Monday, December 31, 2012

Baby Check Up

I have decided my absolute new favorite sound in the entire world is the beating heart of our baby. We got to hear it this morning and it was simply magical. That might have been amplified because it took the doc a good minute to find it. She even actually said "Ok baby, where are you hiding?" which scared the bejeezes out of me, but she soon found it and it read in at 165 which she said was perfect. I will be 14 weeks tomorrow.

I finally feel back to normal. No more nausea and I can stay awake past 8 p.m. now. I even actually made a menu of what I am going to cook this week which hasn't been done in probably 2 months. Ryan is very excited about that.

Over the break I started scrapbooking again. I am making a scrapbook for the baby entitled "Before You Were Born" which will basically document the journey of the 10 months of the pregnancy. I use to do a scrapbook for each year of high school and college so it was fun to get back into it.

I will leave you with the picture below. It was P-nut's very first picture at 8 weeks. Now he/she actually looks like a baby with arms and legs. I can't wait to see what the baby will look like at the next ultrasound!




Friday, December 21, 2012

Our Family is Growing!

Ryan and I are so excited that we can finally announce: WE ARE HAVING A BABY! We both knew we wanted to have a family and sooner rather than later so when it happened for us, we felt so incredibly blessed.

I will be 13 weeks on Christmas Day and we are due on July 2 - our anniversary :) And for those that are keeping up with the Adams family, you will notice that there is another big family event in July - my brother's wedding on July 27. Definitely going to be a very busy month. And it will be interesting to see if I fit into that bridesmaids dress!

I am starting to feel more like a normal human being. I have been exhausted for the past 6-7 weeks - I am talking exhausted as in going to bed at 7:30 and 8 p.m. every night. I have also felt nauseous 24 hours a day. But I am lucky because I have never actually gotten sick. As long as I was eating something constantly, I felt fine but the minute I stopped eating, I felt pretty yucky.

Now that the nausea is stating to pass, I have been having a few cravings. The biggest of which, and admittedly  most cliche, is pickles. Seriously, I can't get enough pickles! And they can't just be any pickles, it has to be the Clausen kind that are cold when you buy them. I prefer the pickle halves. One day I ate a whole jar. Crazy I know! Another thing is sweets. I usually never crave sweets but these days I want chocolate  cupcakes, cookies and sweet drinks.

This will be the first grand baby on both sides and both sets of grandparents are over the moon! We told them by giving them an early Christmas gift which was the onesie. The Uncles and Aunt are also very excited.

Our first ultrasound pictures we got were at 8 weeks and the little bean looked like a peanut with little stubs coming out which have since developed into the arms and legs. Because of those pictures I have started calling him/her Baby P-Nut. Get it-- Baby P(ettigrew)! Haha. The name has stuck and will be useful in the future because we have decided NOT to find out the sex :) I have always wanted it to be a surprise and can't imagine the feeling of finding out the moment the baby is born. This is very unusual for me becuase with my type-A personality of planning and organizing, this goes way outside my comfort zone.

We have appreciated all the sweet notes, texts, call and messages. Ryan and I could not be happier and can't wait to meet our little P-Nut.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Working with Candice Olson

Last night I returned home from a 2 day trip to NYC. We had a media day with HGTV's Design Star Candice Olson for P&G's Febreze Holiday Collection. It was a very busy trip but very successful. Candice is as sweet as she can be and a fellow tall chick - she is 6ft tall. It was fun to be in NYC around Christmas time but I am also glad that that project is over because now I can concentrate on Christmas.

Kay - my boss, me, Candice and Tim from P&G - my client
(please excuse my horrid look - i had been up since 4:30 a.m.)

 Candice getting mic'd up for the blogger media tour

Finally after our very long day, I walked the 4 blocks from our hotel to see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. It was amazing!

 And quite possibly the best part of the whole trip - NY style pizza. My Fav! 

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Article #3 - JD

Below is the third article in the Washington County Enterprise Leader about our family. This one focuses on JD. They also included a graphic of our family tree. Pretty neat. 

