Kate's 1st kiss

Cute...cute...cute. I stole this picture off Ann's facebook site. I actually took it with Ann's camera last night when I dropped Kate off for a few hours. Too cute not to add to the blog :)

I love the fall

The fall is always my favorite time of year. The weather is cooling off (even better when you are prego), football is on most days/nights, and there are always so many fun events. Last weekend Ryan and I had a blast at the UK vs. UL football game. Even though we barely won, the day as a whole was great. Prior to the game, we tailgated with Janet, John, Charlie, Judd, Jen and the girls. The food was great but the company even better. A big thank you goes out to Janet and John for the great tickets. We are so lucky to be included in a game each season.

After the game, we enjoyed some time with a few of our friends from college. We visited a new bar called Drake's, and surprisingly, the food was great for bar food. I guess after a day standing in the sun, anything taste good. We ended the night at Nathan and Nikki's and I was delighted to get into bed by 11 pm :) while everyone else stayed up til the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday morning we enjoyed a great visit with Jo, Chad, Melissa and Ava in celebration of Chad's upcoming birthday. Jo was nice enough to watch Kate while we attended the game. From the sounds of it, they had a big day together. We all enjoyed the cupcakes the two of them made for Chad's birthday. As always, Kate and Ava seemed to play well together.

This weekend was much more laid back even though it ended up pretty busy. Ryan was lucky enough to get to go to the UK game again this weekend. Nathan had a few extra tickets and invited several friends in town for a guys weekend. Even though the game itself was terrible, they all enjoyed themselves and Kate and I enjoyed our girl time/dress-up time. Last night, Ann and Jack were nice enough to watch Kate for 2 hours as I watched the 1st half of the game with a group of my girlfriends from highschool that I go out with 1x/month. We enjoyed the nice weather from the patio at Napa River Grill...yummy food and pretty good non-alcoholic beer. Not too bad!

We enjoyed a great visit from John Riley, Lucy and Jennifer this morning and a visit from the Sherman's this afternoon. It was great to catch up with Jennifer while the kiddos played in every room of the house. It never seems like I get to talk to my friends enough so it is always great to catch up. We enjoyed our weekly dinner with the Shermans. I made a new recipe, "soup that tastes like lasagna". It will definitely be made again...easy and yummy.

http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/RandomFallPics#

Louisville Bats game and Fox Harbor Picnic

Another great weekend. It started off with Ryan calling me late Friday afternoon from work wanting to know if I was interested in going to the playoff game for The Bats (Louisville's Triple A team). My first response was what better way could we get out and enjoy the last weeks of summer weather. It was in the low 70's and sunny...beautiful. We invited our friends Jon and April and enjoyed a few hours of baseball. We had to leave before it was over because I was very tired. I tried to blame it on Kate but she was way too wired to want to leave at 9 :)

I had to work Saturday in Cincinnati, which for working all day on a Saturday, it was very informative and productive. Very happy that I was able to attend the meeting that I attended with one of my peers and reps. I made the most of it by visiting a great maternity store at Kenwood Mall. I bought 2 dresses that will last me the entire pregnancy. I know this because I tried them on with a fake belly that you put on that all of a sudden makes you 8 months. I have to admit that I am getting pretty excited about this whole 2nd pregnancy thing. I have been excited since the beginning, I think it was just masked by the nausea and vomiting. If I don't ever vomit again I will be one happy lady! Needless to say, I enjoyed the hour of shopping by myself while Ryan and Kate drove to Lexington to visit Ryan's dad for lunch. We all arrived back at the house at the same time. I made some spaghetti and then relaxed (I mean slept) on the couch. The best part is that we have enough spaghetti sauce for a couple more meals this week...yea no cooking!

Today we had our 1st Fox Harbor picnic. It is an annual event that is held in the grassy area at the very front of our neighborhood. It was great talking to the few people that we have already met, and meeting a handful of other neighbors. There were tons of kids, a jumper, games, etc. The local fire department brought down one of their firetrucks, which was a huge hit. Kate LOVED it and so did we!

