Baby Shower #1: My College Girls

This past Saturday I had my first baby shower!  My girlfriends from UWT and EWU got together and showered me with lots of love, laughs and great gifts!

I Instagramed a few photos you all may have seen but here they are!

The menu was based on my cravings! There was a crystal cake plate packed with McDonald's cheeseburgers, a tray of Nutty Bars and Swiss Cake Rolls, funfetti cupcakes, chips, salsa and amazing guac and peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  It was hilarious and my hostesses managed to make all that junk food look classy!

 

The "Oh, Baby" banner was a really cute touch and looked great against the window.

 

They also made me these adorable onesies with iron on details that were so cute and fit in perfectly with the decor.  I loved the simplicity of it all and I felt like they made the shower very "me".

My friend Teashia hosted at her house and we were all loving on her new baby, Beefy.  He is the cutest little rascal!

 



 

Here are some other shots from the shower.  All photo cred for the rest of this post go to Sarah.  She is an amazing hostess and photog. 

 

Here are some closeups of some of things I have been craving lately, all junk of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The punch was amazing! I definitely plan on making that at future parties!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One game we played was to measure my stomach with twine, each person would cut to the length they thought it would take to go around my belly.  We cut off the difference of the twine and whoever had the smallest piece was the winner...

 

  

 

and I was spoiled with sweet cards and great gifts.

 

 

 

Sarah also had a bunch of fun photo booth props that were a blast! Everyone created their own look!

 

   

   

 

My UWT girls...

 

 

 

and my EWU girls!

 

 

 

It was so much fun and I am so thankful I have such wonderful women in my life!  I am feeling very loved and very blessed!  Thank you so much ladies! Love you all!

 

Pregnancy Must Haves

Throughout my pregnancy, there have been some items that have made my life so much easier.

 

Some mornings it takes all the energy I have just to get my rear out of bed.  Here are some of my pregnancy must haves:

For Comfort :

 

Renew/Palmers - for obvious reasons. I have found that my skin feels so dry so these two lotions combined are the best thing that's happened to me.  I used the Palmers for my bump and Renew for everything else! 

Toms - I can't reach my feet so being able to just slide these babies on is great! Plus they are comfy and easy to kick off if your tootsies need some freedom!

Black Leggings - I. live. in. them. They are so comfy and wonderful and I want to wear them for the rest of my life!  Plus, they are super easy to dress up or down with your choice of top, shoes and accessories.  I am a basics girl so a couple pairs of black leggings is all I need.

For Beauty
 

MAC foundation - covers the dark circles and imperfections perfectly! My girlfriend works at the MAC counter at Nordstrom and introduced me to this product and I love it! It hides everything and doesn't feel heavy on my skin. 

 

Eyelash Extensions - Life simplified. My sister-in-law offers this service and it has made my life so much easier! I love them so much.  It's great being able to just put on a little foundation and walk out the door, no mascara needed!

 

Earrings - A cute pair of studs make my unwashed hair in a bun look so much better!

Sunshades- Addicted. Need. Love. I can't use any other chapstick after using this!

Well that's my list I thought I would share with you guys! Loving being pregnant but I'm definitely getting ready to have my body back and meet my precious little boy!
 

 

 

7 Months

 

 I am already in my 7th month of pregnancy and I can't believe it! Time is flying by and I have really been enjoying being pregnant!  I am so thankful to have never experienced morning sickness or any other common uncomforts of early pregnancy.  I am more tired than normal but other than that and a growing belly, I have felt great this whole time!

 

Month 7

Still Wearing Wedding Ring: Yes

Weight Gain: About 20 lbs (YIKES)

Shoe Size: 8 (up from a 7.5)

 

Right now I am fighting a cold which is much harder while pregnant and unable to take the "good meds".  Last week was a crazy week too which left me NO time to get the proper rest I needed.  Luckily for us, this week is a lot less busy.  Robitussin is one over the counter med that my Doctor said I could take so I have been taking that only when extremely necessary.

 

One thing I love is being pregnant during the holidays.  I get to give into every Sparkling Cider craving I have and eat a little more than usual and it's fun to be around family and friends feeling so happy and excited for what our near future has in store.

 

The little baby punches are turning into full on somersaults and it feels so cool!  It's amazing to feel the hardness and roundness of a little head or butt every so often. 

 

I'm loving my "time out".  I am a go go goer, an overscheduler and busy body.  Being pregnant has forced me to slow my roll and just chill...

 

I am feeling anxiety over delivering the baby.  I've been praying for peace and courage and trying my best to leave it after that but it's so hard for me.  I know that my body was created for this and that it will take over and know what to do.  I know that I have the love and support of hubs and family and friends and that lots of people are praying for us. I know that women are doing this on a daily basis and many of my friends have done as recently as a few months ago.  I know that everything is going to be fine but I also know its going to be painful and that my worry comes from the unknown.  Luckily my growing excitement to meet my son is starting to overshadow these fears and I hope it continues this way.

