Jason and I had a very exciting weekend with my parents and my Aunt Suz in town! We were not able to do very much, unfortunately, due to my contractions, but we had a fantastic time, despite being home bound, and really enjoyed every second we could spend with my family! For those of you who do not know, last Tuesday, Dr. Looney put me on 5 mg of Terbutaline, as needed, which is used to stop my contractions because they found out that I am 20% effaced now. This means that my cervix is thinning out, prematurely. So far I have taken the medication about twice a day and have had to cancel any trips I had planned, even if they were only an hour away. I go back to the doctor on Wednesday, 5/27, to find out if the medication is working. The good news is that Connor is more active than EVER now - and I love every second of it. Ok - enough talking...enjoy the pictures!

On Friday night, we had my parents and Suz, as well as Jason's mother and Greg, Granny, and our good friends Misty and Rob over to the house for a cookout and a "pre-shower" since they would not be able to attend my shower in June. These are some pictures from grilling out.

Me and Misty and our big bellies!

Jason, being silly!
Me and Suzie

My mom and I

Jason AKA The Grill Master!

Rob, chillin' on the porch!

Dad and Greg, relaxing!

Misty and I with the AMAZING diaper cake that Suz made for my shower!

Some of the guys on the porch!

Around the dinner table!

The other half of the dinner table

The BEST monkey cake I have EVER seen! Made by my Suzie for Connor!

Decoration that my Dad made for Connor!

Me and Suz with the diaper cake!

Opening presents after dinner!

Can you tell we're decorating his nursery in brown and green and monkeys?!

Jason and Dad putting together Connor's gifts from Misty and her mom and Nana!

Ta Da!!! Our awesome bouncy seat and swing!

Lunch with Jason's mom and Granny!

Diablo and one of Connor's toys that looks like him!

Dad, being silly!

27 weeks ALREADY!!!!! Can you believe it!

Oh, Jason!

Me and my parents with some of Connor's monkeys!

Jason and I with some of the monkeys!

My hands are full!

Mom and Suz and I in the nursery which we worked on and got very organized!

Dad and I with our bellies...at least I have an excuse!

Some of Connor's gifts - look at all those blankets! (we don't have his mattress yet) :)

We are so appreciative for all the generous gifts we've received! Thank you all for making this such a fantastic weekend! We'll keep you posted so check back for updates!

Love,
The Ratliffs

26 weeks and counting!

This week was a little tough. I have still been having a lot of contractions and as of Wednesday, decided to move my work stuff (laptop, phones, planner, and files) to the couch. I never would have thought that simply working from my home desk would cause me so many contractions, however working from the couch and laying down as often as possible is definatly the key! This weekend was also a little difficult because Jason went to Atlanta with his friend, Blake, and I was by myself. For his birthday, Jason's mother gave us Braves' tickets and tickets to see Coldplay in concert (something that I was REALLY looking forward to). However, since all of the contraction issues, I talked to my doctor who strongly advised that I not take the 5 hour trip to Atlanta and risk contractions. SO, alas, Jason and Blake went on the trip and I stayed home, on the couch, with my son and my kitties! I got the catch up on lots of good movies and had a really quiet weekend. Unfortunately, my contractions got worse starting Saturday night (SOOOO glad I was not in Atlanta at the time) and now I'll be going to see the doctor tomorrow to be sure that everything is still okay and Connor is staying put for at least another 11 weeks!

The great news is that Connor is as active as ever and as much as my ligaments and back are hurting now, he seems to delight in kicking me right where it's most painful! I'll get him one day - just wait till he's born and I get to tickle him! HA!

Anyway - here are some pictures from week 26! Jason and I are super excited because my parents and my Aunt Suz are coming to visit on Thursday and staying until Monday! WOO HOO! So we should have lots of pictures from this weekend...if only I can stay off the couch!

Have a great week and please remember us in prayer!

Love,

The Ratliffs

Jason's Birthday and Mother's Day Weekend!

Hello Everyone!

Here are some pictures from our busy and exciting weekend! As most of you know, Jason's birthday was on Friday, May 8th! We had a game night at the house to celebrate his birthday with some close friends. Here are some pictures from the party...

Some friends from Sunday School playing Cranium...

In the other room, a fierce competition of Jenga...

Jason and I
Our good friends, Misty and Rob
Our good friends Jen and Dave...

Dave, Beth, Hilary, and Jason in the loft...

Jason and his brother Nick...

As you know, Mother's Day was on Sunday, 5/10 and Jason surprised me with a couple of goodies for my "first" Mother's Day. This is a necklace he got me!

These are some adorable little shoes that Vickie got for Connor...his first pair of shoes!

On Sunday, we went to Jason's Mom and Greg's house for dinner. I also got some gifts for Connor here. This is a blanket that we got...

And some adorable outfits...

Granny openning her Mother's Day gift from Jason's mom...

And Jason's mom openning her Mother's Day gifts!

Me...relaxing during the festivities...it was a very busy weekend!

Jason openning some birthday gifts from his mom and Greg...

They were in a Victoria Secret's Bag...

And some weekly belly pictures from WEEK 25!!! Can you believe we're already at week 25?! Some books say that we are now in the 7th month! This first picture is to show you that I no longer have a belly button! How funny is that?!

This past week was a bit tough because I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. Unfortunately they can lead to pre-term labor, so I am having to really monitor them and stay off my feet as much as possible. We ended up at the hospital on Wednesday (5/6) night but luckily the contractions, which were coming at a rate of 3 minutes a part, finally slowed down and my cervix did not change. Unfortunately, as part of his birthday gift, Jason is going to Atlanta to see a Braves' game and a Coldplay concert, but I had to give up my ticket due to the distance we'd have to travel and be away from the hospital. Don't worry though, we both had a STERN talk with Connor about staying put for at least 12 more weeks! We don't even have his nursery ready yet!!!

Well, we hope you all have a great week!

Love,
The Ratliffs