our baseball weekend

a few weekends ago, ben & I went to a few baseball games together. ben loves baseball, and since I love him- I enjoy doing what he loves. even though I didn't grow up watching baseball, it's still fun to watch and be a part of. we luckily caught great weather for the games that we went to.

on sunday, we went to the game with one of ben's best friend, and his parents who had come from out of town. we went straight from church to the stadium which was already packed. baseball games are quite popular in Fayetteville-especially since it was such a warm day. 

ben and I are similar and different, all at the same time. ben is my "all-american" boy, and i'm his international traveler. I have been away from thailand so long, that sometimes I feel more american than thai. this summer will mark 7 years since I left thailand for college. it was such a treat travelling to thailand while we were engaged, and I would love to bring our baby back too someday. we both love celebrating our roots, and i think baseball is a great way to enjoy ben.

a picnic in the park

on sunday night, we got together with some good friends for a picnic in the park. it was the most beautiful day, and it only got a bit chilly after the sun went down. we enjoyed catching up, grilling, and watching our friends cute kids play together. 

we had such a great afternoon with our friends, and look forward to more park visits this summer. fayettevile has great parks!

breakfast for dinner

one night this past week, ben & i invited our whole family over for a breakfast themed dinner. on our dinner menu was pancakes, bacon, muffins, & eggs. it can get pretty packed in our tiny apartment, but i really enjoy having everyone over, every now and then.

while the big kids were talking, the littles enjoyed a game of uno. the littlest one is watching the big kids while playing with one of my old cell phones i keep in my toy box for them. 

once our baby comes it will the end of our "aunts & uncles only" era. we have truly enjoyed watching these kids grow up & will miss them so much when they move to thailand this fall. for now though, we are trying to make the most of our time! 

making baby seiler a quilt

this past saturday i decided to finally start making a quilt for little seiler. i had been collecting the fabric for a while, but i kept putting it off. i really want this blanket to be just perfect. 

oddly enough, i didn't really have a set color scheme- but ended up with my favorite colors for baby seiler: yellow, navy, grey, robins egg blue, and red. although the squares may seem simple, i wanted to make sure that i wasn't getting over my head for the quilt top. the actual quilting process does intimidate me though! 

wish me luck as i attempt to quilt this on my own!

blog updates & a growing tummy

hello there! i decided to change up the layout of this little blog, and hope you like it. i'm all about simplicity, and wanted this to be easy to look at. also, my "blah" layout from before just needed a change.

i asked ben to take a picture of my belly in this striped dress. i think that the stripes really show off how big baby seiler is getting. after being in the "awkward" pregnancy stage for so long- it's nice to finally sport a very pregnant belly. i still wake up every morning & stare in amazement at my rounding body in front of the mirror.

these days, we are all about baby decisions: cloth diapers vs. disposable, diy crib vs. store bought, natural birth vs. epidural, and baby names. at first nine months felt so long, and now 10 weeks feels so short.

pregnancy diaries: week 29

How far along: 29 weeks

Maternity clothes: yes! loving my stretchy maxi skirts and dresses- spring is finally here (for now)! 

Sleep: it's pretty off & on lately- some nights i sleep all the way through, and others i am up multiple times. i have been having very strange dreams & wake up confused. also, more bathroom trips in the night lately!

Best moment of this week: tonight ben & i are attending a birthing class and getting a tour of our birthing center. i'm hoping to feel better prepared after tonight!

Miss anything: my abs-- silly, but very serious! i feel like my stomach has lost all of its strength and simple motions like sitting up from laying down is becoming hard work! i can only imagine a month from now...

Movement: yes! the jabs are starting to get harder, and catch me off guard!

Food cravings: sweets- esp 

Have you started to show yet: yes! our company moved offices last week, and a few people were worried about this momma-to-be moving empty cardboard boxes! :)

Gender: excited to find out in July!

Belly button in or out: still "in", but on the verge of breaking even with my belly.

