December flurries

Well, I was obviously wrong in my last post regarding snow accumulation in DFW over Christmas!! It continued snowing throughout the day (between 2-3inches) and the evening temperatures got into the 20's and we did indeed have a WHITE CHRISTMAS the next morning! The news team said this is DFW's 1st white Christmas in 84 years. Needless to say, it was beautiful and cold, but unfortunately provided pretty treacherous ice conditions on the roads. Mike and I did travel to and from Fort Worth and Grand Prairie twice on the icy roads and thankfully arrived at our destinations safely. Christmas Eve driving around 9:30pm was definitely worse than 9am the next morning, but bridges remained icy until the afternoon of the 25th when the sun helped to melt and evaporate a lot of the ice. We hope that you all had safe and wonderful Christmas celebrations with your family. We really enjoyed the time with our families as well. Mike and I gave each other a brand new Cannon camera this year in preparation for the coming arrival of Ryan as well as an iPod speakers docking station where you can place your iPod on the speaker stand and it charges your iPod while also playing the music through the speakers like a stereo system. We took a few pictures of the snow and us opening our gifts on Christmas morning so I will try to post those soon. We are back to work for 3 days this week, although we may work from home Tuesday afternoon due to more inclement icy/snow weather expected in the afternoon. I would hate to get stuck driving on the Dallas highways in ice during rush hour. No Thanks!! We are planning to celebrate the New Year just the two of us this week with steaks, roasted potatoes, steamed green beans w/ almond slivers, salad, & rolls. We have bought our champagne (sparkling grape juice for me!) and even some individual pints of ice cream to enjoy for dessert. We are planning to have a relaxing evening and maybe even enjoy a "Redbox" rental. In case I don't post again before the end of the year; we wish you and your family a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope 2010 brings many blessings and wonderful times for you and your family.

~Emily

Merry Christmas to all.... and to all a good night!

It's Christmas Eve and REALLY COLD and SNOWING in Grand Prairie, TX- the second time this season! This kind of weather is certainly not what we are accustomed to. Too bad it isn't cool enough to actually accumulate and make the ground look pretty for Christmas. Well, it's been a nice and relaxing week off of work for Mike and me. We have spent a lot of time catching up on sleep, getting things done around the nursery, watching Christmas movies and football games, visiting family & friends among other things. It is hard for me to believe that Christmas is already tomorrow. Toby has enjoyed our time at home as well since it means more cuddling and play time for him. We also realized this week that this is the most time we have spent together at home since we moved here in June. Pretty crazy how time has flown. So far this month we have celebrated my work Christmas party in Addison, TX the 4th, the Smith cousins Christmas brunch at our house on the 12th, our friends' Christmas dinner at Simply Fondue the 16th, and the Swan family Christmas in Comanche, TX on the 19th. Tonight we are celebrating the Roberts' side immediate family Christmas at my parents house in Fort Worth. We plan to exchange gifts, go to a Candlelight Service, & enjoy a tasty meal together. Tonight Mike and I will spend our first Christmas at our own home without traveling or staying in someone else's home and wake up and share gifts with one another first thing on Christmas morning just the two of us. We are excited that this is a new tradition that we will have especially for Ryan's first Christmas next year. Later in the morning we will be going back to Fort Worth to Mimi's house for the extended Roberts' Christmas and lunch. Around 3pm Christmas day, we will drive out to Plano to spend the rest of Christmas with the Campbell side of the family. My mother in law has a large dinner planned for Christmas which will be delicious and probably enough to feed an army (not just the 6 of us!). Haha. We will stay with them Christmas night and part of the next day so that we aren't having to drive back and forth. On the 26th I hope to do a little shopping with some of the crazies and buy us a large pre-lit Christmas tree for next year. We will also be spending some time with the extended Campbell side on the 26th. Then, it's home to unpack everything and relax and enjoy the rest of our vacation time from work. Well, now that I've laid out our crazy schedule for you all, we would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas! Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season! We are so thankful that our Lord and Savior sent his Son into the world to pay the price for all of our sins because without Him we would never be able to experience life with our Heavenly Father. Thank you, Jesus, Emmanuel.

