Maternity Pics (DIY)

My sweet friend Kelly took pictures of me when I was pregnant with Carson and we met today at lunch to try and capture some of the same poses. Here are some of my favorites:

Thanks again Kelly!

Carson's Yellow Bus Birthday

Carson's birthday party was a huge success. I must say, this one was SO much fun b/c he was so excited about the decorations, presents and cake! It was well worth the hard work to make him so happy! Thanks to everyone who came and helped make it a special day for my sweet little boy!

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law made Carson's cake, and it turned out so cute, Carson couldn't wait to eat a piece.

Carson kept pointing out all of the yellow bus decorations and he loved the yellow balloons and yellow balls everywhere. I ordered these cardboard bus cut-outs from oriental trading and strung them one by one to make these bus banners.

Playing with Zoe!

I saw this little jumper at Kohl's a couple of months ago and I snatched it up! It was perfect for his special day!

I got some school bus name tag stickers from a school store and put them on the cups. I had everyone write their name on the bus in order to keep track of their cup.

Yellow utensils, napkins, plates, etc...

Yellow treat bags (this theme was super easy!)

He was so quiet and still while everyone sang Happy Birthday to him, he loved the attention, and he even blew out his candle!

His actual birthday is on August 2nd, I can't believe he will be 2! 

36 Weeks!

We are almost there! 

Dr Apt was today:

• Baby's heartrate was in the 140's
• Belly measured 36 cm
• No weight gain since last week, still at +30
• Everything else looks good too
• Colin is head down
• I will go back on Monday

The most exciting part (pregnancy-wise) this week was the arrival of Colin's diaper bag set. My mother- in- law makes them for family members and close friends. I must say, she has out-done herself this time, they are even cuter than I imagined. I can't wait to use them! 

Backpack for small outings or when he gets older and we don't need as many compartments:

Duffle bag for traveling:

Main Diaper Bag:

Other pregnancy news:

• We had a big weekend, it was Carson's 2nd Birthday party (another post to come) and I wore myself out cleaning, hosting etc...I felt so awful on Sunday that I called my Dr. to make sure everything was ok, I felt like I was getting the flu or something. But after much needed rest, and some tylenol, I was back to myself on Monday.
• I finally convinced my hubby to get the car seat down from the attic, he was going to wait until I was in labor, ...men........
• I can definitely tell that Colin is dropping, feeling lots of pressure.
• I have a little cramping here and there, nothing alarming or painful though.
• I hope to get mine and Colin's bag packed by this weekend, just in case. I feel much better when I am prepared.
• I am pretty exhausted, at the end of the day yesterday, it was like a switch flipped and I HAD to lie down on the couch.
• I have lost my appetite in the evenings, I think its b/c I am so tired and I don't have the energy to think about or cook what I want to eat, so I just rely on Cory to throw something together and once I start eating, I just loose interest.
• The heartburn is all day now, not so much at night anymore.
• Not much swelling (especially compared to my pregnancy with Carson), just depends on the day.
• DIY Maternity pics tomorrow!

Colin's Room

Everything is done in the "baby room" as we call it, with the exception of a wall hanging that my mom is making for me to go above the crib (to match the bedding). I originally thought the room would be an owl theme, but I decided to keep it simple and frankly I thought a lot of owl stuff would be scary to Colin when he got a little older. Something about the big eyes...not sure...

So the only owl thing is the bedding and the rest is just stuff I liked and thought would look nice. I just wanted a calm/ relaxing theme, and I love sitting in there in my glider already :) I actually was able to use a lot of things from Carson's room since we are making his room more of a play room. Carson now showers with one of us each night, and I dress him and do diaper changes on our bed, so I just cleaned out a couple of drawers in my dresser for him until Cory gets his dresser made.

• I love gingham patterns for babies, the valance and the ribbon for the letters are gingham, I just picked colors that matched the bedding. 
• I got a decal from etsy for above the changing table.
• Everything else was migrated over from Carson's room.

This cradle was given to me by a good friend, it will go in our room when Colin arrives and serve as the bassinet.

I loved going through Carson's baby clothes, I can't wait to have a baby that tiny again! All of the newborn clothes, blankets, burp cloths, bibs, towels and rags are nice and clean and put away!

Other preggo news....

