Halloween Weekend

This weekend, that of Eva's first Halloween, we spent at my inlaws place. Not only was it Halloween weekend, but Eva and I were also blessed with another baby shower put on by the Dude's aunt and cousins. Thank you so much, girls!

On Saturday morning, she and I got all dressed up to go. I called her outfit "Halloween Chic" (headband courtesy of Katie from Eme Kay Creatives, of course)

The baby shower was so incredible. I cannot even describe how blessed we are! Evalyn is going to be the best dressed girl in town until she's about two years old. Then I suspect things will go down hill. I don't have very many good pictures from the actual shower but let me tell you -we got spoiled! She got clothes, books, toys, a Dora suitcase, a baby gate and a bunch of other stuff, as well. I am so thankful to the Dude's extended family for all the love they have shown us!

Eva was definitely the star of the show. Everyone loved getting to see her and snuggle with her. Thanks to her, I'm sure no one even noticed that I forget my straightener and my hair looked like junk. Eva did really well although we were all a little disappointed that she slept through her own party :)

After the shower, my sister and her family came back to hang out with us at my inlaw's for the day. She and her cousin, A, are going to be the best of friend's as they grow up! Eva's just got to hurry up and catch up to her so that she can stick up for herself.

Because it was Halloween weekend, Evalyn had a number of costume changes. The next picture says it all ...

It is so true! He sure is under her spell.

She even went to church dressed for Halloween as Mommy's Little Pumpkin.

Even though she didn't have an actual costume and we didn't do any trick or treating, she had her share of Halloween fun!

August Review and September Goals

August's goals and plans were pretty narrow in focus. We spent the better part of our month getting the last of the preparations in order for baby to arrive. Here's the recap:

1. Finish getting baby's room ready.

Check out the two part nursery reveal here and here.

2. Buy, wash, and organize baby's cloth diapers.

Everything about our cloth diapering plans can be found here.

3. Finish gathering and organizing birth supplies for home birth.

There are three boxes and a bag that have been sitting in our bedroom for a number of weeks. Two of the boxes contain sheets, towels, and blankets. One is holding all of the baby's things. And the bag is from the midwife clinic that contains all of the supplies they will need when they are here. We are all set!

4. Pack mine and baby's hospital bag so we are prepared to transfer to hospital if necessary.

Bags are packed - aside from my toiletries which will just be added at the last minute.

5. Finish stocking the freezer with food for post baby days.

I don't think I will have to cook until Christmas!

6. Celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary.

We celebrated our anniversary with a yummy dinner out at Red Lobster.

7. Can pickled beets with my mom.

We did beets, peaches and bbq onion sauce! Also, the Fabulous Dude and I got really eager near the end of the month and ended up canning 26 pints of homemade salsa and 14 quarts of diced tomatoes, too!

8. Celebrate my mom's birthday (which, yes, was way back in June - but this will be the first time she's been able to come visit since then).

My mom was here for 4 days and we had a great visit together. It was so wonderful to spend that time with her before the baby arrives.

9. Attend my second baby shower.

What a wonderful evening! Read about it here.

10. Put my feet up, relax, rest and enjoy the last few weeks of my pregnancy!

I have been napping when I can and trying to do all of the things that I won't be able to do quite so easily once I have an infant in my arms. I have a feeling the next few weeks will involve a lot more relaxing and resting!

September Goals

1. Birth a baby.

The end.

Becoming Monkey-Ville: Part Two

Yesterday I shared a bit about the process of transforming the nursery from being an office/spare room/craft room/everything room to being a cozy place for our Little Monkey to rest his/her head. Today you get the real good stuff and get to see what it looks like now that the transformation is complete.

By now, you all know that I love all things monkey for my Little Monkey. I am so happy with the way that the room turned out. Please keep in mind that I'm not much of a photographer and the shape, angles and lighting of the room made this a little difficult but I did my best!

Looking into the room (the room has double doors that still need to be put back on since FD replaced the carpet. The crib will be tucked behind one door which won't open and the other door will open into the room.

The Crib. Originally, this crib was dark brown but was painted white to match the rest of the furniture. The wall decal was ordered from Etsy and was not nearly as easy to put on the wall as it was made out to be. Thankfully, I have a patient, wonderful husband. Bless his heart.

The Changing Area. Remember that old crappy table that I showed you yesterday? Yes - this change table is one and the same. We've got the diaper stacker on the left, the hamper on the right, a bin for toys underneath, and a set of plastic drawers that will house all of my cloth diapering supplies.

The Armoire. The Dude did a fantastic job transforming the top section of the armoire from drawers into a makeshift "closet". He also replaced the base of it and put new hardware on to make it look just like new. The top of it is decorated with a Monkey basket full of books, a maternity photo (which will be switched for a newborn photo once he/she arrives) and a lamp. I also have a super cute pair of cowboy books that belonged to the dude when he was a wee one that are sitting in the basket that need to be incorporated somehow. Just not sure how. Inside the drawers of the armoire you will find all sorts of teeny tiny onesies, sleepers, socks, hats and bibs, just waiting for baby.

The Nursing Nook. If you remember, yesterday I mentioned that we had to get rid of my black chair and find something else a little smaller. I am so happy with our find! This chair is very comfortable and fits in well. The Dude said that during the winter he's going to try to find some time to paint the frame of both the chair and the ottoman white because not only do they not match the other furniture in the room, but they also don't match each other. But, for now ... they work just great! The cute Monkey sitting on the chair was a gift from the Baby's Auntie Katie (formerly known as the BFF) and came straight from FAO Schwarz in NYC. I'd still like to get a little side table to set beside the chair for the phone, my drink, or whatever I need if I'm using the chair to nurse (perhaps a good place to display the cowboy boots as well?) but for now, it's good the way it is.

Above the chair, there is a little display of wall hangings that I made with cheap Wal-mart frames and coordinating scrapbook paper. They look kind of funny and off balance right now but the space in the middle was left there on purpose and will be filled with a wooden letter once the baby is born and has a name. Both of the letters (baby girl's first initial and baby boy's first initial) are painted and waiting so the appropriate one will just need to be hung once he/she arrives.

The last thing to show in the room is a sweet little wall hanging that was made for Baby by a very special woman. In the first photo, you may be able to see that there is a door between the crib and the armoire. This door leads to the "cool room" where we have all of the Dude's tools and our canning shelves and so on. I decided to hang the wall hanging on that door. It's super duper special because there is a similar plaque that hangs in the Dude's room at his parents house that says "Evan's Pad" with a frog on it that was painted by this same woman when he was a wee lad.

Every so often, I find myself wandering into the room, sitting down on the chair, rocking a bit and daydreaming about the child that this room will belong to. I am anxiously anticipating the day that I get to meet him/her and I am so excited that we have a room that is ready for his/her arrival!

Gratitude

Last Monday evening, my Aunt and the Dude's Aunts planned and hosted the most amazing baby shower for me and the Little Monkey. It was so perfect. Every little detail was so fitting and was evidently planned with care! My Aunt said some very special things at the beginning of the shower that I appreciated so much and my BFF's mom (who is like a second mom to me) wrote this poem to read...

Changes

You're about to become a mother,
And in a million ways,
The life that you have led till now
Is really going to change!

The days of staying late in bed
Of sleeping all you wish
Will be a distant memory
And something that you miss.

The thought of having "me time"
To quietly contemplate - ha!
You'll just be glad if you can have
A shower by day eight!

But still, with all the changes
God really shows His wisdom
With your first look into their eyes
You'll know that you are smitten.

The lack of sleep won't matter
The piles of diapers damp
It will all be so worthwhile
When you're holding "Baby Cramp"!

I was incredibly blessed by a number of women who I have the privilege of attending church with and who are all very special to me.

One very special guest was Mrs. Tallman who recently turned 97! And I'm not sure who that crazy lady behind her is. I think it's someone from off the street who snuck in for the food! (HA, Love you, Laurena).
We received a high chair, swing, monitors, diapers and the remaining money needed to purchase our cloth diapers as a group gift from a number of people in our church family. And above and beyond that, we were blessed with so many clothes, bath supplies, toys, blankets, and much, much more. I'm sure you're not surprised to find out that the Little Monkey received lots of Little Monkey paraphernalia!

I will show off some more of it later this week when I do the nursery reveal.

Of course, there was a delicious spread of food, including the cutest ever onesie cakes made by Aunt Linda.

Can you guess who the Monkey Baby in this frame is?

Soon I'll be able to replace that photo with one of my very own babe. I wonder if he/she will look like me?

Thank you so much Shelley, Marcia, Linda, and everyone else who helped make the evening very special for me. Once again, I was reminded just how blessed my baby is going to be throughout his/her life to be surrounded by so many incredible, godly people who are just as excited as we are to welcome him/her to the world!

35 Weeks

Yesterday we reached 35 weeks! I feel like the end is in sight, yet, at the same time, I feel like 5 weeks is still a long.long.long time to be pregnant. I'm starting to understand why women get to the end of their pregnancies and want it to be over. A lot was accomplished this past week and so I feel like I am just about ready to welcome this child. My SIL and I stocked the freezer with meals. I had my second baby shower. Thanks to my mom, the nursery is pretty well done and organized. I bought my cloth diapers and have started washing and putting them away. I found out the baby is head down and good to go. I had my home visit with my midwife to discuss our plans and my mom got to meet her. The birth supplies are gathered. Bags are packed. I really feel like we're gearing up to welcome baby.

I know that he or she needs to stay put and cook for a bit longer but things are really starting to feel like they are in place. We just need to get the swing, playpen and car seat set up/installed and then we'll be all set.

