Katie's Baby Shower

Two baby showers in one week was a lot of work, but it was 100% worth it. I had a day break after Sarah's shower, and then we jumped right in to Katie's shower on Sunday. This being Katie's first child, the party was quite large but wonderful. Her Mom, Sister, and Sister-in-Law went to a ton of work and I was so glad they allowed me to help! We had around 45 guests at this shower and boy could you tell. There was a TON of food, TONS of gifts, and even more fun. Jarrod (daddy-to-be) joined us for some gift opening...he was entertaining as always.

The Food!

Cute Construction Decor

My Dump Truck Cake

The Decor

Some of the gifts.....It took them a good hour to open them all!

Gift Opening Time....Jarrod had more fun with all the cute clothes and toys than Baby Gatlin will I am sure.

Goof Ball

The Bestie! First picture of Katie, Me and my sweet little Nephew. I am sure there will be millions more to come!

This little one is going to be SO spoiled by his whole family and of course by Aunt Whitney. Katie has been my closest friend since High School, my Maid of Honor, and I her Matron of Honor. We have been through the hardest time of our lives together as well as the most incredibly joyful times, and I could not have asked for a more loyal and loving friend to be by my side. Now this Bundle of Joy is a HUGE celebration and I cannot WAIT to be sitting in that waiting room until his arrival is announced. I even got to be at Katie's Sono appointment when she found out that this baby was indeed a boy not a girl. I will NEVER forget the look on Katie's face, and the sweet little baby boy on the sono screen. Thanks for letting me be so involved with your little one Katie! I am blessed to have you in my life!

Side Note: I swear I did my laundry :o) I didn't think about needing my orange shirt for Katie's shower so i wore it to Sarah's first. haha Woops

Let the Baby fun begin

A while back i posted a blog about all my friends who are expecting little ones in the near future. Well we are in full swing baby season. Let me just apologize to those of you who don't really want to read about babies for the next 6 months, but here we go.

FINALLY HERE!!!

Baby Dunne was born on September, 11th. They named her Olivia Erin. Congrats Chris and Kris!

Baby Martin arrived last week and they named her Emma Marie.

Baby Brazis is coming today (boy: Name is a secret)

ARRIVING SOON:

Baby Stein is still waiting holding out on us...but we are ready for news any day. Mom is still working!!! (not finding out the sex)

Baby Heinold in November (girl: Mackenzie)

Baby Fleck in November (girl: Reese Josephine)

Baby Emlen in December (BOY: once mistaken for a girl, but it is

definitely a boy and his name will be Gatlin Douglas)

BRINGING IN THE NEW YEAR

Baby Knecht in February (not finding out)

and we are now adding:

Baby Miller in March (boy): Praise the lord for this healthy little baby. They have been waiting for quite a while to have some GOOD news! Praying for you all during this pregnancy.

Which brings me to the actual POST. I have been busy with work, life, and planning baby showers. Luckily I am not responsible for ALL the people above (although I would love it of course) but for the ones that i get to help out with, plan I am grateful. Last weekend was a whirlwind....Friday was a Surprise Baby Sprinkle for Sarah and Sunday was a HUGE shower for

Katie (next post).

The yum yums!

Church Friends: Kate, Sarah, Martha, Me, Deanna

The Party Planners and the little Momma (Martha, Sarah, Me)

The Pregos: Kate (March), Sarah (Oct), Martha (Feb)

Sarah's high school friend Morgan, Her sister Jess, Mother Julie, and Grandma!

Gift time is always fun: Sarah, Deanna, Kate, and Martha

Still a bit in shock I think.

Sarah was surprised to say the least. This has been in the works since July and she had absolutely no idea. Since it is her second child (but first girl) we wanted to do something special that would get her some necessities and sweet little girl things. It was small and PERFECT. Martha helped me plan and pull off the event....and she even opened up her house. Husband Chad did a wonderful job getting information, getting Sarah to the party, and keeping it a total surprise. I cannot thank you both enough.

