Just another Friday night

The sleigh crib, on loan to Ryder from our friends, the Bryant's, was our Friday night project.  You can see the Augusta National 18th hole painting above his bed (definitely need a new frame for that).  I also ordered a pillow for Ryder from Color Me Cute (www.colormecute.etsy.com).  Check out our progress so far...we still have a long way to go!  Now, we are off to go get some pizza!

Oktoberfest in Helen, Georgia

On Sunday we went to Helen, Georgia (about 90 minutes north of Atlanta) to enjoy Oktoberfest.  Helen is a Disney Land like village that somewhat looks and feels like a German town (all Germans are laughing at this comment, but it is really as close as we will get in Georgia).  Me (+ Ryder) and Eric + Britt, Lindsey, Charlie (3 yrs), and Cooper  (10 months) all put on our Oktoberfest attire and ate schnitzel and drank beer (well, just those over 21 and not pregnant!).  We had a beautiful day and enjoyed the scenic drive.  Here are some great pictures from our trip...

Kicking it into high gear!

The nursery project is one step closer to being ready after a Sunday afternoon of cutting trim and using the nail gun Eric got for Christmas (thank you Mom and Dad!).  Here are some updated pictures.  We should have it painted soon.  I will post another picture after construction is complete.

Isn't that a serious face!

Notice the new trim above the bead board and crown molding along the ceiling since the last picture.  The paint has been ordered-- "Cloud Blue" from Restoration Hardware-- along with a matching rug!

We registered this past Saturday at the new baby store in Alpharetta called Buy Buy Baby (www.buybuybaby.com).  I chose to register there instead of Babies R Us because everyone can use their Bed Bath and Beyond coupons to get 20% off an item.  We are also registered at Restoration Hardware Baby & Child (www.rhbabyandchild.com) for our bedding and some splurge monogram outfits (what I have referred to as Ryder's church clothes). 

We have our 24 week appointment tomorrow morning.  The doctor will test for gestational diabetes (all women get this test) and measure my progress.  I hope they do an ultrasound to check on his kidneys.  If not, we will get an update on them at our next specialist appointment on Nov. 2.  Ryder is kicking me very often now, and you can even see some of the kicks through my clothes.  I said he was going to be a soccer player, and Eric quickly corrected me to say that our son was going to run cross country!  We'll see. :)
 

Hello my name is...

We cannot thank you all enough for all of the wonderful name ideas.  August, William, Landon, Luke, etc... they are all great!!  We decided to name our son Ryder Louis Larson.  Ryder (suggested by Aunt Lindsey) is an English surname that we chose 1) because we just like the sound of it, and 2) because of the Europe vs US Ryder Cup golf tournament-- you all know I love, love, love Europe, so there's my European reference in his name!  Louis is a family name on my side... William Louis (my dad), Oscar Louis (my dad's dad), James Louis (my mom's dad), Britton Louis (my brother), Charles Louis (my Godson and nephew), Charles Louis (my cousin that passed away from Leukemia).... as you can see, the middle name was an easy choice for us.  Larson, of course, forever ties him to his father's wonderful family. 

We started the nursery this weekend.  After cleaning out the guest room (note to self, no more lifting--yikes,that was rough), Eric and my dad put up some bead board yesterday (thank goodness banker's get Columbus Day as a holiday).  We still need to add trim to the top of the board, add the crown molding at the ceiling, and then paint (blue)!

Before

After (still a long way to go)



We went to the Braves game last night... too bad they lost.  Ryder got his first Braves outfit!  Eric loves a souvenir stand!

Other super exciting news...

Congrats to Aunt Lindsey on the new job!!!  Yeah!

Ryder's Uncle Brian and Aunt Liz are moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma later this year.  Sad, but true.  Liz got a great promotion within Siemens... Go Liz!!!  We will really miss you both!!

Two of Ryder's girlfriends were welcomed into the world over the past couple of days.  Our good friends from church, Lindsay and Mike, welcomed a little girl named Vivienne Gail on Friday.  My coworker, Jim, and his wife, Cheryl, welcomed Kiersten Ann yesterday!  Welcome girls... Ryder will be here in a few months to come play!

Beer gardens are not the same

Eric and I went to Der Biergarten downtown tonight to check out their German cuisine.  The atmosphere was quite nice (well decorated), the food was good (I had Jaegerschnitzel and Eric had three different types of Wurst), and the beer was YUM (I had a sip... ohh sweet nectar).  Of course, Eric ordered the liter, and I matched him ounce for ounce with water.  All in all, it is a good spot, and I encourage everyone to go try it (call us, we'll go with you). 

In the spirit of going to Der Biergarten, and Oktoberfest fever is brewing (pun intended) in Helen, GA, I tried on my German dress that we bought during our trip in March.  Needless to say, the dress was not made to fit a growing belly.  Below is a "before" (with my host-Mom, Claudia) and "after" (today).  The picture does not do justice to the extreme tightness.  It took four hands (both of Eric's and both of min) to zip the dress.  Thank heaven it did not bust.  We are going up to Helen in a few weeks with Britt, Lindsey and the boys.  Eric and Charlie are going to wear their Lederhosen! 

March 2010

October 2010

Below is my 21 week belly shot (on my way to work on Friday).  I love casual Friday more than ever now!!