A bit overdue

Welcome, Orion!



Photo by Melissa Williamson :)

Orion James Sikes was born May 31, 2009. He weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 19 inches long. He's perfect. Seriously. Jimmy and I are so in love with the little man.

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Wedding Bells


Jimmy and I were married April 28, 2009, on Cat Island. It was just the two of us and the woman who married us. We will have a big ceremony with family and friends in the future, but this way was sweet and romantic and very special to us.

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Goodbye, Dad



My dad, James Alliet, passed away Friday, June 19, 2009. Jimmy, Orion and I were able to make it up to Rochester, NY, for the funeral and spend some time up there with my family. This has been a very hard time for everyone. My Dad did get to meet Orion though! He was down here the day after the baby was born. I've never seen my dad happier. We had some good times in the last few months when he was here visiting. And he knew how much we all loved him. So I know he went in peace, which makes this all a little easier.

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What's next?


More Orion, of course! But he is finally asleep. It's 7:30 and I've been up with him since 4:30. So you know what that means ... I get to sleep, too! Emma is here visiting and Zach and Rachel are coming today, so I need to catch some Zzzz's. Good night!

The mystery box of baby clothes

This morning, Jimmy brought in a big plastic bin full of baby boy clothes and other baby items. "What's this?" I ask. He said it was sitting outside the fence by his Jeep. No note or anything. The clothes are nice! Lots of very cute stuff. Some still have tags! We want to thank whoever gave this to us, but have no idea who left it there! We thought it could have been a few neighbors, but that is not the case.

It's a mystery! Who are you? And thank you! Good things surely will come your way. :) You made our day!

False alarm

Well, Orion is still in my belly.

True story: I am sitting on the corner of the couch you can't see if you look in the front door. I just got out of the shower and only have a sports bra and underwear on. (Ooo la la la! Yea, right. Nothing FITS. That's why this is all I have on.) Anyway, someone is knocking on the front door. Obviously, I'm not going to get up and answer the door like this. So I'm hiding out on the corner of the couch until they go away.

This is what pregnancy has come to. In addition to rolling off furniture, groaning every time I attempt to get up, counting ice cream sandwiches as part of the dairy food group and, once in a while, turning around on the way out of the bathroom because I have to go, again, because Orion has shifted a little. Not to mention the bruise I have from where the little man keeps kicking me.

You know how some women LOVE to be pregnant. I am NOT one of them. I just want to go for a run. And hold our little baby in my arms. Not my belly ...

7 days or less. I wonder if I will look back and miss this? Heh :)

I'm in labor ... maybe?

They say if you're not sure, then you're not.

However, I have been known to break bones and get concussions and be completely unaware.

So these "very mild" contractions might be a sign of something more significant.

Or it's all a joke Orion has decided to play. Haha, little boy, you are soooooo funny.


Song of the day: Talking Heads, "This Must be the Place." This has nothing to do with being in labor -- or not. But it's Jimmy and I's song. <3.

Getting close

I have not blogged in a long time. Eeeek!

Coming soon:

• Photos of my ginormous belly

• Baby shower pics

• Photos of Orion's room, which is by far the best room in the house

• Lots of good stories and great fun!

• Baby! 3 weeks and 3 days (or less) till Orion is scheduled to arrive.

Current obsession

Kings of Leon. Yes I know I'm a little behind the curve. I only have 3 songs by these guys, "Use Somebody," "Sex on Fire," and "Closer," and I listen to them on repeat over and over and over.

My friend Ryan and his fiance, Melissa, came down to Beaufort not too long ago and stayed here while they were going to see a Kings of Leon in concert in Charleston, so the band always reminds me of them, which reminds me of Ryan, which reminds me of college, which reminds me of the DTH and all the fun we had. Granted there were times we butted heads, but I miss those days tremendously. And F$ and Brian Hudson and Brianna and Daniel and Johnson and Ricky and Joseph and Kavita and Jim Walsh and Stace-man and Chris Cameron and the list goes on and on.

It's not just that my whole life is about to do a 180 in 2 weeks, and I'm feeling nostalgic for more "care-free" days, which is the last thing I would have called those days at the time, but looking back, I miss them. I miss the debates and the challenges. I miss so much.

I can't say I would go back if I could, only because I love what I have now. A little boy on the way. A fiance who is the love of my life. Stability.

I have had this conversation before about the grass always being greener on the other side: When you have the stability, you want the freedom; when you have the freedom, you crave the stability.

When I had the freedom, I always said I'd be happier with the stability, but was cautioned I might not feel that way once I got it. Wrong. I am happier now. I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world. It's too hard going through life alone. Not that freedom necessary entails being alone. It doesn't.

I'm going in full circles here. And I think I'm lost myself on the way of what I'm trying to say, which is: I couldn't be happier now. But I miss the old days, the friends I can't hang out with every day, what we were working for and everything we believed in.

That and I like Kings of Leon.

30 down, 10 to go

That's right. I am 30 weeks pregnant. Holy smokes. I'm going to be a mama so soon! All I can say is thank God for Jimmy. I have been so tired, and he is doing all the cooking, cleaning, laundry and all the everything. What a wonderful man. He's going to be such a great Dad, too. More to come on that.