Little Things.

I have many thoughts about these pictures, but I don't know how to turn them into words. I'm already feeling nostalgic for this chapter in my life. I'm having anxiety about these days slipping away too quickly....without my notice. I want to remember all of the little things that went on in our day-to-day

when it was just me and Parker hanging out at home. The low hum of his sleep machine, his sighs and grunts. Walking into the empty living room after laying him down with only the noise of daytime television to keep me company. Drowning in loads of laundry that smell like baby, trying to pick my way through piles of tiny shoes and socks, cardboard books, and creepy little toys that play music at random.

 

I'm very excited for him to grow up. I'm very excited to see him as a little person with feelings and thoughts and a voice of this own. I cannot wait for Christmases when he will make a list for Santa and help me bake cookies (or just make a mess in the kitchen). But I'm getting ahead of myself. And I need to remember that.

 

Here's to soaking up those little things. :)

 

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Sorry for the sap, I guess I'm just a mom who has many feelings today. :)

 

 

Happy Friday!

 

 

We went to the Pumpkin Patch.

 

We did many other things this month, but going to the Pumpkin Patch was a definite "big event".

 

In all actuality, it was a terrible day. Our garage door broke down (again)--which cost us another $100 that our bank account just doesn't seem to have at the moment, which in turn led to a missed birthday party, and an on-going argument between Bryan and I that lasted well into our little outing. The camera also managed to be "missing" from the car upon our arrival, which meant another argument and another trip back home to get it. It was chilly outside, getting dark, Parker was in the beginning stages of his first cold, his coat was too big, and we gradually lost his hat, shoes, and socks amongst the pumpkins.

 

Yes. I know.

 

 

 

But now, I look at these pictures and I see this sweetest little boy, who had no clue what was going on and didn't really care either way. Instead, he gave us his cheesy, big boy grin. He made us laugh and made us realize what was really important--at least for a little while. :)

 

 

 

 

These pictures never cease to crack. me. up. Look at that little ham! He looks like he's five years old.

 

 

 

 

 

This is literally the only family picture that little mister is not a blur of motion. And I love it.

 

 

 

 

.................................

 

 

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Halloween with your families and friends! We are truly blessed, even if it is not always obvious to us.

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

 

Lately.

Hello, strangers!

 

 

No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet. We've just been busy living life! To illustrate this point, I have successfully figured out how to upload my billion iPhone pictures to my computer (you think I would know how to do this by now) and wanted to share a few of them with you all.

 

 

I'm MUCH better at Instagram these days. MUCH. Most of my pics are of Parker Reed, but really, can you blame me? He is SO stinkin' cute.

A recap of our week in Instagram pictures (from left to right, top to bottom):

1. My baby is adorable in his monkey hat at a home football game. Go Westerners!
2. Lunch at school with dad. We do this often so that Bryan and Parker can get in some time together.
3. Ha, okay I made a "Coach's Kid" onesie for the first football game. Parker was ENTHRALLED with everything about the experience. He is his father's son.
4. More football. We do lots of football in our family.
5. After our trip to the pumpkin patch (no pictures) I got crafty with our pumpkins. LOVE them.
6. Parker after a meal of cereal! YUP. He's eating big boy food. Or wearing it, whatever.
7. AND he's a complete pro at sitting up on his own! I find this hilariously cute. My little old man.
8. Mom had some fun in the dollar bin at Target. So Parker got some new ears. :)
9. We went to the South Plains fair as a family--accompanied by my mom and sister. Two Words: Fried S'mores.
10. Parker loved his first fair experience but was a little....overstimulated (to say the least).
11. My sister and I went to JAB fest. Texas country at its finest! Loved every minute.
12. I spent this week at LCU (our Alma Mater) doing floral arrangements for the events during Inauguration Week for our new President. It was good to see everyone! (I only managed to get one picture though.)
13. Aunt Julie was with us all week. And Mr. P looks great in a Rangers cap.
14. Parker the ghost. He is SUCH a blankie boy. It baffles me how much he loves it.
15. At Spanky's eating burgers and fried cheese. We found an ode to Parker.
16. Practicing the art of standing. Parker is a pro (as usual).


