Team Shep

37 Weeks: Full-Term and Ready To Go!

2012-01-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

At 37-weeks pregnant, I'm official "full-term" this week...crazy!

At my doctor's appointment last week, she estimated that Ava was already at 7.5 pounds! So, the doc is hoping (as am I) that she makes an early arrival...otherwise she could be somewhere around 9.5 pounds on the due date. And seeing as how I weighed 5 pounds and Josh weighed 10 when he was born, I think we all know who will be to blame for that.

Not only do I feel huge at the moment, but I've definitely reached the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy. It is almost impossible to get a good night's sleep...but I guess it is preparing me for life after Ava arrives :).

And although you are never really ready for a new baby, I feel a lot more prepared after last weekend. Not only did I finally get my hospital bag packed, but Josh also installed the car seat.

Can you tell how happy he was to be done :).

Josh also got his "It's a Girl" cigars in the mail...so he is ready for the hospital as well :).

I can't tell you how excited I am to meet this little lady. I hope she is here soon!!

New Year's Brunch 2012

2012-01-12T19:59:00.000-08:00

This year we hosted our third-annual New Year's Brunch. As usual, the day was filled with friends, fun, and LOTS of food.

I didn't take as many pictures as last year, but I did manage to get some...

I even caught a couple pictures of the food before it was gone.

I love all the crowns from the poppers!

PB was even in town from Houston.

And although Louie was not so sure about baby Abby, I know now that Stella is going to be great with Ava :).

Until next year...

Christmas 2011

2012-01-12T18:53:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was fun, but also very hectic because I spent most of my vacation time getting our house ready for Baby Ava. But it was very nice to have so much time to "nest" :).

We went down to Austin a couple days before Christmas to celebrate the holiday and attend my sister Bonnie's annual family birthday party at the Dart Bowl. I forgot my camera so I stole these shots of the bowling party from Hannah.

My Aunt Bonnie and my crazy cousins, Tate and Dean.

Dad and Aunt Bonnie.

Such cute pictures of Hannah and Lily with the cousins...

Hannah caught me staring at the belly.

All the Bratton girls + Josh.

And I love this one. Dad and Rhonda ended up using it as their New Year's card picture.

I'm glad there were no pictures captured of my attempt to bowl at 8-months pregnant :). But I actually did pretty well!

We came back up to Dallas to spend Christmas with Josh's family. It was really nice to have Christmas at our house for the first time. I can't wait to spend Christmas mornings here with Ava in the future.

We had Christmas dinner at our house, which was quite eventful with twin two-year olds and a nine-month old. It was also very entertaining watching them open all their gifts.

The girls got a couple baby dolls.

Ellie named hers "Patty."

And some large legos.

And they loved the robes we gave them!

They also loved their pillows from Grammie and Papa.

Even Jack liked unwrapping his gifts.

And this is just a cute pic of Uncle Josh with Jack.

I can't wait to celebrate again next year...and it is hard to believe that Ava will be about 11 months old at that point!

Austin Baby Shower

2012-01-06T19:13:00.001-08:00

A week after my lovely shower in Dallas, I headed down to Austin to celebrate with friends and family down there.

My fabulous friend Lauren and her Mom, Debbie, my Aunt Laura, and my Mom all hosted a wonderful shower for Ava at the Wilder's house.

All the decorations were so cute, and the food (thanks, Mom!) was delicious!

Look at the fun mini Christmas tree decorated with baby stuff...

And look at all the fun gifts for Miss Ava...

Sarabeth had to leave early to go to work, so I opened hers first. She got Ava a fun playmat. And evidently she was explaining something about it in this picture.

Speaking of Sarabeth...what on earth was she doing in this picture?!

Anyway...back to the gifts...Ava got lots of cute clothes.

Like these PJs.

A pink tutu from Lauren and Debbie. What little girl doesn't need a pink tutu?

And this hilarious onesie from my sister Charlotte, who couldn't be there because she is currently a Freshman at College of Charleston. If you can't read the onesie, it says "If you think I'm cute you should see my Aunt" :).

Ava also received several wonderful blankets, which will come in quite handy during our cold winter. This one was from her Aunt Lily.

