Thirty Six and a Half Weeks

Scott and I have been some big ole bums this week. Besides him hunting every morning and evening we have done nothing productive. Doing nothing is great and all, but I am about to go stir crazy. I think it is about time that I get out and do something. I would love to go shopping for myself, but what would I buy? More maternity clothes... I think not! I thought about going to the lake house with the family this weekend, then thought again.... I guess I am just restless!

When I said that Scott and I have done nothing productive I was not fibbing... But, we have done some things. One thing being getting pedicures. Yesterday I was in the bath tub whining about how bored I was and such and Scott suggested that we go for pedicures. I know it seems strange for the Hubs to suggest pedicures, but he absolutely adores getting pampered. When the lady was finished massaging his little footsies she asked him what color he wanted his toenails painted. He laughed it off and left me there to finish my pedicure. It was quite the treat. Very thankful that we can do things like that together.

Scott relaxing!

We had a doctor's appointment today at 2:30. This appointment has been very highly anticipated by me. I have been thinking that I would go to the doctor today and she would tell me that I would be having Suzy sooner than later. Welp, I was surprised when she told me that there was no sign that she would be any earlier than 39 weeks. We had an ultrasound that showed her being extremely healthy with a strong heartbeat. She also told us that she weighed 6lbs 4 oz. Other than hearing good sounds and being measured we didn't get much else. She had her hands covering her face so we couldn't get a clear shot of her. She was not very cooperative today. Scott said she already acts like me. I am going to pretend that he means well when he says that. Dr. Harper checked me and told me that I have not thinned any and that I have dilated 2 cm. She told me that if she were me she would go back to work and walk A LOT!

36.5 weeks pregnant.

I went to the dry cleaners today after we got home from our doctor's appointment. The girl at the counter asked me how far along I was. I informed her that I was almost 37 weeks and her response was, "and you are still out walking around?".... I mean I know I am pretty massive and all, but what else do people expect pregnant women to do? Do they think that they just sit at the house and watch the clock? I do not know anyone that has just quit "walking around" just because they were about to explode!! I laughed a little and responded politely "yes, but very slowly" :) Then, I went into the gas station and the girl that works there said, "oh my goodness you still haven't had that baby?". I guess that everyone thinks I look insanely miserable or something. I feel fine, and I feel like I don't look too terribly bad. I mean I am pretty large and all, but I don't think that I look like she is just going to fall out or anything (even though some times I feel like she may). Writing this reminds me of a dinner outing that Mom and I had a few weeks ago. We went to McAlister's and after eating I went to the restroom. When I was walking out of the bathroom and out the door there were a couple ladies sititng close by. I heard one of them say, "bless her heart". When I got in the car I told Mom about the women and I told her that I didn't know who they were talking about, but that surely they weren't referring to me. That is when Mom broke the news to me that I indeed had the pregnant waddle. She told me that when you start walking like I do people start feeling sorry for you. Goodness gracious I had no idea that people felt so sorry for big ole prego ladies, but everyone I run into these days seems to pitty me.

People have had lots of questions lately, here are a few of the most commonly asked.

1. Is Scott at home until you deliver?
-- No, Scott is only at home until the first of the year. He got off for Christmas Holidays and one of the owners told him to just stick around the house until the first of the year. He gladly accepted the offer and has been passing time by hunting non-stop.

2. When are you due?
-- I am due January 22, 2012, but Dr. Harper told me she would induce at 39 weeks so that there would be no chance that Scott would miss the show. With Scott being in Nashville we are very worried that I will go into labor and he will not make it back. Everyone keeps telling me that labor takes forever, but with the luck we have I will have my mother's labor patterns and she will come quickly. (but, then again, with my luck....... it may take 24 hours)

3. Are you going back to work after Christmas Break?
-- That is a question that I could not answer before today. But, I will be back at work after Christmas. We start Monday and the kiddos come back Tuesday. I am glad that I will be back at work. I hope that it makes time pass by quickly. It seems like time has stopped.

4. How are you feeling?
-- Like I said earlier, I feel fine. I don't feel all swollen or irritable yet. I am only struggling with the pressure from her dropping. That is causing it to be pretty uncomfortable to stand for long periods of time, but if I take breaks and sit for a bit I am usually alright. I am not sleeping well at all during the night due to getting up for the bathroom breaks, but I have been told that it is just God's way of getting me ready for sleepless nights when Suzy arrives.

I have been asking people a lot of questions lately too. I want to know all the details of having babies and what to expect. All the girls that are in my life have been great to me. They answer tons the of questions that I have constantly. I enjoy comparing our pregnancies and learning new things from them that I haven't experienced yet. Here are some tips that have been shared with me by some friends (Sally Williams, Jill Lamar, Emily Kopf, Ali G., and Mandy Hartsfield are usually my go to girls about all this stuff).

* Shave your legs regularly (you never know when you may go into labor)
* Pack your bags and load your carseat-- be prepared
* Don't over eat
* Make sure to buy a good supply of granny panties
* Rest whenever you feel tired, do not over do it
* Start using boob cream now to keep the nips from becoming cracked and painful (too much information?? this is the kind of stuff that I love to hear)
* When your water breaks it is not like it is on the movies (I thought it would be a flood, but I was surprised to find out that it didn't always happen like that)
* Work as long as you can. Being at home will just make time go by slower.

**** This is my favorite tip given to me by Jill****
'When you are released from the hospital you are going to feel like a runway model, but you are NOT going to be as good looking as you think you are!!" She shared this tid bit of advice with me as she showed me the picture of her when she came home from the hospital. She said she thought she was rocking that new body of hers until she saw the photos.

Packed Bags

Christmas Break was much needed at my house this year. I started my break off with a trip to the lake house for a couple days since my doctor told me that I shouldn't travel far away from home after tomorrow (December 29). We finished up painting Memaw's bedroom and bathroom and I relaxed a bit. I came home the following Monday and the whirlwind began. The nesting instinct kicked in that Tuesday. I started washing all of Suzy's clothes and putting them away. I put them in the drawers and took them out of the drawers over and over until I thought I had the most user friendly "set up" possible. It took 2 days to get that finished. Then the rest of the house was up on deck. I started by cleaning out cabinets in the kitchen. I didn't have any room to put her bottles and such until I cleaned them out. Then, the baseboards, walls, and pantry were tackled. The nesting instinct left as quickly as it came. I guess my body ran out of fuel and I haven't felt like doing anything since I got the kitchen cleaned. I need a cleaning fairy to come finish the rest of the Smith Residence. But, at least the nursery is finished. That makes me feel MUCH better. The only thing that is lacking are wall decorations. My friend Lindsey is painting a canvas for us and Kelli is getting the letters of her name to hang on the wall, so we have that covered, too.

The chandelier came from a garage sale that my mom's friend Shirley had in Oxford. It came from her mother's house. Scott's mom got the light from there which was bronze and pretty rough looking. Memaw got it, painted it, and cleaned all the little jewels... This is the finished product. Didn't it turn out great!

I still have to get this hung on the wall. It is a shadow box containing a diaper shirt that Scott's mom kept from when she thought he was going to be a girl. The booties were made by my Memaw Geeslin who passed away several years ago. My cousins got these and saved them for us.



This is the dresser that my grandfather redid for me. He made the diaper changing station, patched it up, painted it, and replaced the knobs. It turned out perfectly.

Over the break I have also been shopping to get stuff to take to the hospital. My friend Jill Lamar filled me in on what I need to pack for myself and Suzy. I hope that I didn't forget anything. I am glad that most of my friends have already had kiddos so they can help me out with all this stuff!!

