Pics from my last Baby Shower

SWEET ELLA!

So in my last post I talked about my amazing family and all of the wonderful baby showers they have given us...

These pictures are from a shower, given by Pam and Melissa, in Manchester. Let me start by saying I love detail! And BOTH of my showers were full of detail. Now saying my family is amazing, well that is an understatement! The thought and the love they have put into giving me the perfect baby shower is just incredible...

This is a picture of my cake. It mimics the shower invitations, how cool is that! It was beautiful and delicious.

Everybody got to take home a package of cookies. They also have Ella's monogram on it.

After my first shower, I realized I never got a picture with my beautiful Mother!



Opening my first gift of the day!

The next two pictures are of a receiving blanket and an afhan that was made for Ella. Mrs. Riddle started these the moment she new we were pregnant and I was so excited to get them! She is so good to us...

This last picture is of two different gifts. On Friday we went over to our good friends, Kent and Jill's to have some pizza. They gave us three embroidered burp clothes and an embroidered bloomer. They are the cutest designs I have ever seen!!!

At my shower my mom gave me this little outfit for Ella. I opened up and got so tickled because it matched the design of the burp cloths! So I had to take a picture of them together. How cute is this:

After nine amazing months and some of the best baby showers I could have ever been given, I have to say that we are ready for our sweet Ella! Thank you to everyone who has been so giving and so generous to me and Jeramy. We are so blessed and thankful for all of our friends and family!

Now bring on that BABY!!!!

Thick and Full!

These were the words used to describe my cervix! Yeah I know this is a gross topic to all the men, but I'm not even sure that there are that many men who read my blog...so I will continue! In the past two weeks I haven't really felt all that great. I'm moving around slower, I'm having lots of pressure and even some really sharp pains "down there." I just knew that when I went to the doctor that I would hear some sort of news. My first exam in 8 months was yesterday and let me tell you it was a much awaited appointment. The last two weeks have felt like two months!!! Anxiety I guess? So I ask Jeramy to go to this appointment with me, it could be exciting or not...

We get to the doctor's office only to find out that my doctor was in delivery. "Do you want to see Nan, the nurse practitioner?" I ask "Can she give me the same news that Dr. Jones can?" Marge says "Yep, and she is going to test you for Strep B!" My thoughts... "Great!"

They call us back and go through the usual routine: pee in a cup, weight check and blood pressure. Yeah I won't hit on too many details here except for when I saw my weight gain, I blushed! "I am going to get in T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!!" I mean what the hay! 6 pounds? Is this possible, in two weeks! YIKES... Yeah it was the end of the day and I had on winter clothes and I've had 4 baby showers, two of which were mine! Point being...I love cake! So maybe I should of been a little more careful. Oh I am going to blame a little of it on water retention! Monday I woke up and felt swollen... My hands felt warm and thick and my boots were pretty tight. Jeramy said my legs were thicker then normal.

Okay, back to the appointment... I can't stop laughing at how much my weight gain was, you know like that embarrassed, but shocked laugh that doesn't stop. That was me! She checks my fundal measurements and listens to the heartbeat, everything good there! Then she goes in for the kill. "Feet in the sturrups, butt to the edge!" She swabs the area, this was the Strep B test, "not so bad!" Then time to hear "you are moving along nicely, your cervix is about 25% effaced, but there is no dialation!" But this is not the case today... It was so fast, how can she even tell if there are any changes! "Well your cervix is Thick and Full!" Okay, so she's locked in tight. My mind keeps refering to Groundhog's Day... Six more weeks of winter! Technically I only have 4 weeks, but you catch my drift! Not that I want her to come today, but when you feel so much pressure and your body is feeling rough, it would be nice to hear some kind of progression!

This week, though, I have felt great! I'm sure these stages will come and go for the next couple of weeks. My little Ella Bean will make her appearence when she is ready! I am going to the doctor every week now, so I will keep you posted! I also have some pictures to post from my last baby shower given by Pam and Melissa! It was such a beautiful shower...man I have some great sisters!!! But I will tell you all about it soon....

Baby Showers

This was a busy weekend! I had baby shower #2 at my sister's house. This shower was with all of my long time friends and neighborhood family! It was given by Mary Helen and Heather, but of course, all of my SIL were there to help! (Next weekend Pam and Melissa are having a shower for all of my Manchester family and friends.) Ella and I received some wonderful things!!! I spent all day Sunday going through everything and organizing her room. WOW, babies sure do have a lot of stuff :)


Here is Pam, Mary Helen, Me, Heather and Melissa in front of the gift table!

Before it became the gift table it was the food table! That is one of the MANY benefits of our showers...THE FOOD IS WONDERFUL!!!

I love Petit Fours!!!

Look how gorgeous it all is...

These are prayer cards. They were passed out among my friends and family and each person read a prayer for Ella. There were even prayers for Mommy and Daddy. This is such an emotional prayer and I am truly blessed to have the people that mean the most to me pray this for my new family!

Beautiful flowers were everywhere!

The next couple are some of the great gifts we received!

And this is the gift table after I had opened all of the presents! Look at all of that wonderful stuff... And it will all be used :)

After my showerI had to quickly return to Manchester to go and enjoy another baby shower. This was a couples shower for our good friends Pete And Cheryl! They are having a little girl named Kayla Brooke. Cheryl and I are only a couple days a part in our deliveries... I have a feeling these two little girls are going to be good friends :)

This was a fun shower! The boys put together an awesome shrimp boil.

This was a little game the boys played. They all had baby bottles with some beer in it. The object was who could suck the beer out fastest, well Jeramy gave it such a go, his nipple collapsed! (The funny thing was, everybody's nipple was cut, except for Pete's! So he was having the hardest time finishing the beer. All of the ladies knew, so we were just giggling the whole time.)

Here stands the proud winner, Jason!

What a great, but exhausting, weekend!

Jeramy's 31st Birthday and Our 1st Baby Shower

Jeramy and I have had a great weekend! Friday was Jeramy's 31st Birthday and we kicked it off Thursday night with a cake I made for him. We just couldn't wait to cut into it, so I added some candles and of course I had to sing him "Happy Birthday!" Friday, January 25th, was the special day, but we had to work so we just proceeded as normal with our schedules. That evening we celebrated over some good ole' German food at Gausthaus. We stuffed our faces and came home and watched a movie...in which we both fell asleep! Aren't we exciting folks :) But we spent some great time together and that is what is important.

This is a little cake my mom got for Jeramy.

Saturday evening we had our 1st Baby Shower. It was a couples shower given by our great friends Brad & Katy. This was a really fun shower! The group was small and it made it that much more fun. We played the "dirty diaper game" and enjoyed each others company.

This is us opening our first gift from Brian and Angel!

We received lots of great things for Ella! A changing pad and cover, a Boone Frog toy scoop for the bathtub, which I think Jeramy will love more then Ella, some photo albums, lots of little goodies, an adorable little bath robe, and a beautiful sun dress! There was so much more and we are so thankful for it all!

Today, Sunday, the first thing I did was go into Ella's room and go through all of the fun stuff :) Her room is officially a tornado at this point, guess I need to start organizing and washing clothes this week. We picked up the house, went to get a bite to eat and enjoyed the beautiful day outdoors. We met some friends at the farm and watched to dogs play fetch and soaked up the afternoon sun! It was wonderful....

Whoa Baby!!!

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, but there really hasn't been much going on. Today I had my 32 week check up and everything looks good. I have had a feeling that I was measuring big and I was right. I am measuring 2cm bigger then I should be (34cm). My doctor said that if I continue to measure big then I will need to have an ultrasound to check the baby's weight. Another ultrasound....If insurance will cover it I will take it in a minute! :) So I was talking to Heather about my measurements and she said that with Rylee she did the same thing. At around 32 weeks she started to measure big, she was actually induced 2 weeks before her due date and still had a 9 lb. baby girl! I just thought it was funny that our pregnancies could be very similar after all... Now at this point my body could change very quickly, it could catch up or it could continue to get bigger. Mean while, I am just going to enjoy the last couple weeks of quiet and day dream as she moves and kicks around!

I wanted to show you the furniture for Ella's room! Like I said before we are so fortunate to have been given this beautiful furniture. Everything looks so great and I have to take a peek in there everyday. Do you see the rocking chair...my mother gave me this, it was ours as children. I loved it then and I love it now! My favorite thing right now is to sit in there and read a book. It is so peaceful...I also daydream about watching my little one in her crib! We are so blessed in every aspect of our lives...

