allen shower

Last weekend was my baby shower in Allen! I was overwhelmed with the love and support of wonderful family and friends that came together to celebrate our baby girl. It was a packed house.  I had 6 amazing hostesses {shout out to Lynley, Meg, Kels, Lezah, Katie, and Nikki! You guys are the best!} that carefully thought out every tiny detail. It was the perfect way to celebrate baby E! There is no way I could do it justice with words, so go ahead and see for yourselves. Sidenote: we had to buy a new car to get all of our goodies home, but more on that later...

 

As they say, "it takes a village," and we are beyond blessed to already have our little village rallying around and loving on baby E before she is even here! Thank you Lord for lifelong family and friends.

30 weeks: head of cabbage

You're 30 weeks this week and 3/4 of the way to D-day {delivery day}! You are roughly 16 inches long and weigh about 3 pounds. Hmmm, I've gained about 22 pounds thus far, so not sure where that extra 19 pounds is hiding...oh wait! Yes I do, it's in my thighs. Whatevs. It's a small price to pay for our little head of cabbage. You are still kickin' and groovin' away and apparently have regular waking/sleeping cycles now. However, I still mostly feel you at night when I lay down...you gotta get that figured out. Laying down= night time. We will work on that later, I guess. Your room is almost finished! I'm having some seriously crazy acid reflux and am feeling pretty exhausted, but I am told that is completely normal, so I think that's a sign that things are going well! 10 more weeks! 

traditions- new and old

As my mom always said, "Make new friends traditions, but keep the old, 

one is silver and the other gold." 

{This is the song she casually sang around the house, 

then it got stuck in your head on repeat for 48 hours.}

Traditions are so very dear to me. I am not fearful of change, I welcome it actually...until it comes to holidays. Then step off. When it comes to celebrating the holidays I like things to be familiar and reminiscent, as we all probably do in our own way. People have asked me what was the toughest transition after getting married? Tate would say sharing a bed {to be fair, I am kind of a sleep schizophrenic}, where I would say sharing holidays. We both love our family, including the families we were so very blessed to marry into, but shaking up those traditions you've had for over 20 years can be an adjustment. We are getting to the point, coming up on 5 years of marriage believe it or not, where even the things that were once new and foreign are now becoming warm and familiar- for me new traditions included: tacos {or "tacas," as Grandma would say} on Christmas Eve, multiple trips to the outlet mall pre/post any holiday, presents ON the Christmas tree, and reading the Christmas story before opening gifts {funny thing- the first time Tate's parents said " it's time for the Christmas story," I thought they were going to read Twas the Night Before Christmas and was shocked when they pulled out the Bible, but too embarrassed to tell that story until now}. For Tate new traditions included: mac and cheese on the Thanksgiving table, stockings, gambling at Grandma Flo's {wink}, and fried shrimp Christmas lunch. I get excited thinking about passing on these long-standing traditions to our growing family. It also makes me stop and think about what I want the focus to be in our home during this season. It's easy to get wrapped up this time of year, but I certainly don't want to miss Jesus. I want to experience the joy, peace and hope that He brings. 

This year we are introducing something new to our house that I hope carries on each year, the Advent calendar. I never heard much of the term "Advent" growing up, but I have learned more about it in the past few years. Advent is more than a Christmas countdown, it is a time when peace, and hope, and joy can break through the anxiety of our busy lives. It is a time to remember and reflect on Jesus' birth. For centuries God prepared His people for the coming of the Savior, which is why I think it is so special to take time every year to prepare my heart for the same thing. So here we go! Every night, starting with Dec. 1st {cough, or Dec. 5th when I actually got around to making the calendar}, we read designated scripture for that day. I love the thought that next year we will be reading these together with our 9 month old baby girl! I hope she enjoys the Christmas story...both the real one and Twas the Night Before Christmas.

In case you want to join in on the fun...

Thanks to the only source of creativity, Pinterest, I found a really simple printable here. Also, I found a free daily Advent devotional here. It's by Billy Graham, so it has to be legit, right?! 

24 weeks: ear of corn

Happy Thanksgiving our little ear of corn!
We are so thankful for the healthy, growing baby that you are and the joy you have already brought to our lives.

You are just over a pound! Uncle Tye and Aunt Katie just got a little kitten, Bruiser, who is also a pound(ish), so when I held him, I thought about heavy you are...but hopefully less furry. You are also about a foot or so long! You are still kicking away, but mostly still at night right now, or at least that is when I notice it. It's like you know when I lay down in my bed and go to town. Since this week is Thanksgiving, we have gotten to see lots of family! The Williams/King/Walton clan came to Waco for an early Thanksgiving celebration at our house. 19 people! It was a packed full, fun time! As we were laying in the living room floor watching the Baylor football game, Aunt Kelly, Jayma, Bull and Gran Jan wanted to take turns feeling you move. We spent the day before Thanksgiving, the day of and the day after in New Braunfels with the Barrett crew. We took 3 trips to the outlet mall in 3 days, per usual, and LaVon "Mimi" jumped at the chance to buy you some cute outfits. In other big news, Lynley and I got a LOT accomplished in your room this week! Here is a sneak peek, with more to come later. We go for our next check up next week. Can't wait to hear our heart beat again! 

22 weeks: spaghetti squash

{someone was feeling left out of weekly pics} 

You are the length of a spaghetti squash {11ish inches} and weigh close to 1 pound! Annnnd you are a kickin'! Like a lot. I love it! You start kicking every night when I lay down in bed. The other day I was hanging up clothes on the bed and stopped to just watch my belly move like a heart beat. Right now your kicks are subtle, but I know that won't be the case for long! It almost feels like a muscle twitching. Your dad got to feel it the other day too! As he was foam rolling {his nightly ritual, which Wrigley mistakes as her nightly wrestle time}, I had him come put his hand on my belly. I bet it made it so much more real for him since I've been able to feel you for weeks, but he hasn't. Also this week, you supposedly develop the sense of touch and may just be holding onto the umbilical cord...guess you don't have many options in there. Congrats- you now have eyelashes and eyebrows! I bet they are so cute. You have eyelids, but they are still fused. If you have hair, it is sprouting from your little head now, but since hair at this stage of development has no pigment, your hair is bright white! Crazy. I guess there is still more cookin to do so stay in there! I pray for you everyday- mostly for adequate nutrition, normal development, strong organs  and good overall physical and mental development. But I pray for your character and desires too. Lately, I have been praying Psalm 19:14 over you- 

"May the words of [her] mouth and the meditation of [her] heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."