My First Baby Shower

On Saturday I had my first baby shower! My friends Ansley (childhood), Elizabeth (middle/high school), Christy (middle/high school), Caroline (sorority sister), and Kyle (couple friend) threw me and baby Emma a beautiful shower! They rented out the clubhouse in Elizabeth's mom's neighborhood and it was perfect because there was plenty of space for everyone to spread out. These ladies are so dear to me. They all have come into my life in a variety of ways but all of them are friends which makes my heart happy. Every month we have supper club where we get to spend time catching up over good food. We have been doing supper club for over a year now and I look forward to it every month. They are too good to me and I am so grateful for their friendships. 

For lunch they served Chicken Salad Chick on croissants, veggie/hummus cups, pasta salad, fruit salad, and petit fors for dessert. There were about 25-30 people who came to celebrate with me!

(My sister Claire, Nana, me, Mom, and my sister Bonnie)

All the girls who came 

Emma Claire and I were spoiled with all the gifts we got. We got so many of our larger items (stroller, carseat, swing, tub, jumperoo, activity mat to name a few). Girls are so fun to buy clothes for so that was fun as well. Emma has quite the wardrobe! 

Thanks to all that came to celebrate with me. I had a wonderful time!

I am very blessed with such wonderful friends and family. My mom and Courtney had some friends join us too which was great. We had a great afternoon and looking forward to my next shower in three weeks! 

I can't believe tomorrow is March 1st and I'll be 30 weeks. I hope the next 10 weeks fly by. I won't deny it I am over being pregnant. I am not comfortable nor am I sleeping well. I am anxious to meet our little one. I hope she is cooking in there and getting strong and healthy. I can't wait to meet her!

What's Up Wednesday- February 2016

Linking up for What's Up Wednesday for the last Wednesday of the month. 

What we're eating this week.... Well on Monday I went to a friends for dinner, last night we went to Tommy's parents for dinner (lasagna) and tonight I'm going to dinner with my friend Ansley. It's just one of those weeks. I will be making Jambalaya tomorrow for dinner with sausage and chicken! Next week will be more on our time. This just became a jam-packed week. 

What I'm reminiscing about... The days when I could go to a brewery with friends and drink a beer. I know that may sound silly but we went to Asheville a few weekends ago and went to SIX breweries. This weekend we have a birthday celebration for a friend of mine from college and it's at a brewery or two. I just want to drink a tasty beer. 11 weeks (or less/more) and counting...

What we've been up to...Traveling a lot (Asheville and Blue Ridge, Tommy went on a bachelor party to North Georgia) and a wedding. We had the Bradley wedding and rehearsal dinner last weekend. It's been a crazy February but we have had a great time! 

What I'm dreading...Getting even bigger. I'm able to get around and do everything I need right now but every day I get more uncomfortable when it comes to putting on my shoes, changing clothes, sleeping, etc. Oh the joys of pregnancy. I really shouldn't complain because I have felt great most of my pregnancy but my belly is just starting to get MUCH bigger. 

What I'm working on...The NURSERY! I just painted her monogram for above the crib this afternoon. Slowly I'm gathering what we need to finish it off. I bought a rug last week. We will be purchasing the crib shortly too so that we have all the main furniture and can start figuring out the layout of the room/where to put things on the wall. 

What I'm excited about...Our friends on our tennis team had their little baby GIRL on Monday. Looking forward to meeting Maggie sometime soon. I hope her and Emma become fast friends. Along with baby Annie who is due any day now as well from our tennis team. 

What I'm watching/reading... Right now I'm watching Chelsea Does on Netflix and The People vs. OJ Simpson. I enjoy watching documentaries so these two were a good change from my binge watching of Parenthood. 

What I'm listening to... Q100 (The Bert Show) but starting next week I'll be switching my morning commute to STAR 94 because Jenn Hobby and Jeff Dollar are starting a new show together. I've missed having them on the Bert Show and really look forward to hearing them in the mornings again. 

What I'm wearing....the only things that fit me. A lot of black leggings, uggs, and long tunics. My maternity wardrobe is not varied. I do my best with accessories but at the end of the day I'm in something that is comfortable. 

What I'm doing this weekend....my first BABY SHOWER! I can't wait! My supper club ladies (mix of childhood, high school, college, and after college friends) are throwing me my first shower and I can't wait. 

