A is for Anderson

My sisters showered Anderson and me with lots of love this past weekend!  The theme was vintage alphabet theme- not a detail was missed and was so cute!

this adorable wreath welcomed guests at the door- perfect to be hung on our door when he arrives!  love being this little ones aunt!vintage alphabet bannershowered with love and lots of cuteness“W” is for Well Wishes

well wishes for baby Anderson- I can’t wait to read each and every one {I especially love the one I found from sweet Emory}“Anderson”“D” is for Drink

How cute are these drink jars?!?“E” is for Eat

chicken salad bites, cream cheese/olive sandwiches, fruit skewers, pimento cheese and pita chips, brownie bites and petit fors“G” s for gifts

… and boy is he already spoiled!  {Emory is quite the little helper cutting bows and prepping for me to open!} This picture cracks me up….I was not mad. My best friend Meredith was telling a story of dragging her husband into Buy Buy Baby and then him getting an ear full of all things breast feeding related. Thanks to grandmama and great grandmama, we have a car seat and extra base for daddy’s car!

I will need to work on my gift opening face for next shower so I can post more of what we got.  We received lots of t-tiny adorable clothes,swaddle blankets/blankets, burp cloths/bibs, baby monitor/video, sterling silver engraved paci clip and lots of other fun gifts!

“Aunt Jen'{s}”the ones behind the wonderful showerAnderson is one lucky little boy already and blessed with the best auntsand the worlds greatest grandmama!my sister made “A” sugar cookies for all the guests to take as a thank you!  Amy, Boo and Joanna- words can’t explain how much the shower meant to me and I know that Anderson will see just how fortunate he is to have you three as his aunts so soon!  Thank you for everything and I can’t wait for him to get here and meet you three! 

and just for fun…

How far along? 32 weeks

Size of Baby T? weighing around 3.75 pounds and measuring 16,7 inches head to toe

Maternity Clothes? mostly maternity, however the dress above is non maternity- just a few sizes up!

Weight Gain? 22.5 lbs

Gender? BOY!!

Sleep? some nights are better than others but I have forgotten what a good nights sleep feels like. 

Movement? lots of it!

Cravings? not much new this week- just eating a lot these days! 

What I miss? normal clothes- don’t get me wrong, I love this bump and I know growing bigger just means a growing healthy baby but its not so easy to always find cute maternity clothes these days. 

Symptoms? back pain, exhaustion, crankiness, braxton hicks, nausea{again!}, headaches

Best moment of the week? Being showered by my closest family and friends and seeing all the love that is already in this world for Baby Anderson!

31 weeks!

Single digits… there is an end in sight!! 

How far along? 31 weeks

Size of Baby T? weighing around 3.3 pounds and measuring 16 inches head to toe

Maternity Clothes? other than a few pre maternity pieces here and there, I'm in all maternity.

Weight Gain? 21 lbs… I’m expected to gain a lb a week from here on out. 

Gender? BOY!

Sleep? I knew it was a matter of time but it’s the worst yet.  I struggle with sleeping on my side  lately as its become painful.  My body naturally wants to sleep on my stomach or back and neither are happening anytime soon. 

Movement? His movements are now more of a leg/ foot/ hand/elbow roll across my stomach or a kick to the ribs.  It’s constant and while its painful at times, I am thankful for each one! 

Cravings? chicken wings and cereal.  {so random and weird for me}

What I miss? feeling like myself and sleep.  pregnancy does weird things to oneself.

Symptoms? It would probably be easier to name the symptoms I don’t have.  exhaustion, LOTS of back pain, headaches.

Best moment of the week? Receiving baby shower invitations for Baby A thrown by my sisters and best friends!  This baby is already so loved {and spoiled!}

Spinach Tomato Orzo Soup

If you’re like us, you’ve been in a constant battle with the funk that continues to make its rounds and there's nothing better than a good soup when you’re feeling under the weather.  I first made this soup a few weeks back when John was in bed sick for a week straight.  I was sure he wasn’t going to like it since it was more of a broth based healthy soup {and I accidentally picked up unsalted chicken stock}.  Much to my surprise, he loved it.  The recipe made so much I had two 4-quart pots full- lucky him! 

