Eva's Nursery

It's finished! Eva's nursery is decorated and ready for a baby. Ryan and I spent some time hanging things on the walls this week, I organized gifts from baby shower, the bedding arrived this week, and just this afternoon we got the E-V-A letters in the mail to hang on the wall! I love how the finished room looks. Here are a few pics - it's always tricky to get good pictures of bedrooms because of the square shape...there is never quite enough room to scoot back and get the perfect shot. Hopefully you can imagine how fabulous everything looks together. I also really like how we took such a mixture of old and new to create a bright, bedazzled nursery!
Wall letters! A friend's mother in-law made these and they turned how super cute! I just sent her a few pics of other nursery ideas and let her be creative....ironically the name of her craft business is "Bee Creative!" Thanks, Brenda!
The crib and bedding, laundry hamper, and wall letters. It was hard to get a cuter picture of the bedding because there is so much white. We have a couple of interchangeable pink and green sheets with either dot or paisley prints on them that coordinate with the crib skirt. I really like the laundry hamper because it is the perfect size and has just the right colors and prints to match the room.
The guest bed. Every loving grandma needs a place to sleep when she babysits! The print I picked out so long ago from Hobby Lobby looks awesome with everything else. The blue sparkly pillows were part of our living room decor when we first got married. The white lacy pillow cases and quilt were my mom's. The flowery boppy pillow is brand new!
Some bling-bling pink curtains that make the room extremely pink in the morning. The Scripture verses were Ryan's from his college apartment and help to frame the window wall.
This wall photographed the best. My amazing glider that is topped with a blanket I received at a shower that matched our theme so well. The nightstand was mine growing up and my mom lovingly refinished it in hot pink, plus we added the rhinestone draw pulls. The green shelf used to be an old wooden one at my mom's that we repainted. Right now there are Scripture verses in the picture frame parts, all about children and the Lord. We touched up our Craigslist changing table and added a few polka dot baskets for supplies. The flower painting was a shower gift that my aunt gave me from a local artist and the "Laugh" wall hanging comes from the best store on earth - Super Target!
The dresser we found at a boutique all decorated with fancy things. The lamp matched my pink and zebra print room in college. The little boxes on top coordinate with the wall letters. Ryan painted some old white picture frames turquoise and we printed off a few maternity pics to put in them.

We may still make a few other enhancements. I'd love to find a way to hang some polka dot paper lanterns in the corner near the crib. But for now, I am so happy and content with everything. As the old saying goes, "The cuter the nursery, the better a newborn sleeps"..... Wait, that's true, right?

A few more special gifts.

Sunday afternoon, I was sitting around, waiting for the stork to bring me my baby, when I decided to go to a party with some fabulous friends and open up a few more special gifts! I decided that it would probably be okay for me to leave the house and enjoy my friends, since the stork isn't scheduled to appear for another month or so.

The shower was hosted by some sweet friends, Shelise and Koni at Shelise's house. They were so great to put everything together and invited all of our Redeemer Church ladies.

One of the games we played involved measuring off a string to guess how big I am. I guess this game is only okay when you're pregnant, because nobody else offered for us to measure their waistline. I actually guessed my "roundness" exactly! All those profile glances in the mirror the past months actually paid off!

Ice cream bar! This was awesome and delicious! If only I could figure out a way to make this appear in my kitchen every evening around 10pm I'd be set. And rounder....

Love my "MCG West" girls! Thanks for celebrating and being so generous!

More church friends!

With Channing and Molly, 2 of our fun youth girls!

Adorable little girl outfits! This picture is mostly for my mom, who is in Colorado and couldn't make it to the shower. I called her afterward when I admiring all the outfits and told her that I'd post a picture for her!

Thanks again to all the friends that came to this shower, as well as my other showers. I've been so surrounded with love and have enjoyed getting to spend time with the women I love. Opening presents was pretty fun too :)

Maternity Photos

Last weekend Ryan and I took some maternity photos together in downtown Royse City where his family lives. Julie, a family friend, met up with us and was so great to sweat it out with us in the 100 degree heat. Thank you, Julie!!!! We were really happy with how they turned out and look forward to posting a few in the nursery. At the time of these photos I was just past 32 weeks. I hope Eva enjoys looking back at these one day!

