I'm here!

I promise I'm alive.  Occasionally feeling like I'm holding on by a string, but I'm here.  And making it :). Baby girl is doing well.  Here's some of what has been keeping us busy before she gets here...

Baby V. Shower! (maybe part I?)

A few weeks ago we were blessed beyond measure at our sweet baby shower.  My best friend from junior high planned it and with the help of her moms it went off without a hitch.  It was so well thought out and every detail was done with care.  Everyone at the shower told her they want her to plan a party for them.  And really, she should.  She's wonderful.  My family was all there, and almost all my closest friends were able to make it.  I basically just floated around in a bubble of blessings and overwhelmed gratefulness of how loved we and our sweet little one are.  

I don't have a ton of photos on this computer yet, but I'll share a few.  There were tons and tons of balloons floating, with up to 7 foot ribbon hanging from them. Twas pretty magical.  She also spray painted lots of things gold (like the cute little animals on the table), had lots of flowers and rented chairs and tables that matched the decor. The topper was the little (BIG) giraffe she bought us, decked out with flowers, who we have lovingly named George Henry.  

We got lots of clothes (so cute and little!) and a lot of the must haves from our registry.  We really only have a few things left to buy, all thanks to our generous friends and family.   

I didn't get a good picture of my plate with food on it, but a waffle bar was served with fresh squeezed juice, mint and fruit water, and delicious yogurt (that I'm now obsessed with... it's from Trader Joes and its full fat french vanilla yogurt. yum).  

Here she is.  Isn't her dress darling?

I didn't get a good picture of the balloons on the ceiling over the tables, but this was after many of them fell and we put them all in the room off the kitchen.  We kept all the ribbon and are hoping to make a mobile with it.

Letters

via grey likes baby 

Sometimes when we think about it or have time, Brian and I will write letters to our future little one.  We have a small notebook that we keep them in and it's something I hope she'll treasure some day.  Sometimes the Lord gives us a word for her.  When will be the right time to share it with her?  I'm sure we'll know when that day comes.  

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

An Overdue Catch Up

Life has been crazy friends.  Crazy in a bad to good kind of way.  For a while it stressed me out, honestly.  But, after pushing through and handing the worry/stress over to God, I've come to a clearing.  A refreshing, much more full of peace, clearing.  And its oh so good.  

I spent much of January to March studying for an exam (project management professional - pmp).  I let it sort of consume me (my friends would probably remove the "sort of").  I really wanted/thought I needed to pass because I wasn't sure when it would ever be a good time to take again if I failed.  I missed out on a lot of social activities and opportunities to have fun, but... I passed! And now it feels like there's a huge weight off my shoulders.  What I wish I would have realized up front is that the weight didn't have to be on my shoulders in the first place.  But, we live and we learn, right? 

Let's see, what else has happened? I think we're on to the good now.  A few days after the exam, we left for vacation. It was beyond wonderful.  Just what we needed and so refreshing in so many ways.  

We headed to LA, Palm Springs, Dana Point and back up to LA. It was a mini road trip around Southern California. We were so grateful to find affordable plane tickets, and I'm now very grateful for the years I spent traveling at my last job because the hotel points allowed us to stay at some pretty fun places.  It was the perfect excursion before our family of 2 makes it 3. 

 We ate.. a lot :).  Rather than obtain points for checking in, we chose the breakfast voucher and at two of the hotels/resorts, it was so worth it.  Below is B patiently awaiting breakfast at the SLS hotel in LA.  Do you see the arms of the chair? so random...

And my crispy belgian waffle with lots of berries and cream at Norma's at The Parker. One of my favorite restaurants, hands down. ever. 

The decor at the SLS hotel was bazaar and off the wall.  In his search for a restroom, B came across this all white dining room.  The next door over was an all black dining room.

Lunch at Bottega Louie in downtown LA.  The macarons and beignets. Heaven.

Ah, and I can't forget to mention the coffee.  This isn't a picture of coffee, I know. But it is the awesome tiling in the Silver Lake Intelligentsia coffee shop that we frequented far too often.

My true goals for vacation were relaxation, connecting with God and Brian.  The hammocks really helped in accomplishing all these :).

And the spa (I didn't get any services, but we had access to the pools and the relaxation rooms in it.

I'll be back soon (hopefully!) to update you on the baby shower! 

Her Heart

With the slew of sickness going around this time of year, I'm so quick to pray for baby V.'s health.  While I know she's well protected right now, its so easy to think that something I do or come in contact with could damage her.  But, what I'm realizing more and more lately is that there is so much more.  What about her heart? What about her mind? Her future?  Brian and I have taken a different approach lately when praying for her.  Sure, we pray about her health, but more than that we've been praying for many other aspects. What does God have of her in her future life and how can we foster and nurture what she is blessed with?  What about her hopes and dreams? How can we protect her from the harm that will come against her? Prayer.  And of course sound parenting.

Baby V. Nursery: Part 4

You guys want to see some more fun coming along in the nursery? It's almost done.  I know. It's early and a bit unnecessary, but to be honest, having this almost out of the way feels like a relief.  I know there are so many other things that are more important and worthy of causing a little stress (you know, like childcare and balancing work), and I just didn't want this to be one of them.  Now, granted, the nursery has basically no eternal value - you know, other than providing a home for the little babe.  But, the decorations, the paint, the toys? They don't really truly matter - and I get that.  But, it's been fun, and it will be fun to watch her enjoy the things we've curated for her. I'm hopeful that they'll grow with her and get her through many years in a room.

Here are some frames we've put up over her crib.  They are from a Rifle Paper Co. calendar.  We took 6 images out of it that we loved and that sort of matched the color scheme in her room.  Ikea did us a favor by selling us super affordable frames (like $9?), and my sister tirelessly sanded them down so that Brian could spray paint them gold (thanks Sis, I owe you).  For those that are interested in this Ikea hack, I can't recommend sanding enough.  We thought we would just prime them, but it didn't stick.. at all.  They needed to have a rough coat on them to accept the gold spray paint.

Sorry for the glare and the crookedness; hopefully we'll get some good pictures when it's all done.

Here's a few pictures I took through the process.  Oh, and the organization of this project? That's all the husband, not me.  I would have probably spray painted them on the ground. Him? Nope, he made a little ladder-thing for them..

It's a new week!

Mondays.  They can be either dreadful or full of fresh perspective.  We can usually pick which one we'll follow.  Today, I pick fresh perspective.  Blessed with a new week, a week closer to meeting our baby girl.  Closer to some exciting things that are coming up in March (lots of time with friends, baby shower, vacation - ahh).  Hoping this week is productive for all of you and you're able to see it as a fresh, new day.