My Mother's Day!

I'm just a few days late with this. Pretty good if you ask me!

Anyways, Mother's Day started off in the most memorable of ways. The night before I just could NOT get Emma to go to sleep. We went down around 10 and at 10:30 Emma was up screaming. I changed her diaper and tried everything I could think of. Nothing worked. After 2 hours (yes TWO HOURS!) of trying to get her to sleep to no avail, we finally figure out a new "technique" to get her to sleep. She slept great the rest of the night; Daddy & I--not so much! haha

It seemed like just minutes later her daddy was waking me up saying he had to go meet his dad so I needed to get up with the baby. I was scared it was already like 8am because we had a full day ahead of us and I needed every minute to get ready for the day. I hopped up and that's when I realized something was "off." He had this huge grin on his face and was leading me to the kitchen. There, sitting on our counter, was a huge stack of pancakes and my iced tea just the way I like it!!!
   **Side Story: Every Sunday I have tried to make pancakes for us as a family and it never happens. Either her daddy has to help someone out, or we don't have syrup...SOMETHING! 
But this time, this time I got to have my Sunday pancakes!! And they were delicious! Everything was perfect. I even had a dozen yellow roses and a B&N gift card. My "daughter" already knows me so well!! haha

After that I had to get Emma ready for her busy day. Diaper bag packed. Car loaded up. Emma dressed up. Me dressed up. Extra "nice clothes" for both of us for when Emma decided she no longer liked what we were wearing (aka: spilled something on herself or me, spit up on me, wiped guk on me, etc). Mother's Day bags ready for Mamaw (my mom) & Nonna (her dad's mom). Then we made our rounds! haha

We had brunch at a really nice place... a golf course. The food was really good. I ate way too much sausage gravy & biscuits and bacon! Emma even enjoyed he eggs, biscuits & gravy, hashbrowns... my girl can EAT! After brunch we went to hang out with Nonna and her family for a while.

Towards the end of the night we went to Mamaw's for dinner. We were celebrating my mom's birthday that night too. It was a lot of fun! Emma entertained everyone. We had rotisserie chicken my stepdad made, salad I made, and my sister's "famous" ranch potatoes. It got really late on us pretty fast though. Not sure if that was due to the lack of sleep or if Emma just was wore out from her busy day! Either way, we were home and asleep by 9pm! haha

I must say. Mother's Day was as perfect as it could have been. I had the best wake up. Got to enjoy both of my families. And I got to share my Emma with people who love her. There's nothing a mother could ask for than to see her baby receive so much love. That might have been the best gift of all!

Staying organized--Clothing

You know, it is really hard to stay organized when you have a baby! If you are like me with a slight case of OCD, it can be nerve-racking. That being said, I have learned a few things I wanted to pass on to all moms. The next few posts will be a series on how I stayed/got organized after my baby was born.

The first topic:  

BABY CLOTHES!  How to ensure your baby wears every article of clothing they are given without going nuts

First: Don't put all the baby clothes in the closet or the dresser or wherever you are keeping them! ONLY have out the clothes in the size your baby currently wears. Yes, all the clothes are cute and you want to make sure you put your baby in each outfit, but you can become severely overwhelmed by the shear volume of articles of clothing.

This was something I learned on the fly. We started getting clothes for Emma from family and friends pretty early on. So--once her closet was put in--I sectioned everything out by size. I hung up all the jackets and one-piece outfits, put all the onesies in the dresser, and so on. I had everything up through size 12months put away in her room. Then she was born. And I felt like I was swimming in her clothes! They were all put away neatly. Everything was organized. But I was still overwhelmed. When she was about 3 weeks old I decided I had had enough. I went to my favorite store and bought two clear 20 gallon storage containers.

Mine are clear so I can see the clothes, but has a pink lid. The handles were very important to me, so I splurged a little on the containers.