~Blessings, Mike & Emily

Swan family group photo- Dec. 19th

Annual Swan cousins picture- Dec. 19th

The original Smith ladies- Mimi with her sisters-in-law

Next generation Smith Cousins Christmas Party- Dec. 12th

Youngest generation- Smith Cousins Christmas party- Dec. 12th

Belated Thanksgiving pictures

It is your lucky day- two blogs in one day! This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Ruidoso, NM for a relaxing vacation with the Roberts' side of the family. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to have some time away from work to spend with family, do some shopping, and to catch up on some much needed sleep! For Thanksgiving lunch, we went to the Country Club and joined some of our extended Smith side of the family for a fabulous buffet Thanksgiving meal. Mike enjoyed getting to go back for numerous seconds. I think he might have missed his mother's sweet potato casserole though, and looks forward to her making it in a few weeks for Christmas. We both thought the turkey was so tender and some of the best we'd had. Overall, a successful Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures for you!
~Emily

Emily & Mike outside the club with the lovely mountains

The siblings on Thanksgiving day

The whole family- Don't we look big? Can't wait to see next year's picture!

Me with my sisters- Maggie (21) & Lauren (27)

First Baby Shower

On December 5th I had my very first baby shower! It was hosted by four of my "besties" Lauren, Mara, Mariann & Melissa. The shower was so pretty and I know all the hostesses worked so hard to plan everything and put it all together. Thank you so much ladies for such a wonderful celebration for our upcoming little guy, Ryan. Everything was so cute and "boyish" which was a lot of fun. They had streamers, clothes lines with little baby onesies hanging from them, an adorable diaper cake, a picture frame with a baby picture of Mike and me, and of course yummy food! We played Bingo for present opening time and a pacifier game where you had to refrain from saying the word "baby" or your plastic pacifier necklace would be taken from you. I had as many as 5 or 6 at one time, but wound up with only 3 in the end and I believe my sister, Lauren won the prize. Thank you so much to everyone who came to the shower, I was so glad to get to see each and everyone of you! We are also very thankful for all the lovely gifts that we received that will help us to welcome little Ryan into this world. Now for a few pictures that I have collected from my camera and Mariann's. Enjoy!
~Emily

Two of my hostesses- Lauren/Twin, Emily, Mara

Beautiful table layout with our baby pictures

Two more lovely hostesses- Mariann, Melissa, and Emily

Such a cute ducky pajama outfit

Ryan's new bouncer- Mike already put it together!

Ryan's new boppy chair- I love these! Can't wait to see him in it!

Some of our wonderful guests- Sonja, Kaitlin, Karen, Maggie, Angela & Elizabeth

Gift opening time

Some more beautiful shower guests

Me getting to hold precious Logan (Mariann's almost 3 month old)

3D/4D sono picture post

Many of you may have already seen these photos from facebook, but I wanted to make them available to my blog readers as well. Yesterday Mike and I went to El Centro College to get a 3D ultrasound done. They are a teaching institution that allow expectant mothers to schedule appointments and give their students an opportunity for experience and to add pictures to their portfolios for future job placement. Our technician was named Lenor and she is graduating on Friday and hoping to find a sono tech job in OB. General stats for Ryan (approximate of course since via sonogram) a little over 4lbs weight, measuring right at 32 weeks, EDD- Jan. 28th, heartbeat 158bpm. Overall, it was a really neat appointment and we were so glad to get to see him again since it has been so long since our last sono. The cost is only $30 so if any other expectant mothers in the DFW area are interested I would suggest looking them up. They recommend weeks 28-32 for the best 3D pictures from what I have read. Enjoy the pictures!! :)
~Emily

Sweet little Ryan's face

Cute little hand in front of his face


Precious Ryan

Another face shot

Side profile face shot

Umbilical cord colored for veins and arteries

Ryan sticking his tongue out

Leg bone

Heartbeat 158bpm

Last day of November...

