The bassinet

Sophie's bassinet holds a very special place in my heart. It is one of my favorite items for her. My mom bought this bassinet when she was pregnant with me. That's right! Since then it has been used for all the babies-Dana, Gavin, Hannah, Emily, and now passed to me for Sophie. 

Well as you can see it is great, but needed some touching up and some love. My mom knew just the thing and we went shopping.

Then mom began her magic, and bless her heart was working still predominantly with one arm since she fractured her left arm up at the shoulder in January. Amazing does not begin to describe my mom's talent because this is the finished product.

It is unbelievable! It took my breath away when I first saw it. I'm not sure if anyone can appreciate it the way I do because it is a passed down treasure, but I hope so. I don't have much from my childhood to pass down to my children, but I hope that all of my children will be able to use this bassinet and know that their Grammy made it special for them. The pink ribbon is made so it can be exchanged for a blue ribbon for a boy in the future.

Showered with Love!

Things are progressly nicely! Today I'm 36 weeks and 5 days. The nursery is getting closer to being done. We had 3 showers plus a Diaper Bash/Dadchelor Party. Each one was different and so great! We had a lot of fun and were glad to see everyone. We received many things for Sophie that are so helpful! I've had a lot of fun organizing it all and putting each item in its place.

Brian's diaper bash was a huge success! The men had a lot of fun eating crawfish, BBQ, playing washers, and of course enjoying some beverages. I went by to say hello, but was quickly rushed off. haha! I'm really glad our friend Jason held this bash for us. Brian came home with a lot of diapers that Sophie will be sure to use.

The first shower was given by my best friends Kandice and Laura and was at Kandice's mom's house. It was decorated so cute with pink, brown, and some cherry blossoms. The food was delicious with chicken salad croissants, 7 layer dip, fruit tostadas, tortilla wraps, and even mini Sprinkles cupcakes! Each guest brought a children's book, so Sophie has a nice library started. I wrote in each book who gave it to her. Some of my dearest friends were able to attend including Erin, my retired principal, Fran, and many teacher friends, which really made the day special.

Our second shower was a brunch and was given by our moms, sisters, and friends. It was held at our house and was a Garden Party theme. Everyone worked so hard preparing to make this shower special, especially my sister, Christa. She arrived with over 3 tubs of decorations! It was beautiful! We had a ton of food including quiche, scones, sausage wraps, muffins, fruit tray, bird's nests, mini cheesecakes, and much more! Christa baked the cakes and they were so cute...and tasty! There were 3-white, strawberry, and hummingbird. We had so many family and friends that attended and really enjoyed getting to see and visit with everyone! Sophie received so many gifts! The games we played were really fun too--keep your egg, baby gift bingo, matching baby terms to candy names, unscramble, and possibly some others that I have forgotten. Hannah and Jaelynn enjoyed handing us gifts. Overall, it was a great day! We were all exhausted afterwards.

Just realized no pictures were taken with my camera for that shower, so I'll have to upload some later.

The third shower was at my school and hosted by my team. It was an Easter theme/Somebunny's Expecting theme and was so cute! My team did a fabulous job with decorations! There was tons of food including adorable deviled eggs decorated like little chicks, chicken salad sandwiches, cheese dip, veggie tray, fruit salad, cream cheese dip, a cute Easter carrot cake, and bunny cake pops. Sophie received some much needed goodies and we were so excited to celebrate with my wonderful fellow teachers.

Brian and I really can't express how appreciative we are with the generosity of our friends and family. We are so blessed and so thankful. We promise to make the most of everything we have been given, and hope to return the generosity. :)

30 weeks

Geez it's been a while since I've wrote. Ugh. I think about writing on this blog all the time and all my ideas to write about. Me actually doing it apparently is a different story.

Brian and I were so busy there for almost every weekend. I've been thankful to be able to be lazy the past few Saturdays. A perfect Saturday is a day when I can stay in my pajamas, not fix my hair, and wear my glasses. I know things are about to get busy again...a happy busy though filled with all things Sophie!

Brian and I have been busy planning for Sophie's arrival. Although things aren't progressing as fast as I had hoped, I know they will get done. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a Type A personality and need everything in order. Not being able to do things that need to be done because I'm pregnant is frustrating. Instead of focusing on what I can't do (paint the nursery or do anything with the furniture), I'm focusing on what I can do which is crafts for Sophie's room. My anxiety is a little better, now that I am working on them. I can't wait until they are finished so I can post pictures!

I had hoped to better document my pregnancy through pictures. There are many reasons why this has proved harder than I had imagined. I hope to better in the coming weeks as we count down the weeks.

What we have learned about Sophie

Sophie is a night owl. She sleeps in the morning and then is active in the afternoon and evenings. Does this mean she will sleep in but then stay up late? We can only wait and see. That would be great for this summer! :)

Sophie loves music. She is very active when around music. I still haven't tried playing music for her but she loved hearing live music in New Orleans. I've been meaning to play some of our jazz cds and see what she does.

A Look into the Past

Brian and I are in the process of doing some cleaning before we get started on the nursery. One thing on the to do list is to clean out a closet upstairs. Boxes from my childhood were in the closet. Today was spent going through the boxes and filtering out what needed to be kept. Along the way I found some treasured items.

Some of my favorite things I found today were memories from my Great Grandma Snook. I found letters she wrote me, a book she wrote about her life, and some items that belonged to her. I read part of the book about my grandma's life to Brian. I admired her so much. She was a teacher and reading about my grandpa and her brought tears to my eyes. I want to write a book someday about my life so that maybe my grandchildren can read about our life. I wonder how life will be then. Stories can always be told and memories made, but it different reading about their life from her words that can be referred to over and over.

Another treasured item are the letters from my family from when I was in high school and college. Reading those letters bring back so many memories.

I also found some belongings from my old room that may be able to be used in the nursery.

I am a believer in family. One thing that was confirmed again to me today is how important my family is to each other. The support and love we have for each other cannot be found anywhere else. Christa gave me a frame for Christmas that said, "Other things may change us, but we begin and end as a family." Through the fights and disagreements, my family is always there.

Christmas

We held Christmas at our house for my family this year.

Decorating the sugar and gingerbread cookies

Hannah realized she could eat the cookies.

I got Gavin and Cody to wear aprons. haha!

The kids loved it!

Santa came early!

The stockings. All 14 of them!

The kids ready to open presents.

Emily had a cookie.

Mom's sewing machine case

Hannah playing with her makeup.

Five friends + One year later = An engagement + a wedding + planning a wedding + a pregnancy + a new house + new degree in progress

Kandice, Katie, Melissa, Laura, and me

The girls got together again this year for a baking night full of catching up and visiting.

I love our annual get together and look forward to it all year. Each year is different and this past year has brought a lot of great changes. This upcoming year will be full of even more. We all saw each other in August for Katie's wedding, saw each other for Christmas, and will all get to see each other again in February for Laura's wedding. That is 3 times within 6 months!!! This is probably the most often we have seen each other within a short period of time since high school.