The evening went like this: Chad drug Sarah and Noah to the park....at 6:50 (it is dark by now) Noah didn't care I am sure but Sarah was ready to put on Pajamas before they left. When Sarah showed up the look on her face was priceless, i wish i had my camera. She had plenty of 'did you really pull this off moments' throughout the evening. The poor girl was ready for bed before the party but Chad made sure she didn't show up in PJ's.....although we would not have cared she may have been a little upset. They get the park, run around a bit...freeze (according to Sarah) and then all of a sudden Chad says "hey Landon wants us to stop by their house to look at it" Sarah of course is thinking he is nuts, not only is it snack time for Noah, but it is late, last minute, and she is tired. But once again she follows her hubby's lead and heads over. What a good sport!

Upon arrival she recognized some cars but was still a little blown away by the situation. Once inside the look on her face was priceless. She could not figure out how everyone kept it a secret, especially her sister and mom. Through the evening she recalled events that should have given the whole thing away but her pregnancy brain allowed them to pass without question. Her mother-in-law even called and said she could not make it. Red Flags for anyone else, but Sarah was afraid that she had forgotten her previous invitation to the family to stay for the weekend. She felt bad that she forgot she invited them, so she didn't say a word. Bless her heart....she really had never said a word to them about visiting, they just missed the "surprise" memo in the invitation. Sarah was also a wonderful sport and didn't think anything of the odd text messages her husband was receiving from Me.

So a surprise it was, with the comments from family and friends completely passing by Sarah. And I am hoping she enjoyed it as much as we did! We cannot wait for this sweet little blessing to enter the world. Reese, you are so loved already.

Current River

In august I took off a few days to enjoy fun and friends. We headed to Current River in Missouri to go camping and canoeing. It was an overall interesting experience. I was car sick most of the car ride down which made that a less than enjoyable adventure, but once we got to camp I was ok rather quickly. We were given a 'quiet' campsite at Jason's Place Campground....For those of you who go camping...i would not call it a 'campsite'. It was more of a piece of land that you would set up camp on if there was not other land in the woods....covered in rocks and walnuts and a hill that was about at a 60 degree slant. I decided to be a snot and say no thank you, and I'm glad i did...they moved us to a nice grassy campsite that was only a 20 degree slant. Thank you campground staff :o)

We set up camp and made dinner over the fire. Ok so we were not roughing it when it came to meals. Friday we had Zesty Italian Chicken and Vegetables made in a foil pouch....yummy Saturday we had cream of mushroom pork chops on a bed of rices with veggies also prepared in a foil pouch. On the river we had salad kabobs and lunch meat subs. Breakfast was grab and go both days :o)

We had great weather all weekend, it only rained a bit at night. The campsite bathrooms disgraceful....took public restrooms to a whole new level. really the woods would probably have been a better choice :o) And showers...well if you like to pay to take a shower in a nasty bathroom then fine, we chose the river and pool...lol. the car ride home was worse than the car ride there if you know what I mean.

Our good camp site :o)

The s'more that makes all your troubles go away....heavenly

Love him!

I was worried we would not fit...but we did

I guess the little guy got tired and decided to catch a ride

love this place

Our little Canoe that traveled the 16 miles with us...

Our partners in crime just enjoying the day

It was a beautiful day....Missouri has a lot to offer beauty wise.

He is lucky we never tipped due to his ornryness

Rednecks....hello Mullet (so you know, that is a woman)

This guy would stand and paddle, lay down and use his hands, and just chill....he was quite entertaining.

Redneck central....our school bus ride to the river. (read the sign)

Overall great trip....who wants to go with us next year?

Summer fun when we have time

We worked a TON in July....so fun was not very plentiful. But we did have a few moments of enjoyment. Fourth of July weekend we were able to sneak away with the Hirsteins and Millers for some boating fun. We went down to Clinton Lake and did a little knee boarding. It was a nice morning but the water was a bit rough. For my first time knee boarding I was not too bad. It was enjoyable but I preferred sitting in the boat enjoying sunshine :o) H.L. Did a great job teaching me and despite the attempts to spray me with water I would allow him to kneeboard with me again.

