15 days until football... Time to try on her grove dress

First of many trips to Vaught Hemingway

21 days...

As I sit down to write this blog I am 21 days away from being a father. Our doctor is well aware of the importance of my job and missing a wedding is not an option. Emily is now going to the doctor weekly and he is tracking her progress very closely. He has decided to schedule KG's birth for Monday, May 21, if everything goes as planned. I have a wedding every weekend this month so as long as KG doesn't decide to come on a Saturday between 3 and midnight I will be happy. He picked that Monday so I can be with Emily in the hospital and go home with her for a day or two and be ready to shoot my next wedding.

A few week back Emily had a baby shower thrown by her friends in Kosciusko. It worked out well for that weekend because I had a wedding there the day before the shower and a lot of the people who threw her the shower were already coming to the wedding I was shooting. The shower was at one of Emily's best friends, Leah's, parents house. Leah went above and beyond on creativity as always with some ideas she had. Here are a few pictures of some of the cool things Leah made.

(ATTN: Katie Grace...as you can see from the last 4 pictures, your Aunt Leah is a very good photographer and even helps me when I have a wedding in Jackson.)

Here is a picture from the shower of Emily's close friends, Jenny Lind, Mary Claire, Leah and Evelyn. KG will have some friends to look forward to meeting because Jenny Lind and Evelyn are both expecting little ones and Leah has a precious little boy :)

Here are a few pictures of some of the gifts KG got from the shower...

As you can see Houston has been very involved in this whole process. That is one thing I am curious to see once she gets here. I really feel he is going to adapt just fine with KG, but you never know. When my mom brought home my brother Michael from the hospital I was just 17 months old and she sat him down right next to me and I smiled at him and then hit him square in the mouth.....HA

Speaking of Mike, he is back to snowboarding after his visit here to get his teeth fixed after a couple got knocked out...Once a again, thank God for my brother in law and sister in law helping him out.

(ATTN: Katie Grace...Your uncle Mike jumps off of cliffs for a living, this is not the type of guy you want to date... this is not normal)

A few days after this picture we went to our other favorite place to eat Toyo Sushi....This time though it was for Emily's birthday. She was met at the door by one of our good friends little boy, Hudson, who came with flowers.

We LOVE sushi and our place has a roll that is all cooked.  I have spoken with the owner about naming the roll "The pregnant roll" because it is totally safe for a pregnant women to eat and it taste and looks amazing.

Our good friends Mandi and Justin just had twins a couple months ago and we had the pleasure of having them over for one of our homemade pizza nights. It was also a good time to capture Emily holding one of God's precious gifts. She is a natural:)

We also got to see how involved Houston wants to be. Here is Mandi holding Ethan in Katie Grace's room.

(ATTN: Katie Grace... Houston is going to be like a big brother to you. Try not to take too much attention away from him.)

Later that night I got a funny text from a buddy...

Emily and I made a trip up to Jackson TN, yesterday to get a few things from her sister Jennifer. We are so lucky and blessed for everything they have done for us. Jennifer and Todd have two beautiful girls who we have seen and loved since their birth. Luckily for my bank account they have been so generous and have given Katie Grace more clothes than she will ever wear. Not to mention, car seats, strollers, bouncers and countless other items.

Here is a funny video of Houston testing out Katie Grace's new swing.

Thanks for checking in on us....Please keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks:)
Love,
Scott, Emily and Houston

6 weeks to go:)

It has been awhile since our last blog and a lot of great things have happened. As I sit down to write this I am seeing changes in my life happen before my eyes. Right now, instead of being on the square and hearing Willie Nelson play at the Lyric I am having my own concert on the porch with my Ipod. I am sure a lot of these nights are ahead of me, sitting at home with my baby girl listening to music instead of watching and I can't wait! At least when she is here I can see and hold one of God's precious gifts. Until then, I can just dream about the future.

 This blog is going to be jam packed with pictures, imagine that! Here is a storyline of what has happened since our last blog. One reason for the delay since our last blog is that my brother, Mike, who is a professional snowboarder in Lake Tahoe had an accident and knocked out his front teeth. Luckily, Emily's sister and brother-in-law are both dentist so we flew him out for a couple weeks to get them fixed. Here is a picture of him enjoying some crawfish before his teeth were fixed.

                              And here is the final product plus a picture of him getting back to work.

