My Work Baby Shower

 Today, my co-workers from U.S. Trust pulled out all of the stops and pulled off a simply amazing baby shower in honor of our little Madison. I was so in awe of all that they did that I was literally shaking when we walked in the conference room today. I will let the pictures do most of the talking...

One of my co-workers made the beautiful letter M for Madison and also handmade all of the hanging decorations. Dean and DeLuca catered our lunch which was absolutely delicious. We had petite ham biscuits, egg salad sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, artichoke dip, orzo pasta (my favorite) and fresh fruit.

 An adorable diaper cake made by another co-worker.

 The spread...

 Hubby and I feeling so loved.

 Another co-worker spray painted mason jars and added fresh flowers to coordinate with our pink and grey nursery theme.

 Pink lemonade (of course) and sweet tea to drink...

 Oh my goodness...the cake was from my favorite bakery, Cloud 9 Confections at 7th Street Market. As always, they did not disappoint! The cake was beautiful!

 One of the many games that we played. Another co-worker organized four to five games I think? Games included a baby word scramble, a word find, and the price is right baby.  The game pictured above was guess my due date.  I hope one of the earlier guesses is right, ha! I kind of doubt that will happen, but one can be optimistic!

 Oh my gosh...sooo many gifts. I swear my co-workers bought practically one third of my registry! It was so incredibly sweet!

Thank you to all of my co-workers for an amazing day! Evan and I felt so truly loved and blessed!

Pregnancy Weeks 28-30

 28 Weeks

 

29 Weeks

 

How Far Along: 28-30 weeks

 
Size of Baby: Baby is the size of a cabbage (approximately 2.75 pounds)! 

Gender: A sweet baby girl! Madison Ashley!

Maternity Clothes: Lots of leggings and a lot of non-maternity larger shirts. Almost ALL of my dresses for work are maternity at this point.

Workouts: Slowing down a good bit. Not being as good about working out as I should. I have gotten in several runs and some walks with Bella and Evan. I am waiting to suspend my gym membership until around 35 weeks; however, as I am hoping to still get in some good workouts. 

Weight Gain: Holding steady at 20 pounds for the last several weeks.

Sleep: Fairly well,I really cannot complain. 

Cravings/Aversions: Still Gardenburgers, Cadbury Eggs, Combos (real healthy, right?), Greek salads... 

Movement: ALL the time.

Nursery: Done except for some things we may possible receive from our baby showers. Pictures coming in the next day, I promise!

Symptoms: Growing belly...

What I Miss: Caesar salads, soft cheeses and red wine....probably the red wine the most. Oh and Sam Adams Cold Snap. I am buying Cold Snap so that I can have it for after Madison is born!

Mood: Still very emotional at times, but very happy that little one is progressing so well and we only have 10 more long weeks before we (hopefully) meet her.

Best Moment This Week: So far, my 30 week appointment when the doctor commented on my drama-free pregnancy. I am just so happy that our little one is healthy and so far everything is going very smoothly! Oh... and passing my glucose test on the first try. I was really nervous about that.

Looking Forward To: Sooo many things to look forward to: my work baby shower tomorrow and our family Virginia baby shower this weekend, our Charlotte baby shower the following weekend, and our 3D ultrsound tomorrow evening. Can't wait to catch a glimpse of what our little one looks like!
 

Pregnancy Weeks 25-27

25 Weeks

26 Weeks

27 Weeks 

How Far Along: 25-27 weeks

 
Size of Baby: Baby is the size of a head of cauliflower (approximately 2 pounds)! 

Gender: A sweet baby girl! Madison Ashley!

Maternity Clothes: Lots of leggings and still a lot of my regular larger shirts. ALL of my dresses for work are maternity at this point.

Workouts: On average, 2-3 elliptical workouts and weights and several runs.

Weight Gain: Ugh...17 pounds...

Sleep: Fairly well, except I find that I have been tossing and turning a lot more than I used to. And Madison just loves to move all over the place at night. Her kicks are getting so strong that they very much keep me awake at this point. 

Cravings/Aversions: Still Gardenburgers, like one a day, rice crispy treats, Cadbury eggs...I am bad. 

Movement: Yes! So much. I can see her move by looking at my stomach.

Nursery: Umm...done except for some things we may possible receive from our baby showers. I need to post pictures!

Symptoms: Growing belly...

What I Miss: Caesar salads, soft cheeses and red wine....probably the red wine the most. Oh and Sam Adams Cold Snap. 

Mood: Very emotional at times. Those SPCA commercials on TV...I cannot handle them ANYMORE.

Best Moment This Week: My brother in law's wedding in Richmond, Virginia this weekend...it was great to see everybody and see Carrie become a member of our family!

