Chahlston

We made one last " long" road trip before our little one gets here, headed down to Charleston (you have to say it with a huge drawl) to see Andrea. Once again, I was shocked to find another place I never knew existed that is absolutely beautiful. There's a ton of history there, and downtown Charleston is one of the most unique places I've had the opportunity to visit. I have to say though, North Carolina still beats South Carolina in beauty overall by a long shot. Enjoy some more pics. Pictures never do a place justice, we needed to do the 360 view on a couple of these waterfront houses. You could see Fort Sumter and Cooper bridge from here, as well as a couple of battleships and an aircraft carrier.Sullivan beach, I wish I would have brought my swimmingsuit.
My pregnant belly...or just Joni standing behind me.Rainbow Row, the houses here are required to be painted specific colors and it can't be the same color as the one next to it.
Candy apple anyone?

We took a tour of the hospital where the baby will be born. I have to admit I don't like hospitals very much, and I got a little light headed when we were standing in the room where it will all happen. Reality hit me hard, you know that unmistakable sterile smell means you are in a place where big things happen. I've always seen hospitals as a sad place, but my friend Mike helped me put a new spin on it with his always positive attitude. Hospitals are places where miracles happen, and where people are humbled enough that they have to put all their trust in someone other than themselves to get better. So although I don't feel completely confident, I feel better thinking of hospitals in that way.

Yesterday when my hand was on Joni's belly I felt the baby's heel press hard against my hand, and I moved it about four inches across Joni's belly before it dissapeared. It was so crazy, I also felt her hiccup for about 5 minutes, she is so close to being here. Joni is at 35 weeks now, I think she's doing great and I think she is a lot tougher than she thinks she is.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and presents. Aside from having our identities stolen it was a pretty good day.

Where the buffalo roam

Hey everyone! Joni here. I decided to post some pictures of our place. I have to admit I was pretty worried about sending Paul off to find it all on his own, but he found the perfect duplex for us. Yes, it is out in the wilderness of North Carolina where there are no sidewalks and the nearest Urban Outfitters is a 18 mile drive, but I'm pretty darn proud of his choice. At first I thought the total quiet surrounding our house was eerie, but now it's growing on me. The sounds (chirping) and smells (nature, with a hint of buffalo) that I experience each morning walking out the door make me feel like I'm camping, and I love it.

This is deck off the side of the house. It's weird because there are no stairs that go down to the ground - but also perfect because Dilly loves hanging out there all day, and I know shes not going to run off chasing a squirrel.



Here is the front view, complete with a wooly mammoth on the front porch.





In a few days I will be 34 weeks along!!! I went to my new doctor at UNC hospital last week. He immediately made me feel reassured, answered all my questions thoroughly, and was super nice (a far cry from my previous CT doctor, but thats a different conversation). We still have no idea what the little bean's name will be. We used to try to figure that out, but after changing it so many times we decided to keep a list of ~3 names and pick from that pool when we have to. I don't know why girl names are so HARD for me! Any last minute suggestions?

Going to any store with baby clothes is a BAD thing for me right now. The brilliant merchandisers don't have to work hard to convice me my baby will NEED a ruffle dress in every color with booties and a headband to match. Because I know this about myself I have to take extra caution to avoid the baby section, and I decided to make some cute stuff on my own. I have to give a shout out to both Jen B and Kendi for introducing me to the world of Etsy. I found some super cute onsies on there and decided to try my hand at hand-crafted baby clothes. Here are a few of the onsies I made this week... sorry for those of you who have already seen these.




Here is the monthly belly picture for those of your who are a fan of globes.


And finally, a video tour of the inside of the house. Enjoy :)

Another tour...

Joni's dad Brent sent us some great pictures that I had to share with you, I hope he doesn't mind. One of his most favorite things to do in his spare time is wake up at 2-3 in the morning and go find the perfect spot to take pictures. He waits for hours sometimes to get the perfect shot, and he has won several awards for what he does. I think its so cool that he is so into it, and it makes me appreciate what it takes to get the "perfect shot" sometimes.I must have laughed out loud for 5 minutes at this picture. Brent also works for UPS and his son Zach had a surprise waiting for him when he got home.

I totally forgot about this picture, I was dared to stand under this waterfall...made for another great shot. We said goodbye to West Hartford last week. Our time there went by so fast. Connecticut was such a fun place to live, and once again we realized that we can be happy no matter where we are. We have been fortunate to have loved every place we've been along the way. We had one last Wipeout Wednesday, and some of Joni's friends were nice enough to throw her a baby shower before we left.We'll miss our friends and hope to keep in touch...(sorry Janae, I overheard you say you didn't want this picture on a blog but we loved this picture of everyone, Joni was strategically hiding behind the couch)On to North Carolina...we'll post some pics of our new place soon. We live out in the country on 82 acres of trees, pastures, and roaming buffalo (thats right...buffalo). We drink well water and I swear every morning I walk outside I feel like I'm camping. We love it so far, and this will be far and away the most different living situation we have ever experienced. My office at work is right on the plant floor, and I'm totally excited to work around my kind of people once again, brings back memories of Lowe's. These are people that live simple lives, and they've worked for the same company for up to 35 years. They all have great stories to tell, and enjoy the most important things in life. Everyone is so laid back, polite, and southern accents are very thick here.

Joni has a wonderful doctor, and she'll be having the baby in one of the best labor and delivery hospitals in the US at UNC Chapel Hill. We feel very blessed. I think Joni is doing pretty well considering she feels like a wooly mammoth all the time (hot and huge), she doesn't look that big but I guess it has to be pretty uncomfortable to be pregnant in more ways than one. Just a few more weeks to go.