Baby Shower Brunch

The weekend of October 15th, my family threw me a baby shower in Houston. It was wonderful & I felt so incredibly blessed by everything! The decor & food were amazing! My sister seriously should be a party-planner. She just has a knack for all the small details.

with the lovely hostess

us again

with my mom and sister

Now for the food...

the buffet with all the food, milk and OJ served in glass bottles

watergate salad in baby jars, quiche, & french toast

southern biscuits with jams, fruit kolaches, a sweet polka dotted cake

Lots of presents!!

A very special gift from my momma! This is the rocking chair she nursed me in and she had it recovered with Brady's bedding fabric for me to use with him. Something I will definitely cherish!!

my super adorable nephew, Ace!

Yay for Dr. Smith's diaper rash cream and let's not forget the boogie wipes! I can admit I was excited about those :)

all of Brady's sweet clothes that my mom bought...she knows I love smocking!

We used the clothes line to play a game where you had to talk on the phone, hold a baby, while hanging up the clothes, ha!

Mom was pretty good at it :) she did have 4 of us after all & lived during the days of hanging up clothes on a line.

I got lots of really great things & couldn't wait to get home to start filling up B's room/closet.

I also had some precious friends surprise me by coming. It was one of those "oh pinch me, I'm so blessed" moments. I've been having so many of those lately.

Me & my "Bump"


My love & I...Brady, we love you so much & we haven't even met you!

(hate that this photo is blurry but I love it regardless!)

Hey you, you're a child in my head
You haven't walked yet
Your first words have yet to be said
But I swear you'll be blessed

You'll have the best
I promise you that
I'll pick a star from the sky
Pull your name from a hat
I promise you that, promise you that, promise you that
You'll be blessed

Allen and I are so blessed & can't wait to meet our little man. Thanks to all of our family & friends in making this experience nothing short of wonderful! We love you!


The inspiration from the shower came from here.
Just wish my photos were as good as theirs...hence why I decided I wanted a new camera! :)

31 Weeks

How Far Along: 31 weeks & 4 days

Size of baby: size of a large head of a large squash (I think he is bigger than that!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +9

Gender: It's a BOY!!! Brady Allen

Maternity Clothes: Dress pants/capris (pants are getting a little tight) & dresses

Movement: yes, lots! Lots of pushing & shoving going on, ha!

Sleep: sleeping pretty good except waking up to potty around 3-4am

What I miss: wearing cute clothes & heels, not being able to sit/lay on my side comfortable

Cravings: ice water & pickles - my appetite has definitely picked up

Symptoms: just TIRED in the afternoon!! no more heartburn now that I got medication, thank you modern medicine!!

Best Moment this week: Just being humbled by the blessing of a baby - realizing how truly blessed we are!

Amazed by my Maker

So I have never doubted that I am blessed. But for some reason these last few days or weeks, I have felt an enormous burst of blessings. I even told AB that I wasn't sure if it was hormones or what but gosh I can't seem to make it through the day without just be so humbled with thankfulness. It's almost too much to even put into words.

I have never felt more humbled in my life than I have now.

My eyes are filled with tears when I think of the life that I've been given.

It is as if I am seeing Jesus in a whole new light.

Yes, while I know soon my life will be forever changed but it is as if God is already starting to mold/shape my heart for what is to come.

I will be perfectly honest - in the beginning, I was not all that thrilled when I found out I was pregnant. Mostly because I was scared of miscarrying and I did not want to go through all that pain again. I also had told myself for months I didn't really want kids anymore, mostly due to the fear of not being able to. Also, the timing of it was not right. I did not want a December baby. Our anniversary is in December, there's Christmas, my in-laws anniversary is in December, & my mother-in-laws birthday is also in December. And let's not forget I am a teacher & I was hoping if I did get pregnant, it would be closer to summer. ALL things of which I thought could control.

God had a much different plan and idea. And he is making it very clear, that there is no greater plan than His.


The funny thing is...Christmas is my most favorite time of year! I love the weather. I love that it's about the birth of Jesus, a savior sent to save the souls of man. I love all the lights, trees, and decorations. I love being around food & family. I love that giddy-ness I get when it's Christmas. I love Christmas eve church service. I love it all!

But now I'll be blessed with the birth of my own child and while I'm sure he will not be thrilled about having his birthday so close to Christmas, I know after this year - Christmas time will never be the same for me.

Just another reminder that Christmas truly isn't about what's under the tree, but yet what's wrapped in our hearts.

The most amazing thing about all of this...is that before I was even born, He had all of these orchestrated for my life. He has known my whole life, where I would be at this moment in time. And just as Brady continues to grow inside the womb, I know God has every part of his life mapped out. He knew my baby before I ever, even thought of having him. Which AMAZES me! It also brings me to my knees with a grateful heart. How do you ever give thanks enough for not only blessing you with a child but also knowing and loving me in such a way?