....so my life is lots of baby, lots of football, lots of family. Lots of friends too, but I guess that's not apparent in my pics....I promise I have friends. I will work on that one. :)))

Anyways, if you want to see more of us, you can follow me on Instagram @katyleigh725.

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Time to go, I can hear my sweet boy growling for me in his room. Nap time is over!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends.


 

Family Organization Binder

So, lately, I have been on somewhat of an organization frenzy. One of my obsessions has revolved around the new fangled thing called a Family Organization Binder. I've been seeing it all over Pinterest and have slowly but surely been working on my own version for our family.

The basis of this idea is to have a place to put all of your important files, documents, budgets, menus, to-do lists, cleaning schedules, etc. for your family. Genius, right? I jumped on it because I think it would be pretty awesome to avoid going through a million files, folders, drawers, bins, and notebooks to find everything my family and home need to run successfully. I'm not the most organized housewife/mom on the planet (at all), so fingers crossed that this will help. ;)

A few of my favorite sites/blogs I have found to assist me in the never-ending process of putting this binder together can be found here, here, here, and here. I also used this master spring cleaning schedule as inspiration for part of the cleaning section of our binder.

I will also go ahead and say that all of these sheets and lists will be in page protectors so that I can write on them with wet-erase markers. Here are the sections of my binder (as of right now).

1. Schedules/Calendars: I put daily, monthly, and yearly goal/to-do sheets in this section along with separate monthly calendars. I also made a sheet for workout ideas since I always see them online and forget what they are 3 seconds later (that may be on purpose ;)).

2. Meals/Groceries: I have grocery lists for Sam's and United, as well as weekly menus in here. I also have some page protectors for recipes that I find and a few more to hold carry-out menus. Baseball card holders are in there as well for coupons. (Although I'm terrible at remembering to coupon.)

3. Family Information: Important documents (SS cards, birth certificates, etc.), important information, important dates and birthdays, instructions for babysitters/house sitters, vacation planners, things to do/see as a family, and files for each family member will go in this section.

3. Medical: In this section I plan on having a log to record illnesses, medications, and doctor visits, as well as a sheet with questions I want to remember to ask at the doctor's office. A small but important section ;).

4. Financial: A monthly budget will go in here, as well as a record of past monthly budgets. I want to put savings goals for various things in here as well (vacations, home renovations, etc.). I'll also stick a few page protectors in here to hold important bills that we need easy access to. Oh, and important files/account information for our bank accounts.

5. Home/Auto: This is my favorite section! Included in here will be daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly cleaning schedules (it will be a miracle if I can keep up with it though HA), a home maintenance log/checklist, auto maintenance log/checklist, a sheet to write all of our house projects/ ideas on, and a few (hundred) page protectors to store my many magazine tear-outs. Oh, and I want to put important documents that pertain to our house and cars in here too.

6. Contacts: Phone numbers, addresses, and emails for all of our family members and friends, as well as for our doctors, dentists, pharmacy, various repairmen, hair stylists, banks, church, etc. I will also keep our mailing list for Christmas cards in here too. AND baseball card holders for the many business cards I collect.

7. Twenty Three Oh One: This is all things for my Etsy shop and of course, the blog. I want to put a to-list for the shop and one for the blog, blog idea sheet, design idea sheet, timeline, calendars, important contacts, inspiration photos, and account information for my Blogger, Paypal, Etsy, and Goodsie accounts. I will also put a business budget, order and payment tracker, and buyer email list in here.

So yeah, this is me trying to be Super Mom. ;)

 

If I manage to get this done by Christmas, it will be a complete MIRACLE. That being said, once I do get it all together, I really think it will be SO great for our household. I'm about 1/3 of the way finished, as of today (traveling all the time is not really condusive to completing this project haha). Writing this post has re-motivated me to power through! I SO hope that I will be sharing completed photos and details of our binder in the near future.