No Child Left Behind
ROAD TO PLAYOFF GAME IS TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
By Mark Humphrey, ENTERPRISE-LEADER
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
FARMINGTON — When the bus carrying the Cardinal football team rolled past Searcy on Nov. 9 en route to their first-round state playoff game at Newport, it was like a trip down memory lane for head coach Mike Adams and his wife, Robin.
Loss of father at tender age
Oldest son, Jon David Adams, was born at Searcy and the lad was six months old when his father, David Baker, Robin’s first husband, died from a heart attack on August 4, 1988, in what was later determined by autopsy to be caused by Marfan Syndrome.
According to Stanford University Center website, Marfan syndrome is a connective tissue disorder, in which the protein necessary for strengthening the connective tissue, fibrillin 1, does not work properly, aff ecting the growth and development of the body.
According to Stanford, approximately one in every 5,000 people worldwide is diagnosed with Marfan syndrome and often develop enlarged aortic vessels or thoracic aortic aneurysms. Modern treatment can help them avoid risk of death from dissection or tearing of the aorta.
Football sustains broken family
Fifteen months later on Oct. 13, 1989, an automobile accident at Charleston claimed the life of Diane Adams, leaving her husband, Mike, then head coach of the Charleston football team, to raise the couple’s two children, Meredith, then threeand-a-half years old, and Spencer, 18 months.
After the tragedy, football sustained the Adamsfamily, not only providing income from Mike Adams’ job but also giving Mike a sense of structure, something he could focus on when his world had been shattered.
“The accident occurred on a Friday. I was out of school for a week,” Mike Adams said. “I went back to practice on a Wednesday after her funeral. I had to have something to hold onto, that’s what I held onto.”
Union of families
In 1992, Mike and Robin married uniting their families. Jon David and Spencer grew up as brothers and each wound up attending Harding University at Searcy with Spencer getting a football scholarship.
Robin Adams drove to the Nov. 9 playoff game with Jana Harper, wife of Farmington defensive coordinator, Jay Harper;
and Spencer’s fi ancĂ©’, Lyndsey Kepesky. They drove into Searcy and Robin took them by the house where she had lived with her fi rst husband, David, and Jon David.
They also drove around the campus of Harding University.
Parenting is embracing children
Today, Robin Adams holds countless fond memories of her husband, Mike, interacting with the couple’s three children, including daughter, Meredith.
“We’ve always been their parents, both of us, we’ve never used that step-term, that’s not, you know, our method or our manner,” Robin Adams said.
“Obviously, it was always great to see my boys on the fi eld,” Robin Adams said. “Meredith was always down on the track or right beside the field dancing for the team and that’s always been awesome.”
There was one moment in particular, which sherecalls occurred the third or fourth year after they got married.
“Mike has a tendency, as you might have noticed, that he squats in a very uncomfortable-looking position on the side of the field,” Robin Adams said.
“It hurts my knees to look at him and Jon David was right next to him doing that same position and a photographer for the paper caught it.”
The photo was in the paper the next day with a caption, “Like father, like son,” which was huge in Robin’s eyes because Mike is not Jon David’s biological parent.
“That was pretty special to see that ‘Like father, like son,’ when everybody knows Mike and Meredith look just alike and now that Spencer’s on the sideline sometimes I have to look for gray hairs to tell them apart from behind, but for somebody to make that connection with Jon David, that was really cool.”
“Our parents did a great job of making the transition to a blended family as easy as possible,” SpencerAdams said. “We would always do things together as a whole family to try to strengthen the bond.” One of the best
games of career
“Friday night’s game at Newport was one of the best games I have ever been involved in during my 30-plus years on the sideline,” Mike Adams said.
Newport’s Carl Turner rushed for 319 yards on 39 carries and had a 42-yard touch down reception, only to be matched by Farmington’s Spencer Boudrey who rushed 25 times for 317 yards and had four receptions for another 151 yards and scored all fi ve Cardinal touchdowns.
“Our kids showed great resilience coming frombehind on several occasions,” Mike Adams said, noting Newport scored to go up 14 with 8:40 to go in the game.
“But we fought back and when freshman Justice Hobbs threw to Mike Ingram for our fi fth successful 2-point try we retook the lead with 3 minutes left in the game,” Mike Adams said. ”Unfortunately, we left them a little too much time and they scored on a 5-yard pass with 31 seconds left to win the game. It was a tough way to end our season, but it also was a tribute to the way our team played that night and throughout the year.”
Reflections of an adult child
Jon David thinks that since Baker, his biologicalfather, was a basketball player in college, he would have solely concentrated on basketball and maybe soccer instead of football and track, the two sports his father, Mike Adams, coached at Fayetteville and Farmington.
“I am pretty sure I would have turned out the same,” Jon David said.
“People tell me I look and act a lot like my biological father, so I don’t think anything would change.”
“I would want my future children to know the whole story of our family,” Jon David said.
“To tell you the truth, I cherish the story, but never once have I called my parents ‘step-parents’ or siblings ‘step-brother and sister.’ We’re a normal family with normal family qualities. It’s just that we’ve been blessed beyond measure.”


