Projects = Done!

I finally finished the last of the decorations I was going to make for the baby's room. I think they turned out great. These are wall hangings that will go over her crib.

Believe it or not, they are pizza boxes wrapped in fabric and then I designed some stuff on the computer to print on the fabric. Don't worry...they are not used pizza boxes! We don't want her room smelling like pepperoni!

I also painted this cute shelf to put in her room. Now that I've got all the decorations made, I've just got to put them up. But first we need to get her furniture put together. We got a crib and dresser this week thanks to my mom, but we need to assemble them.

Anyway, I can't wait to see all the stuff actually put together and on the walls. But now...I'm off to Georgia for a nice little vacation. My parents were nice enough to get me a ticket to Georgia for my graduation present so I could visit my sister for her birthday and visit my old haunts. (I lived in Atlanta before my mission). And I couldn't be more excited for this little break.

May showers...

...bring July babies! My mom and sister did a baby shower for me last weekend. It was a lot of fun.

I'm not really a shower game type of person, I just like to get together with my family and friends. We just had some yummy food and chatted...it was a good time. For me anyway. Everyone else was probably bored, but I loved getting to see everyone.

Baby Emily was very spoiled and got some really cute stuff.

Thank you to everyone who came and for your wonderful gifts. I loved seeing you and Emily will love using all the cute stuff!

Thanks to Mom and Laurie for putting it together and thanks to Matt for cleaning the house, doing the laundry, and going grocery shopping so I could have fun at the shower without having to worry about all that.

We still have a lot to do to prepare for her arrival, but we're a little bit closer now thanks to everyone! Baby stuff is just so stinkin' cute!

31 weeks

Two months to go. Yikes! We don't have anything ready yet. Gotta get busy.

Also, we had our first ward activity last weekend that we were in charge of. We had a Quince de Mayo fiesta. I think it went well. We had a pretty good turnout and people seemed to be having a good time.

I'm a master!

I made it to graduation day!





Who thought of these silly hood things anyway?

It kind of feels anti-climatic to be done with grad school. I don't get a raise or a promotion or anything, so in most ways having a master's degree doesn't really change anything for me right now. But education isn't necessarily all about the career you have. I'm glad that I have this under my belt in case I ever do need it and I think that I will be glad I did it. I'm glad I didn't quit, even though I was tempted to a few times. And I really think that the things I have learned in my program will help me to be a better mom and person in general. Things like learning how people develop and learn, leadership skills, program budgeting, helping people, and strategic planning are valuable in any situation.

And I had a good day of celebrating. I scheduled myself to get a maternity massage (which was heavenly!), I got a new dress, and we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory after graduation. It was great even though we had to wait for 2 hours. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with me!

Oh, and Matt made sure to get a video of me walking across the stage.

Moms!

Happy Mother's Day to all my moms. Thank you for being a wonderful example to me of how to be a good, righteous woman. Both my mom and mother-in-law are excellent people and I'm lucky to have them in my life.

I'm also grateful for the opportunity to be a mom and hope I will be a good one here in a few months. I got a cute little note from our baby yesterday for Mother's Day and it made my day.

I am starting to feel really large. My face is blowing up like a balloon! It is so hard for me because I've spent the last 4 years getting in shape and trying not to be fat anymore that it's hard to see it all coming back. It's hard for me to ride my bike anymore because my belly is in the way. And I had to stop running a couple weeks ago because it was just getting really uncomfortable.

I also feel full and bloated all the time, yet hungry at the same time. I don't get it! And our baby is very active and loves to wiggle around and kick and punch and do the wave. It's really a very odd feeling. The other day my little baby nephew Derek was kicking my tummy and the baby was kicking back. It was kinda funny that they were playing footsies. :) Even though I am feeling very large and tired, I am so grateful this has been a very easy pregnancy. And I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a mom.

Derby Day

We had our annual Kentucky Derby party this weekend. It was much more fun this year since we had actually been to Kentucky and seen the sites and had more knowledge. We made mint juleps, hot browns, and benedictine. We were going to have Derby pie as well, but it didn't work out. Anne picked the winning horse again. Interestingly enough, the jockey for that horse was the same jockey that won the Derby last year.

That was part of the reason Anne picked him. The other part was that the horse (Supersaver) was from Winstar Farms, which we actually visited while in Kentucky. Anyway, as usual, it was a great Derby Day.

Here is our traditional Derby food that we made. We also made sure to toast all the important people and things. Next year I will have to be sure to pick the horse that Calvin is riding.

Project #2

I finished Project #2 for little Emily's room. I think it turned out really cute. Also I added some ribbon and flowers to the frame I made before and it looks really good. Now I just have a couple more things left to make.

Also, she is building her wardrobe. A few people have given us little outfits for her, and they are darling! I'm so grateful for these gifts since baby stuff is so expensive. We have been saving for the past year or so to buy baby stuff, but it adds up quickly! Even when you find good deals. One of Matt's mom's co-workers even crocheted her some little pink booties. And I don't even know her! And one of my classmates from school gave us a really cute blanket. Thank you so much to Michele, Melissa, Cici, and Aimee for the cute outfits! I love them!

Anyway, she is going to look so cute in these fun outfits!