I had my 30 week Dr's appointment today and wanted to provide you with the stats. I lost 1 lb. since my last appointment, which was surprising to me seeing as how I just got back from Thanksgiving vacation. I was aiming to either maintain or only gain 1 lb, but I'll take the 1 loss also. My doctor was pretty impressed. Haha! My bp was 116/66 and I got the results from my glucose and anemia test and both were normal. Glucose was 107, she didn't tell me the number on the other test. Today Ryan's heartbeat was 153bpm. I thought it was funny that while I had to lay on my back he was making funny bumps and waves across my tummy as the Doctor did the doppler and then measured my tummy. He really looks like he's trying to break out of my tummy when he does that and I find it rather amusing and typically talk to him while he's moving around a lot. Dr. said I was measuring right about at 29.5 cm which correlates to about 30 weeks and right on track. Everything else seems to be going just fine and I'll have another appointment again in two weeks.

This weekend I have my first baby shower and I am SOOOO excited!! My friends Mara, Melissa, Mariann & Lauren are throwing it for me on Saturday. I can't wait to see some good friends that I haven't seen in awhile and celebrate the upcoming arrival of our precious son. Also, we ordered the nursery furniture before Thanksgiving and got a call on Saturday to let us know that it has arrived. Now we just have to find someone with a truck willing to let us borrow it to haul the two large pieces home from the store. I can't wait to get everything set up in the room and feel more organized and prepared for his arrival.

This week I also plan to put out my Christmas decorations and set up our Christmas tree, which I am so excited about!! It is the first year to decorate our new house so I've been trying to think about how and where I will put up all the decorations I already have and what else I might need to buy. ;) I'm also hoping that Mike and I can decorate the outside of the house this year since we never did lights in San Antonio since we always traveled home to be with family for the holidays. Now that we are all here in town I think it's time for LIGHTS! :) I am nearly finished with my Christmas shopping, but still have a handful of things to pick up. I will hopefully start wrapping gifts this week as well (depending on how busy the week is).

Last, but definitely not least, the Frogs celebrated their final victory of the regular football season with an perfect season. We will anxiously be awaiting the BCS bowl announcements on December 6th to find out where we are going. I am personally hoping for the Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama which would be awesome. Other projections from news-people says the Orange Bowl vs. Georgia Tech or Boise State. It wouldn't make much sense for us to play Boise since we played them in a bowl last year and haven't lost since we beat them. I think my Dad was hoping for Tostitos Fiesta bowl, but looks like that may not happen due to order of picking or something... there's so many things to consider with these BCS predictions. Another great game would be us versus Texas this year, but obviously at this point it looks like they will be going to the National Championship game probably vs. Florida (even after a pretty poor performance against the Aggies this past week.) Well, I guess that's all from me for now. Have a great week everyone! :)

~Emily

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It is hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is now just a few days away! I am so excited for a nice relaxing break from work as well as some very yummy food!! This year we will be spending Thanksgiving with the Roberts' side of the family in Ruidoso, NM. Mike and I both have to work on Monday, but then we will be off for the rest of the week. Yippee!!

Also, this past week we finished up our baby care and CPR classes at the hospital. They were pretty thorough and I think we both took some new information from them. I think by taking the classes it will help us both have more confidence when Ryan arrives. Obviously once he is here will be the greatest learning experience since every baby is different, but at least we have ideas and tools to use to care for him properly.

Last night we went and ordered our nursery furniture. We purchased the crib, toddler railings, and converter kit (since it is a lifetime crib) and Mom and Dad bought the dresser/changer combo as a gift to us. The crib was actually in stock, but was so big we had no way of getting it home so we will wait until the other stuff comes in the week after Thanksgiving and find some one's truck to borrow and haul it all home. :) I had been impatiently waiting for some great deal to come along so that we could purchase our furniture before the holidays and was getting very worried that they might not have a deal as good as the one that we missed in September. However, Wednesday I discovered that Babies R Us was having a Member Rewards weekend Fri-Sun and had some great 20% off coupons for furniture as well as many of the larger (more expensive items). We decided to wait on that stuff since we still have two or three showers ahead of us. I'm sure each month there will be new deals and coupons. The key is to make sure you never buy anything there at full price because they always seem to have SOMETHING on sale (and I like to get the best deal possible). We have just started week 29 and really no changes for me other than the growing, moving, squirming baby. He is particularly active these days which has allowed more people to get to feel him during the day, which is fun.

