Family Photos

No, Peanut is not here just yet...but our lovely and wonderful friend Rachel offered to take some maternity pictures for us a couple of weekends ago. We had so much fun and just can hardly wait for this little gal to get here. Thank you Ms. Rachel, you are the best!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Er, well, Happy 3rd of July is when we technically celebrated :) We went with our friends the Jobes and the Perrys to "Salute to America" which is an annual event located in Greenfield Village by the Henry Ford Museum here in Michigan. People come from all around, bringing blankets and chairs, along with a picnic dinner to listen to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra play patriotic music and to watch the spectacular fire works display at the end. Here are pictures from our fun evening!

Wedding on Mackinac Island

One of the girls I used to teach dance with here in Michigan got married a couple of weekends ago on Mackinac Island. Until we moved to Michigan, I was not familiar with this amazing place, but if you have a minute, go online and look it up (better yet, go visit if you ever have the chance!) It is absolutely gorgeous...located about 4 1/2 hours north of Ann Arbor, we (myself, and the other teachers who taught with Katie)drove to Mackinac City, took a ferry ride over to the island (there are NO cars, just bikes and horses/carriage rides). It is just charming...lots of shops (Mackinac is known for their delicious fudge), bed and breakfasts, hotels, 3 golf courses and just beautiful scenery. The weather was absolutely perfect as was the wedding/reception. Congrats to Kevin and Katie!!! And a special thank you to all the girls for helping me get around, ha!

Baby Shower for Peanut

Four wonderful friends hosted a fabulous baby shower for Peanut, and what a fun evening we had!! Thank you Emily, Katie, Jan and Michele for everything. My mom and Mimi were in town that week, so it was great to have them there :) Little One, you are loved and well taken care of....thank you everyone so much for your generosity and support!

Taylor Swift Concert

My dear friend Emily invited me to the Taylor Swift Concert at Ford Field. We had a blast...it was a little crazy actually getting to downtown Detroit (in addition to the concert, the Detroit Tigers were playing, construction/road blocks were all around, and oh yeah, every street is basically a one way!) But don't you worry, we made it with time to park, find the restrooms, grab some water and race(well, I more waddled) to our seats with 5 minutes to spare! Taylor gave a fabulous concert, and it was just the best girls night out...Thanks Emily!! (No blog readers, we did NOT wear daisy dukes...we were the only 2 out of 50,000 I think who didn't... nor did we crowd surf!)Just in case you were wondering :)

Church Shower

Last month, 3 lovely ladies from our church gave us a wonderful baby shower for Peanut! We played games, enjoyed a delicious brunch, had a very special prayer time, and then we were showered with much love and goodies for Baby Ledbetter :) Thank you to everyone who came and for loving us and our little one so much. We were so glad Ted's mom, Dixie, was able to be there too! (Ted was a bit outnumbered, but he was a trooper to be there!) :) Here are pictures from the day...

A New Decade!

Ted turned the big 30 this week! Last Saturday evening, we went out with some friends to Red Robin to celebrate. Monday was his actual birthday. His co-workers provided many yummy treats throughout the day. Later that evening, we went just the two of us to Pizza House, one of our favorite restaurants in Ann Arbor to celebrate. I managed to take a picture from Saturday, but forgot to on Monday (prego brain is what we'll blame that on!) And last night, we had a delicious mexican dinner at our friends the Jobes. Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate. Happy Birthday Ted, love you so...May this be your best year yet!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I found this recipe in a magazine and decided to give it a try. It was quick and easy, and the crock pot does all the work! Of course I did this on Tuesday night...so tonight, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, we'll be making Calzones from the Pioneer Woman cookbook, ha! It was delicious though, and I thought I'd pass it along:

CHEESY CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Prep: 45 minutes
Cook: 4 hours * serves 8

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used a rotisserie chicken)

3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 can (10.75 ounces) tomato puree
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chiles (I used rotel)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cups frozen corn
3 TBS lime juice
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
*shredded cheese and sour cream for garnish...I also recommend chips and homemade guacamole!

In a 4-quart slow cooker, combine all ingredients except cheese and sour cream. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard bay leaf. Ladle soup into bowls, add cheese and sour cream if desired. Enjoy!

In addition to William & Kate's Wedding...

Our friends Nick and Kelly tied the knot too! Friday night, we attended their beautiful wedding followed by a fabulous reception. Kelly looked stunning, and Nick was very handsome. I'd say they looked quite royal :)

P.S. I love going to weddings... I think I would totally be a "wedding crasher" if I could. Here is a picture of Ted and me at our table and the DELICIOUS strawberry/white chocolate cake that I'm about to put away-YUMMMM!!

NOT what I expected to see on April 18th....

Yep, that white stuff on the ground....that would be SNOW!

Double trouble

Poor Ted! He rolled not one, but both ankles last week during lunch hour basketball. Thank goodness golf season is here...the risk of injuring oneself goes way down (I hope!)

An Update on Peanut....

We are SO excited and thrilled!!! It's amazing how much more real this little baby seems now that we know she's a she! We had the big ultrasound yesterday morning...Baby L is quite a wiggle worm, but she did hold still long enough for the ultrasound tech/nurse to get all her measurements, heart beat, and gender info. Baby girl, we can't wait to meet you!

A visit from Debbie!

My mom flew into town a week and half ago to come visit us during her Spring Break. It wasn't so "springy" here in MI (although the day she left it was absolutely gorgeous...go figure!) We had a great time eating, shopping, and my favorite (besides having her here) was going to get a pedicure :) Here is the finished product! I wish I had remembered to take more pictures. Mom, thanks for coming to visit and for spoiling us while you were here. We sure do love you!!! :)

Oooops, I did it again!

No, I'm not referring to the Brittany Spears song. I'm talking about my ipod...that I once again left in my jacket pocket, and then threw in the wash forgetting to take the it out. Result: it's totally and completely dead. Poor thing! I thought I had learned my lesson (ALWAYS check pockets before doing laundry!) Maybe 3rd time will be the charm?

The bump

Well, I attempted to take some pictures of my growing belly. Here we are at 15 1/2 weeks and 18 weeks. (Please ignore the dirty bathroom in the background that needs to be cleaned). All is going well! We find out March 21st if Peanut is a boy or a girl...any guesses?

Oh it feels great...

to BEAT Michigan State! Not only once, but twice this year. Last Saturday, we went to Crisler Arena where our Michigan Wolverines took on (and dominated may I add) the Spartans. It was a huge crowd, great atmosphere, and we cheered and yelled the whole time (I think Baby Ledbetter was even going nuts!)Or at least he/she thinks that I'm nuts. Sweet little thing, probably wondering what on earth was going on that day! Here are some pictures from the game. Ted was especially happy... GO BLUE!!