Work Besties Shower

I am really lucky to have some great friends at work, who wanted to throw us a shower and were patient enough to wait until Oct. 5 when my mom would be here. 

Mallory, Jennifer and Supriya--my work besties

They know my love of matching! Absolutely everything, right down to the yellow punch, coordinated with the colors of Nugget's room--gray and yellow. The cake was from a new bakery we discovered at Josh's birthday, and it is probably the most delicious cake I've ever had. The chalkboard is a cute idea for tracking Nugget's growth in monthly pictures. 

We played fun games. First, we had napkins where people had to finish sentences in the way they thought I would finish them. Josh and our intern, Cristina, tied. Then we played a game about old wives' tales and predicting gender, based on how my pregnancy has gone. What's funny is it came down to a split. Might be a girl, might be a boy!

Josh was being funny. He especially enjoyed the nipple cream and gel packs for nursing.

Reagan got a kick out of it, too.  

Lots of laughter. 

And the hilarity continued. 

It was a great turnout, with lots of my favorite people.

Connie Wright made this beautiful afghan that matches the nursery! And Corrina Unal knitted a super cute hat I can't wait to put on Nugget and take newborn pictures with! Lots of talented crafty-types in Marketing.

The pretty gift table, before we tore into it.  

This baby is so loved already!

I looked forward to this shower for months, and enjoyed every minute of it. Mallory, Supriya and Jennifer put so much work into making it the perfect shower, and it totally was. From the decorations to the food to the games, it was all so thoughtfully "me." The only down side? I looked forward to this for so long, and now all I have to look forward to is Nugget's arrival. Hurry up, Nugget!

Have you had that baby yet?

People say some of the craziest things to you when you are pregnant. Like this conversation I had with someone at work today:

Girl: WOW. Peanut is REALLY SHOWING.
Me: Well, I only have 3.5 weeks to go...
Girl: Oh, is that all? In that case, you look GOOD.

My favorite comment/piece of advice(?) was from Rebecca. It wasn't one of the crazy things people say--I think it's probably better classified as words to live by. She said someone told her that there will come a point where you think you can't last one more day...and the baby comes two weeks after that. I hope this isn't the case for me, but I think that's pretty funny. And I think my "can't last one more day" feeling is settling in.

There are also people like my mom, who direct their energy toward taking stealth mode photos. The kind that say, nonverbally, "You are pretty huge, and I enjoy capturing this memory."

Had to cram Nug into my Cards hoodie for the playoffs. You can't tell, but I am watching the game on my phone while they ring me up at Buy Buy Baby.

This is pretty lovely all around. We had been at Buy Buy Baby for more than two hours and had lapped the store three times, buying everything left on our registry, and I was about done. This was my, "It's past my 9 p.m. bedtime" face.

I had such a great weekend with my mom in town, even if she was the pregnancy paparazzi. If this baby is a girl, I really hope she can keep up with us when it comes to shopping, because we are hardcore.

And until Nugget gets here, here's a convenient way for you to monitor my progress: Have you had that baby yet? 

A baby shower without any babies or showers

I was lucky enough to marry in to the nicest group of friends on the face of the earth. We're the last ones in the group to have kids, and they are really excited to meet Young Nug, although slightly annoyed at not knowing the gender yet. On Saturday, they threw us a shower at Carraba's, which is apparently "our place" for baby showers. It's tradition.

Braxton, James, Stephanie, me, Emma and Alix (front), Josh, Ang, Sara, Tamara, Mia, Justin, Luka and Zach. I bet this is one of those pictures we look back on in 30 years and think, dang, we looked young. Well, at least the kids will think that. 

Ang made some really cute cards for everyone to predict to the gender, birthdate, birth time and name for Nugget.

This picture of her cute cards doesn't really do it justice because the lighting was weird when I took it. They were so cute!

Look how beautiful these flowers are! And I love that the cake said Nugget. It was delicious. 

Here are the predictions, in order of birthdate:

• Mia is thinking girl, named Ariel, born at 3 a.m. on Oct. 8. Sorry, Mia, this one didn't work out! I appreciated the positive thoughts on a speedy delivery, though!
• Luka predicted a boy, named Dominick, to be born at 11 p.m. on Oct. 17. I have a hair appointment earlier that evening, so if this happens, at least I'll look good in the photos.
• Stephanie guessed a boy, Josh Jr., to be born at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 28. Josh Jr. is a bit of a scary thought, but I bet it's a Josh Jr. even if it's not that in name. 
• Tamara thinks boy, Liam or Graham, born at 12:45 a.m. on Oct. 29. Liam is a name we considered, so great guess!
• James predicted a boy, named William (to tie into Willis), born at 6:35 p.m. on Halloween. I do want a Halloween baby, so this would be fun. It's also the last prediction where I would have the baby on time.
• Sara predicted a girl, Ava or Sophie (both names I love) born at 3:05 a.m. on Nov. 2. Thanks for pushing me past my due date, Sara! :)
• Ang guessed a boy, Max or Charlie, born at 4:16 p.m. on Nov. 3. I love the name Max!
• Close on the heels of Ang's date/time, Justin predicted a girl, Alberta, born at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 3. While I did promise Albert Pujols my first unborn child if he'd stay in St. Louis, he let me down. So no namesake for Jose Alberta.
• Alix thinks it's going to be a boy, Baren or Byan (Bryan), born at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 4.
• Zach is going with a boy, Conner, born at 3:24 p.m. on Nov. 7. My doctor only lets me go a week past my due date, so this is the last guess that would be me going into labor on my own.
• Emma guessed girl, Lulu, born at 1 a.m. on Nov. 10. This might tie with Ariel for the most creative name. Well, if you exclude Alberta.

