Baby Shower

I feel very fortunate to have so many people who love me and who already love this baby. My sister, Stacey, and our good friend Nichole planned and executed a FABULOUS baby shower yesterday. It was so sweet all the work they put into it, and I am very grateful. Stacey is the most excited Aunt-to-be ever, which makes me feel so loved. Thanks for giving me such a special day, girl--you did good! All my closest friends and family came to town, from all over, to share in spoiling this child! We got soo much stuff! The party was alot of fun: congrats to my Aunt Di and Lois Vance and Aunt Cathy for winning the games!

We received some great gifts--some centimental, some just plain fun! My Alpha Delta Pi girls gave Jackson an amazing blanket--with a lion on it of course. Thank you to Rachels mom for making it--it meant so much to me. I absolutely love it! Liz Bond got us a Houston Texans bottle--of course! And Rachel's baby cowboy boots are absolutely adorable! I love 'em!

My favorite little man, Charlie, passed on a Thomas the Tank starter kit. I know it took alot for a 7 year old to give away some of his most prized pocessions, so it really touched my heart. Charlie and I spent many HOURS playing with the Thomas gang while I was his nanny, and I cherished those moments still and I am looking forward to watching Jackson's imagination grow with Thomas as well. Thank you Charlie! I love you!

Adam's cousins, Anna and Caroline, picked out and beautifully wrapped some really cute outfits for our little guy! Thanks Anna, you did a great job with them! I'll get some pics with him in them and send them to you!

Lois, our ADPi chapter advisor, gave us "Baby's First Lion Hunt outfit" a little camo thermal onsie! SOOO cute! She said this kid is going to be a born partier! (that makes me a little nervous....)

One of my best friends, Amy Carlson, brought us a basket of goodies! A HUGE basket of goodies! She really outdid herself, but I am very excited to put those tennis shoes on him! And Adam's favorite gift: the onsie that says: "If you think I'm cute, you should see my dad!" HA!

And one of the most special moments from the day: my friend Meghan, whom I have known since 2nd grade, came into town to suprise me! I came in the door and my mom said, "close your eyes, I have a suprise." When I opened them and saw Meghan, I nearly started crying! I hadn't seen her since my wedding a year ago! Thank you so much for coming down! You are fabulous girl!

I could not have asked for a better day, a better group of friends or family, or more great people to love this baby. You all mean so much to me and I can't wait for him to meet all of you. He's very lucky and doesn't even know it yet!

Julie Smith

This is Julie Smith. She is a beautiful girl, and I am so excited to be shooting her wedding next weekend! She is getting married at the same church I was married in last year. I have become good friends with her over the course of the past few months, and I look forward to watching her walk down the aisle!

Martha Stewart wannabe

Okay, some people think I am crazy, but I have been staying REALLY active in this last month of pregnancy. I feel great! So why not? I still mow the lawn twice a week--it's a great form of excersize. I still do all the housework myself--cleaning, scrubbing the bathrooms, laundry, ironing, etc. And in the afternoons, I take time for myself next to Mom's pool getting tan and reading parenting book before I go into labor (right now, I'm working on The Contented Little Baby by Gina Ford--love it!)

Last week, I finally got my front yard re-landscaped. I'll post some pics tomorrow of my flowers--they are so pretty right now! My project for tomorrow--the backyard. Adam and I have been working really hard to get some of the tropical flowers beds cleared out and cleaned up for re-planting, and tomorrow I'll be working on the two flowers beds closest to the house. What I have found--I LOVE GARDENING! I might not be great at it, but it's that instant gradification that I thrive on! I'm not Martha Stewart, but maybe in a few years! Ha!

Tomorrow is going to be alot of fun--girls night with Mom, Grandma, and Stacey. Adam is going to the Astros game, so we are shopping and dining and then watching movies! A night of relaxation without men--what could be better!

Happy Mother's Day--Bath Junkie style

We had Mother's Day a little early this year. I invited Mom, Grandma, Stacey, Aunt Di and my cousin Ashley to my house at 8:00am to start our eventful day with a homemade breakfast spread: cinnamon french toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, and a fabulous fruit medley. At breakfast, the 3 younger girls presented the moms with the cutest PJs! Everyone put on their Jammie-Jams and we headed out the door to an undisclosed location...where did we end up?! Bath Junkie! www.bathjunkie.com
If you have never been there, I highly recommend setting up a private party with 6 of your closest friends--which is what we did! Basically, it's a bath store full of soaps, salts, lotions, oils, etc, and you get to pick and create your own fragrance and color and mix them yourself! Each of us got a tub of bath salts and a lotion and a bath puff. I think the Moms had alot of fun, although it was early for some of us! Mom and I picked Gardenia & Baby Powder--we smell like babies! Stacey got Juniper Breeze & Pleasures and Grandma made a fruity martini concoction! I am sooo looking forward to bath my tired feet this evening! We snapped some shot while we were there--aren't those jammies so cute!

Happy Anniversay--Cocoa Beach, FL

After a pretty tramatic week, Adam and I were able to get away for a week to Cocoa Beach, Florida for a much needed vacation. Our 1 year Anniversary was on April 30th, so once we got to Florida, we went to dinner at a place called the Lobster Shanty--suprisingly very nice! Monday-Wednesday, it was nothing but laying by the beach and pool, soaking up the sun and being entertained by Adam riding the waves on his body board! Good times! We really didn't do much exploring, although we DID visit a manatee sanctuary and saw about 10 of them from the shoreline--a highlight of the trip for Adam, he's wanted to see manatees since the 4th grade. This past week has been soooo relaxing and fun! Here are some pics from our get away! Adam surfing, me in a bathsuit (YIKES!), my mom and dad...the whole trip was a lot of fun!

El Campo Baby Shower

I am a little behind in posting this--it was from last month! My favorite person from my husband's home town, Suzy Freeman, along with Wendy Bain, together threw me a baby shower! It was so good to see everyone and be able to celebrate baby Jackson. Adam and I received some much needed baby items, as well as some super fun stuff...including babies first cooler and babies first hunting bag! Adam loved them both!