A visit with our Godson

Last week, my first cousin Heather and her husband Craig came to visit us from Seattle. And of course they brought their adorable 21 month old son (our Godson) Patrick! Patrick quickly learned that my big tummy meant that there was a baby on the way. He started calling me "Baby In There"...so cute! He loved to point to my tummy and say "baby in there" over and over. It's amazing how much he has grown and how much his language has developed over the last 10 months since we saw him last.

We went to Charleston for a long weekend where the guys ran the Cooper River Bridge Run. We did lots of walking and showed them the sights. I guess that will be my last road trip before Baby G gets here! We had a wonderful time with them and miss them already. Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

In Charleston in front of the famous pineapple fountain.

Baby In There!

Patrick exploring the streets of Charleston.

Buddha Belly!

My 34 weeks belly shot in front of one of Charleston's horse carriages.

Godfather and Godson bonding with their strollers. (P calls his a "brooma".)

Built in table.

Cousins!

Baby Shower Brunch

Yesterday, three of my dear friends hosted a beautiful shower for me. It was a sit-down brunch with delicious food like quiche, muffins, fruit, and petits fours. There was so much love, support, and excitement for Baby G...it made me feel wonderful. It was so fun for me to have friends from different parts of my life come together to celebrate our baby. Here are some photos from the party!

The beautiful shower hostesses.

Presents!

The precious diaper cake my friend Penny made.

Ladies who brunch.

Mom and me.

My friend Sara who hosted the brunch at her house.

My friend Angie who I grew up with in NC...she came in from out of town to be at the shower.

The beautiful grandmother-to-be.

33 weeks

I've got spring fever - it's in the 70's today and I'm loving it! Everything is going well and I'm getting bigger by the day...literally. I had an ultrasound on Monday and the baby weighs almost 5 lbs already! The tech also said that the baby has lots of hair on his/her head. Tomorrow is my big shower and I can't wait - I'm SO excited!

33 weeks, 1 day

Baby Shower #2

Yesterday I had another baby shower! This one was special because it was hosted by Martha and David, the people who introduced me to Mr. C! I taught their granddaughter in kindergarten (she's now in 8th grade) and they knew Mr. C because he was the music director at their church at the time. They set us up on a blind date almost 8 years ago. They knew what they were doing because 6 weeks later, we were engaged! Martha made the flower girl dresses for our wedding, and David (a professional cake maker) made our wedding cake. It's so neat for them to be celebrating yet another milestone in our lives!

Mom and me before the shower.

Martha, the shower hostess.

David's delicious baby bootie cake.

My sweet friend Joanie who came in from out of town.

Our matchmakers.

Happy Birthday To Me and Shower #1

Today's my birthday! I'm 33 today...yikes! We are celebrating tomorrow night at a dinner with lots of friends and family. Mr. C gave me a gift certificate for an hour prenatal massage - woohoo! I can't wait to use it.

Yesterday was our first shower, hosted by my office. It was so nice and made me feel so good to have everyone at work celebrating with us. They went around the room and each person gave us one piece of advice...it was SO interesting to hear what everyone had to say! One of the girls who organized it also did a poll to find out whether people think we're having a boy or girl. It was 55% girl and 45% boy! She had made a cute little graph and typed up everyone's reasons for their guess. The reasons are hilarious, like, "She's having a girl because her nose hasn't gotten bigger." Or, "It's a boy because I want them to name the baby Mr. C Jr". Hahaha! We'll see who's right! Instead of individual gifts, they all pooled their $ and got us a very generous gift certificate to Target. After all the showers, we can use it to fill in what we still need.

My sweet hostesses, Rogers, Samantha, and Betsy.

The too-cute-to-eat petits fours from a local bakery. They were so yummy!

Mr. C. and I celebrated my birthday with friends at our favorite local bistro.

Shower Stationery

I have to give a shout out to my friend Sarah M. at Paper Luxe Studio. She designs beautiful custom stationery and made me some to match my nursery! She designed packets of notes that I am going to give as gifts to the hostesses of all my showers. Each pack has the initial of the person at the top and her name at the bottom. She also made me thank you notes that say "Merci Beaucoup". I love them!

31 weeks

Sorry this is a little late! I'm actually 31 weeks, 3 days today. Everything is pretty much the same, including my back issues. I've been struggling with back pain this week and have seen my chiropractor several times. She says that since I am so small and am carrying all my newly gained weight only in my belly, that it's putting quite a strain on my lower back. Her adjustments as well as massage therapy help a lot. I have trouble sitting for any length of time, though, which makes work difficult. Other than that, everything is great! I have an OB appointment Monday and my first shower is on Tuesday, hosted by my office. I'm excited! My birthday is Wednesday, and I'm having a celebration dinner with lots of friends and family on Thursday, so this will be quite a week! I'll be sure to update with lots of pics.

Yesterday, I had the nicest thing happen. I went to get myself and Mr. C. a milkshake at the Dairy Bar down the street. It's the kind of place where you park and walk up to a window to order. I parked right by the window and when I got my two shakes, a man behind me in line walked over to my car and opened the door for me. It was such a nice gesture by a total stranger and made me feel so good!

Here I am at 31 weeks: