Celebrating Baby Sciba

Last weekend, my mom, sister and I hosted a shower for one of our dearest family friends...Brittany Sciba. We have been friends since we were little little. Brittany is having her baby in May and decided not to find out the sex of her baby. We ALL cannot wait to find out what she is having! We had such fun planning the shower. We went with a shabby chic, pink and blue theme. Very "Brittany" :)

"Blessed" banner

I used burlap, stencils, paint and doilies to make the banner.

Baby pictures of Brittany and Chris hanging on the tree and pink and ivory eggs in apothocary jars to decorate one of the tables.

Blue hydrangae, tiny pink roses and baby's breath for the arrangements. Please take note of Girlfriend under the table. We put strawberries and pineapple in the water...it was delish!

Adorable petit fours by Joanne Soto

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Mommas-to-be!

Alli, Me, Brittany and Alli

27 Week Update

Week: 27 Weeks

Size of Baby: 14 1/2 inches long and almost 2 pounds

Movement: Same as before. She's a wild bug late at night! It's Derek and I's favorite part of the day!

Symptoms: Leg and foot cramps! I'm starting to require naps again.

Cravings: Peanut butter and jelly, grapes and strawberries

Sleep: It's becomming more difficult to change sleep positions due to my growing belly!

What I'm Missing: Shopping for non-maternity clothes. I also miss wearing heels...it's just too much when I try to wear them at school.

How I'm Feeling: This is the last week before I begin my third trimester and I'm beginning to feel very sleepy again. The good news? Only a few weeks left of school. Then I can take all the naps I want!

Moment of the Week: I've begun to recognize when little bit has the hiccups. It's the cutest little thing! My mom went to my doctor's appointment with me today and got to hear Clara's heartbeat. Then we did a little bit of shopping. I am so blessed to have such an amazing momma!

Maternity Threads

So one thing I miss the most these days...shopping at my favorite places for cute clothes. My mom and I went to the mall today and I was so sad there was only ONE store I could actually shop at. Maternity clothes are way comfy and all, but I still miss wearing my regular clothes. ESPECIALLY jeans! I've bought three pairs of maternity jeans, and not a pair has any stretch in them. The good news is...I really don't wear jeans in the summer. I will basically live in dresses. Oh and another bummer...I'm 5'10" and most maternity pants are not made for us tall gals.

Some of my fave places to shop (online) have been Nordstrom, Boden (they now carry a maternity line), Pea in the Pod, Pickles and Ice Cream. Boden only carries a few items...but they are the softest, most comfortable clothes. I have a couple pairs of pants from Gap...they have lengths.

Here are a few of my favorites!

These two are from Nordstrom.

I ordered these in every color (white, black, khaki and green) from Pea in the Pod. They will be perfect for summer.

These are probably my favorite pants from Pickles and Ice Cream. They are plenty long for me and will be nice and cool for summer since they are linen.

Everything from Boden is so soft. Definitely the most comfortable clothes I have.

Only 3 more months of wearing maternity clothes!!!

The Bump...26 Weeks

I cannot believe how big my belly is getting! I really notice such a change now that I've popped from week to week. I cannot imagine what I'll look like at 40 weeks! WOAH!

26 Week Update

• Week: 26 weeks
• Size of Baby: 14 inches, 1 2/3 pounds...the size of an English hothouse cucumber
• Movement: Each week, her movements are getting stronger and stronger. It truly is my favorite part about being pregnant. I'm still feeling the strongest movments a few inches below my belly button. I just wonder what she's doing in there.
• Symptoms: The leg cramps are coming almost every night. I am feeling more and more pregnant all the time.
• Cravings: Maybe since it's Easter and sweet treats sound so delish...but I've been loving pink Peeps these days. (Gross, I know!) I'm still all about fruit and am very happy it is strawberry season!
• Sleep: It seems like this has changed drastically this week for some reason. I miss sleeping on my tummy and back. The past week I have not been sleeping too soundly. The joy of a growing belly (and precious baby)! Plus, the more frequent leg cramps have been waking me up more regularly. I guess it's God's way of preparing us for middle of the night/early morning feedings.
• What I'm Missing: Sushi and wine
• How I'm Feeling: BIG :)
• Moment of the Week: My precious grandmother, Sarah, found the most gorgeous dresser for the nursery. It is my shower gift from her. We picked the dresser up this week...so now our peanut has some furniture in her nursery. YAY! Thank you sweet Sarah! Love you so much!

The Bump...Weeks 20, 21, and 23

I had been slacking on putting up the bump pictures. So I'm playing catch up today.

I finally popped at 23 weeks!

