our babymoon plans

I am so excited that we were able to plan a babymoon. I wasn't sure how my vacation days with work would pan out, but luckily I've got two days left so we'll be taking a long weekend. Since we aren't going until I'm 35 weeks pregnant, we were leery to go anywhere too far just in case something were to happen. Hopefully it won't, but Will is being extra cautious! We didn't want to fly (I don't even know if I can being 35 weeks) because of travel costs and the distance issue so we'll be taking a good ole fashioned road trip. 

We're calling it Tour de Tennessee.

We live in Memphis so after throwing around a lot of different options, (and not being able to decide on one particular place) we finally decided on going to 3 places.

First up, Nashville.

We love Nashville. It's special to Will and I because it's where he proposed to me (see above - Gaylord Opryland Hotel). I'm sure we'll make a stop at the hotel to stroll (yes, stroll....or waddle) around and reminisce about our engagement. 

I also was really wanting to go to Nashville so we could go to Franklin. If there's anything I'm a sucker for, it's a good antique store...and Franklin is not lacking in that department. I can't wait to hunt for some little items for Crew's nursery!

We'll be spending the day in Nashville, spending the night and getting up the next morning to eat at Pancake Pantry. Yum!

 Where else should we check out in Nashville?

Next on our stop is Chattanooga.

We've been to Chattanooga a few times, but not as much as Nashville. Where should we be sure to visit?

We'll probably go to Lookout Mountain and I also want to see the winding sidewalk (below). 

We went to Ruby Falls last year and also rafted the Ocoee (which is not even an option this Summer!!).

Third and final stop, Gatlinburg.

I'm not sure that I've ever been to Gatlinburg in the Summertime. We'll probably do more strolling around downtown. Gatlinburg has some great trails so I want to do some hiking...or whatever you call it when you're 35 weeks preggo. I'm sure I won't be able to make it very far!

We're also planning on going to Cade's Cove at some point while we're there. Anywhere else we don't want to miss?

So those are our plans as of now. Anything could happen in the next four weeks, but hopefully Crew will decide to stay in a while longer. I am so looking forward to our babymoon. I love, love, love spending quality time with Will. He makes me laugh so much and I know we'll have a great time. Though we're going to 3 different cities, it shouldn't be stressful as we'll be breaking up the driving over several days. I'm sure my back will thank me for that! This will be our very last trip as a family of 2!

Other babymoon options that didn't make the cut:
San Antonio (too far)
New Orleans (too much walking)
Gulf Shores/ (too far/probably would spend more money than we wanted)
Savannah (too far)
Charleston (too far)
Atlanta (too busy/stressful!)

If you missed my post on planning the perfect babymoon, check it out here!

planning the perfect babymoon

Will and I have been talking about going on a babymoon for months and months now. I'm currently 31 weeks and time is flying by. Our weeks and weekends have quickly filled up with doctors appointments, baby showers, breast feeding classes, nursery decorating and so many other things. We've finally been able to narrow down a weekend when we can go on a babymoon and it just so happens to be the last possible weekend that I'm even allowed to travel. Talk about cutting it close! 

So what goes into planning the perfect babymoon? I've narrowed it down to a few key things:

1. Location, location, location

Sure, I'd love to travel to some exotic foreign country or Caribbean beach, but at this point it's just not feasible. Taking into account just how pregnant you are is important when deciding on your destination. Seeing as I'm 31 weeks, flying to a different country is out of the question. Whether you'll be flying or driving, be sure the trip isn't too long. Nobody wants to be stopping for a bathroom break every thirty minutes on a 10 hour road trip and the same goes for a long flight. Relaxing is key on a babymoon so be sure that sitting in a car or plane for hours on end isn't going to add any stress to your trip!

2. Prime time

I've read in several books and on several sites that the best time to take your babymoon vacation is during your second trimester. Oops. I'll be about 4 weeks away from my due date when we take our trip so I think I failed at this tip. Most people probably don't want to take a babymoon during their first trimester (for obvious reasons) so the second trimester is really the best time. You feel great, have tons of energy and don't feel like a beach ball yet! Unfortunately, our schedules just didn't work out for a second trimester trip, but I'll take what I can get!