 

 

 

Do you have anything like this for your family? What are some great tips that you can share on how you keep your household up and running?

 

 

 

A Little Snapshot.

We have been traveling fools lately. Last week, we were in CO with my family....then we ventured home for a few days, and now I am blogging from Louisiana. Tomorrow we drive to Georgia. Just typing that makes me tired. ;)

Parker has been busy being his sweet self. Sucking on his hands (he really believes that one day, he will finally accompish the task of eating them), attempting tummy time (sometimes unsuccessfully), and basically being the cutest thing on the planet to his many relatives and friends.

Summer is coming to a close. We are excited for fall and a change in pace but are so blessed with all of the fun we have been having these past few months.

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What are your favorite memories from Summer 2012? Are you ready for a change in season?

P.S. Don't forget to stop by the Stella & Dot trunk show and enter the giveaway! Open the entire month of August. :)

If You Really Knew Me...

Yep. I'm jumping on the bandwagon! I've been a bandwagon fool lately. Here's what you would know if you really, I mean really, knew me....

Soaking up the summer in Galveston (with Mr. Parker) and San Diego (with Mr. Hubs).

If you really knew me, you would know that I am always late. To literally everything. Yes, I am that girl.

If you really knew me, you would know that I have cried after every single one of those Olympic P&G commercials. Apparently motherhood has made me a complete sap.

If you really knew me, you would know that I am always in search of one of these three things : my phone, my keys, or my sunglasses. I have currently been missing my keys for a month now. *sighs*

If you really knew me, you would know that I am 5'9'' tall and am fascinated to find out how tall other people that I only see in pictures or on television screens really are.

If you really knew me, you would know that I love church camp, fish fries, fall and winter clothes, sushi rolls, mexican food, a clean house, and a completed to-do list.

You would know that I love Sonic diet cokes, you would know that my favorite day of the week is Sunday, my favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies, my favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice, and my favorite book is A Thousand Splendid Suns.

If you really knew me, you would know that every time I say, "I'm doing good!", I always mentally correct it to, "I'm doing well!" but never say it out loud. Every. single. time.

You would know that I am very hot-headed and always overreact to problems right when I find out about them. I'm also very sarcastic but only to those who know me really well. ;)

You would know that I am NOT a hugger/mushy/sappy person with certain people but totally am with others. And I like all of these people the same. It's weird. I think I have multiple-personality disorder.

You would know that I am a hypochondriac. Bad.

If you really knew me, you would know that if I could have anything in the world it would be to live closer to my family.

You would know that I am an obsessive planner. I've been planning Parker's first Halloween costume and first birthday party since before he was made. I'm being serious, too, which is a teensy bit pathetic. ;)

You would know that I get offended when people don't include exclamation marks and emoticons in their text messages. Bryan and I have had many a "conversation" about this.

If you really knew me, you would know that I look up to my nanny, my mother, Bryan, my dad, and my mother-in-law for their many different strengths. I dream of combining them and becoming the best person ever! (You think I'm joking....but I'm kind of not :))

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So, do I have any quirks in common with you all? Hop on the bandwagon with me! What would I find out if I really knew YOU?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lately...

Loving....The time that Parker and I have been able to spend with Bryan this summer. Also...the rain that west Texas has been blessed with lately. I LOVE rainy days.

Praying for...To worry less. To be more content. Motivation and Courage. Tougher skin.

Resolving to...Not stress so much about having a "perfect" schedule everyday. It's taken a while to find a routine being at home and I'm trying not to put too much pressure on myself.

Reading....I started reading The Art of Racing In The Rain. I was instantly hooked, but time has escaped me....I have been a terrible reader! I'm also enjoying Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. These devotionals are just what I need each morning.

Excited About...My trip to Colorado next week to visit my family. I miss them so much.

Nervous About...My half marathon in September. I think I might be pushing my body too hard too soon after having Parker...

Working On...New designs for the shop. New blog posts. Cleaning out the house. A really exciting shopping opportunity and giveaway for this month! Running. Lots of exercise and new workouts. :)

Trying To...Be a better wife. Soak up my time with Parker.

