It is finished!

This is the Pottery Barn dresser that I really wanted for Jackson's nursery.

This is the amazing look-a-like dresser that Ryan made with loving care with his own two hands from rough lumber......

Made with love for Jackson from his Parents!

Jackson's 24 week sonogram

Folks, we have a middle name!

Duh Duh Duhhhhh.......

Ryan has finally made up his mind and decided to name Jackson after himself and name him Jackson Matthew Hooks. I am excited to finally be able to get things monogrammed.

Today we had our 24 week appointment and we got to have another ultrasound and see him, yes he is still a boy! He is weighing 1 lb. and 12 ounces. Right on track.

I am excited because at the beginning of my pregnancy I lost 10 pounds and have now gained back 4 of those lost pounds. Dr. is happy with my weight gain. I feel like I would have gained more just from the roundness and heaviness of my belly.

Funny story of the week: I was ironing some clothes while watching TV and forgot that my belly was closer to the ironing board than I thought and I drove the iron right into my belly and burned it about 3 inches long. There is still a red scab and it itches like crazy. Then last night I was taking dinner out of the oven and burned my hand in the oven and that one hurt pretty bad, still have a puffy red blotch on the top of my hand. Ryan has forbid me from dealing with anything hot for the remainder of my pregnancy, which is probably a good idea.

Ryan is still working away on the dresser and has been staining it, it should be done soon and then we will post pictures.

Weekend Warriors!!!

This weekend we finished the decor for the nursery and it did take us ALL weekend!

This room started off a sponge painted yellow when we moved in last summer and as soon we found out it was a boy we started looking for the perfect shade of blue.


These stripes took us about 6 hours to put up all around the room! We used a laser level to keep things straight.

Putting the wooden blinds up was my favorite part of the day because of the harsh hot sunlight that keep this room steaming! We also painted and put up chair railing over the wainscoting to complete the room.

Final project complete! The bedding is from Pottery Barn that we have been eyeing before we even knew we were going to have a boy!

We are so excited to have this project complete! It seems to much more real now and I love to go in there and imagine where everything else is going to be. Ryan and is still working on the dresser and the rocking chair needs to be re-painted.

Ryan's latest projects

Ryan has been working hard for weeks to create a nursery dresser from scratch. He has impressed me to no end and what talents he possesses. He is making it out of maple and we are going to put a dark stain on it. It is modeled after a dresser that I love in Pottery Barn but of course was 700 dollars and he guarantees me that he can make it for 250 or less. Time will tell. This is his first major wood working project and I have all confidences that it is going to be beautiful.

This is the current stage of the dresser and I am proud to say that after weeks of Ryan's prep work today was the first day that I stayed in the garage to help him glue, clamp, and move around the dresser.

This is the toy box that Ryan made for the nursery. It has slow release hinges so no little fingers get smashed. I hope to also make a cushion top for it to use as a window seat in the nursery. I am so proud of Ryan's first baby room project! It turned out great.

It's a BOY!!!!

We have made it to 19 weeks and we finally got to see our baby again! It is confirmed that it is a BOY and we are so excited about this. I have been guessing it was a boy from the day we got pregnant and pretty much everyone else that I know guessed a boy as well. We are naming him Jackson after my grandfather Jack Rhodes. I am so happy that I get to pass along my grandfathers wonderful legacy to my son (he will have big shoes to fill :). I am half way through the pregnancy, but this is the fun part, decorating his room, buying clothes...etc...

This is a great profile pic of him with his hand by his face. During the sonogram he was moving around a lot so I am glad we caught him being still for once. Ryan and I had planned on waiting to tell our parents a week after the appointment in person, but by 7PM that night we were too excited to wait. We met my parents at Hearne with a blue and pink sonic drink and made them guess the sex then we told them which one it was. On our way home we called Ryan's parents, my grandmother Mom Ruth, and Ryan's brother and sis-in-law. I was able to tell my brother and sis-in law the next morning and everyone was surprised. I would have loved to see all their faces but it was too much pressure to keep this secret.

Let the shopping and decorating commence!

