Full Term

Today I'm 37 weeks, so I'm officially full term. Several of my friends have had their babies around 38 or 39 weeks recently, maybe I'll follow their lead. As the time winds down, I've been thinking about things I can't wait to do once I'm no longer pregnant including:

1. BREATHE, I've been stuffed up for 9 months now, and poor Nate has to listen to my snoring because of it
   
2. Sleep on my belly
   
3. Sit up without having to use my arms to push myself
   
4. Cross my legs when I sit down
5. Wear normal clothes and my cute sandals that don't fit because my feet are swollen
6. Wear my engagement ring, also doesn't fit because of swelling
   
7. Have a frozen lemonade with 3 olives cherry vodka

Of course, mostly I can't wait to meet our little boy, to see what he looks like, to hold him, to introduce him to his family and friends who are anxiously waiting to spoil him, and to watch Nate be a Daddy.

Big Mama 37 weeks

Hydrangeas

I love my hydrangeas. They have grown so much in the 3 years since we planted them. This year they are full of blooms. There are plenty of flowers for me to cut and have an arrangements inside to enjoy as well.



I especially love the blue ones with the hint of green. I think they could be used as inspiration for a wedding, bridal or baby shower, birthday party, or even just a get together. I've collected some pictures of items necessary for hosting an event that would compliment the hydrangeas. As the hydrangea is already oozing with elegance, I would stick to simple arrangements in low round or square glass bowls (such as the picture above) for the tables and use the hydrangeas in other bouquets, highlighted with a few lime green berries.

Click on image to enlarge and see smaller pics better.

From top to bottom, left to right:

• Invitations found on Etsy by Km Thomas Designs
• A pretty blue and green tablescape that would look nice with a hydrangea centerpiece. Found on Country Living.
• Blue and green napkins from Etsy seller usafwife08's shop
• Blue curacao and apple martini's, the perfect blue and green drinks to serve to the adults
• Poms to hang from the ceilings of your tent, in the trees, really wherever. By etsy seller prosttothehost.
• Flag banner- perfect for baby shower or birthday party decorations. Found on Nursery Decor Land
• These cupcakes are almost to elegant to eat. They would make a beautiful display for a wedding. Found on Kiwi Cakes.
• Chocolate covered pretzel rods, drizzled with blue would make a yummy favors. From The Bride Organizer's Shop.
• Fun old fashioned sodas, arranged on ice in the white and green bucket from Target.
• Organizer that can be used for guests to write messages to the bride and groom or to hold recipes from a bridal shower. From Alter Design's Shop.
• Pretty bouquet for the bridesmaids, found on Eugene Wedding Flowers
• Green bridesmaids dress by Alfred Angelo. Love the sweetheart neck and white accents.
  
• Shepherd hooks with hydrangea balls perfect for lining the isle or decorating an outdoor space. Found here.

New Blooms

My flower beds are full of blooming beauties right now. I didn't get to see my day lilies because the deer devoured all of my buds but I did get to see a few lilies. My daisies, which are so easy to grow, just plant and watch them multiple each year, are blooming in full force right now.

Lily

Daisies

Petunia Power

Petunia's have to be one of the easiest varieties of annuals to grow. With very little work, they seem to just take off. Really, all they need is a little water and for you to remove of the dead flowers once in a while. I don't even pinch my wave petunias in the flower beds and they do just fine. Petunia's come in many different varieties and colors and they take the heat better than a lot of annuals. If you're like me and your thumb is only partly green these flowers have minimal risk of failure.

Porch for 2

Wave petunias start out small but really spread quickly.

Petunias work in pots and baskets too.

36 weeks

I've reached the final month! At the end of this week, I'll be considered full term! I had another uneventful doctor's appointment today; everything checked out fine. I'm starting to feel HUGE and I have some swelling. The swelling in my hands makes them ache but other than that and feeling tired at times I'm doing well. The baby is growing at a rate of about an ounce a day. He should now weigh about 6 pounds and is probably more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath.

I've been consumed with nesting and have accomplished a lot on my to do list in the last week or so. My Mom shampooed my carpets, Nate and I cleaned all the windows, the garage, organized the kitchen cabinets and did some other odds and ends. I've washed all kinds of stuff including all of the baby's clothes and bedding. His nursery is ready and organized except for a couple of wall decorations. I also stocked up on necessities that we might need at the house and for the baby. I need to clean out my car and have Nate install the car seat, otherwise we just need a baby!

Big Mama 36 weeks

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there, hope your day is filled with fun and relaxation! Wishing a special Happy Father's Day to Nate, who's going to be a wonderful Dad!

A few quotes for the Father to Be:

The most important thing a father can do
for his children is to love their mother.
~~Author Unknown

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.
~~Elizabeth Stone

Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a Dad.
~~ Anne Geddes


Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.
~~Jimmy Piersal, on how to diaper a baby, 1968

35/35

Today I'm 35 weeks, which means only 35 days until my due date! I went to the doctor yesterday and all is well with Baby Horton and I. The baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's estimated to be over 18 inches long and 5 1/4 pounds. Because it's so snug in the womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, therefore it's a good thing he's facing head down, as it would be hard for him to flip if he were breach. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete, I cannot wait to see what he looks like! He'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight (so will his Mommy, I assume). He continues to be spoiled rotten, as we've gotten a few more adorable outfits in the mail all the way from AZ, as well as some Towson gear- thanks girls! My work had a baby shower for me on Friday and we received a VERY generous gift card to Babies R Us and a couple of other gifts...thank you to my wonderful coworkers!

Big Momma- 35 weeks

My Mom has 5 babies beside her house, look at this adorable little one. And notice the poor Big Momma (white horse) in the background just waiting to pop out her baby--I know how she feels.

Another little one.

Nate found this newborn while he was hunting turkeys. No- he does not shoot fawns, this baby is very much alive he's just trying to figure out what's going on now that he's outside of the womb.

Isn't' he cute?

Pretty Posies

With the exception of my day lilies, which the critters decided to completely devour (literally probably 100 blooms before I even got a picture) my flowers are doing pretty well.

Lavender

Begonia

Hydrangeas, cut from my flower beds. Look at all the colors.

Gerber daisy, another of my favorites.

34 weeks

Today, I'm 34 weeks. Time is winding down until we finally meet our little boy. No major changes with me, just watching my belly get big and feeling a little tired. The baby weighs about 4 3/4 pounds right now, which a little more than the size I was when my Mom brought me home from the hospital! His fat is filling out which will help regulate his body temperature once he arrives. It's also making him rounder, hence my significant weight gain! His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. His skin is also changing from very wrinkly to smooth.

I've posted plenty of pictures of myself recently, so this week I'll post a few pics of the nursery as we've added some items since my last pictures.

Crib with our new mobile. Mobile from Babies R Us. We are having a bookshelf made (by Pap-Pap) for the wall around the corner and to the left of the crib, can't wait to get this!

New chair, which is so comfy. Purchased from Rock A Bye Baby. Blanket was a shower gift as was the picture hanging on the wall behind the chair.

Love this picture titled "Mudding" by Josh Axelrod.

Dresser/Changing table with the new changing pad. Lamp from Target. Towson Tiger stuffed animal was a shower gift. For the artwork above the dresser/changing table, we matted and framed 2 Horton books:).

Up close of the books

Toy box and/or ottoman, from Target.

We still need to install some additional shelving to the closet and a add few more decorative items. The baby's Pap Pap is making a bookshelf (see below) that will hang on the wall beside the crib. which is the wall that the window is on. This will give us a place for all his new books, as well space for other items such as his cute red piggy bank, new stork figurine, and John Deere tractor:). I also need to figure out what I'm putting on the wall behind the crib, I have one option which includes 3 framed tin balls (soccer, basketball and baseball). I would really like to do a wall decal like the picture below but we need a name first!

