A couple weekends ago I was so blessed to have another baby shower in Katy, TX, hosted by some of my mom’s best friends. She has been friends with most of these ladies since around the time I was born! They meet once a month to play Canasta (consider it like a Bunco group). They also threw me a wedding shower a couple years ago. I’m so grateful for my mom to have such wonderful friends that love on me, too.
Not only did they throw a wonderful gathering with delicious food, beautiful flowers, a sweet “blessings box” with hand written blessings/prayers from each guest, a funny game, but they also gifted us one of our strollers! We are so grateful. It was also so wonderful to see and get to visit with some of my best friends from high school. I was sad that some people couldn’t make it, but most of those people would have had to travel, etc… Oh, being a grown up! I love that whenever we get together, wether it’s been 6 months or 2 years, we can just pick up where we left off and usually laugh until we cry. Thank you for all of your wonderful gifts and for celebrating with us! I was blown away by some of the personal hand-made gifts!! Brady will get great use out of all the new goodies we were showered with.
Here are some fun photos from my shower in Katy. (Thanks to Daria for snapping most of these photos for me!)
HOW FAR ALONG? 31 weeks…. only 9 ish weeks left.
SIZE OF OUR SWEET BABY? Weighs as much as 4 navel oranges (up to 19 inches head to heal, and about 3.5 – 4 lbs).
MATERNITY CLOTHES? Yep. Still rockin’ them. And they’re getting a bit snug. I enjoy dresses and skirts more than anything tight around the bottom of my waist or legs. No thank you!
GENDER: BOY
SLEEP? It’s been ok. I’ve been traveling so much lately that my sleep is lighter when away from home. I try to BE in bed for at least 8-9 hours with hopes of snagging at least 7 hours of “solid” sleep.
FOOD CRAVINGS? Salads lately. Probably since I’ve been away from home and can’t control my diet as much, I just want to replenish with healthy salads/smoothies. I made a delicious Italian chopped salad for our Switch Family Feast the last night of the Switch Retreat.
WHAT I MISS? Exercising outside at the lake. There have been more than 10 fatal cases of West Nile Virus in the area, so I’ve steered clear (and haven’t had time). Reaching my feet (thankful for pedicures).
SYMPTOMS? This is the first week I’ve REALLY felt the physical effects of late pregnancy. Swollen feet (they’re only getting bigger), achey back and hips. Exhaustion. Lots of trips to the lady’s room since Brady’s kicking/laying on my bladder. Also, feeling a lot more emotional. I’ve been so even keel the entire time, but it hit hard this week.
BELLY BUTTON? WAY stretched out.
BEST MOMENT(S) OF THE PAST WEEK?
1. Spending time in Colorado with my co-workers who I really enjoy. Good food, deep conversations, lots of fun & laughter. One of my favorite “moments” of the trip was making a big italian dinner together our last night in Colorado and all 13 of us sitting around a big table sharing comical, as well as, sentimental moments with each other. I will miss times like this.
2. The day after my birthday (still in Durango), everyone went into town to float the river or rent bikes/hike and my boss surprised me with a mani/pedi at a local spa! I was blown away. She even apologized that she wasn’t able to get me a massage since they were booked. What?! It was such a nice gift!!!
3. All of the sweet phone calls, emails, and snail-mail cards from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday. I always feel so loved by their thoughtful actions!
Last weekend the whole family (mom’s side) trekked down to Galveston, TX to enjoy a long weekend together. We stayed at a family friend’s beautiful beach house again. The “adults” (aunts/grandma) stayed through the middle of the week, but the cousins usually all pile in for a long weekend together. The annual beach trip usually consists of us eating and laughing our way through the weekend. We also celebrate several of the cousins summer/early Fall birthdays since Christmas will mostly likely be the next time we’re all together. And most years the cousins/spouses make it to a movie one evening. This year we saw Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. It was sorta weird seeing the movie considering the devastating movie theater shooting that happened just days before.
The weather wasn’t too harsh (hot) and we even had a few mornings of overcast weather and when sitting on the beach with the waves and wind, it was actually pleasant. I did a lot of beach-walking during the weekend, which was nice. Gammy and I went on our usual sea shell hunt the first morning on the beach. The mosquitos on the other hand were ridiculous. I bathed in bug spray for the most part, so I wasn’t too badly attacked.
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and a great “first” trip to the beach for Brady 
. Here’s a mix of iPhone and “big camera” photos from this weekend. It’s been a while since we’ve had a beach picture with all the cousins, so this year was a success!
Can you tell we like ketchup and Arby’s sauce?