3. Relaxation is key

I think this is so important when planning your trip. The point of a babymoon is to get away with your significant other before your bundle of joy comes into the world. Let's face it: your lives are about to make a 180 degree turn into a different world. Right now, our home consists of my husband and I and our two dogs. We can go to bed when we want, sleep when we want and wake up when we want. It's going to be very different in just a few short months. You want your babymoon to be relaxing. No itinerary, just relaxation. It's important to have that last one-on-one time together before a sweet baby is added to the family.

4. Activities

Be sure that wherever you're going has some preggo-friendly activities. If you plan on going to the beach, then you're set! But not everyone lives close enough to a beach for that to be an option. For example, at this far along I don't think I'd be comfortable or happy about walking all over NYC...neither would my feet/ankles. Choose somewhere that will make you and your hubby happy!

5. Medical Presence

Hopefully, no one will need any kind of doctor while on their babymoon, but I think it's smart to at least just be aware of where the local hospital is. If you're going to a resort, I'm sure they have some kind of doctor on staff. Just be sure to always have your doctor's number on hand with your insurance card. Also, if you're traveling out of the country, do some research on your insurance coverage IF anything were to happen while overseas.

Have I missed anything? What have you learned from planning a babymoon?

Good luck and have fun!

what my husband thinks about me

I was excited to see this link up with Becky at From Mrs. to Mama. I mean, who doesn't want to know what their loved ones really think about them?! So I sent the link to Will today and within a few hours I had my response. I was a little nervous to read it because you never know what's going to come out of his mouth, but I'd say he's pretty sweet!

Here's his email exactly as he sent it:

1. Courtney is very anti-morning. In fact, we have a routine of wake up stages, which includes steps to the eventual wake-up. (Sing songs from a distant room, gentle wake up call, lights on, and the final step-do whatever it takes to wake her up!) Every morning is an adventure...which leads me to #2

2. Courtney is the Jedi master of getting ready at lighting speeds. I'm still not sure how she does it, but just when I think she's going to be late she's dressed and ready to go faster than super man! It's very impressive.

3. Courtney is a master multi tasker! She can do more things at one time than I can get done in a week. Some nights the dogs and I will sit in awe as we watch Courtney paint her nails, blog, watch tv, and read a book all at the same time!!

4. Courtney has the biggest heart in the world for dogs. She actually has a life long goal to get a three legged dog! It is guaranteed that if we see a stray dog while driving that we will be pulling over to help find its home!

5. Courtney loves making things in unique ways. She's super creative is always keeping things artsy! We sent out invitations last week and some people thought that Courtney's writing was computer printed! Yep, she's that good.

6. Courtney has a great sense of humor. She is always making me laugh in things that she does and says. We were friends for a looooooong time before we started dating, and her great humor was a lot of the reason for our friendship (that and her being super hot)!!

7. Courtney loves old people. She is so sweet and caring towards the elderly--it's a tear jerker to watch her make friends with the old folks when we hang out at the retirement center (with church).

8. Courtney is extremely supportive. No matter what crazy notions are going through my head, she is always there beside me and encouraging my ideas. Don't know what I would do without her!

9. Courtney gets to celebrate her first Mother's Day this May, and I couldn't be any more excited to share in the journey of starting a little family with her! She's had baby fever since the day we got married and it's finally time (or almost time) for baby to be here!

10. Couldn't do this list and leave this one off...Courtney loves Mexican food. I mean loves! We are the most Mexican food eating people that I know. Good thing I'm crazy about it too!

Wasn't he nice? Now get your hubby to make a list for you so I can read it! This was fun!

Celebrating 3 Years of Marriage + an Announcement!

I absolutely cannot believe that three years of marriage has already flown by! Seems like just yesterday we were walking down the aisle and preparing to enjoy our honeymoon in Antigua for a week. (And oh how I wish we were at the beach this week!) This is a photo-heavy post, but I encourage you to keep reading until the end! There's a surprise announcement!

Will and I got married on March 6, 2010 in Memphis, TN. Some of these photos may be the same as the "our wedding" page above, but I couldn't resist. I love reliving our wedding!

Honeymoon at Sandals Antigua

Just arrived!

Dinner at a Japanese hibachi restaurant at the resort

Dinner by the beach

Our last day in Antigua

We've spent the first two anniversaries in Savannah, GA - a city that we love! Unfortunately we weren't able to go this year because of my job. Boo!