Missing...My family. Our trip to Galveston last month! SO fun.

Enjoying....The fact that I can be a stay-at-home mom. It is truly a dream come true! And Parker. I seriously have never met a sweeter, more laid-back baby.

Using....Instagram. Spotify. I am late to both of those parties....but I love them!

Wearing....This sparkle skirt from H&M all. the. time. Also these leopard sandals from Target.

Listening To....I still love the soundtrack from The Hunger Games and have been listening to it non-stop. Also....Cory Morrow and Turnpike Troubadours. I'm in a Texas mood!

Dreaming of....What I can do if I set my mind to it!

So tell me, what's going on in your world?

Have a wonderful and safe weekend :).

{I borrowed this fun idea for a post from Emily at Jones Design Company. We all know how amazingly talented she is. I admire her and love her blog!}

Three.

Three years ago today, I started the best journey of my life with Bryan. I cannot believe that another year has flown by.

 I haven't really thought about the details of our actual wedding in a while, so it was fun to look at our pictures and re-live that rainy, happy, once in a lifetime day.

 We have been blessed beyond measure this year. I pray that our fourth year of marriage is full of even more laughter and happiness.  

Happy Anniversary to the only person I have ever loved. Love you, Bryan!

Snapshot.

Hi, friends! I hope you all had a super weekend and a wonderful Monday. I meant to post yesterday, but it just didn't happen (really need to work on scheduling my posts ahead of time *sigh*). Anyways...what was I talking about? Oh yeah! My reasoning for not posting is that we have been super busy! Story of my life ;).

I am quickly learning that the only downfall to being the official family photographer is that I am never in any pictures! I probably have about 1,000 photos of Parker and Bryan playing on the couch....but they are just too freakin' cute and I can't resist. ;). Bryan is only a few weeks away from starting football season (and I am only a few weeks away from being a coach's widow until November), so we have been making sure to get in plenty of quality time with him before then. Can't wait to take Parker to his first football game next month!

Ya'll....our house is a disaster zone. I was tempted to start cleaning it this morning, but I made myself sit down to post. That's dedication in my clean-freak book. The disaster-ness is mainly due to some overwhelming cleaning and organization projects I decided to start (and am finding hard to finish) this weekend. I'll do my best to have a few posts up about those soon. AND I did a little sewing project for our guest bedroom this weekend as well. Post to come. Soon, friends, soon.

My friends are going to hate me for posting these (I always get complaints when I post pics of friends/family on the blog!), but we have been having so much fun with some of my favorite people so I couldn't resist. Our friends from high school (youth group), Kendra and Nathaniel (and their kiddos) came from CO to visit this weekend so we had a lot of fun spending time with them all weekend. Bryan has discovered a new golf course that he is in love with (remembering that come Christmas time), and went golfing not once but twice (big deal!) on Friday and Sunday. We were also happy to have two of my best friends from college (Alli and Whit) over on Friday night for pizza and hang-out time. It's crazy how refreshing girl time is these days! Last night, we headed over to the head coach's house for his daughter's 3rd birthday party. I had fun meeting the new coaches wives and letting Parker get some more sweet attention from everyone! Fun stuff.

On top of all of this, I have been nervously training for my half marathon which is set for September 23rd. Holy crap, I don't know if I can do it---but I'm going to try! My body is definitely weaker post-pregnancy, and I didn't realize just how hard it would be to train until I was already signed up for the race. I've been trying to do some sort of workout almost every day--but I'm not going to lie, I am still sore from the yoga video I did on Sunday (which was a beginner level)! I feel a little ridiculous...but so is life. ;)

ALSO....I have a new obsession. I have just discovered food and fitness blogs and I am seriously addicted. They are the perfect motivation to get my boot-ay off the couch and have tons of ideas for healthy meals. Did you know that people have blogs where all they do is take pictures of their meals throughout the day? Crazy-I know, but SO interesting! I love it. I have too many favorites to share, but I found a lot of them on Peas and Crayons by looking through her "What I Ate Wednesdays" link parties. I'm also loving (and kind of hating) the workouts from Blonde Ponytail. That girl is ripped!