It was really fun seeing everyone's guesses! Three girl guesses to eight boy guesses--looks like the group is predicting a boy like everyone else! It sure will be surprising for a minute if Nugget is a girl.

The kids helped us open presents.

Braxton was really excited about them and would squeal as we opened them.

I used this as a chance to trick him into snuggling with me. 

Family photo opp. It was really nice that they scheduled the shower when my mom was visiting so she could be a part of it.

Wonderful gifts!

Luka was a little concerned that the shower ended before the baby even got there. He was also confused before the shower about who was going to wash all of us. I guess we don't realize how misleading the term "baby shower" can be. No showers and no babies at a baby shower?! The poor guy was confused.

It was just such a nice day that I felt like crying a few times. Maybe that's the hormones, but I think it's that I'm so grateful for this amazing group of friends!

Maternity Pics

We took some maternity pics with world-renowned photographer Elayne Willis on Sunday at the Dallas Arboretum. She may not be capable of taking photos off of her own camera (she chooses to just buy new memory cards as she fills hers up) but she sure can take a good picture when you hand her the camera and ask her to click the button. Thanks, Mom!

We had the funniest photo bomb (or "photo terrorist" as Josh referred to the kid) in this pic, but I was able to PhotoShop him out. I don't know if he was chasing a butterfly or what, but he was oblivious.

I had to PhotoShop two people out of the background of this one. Creepers.

I feel like Nugget is the size of the massive pumpkin on the left. 3.5 more weeks.

Bump Through 35 Weeks

I've survived 35/40 weeks of this pregnancy so far. It was touch and go on some days. Tomorrow is 36 weeks, and Nugget has received a formal, 30-day eviction notice. See you soon, Nug!

Not a Peep

Most people think we're crazy for not finding out Nugget's gender, but I think it bothers them more than us. We know it's a baby, either way, and we are so excited. It seems like 99 percent of people who have weighed in with a prediction are guessing it's a boy, so it should be interesting to see if everyone is right or everyone is shocked.

Here are a few pictures of Nugget's gender-neutral nursery. The adorable bedding is called "Not a Peep" and it's from Land of Nod (Crate & Barrel's children's line). The alphabet on the wall was a Pinterest project. The customized drawer pulls and closet knobs are from Etsy.

Kevin Costner and Modern West

For months, we've been planning to meet up with my cousin, Matt Allen, at the State Fair of Texas, when Kevin Costner & Modern West were going to be in town for a concert. Matt tours with the band. We joked about the things that could go wrong--the West Nile outbreak, the triple-digit temperatures still happening in Dallas during the fall, etc. We didn't joke about rain, because it never rains here, so it didn't cross our mind. But the day they got into town, Dallas had a one-day monsoon. The concert wasn't until 8:30, but it rained ALL. DAY. without stopping once. For the record, it didn't stop until about 9:30 this morning.

Monsoon season in Dallas, Sept. 29, 2012

We got to the state fair at about 6:15, said hello to Big Tex, and texted Matt. 

Howdy, folks. Welcome to the State Fair of Texas.

Matt met up with us and we chatted for awhile about whether or not the concert was going to take place. The stage was so wet that it wasn't safe for equipment. Josh, Supriya and I went off to eat and Matt said he'd keep us posted. Not 10  minutes later, we got the news that the concert was cancelled. Matt said that they might play a four or five song acoustic set in a tent behind the stage before leaving. We wolfed down some Fletcher's Corny Dogs and some fried pumpkin pie (ahhh-mazing), and headed back to the stage. Matt came to get us and took us to a tent. 

In the tent, feeling like VIPs.

It was nice to sit down and rest my feet, which are now the size of Honey Boo Boo's mom's thighs...

Excited for the show and to be resting our umbrella arms.

Kevin Costner, ladies and gentlemen! He said sorry about the rain, and they'd try to come back next year. He said they'd play a few songs, and then he was going out for sushi. :)

Supriya got some great pics. This is probably the best one! We were only about six feet away from KC.

They sang A Long Way from Home, modified from the Hatfields & McCoys album, Famous for Killing Each Other.

This is KC's daughter, who sang a song.

Cousin Matt. Thank you so much for the passes! We had an awesome time.

I think we're all still excited today about what a neat experience this was. Can't wait for them to come back next year!

Josh's 32nd Birthday

Josh had one of those mid-week birthdays this year that are never quite as fun as a Friday or Saturday birthday, so we celebrated the Saturday before in traditional Josh's birthday style--dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Supriya and cake. Lots of cake.

We tried a new bakery near Supriya, and it was probably the most delicious cake we've ever had. Buttercream frosting being the key.

Something strange happens to your face when you turn 32.

One of us in this photo is only 31.

Partners in crime.