And speaking of Lily, my baby sister is way too grown-up now. I can't believe she is going to be a Senior in high school next year!

Several of my Mom's friends were sweet enough to attend the shower...

And one (not pictured above) made two adorable blankets for Ava. Our reactions to finding out the blankets were homemade are priceless.

Thanks to my sister Hannah for taking all the pictures (which means she is not in any of them) and my Mom for taking down all the notes. She took the job very seriously.

And thanks so much to everyone who attended!!

Ava had a great time :).

P.S. Don't judge me for wearing the same dress to both of my showers...my wardrobe is a bit limited these days.

Dallas Shower and Baby Shep's Name

2011-12-30T19:12:00.000-08:00

Earlier in December, Rachel, Jill, Molly, and Tori graciously threw me and Baby Shep a fabulous shower in Dallas. It was at Rachel's house, and everything was adorable!

Speaking of the adorable, the cute decorations had Baby Shep's name on full display....so I guess it is time for me to announce her name on the blog...

Ava Elizabeth Shepherd

Everything was so cute, and the food was delicious!

And this adorable wreath is now hung on the door of Ava's nursery.

Ava was definitely showered with love and lots of fun baby stuff.

I had to get a picture with Ava's grandmothers, Grammie and Bunny :).

After the gifts were opened, everyone made onesies and burp cloths. It was such a fun baby shower activity!

Take a look at the finished products...

Thanks so much to the beautiful hostesses.

Ava is one lucky lady!

Baby Gifts from Josh's Office

2011-12-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

Josh had his office holiday party last night, and I unfortunately had to miss it because I was sick all day yesterday (I thought I had escaped all "morning sickness" during this pregnancy!). I was especially sad that I missed the party when Josh came home with these two gift baskets from everyone in his office, which were filled with classic children's books and movies.

I can't wait to read these classics with Baby Shep...

And I definitely can't wait to watch one of my all-time favorite movies with her :). "Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens"....

Thanks so much to everyone at Curtis Castillo!

32 Weeks

2011-12-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

With all that has been going on the past few weeks, including Thanksgiving and my two baby showers (which I will post pictures of soon), I missed taking my 30-week belly picture.

So, the 32-week picture will have to do (and technically, I will be 33 weeks tomorrow).

With how large my belly is, I am very curious to see how big Baby Shep is going to be...I just hope she isn't 10 pounds like her Dad was :).

As of tomorrow, I only have four more weeks until I'm full-term and seven more weeks until my due date! So exciting!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays...what's not to love about family all around, football on TV, and lots of delicious food.

This year, we had Thanksgiving at my Mom's house. It was nice to not have to cook anything this year, especially since being on my feet that much at 7.5-months pregnant would probably not have been pleasant (although I really do enjoy cooking Thanksgiving dinner).

This year was also the first time I got to enjoy the great combination that is Thanksgiving food and maternity pants :). I felt like Joey from Friends with his "turkey pants."

We had a great time, and my Mom's dinner and my Uncle Ryan's pies were as delicious as ever.

Here are a few shots of the family...

My Mom and Aunt Laura

My Cousin Grace, who is currently a Freshman at Pratt in New York, and her boyfriend.

Me and Mimi. This is not a great picture of either of us, but I had to include it. Mimi has had a tough couple of years dealing with Parkinson's as well as other health issues (not to mention the death of her husband, Jack), so we were all very thankful that she was with us to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

Josh watching football and being silly.

Hanging out after dinner.

My Mom and Bonnie.

Jesse and his girlfriend, Nikki. Such a cute couple!

Me and Josh (and my preggo belly).

My lovely sister Charlotte, who is a Freshman at College of Charleston (and loving it!).

Charlotte can't wait to meet her niece :).

Not pictured are Jimmy, my cousin Isabel, and my Uncle Ryan....sorry guys!

Childbirth 101

2011-11-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

As rookie parents, my doctor recommended that we sign up for a "Prepared Childbirth" class at the hospital. Luckily, they offer a one-day class on Saturdays, but the downside is that it lasts from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Can you tell how excited Josh was to be there that early on a Saturday...

