Birthday - Shower

This post should have been a long, long time ago. But I am feeling pretty lazy lately. Been going to bed around 8:00. Reading. Chilling. Organizing. So I am just now getting to pictures from my birthday and from my work shower, which was held on my birthday!

Friday night, March 4th, the day before my birthday, we had some friends over to grill out. My parents came in town, and Gunter's parents joined us too. It was a good time of fellowship with everyone!

Some of the girls! 

Kristen, Janna, Leah and Me

The couples! 

Vido & Janna, Kristen & Brandon, Gunter & Me, 

Leah (Anthony was out of town), Alicia, Jordan and Ava

Thanks to my parents and friends for a wonderful birthday... oh and how could I forget my sweet husband who planned everything ! 

Saturday morning was my baby shower with my co-workers. Everything was perfect and they were so sweet with lots of personal touches that I feel in love with. 

The table setting! 

Notice the birdhouses and eggs... to match the nursery theme!

So thoughtful!

Opening the seersucker bubble from Mom.

Auburn diaper bag for John Turner. 

This was from the hostesses... and much more Auburn things - 

a hat, smocked bib, and National Championship t-shirt. 

John Turner is ready for tailgating! 

With my co-worker Kara. 

Kara just had Baby Cal last week! 

It was so fun being pregnant together! 

The Blessing Tree

Every guest was asked to write a blessing for the baby and hang it on the tree. 

This was probably my favorite part of the shower! 

It was so sweet! I love reading the blessings! 

The Hostesses

Melissa, Tiffany, Kay, Me, Liz, and Sheila

Thanks again! 

The Moms! 

After the shower, we celebrated my birthday again before Mom and Dad had to head back home. Here are my prized possessions that I received for my birthday... 

The Nook Color! 

I am in love! I am reading The Island on it right now... and almost finished with it! 

If you have one and want to trade books, let me know! 

And from my wonderful husband... 

A Nikon d31000 !

Now I can capture some wonderful pictures of John Turner and our new family! 

If anyone has one and would like to help me figure it out... let me know :) 

Weekend Vacation

Last weekend I took my last vacation... for a while. I needed time to rest, read, and relax. You should have seen my feet by the time I got to the beach. They were huge! They looked much better by the time I left on Sunday. But the swelling is back up again. I have my feet up now, trying to get the swelling down...

This is where I spent 4 blissful days...

Mom made (got this sign made) for the beach house. It looks so good hanging on the fence in the front yard of the beach house.

The house is really coming together! This pic was taken on Sunday, when we were loading up :(
As you can see, Heath loves coming to the beach! He has free range!

Here are a few new additions to the house....

The shutter wall

We were trying to think of something cute to cover the very large wall behind the TV. Kelsey found a picture of a wall covered in shutters and we thought we could do that in our beach house! Now we are looking for  a new TV stand... that one is a little too small! 

Post Floor Lamp

Mom found this post and has been dying to make a lamp out of it! It finally came to be! 

Post Table Lamp

Another lamp made from an old post. This lamp is in my bedroom! 

Right before I went to the beach I finished Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. It was really, really, good and I highly recommend it to any reader. I just couldn't put it down! Around the middle of the novel, I was so drawn in and had my attention completely, that I was looking for time to read another chapter. The next book I started was The Island by Elin Hilderbrand. It also is very good, and I am about half way finished with it. Tomorrow I have by book club again. We read Safe Haven this month. I can't wait to find out what our new book will be! 

On a side note... and completely random .... I got John Turner's Easter basket today! I am so excited! It's very cute! His due date is the Monday before Easter, so surely he will make his debut before the Easter bunny comes to town. I also thought that it would be really cute to take some of his newborn pictures in his Easter basket! 

Front of the basket

Back of the basket

Donde Hicks of Artist Tree did John Turner's basket! 

Nursery Update: It is Finished!

Hello friends! I am been a little MIA. I have not felt like doing much lately. My feet, legs, and hands are pretty swollen, so I prop them up  as soon as I get home from school. I don't move again, until it's time to go to bed.... Pretty exciting life!

I went to the doctor today. He told me I am just going to have to deal with the swollen feet and I have carpal tunnel in my hands from all of the swelling. When I wake up I can't move them. As the day progresses, I feel much better. I have not dilated any. I go back in two weeks, so maybe I will have made progress by then.

Our glider finally came in! Then we hung all of the pictures and things on the walls, and placed everything else. I think the nursery is full! Mom and Gunter said I can't put anything else in the room! But I am sure that I can find something else to put in there! Here are pictures of the nursery!

The glider is covered in a gray fabric! 

Plus it's a recliner! 

I love the pillow and Mom gave me at the shower. 

The rug is a gray shag from United Textiles in Bessemer. 

Changing Table. 

The furniture was in Mom's nursery. 

The clothes pins are from Ballad Designs. 

Mom made the diaper holder on the right.

The room in its entirety! 

Birdhouses over the big window. 

The house in the middle and prints are from At Home in Downtown Homewood. 

The two smaller houses are from Hobby Lobby. 

Corner cabinet was my sister's. 

The green birds are the top were a Christmas gift from Christen, my sister-in-law. 

The bird in between the green birds is from TJ Maxx. 

The three birds on the next shelf down are from Old Time Pottery. 

White bird houses are from At Home. 

The dishes are Peter Rabbit from Pottery Barn Kids. 

The silver was gift from my showers. 

The crib

Kelsey painted the picture over the crib. 

Mom smocked the day gown hanging on crib. John Turner is going to wear it home! 

We are still waiting on the Bla Bla mobile. 

Twin Bed

Mom made the sham on the bed. 

The bird cage picture holder is from Angel's Antiques in Auburn. 

The bird prints on the left and right are from At Home as well. 

The wardrobe belonged to my grandmother, Gran. 

Kelsey painted the bird picture above the wardrobe. 

That is it for now! Pictures to come of my last two showers! 

Family Photos

I wanted some pictures of Gunter and me... and Heath before the baby comes. I wanted maternity pictures, but modest maternity pictures. My friend Megan told me to look at a photographer from Enterprise, Ashley Whitaker. She had taken some pictures of Megan's coworkers' children, and commented on her work. It was just the style I was looking for. 

I called Ashley up and she said she would love to take some pictures of us. She suggested that we come soon. We didn't need to wait too long... because I would get too fat! and too uncomfortable! It's a good thing that we took our pictures two weeks ago, because I have started swelling... and those pictures would not be pretty now... not because of the photographer, but the "model." 

Here are some of the pictures that Ashley took of us. Check out more on her website. 

Ashley mentioned using Scrabble letters in a picture. 

I was a little unsure what she meant, but they turned out so cute! 

Plus, the Brown family LOVES Scrabble! 

Heath posed so well for all of the pictures! 

Soon our family will be growing! Thanks Ashley for the great pictures!