What's in my bag?
* Boppy Pillow for nursing
* Breast pump and bottles
*Gown
* Pajama pants and top (in case I need an extra set of comfy clothes)
* Yoga pants and top to wear home
* Socks and slippers for the cold tootsies
* Undergarments for nursing mamas
* toiletries

What's in Suzy's bag?
* Her "coming home outfit"
* 2 gowns
* 2 pairs of socks/booties
* mittens
* hats to keep her little head warm
* a few diapers (in case we need them on our way home) and wipes
* blankets

Things we have to remember: carseat, phone chargers, camera and batteries, and a pillow

Have I forgotten anything??

Our packed bags. Sitting and waiting... I hope we can use them sooner than later :)

Happy Holidays

 It is hard to believe that Christmas has already passed. The holidays came and went so quickly this year. Our family decided that we were not going to do Christmas like we have done in the past. With my parents and grandparents buying a lake house and Scott and I preparing for a baby we thought we would all save our money and use it for "lake stuff" and "baby stuff". We were not supposed to buy presents at all, but that idea didn't last long. My grandmother told me one night on the phone that "Christmas just didn't feel right without presents" she even told me that she missed shopping and waiting in line. So, the no presents thing turned into a few small gifts just to make her and my dad happy (he is all about presents too even though he doesn't want to admit it). In years passed our family has gone all out on Christmas and bought entirely too much for everyone. This year we did a few gifts for each person and it was quite nice. Casey and Melissa made the family mugs and wine glasses by etching our initials into the glasses. They are too cool. Mom and dad got me a new Chi straightener (that is all I even asked for), money, pajamas, etc. Scott's parents went along with the idea of not doing much either, but gave us some great things. We got a new piece of pottery and some knick knacks for around the house. All in all... Christmas was very low key and enjoyable. Not rushing around here and there ended up being just what we all needed.

Scott and I didn't even decorate the house this year. After a lot of thought I decided that I didn't really want to get our Christmas decorations down. I am usually all over decorating for Christmas. I usually don't even wait until after Thanksgiving!! The only reason for not decorating or having a tree was the thought of having to undo it all being 9 months pregnant. I think the decision was a good one. With everything going on preparing for Suzy's arrival I cannot see how I would have tackled it all.

Although, we didn't decorate or have a huge Christmas we did have Lynn make us some adorable Christmas Cards. I cannot wait until next year's with little Suzy's sweet face in them :)

Lynn Savage never disappoints. She has done all my stationary, shower invitations, and now Christmas Cards! She is the go to gal- lnsavage@blogspot.com

