These are a few of my favorite things...

Now that the "honeymoon" is over, here is a small list of the things that are helping me through the final countdown until it is all worth it & I meet my little boy... These should be on any woman's pregnancy survival list...lol.

When I don't feel like eating anything else, I can always count on the cap'n!

When you don't feel good enough to eat your veggies, drink them!!

Relaxation is a hard thing to come by when you are pregnant, but I have found the magic stuff...

WARNING!!!!! Do not try to sleep at night while pregnant without one of these!!!! The Snoogle will save your life and the life of your husband- especially when he is snoring beside you sound asleep and you can't find a comfortable spot for anything!

An understanding, patient, compassionate, loving, strong husband who loves you more than anything & will do anything to make you smile.

And a special Diva girl who will always be your first born...love this little dog so much!!

31 weeks and counting...

Hello Mr. Third Trimester!! The final countdown to when I get to meet my little man has officially begun. I will have to say that Jayden has been pretty sweet to his mommy so far. Although I feel like the second trimester "honeymoon" that so many have told me about, is coming to an end... During the last 10 weeks, I've been so full of energy...so much in fact that I've pretty much redone all of our condo-new floors, new carpet, etc. I just had this overwhelming need to get everything ready and done before our life changes forever. Everyone tells me I'm "nesting" and Jayson has had a field day with this word-saying he has to make sure he puts his "twigs" down in the nest. Ha!

Now that I've entered the final stretch, aka Mr. Third Trimester, I am finally starting to feel pregnant...REALLY pregnant. Jayden has grown so much which in turn has made me grow...I'm amazed everyday at how much my body is constantly changing. I'm constantly feeling my little miracle especially after I eat or when I lie down to go to sleep. He likes to give me a couple of good kicks during the day just to remind me that he is there & he has recently found that my rib cage makes for a good foot rest. He doesn't bother me too much at night or early in the morning so I'm holding onto all hope that this is a sign of things to come! I've been trying to explain to Jayson that I think we have a future soccer player in there because of how hard he can kick me sometimes...I think after seeing his leg in our last ultrasound, he now believes me.

Check out these muscles....

It's a...

Before I got pregnant, Liz told me about this neat way to reveal the sex of the baby. Jayson & I decided that this would be a fun thing to do so we were ready for the fun...

Basically, during the 18 week ultrasound where the sex of the baby can be determined, the technician will write down the sex in an envelope-keeping it a secret from the parents-to-be. She seals the envelope and the couple takes the envelope to a local bakery where they bake a cake with the "answer" in the form of pink or blue icing on the inside of the cake. You can then "reveal" the sex of the baby around friends and family-all finding out at the same time.

All along, Jayson has been certain that we were having a girl. Pretty much everyone has told me that according to my symptoms, I would be giving birth to a baby girl. So, on the day we went in for the ultrasound, we were pretty certain we knew what we were having. All until...I asked the tech to use an arrow to point out the "parts" on the picture she had written on and she said, "I didn't do that because it is pretty obvious."

We immediately took the picture over to our friends, the Freemans, who would be in charge of getting the cake made. A few weeks later, with cake on board, we made the drive up to Ohio to find out if we were having a Jaycee or a Jayden.

Our hostess with the cake...our future is inside!!!

Is the balloon behind us a sign of things to come???

Getting ready to cut the cake...the anticipation was almost too much...

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!

And this, my friends, is a picture of a very happy daddy!

What a special time...I will always remember the day that I found out that I had been chosen to be the mother of Jayden Aaron Hull. We are beyond excited & can't wait to meet him!!!!

We're Having a Baby!!

Jayson & I are beyond thrilled to announce that Baby Hull is due May 23, 2011!!! We are so excited to start this new chapter in our life and are just in amazement at the miracle that is growing inside of me.

As of right now, I am 14 weeks & Baby J is doing great. We say "Baby J" because we have decided to be one of those really corny families whose names all start with the same letter. :) We will find out Baby J's sex and announce his/her name around the first of the new year. I have a feeling my little one is a girl because of my first trimester symptoms...I think that the payback has already started. I always thought that I wanted a house full of boys (mainly because I didn't want a little mini me running around) but now that my time is actually here, I honestly don't care one way or the other. It is true that as soon as you find out you are going to be a parent, the only thing that you want is a healthy baby.

I was very glad to see Mr. Second Trimester show up this week as he has been much nicer to me than Miss First Trimester....I am finally starting to enjoy my relationship with food again & I don't feel like someone hit me with a truck at the end of my days. My energy is returning just in time for the holidays!

Let me say that I have the most amazing husband who has been so supportive and loving during some not no fun times for him as well. He has listened and tried to calm all of my crazy worries, driven all over Winston-Salem in search of that one thing to eat that wouldn't make me sick, and put up with a very hormonal wife with the best of them. I don't know what I would do without him & I'm reminded everyday of why I chose to spend the rest of my life with him. He's going to be an amazing daddy.

Here is our first picture of our little nugget...7 weeks.

And, again at 8 weeks...little Nugget's head is pointed down on the left side

and you can see his/her little arms just beginning to form.