On the football front- You might notice that the majority of my posts from November seem to have purple pictures... hmmm... shows what our weekends currently consist of. :) TCU Frogs had another amazing win last weekend and I have uploaded a few photos from the longest day EVER. It began by waking up at 6am on a Saturday to get ready and head to ESPN College Gameday. We got there about 7:45am and stayed on campus until 11:30am. We then went to Fuzzy's tacos to grab a bite for lunch, followed by hanging out at Matt and Vivian's home to watch the DVR'd replay of College Gameday. I had a hair appointment at 2pm that afternoon and got 4 inches cut off my hair and re-layered all around. I felt my hair was simply getting too long and was in my way pretty often. I think it needed the nice new "do". It came out a little shorter than I had anticipated, but I know it grows fast and this was the last time I was probably going to get to cut it before Ryan's arrival. It is hopefully just out of reach for his cute little fingers to grab. At 4pm we headed over to the tailgates and then we were in the stadium a little before 5pm for a 6:30pm game time. The game ended around 10:30pm and we visited with a few friends then started the drive home and stopped at Whataburger in Arlington around midnight for a late dinner. Therefore, we didn't actually get to bed until around 1:30am Sunday morning- thus making it the LONGEST DAY EVER! (especially for me!) Today TCU plays at Wyoming at 1pm and we anticipate another big win. GO FROGS! :)

Well, I suppose I should wrap it up. We hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving week. We are thankful for many blessings that God has provided, but especially our family and friends who we love so very much. Until next week...

~Emily

Mike and Emily at the end of the Victory!

Maggie, Phil, Emily & Mike enjoying the game

Mike, James, Paul, & John at Gameday

Vivian and Emily at Gameday (pre-haircut)
Mike & Emily with some of the signs (the one I'm holding got confiscated)

James and Mike with their signs (James' sign also got taken up by ESPN)

Today's Dr. visit

I had a good Dr's visit today and thought I'd provide the details via blog so I don't have to repeat it several times for everyone. Just finishing up week 27, which is hard to believe. Week 28 starts tomorrow I believe. I got to experience the lovely glucose test today, which really wasn't too bad. It was just like a sugary orange drink. They had kept it very cold in a fridge which made it pretty easy to drink. For some reason I expected a thick drink, but it was just like a kool-aid or orange soda without carbonation. I did feel a little icky/dizzy right afterwards because there was quite a bit to drink, but my stomach was empty and was probably getting a sugar high so hopefully that isn't a bad sign. I felt better within 5 minutes. I imagine I will find out the results at my next appointment which is in two weeks. (Nov. 30th)

Also, I had a nice surprise jump in weight this visit... up 8 lbs!! YIKES! The Dr. didn't seem too concerned because she said there is a lot of fluctuation and growth around this time. She said what is important to her is my overall weight gain which she has recorded at 18 lbs, but by my calc it should be 19 lbs (but we can certainly go with hers!!!). So, since we're already about to the 3rd trimester I think that should be okay. I think I've been eating pretty well, but could certainly up my veggie intake and I could attribute a pound or so to some Halloween candy that I did enjoy a week or two ago. Mike and I are going to have to get better about our evening walks. It is especially difficult now that we get home when it is dark and still have to eat supper first. Perhaps we will have to depend on some Wii exercise?? Ha! :) Other than that, baby's heart rate was 154 bpm and he even kicked her right on the Doppler towards the end, which I thought was funny. She asked me about his movement and how I've been feeling which has been great on both accounts. He loves to kick and squirm throughout the day and even more in the evenings and I enjoy the little (although sometimes very big!) movements. My BP was 122/74 which is also normal.

Prepared childbirth class was great on Saturday and we learned a lot of techniques and ideas to help come delivery time. I also think a lot of great information was shared to help us feel more educated about the whole labor process and what to expect, etc. We got a tour of the Labor and Delivery facility and the run-down on where/when to check in come "GO" time. I know it's still a little early, but it is nice to have this out of the way especially since there are limited classes and with all the holidays coming up soon. We also have our second of four Babycare/CPR classes tonight. I'll give a brief blog with the run-down of all the topics and things that are discussed once it's all finished. Mike enjoyed practicing swaddling our "baby" in class on Tuesday and practicing 'tummy time' which was really cute to watch. I can't wait to see him in action with Baby Ryan! Well, I suppose that's all for now.

