VA Friend Baby Shower

John, Avery, and I were so blessed today with amazing company and gifts at our baby shower! My friends Shannon, Danielle, Katey, Angela, and Claire hosted a wonderful shower- and so many people came to show their support...we feel so loved!

The theme of the shower was 'Times of the Day', and guests were encouraged to bring a gift that somehow fit into one of the following categories: feeding time, changing time, time to go out, sleeping time. We are fully stoked with blankets, diapers, bottles, toys, and all sorts of goodies!

I've been looking forward to a shower with my girlfriends for so long- the girls who have supported John and I through the really hard times of miscarriages, and the really exciting times of this pregnancy. I tried to savor every moment, because I knew it would go by reallu quickly. Thanks everyone for an awesome time!!

The awesome girls who hosted the shower: Danielle, Angela, Shannon, Claire, and Katey

Time to go Out station

Changing Time station

Time for Sleeping station

Time for Feeding station

My NY mama came out for a long weekend to be at the shower

We're 33 weeks in this picture

Fierce competition of who can drink out of the bottle the quickest

Piper, Kai, and Avery coming this fall

Frames within a frame

I've been so excited to hang some of our maternity pictures we had taken a month ago, but it was a little more complicated than just hanging them on the wall with a nail and hammer. We decided we wanted to hang a few frames inside the HUGE frame we used during the session. The HUGE frame didn't have anything a nail(s) could hang on, so John attached something to the back of it, and made it work. While I was out running errands John took care of hanging the big and little frames on the wall, and I am so happy with how it turned out...exactly how I pictured!

John has been SUPER busy lately studying for his board exam coming up in a few days, so even the smallest home improvement projects have been put on serious hold. He knew how badly I wanted these hung, and surprised me with it...ahhh- just love him!

Wendy and Tom's Wedding

Her beautiful hair!

Brian (Man of Honor) and Wendy showing of their footwear

Jen, Amy, Wendy, Heidi, Shannon and I (friends from middle/high school)

The beautiful bride getting ready

I had the pleasure of being part of Wendy's wedding this past weekend! She was one of my closest friends growing up- all through elementary school, middle/high school, and college. It was a very quick turn around weekend, but I'm so glad I was able to be there to share in her special day. She looked radiant, and so happy!

4-D ultrasound of Avery

Sticking her tongue out!

Sucking on her thumb

Look at that sweet face!!

Today was so cool, and an appointment I've been looking forward to for about two months! I made the appointment for a 4-D ultrasound the middle of June or so, and have been counting down the weeks to see Avery in 4-d! It was so cool to watch her in real-time...and she looked like a baby...not some weird alien! Not only did she look like a baby; she acted like one too! She was sucking her thumb, covering her face with her hands, bunched up in the fetal position (go figure), making pouty faces, and she even smiled twice! John came (of course!), and my close friend Danielle, who is going to be in the delivery room with John and I. It was really special to have them both there!

Claire & Kai's shower

Today was a great day! It was spent celebrating Claire and Kai! We threw her a really fun baby shower- with lots of South African traditions thrown into the mix. Needless to say, we had a great time! We played lots of ridiculous games (mostly at Claire's expense), and she was a really good sport! It was so neat to see Claire so happy, and feeling so loved...that was the goal! She is going to be an amazing mom- full of patience, love, and tenderness towards her son! I am so excited to go through motherhood with Claire. She will balance me out well :)

Katey, Claire, Angela, myself, and Danielle

Coming this fall...Piper Toller, Kai Diesel-Reynolds, and Avery Dorr

The whole gang...can you feel the love?!

Claire and the surfer baby from her cake.It's a South African tradition for the mommy-to-be to be dressed up by someone. She was a good sport!

Kai got tons of surfer/beach themed gifts!
Claire loooooves diaper cakes, so we made sure she had one of her own!

Putting the pieces together...

Out glider, and end table arrived this week- and we (John) put them together tonight! It's a really small thing, but SO exciting because it's just more and more about her nursery coming together! At first it was painting, and then it was the crib, and then it was washing/folding her clothes, and now the rocker...all the pieces are coming together!

I've heard many moms say before that they will just go into the nursery (well before the baby arrives) and just sit in there daydreaming about their new baby, and the excitement that goes along with it! I find myself in the same situation! I'm totally aware that there will be many days and nights that I'll want to escape from her nursery to a different place, but for now...it's where I love to be!

Random sampling of maternity pictures

Today we got a disc in the mail with about 100 pictures from our maternity session two weeks ago. Talk about overwhelming! Our photographer did such an amazing job illustrating the love, excitement, and anticipation surrounding Avery's arrival in October! There are so many pictures, but I chose just a few to share, and I'm pretty sure it would take HOURS to upload all of them. I'm going to make prints for the house, John's office, and both our families to have. I am so glad we chose to have maternity pictures taken! It's really captured how special this time is for us! Everyone keeps telling us Avery will love looking at these pictures when she's old enough to appreciate them...heck, I love looking at these pictures!!