Our 3rd Anniversary

Today is our 3rd anniversary! 3 years of being married, learning how to love better and laughing a lot! What should we do to celebrate???? I could put on my wedding gown...but it might not fit so well over my growing baby bump. Go dancing??? I'd probably get short of breath and my feet would hurt. Drink champagne? Nope. Eat cake??? Yes! That I can definitely do :) Actually, Ryan and I celebrated Sunday night and Monday with a get away to Dallas. It was a romantic time to celebrate and enjoy it being just the 2 of us.
Sunday afternoon we checked into The Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas. It was a very fancy hotel! We had talked about staying at a hotel a while back, but when I looked at hotel rates I ran into a problem. Everything nice - The Westin or The Hilton - was expensive. Everything affordable - La Quinta or The Holiday Inn - fell into the category of, "that would be fine if we were out of town, but for a night in Dallas it would be less than desirable." We had pretty much ruled out the idea of a hotel when we suddenly remembered that our credit card lets us accumulate points. We had never used these points before and didn't quite understand how they work. Basically since we've been married we just let them collect figuring that we'd do something with them someday. Guess what? It was someday! We actually had enough points to stay at the fancy Adolphus for free! What a bargain!
They treated us like royalty and it didn't cost us a thing.
Sunday night we went out to eat a Benihana's hibachi grill. I love hibachi. I always think that they aren't making enough food when they are grilling it up in front of me, but somehow I end up with plenty of leftovers. Leftovers are important when you're pregnant and require what we jokingly refer to as "2nd Dinner" around 10pm.
This was part of our nice hotel room. I love fluffy hotel beds that I don't have to make. It is also important to me that the hotel comforter is not ugly and stiff.
That is always the down side about beach hotels. Ugly bed linens.
Ryan reading up on the best of Dallas in the sitting area. I didn't take a picture of it, but our room had a fabulous bathroom. The shower head was like standing under a hot waterfall and inside the shower/tub there were towel racks placed just far enough away from the shower head that they wouldn't get wet and you could dry off without having to reach outside of the shower. Amazing.
I think our apartment complex needs to look into that little renovation!
One of the views from our window.
Room service for breakfast! The only other time we've gotten room service was on our wedding night when we were starving after the reception so this was a big deal. My Belgian waffle was amazing. Not pictured: the less expensive bottle of orange juice we purchased at CVS the night before. Life (even room service) is give and take.
I'll spring for the fancy waffle, but juice is juice.
Ready for our day date on Monday morning!
At the Dallas World Aquarium. One of us is looking very pregnant.
I love penguins. It's so cute to watch them waddle around. Like a duck, but sweeter.
We couldn't find a label for this animal, but it reminded us of Cosby.
So active, so in love with life.

This turtle looked like his head was stuck under the rocks. Don't worry, he got out.

My favorite animal of the day - the manatee! I liked the manatees because I could related to being big, round, and slower. It was also neat because there were 2 aquarium workers in their tank playing with the manatees and giving them massages.
Swimming and a massage? They have it made.

The tropical zone - a little too hot to stay in very long, but it was fun to see the monkeys jump around.

Happy Anniversary, Ryan! I love you so much! Our Dallas date was wonderful and
I'm looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together!

Showered with Love

Saturday afternoon we got to celebrate babies and family again with a shower for Eva hosted by the Bradley family. I love the picture above of all the Bradley girls.
Soon I'll have a little girl to hold too!

My grandma, my mom, Ryan's mom, and Ryan's grandma - it's always special when generations come together. I was so happy to share yesterday with these loving moms.

Don't worry, Eva...between mama and your cousin Kiersi,
you will have plenty of help learning to be a little diva.

The table center piece. The tiara and little gloves were so fancy!

The diaper cake - my mother in-law made this herself!
She is so creative and it looked very cute!

The cake made by my sister in-law Melody. I love the little bling details!

Thank you to everybody who came. We received so many amazing gifts and enjoyed getting to visit with everybody. Thanks for showering us with love!

Hello, flip flops...Goodbye, toes!

