5 years.

On Friday, November 20, 2009, Aaron and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. I've been wondering if the five year mark is the line you cross over from being sweet little newlyweds to married old flarts. And then I decided that we have the best of both worlds.

Our first year of marriage was spent in a hospital room/hotel room in Washington D.C. where we only had each other. We had to completely depend on each other, because nobody else was there. We spent every waking second together, we spent every sleeping second together, and there was never a moment that the Rice's weren't shoulder to shoulder. Except bathroom breaks. That would be weird. But it was wonderful, and I would recommend all couple's first year of marriage to be spent this way, sans the leg being blown off. It was the most perfect and beautiful way to spend year number one.

Anyway, five years later, even though not quite as extreme as our D.C. days, not too much has changed. I don't know if it's the fact that we might be losers and not have a lot of other options, but we spend a lot of time together just because we want to. We go on dates a lot. We have very stupid inside jokes that make us look like flarts around other people, but we don't really care. We eat 98% of all our meals together. We make fun of each other a lot. We enjoy each other, and I'm glad that time hasn't changed that. This is why I still feel newlywedish.

Five years has also brought with it time to really learn about each other. Obviously (and hopefully) you don't ever stop learning about your mate. But at some point over the years, I knew I didn't have to try my hardest to impress him, because for some reason I'll never really understand, he was already impressed. I could be Kelly, he could be Aaron, and Kelly accepts Aaron and Aaron accepts Kelly. We both have flaws. Big flaws. But we work on them together. We have to ask each other for forgiveness often.

Also, we are pretty ding dang comfortable around each other. Aaron quit holding his flarts in a long time ago. I burp a lot around him. He's accepted the fact that I wear t-shirts and scrub pants a lot. I've accepted the fact that he only wears blue boxers. He is possibly the biggest sloppy Joe on the planet and everywhere he goes he leaves a trail of trash behind him. He cusses when he irons because he gets so frustrated. He knows I tend to give the silent treatment when I'm upset and he knows how to make me speak up so we can communicate better. He doesn't care that our bathroom counter is completely covered with my stuff and all he has room for is his toothbrush. He doesn't care that my side of the closet is a train wreck and he has to step over mountains of shoes to get to his clothes. Getting upset with each other is different now because we know how each other responds to conflict. In the past month or so since my belly has gotten too big for me to function effectively, he spends at least 20 minutes every single night helping me get ready for bed. He positions about 40 pillows around me so I can sleep comfortably, gets me water so I can take my prenatals, turns off all the lights, gets whatever book I'm reading at the time, sets my alarm, and knows I'll already be asleep long before he even finishes everything. These are a few of the reasons I feel like we might be old flarts, which is why I believe we have the best of both worlds.

Here is a quick recap of our five year anniversary date. I got home from work and took a nap so I could have the strength and energy to stay up late. We got dressed up (for the second time all year) and went out to eat. Unfortunately, our anniversary fell on the eve of the Ole Miss v. LSU football game, which means Oxford was maxed out with overzealous football fans that feel the need to wear their school colors and curse you for not doing the same. Downtown Oxford was a hot mess. We found the only restaurant on the square that would seat people who didn't have a reservation. We ended up sitting at the bar and having a fabulous meal. My back started throbbing, as it usually does around that time of night, so I was squirming around trying to find a comfortable position and looking awkward to everybody at the bar, but whatever. I'm 34 weeks pregnant (or maybe 35 by now? I've lost count). Aaron ate every morsel of food on his plate and 3/4 of the food on my plate, and as a result became VERY gassy throughout the rest of the evening.

After dinner we went to see New Moon. I felt like a phony standing in line because I never bought into the whole "Twilight Movement," which means I never made a personal connection with the characters, read the books, bought the lunch box or sleeping bag, or chose to be on Team Edward or Team Jacob. I just enjoyed the first movie. It was interesting and entertaining. There was a very long line of people who bought their tickets weeks in advance and were waiting to be allowed into the lobby - not the actual theater, but just the lobby. Aaron, being the sweet and attentive guy he is, noticed I was holding my back and looking quite miserable, asked the theater manager if we could go ahead and be "allowed" into the lobby so I could sit down. At first I protested, trying to say I'm ok just standing, but those chairs really did look delicious and plush. So we sat down on nice furniture while everybody else stood for about an hour. Once everybody was allowed into the lobby, we had to form another line outside the theater and wait. And finally, when given the thumbs up, we proceeded like stampede into the theater to find the perfect seats and wait for another 30 minutes for the previews. Was it worth it? Eh, I don't know. The movie was good. Backache was miserable. I was ready for my epidural right then and there. I feel sorry for the poor guy sitting next to me because I was sitting in very strange positions trying to relieve the pressure of my back. At one point that included me lifting my belly up, and I'm sure that looked odd. But whatever.

