My Wonderful Husband by JILL

It's been rainy all day here. We went to the grocery store first thing, because we managed to finish up all the milk and oj before I went and bought more. We had a late breakfast, I wrapped some Christmas presents and football was on TV. The Christmas decor was pulled out, and Matt started putting together our tree. (Never buy a pre-lit tree, such a pain in the rear!) We pulled off all the pre-lit and put other lights on it, it looks much better! I'm sure it will be less of a hassle taking it down, and putting it back up next year. While the tree isn't ornamented yet, it looks great, Matt did such a good job! He even strung the lights during the Iron Bowl! Although the TV is right next to the tree, I'm impressed...unfortunately our dear Auburn Tigers weren't playing a game worth watching. It's now late in the evening and I decided I wanted chocolate chip cookies. We don't have any and Matt asked if we had ingredients to make them, fresh! We do, so we mixed up a batch. Now I'm patiently waiting for the delicious cookies to finish baking in the oven...and eat them with a big glass of milk! Isn't he wonderful!?!

Fun with Matt & Toby by JILL

I was hungry, waiting for Matt to come inside from working on the yard (yes, more leaves!). I decided to snack on Cheez-It's and when Matt came in, he wanted me to share. I started throwing them to him, he caught a few and the ones that fell, Toby ate. It was cute so I decided to capture it on video.

Oh, and my pregnancy genius decided to video sideways to get a better angle. I didn't think anything of it until Matt mentioned it. So, turn your laptop or head sideways and enjoy!
Fun with Matt & Toby from Jill Barnes on Vimeo.

A Walk in the Park

The last few weeks have been a bit crazy (hmmm...I wonder why?), and so we really needed to just enjoy a relaxing Sunday in our new city. Jill had brought up Piedmont Park as an possible spot to shoot this year's Christmas card a few days ago, so we decided to trek down to Midtown to check the park out. I've driven by the park a hundred times, especially when I would meet up with friends in Virgina Highlands, but I've never actually walked around before. From a location standpoint, the park is close to downtown, which means that you can get some really great views of the Atlanta skyline while walking around. And since Jill & I would just be walking around for a while, we figured Toby would enjoy some time outdoors time also.

Although it was a little cool and the skies were a bit gray, we enjoyed walking around in the park and definitely will be back, especially when were able to take Abby. Now since I'm battling a migraine headache right now, I'm going to end this blog here, but feel free to check out a few of the photos we took today from Piedmont Park.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Our 2nd Ultrasound by JILL

We got to see Abby today! The ultrasound went well, she was completely asleep the entire time. She is in a head down position, her spine is along the left side of my belly and her booty under my right boob. This puts her legs on the right side of my belly, which is why I can always feel her kicking me on the right side. She still looks like she has my nose & lips, we're in luck! :)

The ultrasound tech said she's measuring 2wks smaller than average. My due date hasn't changed, Abby is just measuring petite (this is great news for my petite hips!). The doctors might schedule another ultrasound in a couple weeks, to make sure she's growing - that she's petite and nothing is wrong with her growth. My next appointment is Wednesday.

Understanding the picture: Abby's forehead is on the far right. There's a very dark almond shape, this is her right eye. Her nose is horizontal, slightly highlighted. Then her hand/arm is under her chin (her left hand is directly 'under' her chin and right eye). You can slightly see her chubby cheeks! Remember though, her face is a bit smushed since she's positioned low already.

It's Cold Outside by JILL

I ran some errands today... Toby needed a trip to the Vet, dropped off our DirectTV remnants with FedEx (yes, we canceled our service with them) and some dry cleaning, then refilled my asthma meds. I was in and out of the car a bit, and it's chilly out there! I guess I wasn't expecting this cold weather so soon, I thought moving more south would give us a little more time to enjoy cool but not cold weather.

Matt is getting very familiar with the weather right now! He got home from work early (right around 5pm) in order to work on the front yard of leaves. And there are A LOT of leaves! I brewed him some hot tea and just put some chicken noodle soup on the stove. The yard really needs the attention, but I really don't need a sick Matty! We really wanted a yard with mature trees, and now we're responsible for maintaining the mess those trees leave in the Fall. And since we've been so busy with the interior of the house (painting, unpacking, etc.), the yard hasn't been given any love until tonight. I hope the neighbors will appreciate all of Matt's hard work...and that Matt isn't sick tomorrow either!

Arrival Date Predictions by JILL

We're down to the last FIVE weeks before Abby's due date. Everyone has their opinion on when they think she'll arrive and we'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you have more specifics, like a time of day or what the weather will be like please post is as a comment to the blog. And if you would like to share why you chose your specific day, please share too!

I'm looking forward to seeing what day will be most popular, and why!

The Future Big Brother by JILL

Last night Toby laid with me in bed for a while before Matt came upstairs. He was getting lots of pets, enjoying his last few weeks as the baby of the house...little does he know! Well, he ended up with his head on my belly so sweet! I just wanted to share it with you, I tried sending it via cell to a few people but I know some of you couldn't open it. I'm hoping he'll be just as sweet to Abby after she's out of my belly!

Maybe Toby can follow the excellent example of the Steinhauer 'boys' and how they're so sweet with their little sister Chase - Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4. --For those of you who don't recognize this cute little girl, she's the daughter of Matt's friend, Uma, from college days. Uma, I just couldn't resist showing off your adorable kids! I can only hope Toby will be as wonderful as a big brother as Patton and Brutus!!!

