Houston Shower

As promised, I am finally posting the pictures from the Houston Shower. Justin, Em and I are truly blessed to have such amazing and loving family and friends. We got lots of goodies at the shower. I would also like to say a special thanks to Erin, Mrs. Wood and Mom (Debbie/Mimi) for hosting the shower!Enjoy!

Mom-to-be and Grandmas-to-be. Gram (my mom), me and Mimi (Justin's mom).
Ella, my little helper! She even brought a special gift for Em. A beautiful picture for the little baby. I plan on framing it and hanging it in Em's room.

Both Gram and Mimi like to call her Miss Em.

You knew that we would have to have some sort of Aggie gear! Thanks Mimi, this will be perfect for tailgating in October/November! In the background you see my Aunt Jo (a very close family friend) and Amanda (Jo's daughter-in-law and a SUPER MOM/Ella's mom).

Monkey Towel!

Justin's Grandma gave us this bib. Justin has wanted this bib since we first found out we had a little one on the way.

My little helper Ella! Look at her go, such a sweetie! I will admit that I had trouble keeping up with her.

Justin's Aunt Eileen made these really neat cross-stitch bibs. They have lots of little animals on them! I love homemade/handmade stuff (not sure what the correct term is here).

Basket of goodies!!!

Diaper and washcloth cake with hidden surprises! Erin you are too much!

Little outfits!

Ok, funny story about this outfit. My mom, I mean Gram, got this for Em. A little red dress with zebra leggings and black mary jane shoes. Too cute. My Aunt Jo, makes the joke "Oh, what a cute little Red Raider outfit." Well, I told Justin that and his response was, "Burn that outfit." Ugh! As you know, Justin and I bleed Aggie Maroon. My Aunt Jo and my dad (Pawpaw) both went to Texas Tech...so Big 12 conversations are always fun with them. And, wouldn't you know it Em's due date is the weekend of the A&M/Texas Tech football game. I told Justin that I will not dress Em in that outfit when the Aggies play Tech but, I am not burning it.

12 Weeks...

As of today, we have 12 weeks until my due date. That is right, I am officially in my third trimester. Justin and I are so excited to meet our little Em. We are truly grateful for the blessing God has given us!

Heading into the third trimester I am doing really well. Except for a few minor pains here or there, I can't complain. Em is an extremely strong little girl. Even the doctor is amazed how strong she is for her "age". She is very active during the day and sleeps during the night. Every night when Justin gets home she lets out some big kicks/movements at the sound of his voice. Justin is already in love with this little girl and she hasn't even shown her face yet. He even talks to my belly; too cute!

We are slowly getting everything put together. We had our first shower this past weekend in Houston (separate post to come this weekend). We got so many cute things! I have already started washing clothes and putting them up. Knowing me if I don't get organized before Em comes I never will be. I also still need to hang things on the walls. My goal is to get this completed over the next two weekends.

So, we have 12 weeks left. I still have a lot to do but, I want these 12 weeks to fly by. I am ready to meet Emeline Kay Dillard! The next 12 weeks will definitely be a test of my patience.

We have a crib!

On Sunday Justin and my dad put together the nursery furniture; all they really had to assemble was the crib. Regardless, I am so happy they did and the furniture looks great in the room! I love it! Check out the pictures below.

Dresser/changing table. In time the stuffed animal doggies will be gone and that is where Justin will do all the dirty work! Just kidding. Crib! I still need to hang the letters. I found out last night that I don't have the right hangers. Notice to the right of the crib the baby car seat. Daisy had a run in with this new fixture below.
Another view of the room. In this picture Daisy just noticed the baby car seat and flipped! Started barking like crazy. She better get used to that thing. I don't know what she is going to do when the stroller makes it into the house. Last night I tried to get that stuff unpacked but, the stroller requires some assembly so I left that for Justin. Isn't that the daddy's job. I don't think he has realized yet that he will be assembling things (toys, bikes, etc.) for the next 18 years!
View of the room from the door way.

Oh, and we have new carpet. Much better than the old gray carpet. We owe a special thanks to our buddy Duke for saving us from the gray madness! I highly recommend him! Oh, and before I get lots of accolades on the paint job; we didn't do it. The people that owned the house before us did. Very impressive!

On Sunday, after we got the furniture arranged my mom started stressing over getting the bedding done. I told her not to worry. We still have 3 1/2 months before Em's big arrival. Wow, doesn't seem like a whole lot of time left when I write it out.

First Addition to the Nursery and a Little Doggie Time

As I mentioned in a previous post I was going to make the letters for Em's wall. Well, I am done. Here they are.

I think they turned out pretty good. Justin seemed to like them. Oh, and this is not the crib bedding. This is the bedding I have on the bed in that room now. It will be gone soon. We are getting new carpet this weekend and then setting up the nursery. We have all the furniture (crib and dress/changing table). So, Saturday morning we will start setting up the nursery. I am so excited. I can finally start organizing that room! I guess this is the nesting need that I have read about in all my baby books.