Okay, I need to stop. I told myself I would be done blogging at 9am and it is now 9:21am....

Tell me, do you read food/fitness blogs? What are some of your favorites? Have you ever trained for a half marathon? What are some favorite workouts you've done? Anyone else have any new house projects that they would like to share?

Have a great, great Tuesday!

This Is What Matters.

Last night, I was suffering from a bit of insomnia (welcome to my life), so I headed out to the living room, turned on some recorded Jimmy Fallon, and (of course) opened my computer to catch up on all things creative. Unfortunately, I fell into the same routine that I have done one too many times these last few years--I began comparing myself. To other women, to other blogs, to other mothers, friends, Etsy shops, designers, decorators, cooks, homemakers...you name it, I envied it. Soon enough, the same thoughts began to run through my head, from "Why isn't my blog as popular as hers?", to, "If we only had another bedroom, THEN I could make an office just like that one", and, "I wish we had more money, THEN we could redo the kitchen backsplash." I quickly became unsatisfied with my life. Jealous.

But then, a sound pulled me from my disgruntled-ness. Parker had woken up and started to fuss--something he usually does at around 3am--so I did what I usually do and went back in to our room to stick his paci in and wait for him to go back to sleep. As I rested my hand on his little cheek, his breathing immediately slowed, his arms stilled, and (sure enough) he fell asleep. He was so happy, so content, to have his momma there. Just me. That's when it hit: None of that--those things that I worry about and compare myself to, really matter. At all. Sure, I love blogging, I LOVE the women I have met through blogging, I love Etsy, I love decorating and fashion, but in the end... I am here to be a good wife, a good mother, and a good (and genuine) friend.

My little boy loves me for me. He could care less that his mother made X amount of Etsy sales last month, or has X amount of followers, or turned such-and-such room into the best "Before and After" on the planet. All he needs to be happy are his mommy and daddy. If there is one thing I have learned from being a mother, it is how crucial it is to learn how our children perceive the world--and then live that way.

I don't exactly know why I'm sharing something so personal--I guess it was just heavy on my heart this morning. I am SO happy to be back to blogging, back to Etsy, and back to gaining inspiration in this hugely creative online world, but I am going to do my best to take it all in with a grain of salt--something that I know will be hard in this "Pinterest perfect" world. I hope that you all know that whatever you see here on my blog is just a teeny-tiny sliver of my real life. Like one percent. No, half a percent. The pretty parts, if you get my drift. ;) The other 99.5% is a completely awkward, hectic, but beautiful mess.

  I need to stop myself before I ramble anymore... I am so happy that each of you read and hope I didn't offend anyone with this post. I am so thankful to my sweet Parker for teaching me more than I have ever learned about life in these last (almost) three months. Let's all enjoy the messy and imperfect, eh? (Apparently I am Canadian now.)

Have a great day!

Momma Must-Haves: Part One

Hello, hello! Today I thought I would share a few of me and Parker's favorite things that we use ALL the time. It's funny to think about what I thought that I would be using when I was still pregnant and what I actually use (and l-o-v-e) now that Mr. P is here. :) Here are my top must-haves (as of right now):

 

1. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets: We use these all day every day! They are breatheable but warm, which is so perfect for when Parker tries to pull them over his head while he sleeps (a favorite pastime of his). They are also great to cover the car seat with when we are out and about since P still gets plenty of air. AND they're cute as all get out. Win win.

2. Equate Infants' Gas Relief: I got this as a shower gift from a mother who swore it was the best gas medicine out there--and I have to agree! P gets a little (a lot) gassy and this stuff does the trick. His toots are like a grown man--no exaggeration! He also likes the way it tastes, which is a bonus.

3. Baby Trend Snap N Go: I use this basically anytime we go anywhere. I have yet to use his fancy stroller mostly because the Snap N Go is so easy to get out and....go.

