21 weeks

We lost our childhood dog this week. So glad I got this picture with Landry.
RIP Bailey girl

Her first day of school!

Her first school art project.

Playing with the peanut outside before daddy's birthday dinner party

The birthday boy post dinner; next year is the "big" birthday

Laughs with my girl Kerri

My old DMN crew; miss working with these girls so much!

Crazy hair after swimming last weekend

Dinner with her homies

East Texas farmer's market.  Or peeeeches, as Landry calls them.

Had to include this pic.  Cristina tested pigtails on the peanut this week.
I don't think she's a fan

Happy Saturday!  I finally have a minute to sit down and collect a few thoughts after a very busy two weeks.  I'll be 21 weeks tomorrow, woohoo!

Last weekend my close friend Kerri was in town from Chicago; she just moved there after five years in Abu Dhabi.  We used to work at The Dallas Morning News together and she's always been like a sister to me.

We had such a great weekend from a one-on-one lunch to a big fat brunch with all of our old DMN crew.  It was so good to see her and I definitely spent much of lunch trying to convince her to move back :)  Since she moved away, I've dated/married Michael, bought a house, started businesses, and had a baby with another on the way.  It's crazy to think how much life I've lived in five years!

Friday we had dinner with my in-laws and I met several family members from Louisiana that were in town for the LSU/TCU game.  Saturday night we celebrated Michael's birthday with four couples.  We had a nice dinner and cocktails afterwards.  It was great to catch up with his old pals, especially since some have moved away and we don't get to see them often.  We kept this birthday celebration low key but next year will be a blowout to toast the big 4-0!!!

On Labor Day we went to East Texas to pick up the lake house keys and meet our contractor to go over the remodel.  We had so much fun exploring our new little (that's putting it lightly) town and discovered the cutest bakery for lunch that we will hit every time on the way out there for the weekend's pastries and desserts (I can't wait to have you taste the cherry "ice box" cookies, Dad!).  They even have a chic little coffee bar inside where I will definitely log some serious hours.

The house looked very different empty.  I am so excited to put our stamp on this cute little cottage.  They started demo this week and are doing electrical this weekend.  I will be back out next week to bring supplies and paint.  I have just about everything purchased for the remodel, it's been fun to buy materials that are more traditional than my everyday taste (although I still have some funky schemes up my sleeve).  We hope to be done in six weeks, fingers crossed!

Our general contractor on the job was good friends with the former owners of our place and logged a lot of hours on the property.  He told Michael that our cove on the lake has some of the best fishing on Lake Palestine (pronounced pal-e-steen, as the locals will tell you).  Michael is excited to test the waters and teach Landry how to fish!

On our way out of town we hit the local farmer's market and bought a basket of peaches for Landry.  She's already blazed through them!  They had everything from fruit to jams and pies.  We will no doubt shop the market every time we're in town.  I already love our little getaway so much!

To top off the holiday weekend, we met grabbed pizza with Paula, Todd and the twins. The kiddos had a ball all lined up in a row eating their food and "talking" to each other.

This week was Landry's first full week of "school."  She did great!  The first day back she was more hesitant to see me go at drop off but quickly adjusted and had a good day.  Paula and I met up before pickup and went to school together to get the three amigos.  We were so happy to find Landry and Gabriella on the ground sharing a toy and playing happily together.  It melted our hearts!  They are already such good pals.

By Thursday Landry was happy to arrive and even slept the full nap time (it's nearly two hours!) for the first time.  Both days she made little art projects and her daily report card said she was cheerful and helped put away toys.  I'm such a proud mama bear!

My other little cub is also doing great.  I'm starting to feel Barrett move a little bit when I'm sitting still, especially at night.  Yesterday while at lunch with girlfriends I really felt him kick!  I have a feeling that it's just a matter of time before he's a little wiggle worm.

I feel like I'm growing by the day.  Somehow I'm still in my pre-preggo jeans (I think it's just days until I can't button them any longer), but my belly is so much bigger than when I was 21 weeks with Landry.

I'm pretty much over the nausea, but my lower back is really bothering me.  We think it's because I'm carrying the little guy a lot lower than my first pregnancy coupled with all of this new weight in my tummy.  I haven't worked out in weeks -- maybe months -- so I hit the gym this week to try to stretch my back and build up some strength to help carry this bowling ball.  Hopefully it will help me feel better soon.

This week I got some fun news: I have a new decorating gig -- in CA!  While visiting family a couple of weeks ago, I met with a darling girl about her home in Newport Beach thanks to my friend Samantha.  She and her husband are about to do a very massive remodel on a bayside home.  She's this groovy actress and has a very cool eye.  We are going to have such a blast shopping for their home.  I'm being very selective about clients these days, but this is truly a dream gig given the location and client's style.  I'm very excited to get started!

The Jones gig is going well.  My custom projects -- mirrors, pillows, tables, benches, etc. -- are starting to arrive and it's very exciting to see the vision come together after months and months of planning.  Our install has been pushed back to November -- the day after my flea market -- so the next couple of months are truly going to be the busiest of my life.

Luckily, when the dust settles it will be holiday season and time to nest with my big ol' belly.  I'm very much looking forward to that time with friends and family before Barrett arrives.  What a year this has shaped up to be!