Blake and Anna's Austin Wedding

This weekend Ryan and I made a day trip to Austin to see our friend from dental school, Blake, get married. The wedding was in a beautiful Catholic Cathedral in downtown Austin and the reception was at Mandola Estate Winery in Driftwood, TX. I was so sad that I could not partake in the amazing selection of wine but the Italian family style food more than made up for it! I was the designated driver for the night which was all well and good in theory but getting home at 3AM Sunday morning was a difficult task! It was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful time to catch up with some dental school friends!

The Wine looked and smelled amazing!

Blake and Ryan

Office Diaper Shower

Ryan's sweet office staff threw us a surprise diaper shower at our favorite bbq place, C&J's, in Bryan. Neither one of us knew what was going on and were really surprised.

What a year it is going to be!

My best friend Lyndsey and her fiancee Chris are getting married August 21st (10 days before my due date and I am determined to be there!)

All the girls with our husbands/fiancees. Leah just got engaged to Andrew and they will marry in December. Ashley has 3 month old Felicity and I am due in August! We are all quite busy little bees!

L to R: Andrew, Leah, Justin, Ashley, Lyndsey, Chris, Me and Ryan

Golf Date!

Before little Jackson comes into this world I decided to take Ryan on a golf outing. Since I have never played golf or even been on a golf course I did not think that the 7th month of pregnancy would be the best time to start so I was the cart driver!

Showered with love!!!

This weekend was Jackson's baby shower given by family and friends! I feel so lucky to have all the love and support that I do for this already loved baby boy! The girls had a super cute baseball theme!

All the beautiful hostesses!!!

My best friends and their mothers!

So sweet for all of them to road trip to the party!

Aunt Lanna passing on the Baylor spirit!

Elizabeth made this pillow out of my bridesmaid dress and monogrammed with Jackson's initials. Such a great idea!

Love this tote bag! Thanks mother!

Mima gave Jackson his big boy stroller and Pottery Barn Kids diaper bag! Love it!

It was the perfect day with the most wonderful people!

Thank you to all who helped make it so special!

Jackson's Room

Another view of the beautiful dresser Ryan made!





This is my grandfather's, Papa Jack's, favorite rocking chair. (Jackson's namesake)

If you want to see more pictures from the nursery renovation please click on the right side of the screen on the word "Shutterfly". It will take you to our picture website.

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!