Check out our Handsome Boy!

Today Ben and I got the last glimpse of our Baby Boy before we are holding him in our arms! Baby Boy Carroll did show us his face! See his profile below:
We got a good report from the doctor and he is HEALTHY......he is currently weighing 4 pounds 4 oz and the average is 3 Pounds! Don't worry, the doctor has been told a thousand times that my family grows babies big; however, she told us not to worry about it yet....just be happy that we have a healthy baby!

We cannot believe it is almost time!

God's Blessing

I have received the "phone call" and we DO NOT have diabetes!
TRULY an answer to prayers!
Thank you everyone who has been praying!!

Thanksgiving, Falls, Christmas Tree, and Sugar

We had a very interesting and fun Thanksgiving Weekend.

First we were able to see Joe and Cara from Conway on Wednesday night and catch up! It was so great to see them! We then stopped by the Carroll's and got to see everyone for a bit before taking a bus load home with us! The Ford's came to stay with us for the holiday.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures....because I was "injured", Ben was in charge of taking the pictures.....)

On Thursday, we headed over to the Carroll's and had a wonderful Breakfast. As we were trying to work off breakfast and get our tummies ready for the grand event.....Ben was being "schooled" by his cousin Luke on basketball and I was playing with Esther and Millie. At this time, I thought it would be a good opportunity to take a little tumble in the driveway and delay our eating for a few more hours! Not to worry....Baby C is perfect and was not affected by the fall. As soon as I realized I was going down, I threw myself to the side in order not to land on the tummy! We spent a few hours at the ER and come away with a "chip" fracture on the ankle and some torn ligaments. Because of this, I will be a little slower for the weeks to come.

After the adventure at the hospital, we were able to come back and enjoy a WONDERFUL meal and spend time with everyone throughout the weekend. I did miss out on Black Friday and for some reason couldn't convince Ben to go in my place!

Today to get us in the Christmas mood, we pulled out the decorations! Our house looks (and smells!) like Christmas now!

Tomorrow is the dreaded glucose tolerance test and now with the extra burden of the crutches....please pray for strength and courage to get through the day! We appreciate all the prayers!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!

Third Trimester Update

It's been awhile....so let me update everyone! (Below is a picture of our growing baby--and belly--for those who have been asking!)

As of today, we are 27 weeks 2 days! That means it is only 12 weeks 5 days to the due date...crazy, huh? (A little stressful for this woman still!) We have a wonderful little man that showed out again yesterday at our appointment....strong and LOUD heartbeat. Always puts a smile on our face!


Some exciting news.....the nursery is slowly coming together!

We have our baby bedding in! And it is all boy and all cute! We received the bumper, comforter, dust ruffle, and crib sheet. We hope to get some of the other pieces after we complete the nursery and see what is still needed! Some pictures of the bedding arriving:

We also have the crib. It is beautiful! Below are pictures of my favorite handy man putting it together:

We also have purchased the paint, and after Thanksgiving we plan on getting that on the walls and ready to go!

On some not so fun news: Yesterday at my doctor's appointment I had my glucose tolerance test. Today the nurse called and I failed the test. What does that mean? It means that after midnight on Sunday night I cannot eat or drink anything. I have to go in at 8 AM and from 8 to noon, I have to get my blood taken on the hour. And cannot eat a thing. I don't know what scares me more.....not eating all morning or getting my blood taken. I ask for prayers for: 1) that I pass this test and that the first was a false positive (meaning no diabetes), 2) that God gives me the strength (and courage!) to make it through the morning, and 3) for Ben....well he is the husband (and father) and I know it is not going to be a fun time for him either! Thank you for all the prayers!!!

We wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We truly feel blessed by our family and friends!

Our Funny Baby

This morning I had my 23rd week doctor appointment (yes, it is crazy we are already at 23 weeks!). Our Funny Baby didn't want us to hear his heartbeat today. He was moving all around. Finally, the doctor was able to pin him down and we got a few beats.....that is until he decided he didn't like it and started kicking the machine! It was hilarious! He did not want us to hear his heartbeat and he was violently kicking trying to get it the machine off of him!
Everything is looking great....good growth, good weight gain, and good blood pressure. Next appointment is the dreaded glucose test, but at least we will get to hear him again (that is, if he will let us!).

Flu Free

After much debate and much talking with our Doctor (and nurse!), we decided it was best that I get the H1N1 Shot. Happy to report that Sebastian County got a shipment in yesterday and I received mine this morning! Hoping for a flu-free pregnancy (and flu-free daddy too!) but taking the proper precautions just in case!!
Hope everyone is staying healthy!

Owen - Carter Wedding

This past weekend, I was honored to be a bridesmaid for one of my best friends. Taylor Owen married Nate Carter! :) She was a BEAUTIFUL bride and she picked out a fabulous bridesmaid dress.....one that I ordered pre-pregnancy (and without the thought of pregnancy in my mind) that worked out perfectly! Congrats to the happy couple and thanks for letting the Carroll's be a part of your day!

Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair

Ben and I's first "official" date was at the AR- OK state fair and we have since made it a tradition! This was our 5th time going!! We especially didn't want to miss this year, because who knows if we will be able to attend next year! We had a great "date" night.....some crazy fattening food and then the Gary Allen Concert!

Dallas Trip

We had an awesome weekend in Dallas for the big Arkansas - Texas A & M game. The stadium was AMAZING, but more fantastic was the great time we had together with everyone from the Carroll Family! Here are some pics from the weekend!

Our Active Boy

Baby Boy Carroll is a morning person, which could be bad for me, his mother!
He is most active (kicking and punching) from about 8:45 - 11:00.....I think it is because I'm at work and he wants me to remember he is around! :)
Just wanted to give you an update on our little man!

An EXCITING DAY!!!

Ben and I are proud to announce that we will be welcoming a BABY BOY in February.
He has made us VERY PROUD parents already and according to me (his mother) he is already perfect and wonderfully made!
We PROMISE to post pictures tonight!
Please continue to pray that our growing BOY continues to stay healthy!

Monday is the Day!

Monday, as long as Baby C cooperates, we will find out if we will be having Baby Boy or Baby Girl Carroll! We are too excited! Anyone have a guess of which it will be? Ben and I truly have NO idea!!!

Oh the Hogs....

Ben and I went with the other Carroll's to the AR- GA game. The game started out perfect....good touchdowns....and well we better not talk about the ending!
We did have a fabulous time and got some pics!

It's Growing!!!

It is just a little over a week away until we can say "Baby Girl" or "Baby Boy" Carroll and we are WAY excited. For all the requests, here is the newest picture! I'm still getting used to have a tummy and not feeling the need to do crunches everyday! :)

Catching Up!

Here lately it seems we cannot stay "on top" of the blogging scene. So....here comes some recapping!

* Over Labor Day Weekend, we stayed in the Good Ol' Fort Smith and had lots of Carroll Family Fun. Ben got 2 whole rounds of golf in and the girls spoiled me with a shopping trip to Motherhood Maternity. Even Esther helped me pick out some new preggo threads! We did find ourselves in last place of the "Family Olympics"; however, we still tried our best!!! Of course each day we forgot our camera at home and didn't get any pictures.....especially of our adorable nieces!!! Esther, Millie, and Aubri seem to get bigger each time we see them!!! We only wish they lived closer so that we could take more frequent Chuckie-Cheese Visits!!! We PROMISE to do better next time!


* This past weekend we had a wonderfully relaxing weekend in Branson. Mom and Dad found a great cabin that had four bedrooms and was so quiet! It was tucked away yet we were able to make it to the mall within minutes! Mom, Dad and Mama Pat were awesome and prepared wonderful meals so all we had to do was shop and relax! Riley is getting sooo big! Here are some pictures of this past weekend:

Blossoming Baby Belly...

So "the fam" and our friends have been on us about posting some updated pictures of my wife's baby bump. So I'm pleased to announce that your wait is over...I'll even give you an earlier picture to give you an easy comparison.

Here is Allison at 10 weeks back in July...