Looking Forward To: I am not sure if I should say looking forward too, but my glucose test is this Friday (wish me luck). I am very much looking forward to it being over because I am hoping I pass. I just have this awful fear that I won't. Also still our 3D ultrasound {at 30 weeks}...I cannot wait to get a good glimpse of what she looks like!

1st Trimester Essentials

I have been meaning to post my first trimester essentials for a long time now and am finally getting around to doing it. Some of the items on this list are a bit unconventional/random and some of these may offer more of a laugh than anything, but here you go...the things I could not do without my first trimester....enjoy...

1) I'm So Pregnant (Adult) Womens Maternity T-Shirt
This shirt epitomizes how I felt during the entire first trimester. To be honest, I felt really bloated and fat the entire time....and I wasn't really showing yet, so people probably just thought I was fat...this shirt would have helped A LOT. The McDonalds and Taco Bell runs probably did not help (for the record, I am not someone who generally frequents these fine establishments but it's what the baby was craving...what's a girl to do)? 

2) J Crew Tee
Some really comfortable loose fitting t-shirts. During the first trimester, I did not want anything constricting or emphasizing that slightly bloated mid-section.

3) Lululemon Activewear Pants
I actually discovered these fairly recently and you can wear them well into your second trimester. I have already invested in two pairs and plan to go back for more. They offer free alternations for us short ladies as well!

4) H&M MAMA Jeggings
Umm....dare I say these are the best and most reasonable maternity jeans? I love these! Now, you may not need them until the second trimester, but I say go ahead and order them early so you have them for that day when the jeans will just not button...it's a depressing day ladies...be prepared.

5) Snoogle Chic Total Body Pillow
In my opinion, most people will not need a pregnancy pillow until you are well into your second trimester, however, I occasionally began using mine at the very end of the first trimester. For leg and tummy support, these are pretty awesome. 

6) La Croix Sparkling Water
These are great to add a little variety to the monotony of water. Plus, they helped ease that awful nausea (a bit) in the beginning. 

7) Wheat Thins
I got so tired of snacking on solely saltines when I was nauseous, these are tasty while still being somewhat bland and easy on the stomach. 

8) Jimmy John's
Is this a bit random? Yes, however I missed subs and most sandwiches so much during the first trimester, but I discovered that many sub places have vegetarian subs which obviously do not have lunch meat on them, so I am able to eat them. It helps me miss eating my beloved subs and sandwiches less while still refraining from eating lunch meat.

Pregnancy Weeks 23 and 24

I think from here on I am going to combine two weeks at a time for my pregnancy updates. I do not want to bore everyone with a week by week recap, because honestly not that much changes in a one week period.

23 weeks

24 Weeks

How Far Along: 23-24 weeks
 
Size of Baby: Baby is the size of an ear of corn (approximately 1.25 pounds)! 

Gender: A sweet baby girl! Madison Ashley!

Maternity Clothes: Lots of leggings and still a lot of my regular larger shirts. Almost entirely in maternity dresses for work.

Workouts: On average, 3-4 elliptical workouts and weights and sometimes a walk.

Weight Gain: I have not weighed myself recently, however I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I will have an update on this soon. I was up a total of 12-13 pounds as of last week. I am sure this number has gone up since then...

Sleep: Really well still, except for the cold that I have been battling this week. I am usually in bed by 10:30 pm at the latest.

Cravings/Aversions: Still Gardenburgers, like one a day. I love those things!

Movement: Yes! Feeling baby girl every day all day, although a lot more movement at night. I still get a little nervous when I do not feel her moving within a couple hour period.

Nursery: Lots of progress....dare I say its almost done and I can post some preliminary shots of the almost completed product? Hopefully in the next week or so!

Symptoms: Growing belly...

What I Miss: Caesar salads, soft cheeses and red wine....probably the red wine the most. Oh and Sam Adams Cold Snap.

Mood: Still somewhat overly emotional at times. Somehow made it through American Sniper without crying...that was a miracle!

Best Moment This Week: Still watching Madison's nursery starting to really come together and just feeling baby girl move all of the time. It is music to a mother's ears!

Looking Forward To: Completing the nursery, our upcoming 3D ultrasound {at 30 weeks}, and my brother-in-law's wedding in a couple of weeks!!

Pregnancy Weeks 20-22

I am way behind in my weekly pregnancy updates, so I figured I would catch up by combining several weeks.

 Week 20 (stolen from our babymoon as I forgot to take a picture during week 20)

Week 21

 (had to snag a picture with Bella)

Week 22

How Far Along: 22 weeks
 
Size of Baby: Baby is the size of an spaghetti squash (approximately 1 pound)! 