Six Weeks To Go by JILL

Abigail's ETA is now only 6wks away! I had my 34wk appt with my new OB today. Everyone was nice at the new office. There was only minor difficulty with the new insurance, since Matt only started with Philips on Monday. I was tested for Strep B and the doctor said my cervix is thinning (which is a good thing for those of you not familiar with this pregnancy process). The nurse was shocked over my excellent blood pressure after hearing about our interstate move. (Abby just started with her hiccups again!)

I'll go to the OB every week from here on out. Mostly so I'll have a chance to meet with all four of the doctors in the practice, since one of four will be the delivering doctor. The huge plus with this whole job/insurance change, we're getting another ultrasound! It'll be reassuring to see Abigail again, and make sure she's been growing as she's supposed to (although from measuring my belly & my weight, they say I'm right on target). Maybe we'll even get a glimpse of who she favors in the looks department. We're all expecting her to look more like Matt, since the majority of 1st born children look like their daddy's. And as our friend Danitza said, hopefully Abby will have my nose. ;)

Abigail's room still needs some work. With the help of his parents, Matt was able to get her room primed on Sunday. My parents will be back this Friday (on the way back through from their week vacation in Pigeon Forge). The plan is to paint her room Friday then we'll all be off to La Grange on Saturday for another showering of presents! Then her room can start looking like a baby's room! We'll be able to put her crib together and the glider (and by "we" I really mean Matt and our parents). Then Abigail's crib can be made and her clothes can be put away...all in time for her arrival in 6wks or so. We're looking forward to it! (...sooner than later!!!)

My First Day @ Philips Design

Just like that my first day with Philips Design has come and gone. After spending most of my night restlessly tossing and turning, I got up around 6am to begin my Monday. Just so you know, waking up at 6am here is about 3 hours earlier than I've been used to during my days at Griffin. Spoiled...yes, but I'll survive! Anyways, I made my first full length commute to work since we lived in Birmingham, and this time it was fighting Atlanta traffic on I-285. Despite having a few miles of bumper to bumper driving, the commute to the office was fairly easy (I know, I may have just cursed myself for future commuting).

So, I arrived at the office bright and early only to be welcomed with a mostly empty office since everyone usually didn't get in until 9am. The receptionist was really cool about it though and made small talk while blowing up my "Welcome" balloon (yes, I got a gold star balloon tied to my chair). After a walk-around tour of the office and greeting the early risers, I grabbed a cup of coffee and settled in at my new desk. Slowly the office filled up with everyone else and then I was off for another walk-around tour to meet those I didn't the first time. Needless to say, my morning went by really fast. Next thing I know, it was 12:30 and I needed to grab lunch asap before the planned 1pm meeting/workshop...but with the office around the ultra-busy Perimeter Mall area my options were slim due to time. So, what did I settle for lunch on my first day...a gas station Philly Cheesesteak sandwich and Harvest Chips. After choking down two bites of the nastified sandwich, though, it was all about eating those chips and heading back to the office.

Now today was not only my first day, but also the first day of the design workshop for our Atlanta office. The global creative director is in from Eindhoven along with a few others from the global offices for the 3-day team-building workshop. I'll spare you all of the details, but 5 hours later we finished up the workshop and headed down the street for some tapas/appetizers and drinks. I stayed for a little while as we all had some good conversations about things from kids to politics to anything else. Fun times, but I had to call it an evening, so I said my farewells and finally made my evening commute back to Jilly Bean. Good ending to an extremely long day. And now I'm going to go crash. Goodnight!

The Word Change

Main Entry: CHANGE
Pronunciation: \ˈchānj\
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French changer, from Latin cambiare to exchange, probably of Celtic origin; akin to Old Irish camm crooked

Transitive Verb
A:) to make different in some particular : alter (never bothered to change the will)
B:) to make radically different : transform (can't change human nature)
C:) to give a different position, course, or direction to

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It's a late Tuesday night as I lay here in bed watching the national election results on our fuzzy tv and ponder the true idea behind the word "change." This word has so many more meanings for us than most could possibly think of on this important election night, however it's only fitting for the word to be thrown around so much at this time in our lives.

From a personal perspective, change revolves around our move to Atlanta, my new job with Philips and ultimately the arrival of our baby girl, Abigail. The move has been tough already because it is what it is...a move. First, you've got to find a new place, which thankfully went extremely well. Then you have the frustrations of boxing up everything you own, scheduling movers to load up all that stuff and move it to your new location, and then unboxing all that stuff. At least we have a much larger home to fill instead of trying to squeeze more into less. Of course, there are things we have instantly begun to work on with the house. Honestly, would any of you expect anything less from Jill and I, especially after all the work we did to our home in Birmingham. Haha! And so we're unpacking everything still, but the change in our surroundings has been welcomed with open arms overall by us.

The cause for our change of address, of course, is due to me accepting a new position with Philips Design here in Atlanta. Over the last few days I've really began preparing myself mentally for the new responsibilities and challenges of my new role, and I can honestly say that I'm both anxious and excited. And although there is some uncertainty since I've not yet stepped foot inside that office as an employee, there is a deep sense of pride knowing that I am joining the Philips Design team. Yes, there is no doubt in my mind that this is a change for the good of my career, as well as the good of my family.

Regardless of the current change being brought about by my career move, there has been a beacon of change in our lives that has been growing in Jill's belly over the last 33 weeks. Yep, our baby girl will bring about more change to our lives than any career move I've made to date or could ever make. And more than anything else, we welcome this little bundle of change into our lives...and our lives will forever be changed. How inspiring! :-)