The movie started at 10:15 and I stayed awake through the entire thing. This was quite a feat, as I haven't seen that late of an hour in months. We came home and Aaron spent 20 minutes getting me ready for bed. And the best part of our five year anniversary was the fact that I slept until 12:02 the next day. I never woke up - except the 10 times throughout the night to use the restroom. I haven't slept this late...ever. Well, not ever, but in a really long time. And I have a feeling opportunities like that will be few and far between, given that in a few short weeks there will be a Baby Clark in the mix.

Speaking of Clark, I'll know more next week, but I'm pretty sure his due date of January 1, 2010 has been nixed. When I went in for my last sonogram, he weighed in at roughly five pounds and 15 ounces. Let's just go ahead and say six pounds. A six pound baby at 34 weeks means a 12 pound baby at 40 weeks, and I would like for that not to be the case for obvious reasons. The nurse said the way he was measuring meant a due date to be on or around December 20. That's great news to Kelly Rice for many reasons, the main one being that is about 11 less days without throbbing back pain and I will lift my sparkling grape juice glass to that.

So now that Aaron and I have been married for five years and one day, we are going to spend this Saturday being complete turds. I doubt we are going to take showers. I'm debating whether or not to brush my teeth - leaning towards not. Get out of my scrubs and tshirt and put on normal clothes? Absolutely not! I'm sure we'll take Jake for a walk, scrounge up whatever food we can to fill our bellies, and if I have it my way, we will definitely watch our wedding video, stinky breath and all.

Oxford.

I was really being super productive on this Tuesday evening until Aaron ordered me to stop what I was doing and start blogging. I started to protest, but then I remembered telling myself, and Aunt Emily, that as soon as my sister-in-law Haley got back on the blogging bandwagon, then I would too. And Haley did get on the bandwagon today, and it was a fabulous post. As usual. So here I am, ready to update.

(Aaron is having a hysterical laughing fit right now because he just read that President George W. Bush used to call Vladamir Putin "Pooty Poot".)

Earlier this evening, Aaron and I played two games of Battleship. I haven't played this board game since I was about 3 years old with my cousin Kristy, but when I passed by it at Walmart today I just had to have it. It wasn't quite the old school version I remembered from back in the day, but it was fun playing with my husband twenty something years later. Aaron beat me at the first game, and then rubbed it in my face saying something along the lines of "You'll never beat me at this game. I'm a Marine!" Well, I won the second game, and was very gracious about my win. Poor Marine.

The Battleship battle between Aaron and I is not nearly as important as other events that have taken place this month. This month so far has been one of reflection and gratefulness. Let me explain why without being too incredibly cheesy.

When Aaron decided he wanted to pursue the law school path, we pretty much did everything in our power to avoid Ole Miss. He applied to other schools, we visited other campuses, looked for houses in other cities, and we daydreamed about what it would be like to live in awesome cities such as New York, Nashville, D.C., etc. There was just something about Oxford, Mississippi that gave me indigestion. Kind of made me nauseous. Uncomfortable. Those people were different than me. Basically, I was being judgmental in the worst kind of way. Oxford was the last place on earth I wanted to be.

Well, how funny that of all places, Aaron ends up not only getting accepted into Ole Miss Law, but receiving a very prestigious scholarship that is currently helping us out tremendously. So after much thought, prayer, and wrestling with God over the idea of becoming an Oxfordite, the decision was made. Oxford it is.

So we started looking for homes and one sunny Sunday afternoon Aaron found one on the internet and said, "This is what we are going to do. We are going to drive to Oxford, look at this house, and then we are going to buy it." And that is exactly what we did. On that Sunday evening, we made an offer, and a month or so later, we closed on it. The house is perfect. PERFECT for us in every single way.