Tait seemed to have fun playing with his Thomas Trains and tuckered out after a short while. We were shocked he was able to sleep through the bumps. Kate and I got jarred quite a bit.

Thanks to Dr. Miller for letting us take his boat out without him :o)

Another fun adventure was the Hot Air Balloon Festival. We were invited by some of Micah's high school friends to enjoy the evening. Gene actually stood up in our wedding (I had never met him before then, pathetic I know). His wife Lindsay and I enjoy our time together as well, and often laugh at the boys and their identical thinking. The two of them together could possibly be trouble in the future.

The festival was fun, lots of interesting people watching, good carnie food...and lots of balloons.

Some balloons actually took off or landing in the field in front of us. Others just set up and then took town without taking flight.

It took us a while to figure out what some of the balloons were going to be once inflated. The polar bear we figured out after we saw its face take form....the balloon behind it is actually a shoe....that one took forever to figure out.

The shoe all lit up!

We always enjoy good times with friends!

Confessions of a Facebook Addict

Step one. Admit you have a problem.

Step two. Embrace it!

Confession: This post really does have a point, but it doesn't really have much to do with Facebook. Actually other than the fact that Facebook brought me to this post, it has nothing to do with it at all.

Just a little plug while I am at it... One great thing about Facebook is the networking. I must say, I originally got a Facebook account in order to 'be a college student', but now I can say Facebook is a blessing. Yes it can be time consuming however, it helps people reconnect, stay connected, and enjoy messages here and there. So, as annoying as I find all of the apps, stalkers, constant changes, friend requests from people you don't know, and news feed...I still say "I love you Facebook".

One to the real Post:

When i was a young one I was a part of a group that formed my core friends as well as 99% of my childhood memories. This group was no ordinary group...it was put on by mothers who put their creativity to work to serve their children. And to all those mothers I am forever grateful.

The Sunshine Club.

You laugh but this was serious business. We had a theme song (that i can still sing parts of), scheduled activities, crafts, field trips, and activities galore. We even had nick names and t-shirts. I am telling you, this was not some 'play date' where the kids run around like mad and the mothers sit a watch with smiles on their faces and chat about life. This was a CLUB. With creativity at it's finest.

I remember random bits from our gatherings and the rest of the memories are fueled by photo books. One activity was held at the Paluska house where we used Ice cream containers to make astronaut helmets and went to space on their back deck. I am talking real deal activities here. (With real ice cream cartons like they have at ice cream parlors that they scoop the yummy goodness out of and place it nicely in the cone for the customers to enjoy...side note (i have cravings ok)) Any how. We would have massive Easter Egg hunts. Awards ceremonies. I think we still have the gardening gloves gone Old McDonald's Farm...Puff ball animals were made and then placed on the fingers of gloves. (creative mothers remember) There were many other fabulous activities but those will have to wait until I can scan pictures to put with the stories.

One group that grew off of this Club was our Secret Santa. Started out small but soon became a Germantown Hills Neighborhood Hit. I cannot remember how many family we had or how many years it lasted, but i sure remember the events. Each family would get put in a bucket and then everyone would draw a family to surprise over the holidays. I think we did this for a week with different gifts each night. I remember waiting anxiously for our Secret Santa to surprise us but we were always fooled by how they actually got the gift to us. Back deck, front porch, mailbox...however they got it to us we didn't care. Delivering gifts was also fun. I am surprised cops were not called more often as we would creep down streets in all black. Drive around without headlights. Wander around peoples property....oh the joys of SS. At the end of the week we would get together and have a huge potluck and talk about all the great stuff we got...and then guess who had our family. Too much fun. One year we KNEW who our family was because my brother actually snatched up one of their kids and brought him into our house. They were new to SS and I am not sure if they participated again after that event. I just remember mom saying "let him go...". Have i mentioned we were terror children growing up?

Anyhow....we had a great group of families and friends. These people would do anything for anyone else in our group. I am grateful for ALL of them and no matter how much time passes it is still a joy to hear about everyone growing up, getting married, having kids of their own...I am sure all of our parents are secretly hoping we start Sunshine clubs of our own.