Baby Hooks Week 16

Today was our 16 week appointment and we got to hear the heartbeat again. Still beating strong and sounds great! That was pretty much all we did at this appointment but in one month we will find out the sex of our growing baby. And yes, we will tell everyone what it is and the name as soon as we find out! No secrets here! Ryan can't wait to find out so he can finish painting the nursery and get it all decorated. :) His excitement is so cute! I will post pictures of his progress soon. He has finished the toy box and is starting to make the dresser and nightstand! I just pointed out the one in the Pottery Barn catalogue that I wanted and he said that he could make it! I am so lucky to have such a handy husband!

12 Weeks

On Friday Ryan and I were able to hear the heartbeat for the first time at our 12 week appointment and the Doc says it is a strong one (156 beats per minute). I was surprised that he found it so fast because the baby is the size of a peach this week! We are so excited and Ryan is already working hard on the nursery. The crib is assembled, the walls are primed, the wainscoting is on the wall and painted. We are at a standstill until we find out the sex about mid April at 20 weeks.

I am still really nauseous from when I wake up till after 1PM, the evenings are my best time of the day! I am hoping that I start feeling better ASAP because Ryan and I need to take advantage of the last few months we have with just each other.

Here is video proof of the heartbeat!

Yes, There is a baby in there!

That news was like music to my ears! After trying for the past 14 months to get pregnant Ryan and I were able to see the babies heart flicker on the screen for the first time! I am 8 to 9 weeks along and am feeling great! I only get nauseous and angry when I am hungry and there is no food! Ryan now knows to keep me well fed. We are due August 31st! The funny thing is that all my neices and nephews were born August 30th-mid October! Just adding one more to the mix. I will post the sonogram pic soon!

Scentsy!!!!

I have now begun to sell Scentsy products! Scentsy is a wickless candle warmer with dozens of scents to change out at your convenience! There is no fire, just a light bulb to warm the wax and let out the wonderful smells! I have been a fan of Scentsy for the past two years and have them in every room of my house! So many of my friends and family did not know about them so I decided to start selling them and to bring the wonderful world of Scentsy to you! I have shows out of my home, host parties at your home, or I can come demonstrate at your work! This is the holiday collection pictured above, but there are many more designs of warmers to chose from and several yummy scents to brighten up your home or work! Check out my website where you can order directly or e-mail me and I can place an order for you!

brittanyhooks.scentsy.us

Ryan's Name Game

This is a fun thing to try ... cut, paste and erase my answers and fill in your own!
1. YOUR REAL NAME: Ryan Matthew Hooks
2. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother and father's middle names) Thomas Ann
3. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad) Bobby Paul
4. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name) Hoory
5. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Dog
6. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, town where you were born) Matthew Henderson
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning) The red diet dr pepper
8. FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name) Ryks
9. STREET NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie) Pralines n Cream Oatmeal n Chocolate Chip
10. ROCK STAR NAME: (current pets name, current street name) Cooper Tomas
11. PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on) Amy Parkview
12. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle) Ryaizzle
13. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets) Black Charley
14. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav and candy) Allure Twix

25 thing I bet you didn't know about me!

