Place Your Bets!

It's about time for the "office" to start the "when is Katie going to have her baby" pool!

Since Gordon is my only office-mate (and he's not very vocal about my pregnancy) I'm turning it over to you!

When do you think Baby Hill is going to arrive?
How big do you think he'll be?

Here's PD making his guesses:

And here are some stats to help you:

Baby Hill is technically "due" on August 15th.
I've told Baby Hill that I'd like him to arrive on July 31st (I'm his mother, I should get some say in this).
I've also told him to be 6lbs 2oz.

As you can see, I'm starting obedience training early. No need to waste nine months of training time just because he happens to be in my tummy!

So what do you think? I'm not making any promises, but there just might be a prize* for the winner!!

*Prize to be determined by a very tired, first time mom two months after her baby is born.

Bible Study Baby Shower

The sweet ladies of my Wednesday night Bible Study threw me a shower a few weeks ago... and I'm finally getting around to blogging about it!

Here I am with the two hostesses:

You can tell they definitely believe "the party is in the details"... because every detail was planned and executed perfectly!

I love the sewn paper garland!

Here's a close up of some of the treats:

Crave cupcakes and homemade ice cream in a ball jar. Delish!

And here's a close up of the diaper cake. It's almost too cute to dismantle and use! Check out the shoes on top. Can't wait to see Baby Hill rocking those!

Speaking of things I can't wait to see Baby Hill in...

What is it about kids little hooded towels that I find so irresistible!!

And check out what my pal Tamara made:

I wouldn't tell her the initial of Baby Hill so she just did a "B" for Baby. It fits the nursery colors perfectly!

I was so humbled by all of the sweet gifts that everyone brought for Baby Hill:

After girl talk, gifts and games, the boys showed up for the "after party"... which was a goodbye party for Elizabeth, who is moving to California:

(That was taken after most people already left.)

We'll miss Elizabeth. She was a great addition to the group (and was a HUGE help for Chris and I during his medical adventure!).

It was a delightful afternoon/evening and I'm so thankful to the hostesses for their planning, the ladies for their generosity and the whole group for our friendship!

WBW: Napping

For today's Way Back When-sday I'd like to share my favorite pastime: napping.

I can nap almost anytime and almost anywhere.

But it's not just when I was little... I napped a lot as a teenager:

And even as an adult:

Yep. Napping makes me happy:

Want to share some Way Back Photos of YOUR favorite pastime? It's easy!




Step One: grab a button and to put on your WBW post (that will send readers here):

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thehillscountry.blogspot.com" title="The Hill's Country"><img src="http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac296/katiebhill/WBWR32.jpg" alt="The Hill's Country" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Step Two: fill out this easy form and a link will pop up here to send readers to YOUR WBW story!

Epic Naps

I was warned that utter exhaustion hits again at the third trimester.

But I didn't realize it was this bad! I feel like this all time:

And it looks like Gordon is having "sympathy exhaustion" because he's been napping more often too!

Off to take a snooze while I still can!

Maria at the Grocery Store

It's a Maria Monday!

Here's my niece "weighing in" on the produce:

And taking a spin around the aisles in her private roller coaster ride... er... shopping cart...

I wish trips to the grocery store were this fun for adults!!

Young Lovers Beware

It's wedding season! It seems like my Facebook feed is full of engagement rings and couples staring longingly into each others eyes. Something like this:

That photo was taken three years ago on our wedding day. And just like many of the couples getting married this summer, I had exiting plans for our future anniversaries (fancy dinners, romantic get-aways and sparkly jewelry were just a few of those plans!). And yes, Chris is wonderful and I've had many a fancy dinner, more than a few a romantic get-aways and plenty of sparkly jewelry in the past three years.

However. For our third year wedding anniversary, Chris and I went to the movies. 

So young lovers beware, this may be your life in three short years. 

It may start with some movie snacks:

And you might be overjoyed that your husband remembered that you like cherry slushies:

You might incur stares from other movie goers as you put your swollen pregnant feet up on the chair in front of you:

And force your husband to take an embarrassing photo in his 3D glasses:

Yes, it's true. Just three short years after your romantic wedding you might have a "boring" anniversary night out at the movies.

But.

It may surprise you that this regular old night at the movies, is your favorite anniversary yet:

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband. I love our romantic get-aways, our fancy dinners and the sparkly jewelry... but I love being your buddy most of all.

