Surprise Baby Shower

We try to get out to Greensboro, GA (Clay's hometown) at least once a month to visit with Clay's grandmother and uncle and work on cleaning up more at his mom's house. Recently we have been trying to coordinate our visits with Amanda and Edmund (who live in NC) so we can all be there at the same time. So...last month we planned on going out there the weekend of August 14-16th. About a week before, Clay told me that he had to be on-call for work on Saturday morning and since it was right after 'close week' for him, I didn't think anything of it and we decided we would just drive out Saturday afternoon.

When we pulled up to the house, there were a bunch of cars parked in the driveway but I just thought that Amanda had friends over since she and Edmund had gotten there the night before. That was, until I saw a minivan with Florida tags - I thought to myself, I think that's Aunt Sandy's car. Then it hit me - this wasn't just a typical "cleaning weekend" in Greensboro. It turns out Amanda and Edmund planned a surprise baby shower for us!!

I have to say, I was completely surprised! In fact, even after I realized the surprise I still thought Clay was really on-call that morning - but no - that was just an excuse to get us to leave Atlanta on Saturday afternoon instead of Friday night like we originally planned. They really got me good! Had I known we were having a party and weren't just cleaning all day, I probably would have worn something a little nicer and bothered to fix my hair!

It was a great time of catching up with our friends and family and seeing some out-of-towners like Sandy and Steve from Florida and Mr. & Mrs. Bishop from South Carolina. I'm so glad they were able to come. We had a ton of delicious food including Edmund's fabulous baby back ribs! We ate, played some games and won fabulous prizes, opened presents, ate, talked, and ate some more!

"Gator" outfits for our brand new "DAWG" fan courtesy of Sharmein & Jeff

Everyone was so thoughtful and Baby Jones is so blessed to have so many people who care about him and spoil him even before he arrives. We received wonderful gifts and some very sentimental gifts like handmade baby blankets from both of Baby Jones' great-grandmothers.

Clay and I are so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends and can't wait to introduce Baby Jones to everyone! Thanks to Amanda and Edmund for throwing a wonderful shower!

Carter Family Festival

The first weekend in August, Clay and I traveled to Hiltons, VA (right outside of Kingsport, TN) to attend the Carter Family Festival. This is a 2-day long Bluegrass tribute to the Carter Family. Clay and his family have been attending this event for many years but this was my first time at the festival.

The festival is held in an open-air building with no air conditioning. It was hot but they do have ceiling fans to cool the place down a bit. It has a stage for the performers, a dance floor, and then stadium like seating for the audience.

There were many different bluegrass groups there including the Dan Tyminski Band who is probably most famous for the song "Man of Constant Sorrow" in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? All of the groups were really good and Baby Jones really seemed to like the music. He was very active and "dancing" all around in mommy's tummy. We even got to see cloggers. Clogging is an American Folk Dance that began in the Appalachian Mountains and is similar to tap dancing. It is a very interesting dance. A lot of the audience had on their "clogs" and went out on the dance floor to clog and two-step. Clay and I decided it was best if we didn't clog because we didn't want to make a fool of ourselves trying it but we did learn how to two-step. It was pretty funny trying to learn and we definately would need more practice if we ever try it again.

Below are some pictures from the festival weekend.

Babymoon Surprise Weekend

A few months ago, Clay asked me if we had anything planned for the weekend of July 17th-19th and after looking at our calendar I said no. He told me to leave that weekend open but would not tell me why. So July 17th came around and all I knew was that we were busy and possibly going somewhere that was accessible by car (instead of via airplane).

We started driving Friday afternoon and ended up at Highland Falls Bed and Breakfast Inn near Blairsville, GA. I was completely surprised as I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing that weekend. The Bed and Breakfast was so beautiful, quaint, and secluded in the North Georgia mountains. When we reached the Inn, Clay informed me that we had no activities planned for the entire weekend - just relaxing and soaking in the beauty of the mountains surrounding us.

We were greeted by our "inn keepers" - Jeanie and Pete Bullock who showed us around the house and to our room. Jeanie and Pete were so very nice and hospitable - it was almost like we had known them for a very long time. The house has a great back porch that overlooks Pete's garden and the mountains and is equipped with a large number of rocking chairs - (my kind of porch!). There are only a total of three guest rooms (all equipped with a jacuzzi tub) which makes it very intimate and cozy setting even with a full house. The room we stayed in is called the Summerour room named after locals from the area and is the best room in the whole house. It has a separate door that leads straight out onto the back porch.

Friday night we went into Blairsville and listened to a free bluegrass concert in the old courthouse and grabbed a bite to eat at the Hole in the Wall restaurant - the happening place on a Friday night in Blairsville.

Saturday morning we awoke to a wonderful homemade breakfast that included fresh fruit smoothies, fresh fruit cocktail, biscuits and sausage gravy, homefries, and peach cobbler!!!! The food was so delicious and we were both so stuffed afterwards that all we could do or wanted to do was to rock in the rocking chairs on the back porch. We spent the rest of the day reading and enjoying the view from the porch, "playing" horseshoes, taking walks, and playing card games.