Thursday, December 6, 2012

He's Going to Walmart!

Ryan and I, well mostly Ryan, will be making a life change on Monday. He will begin his new job at Walmart  Home Office in the Realty division! While Ryan loved his job as a private attorney, he felt he needed something a little more stable, mainly a consistent salary. He applied in several departments and got 2 offers in the same week. He decided on the Realty position where he will be in charge of all the new and existing Walmart store leases and contracts in three different states on the east coast.

I am excited for Ryan and this new chapter in his life. The good thing about Walmart is that they will pay for him to keep his law license up to date (since he needs it for his job anyway) which will give him the freedom to go back to private practice in the future if he so chooses to do so.

Selfishly I am sad he won't be working across the street from me anymore. I won't be able to walk over to his office in the middle of the day for a quick brain break and we won't be able to ride to and from work together anymore. I have really grown to cherish the extra 40 minutes in the car we have together. It will be a period of adjustment for both of us but he is excited about the new challenges and opportunities this job will bring.

Ryan - I am so proud of you and can't wait to see how you grow at Walmart. I have no doubt you will be leading the charge very soon. I Love you!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Papa

The past few months have been crazy for the Pettigrews. Some great things have happened and some heartbreaking things have happened, one of which is the passing of my Papa. 

Papa was 89 years old (he would have turned 90 in February) and he was battling cancer for a while. He was doing good and then they put him back on his chemo and he had some adverse reactions to it, went into the hospital the day before Thanksgiving and then passed in his sleep on the following Sunday. 

We were all devastated. I am thankful for that my family got to go to Memphis for Thanksgiving this year and  see him one last time. I however missed that opportunity. Ryan and I found out that his dad also has cancer (bone marrow) and he has been in Little Rock at UAMS getting treatment for the past month. So we decided to go down here for Thanksgiving and be with his parents. I will always have that twinge of regret not getting to see my Papa for the last time but I also know, my husband needed me at that same time and I believe Papa would have told me to be with Ryan and his father. 

The funeral and visitation were this past Tuesday and Wednesday and I really enjoyed hearing all the amazing stories about him and how he impacted so many people's lives. Papa was a preacher and missionary his entire life and it would be impossible to quantify the enormous impact he had on this world. I am so grateful that he had the opportunity to officiate our wedding and I am sad for my brothers that they won't get that honor. 

Papa had a sense of humor that was out of this world and you always knew how much he loved his family - especially my Nana who he had been married to for more than 64 years! When I was younger, every time he would see me, he would sing: "There she is, Miss America..." It always made me giggle. 

Papa was such an example for us all and I will miss him terribly but I know he is in no more pain and watching over all of us now. 

Love you Papa!