I made it again this week but cut the recipe in half, added chicken sausage and used salted chicken stock.

 

Ingredients:

1 large chopped onion

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 lb spinach

1 15 ounce can Italian diced tomatoes

1 lb package orzo pasta

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

2 quarts water

olive oil

chicken sausage or chicken

 

Directions:

Drizzle olive oil in pot and sauté onions until tender.  Add garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Add canned tomatoes, spinach, water and stock.  *I sliced sausage links and sautéed them for a few minutes then added them.  Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium.  Add orzo and cook for 12-15 minutes.  Enjoy! 

29 Weeks!

How far along? 29 weeks

Size of Baby T? butternut squash, weighing around 2 1/2 pounds and measuring 15 inches head to toe

Maternity Clothes? most everyday

Weight Gain? 19 lbs.

Stretch Marks? Nope

Gender? Baby Boy and he has a closet full of all things blue to prove it!

Sleep? the dreaded insomnia has hit so not much sleep happening. 

Movement? He is active to say the least.  His movements are becoming more drawn out instead of a sharp punch/jab.  He got feisty with the doctor at our appointment and kicked back… all we wanted was a heartbeat baby boy!!

Cravings? same as last week- deli sandwiches, sweets, junk food. 

What I miss? sleep obviously. 

Symptoms? tiredness, back pain, bad taste in mouth, clumsiness.  

Best moment of the week? Passing my glucose test and getting a great report from the doctor this week!  Everything is measuring right on track and now we start our 2 a month appointments!  John and I made the trip to Charlotte yesterday to get the glider for the nursery and a few other things.  Today he is painting Anderson’s bathroom!  Progress!

And a Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year fairly low key this year- just the way we wanted to!  With New Years Eve being during the week and having to work that day and then be back to work Wednesday we couldn’t really travel.  And being pregnant I wanted to do something that I would be able to celebrate at 12 and be home in bed by 12:30.  Energy is tough to come by these days. 

We had dinner at Mill Pond with some friends.  The boys were able to watch the LSU/Clemson game, the girls chatted and we all enjoyed delicious food and drinks!bacon wrapped filet with shrimp and mashed potatoes- happy preggo!The Towells hosted us after dinner for drinks and to ring in the New Year!  The Jen’s are excited about little A’s arrival!A perfect NYE night indeed!  It’s officially the year of Baby Anderson’s Arrival and we could not be more excited!

Happy 2013!!

28 Weeks + Nursery Progress

Hello 3rd Trimester- I am sooo happy to see you!  We have been busy lately wrapping up the holiday season and trying to get a jump start on preparations for Anderson’s arrival! 

Last month I was able to talk John into painting the nursery.  It ended up being somewhat of a painting horror story but I’m happy to say it is complete.  The painting that is. 

You’ve probably heard me refer to the guest bedroom as the nursery long before we were ever expecting.  The previous owners had painted chocolate brown as a nursery for their kids before we bought it. 

We had our work cut out for us as I decided on a much lighter blue/green/grey color. Sherwin Williams- “Quietude” John went to town priming the walls. Have I mentioned he hates to paint?  I agreed to help so I went behind him and started the trim.  Thank goodness for “fume-free” paint!We learned that when painting with eggshell paint, you can’t section the walls{i.e. trim and roll}, which is what we did on the second coat.  John ended up having to roll a 3rd coat and I am so pleased with how the room turned out! 

Here is some inspiration and things we plan to purpose or have already! I’m hoping to knock it out sooner than later so I can enjoy his room before he gets here! 

