maternity leave prep

I officially have so much respect for any woman who has had to get things together for maternity leave. I had no idea the amount of time and work that would go into trying to explain my job to another person for 3 months. I am so grateful for this time to be home with Ella and know that every second of this preparation will make that time so much easier, but truly, it feels like I think of something else that needs to be added everyday. I started keeping a notepad by my bed (for all of the late night "oh yeah" moments)!

I am so happy to say that everything is ready to go. My binder is on my desk and ready for my sub whenever Ella decides to join us! I have talked with my kiddos and tried to prepare them in every way known to make this transition and I know they will do amazing!

I still can't believe how fast my pregnancy has gone by! I feel like we just found out we were having a baby and before we know it our sweet little girl will be joining us!

I promise we will take some pictures this weekend and post an update. I am 34 weeks tomorrow! 6 weeks to go!!!!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Lauren

time is flying

How am I already 32 weeks? How has Ella's shower already come and gone? How has it been weeks and I have not posted at all? I feel like time is truly flying! I can't wait to hold our sweet baby girl and was so excited to celebrate her at the baby shower we had with friends and family!

There is nothing like getting wonderful things that are a huge need to make the transition to having a baby and of course, the precious little things that are just fun to have! We are truly blessed by our friends and family. 

Here are some pictures from the shower...

 James and I before the boys headed out for some guy time

 Community group girls!

 All of Ella's aunts

 Some of the precious and wonderful gifts

 The adorable cake!

AHH love how tiny and cute everything is!

I'll be back with a 32 week update this weekend! Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!!

as long as i'm living my baby you'll be

When I started planning out the nursery I had the hopes of making a lot of the items that went in Ella's room. Although, the reality of working and being pregnant did not always allow the time or energy to do that. I had to be a little more realistic about what I could get done (which has been a huge lesson the Lord is teaching me through this pregnancy). I made a list of a few things I really wanted to make/do for the nursery.

1. Make a sign with a quote in wooden letters (see below)

2. Finish repurposing the old dresser we had and add some cute knobs to use as a changing table (pictures to come).

3. Make a wreath to put on the door or a shelf in her room

4. Make her burp cloths (weekend project coming soon)

After that, I thought I would just work with what we had and see if any other ideas came to me. The sign I made below is one of my favorites. It was a wonderful way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon and put up a quote I love! The pictures make it look way more pink than it really is, but either way I was really happy with how it turned out. 

Here is the canvas with the wooden letters laid out. 

Once the letters were glued down, I painted over the letters an canvas. 

This is the finished product that now lives happily on Ella's shelf! I wanted it to look handmade so avoided making the lines and spacing perfect. When I was done I wasn't sure if I should have done that, but it has really grown on me and I am glad I did! 

Overall, it was a fun project that I am really excited I did! I got the idea from a mixture of things I had seen on other blogs and pinterest. I saw a wooden letter canvas for a wedding gift on pinterest and a wall decal with this quote on several blogs and combined the ideas! 

28 weeks and the end of the 2nd trimester

I can't believe my second trimester is officially over and we are getting so close to meeting our sweet baby girl! I haven't uploaded all of the previous pictures from the last few weeks, so I have attached some to this post. The second trimester was really smooth and wonderful. I got back a lot of my energy and really felt great most of the time. It is starting to get more difficult to sleep at night with a growing belly and waking to go to the bathroom, but honestly, nothing I can complain about. I am so grateful to feel her constant movements and know that she is growing! These last few weeks I crave my usual sweet things, but a favorite during pregnancy is warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream...so good! Also, I still love lime in my water and potbelly's chicken salad sandwich. I have not craved anything too crazy or weird, but maybe that will change. Also, I feel like I can tell a change in the last week or so as I am transitioning into the 3rd trimester. I have needed naps a few days this week, but luckily have been able to take them!

Here are some updated pictures...

Can't believe it is only 12 weeks until her due date! So exciting! 

pumpkin cookies

I know it has been way too long since I have blogged, but nesting has been in full force and I can't get enough of organizing closets and getting Ella's room ready. We are so close to being done and I am so excited to see it all coming together. Our goal is to have it done by the beginning-ish of November. Can't wait!

On another note, we made some very yummy pumpkin sugar cookies the other day. I grabbed the sugar cookie recipe from pinterest and they turned out so yummy and cute! 

The recipe is from the Peppermint Plum and I would highly recommend it! You can visit her blog for the recipe and details on how she makes them. There were also some great tips!

We decided to make pumpkin cookies and color them orange and green...

These are great for any holiday and I found great cookie cutters at Michael's. Don't forget to always print your 40% off coupon from online before you go buy anything there. They are always online and that is a huge savings! 

Name Sign

Our sweet friends, Kristi and Dan, recently welcomed their baby girl. They were very patient and waited until her arrival to find out what they were having. To our absolute excitement it was a little girl (and future bff for Ella). I wanted to give them something fun and pink to bring some girly-ness into her precious nursery ( I also bought supplies to make one for Ella). 

I combined several ideas from pinterest and other blogs to make this fun and very easy name sign. Here are some pics from the project. 

First, I painted the canvas yellow. 

Then, I put down the stickers for her name and painted over it in pink.  

After it dried, I peeled the letters off and had a cute little sign!  

You can use this project for so many fun things like quotes around the house or an easy gift. Hope everyone enjoys this beautiful weather and has a wonderful weekend!

8 years

So hard to believe that today marks 8 years of James and I being together. We started dating when we were 16 and just starting our junior year in high school. I love that part of our story is that we have been together for so long and had so much life together. Although, we have our fair share of embarrassing pictures through all of the awkward stages of high school and entering college. 

It has been really amazing to sit and talk about how much has changed and how much we have changed over the last 8 years. I could have never pictured how much happiness would fill our lives and that 8 years later we would be expecting our first baby girl! God has been so good to us and I am looking forward to the many more years to come.

Also last night, we got to celebrate by going to one of our favorite spots, La Duni. We are really trying to soak up date night time, since we know that will look very different after Ella gets here. If you have not had a chance to have date night at La Duni in Dallas, I highly recommend it! Also, grab one of their mango lemonades...they are amazing (and the chocolate cake, of course!)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday!