Maternity Pics (catching up)

 A few weeks after the baby shower BBQ we decided to get some maternity pictures made. We had gone back and forth on whether we actually wanted to do this, but we decided we would probably look back and regret it if we didn’t. We wanted to save some money for the upcoming newborn photo session, though, so we just had a friend take some fairly simple shots with minimal editing. All in all I think it was the right decision. We just wanted a few pictures to look back on, but the newborn pictures were much more important to us and would be displayed in the house much more than the maternity ones. 

 

 Of course there was a conflict several weekends in a row which resulted in my planned outfits not fitting by the time we actually had the session, and of course the ONE weekend that worked out ended up being rainy. I was fine with this, though. It rained during our engagement pictures as well, and so we were able to use the same umbrella we had used in those photos which I thought was a nice touch.
 

Because Halloween is also our anniversary we started a tradition of sending out a Halloween card instead of a Christmas card. There is one less thing to do at Christmastime this way, and we also give everyone a subtle reminder to include us on their Christmas card lists! Or not so subtle? Either way we plan on continuing the Halloween card! Bevo has been in the family picture every year, and thankfully we were able to get ONE good shot of the three of us during the maternity shoot to use for the card. Already dreading trying to coordinate both Bevo and Trent for this year's picture!

 

Year of the Fox

Another current post. I promise I will catch up on the actual birth, holidays, etc soon! 

With Easter being so early this year I have been browsing all the goods since about January. My Target runs have been DRASTICALLY reduced in frequency since having Trent, and as a result I miss out on SO much. I used to know the Target inventory like the back of my hand, but recently I have been way out of the loop...having friends and family notifying me of some must-have...only for it to be out of stock by the time I finally make my way to the store. So I was more than thrilled to stumble across the freshly stocked Easter aisles a while back. I could not fill my basket quick enough. I know Trent won't know what is going on, but I firmly believe he needs to have a first Easter Easter basket, and I plan on saving all of the cute Fox items for future Easters. The basket itself was a gift from a family friend and happened to have come from Target! Here is my haul from the first trip plus the basket. I actually ended up grabbing a few more things they put out later (so sneaky!) the next time I was in the store. Just a few more Easter fox trinkets, but I haven't gotten a picture of them yet.

So there you have it. I can't wait to actually put the basket together and take some adorbs pictures of him with it. I have a couple of other things to add in that he can actually use now or soon....an orange pacifier, and orange bowl/spoon, etc. I seriously canNOT believe how much fox stuff there has been out this year. He has SO many cute fox clothes, room decorations, accessories, toys and more...and we were not even searching for them. They have all come from Target, Babies R Us, Pottery Barn Kids, Gymboree and other standard stores. For whatever reason...this has been the year of the Fox, and it could NOT be better timing!! Unfortunately I have absolutely no self control when I see ANYthing with a fox on it these days...which is how I ended up buying matching ones of these for my mom and me. And Trent (size 12 months). You KNOW a photo shoot is coming. Sigh.

 

 This last item was meant to go in his Easter basket as well, but of course I had to give it to him early so he could wear it for Easter (and all month/spring long really). I SO wish I had gotten one in every size. I am OBSESSED with the little Peter Rabbit embroidered shirt from Gap. I had seen it months ago and would not let myself pay full price for it, and lucky for me it went on sale in the stores (not online) a few weeks ago. You know I snatched it up. Why I didn't go for every size is beyond me, because I know come next Easter I will be kicking myself big time. Oh well. Maybe they will come out with one that has tiny embroidered foxes. One can dream.

 

Looking forward to our annual family egg hunt next weekend. Will definitely post pictures!

Meeting Dr. Barnett (current)

I know I am really jumping around here by posting some current events in the midst of attempting to catch up on some very overdue blog posts, but bear with me. I need a break from all of the catching up! 

This past week Trent and I had some spare time on our hands between work, feedings and naps...and he was actually pretty happy and calm...so we decided to stop by and see if our IVF doctor was in the office. I had stopped by with Trent several times before but could never catch him. I remember how difficult it was to score a few moments of his time even WITH an appointment...so without an appointment was proving to be nearly impossible. Thankfully this time the receptionist let him know I was waiting, and he came out of his appointment to say hi and to meet Trent.

I cannot even describe the feeling I got being back in the office and introducing him to Trent. It was both amazing and horrifying at the same time. It just brought back SO many memories and so many emotions. All of the frustration and depression I used to feel sitting in that very same waiting room seemed like it had been a lifetime ago, but it was still so vivid. And while I was so incredibly excited to introduce him to Trent and to celebrate that this was finally "over," I couldn't help but think of how it is probably only over for THIS time. And how I might be right back in that waiting room facing the same struggles all over again. 

But for that moment at least we hugged and laughed and celebrated this little miracle.

Baby Shower BBQ (catching up)

Our baby shower BBQ has to be one of my favorite parties to date. Because I work from home (and have no co-workers) and my few very close female friends are spread out across the country, I had been worried I would not have anyone to invite to a baby shower and had planned to skip the occasion altogether though. That was met with much protesting though, and ultimately we made the decision to forego a traditional baby shower and instead just have a big BBQ with all of our friends and family…guys, girls, young, old…everyone! And looking back I would never have wanted it any other way. What a fantastic opportuntiy to have everyone we love all in one place for a good time. It was almost like getting to have our wedding all over again! We still wanted to make the party about celebrating the anticipated arrival of the baby, but with such a mix of people there we worked hard to make sure it did not come off as a “baby shower.” With the help of my mom and sister-in-law, we put together such a fun afternoon for everyone! 