Then I went through all of her clothes. I kept out anything size "Newborn" or size "0-3 months." Everything else was grouped together by size and put in the containers. I had tons!! I had to sort those into two groups because we had so many. All clothes up to 9months are in one container and the other is for everything 12months and up. (And yes, we already have a LOT of things size 2T/24months! lol)

As Emma outgrew things, I would change them out. About every 6 weeks I am going through her stuff because some things are size 3Months whereas others are size 3-6 months. (And yes, this frustrates the heck out of my OCD self because her clothing separators in her closet are "0-3months," "3-6months," "6-9months," etc. vs "newborn," "3months," "6months," "9months," etc.) As I put her stuff away, I sort it again! haha This time I sort into four groups:

• Clothes to give to her cousin who will be here in like 2 weeks. (YAY!)
• Clothes to keep for the next baby (AT A LATER DATE! lol) just in case we end up having another girl.
• Clothes to toss because they were ruined somehow--probably because we had faulty/defective diapers for a while.
• And then clothes to use for her future quilt. These are items which, every time I look at them, I can only see my baby girl in them. I can't imagine putting them on another baby--even if I do have another daughter. These are special to Emma and I want to make a quilt for her when she's about a year old of patches from her clothes, jammies, felt "diapers" from her baby shower, and other pieces like that.

Top: Items for her quilt. Middle: All the items she has outgrown already & we are keeping. Bottom: All clothes size 12months and up

So yeah, this takes a fairly decent amount of time, and you have to make sure you are constantly going through everything. You can't just take a stack of onesies, tie a ribbon (or string, whatever) around them, and toss them into the container. No way! You have to make sure the things you are putting away are things your baby cannot wear anymore. You do NOT want to constantly be going through things you have put away.

For example, every six weeks I have to go through ALL of Emma's pants. This is because she seems to be a size smaller in her pants than in her onesies or her dresses. She is almost 7 months old now, but I JUST put her in her 6 months pants. So her 3 month and 3-6 month pants were still in her dresser. And you also have to take into consideration that every brand is sized different. So while most of her onesies/shirts/dresses are size 6 month and working towards 6-9 month, she does have a few onesies that are 3-6 month.

Second: Only do the baby's laundry once (max TWICE) a week. At least at first. The problem is every outfit your child was given is probably adorable. You slip that shirt over their head, poke their little hands through the arms, pull those pants up and ... AWWW!! They suddenly make that outfit "One of [your] absolute favorites!" You are going to want to see your baby in that outfit again and again and again. And if you do laundry every day or so, the likelihood of you putting your baby in a repeat is higher. The more often your baby wears the same outfit, the less likely they are to get through the mountain of newborn and 0-3 month clothes.

Speaking of laundry: just go ahead and buy the baby detergent. Seriously. Yeah, I know it's a little pricey. I know they say the "Free and Clear" stuff is just as good. But it's not. Trust me. You want their clothes to stay soft and cuddly as long as possible. The baby detergent will do that so much better than the stuff we use on our own clothes. And it just smells like... well like Baby! PLUS: If you are following the tip above, than you are only doing laundry like 4-6 times a month. And, unless you have a diaper explosion and need to treat before you wash an item, you really only need to use a small amount. I never fill the cap passed the "1" marking. Well, I do if I have her high chair cover in there, but that's another thing entirely! haha Even then  I only fill to the "2." So a bottle of baby detergent can last you a really long time. They run about $16 a container. Emma is almost 7 months old. We aren't even halfway through a second container. So that comes down to, what?, $40 a year to keep your baby's clothes soft and smelling good? I think it's worth it. Plus, I figure this detergent was tested SPECIFICALLY for baby clothes use. The other stuff wasn't. So even though it says it's free and clear of those harsh chemicals and what not, is it really the safest thing to use on something that will be next to your baby's skin all day? I don't know about that. I'll stick to my baby detergent. That's just me though.

