Maternity Photo Session

Given the baby showers have been taking up much of the blog as of late, its feels like forever since I've posted something. That being said, Shelly and I were doing some shopping at the mall this past weekend and while we were there we decided to go check out The Picture People store since we were given a gift card at Shelly's most recent shower. Our plan was to take a quick look at some of the baby photos so we kind of had an idea of what type of pictures we could expect once our little one arrives. While we were there, an employee inquired about whether or not Shelly and I had gotten any professional maternity photos taken. We both decided we really liked the idea of having some nice photos taken and thought they would be perfect for the opposite wall of the crib in the nursery.

We had our "shoot" on Wednesday night and here are some of our favorites:

Other than that, things have been so exciting. As Shelly stated in the most recent post, it's amazing and unbelievably wonderful knowing our baby could arrive at any moment. Everything that can be done in the nursery is completed and the house is 100% cleaned and ready to go. Now that we've finished those things, I'm finding myself...simply.....waiting. The anticipation grows each and every day, so I'll end this post by saying, "Baby......we're ready when you are."

37 Weeks

It's hard to believe our baby could arrive at any moment. Our due date is now less than three weeks away and I must admit I've been critically analyzing every movement I've been experiencing. It's weird to think that these kicks, punches and somersaults will all come to an end soon, but in turn we will get to meet and hold this precious little bundle of joy that has been responsible for these wonderful movements the past nine months.

John and I have been working on getting the house fully prepared for the arrival of our little one. We have our hospital bag packed - a task that I found was more emotional than I thought it was going to be. Knowing we'll be leaving for the hospital as a family of two and returning as a family of three just really hit me in the best way possible.

I am happy to report that the baby still sounds healthy and has been moving down the past couple of weeks. We have another appointment this afternoon as we are now doing weekly visits so please check back for updates! In the meantime, feel free to check out the picture of me at 36 weeks!

The Weiland Baby Shower

This past Saturday I was blessed and honored to attend a second baby shower hosted by John's mom, Deb. It was simply incredible and the food, decor and baby shower games contained such intricate detail and truly captured the theme of shower - bird nests. Everywhere you turned you saw nests, pink and blue birds and pink and blue eggs. It was darling!

The decor featured table centerpieces composed of sticks where handcrafted nests laid that contained blue or pink eggs - some of which were hand-painted. These carefully assembled pieces were displayed on beautiful hand-made blue and pink runners and one large piece also hung from chandelier to chandelier above her island.

The island itself featured a variety of home-baked goodies which brings us to the next topic - the delicious food.

Each guest received a plated lunch that featured home-made chicken salad, home-made pita chips and fruit. As I just mentioned, the island contained a variety of awesome desserts that guests could choose from. The desserts featured cut-out bird cookies that were perfectly frosted and sprinkled with either blue or pink sugar. These were a fan-favorite among my two year old niece (as you can tell by what's in her left hand)!

You could also find pink and blue birds on top of delicious chocolate cupcakes that contained cream filling. Atop the chocolate icing on the cupcakes, coconut shavings served as bird nests and inside the nests were those delicate little pink and blue birds. Other desserts included home-made mini wafers, pink and blue peeps and m&ms and an assortment of individually wrapped cheesecake squares. Simply delicious!

The pink and blue spread into the living room as well where it was displayed on the baby shower memory board game. Pink and blue felt bibs and onesies were individually cut out to cover baby items that we needed to match. Unfortunately, my memory isn't the sharpest these days so I was unable to help lead my team to victory. The "blue bird" team ended up with the "W" - perhaps a sign that this one is a boy.

Overall, it was an amazing day and I was so glad to be able to share it with friends and family. Deb, thank you so much for opening your house and for your labor of love to make this shower possible. In case those that are reading this didn't notice, I used the terms handcrafted, hand-made and home-made quite a bit in this entry. This just solidifies how much time and energy went into making this shower what it was - incredible. Thanks again for everything, Deb - I greatly appreciate it. I also need to thank our two wonderful servers that day, Papa Joe and the Daddy-To-Be. Your help in accommodating the guests made for a smooth event and it is also greatly appreciated. Plus, you looked stunning in your attire as well. :)

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