Hope you enjoy!

Bad idea...

After I hung the blanket above her changing table, I thought to myself...'Gosh, that's awful tempting for an active baby to yank, and pull at...maybe I should move it!' Sooooo, John and I moved it to a different wall (far from reach), and hung these words instead. I actually like the blanket better above the changing table, but practicality won on this one! Here are the NEW pictures!

The glider, and end table will be going in that corner.

New location of the blanket...out of reach!

New decor above the changing table

Nursery Challenge...

This may look like a simple task, but don't be fooled...this blanket gave me quite the challenge! When I originally wrapped the wooden spool with ribbon, it was wayyyyy too long! I had to do it all over again (no fun with a hot glue gun), and try again! Measuring correctly, which John tells me is a must, meant me getting on TOP on the changing table...oh my, oh my!

Well, at last it looks pretty!

30 weeks

This has been a great week (counting from last weekend to this weekend)! We had our maternity pictures taken Saturday, painted the room Sunday, set up the crib Monday, moved the dresser/changing table into the nursery on Wednesday...and set up the room the following days! Phew- it's been a busy week, and I've loved every second of it! (Check out pictures from a few days ago). It took us a while to get the ball rolling, but after the room got painted, everything really just fell into place!

I'm feeling her ALL the time, and I love it! I can tell more now than before body parts that she's poking me with, and it's really neat! Sleeping has become more difficult, but I'm really blessed to have the summer off so I can take a nap during the day if I need to.

Here is what BabyCenter.com has to say about Avery's development...

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Maternity Picture Session

The photographer e-mailed us this morning with our maternity pictures on her site, and we love them!

She's going to send us a disc in the mail with even more pictures...Christmas in August!!!

www.terresashawphotography.com

Nursery!!!

The nursery is coming along so well, and it's only the beginning!!

We got the crib, and dresser/changing table combo set up Monday night, and I was then able to start working on getting her bedding together. I got a good start on her closet and all the clothes she's been given! Phew- washing, folding, and sorting all her clothes by size has been quite the job- but I've loved every second of it! My two friends Kelly and Jess came over yesterday to help organize a little more, and they were super helpful! I think they may come back again after my shower at the end of the month to help me after I get more gifts!

We still have wall decor to hang, John's mom is making us curtains with beautiful fabric I picked out (yay!!!), and the glider is expected to arrive in about a week- so exciting!!

The blanket that comes with her bedding, which we're going to hang on the wall as decor until she's old enough to use it.

Her mobile...I think it's so precious!!

We have some wall decor to hang on the wall above the changing table.

Her crib and bedding

Kelly and Jess helping tie the little bows on the bedding

Maternity Picture sneak peek...

We had maternity pictures taken Saturday evening at the Yorktown Battlefields and Yorktown Beach with an amazing photographer Terresa Shaw!

She posted a little teaser on her web site today, and I cannot stop looking at it!

She told me we should have the rest of the pictures in a week or so...soooo excited!

www.terresashawphotography.com

Better pictures of the room

These are much better than the pictures I took yesterday because the paint is totally dry, and it's more natural light in the room. We are so happy with how the color turned out! When we picked it, it was a little more gray-ish than I wanted, but John assured me it would look great with the bright white trim.

There's obviously a lot more to do- crib, changing table, glider, and wall decorations but I am just so glad that the painting is done!

I'll post pictures later in the week with more updates.

Updated baby room...

So we finally finished painting the trim, and wayne's coating that John built. It took forever! Not only because there's a lot of it, but also because it's made out of something called mdf board which is a form of wood that's really absorbent, and doesn't hold paint well- so we had to do a lot of primer!

It's been quite the process...

We agreed on a paint color this morning, after days and days of going back and forth, and then we started working on it this afternoon. The pictures don't really do it justice. Some pictures it looks really light, and others it looks really dark. I guess when all is dry, and there's normal light in the room, it will be easier to tell.

John and I decided the best way to describe it is a light, creamy coffee color. We decided to go with something neutral so that the colors from her bedding, and curtains will pop and not compete with the wall color. Also we're going to pull in color from the frames I made, and wall decor I bought a few weeks ago.

I think we're planning on getting her crib and changing table/dresser combo in the room this week, and then I can start setting things up...yay!!!

It's a little lighter than what it's showing in the picture- we love it!

Much darker than what it's showing in the picture above

John's handy-work

Before the paint color went on- showing off John's beautiful trim and wayne's coating