{say hello to FALL, summer's cooler cousin}

It's the first day of fall...except it still feels a little bit like summer outside! Fall is my absolute FAVORITE season! A friend of mine, Ashley, over at Image to Impact posted her favorite things about fall. I'm going to take a page out of her book (blog) and do the same!

I luuuurve...

...the weather! The air is so crisp and it just smells so good! Having all the windows (36!) in the house makes my heart happy and our walks are much more pleasurable when you don't heatstroke after a few steps! :)

...decorating! Secretly my fall/Halloween decorations have been up since late August. I couldn't help it! They were all inside in the privacy of my own home, but now they're outside too! I'll post some of my decorations tomorrow...I've got to put a few finishing touches on some things! I especially love my fall candles! Farmer's Market from Yankee Candle is delicious! And anything pumpkin spice or caramel!

...the colors! All those deep, rich reds, oranges, browns and yellows are B-E-A-UTIFUL!

...fall foods! I love mountain apples and pumpkins and root vegetable! One of my family's favorite things to do in the fall is take day trips to the farmer's market in Asheville. They have great looking produce, warm fresh baked bread and amazing cheeses! All homemade! Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks are well worth the wait and breakfast for dinner is a fall favorite for me, but REALLY a favorite for Chad!

...day trips to the mountains! My parents drive up ALL THE TIME just to visit and picnic in the mountains. I love getting calls early in the morning saying, "Hey! We're driving up to the mountains, be ready in an hour!" Here are a few pictures from one of last year's trips:

...the clothes! As much as I love sundresses, I love sweaters and scarves just as much! Since I'll be pretty pregnant when the weather is cooler, I'll be living in those great sweater dresses, tights and cute boots or flats! I also like fall fingernail polish!

...college football! Go Cocks! Need I say more?? Nothing's better than a crisp fall night tailgate with great friends! And of course your team winning!

...the holidays! Halloween and Thanksgiving are two of my favorite holidays, and paired with Christmas, you've got my favorite trio! Halloween is so whimsical and magical to me! I love the spooky ghouls and ghosts and lore! I love my family and having us all under the same roof is the best feeling ever! We had Thanksgiving at our house last year, and it went so well, I think I'll host again this year!

What are your favorite things about your favorite season??

{play date}

This past Saturday, Baby Weaver invited her (?) bff Evie over for a play date. Her mom, Cayce, is one of my bffs! We like to call our little duo Evus and Weavus. And I know you think Weavus wasn't able to play a lot, but I could tell she had a good time with her bestie. Evie was the perfect baby (Baby Weaver may have some big shoes to fill) and we had a really great time! Here are some too-cute-for-words pictures!

Evus is thisclose to thinking about trying to crawl! :) She kinda slithers to her toys.

I really didn't get the chance to hold Evie because of this one. He wouldn't put her down. I mean, Chad LOVED her.

Chad the Dad is a natural.

Perfect little angel. Again, Weavus, NO PRESSURE!

A little side note - My parents hadn't met Evie so we took her over to their house for a little visit. These people are itching for a grandbaby! Daddy tried to teach her how to eat boiled peanuts and between Mama and Chad, the baby didn't get put down!

Hooray for play dates and we can't wait for another one!

{happy birthday}

the start of every carolina football season marks the anniversary/birthday of our sweet gracie!

let the wavey dream lines take us back:

