I love him!

Well, my 3 weekends in a row of travel is over, and I must say I'm a bit grateful! Don't get me wrong, I loved all of the places I went, but I am ready to be home for a weekend! And best of all, this coming weekend includes my birthday...it can't get much better than that! :)

I had such a great time in Maryland! The main goal was to meet, hold, cuddle, love on, etc. my new nephew, C.J. I was definitely able to do that, and so much more! Saturday morning my mom, dad, and I headed to Lancaster, PA to some amazing outlets! Not only did they have a Carter's outlet (where my mom went crazy buying stuff for Riley and C.J.), but they also had a Motherhood Maternity (where my mom went crazy buying stuff for ME)! My parents are so gracious and I walked away from that shopping trip ready to face the rest of pregnancy. Thank you so much, mom and dad!! Then that night, my sister-in-law gave me 10 (yes, TEN) maternity shirts! I literally came back to New Orleans with a whole new wardrobe! Too bad I can't wear these clothes past August! :)

Saturday night we had a cook-out at my brother's house to celebrate my birthday (early). Here I am (my brother did a great job of taking an action shot...thanks, Chad, I think!) blowing out the candles on my yummy, HOMEMADE yellow cake with chocolate icing! Thankfully mom didn't put 30 candles on there...we may have had a small explosion!

Sunday we went to church and then Sunday afternoon mom and I hit their local Target to do some registering for sweet Riley. We went in at 2:15, and the next thing I knew, it was 4:15...and we didn't even finish! What a task! Just to vent for a second...why in the world does there have to be a million types/brands of pacifiers? or diapers? or bibs? or anything else for that matter? Oh yeah, that's right, because we live in the land of choices and over-indulgence! It sure would be a lot easier if all of those companies got together and created one product that worked perfectly and just sold that! Instead, first-time moms have to stand and read all about each type of bottle, or bathtub, or nursing cover, etc. to know which might be the best for their child. I was completely overwhelmed when we left Target that afternoon!

Okay...enough venting...here's the most important part of the weekend - adorable C.J.! I love him so much! I don't know when I'll get to see him again, but I feel a love for him I can't explain. If this is what it's like with my nephew, I can't imagine how I'll feel when I hold Riley for the first time...I could tear up just thinking about it...oh the pregnancy hormones! :)

The first time I held the little man

"Whatcha lookin' at?"

I love his facial expressions! And those eyes...just beautiful!

Sometimes it's hard to believe my big brother is a dad! He's such a great one!

C.J. whispering, "Auntie LaLa, do you really have to go back to New Orleans?"

"No! Please don't go!"

"Daddy, when do we get to go to New Orleans to visit Auntie LaLa, Uncle Daniel, and Riley?!"

Isn't it amazing the things a 10-week old can say? He is definitely an advanced one! :) So, in reality, he won't remember that I visited, BUT at least with pictures there is proof and one day he'll know that I was there in the early stages of his life. It's always hard to leave my family and come back to N.O., but this time was even more difficult...I pray that one day we'll live closer to one another so C.J. and Riley can be friends, wrestling partners, etc.

Speaking of Riley - and speaking of wrestling - he sure is an active one moving around inside me! I'm able to not only feel him on the inside, but also on the outside. I'm trying so hard to find a time when Daniel will be able to feel him move, but every time Daniel puts his hand on my belly Riley quits. Hopefully soon Daddy will feel his son moving around inside me! I know I haven't posted it in a couple weeks, but in case you were wondering, Riley has graduated to the size of a spaghetti squash - 11 inches long and weighing about 1 pound! It's hard to believe I'm 22 weeks and 2 days! Time is moving quickly...before we know it, he'll be in our arms! Can't wait!