 

The shower was right around Labor Day, and so we decided to have a red, white and blue theme which also fit the whole BBQ/picnic feel quite nicely. This also made it easy to incorporate a ton of English/American flag decorations. We did include a few games but had them off to the side and optional so no one felt roped into playing the usual baby games you’d find at an all female shower. 

 

I was adamant that picnic tables were a must, but after a TON of research I found out it was near impossible to rent basic wooden picnic tables in the DFW area. Side note…seriously considering starting a picnic table rental company! Anyway…I still majorly owe my mom, dad, brother, husband, probably others…for humoring me and purchasing/hauling/building/sealing half a dozen tables for the occasion. I hear they were heavy… and it was hot…   SO worth it though, OMG! And it worked out WAY cheaper (minus the manual labor) than renting regular round tables anyway. Plus my brother and his wife, myself and my husband and my parents now all have new permanent additions to our back patios. Mom painted her two tables lime green and purple, and we are still debating what to do with ours. We made a ton of decorations…paper pinwheels, paper pom-poms, fabric flag garlands, etc. I wish I still had time to do stuff like that. Décor and party planning and coordinating everything used to be so important to me. This year at Christmas I think we still had a pumpkin on our doorstep. Or three.

We decided to have the food catered rather than forcing someone to man the grill for 75 people on a Texas summer afternoon, and it was a GREAT decision. Burger House did an absolutely amazing job with the burgers, fries, chicken sandwiches and other sides. Yummo. Sadly I don’t even recall what there was to drink-drink since I could not partake, but I did have my blue lemonade/mason jar/striped paper straw in washtub station as requested. Thanks again, Pinterest! There was a ton of dessert items. I was SO disappointed with the cake, though. Ugh. I seriously want to post this side-by-side as one of the ever popular “Nailed It” memes. Like…really. A very well established and well respected bakery in our area…which will remain nameless…seriously thought this was okay? Whatever. I did really well not to freak out about it. And a huge thanks to Aunt Tracy for attempting to salvage it with the ribbon curls. It was even WORSE before this if you can believe it. I wish I had taken just a normal shot of it in all its glory, but I remember trying to take all of the pictures from some sort of angle that would make it appear semi-acceptable. Again, whatever. Lesson learned. Never going there again.

 

 

Okay..so it was the perfect day MINUS the cake. I was even able to go outside without full mosquito garb for the first time in months thanks to an unseasonable dip in temperature. Perfect timing. 

 

Babymoon (catching up)

Wow…when I look back at those pictures from the late weeks of pregnancy…I cannot believe how big my belly was!! At the time a few people started making jokes about there being more than one in there, and I was totally offended. But now I can definitely see what they meant. Geez. Noting for next pregnancy.

Anyway…the blog left off right about the time we took our Babymoon which I am definitely using as the excuse for getting off track with blogging. We had originally thought about going somewhere further, but we ultimately decided to go back to one of our favorite spots just outside of San Antonio, the JW Marriott. I was hoping to get some relief from good old West Nile, but we figured flying at that stage was not the smartest idea if we didn’t absolutely have to…nor the most comfortable thing I could have imagined at that point. So we packed up our bug spray and sunscreen and made the 4-5 hour drive down to the Hill Country. Of course we had to stop in Austin for a little shopping on the drag and then again in San Marcos for some outlet shopping. 

 Finally we made it to the resort, and the “babymoon” began. I am doing the finger air quotations as I say this because apparently “babymoon” still is not a recognized phenomenon. At least not at the JW Marriott San Antonio. Upon arrival and check-in we were asked when we would like the pack-and-play brought up to the room. Ummm…? At that point in the pregnancy we still weren’t 100% sure what a pack-and-play even was. Apparently the agent booking our reservation…clearly a 20-something male nowhere close to having kids….took our “babymoon” comment in the special requests section to mean that we were traveling WITH a baby. We set the record straight at the check-in desk and politely declined the pack-and-play. But on the way to the room we realized we were being led to an entirely different wing of the resort than usual. Past the spa. Past the gym. Past the Starbucks. Past the bar. I was getting nervous. Then I saw the kids’ club. No, no, no. But oh yes, I was right. In addition to assuming we needed a pack-and-play for our “babymoon,” they also booked us in a block of rooms clearly reserved for people with ACTUAL babies. Actual screaming babies. I had no idea such a place even existed. Needless to say…it was not the most relaxing hotel stay I have ever had. We joked that it might prepare us for what was to come, but that was little consolation. In the future I will remember not to mention “baby” or “babymoon” when booking a trip.

Aside from that..and the inability to have a drink in hand at all times…we had a good trip, and I definitely recommend a babymoon for parents-to-be. We lounged by the pool, ate endless Mexican food, hung out by the river, shopped and relaxed. I joined hubby for a day of golf and drove the cart which was fun until I realized there are not bathrooms at every stop on the golf course. NOT so fun during your third trimester.

When we returned home I could not believe I still had over two months to go, and I was wishing we would have done the trip a bit later. But looking back on it, I am glad we did it when we did. Any later, and I could NOT have been in a swimsuit in public.

Then it was time to plan the baby shower/BBQ..