Happy Halloween!

We hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

So Here's the Plan...

After meeting with our Doctor this week, the decision has been made to induce labor. Since Tanner has already progressed quite far....or in our Dr.'s words, "already done the heavy lifting".....we are going ahead, even though we're just a tad bit early. So, unless something changes, the plan is to be admitted to the hospital tomorrow. Hopefully, we're just one day away from baby H's big arrival!


We're using our last day to nest, run a few more errands, have one more nice meal out (The Last Supper!), and get as ready as possible for this little baby. We're hoping the time passes very quickly, and that we'll be sharing our first baby photos soon!

Just the Two of Us

As we get ready to bring home a new member of our family, we're full of emotions. Over the last 13 years, we've literally grown up together, and we've gotten to experience so many fun & new things. Now we're getting ready for the biggest adventure of our lives. We're so excited, and we can't wait to meet this little miracle that we've been talking to and watching (he's a wild man.......you can watch him kick from across the room!) these last 9 months. The "just the two of us" chapter of our lives is closing, but we look forward to the more exciting chapter of parenthood that awaits us. Thanks to all of our family & friends for your thoughts and prayers during this exciting time for us. We'll keep everyone updated as the time for his arrival is very near!

Guest Hallway

This is our guest hallway leading to the guest bath, spare bedroom, and the nursery. We're working on an entire wall of black & white photos. We still have several to hang, and we purposefully left room on the wall to squeeze in as many pictures as possible.



On the opposite wall, there is just a small bit of wall space. This is what you see from our main entryway, so we wanted a small piece of furniture here. We're probably going to paint the cabinet, but we just haven't gotten around to it yet. The best thing about the cabinet is in the bottom photo.....

...it's ribbon storage! One out-of-the-way place for the majority of Tanner's ribbon collection.

Weekend Update

Since we know that the big day is quickly approaching, we used the weekend to catch up on some last-minute things in preparation. We ran some errands, took a beach break, watched football, shopped a little, did a few house projects, snapped some pictures, and enjoyed a date night. It was so nice just enjoying each other's company and resting up......which we may not have time to do again for awhile!

spending some quality time over a great meal

watching the pelicans enjoy the wonderful fall weather

Monogram Mania!

We don't enjoy bragging on ourselves, but we do LOVE to brag on other people! So today it's Randi's turn!

Tanner's mom has been busy at her monogramming machine....so busy in fact that it already needs to be serviced again due to the hours she's logged lately! She's come up with some of the cutest appliques for everything, from bibs to tea towels. Trust us, if it's not nailed down, she might just stitch on it!

Here are some of the cute bib/burp sets she's come up with lately. It almost makes us hope that Hampton is quite the drooler. ALMOST!!!

Big Baby Belly

Well, we would call this Tanner's Baby Bump, but the baby isn't just a "bump" anymore....he's a mountain!

We promised Boba (Bo's mom Susie) one more pre-baby pic, so here it is. Hopefully, there won't be time for too many more pre-baby photos before he actually arrives!

Closet Crafter

To corral some of Tanner's crafting supplies, we turned our guest bedroom closet into a craft area. We added a desk and some storage pieces, and now the area has been turned in to a room filled with gift wrap, stationery, ribbon, knitting supplies, and tons of other things necessary for fun projects. The best part is, once Tanner is done with whatever project she's working on, she can just shut the closet doors and everything looks clean!

Windmill Market

The weather this weekend was wonderful, so we took advantage of the crisp fall air to head over to Fairhope to check out the new Windmill Market.

Windmill Market is a brand-new farmers market, and it is such a neat place! Renovated from an old car dealership, the market is totally green. The power is supplied by a windmill out front, and there are 2 cisterns that collect rain water to water the garden out front and provide running water for the restrooms. Bo worked with the owners to supply their metal roofing, so we wanted to check out the finished product.

On Saturday, the place was PACKED with people! There were so many booths filled with locally grown produce, delicious-looking baked breads, fresh cut flowers, and more. The craftspeople were featuring lots of unique items, including a guy who was blowing glass right in his booth. He was so fun to watch! Our favorite BBQ joint, Moe's, opened an outpost inside the market, so we couldn't pass it up! Outside in the picnic/play area, a local musician was entertaining the large crowd. Since this was only the market's 2nd weekend in business, we know that they are going to be super-successful!

Mission: Organization

We continue the house tour with some of the more unglamorous rooms in our house. So today, welcome to our master closet and laundry room........

Our Master Closet

Since we share a closet, we wanted to make sure there was plenty of room for everything, including out-of-season clothing, coats, Bo's shoes, and Tanner's purses. We've never shared a closet before, but so far, we think we're doing a pretty good job!

Our shirts, sorted by the rainbow (ROYGBIV) method.

We cannot live without our baskets to hold stuff like workout clothes, socks, beach supplies, etc

Purse organization. The ones in the floor did find another home, so it's not so junky now!

Our Laundry Room

Our laundry room is directly off of our garage, so it's also a mud room of sorts. We use the closet for Ike's necessities, and the shelves hold all of our pet & cleaning supplies. Tanner actually likes the laundry room, so maybe she'll start doing more of the laundry!