With the sweetness of summer comes the necessity for flip-flops and pedicures. Which is wonderful, unless you are suddenly so pregnant that you can't reach your toes. I can still see my toes, but it is now impossible for me to bend in such a way that would allow me to paint them myself.

So what's a girl to do? Enlist the help of her favorite husband! Ryan has known this day was coming and been preparing to tackle the simple job of becoming my pedicurist. The other night I got out the bucket of nail polish and a step stool and tried to talk him through painting my toenails. What a trooper! I have the best, most loving, and silliest husband I could ever dream of!
He tried so hard to paint each nail just right. There was only one problem. He's a man. He's never painted nails. He tried so hard... yet at the end he looked up with a smile and said, "They don't look good honey." Believe me, they looked decent for being painted by an amateur! What my pedicure lacked in looks it made up for in laughs and a good memory. I let the look set in a few days before resorting to asking my mom. My mom also tried really hard to do a great job, but in the end her response was similar to his, adding, "Let me just give you some money for a professional pedicure."

So today I was lucky enough to get a pro to tackle my toes. They look much better now! A big heart warmed thank you to my mom and Ryan for trying so hard! Hopefully my pedicure will last at least a few weeks and my toes will be sparkling!

Eating for 2

As a pregnant woman, I hear lots of "eating for 2" jokes. It's somewhat ironic, because sometimes food seems so unappealing to me that I barely eat for one. Yes, there are days when I want to eat EVERYTHING I see, but day to day I open up the fridge and decide, "Nope. There is nothing in here that I could possibly imagine eating."

Tonight I had to go by Walmart to pick up a 4 foot sub sandwich that we had ordered for youth group. Ryan is the one who usually picks up Walmart catering for our weekly youth group but there was confusion with our order so I had to pick it up on the way. If you have never seen 4 feet of sandwich let me assure you, it is A LOT of sandwich. So I went to pick it up and they tried to just hand it to me over the counter. I'm not sure, but I don't think that when you look at me that I look able to carry 4 feet of sandwich alone. The Walmart people suggested that I get a cart to put it in, but shockingly, you can't fit a 4 foot sandwich in a shopping cart! Eventually they decided to have someone help me carry the giant sandwich to the checkout counter. As I'm walking through the store, I can feel the stares, the giggles from strangers, and the general assumption that since I'm pregnant I probably ordered this huge sandwich just for me. And that I'm not strong enough to carry it by myself! It was awkward. I finally get to the counter with the sandwich that is almost as tall as me and the lady helping me asks, "Did you park close?" No. I did not. I didn't consider having to drag the worlds largest sandwich outside. Thankfully, she offered to help me out to the car. Yep, me and the Walmart Associate, carrying the sandwich buddy-style all through the parking lot. The saddest part is that it was a deli sandwich, which you can't even eat when you're pregnant. My dinner tonight was half a Lean Cuisine microwave lasagna.

4th of July: 30 Weeks

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is enjoying a fabulous day off like I am! We actually did most of our celebrating yesterday so today will be more for relaxing and enjoying time for just me and Ryan. We started off yesterday morning with a delicious all church brunch. Right now I am wishing I had taken some of the leftover egg casserole home with me. Or that somebody would bring me some right now.... Any takers? After church we went to Hawaiian Falls water park which is super convenient since its right down the street from us. We could have walked there, but we didn't - because I'm 30 weeks pregnant and it was a million degrees outside and we have a car that works really great and allowed us to be in the water that much faster. Ryan is a Chaplin at Hawaiian Falls for the summer and one of the perks is that we both get a season's pass. The last time I went a few weeks ago they only had the wave pool and lazy river open but since then they've finished all of the cool slides. I wish I could ride all of them but alas that is discouraged for pregnant women, so I was limited to the super cool slides they offer for preschool age children. Wheeee! At least it was better than nothing. Seriously though, riding the little slide was pretty fun. Later in the evening we went to Roanoke Rocks on the 3rd, the town fireworks and music celebration. This was also held right down the street from us (we must live in the most happening area, consider it the "Uptown Dallas" of Roanoke, Texas!) and we tried to drive but there were so many people and cars that we ended up looping back into our apartment complex and walking. For a small town, they really did rock those fireworks! They lasted for like 45 minutes. That's a lot of ooh-ing and ahh-ing!