Wedding rings on or off: on

Baby is the size of a: small cabbage

thrift store finds

over the weekend, sue (my mother-in-law) & i ran into our local goodwill to kill some time. typically, our goodwill seems to be over picked  and i typically don't leave with anything. i did find a few fun things on our short trip, and left feeling accomplished- especially since my grand total was $2.75! 

my steals included: a milk glass geometric mug, a purple salsa dish, four floral place mats  and a children's book- "the day jimmy's boa ate the wash".

 this book is quite humorous and includes a short bit about jenny getting an egg cracked on her head.

another plus of our visit to goodwill was how organized the store was. the store was fairly clean, and everything was pretty much easy to find! overall, it was a successful trip!

lunch & a tour at the bentonville square

after church on sunday, we joined our friends, daniel and lauren for lunch in bentonville. ben & i rarely venture up to bentonville, but decided after our afternoon, that we need to more often. it is such a fun town, and too close to us not to visit.

we ate at the flying per daniel & lauren's recommendation. it was a great choice, tasty food & great atmosphere! 

 i went with the catfish and shrimp combo. i'm thinking that we will need to bring my parent's up the next time they are visiting. this is my dad's kind of restaurant! 

 you can barely see the "fish wall" below. your reward for bringing your singing fish is a free meal!

 after lunch, we strolled down to the five & dime on the square for a tour of walmart.

sam walton's office

 "i just don't believe a big showy lifestyle is appropriate. why do i drive a pick up truck? what am i supposed to haul my dogs in, a rolls royce?" -a quote from the famous sam walton. he seemed a pretty down to earth kind of guy.

 we enjoyed ice cream after our tour! 

 we are so thankful for these two, and had such a great afternoon together!

 i am loving tulips, especially the ones in full bloom. they are so bright & cheery!

we had such a fun sunday afternoon in bentonville with the gates!

cru's fellowship dinner

 ben & i were invited to attend cru's annual fellowship dinner this past friday night. since two of my sisters are on staff with cru- it was so neat to see all that God is doing through their ministry! cru has greatly grown over the past year, and are reaching so many students at the university of arkansas. the night was perfectly organized, with a great location, tasty food, a silent auction, and my favorite part- the guest speaker: mike duke, walmart's CEO.

samantha and lauren are sweet friends who also attended. i have met both of them through my sister marisa, and her being on staff with cru!

and these two! marisa's birthday was on friday, and ben's was on saturday. these birthday buds are too cute! (and might be mad at me for asking to take their picture together!)

celebrating marisa's birthday!

this year for marisa's birthday, her sisters & i arranged a surprise dinner party for her! this is marisa's last year in fayetteville, since they are moving to thailand this fall, and so we wanted to really make it a special day for her. jon suggested that we make her surprise party just girls- so that we could have intentional time & conversations together. he was so wise!

 here are a few of marisa's close friends here in fayetteville. they were too sweet to come celebrate marisa!

 in fayetteville, these "razorbacks" are everywhere- each painted differently for different causes. this one was very appropriate for its location at our restaurant, mermaids!

 speaking of mermaids, it was such a fun "ladies" choice and was so tasty! quick, funny story: marisa's church hosts a daddy/daughter date night at mermaids every year, and her little girls were so sad that they were not invited to our ladies night. i think they thought we would have a dance party like they did! 

it was a joy to celebrate marisa & her birthday, and i am so thankful for the time we had with her!

pregnancy diaries: week 28

How far along: 27 & 28 weeks (it's getting harder to keep up with this with our busy spring & the crazy rainy weather!)

Maternity clothes: yes! finally fitting into my bella-bands, and enjoying maternity jeans!

Sleep: still no preggo pillows yet, i'm just learning to adjust to growing belly. mostly sleeping through the night!

Best moment of this week: being officially 2/3 closer to meeting our baby and in our THIRD trimester!

Miss anything: being active- with my expanding belly its getting harder to move around a lot. also i miss not having back pain. by the end of the day, my back aches.

Movement: yes! the flutter and soft kicks have turned into thumps. i love this "connection" that i have to our little one, and love the little kicks that remind me of what is growing inside me.

Food cravings: still sweets and strawberries.

Have you started to show yet: yes!

Gender: excited to find out in july!

Belly button in or out: getting closer to popping out.

Baby is the size of a: head of cauliflower

farmers market

we had a bit of time to kill on ben's birthday, and decided to take his parents to our local farmers market. it was the first farmers market of the season, and the weather couldn't have been better. i hope in the future to buy more produce at the farmers market, to support local businesses and to eat more organically. i also love the beautiful flowers that the vendors sell. and the soaps. basically everything!