Baby Shower #3

I am way behind on this post, but here goes! On February 13, 2010, my high school friends Brittany Gaydos and Rebecca Pulliam hosted a shower for me at Brittany's moms' house in Granbury. Lots of my high school friends and their moms were able to come as well as my aunt Kathy and cousin Tiffany, who couldn't come to the last shower. We had some good food and very cute cupcakes, and I got lots of wonderful gifts! After this shower I pretty much have all we will need for baby Lane! Enjoy the pics!

I got this cute frame from Claire that we hung outside of Lane's room in the hallway. Now I just need a cute picture of him to put in it!

A big group of friends and moms went in together to get us our high chair! I was surprised to get such a big gift!

Kathy and Tiffany made this CUTE diaper cake. I have it displayed in Lane's nursery and it looks great! I never want to take it apart!

Mums and Mommy

Grannies!

Marley looked so cute at the shower! She was very happy here but eventually started feeling bad.

Kori, Kathy, Tiffany, and Marley

Lee's baby boy is due just 2 weeks after I am due! We had to take a belly shot! Her baby, Corbin, will be delivered via c-section early on March 15. Maybe Corbin and Lane will have the same birthday?!?

A good picture of Kathy, mom and Marley

Me with the wonderful hostesses! Thanks Becca and Britt!

Sister shot

A group shot of my high school friends. L to R: Becca, Lauren, me, Lee, Brittany, and Megan

I was very lucky to have such wonderful showers!

I ♥ Faces - "Hands-On" Fun!

It's hands week at I ♥ Faces! I took this picture last summer of my friend Ashley and her baby boy, Nate. I think it is a perfect photo for this week's challenge because of what she is holding in her hands! Within a month I will be able to hold my baby boy in my hands! I can't wait!!

Lane's Nursery

Well, it is finally ready...(pretty much!)

Here are some pictures of our unborn babe's room! I think he will be nice and cozy in here!

This is the view from the door.

His crib.

Comfy bedding!

This is the view from the glider.

I debated on what to put above this chest and ended up using some of the fabric from the bedding to cut out the little elephants to frame. I love how they turned out!

Close-up of the elephants and the cute diaper cake that Kathy and Tiffany made me!

Glider/Changing Table wall.

Mitch's grandpa made this cross for me out of wood and I covered it with scrapbook paper and added the bow. The cute canvas frame was ordered off etsy and has a quote from one of my favorite children's books.

Here is Lane's bookshelf and the elephant painting that Mrs. Conques, the art teacher at my school, made for him! He already has quite a few books thanks to everyone who came to my baby shower at Kori's house. The hostesses asked that instead of a card, to bring a book for Lane. I ended up getting a lot of cute books that I can't wait to read to him!

Here is a close-up of the cute painting and the "Scout" night light lamp. The ipod and speakers are courtesy of Kyle. He got an itunes gift card for Christmas and used every bit of it on lullabies for Lane. We found a bunch of songs by "Rock-A-Bye Baby" that are famous songs that have been made into lullabies. We loaded up Kyle's old ipod with the songs and Kyle went to Best Buy and found the little colored speaker box. He was so proud that it lights up baby blue!

Now all we need is a sweet baby to put in there!

Glider!

Last weekend mom took me to Lone Star Baby and let me pick out our glider as her big gift to us! I ended up choosing a pretty glider/recliner that was a dark khaki color with brown piping. They had one in the back warehouse, so we were able to take it home that day! It looks great in Lane's room! The colors are perfect and it is so comfy! Kyle and I tested it out on Scout the night we put it in the room...

Baby Shower #2

On Saturday, February 6, 2010, Kori, Carrie, and Tara hosted a baby shower for me at Kori's new house. It was so much fun! Lots of people were able to come and I got such great gifts! The decorations and food were perfect and it couldn't have gone smoother! Here are a bunch of pictures from the event!

So pretty!

The cupcakes and elephant cookies turned out so cute!

Carrie ordered the mini cupcakes from "Tart" Bakery in Dallas.

I just loved the monogram on them!

Kori got white tulips and dyed them blue. They looked so good on the table!

We played a fun game where each bag with Lane's name had a baby item inside that started with that letter. We ended up having a 4 way tie and had to break out a tie-breaker! Then everyone got the answer to the tie breaker, so we had to think of another question!

So many wonderful gifts!!

I got some very cute clothes for Lane, including this outfit complete with tiny flip flops from my cousin Erin Pruitt!

Teacher pic! All of these ladies have taught with me at some time. L to R: Brandy Conklin-teaches 4th grade at TJE, Sara Parr-used to teach 4th grade at TJE with me, Carrie Smith-Student taught with me at TJE, Tara Taylor-teaches 2nd grade with me now at TJE, and Ashley Arber-used to teach 2nd grade with me at TJE!

Me with Nonna, Lane's great-grandmother.

And here are the grandma's! Claire is undecided on her grandma name and mom will be called "Mums!" Lane is a lucky grand-baby boy with these two!