There were about 15-20 couples in the class, and the instructor was really good. She went through a bunch of information, including the various stages of labor and what to expect throughout the whole process.

We really got a kick out of the cervical dilation chart...

One of the best parts of the class was the tour. She started off by showing us where to park and check-in...very important information! We then got to see the labor and delivery rooms, which are super nice...

Although, I have a feeling that I won't be enjoying the room that much when I am actually in labor :).

We also toured the operation room area (in case of C-section), NICU, and the rooms where you move to for the remainder of your stay at the hospital (which are pretty similar to the labor and delivery rooms).

I really enjoyed the tour as well as the class, and we definitely feel a lot more prepared...as prepared as you can be for the birth of your first baby.

Chocolate Icebox Pie: The Filling

2011-11-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

Check out Six Degrees of Supperation for the second part of my chocolate icebox pie recipe...the filling.

26 Weeks

2011-10-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

Another four weeks have flown by, which means it's time for another belly pic!

I don't think my belly has grown that much since 22 weeks, but I can certainly feel Baby Shep moving and kicking a lot more. In fact, Josh and I have both seen my belly move when she kicks...so weird!!

According to "What to Expect When You Are Expecting," Baby Shep now weighs more than two pounds and is approximately 15 inches long. However, with Josh's height and the measurements from our last sonogram, I have a feeling she is longer than that already.

We have been working hard at getting the house ready for Baby Shep's arrival...slowly but surely crossing things of the huge to-do list. This weekend, we bought material for the nursery curtains (which my wonderful mother is going to sew), and Josh put the crib together (which his parents bought for us...thanks, Gary and Betsy!).

Here are a few shots of the progress...

Stella and Louie were both very curious and stayed in the room the whole time he was putting the crib together.

Luckily, the crib was pretty easy to put together. And I only had to help a little bit :).

Note that only half of the nursery has been painted at this point...thus the reason the nook is still yellow.

Here is the (almost) finished product. I will post a final photo once we have added the mattress and bedding, which we have ordered.

Below is a sneak peak at the bedding. I feel very cool because this bedding was featured on two different nursery blogs after I purchased it!

I can't wait to see it all put together!!

Pregnancy Updates

2011-10-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

A few updates on the pregnancy...

1) Josh finally felt the baby kick last week! His reaction..."Whoa!" It was so cool for someone else to experience what I have been feeling.

2) Unfortunately, my fingers are almost too swollen for my wedding ring to fit. So, we bought a simple band from James Avery to take its place for the next few months. I will miss my beautiful wedding ring, but it is better than the alternative of having it cut off my finger.

3) I finally got to take advantage of a "Preggo" parking spot :).

I can't believe I only have 15 more weeks to go (and maybe even less)!!

Chocolate Icebox Pie: The Crust

2011-10-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

Check out Six Degrees of Supperation for the first part of my chocolate icebox pie recipe...the crust.

Louie - One Year Later

2011-10-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

Exactly one year ago today, we adopted an adorable little dog named Louie.

Stella, our first "child," had seemed lonely...especially with the long hours Josh and I were working. So, after settling into our new house, we thought it would be the perfect time to add a second dog to the family.

We found Louie through the Havanese Rescue organization, and I'm so glad we made the choice to go the adoption route this time around.

These pictures were taken the day Louie arrived...

He wasn't quite sure what to think, but I was trying my best to butter him up with new toys.

Here is Stella checking out what she thought was just a visitor...little did she know he would be staying for good.

Luckily, they were fast friends.

Louie was very shy at first, but he quickly warmed up to me and Josh. Before too long, we couldn't imagine our lives without him.

It was especially gratifying to see how much fun Stella had with a permanent playmate. They love running around and wrestling...and they even "snuggle" every once in a while.

Louie is still very shy with new people, but he absolutely loves me and Josh.

He adores hanging out with his Dad...

...and he pretty much follows me around the house at all times.

"Mom, can I please get up on your lap?"

He has even become a TCU Horned Frog fan.

I think he has made himself at home :).

We love you, Louie!

22 Weeks

2011-09-29T17:34:00.001-07:00

This pregnancy seems like it is going by a lot faster now that we know Baby Shep is a girl. I can't believe I am already at the 22-week mark!

