Dani's {Cookies & Milk Shower}

Yesterday, it was my honor to throw Dani (babysitter extraordinaire) a bridal shower.
I went with a Cookies & Milk theme. :-)

We were blessed with a beautiful day, and I think we all enjoyed ourselves!

This was the Cookies & Milk table.
I LOVED it!!!

I used a few styles of jars and had different kinds of (homemade) cookies in every jar ...

I printed out cute red/turquoise labels from etsy shop print.create. CELEBRATE! ....

And guests got to fill a bag with cookies to take home!

The bags were from Pick Your Plum and The TomKat Studio Party Shop, and the thank you decals I ordered from Etsy Shop The Digi Butterfly and printed on sticker paper...

That drink tub is one of those cheap-o ones you can buy at Target.  The paint had faded and chipped, so I just painted the whole thing with chalkboard paint ... and added the text with (my favorite) chalk ink marker.
And the "Udderly in Love" sign idea, I painted on an old board (and first saw the idea HERE!).

The milk bottles were Starbucks frappuccino bottles ... 

Scott drank the frappuccino (gladly), then I peeled off the labels, sprayed them with WD-40, and scrubbed the sticky stuff off.  (Then washed them with extra-hot water TWICE in the dishwasher!

The lids, I spray painted cherry red, then printed out the decals from HERE on sticker paper and cut them out to fit perfectly on top!

This was the food (and beverage) table ...

The menu consisted of fruit skewers, caprese skewers (grape tomatoes and marinated mozzarella balls), and peach/mango salsa with chips.
The pink lemonade (for those who didn't want milk) was served in mason jars with the cute screw-on lids from Mindy Mae's Market.
The adorable plates were from The TomKat Studio Party Shop, and the cute little polka dot cups for the salsa were from Pick Your Plum.

Guests "signed in" by leaving Dani their "Recipe for Love" ...
(I just wrote out a cute example on a chalkboard to display on the table.)

The recipe cards (which I also first saw the idea for HERE),  I custom ordered from Etsy shop Elsie J Prints.

(I put all of the guests' recipes in a cute little photo book for Dani to have as a keepsake from her shower.)

Overall, it was a great party ... and Dani had fun :)~

... and so did her cute little flower girl. :-)

My girls!  Love them! :-)

(And HOORAY for a non-baby-related post!:)~  I finally did it!!!  Feels good to be back for the day ...
:-)

Baby Update: 22 Weeks!

Can someone please explain to me how two weeks manages to go by (over and over) ... and somehow, these baby updates are the ONLY posts I can manage to squeeze out!?

If you are annoyed by this, don't worry .... I'm much MORE annoyed with MYSELF, I promise!!!
Grrrrrrr!

I HAVE been working on a few things though ... and I WILL be sharing some of them very soon, if it's the last thing I do!

How about a baby update!?


Well, first of all ... let me tell you ... this baby is SHOWING UP now!!!

Yikes.

BABY STATS:
Baby Max is now 11 inches long and weighs about a pound!
He is looking much like a miniature newborn now. :-)  SO EXCITING!!!
He continues to be a very active lil' guy ... he loves trampolines as much as his big sister, and unfortunately, he thinks my bladder is one. :)~
But actually, just over the past week, he has finally moved UP off of my bladder much more.  I'm feeling him hanging out more around my belly button now!

MAMA STATS:
Well, as you can see above, I have GROWN.
I know it's a good thing ... but boy-oh-boy, saying "ta-ta-for-now" to my regular pants has been a little frustrating.
(Mostly because this didn't happen until about 26 weeks with Lucy.)
(And don't tell me it's supposed to happen faster the second time ... that was FOUR years ago, folks.  I don't think that counts.)
On the upside, at least I think I actually appear "pregnant" to random people on the street, rather than just extra-chubby.
At least that's what I'm telling myself.  
Also on the upside, my skin is doing much better!  Still not great ... but much improved!
And overall, I'm feeling GREAT!