For those of you that really know us and our dogs; we have special dogs. Especially, Daisy. Her nickname is CRAZY DAISY! She just has this play growl/bark that just makes me laugh. One minute she is running around acting all crazy and the next minute she can be the sweetest dog in the world. Here is Daisy with her "what's up" pose; that is what Justin calls it.
To be fair, I also posted a picture of Rosie. Sporting her new do thanks to Aunt Renee. I try to always keep them shaved during the summer so they don't die in the heat. Being pregnant, I have not been doing this as diligently as I should. So, Renee thanks for the help!

Last Big Trip...

Justin leaves on his last big trip this morning. He is heading out to Hawaii for what will hopefully be his last work trip for awhile. You see, last week Justin accepted a promotion opportunity within his company. He will be moving programs and doing a completely different job. He is so excited. He really believes that this new position will be the challenge that he has been looking for; Praise the Lord! I am so proud of him!!! Only downside is that he will be very busy and may have to work extra hours. I told him I was completely ok with the extra hours as long as he comes home every night. I hate his week long trips.

Justin officially starts his new position mid-July. Should be interesting since he has been with the same group for the past 6 years. I know that Justin will do so well at his new position. He is such an amazingly talented and smart man. I am so blessed to have him as my husband! And soon, Em will be so blessed to have him as her daddy.

Speaking of Daddy, Justin got his first Father's Day gift this past Sunday. I know that technically he isn't a dad just yet but, I couldn't resist. He got an A&M diaper bag and a little outfit for Em. The outfit is a yellow onesie that says "Who needs a Superhero when I have my daddy" and a pair of blue jeans. Justin loved the onesie; he gave his bashful, one sided smile when he opened his gift. That is when I know that he really likes something. If he gives a full smile he trying to oversell it but, when I get the bashful, one sided smile I know that he truly loves it.

A Happy Belated Father's Day out there to all the dads and dads-to-be!

Getting Ready for Miss Em

Justin and I have started getting ready for the arrival of Miss Em; our little monkey. We have ordered the nursery furniture (should be in the first part of July). I can't wait to get the crib put together! Once I have the crib and dresser/changing table in the room I can start decorating! I have bought a few things to hang on the walls but, don't know where to put them until I know exactly where the furniture will be.

Yesterday, I went and bought the fabric for Em's bedding. Mom and I are going to make a very simple quilt pattern. The two main fabrics have the same colors (every color under the rainbow - pink, brown, green, blue, orange, yellow) but, one is striped and the other is polka dots. I also bought a baby pink fleece that so incredibly soft! I was afraid Justin wouldn't like the fabric but, surprisingly he seemed to like it. He usually isn't into stuff that is too girly. I can't wait to see the finished product! I still need to find a good brown fabric to throw into the mix. I didn't find anything that I liked yesterday.

For those of you that really know me, you know that I cannot sew. I mean, I can make a pillow but, tackling a whole bedding set is way over my head. Thank goodness for moms or excuse me Grams! But, I still want to contribute to Em's room. So, I bought wooden letters E and M. I plan on decorating them myself. I am actually pretty good at painting. So, my contribution to Em's room will be two brown letters with pink, green and blue paisleys on them. Oh, and I am not being lazy and cheating by only doing Em instead of Emeline. Justin said he didn't want the full name on the wall. Especially since we call the little girl Em now.

We still have a lot to do but, I know we will get it all done. I am really looking forward to doing it all! Plus, I am so excited. Our travel system is in and we get to pick it up this weekend! Our first big baby purchase is in and will soon be in our house. Now, I will just have to keep from installing the car bases in the vehicles with 18 weeks left until her arrival. Yes, I am that excited.

Oh, and for those wanting an update on Em. She is doing very well. I have my second to last one month appointment today. Starting in August I will have appointments every 2 weeks. Em is a very active baby. She kicks and moves all day and for the most part sleeps at night. Justin finally got to feel her kick about 2 weeks ago. He thinks it is cool/weird/creepy. No doubt about it though, she is one strong baby! We are looking forward to all the playtime once she gets here!

Half Way There...

Today marks the half way point of my pregnancy. Today, I am 20 weeks and we have 140 days to go. The time is going by very fast. I have been very lucky and not been sick other than a few little issues.

So, in 140 days or there abouts we will welcome our little girl into our family. Getting ready for a baby is a lot of work. I think we are in good shape right now. We have ordered the nursery furniture and started our registries. My big to do is go fabric shopping so I can start the bedding. My mom and I are making this and with our crazy schedules the sooner we get this started the better.

Oh, and I just realized that my due date is two days before the Aggie/Texas Tech football game. This could be interesting. All the family together watching the game. My dad went to Tech. Both he and my little sister like to be crazy Red Raiders just to get under my skin. Could make for an interesting entry into our family for little Miss Em. Daddy and Grandpa arguing over a football game. Truth be told she better get used to it. Her life will revolve around sports for sometime.