1. When I was born my father told the nurse that my name was going to be Tiffany so that is what they put on the baby bracelet. When my mother saw it she freaked. My dad was so excited that he forgot that we lived on Tiffany Lane and my name was supposed to be Brittany.
2. My freshman year of college I swore off dating for a year because of some bad choices I had made and my mother thought that I was never going to marry so she called my childhood youth minister’s wife and had her convince me to date again.
3. I never dated anyone more than 2 weeks until I met Ryan and we dated 4 continuous years until we married and now have almost been married 2 years.
4. I have never had a speeding ticket in my life. Yea for being a granny driver! I had never had a wreck until I moved to San Antonio.
5. I have never missed a Baylor Homecoming in my whole life. 26 years and counting!
6. Not one single thing when wrong at my wedding. It was the most perfect day of my life and I would never change a thing about it! I married my best friend and true love.
7. I have been to the same resort in Cabo San Lucas Mexico on vacation 5 times.
8. I alphabetize all 200 of my DVD’s and am very anal to keep them that way.
9. I never planned on or wanted to be a teacher even though I have many teachers in my family but, I have come to love it!
10. I spent 1 week out of 5 summers in High School and College to re-roof homes for needy families with World Changers! I am a pro!
11. I had 2 knee surgeries in High School to fix my “dancers knees” and my friends took my everywhere in a wheel chair so that I could enjoy my senior year.
12. My guilty TV pleasure is Big Love on HBO. I am totally sucked into polygamy. (Don’t agree with it but am fascinated with those involved)
13. I am an English teacher and I stink at grammar and spelling.
14. My junior year in college I almost ruptured my appendix while on a Baylor Student Foundation recruiting trip in Little Rock, Arkansas. I thought it was food poisoning and called my mother in the middle of the night from the hotel room bathroom floor and she told me to go ask the front desk clerk for 7up and crackers! Yeah, that will fix it! When I got back to Waco I had my roommates take me to the Baylor clinic and of course they did not know what to do with me so they sent me on to the hospital. I had an emergency appendectomy a few hours later and still have the scar to prove it!
15. The summer after my sophomore year in college I worked at Camp Buckner in Burnet, Texas and somewhere in the town I picked up Pertussis (sp?) (Whooping Cough) and infected half of the staff with it. We were all placed in detox for a week to protect the children we worked with. Later I read that there were 84 cases of Whooping Cough in that county that summer. Yikes!
16. I have had the same best girl friends since 1st grade and the 4 of us still get together every summer for a get a way! I hope we keep this tradition going forever!
17. My best friend and Maid of Honor, Lyndsey, set up Ryan and I on a blind date in March of 2003. Man can she pick them!
18. As a child I ate tomatoes like apples, with a little salt.
19. I sang “I saw the light” at a church children’s choir talent show when I was in 6th grade. If you don’t know the song is about a woman seeing her husband in the window of their house with another woman and they were not being shy. Why would my mother let me sing that song???
20. If I could have any job in the world it would be to be a radio talk show host about love and relationships or being a photographer.
21. My mother and I could totally be wedding planners! It would be a great team! We planned my wedding down to the last candle!
22. I became a Christian and was baptized at the age of 9. I grew up in a wonderful faith focused home and feel blessed to have the childhood that I did.
23. I have never been to a real concert of any sort.
24. I want to live on a beautiful ranch in Oregon, but I want that ranch to be in Texas!
25. I married for money! Just Kidding, I am the sugar mamma in this relationship!

The Name Game

This is a fun thing to try ... cut, paste and erase my answers and fill in your own!

1. YOUR REAL NAME:

Brittany Lynne Oates Hooks

2. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother and father's middle names)

Lynne Ray

3. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)

Jack William Dalton

4. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name,

first 2 letters of your first name)

Hoobr

5. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)

Green dog

6. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, town where you were born)

Lynne Longview

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)

The Red Tea

8. FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)

Brks

9. STREET NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)

Cookies n Cream Oreo

10. ROCK STAR NAME: (current pets name, current street name)

Cooper Tomas

11. PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on)

Sadie Tiffany

12. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)

Briizzle

13. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets)

Black Charley

14. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav and candy)

Burberry Tootsie Roll

Our baby is all grown up!

Today is Charley's (our puppy) 1 year birthday. I am so glad that he is getting out of the puppy stage but I will miss his super cute puppy face. I will get pictures on here of our 1st year with him later. I am at work now, but I wanted to let everyone know that Ryan and I are wishing Charley a Happy 1st Birthday!!

Valentines Weekend!

It's that time of year again! Time to bust out the choloclate covered strawberries, roses, and cards. My take on it is that if my darling husband isn't treating me to all these things through out the year then we have serious problems. This year consisted of dinner at a favorite Greek restaurant of ours and a movie (The International- it was kind of slow for an action movie). Then we played games and ate chocolate dipped strawberries from Godiva (BTW- not worth the 40 bucks I shelled out). Today we went to the SA rodeo to see my cousin, Will, show his pig. It was so stinky but great to see family and learn all we did about pig showing. If my child one day wanted to show pigs then I think that I would be ok with it. They are pretty darn cute! Well, here are pics, mainly for the family that was not here for it. His pig today did not make it to the judging but we are pulling for his pig to win tomorrow. Good Luck Will!

Swagger the Pig