How far along? 28 weeks

Size of Baby T? Chinese Cabbage, weighing around 2 1/4 pounds and measuring at 14.8 inches long

Maternity Clothes? Pretty much all maternity these days

Weight Gain? 19 lbs.

Stretch Marks? No signs of any yet

Gender? BOY!

Sleep? I’ve retired the boppy pillow for now.  I can’t seem to get comfortable unless I’m half way on my stomach.  

Movement? I can’t get enough of his little kicks and jabs but lately he has used my ribs as his punching bag. 

Cravings? I’ve full circled to my cravings of sandwiches and subs and sweets!

What I miss? being able to enjoy a drink when I want one, especially a glass of champagne around the holidays!  

Symptoms? tiredness, bad taste in my mouth, headaches, back pain 

Best moment of the week? Celebrating the Holidays with our families and seeing all the goodies that Anderson was spoiled with! 

2012 in review

What a year it has been!  We anticipated this year for so long and it seems it flew by in the blink of an eye.

We kicked off the year with Boo and Alex’s wedding in Januaryand 2 days later, my parents celebrated 30 years of marriage.  later in the month I headed to the coast to celebrate Breigh’s Bachelorette!In February, we celebrated with a Stock the Bar Shower thrown by my best girlfriendsand my sisters hosted a “Love”  themed Kitchen Shower!We ended the month by celebrating Breigh and Graham’s wedding in AikenBy March, our wedding festivities were picking up in full swing. My sisters and best friends boarded planes and headed to Nashville with me to celebrate my bacheloretteApril was the big month- one we had waited 13 months for.  John and I finally said “I do” with our closest family and friends by our sidesthen spent a week in Mexico as newlyweds!We gained a new sister and brother in May when James and Addie tied the knot in Edisto!By the end of May, it was time to celebrate Jennifer as she and John’s big day was approaching! We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Garden City  June was here before we knew it which meant Jennifer and John’s wedding!A few days later, John turned 28 and we celebrated first with a home cooked meal for 2again with a surprise dinner with great friends at Mill Pondand finally ended the celebrations with a trip to Charleston/ Sandy Point! The girls and I threw Sarah and Rob a couples shower at my parentsand we continued wedding season at Anna Kate and Adam’s Big Fat Greek Wedding!July was by far the month we will always remember…

We enjoyed July 4th on the lake in true American style Spent a long weekend at the beach with my familypartied in honor of the soon-to-be Newmansshowered one of my very best friends with lots of Bachelorette love in Edisto…And found out we had a BIG secret to share in the midst of it all.

We were most anxious for August.  We had our first doctor’s appointment with a sneak peak into our little secret. 

We are having a {healthy and growing} Baby!!I spent a weekend at the beach for Courtney’s Bacheloretteand my sisters and I showered Boo and Mak in anticipation of his arrival!September came and we were able to announce our secret to the world!We took our {already pre baby planned} trip to Vegasreturned to stand by Courtney’s side as she became Mrs. Newman and rounded out the year of Bachelorette’s with a celebration for Bennett!John and I finally made it to a football game to cheer our Gamecocks on to a win over Georgia to start Octoberwelcomed the first of the 3 expected additions- our precious neice Anna West Dupreespent a weekend in Litchfield for Sarah and Rob’s weddingand hosted a kitchen shower for Meredith!November was one we had been waiting on for what seemed like FOREVER!  We found out the gender of our sweet baby BOY!and spent the weekend in Charleston celebrating with Citadel Football!We were thankful for our first {married} Thanksgivingbefore welcoming the next little addition, our sweet nephew Mitchell Alan Kubas- “Mak”By December, our schedules started to slow down. 

We started Anderson’s nursery…Decorated for the holidays and celebrated our first Christmas together and last as a family of 2!and rang in the New Year with a low key night with friends!Here’s to 2013 and all the excitement and joy it is sure to bring!  We know our hands will be full but have no doubt our hearts will be fuller! 

Wishing you the Happiest New Year!