Gender: A sweet baby girl! Madison Ashley!

Maternity Clothes: Lots of leggings and still a lot of my regular larger shirts. Something happened right around week 21-22 and I am pretty much solely in maternity dresses now. I tried on a regular stretchy work dress on the Monday of week 22 and the dress was just way too short over my bump. Time to break out the maternity dresses...

Workouts: On average, 3-4 elliptical workouts and weights and sometimes a walk.

Weight Gain: I weighed myself, sigh. I am up a total of 12-13 pounds. I fluctuate a pound or two so it is hard to answer this question precisely.

Sleep: Really well still. I am usually in bed by 10:30 pm at the latest.

Cravings/Aversions: Veggie burgers (I finally found my long lost favorites that grocery stores no longer carry, the classic Gardenburger). I stocked up on these! Oh and Publix has the best carrot cake. I made the mistake of trying a sample at the store recently. It is dangerously good.

Movement: Yes! Feeling baby girl every day all day, although a lot more movement at night. I still get a little nervous when I do not feel her moving within a couple hour period.

Nursery: Lots of progress: several shelves have been put up, the curtains are complete, and we also ordered Madison's monogram for over her crib.  We also bought some additional clothing items during after Christmas sales. Picture frames are up with Madison's monogram, and we got the bedding {Pottery Barn Kids} from my mom in the mail yesterday. I can't wait to open it when she comes to visit next weekend! I will post soon about Madison's nursery inspiration.

Symptoms: Growing belly...

What I Miss: Caesar salads, soft cheeses and red wine....probably the red wine the most. Oh and Sam Adams Cold Snap. I saw a gentleman walking out of Total Wine with a case of it the other day and pouted to Evan about how I can't have it this season.  

Mood: A little moody this past week; not really sure why. I get really emotional whenever those SPCA commercials come on...I just can't handle them at all these days. I also teared up the other day when I randomly thought about Bella not being with us anymore...these hormones are no joke!!

Best Moment This Week: Watching Madison's nursery starting to really come together. At this rate, I think her nursery will almost be complete in the next month!

Looking Forward To: Completing the nursery and our upcoming 3D ultrasound {at 30 weeks}. 

Babymoon/New Year's Eve Recap

Hope everyone had a great start to 2015!! We definitely did! Since we planned to leave for our "babymoon" on New Year's Day, we decided to do something very low key on New Year's Eve.

 We decided at the last minute to make a dinner reservation at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Lake Norman, Campania Cafe. We figured a quiet dinner close to home and then heading home to watch the ball drop sounded like a good way to go.

 I ordered the Cornish Game Hen (above) and Evan  had the filet and lobster (below).

Everything as always was delicious, however, I was a little bummed that I could not have the complimentary prosecco that Campania was offering as part of their special New Year's Eve menu. Oh well, there is always next year!

On New Year's Day, we got got up early, dropped Bella off at Ruth's and headed to Asheville to the Grove Park Inn for several nights.  Here are a few pictures of our stay. It was an extremely relaxing couple of days. I can't wait to go back again in the near future.

 

Taking in the picturesque views on the terrace while drinking a mocktail with my growing baby bump. 

The view from the terrace.

 View from one of the two fires in the common area. 

 View from the front.

 Us in front of the main entrance on the second to last day of our stay. 

 Evan and I enjoying a drink {of course me drinking another mocktail} at one of the several bars at the resort. The chairs Evan and I were sitting in recline all the way back and the view from our recliners was amazing {right over the golf course}.

After our babymoon was over, we came back fairly early Saturday morning because we had bought tickets to the Panther's playoff game on Saturday. Where to start...this was my first Panther's game {or NFL game ever for that matter}; so I really didn't know what to expect. We knew it was supposed to rain and would be cold, so we planned for that. Let me start by saying that I am not a sport's fan at all; especially not football and never have an inclination to watch a football game let alone attend one. We went because Evan wanted to go and the Panther's are in the playoffs. I have been to many Braves' baseball games with Evan in the past because they are Evan's favorite team and he loves baseball; but other than that and soccer, we really just don't get into other sports nor do we generally care to get tickets to other sporting events. So with that being said, I was a bit shocked by the behavior of the Panther's fans at the game. Gross intoxication, throwing beer cans at the suspended camera, loudly shouting profanity when other kids were around and standing the entire game...were just a few of the things that annoyed me. I have a feeling that that will be the last professional football game that we attend anytime soon and clearly professional football games are not for young children. Other than the less than respectful fans, we managed to enjoy the game {what I could see of it}.

 That about wraps up this past week for us. Happy 2015 everyone!!