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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

baby brooks: 31 weeks

I can't believe I haven't posted about this pregnancy in 10 weeks! I really thought I would do better at this. 31 weeks. Wow. Now that we're in the "30s" it seems so much closer. 4.5 weeks from now is when Brody was born. I can't even comprehend having a third baby in a month. Let's pray that doesn't happen..we want this little guy to stay tucked inside longer than that. I don't have an official belly shot for this week (as usual) but you can tell from this family pic kinda what I'm looking like these days...and I'm not a fan haha.


Pregnancy Highlights for the Week:

How Far Along: 30 Weeks

Maternity Clothes: All out maternity for sure. And sooo ready to be back in normal clothes. I wear a lot of skirts because they are the most comfortable. 

Fruit/Veggie: 4 Navel Oranges

Baby changes: This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.
Best Moment this week: Carson turned 2! 

Gender: Baby Boy..and he has a first name...Brooks! Still not certain on a middle name. 

Movement: Very active, at night especially. Lots of rolling and prodding. 

Food Cravings: not really anymore

Sleep: Its getting harder to sleep. I'm very uncomfortable..and I know its only going to get worse as he goes through growth spurts in the coming weeks. arrgghh!!

What I am looking forward to: deciding on a middle name, getting his room put together, and of course meeting the little guy in 2 months or less!

Symptoms: The nausea is under control as long as I take my zofran so my main problems these days are the contractions. Not on official bedrest, but on "light activity." I'm still having lots of contractions so we're praying the little guy stays put! 

Monday, July 18, 2011

july 16: Carson Monster is 2!

This past Saturday was Car-Baby aka Carson Monster aka Car-J's 2nd birthday. I know its cliche, but the time really has flown by. I seriously almost remember every moment from the day of his birth. It just really does not seem that long ago. He is such a joy to us and those who love him.

Carson Monster, we love you THIS much and are so blessed to have you as our son! We love hearing your funny little voice and the crazy things that you come up with. The way you adore your big brother and try to copy everything he does is precious, although not always the wisest thing. You already talk about Baby Brooks and we are so excited for you to get to be a big brother in just 2 short months! We thought this party theme was very appropriate for you and we hope you enjoyed every minute of it with some of your friends.

As you can tell, Carson Monster is one of Carson's nicknames. Brody came up with it a while back and it is actually very appropriate for Carson. He's not a terror or anything, but he just has this funny little personality that reminds me of a cute little monster, if that even makes sense. I think its his short stocky build too. I saw this theme on my favorite party planning blog months ago and knew it was the one. Then, Andrea sent me the link as well so obviously others thought it fit well too! I began designing in Silhouette and slowly working on things weeks ago. Then, the week of the party Leigh Ann came to stay to help out with the kids, party planning, etc so that I wouldn't over do it and have a ton of contractions. We had a lot of fun picking out paper goods and assembling decor. Thanks Leigh Ann for all you did last week! You were a lifesaver!

 Monster Juice and Strawberry Lemonade.

 Monster Juice = Yellow & Blue Koolaid mixed

 Monster Cupcake Topper



 Leigh Ann gets all the credit for the cakes and cupcakes. I left the baking and decorating to her while I handled the paper crafting. She did a great job! 

 Carson got his own cake this year.

 I'm Two!!

 We are in the middle of removing wallpaper and getting ready to texture and paint our kitchen. So we created a little monster backdrop to disguise some of the mess. 

 Does anyone think he needs a larger shirt?


 Enjoying the pool with a few of his friends.

 Learning to use the water gun.


 What started as this.....

 soon became this. And it was a hit!


 Family photo 

 Great job buddy!
 I forgot to take a picture of the monster fruit cups on the table, so here's one in use!

 Mmmm Mmm Good!
 Thank you for coming to my party!


We hope you enjoyed your Monster Bash, Carson Monster! Looking forward to many more cutie patootie parties with you and your brothers!

july 9: surprise party!

In my last post I mentioned that I hoped we could have another backyard party soon. Well, it happened a lot sooner than I thought. Allen (my father-in-law) decided it would be fun to through Dena (mother-in-law) a surprise party this year. Her BIG birthday is next year so he thought she'd be expecting it then. So he said let's do it this year because she'll really be surprised!

So we rounded up the troops and spent a few days pulling together the cutest little backyard picnic surprise party. Allen gave us free reign over decor, set up, etc and we had a blast doing it! Mary, Caitlyn, Leigh Ann and I worked hard to pull it off and I think it turned out adorable!! And Dena was truly surprised!!

 There is a long story about this cake, but let's just say in the end, it turned out so cute and coordinated with all of our decor. 

 The backyard was set up with tables under our oak tree.

 Cute poms that Leigh Ann made with tissue paper.

 Centerpieces included flowers, flatware, and candles set in coffee beans.



 Of course I had to bust out the Silhouette and make some drink labels...

 and a banner.

 We ate bbq for dinner (but that didn't need a pic) and Mary arranged this pretty fruit bowl.

 The "surprise" moment. 

Allen was the "official" host of this party, but we wanted a pic of all the girls who pitched in. 
(Not loving photos of myself these days..7 months preggo does not look well on me)

*Stay tuned for a post about our THIRD backyard party in a row! We had a birthday boy!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Independence Day

We had a great day yesterday celebrating our nations' freedom. Nothing fancy. Just had some family over for burgers and hotdogs in the backyard and water toys for the kids. It was our first holiday in the new house and we truly enjoyed getting to host a celebration! I didn't get to take many pics except of the kids enjoying the day in the water.

July 4th Decor for the entire week :)
 Super easy printable idea I found on Pinterest and made in Photoshop.

 The Dads thought it would be cool to put the slide in the pool.



 Slip-n-Slides are the best!

 The little guys needed a little help to get going.






 Claire trying to stay cool in the shade

Even the big boys had to join in

 Can you imagine how much it hurt when he hit the ground?


We had a blast at our first official backyard cookout. Looking forward to the next one! Hopefully it will be soon!