Monday, June 24, 2013

Chair rail

A BIG "thank you" to my Dad and Paul for putting up the chair rail in the nursery! It looks better than I imagined! 



Now on to decorating! We have two pieces of furniture already in - a book case and dressing/changing table. I'm not sure how much we'll put up on the walls till we have the crib. I have my ideas, and some things already, but I want to make sure the furniture is where we want it to be before putting holes in the walls above things. Can't wait!

God Bless

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Maternity Pictures

Paul and I decided to have a maternity photo shoot! 

We know an amazing photographer, she actually took the wedding pictures for both Anna and Scott, and she was available a couple of weeks ago for us.  She did an incredible job, and we couldn't be happier with results. She took close to 90 pictures, but here is a link to her website, Jana Candler, and a few of our favorites. (P.S. - I'm about 30 weeks along in these pictures!) 








Quick update - 
  • I'll be 33 weeks tomorrow! Which means baby boy will be here in 7 weeks!! CRAZY!!  
  • I've been feeling really good 3rd trimester. Praise the Lord! No swollen feet, no crazy emotional mood swings
  • He loves to kick and move, which I enjoy feeling, actually! It's the sweetest reminder that he's growing and will be here soon. 
  • I haven't had any food cravings, which is fine by me! I'm just enjoying summer's bounty of fresh fruits and veggies! YAH for breakfast smoothies! 
  • Pregnancy insomnia hits a couple times a week, although I'm usually up at least twice during the night, but usually I can get back to sleep. 
  • The nursery is coming along. We just got and painted a bookcase! I can't wait to see how it all comes together.
  • I'm still planning on going back to school in the fall, right now as a K5 assistant, which is actually just fine with me - I'll be able to come home and spoil focus on baby boy! I'll just get an extended summer break till October, or 8 weeks after he arrives. 
  • We do have his name picked out - first and middle - but we are keeping it a surprise! Since we found out his gender, we wanted to keep at least one thing a surprise! We already call him by name when we talk about him, but we really have to watch what we say when we talk to friends and family! It's kinda fun!! :)
  • Last but not least - thank you to everyone who has been praying for this sweet little boy. He is our miracle baby in more ways than you probably know. God DOES answer prayers. 
God Bless

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Wild About Baby Reid

Thank you to my wonderful sisters, Meredith and Hanna, for hosting a precious baby shower for me, and to my mom, Bev and Ms. Jody for helping to pull it all together!

It was "Wild About Baby Reid", getting ready for the king of the jungle!

Ms. Jody made me this diaper cake that also had spoons, toys, receiving blankets, and burp cloths rolled up and tucked inside!

Those are pictures of me and Paul as babies. :) You can't see the picture of Paul real well, but he's got the biggest, cutest grin on his face! I hope our baby boy has the same big smile as his Daddy!


Chocolate covered Oreo's with fondant jungle animal faces; an adorable cake with animals on the sides, and M&Ms with "August 2013" or "Baby Reid" on them.


I, well Baby Reid, got a lot of cute stuff! This is robe and slippers that is just super cute!!

My grandmother, Meredith, Me, Hanna, and my mom! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother and grandmother in my life. These women have supported me, loved me, and encouraged me through life's ups and downs. And my sisters have always been my closest friends. They mean the world to me, and I am so excited Baby boy will have his amazing and fun aunts to visit in Nashville!


My mom, Ms. Jody, me, and Bev! Ms. Jody and Bev were like mothers to me growing up! I have known them my whole life, and truly look up to them as role model mothers, along with my mom. I cannot wait to introduce Baby boy to them!


Mera and Hanna - thank you for a wonderful shower! It brings tears to my eyes to know how loved and prayed for this little guy is. Love you!!

God Bless

Thursday, June 13, 2013

One step closer

Nursery is painted!

Thank you to our wonderful painters for your help!



It turned out so good! The grey on top is Timberwolf Grey by Benjamin Moore and the white on the bottom is just an un-tinted can of Extra White from Sherwin Williams. Next weekend my dad and Paul will be putting up the chair rail, which is currently sitting on the floor of our garage!