And today...September 9, 2009...

See any difference? :)

Fun Times

We have been busy the past couple of weekends, so we need to get you caught up!

First, last weekend we where given Arkansas Traveler Baseball Tickets from an ABF Sales rep so we decided to take advantage! We drove in to Little Rock on Saturday afternoon and headed to the ball field. Lance joined us and we had a blast! We had a great dinner at the ball field restaurant (where I got a MUCH needed fried pickle fix). We watched a great game (against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals) all included with the manager getting kicked out of the game! We then spent the night with Lance (who selflessly gave up his bed! What a great Brother!!).

Here are some pics:

This weekend, we had a FUN "baby" weekend. We started in Fort Smith and took a trip around Northwest Arkansas checking out all different styles, colors, materials, etc of cribs! Yes, cribs! We are quite excited about Baby C and decided it was a good time to start looking. We have found what we like, so we are now deciding to get it now (it takes 6-12 weeks) or wait until (maybe) a sale happens! We will keep you posted! Saturday night we met up with Jennifer, Jason, and Riley for an outing to PF Chang's and (Riley & I's favorite) Cold Stone Creamery! Ben and I had a great time and made a promise to each other that when we come back from NW Arkansas, we are either leaving before the sun goes down, or we are staying the night. Let's just say, we say at least 10 deer, and the scariest, a buck with BIG horns just hanging out in the median!

Energy has been my biggest challenge during these 13 weeks, so today I got ready for church and then was promptly told to go get back in bed.....seems I didn't look well. After throwing a fit, I finally conceded. Ben made me sleep to make up for Saturday, and we caught some of Brother Dale's message on TV. We missed going to church and pray that next weekend we will not work so hard on Saturday!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Strong Heartbeat

I had an impromptu doctor's appointment today. Everything is fine, but had to get something checked out to be sure!
After they ran some lab work, they told me the doctor wanted to see me. Now, I didn't think this trip was that important because they where "squeezing" me in and I was just seeing the nurse, so I told Ben there was no need to come.
Well, guess what?!?! I got to hear a strong heartbeat! The doctor was just wanting to check on everything and I was able to hear Baby C beating strong! It was amazing!
Ben is EXTREMELY jealous, but there was no way I was telling that doctor that I was going to wait!
Thanks for all your prayers and support!

So Sleepy.....

For all the women out there....is there any miracles that can make the sleepiness go away during pregnancy?

One More Post for Millie

Mille's birthday party theme is "Motorcycles".....so Millie since we can't be there....we decided to join in the fun in Fort Smith!

Happy (Early) Birthday Millie!

Our 2nd beautiful niece, Emelia Louise, is turning the BIG three on Saturday! We are the proudest Aunt and Uncle! We hope you have an awesome day and birthday Millie! We love you!

Wicked!

This past weekend my mom, Kara, Amanda (Cousin!), and two of her Ashdown Friends all went to go see "Wicked" in Tulsa. It was amazing! We had a ton of fun and I didn't get in trouble for signing to much! Here are some pics I took on my iphone:

SURPRISE!!! WE ARE PREGNANT!!!

We are absolutely THRILLED to be able to share the first ever pictures and videos of "Little C," the newest member of the Carroll family! These are from our first ultrasound when Allison was at 9 weeks and 1 day...it was simply amazing! Little C's arrival is expected to be February 22nd...

A Little Reassurance...again...and AGAIN!

When it comes to a pregnacy, a little reassurance doesn't hurt right? So, following this philosophy, we managed to take four pregnancy tests in a 36 hour period. Four tests, four positives. Here is Ben with all the results...four-for-four!

We then went ahead and broke the news to Gravy that our little family is growing. It didn't appear that Gravy shared the same enthusiasm as Allison and I. I've always claimed that Gravy is a pretty intelligent canine, perhaps he is aware of the inevitable truth that he is on the verge of being OUTRANKED.

The next step after telling Gravy.....a trip to the book store!

To give you an idea for the weeks to come......this is a picture on July 26th....Happy 10 Weeks!
This is Allison now: