Easter Fun at Nana's House

Today we went to James' mom's house for Easter lunch and festivities for the kiddos. Aden and his cousin Mackenzie dyed eggs and had an egg hunt. It was such a nice day. Thanks Sandy for the wonderful lunch! We really enjoyed it.

Aden giving me one of his infamous looks


Aunt Jennifer and baby Madison


Cousin Madison


Aden and cousin Mackenzie egghunting

Playgroup Easter Party

Aden and I went to a playgroup Easter playdate on Saturday morning. We had a yummy lunch, followed by an egg hunt for the wee ones. It was such a beautiful day!

6 More Weeks To Go!

...until we meet our baby girl. We've narrowed the name choices down, but just can't decide on one! Please vote in the baby name poll I created and let us know what you think!

Yesterday, I received this gift from my friend Miranda and her mom. It's the Graco Rittenhouse Pack n' Play and it is black and white damask. My mom bought us the matching infant seat.


I'd like to wish my cousin Jennifer a Happy 25th Birthday! Have a drink for me.


And Lastly, Montessori posted some new random winter pictures and I wanted to share my favorite. On Friday's they have lunch catered in. Obviously, they had spaghetti on this day.

Busy Busy Busy

We've had a lot going on lately, so I have been slacking on posting to the blog. I'll start with last weekend.

On Friday, Aunt Carrie, Uncle Wayne, and cousin AJ came in from OKC to visit. Nana came over too and we all had dinner and a nice time catching up. Here is a picture of cousin AJ reading "Go Dog Go" to Aden. He just loves that story!


Sunday was my second baby shower. It was at the Bonneville House and hosted by friends-Miranda, Jennifer Jones, Jenny Julian, and my sister-in-law, Jennifer. Everything was so pretty and it turned out really nice. Thank you guys! I only managed to get a few pictures. I'm hoping that someone else took some too!

Here are a few pictures:

The cake. The color scheme of the shower was black and white damask with baby pink accents.



Food Table. I just love the table cloths.


Flowers. Miranda did these herself. She is always good at doing stuff like this. It is always super challenging for me.


My mom gave me this double stroller. It is called the Sit n' Stand Elite Double Stroller and was ordered from One Step Ahead. It has tons of features and is so versatile. I'm looking forward to using it (or learning how to anyways).



And, finally, I decided to stop in and have Aden's hair cut on Tuesday night when we went to Wally World. I just couldn't stand it anymore. We just had it trimmed and cleaned up though. He was sooo good. He walked right up to the chair and started climbing onto it. He sat perfectly still in the chair while the lady cut his hair and just cheesed at me the whole time. So sweet! He is getting so big!

Baby Shower # 1

Yesterday was my first of two baby showers. It was hosted by my cousin Jennifer who lives in Chicago and one of my best friends, Linsey. It was very nice and I got some super cute things. Thank you guys!

A few pictures:

The food table


Cake from Rick's Bakery in Fayetteville - yummy!


Me


Grandmommy's to be


Sabrina & I


Winnie & I


Gift Table


Baby Uggs


Cute little onesie from Keep it Gypsy


Juicy Couture Pacifiers


Lots of Hair Accessories

31.5 Week Prenatal Appointment

I had my 31.5 week prenatal appointment on Monday. Although my blood pressure looked better, they discovered that I am now anemic. So, I'll start taking iron supplements. I have been super tired lately, but just attributed that to the pregnancy.

We're making progress on Aden's new room. We have chair rail up. James and Aden's nana painted the bottom portion of the wall. Toddler furniture is in and assembled. All that is left is to arrange the furniture how we want it and finish the nautical decor. I hope to have pictures to post soon!

My first shower is this weekend and I am really looking forward to it!

Friends & Family Coupon - 30% off Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic

Get 30% your in-store purchase now until Sunday, March 15th!

Click on the Title of this post to get the coupon.

Aden desperately needs some new spring clothes, so I'm go on a shopping trip to Old Navy this weekend. I so wish we had a babygap here! =( I don't think I have the time or the energy to drive to Fayetteville. Tomorrow James and I are going to be working on finishing Aden's new room, so that we can get the nursery ready.

Shopping problem

I always knew that this would be an issue if/when I had a baby girl! I haven't even had any showers, and yet I continue. I will say that I have bought clothes mostly and I like to pick them out myself anyway!

Well, I found this diaper bag on sale at www.pureandhonestkids.com for only $38 (originally $90). I love damask, so I decided that I had to have it. I will have it monogrammed in light pink if we ever decide on a name.

Lovin' this weather...

And so sad that it is about to come to an end. We've been spending some time outdoors lately. Aden *loves* to play outside. Here are a few pictures from the last few days:

Having Fun


The playhouse that mimi bought Aden

Getting Cleaned Up

We have a few outdoor projects planned at the house. We are going to double the size of our little backyard patio, have the backyard sodded, and buy Aden a swingset. After much research, I'm leaning toward the Step2 Brand Plastic Set. I love the look of the wooden sets, but the maintenance & set up seem a bit much. Then there is also the issue of splinters. Here's is a picture of the set I'm leaning towards:

29.5 Week OB Appointment

Yesterday we went for my 29.5 week appointment with Dr. Rainwater. I have gained 26 lbs. thus far. Ugh! And still have 7.5 to 10.5 weeks remaining. The measurements and heartbeat were good. My blood pressure has started to rise a little, although Dr. Rainwater says that it is still within the normal range. I'm really concerned that I may be getting preeclampsia once again. With Aden, I was diagnosed with pre-e and put on bed rest at around 35 weeks. Due to the severe swelling, difficulty breathing, etc., I knew that something was wrong some time before the official diagnosis.

Anyways, I will begin seeing my OB every 2 weeks now, instead of four. I will keep you posted with pregnancy updates.

Ultrasound Comparisons & K-Mart Double Coupon Days

I was looking back at Aden's 4-D ultrasound pictures to compare new baby's pics. You can look back at my previous post to see our recent ultrasound pics for baby girl. It seems Aden's face is a lot chubbier in his pictures. Baby girl's facial structures seem to be more defined and her nose appears to be more like mine. Anyway, Aden's pictures are below. Technology is just amazing, isn't it?





I also wanted to mention the double coupon days this week at K-Mart. They are doubling coupons up to $2.00. I was excited to see this as I have several $2.00 off diaper coupons, so it will be $4.00 off per package. I know that the Fort Smith K-mart is a participating store, but you can always call your local store to see if they are participating as well. Just thought I would share!

4-D Ultrasound of Our Baby Girl

So, last Monday we had our 4-D ultrasound of baby girl. We are 28 weeks now! Only 9 to 12 more weeks to go and so much to do before then...


Smiling


Feet are crossed


And my favorite picture. She kind of looks like Aden did in this one.




Aden developed a double eye infection and ear infection over the weekend. James took him to the walk-in-clinic today, so that Aden could get started on some meds. Although it is obvious that he doesn't feel great, he has still been his busy little self playing around the house. We were supposed to go to a Chuck E Cheese party yesterday, but had to stay home because Aden was sick. I felt so bad as he has been talking about "going to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday" all week. =( We'll have to make it up to him when he gets better!

Our Valentine's Day Weekend...

We had a very sad Valentine's day. My grandmother, who was 85 years old, passed away Saturday evening. She was like a second mother to me. I will remember her for her strength, her witty character, and dry sense of humor. We will miss her dearly and she will always hold a special place in my heart.

On a happier note, several things occured last week that I wanted to blog about. First, I want to say Congratulations to one of my best friends, Miranda, on her recent engagement. She and her finance, Sean, have been together 4 years. I am so happy for them. Her ring is absolutely gorgeous! The picture below doesn't begin to show how pretty it is.


Friday, Aden had his Valentine's day party at Montessori. I briefly stopped by the school and snapped a few pictures. They were working on a Valentine's day craft.


Aden showing me his finished product backwards. =) Every time that Aden is aware of my picture taking, I get this same cheesy face (squinted eyes and all).


Friday evening Aden had a patriotic-themed school program. The tots only participated in one song, "Yankee Doodle", but it was just really cute. We were so proud of him marching around the stage and holding his little flag!

Aden and one of his tot teachers, Mrs. Barrie


Aden's tot class

Happy Birthday James!

Today is my hubby's 28th birthday. He had to work tonight, so we did a little mini-celebration last night with dinner at the house and a cookie cake. James wanted to go to the horse races in Hot Springs for his birthday, so we are leaving in the morning. It will be a nice little break for us and Aden will get to spend some time with his mimi and nana.







Aden has been doing very well. We received a progress report today from his toddler teacher at Montessori. Here it is:

James and Kelly;

I just wanted to update you on Aden's progress at school. He is very
social and loves being with the other kids. I just had a student add
Friday to her schedule, and he welcomed her with open arms. He is a very
loving young man. He has begun choosing his own work with more regularity,
and I very seldom have to suggest that he find a work. He is getting much
better at putting puzzles together. One of his favorite works is stringing
beads, and he LOVES books!

A few of the things I am working with Aden on is putting away his works
when he is finished with them. He has also been saying, "No," and "Can't"
quite often. I am trying to discourage those words and give him better
phrases to use instead of, "Can't" ("This is too hard for me, will you
help?").

I really enjoy Aden. He brightens my day when I see his happy little face.