Baby Shower #1

I am abundantly blessed!  I have so many wonderful and loving people in my life.  I felt so special and loved this past weekend.  The first shower was thrown by dear friends Sheri and Cheryl.  Sheri's house was adorably decorated.  My only regret is that I didn't get any posed pictures with my friends and that I don't have any pictures of my mom - she took all the pictures for me. 

 

Cute little goodie bags for guests

 

Delicious, beautifully decorated cake

I loved the cute little feet detail

 

Great spread:  Punch, cake, different types of cookies, chex mix, fruit, and juice

 

The girls got me a cute sash that said, "Mommy To Be"

 

Kara, Sophie, Laura, Nikki, and Cheryl

 

Me, Cara, Beth, and Mary

 

Sweet Addie hugging Sleeping Julie (I love the nickname Addie came up for her)

 

Cutie Elise showing off her clip on earrings

 

 

Hudson got some great Colts gear - this shirt was from Beth

 

Cute little dinosaur outfit from Cara

 

Cheryl got me a cute frame that read:  "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made"

 

Hudson's first bible from Grandma

My mom made the cutest baby blanket - I will have to take a picture of it later- I love it!  Too bad he won't ever get to use it.  I think my favorite part of the evening was when everyone circled and prayed for Hudson and me.  It was so...sweet!  Sheri bought Hudson a memory box and had everyone write Hudson a little note and add a bible verse.  Such a great idea! 

A special thank you to Cheryl and Sheri for throwing me such a lovely shower.  And a big thank you to everyone that came, I'm so thankful for all of you. 

Saturday

Saturday we loaded up our vehicle and drove to Southern Indiana to meet our friends at Spring Mill State Park.  They were all camping for the weekend, but we decided to come up for the day only.  We had a great time.

A picture with all the girls:  Laura, Me, Cheryl, Peyton, and Julie

 

We went on a nice 2 1/2 mile hike

 

We had chili for dinner

 

Brian and Charlie chillin

 

Josh & Julie

  

Laura & Brad

 

Us

 

A fun way to spend Brian's birthday

Brian

Happy Birthday, Babe!  Sorry this is a day late.  I'm praise God and feel so blessed to have you as my husband.  I so excited for what this year brings.  You're going to be a great daddy!

Here's a list of some of my favorite things about you:

Follower of Christ

Great best friend

Optimistic

Hardworker

Great at encouraging me and others

Servant

Funny

Smart

Kind

Generous

I don't know what it is about this picture- but there's something really sweet about it - it's one of my favorite pictures of us

Happy Birthday!  Love you!

Also, a special shout-out and Happy Birthday to Chris, also.

Happy Birthday, Chris!  We hope you have a great year!

Love these pictures of both of you

 

Had to get in a picture of you and Brittney--such a fun day!

Great Weekend

Brian had a guys get together in Chicago this weekend, so he dropped me off at my parent's house.  My mom and I had a great time shopping together on Saturday and then she really spoiled me by giving me a pedicure.  Brian got back to my parent's house midday Sunday and my mom made a great lunch and then we got to meet our sweet new niece ~ Jasmine Rayne.  She was born August 1st, but unfortunately we haven't been able to go back home to Indiana and visit her until this weekend.  She was such a cuddly, sweet, cute, easy-going girl! 

It's hard to tell from this picture, but she has her mom and dad's blue eyes.  Here's my favorite picture of her:

Uncle Brian (love the sound of that - can't wait for many more) and Jasmine

 

Auntie Ashley - I think Hudson may have been jealous, he was really kicking when I was holding her. 

She was so sweet and peaceful sleeping

Oh, how I heart her!!

And We Have A Name...

We have been discussing baby names for years, then as soon as we were pregnant it took a while for both of us to come to an agreement.  We agreed on Lee as a middle name - it's my dad's middle name, Brian's dad and brother's middle name.  We thought it would be nice to include all three of them.  We had several names that we both liked, but kept coming back to Hudson.  I checked with my sweet blogging friend Jenny (she has a precious 2 year old with the same name) to make sure she didn't mind if  I stole the name - thankfully she was okay with us using it, too.  

