Friday, July 24, 2009

26 Weeks

26 Weeks

I am fortunate...I am still feeling great at 26 weeks! I have really enjoyed...so far...being pregnant.

As the weeks go on I can feel Kimber kick and move more and more! It is so wonderful to feel "life" inside of you and it is so amazing when you can actually "see" her move! Yep, that is right - you can see her move! It is wild!

I know it sounds crazy - but, she can recognize voices! Kimber knows her Daddy's voice, she goes crazy when Adam talks to her and Adam gets so excited! Shhh...don't let Adam know but, Kimber already has her Daddy wrapped around her finger!

Savannah

Tuesday, July 21 - Thursday, July 23, 2009

Adam had the week off - it was our "Anniversary Week". We really did not have anything planned because the month on July has been full of unexpected events! On Tuesday we woke up and said "let's go somewhere" so on a whim we packed up and drove to Savannah - now for those of you who know me this was a little "hard" I have to have set plans and reservations and have to start packing days in advance!

On the drive I called around and made reservations at the Marshall House - we got the "Procrastinator Special"! It was a great hotel and the rate was really reasonable - it was a couple of blocks from River Street.
Marshall House


Beautiful Savannah Bridge

We had a lot of fun - just walking around...one of my favorite places to stop is the Savannah Candy Kitchen. I love to watch candy being made and having my fair share of pecan pralines samples.
Making Taffy

Story Time!!! In the Summer of 2005 - Adam meet up with my parents and me in Savannah - Adam and I ended up spending a couple of days longer after my parents left. One night we did a "River Street Bar Crawl" - we started at one end of River Street stopping at bars drinking beer and eating oysters. When we were "at the end" Adam had this great idea for my to pose on the dog from the Waving Lady statue. Well, after the previous beers I agreed...so in our families - you can ask someone "If they rode the dog" and everyone knows that means you had your share of adult beverages...

Flash forward four years...I "rode" the dog at 26 weeks pregnant! No alcohol was involved!
We celebrated our 3rd anniversary in Savannah! We had a wonderful dinner at the Chart House and walked River Street....
Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Love the Street Performers in Savannah! This is a break dancing group that preforms on a regular basis. They are actually really good!

Chalkboard

Monday, July 20, 2009

Adam had the day off - so we completed a project!

I have wanted to paint a chalkboard in the garage - just for little notes - decorations - and especially for Kimber in a couple of years!

Before

After

There is a ribbon attached - with clothes pins - to hold up pictures, paintings, notes....

Sawyer & 4-Wheeler

Sunday, July 19, 2009

I have never seen so much excitement on a child's face...

Over the past several weeks Sawyer and Adam have been chatting back-and-forth about a four-wheeler...Sawyer would find one online and email it to Adam - Adam would call the seller...and on-and-on....Well, on Sunday we found the "perfect" bright yellow four-wheeler for Saywer. I have to say I am very impressed with the way this child can save money! He purchased with his money that he has been saving for years.

Lunch with Brooke & Abigail

Monday, July 13, 2009

I had lunch a Johny's Pizza with wonderful friends - Brooke and Abigail. I can remember when Abigail was born - I called her a little bag of sugar...I cannot believe how much she has grown!!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

24 Weeks

July 8, 2009

I had an appointment Wednesday morning. We could hear Kimber's little heart beating perfectly. Dr. Stewart took measurements of my belly - she said I looked wonderful and was in great physical shape for 6 months pregnant.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Grandmother!

Weekend of July 2 - July 7, 2009

On a heartfelt and tearful note...

Sometime when you think you have "life" figured out...you find out you really do not.

Last Thursday, July 2 - my Grandmother died unexpectedly during her afternoon nap. I have always said when something happened to her...I would be lost! I think the only thing that is getting me through is knowing that we had two wonderful weeks of shopping, going around town, eating lunch together, visiting Momma at work at Southern Regional, and just being together! Not to mention the lifetime of memories that I have...Tybee Island and using a toothbrush handle to spread peanut butter, when she bought Jergen's lotion on sale and really it was dark self tanning lotion she just could not figure out why she was "changing colors", going to the lake on a Friday evening and she would have cube steak, fried okra and mashed potatoes made, how she loved each one of us for who are, how we would sit together on the dock waiting for my Daddy to land the plane, how she would "borrow" things from a restaurant (salt/pepper shaker, condiment packages), how she would dress up for Halloween, how her house was always decorated for all the holidays, how she would always be herself and truly loved life! and I could go on-and-0n!