What I'm looking forward to next month...Tommy and I are traveling to the Highlands in North Carolina for a mini babymoon and getaway. He gave me a prenatal massage for my birthday for that weekend. I am just looking forward to a few days of just us. We have been so busy the past two months on the weekends that we haven't gotten much us time. It's MUCH needed. We rented a VRBO house that is dog friendly so we will be bringing Cooper with us. We are most likely going to spend one day exploring Cashiers and one day exploring the Highlands. I am hoping for nice weather so we can go for some nice nature walks and such. Can't wait! 

Til next month! 

Day of ME

So yesterday I had my glucose and 28 week appointment at the doctor so I decided instead of just taking a half sick day I would treat myself to the whole day off. BEST. DECISION. EVER. my appointment went well. Baby's heartbeat was perfect, I'm measuring exactly as I should be and my blood pressure was normal. Can't believe I'm at a point now where I go to the doctor every other week. She's gonna be here before I know it!

After my appointment I headed to my friend Adrienne's to visit with her and Langley. I didn't take any pictures while I was there. Shame on me! It was great to see them both. Adrienne is looking fantastic and Langley is already seven weeks old. I hadn't seen her since she was under two weeks. We had a great catch up session for a few hours. Just what I needed! Here's a picture Adrienne took for Valentines of Langley. 

From Adrienne's I headed to Target for some clothes and found a rug the color I've been looking for for Emma's room. 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 I needed some more basic tanks and found a sweater I can wear to work. Love Target maternity clothes for basics that don't break the bank. Picture of rug to come once I've finished the nursery but I'll give a hint for the color scheme: gray, white and a mint/seafoam green. It's coming together well!!

From Target I headed to Polished! Words can't describe how amazing my manicure/pedicure was. I'm having some swelling in my feet so the massage on my feet was amazing. We have a wedding this weekend and my first baby shower next weekend so I went with "Baby Pink" on my fingernails and "Lincoln Park After Dark" on my toes. My friends gave me a gift card for my birthday so that was such a nice treat! 

It was such a beautiful day too so once I got home Cooper and I went for a nice long walk. 

The day of ME was coming to an end because I needed to get ready to head to Marietta for the Bradley Rehearsal Dinner.

It was a great day that rejuvenated me. I need to do it a few more times before Emma arrives. ME time is so important! Hope everyone has a great weekend!  

Blue Ridge Weekend Away

This past weekend we headed to Blue Ridge on Lake Nottely with some friends to celebrate Matt Reynolds 30th birthday. 11 of us rented a cabin for the weekend. We got up there around seven Friday night. We just ordered pizza in and had DQ ice cream cake for dessert (thanks Elizabeth!). There were a lot of games played, time in the hot tub (minus me), and sitting by the fire. 

Saturday morning I woke up first (my new Normal of not being able to sleep in) and I got breakfast going. I whipped up some pancakes (chocolate chip included) and got my white chicken chili started in the crockpot. We hung out in the morning enjoying coffee and the views before heading out to Harrah's casino. 

Matt's big birthday event was to try out the Harrah's on the Indian reservation. This was a first for me as the only casino I've ever been to was on a cruise ship and I just did a few slots and called it a day. Here the three girls wandered and did the slots. The boys did a little bit of everything. It was definitely an experience! I was most definitely the only pregnant girl there! 

(28 weeks tomorrow) 

We spent most of the day at the casino before going back to the cabin for the night. We had some more hot tub time and hanging out before we had our chili dinner. I made chicken chili and Ansley made beef chili. Elizabeth brought the cornbread and again we had ice cream cake for dessert! Following dinner we played a lot of spades. Such a fun card game! I again hit the hay before the rest (except Ansley). The boys were up til all hours of the morning playing ping pong and just hanging out. 

Sunday morning Ansley made breakfast casserole and we enjoyed time by the fire in the house. Around lunch time Tommy and I headed home to scoop Cooper up from my parents. 

Sunday night we enjoyed a nice valentines dinner out (last one without needing a babysitter 😬) at Haven in Brookhaven. It was delicious! I highly recommend. I got the grouper and Tommy got prime rib. It was nice to get out just us. 

It was a wonderful weekend filled with love and friends! Enjoyed my day off today for Presidents Day with lunch at my favorite, Fickle Pickle, with mom and nana followed by time spent with my mother-in-law finishing up the curtains she made for the nursery. The nursery is really coming along. Pictures to come in the coming weeks but I'm thrilled with how the draperies turned out! Thank you Courtney!! 

Friday Favorites

Linking up with Andrea, Narci and Erika today for Friday Favorites! 

