Shower #2

We are so blessed with family and friends that we aren't having one but three baby showers!  Deb (mother-n-law) and Ashley (hoping soon to be sister-n-law and friend) threw me a shower with family and friends at a beautiful seafood restaurant today.  It was absolutely perfect.  They really put in a lot of work to make it so wonderful, from cute sugar cookies, to chocolate covered pretzels, to potted plants as shower gifts, to handmade menus, and wonderful company.  They really made this day so incredibly special, a day I will remember forever!

 Deb and I 

 Lunch menu inside a cute, hand painted pot with onesies, booties, washcloths and socks that Ashley made.

 Sonia (mother-n-law), Ashley and I

 Ok, so it wasn't a coed shower, but that doesn't mean that the guys can't come and eat at the bar.  :-)  This is Randy, Mike (Randy's brother) and Barney (Randy's dad).

 Ashley and I 

Deb and Ashley painted each pot and planted flowers in all 11 of them.  The little paper says "A baby boy is blooming!  Shower this little flower with love and attention, much like you'll do with baby Thomas."  Each guest got a plant to take home with them.  What a creative idea!  I can't say I am surprised though.  We have a talented family!

Bye Bye Mustang, ready for the family car!

After 12 years of driving this baby, we have sold it.  :-(  It was a bittersweet goodbye because I had it for so long, but also happy to get rid of stick shift (I have driven stick for 14 years)!  So much for driving the sports car and ready for the family car.  Not a minivan though!  LOL  

32 Weeks

3D pictures of Thomas James

Last night Randy, Sonia and I got 3D/4D ultrasound pictures done of Thomas.  On our way over to the place, Thomas was moving around like crazy but not so much once we got there.  He snuggled up, head down, and went to sleep!  I have a feeling that he may be stubborn.  Ha Ha  In the pictures his umbilical cord or hands were in front of his face so she wasn't able to get a full shot of his face.  She tried waking him up by rolling me over or smacking his butt, but he wasn't having it.  She was able to get the picture above of his right eye kind of open, but otherwise he was a happy camper sleeping.  Oh, we did get to see him yawn and that was amazing!  He also has hair already.  They couldn't tell what color, but he for sure has lots of hair.    

To see more pictures, click HERE 

Babymoon

Randy and I have always loved taking road trips to places we have never visited so we decided to do just that for our babymoon.  I had read that couples should take one last trip before the baby comes.  We didn't want to go too far or spend too much so we decided to go to Richmond, VA.  We stayed right across the street from the State Capital (picture lower left) and had a wonderful time.  Of course the first thing I will say is that the food was amazing!  We walked through Carytown, walked around the State Capital, visited The Holocaust Museum, and Saturday night we bought a chess board so Randy could teach me how to play.  The architecture was absolutely beautiful and I loved the small, quaint,city like restaurants that we visited.  We had an incredible time just the two of us, but honestly we saw a couple with a brand new baby and I got really excited for our next trip with our little baby boy!

29 Weeks

Can't believe we are already in our 3rd trimester! Only about 11 more weeks until our lives are change miraculously forever by our sweet, little blessing! It's so hard because I want to say "I can't wait!", but I want him to keep growing and come out when he is good and ready. Plus, I know that time is going to fly once he is born and we want to make sure to enjoy every little second with him!

Best compliment for a pregnant lady: "You are carrying it all in your belly" :-) Love that one!

Pictures from Randy's trip to UK

Randy was lucky enough to go to Harrogate, UK on a work trip earlier this month. He had a wonderful time and said it was a great experience. Here are a couple pictures from his trip. They may not be too clear because I had the 'good' camera for my trip to AZ. These were taken on his camera phone. They were able tour a brewery, walk around the town and shop at a couple stores (which close at 5:30pm). The picture above (lower left) is the building that Randy and his co-workers stayed in. It was an old Coaching Inn. It is part of the Ripley Castle Estate and one of the Great Inns of Britain. The horse track is where the conference was.

AZ Baby Shower

The first week in March, Ashley and I flew to AZ for the weekend for a baby shower with my friends and family out there. We had such an amazing time. The shower was so incredible! I couldn't believe how much time, effort and details my stepmother, sisters, aunt, cousin and best friend put into the shower. I was overwhelmed to say the least. The food was perfect, we had more people show up than anticipated and the games were hilarious. We couldn't be anymore blessed to have the family and friends that we do X 2!

Happy 60th Birthday Tom!

Yep, today is our dear friend Tom's birthday today. He is the BIG 6-0! We hope you have an amazing birthday because you definitely deserve it. You are so kind, thoughtful, genuine, generous, always put others first, and you are spoiling our child before he is even born! LOL

Happy Birthday Tom! We love you and wish we could be there to celebrate with you!