I am so fortunate that she was able to celebrate with all of us on the upcoming attention to our family that will arrive this fall, little Kimber. I have some diaper covers, socks, and pillowcases that she hand embroidered for Kimber and now they have a new meaning!

I want to call you - I want to hug you - I want you to rub my pregnant belly - I want to tell you I love you one more time! I want to know that you are okay...give me the strength! I know you are at peace while we are all hurting here...

If you are fortunate to have your Grandmother in your life...call and tell her you love her!

Happy 27th Birthday, Adam

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Adam's birthday is actually June 26th but, we celebrated with his friends on Saturday! We had a great time catching up with friends!

Andrew, Adam, Trey, Daniel and Coach


Amy, me, and Rhonda

Of course...there was a game.

This is to cute not to share....

Jessica and Ayden doing thier impression of KISS!

Cruise

Friday, June 19 - Monday, June 22, 2009

Adam and I went on a three-day cruise. We left port from Port Canaveral - set sail to Nassau, Bahamas - to Coco Cay - back to Florida.

22 weeks pregnant
I know it is not "healthy" but, I love to lay in the sun! I was that "girl" who was pregnant rockin' the two-piece! (Adam said it looked good!)

Nassau, Bahamas

Sometimes I can get Adam to join me in the sun...it is very rare.

Sometimes I really think that Adam is my Daddy "redone"! So what did we do when we got to Nassau...we found some HISTORY! We walked and walked and walked until we arrived at the Queen's Staircase - then we climbed and climbed a hundred stairs (really only 65 but, to a pregnant girl who was hot and whose thighs are getting a little larger...that rub together...yep, it was over a hundred stairs).
Queen's Staircase

Fort Fincastle


Formal Night

Coco Cay


Us
We had a wonderful time...just a small vacation to get away....and relax.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Addison Leigh Lewis

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Daniel and Becky Lewis - great friends of ours - welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world on June 14th. She is just precious...I cannot get enough of her!
Addison Leigh Lewis

With big brother Ayden!

Happy Father's Day

June 17 - 18, 2009

Happy Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day during the week with our Dads...we were on a cruise on Sunday.

How great is life to have a father you look up to. What would I do without my Daddy?

Grandmother's 75th

Sunday, June 14, 2009

I am so fortunate to have a Grandmother that has been such a huge part of my life! She is a wonderful person. I hope to celebrate many more birthdays with her!
Happy 75th Birthday, Grandmother!

First Fish...

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Finally, someone caught a fish out of the pond! There really are fish in Austin Lake!
Alex Anderson

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Four Months

Four Months!

Adam is going to be a Daddy…yep that is right we are expecting.


Long story long...

After the house was built and we were settled Adam and I decided that what was to happen with our family in the future was in God’s hands. Little did I know I was pregnant in January. After several failed pregnancy test during the month of February I thought well…missed a period. During Winter Break (February 16 February 20), I went to New York to visit with Diana – still no signs of Mother Nature or a positive pregnancy test and as you can see from the New York trip posting Diana and I had several bottles of wine and margaritas before noon. After I arrived home I knew I needed to schedule an appointment with the doctor.

February 20, 2009

On Friday, February 20th I went to the doctor to find out what was wrong. Little did I know that the doctor did not know that I did not know that I was pregnant! This is how the conversation went:

Dr. Stewart: “What brings you here today?”

Me: “I haven’t started my period in over a month.”

Dr. Stewart: “Well, that is what happens during this time in your life.”

Me: I am thinking to myself Huh? Is there something that my Momma did not tell me about that happens to your body when you are in your mid-twenties? So, I say to her: “I am confused.”

Dr. Stewart: “Why are you confused? It is simple, in about 9 to 10 months you will be back to your regular cycle.”

Me: Call me blonde because it still was not clicking. I took another pregnancy test this morning before I left the house and it was not positive. I knew I was not pregnant! I must have looked perplexed because Dr. Stewart said…

Dr. Stewart: “Congratulations! You are going to be a Mom!”

