Baby Shower

Weekend before last, my sisters Ashleigh and Alyssa threw me the most beautiful jungle themed baby shower. I was totally blown away by their attention to all the details. The best part...being surrounded by family and close friends. It was a very happy day!

The welcome sign!

Ashleigh painted these canvases for Colin's nursery. They are so cute!

And Alyssa made these letters from his bedding fabric. I love that his nursery contains so many personal hand-made touches.

The gorgeous tables.

Family friends and my mom (in the blue dress).

My great friend, Emily, who is also pregnant and due a week after me.

My Grandma Gaebel! I am so happy she came!

My beautiful sister-in-law, Colleen, and niece, Molly.

Kevin's cousins, Katie & Kelly

The ultimate party planners, Ashleigh & Alyssa

The cutest and most yummy cake.

Kevin's favorite gift...Griffin the golfer toy

It was a perfect day! I felt very loved and Colin received so many generous gifts. We are both very blessed!

Nap Time

My sweet hubby has worked very hard putting Colin's room together.

He has painted the room.

Put the crib together.

Brought in the very heavy rocking chair.

And put up the ceiling fan.

I think he deserves a nap.

(And yes, I really did find him napping in Colin's new rocking chair!)

The Nursery

Like most new moms, I was very excited to start shopping around for baby bedding and decorations for Colin's nursery. The problem was that I never found anything I absolutely loved. I began looking on etsy for custom-made stuff and still nothing jumped out at me except for a quilt I found. So I ordered the quilt and then chose several fabrics from the quilt to make a bumper and a dust ruffle. With the help of a talented family friend, we made this adorable bed set for Colin. I love how it turned out, I love that it's one of a kind, and I love that I was able to help make it!

Proof that I really did have a hand in the project.

Nancy, the brains behind the project!

The final product! So cute!

The cute little ties the hold the bumper in place. We also found this cute sheet that matches the colors of the bed set perfectly!

More pictures to come...

New Baby = New Car?!?!

The lease on our Accord was almost up, so Kevin and I began shopping around for new cars. After much research and hemming and hawing, we decided to go with the Honda Pilot. We love the Honda name, and we love how much space it has. We plan on keeping this car for a long time, so we wanted to get something we wouldn't outgrow. For the first time ever, I can honestly say, I LOVE MY CAR! :) I know it's so cliche...Just because we're having a new baby doesn't mean we need a big gas guzzling and environmentally unfriendly family SUV, but so be it. Don't rain on my parade! I'm in love!

She's so pretty!!!

It has an optional third row and lots of storage space for all of Colin's things.

She's perfect!

Closets Full of Clothes!

Colin's closet(S!) are already overflowing with clothes. Thanks to the generosity of family and friends, and his cousin Carter, Colin is going to be a well dressed little guy. We have received countless new and gently worn items from loved ones these last few months. The nursery closet is packed. Then a few weeks ago, I went over to his Aunt Ashleigh's house, and she gladly handed over boxes and boxes of Carter's gently worn things. She was lucky enough to inherit a bunch of things from her sister-in-law, Amy, and now she passed them all onto me. After a long afternoon of organizing everything, I came home with NINE tubs ranging in size from preemie (Carter was born at 3lbs) to 18 months. Colin's clothes have now taken over the second bedroom closet! Colin is going to be set for a while and best of all, it's all ADORABLE. I can't wait to see him in it all. So big thanks to our family and friends and especially Aunt Ashleigh and Amy for the complete new wardrobe.

Thirty-one weeks

Colin 31 weeks: According to Baby Center, this week Colin measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. According to our 3D ultra sound last weekend, he's even bigger!

Allie 31 weeks: Last Thursday, my doctor changed my due date from June 7 to May 28. For weeks now when people have asked me my due date, I have always said late May/ early June. I am optimistic he's going to arrive early. :) (I know, I know...everyone thinks this!) However, my doctor seems to agree! After looking back at my anatomy scan (at 19 weeks) and measuring my belly (measuring ahead of schedule), he bumped up my due date up by a week and a half. (The May 28 date is the date the ultrasound technician decided at the anatomy scan.) I am excited to meet our lil man, and if it's a week and a half early, all the better. Kevin and I both have a firm deadline of when we have to return to work (mid-Aug) to start the school year, so the earlier he comes the more time we have with him. My reasons for wanting him to come early are purely selfish, I realize, but I just can't imagine putting a 10 week old in day care. I hope I'm able to take some additional time off, but with budget cuts/ salary reductions, we'll have to see how everything works out. On a positive note, we do have a very good lead on day care, and I think she'll be fabulous!

Hello Sweet Baby!

Yesterday Kevin, my mom, my mom-in-law, and I went to see our sweet baby boy. At 29 weeks, he has really filled out and looks like an adorable little baby. He loves to rub his eyes, and the technician to work hard to get some photos where he isn't covering up his cubby little cheeks. He looks perfect and is developing appropriately. At the end, the technician in training took some "practice" measurements. His largest measurement was his belly at 32 weeks...3 weeks ahead of schedule. He's a little chunker. Overall, they think he weighs about 3 lbs, 12 oz. and based on his measurements, his due date would be May 24...almost two weeks ahead of schedule. His official due date is June 5, so we shall see. Needless to say, we were elated that he is growing as he should, and we are so excited to meet him in late May/ early June.