One Step Closer

Being off work the week of Christmas was super nice, but thank God I was able to help out in Bell Buckle! Sunday and Monday I was bored....Stayed in my pj's all day and attempted to take down Christmas but got bored with it, so New Years Day I decided to go to Murfreesboro. I really did not have an agenda, but I went anyway. Started off at Lowe's where I got (2) glass knobs for the closet door in Ella's room(they match the knobs on the dresser). Then I headed to Target. As I was walking through the home department, looking for a rug, I found an affordable curtain rod with glass on each end. $14.99, how can you beat that! So I thought "I better get that for my little Ella!" As I continued walking, I cruised through the curtains, not planning on buying anything but I wanted to see the selection of white curtains. Not too much to choose from... Then in the "shabby chic" section I found beautiful pink linen sheers. They are very light and I thought "Hmmm those would look just as good as white." (2) sheers for $19.99 and it was the only pack they had. "I shouldn't pass this up..." So in my arms they went! This is all stuff I need right? Happy with my purchase I decide it is time to leave the Boro so I won't spend any more $$. On my way out I stop at my Brother and SIL to see the bunk beds they had refinished for my nephews...ADORABLE! I love it...I love little boy stuff :) Maybe one day. They are so generously giving me the baby furniture to use! And Melissa had some goodies for me to take home. I am so excited and we should get the bed and changing table as soon as my dear hubby goes to get them! Thanks guys!!! I head home after my little stop and get to work hanging the curtains, so I can surprise Jeramy when he got home. Why stop there... Ella's name for Christmas was drawn by Beth, my niece, and she and my mom got ELLA in wood letters for my wall, above the crib. I decided to go ahead and hang those too! I love it...and it is all coming together so nicely! Jeramy was extremely surprised and we both just starred in awe at how wonderful it all looked. One and half weeks away from 8 months...can you believe this?

Lots to Report

So it is New Years Eve and I must say it has been a busy Holiday. We have had lots of family functions and they were all enjoyable, but I'm glad to say they are over. I have been off work this week and have been filling in for a friend at her cute little shop in Bell Buckle, Comforts of Home. It has been a nice change of pace, except the fact that I had a stomach bug all week. I'm better and my appetite is back!

Yesterday I even went hunting with Jeramy! It was a lot of fun...I must confess that I have not gone with him since we were dating and I do miss the simple escape to nature! We get out to the farm and hike to the old barn about an hour before sundown. As we were climbing in the barn, my mind starting cranking...."This is really not the safest place for a pregnant person." Then Jeramy says "if I get a shot, cover your ears because it will be loud." More brain cranking "Could the gun shot damage Ella's developing ear drums?" After a moment of worry, I simply closed my eyes and said a prayer to keep us safe in what ever happens. Well the funny thing is Jeramy thought the same thing and said a prayer himself. Not the smartest outing we could have taken, but we realize this and could only pray for protection! And that is what happened, we were protected! We saw nothing and decided to head back. As we climbed out of the barn and hit the ground about 6-8 doe run across the field. We both just laughed and Jeramy said " that's why they call it hunting and not killing!" After that we went and ate dinner together. It was just a fun evening together and we both really enjoyed it!

To give you a little update on my last post, I think I have been doing better! I have definitely been conscious of the sweets I've been eating. Now Christmas day was a different story, but it is one day and I told myself that I can eat freely only if I promise myself to get back the next day! Well I had no problem doing that because of the stomach bug I came down with. I actually lost a couple of pounds but after the first full meal I could eat they were back....no worries! I have also been walking some...I plan to go out today too.

Now its on to 2008 and we have a lot to do and a lot to be thankful for!!! I had a little panic attack Saturday. It is a scary thought that I am 10 weeks away from the birth of our little Ella Bean! WOW. At the beginning I thought this was going to be the longest 9 months ever and now it is almost here. Still in shock, but trying to cope....It will be wonderful, but the next two months are going to be crazy! Work, home, everything!

Well Happy New Year everyone....thanks for an incredible year :)