Our metal message board, made with an old frame and a piece of scrap metal from Bo's job. We'll probably end up painting the frame, but for now, it's holding our travel magnet collection.

Our bulletin board for important reminders, as well as the random things we find in our pockets! Plus, more hard-working baskets!

Parenting 101

This week, we took a parenting class put on by our hospital. It was full of good information, and we think we've got the swaddling technique down pat!

However, the best parenting advice we've received may be this email sent to us by a friend. We've always been told that after dealing with our pets, parenting will be a breeze!

Cat Burglar

If you've met our cat Ike, then you know the best word to describe her is "sassy". She's full of personality, and she always seems up to something. We're sure that she's quite a little smart mouth (if we could only understand what she's always trying to tell us).

We recently caught her in the act....guilt written all over her face. We think she's trying to fund some sort of hostile takeover. Luckily, this attempt was thwarted. We may not be so lucky next time........

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Boba......Happy Birthday to you!

Today is Bo's mom's birthday! We hope she has a great day and we're looking forward to seeing her soon!

We also can't forget to mention our friend Carolyn Rains, who also shares this big day. Happy Birthday to you, too, Mrs. Carolyn!

Shrimp Festival

Yesterday started the 38th annual National Shrimp Festival here in Gulf Shores. Filled with crafts, music, and lots of food, it's a huge weekend-long event that draws several hundred thousand people each year. We're not sure yet if we're going to be able to make it this year, but trust us, it's a fun festival that's definitely worth experiencing!

DIY Projects

After seeing some cute baby craft projects online, Tanner decided to see if she could make these on her own. Using stuff we already had, we were able to make a cute baby wipe case as well as dividers for the baby's closet. The dividers will definitely come in handy, since we've collected baby clothes in several sizes. Here's what you need to make them, in case you want to try, too!
All you need for the closet dividers is a pattern for the item, some cardboard, a sharpie, glue sticks, and coordinating scrapbook paper. The pattern Tanner used was a list pad and a Diet Coke can for the circle....so easy!

For the wipes case, we used Huggies wipes, leftover fabric from the curtains in Hampton's room, batting, a glue gun, and ribbon for the trim. It was time consuming, but we think it turned out rather cute!

Happy Belated Birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday to our niece, Mira! We hope you had a wonderful day and we're looking forward to seeing you in December!

Special Delivery

Last week, we received an unexpected package in the mail. Inside, we found the cutest gifts from our dear friends Sam & Sarah Neil. They sent little Hampton the cutest clothes and burp cloths ever!

What makes the gift so extra-special, though, is that Sarah Neil actually hand made each of these items. She is so talented at sewing that we just had to brag on her skills and show off her handiwork. We can only imagine the time and effort that was put into these pieces, especially since they're so adorable!

orange seersucker jon jon with cute little fish buttons

pair of cutie-patootie burp cloths

2 reversible bubbles in ginghams and cute prints

the reverse side of the bubbles....Bo loves the Florida one!

Yard Sale Recap

We survived!!! The yard sale was exhausting and a ton of work, but it ended up being well worth it. The weather definitely cooperated, and we had a huge turn out. We started at 7am, which meant we were setting up well before that. We sold way more than we thought we would, though, and the rest was boxed up and sent straight to Waterfront Rescue Mission (a local company similar to Goodwill). Bo and Bob were the heroes of the day, since they stayed busy "wheeling & dealing" with the crowds. We had so many people tell us how organized we were, which made us wonder how unorganized other sales must be!

Luckily, we were done right around 4pm and were able to head home to watch football. Of course, we came home to an invitation to participate in the upcoming neighborhood yard sale! This may be one community event we have to skip.........

Working Weekend

We're gearing up for a very busy weekend! Saturday is the big yard sale that we've been getting ready for forever! We're excited to get all the stuff out of our garage so we can finally park in there, but we're not looking forward to hauling all this stuff out so early in the morning. After the yard sale, we've got to sort the leftovers and get ready to donate them to local charities, because once the stuff leaves the house, it's not coming back in!

Today, Tanner & Randi are putting up the signs and organizing all the junk. Tonight, Bo will have the fun job of hauling the rest of our yard sale stuff up to Randi's house. We're having the sale there, since they live in a much more central location than we do.

We aren't looking forward to all the hard work, but we are excited about getting rid of so much stuff. Check back on Monday for a full update of how it all turned out!

Name Dropping

With our delivery date soon approaching, we realized that we haven't shared our baby's name with everyone! So without further ado, we're naming our son

Hampton Robert Howard

Family names are very important to us, so it took us a good while to settle on one. We're very excited that he'll be named after 2 of his great-grandfathers (and in the case of Robert, his grandfather and 2 great-great-grandfathers as well). We'll be calling him Hampton or Hamp for short. Bob pointed out that the initials HRH will make our child His Royal Highness, and with all of his Grandparents spoiling him rotten, this is sure to be a fitting monogram!