Baby Shower...Round 1!

I had the most amazing and beautiful baby shower last Saturday.  I am still smiling and in awe at the thought and effort my hostesses put into this event.  The food was fabulous (thanks Leona for the amazing and delicious food) and the decorations--oh my!  My creative and very talented cousin, Nikki, out did herself with the decorations, dessert and gifts.  I don't even want to know how much time she spent helping to make the afternoon not only beautiful but PERFECT.

Such a beautiful diaper cake, and it was her first time to make one!

Flowers

I definitely do not have a shortage of pink gift bags!

Friends

**side note--that IS pink lemonade I am drinking**

BEAUTIFUL table setting.  Check out the to-die-for cake truffles (thanks Nikki).  Mom and baby definitely loved those:)

Me with my hostesses--Leona, Nikki and Avery (Nikki's daughter).

One of the many amazing things Nikki did for me was to make several great burp cloths.  Among them, this beauty--

and her first A&M sippy cup.

A huge thank you to everyone who spent the afternoon celebrating Baby G!  I have such wonderful family and friends.

On to the nursery.  Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to report as the dresser STILL hasn't arrived.  We should receive the dresser Saturday and I can finally put away all of the great clothes she received at the shower (ok...and all of the clothes I have bought).  Having a few shower gifts around the room definitely adds color, so the room does look better than before.

My mom brought to the shower the ballet shoes I wore when I was three!  Precious (and tiny)!

A few of the blankets, burp cloths and goodies from the shower. (and of course the box the crib came in...still on the floor)

And it wouldn't be a proper post without a photo of our furry son.....Patton

I believe his thought is that if he stands on the box he has a better chance at getting the sippy cup.

That's it for now--this pregnant chica is tired.  Next up, Baby Shower...Round 2!

Making Progress

Whew...July is turning out to be a super busy month.  We have something baby related going on every weekend--fun times!


We are finally making progress with the nursery. 

Phase I--clear out guest room furniture and place paint samples everywhere.

A few weeks ago we had the room painted a light grey--Seattle Mist by Benjamin Moore--and the new light fixture installed.  When I say light fixture, I am referring to a chandelier of course:)

I originally thought this chandelier may be a bit over the top but it's smaller than I thought when I purchased it and we (yes, even Jeff) think it looks great.

The crib arrived earlier than expected, so we were able to pick it up Friday.

Before I knew it, Jeff was opening the box and assembling the crib!  This is the Kendall Crib from Pottery Barn.  Thanks Mimi (aka Mary)!  Baby G is going to love it (at least I hope she does).

Jeff's helper, hiding under the desk.

Next up--waiting for the dresser/changing table to arrive.  Hopefully we receive this within the next week.  Can't wait to see it--I love it!

Have a good week!

Eight Years Already!

I can't believe today is our eight year wedding anniversary!  It has been a fun eight years and I look forward to many more.

On a completely unrelated note, the has become routine for Patton.

I received a bag of baby goodies from my cousin last Saturday and this is what Patton does.  This is the second time I have received a bag of baby toys and clothes and he chooses one for himself.  Hey, at least I always know where he is because of the rattle inside the toy:)

I'm Back!

I'm back!  It's been a while--actually, a long time--since my last post.  This year has been busy so far with a few exciting things going on.  Most importantly...

This photo is from March at 12 weeks and I am 23 weeks today, so a lot has changed, but this photo is still cute:)  Baby girl Lawson will be here around September 28th.  That makes all four of us (including Patton) September babies.


We are in the process of clearing out items from the guest bedroom to make room for the nursery.  So far the nursery consists of two items--a night stand to place next to the rocker and fabric for a curtain.  

More updates to come on the baby and the nursery!




We returned a few weeks ago from my cousin's wedding in California and had the most wonderful time.  I knew it would be a great trip and it turned out to be even better.  A few photos...

Morning walk at Laguna Beach

Taken from our hotel balcony

In front of our hotel.  The surfers were so fun to watch.

Dana Point

At the wedding

Our last evening--so sad to leave

Exterior Illumination

Clark, is your house on fire?

No Aunt Bethany, it's Christmas lights.

I love wrapping gifts while watching Christmas Vacation.

Jeff channeled his inner Clark Griswald and did a great job of adding lights to our house.

And our Christmas tree.  I make three trips to Target for extra lights.  I think I'm up to 1500 this year!

Merry Christmas!

Good Times

Finally, it's Fall!  I am so excited for cooler weather and Fall decorations.  We picked out three pumpkins a few weeks ago--a white pumpkin, a cinderella pumpkin and a traditional orange carving pumpkin.  Jeff thought we should paint the carving pumpkin maroon (how dare we have two orange pumpkins during football season).  So, all it took was a can of maroon spray paint and perfecto...

Our front porch looks great!

Speaking of paint, we have a built in book shelf in our living room that has been neglected since we moved in.  I finally decided to spruce up this corner of the living room and paint the inside of the book shelf.  I wanted the same blue/gray color in our rug but couldn't really find what I was looking for.  One day while looking for something in the garage, I came across the leftover cans of paint (including samples we didn't use) when we had the interior of our house painted.  One sample, which we decided wasn't what we were looking for, looked like the perfect color for the book shelf.  The color is Sherwin Williams Storm Cloud.

  

Painting the book shelf has made a huge difference and actually makes this corner of the living room stand out.

On another note, Jeff completed his first triathlon in Galveston yesterday.  I am so proud of him!  It was inspirational to watch the participants in this event--some obviously seasoned triathletes (a 70 year old man--WOW), others, not so much.  Seeing some of these people really makes you believe, no matter how old you are or your athletic ability, anything is possible.

Before the race began

Race number

It's a bit difficult to see, but this is his group waiting on the pier to jump in the water.

His group lined up and ready to begin the race

Swimming in the bay

After the swim, running to the transition area

Transition area, getting prepared for the bike race

This photo comes with an explanation.  This is where participants ended the bike race back into the transition area.  Unfortunately, my camera takes it's sweet time to focus and by the time I captured the photo, Jeff had sped by.

Beginning of the three mile run

About to cross the finish line

He even received a medal:)  His final time was 1 hour 35 minutes.  I foresee more triathlons in his future.

And if that wasn't enough information for one post, my final bit of exciting news--I am semi retired at the moment!!!!!  Insert yahoos, cheers of joy, fist pumps, etc. here.  My last day of work was last Friday and I almost cartwheel-ed my way out of that office.  I wasn't excited to leave that job or anything--ha!  We had a perfect ending to the day Friday with a fajita and margarita dinner with Kimmy and Jon.  Fun times!  My retirement will only last two weeks, but it's going to be wonderful.  I've got many exciting things planned, including projects around the house, lunch with friends, cooking, baking, ect.  I am so excited about my new job and as excited as I am about the time off, I am really looking forward to my new job!