4. Gilligan & OMalley Nursing Bras: Okay, this one has nothing to do with Parker, but I couldn't resist. I LOVE these things! They are easy to use (no snapping or clipping) and very comfortable.

5. Baby Hair Lotion: My mother-in-law introduced me to this stuff. This is the pinnacle of the "baby smell" that we are all so obsessed with. I just rub some of this in P's hair and he smells like heaven! 

6. Summer Infant Deluxe Baby Bather: We have a big bathtub for Parker, but he's a little small for it right now, so my mom went out and found this amazing little bath chair for pretty cheap. Parker loves to lounge during his bath time now! It even travels very nicely since it folds flat--perfect for a suitcase.

7. Nap Nanny Chill: I jumped on the Nap Nanny bandwagon and will never look back! Parker sleeps better in this than he does in almost any other place. I was skeptical at first after a friend urged me to go buy one--at $130 they are not cheap--but I have to say that 6 1/2  hours of straight sleep in those first few months is pretty priceless.

8. The First Years Sounds for Silence Premium Sound Machine: I love this because it has many different options for sounds (although some are a little annoying), and you can plug your iPod into it. Our favorite sounds like a womb.  A little weird, but it works. Parker sleeps really well with it, and since we can take it everywhere we travel, he always feels at home (and we travel A LOT- Parker has already been to 4 states!).

So tell me, do any of these make your list of must-haves? What can you not live without that I may not have discovered yet?

Have a great day!

Parker Reed.

May I introduce our son, Parker Reed! He was born Friday, April 27, 2012 at 6:18am. I have never felt so much love in my entire life. We are so blessed. More to come later :).








38 Weeks

Still here. Still cooking! And almost a week behind in bump posts, whoops!!

How Far Along: 38 Weeks.

Baby Size: I lied last week, the food comparisons continue to grow-- baby is the size of a pumpkin! Our growth  ultrasound on my birthday told us that he is between 8-8.5 pounds. Like, right now. He's his daddy's boy.

Total Weight Gain: Okay, so I've had two doctor appointments since my last post. It's getting a bit ridiculous. Anyway, I gained 2 pounds at the first one (for a grand total of 36 pounds) and then lost 2 at my second one (which apparently happens at the end). So 34 pounds.

Maternity Clothes? Yes. The above dress is my lone maternity dress. Target. $7 on saaaaale.

Stretch Marks? The little guys are still there. And I am still sad. I've gotten kind of obsessive with looking at them. I just hope they go away enough that I can wear a bikini again!

Sleep: Meh. I am over trying to sleep. I get really excited if I find a position that is comfortable for more than an hour. 

Best moment this week: Just trying to soak up time with Bryan. I went out to dinner/lunch with a bunch of my friends for my birthday (3 times!) and had SO much fun. I love love love my friends and hope that I am still good about hanging out once he's here. I got an awesome mommy massage on Friday. OH, and we finally went on a hospital tour. All of the nurses were SO nice and it made me a lot less nervous about staying there! (I have a weird fear of hospitals, nurses, needles...all of that).

Miss Anything? Well, I'm SO done being uncomfortable (I am a fickle pregnant lady), but I know I will miss my bump and him moving around in my belly once he's here.

Movement: Movement has slowed quite a bit this week. He tries to stretch every once in a while (to my dismay), so I have to remind him that stretching would be a lot easier if he would just come OUT and meet us! He still gets the hiccups a few times a day though. I LOVE it!

Food Cravings: Sweets. Powdered donuts. I know, I'm so bad. And Sonic Sweet Tea has been Ah-mazing lately!

Anything making you queasy or sick? No.

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: Well, at my 37 week appointment I found out that I was 2-3cm dilated, 70% effaced. At my 38 week appointment I was 4cm dilated, 70% effaced. My doctor says I could go any day, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up....although that's a very hard thing to do. :( Still having Braxton Hicks at night.

Belly button in or out? Flat.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: So happy but SO impatient.  

