Our first weekend in October welcomed the first of three weddings that Dana and I have been invited to for this month. My friend, Ruth, who is one of the first girl's I ever met when I moved to San Diego got married on Saturday. Ruth and I worked together at Typhoon Saloon and have remained friends since both of us went our separate ways from bar tending.

Ruth and Ben had a gorgeous wedding at La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, which was perfectly decorated, and landed on a perfect sunny day (right after many days of rain). The bride looked gorgeous and the groom stood proud and happy to be marrying the love of his life (yes, he looked great, too).  Dana and I enjoyed watching the lovely couple recite their vows and celebrate their special day together.  Here they are at their dinner table:

And, here is a picture of another happy and good-looking couple you might recognize:

This next weekend is our friends, Jen and Carlos's wedding.  With this wedding, we will not only watch the amazing couple marry, but also see great friends that we haven't seen in a very long time.  It will be a reunion of friends, and a union of love...can't wait for the weekend!!

Last Sunday, my close friend, Elizabeth, hosted a Baby Nevins Baby Shower at my house.  It was such a fun day celebrating the baby with all of the great friends I have made over the years since living in San Diego and even had some family there. 

Here is Elizabeth and I:

My other close friends, Dalina, Jen, and Dana came early and helped decorate, contributed to food and mimosas, and made special efforts to help with my day.  I think the team of girls did a great job together....check out the decor!

Elizabeth planned a couple baby shower games.  One was filling in the blanks to nursery rhymes, and the other was to guess how big my belly was by cutting a piece of string for how much it took to go all the way around.  As you can see, some guessed a bit too big:

But, there were a few that got very close...we had 3 winners:

After eating and playing games, we moved the shower into the house because it was in the high 90's and way too exhausting to be outside.  We needed some AC!  I opened gifts in the house, where everyone watched, including Rocky, who wanted to make sure he approved everything for his soon-to-be little sister.

I got so many wonderful and thoughtful gifts from my friends, I just couldn't believe it!  Our little girl is going to be the most stylish little girl ever, for she got many adorable clothes, and of course, some of the great necesseties like diapers, pacifiers, car seat base, and safety kit.  I really couldn't believe how generous everyone was and am sooooo grateful to everyone who came :)

To wrap up the shower, everyone ended with a cupcake made by Jen (white cake and white frosting, yum yum)

The day after the shower, I had a "baby shower hang over".  I was so excited that I got to spend the day with so many wonderful friends that I couldn't sleep that night at all, so I was exhausted come Monday.  I didn't want to do anything but think about how much fun I had the day before.  Thank you so much to all of my wonderful friends and family that made the day so special for me and for this baby girl.  I can't wait for her to arrive so everyone can meet the little girl they were helping celebrate.

Check out all the pictures from the shower here.

As of today, I am officially 7 months pregnant and boy, do I feel it.  My belly is growing so fast that my body is having a hard time keeping up, and I am feeling tired and BIG, which basically sums it all up.  I feel like my walk has turned into a waddle and my energy has stooped to an all time low.  But, I am still loving every moment of it.  The movements I am now feeling are so intense, I can watch the weight of the baby move from one part of my belly to the other in one big roll.  She is getting the hiccups all the time and loves being active in the mornings.  I've started counting my fetal movements, which the doctors ask you to do, giving you 2 hours to feel 10 kicks or movements.  So far, every morning I feel the baby kick or move 10 times in less than 10 minutes.  So, I guess she is pretty active.  Maybe she'll come out running :)

Check me out at 7 months pregnant:

We are getting so close to the end, Dana and I can't believe it is almost here!

After getting back from a weekend in Wisconsin, I started to realize how much my belly had grown in just one week.  I went from looking slightly pregnant, to very pregnant.  Just before I left, I had to tell people I was pregnant before they noticed.  Now, just today, every person that I came in contact with either said "Congratulations", or asked how far along I am.  It's about time I start getting noticed!  Ha!

I had a monthly check up yesterday.  At my check up, I was weighed and gained 9 lbs!!  Wow.  I was a bit surprised, but also know that I have noticed a huge growth spurt as well.  So, I am totaling 19 lbs now.  I can tell that the baby is much bigger, not only for my big belly, but also because I am suffering with a somewhat common pregnancy symptom, Sciatica.  If you aren't familiar, it basically happens when the baby's weight is weighing down on my Sciatic Nerve.  This causes quite a bit of pain in my butt, literally.  And, I sometimes feel slight numbness and charlie horses in my leg, especially at night.  I am hoping that this doesn't interfere completely with working out, for walking is becoming quite unbearable.  I will test it out on the eliptical at the gym and see if that is any different. 

I am also starting to feel very tired, as I was in the first trimester.  I feel like I can't get enough sleep, which may actually be the case, because sleeping at night has become more difficult, too.  I just can't find a comfy spot on the bed.  At this point, I'm sure it's only going to get worse, but it's just part of the process, right?  I've been lucky to have so much energy and feel so good in the last few months, so its just fine with me that I am now starting to wind down.

My doctor measured my belly, listened to the baby's heartbeat and discussed the near future of the baby's arrival.  She told me everything was perfect and going right on track, which is a great thing to hear. 

And, now that it is getting to the countdown, Dana and I have began to start thinking more about what we would like to do to prepare for the baby arrives.  We have signed up for a few baby classes including Lamaze, baby basics, and infant CPR.  We will be starting those in just a few weeks.  I can't believe it, she really is almost here!!