Ice Cream Waffle Sandwich

When I was a little girl and I would spend my summers in KS, my Aunt Sharon would serve my cousin Tanya and I breakfast in bed. My favorite was (and still is) the infamous ice cream waffle sandwiches. You can make them with any type of frozen waffles and any type of ice cream or yogurt. It is like a little piece of heaven first thing in the morning. :-) To this day, I still make them and always smile at the memory of my aunt giggling as she walked in knowing how excited we would be at the sight of this delicious treat. Ahhh, childhood memories!

24 Weeks!

Baby Blanket

My amazing Grammie had made a baby blanket for each one of her 7 children and all of her 20 some grandchildren. The above is my Aunt Judy's blanket that Grammie had made for her. Mine was green, but very similar. When we found out that we are having a baby, I really wanted to carry on this tradition for our baby. I spoke with Aunt Judy and she agreed to help me get started. After searching through many patterns online and in the store, we ended up finding one of the exact patterns that Grammie used. I knew that was the one! In fact, I think this is the pattern that she used for my blanket (I would check, but it is in a box up in the closet all packed away). So when we were home for Christmas, Aunt Judy and I got the supplies and ironed on the pattern onto the 12 squares that will be used for the blanket. I got off to a slow start, but I have completed 6 of the 12 squares (see below). Halfway there! Once I finish embroidering all 12 squares, Ashley (hopefully future sister-n-law) is going to help me sew the blanket together. I think it will be great for Thomas to have a piece of his great grandmother w/ him and I honestly think of Grammie all the time while I am working on it. I think she is proud and watching me from above.

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Found this recipe browsing around on Pinterest just before Valentine's Day. I thought, what a perfect sweet to make for my hubby. His 2 favorite cookies in 1. Wow, are we glad I found this delicious desert (my weight isn't, but we are)! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Especially right out of the oven when the Oreo is soft and warm too. I took some to our community church group for Valentine's gifts and saved the rest for Randy. I asked him last night if he wanted me to save all of them for him and he said "YES". Normally I try to send sweets with him to work for his coworkers. Not this time. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Woke up this morning to a scavenger hunt created by my amazing sweetie. I searched in the freezer, the closet, the pantry, under the chair, in the blinds, in a book, and ending with a pretty, little box (with BEAUTIFUL earrings in it) behind books of the bookcase. Totally unexpected because we weren't supposed to be doing presents, but totally appreciated! Hope you all have a wonderful day of LOVE! <3

Ready for a Stroll

Got Thomas's stroller last night! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! I was so excited to see it, I had to open it last night and put it together all by myself today. :-) I love it when things look even better in person than they do online. Of course, this is the highest rated infant car seat on Consumer Reports. Only the best for baby Mars!

Yes, Precious had to be in the picture. I got her to tilt her head by saying "grandpa".

What a deal!

We have this amazing consignment shop here that carries children's and maternity clothes. Yesterday I stopped in and got a pair of maternity jeans for $1.38 because they were 75% off. They are trying to get rid of all their fall clothes and having this 75% off sale until they do. I got to thinking last night, maybe I should get Thomas some fall/winter clothes for next year. So, today I went in and got 12 pieces in 6-9 months for $13.18! I was shocked when she gave me my total and happily pulled out cash for this purchase. LOL Some of these clothes even have the tags left on them! I will definitely be making trips to this shop from here on out.

Great Quote

"Do not ask the Lord to Guide your Footsteps if you are not willing to MOVE your Feet"

Author unknown

Halfway There!!!!

We had our 20 week appointment on Friday where they do the full check up on Baby Thomas James via ultrasound. The US tech said that he looks perfectly healthy! Yay! It was funny though because he was moving around like crazy, she had a hard time getting his measurements. In fact, he was the most active yesterday than I have felt so far. Needless to say, he has been pretty calm today. I think he pooped himself out. Ha Ha So cute, we love him to pieces already!

In this picture you can actually see his chin, mouth, nose and eyes. Absolutely beautiful!

Belly Shots

Pictures of my growing belly :-) I tell Randy that

my stomach has never looked so tight. LOL

It's a BOY!!!!

Monday I had to go in for a couple things and they mentioned that they might need to do an ultrasound. I started panicking because I couldn't get a hold of my hubby at work and if they did an ultrasound, we may be able to determine the sex. Ok, so I thought about it after and I guess I could have turned my head so I wouldn't see the US screen. Luckily, as the ultrasound tech was walking me back to the room, Randy walked in. Thank God because almost immediately we got a shot of our little boy's genitalia. I thought about posting a picture of the ultrasound, but it doesn't seem right posting a picture of our son's private parts online. :-) You'll just have to take our word for it. It's a BOY! We still have our 20 week appointment on Friday where they do a full ultrasound check up. I am sure then we will have a cute picture of our little boy w/o private parts.