We had a reunion a few years back...(am i repeating myself too much if i say yet again this was serious business?)

Anyhow, Facebook ties into this because it has brought most of our Sunshiners back together. And has given me something to blog about.

**One member of this group is also getting a little advertisement from me due to her incredible talent. Miss Becky started her own business that any mother would LOVE...or anyone who loves bags :o) So, new moms, expectant moms, someday moms, or friends of moms....check these beauties out:

Custom Bags and her Blog is here

You can mix match, create, and ENJOY diaper bags or hand bags made by the wonderful Becky. The best part...her business is non-profit. So have a look and feel free to take part in her organization. I can promise i will be sporting a Better Life Bag when our family grows....or if I convince the hubby I'm in need of a new handbag.

Wedding Season seems to never end....

This summer was more mild than last, but we were still busy. In June I spent a weekend in Kenosha for Laura Fornetti's bridal shower. She was my roommate in college (would not have graduated without her by my side) and helped me though some of the toughest moment in the college years. I am very grateful for her friendship. She stood up with us in my wedding and then asked me to be a bridesmaid in hers as well.

Her shower was simple and lovely! Held at the Bull & Bear in Kenosha. All her bridesmaids were there except her sister Jamie...who is slaving away on her PhD and MD in Denver.

Bridesmaids: Kim, Me, Laura(bride), Ashley, Sami

Me and the very tan bride to be....or I'm just really pasty (thanks what working every day does to a girl)

Guest appearance of Mr. Will Waller (groomsman) to cheer on team USA in the World cup game that day....they lost

We got the groom to step in for a pic as well...he ran quickly after he was loved on by the bridesmaids.

Chi Omega's....I blame XO for our unplanned matching attire.

Had a wonderful time with the ladies....wish the weekend would have lasted longer!!!!

It's Baby Time

Most of my friends are due between October and December, but a few babies will be arriving earlier. And one of those little darlings just entered the world on June 5th. I was able to enjoy her for a few minutes on my lunch break.

Introducing Ella Faith Wiley...is she not the most beautiful little girl...

Sleeping and sporting her little hat I made her.

Not going to lie, I took a long lunch, I just couldn't get enough of her.

Just a little peanut

I cannot wait for all the other sweet little babies to get here. Baby Kaelyn arrived in February We have not met as she lives in Texas. And Baby Riley arrived a few weeks ago, but I don't have pictures with her for some odd reason. But she is beautiful and growing so fast!!!

We are still waiting on:

Baby Stein in September (not finding out the sex)

Baby Dunne in September (girl)

Baby Brazis in October (boy: Name is a secret)

Baby Heinold in November (girl: Mackenzie)

Baby Fleck in November (girl: Reese Josephine)

Baby Emlen in December (BOY: once mistaken for a girl, but it is definitely a boy)

Baby Knecht in February

It is going to be a BUSY BUSY year

Fall Fun Continued

Apple orchard fun and now pumpkin fun. Micah had never carved a pumpkin before so we decided to break him in and have a carving party. Pat and Adonia joined in on the fun.

I believe he was say "Gross, this is worse that i though it would be. I don't know if it is worth it."

Pat's finished project. He's kinda cute

Adonia made an awesome "Trick Or Treat"

My Owl. For those of you who do not know me....I have a serious Owl Obsession. Blame it on Chi Omega as it was our little mascot, but now they are an important part of my life. Micah even finds owls everywhere for me, so it was no surprise i needed to carve on into our pumpkin.

For a Pumpkin Carving Virgin I'd say he did awesome! It took him twice as long as the rest of us, but it is probably the coolest pumpkin i have ever seen. Way to go Hubby.

All of our beautiful pumpkins. We still have two to carve....not sure what they will be.

Once we finished carving, Adonia and I sorted the 'guts' to save seeds. We then baked some pumpkin seeds to enjoy together. Thanks so much for making memories with us Pat and Adonia!!!