~Love, Emily

Busy November...

So, I haven't been as good about keeping up with my blog lately. Mostly because we haven't had a whole lot of down time and when I do get home from work I typically want to do anything BUT get on a computer. Since it is the weekend I thought I would take the opportunity to provide a little update and a few new photos for your viewing pleasure. :)

Two great TCU victories since my last post. The first was our Homecoming game vs. UNLV 41-0. It was a pretty big blow-out, but we enjoyed the show from the frogs and were there from kickoff till the singing of the Alma-Mater "Hail all Hail, TCU!" I loved getting to see several good friends that I don't see on a regular basis and at the end of my post you'll see just a few pictures that I got around to taking at the game. You might even notice in some of them the growing baby belly. :) Secondly, today TCU beat San Diego State 55-12. It was an away game so we watched from home on Versus. Two other highly ranked teams lost today as well as a close game by another top ranked team, so it made for a fun college football game day. Frogs are currently #6 in the BCS & #4 in the Coach's poll, but we hope to see a jump when the polls are updated tomorrow evening. :)

Update on the growing Baby Ryan... We just started week 27, which my book had said was the start of the 3rd trimester, but from our Childbirth class today I learned that is actually week 29, so still a little more time in the 2nd trimester. I am still feeling great and especially enjoying all the crazy movements lately. Our little guy is certainly an active one. I've been trying to figure out what body parts I am feeling, but can only seem to distinguish between a knee/foot/elbow and a head/bottom. One is pretty sharp and hits hard, the other seems to roll around and sometimes goes high in the air and makes my tummy lopsided. It's pretty fascinating to watch the wavelike movements and punches and just reminds me of what a miracle a growing child is. Our Childbirth class was today and was extremely informative to say the least. I think we both learned a lot and got some great tips on laboring positions and breathing techniques. I think I will find all of the information useful as I am interested in having labor as natural as possible. Obviously, since this will be my first time to go through labor I don't know what to expect from my body or how I will handle the pains. However, I do have confidence in myself and believe that the nurse gave us some great techniques to get us through and I know there are other options available that I feel a little more comfortable about in case I need them. Mike is going to be a great support coach and is already very involved in learning how to help me be comfortable and healthy through the remainder of the pregnancy. It is hard to believe that we will be full term in only 10 weeks! There is still a lot that needs to happen before then.

As far as the nursery is concerned, we have the bedding and baby mattress, but no furniture or paint on the walls just yet. I am hopeful for a big Babies R Us furniture sale soon so that we can order our furniture. (Or at least a coupon...) I am also hoping that we can decide on something and get the painting of the nursery out of the way the weekend of the 21st (before Thanksgiving). If it doesn't happen that weekend then it will have to wait until December. This week we have 2 of our 4 BabyCare/CPR classes on Tuesday and Thursday. I'm feeling really good about getting these classes out of the way a little bit early since December there weren't any offered, plus with the holidays I know it will be very busy. I also didn't want to wait until the mid-January one and feel unprepared, especially if we deliver early.

Yesterday we joined the Campbell family for a Military Honors Memorial Service for Mike's grandpa Campbell. He passed away quite awhile ago, but had been cremated and not yet been given a military burial. His wife joined him in 2003 and their remains were both placed at the DFW National Cemetery on Friday. The four Campbell sons received an American flag honoring his service to our country in the US Navy and a fly-over was also arranged. It was a very special service for the family and I know it especially meant a lot to the four sons who knew him the best. I am always inspired by the honor and significance that is given to those who have served our country, especially in death. Speaking of which, Happy Veteran's Day to all those retired military service people that might be reading this blog. After the service, the whole family came back to our house for dinner and it was nice to visit with some family members that we don't see very often. Everyone headed home around 7pm and Matt & Vivian stayed to visit with us for awhile which was a lot of fun.

Well, I suppose this post is probably long enough and you are tired of reading. Hopefully I will do a better job and update it again soon. (Odds are I've already forgotten something) I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the weekend and enjoy the pictures below! :)

~Emily

Mike and Mimi at the Homecoming game
Jenny and me at TCU Homecoming

Mom and Dad enjoying the TCU Homecoming game

Mike and me at the TCU Frog 5 tailgate pre-game

Sarah Swann and me at the Frog 5 tailgate

Me and Laura after enjoying some tasty Uncle Julio's fajitas!!