Third: When you do get around to doing the laundry, make sure you put the freshly cleaned clothes and such UNDER the clothes already in the drawers. For those things you are hanging in the closet, put them to the RIGHT of the "section." I have Emma's hanging clothes sorted by type: jackets, shirts, dresses, all-in-one outfits, etc. Once she wears a shirt, I will hang it up and put it to the far right side of the "shirts" section.

You see, you are more likely to pull a shirt or onesie or pair of pants from the top than sort and sift through a whole bunch trying to find that one thing you remember your baby looked so cute in. So by placing things which have already been worn on the bottom, you are increasing the chance of finding an adorable shirt that will become your new all-time favorite. 

The same is true of hanging clothes. You may not realize it, but we tend to scan clothes racks the same way we read: from left to right. You start on the left side and the first cute shirt or jacket or whatever you come to is usually the one you put on your baby. By placing the items they have already worn on the right, you are again increasing your chances of having your baby wear every item!

So come on now. Let's see the baby in another really cute outfit!

Your baby is going to have a LOT more newborn and 3 month clothes than any other size--maybe even more than the other sizes COMBINED! Everyone wants to see the new baby in something they got him or her, and they would rather see it sooner versus later. Who can blame them? They spent (probably) a lot of money on the outfit(s); they deserve to see the baby in it/them. Avoid the pitfall that is "The 'AWWW' Effect"!

EXCEPTIONS:

That being said, you also have to allow for "Exceptions to the Rules." As far as I can tell right now, there are three. First is the: "Christmas/ Thanksgiving/ Halloween/ New Year... Whatever" onesies and other items. Sure. Your baby may still fit in them. But are you really going to want to stroll around the mall in January with your baby wearing an orange onesie that says "My Daddy is under my spell"? No. Of course not. Halloween is over. If it's January, then Valentine's Day is approaching. So go ahead and toss the holiday themed items into the containers. Hold onto them because they are cute (you can always put them in a scrapbook or scrap-quilt if the next baby isn't on the same "schedule" as this baby), but you do not need them taking up valuable space in your nursery.

Another exception? Jackets. I think of baby jackets like I do my own: I always get them a size bigger than I do my shirts. Why? Well because if I am wearing a jacket, then I am obviously going to layer. And if my shirt is the same size as my jacket, then something is going to be too tight and I am going to be uncomfortable. So, that being said: If Emma is in size 6 month onesies and shirts, then I pull out her 9 month jackets. I will still keep her 6 month ones out, just in case, but I rarely go to those when I am picking out an outfit for her. Those are more likely to go in the diaper bag for emergencies. 

The final exception pertains to those with daughters: Get as much use out of the dresses as you can! Especially the summer ones. I still have some of Emma's 3 month summer dresses in her closet. Why? Because I put a pair of pants under it and suddenly it is a shirt. If it is really cold (or the dress is sleevless) you can add a long sleeve onesie under it as well. Conversely, bring out the winter dresses a little early so you can do layering. Put a short sleeve onesie under a sweater dress that's a size bigger and the baby won't feel as constricted (i.e. the jacket effect again). Voila! You have an extra 3 months of wear available to you! Genius, huh? LOL This way, once the pickings become a little slimmer, you can reuse those cute summer dresses in the winter. 

Okay. That's all I have on baby clothes for now. Hopefully these tips will work for you. Maybe you will find yourself a little less stressed by the mountain of clothes. Maybe you will actually be able to say "My baby wore every single thing they were given!" 

Or maybe you just got a good chuckle out of my frazzled state!

Christmas Comforts

I feel like Christmas is so much better when you are surrounded by traditions and heirlooms. I love opening up my storage container of Christmas things. Pulling each ornament out one by one. Placing them on the tree. Reliving all the memories I have with that particular one. Going back to the container and doing it all over again with the next one.