LUCY STATS:
Lucy has definitely adjusted to the idea of having a little brother.
She rubs my belly and talks to Max every night while we're snuggling before bedtime.
And she always has to give him a kiss and tell him goodnight, too.  :-)  SO CUTE!
She's also been referring to "her brother" multiple times a day ... "when my brother grows up, I'm going to teach him to walk", "when my brother comes out, I'm going to give him an ice cream cone", etc. :-)
She's also started telling me she "CAN'T WAIT!" until he comes out.
This is what I was afraid of!  These next 4 months could get very l-o-n-g if this keeps up! :)~

Hopefully I'll be seeing ya'll back here again sooner rather than later (i.e. sooner than the next baby update in two weeks!:)~
HUGS!

Baby Update: 20 Weeks!

I am 20 WEEKS pregnant!!!
That's FIVE MONTHS!
AND .... HALFWAY there!!!

SOOOooooooo exciting!!!

And not only THAT, but I finally (kinda) LOOK pregnant!

(yikes ... does it look like I just woke up from a nap? .... 'cause I just woke up from a nap.)

BABY STATS:
First, of course there's the exciting news that baby is a BOY!!!
And the little guy is getting BIG!  He is about 10 inches tall ... and weighs about 10 1/2 ounces.
His arms and legs are in correct proportion to each other and the rest of his body now, his sensory development is exploding (he can even hear my voice now!), and he is practicing his swallowing skills a lot these days. :)~

MAMA STATS:
It's been a busy couple of weeks!  Found out I'm going to have a SON, turned 33 .... whew!  That's enough excitement for me for a while!
But as I mentioned, I'm finally lookin' a little pregnant!  Still feeling great, still have crappy skin, and still gaining weight (thanks to five BBQs and a birthday party in the past week!:)~
I am love-love-LOVING feeling this little guy moving around all the time (even though it's usually right on top of my bladder!).
And as excited as I am to be halfway through this pregnancy, I can't help but be a little sad, too ...
I waited a very long time to be pregnant -- and never thought it would happen again -- so the thought that this stage is already half over is a little bittersweet!
REALLY trying to appreciate and enjoy every day!!!

LUCY STATS:
Lucy has been a little out of sorts since the ultrasound last Monday.  I think she's really excited about the baby ... she just happens to wish it was a baby GIRL instead of a boy.  She has days that she continues to INSIST that it IS a girl -- but overall, I think she's accepting her fate:  a little brother is coming!!!
We went shopping for him right away, and she had a great time pointing out (and grabbing) every little thing that we need to get for him.  She's also excited to "snuggy" in her new big-girl bed with him. :)~
She is just getting to be such a big girl!  The things she comes up with never cease to amaze me ... it's so amazing to watch and listen to her (especially when she doesn't know I'm watching or listening!).  She is going to be the BEST big sister ... and such an incredible help to me, I already know that.
I am feeling so blessed that God planned it this way -- that I get to have a "big" four-year-old (who I have had the pleasure of enjoying every day for the past going-on-four years without having to share her at all!) who is now able to get things for herself (and even for me!), dress herself, go potty by herself, and all kinds of other things that I would have otherwise been doing in addition to taking care of an infant!  WOW!  I am a lucky lady!!! :-)

Hope you're all having a great week and enjoying SUMMER!
See you soon!

33!

Well, it IS my birthday, so ..... I think I WILL! :-)

They say 33 is the happiest year of your life {source}.
And I think they might be right!

I do know one thing for sure .... the older I get, the happier I get.
Not sure why that is.
Maybe I'm just learning to appreciate things more?
Or maybe it's because these last years spent as a mom have blown the other years out of the water ....

Whatever the reason, I can't wait to find out what 33 has in store for me!

BOY? or GIRL?

Aaargh!
SO sorry to keep you gals waiting!
I feel so bad about that .... but we've been busy with 4th of July festivities!
(And baby shopping!:)~

First of all, out of 165 entries in the contest ... congratulations to Carie Austin, entry number 104, and the winner of the personalized planner from Much Ado About You!  You are going to LOVE it, Carie!  And I couldn't be more thrilled that you won!!! (Carie is the best follower and commenter -- SO SWEET!)

And now, getting on to the REALLY exciting stuff.

Drumroll, please ......






It's a ..... BOY!!!

Lucy is getting a little BROTHER!  (I will give you more details about this fun ultrasound adventure another day - hopefully soon!)

Aaaaaaah!!!!  A BOY!
What do I do with a BOY!?
(Will he be okay with a houseful of PINK, do you think!?:)~