The Beginning is Near....

What is near? Meeting our little guy face to face!!!

How many weeks? I just passed 39 weeks and so far....Tucker is staying cozy!

What does the doc say? He will be here by the 20th -one way or another!

What have I learned through this pregnancy? Well today I learned what a real contraction feels like.  While the doctor measured my stomach I guess I was having one.  The funny thing was-she told me I was having a contraction and I said, "weird, I don't feel anything" (I love that I can make my doctor laugh at every appointment)...YIKES! I know I will eventually feel something, but pain has never been an issue for me, so hopefully that will help in labor (yes, yes, I know I will still feel A LOT of pain...I'm not thinking this will be a piece of cake people).

Staying busy? Yes, I am finishing my 9th Master's Class, teaching until I pop, and working on National Boards-enough said!

Nursery? Hanging the last remaining decorations up this weekend-final pics to come soon.  Although we will take some pictures of his cradle nook in our closet entry, it is adorable!

To do list? Our doctor gave us homework, but we feel as prepared as new parents can possibly be. Also picking up Tucker's grandparents tomorrow and the 15th-excited for them to meet their little, and I'm predicting, amazingly adorable grandson!

Next Doctor's Appointment? Friday the 15th, our very last one and I must say, my doctors (I have two) are AMAZING! I love them!

Predictions? I believe Tucker will come the 16th and be about 9 lbs....Jordan says-9lbs 5 oz. and whatever day we are induced...cheater.

OTHER NEWS? We are hoping to come visit the northwest area the end of March, so pray for great health and time off for Jordan.  We are also trying to time it with the birth of our first nephew so we can see all the cousins together-cute photo op? I should think so!

Thanks y'all for following our blog, this adventure is just beginning and we are excited to start showing off our first little RUGRAT!

I am no Martha Stewart...but hey, I'd like to think I am.

I have many things ahead in January so I decided to try and finish what I could in these two weeks off.  Here were a couple fun moments...

Jordan and I made these together out of a diaper and wipes box!

They are adorable...toy boxes maybe?

My first birthday gift! Thanks Alex and Andrew for the "spa" day I had on January 1st! This pregnant lady is loving the feet pampering! I will say, I am blessed to avoid the swollen feet/ankles so far this pregnancy.

So excited to hang this in his room! How cute is that? I can be crafty!

Tucker is almost 34 weeks, we have our next appointment on Thursday the 3rd and our birthing class is Saturday! Can't believe how quickly the time is flying by.  He will be here before we know it.

Remember 2012...Bring on 2013!

Bring on 2013! We had a fabulous 2012 and are thankful for all of God's amazing blessings this year!

January-We entered into the year apart as Jordan was in Columbia and I was flying in from Tacoma...it had been a great trip to my northwest, but I always miss my hubs so much that I enjoyed seeing him! I also realized I was entering into my last year of 20 something...YIKES!  To feel young, I began to take classes again but this time for a Master's Degree! The hardest but most amazing part of this year happened during January, my Grandpa J passed away.  Why is this amazing? He has suffered enough with alzheimers and it was time for him to meet the Lord.  A time we should all look forward to. I was extremely blessed to see him over my winter break, just two weeks before he passed, some of me feels that he had waited for me to see him and say goodbye before those final days ended and I was blessed beyond measure to have a God Fearing man for a grandpa.  I was also able to fly out the next weekend and attend his memorial service, praising the Lord for his life and the time I was able to have with him. I love you Grandpa J!

With Grandma and Grandpa J at our wedding reception in Tacoma

February-Cruisin! Oh yeah we did! We went on an Eastern Caribbean cruise with Mom and Dad Johnston.  It was awesome, beautiful and the weather was PERFECT! This was my idea of a vacation, and it was nice to spend it with my parents and husband all in one!

Scary St. Thomas Drivers!

On the boat, hamming it up!

Cute Parents!

Not the greatest picture-but I miss those dinners!

Love myself some Bahamas!

March-We took in our first foster pup Daisy.  This began a line of foster animals and I told Jordan, we foster until we get pregnant....well that lasted until June.  We saw two beautiful pups adopted and took care of a blind foster along with a mama kitty and her two babies.  It was a real blessing! I also was able to full fill an almost lifelong dream of seeing Elton John live and hearing one of my favorite songs, I don't care that Jordan made fun of me for crying about it!

Daisy

Sir Elton

A bit excited (well I am at least!)

April-Spring Break and new church members! We love our church family at Sandhills and although we are pretty new, feel right at home any time we walk through the doors.  Jordan works with the youth group and I am on the worship team.  God is certainly blessing us through the people in this church (and the wonderful music and messages we hear every Sunday!)

May-Jordan and I decided we were ready for parenthood which leads me to...

June! God also decided that it was time for us to be blessed and we found out that we were pregnant (it was a shock because we weren't really expecting God to answer this prayer so quickly!).  My (Jamie's) parents came to visit and we couldn't help but tell them the exciting news as Jordan and I also sent a surprise package to Chuck and Darlene so all the grandparents could find out on Father's Day! What a great Father's Day it was-Jordan, a new Daddy and my dad right there with me to celebrate!

