Brittany and the Bee

Brittany participated in the Howard County Spelling Bee last week. In this spelling bee, kids in 3rd-8th grades from different schools around the county come together to compete, and the winner advances to the state competition. This was the third year that she has competed. Her first year (as a 3rd grader), she got out in the second round when "hedonism" tripped her up. In 4th grade, she ended up in a spell-off for first place with another girl. They stood up there spelling words back and forth for around 45 minutes. Neither of us remember the word that she finally misspelled, but she wasn't upset at all. Just happy that it was over and that she had done so well, coming in second place out of so many kids.
So, that brings me to last week. I don't know how many of you have ever had the privilege of sitting and watching your child compete in a spelling bee, but let me just say that it is not the most relaxing way to spend the afternoon! Every time she got up, I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest. Zach went with us, and the first time Brittany got up to spell, he leaned over and said, "I feel like I can't breathe!" It was so sweet that he was nervous for her, and that he cared so much about whether she got the words right.
She had a great first few rounds, and then she got up to spell again. The announcer then says, "megalopolis" and I was afraid. She stood there calmly and spelled it correctly. The entire audience cheered. It was great! The next round, she got "oregano" and I was relieved. I knew she knew that one. For some reason, though, she ended up saying the "r" twice, and that was the end of this year. She wasn't too disappointed. After that round, there were only three people left. So, she left feeling like she had done well. I think she did GREAT! We're already looking forward to next year!
Congratulations, Brittany, on working so hard! And thank you, Zach, for caring about your sister. :)

Pictures!

I've been promising pictures for quite some time, but you know that pesky camera cord of mine likes to hide. Well, this week I found one that works. So, tonight I am finally following through on my promise to post pics! I've had several people asking for belly pics, so I am going to be brave and post them.

The one above is my official "this is what I looked like at 23 weeks 2 days pregnant" picture. My "belly pics" are below.

Almost 6 weeks and bloated:


14 weeks:


23 weeks (last Monday):


So, you can see that our little girl is definitely growing! Brittany and Zach continue to be amazed at her little wiggles and squirms. Zach loves to ask (at any given moment) where she is right now, and then he wants to keep his hand on my tummy until he feels her move. Brittany was watching my belly the other day, and she saw my shirt jump. She immediately jumped back and said, "Whoa!" It really surprised her that the baby can kick that hard. Zach is asking lots of questions about "when I was in your tummy", and he finds it fascinating that he used to be able to elbow me from the inside. :)

I go back to the doctor on Tuesday for my 24-week visit. I don't think we'll do a lot at this one, but I always enjoy going.

In non-pregnancy news, Clay and I got an award at this year's Nashville Chamber of Commerce banquet. We received the "Best Remodeled Building of 2008" award. We're really happy with the way our office turned out, and it was an honor to receive the award (even if the picture in the paper made me look like I had 4 chins!)

We also took a little trip up to Petit Jean a couple of weeks ago, and the kids had a great time! I forgot my camera, so we had to buy a disposable one. I'll have to remember to take it and get the pictures developed. We stayed in a cabin for the weekend, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, drank hot chocolate, and hiked. We got up on Saturday morning to eat breakfast and then set out on a "short hike" to the waterfall. Three hours later, we returned from our 6 mile hike down and then back up the mountain! We had a lot of fun, and the scenery was beautiful!

That's really all that's been going on around here for the past few weeks. I will check in again soon!