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!