Friday, June 28, 2013

Here I am, in all my Glory

 
I'm about to do something I swore I would never do.
 
Post a bunch of baby bump photos.
 
But I won a contest from a super talented photography studio in town and I wanted to share their work with you...

 
You know you are getting big when everyone feels the need to compliment how "beautiful you are looking these days."

 
I think there must be a law that states you have to boost pregnant women's self-esteems once they hit the watermelon belly stage.
 
Because I'm there.

 
Even my husband told me today it doesn't look like I've really gained weight anywhere other than my belly.
 
God bless that man for lying.
 
I almost believed him.

 
Until I looked in the mirror and saw my puffy face and chubby arms glaring back at me.
 
And we won't even talk about what's going on with my rear-end these days.
 
 

Overwhelmed with Gratitude


Sometimes I feel like words cannot accurately describe how blessed I am.

I have amazing friends who give and give, and a family that is always supportive and overly generous.

I'm not sure what I did to deserve such amazing people in my life but I wouldn't trade them for anything.

They are spoiling me once again, this time with baby showers and lots of gifts for our little guy.


My best friend, her little girl and my sister-in-law hosted a baby shower for me in my Kansas hometown earlier this month.


And they out-did themselves.


Every little detail was so thoughtful.


All the way down to the little cake-topping boots that came straight from Nashville.


This little boy has no idea how spoiled he already is.


It was such a fun day and a great chance to catch up with everyone.



And thanks to their cleaver crafting, a day I will always be able to remember.


They asked the guests to make pages for a scrapbook offering parenting advice, memories and well-wishes.


The kids' pages were some of my favorite.


They included phrases like "Go KSU" and "Drive green tractors."

(Although I'm pretty sure I have an aunt responsible for the green tractor comment)


Sometimes it's hard living so far away from home, but it makes the trips back all the sweeter.


I had a great time spending the day with family and friends.


And it was fun getting to have my aunts and cousins all in one place.

They are the most thoughtful group of women I know.


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Fast forward one week, and it was time for another baby shower.

This time back East on my in-law's farm.


I couldn't believe it when I had three different friends offer to throw a shower.


So they teamed up and put together a beautiful day.


If you haven't guessed yet, we're going to call the baby August.

He's the 4th in line to a long name, so we opted to shorten the second middle name (Augustus) to August for a nickname.


Does the cake look familiar?

I love that both groups of girls know me so well that they picked the same style of cake knowing I would absolutely love it (and invitations too, by the way.) I'm lucky to have such great friends.


The weather was perfect for a picnic on the farm that day.



Once again, everyone was so incredibly generous.

I can honestly say, we really don't need a single thing now.


My husband's sister came up with a really cool idea that made a thoughtful gift we will cherish forever.


She is a world traveler, and collected soil from Germany and England (where my husband's family is from) and Sweden (where my family is from).


And then she took it a step further and collected dirt from the homeplace when my husband's father grew up, and well as the country store where his mother grew up.

And the 6th jar contains soil from the first piece of ground my husband bought.


He's already tried to claim the jars to display in his office.

But so far baby is winning, and it's on the chest of drawers in the nursery.


And never wanting to miss out on anything, my dear sweet sister-in-law from Kansas City and my mother came out just for the shower.


And it's possible that I used my mother (and father) for slave labor to get the nursery ready while they were here.

I mean, what use are awesome parents if you don't take full advantage of their awesomeness?