After living in this town for about two days, I received a phone call from a woman name Susan Tyner. The connection is kind of bazaar, but basically, she is a friend of a friend of the Rice family from Yazoo City. Also a Chi Omega, but that is neither here nor there. Anyway, Susan called and asked if she could come pick me up and show me places around town that I'm going to need to know, such as Kroger, the post office, dry cleaners, etc. For some reason I didn't hesitate at all to let this woman come pick me up and spend the day with her. One of the places she took me to was the church she attends, which was Christ Presbyterian Church.

We attended that church the next Sunday, and we were completely blindsided by the sense of community, the teaching, the music, the openness, and every wonderful detail that makes up that church. Since then, we have found ourselves surrounded by a community of believers, and it is the most encouraged we have ever felt in our lives. My point in mentioning all of that is simple. I am embarrassed and ashamed that I was so vocally opposed to living in Oxford. I'm ashamed that I questioned God. He undoubtedly brought us to Oxford because he knew our lives would change dramatically here. And He was so right.

This leads me to write about some of the events that have taken place this month that have caused these random acts of reflection. Recently, I began thinking about how blessed my time in Oxford has been in such a short amount of time. I was offered a job as a paralegal at a small law firm in town in February of this year. I've written about it off and on, but I've never mentioned how much of an answered prayer this job was. I was so sure that Aaron and I would live in Oxford for three entire years and never make the kind of friends we made in Starkville. In fact, I had all but accepted the notion that Aaron and I would pretty much be each others only friend. This turned out not be the case at all, and once again, I was dreadfully wrong.

Accepting the job at this law firm was truly a blessing in disguise. I accepted it because Aaron and I needed food in our bellies, and food requires money. Little did I know what else I would get out of it. I work with a small group of people, mainly women, who have been with me every step of the way throughout this pregnancy, and not only have they just been there for me, but they have all been so encouraging, excited, pumped up, involved, and interested in Clark and me. They worry about me (and fuss at me) when I run down the stairs too fast. They listen to me bellyache all the time about stupid stuff. They brought me breakfast when I was going through my morning sickness stage. They have gone out of their way to make me comfortable and they were so supportive of mine and Aaron's decision to permanently stay home with Clark once he's born. They threw me a surprise baby shower. There were gifts (big big big gifts) and strawberry cake. And tons of great food. Homemade food that required time. They spent a lot of their time and their own money on Clark and I and I just can't describe how awesome it felt to be there and know that they cared so much about this little baby in my belly. These are the ladies I'm talking about.

Even my mom and Memaw showed up!

Clark's strawberry cake. Delicious doesn't even begin to describe this thing.

And Clark's entire truckful of gifts, including the Pack N' Play we registered for, which is no small thing.

I know I got off on a tangent, but it all boils down to this: I'm pretty sure life changes aren't going to end here. Aaron and I have a very long road ahead of us, most likely one that includes different cities, churches, friends, growing family, struggle, disappointments, stress, and who knows what else. The thought of that long of a road is a bit overwhelming to me. But if we start down this road completely unafraid and without fear (unlike how I started down the road to Oxford), how much more will I realize the blessings that God is pouring into our lives on a daily basis? If there was no fear in my heart, what great things could come of my ministry and my life that I never would have known otherwise? I do know one thing. I know that until this year, in Oxford, Mississippi, I have never truly understood the Lord like I do now. God opened my eyes in a way that allowed me to see Him like I've never seen him before. He has blessed me. And my marriage. And my friendships. And my intimate relationship with Him. He gave us this:

And knowing that Clark will forever be in our lives, I feel stronger than ever that I don't want to live this life just going through the motions. I want to be brave and more courageous in my walk with the Lord. And I'm not really sure how to do that quite yet, but the desire is in me to do so. And most importantly, I want to spend my entire life working and praying that Clark knows every single day of his life that he is God's child. And he is blessed.

October.

I'm so disappointed in myself. I had very good intentions on updating this blog with every crazy thing that happened in October. I kept telling myself, "I'll do it tomorrow," and now its November. I'll give a brief rundown on what happened in October 0f 2009.

October 4. My dad's birthday.

October 11. My brother Chase's birthday and also the first year anniversary of he and his bride.

October 15 & 29. Doctors appointments. Clark is healthy and happy, staying busy practicing his ninja moves, making faces, taking naps, sucking his thumb, etc. He weighs in at almost 4 pounds and about 18 inches from head to toe. My due date of January 1 is still right on. Doc doesn't think I'll be a day early or a day late.