Way to go FROGS!! #6

We are so proud of what a wonderful season the TCU Horned Frogs are having. On Saturday, we had a game watching party at our home to cheer on the Frogs vs. BYU. TCU won the game 38-7 and it was such a fun game to watch! We are now happy to report that as of last night's standings, we are now ranked #6 in the BCS. If TCU continues to go undefeated and beats Utah in 3 weeks, then we have a great shot at a BCS bowl game! Not sure when/where it would be, but definitely an exciting achievement!! Other events of the weekend, we attended my high school's homecoming game (part of it anyways) for some yummy Rosa's fajitas. I also got to see a few old friends and lots of people I hadn't seen in awhile. It was pretty funny to see from the years 1999-2002 how many pregnant girls there were. (7 if I remember correctly) I guess it's pretty popular right now with that age group.

On Saturday, we spent some time cleaning and preparing for the game watching party that evening. Then, Mike went to get my oil changed and car washed (THANKS SWEETIE!) while I drove out to Fort Worth for a "sip and see" for my cousin Leigh and her new baby, Cassidy. Sunday we had church in the morning and a very powerful message which was great. The pastor was finishing up a series on "Hope under Construction" and going through the book of Nehemiah. We found out that our small group leader is taking a position with Pantego Christian Church, so it was he and his wife's last Sunday. He will be continuing to lead our group for the next few weeks, but I'm not sure where things will go from there. Perhaps we will have to visit some of the other groups. Sunday afternoon I took a nap while Mike watched football, then we drove to Fort Worth for my choir practice for the Christmas Cantata followed by dinner at Olive Garden with Matt & Vivian.

I'm not sure that I ever updated around the time when my sister, Lauren, found out what she is having. She is having a GIRL. So, Ryan will have a little girl cousin around his age. They have already decided on her name as well, which will be Naomi Rose Keene. At Easter it should be really fun because we will have 3 babies under the age of one at the Smith Family luncheon April 4th, they will be approximately (Cassidy-6 months, Ryan- 2 months, Naomi-1.5 months). They will also have a little boy cousin, William, who will be about 22 months, so just shy of 2 yrs old. I think it will be so much fun! :)

This week we will be getting together with Mike's friend Lane and his wife Erin for dinner one night, Lifegroup on Thursday, and then Halloween is on Saturday, as is our next TCU game, and homecoming vs. UNLV. I hope the weather is nice! It is an afternoon game, which I think is great! We aren't planning on attending any parties that night, but have tons of candy to hand out to all the kids in our neighborhood, so hopefully they don't come by too early on Saturday. Sunday we are going to celebrate Beckham's 1st birthday party with Tomas & Shae (one of Mike's co-workers). I haven't seen him since the day after he was born when we went to visit them in the hospital in San Antonio. Shae has kept me updated on his monthly pictures and he is such a cutie. If you have any gift ideas for a one yr old please feel free to post! :)

I think that should roughly catch you up on the past week or two. I did go to Baltimore, MD for work Oct 11-14th and it was a great trip. I already received one P.O. from the trip and hope more are headed my way! It was a very busy couple of days, but I loved getting to see the beautiful leaves changing and cooler weather. We are now appreciating the cooler Fall-like weather around Texas as well. (My FAVORITE- esp this year!) It was also nice being back in the field and not stuck in an office cubical. I really do miss the face-to-face customer interaction that I used to have. Well, I think that is all for now.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!
~Emily

Picture update

I am currently running out the door for the SCS Homecoming game. Lots going on this weekend so I will have to update later. Here are a few pictures from this past weekend and the beginning of this week. Belly photos are week 24. We just started week 25 today. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. GO FROGS!!! :)

Week 24 (Mon-Oct. 19)
Week 24 (Mon. Oct 19th)

Kristin-Wk 26, Emily-Wk 24 (we initially had the same due date!!)