This is what the wall bookshelf will look like.

This decal is from etsy seller back40life's shop

Yes, I'm Obsessed

Ok, I know you all may tire of reading about Anguilla and Turks and Caicos but I love both places and 2 of my favorite beaches just earned top honors from Luxury Retreats! Grace Bay and Maundays Bay were named in the top beaches for Amazing Sand and I couldn't agree more. Shaool Bay East in Anguilla was number 5. You won't find sharp shells or rocks at these 3 beaches, just powder like sand that your feet literally sinks into for inches. Although, I'd argue that Rendezvous Bay beach has just as soft of sand as the beaches mentioned and should be on the list, maybe it doesn't have any luxury retreats located along it.

Grace Bay beach at sunset

Maundays Bay beach

Shaool Bay East at Sunset

Showered with Love

Yesterday, my family and friends hosted a baby shower for Baby Horton and I. A HUGE thank you to everyone who came and for all the wonderful gifts. A very special thank you to Mom, Tammy, Gram, Melissa, and Summer for putting together such a wonderful day...and another special thank you to Rebecca who traveled all the way from Oklahoma even though she is still isn't feeling 100%. She also wrote a special poem for Nate and I that we really enjoyed. We received so many gifts; this little boy is already spoiled!

The shower was at the Dobbin House in Gettysburg. The Dobbin House is a beautiful civil war building and made for a neat location. The thoughtful hosts decorated with bears (wearing baby gear), baby pics of Nate and I, a diaper cake, and pretty flower arrangements. Lots of blue, of course, and everything looked great! Melissa made candy bars as favors, as well as pretzels with blue and white chocolate for the tables, very tasty. The cake was from Dingeldeins (in New Cumberland, PA), and was absolutely delicious! We played a few games (with prizes from Harry and Davids), ate lunch, and enjoyed each others' company, what a fun day:)

Diaper cake made by my Mom

Pretzels with chocolate and baby themed M&Ms. A recipe for this tasty treat can be found here. Make your treats fit the occasion by using colored candy (check out Michaels) and/or use themed M&Ms.


Cake and one of the flower arrangements filled with baby items (if you want to diy just attach skewers to your item and place in the arrangement). I just realized that the bear on the cake is the same as the bear on the napkins and plates!

Nate's bear with a "party in my crib shirt"

Favors made by Melissa, with the same bear again!

Opening lots of gifts!

Everyone brought a book so the little guy now has an entire library. I love this idea and it's so neat to have books from all of the special people in his life. I know he'll enjoy reading the messages everyone wrote in the books (as well as the stories) someday.

He also got lots of toys and even more clothes, blankets, towels and wash clothes (no pic, the stuff is already in the wash).

Love this print from Summer, it's going to look great in his room!

A beautiful blanket made by my Gram

And another from a friend's Mom

And another from a friend!

We also received all of the big gear including the car seat and base, swing, high chair, pac n play, baby monitor, play gym, and stroller! We are also stocked with the little gear such as bottles, warmers, diapers, thermometers, pacifiers...you name it we have it! We are all set. Nate even put everything together already.

There are too many gifts to post pics of everything, but we love all of the items and can't wait for Baby Horton to wear them, use them, and enjoy them! Thanks again everyone, we really appreciate everything and are so grateful for your love and support.

Maternity Pics

Last weekend, I had Kylene and Matt of Kylene Krotzer Photography come to our house to take maternity pics. She has posted a few of the pics on her blog. Kylene previously helped improve many of our wedding photos and made us an awesome album. Kylene and Matt were easy to work with and their prices are very affordable. Check out their website (click first link above) for more information; she does wedding photography, as well as portrait sessions. They will come back again to take pics sometime in the first 2 weeks after the little guy is born. I'm sure these pics will be even better, considering the subject:)

A couple of my favorite pics that she also has on her blog:



I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the pics (they took a lot in 2 hours). She will post all of them online for us to view when she has a chance.