Letter to Clark:

Son,

I'm going to try really hard to make you the first baby of the year. If you are, you'll enjoy luxuries such as free diapers for a year, free college education, lots of gifts, etc. If you are at all interested, try to help me out a little bit. See you soon.

Love,

Mom

October 15. Aaron and I attended our first childbirth class. And yes, we had to watch a live birth. Every single detail of it. And by we, I mean everybody in the room EXCEPT Aaron Rice. Out of the 30 or so people in the room, I was with the only one who refused to accept reality. Yes, Aaron, I'm going to have a baby, and you're going to be there. If you would have watched the video like all of the other respectful and attentive dads in the room, you would be well prepared for this historical event in our lives. But no, you are going to pass out and hit your head on the way down to the floor, and the doctors will have to focus their attention on you instead of me and Clark. So thanks for that. We love you.

October 17. Hannah and Daniel's PERFECT and BREATHTAKING wedding. Wow, I could never begin to adequately describe the absolute perfection that was their wedding. I think about it all the time and smile. The love that these two people have for each other is the sweetest, most refreshing, and contagious love that I've ever seen.

The wedding ceremony took place in a tiny historical chapel in Raymond, MS. Watching beautiful Hannah walk down that aisle with an impeccable smile from ear to ear was priceless. Watching handsome Daniel watch beautiful Hannah walk down the aisle was priceless. They chose a wonderful hymn for the congregation to sing, Let Us Love And Sing And Wonder, and Pastor Mike Howell, as usual, gave a great sermon that I am still thinking about today. The best way to describe all of the wedding festivities is that it was very Hannah and Daniel. Their creativity was splashed all over the weekend.

I'm so mad at myself for not getting pictures of the fabulous decor, the bridesmaids dresses/groomsmen's suspenders, and the beautiful bed and breakfast where the reception was held. The food was incredible (cheese grits!) and the music selection for dancing was superb. We got to spend some great times with family and friends that we rarely get to see anymore and I was hoping all night that we would never have to say goodbye. Cheesy, I know. But when you only get to see the people you love a couple of times a year, if even that much, you understand. I can honestly say that their wedding was the best I have ever attended. We are so unbelievably happy for the new Meigs family. I can't wait to see them again.

October 20. Another childbirth class. Aaron and I learned how to swaddle a baby and change diapers. Our swaddling baby happened to be of African American descent, which made for some great pictures.

As it turns out, swaddling a doll is not that difficult. I have a feeling that a moving, squirming little newborn might be a different scenario, but I'm convinced that we'll figure it out. Changing a diaper is also not rocket science. More than anything, I enjoyed watching Aaron try his hand at it. I was amazed at how intensely focused Aaron was as he carefully and gently swaddled this baby doll. I didn't want to make fun of him because he was trying his best and looking so cute while doing it, but trust me when I say this: if Aaron takes as long trying to swaddle Clark as he did trying to swaddle our black baby doll, we're going to have to have a chat. Anyway, it was fun, and now we can check swaddling and diapers off of our "we can do this" checklist.

October 28. Pumpkin carving party!! Our good friends, Liz and Madison, had some people over to carve pumpkins and hang out. We had a great time seeing these folks. It seems like lately, life is getting in the way of times like these. This is certainly not going to get any easier once Clark gets here, so we're trying to take advantage of carefree nights like these. As for the pumpkins, well, you decide:

Aaron is convinced that his was better. I'd have to disagree. Mine has cool glasses, and his looks kind of gooby. Be honest in your assessment of who's pumpkin would win a contest.

This picture above really makes me laugh. Out of the six girls in this picture, two of them are 30 weeks pregnant. I'll give you a hint as to which two. They are in baggy sweatpants, baggy t-shirts and baggy sweatshirts. They don't have a lot of make up on and have pretty much given up on cute outfits. They come home from work everyday and throw on their husbands clothes and could not care less what other people think. Yes, that would be Amy and I. Amy is also the wife of a second year law student and will have her baby one week after me. This is great for us, because we have already agreed that we will take turns watching each others babies so we can have date nights. God is so good.

October 29. Another childbirth class. This one focused on yoga, breathing, and concentration. Another way to describe this class would be "drag your husband along and we will teach him how to give you a good massage." Naturally, that is what I did. Me and 15 other hugely pregnant women plopped all over our yoga mats and let our husbands just massage away. It was very nice. Aaron quickly picked up on the irony of the situation and started cracking jokes, which made me laugh, which made my abs hurt, so I probably didn't enjoy the "me" time as much as I should have, but it was memorable.