And here is my 30 week update:
* I am so excited for Eva to get here and for me to hold her. I am also enjoying this precious time where she is inside of me and I get to keep her all to myself. I know that I'll love her even more after she's born, but for now she's always with me and protected and I kind of like that.
* I am also focusing on enjoying all of her movement and on the joy that comes from being pregnant. I've always looked at pregnant women with adoration so I want to soak up the time that I can enjoy being the one that is adored. Hmm, I didn't mean that to sound divaish, it's just fun having people be so happy for you.
* Sometimes it still doesn't seem real. Is there really a tiny person growing inside of me? Could we really be taking care of her in as little as 7 -8 weeks (sometimes babies come early....)
* Sometimes it seems too real. Our baby is almost here! We aren't just playing house.It won't be just me and Ryan doing whatever we want. We will be parents to her for the rest of our lives. Our decisions will affect her. Yikes!
* And of course, being pregnant is uncomfortable. My back hurts. My feet hurt- but aren't swollen yet so I'll rejoice in that!. My belly hurts. I'm short of breath. My heart rate is high and beats out of my chest (which is a little scary but my doctor and I are keeping an eye on everything). I can't sleep well. On a more positive note.......
*Our nursery is coming together! I can't wait to post more fun pics in a few weeks! We have little tiny outfits on little tiny hangers in the closet. I get to practice with my swaddling wrap (my Moby) so that when I have Eva I can do it like a pro. There is a diaper bag hanging on the back of the door of the room I'm sitting on. There is a pink boppy on the bed. My feet are propped up on my glider.
*I know the next 10 (or 7 or 8 or 9) weeks will go by quickly. I want to enjoy summer and prepare my heart for my little girl.

A home for everything, and everything in its home.

I have a little bit of everything to blog about today. The first is that I am so happy that the above picture is not us! Today marks the one year anniversary of us moving into our apartment in Roanoke, also meaning that if we had not renewed our lease today would once again be moving day. But it's not!!!!!!!! I can't imagine moving today, with 100 degree temperatures and a baby bump that keeps me plenty warm. Since starting college back in 2002 I have never stayed in a place more than 2 years which equals to a lot of moving and even more boxes. Have you ever realized that even if you go through and get rid of stuff before each move, your stuff still multiplies? I honestly hate the packing, moving, unpacking process, but it is often necessary. And it's not like I want to stay in our current apartment for the next 10 years.

Part 2 of this blog is that we put up Eva's crib last weekend! Having a crib makes her arrival seem so much closer! It made me want to get everything in order and set up in the nursery ASAP. I tried to get Ryan to jump on the nursery decorating band wagon and asked him if he wanted to have long, in-depth conversations about where to put diapers and other cute baby things like onesies and bibs. His loving response, "I'm not a bird. I don't nest." Oh, what a clever man.

Nana and Papa (Ryan's parents) were very generous to get us the crib as a gift and I love it! As soon as we got it last Saturday my skillful husband and I got right to work setting it up. Probably the hardest part was unwrapping it from the giant box that it came in. It only took us about 30 minutes to get it out and put it together and I am so happy with how it looks! Thank you Nana and Papa! I can't wait to see a cute little girl peeking out of it, waiting to be picked up in the morning :) Of course, the arrival of the crib meant the end of......................

The computer desk. Ryan's one man space in the house. Before the conversion of the nursery, we used to call the 2nd bedroom in our house The Office/Guestroom. Ryan had his special space where he could put treasured belongings like his daily tear off calendar, his monthly schedule calendar, and his all important cup of pens. The computer was one he bought for college and as he would often remind me that, "I bought the desk at Walmart and put it together myself!"

As excited as I am to have the crib, my heart breaks a little bit for my husband to have to give up his computer desk. I have tried suggesting some new places for his calendar and cup of pens. He has a laptop so he doesn't need the desktop computer. But there is definitely no room in our apartment for the desk. I guess this is one of the sacrifices that people are referring to when they say that having a baby changes everything.

On a side note, we have a really great computer desk we are selling... let me know if you're looking for one....