Looking forward to: Meeting him. That's it. :)

Things to Remember (this is new): Well, sometimes I talk to him when I'm alone. That's a little embarrassing to admit. Just about when he's going to come and what he will look like and what kind of baby he will be. I want to remember waking up in the middle of the night with Braxton Hicks and thinking "This could be real!", even though it's a big let down when it isn't. Still exciting though :). I also need to remember how excited everyone is for us. When you're nine months pregnant you get a lot of attention and it's hard to appreciate it when you're huge and exhausted. :)

Talk to you all later!! Oh, and THANK YOU for all of the sweet comments and birthday wishes! I have been horrible at responding to comments for like, months now, but I do read every single one and really appreciate them SO very much :).

37 Weeks. Full Term!

Alright, I'm almost 38 weeks now, but here are the pictures and post from when I was 37 weeks. Also, it's my birthday today! The big 2-4! Woo-hoo! I'm taking the day off and pampering myself :).

How Far Along: 37 Weeks. Full freaking term. Ahhhh!

Baby Size: The size of a watermelon. That's as big as the fruit comparisons get, friends!

Total Weight Gain: Oh man....34 pounds. I gained 4 pounds in two weeks!

Maternity Clothes? Si.

Stretch Marks? Oh man....it happened. I have 3 stretch mark buddies now that are about 3 inches below my belly button. I can't see them that well at all (they are light pink thank goodness), but I do tend to obsess over them while looking in the mirror. Bryan swears he can't see them, but I think he's just being nice. They are really little though, so I'm hoping they go away quickly!

Sleep: Yuck. We don't sleep anymore. We nap.

Best moment this week: Hmmmm....well we finished the nursery (I took pictures this weekend), and I think we have decided on a name for him! But we are still waiting to officially announce once he's born. I finally feel like I have "nested" enough that if he came today, I would be okay! Also, we met with our doula for almost 3 hours the other night and it got me so excited and motivated for getting him here!

Miss Anything? No, just normal sleep as of right now. But I won't be getting that back for a while!

Movement: Still lots of movement, though he dropped some this week, so I haven't been getting my ribs bruised as much! We are trying to get a video of him moving my belly around, but he always stops right when we hit the record button. Bummer.

Food Cravings: Sweets. Water and lemonade.

Anything making you queasy or sick? No.

Gender: Still a sweet baby boy.

Labor Signs: I'm so excited that I can answer this one! I have had LOTS and lots of pretty intense Braxton Hicks the past few night and some other not so pretty signs that labor is coming....if you know what I mean. ;) The Braxton Hicks have been so intense that they wake me up several times a night. Lots of back pain....but I'm kind of used to that now haha.

Belly button in or out? Pretty flat.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy!!! Cannot wait to meet him.

Looking forward to: Mostly just meeting him. And soaking up pregnancy and time with his daddy while I can. Oh, and we have our last big ultrasound this morning! I can't wait to see his chubby little cheeks :).

Things to Remember (this is new): The way his hiccups feel. I think I will cry the first time he gets them when he's an outside baby :). I have been crying at EVERYTHING. It's getting a little ridiculous. Also, reading "Love You Forever" by myself was a terrible idea. That really got the tears going! I really want to remember my bump. That may sound weird, but I've gotten so used to it, I basically don't remember not having it.

That's it! Let's see if I can get nursery/shower/other baby posts up before he gets here!

34 Weeks

Oh my gosh! I am so terrible. I know. You can always tell how crazy my life is by how often I'm blogging. Anyway....here is the 34 week post!

I forgot to take a belly picture this week....BUT we took our maternity pictures with the awesome Tiffany Harrison on Monday, so I'm using one from that shoot as a replacement. (I hope she doesn't mind me using it!) She is so so so amazing and I can't wait to see the rest :). She actually took me out for two sessions since our first one was really windy. Love her. Check out her website if you live in Lubbock! 

How Far Along: 34 Weeks. Only SIX more to go. Holy crap. 

Baby Size: I'm going to guess that he's around 6 pounds by now, and getting fatter by the minute :).