Sunday morning we both woke up very excited to see what would be for breakfast that morning. We were greeted with more fruit smoothies and fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, biscuits, and let's not forget the best part - homemade cherry pie!! Mmmm....the food was so good. We had a good time talking with Jeanie and Pete and their daughter, Terri over breakfast. After breakfast it was time to pack up and head for home. But first, we wanted to get a picture with Jeanie and Pete.

On the way back home, we took a detour to Brasstown Bald - the highest mountain in Georgia (4,784 feet above sea level). We decided to take the trail to the top of the mountain which although was only 6/10 of a mile was pretty steep. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking!! On a clear day, you can apparently see four states (GA, NC, SC, and TN). It was pretty windy and chilly on the top of the mountain even though on the ground at our car was probably well into the mid to upper 90's.

This weekend was a wonderful weekend for Clay and I to spend some time together without the hustle and bustle of every day life just relaxing and enjoying each other. It was also nice to have a small "babymoon" before our little blessing arrives later this year. I'm truly blessed to have such a great husband who loves me, our baby, and planning surprises! :)

24 Weeks Pregnant!

Our 24 week doctors appointment was on Friday July 10th. At this appointment Jen had to drink the sugar solution for the glucose tolerance test. She did not like the taste at all but was able to finish it in the appropriate time. Then we had to sit around for an hour before blood was taken. Meanwhile we met with another midwife in our OB practice and really liked her a lot! She was very friendly and answered a lot of our questions. We received our pre-admission packet and scheduled our child birth class. It's amazing how fast the weeks are flying by!!

So far, everything is going well with the pregnancy. Baby Jones was very active at this appointment. His heartrate was around 145 bpm. Baby Jones likes to lay pretty low in Jen's belly. Jen's weight gain is tracking normal too - gaining between 12-14 pounds since the beginning of the pregnancy. Here's the latest picture of her belly at 24 weeks.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Mom and Dad Bach drove up from Florida on Thursday night to spend the July 4th weekend with us. Since they got in really late on Thursday night (after midnight) we all slept in a bit, did a bit of shopping and then spent the afternoon by the pool. It was pretty hot out so it was nice to cool off in the water.

On Saturday (July 4th), we continued our tradition of "running" in the Peachtree Road Race (the largest 10K in the United States). We've ran this together each year since we started dating - only this year we decided to walk the race instead of run given Jen's condition :) The weather was actually very comfortable with very little humidity making the 6.2 miles more bearable! We finished the race in just under two hours. This was an okay time considering all of the pit stops made along the way due to Jen drinking lots of water to stay hydrated.

That evening, after grilling out, we all walked to Wills Park to watch the Alpharetta fireworks. The fireworks were really spectacular - more than what you would expect from a little town! Baby Jones wasn't sure what to make of all the noise - once the fireworks started he was kicking up a storm. We're not sure if he was excited or just startled! Clay had fun taking pictures of the fireworks with his camera since last year his batteries died before the show started.

Sunday was filled with church and a trip to Clay's hometown, Greensboro, GA. We spent the afternoon with his grandmother and uncle. Mom and Dad Bach had a good time visiting with them as well and seeing more of the town Clay grew up in.

Monday morning brought us all back to reality as Mom and Dad Bach headed back to Florida and we headed to work. We had a great time spending the weekend with them and hated they had to leave but we can't wait to see them again soon!

Catching Up

After almost 1 1/2 years of marriage, and Jen finishing graduate school, we decided it was the right time to add another member to our family. We found out that we were pregnant in late February by taking a home pregnancy test. We were thrilled!!

It was even more exciting to have it confirmed by an ultrasound in late March. The ultrasound was amazing as we could see the beginnings of our new bundle of joy being formed. We could hear the heartbeat which was nice and strong - even at only 8 weeks!

Jen was just starting to have a little baby bump although many people may have wondered if she just ate too much chocolate cake ;)

8 weeks pregnant!

Our next ultrasound was in April at 13 weeks. At this ultrasound we were able to see more defined features of our baby such as it's profile and it's nose. The heartbeat was once again beating strong. Jen's belly was getting slightly larger as seen in the below picture.

13 weeks pregnant!

13 weeks ultrasound

17 weeks pregnant!

We both were so excited for our next ultrasound and doctors appointment since we decided that we wanted to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. That awaited day finally came on June 11th. At the ultrasound, Baby Jones let us know that we were having a.....

BOY!

He was breeched but the technician told us not to worry as there would be plenty of time and room for him to change positions. He was moving around a lot but for some reason did not want his feet showing. The technician had a difficult time trying to get a picture of his feet but finally got one. He also kept putting his hands in front of his face :)

20 weeks pregnant!

20 week ultrasound - IT'S A BOY!