October 30. I drove to Jackson and got to shack up with Nikki. I just can't get enough of that woman.

October 31. Baby shower! Clark totally racked up. So much so that I got kicked and jabbed the entire time I was opening presents. One kick was so hard that I had to gasp for air, but I don't think anybody noticed. More about the shower....it was so much fun. I got to spend time with my best friends in the whole world, family, and even extended family who I never ever see anymore. My cousins, Kristy and Rachel, and my sister-in-law, Adrea, hosted the shower and they did a fabulous job. For example, there were petit fours that were not only the most luscious things my taste buds have ever experienced, but they donned Clark's initials. How cute!

I'm not going to disclose how many of these things I ate, mainly because I quit counting after about 4 or 5. They were delicious, as was all of the food. Take a look at all of Clark's presents!

Clark is going to be one stylin' and profilin' little dude. He got clothes, diapers, toys, blankets, pacifiers, a good swing, stroller, car seat, a bathtub, hooded towels, and other totally awesome baby gear. More than anything, I enjoyed having my closest friends and family in one room for a couple of hours. That never happens anymore.

Mississippi State girls.

Jackson Academy girls.

Me with the fabulous hostesses.

Clark's mother, grandmothers, and great grandmother.

Mother/Daughter picture.

Apparently, the next step after receiving all of these incredible gifts is to transport them into the room we have designated as Clark's and try to make sense of it all. We couldn't move anything into the room until the carpet was cleaned, and that was not an option. To put it nicely, Jake completely ruined the carpet in that room. We borrowed a steam vacuum cleaner from a friend (the same friend who bought our office furniture from us), and Aaron went to work.

He's so cute. And sweet. He cleaned the entire room out. As you might be able to see from the picture above, the deer heads sticking out of the wall are apparently staying. "Clark needs to learn who the enemy is," is Aaron's defense. Whatever. The carpet is clean and we are one step closer to having the room ready. That is, until we unloaded the car and moved everything into the room.

All of a sudden, the room is much smaller. The room is going to look exactly like this until about December 16, which is when Aaron takes his last exam and can devote all of his attention to this room. I would say I would do it myself, but clearly that won't happen as long as I have a baby the size of planet earth in my belly.

That's about it for October. November will also be eventful, but I won't wait until its over to write about it. I'd like to end this post by saying thank you to the woman at Walmart who checked me out. And when I say "check me out," I mean it in two ways. She walked all the way around the baggies to check my belly out, and then went back to the cash register to continue checking my items. Thank you, Rhonda, for letting me leave Walmart after having the following conversation:

Rhonda: Girl, you big! How much longer you got?

Me: Two more months.

Rhonda: Girl, you big. When I was seven months, I was nowhere near that big. I was tiny!

Me: Well, that's nice.

Rhonda: Girl, you need to watch yourself. Your baby gone be too big.

Me: Thank you. Have a nice evening.

Less than stellar updates.

1. Aaron has reached the halfway point of the semester, which means in about 2 months, he will be halfway through law school, which means in almost one and a half years, he will graduate law school and never have to be a student again. I repeat - never have to be a student again. After 23 years of on and off studenthood, we can put to rest the old backpack. Hallelujah.

2. I have finally made the big crossover into my third trimester, which means we could welcome Clark in as little as 10 weeks (or as long as 14 weeks). One would think we would be ready, seeing as how time flies, right? Wrong. Yes, we have a crib that is great and beautiful. But the crib is sitting in our bedroom because we have yet to establish a room that will belong to Clark. I kind of, sort of, in a very unproductive way started to clean out the closet in the room that we have chosen to be his, but somehow everything that was in the closet just ended up on the floor in the hallway. Now our hallway hosts items such as Aaron's hunting gear, our snowboarding clothes, a couple of bike helmets, a rifle or two, several "memory boxes" that date back to fourth grade, and last year's halloween costumes. Like I said, unproductive.

Sooner or later, we are going to have to take the plunge and get serious about cleaning out that room. I think in our minds, we are convinced that if we are patient enough, we will come home one day and we will have an empty room that didn't include heavy lifting, breaking down heavy furniture, unloading gigantic law books from the bookshelf, taking huge deer heads off the wall (yes, Aaron, we are going to take them down), or cleaning the carpet that Jake treats as if his personal fire hydrant. All of a sudden, we will blink and the crib, a changing table, rocking chair, and cute baby things will fill the room and we didn't have to anything. Well, that's not going to happen. Unless of course some dear family and friends want to make this a reality. We will totally act surprised and let you babysit Clark or Jake anytime you want.

On that note, we are in a serious bind about what to do with our office furniture. We found a beautiful matching desk and bookshelf a little over a year ago and we hate to get rid of it, but our options are limited. Aaron wins the Husband Of The Year Award (for the 500th time this year) for making the sacrifice and letting us keep our guest bedroom, which I foresee being used much more often than it is right now because Clark's fan club will need somewhere to set up shop for a little while. We either want to find a loving family who will store it for us for two years or so until we move into a house with an extra room, or a loving family who wants to buy it from us at a very reasonable price. What is not an option at this point is us paying to store it ourselves, because Oxford and surrounding towns charge the same rent for a 5 feet wide storage shed as a 3 bedroom condo on the Square. Below is the desk and bookshelf:

There is also a huge, plush leather chair that goes behind the desk, but we didn't have it at the time this picture was taken. If anyone out there is interested in either buying or temporarily borrowing a huge L-shaped office desk and bookshelf, send me an email or give me a ring.

Anyway, whether we are ready or not, Clark will be our roommate in the very near future, and it would be a good idea for Aaron and I to quit being lazy turds. Well, I'm not lazy, I'm just so ding dang huge that I can't pick something up off the floor without moaning and groaning and bellyaching about backaches. That leaves Aaron doing the physical labor and I'll point fingers and laugh at him and take pictures so I can write about it later. I'm never going to win the Wife Of The Year Award. On second thought, I am birthing a child for the man, so maybe he'll surprise me with a special award.

3. MSU Homecoming. Raining. 65 degrees. That's where we will be and the weather we will be in all day tomorrow. If I get the swine flu, I'm taking Aaron's award back because somehow he talked me into it. I'm sure he wants me to go so bad because I am a guaranteed designated driver, but I'd like to think I'm more valuable than that. I'll let you know.

4. Next week Aaron and I begin our childbirthing classes at the hospital. Question: do they really make you watch a video of a woman giving birth? Because Aaron will surely pass out and we will have to leave the class and go down to the emergency room to bring him back to life. And that would be a total waste of $75.00. Please advise so we know whether or not to bring a paper bag for him to breathe into if needed.

5. Next weekend, we will head down to Jackson to attend the wedding festivities for Hannah and Daniel. I am beyond excited for them and can't wait to see their creative and unique touch in the wedding details. Another benefit is that the entire Rice family will be together again and it might be the last time Clark gets to see some of them as a fetus. That sounds strange, but it's true.

6. Belly is getting huge. See pictures below for proof.

25 weeks

26 weeks

27 weeks

Aaron is 26 years old now.

On Thursday, September 17, 2009, we celebrated Aaron's 26th birthday like rock stars. Well, maybe not rock stars, but definitely larger than usual. Of course Aaron had to spend the half of his birthday in class, but when I got off of work and he finished his school stuff, we started the birthday bash events. 

Aaron is a pretty low maintenance guy in that he wanted one thing for his birthday. I'll get to that later and leave you in intense suspicion, but it was yet another indicator that we are getting OLD. We started out the evening by getting semi-dressed up (which never happens anymore unless we are going to church) and going to a restaurant in Oxford called 208 where we splurged on a great, delicious, expensive, and fabulous meal. 

The good news about this great, delicious, expensive and fabulous meals is that it was one that was FREE. Ahh, free food. It tastes so much finer when you know that your checking account will not shake its finger at you at the end of the month. No guilt, remorse, or shame for choosing $35 veal smothered in some kind of sauce that was absolutely superb. The reason the meal was free was because I'm awesome. At my job. I guess. A few months ago, the attorney I work for gave me a gift certificate as a "thank you" and a "you are the best paralegal on the planet" and a "I'd be lost without your excellent organization and people skills." Well, that may be pushing it, but it was a very nice gesture, and it was even nicer that we waited to use it for Aaron's birthday. This is Aaron holding up his birthday card that for some reason seemed beyond hilarious when I was picking it out:

