Vidalia Baby Shower

Today I had my second baby shower for Baby Eli. It was so much fun and I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of gifts and love shown by everyone. Like I said at the shower, the past eight months have been some of the happiest in my life. I have been so blessed throughout this entire pregnancy. Josh and I are so looking forward to meeting our little baby boy. It means so much to us to have the love and support of all of our family and friends. There was no way I could have made it around to everyone that attended, but to those of you that follow this blog, thank you so much! You made my shower so special and so sweet! Thanks for helping me make a memory I'll have forever!

Me and Nicki

About 2 1/2 years ago, I was the one writing her gifts down for her shower. 

Today she got to write them down for my shower. I'm so glad she was there :)

Sue and Tammy

Tammy Shields was the person who organized this entire shower for me. 

She did an amazing job and I'm so thankful to have her as a friend! 

Lisa, MaMaw, and Rachel

My sign in table. Notice the football...Eli WILSON :) Such a cute idea! 

One of the diaper bags I got. Very very cute! 

My wonderful guests that attended. Thank you all for coming!

Josh's grandmother went a little crazy trying to help me unwrap her gift. 

She made quick work of it and gave all the shower attendees a good laugh!

Some of the great gifts I received. 

Notice all the puppy dogs on the outfits! Aren't they cute?

My travel system that the hostesses gave me. 

This was such a nice gift! I was so happy to see it! 

Nicki and I "oohing" over one of my gifts, a portrait session with Jami Ainsworth. 

It was an INCREDIBLE gift from her and the Mallory family! 

The gifts after they had all been unwrapped.

Look at all that! My little boy is loved so much already! 

Me and my Aunt Nancy, my Dad's sister.

She and my Uncle Judd drove in from Canton, MS for my shower. 

Thanks for coming, Aunt Nancy! 

The proud Mama, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers! 

Me with all my hostesses. You did such a wonderful job. 

Thank you for making this such a special day for me :)

Jennifer, me, and Christie

We used to all teach together and we're all expecting little boys in the next couple of months!

I stood up to give my "thank you" speech and was immediately overwhelmed with gratitude. 

I couldn't believe how many people had come and brought gifts for Baby Eli. It was a wonderful day!

Eli's First LSU Game

Friday afternoon Josh came home and let me know that he had been given tickets to the LSU/MSU football game in Baton Rouge for Saturday. We had actually received tickets two times before this, but because of weather and illnesses we had not been able to go. I really wanted to go this time because I knew this would be our only chance this year before Eli gets here. I had a workshop until 3:30 and Josh had to work the Jim Bowie festival, but once both of those events were over, Josh and I and Jon and Debbie Betts loaded up and made our way to Baton Rouge. We made great time, but once we got close to the stadium the traffic started to move along at a snail's pace. Finally, after about an hour of waiting in traffic to park and walking to the stadium we made it! Josh had gone to LSU's website to find out what color everyone was going to be wearing for this game and we rushed to Hometown Sports and bought LSU t-shirts. Unfortunately, they didn't have very many in gold that I liked, so Josh and I bought matching t-shirts. Yes, go ahead and say it...We're GOOBERS! :)  That's okay. I liked our shirts and made sure to get a picture of us in them before we went into the stadium. 

The game was so much fun. I couldn't believe all the people there! It was amazing. I love football, but I have to say my favorite part was the game food. Back when Josh and I lived in Pineville, he always had to attend athletic events because he was Director of Student Activities. A lot of nights he wouldn't get home until very late, so if I wanted to see him, I had to go to the event. It just so happened that at every athletic event there were nachos, so they became my food of choice for games. That hasn't changed! Before halftime, I got my game nachos and was very happy. Dessert came later in the fourth quarter in the form of Dippin' Dots. YUM YUM! 

I think Eli enjoyed every minute of our LSU experience because he moved around the entire time. He's going to be a little Tiger fan for sure! It was such a great night! I'm so glad we were able to go :)

Eli watching his first LSU game. 

