A Weekend for Me

My sweet friend, Danyell, called me about a month ago asking me if anyone had mentioned throwing me a shower. I told her "no" and she asked me what I wanted to do this time around. I told her I'd like something different since it was my second baby, maybe something smaller and intimate. She said to leave it up to her. All I knew was the date and that I was supposed to dress up. So exciting! I have to say it was hard to let go and let my friends take care of all the details without my knowledge though. I'm a little bit of a control freak...just a little.
The Friday night before shower I got to have some one on one time with Heather. We went to the Home and Garden Show and had dinner at Chesapeake's. (By the way, their smoked salmon plate is AMAZING!) Afterward she hung out at the house for a little while and then I had the house all to myself. Nice. I slept in on Saturday and it was wonderful. But I did miss my little alarm clock and had to call my little boy. Then, I layed around the house all morning until Erin and Danyell got into town. I loved getting to spend time with these girls. It's not often I get to have them to myself. We went to Market Square for lunch at Blue Coast Burrito and browsed around at the shops. Then it was time to get ready.
The shower turned out wonderfully and I absolutely loved the venue! It was held at Cru Bistro and Wine Bar in Turkey Creek. Jon and I had been there a couple of times and really liked the place so he suggested it to the girls. We had the party in the lounge area where there was live music. Heather made a centerpiece incorporating details from Alice in Wonderland and Danyell had the prettiest cupcakes made. It was very classy. Laney got some really great gifts. The clothes are to die for. She is going to be the best dressed girl around. And oh my goodness at the bows! I need to count them. It's going to be a long time before she has to repeat a hairpiece! There were 13 guests in all, several of which drove over an hour to be there. I am so loved. : ) Here are a few photos from the night.

Maternity Photo Shoot...of a different kind

About a month ago my good friend and photographer, Brittany, invited me via a facebook event to do a budior photo shoot. I soon texted her asking, "You do know I'm pregnant, right!?" She explained that she was getting a group of ladies together for an all day shoot and she wanted me to be her pregnant "model".(I use that term loosely) I was a little nervous at first but I knew I could trust Brittany to make this 8 month pregnant body look at least halfway decent. She is a phenomenal photographer. I decided to make this a Valentine's Day suprise for Jonathan. It was hard to keep the secret but it was very worth it! When the day arrived for the photo shoot I didn't know exactly what to expect. I was told to bring a few items such as lingerie and heels and Brittany sent me some inspirational photos to look at. My appointment was at 3:00 on Saturday and Jon was very curious as to why I was spending so much time on my hair and makeup before I went out to "run errands." When I got to Brittany's and she got started on me I felt so comfortable. Although she is my friend and I would feel fine walking around her half-naked anyway, she was very professional and I think anyone would feel at ease with her. She gave me great instruction and really made the process fun. If anyone out there reading this needs a good photographer, I highly recommend her. After the shoot I asked her if she would have a couple of prints ready by Valentine's Day and she said she would email me one or two so I could suprise Jon. I got something much better than that. Within three, yes THREE, days she texted me that I could come pick up the entire disk! Poor girl probably didn't get any sleep! I was so excited that I took my computer with me so I could check them out immediately. And......they turned out beautifully. I am so happy with my photos! I was so excited to show Jon. I took the disk to Walgreens and made his Valentine's card using one of the photos on the front and I printed off a couple more that I thought he would like. That night, Tuesday night, and yes the night before Valentine's Day I decided to go ahead and give Jon the card. We were cuddling up downstairs and I said something to the effect of "Okay, I can't wait 'til tomorrow!" and I took him upstairs and handed him the card. When he opened it he got the biggest smile on his face and started throwing words like "beautiful," "stunning," and "sexy" around. I think he liked them. I loved how suprised he was. Even 8month pregnant women can be sexy too. Thank you Brittany!
Now I can't put all the photos on here, there are some people in my life that don't want or need to see all of the goods, but here is a small sample of Brit's work.

34 Week Bump Comparison: Laney vs Jareth

Getting big! Laney will be here before we know it!

And here I am at 33 weeks with Jareth. I think I was a little bigger with him!

Nursery Pics

We don't have the baby bedding yet, the blanket in the photo is the one I made for the craddle. I will post the bedding when it's finished.

Inspiration for the flowers came from the garden scene in Alice in Wonderland.

Pinterest taught me how to make them : )

My grandfather made this changing table. My little cousins got to use it first, then Jareth, and now Laney. I love it. I still want to get a new diaper pad cover. I registered for a pretty one so I'm waiting to see if I get it. The white one just doesn't stand out. I'm also thinking about weaving ribbon in the slats for bows.

I just love these Alice in Wonderland watercolors. I found them on ETSY. One of my favorite places to shop! They turned out so pretty!

I think I'm going to put one of Laney's newborn photos above the key. So that space will eventually be filled. I made the little "L" onesie! It has ruffles on the butt. I'm planning to get some little leggings and use this as her coming home outfit. Can't wait!

I had this pillow made by RockLovenStiches. It's hard to see but the black images on the purple fabric are Alice in Wonderland themed. So cute! I made the little owl out of some scrap fabric. It still needs eyes.

I spray painted this antique table silver and added little black scroll stick ons. I think I'm going to put a little tea set on it. I found a few Alice in Wonderland themed sets that would go well with the room.

That's it so far. Less than six weeks for Laney to get here! Still a few things to do but now we are defintely in countdown mode!