Just in case you can't read it, it says "Happiness is like peeing in your pants. Everyone can see it but only you can feel its warmth." Of course I wrote a heartfelt note inside, but also inside there was a printout of this, which Aaron is very, very, very excited about. The reason I chose to get Aaron a pistol is because he has been wanting one and talking about getting one for at least five years or so, but never has because there are always more pressing needs, such as food, shelter, insurance, etc. In the meantime, this is what has been keeping us safe: 

Your eyes are not deceiving you. There is a shotgun hanging off our bed, locked and loaded at all times. Aaron saw this gun holder contraption on a redneck television infomercial and picked up the phone and went to dialing away to order this genius invention. How great is it that if an intruder comes into our home, we don't even have to get out of bed! Aaron can just reach over to the side of the bed, grab his shotgun, and pull the trigger. Poor intruder guy will have no idea that there is an Aaron Rice on the other side of the door just smiling and waiting. Well, maybe not smiling, but definitely waiting. 

I guess I had ulterior motives for getting the pistol. Knowing that this time next year there will be a very mobile toddler boy scurrying around the house and there is also a loaded shotgun two feet off the floor does not sit well with me. So now we will retire the shotgun-on-the-bed holder and keep a well concealed pistol in the bedside table. Actually, I didn't actually buy the pistol yet because I knew Aaron would want to spend hours upon hours researching every detail of every pistol on the market, but sooner or later, he will add a pistol to his gun collection. 

Enough about guns. That was quite the rabbit trail wasn't it? Back to the birthday festivities. After enjoying our free meal, we walked over to the other side of the Oxford Square so we could get Aaron his only birthday request. This is the only thing he asked for:

Glenlivet 21. This is what Aaron wanted for his 26th birthday. We walked to Downtown Grill, the only restaurant/bar in Oxford that sells this drink. Just in case you aren't familiar with scotch drinks, Glenlivet 21 means that it is 21 years old, which means that is VERY expensive. As much as I would like to say I bought Aaron a $400 bottle of Glenlivet 21, that was obviously not an option. So he opted to enjoy a $32.00 glass of Scotch, and to say he enjoyed it would be the understatement of the year. 

After every single sip, he explained its greatness and why that sip was better than the last. He savored it, swirled it around in his mouth, smelled it, studied the bottle, closed his eyes and tried to make the moment last forever. He got goosebumps as he sipped it. He smiled the entire time. I listened to him explain the history of the Scotch drink, the study of the Scotch drink, the art of Scotch, and much much more. He enjoyed that $32.00 drink so much that after he took that last sip, his legs involuntarily took him back to the bar to order another $32.00 drink. That's right, $64.00 for two drinks, but it was worth seeing the satisfaction and joy in his eyes. He could have gone back for 10 more and I wouldn't have said a word because it was so fun seeing my sweet husband so happy. For the first time in a very long time, we sat at a small bar table, just the two of us, and talked for a couple of hours about whatever we wanted to. Aaron drank his 21 year old Scotch drank and I sipped on some sparkling water, and it was nice. We were in no rush whatsoever. Well, toward the end of the night I started getting a little ancy to get home because my lower back felt like somebody took a sledgehammer to it, but other than that tiny little setback, it was a much needed and great evening. 

We left Downtown Grill and came home and immediately began to devour the Baskin Robbins ice cream cake that Aaron requested. It wasn't until we had eaten half of it that I realized that I should take a picture of it because it was Aaron's first "Happy Birthday Daddy" cake. 

It was much better than my Kroger ice cream cake on my 25th birthday. It was delicious, and the perfect ending to a perfect birthday celebration. 

On Friday night, the day after the birthday festivities, we joined our friends, Liz and Madison, for a concert at The Lyric on the Square. Has anybody ever heard of Bobby Rush? Well, here is a very small taste of what we watched for a couple of hours:

Having never heard of Bobby Rush before, I certainly didn't know what to expect. My eyes were opened. Wide. It was actually a blast and I enjoyed every second of it, until the sledgehammer-like pain overcame my lower back and we left. 

Last night (Saturday), reality set it in as we put Clark's crib together. It was a very surreal moment that we didn't really know what to do with. Even though we did it together, of course Aaron did 95% of the work while I took pictures. 

When we were finished, and the crib was built in its entirety, and I put some of the gifts that Clark has already been given in it, all we could really do is just stare at it. What an odd thing to have in our house. 