• Had a check up yesterday and everything looks good, will go back in one week and continue going weekly.
• Heart rate was 140's.
• Belly measured at 35cm.
• Weight gain is +3 lbs since last apt, so I think that totals it to 30 lbs.
• Colin is still head down (fingers crossed)
• I am hoping my MIL has finished the diaper bag that she is making for Colin and can bring it this weekend so I can show it off! And take it to the hospital (I had no idea how much baby stuff they send you home with last time!)
• I am so scatterbrained lately, July is such a busy month and that doesn't help this preggo brain.
• I bought a few things for my hospital bag so I can get started packing in a week or so.
• All we need to do for Colin now is get the carseat and swing down from the attic (wtg on hubby for this - he thinks we have all the time in the world!)
• Have a haircut scheduled and hopefully can do some DIY maternity pics next week.
• I picked up my hospital forms today!

Carson Lately

We took Carson to the Aquarium on Saturday and he loved it! He kept talking about the big fishies the whole way home. I am loving this age, he is just so precious.

Please excuse the way I look, the weather was nice outside that day, but it was hot inside due to it being SO crowded. But we still managed to have a good time.

 We talked about the penguins on the way and he liked seeing them, I think his favorite animals were the sea otters because they had balls and other toys to play with... 

He thought the eels were caterpillars :)

Carson has his 2nd Birthday coming up. I love spoiling my baby, so when his gift arrived Cory and I both knew we had to go ahead and give it to him! He loves to jump on the furniture so I thought a little trampoline would be perfect and he loves it! We also have fun playing with all of his cars and trucks on it.

We also tried some big boy underwear the other day and I must say that toddler underwear are the cutest things on this earth! He will be transitioning soon to the toddler room where they will do potty training during the day. He loves his "unnerwear" and he cried when we had to take them off!

35 Weeks

Where did the time go? It is weird to think I will be a mother of 2 in a matter of weeks. I am SO looking forward to maternity leave and spending time with my babies and family.

• I am not sure of weight gain (have a Dr. Apt on Wednesday, the 20th, will see then). Its insane that I will be going every week after this apt. 
• Heartburn/Reflux has gottten really bad during the middle of the night, I am have been drinking a ton of milk to try and help relieve it but as soon as I wake up to pee again, its back. I am going to ask what else I can do for that at my next apt. 
• I am feeling lots of pressure when I stand up in the lower regions, its hard to walk around or stand for a long time. We took Carson to the Aquarium and after all that walking I swear I felt the baby drop!
• Carson doesn't understand why he barely can fit in my lap when I sit in Indian Style, he keeps trying to back up against my belly, so I just have to sit him on one side, or sit him in the floor between my legs.
• Turning over in bed and getting out of bed are super fun tasks, Cory just laughs at all of my grunting.
• My ankles are starting to swell a little.
• The exhaustion at the end of the day is tough, I used to have a "sweet snack" after Carson went to bed, but now I am even too tired for that. I also get a big rush of exhaustion after lunch, I feel like I have been hit by a truck or something, but all I want to do is go home and take a nap..not an option :(
• Baby's movement hasn't really slowed down, not much room in there anymore, his hiccups always seem to come when I want to sleep.
• I need to get registered for the hospital! And in a couple of weeks get packed.
• It is really hard getting Carson in and out of his car seat every day since my car is so low, speaking of carseats, after Carson's birthday party we will be getting the 2 bases and Colin's car seat cleaned and installed. WOW.
• I get a lot of comments from strangers everywhere I go, people ask the same things, how much longer? And what am I having? Then they follow with their comments and opinions...that part I can live without.
• When I was pregnant with Carson, my friend took some pictures of me behind our work building (beautiful scenery), they turned out really good, I am hoping to get the same pose in the same spot for this pregnancy as well.  
• I can't wait to hold Colin and see what he looks like!

July 12th

Today is mine and Cory's Anniversary, we have been married for 3 years! What an amazing day that was! I had so much fun looking through our wedding pictures! 

 We had a short and sweet ceremony at my home church in AL...

The reception was held at the local country club, where I worked for a few years...

The day went by so fast, but what I remember was how good my man looked in his suit, how yummy the food was, and how much FUN I had at our reception!

Oh yeah, I also remember how HOT is was!

Cory loves golf, so it was quite fitting to have the reception on a golf course...

I knew I wanted a major dance party at the reception, we had such a good time and by the end of the night my hair was in a pony tail and we were all covered in sweat!

And we lived happily everafter! 

HONEYMOON:

We went to Jamaica for our honeymoon, and it was nothing short of spectacular! I would give anything to be back at that resort!

Happy Anniversary Cory, I love you so much!