I am off to bed. Long weekends still made me a little tired. My camera battery is dead so I can't download the pics tonight. I will get to that asap.

http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/LouisvilleBatSGame02#

http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/FoxHarborAnnualFallPicnic#

Labor Day weekend

So that brings us to this weekend, Labor Day! Nana and Michael were nice enough to come up to Louisville on Friday evening and stay the night to give Ryan and I the chance to go to the opening UK football game on Saturday afternoon.

Judd and Jennifer got a group of us tickets to the game and Ryan and I really enjoyed the day together. After a week in Chicago, it was nice to catch up on the week's happenings without a thousand interuptions from little Miss Kate. We also enjoyed watching Kentucky march to its first victory of the season over Univ. of Miami (OH). We tailgated with my Mom, Bob and a group of their friends before meeting up with Judd and his group. We enjoyed a little more tailgating after the game before we headed back to Louisville to relieve Nana and Michael.

After a little salad and a piece of pizza, we were both asleep on the couch by 9. After a full day of sun and activity, I really thought my energy level was back on track. Today, however, has been a little more rough. Good thing Kate decided to take a 2+ hour nap so I could snooze along side of her!!! Ryan was busy doing yardwork so I don't think he even missed us.

I have had my 1st 2 days in a row now without throwing up. Still a ton of nausea but I think this is a step in the right direction. My 12 week visit is Wednesday so hopefully in a week or 2 I will be back to 100%. I can not tell you how ready I am to feel somewhat normal again. When I told Ryan on Saturday that my energy seemed to be turning around, he said that my attitude seemed to be turning around too. After several mintues of laughter, I thanked him over and over for putting up with me over the past 2 months. I would have never thought that 2 pregnancies could be so different. I guess this is a look into the future of how different Kate and her brother/sister are going to be. I am so excited to at least feel like I can see the light at the end of this long dark tunnel!!!

Tomorrow will be filled with a few more chores and an extra day of fun with Kate. I am hoping another nap may be in my future again too!

Visit with Grandpa and Opal Ann

Is this not the most precious picture of Kate?

The last weekend of August, we enjoyed a great visit with Ryan's dad and stepmom, Opal Ann. The weather was perfect that Saturday night, 70 degrees and sunny. We decided to go to Captain's Quarters, which is a delicious restaurant on the Ohio River, just about 4 miles from our house. Everyone else in Louisville decided to go there that night too. We couldn't wait to eat outside because we had Kate so we enjoyed the view from inside one of the bars. In between appetizers and the meal, Kate and I enjoyed the huge lawn that covers the entire back side of the restaurant. Kate danced to the music and rolled down the hill 20+ times. I am pretty sure she slept well that night.

On Sunday, Opal Ann was nice enough to take us shopping for some fall clothes for Kate and a few new goodies for Kate's baby brother/sister. We got him/her some new bottles and 2 rattles. It still seems so far away even though I know he/she will be here before we know it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/VisitWithGrandpaAndOpalAnn#

August fun

Finally...here are some long awaited posts! I am alive and feeling somewhat better. I am not 100% but feel a thousand times better than I did this date in August. We had a wonderful August, full of visits from all the Grandparents. Ryan and I are so happy that our new house it now big enough to host someone overnight. Nothing makes me happier than hosting people for the afternoon, dinner, night, etc.

These pictures are from my mom and Bob's visit to Louisville for a Louisville Bats game and then Kate and my visit to their house while Ryan was busy with fantasy football. Needless to say, I needed the extra hands with Kate while I have been feeling so bad. Thankfully our family has been there to help.

We had a blast at the Bats game. Kate and Bob enjoyed some homemade lemondaid that they then had to replicate during our visit to their house.

Our visit to their house was packed full of activity, including a boat ride to Herrington Marina for dinner, a delicious homemade breakfast of blueberry pancakes, early morning fishing, cooking of no bake cookies (and lemonaid), a walk, and as always, feeding the birds. I enjoyed some extra rest and Kate enjoyed the time with Sue Sue and Pee Paw.

http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/VisitWithSueSueAndPeePaw#