T-25 Days......

...until school is OUT for the summer!! But who's counting? I'm loving this amazing weather and I can't wait until I can enjoy it during the day. Granted, I'll be teaching summer school but those are only half-days so I'll still have plenty of time to do whatever in the afternoon. Being a teacher definitely has its perks! It'll be nice to spend some more time with Mason too, I suppose. ; ) Although, he'll probably be busy as well because he's going to be taking a couple of summer classes plus he's planning to work a little on the side as well.

In other news our nephew Carson officially turned ONE on the 12th! Where did the time go, seriously?! Mason and I made the trip to Camden Point (up by St. Joseph) for his first birthday party which was wonderful. He had a sock monkey-themed party that was super adorable. Everyone seemed to have a good time and Carson made out like a bandit! Here are just a few of the pictures from his party:

His super cute cake!

 The birthday boy with his mom and dad!

 Too cute for words!

 Checking out one of his presents.

 Tearing that cake up...what a stud!

 Then he decided he was done and threw it on the floor! 

Mason's birthday was also this month, but on the 10th. He didn't get much since he got the gun safe, but I did buy him a movie and some new headphones so he had something to open. Not to mention the lemon meringue pie I got him from Slice of Pie (amazing!) here in Rolla. That's his absolute favorite and he seemed pretty excited about it! The Friday before we went to Matt's Steakhouse here in Rolla and had his birthday dinner. That's our birthday/anniversary restaurant so we always take full advantage and splurge when we go!!

This weekend (after Mason hunts of course..) we will be heading up to St. Louis for the day to register for baby stuff and just do some general baby shopping. I can't wait!! We've been picking up a few things here and there and are getting quite a stash together! In fact, I managed to find a used bumbo seat and tray for only $20 and it hardly looks used....I love a good deal! Everything is going well, and my last appointment happened to land on Mason's birthday. And it was there that I found out I had gained 6 more pounds...oops! ;) The doctor didn't seem too worried about it so I'm not going to either! I figure I'll get back on track after the baby comes so I may as well enjoy it while I can! I am 25 weeks today and I can't believe how quickly it is going! Now if only this kid would lay off my bladder....there are times where I'm pretty sure that he/she is trying to escape alien-style!

25 weeks

Well, I'm off to grade some papers before I lose all the motivation I have. I've done the dishes and now have written this blog so I suppose I better stop procrastinating. Have a good night, all!!

Baby Heavin

Here's a quick update on our little bundle. I have officially made it past my halfway mark (assuming he/she decides to come on time), and have continued to feel great!  My clothes are definitely getting tight and I can no longer button my pants, but that's a good thing despite how hard as it is to see those numbers go up on the scale! ; ) We have been very fortunate so far to have such a smooth pregnancy and we pray that it will continue to go well.  We went in for my ultrasound last Tuesday. At that point I was a couple days short of being 21 weeks.  The baby was moving like crazy!  The doctor said that he usually has a specific order that he tries to get measurements in, but Baby H wouldn't have any part in that. He/she was rolling over and just all over the place!  We were lucky enough to get some great pictures, despite all the in utero dancing, and were able to see everything a lot more clearly than before-- hands, stomach, kidneys, bladder, spine, arms, legs, the whole kit and kaboodle.  And yes, we also got to see what gender this little one will be!  We are very excited and thankful we have a healthy little baby! Here are a few pictures of him/her....I'll post more later to Facebook!

It's kind of hard to see, but that is a picture of the baby's top lip.  If you look closely you can see the two little nostrils above it.  It's turned sideways.

