Three Years!

I know it sounds trite to say this, but time has flown by so quickly.

Yesterday, James and I celebrated our THREE year wedding anniversary.  We had a very relaxed night and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Saluda’s. The food was a.ma.zing.  We both LOVED everything that we tried.  We are going to try to sneak in more date nights while we can.

Here are a few pics from our big day, otherwise known as the best day of my life so far.

One of my favorite pictures from the wedding..

To me, it still feels like we are newlyweds. We've had so much fun so far in our married life and I feel very lucky to have found someone as unique as James.

Gigs, thank you so much for loving me unconditionally and letting me be myself all of the time.  You are the patience to my anxiety, the laugh to my worry, and the adventurous to my “same old”. I’m the luckiest . 

Bring Your Shampoo, This Is A Shower!

Did I ever tell you that I am the luckiest girl in the world?

Last weekend my amazing “work mom”, Joy, threw the most incredible baby shower for us! 

Joy is one of the sweetest women I know (she truly lives up to her name!).  Our friendship extends way beyond our work life, but I am so happy that I get to see her every single day at the office!  On days when she is on vacation, I find myself depressed.  She takes such good care of me and I am so lucky to have her!

A HUGE thank you to The Dresslers for this fun-filled night! It actually felt more like a party than a shower, which was really fun for all of the guests (especially since it was co-ed, and usually men can shy away from showers).

When the party was over I stayed up all night just thinking about how fortunate we are to have such wonderful friends and families.  I get a little emotional when I think about how blessed we are to have such generous people in our lives.

I wanted to share some fun pictures of the party!

Here is a shot of me and the wonderful hostess. 

My mom has decided on “Grammy” as her grandparent name, which I really like.  Isn’t she cute?

Future Grandmother Pic:

A shot of their beautiful yard and then the yummy food table:

More random people shots:

Big stack of gifts and us opening a few (again, a HUGE thank you-- we are all set now!):

And last but certainly not least, my Gigs!

31 Weeks, Peeps!

Last week was packed full of baby-ness, so I thought I would share an update!

We had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday and James was able to come with me, which is always nice. Baby is very healthy and is right on track! I will never tire of hearing that heartbeat (which was at a rate right at 130).

Here are some pics we took goofing off while waiting for the doctor.

The next part of our weekend was dedicated to our childbirth class.  It was held on Friday from 6:30-9p and Saturday 9a-5p.  It was marathon!  I feel much more prepared now, though admittedly a little overwhelmed.

Our favorite part was the hospital tour. I liked seeing the delivery room and nursery—it all feels very real now.

During part of the class, the teacher asked the husbands to provide backrubs.  I was so impressed that James kept going LONG after the other husbands quit.  What a sweet husband, right?

I could write much more about the class, but I think I will wait until a later post.

Let’s get to the questions:

How far along? 31 Weeks

How big is baby? Over three pound ( like carrying 4 navel oranges according to babycenter.com

Maternity clothes?   Oh yea

Sleep: Luckily, sleep is still easy once I get comfy.  There is the little issue of waking up to use the restroom, but it usually isn’t too big of a problem.

Best moment this week:  Daydreaming about future Easter Egg hunts with Baby G.

Movement: Baby G has been super-active lately!  I love it!

Food cravings: Nope.  Though the Easter candy was delightful.

Food Aversions: Still not a fan of peppers

Gender: ??

Pregnancy Symptoms:  My crazy dry skin has eased up a lot, thank goodness.  Now my only really discomfort is back pain.

Belly Button in or out?  In

What I miss:  Sitting comfortably without back pain

What I am looking forward to: My amazing work-mom is throwing a baby shower for me this weekend.  I can’t wait!!  

Upcoming appointments/events:  My next appointment is April 12.

Weekly Wisdom: Two tennis balls plus an old sock make the best massage tool ever!

Milestones:  We made it through our child birth class—woohoo!

Bump Picture: It isn’t really a "bump" picture, but here is a pic we took on EasterJ.

28 Week Update Y'all!

The last month has flown by!   It is hard for me to fathom that there will be a baby here in 12 weeks.  I mean, I've known this whole time that this pregnancy would ultimately lead to a baby—but it still feels unreal in a way.

We had our first class last week, Baby 101.  It was VERY educational and we are both very glad that we went. 

Here are some shots with James and our “baby”.

Our next class is a Labor and Delivery class in a few weeks.  That should be interesting, right?

Other than baby thoughts, life is consumed with work.  Things have been so busy and it seems like late nights are normal rather than the exception.  I love work, don’t misunderstand.  I am very passionate about my job and I LOVE the people I work with.  I just start to wonder how so many women balance it all.  I’m hopeful that I will figure it all out in due time. 

Okay, enough rambling, now for the update:

How far along? 28 Weeks – Trimester 3!

How big is baby? Eggplant, Two Pounds!

Maternity clothes?   You know it!

Sleep: My pregnancy pillow is amazing.  I’m a HUGE fan of sleeping.

Best moment this week:  Coming home to this! 

A huge thank you to Ashley and Jason Leyba!

Movement: Baby G has been super-active lately!  I love it!

Food cravings: None to speak of.  Will they ever happen?

Food Aversions: Still not a fan of peppers

Gender: ??

Pregnancy Symptoms:  A little bit of swollen hands and DRY SKIN (even with “mama oil”)

Belly Button in or out?  In

What I miss: Sleeping on my back.

What I am looking forward to: Unrelated to baby, but I am looking forward to St. Pat’s day!  Though I won’t be enjoying any green cocktails this year, I am excited to see everyone!

Upcoming appointments/events:  Doctor appoint on Thursday!  Wish me luck on the glucose test!

Weekly Wisdom: Sleep when you feel like sleeping.  Eat when you feel like eating.

Milestones:  James can really feel baby now.  I love that.

Bump Picture:

I think it looks bigger in real life than it does in this pic!!

Baby Shower For Real!

I. Am. So. Lucky.

As I look back over all of the pictures from my very first baby shower, I am overwhelmed by how caring, generous and supportive my friends and family members are!

My friends Leslie, Lauren, and Janine threw the best shower for me, and it all centered around owls (which are a big part of our nursery. 

How cute are these decorations?

Now let's talk food, which is usually my favorite part of every shower.  They had spring haystacks, cupcakes, veggies, meatballs, fruit and one of my favorite things in the world, pimento cheese from Diprato's! They also had a popcorn station, which was AMAZING, such a great idea.  Good job guys!

Here's a shot of me with the lovely hostesses:

My friend Leslie ("Boozer") took a butt load (that's the technical term) of pictures of me opening presents.  Here are a few that I had normal faces in:

The whole room applauded when I opened the pump!

This last one is from all of the hostesses-- a Pack N Play! 

I also wanted to share some group shots too:

Lastly, there were a total of FIVE preggers people at the shower.  Here we are, all of our bumps in a row!

I have to say-- I feel MUCH more prepared now that I have more of the baby essentials.  Baby Gilbert is already so loved and I feel so happy I could cry (and often do!).

And now for a gratuitous pic of Graham Wall.  What a cutie, right?