Derek's 31st Birthday

D turned 31 yesterday. We had a very full day of shopping for Clara. His big birthday present was...the B.O.B. Revolution stroller (thanks to Bob, Sare, Jenn, Doug, my parents and sister). Wow our life has changed! We were supposed to have dinner at Carrabas, but I was actually feeling pretty lousy with a cold. SOOOOOO, we ended up getting take out from Lasagna House (one of our faves) and spent the night in with the pups. I truly cannot even begin to say how blessed I am to be married to Derek. He is the most precious man who has gone above and beyond for our growing little family. I am so proud of who is and all that he has accomplished. And to top off the big 31...he got another promotion...Director of Ticket and Event Sales. Way to go love. I love you!

25 Week Update

• Week: 25 weeks
• Size of Baby: 13 1/2 inches, 1 1/2 pounds...the size of an average rutabaga
• Movement: I'm definitely feeling her more throughout the day. I mostly notice it after lunch. She is still the most active at night. It still feels like flutters, just bigger flutters. I'll feel tiny kicks and punches too. It's the best feeling in the world.
• Symptoms: I've been having some sciatic nerve pain just recently. Some swelling in my feet, but not too bad. By the end of the day, I'm absolutely exhausted. I've been getting leg cramps in the middle of the night. I'm also finding that I'm becoming a little more clumsy and way more forgetful.
• Cravings: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, strawberry popsicles from HEB, fruit...especially grapes and strawberries
• Sleep: I've been sleeping much better. I'll wake up maybe once or twice. I will still sometimes wake up on my tummy and on my back, but I'm reeeeally trying to sleep on my sides.
• What I Miss: wine...especially this time of year
• How I'm Feeling: I really feel great! I'm loving this part of my pregnancy.
• Moment of the Week: I'm 15 weeks away from meeting my little girl! I love rubbing on my tummy and getting to feel her tiny movements. She's my miracle.

The Nursery...switching gears (kind of)

Last week, I got Clara's crib bumper in the mail from Restoration Hardware Baby. Well...I HATED the color. It was a really wierd pink that did not go with the rug I had. So I decided to send that back. Then, I recieved the fabric swatch for the crib skirt I was having made. Again...yuck, I hated it. Back to square one. I will admit, I was in panic mode. I am very particular and know exactly what I want when it comes to the nursery, and had been looking FOREVER (even before I found out she was a SHE).

Well, I have an amazing home room mom this year, who has AMAZING taste. She called me and told me she was getting rid of her youngest daughter's crib bedding. I went over to look at it and fell in love with the crib skirt. It is ballet pink dupioni silk and gorgeous. And it looked great with the rug. So we've got the crib skirt! Now onto the bumper.

After posting that I was looking for a seamstress in Houston on facebook, I had a few people tell me to get in touch with Jerry Manto (who is one of our music teachers). I spoke with Jerry and she is able to sew the bumper! YAY! My mom and I went all over Houston trying to find the perfect fabric. We ended up finding a gorgeous melon quilted fabric with embroidered dots. The dots are the same ballet pink as the crib skirt. So the melon quilted fabric will be the actual bumper fabric. Then, we found this gorgeous sheer scroll fabric which will be the ruffle on top of the bumper and the bows that tie to the crib. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I am just so ready to start putting things together. We just don't have anything to put together yet!

I am hoping to find a dresser we can use for a changing table. I'd be happy finding something super inexpensive that we can refinish and add some cute knobs. I found these adorable owl knobs at Anthropologie. We always LOVE a project!My grandmother, Sarah, is giving me my great-grandmother's gold beveled mirror we will hang above the dresser. I would love to find little antique plates to possibly hang above the crib. I like things a little more symmetrical as far as the plates go, but below are a few pictures I found. I will also use fewer plates. I also adore the little owl light switch cover from Anthropologie (are you noticing a trend?) We really need to decide on the glider now though. Sooooo...that's where we are as far as the nursery goes. I am loving every minute of this and cannot wait to have a room set up all for our little Bee.

24 Week Update

I need to update the baby bump pictures since my belly is growing like crazy. Since we got our new "fancy camera" I haven't uploaded the new software to the computer. Anyway, I thought I'd include some stats and would try to do this weekly.

• Week: 24 weeks
• Size of Baby: 12.5 in long (length of an ear of corn) and 1.25 pounds
• Movement: I am feeling Little Miss Thang all the time now. Her movements are getting stronger and stronger. She seems to be the most active at night. Awesome, right? :)
• Symptoms: Growing belly, SOME swelling in the ankles, much more sensitive skin
• Cravings: orange juice, fruit, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, plain glazed donuts (again...awesome)
• Moment of the Week: Watching my tummy move while lying in bed. It was crazy. Derek and I just laid there and stared at it. She was all over the place!