Skunk Town

A couple weeks ago, December 4-11, was a week that I will not forget for a LOOOOOONG time. First of all, I haven’t been sleeping much at night due to not being comfortable in bed or the constant urge to go to the restroom. But, not only did I have those two issues playing against me I also had the issue of a snoring husband. There is nothing more irritating than wanting to sleep so incredibly bad and Scott sleeping so deeply that he is snoring. I get so annoyed by his snoring that I wake him up so many times that he eventually goes into the guest room or the nursery and goes to sleep. This night was no exception to him moving rooms. When I got up Tuesday morning he had slept in the guest bedroom. Sunday night I didn’t sleep but maybe 2 hours total, so Monday was absolutely dreadful at work. I could barely hold my eyes open. Low and behold Tuesday night’s sleep was no better. I ended up calling into work Tuesday. I felt absolutely dreadful. I guess just exhausted? For those of you who know me, know that I have been hoarding my days this year because I am terrified that I will not have enough days after Suzy is born and I will be docked if she or I get sick and I have to miss, so taking a day off work is a HUGE deal to me. I took all day Tuesday and did nothing but rest, sleep, rest, and sleep some more. I just knew when I woke up Wednesday morning that it was going to be a good day since I was so refreshed. I WAS WRONG!!!! I remember waking up around 4 am and smelling a “skunky smell”, but didn’t pay much attention to it because there are always skunks around our house. My dogs have either been sprayed by one or rolled around on a dead one at least 3 times this fall/winter.  I went back to sleep, woke up, got dressed for work, walked out the door to my garage and it hit me like a ton of bricks…. MY GARAGE, DOGS, AND CAR reeked of a skunk. It was absolutely disgusting. I knew that everything stunk, and stunk bad… But, what I didn’t know is that when you get into car that has been infested by skunk that you will in turn have the smell on you!!! I get to school that morning and everyone asks me how I am feeling after being off Tuesday and I proceed to tell them that I feel great blah, blah, blah and then it hits me. I smelt myself. I stunk. I went to Jill Lamar’s room and asked her if she smelled me, because she is a stickler for smells. She said she didn’t so I thought I was overreacting. Then, I went to Alisha Foxworth’s room to ask her the same question, “Do I stink?”, she told me that I didn’t as well so I went back to doing my morning hall duty. Then Fox comes out of her room and says, “Yeah, yeah, you do smell” and Jill comes out of her room and says the same thing. Fox has had the skunk issues a lot so she filled me in on what I needed to do to get the smell out of my house, car, and off my dogs.  In the meantime, I waited on the tardy bells to ring then asked Mr. Herrington to please let me leave. He agreed that I definitely needed to get the smell off me and come on back to work. I had every intention of coming back to work when I got the smell off me (remember, I have been hoarding my days and wont take off unless I HAVE to), but it was impossible for me to make it back to work. If I would have changed clothes I still would have had to get into my smelly car. It was a vicious cycle. I was doomed. Two days in a row down the drain. I went to Performance to get my dad’s work truck so I could take my dogs to the vet and get them cleaned. While they were there Memaw and I planned on cleaning my garage up and Dad was going to figure out a plan to get my car cleaned up. We googled, and googled, and googled all the ways to get rid of the skunk smell found that ammonia, vinegar, and peroxide helped. So, Memaw and I got busy in the garage cleaning it. It seemed to help a little, but all we were doing is masking one odor with another odor. Instead of skunk it smelt like ammonia. It too turned out to be harder than we expected. I just decided to leave the garage alone and turn all my attention to my car. Without my car I couldn’t go to work, so that was now my main priority. Dad found a guy to clean my car up, but the guy told Dad it would take up to a week and could cost anywhere around $500. Yes, this news made me sick to my stomach but I had no choice. I had to have a car, a clean car that didn’t smell or make me smell. Performance called me and told me that no one up there would take my car to the detail shop for me because it smelled so bad, so I had to get back in the smelly Tahoe and take it to the detail shop. While my car was at the shop I drove Teresa Littlejohn’s suburban so that I didn’t have to rent a car. I got to go back to work Thursday and Friday!! I got a message Friday telling me that my car was finished and that I could pick it up at 4:20. I was super thrilled. I couldn’t believe that he had gotten finished with it so quickly. When I got there he explained to me how hard it was to break the smell and how he did finally get it out of my car. He used some odor bombs that cover 6,000 sq ft per bomb. He had to use 2 (or 3, I can’t remember) to get the smell out. Besides the fact that my car smelled good, it also looked amazing. He deserved every single penny that he charged. It was like driving a new car. I didn’t even want my dogs to ride in it (and that’s telling ya somethingJ).

After the skunk fiasco was over Mom, Dad, and I left for Smith Lake. We didn’t get to leave town until about 6:00 Friday night. Scott, Memaw, and Ricky were already there working. We finally got there around 10:00. After breakfast Saturday morning we sat around for several hours waiting on the carpet people to show up. The only thing left to do to the upstairs was to have the carpet put down. The installers were 3 hours late!! But, after the carpet was completed we started moving furniture upstairs. Oh my goodness, it is amazing how much better everything looks now that it is all clean and new! The upstairs is now complete. All we have left to do is accessorize J We woke up Sunday morning and tried to do a few last minute things before we left to come home. I tried to help Memaw paint her bedroom downstairs, which I have discovered that I am far too large to be trying to do. I am now on the cleaning crew.

Mine and Scott's room BEFORE.

AFTER.

Again. We still need our dresser and such moved in, but doesn't it look SO much better?!