This past weekend was a busy one.  Tabitha, Greg, and Carson came down for a quick visit so we spent some time with them which was nice.  Carson is getting so big and I can't believe he'll be ONE already next month.  We also went over to Mason's dad's with Tabitha and Greg and spent some time with him, Mason's step-mom Darla, his step-sister Mariah, and her son, Gentry.  Mason's other two step-sisters were at work, and Mariah's daughter Nevin was spending some time with the other side of her family.  Later on that afternoon, Mason and I went to Lowes to get some block to start doing some landscaping out in the front of our house.  I can't say that I was really a lot of help, but Mason has done a fabulous job so far!  Now we just need to get some more dirt, find the flowers/plants we want to plant, and then put some mulch on top.  We're still debating on whether we want to do the side of the house yet or wait.  The only reason we're considering doing it now is just in case they would discontinue the same block we used for the front.  I don't really foresee that happening but you never know.  Here's a few pictures of that.

Mason's truck dominated those ugly bushes.  Nissan: 1 Bushes: 0

The before picture of the left part of the house.

Mason working diligently.

This is directly below the kitchen windows on the right side of the house.

Here's the after picture, prior to dirt and flowers, obviously.

And here's the left side again.  This side needs a little more dirt, but then it should be good to go for us to plant!  Now we just need to figure out what we want to plant....wish us luck!

I think that's all for now.  Here's hoping the rest of this week flies by so we can hopefully enjoy some more nice weather this weekend!!

Spring Break

As always, we have been very busy! Though everything has been going well, we did have some unfortunate news in our family. My Uncle Mark had been battling cancer and passed away on March 8th. Since the funeral wasn't scheduled until the following Wednesday, my brother and his FIANCE Bailey were still able to make the trip down here to Missouri to visit us. They got here early that Friday morning and then slept all day while Mason and I were at school. Since it was so nice that Saturday we decided to take a trip to Elephant Rock and Johnson Shut-ins, which are two very beautiful state parks. We packed a lunch and enjoyed spending time hiking around in the great outdoors. Because my sciatic nerve has been bothering me I didn't do as much hiking as I had hoped, but we still had a great time! Sunday we had a chill day and just stayed home which worked out well since it rained pretty much all day. We had an intense battle playing the Farming Game. I'm still pretty sure the only reason JJ won was because he was banker and was padding his money stash with everything the rest of us had to pay in! ; ) On Monday we made the trek to St. Louis and did some shopping. Mason got himself some new Reebok Zigs so he was a happy camper! 

Tuesday morning came and ended JJ and Bailey's vacation, but not before coming to my doctor's appointment. They were very excited to hear their new nephew/niece's heartbeat. Though I was shocked to hear that I had gained 6 pounds in one month, everything else looked and sounded good!

Once in Iowa we got to spend some time with family and friends, even though it was under no-so-good circumstances. I also got to see some family that I had not seen in years, which was wonderful. Uncle Mark had a beautiful service and it was definitely hard to say goodbye. But at least he's not suffering anymore and he's in a better place.

On Thursday Mason and I came back to Missouri and had a little down time. Friday my Grandma Steffen and Aunt Kathy came by to see our new house on their way back to Iowa. We had a quick lunch at McDonalds and chatted for a bit before they had to head out. It was definitely great to see them and have them over, even though it was just for a little bit!

That brings us to Saturday. Saturday was St. Patrick's Day and so we ventured to downtown Rolla for the parade. It was pretty good, but we actually left a little early to beat the rain. After such a full spring break we decided to relax Saturday and Sunday, which was definitely needed!

Oh Happy Day!!

I am so very happy for two special people that I had to write a quick blog about it! My brother, JJ, has been dating Bailey for roughly 5 and a half years, and yesterday they got ENGAGED.....finally!! The poor girl thought she would never get married.

I was one of the fortunate people who knew right when JJ bought the ring. Of course he swore me to secrecy, which I was more than happy to do! Bailey could obviously tell this story much better, but long story short, my brother went to visit her last night since he works in Waterloo and she lives in Iowa City while she finishes grad school. In the 5 and a half years of dating the man had not bought her a single flower. Seriously, JJ? I mean I love ya, but for goodness sake, splurge on some flowers occasionally! ; ) Bailey, of course, was so blown away by the unexpected flowers that she really about died when he pulled out that gorgeous ring! She was also shocked at the number of people who already knew the news, including some of our family, her family, as well as friends of the family. Obviously, she said yes, or in JJ's words, "Yep, turns out she wants to marry me too," per the text message I received at about 10:30 last night. He also informed me that after they got engaged he was going to see if she'd give him a haircut since he was giving up his bachelorhood. That brother of mine is quite the charmer! ; )

We are definitely very excited to add another sister to our family! It's weird that my "baby brother" is going to be married sometime in the relatively near future, but we are so happy for them! Now we just can't wait till they come down to visit so we can celebrate. Wedding shopping, anyone?! I think so!! Congratulations, JJ and Bailey!!