Last week, my brother took a few photos for us. He forgot his camera, so he just had to use my point and shoot, but I still love them. They are really 34.5 week photos, but you get the point!

"The View From Here"

(Yes I know you can't see my belly in the last photo but I just had to share it because I know you're all dying to see our pet duck, Mr. Quacklewayne)

Sleep has been very hit or miss over the past week. I've had some of the best sleeps I've had in a while, and some of the worst. I guess I just have to take it one night at a time. I've been starting to feel much more noticeable Braxton Hicks contractions, especially throughout the night. And I've also been waking up with some mad heartburn. Propping my head up on a few extra pillows seems to help it out a bit but I don't find it very comfortable. Oh well, you do what you gotta do. The other night I woke up and realized I must have been having some extreme difficulty rolling me over because the Dude was sitting up and literally helping me pull my body over so I could switch sides. Good times.

My tum tum is starting to drop. The Dude has affectionately nicknamed me "Droopy Bags" this week. My midwife said that I will start to lose cms when she measures me from here on in as the baby gets lower and lower and gets him/herself ready for the world.

I've also been experiencing some mad swelling in my hands and feet which hasn't been the most awesome part of this, but it's no big deal. My blood pressure is still a-okay so there's no need to be concerned. I find that I wake in the night to very sore hands. Has anyone else every experienced this? Some nights I find I can hardly open and close my fingers. It's likely just a circulation issue but it can make things uncomfy.

It's so hard to believe we're nearing the last month! I'm praying for time to go by quickly but also hoping that I will relax, enjoy, and cherish the last few weeks that the Dude and I have as a tw0-some before we welcome our third.

Baby Shower

This past Sunday my Mom, Sister, and Sister in Law threw me the most wonderful baby shower!

I felt so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends who love our baby so much already. I will let the pictures do most of the talking.

Yay for a bouncy seat.

The baby also got the bedding and a ton of accessories for the nursery. We've got the lamp, mobile, diaper stacker, hamper, change pad cover, crib sheets, baskets, and a whole slew of other items!

I also got diapers, money for our cloth diapers, gift cards, a play pen, blankets, feeding supplies, toys, bath tub and bath stuff, a super cute shopping card cover, and a bunch of other great baby items! I can't even believe how generous everyone was - my baby is all set. One of the games at the shower was BINGO where each guest had to fill out a blank bingo card with ideas of what I would get for gifts. So at the end of opening all the gifts when I thanked everyone and said "I think my baby has everything he/she needs", people started telling me all the things my baby does not have according to what was still left on their bingo cards. :)

MIL, BFF, and Baby Mama...

My mom wrote a very sweet poem on her card to me and I ended up having to stop reading it and get Kate to finish it because I got myself a wee tad bit choked up. Pregnancy will do that to you!

One of the other games that we played was super fun. Each person got a recipe card with a question about parenting on it. We were asked to read our question, think of our answer in our head, then turn the card around and pass it to the person to our left. We then wrote the answer to our original question on the back of that card and then went around the room to share what we had written. So, our answers did not correspond to the question that we had. Make sense? I was lucky to get some excellent parenting advice from this game. Some of them were super funny. Here are some of the best ones:

Q: What do you do if your baby is choking?
A: Give him a reward such as a piece of candy.

Q: How do you stop a baby from crying?
A: Call my husband while attempting the Heimlich.

Q: What can you do if your baby has jaundice?
A: Google it.

Q: How do you know if your baby is gaining enough weight?
A: Call your mom for help.

Q: How do you bath a baby?
A: Upside down.

Q: How do you know if your baby is latched properly?
A: They start giving it to the dog or throwing it on the floor.

I am definitely keeping these cards around so that I can refer back to this excellent advice in the future. If you are looking for a fun, totally not lame shower game, this is definitely one to try!

After the gifts and games, we enjoyed some delicious food. Of course, my mom and SIL chose and made all of my very favorites! Bacon and cream cheese dip, bacon wrapped scallops, taco dip, meatballs, shrimp, fruit, veggies and dip, and black forest cake!

And the cutest ever baby feet cookies.

I was surrounded by great friends!

My mom's dear friend Penny surprised us both by making an appearance. It was really special to have her there with us.

My mom, MIL and myself (and baby A).

C Biscuit, myself, and Bwebb.
Caley, me and Em!

My grandma and I.

Four of my 7 nieces and nephews were at the shower and these two (who aren't cousins - H is my side of the family, O is FD's side of the family - had a great time playing together and helping me take care of Nika).

Of course, since I don't know if I am getting a He child or a She child, I just HAD to have two cookies :)

Me and my sistas! Thanks so much girls for such a lovely day.

I know I've already said it, but I will say it again - I just feel so blessed to have such a wonderful support system around me as I enter into motherhood. My mom(s), my sisters, my cousins, my friends - everyone! The Little Monkey is so blessed to have all of these people who already love him/her so much!