Baby Howe!

Yay for grandbabies!

Congrats on becoming parents!

I wasn't 100% sure...although I know the tests are completely 100% sure...

We went and visited Lacey in Atlanta-World of Coke!

Braves game after The Varsity!

July-I was able to fly over and visit my fam bam! Got to spend a lot of time with my cute little niece and spread the joyous news that we would soon be adding to the family as well! It was fun to tell everyone in person :) We also went on a day trip to the beach with the Olivers...

August-School started and I began my 5th year of teaching (with another year of long-term subbing).  I also found out the exciting news that JJ and Shannon would be having another baby! I was going to be an auntie again!!

As September seemed uneventful, I did start to notice a small little bump starting to form! We didn't know if we were having a boy or girl yet but I felt like all my pants were just a little too tight!

October brought us more events!We spent a weekend camping and hiking-it was great to get some fresh air with the Privetts and Hofts, it was also fun to get Penny and Kota out and about! Jordan also went on a youth retreat with Sandhills.
 Our loving friends Alex and Andrew and Jessie and Daron hosted a Gender Reveal party for us.  We were able to share the news via skype with our small bible study group friends and family all at once. Jessie made this fabulous giant pink and blue question mark pinata which was busted to reveal blue candy!! Tucker Scott is our lil' guy! Thanks to yummy food from Alex and Jessie, a beautiful new home (the Oliver's) and awesome friends, we were able to celebrate the wonderful news together. 

November was nice and a little more laid back, we went to Atlanta to spend Thanksgiving with Jordan's family and it was fun to catch up with everyone there!

December-We have hit 33 weeks and as the previous posts have shown-I am in the nesting stage! We were home for Christmas this year and the Howe fam came to visit us! The pups and the family had a great time and we know that in only weeks we will be repeating this fun time! We also found out our lil guy is absolutely normal, I have a boring pregnancy and, well, Tucker is running a little bigger than average...

Excited about this next year-more memories ahead and blessings to come.  We thank the Lord for His provision and pray that we continue to praise and thank Him everyday for every blessing.

Nesting...

So I have read, heard and witnessed the "nesting" part of pregnancy and now I am actually experiencing it! Thank goodness for a couple weeks off to prepare the house for Tucker as his arrival should be in the next 7 weeks...YIKES & YAY. His due date it just 6.5 weeks away but Jordan and I will be surprised if he is on time or early (as JJ and Jordan were both extremely late babies!).  If you know me well, you know that I like to organize to the point of it being extremely annoying (OCD-ish) so nesting has been fun! Grandparents, family and friends have already started spoiling this little boy and we are excited to spend more time with family and friends during the month of January as they continue to bless us and our little guy. So far, here are pictures of my (and my assistant's) progress.

This is in the entry of our bathroom hall and MA closets...He will spend some time in Jordan's baby crib before moving to the nursery.

Such a cute cradle and set!

My crafty sister-in-law who has an almost two year old and is pregnant with our first nephew (due just weeks after Tucker!) made these for us for Christmas and we LOVE them! We left room for more...hint hint :)

The almost complete set up...

Poor Jordan lost his mancave couch...had to do some re-arranging!

The mancave ended up with the desk (which was where Tucker's cradle is), the nursery's old bed, and a rocker so I have a quiet place to go during the middle of the night shifts!

My Uncle Jim (dad's side) made this for me when I was in junior high and we painted it red for Tucker's room, love the splash of color!

This was clearly Jordan's, made by his grandaddy.  It was sanded and stained by Tucker's grandaddy and daddy!

Thank you Grandma Nellie for the cute sport "Tucker Scott" piggy bank (aka-college fund collection jar). 

The teether was once Jordan's, handmade from one piece of wood! Tucker's pops (Grandpapa Tim) made the UGA name-Jordan LOVES it!

More treasures from Jordan's childhood!

The car was Jordan's growing up, however, the baseball clearly came from Grandpapa Tim!

 

Oh my gosh, how cute is that????!!!!

Quite a lot done in just 24 hours! To think, these were all in boxes just the day before (check an earlier post for a picture!)

Babies R Us had a decent sale on wipes and diapers...we stocked up!

I love that Jordan's baby toys fit perfectly in this room, it will certainly be adorable to see Tucker playing with his daddy's childhood toys.

I love this bookend...

This piece of furniture was a thorn in our side! Well mostly Chuck and Jordan's but hey, it looks good now!

Oh how we love craigslist....

I would like one of these fluffy car seat covers for myself please!

Oh and I love our consignment shops (not only do we find great finds but we also sold enough of our junk to get this for free!!!!)

Jordan's high chair...it may be a while, but I am excited to see Tucker sitting there!

So much fun stuff done (some of it wasn't really that much fun, for instance painting and putting furniture together) and so much left to do! We have a few projects up our sleeves, a few fun showers this next month and some cute things to hang....I am super excited and filled with anticipation as I think about Jordan and I meeting our lil guy in just a few weeks!