Last year I bought a beautiful white Tree Skirt for our brand new Christmas Tree. I loved it. Until my dog peed all over it and I had to throw it out. There was no saving it. So this year I opened my storage container and relived all my memories with the ornaments. But I was a little sad I didn't have a tree skirt. It just doesn't feel like the tree and presents are complete unless they are on a skirt! I went to my favorite store and tried to find a nice one. But the cheapest (and I mean CHEAPEST!) one was "on sale" for $30. I didn't love it and it wasn't worth that much money. So I went home and figured "Maybe next year."

I happened to talk to my mom after that. She mentioned she hadn't put up her Christmas tree in quite a few years.She said I could have the tree skirt she had under her tree every year for as long as I can remember. It was the tree skirt my Uncle Timmy's mom had made for her. Now I know my uncle didn't make it, but seeing it under my tree this year just made me feel like he was here this year.

I'm pretty sure this Tree Skirt is about 20 years old!

 And then there are the ornaments my guy's mom gave me. They are an assortment of Disney Christmas ornaments. She had been collecting them for years for my guy. So it was really special to put those on our tree.

There is one other tradition I always loved. I loved getting my dad an ornament every year. I looked and looked until I found just the right one. I haven't gotten him one in a while because he doesn't really "do" the tree, so I switched to giving him books. But I still loved it. And this year we received quite a few "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments that I was able to put on our tree. Because I don't want to  over-do it, and I want to truly appreciate them, I didn't get yet another one. I figure next year we can add to it.

Thanksgiving

Okay, I'm a little behind on this one. Things have just been going non-stop around here for a while now. This is basically the first time I've had to stop and catch my breath.

I have to say, Thanksgiving was a pretty good day. Both my guy and I were off, which was nice. It seems silly to have to say that, but our schedules were so not in sync that week. We tried to sleep in but Emma had other plans for us. We were up bright and early & like 6am. We played for a bit. Her Daddy even changed her and got her dressed for the day. Well, I had picked out 2 outfits for him to choose from, but he did make the final decision! lol

We first went to his dad's mom's for dinner. Emma got to see her great-grandma and great-grandpa, an aunt, 2 uncles, and a cousin. She even got to eat mashed potatoes!

Then we went to his mom's. We ate mostly desserts there since we went RIGHT after dinner. But I did manage to steal quite a bit of the ham! lol I am much more of a ham person than a turkey person. I mean, I love deep fried turkey, but I would still--even then--choose a ham over turkey if given the option.

We took a lot of pictures of Emma with her cousin "A." I swear, my heart melts a little bit every time I see the two of them together. "A" absolutely LOVES Emma. Always wants to make sure Emma isn't crying. At one point we told "A" to sit if he wanted to hold her. He looked right up at me and goes "Why? Her mine." Emma loves him back, too. You can see it. She was being held by one of her great-aunts, but when "A" came near, she reached as far as she could for him. She kept trying to get him. And they played together so easily. He would press the button on the Singing Frosty-the-Snowman just so Emma would laugh. They are going to be such good friends as they grow up together. It makes me so happy to see that.

Christmas Gift/Wish List

So a lot of people have already started asking what we would like for Emma to have for Christmas. I figured I could start a post that would be updated periodically. So here goes:

• Disney Movies in DVD. Right now we have Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Ella, Ella Enchanted, Free Willy 1 2 & 3, Great Mouse Detective, Hercules, Hook, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Matilda, Mulan, The Never Ending Story, Rescuers & Rescuers Down Under, Robin Hood, & Space Jam.
• Those plastic bowls & Travel cups/containers. She's starting to eat now and soon we'll be doing those snack and things. Well, relatively soon. Better to have them on hand then be scrounging around at the last minute.
• Winter Clothes in 6-9 months. Spring clothes in 9 months. And yes, some summer clothes, but we need more long sleeve shirts for her.
• Books for her library. Any of the Golden Books would be amazing! They just take my guy and I back to our childhood.
• Diapers: Size 2 or 3 preferably. She's already 14lbs & the Size 2s go up to 18 lbs.; & Wipes
• A Bath Caddy or net. 
• Those music things that go on the side of the crib. Ones you don't have to wind up every 30 seconds, but play continuously.
• An amber teething necklace
• A Toy Chest. 

That's it for now. I'll try to add to it as we get closer & figure out more what we need. I'll also remove things when I'm told someone bought them for her. So please let me know.

Obviously we don't expect anything. And we can't wait to see the surprises for Em. I just know a lot of people are already asking to get ahead of the game (Smart People!!)

Trick or Treat!!

I can't believe what a difference the past year has made. On this day exactly, one year ago, we spillt the beans...we started telling our families that we were going to have a baby. And then here we are today: getting her into her costume, taking her around to a few house, having neighbors put a few pieces of candy into her little pumpkin basket.

Today has been full of tricks and treats. First treat of the day: Emma slept from 9pm to 5:30am. The only thing that woke her up was her daddy having to get ready for work. (I must say, I am kind of 'really' looking forward to her sleeping in her own room, just because then she won't get up with her daddy and me.) Then I started to get ready for work. We got to dress up and I was going to be Rosie the Riveter. I was certain I had a blue scarf with white polka dots, but when I went looking for it I couldn't find it. That's when I remembered that I had to toss it when our crawl space was flooded. So I had to rush and get Emma to her Nonna's early so I could see if maybe Wal-Mart had anything. Luckily they had the perfect scarf (red with white polka-dots) and I actually pulled off my costume. Only cost me $5!!! :)

Getting through today was rough. It was a slow day at work. No real patients or anything. Plus I had to call on outstanding claims and it sometimes just makes your brain hurt to look into the old ones!
Anyways, so I rushed home to pick up Daddy and then we rushed to see Emma and start getting her ready for Halloween. It was so much fun getting her into her little Tinkerbell costume. And I really think she liked it. At least, she liked the texture of the tulle. She kept putting it in her mouth--which really isn't new now!

Then we took her around to a few houses. She loved it honestly. She loved looking up at the trees and sky. She liked seeing the new people. She would smile her little smirk and duck her head like she was bashful, and the people would coo over her and add another piece of candy. Yeah, she knows how to work it already. LOL

After a few houses, it started to cool down some more and looked like it was going to rain, so we headed back to Nonna's. We hung out with everyone for a bit. It was just a nice night.

So here are a few pictures from her first Halloween!

She sits in a high chair now!!

Been a bit...

I know it's been almost a month since I last posted. And so much has happened!!

Emma is getting so big now. She's going to be 4 months next weekend. Here's some of her accomplishments to date:

• She can roll from her back to her belly almost every time.
• She now sits on my hip like a big girl.
• She just started holding her own bottle! She's kind of always put her hand to her bottle but now she legitimately holds it. Sometimes she uses one hand to prop the bottle from underneath and the other to guide it. Or she will hold it like she's supposed to. Her Nonna got a picture of the first time Emma *really* held her bottle.

First time Emma held her bottle!!

She is such a big girl!

• She's changed up her sleep schedule AGAIN! Now we do bath time around 8:30, hen a baby massage and a nighttime feeding. She usually falls asleep around 9 or so. But now she wakes up at 2:45am every morning! Then she eats and falls back asleep by 3:30. Since Daddy wakes up at 4:30, I really only get an hour nap from 2:45am until we all go to sleep at 10pm. I am one sleepy Mommy!
• She laughs all the time! She loves playing and hanging out. She'll stare at Daddy when he's talking and then just burst out into a HUGE grin! And we'll spend hours just making popping sounds. She loves that!

• We are probably going to start "real" food soon. But for us that means we are going to actually make the food. With all the problems she had with formula, I don't think a pre-made baby food would work. 
• We went to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend. I think it was more for Daddy and I! Lol She had some fun at the end but it's just so cold up here. Being there made me miss my hometown even more. I could have taken her to Jackson's Orchard like I did as a kid. Picked some apples and pumpkins at the same time. Made cider. Things like that.