Total Weight Gain: 28 pounds as of my last appointment.

Maternity Clothes? Yep.

Stretch Marks? Nope.

Sleep: I've been waking up a few times each night. My hips hurt sometimes, and every once in while I'll wake up lying on my back (Whoops!). I don't like to use all those pregancy pillows and wedges though--normally I just hitch my leg up on Bryan's back for support haha. Luckily he doesn't seem to mind :).

Best moment this week: Ah, so much has happened since my last update! I finally felt him have the hiccups on March 16th, and he's had them several times since then :). I loved my shower, getting maternity pictures, finding a wonderful doula to work with (!), getting the nursery more put together, and getting an awesome prenatal massage yesterday for FREE!

Miss Anything? No. Now I'm freaking out about missing pregnancy when he's out. Just trying to soak it up :).

Movement: Of course! Hiccups. So cute! And he LOVES to stretch his whole body out the second I lay down to nap. Not comfortable at all, but I'll take it :).

Food Cravings: I've really wanted sweets lately. I've been baking a lot to satisfy that haha.

Anything making you queasy or sick? No.

Gender: Sweet baby boy.

Labor Signs: No. Just Braxton Hicks. I'm kind of freaking out though that he could really come at any moment now. Our ultrasound tech told us that her little girl decided to come at 34 weeks. I was a little stunned because we are no where close to being ready!

Belly button in or out? The top is out? I don't know. It changes every day.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I have never been so happy in my life.

Looking forward to: Finishing the nursery, getting to see my mom and MIL this weekend, my showers this weekend, getting more prepared to actually have him (!), and of course....meeting him for the first time :).

Have a great week! Oh--my goal is to have the nursery pictures up either the first or second week of April! Yay yay yay!

A Sweet Little Shower.

My mom is pretty freakin' awesome. She is one of my best friends and I miss seeing her all the time. She is so awesome in fact, that she threw me basically the cutest shower on the planet this past weekend. I loved loved loved the "Vintage Birdcage" theme that she went with and I love her even more :).

(The cutest cupcakes around)

Why yes, those are pictures of Bryan and I as babies. Including the infamous "moo bar" photo that is my family's all-time favorite. I loved me some ice cream! (Still do!)

I made these little cards per my mom's request. They will be perfect for the baby book! I'm thinking of bringing them to my other showers as well because I loved reading everyone's responses. Definitely a keepsake!

The food table set-up was just perfect. And I'm pretty sure that I ate about 15 of those mini bundt cakes. Whoops :).

My mom gave away cute little candles and mini pots of pansies for favors. They were a hit and I'm kicking myself for only getting one picture of them. AND for not getting pictures of any of the guests! I ran around like a mad woman getting pictures before the shower started, but then started talking with everyone and forgot about my camera. Oops. I'm also mad that I didn't get a picture of my mom and I together....but I suppose I can get one when she's here in a few weeks though, so it's all good. :)

I also learned that I make many interesting faces while opening gifts. Have I ever mentioned that I'm an awkward person? Well, I am, and at showers it is definitely multiplied by like 1,000. At one point, I even waved at one of the guests while thanking her for her gift. If you think that is bad, you should have seen me at Lingerie Showers a few years ago! I pretty much took the cake as "Queen of Awkwardness" at those things.  

We were insanely spoiled by everyone that came. (Thanks ladies!) My car was literally filled to the brim when I headed back to Lubbock and I am SO very thankful to still have such great friends back in Denver that are so excited to meet our little boy!

I loved every minute that I was able to be home and am already wanting to go back :(. I miss my mom and dad so much but am happy that I get to see them more in the next few months! (Of course, there will be another little someone to steal the show by then haha!)

So, I'm still alive, just busy getting ready for bay-bay. And OF COURSE I will post pictures of the nursery once it's done. I'm suprised ya'll even had to ask! :) Have a great Thursday!



P.S Be sure to check out my giveaway over at Michaela Noelle Designs!! If you need an inviation or blog buttons....head on over. :)

Love that girl!! The giveaway will be open until next Wednesday :).