First anniversary in Savannah : March 2011

Lighthouse on Tybee Island

Outside of the Mercer House - We had just read "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and were excited about this tour!

Second anniversary in Savannah : March 2012

Tybee Island

Bonaventure Cemetery - Another "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" reference

While we won't be able to celebrate our anniversary in Savannah this year, we do have something else to celebrate on our third anniversary....

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!

We are so thrilled to announce our exciting news. Finding out that we're pregnant is something that has been so surreal! (I'll write all about it later.) This has been something I've prayed about even before we were married. I've always dreamed of having children and feel so blessed to be doing so. Ever since we've been married, people would always ask when we were having kids and my response was always, "Well, if it were up to me we would have had one or two by now." Will & I have always strived to follow God's plan for our lives and we know His timing is perfect. We are expecting Baby K in the Fall and are looking forward to this next chapter in our lives together!

"For this child I have prayed and the Lord has answered my prayer."
1 Samuel 1:27

Communication is Key

Yesterday afternoon I randomly thought about Domino's thin crust pizza and then I was set on having pizza for dinner. I texted Will and asked him if he was ok with my dinner selection and, of course, he was totally fine with pizza night. I asked him if he would pick it up and he said he would. He gets off work at 4:00 and I get off at 5:00. He then has a class at 6:00 so I wanted to be sure we would have time to eat before he left.

After he told me that he would pick up the pizza his phone died. Great. So now I didn't know the plans. I had planned to order it online and have him just pick it up on his way home from work. It's obvious now that my texts to him before his phone died weren't clear that I was doing that.

I ordered a large half pepperoni, half sausage pizza online and decided I would just pick it up after work since I had no idea where he was. (What did we do before cell phones?!) I was almost to Domino's when he finally called me (with a charged phone) and let me know he had already ordered and picked up pizza! Major OOPS moment!

So there we were at home with 3 large pizzas (yes, Will thought the two of us would eat 2 larges for some reason!) and very full stomachs. This one was all on me, I know! Guess what we're having for dinner tonight?!

Have you ever had something like this happen?

Weekend Recap

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We sure did!

Friday:

After work Friday, I was greeted at the front door by this sweet face. Then we went to dinner with my family (minus my youngest bro, Colin). I love spending time with them!

Cody, me and Will

Saturday:

We slept in! It was great! I can't remember the last time I slept until 10! It was some much-needed beauty rest! Once we finally got up and going, we took Remi to the vet to get his yearly vaccines and ran some errands.

We went to Target--a dangerous place to go when you don't want to spend a lot of money. I could spend hours in there. We did treat ourselves to some goodies though. I got some new shoes and a scarf and Will got 2 shirts.

I was pretty excited about this find. I had seen the ones below on Pinterest and I'll just say those were out of my price range. The pair I bought from Target were only $20! The pair below is around $150 from Saks Fifth Avenue. Oh yeah! 

When we got home Saturday evening from running errands, poor little Remi wasn't feeling well. I think he had a reaction to the shots he had gotten that day. There was a huge lump at the injection site and he hurt to walk and wouldn't quit shaking. It was so sad! Luckily he slept it off and was back to his normal, crazy self by Sunday!

Sunday:

Sunday was "Faith in Action" day at our church. Instead of having a service, everyone split into 4 groups to do different community service projects for Downtown Memphis. There was a trash pick-up group, feeding the homeless group, Mud Island group, and Glenmary Retirement home group. Will & I went to the Glenmary because he was asked to speak/preach for their Sunday service. It was a lot of fun! The residents there are so great and love to have guests.

Robby and Zach led in worship

My two boys 

This pic made me laugh 

Our small group usually meets on Sunday nights, but since it was "Faith in Action" Sunday, we didn't meet. We did however go to a different church to show some support to Sarah, a very talented artist in our small group who's art and creativity was being featured at this church. She did an amazing job!

Sarah finished a huge 8x4 painting during the service

Sarah started doing "Co-Creations" with groups. It's such a neat idea and was so cool to see how  each painting turns out with everyone working on it together!

Barrett and Michelle channeling their inner creativity

Some of Sarah's co-creations

After this we went back to Barrett and Michelle's to carve a pumpkin for Wednesday night's Fall Fest contest. I will show the finished product later this week. We had a blast Sunday night with B & M!

Have a great week!