Mom and Dad's room AFTER.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

I made a countdown at school to prepare me for Thanksgiving Break. Needless to say, I have been looking forward to a break like none other. Work has been extremely stressful and tiring lately. It is hard for me to make it to 3:15 everyday. I need a "nap time" planned in my schedule. Do you think I could talk my administration into that? I know several pregnant women at SMS that would love me if I could. When we got out of school Friday instead of getting the break that I had prepared myself for I had a busy weekend/week ahead of me.

I planned our "Maternity Pictures" for Saturday, November 19, 2011. I have been looking forward to them for a while now, but have also been stressing out about what I would wear. It is extremely hard to look "cute" being 8 months pregnant and I thought all my clothes were disastrous. Thanks to the help of JoAnne, Lauren, and Janie Rose maternity section I had several cute outfits for the photos! Now, I said that I was looking forward to the pictures... I didn't tell you how Scott felt about them. He was NOT looking forward to them at all. I warned him that it may be a little awkward, but that it was worth it. We met Rachel Elliot in Batesville at her house the following Saturday to begin the session. It was a beautiful day, the only thing that stood in our way of great pictures was the wind. Rachel is such an awesome photographer that she got great pictures regardless of the wind. We went to several locations, all of which were perfect for Scott and I.

This was taken at Rachel's house. She has a perfect home for great fall photos.

This was also at Rachel's house.

This was in a field on the side of the road... We were trespassing! But, the pics she took here came out great.

This is one of my favorites!

I like this one of Scott and I a lot.

Sweet Baby Suzy!

The pictures came out absolutely perfect. I will definitely be a long time customer of hers! Look her up on facebook!! Rachel Atkinson Elliot. You will not be disappointed I promise.

I finished out the weekend being a lazy bum. I should have been cleaning my house and doing other "wifely duties", but I couldn't make myself do anything.

Mom and I left for Houston, Alabama the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. My parents and grandparents bought a lake house on Smith Lake. The house is an older home that needs some work, so while the family was off for Thanksgiving Break we decided that we should go work on the place while we had longer than just a weekend. This was my first trip to the house since they bought it, because there isn't much work that I can do. So, Tuesday afternoon me, mom, Bella, Lola, and Lucy loaded up in my Tahoe and headed to the lake. We got there around 8 o'clock PM and mom took me on the grand tour of the house. They have made Casey and I believe that the house was way worse than it actually is. All the house needs is a little TLC, Clorox, paint, and flooring!! I was thrilled to see for myself that they had over exaggerated the "roughness" of the house. Memaw and Ricky showed up at 11 PM Tuesday night. This meant that me, Mom, Memaw, Ricky, Lola, Bella, and Lucy all slept in mom's camper (no one could sleep in the house until Dad got there the following day with mattresses). I got absolutely NO sleep. The dogs were so confused and antsy that they kept all of us up all night long. When we woke up Wednesday morning Mom and I went to town (Jasper, which is 30 mins away) to pick up some paint for the upstairs bedrooms and look for me some bedding for mine and Scott's room. We had a successful trip!! While we were gone to town a lady came and measured the house for carpet. We painted and cleaned for the next 2 days. On Thanksgiving, since the house isn't "live in ready" we didn't have the traditional Thanksgiving Meal. Mom brought her croc pots and stuff to make a roast, potatoes, rice, green beans, and rolls. It wasn't a turkey, but it was amazing after a long day's work and 2 days of fast food meals to have a good home cooked meal. I left the lake Friday around 3 o'clock. I had all the fun I could stand. I was sore from head to toe. It sure is hard to get around and do anything with an extra 25 pounds to lug around!! I decided that I needed to go home and rest before I had to go back to work Monday. I was so thrilled to see my bed Friday night!!!!

I love this house! They did a great job picking it out! 5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and a full basement. It will be the perfect spring and summer getaway! I cannot wait to take Suzy!

Just another shot from the side. The yard looks much better now. Mom attacked it with the leaf blower!

Right out the back door on the deck. It has it's own floating boat dock and swim pier. The staircase in the picture takes you straight down a cliff of rocks to the water. Amazing!!