Not only do I feel like my belly is getting larger by the day, but I have also been feeling Baby Shep move and kick much more frequently. Josh still hasn't got to feel her...every time he puts his hand on my belly, she stops moving :).

Hopefully he will feel her soon!

Baby Shep's First Care Package

2011-09-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Baby Shep (aka "Little Miss Shepherd" as it said on the mailing label) received her first care package in the mail last week...from her Grammie and Grandpa Shepherd.

Inside the package were these precious newborn pajamas, along with a matching bear hat, and a super soft blanket (I wish I had one in adult size).

It is so crazy that Baby Shep is going to fit into this when she is born! As Josh put it, seeing the clothes she will be wearing in just a few months "makes it so real." I think he is also still getting used to all the pink :).

Tiny Dancer

2011-09-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

As someone who has always loved to dance...

...I was immediately flooded with thoughts of ballet slippers, tutus, and dance recitals as soon as we found out that Baby Shep is a girl :). My Mom obviously had the same idea, because these were waiting for us when we got to Austin last weekend...

How precious are those tiny ballet slippers!!

And speaking of dancing, Baby Shep has become quite active lately. And based on all the kicks (with the long legs that the doctor pointed out on the sonogram) and turns I have felt in my tummy, I think she is well on her way to following in my footsteps.

I will of course support any sport/extracurricular activity that Baby Shep wants to pursue...but she won't be able to stop me from dressing her up in this cute little outfit and dancing with her around the house :).

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

2011-09-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

I am so very excited that Baby Shep is a little girl! The sonogram today was so wonderful...not only did we find out that she is a girl, but it was also so much fun to finally get to see her looking like a baby and not a little blob. Look at how precious she is :).

We also got to see all her vital organs, and everything looked perfect! I'm so relieved that she is so healthy.

Now that we know the baby is a girl, I can't wait to start planning the nursery and buying all kinds of cute, girly clothes for her. Baby Girl Shep even received her first present...from her little boyfriend, Grant Hubbard :).

(The dogs thought I had bought them a new toy...they have no idea what they are in for.)

Now we just need to decide on the name!

"Whoa-oh, we're half way there..."

2011-09-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I am already at the halfway point of this pregnancy! It is super exciting, and yet the thought of how much we have left to do before Baby Shep arrives is quite daunting.

The best part about finally reaching the 20-week mark is our big sonogram tomorrow. Not only will we get to make sure the baby is healthy, we will also find out whether Baby Shep is a boy or girl...as long as the baby cooperates :).

The wait has seemed endless, and I have been especially excited/anxious the past few days. It is like a combination of every Christmas Eve as a kid times a billion.

People ask if I have "feeling" one way or another. I really don't, but the fact that I never really had any morning sickness makes me think it may be a boy. On the other hand, the Chinese Gender Chart predicts a girl.

I guess we will just have to wait until tomorrow :).

18 Weeks

2011-09-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

While I meant to take another belly picture at 16 weeks, that clearly didn't happen....so here is the lovely, growing belly at 18 (almost 19) weeks.

I can't believe how much bigger it is since the last photo shoot!

In other Baby Shep news, we had the 16-week appointment a couple weeks ago, and the doctor commented that we had "quite an active little one in there" based on all the kicks and turns she could hear on the doppler. I think we are going to have our hands full :).

Only 10 more days until we go back in for the big 20-week sonogram. Not only will we get to check out all the organs to make sure Baby Shep is strong and healthy, but we will also finally get to find out the gender (assuming the baby is cooperative). I can't wait!!

The Nursery - Shades of Gray

2011-08-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Turning the extra room upstairs into a nursery is going to be quite the undertaking, but a very fun project nonetheless! The first step...picking out the paint color.

We decided that whether Baby Shep is a girl or boy, we want to go with gray for the walls. If it is a girl, the stuff in the room will be pink, black, and white. If it is a boy, the room will be filled with navy, red, green, and yellow (basically primary colors).

I thought picking out a shade of gray would be easy enough, but it is crazy how many options there are! We narrowed it down to four and tested them on the wall.