(The shadow looks like a creepy face on my belly, but it's just my camera.)

Jon and Debbie Betts. 

Mr. Jon is really an Arkansas fan, but he was a Tiger fan for this game! 

Josh and Jon

The LSU band at half-time. They were SO GOOD! All those formations were amazing!

 Go N-S-7!! Oh wait, that's upside down. GO LSU! Next time, we'll sit on the right side :)

Maternity Photo Shoot

Preview Pictures from the Photo Shoot

Like I mentioned in the post from my shower, my friend, Katie, flew in from Seattle, WA to come to my shower. She does photography on the side and after the shower we had a baby belly photo shoot. I just got a message from her today and the photos should be arriving sometime this weekend. I can't wait! In the meantime, she sent me a few "teasers" so I would know what I had to look forward to! I love these and I can't wait to see all the others. I think she said there were about 160 photos on the DVD she is sending. WOW! I'll post my favorites as soon as I can, so be watching :)

  

I've got to give my mom credit. The horse picture was completely her idea and it turned out so well. She and Katie would make a great team doing photography.

 

 

Shreveport Family Baby Shower

I traveled to Shreveport this weekend for my first baby shower. I was so excited! My Aunt Paula and several of my cousins got together to host a family baby shower for me. I couldn't wait to see all my family and friends, most of whom I hadn't seen in several years. Mom, Grandma, Chelsea (my brother Caleb's girlfriend), and I arrived at my Aunt Paula's house around 1:30 for my shower. After the congratulatory hugs and introduction, Aunt Paula showed me my corsage for the shower. It was so cute! She didn't want to get something that was traditional, so she found something practical! It was a little toy that I can use on Eli's car seat and stroller. What a great idea! Mom pinned it on me while we were waiting for all the guests to arrive.

My childhood best friend, Katie, flew in all the way from Seattle, Washington for a joint visit with her parents and to come to my baby shower. I was so excited to see her! I have not seen her since the year after we graduated from high school, so this was a special treat! Katie is a genius in mathematics and is working on her Ph.D, but does photography on the side. Last week, she emailed and asked if I would be interested in a baby belly photo shoot. I didn't have to think twice! Yes! After the shower, we all loaded up and went to her parent's house for our photo shoot. The pictures came out really well. I can't wait to see them all! I'll post them as soon as I get them, don't worry! This was such a special gift for me. I am so glad we were able to do it! Luckily for us, Katie loves taking photographs and I love having my picture taken, so we were the perfect pair for a photo session. Thanks, Katie, for all you did! You gave me something I'll remember for the rest of my life!

Mom, being the hands-on Grammy-to-be that she is, was in charge of ordering my cake for the shower. Mom wanted something that fit into the color scheme of my nursery and that also looked cutesy. She found a picture of this cake that she liked, but it was all pink. She grabbed a sample piece of ribbon we used for Eli's wall hangings and took it to the cake lady to see what she could do. I think it turned out so cute! I loved it! My favorite part was the Whoppers they put all around the edges. Whoppers are one of my favorite kinds of candy. Yummy! Everyone oohed and ahhed over the cake. It was a definite hit among all the shower goers.

I received a lot of wonderful gifts. This post would go on forever if I showed every single picture that was taken, but here are some highlights from the shower. Thank you everyone for all you did for me. This is such a special time in my life and I am so glad that I can share it with those I love.

Me and Mom

Me and Chelsea (my brother, Caleb's, girlfriend)

Me, Mom, and Grandma

My cousin, Holly, and her little boy, Hayden

Me and Holly

(Funny story: My first word wasn't "Ma-Ma" or "Da-Da", 

it was "Ha-ee" for Holly. She was my favorite!)

Eli's Baby Einstein activity mat

Eli's Frog Pod for the bathtub

The Diaper Cake full of goodies

Mom helping me unwrap a gift

Delena, Aunt Paula, me, Jo, and Julie

Thanks for hosting this shower for me. I had such a great time! Love you!