June Shower

This is the last of the showers hosted by some of my close friends. It was so fun to be surrounded by people from college and even high school.

Below are a few pics!

Thank you Dena, Miranda, Lauren and Stephanie!

Diaper cake and fun entrance

Delicious Cake

I loved the M&Ms

And the big ticket item -- our travel system! Yay! Don't mind the huge belly bump!

Whirlwind Weekend

What a weekend! It was jam packed with fun activities and friends.

Friday:
We wanted new carpet in the nursery and a few other select rooms before Eli arrives. After fighting with Home Depot for 2 weeks we finally called Empire Today and got a quote that was substantially lower and they could install the next day. The sales person was really helpful and could answer all our questions. So Friday we laid new carpet (or really just watched). These guys worked so hard, but poor Brent ended up trapped in his office upstairs without food or drink until I rescued him with Chick-fil-a at 4:30.

The workers wanted to get everything complete so they could have the weekend off and stayed until 11:00pm while Brent and I both hid in the upstairs office.

The carpet looks nice and feels so much better, but we are now obsessed with taking our shoes off and watching the dogs. It's going to be a bad day the first time one of us spills something or a doggie "accident" happens.

Saturday:
Both Brent and I had showers to attend. Brent -- Daddy Diaper Shower at Lake Granbury and Rachel -- lovely shower hosted by our Sunday school.

Brent
Gets up at 5:45am to head to golf at Benbrook then off for watersports and who knows what else at Granbury. All I know is that he came home with rope burns from tubing and said that they were all pretty beat up from the tube. I'm glad I wasn't there to see it!

Daddy Diaper Shower started with one of our college friends. All the guys needed to bring diapers of some sort to participate in the activities. We received all sorts of diapers and even an awesome diaper cake! The best gift is the adult diapers for Brent. Thanks Chad!

**There is a long story behind the whole "Punter" thing. Ask Brent next time you see him!**

Rachel
We are part of an awesome class at First Baptist Euless. We are surrounded by people that love and support us and truly pray for us. The picture quality is not great because I had it on the wrong setting.

Isn't Jen great with cakes!

The Hostesses

Ready to start!

The onesie says "My Dad Cracks Me Up"

Enjoying unwrapping gifts

Brent ready for action with his new Daddy Apron!

Thanks everyone! It was a really special for me.

Sunday
Sunday morning I had the opportunity to serve in a new compassion ministry at our church -- 6 Stones. This ministry is dedicated to help families in need in the HEB area. We had a canned food drive and helped restock a warehouse that was emptied in 12 weeks. We had an outpouring of food donation! It is so amazing to be at a place where you can see God working.

It was HOT but serving in this ministry is amazing. You can look at there website - http://www.6stones.org/

We went to lunch and I came home to find Brent doing "dad" work -- mowing the lawn. He just needs to wait about 10 more years and he will have a helper.

So, Brent's first Father's Day was spent doing yard work, trying to cool off in the pool, recovering from watersports (I think he pulled a hammie), a movie and finishing the day catching up on Tivo'd High Stakes Poker.

Schoooool's Out for Summer

Brent and I have finally completed all of our baby classes -- Birthing Class, Baby Safety/CPR, Breastfeeding and Baby Basics. This is on top of all the books we have read -- What to Expect When Expecting, The Expectant Father, Parenting isn't for Cowards, 1000 Things it Means to be a Dad, The Baby Book, Happiest Baby on the Block and Belly Laughs. Whew, I have not studied and read so much on one topic since college. It also reinforced that I do NOT want to go back for my Master's Degree. Classrooms and homework are not for me!

So with all this preparation I know we still have ALOT to learn, but it will be hands-on learning. We have decided "school's out" and we have read what we can until little Eli gets here and we start rereading all the material again :)

The Last 2 Weeks

Brent and I have been crazy busy the last two weeks. Here is just a brief recap of all our activities:

My first baby shower (May 16th)-- hosted by some of my mother-in-law's wonderful friends. We received so many gifts it filled the nursery. It is awesome to be surrounded by people that love you and want to help prepare you for a baby. Thanks everyone!

The following weekend (May 22nd) our dear friends the Stovall's had their baby girl! This is the first of my close friends to have a baby. It was so surreal to visit them in the hospital and see their daughter. It still even sounds weird to say. Are we really old enough to start families?

We also had a retreat for our Young Couples class at church. We were able to escape for an overnight stay at Camp Copass in Denton. We had relay races, played basketball and volleyball, ate smores and of course had worship and fellowship between our classmates. It was a great time to get away and have no worries. I would definitely like to make a repeat trip next year!

And last, but not least I have started my 8th month of pregnancy. I can not believe how at first I felt like July would never come and now it will be here before I know it!

So here we are. . . 32 weeks!

Eli is very high so I get a lot of rib kicks and he still likes to try and squeeze in between my ribs and hips. I think he is fighting as the space gets tighter. Some days my stomach looks like a bowl of jello as he is moving and kicking and stretching -- ouch!

Eli's First Game

So this is kinda' silly, but it made me laugh. We went to the Rangers game with our friends last week and joked that it was Eli's first game.

Here are the pics:

Go Rangers!

Lauren and Me

Brent and Zach

Happy Mother's Day. . . oh wait, to me?!

So we now get to add two new holidays to our calendar - Mother's and Father's Day.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Brent surprised me with an appointment for an extra long prenatal massage at the Gaylord on Friday afternoon. I was able to leave work early and enjoy an 80 minute massage then take a quick cat nap in the "slumber room" at the spa. If the Gaylord served appetizers or desserts as part of the spa package I could spend all day there!

Saturday we started the first of many classes I have deemed "Parent Boot Camp". This class, Prepared Childbirth, was very informational and amazing to see all the development and coordination of events that must take place in order for a baby to be born. I did have a few flashbacks of 7th grade science class -- The Miracle of Life --but all in all it was great. I think at different points in the class Brent and I both wanted to cry.

Sunday we started by volunteering in the nursery. We had babies and were pleasantly surprised that we knew almost all the little ones. At different points Cadence decided it was time to clean up so she put the lid on the toy box and put it on the shelf. Abby let us know she was ready for a nap by going to the bed and tapping her hands. Lincoln Lasiter wanted to ride in the swing but poor guy's legs kept dragging.

After church we spent time with both moms (future grandmas). We had a great lunch with Brent's mom then grilled out for my mom followed by a jam session on Guitar Hero.

I am sure next Mother's Day will feel much more "real" than this year. It is still all sort of surreal and hard to believe that Eli will be here in about 10 weeks. Pregnancy is just now starting to slow me down between the baby jabs to the ribs, backaches, 3 hours sleep increments and no longer being able to bend at the waist to pick up a majority of objects. I see pictures or will catch my side reflection in a window or mirror and think "Whoa, who is that" or "When did my belly get so HUGE"

Last Trimester - Woo-Hoo

Last trimester here we come! I can't believe it has already been 28 weeks.

Thanks to everyone who has been an active part for the last several months. We ask that you continue to pray for a healthy pregnancy and development of Eli. Brent and I are so excited and a bit anxious to be parents.

Just for fun I wanted to post the first meeting of Audrey and Eli. . . do I hear the faint ringing of wedding bells?