We are not sure how we are going to prepare our "first born" for this new addition to our family, but I'm sure that I'm going to see this look many times. I love my Diva girl....

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the MANY blessings that God has given to me and our family. Everyday my life is full of hope, love, laughter, and happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Welcome to the world Cooper & Ava!!

2010 has been such an amazing year!!! This summer we welcomed 2 beautiful babies into the world. Congratulations to Liz & David and Teshera & Carl!!!! Jayson & I were so thrilled to meet these new additions to our family, and we love them both so much.

Mr. Cooper Vincent Solomon born on July 23, 2010

Miss Ava Simone born June 10, 2010

Goodnight our sweet Whitney...we will miss you.

Our sweet 7 year old kitty, Whitney, recently passed away from a tough battle with mammary tumors. She was one of my first friends when I moved to NC. I rescued her from the local animal shelter because my other cat, Abbe, was having a hard time adjusting to the move. She was almost a year old when she was rescued, but she had such a sweet face that I picked her out immediately. She developed a large mammary tumor last year which was removed. The vet informed us that the type of cancer that she had was localized to those glands, but we may see it come back. They did...after the last time that we had them removed, Jayson & I decided that we would not put her through another surgery if they came back again. Shortly after returning from our wedding, we noticed that Whitney was keeping to herself a lot and her hair was falling out. We soon discovered that the tumors had returned and she seemed to be in a lot of pain. Although we would wanted to have her forever, we decided that she had suffered enough and we let her go. She really was one of the sweetest companions you would ever meet and we will miss her forever. Goodnight our sweet Whitney....we love and miss you.

The Day I Married my Best Friend

We had the time of our lives on our wedding/honeymoon trip to the Bahamas and couldn't be happier at this special time in our lives. If anyone is considering a vacation, we would highly recommend the Sandals resort in Nassau, Bahamas...it was AMAZING!!!! Although there were hundreds of people staying there, they have a special way of making you feel like you are their most important guests. We had staff, most of whom we had not met, telling us congratulations all week. You couldn't pass by someone without them saying hello and asking if everything was going ok with our stay. While staying there, I forgot what it was like to feel hungry as every meal was included and you could order everything on the menu if you wanted to. They had an amazing breakfast buffet that included pancakes, any fruit you can think of, omelets, steak, eggs, bagels, and even fresh fruit smoothies. Drinks were also included and our room was stocked daily with champagne,wine,beer,and liquor. They have tons of activities to participate in even though our favorite activity was chillin by the pool :) One night we went to a "Not so newlywed game" where guests were chosen to compete in...followed by a talent show from the locals which was very interesting to say the least. One of my favorite nights was when Jayson and I sat out in a big couch by the beach and a fire pit and listened to someone play the saxophone...it was heaven.

After a couple of rainy/cloudy days, the sun came out just in time for our wedding day. We went snorkeling in the morning and lounged by the pool until lunch. It was everything I could have wanted...simple, laid back, and relaxed. Liz and I went to get her hair done at 2pm and everyone kept asking if she was the bride (even though she is clearly about to give birth!) When she would say no and tell them that I was the bride, they would just look at me all crazy...like "shouldn't you be getting your makeup and hair done? Ha! We were in the elevator going up to the room at 3:15 to be ready at 3:45...it just wouldn't be my wedding day if it were any different! We Skyped in Deanna so she could be part of us getting ready and my wedding consultant Flo came to pick Liz and I up in my room. Liz wore a beautiful orange dress that fit her and Cooper just perfectly...she is the most amazing best friend in the world. She was 7 months pregnant...in heels...in the heat...in the sand. But, she is my rock and I always knew that when my day came, she would be standing right next to me.

When I walked out of the hotel, David was there to meet me and walk me to my future husband. He had his back turned towards the ocean and turned around right before I got to him. As I looked into his eyes, I took a deep breath..smelled the ocean and took a mental picture of that very moment. My world was completely perfect and it was the happiest day of my life. Jayson's parents, Patricia and Bob were there along with his sister Kim, her husband Walter and her daughter Tatianna. His sister, Ashley, was also there all the way from California. Jayson's best man was his best friend, Aaron. The ceremony was quick (just like I wanted ) and we were introduced husband and wife!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The reception area was beautiful and perfect. Our guests were served appetizers and drinks while we took our pictures while a steel drum player (Sam) played music for us. We were served crab cakes, chicken, shrimp and dessert for dinner while we all talked and enjoyed the evening together. After dinner, we all changed into our bathing suits and enjoyed the resort hot tubs with our BMWs (Jay, Aaron, and David's special drink).

Jayson & I were served breakfast in bed the next morning (eggs, bacon, fruit, pancakes, and mimosas). We said goodbye to Liz and David and Ria and Aaron...we were sad to see them go because we had so much fun with them the entire week. But, we were also ready for some alone time as husband and wife. Liz and David were headed back to Ohio to take care of our Diva girl and start preparing for Cooper Vincent Solomon's arrival. He is going to be joining our family on July 22 or 23 and we can't wait to meet him.

Our future is so exciting and I wake up everyday to the most amazing husband. I have been so blessed and I thank God everyday for bringing me to this place in my life.


Below is our trip in pictures...










































"And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be"