He doesn't just love me, but He adores me...He wants only the best for me. Just as I know he loves Brady, adores him, and wants nothing but the best for him...before he even existed.

He has left no stone unturned. He has had every detail in place before I even existed. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ohh, my soul...

He amazes me!

"I have a Maker. Before my heart, before even time began, my life was in His hands. He calls me His own. He knows my name. He knows my every thought & He hears me when I call..."

30 Weeks

How Far Along: 30 weeks
Size of baby: size of a large head of cabbage (I think he is bigger than that!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +8
Gender: It's a BOY!!! Brady Allen
Maternity Clothes: Dress pants/capris & dresses
Movement: yes, lots! He is like rolling around in there!
Sleep: sleeping pretty good now that I'm into the 3rd trimester
What I miss: wearing cute clothes & heels, not being able to sit/lay on my side comfortable
Cravings: ice water & pickles
Symptoms: cramps in my lower stomach, heartburn (ugh, which I hate!)
Best Moment this week: Being almost in the single digits with weeks remaining...

29 Weeks

How Far Along: 29 weeks
Size of baby: size of a butternut squash

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +9
Gender: It's a BOY!!! Brady Allen
Maternity Clothes: Dress pants/capris & dresses
Movement: yes, this past week he has been a mover & a shaker!
Sleep: wake up at least once because my hips hurt so bad & to potty
What I miss: wearing cute clothes & heels, not being able to sit/lay comfortable
Cravings: ice water & salty stuff - sweets give me heartburn
Symptoms: my hips hurting @ night, occasional heartburn (becoming more frequent in the evenings/night...not a fan!)
Best Moment this week: Getting a gift off our registry in the mail & putting it together :)

Floors, Grace, Pumpkins & a crib...

Last weekend was a fun-filled one.

Friday afternoon, I got a text saying that my friend Robyn was in labor. Totally made my day!! I could not wait to meet/hold sweet Grace aka Brady's girlfriend. It was late in the afternoon so I knew Saturday we'd be making a trip into town to meet her.

Friday, when I got home from work AB & his dad were working on installing the floor in B's room. We are making progress on the nursery! Makes me so happy because I'm starting to freak out about time. I had to snap some photos of their work of labor or labor of love?

And done...yay! Looks beautiful!!

Saturday morning, we got up & headed into town. We dropped the dogs off at the groomer's and then found a little hole in the wall place to eat breakfast tacos, yum! Afterwards, we headed to the hospital to meet baby Grace & see how momma & daddy were doing. All were doing great! & Grace is just as cute as can be!

We can't wait for Grace to meet Brady!

Funny thing is...Robyn (Grace's momma) and I planned our wedding together at the same time, then when I found out we were moving to South Texas, I found out that they were also moving to South Texas. I was so excited! Then I found out Robyn was pregnant & well I happened to be pregnant too. Funny, how life works out. We are so blessed to have them close by us & I'm excited Brady will have a play-date friend :) actually he will have several, with all the friends I know having babies this fall/winter. He will actually have 2 little girlfriends :)

And I can't forget my other babies...who looked so cute when we picked them up from getting their hair did :)


Saturday afternoon, we watched the Aggies...well blow the 2nd half of the game like they did the week before. AB was not a happy camper!

Saturday evening, I had a girls night planned with teachers I work with. We went to eat at Kiko's (yum!) and then to Tipsy Canvas to paint! It was a lot of fun...just long! 7-10pm...I was falling asleep towards the end, ha! But I had so much fun & had a ton of laughs! Looking forward to going back to paint some more!

The before...
The after...
All of us

Then us with our master pieces...ha!
I thought we did pretty good. We definitely accomplished having a good time!

Sunday we visited a church with a friend who invited us to a special "church in the park" or "church without walls." The weather was great! After church, we had a hamburgers & hotdogs at the park. Then the main thing I had on my agenda for the day was getting the crib put up! So now the crib is up & ready for bedding!

This weekend I'm starting on the bedding. Can't wait to see the room all put together! & now I'm ready for another weekend...the work week is so over-rated!

28 Weeks

How Far Along: 28 weeks & a few days

Size of baby: size of an Chinese cabbage
Total Weight Gain/Loss: +7
Gender: It's a BOY!!! Brady Allen
Maternity Clothes: Dress pants/capris & dresses
Movement: yes, like he is rolling around in there
Sleep: good, I just sleep really light now & have to be in bed by 10
What I miss: wearing cute clothes & heels
Cravings: ice water & salty stuff - sweets give me heartburn, ugh!
Symptoms: leg cramps during sleep, occasional heartburn (becoming more frequent in the evenings/night...not a fan!)
Best Moment this week: We put the crib up!!!