Much Better Thanksgiving

In case you don't remember or haven't been reading our blog for very long, last Thanksgiving was not one of our best. Thankfully, this year was great. We spent time with people that I thank God for every day- my family!

Last night we started out at the same place- the land. At 8+ months pregnant, I didn't ride 4-wheelers this year. I did, however, eat a lot of this...

After these sweet people {and fabulous dog} prepared it so well...
We woke up this morning to some yummy blueberry muffins and bacon, and a few hours later we ate an incredible Thanksgiving lunch. My mom even made a strawberry cake for dessert!

This afternoon, we went back to the land, where Mike had fun doing this...

We tried to take pictures for a Christmas card, but it didn't work out very well. I'm liking the idea of a birth announcement/belated holiday card better every day. We eventually turned to humor...

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

How cute are these?

Are these not the cutest letters you've ever seen? They will probably go above Trent's crib. The glider came in last week, and it looks great. {Thanks Mimi and Papa!} I will post some pictures of the nursery soon!

Today is 32 weeks! And I think Trent likes music. He moved around the whole time we were singing at church this morning. Mike says he was trying to hold his hands up, which is funny because I've never been a hand-raiser {though I don't see anything wrong with it.} He also gets the hiccups daily. It's normally at night around 8 or 9:00; maybe it has something to do with my nightly snack, which is usually ice cream:)

Shower, Christmas prep. and sweet Bailey

My friend Candy made this wreath- isn't it beautiful?! I can't wait to hang it on our door when Trent arrives!

Trent isn't due for almost 9 weeks, but he is already so loved! His second shower was yesterday in Auburn, and he got so many cute, fun gifts. It was great seeing family and friends, and the food and punch were wonderful {food is always on my mind these days.} The hostesses opened the presents and displayed them {this was a great idea} so I didn't look at everything until we got home last night. It felt like an early Christmas! Special thanks to the fabulous hostesses- Sarah, Scarlotte, Maggie, Candy, Mindy and Tracy.

The great hostesses

Mama D and Mimi
Aunt Debbie and Grandmama (Gigi)
Christy and Aunt Connie
Trent's gifts... doesn't it remind you of Christmas?

Speaking of Christmas, I am almost finished Christmas shopping! I'll be 37 weeks pregnant for Christmas, and I knew I wouldn't feel like shopping in December this year. I wrapped presents this weekend. They probably won't go under a tree this year, as we have decided not to put up our tree. {PLEASE don't make me feel guilty!} We are putting up all of the other decorations:)

Wrapped presents {color-coded by family; I'm almost finished with the Reeds}

Bailey was great while I was wrapping, so I decided to give her an early Christmas present. We call this toy "Tree," and she can already "Go get Tree." What a smart girl:)
This is Bailey's FAVORITE toy- "Hissy" the cat. She sleeps with her most nights! Unfortunately, I can't find this toy at Wal Mart anymore, and Hissy has seen her better days!

Water

This is a 32 oz. bottle. I drank TWO of these filled with water today. I don't like water. I drank 64 oz. of it today. And I probably went to the bathroom 64 times. I heard the two things that help braxton hicks (BH) contractions are drinking water and putting your feet up. I can't sit around with my feet up all day, but I can drink water all day. I think the offices I visited today thought that I had a problem because I used their restrooms on the way in and again on the way out. Hopefully my body will get used to this excessive water-drinking. I'm giving it at least three days. {Yes, I'm impatient, but shouldn't that be long enough?} I also bought two cool new water bottles at Kinnucan's today that are BPA-free. I guess the whole BPA issue isn't just for baby bottles:)

This is random, but I've been craving sausage balls for a while now. I think I'm going to buy the ingredients and make some. I think I can use my cool mixer to make sausage balls.

Trent's First Shower

Our first shower was this afternoon in Montgomery. Trent received some super fun stuff. I'm so blessed to have such awesome friends! The most popular gift was hooded towels, and I can't wait to take his picture in them!

My friend Beth made this diaper cake. She is so talented! She painted prints for her son Tanner's nursery, and now her secret talent is out. Check out some of her work here.

This cake was fabulous! Kelli, you did a great job! It matched the invitation and had cream cheese icing. I've had three pieces today {then remembered I have a doctor appt. and weight check tomorrow- boo!}My sister and mom came and gave Trent a BOB stroller. I should have taken a picture of it! Hopefully it will inspire me to run!
My sweet hostesses {we're missing Brittney.} Thank you SO MUCH girls!! Trent's Mimi {Mike's mom} and Mama D {my mom} are going to spoil him rotten... and I think I'm fine with that:)

On a totally different note, can we discuss braxton hicks contractions? I am having TONS of them {at least one an hour and sometimes 4-5 an hour at night.} They do not hurt; my stomach just gets really hard. My doctor said if there is no pain associated with them, there is no problem. I do not mind them if that is the case. However, the Internet says that they prepare your body for labor. Do I really need to be prepared 15 weeks early? {They started 5 weeks ago, at 25 weeks.} I've noticed that many of my friends that have had them deliver early. I fully expected to be late, because my mom was late with both of us {I know- that doesn't really mean anything- it was just in my head.} Did any of you have them? Did you deliver early, late, on time?

Double Belly Shot and Halloween

There's nothing like a double belly shot! This is one of my best friends, Heidi. Her little girl, Lillian, is due 10 days before Trent. I personally expect Lillian to get here around January 2nd, {I have my reasons, and they're good ones} but the official date is January 8th. We had a shower for Heidi and Lillian this weekend, and it was so much fun! Lillian got some super cute stuff, and it was great to see Birmingham friends.

This was the first year we did not dress Bailey up for Halloween. I was sick with a cold, and Mike didn't feel like handing out candy; so we sat in the dark and watched tv. I know-- major party poopers!! Next year we plan on going all out and dressing up Trent and Bailey. Although we opted out of Halloween, my fun brother-in-law dressed up for the occasion. Travis also celebrated his 29th birthday recently... Happy belated Birthday T!

Tracy {my sister, his wife} turned 25 on October 19th, and I totally forgot to give her blog props. She didn't dress up for Halloween, even after I requested that she go as Bon Qui Qui. But I still love her.

Projects

This is going to shock those of you who know me well, because I am not usually up for projects; however, I currently have a project in the works {two projects if you count Trent's nursery!}

I am attempting to design our Christmas cards this year. Remember when I wrote about buying Adobe Photoshop Elements? Well, as you've probably noticed by the ever-changing blog design, I am slowly figuring out how to use it. After talking to my friend Sarah, I decided to give Christmas cards a whirl. I made three different cards this weekend, uploaded them to Kodak, then ordered one print of each card. If I like one of them, I plan on saving it to a CD and taking it to Costco to make lots of copies. If it doesn't work, we will probably wait and send birth announcements and skip the Christmas cards. Here is one we will probably not use {because Bailey is missing!!}...

**Yes, I decided to use a picture from July because Mike is now bald (but still cute), and I am now large (but not so cute)

As for the nursery, it is slowly coming along. Here is where the little man will sleep...

And last but certainly not least, here are my two loves...

**I'm currently wishing the B girl was bald too, because she's shedding like crazy!