Last Day at the Beach

The last day of our Recuperation Vacation I woke up early and spent some time on the beach. Even though Chris couldn't touch the sand (and I spent very little time on the actual beach as well) there's just something about the salty sea air and sounds of the ocean that is instant relaxation.

(Our private walkover to the water.)

The beach is no place for shoes:

Our beach chairs (you can see the name of our house here too... Eau Natural):

Some beautiful beach houses:

We were next door to family friends, the Hunsuckers, who were staying at The Pearl (on the left):

Close up of Eau Natural from the beach:

(Can you spot Chris, Jeremy and Maria?)

Here's Chris on the porch (where he spent much of his time when he wasn't in bed):

One last view of the beach:

 I can't wait to go back! But I hope next time we can just call it a "Vacation" and not have need for "Recuperation"!

WBW: Beach Babes of Way Back When

Since I've been talking about our Recuperation Vacation at Carillon Beach, I thought today's Way Back When-sday should feature some Beach time from our childhoods.

Here are Chris and Justin building a sand fortress:

And years earlier here they are enjoying the sand and sun:

Meanwhile here I am at the beach... also enjoying the sand!

And marching to and from the coastline:

Yep. Looks like enjoying the beach is just something we're meant to do!

Want to share some photos from your past? It's easy!


Step One: grab a button and to put on your WBW post (that will send readers here):

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thehillscountry.blogspot.com" title="The Hill's Country"><img src="http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac296/katiebhill/WBWR32.jpg" alt="The Hill's Country" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Step Two: fill out this easy form and a link will pop up here to send readers to YOUR WBW story!

Babes at the Beach

While Chris was resting, the rest of the family enjoyed coffee on the patio... including the newest members!

These two cousins really do love each other... see? They're hugging:

After some porch time, the little ladies went inside for some playtime with Papa PD:

Looks like little Lucy got tuckered out!

And Maria needed a snack break:

You can't see from the photo, but her view was of the sand, sun and waves!

Later Papa PD gave Lucy a tutorial on safety at the beach:

We're looking forward to Baby Hill joining in the mix of beach babies!

Recuperation Vacation

Long before Chris and I ever thought we'd be traveling the halls of MD Anderson on a daily basis, we planned a trip with his family to visit Carillon Beach in the Florida panhandle. PD and our family friends, the Hunsuckers rented amazing beach houses right on the water and we were excited for a week of fun in the sun!

Then we got the news that started our medical adventure. And eventually our surgery was scheduled... to take place just a few days before our beach vacation.

After I pouted for a while, I started to get creative. Many people travel from all over the world for treatment at MDA, then they go home. Why couldn't we travel nine hours down I-10 after his surgery? And what better place to rest than with a beach view? AND Chris' brother is an ICU nurse. Isn't that a good person to have around when you have to change wound dressings and empty surgical drains??

So we asked the doctors. And after many rules (no sand, no sun, no pool, no hot tub, no beach water, no alcohol, no doing anything that might make Chris tired and stop every hour to walk around while driving to and from) we were given the go ahead!

Carillon Beach here we come!

Chris' family was kind enough to let us have the master bedroom which has the perfect view (this was literally taken from the bed):

Since Chris spent most of the day sleeping, it was nice for him to see the beach when he woke up for his meds every three hours. And when he felt up to it, he stepped out onto the balcony:

Each morning, we'd spend some time downstairs with the family, mostly reading:

And sometimes playing cards:

But mostly Chris snoozed off the drugs and focused on healing.

And what a better place to do that than with a view like that??

Chris' family really is the best. Knowing that Chris would spend most of his time in bed, they gave us the master bedroom. Knowing that he'd have to stay inside, they bought him his favorite snacks (gummy bears and cheetos). They didn't make him feel bad for having to miss out on family time when the groggy-ness took over and they carried our bags up and down the stairs. PD drove us from Houston to Florida, then from Florida to Baton Rouge. Then Justin drove us from Baton Rouge to Houston (then had to drive back to Baton Rouge the next day which turned into a nine hour drive due to traffic!). And having Justin at the beach was wonderful for me! He helped me tend to the wounds and having him watch Chris made me feel much safer than had I been at home taking care of him by myself.

A Recuperation Vacation... sounds like just what the doctor ordered!