My Aunt Vera, cousin's wife Cobi and Aunt Marcia got to come!

Kyle's sister Sara came in town from Texas State and some of Claire's work friends were there.

Mitch's mom Linette, my Aunt Kathy, and family friend Pat came as well!

A hostess picture! Thanks for everything Tara, Carrie and Kori!

It was such a perfect shower!

I ♥ Faces - "Kisses"

Wow! It's been a while since I have entered an I ♥ Faces Contest! I have been so busy with baby stuff that I haven't had the time to enter! Feels good to be back. :)

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, this week's theme is "Kisses." This sweet picture was taken a while back of my sister, Kori, and her fiance Mitch at a local park in Mansfield, TX. Kori spotted this tree that had a heart cutout and it was the perfect engagement shot! Now they are happily married!

Head over to I ♥ Faces to see all the other "love"ly entries!

32 Weeks

On Thursday, January 28, 2010 I went to the doctor for my 32 week check-up. Everything was normal and it was a routine exam. I was pretty pleased with my weight gain thus far...until this time! I gained 6 lbs in a month! I'd like to think that some of this weight is due to the swelling that I have begun to experience, but who knows! The nurse said I am measuring at exactly 32 weeks, which is good. Dr. Hernandez asked me my thoughts on inducing and I told him that as long as he thought my body was ready and everything is ok with the baby, then I am fine with it. I definitely am not one of those women that are totally against it, but I also don't want to be 41 weeks pregnant and waiting and waiting! He told me that he won't let me go more than a week past my due date, and he would induce no earlier than about 38 1/2 weeks if we decide to. Basically he gave me the ok to induce the week before my due date, which is over spring break! That would be perfect because I would already be off of work and get those days with the baby without having to use my maternity days since it is a holiday. Plus, mom would be off that week to help out. I know we have some time before this comes, and he may end up coming earlier than that on his own, but it looks like now that we will have our baby boy sometime the week of spring break or before! I'm sure these next 6-7 weeks will FLY by!

Here is a current picture of the belly:

And here are my current stats!

Total Weight Gain so far: 18 lbs

Belly Button: still in, just stretched!

Stretch Marks: None yet!

Cravings: Still craving fruit, but not as much. Lately I have kinda been craving bean burritos with sour cream from Taco Bueno. Not such a healthy craving to have! Maybe this has to do with the 6 lb weight gain...

Sleeping Situation: Getting a little bit worse. I still have no trouble falling asleep, but I do wake up at least 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom and am usually thirsty and get a drink of water. Most nights I normally wake up needing to use the bathroom around 12:00, again around 2:00/3:00, and on days when I sleep in, I get up again around 7:00.

I miss: Getting my back popped, putting on shoes and socks with ease, and I still miss sleeping on my stomach.

Annoying symptoms: The area around my belly button, especially underneath and on top, is very sore and feels bruised. I am assuming this is just from the stretching, and the baby pushing on those areas. Still having indigestion every now and then, and have now started SWELLING! I noticed last week (when I was 31 weeks) at school that my lower calves and ankles were awfully swollen. I took off my socks and they had left a huge ring around my ankle! The skin around the sock line was very puffy and uncomfortable. My hands have not swollen as much, but I do notice that after a long day at school when I have been on my feet all day I am definitely swelling in the legs. They seemed to be better over the weekend when I am taking it easy. I may just need to start teaching in my rolling chair soon! I asked Dr. Hernandez about it and he said it is normal. He suggested trying to drink more water, putting my feet up, and wearing support hose.

Exciting news this month:

-Our nursery is coming right along! We got the room painted and the furniture came in. Kyle put the crib together last weekend and we arranged the furniture where we want it. I hung Lane's name above the crib and bought a large mirror on sale for $30 at Kirkland's to go above the changing table. The baby bedding came in today and it looks very cute! I will be doing a separate post soon about the nursery that will include pictures. There are still some nursery items that we need that I am sure we will get at the showers coming up!

-On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, Kyle and I had our first childbirth class at the hospital where I will be delivering. There are 6 couples total and we will go on Tuesday nights for 5 weeks. We already had the privilege of watching a live birth on a huge plasma screen TV, and learned a little bit about what to expect when I go into labor. We learned some breathing and relaxing techniques as well as some pregnancy exercises that will help with getting my body ready to go! There were some funny/awkward moments, and Kyle was a trouper and took it more seriously than I thought he would!

-I had my first shower on January 21, 2010 that was given to me by the school. Tara and I had a joint shower and both got lots of great gifts. Then Tara had her big shower last weekend that was held at her mom's house. She got LOTS of good gifts for baby Gage, and it made me so excited for my showers coming up!

-I have still been feeling the baby move a lot each day, but am now able to really tell where he is. I guess since he is getting bigger I can feel larger movements and can see my belly moving all around. I have noticed that when I sit up straight for a while I can really feel him in my lower right ribs. If he has remained in the same position as he was 2 weeks ago, it must be his bottom/and or legs poking them!

I go back for another check-up on Monday, February 8 when I will be 34 weeks.