Big Beautiful Eyes

Look at that 'Tude!

Family photo at the Pumpkin Patch

Not as thrilled with the animals up close

I think that's a legit hug from my baby!

• Her Halloween costume came in. I cannot wait to see her in it!
• We went to her aunt's birthday and everyone said how adorable she is. I have to say: I agree!!
•  I already have a few Christmas presents, both for her and for a few family members. I know she's not going to really remember this Christmas, but I'm still really excited!

We have some family coming in to meet her this weekend. And then going to see her other grandpa for his birthday. It's a busy October. And I can't wait to see what November has for us!

I might be biased, but I think she's the most beautiful baby girl!!

My little Chunker!! Look at her go after that bottle!!

Mother's Day, Father's Day, and gifts

Holy cow. Mother's Day is in 2 days!! That's still so surreal to me.

Last Friday I gave my mom her Mother's Day gift early: I took her to our elective ultrasound appointment. She hadn't been to any of the medical ones or the elective one prior and I knew this was something she was really looking forward to. So I scheduled it for a Friday after work, hoping both my sisters would be able to make it as well. One wasn't because of work, but we had fun anyways. And because she didn't cooperate, we get to go back the day after my mom's birthday and I think it will get to be all four of us this time.

While we were there, my mom bought me a Baby Book. It is sooo cute! Pink--of course--with all these pages to fill in. The nerd in me was quite excited! lol She said it was my first Mother's Day gift. I honestly hadn't even thought about getting a Mother's Day gift this year. I don't know why since I am usually one to over-think EVERYTHING! but I really hadn't considered whether or not I was "eligible" for a Mother's Day present. (Side note: My sister got me and my mom teddy bears with Emma's heartbeat in them for our Mother's Day presents!)

So... Am I a Mother? Officially? Mentally? Spiritually? All those other "ly's"? Should I expect a Mother's Day gift or acknowledgement on Sunday? I guess I don't feel like I should expect one. But that's also because I don't love getting gifts for the most part. I like giving gifts. I like making gifts for other people, picking things out I think/hope they will like. But Christmas and my birthday are always weird days for me. Because people ask me what I want and I never know how to answer that. I usually tell them I just want dinner with friends and family. Fun games or activities. Bowling or volleyball or even going to a karaoke bar (even though I NEVER sing! lol). I like being around the people who mean the most to me. Now there's another day where people might feel obligated to get me something and that makes me feel a little awkward. :-/

That's not to say I would ever tell a pregnant woman she is not a mother. Because then I think about it: and I truly consider my boyfriend a FATHER to our baby girl. Has he been able to hold her yet? No. But he has made hard choices to make sure her life is a good one. He works very hard to provide for her. And I know how much he loves her. Like last night. We were sitting on the couch and he was just rubbing my stomach. I asked what he was doing and he said "I want to feel her kick." Of course she already listens to Daddy more than Mommy, because almost immediately she kicked right where his hand was! (Stinker!) He also kisses my belly, holds it as he's going to sleep at night. I feel so much love when he does that. It's almost like there's an invisible beam going from his hand straight to her. I feel different when he's holding my belly. I can't put it into words; I guess it's just a feeling. I have every intention of getting him a Father's Day present from me and Emma. I've already been looking for just the right thing. (Still a little stumped, so any ideas you want to offer up would be GREATLY appreciated! LOL) But I can't say that I thought about whether or not he would get me a Mother's Day gift. hmmm

Today made me think of all the traditions we have in my family for Mother's Day. We are really big on traditions! (Maybe we just don't like change. lol) For Mother's Day growing up, we would make my mom coffee and Puff/Smacks cereal, put it on a tray with a little bell, and wait for her to wake up. You should know that us making coffee consisted of putting hot water over coffee grounds; and the milk was poured into the cereal long before she woke up so it was always incredibly soggy!! But she would eat the cereal and drink her mud and say how much she loved it. And she would ring the bell just to tell us she loved us. For Mother's Day 2 years ago (I think), I tried to do an upgrade on our childhood tradition. I bought her a new tray (one she could use on her patio they were just finishing up), a brand new bell with a beautiful green stone on the handle (her birthstone is an emerald), the new Special K with chocolate cereal, and fresh ground Starbucks Vanilla coffee. I don't drink coffee so I have no idea what a good flavor is. I took a stab at it! haha She loved it. She said it reminded her of when we were little and that was almost the best part. That we still got to be her little girls.

My dad was lucky. I was born the day before Father's Day. And since I'm his first, he never had the dilemma on whether or not he was "really" a dad while his wife was pregnant. Man, thinking about it--the guys in my life are so lucky! I mean, my birthday is the day before Father's Day again this year. It also happens to be my anniversary. So that means my boyfriend gets presents TWO DAYS IN A ROW! What a jip! LOL just kidding!

A very nice lady at the bank today wished me a Happy Mother's Day. And it made me smile a huge smile. Maybe because I didn't expect it, didn't ask for it. Maybe because it was nice to have someone look at me and say (indirectly) "You are a mother and are doing a great job--judging from the size of your belly." hahaha

All that being said: I cannot wait for Mother's Day next year. To spend the day with Emma in my arms instead of my belly. To watch my guy hold her and love on her. To know I can still give him a gift on a day people say is designated for me... to share the moments she will have with someone I love so much... that is going to be the best gift I ever receive, I think.

P.S. Wasn't totally kidding about needing ideas for Father's Day/1st Anniversary gifts for my guy! :)

Easter

Tomorrow is Easter. And this weekend just reminds me of all the traditions I can't wait to continue with my little girl.

The very first tradition I remember as a little girl is reading the Velveteen Rabbit every year. My Grammy would come down to my mom and dad's house and read it to us every year. If it was really nice out, we would get to sit outside and listen to her read it.

The other tradition is the "hiding of the Easter Baskets." See, we had a big house (at least I remember it being big), with all these fun little nooks and crannies. Places you could hide something easily enough but a little kid could still get to them. Then, on Easter morning, we would all run around the house looking for a basket. Any basket. It didn't have to be ours. It was actually more fun when it wasn't our own basket. Each basket had one of our names in it, so we knew whose it was. When we found a basket, we would go sit in the living room and wait for everyone else to find one. Once they were all found, we would  give the person their basket. It was like you still got all the fun of finding a basket, but then you got the gift of giving someone something they would like too.

The other great thing about our baskets: Yes they had chocolate in them. But they also had our FAVORITE type of candy in them. And they would have a toy or book or something kind of small that was specific to what we liked. I usually got Reese's cups, Nerds, and a book of some kind. My sisters would get what they like.

As I got older, there was another tradition we started. We would watch the movie Steel Magnolias. I don't even know why, but it has become a tradition.

The traditions we never really did: Easter Egg hunts. I don't remember going to too many of them. And I don't know if I would want to go to those. We never did the "get a new Easter dress." Well, I didn't really like dresses so I was okay with that one. I don't know that we'll be able to get away from that with our little girl, but it's not something I see as a "have to do."

Today marks 99 days until my due date. 99 days (round-a-bout) until I get to meet my little girl. Less than 100 days until I get to hold her and see her. I want these 99 days to fly by, but then I'm scared I'm not really ready for her yet. Her room's not finished. We still have a lot of decorating to do with it. Then there's the little things around the house that I want to finish before she gets her. That being said, I still am thankful for every day she's in there. It's one more day for her to get stronger. And one less day until I meet her.

Follow up on Vday

So yesterday I blogged about how I was excited to have not one, but TWO Valentines this year. Just a quick follow-up:

I got to work yesterday and about an hour later a box of flowers was delivered to me. Inside were the most beautiful roses! And a teddy bear. And a box of chocolates. :) Here's a picture for you guys to see (chocolates not included because I think they were gone by that point! LOL)

 Anyways, so I don't think my guy knew it, but Texas Roses and Sterling Roses are my favorite kind. Sterling are the purple/silver ones without thorns and Texas Roses are the yellow-with-pink/orange-tip ones. The bouquet he sent me had 3 Texas Roses in it! I took it to mean: One for me, one for him, and one for Emma. (Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but hey... I can!)

The other thing I don't think he knew is that I used to collect Teddy Bears way back when. Wal-Mart had those Annual Christmas Bears and I would alternate between the boy one and the girl one every year. I ended up giving them to Goodwill when I went away to college and haven't really been able to get more since. But teddy bears are one of my favorite things.

Later that night we went and saw Identity Thief with his mom, brother, and 4 cousins. There were some really funny parts, some parts that made me wish I wasn't sitting next to his mom because they were really uncomfortable for me, and then some parts that made me go "Really??" Overall I'd say it was a funny movie though.

But he knew the way to my heart was ending the night saying "Honey, wanna go see Die Hard this weekend?" I LOVE THIS MAN!! LOL

Today is Vday!

I have to say it: I've never had a Valentine. I'm always been single on this day. And since it was on this day in 1999 that I found out my Beer Pap passed away, I've never been too fond of the day.

Today is COMPLETELY different from all those other days. Today I have an amazing boyfriend and a baby bump. Two Valentines!?!?! Wow! Today I got to wake up and look at the man who has made me happier than I can remember being in a long time. Maybe ever. I look at him and wonder if he is my gift for waiting so long, for being patient. He's more than I thought possible and every day with him reminds me that I am sooo lucky.

Then I looked down and saw my big ole belly. Emma's in there. And late last night she was fluttering away. It was only the 2nd time I have felt her. The first time was a random bubble and that was it. Last night though it was like a cup full of soda, all the bubbles going. She was having a ball in there! lol

I had to take a picture of my baby girl on Valentine's. Then I remembered I took one sometime last week too. So I could clearly see the difference in the last 10 days.

 This was taken today. 19w4d. 

Can you see the difference?? WOW!!

So this morning's post is just a quick reflection on the gifts I have already been given. No chocolates, balloons, or flowers will ever compare to the sight of my little family this morning.  

Glad it's Thursday. Because that means tomorrow is Friday, and a short day, and the weekend! LOL

Valentine's Day?!?!? Already?

I can't believe what a "busy" weekend this is going to be.

Thursday is Valentine's Day. It'll be my very first year to have a Valentine on the actual day. Of course it has to fall during the week when neither of us can really do anything. No late dinner/movie. No going out just because. We'll just have to wait until the weekend to do anything fun.

Friday is the 15th...which is our monthly anniversary. We're not that couple that has to go out and celebrate or buy each other things just because it's "__ month" for us. I will say that this month, like almost every other month, the 15th has fallen around an important day and we end up "celebrating." My birthday is June 15th. I did get him something in September but it was because I saw it and thought it was something he'd like. October we went to lunch the Sunday before as a date day mainly because we hadn't had too many of those in a while. (It was also right after my cousin's wedding.) His bday is November 17th, so his bday gift was almost like a "month-i-versary" gift. Christmas was close to our December marker. We found out we were having a daughter on January 26th so that was a celebration, even if it was a little late. And then this month Valentine's Day is right before.

Sunday, the 17th, is the 20 week marker! I will be halfway through this pregnancy as of SUNDAY! That still blows my mind a little bit.

All that being said, I have NO IDEA what in the world to get him for Valentine's Day. I have all these ideas, but can't figure out how to get them done. And some of them are so small, they seem sort of silly to do for a day as special as that. :(

I really wish I could afford to give him everything. I wish money weren't an option and I could just buy all the things he's mentioned in passing that he likes. I wish I could find the all elusive "PERFECT GIFT." I want something that means something, but since I have been focusing on so many other things, this holiday sort of snuck up on me.

Any ideas?