I am so ready to go back in the next couple of weeks. The carpet will be put down, so we can start setting up bedrooms!!! So, so, so exciting! I am so proud of my family for being able to have a 2nd home. My dad has always wanted to have a lake house! He finally got what he wanted :) All the hard work will definitely pay off.

My Warrior Family

During the month of April 2011 I made up my mind that it was time for me to leave my Como Elementary family. It was one of the hardest decisions that I have had to make, but it was something that I felt like I needed to do. The people that I worked with at Como Elementary are some of my very best friends. The kids... well, I miss the kids more and more everyday. Needless to say, I didn't leave on bad terms. I just needed a change. I was teaching Self Contained Special Education, grades K-5. So, I had kids from ages 5-11 in the same room. If I got them in Kindergarten I would keep them for 6 years. I was just very burnt out having the same kiddos year after year. In special education it is hard to have the same kids for 3 years straight and see little to no progress. I had some great experiences there and loved every minute of my time there, but it was just time for a change. When I made my mind up that I was going to look for jobs elesewhere I applied at Senatobia Middle School. The job opening that I applied for was for 3rd grade inclusion (my dream job). Inclusion is a term used when a special eduation teacher is in a regular education classroom setting all day serving the special education students in that regular education class. They started this program in order to keep the children with mild disabilities in the classroom as much as possible- their least restrictive environment. I went for an interview and a day later the principal, Mazie Lamb, called me and offered me the job. It was such a bittersweet day. I didn't want to leave my friends and kiddos at CES, but knew it was something that I needed to do. I accepted the job at Senatobia Middle School as a 3rd grade inclusion teacher. I was placed in a classroom with an amazing teacher, Candy Shipp. I absolutely love her. They couldn't have paired me with a better teacher. Work is a challenge everyday, but I have enjoyed becoming part of the SMS Family.
Last Tuesday the 3rd grade teachers and Special Education teachers had an amazing baby shower for me. I walked into the library to see a gorgeous spread of food and dozens of presents. They worked so hard to make the shower a special day for me. They were extremely successful! My grandmother came to the shower to see all the goodies for herself, which was a special treat. I got some great gifts from the ladies, some of which included: a beautiful smocked dress from Linda Till, a spunky little leopard number, and adorable baby bag full of necessities from Jill Lamar, diapers, and a gorgeous blanket, gown, bonnet, and booties from the Red Hall (3rd grade teachers) and the special ed teachers, and an envelope full of money to buy something that was left on my registery.

Some of the goodies that Suzy got at the shower.

My sweet friend, Betsy Hartly, gave Suzy this adorable Peter's Pottery bunny! I will have to keep up this collection for her. I think it would be awesome to start her a pottery collection by buying her a new piece for holidays. She would appreciate it later in life, don't you think?

The ladies in the office got the canvas painted for her room. They borrowed a swatch of fabric from her bedding and had Teresa Roberson paint it for me. It is pefect! The leopard outfit and the smocked gown are pictured! Aren't they adorable!!

There were tons of other gifts, those are just a few. I used the money that was given to me to put towards my carseat. I purchased it this weekend on our way to the lake house. So, needless to say.... The shower was absolutely perfect. I am so thankful to have so many wonderful people in my life at such an exciting time.

Blankets, Bottles, and Bibs

My amazing friends had my first baby shower for me last Sunday, November 13 at The Como Courtyard. I had been anticipating this shower for quite some time now. I know that some people thought that we were having it a little too early, but we definitely had some good reasons. First of all, I was scared to schedule anything too late because my doctor thought that I may have to deliver at 36 weeks (she doesn’t think that anymore) and with holidays coming up I know that it is hard for people to attend things on weekends in November and December. As I was looking forward to the shower I had nightmares that no one would show up to the shower, and all the hard work that the hostesses put forth would be a total waste. I had crazy dreams like this when we were in the process of planning the wedding, too. I know… I am a very strange bird.

