sleep (leading to an unhappy girl and a day full of melt downs), so the room still looks like this:

I'm hoping to have my grumpy/tired child in bed as soon as she finishes with her dinner and a bath, and then ... and then I'm hanging out with Paul watching American Idol in my pajamas.

So, TOMORROW! I will conquer this room.

I think my goal for next week will be finishing the basement ... wish me luck on that one.

Nashville Getaway

We wanted to get away together before the boy arrives, so we headed up to Nashville, TN for a weekend getaway. I had no idea how the weekend would pan out, since neither of us were familiar with Nashville at all ... but we had a blast. Although I'm definitely looking pregnant all over, it was still super easy/comfortable to travel and what-not at 29 weeks.

We were so impressed with Nashville. We only spent time downtown and on the West End, but we loved it. Some highlights of the trip ...

*A walk through Vanderbilt and a fabulous dinner at Bound'ry

*A trip to the Nashville Temple, where we met up with Paul's parents and sister. SO nice to be there with them.

*Sleeping in late and taking long naps in a super cozy hotel bed

*An evening in downtown Nashville, full of tourist shops, live bar music, and local bbq, topped off with a concert at the Grand Ole Opry's Ryman auditorium

*Paul threatening to walk out when they sang "Rocky Top."

*Meeting the "legendary" Ronnie Milsap (too bad we don't know anything about old country music ...)

*discovering Nashville's full-sized replica of the Parthenon ... who knew?!

*a gorgeous drive through the West End and Belle Meade and some serious southern food at Loveless Cafe

Downtown Nashville

Mr. Ronnie Milsap

Cuz we didn't take pictures of anything but ourselves ...

The Parthenon

Hercules?

Now on my list of favorite restaurants, 

Loveless Cafe.

Snow Days

We take our snow once a year around here.

Play in it two or three times and you've had a good winter. 

"Come on Mommy, come hug 'yis tree."

Except the snow and ice has stuck around for four days this year. It's chilly.