I think we are going with the lightest one on the far left-hand side (note that they all look a bit darker in person). It is called "Sparrow."

What do ya'll think?

Erin & Adolph's Top Golf Shower

2011-08-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a small "shower" for Erin and Adolph (aka John...I know Erin is about to be Erin Adolph, which will make it a bit strange, but it will be hard to ever call him John) at Top Golf. While we called it a shower, it was really just a fun night out with friends to celebrate their upcoming wedding.

I am usually terrible about remembering to take photos at events like this, but I actually managed to capture a few good shots.

Josh, Adolph, and Derek enjoying some beverages. Josh and Derek definitely took advantage of the fact that their pregnant wives make nice designated drivers :).

The girls. Please don't mind how large I look. The camera adds ten pounds, and so does Baby Shep.

Sarah totally has me beat on the belly size at this point though. Baby Girl Hicks and Baby Shep are going to be best friends.

Sarah managed to do very well despite the large belly.

An action shot of Jeff. Nice form.

Josh was also looking good out there. I think he was aiming for the yellow target in this one.

We also had two Top Golf newbies - Jill and the bride-to-be. And they both did very well...I think they will be back.

Erin's Mom also joined the fun. I can't believe how much they look alike!

I think I made a really good first impression with Mrs. Eason. Our conversation in front of her went a little something like this...Erin: "Do I need to get my own bucket?" Me: "No, you can just play with John's balls.....oh my gosh....(laughing hysterically)." She probably thinks I am a terrible influence :).

We had a great night, and I can't wait to celebrate the Eason-Adolph wedding in September!

Travel Magnets

2011-08-27T10:46:00.001-07:00

Early on in our relationship, Josh and I started the tradition of collecting fridge magnets during our trips. And they can't just be any magnets...we try to find the most unique/tacky/funny ones that we can. From a flip flop magnet with real Jamaica sand in the toes, to a bottle opener magnet from South Padre, to a Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head magnet from Idaho.

The most recent addition to our collection came from Josh's recent trip to Galveston for a CLE. On a side note, I am so proud of him for presenting at his first CLE. He did very well and received many complements on his presentation, which focused on the burden of proof for the objections to a debtor's claim of exemptions.

While in Galveston, Josh picked out this lovely snow globe-type magnet filled with dolphins and glitter...awesome.

I think it fits in very nicely.

I love family traditions, and it will be fun to continue collecting magnets with our kids.

Here's to many more fun trips!

Baby Shep's First Gifts

2011-08-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

I am trying to hold off on buying any cute baby clothes until we know whether our little peanut is a boy or girl, but I just couldn't resist buying this Kings of Leon onesie at the concert we attended a few weeks ago (which is a whole other story).

I hope Baby Shep is as much of a fan as I am :).

Baby Shep also received this fun gadget from "Linda the Landman"...one of my favorite T&K co-workers. I can't wait to fill the Gyro Bowl with cheerios and other goodies, and see how it works. Thanks, Linda!!

St. Patrick's Day

2011-08-14T17:29:00.001-07:00

I know it is August, so it is a bit strange that I am blogging about St. Patrick's Day, but I promise I have a good explanation. We were discussing our annual St. Patty's Day party at Sarah's birthday party last weekend, and a big question arose...will having a roughly six-week-old baby deter the Shepherds from having said party in 2012?

It may seem crazy to even consider throwing a big bash while I'm still in what Sarah calls "the newborn haze," but what kind of Mom would I be if I neglected celebrating Baby Shep's first St. Patrick's Day? It is still TBD at this point, but I will be sad if we cancel completely. I have a feeling we may just have a scaled-down version next year.

On this note, I realized that I never posted pics from this year's party. So, let's reminisce and pretend that the weather is as fabulous now as it was on St. Patty's Day...

There was tons of food as usual (one of my favorite parts of the party), but I only managed to take pics of the dessert table.

We actually had a bunch of kids this year as well (at least early in the day).

And it was our nephew Jack's first St. Patty's Day.

See...it is possible to hold a small baby and a green beer at the same time :).

Kate and Ellie also had a good time...and Kate was really curious about the keg.