 

ATTN: KATIE GRACE....DON'T EVER DATE A SNOWBOARDER!!!

After he left we got a lot done in the nursery including putting up a tree decal Emily found on Etsy. Of course, like anything that goes on with this pregnancy I am going to capture it in some sort of way. Here is a time lapse of Emily and her sister putting the tree decal up.

Here is a picture of the final product... I am very impressed with how awesome it turned out!

 

ATTN: KATIE GRACE...YOUR MOM IS AMAZING AT SEEING GREAT THINGS BEFORE THEY HAPPEN...THAT'S WHY SHE MARRIED YOUR DADDY:)

Emily and I are so fortunate to have some amazing friends. Our Oxford friends threw Kathryn Grace a baby shower a few weeks back and we were just blown away with the love that was shown. Here are a few pictures of what she got.

 

 

This blanket my sister Steph made her....

                                Here is a picture of all the beautiful girls that gave her the shower.

                                               And a cake they had made for the shower.

                                          Here is Emily with her two grandmothers and mom.

 

ATTN: KATIE GRACE...YOU HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT LOVE YOU EVEN BEFORE YOU ARE HERE:)

The week after the shower we got to go back to the doctor and were shocked to see the picture he was able to capture of Katie Grace. It was better than any picture I have ever taken:)

 

ATTN: KATIE GRACE.. YOU WERE BEAUTIFUL BEFORE I HELD YOU:)

We have been blessed thus far in Emily's pregnancy for her not to have had bad sickness, etc.  Recently she has been having some trouble at night sleeping because of what the doctor called a form of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. We got her some braces to wear at night when she sleeps to help with the circulation and they have helped some but not completely.   She has been hit and miss with a good nights sleep.

She also has been having some problems with swelling in her feet at night. So we have made a change in her shoes she wears to work to a much more comfortable shoe, A FLIP FLOP:) Here is a picture showing her swelling before the change and it has been much better.

 

ATTN: KATIE GRACE....YOUR MOTHER WENT THROUGH SO MUCH FOR YOU...YOU SHOULD RUB HER FEET SO DADDY CAN HAVE A BREAK:)

A few weeks ago I got a call from Emily's boss saying that her co-workers wanted to throw her a baby shower. Just another reason we are so happy for finding this great opportunity on campus. She loves her job and obviously has great co-workers. She hasn't even been there 9 months and they thought enough of her to throw her a shower. Here are a few pics from that shower...

As you know, we pretty much already have a child....His name is Houston and we treat him like he is our first born son. I am constantly taking pictures of him, he won't eat his food unless Emily puts it in a perfect pile, he has an internal clock that when 5 o'clock comes his daddy better be there to take him for a walk, Emily calls at least once a week to make sure she turned off her straightener and rollers (because the dog is at the house) and HE HAS A CAR SEAT CALLED FIDO RIDO... I don't know what else to tell you but we love this dog like a child. Well here are a few pictures of Houston adapting to what is happening to him.

 

Checking out the diaper Genie II elite

 

Houston laying on the lamb pillow that was given to KG by my sweet niece Whitney

 

He walked out of KG's room with a rubber duck that was for her

 

Houston has been noticing that "thing" growing in his mama's belly lately...

 

ATTN: KATIE GRACE...THIS DOG LOVES YOU AS MUCH AS YOUR MOTHER AND I ...TRY NOT TO PULL ON HIS EARS TOO MUCH:)

He likes to feel Katie Grace kick...it is the funniest thing. He jumps up to sit with Emily and sits like this...

   

The most exciting event to happen in our lives since the last blog was Emily and I joining First Presbyterian Church here in Oxford, Mississippi. We have wanted a church home for a while and FPC was our fit. During the service when we were announced, our pastor John said we have 39 and a HALF new members including some guy who claims he has won 2 Super Bowl MVP's.

ATTN: KATIE GRACE... YOU ARE THE HALF AND SOME GUY NAMED ELI MANNING IS THE SUPER BOWL MVP.

The week Emily and I met, I got to meet my sweet niece Olivia. She was just 6 weeks old and I have seen her grow every step of the way. Since the day I found out Emily was giving me a daughter I have been thinking about all the sweet moments I have seen in Olivia's life and more recently my other niece Lillian. Since Emily and I have been together I have been around both of them since they were infants. It's almost like God was preparing me to have a daughter.  I am thankful for the times I have been around them giving me a look in the future blessings only a daughter can bring.