{2008} it was a dark and stormy week, due to hurricane fay, and scootie and i kept hearing this barking. at first we thought it was a dog my cousin was training, just unhappy to be in a pen. then we realized the barking was coming from across the street instead of next door. finally, on thursday morning, scootie called me on the way to school telling me i had to go look for this dog. so i leash up abby, our sweet lab, and we go for a walk. it took about 5 minutes to find this poor dog. abby started to get excited so i took her back home. when i got back to the dog, i realized this poor creature was CHAINED to the tree! no food or water anywhere. she had a chain around her neck that was so tight it was cutting into her skin, and the length of chain around the tree was so tangled up in the underbrush, she couldn't move. i was able to unhook her from the chain around the tree, but i couldn't get the chain off her neck. this poor, sweet, little girl was so exicted to see somebody. daddy was in the shower when we got home, so i was beating on the bathroom door, yelling that i found the dog but there was a chain around her neck. seriously, this chain was so tight she couldn't swallow food or water. he yelled back to take her over to papa's and have him cut the chain off. papa, the hero, cut the chain off and, i swear, when he did, this dog sighed with relief. we got back home and daddy was out of the shower. i just stood there waiting to see what he said. "well, load her up in the truck and let's take her to the vet." please know that steve bush is not going to take a dog he's not keeping to the vet. i still haven't said anything about keeping her. on the way to the vet, these words came out of his mouth, "she can't be and inside dog, you know." WHAT?! i get to keep a dog i JUST found, and i didn't even have to cry or beg. go daddy! the vet said she was about 8 months old and aside from being underweight, she was fine. and for the record, she was an inside dog.

her name was ALMOST caroline. it just didn't suit. gracie fits her perfectly. gracie still has her quirks. as in she HATES strangers. this dog either loves you or hates you. she hated chad for-e-v-e-r. then right before we got married, the switch flipped, and now she loves him. they snuggle up in the recliner and watch tv every night. she also starts the night sleeping at the foot of the bed, then snakes her way up so she's wedged between us. she is the wonkiest, wiggliest, snuggliest dog ever. she is our sweet gracie, and we wouldn't take her any other way.

{2001}

everybody knows the bush family loves their gamcocks. through thick and thin, win or lose. growing up, the words orange, tiger and clemson were 'bad words'. once, scootie pitched a fit at the bank because they gave her an orange sucker. she was, like, two, and was screaming, "i no like clempens!" you might call this brainwashing. we call it team spirit.

the weavers happen to pull for clemson. now, don't get me wrong. clemson is a beautiful school, and i've had many a good time up there. but it's clemson. the amount of orange in that one little college town is both admirable and nauseating.

this rivalry hasn't caused any problems in our marriage...yet. ;)

but as we begin the 2010 football season, this mama will be wearing garnet and black and maybe, secretly, tearing up a bit when 2001 is played. and mark my word, this baby will be a gamecock! GO COCKS!!

{12 weeks}

*12 weeks. Note my pants don't button. also check out the color swatch of our bedroom!

happy 2nd trimester to me! we had our 12 week appointment with dr. salley on monday. everything went well and we got to hear little weaver's heartbeat! 160 bpm and going strong! theory has it that 140 bmp and above means....it's a little girl! but, that's just a theory. we'll officially know in october, and believe me, it can't get here soon enough!! a couple of baby blogs i read have this cute little questionnaire, so i think i'll add it to mine!

how far along: 12 weeks and counting!

how big is baby: baby weaver is around 2 1/2 inches and weighs about 1/2 ounce. think the size of a fresh plum!

gender: AAAAAHH! it's driving me CRAZY not knowing! i can't stand passing up cute baby things!

weight gain: sigh. a little more than i was wanting to. 6 lbs in a month. BUT, in my defense, i've been eating things that 'stick' to me, and that means A LOT of carbs. i'm doing better, i swear...

stretch marks: none yet! hopefully never!

sleep: ha! Sometimes i CANNOT get enough sleep! this week, i've seriously gone to bed at 8:00 at the latest. after a nap after work. so sad. then other times i wake up at 5 in the morning, ready to start my day! once i even got up and ironed chad's clothes for work AND made him breakfast.

best moment of the week: hearing little weaver's heartbeat!

food and cravings: no cravings yet, but i do have some food aversions. i used to LOVE yogurt. not so much anymore. plain cheerios also taste garlic-y to me.

movement: not yet! soon though!

what i miss: hmmm...really the only thing i miss is sushi. well the raw stuff. i can still eat rolls that have fully cooked filling.

belly button: still an innie :)

looking forward to: starting on the nursery! it's next on our never ending list of home renovations!

milestone: the end of my first trimester! hopefully all the pregnancy discomforts will GO AWAY!

tune in next week! same weaver time, same weaver channel!