Busy, Busy..

Well, it's been over a month since I last posted with our exciting news, and everything is continuing to go well with Baby Heavin. I had another doctor appointment on the 13th and Mason and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, which was fabulous! Luckily, Mason was able to come again because of the snow days we got Monday and Tuesday of last week. I have to say, having two additional days off was amazing! My next appointment is March 13th and the next ultrasound is March 20th, which we are really looking forward to! I'm 17 weeks today and I honestly can't believe how quickly it's going already! I'm definitely starting to get a little bit of a belly as well. I've posted a couple of belly pictures per Tabitha's request (Mason's sister). I'm not a huge fan of these ones but they were taken this morning so they are as up-to-date as they can be!

Since last weekend was a long weekend because of President's Day, I decided to take a trip to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky to see my dear friend Cara since it's only about a six hour drive. We had not seen each other in over a year and I was very eager to make a visit especially since I had not yet met her twin boys Caden and Jaxson. They were born on August 2nd so it's possible our babies could all share birthdays since that's the day I'm due! I had a blast while there. We had a pretty relaxing weekend and did a little shopping and just hung out. I bought a couple of things for the baby, and really had to restrain myself from buying more! Also, I have to say, parents of multiples are amazing and I'm not sure how they do it! Caden and Jaxson are definitely good babies and so much fun to play with, but they certainly keep Cara and Joey (her husband) busy! It was good practice! I came home Monday and spent the rest of the day relaxing and hanging out with Mason.

Speaking of Mason, I decided to give him his birthday present early (really early as his birthday isn't until April 10th). I had been saving up for 7-8 months so that he could buy the gun safe he so desperately wanted. I really was going to wait to give him his gift, but he happened to text me one morning once he got to school and said that Dick's Sporting Goods had a deal going on gun safes that hold 32 guns. Once he told me how much they were going for it was kind of hard to pass up so I asked if he wanted his birthday gift early. Of course he said yes because I had been taunting him for about as long as I had been saving, telling him I knew what his birthday gift was going to  be and that it would fit in a shoebox. I planned to put the money I saved in the box, along with a picture of a gun safe. So he didn't even get suspicious or think it had anything to do with a gun safe! : ) Here are a few pictures of his reaction!

He was pretty excited, and it was fun to see his reaction. I had to reiterate that this gift counted for Valentine's Day, his birthday, Father's Day, and our anniversary and he seemed to be perfectly content with that so that's good! Aside from that, he is just staying busy with school and work.

The house is still coming along nicely. Don't get me wrong, we still have A LOT we need/want to do, but it is looking great! We've gotten a couple new pieces of furniture compliments of an antique store and Eric (Mason's step-dad). He made us an entry table for our entryway and he did an excellent job on it! Now I just need to find something to put on it. I also need to figure out where I want to hang all the picture frames we have. I may wait until JJ and Bailey come down for a visit since they still have a couple of things we got from Christmas that didn't fit in our car. Speaking of which, they are coming down in T-2 weeks and Mason and I are so very excited! They've been coming down to visit for the past 4 years and we have so much fun each time. Depending on the weather and how we feel we may either take a trip to Elephant Rock or wander down to Silver Dollar City. Either way it will be a blast! After my brother and Bailey leave, my Grandma Steffen and my Aunt Kathy may swing through for a quick visit. It would be wonderful to see them as well so hopefully it'll work out!

Anyways, I think that's all for the time being and I hope everyone is doing well!! I'm off to spend some quality time with my bed!! : )