 

A sense of urgency is running through our household to get lots of projects and organizational projects done before the little man arrives.  Thankfully it's not a stressful urgency but one that is pushing us to complete so many clean up, remodel and organize projects that we've been needing to do for some time.

 

I am also hoping to spend the last 10 weeks going on dates and doing all the things we want to before he arrives.  Even though we are so excited I want to treasure the time Justin and I have left as just the two of us with our little four legged boys.

We are having fun with naming this little guy.  We know for sure his first name is Cru.  We're still deciding on the middle name but Cru Dobson is a sure thing!  I'm so excited to kiss his little face and play with his little fingers and toes.  I know that Justin and I will spend most of the time just staring in awe at what we created! 

This whole experience has been so wonderful and has further proven Christ's faithfulness and awesomeness to us.  We are experiencing his miracle of life as well as trust and faith in his timing and faith in his presence in so many different situations.  I am so thankful to know Jesus and am so excited to raise Cru in his truth.

 

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas season and Happy New Year!!!

 

2nd Annual UWT Christmas Party

Last year my girlfriend Sarah hosted a UWT Christmas White Elephant Party.   We decided to do it again this year and we had so much fun! I am a couple weeks late on posting but oh well.  The holidays are such a busy time!

This year we co-hosted with me providing the decorated space and Sarah brought all the food!  I was a bit under the weather and obviously pregnant so it was nice and likely most sanitary to have her take care of all the food prep.  I also stole all the pictures from her for this post so all credit goes to her! =]

 

 

I used my same decorations as last year with just a few tweaks.  I tried to again go with a more vintage look by using my grandparents old decor and adding some pieces of my own!

 

 

 

We also pulled out some of my vintage dishware to give it more of a fancy/vintage vibe.

 

These dishes are from my grandma on my step-moms side...

 

as well as these glasses.

 

I even wore my vintage apron, a gift from my mother in law!

 

Sarah made the menu super easy yet extremely tasty!  The meat and cheese platter was paired perfectly with grain crackers and bread.
 

The pickles, almonds and grapes added the sweet/sour touch...
 

and these little piggies were amazing!
 

Her rice crispy treats are to die for!  I don't know what she does, but they are amazing!
 

These tasty treats are amazing as well.  What really makes them is the chopped candy cane on top.
 

 

Aunt Teashia requested a photo with the pregnant lady, this girls makes me laugh SO hard! 

 

I wish I would have gotten more people photos, but when you are hosting, you forget to do things like that! 

 

We also had a white elephant gift exchange and I ended up with these gorgeous vintage clip on earrings!  Love them soo much!

 

 

Looking forward to next year!!!



Christmas Round 1!

I hosted my first Christmas this year!  I hosted my dad's side and with a total of 6, it was easy and a lot of fun!  Justin and I had the morning to ourselves so I made breakfast and we finished up the last cleaning/food prep details before my parents, grandpa and brother showed up.

 

We cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, crescent rolls and introduce this side of the family to spaetzle, a German pasta that you serve with gravy and meat.  It's amazing!

 

Again I didn't get a ton of photos because of my hosting duties but I did manage to get a few. 

Here is our pretty tree with all the loot underneath!
 

And here are some action present opening shots! =]

 



 

 

 

Of course I had to get a picture of  my sweet hubby!

It was a great low key day.  We get to celebrate again this Saturday with my moms side!  Looking forward to more festive holiday time!  I'm not quite ready for it to be over!

Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!!

 

 

Love, Abu, Ace and their Uncle Ed!

Seattle Christmas Symphony

I wanted to catch you up on some of the festive activities going on in our lives this Christmas season!

A little over a week ago, I joined my dad and step-mom in watching the Seattle Symphony Christmas concert. It was really fun and I left in awe at how beautiful each song sounded. It definitely got us all in the Christmas spirit!

We started our evening at The Brooklyn with appetizers and drinks.  The food was tasty!


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Then we walked across the street to Benaroya Hall for the show.
Since no pictures were allowed during the performance, I snapped a few photos before the show started.

 

The lobby was all decorated for Christmas and we used the tree for a photo opp.

I also snuck in a weekly pregnancy photo.  I think it's fun to do them when your out and about doing your business vs taking them in the same spot in your house...

 



 

My dad was so proud that they were serving Starbuck coffee during intermission.  =]

 

We had a blast!  It was a great way to kick off the Christmas season!

 

Stay tuned for more Christmas fun!  I prepping posts full of holiday decor, ugly sweaters and vintage party fun!