And a bunch of other kiddos joined the fun...

And all the kids running around didn't stop the tomfoolery, excessive drinking, and dance parties...

Kim even made an appearance all the way from Los Angeles.

**Note that no babies were harmed in this game of Corn Hole.

We even had a leprechaun join the revelry.

And after someone may or may not have added everclear to the punch, the middle school jams were put on the iPod, and the dance party was on...

As you can see, we had a great time at the 3rd Annual O'Shepherd St. Patty's Day Party....

We will just have to wait to see what St. Patty's Day 2012 has in store.

The First Trimester

2011-08-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

First...the obligatory belly shot. This one was taken at the end of the 12th week, and I will try to be good about taking one every four weeks.

I can't believe my belly is already so big! I think my extremely short torso is to blame :).

I feel very fortunate that the first trimester of this pregnancy went so smoothly. Perhaps the best thing was that I had no real morning sickness to speak of...thank goodness! However, the main bump in the road was a bit of spotting here and there. I learned that this is actually very common...but this didn't stop me from worrying like crazy each time. The silver lining was that each time I went in to the doctor, we got to see our little peanut and hear its wonderful heartbeat.

Here are the earliest pics of Baby Shep...looking more like a blob than a baby :).

Six Weeks

Seven Weeks

I think it looks like a sea monkey in these.

Eight Weeks

I really wish we had a sonogram at the 12-week appointment because the ones I have seen actually look like babies. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until the 20-week appointment...which is also when we will find out if Baby Shep is a boy or girl. Any guesses?

Baby Shep

2011-07-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

Now that the first trimester is over, and we have officially announced the good news to all our friends and family, I can finally post all about Baby Shep on our blog :). Let's start with how we found out about our little peanut and how we shared the news with our family...

Finding Out

My period wasn't due until a Monday, but I just couldn't wait any longer to take a pregnancy test. So, on Friday morning I took one of the extra tests that a friend had given me (thanks, Tessa!). At first, I didn't see anything, and I told myself that it was probably still too early to get a positive result....but then I saw a very, very faint pink line! I immediately took another test, and the same thing happened...a faint line.

I figured it was time to bring out the big guns...the expensive digital test. Sure enough, it said "Pregnant" in letters that were clear as day. My hands were shaking so bad that I could barely hold the test, and my heart felt like it was beating a million times a minute.

Josh was still asleep at this point, and while I had thought about telling him in some sort of fun way, that all went out the window as soon as I saw the positive test. I immediately went into our bedroom and said "Josh....I'm pregnant!"

He was definitely awake at that point :). After enjoying the fun moment for a while, we had to get ready for work. However, that was probably the hardest time I have ever had paying attention at work. Thank goodness it was a Friday!

I can definitely say that this was one of the best and most surreal days of my life. Baby Shep was only the size of a poppy seed at this point, but I already felt like a Mom.

Telling Our Family

We had already planned on going to Austin for Memorial Day Weekend because Charlotte was graduating from high school, my grandparents were going to be in town from Arizona, and we hadn't been down to visit in a while. We had also invited Josh's parents to come up from San Antonio for dinner on Saturday. So, we knew it would be the perfect time to tell them.

Before making the trip, we ordered coffee mugs for each of our parents that said something like "World's Best Grandma" or "Happy Father's Day Grandpa." The plan was to tell them that we had bought them some fun little Mother's Day/Father's Day gifts while we were in South Padre for Steve and Diana's wedding. With the mugs purchased and wrapped, we were ready to go.

The first stop was at my Dad and Rhonda's house because we decided there was no way we could wait until our dinner on Sunday to tell them. When we gave them the gifts, they totally believed the cover story. They couldn't believe it when they read the mugs, and my Dad's face was priceless! Here are pics of the grandparents-to-be with their mugs...

Rhonda (who is pretty sure she is going to go by Nana):

And my Dad (who is undecided on his grandpa name):

Lily was also there to hear the news (she was very excited to be the first sibling to find out)...and to take a group shot.

With our first set of parents now in a grandparent haze (my Dad said he couldn't concentrate on making dinner anymore), we headed to my Mom's house.