It's starting to come together! T-minus 8 weeks!!

And my sweet sisters threw me a wonderful baby shower in Atlanta last weekend, so when I get pictures from it, I will be posting those!

God Bless

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

enjoying my time...

Another reason I'm loving summer - I can actually enjoy eating breakfast and lunch in peace and on my own time. Not rushed by the clock, or interrupted by 20 kids asking me to open ketchup packets, or helping in the lunch line. Just a peaceful morning on the back porch.

I've been experimenting with smoothies for breakfast - something I've wanted to do for a while now. This is a strawberry-banana one that was good! And a homemade banana bread muffin, with a cup of decaf coffee.


God Bless

Monday, June 3, 2013

And now it's summer

Well not officially, but for me IT IS!!

Friday was our last day with the kids, and today was a work day, so now I am DONE! In all honesty, it's been my best year yet. I'm at a great school, with wonderful children, and I'm working with a lady that I respect and enjoy being with. While I'm glad to be done for the summer, I will actually miss school for the first time, I think. As of right now, next year I will continue to be a K5 assistant with the same teacher, which is fine with me. And I'll be going back after 8 weeks of maternity leave. So if Baby Reid comes on his due date, I'll be going back October 3 - so I actually have summer plus two months!

Speaking of Baby Reid!! He is doing great, getting big, and kicking/hitting a lot! It's still the weirdest strangest sweetest thing I've ever felt! At first, I didn't really know what it was I was waiting to feel, but now - there's no mistaking it! He's very active, and makes his bi-daily kick count easily! I will be 31 weeks on Wednesday, and as far as we know, we're still expecting an August 7th arrival. We actually just had the 3D ultra sound, and it was pretty cool!



We're thinking he'll have a Manning nose and long, thin Reid legs. Basically a good combination of both Mom and Dad!

We're working on the nursery - finally. Paul and I were able to paint and start putting together the closet, and we've started prepping the nursery to be painted. Paul filled in all the holes and cracks, and we painted the trim and all the doors. His parents have offered to help paint the walls, and my parents have offered to help with the chair rail and design. My dad is building the crib and the rocking chair! I couldn't be more thrilled. :)
(This is his website in case anyone is interested http://www.gfmwoodworks.com)

This is the closet. (In the nursery, we'll use the same gray for the upper portion, the bottom portion will be white.) The hanging shelf came from LOWES, which Paul put together. The bookcase came from IKEA, but we'll use it with baskets for extra storage. And the piece above it Paul built and put together to hang whatever- bags, coats, etc.


This will actually be the first summer I haven't worked since probably high-school. I've always had a summer job either as a nanny or one summer I worked retail. I'm looking forward to it! I don't have a big, set summer to do list because most of it will probably be focused on getting ready for baby and getting though enjoying 3rd trimester. But here are a few things I know I will be doing (hopefully!)

1. Walking every morning with Vance - we both need the exercise and outdoor time!

2. DIY nursery projects, such as:

Closet clothes dividers. source

 
Car seat cover. source

Fabric decorations, but for a boy obviously. Can't decide if I like the circles or squares better. 

3. READ! I want to read a mix of fun-gotta-finish-right-now-fiction books, and informational books in preparation for baby. Right now I'm readying The Happiest Baby on the Block, and there are others that my sister and friends have recommended that I'll be getting from the library.

4. Enjoy the time Paul and I get together before our family grows (which we are still very excited about). We'll be going to Charleston hopefully over July 4th to visit my parents and Scott and Holly since they just moved down there! It will probably be my last trip before being "grounded". We'll also be going down to the lake every once in a while. The Reid's house is finally under construction, so we're very excited for them. But the dock is still available to use! So maybe we'll be able to go and lay out on the dock a few times. Well, I'll hang out on the dock. This is Paul's version of literally hanging out on the dock - he's in there somewhere! :)


5. Work in the yard a little. I'm in charge of keeping the bushes trimmed back and looking clean cut. Something I can handle! Our hydrangea is finally blooming and I can't wait till we see full flowers!! 

6. REST! 'nuff said. 

Love to all!!
God Bless