We got to see them not too long ago and Olivia wanted to go hit some golf balls with me. Here is a picture of her making a putt. I can't wait for KG to go play golf with her daddy and hopefully get her college paid for:)

 

When we got home, Lilly wanted to take Houston for a walk and Emily took this picture of us.

 

A couple weeks ago, it was our turn to host Super Club and we decided to have everyone make homemade pizzas. One thing I can say is Emily has been amazing dealing with a husband that has to be social and have people over all the time. I have toned it down but probably not as much as I should have. Our friends Mark and Lauren were hosting with us and we decided to each make our own custom pizza to offer on the menu. Notice Emily's pizza:)

 

Had some great practice being a dad today....
Being a wedding photographer, usually during the week I can always move my work schedule around when needed. When Emily goes back to work after KG gets here the plan is to keep KG out of daycare and I will be a stay at home dad. Emily's work schedule is really conducive to this plan and to add to this her parents just bought a condo real close to us. Anyhow, my friend Bubba called this morning and asked what I was doing today. He had a conflict and asked if I could watch his son Hudson for a while.
Hudson and I had a full day of fun starting off at Chick-fil-A in the indoor playground and then off to the square where we came across a must have!!! A mini lawn mower we bought at Square Books kids and cruised around the square a couple times...

                After a long day at Chick-fil-A and a couple trips around the square he is done....

 

KATIE GRACE...I HAD A LONG DISCUSSION WITH HUDSON TODAY...HE PROMISED ME TO WATCH OVER YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL.... AND NOT LET YOU DATE ANYONE:)


Thanks for reading our blog....
Love, Emily, Scott ,Houston and KG

Third Trimester here we come....

Things are moving along at an almost alarming pace. A year ago at this time we were throwing our annual Super Bowl party and pregnancy wasn't even a thought. This year's Super Bowl was a treat to say the least! Not only was my beautiful pregnant wife allowing me to throw a party but the Giants were playing! A couple days before the Super Bowl, I came home to find Emily yet again reorganizing the fridge. There are terms you learn as a man with a pregnant wife and this one is called "Nesting." Emily has been doing a lot of organizing lately and it's kind of funny to watch. I mean do the items in the freezer really need to be in alphabetical order???? It's actually not that bad...here is a picture of what I came home to the other day.

I didn't want Emily to be left out at the party so when I was going through the grocery store and spotted this I had to get it for her.

Recently some very good friends of ours, Mandi and Justin, were blessed with twin boys. Mandi is my office manager at my studio in Olive Branch and I also took pictures at their wedding. I am pretty sure she is going to have her hands full the next few years and won't have much time to design albums for me. We went to see the boys and here is a picture of Emily holding one. They both weighed right at 4lbs! It is crazy to think that Katie Grace could be more than twice their size considering Emily and I were both over 8lbs when we were born.

We had a doctors apointment last week and got another great report. We are so blessed and happy to have Dr. Williams, he has been the doctor for a lot of our friends. Dr. Williams gives us a sonogram everytime we have an appointment and he personally does it. I figured this is how most Dr's do it but apparently it is rare that a doctor not only does the sonogram but gives you one each visit. During this weeks sonogram, when he captured a very clear view of Katie Grace's face, he had a smile as big as mine and said "you know this never gets old, there is nothing more I enjoy than seeing these babies grow like this." Here is a picture he captured of Kathryn Grace.

How amazing is technology! After the appointment we took a tour of the hospital and were very pleased with how nice it was and how nice everyone was. 

This weekend we went to Memphis to pick up Katie Grace's crib and I put it together Sunday. As you know I can't do anything without incorporating photography so here is a time lapse of Emily, Houston and myself putting the crib together.

I also got my first experience of what it is going to be like buying clothes for this little angel. Emily couldn't decide between two outfits and only wanted to get one. I ended up talking her into getting both by telling her that one could be her Valentine's day present. Looks like its time for me to start taking a lot more pictures!!!!

That is all we have for now... We go back to the doctor in a month on our 4 year anniversary for another check up so look for another post around then.

Thanks for checking in on us...Love Scott, Emily and Houston

p.s if you missed our last blog with the video of us finding out we were having a girl here is the video....