First of all, isn't this crib beautiful? Probably ten minutes after I told my mom I was pregnant, she made it clear that she wanted to buy his crib. We don't have bedding for it yet, but my grandmother, Yaya, who is turning 89 years old this October, has already hand-made Clark about 10 little blankets and a couple of pretty big blankets. They are so sweet and perfect for swaddling a little baby in, and I can't wait to use them. Thanks so much, Mom, for buying this for us! It's perfect! I can't even imagine how weird it is going to be to actually see a baby in it, but at least we have about 3 months to get ready for it. 

I suppose that is everything exciting that has happened lately. The next exciting thing on our agenda is my doctors appointment on Thursday where they are going to test me for gestational diabetes. They are going to prick my finger, test my blood sugar, and then make me drink a gigantic glass of sugar water. An hour or two later, they will prick my finger again and see what my reaction was to the sugar. I'm thinking about asking the doc if I can just go to Big Bad Breakfast and fill up on syrupy pancakes to get my sugar overload instead of having to ingest a nasty orange flavored sugar water. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm actually kind of anxious about this appointment, because the word diabetes scares the bejeezus out of me. If you happen to think about me on Thursday, please send up a prayer for me. 

This blog has been way too long. I guess that's what happens when I only blog once a month or so. Well, I'd like to end by saying Happy 26th Birthday, Arnie. I knew you when you were 16,  and it has been so much fun watching you grow into the man you are today, nearly ten years later. I can't wait to see what's in store for you and our family. 

25 weeks and 26 years

This isn't Clark, but it's is a good visual for how big he is at almost 25 weeks. He is weighing in at about 1.5 pounds and almost 11 inches. From here on out, I suppose he'll be gaining weight at a pretty steady rate, which means so will big momma. And big daddy. 

On the same day that Clark officially turns 25 weeks old, Aaron officially enters into his 26th year of life. I'll be thinking about him all day and I would like for you to as well. I'll blog tomorrow with a lovely post dedicated to the best husband on earth and his birthday celebration. 

Labor Day To Do List

This Labor Day will consist of a few naps, free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, probably some yard work, a few laps around the block with Jake, catching up on laundry, reading the final chapters in my book and figuring out which one to start next, thinking about Clark, listening to the "classical music medley" station on Pandora Radio because that really makes him bump around, trying to keep Aaron from getting distracted so he can work on his moot court case, a little bit of pilates/yoga, maybe cleaning up a little bit (that's a big fat maybe), taking a picture of Aaron at my 23 weeks pregnant point, working on my address list for Adrea (almost done), making some homemade chocolate chip cookies for Aaron to snack on while he works on his project, maybe giving Jake a bath (doubt that's going to happen), and that's really all I can think of on the spot. 

Let me explain a few of the items on that list. We are going to get free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches because they are giving them away to those wearing their favorite sports team logo. So we will bust up in there sporting our maroon and white in the land of the red and blue and enjoy our yummy fried chicken sandwiches. Also, I'm thinking about getting a chocolate milkshake. 

I'm going to take a picture of Aaron's belly at 23 weeks pregnant because he is gaining sympathy weight at the exact same rate I am gaining baby weight, and I want to start documenting his belly growth as well as mine. At my last doctors appointment, after they weighed me, Aaron stepped on the scale just for kicks and giggles and my jaw dropped to the floor after I saw the number that the scale landed on. I won't give specific numbers, but lets just say I understand why we had to buy him bigger britches. Maybe we shouldn't take advantage of the free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches after all. And maybe I should fix him a bowl of fruit to snack on while he works on his project instead of chocolate chip cookies. 

I recently discovered that listening to "classical music medley" station on Pandora Radio gets Clark moving around a good bit. I don't know how I stumbled upon this particular station, but it is amazing. I think I am hooked. Normally, I am not a classical music kind of gal, but this station is different. It plays my favorite hymns and makes me unbelievably calm and happy. As an added bonus, for some reason Clark gets a kick out of it (no pun intended). I'm thinking he likes it as much as I do. Or, its possible that he hates it and he is trying to tell me to turn that jibberish off. But for the next few months, I am in control, and I'm going to keep listening to it. 

Since it is gorgeous outside, I think I'm going to end this rambling post and get started on my activities for the day. Feel free to call at the end of the day and find out how much I actually end up accomplishing. I hope everybody enjoys their day off.