I have to admit I haven't hosted many baby showers in the past. Only 1 to be exact before Saranne's, so I was a little new to the do's and dont's of baby showers. Thankfully Saranne'sBFF, Haley had it all under control. She knows Saranne's taste better than anyone, so I just went along with whatever she suggested. Well, almost...after everything was decorated and the house was set, she pulled out pink and green garland with baby bottles. They did not even make it all the way out of the bag before they got nixed! Sorry Haley, I still love you and think you rock, but those were pretty bad!! :o) There were 11 of us that hosted the shower and I must say that it was one of the easiest, most laid back, and agreeable showers to ever be a part of. With 11 females involved you never know what kind of drama could rear it's ugly head, but not with this group of girls. Everyone was awesome and we all worked to make sure Saranne's shower went off without a hitch. OK, maybe there was one hitch involving cookies, but we won't talk about that. :o) Enjoy the pictures!
This sweet outfit was the same outfit that Saranne and her sister came home from the hospital in and now Anne Presley will carry on the tradition! How special, sweet, and thoughtful of her Mom to save that all these years!
This past weekend we hosted Saranne's baby shower at my new home. If any of you have been around me lately, you would know that I have been obsessing about making sure I had all my furniture delivered in time for this most important shower. After all I couldn't have guests sitting on the floor, what kind of hostess would I be?? At least that's the version I gave Jonathan every time he asked, do we really need that? I apologize now for all the nerves I got on, I just wanted it to be perfect for the mom to be. Needless to say, it all came in time. I'm breaking up this blog because I have way too many pictures to post on just one entry. Here is the pre-shower. More to come later...
Getting the house cleaned and ready for visitors
Dipping chocolate covered strawberries: YUM-O!!
The two preggos obviously thought something was funny
This is the flower arrangement my mom, Jessica, and I made. I thought it turned out beautiful! In case you are wondering about all the birds and birdcages, no I don't have an obsession with birds. The theme for the shower was "nesting", so we used anything revolving around birds or nesting.
Aren't these cute?? Saranne made these with iron on appliques that she bought from a friends EtsyShop, so we borrowed them for decorations.
Saranne and Jessica putting together the baby stroller and car seat (a gift from all the hostesses). Yes, Saranne had to put together her own gift the night before her shower. It's only because she saw the first one at her BFFs house and informed BFF that she had gotten the wrong one!! So, since Haley had already assembled and dis-assembled one, we decided to sit back and see how long it would take for these two to assemble it. I guess two brains are better than one, because they moved much faster.
Now, I saved the best for last. While all of us women were slaving away cooking, cleaning, decorating, and assembling, you may wonder... where are the husbands???? Well, they went to dinner (no way were we cooking) and then tried to go bowling. Bowling didn't work out for them, so after a few hand-slaps to stay out of the strawberries, they retired to the man porch where not a single one of them got up to offer assistance.
Since my blog was deleted from Saranne's blog stalking list (ouch), I figured it was time for an update. I'm not a good blogger for many reasons, but the #1 reason I'm not (cover your eyes English teachers) is... I HATE writing! Yes, I know it's something we all do every day but it's just not fun to me. Bookface (as Jonathan calls it) is much more appealing to me because I can just post pictures of my life and not say a word about it. Hopefully, this post will allow me to regain my status of being "Blog Stalking Worthy" to Saranne! :o)
Since my last post, Jonathan and I have finally finished building our new home and have moved in. I am extremely grateful to my in-laws for letting us live with them for almost 9 months! We could have had a baby in the amount of time we lived with them! I know they were glad to see us go.
We went on a mini-vacation to St. Augustine, FL to see one of our friends get married. We had a great time catching up with friends, playing on the beach and relaxing. Life has been busy trying to get settled into the house, but we are so grateful to have a wonderful home and neighborhood. Most of all we are glad to be back near our friends.
Jonathan continues to succeed in his job and I am so proud of him. He was the top salesman in his company again this year!! I surprised him with a trip to New Orleans to see one of his favorite bands, Drive by Truckers. I'm extremely blessed to have him as my husband and best friend. I have taken on a new role with my job and learning each day how to juggle it all.
We have lots of exciting things going on the next few months; beach vacations, baby showers, birthdays, the Smith's and the Quinn’s bringing their bundles of joy to the world, wedding showers, anniversary, Beau and Chelsea's wedding. We are blessed with wonderful friends and even more blessed that we get to be a part of their new beginnings. Until next time, enjoy the latest pictures.
This post is way over due and I have several months to catch up on, so I'm just going to take it a month at a time since my last post. Last post was at the beginning of September, so I will pick up there. Many, many things in my life have changed in the last 4 months.
September 1.) We finally began on the house!! After all the rain setting us back by about 1 month, we finally begin this crazy process.
2.) My grandparents celebrated their 59th Wedding Anniversary.
3.) My grandmother turned 80, but was in the hospital on a vent so we celebrated a month later.
4.) Lastly, one of the saddest times in my life happened at the end of September. My grandfather passed away. I lost a big chunk of my heart when he passed and I miss him everyday. I am the only granddaughter and the baby of the family, so to say I was a HUGE granddaddy's girl is an understatement. One of the hardest but yet most special moments in my life was holding his hand during the last seconds of his life. It is day that will forever be etched in my mind. October 1.) We celebrated Jonathan's 31st birthday in same place we celebrated his 30th birthday... Dunleith!
2.) Jonathan surprised me for our anniversary with a trip back to where we got married. It was so sweet to stand on the steps, holding hands where we said our vows. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband!
3.) Progress, lots of progress on the house! Daisy waiting for birthday cake! :o)
November 1.) 1st - Thanksgiving with The Lists, The Holloways & The Cruthirds 2nd - Thanksgiving with The Pounceys and The Everetts
2.) Jonathan surprised me with Monday Night Football tickets, New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots. It was an awesome game and a great time to be in the dome.
3.) Jonathan and I are especially thankful for November because this is when we found out that some of our best friends, Darrell and Saranne are pregnant!! We can't wait to meet this bundle of joy and watch he/she grow up! December 1.) The long awaited, painful decision of what brick we wanted finally goes up. I'm relieved and pleased with the outcome! Jonathan is so glad that's out of the way.
2.) More progress on the house and it's finally coming together and looking like a house. Can't wait to move in!
3.) We celebrated my oldest brother, Derek's 35th Birthday with a party in Meridian.
4.) Christmas parties abound: 1st-Duvall Decker Christmas Open House, 2nd- CSI Christmas party at University Club, 3rd-UMC Christmas Party at Jackson Country Club, 4th-Ornament swap at Rachel's house, 5th- AOS Christmas Party in New Orleans
5.) Our first Christmas without Grandaddy was extremely hard and Granny was back in the hospital, so we had to make new Holiday traditions this year. Christmas was granddaddy's favorite time of the year. He made it fun for all involved and planned for it all year long. Doesn't matter how much you try and re-create the things he did, it's just not the same when you can't see the joy on his face.
6.) My mom and dad surprised all of us kids with Saints vs. Tampa Bay tickets. We all rode down together and we had a lot of fun!
7.) The end of the year has come and gone...we are now looking forward to 2010 and seeing what it brings. I didn't make any new year's resolutions, but I am making it a goal to do a better job updating the blog...