Kristin Hamon and Emily

The Hamon family celebrating Ryan's birthday

(James, Kristin, Ryan, Jordan, Susan & Jerry)

James and Mike checking their "Daddy bellys"

Best buds- James & Mike (hiding our purses they were holding)

Ryan Alexander Campbell

We are pleased to announce that we have decided on a name for our precious little boy. He is going to be named Ryan Alexander Campbell. Ryan means little king and Alexander means defender of the people. I think it flows nicely and we were very fond of Ryan since it is Michael's middle name. I know everyone's been curious and asking us so I thought I'd go ahead and have a brief post to let everyone know.

Also, follow up from my Dr's appointment yesterday, Ryan's heartbeat was 161bpm. My BP was 112/70 which is normal, and I gained another 5 lbs. which brings my total weight gain at a little over 23 weeks to be 11 lbs. I believe that's right on track and I really hope that it stays nice and steady. I was really expecting a big weight gain at this visit since I feel like my belly has definitely had some major changes and growth in the last 2-3 weeks. From here on out my "What to Expect" book says that he will gain approximately 6oz every week. (CRAZY!) Uterus measurement was 23 centimeters and the Dr said to figure about a centimeter per week, so also good. Before my next appointment I "get" to do the glucose test thing which I've heard is just lovely (sarcasm) and then I will see my Dr again November 12th. November is a busy month as we have our prepared childbirth class and babycare/cpr classes starting. It is hard for me to believe that November will be here in two weeks.

Other news, TCU plays Colorado State at home tomorrow so we will be planning to attend the game and hoping to catch up with many of our good friends at the game. GO FROGS!! I will also be participating with Sigma Kappa in the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in the morning which is a 3K walk around Trinity Park. Thanks to everyone who made a donation!

Happy Fall Y'all

October is here as is nice cooler weather and a lot of rain. This year is certainly flying by! This past weekend we celebrated my 26th birthday. On Friday night Mike and I celebrated with dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse, just the two of us. We had never been, but had a pretty good time. I also received a lovely "flower cake" from Mike, and a yummy cake and birthday balloon from one of my co-workers. For my birthday Mike got me a massage chair cushion that goes over any chair and is wonderful!

Saturday morning Mara, Tyler, Twin, & John met us and we carpooled downtown to take the new DART green line to the State Fair!! :) I have been wanting to go to the State Fair for quite awhile, but it always seems to come at a very busy time of year. Out of our group, Mara had been in elementary school, Lauren had been when she was two, and Mike went once in college. So, it was mostly a new experience for everyone. Most of the group got a Fletcher's corn dog (which I'd heard a lot about, but I don't like corn dogs). I got a yummy Turkey leg!! (LOVE THOSE!) John also tried (and shared) fried oreos. They were pretty tasty and reminded me of small little funnel cakes with a taste of chocolate. Twin got some french fries, Mara got Dole pinneapple ice cream (also good) and we tried some ice cold root beer from a barrel that was made with imperial sugar. Other than that, the fresh cotton candy smelled good, but I decided "Baby and me" had enough sugar for the day. The weather was perfect at the Fair and had just started getting overcast and sprinkling when we left around 3pm. Everyone came back to our house to relax and freshen up for awhile after the fair. Then we went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse followed by the TCU vs. SMU game. The Frogs pulled out another win 39-14 and Mike, Maggie, Phil & I stayed until the very end (even though it was cold and rainy). Unfortunately, due to the weather I didn't get any pictures of all of us in our cute "purple" outfits before the game. Oh well, there will be other games...

Sunday we visited a new church for the 2nd time and got some information about their Life Groups which we hope to check out a few different ones this week and next. Sunday evening I joined St. Luke choir's 1st Cantata Rehearsal (only 5 more before our Dec. 13th performance, yikes!). Mike and I also joined Matt & Vivian for dinner at Chilli's that evening. Other happenings this month include travel for me to Austin, TX and Baltimore, MD for work, Dr's appt Oct 15th, Alzheimer's Memory Walk, more TCU FOOTBALL, SCS Homecoming & Halloween. Should prove to be a pretty busy month! October Birthday shout-outs to Melissa-Oct 1st & Diane-Oct 22nd. :)

Pictures below! ~Emily

My Birthday cake from Heather at work

Mike & Emily @ the State Fair

Mike, Emily, Tyler, Mara, Lauren & John

Big Tex at 2009 State Fair