My parent's came down for the weekend and we had the best time!  My mom came up with this cute idea to tape letters on my stomach and tie a bow around me and then I photoshopped it black and white and added the color back in.  We had a fun time messing around.  His head is the big lump on the right side of my stomach - he has been making some really big movements - from head down to head up to sideways.  ~ It's been 3 weeks since I've posted a belly shot and it's crazy how big I've gotten.  I've really started packing on the pounds - Yikes! 

Hudson Lee 

 

Baby Love: 25 wks

Pregnancy Highlights

Due Date:  11/18/11
Gestational Age:  25 3/7 wks

Once again, excuse the pitiful outfit -I'm all about comfort after work.
Size of baby:  About 14" and weighed 1 1/2 pounds at my last ultrasound
 Morning sickness: Mostly GONE!!!  So...thankful!  I still don't have much of an appetite, though and can only eat small portions. 

 Total weight gain/loss: Still minus 4 pounds (I've only gained 1 pound in the past month) -I'm considering changing my answer to +6 pounds because the weight I got down to is my goal.  We had such a hard time getting pregnant that I knew we were going to need IVF and had decided to do it in May, so I had planned on getting in better shape from Feb to May and losing 10 pounds.  Little did I know that God had other plans for us.  

Maternity Clothes:  I'm still on the border of needing them.  I have a few clothes that don't fit, but thankfully most items are still okay.  I wear scrubs to work and they still fit fine so far.  Unfortunately I don't look pregnant in my scrubs, I just look chubby. 

Gender:  Boy!  I think we have a name.  We have been calling him this name for a week or two trying to see if it fits, and if it does, I'll let everyone know. 

Highlights of the week:  1.  Little man is moving so...much!  I love feeling him kick and squirm.  He seems so active already, I think we may have a runner, swimmer, or soccer player developing.  You can even see my stomach move which kind of freaks Brian out, but I love it.   2.  Nursery is painted and we have the crib and bedding.  It's so cute!!  3.  Little man already is getting quite the closet of clothes, but we finally bought him some clothes and it was so fun.  4.  I'm falling more and more in love with this little guy.    

Lowlights of week:  1.  I've started feeling even more exhausted.  My job is getting harder and harder.  I had planned on working full time until I deliver, but I'm not so sure if I'm going to make it.  I think if I had an easier job I could make it, but I'm on my feet and running 90% of my day.  2.  Due to my tough work schedule I have been having a few contractions- don't worry not a big deal, just a few here and there - just something for me to keep an eye on. 
Comparison photos: 
Left is  21 wks and right 25 wks - I should have worn the same outfit for better comparison (but that outfit was even worse).  I think my stomach is finally bigger than my chest.   I really need to come up with better clothes to wear for my updates - believe it or not, but I do actually own some nice clothes. 

Baby Fever

So I decided early on to try and not spend too much money on our little man.  Well, I finally just couldn't help myself.  I found some really cute clothes on clearance and had a little spree.  Oh, how I heart clearance!!  Here are my favorites:

 

The three on the left are for next summer.  It's really hard to guess how big he's going to be.  Brian was a thin baby and I was a chubby/fat baby.  I went with 6-9 months and am hoping he'll be on track.  Brian picked out the two middle outfits.  I also fell in love with the blue and gray fleece vest with cargo pants.  I'm getting so anxious to meet little man.  15 more weeks feels like an eternity.   I plan on doing a pregnancy update within a week or two.  Plus, I think we have decided on a name.  I'll reveal it once we're 100% sure.  And...Brian painted the nursery - it is so...cute!  We have the crib and bedding, but we still need a mattress, chair, and dresser/changing table.  Once we get all the pieces in the room I'll post pictures.