Unfortunately, we had to wait for a few hours before Josh's parents arrived, and it was so hard not to tell my Mom! When she offered us some beer or wine while we were in the pool, I had to play cool and say that I was going to wait until dinner.

The finally arrived, and with our parents, Bonnie, Jesse, and Charlotte there, we brought out their "Mother's/Father's Day presents." Josh's parents and Jimmy got it as soon as they saw the mugs, but I think my Mom was in shock. She finally looked at me and said, "Are you pregnant?!"

After lots of hugs and celebration, we took pictures of all the grandparents with their mugs...

Betsy (aka Grammy):

Gary (aka Grandpa):

Jimmy (who declared that night that he would like to be called Nelo, which was his nickname in college due to his fantastic Spades skills):

And my Mom (who is also undecided on her grandma name, but I am voting for GiGi):

Can you tell how happy my Mom looks!

Josh also called his sister Tori to tell her the fun news...

...and when she shared the news with Kate, Ellie, and Jack, they were so excited about their new cousin that they sent us a picture...

It was so much fun surprising everyone!

But we weren't done yet. Since Hannah and Sarabeth weren't at my Dad's house earlier in the day, we went back over to his house after dinner to tell them and my grandparents. I think Sara won for best reaction...she was so excited that she burst into tears :).

It was such a fun weekend, and it was the perfect way to let the family in our little secret!

Happy 5th Birthday Stella!

2011-05-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to the sweetest and silliest dog anyone could ask for! I can't believe you have been a part of our family for five years. It is even harder to believe you used to be this small:

Some things will never change though...

Including how much you still love getting your tummy rubbed.

You may bark a little too much at times...

But you put up with our shenanigans :).

We love you Stella!

Baby Jack

2011-03-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

Last week was an exciting one for the family...Josh's sister Tori and her husband Todd are now the proud parents of a precious baby boy! He is so adorable, and I think he looks like a mix of his twin sisters, Kate and Ellie.

Below are a few pics of our little nephew...

Jackson "Jack" Todd Lockwood

Deviled Eggs

2011-02-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

Check out Six Degrees of Supperation for a yummy deviled egg recipe.

Did I mention that they have bacon in them?

Baby It's Cold Outside

2011-02-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

The weather has been crazy this week in Dallas!

It started out with some ice on Tuesday morning...

Josh got a workout breaking up the ice on our driveway.

In addition to the ice, it has been suuuuuuper cold all week....and it is still not above freezing.

And desperate times call for desperate measures to stay warm. If this outfit isn't sexy, I don't know what is :).

Then, it started snowing last night.

Louie was much more curious than Stella.

And despite weather forecasts last night predicting "maybe an inch of snow" in Dallas, we woke up to this winter wonderland...

The dogs finally got the hang of the snow.

Louie is a natural.

And Stella even tolerated it.

By the end of the day, they were even running in circles.

This week of winter weather was so fun! And I really love how our house looks covered in snow :).

Taco Soup

2011-01-22T12:20:00.001-08:00

Check out Six Degrees of Supperation for my taco soup recipe.

It really hits the spot on a cold and blustery winter night!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to get this blog up and running for quite a while, so I decided to add it to my long list of New Year's resolutions :). And what better way to kick it off than with some fun pics of our Second Annual New Year's Day Brunch.

I was running around too much during the first half of the festivities and totally missed out on pics of the copious amounts of food. However, I did capture everyone after the crackers were opened.

Oh wait....I did manage to get one picture of someone eating. Maybe next year Grant can have some hashbrown casserole.

I had a lot of fun with the decorations this year. Josh helped hang the Chinese lanterns. I love that he is so tall :).

After brunch, it was time to cheer on the TCU Horned Frogs in the Rose Bowl.

Josh and Steve even wore TCU shirts for their ladies. Such good husbands/husbands-to-be. Steve also drank purple Four Loko in honor of the Frogs.

I have to say, I teared up several times throughout the game. I was such a proud Horned Frog. Let's reminisce a bit...

Side note - the Showgirls' outfits are waaaaaay cuter than when I was on the squad! You can't even see their adorable boots in this picture.

Woooooooohooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!