I left the doctor’s office in complete shock with complete excitement with complete confusion and wondering how I could get some of my money back from all those expensive pregnancy test that were WRONG!

I set in the car for several minutes praying to God for a healthy baby and successful pregnancy and especially for a baby that was not floating in alcohol from the New York trip the Jr. League party, the Thursday night margaritas…! Also, my next thought how am I going to tell Adam? I went to Barnes and Noble to browse the children’s section hoping that I could find a book. Growing up, books were such an important part of my childhood - Momma read to me every night and I went to the library often with my Grandmother. I love children’s books. I sat in the little reading area a – very little chair reading – and crying over books. I found the perfect book for Adam: My Daddy and Me and I also found a book for my parents: Someday and a book for Adams parents: Little Boy. I continued to go about my day with a huge smile on my face – when Adam came home that evening from work his book was sitting on the table and he just looked at me like…Oh My! Needless to say, he was very excited!

March 6, 2009 - Ultrasound

Pregnancy seems a little surreal until you see the itty-bitty-tiny what looks like a kidney bean – that you call your baby – on the screen. Everything checked out good as expected! We learned of the due date October 27 and my face turned a little white because that is my birthday. I have it in my mind that this baby is not going to come until November…ummm 3rd.



March 7, 2009 -How we told our parents

Adam and I often have our parents over for dinner so it did not seem out of sorts when we invited them over for steaks. We had a wonderful dinner and a great visit. After dinner the six of us were sitting around the table and I went to get the gifts. My mother has a sliding charm bracelet and Harriet has a Pandora – Adam and I have calling cards that we enclose in gifts that say Adam and Amber Steele and I added and Baby there was a hole punched in the card with a ribbon that had the charms attached. I simply placed them on the table in front of our Mothers and later gave them the books I purchased at Barnes and Noble. No words are needed to describe their excitement!



How we told our family

On Easter we all get together at Aunt Pam and Uncle Jimmy’s for lunch. Before grace Adam asked Uncle Jimmy privately if at the end of the prayer he would pray for the new addition to our family that would arrive in late October (I still say early November). We gathered for pray Uncle Jimmy said the blessing with the ending…it was very sweet. The family was in shock.
As for the rest of the family - I mailed letters to all the children from Baby Steele.

Past Days

Over the course of the weeks we have had several ultrasounds, the complete quad-screening, and a 3-D ultrasound. With lots of prayer everything seems to be perfect with our little one. It seems to be 100% that we are having a little girl because we have been told we are having a girl by three different ultrasound techs.
11-week

Can you see her smile?
19-week
The Name Game

After many short – sometimes long – frustrating conversations with Adam we could not agree with a name. Until my parents called:

Momma: “Hey, Baby Girls…Your Daddy thought of a name for the baby.”

Me: “Okay what is it?”

Momma: “Kimber!”

Me: “Kimber. I like that.”

Adam: From the other side of the house – with his selective hearing –I hear “Oh Yeah! I like Kimber!”

Me: “Momma, where did he come up with the name Kimber?”

Adam & Daddy: In unison –“ It is the name of a gun!”

I immediately went to the internet to research the name Kimber. On the first website I went to I read Kimber: part of a forest. I was sold on the name Kimber because my Daddy’s first name is Forrest. Adam and I obviously like the name for different reasons but, we agreed on a name! The middle name just came…we agreed and did not discuss it anymore after we agreed. Kimber Elise Steele. More to the story…come to find out Elise is part of a name of a car – Lotus Elise. Adam obviously knew this and was excited when I agreed on Elise…so our sweet little baby girl is named after a gun and a car!

Me & Baby

As Dr. Steward said last week at the 20 week check-up I was meant to birth babies…

I have had little pregnancy symptoms other than the massive growth in my boobs and the every-once in awhile heartburn. I have gained – knock-on-wood – little weight. Kimber seems to continue to grow! I have felt her flutter around a little and I cannot wait until she kicks the breath out of me so I know she is okay!
20-weeks

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Retirement - Mrs. Lynn Wilson

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Of all the people in the world...Mrs. Lynn might be one of my favorite. Mrs. Lynn has been with Coweta County Schools for over 32 years. Her last 13 years she blessed Northgate High School as the front office secretary. She is such a wonderful person who always has a smile on her face! Northgate will truly miss Mrs. Lynn...what are we going to do with our her?