Sally Williams, Lauren LaVergne, Taylor Capwell, Staci Lowrie, Monica Johansson, myself, Amanda Elizondo, Lindsey Burk, JoAnne Flowers
All of the amazing hostesses!!

I got to The Courtyard a little before 2:00 (just because I was too antsy to sit at home any longer). When I got there the hostesses had already set everything up for the shower. It was absolutely beautiful. They had flowers from Everblooms sitting on all the little tables and catered food from Bloomingbites for everyone to munch on. The food was amazing. Sara Embrey out did herself on the petit fours, as always. They did such an awesome job setting everything up. I was blown away at how nice everything was.

Not only was I shocked at how nice everything was I was shocked at the people that got to come. The Courtyard was full of people. I was so excited to see my roommate from MSU there, Whitney Lane Sephton. We went from seeing each other every single day to only seeing each other once or twice a year. Our neighbor in The Highlands, Jessica Davis Busick, also showed up. She had been in Starkville all weekend at the Alabama vs MSU game (so super jealous of her for being able to go back to The Junction that Saturday). The one that shocked me the most was my old boss from Campus Card Office, Donna Buckalew. She was my boss for several years while I was in school. I was her student worker. I absolutely loved working with her. She took care of me, gave me motherly advice (since I was so far away from my mom), and best of all….. she would have a big ole glass of wine with me on bad OR good days J She was by far the best boss ever!! I have missed them all so much. Having them at the baby shower was just an added treat.

Whitney Septhon, myself, Jessica Busick

Donna Buckalew and myself

   After everyone got to indulge in all the yummy treats the gift opening officially began. From the first present that I opened to the very last one I wasn’t disappointed at all. I got some of the best gifts that a girl could ask for. My aunt, Sheila made my entire baby bedding collection for me. I picked out the fabric in August, ordered it, and took it to her.... I had not seen it since I dropped it off (besides little sneak peak teasers that she kept posting on facebook).  She had it wrapped in different packages to make the anticipation even stronger. As I opened the boxes I kept my composure UNTIL I opened the bumper pad that she had monogrammed for me. The little pink ESS pulled a heart string and I started to cry. I am not sure if it finally became "real" to me or what... Now, of course I know that I am pregnant, I feel her kick and squirm in my belly, she has a nursery, a baby bed, etc... But, nothing has been personalized just for her. Seeing the bedding with the monogram that had HER initials on it was just heart wrenching to me for some reason. I don't really know how to explain it. I am so thrilled that she got to make it for us. It is so sentimental to us and I will cherish it forever. I cannot thank her enough.

After the bedding debut the opening of presents continued..... Suzy is going to be one spoiled rotten little girl. She got some awesome presents and even some presents that Scott loved. Ali G and San got her an Ole Miss cheerleading outfit that I am sure will be Scott's "go to" outfit, Laci and Ernie Capwell got her a Ronaldo bracelet that is to die for, Shirley and the hostesses got her a stroller, and the list goes on and on.

Scott's favorite gift from the shower.

This is more like it :)

Monogrammed burp cloths from Miss Donna.

After the shower was over Jessica followed me home to help me unload all the goodies. Of course, assembling the baby bedding was the very first thing that I did. I could not wait to get it in the crib. It is far prettier than I ever imagined it would be in her little crib. I wish I could crawl in there myself!! We sat around and went through all the gifts from the shower and tried to get them organized in her drawers and closet. We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends in our lives that shower us with fabulous gifts. The shower was absolutely amazing and I couldn't have asked for anything more special. I don't think I can tell everyone "thank you" enough.

My aunt Sheila!

Brittany Cox, myself, JoAnne Flowers, Amelia Miller

Mom, Memaw, and I

My two favorite sisters: Ashley G. Smith and Ali G. Williams

The baby bedding assembled.

The beginning of all Suzy's stuff!

..... and some more

...... and more....

it keeps going and going....

and going.....

the amazing Ronaldo that The Capwell's gave her! Isn't it adorable?!

I told you... She is going to be absolutely spoiled rotten!!