1. Undisclosed: I was an avid fan of the Serial Podcast about Adnan Syed and then I heard about Undisclosed which gave even more information about the case. Over the past week, Adnan has had his hearing so Undisclosed has been doing some special podcasts about the hearing. It is really interesting to me. I have spent a LOT of my time listening to this podcast. It's nice when you're driving or walking the dog to listen to it. Serial just started season two on Bowe Bergdahl. If you are a fan of podcasts I would highly recommend. I preferred season 1 to season 2 of Serial.

2. Hello Fresh 

This past week a friend of mine sent me a free order coupon for Hello Fresh. We got our delivery on Saturday and have cooked two of the meals. They have been fantastic! The box comes with all the ingredients measured out and the recipe to follow (so you can make it on your own again!). I have preferred these meals to the Blue Apron ones we tried a few months ago.

3. Sugar Bean Scout: One of my dear teacher friends who I met five years ago is now staying home with her kiddos and this week launched her Etsy site! She makes the most adorable bows (and bowties). You should check out her facebook page and Etsy site. Here is one of the more recent ones she posted. 

4. Speaking of Etsy sites and launching businesses I finally made my Facebook site this week for Elephant Stitch. Starting small on my Etsy site with onesies and bibs that can be customized but if you are local to the Atlanta Area I can do custom monogramming on your own items. Wedding gifts have been where most of my local business has been (coolers, bags, collared shirts, etc.)

5. These tanks are my absolute FAVORITE!  I have four of them that I rotate through each day. I love them! 

6. Lastly, I can't go without talking about the baby. I sent this picture to my friends the other day with "now I am at the can't see your feet stage anymore". I am 27 weeks and feeling great! I go in for my glucose test next week and officially entering my third trimester. SO much to still get done before baby girl makes her appearance in early May! We are SO excited and can't wait to meet our little girl. 

And it's February

On this first day of February I've been doing a lot of thinking. I wasn't expecting seeing the date be February to hit me so hard. When I see on my pregnancy app how many weeks I am and how many are left, I can't help but think "I would be so much closer to baby right now." 

Our Angel baby would be due in 3 weeks from tomorrow. I would be hitting full-term tomorrow. That hurts. I don't want to dwell and wallow but I also don't want to forget. It's a weird feeling having been through a miscarriage. You long for something you never knew. It's hard to describe. 

I am so blessed to be carrying a healthy baby right now but it still stings. God had a bigger plan than me and his plans were more perfect for us anyway. With how stressful work is right now and how hectic our lives are February wasn't the right timing. I am so happy and am not one to dwell on the past but today just kind of was a reminder that we have been through something and it's alright to be upset when you need to be upset. Life throws your curve balls because it helps you grow in your faith. Tommy and I have learned so much over the past 10 months about ourselves and our relationship. We are so excited to meet Emma in three short months. Tommy was finally able to catch her kicking last night. Every time before I tried to get him to feel her she would just stop. I could tell by the look on his face that he was so excited. I feel her all day long so I get that reassurance that things are fine but the daddy doesn't get the same luxury. It's hard to believe that I am 26 weeks tomorrow. With how fast the past month went by I can imagine February, March, and April will zoom by. We can't wait to meet our little girl! God had a plan and I know it was the right plan for us. 

Asheville Weekend Trip

I'm This past weekend we headed to Asheville, North Carolina, for a weekend getaway with some of our closest friends. Kyle turned 30 on Wednesday so her husband organized a trip for us all to get away and it was perfect! There were 12 of us there for the weekend (plus little man Charlie). We drove up Friday night after work and got there just in time for Dinner. We rode with the Stellings and the others had gotten there earlier in the night so they cooked up a Mexican buffet style dinner. We hung out at the house for the night. 

Saturday we all got up in slow time and ate a late breakfast at the house before heading into town. We started at Wicked Weed for lunch and drinks. We were there for a few hours. 

We then walked to Burial Brewery for a drink before our beer tour started (yes I was the token pregnant girl in all the breweries we visited!). We then walked to Bhrarmari for the start of our tour. Our tour went from there to Green Man, Catawba, and ended at Hi Wire. We were on tour from 4:30-8 about and then they dropped everyone back at the cabin. We grilled up some chicken and burgers for dinner for another night of relaxing by the fire and hanging out at the cabin. 

We had a great weekend with great friends! The weather couldn't have been more perfect! 

Look forward to going back to Asheville when I can enjoy the good beer options.