After spending a couple days with my dad, we headed up to Ashland for a baby shower/family BBQ that my mom threw at her house.  It turned out to be a beautiful day with wonderful people.  I had a really great time seeing all my family, eating good food, and opening gifts from everyone who attended.  Luckily, everyone kept in mind that I was traveling, so they bought items, shipped them to my house, then included a card to tell me what they sent...how perfect!  Here is my brother, showing how proud he is to be an Uncle to the baby girl in my belly:

My grandpa and I:

Here is my baby shower cake, made by the infamous Terri Stephenson...this cake is so me!  And, boy was it delicious (pretty sure I ate at least 5 big pieces)

Of course, I only have only one person to thank for being so thoughtful and hosting a great party, the soon-to-be Grandma Judy:

And, probably my favorite picture from the night, a pic of all my girl cousins who I love as much as sisters.  They are all amazing and mean so much to me, so to have us all together was the best gift of the entire weekend:

To see the rest of the pictures from the shower, click here.

Now, next weekend, my friend, Elizabeth will be hosting a baby shower in San Diego to celebrate with all the friends I have made over all the years that I have lived here.  I can't wait to see them all and celebrate with food, friends, and baby shower games....woohoo!

As most of you know, I travelled back to Wisconsin last weekend.  Before I went up to Ashland, I made a pit stop in Appleton to visit my dad and finally see his house.  THe morning after I arrived, we slept in, ate breakfast then had some visitors.  My great college friend, Miranda, her husband, Mike, and daughter, Brenna happened to be visiting her family only a half hour away on the same weekend, so we were able to get together and catch up for a bit.  They came to my dad's house, where Brenna got to wrestle with Bo and Buttons (my dad's dachsunds), and Mir, Mike, and myself talked about the days soon to come, once the baby arrives.

After they left, my dad and I went for a walk on the CE trail that I use to run on when I stayed with my dad for a couple summers during college.  We got in some good conversations and plenty of excersize.  It was just what we needed to jump start the rest of our day.  We later went to the mall, where I was desperately looking for a pair of maternity jeans that would fit (mission accomplished!), then stumbled into Children's Place, where grandpa treated his soon-to-be granddaughter some adorable new clothes.  Since we were enjoying the mall together, we didnt' want to stop there, so we walked the rest of the mall just to check things out.  It might not have been a good idea because my sweet tooth kicked in, we found Target, and then it was all over.  I found candy corn, blow pops, and mini blow pops, which I had to buy all of.  I dove in and got my sugar fix, giving my dad a good chuckle about the whole situation.  Don't worry, I didn't dive into the candy corn like some of you would imagine, and only had 3 blow pops :)  Anyway, we had a great shopping experience together and I told my dad how I forgot that he has always been my favorite shopping partner.  Why?  Well, he carries all my bags for me, and patiently waits for me to check out any store I am interested....what woman wouldn't love that?

After shopping, we met with Tanya and we all went out to Victorias, an old time favorite Italian restaurant that we use to go to when I lived with them.  They hadn't been there since I left about 10 years ago, so we were all excited to see if it was still as good and the old days.  Well, not only was it good, but wow, the portions were huge.  My dad, who always finishes his plate, even left with a doggie bag.  Here we are, leaving with our doggie bags:

What a good time we all had together.  And, before I part, I have to mention my little brother, Bo, and sister, Buttons.  My dad's dogs, who keep him busy during the day, were a complete delight to be around.  Being that I didn't have Rocky to have with me, it was nice to have a couple loving dogs to cuddle up to and play with while I was at my dad's.  Here is Bo, soon after I gave him his new toy from Rocky.

Gotta Love Him :)

I am finally ready to show off the baby's room.  I hope you like it as much as I do because I think it turned out just beautifullly!!  It is the vision I had, reflecting my personal style perfectly.  I don't have a before picture to show, but I don't think you need it so see what I did to the room.  The room is a bit small, so it was hard for me to get full views, but this picture is the angle from the doorway as you walk in:

And, this is the wall opposite of the crib:

I made the framed butterfly pictures myself, along with the butterfly collage on the wall.  I applied gold butterfly decals and then attached other butterflies in between for the 3 dimensional effect.  I combined some gold branches and butterflies together for the valance above the window, which turned out great, then added a vase on the dresser with some fake orchids, butterflies in branches, and a light up cherry blossom that I got for a gift from my friend, Megan.  So, what do you think?

After a long awaited time, I am finally able to post pictures of our living room.  Here is the before picture, just to remind you what we were working with:

And, here is the after, looking at it from each corner of the room:

This last Wednesday, Dana had his dreaded appointment to get his top wisdom teeth pulled.  It is an appointment that he kept putting off until his dentist gave him a deadline and said he had to make his appointment before Labor Day (and he said this months ago!).  He was very nervous, thinking about every horrible possibility.  I tried my best to encourage him to get it over with and think about the possibilities of it going reallly well.  I dropped him off at the dentist at 3 where I was told it would take 45 minutes, but received a phone call an hour later only to tell me that they were only able to get the one tooth out and he has to come back to get the other.  Not the news that either of us were hoping for.  I hung out with him while he was in the dentist's chair, waiting for the ok to leave...then we were on our way back home, where Dana filled me in with the torture he endured for the entire hour.  He came home and landed directly on the couch, where Rocky immediately jumped on him and started trying to lick his face (he must've known Dana was in a lot of pain there).  And, Rocky wouldn't leave his side the whole rest of the day.  I think that is just what Dana needed to help him get through this experience.  Here they are together:

I can also report that it has been two whole days now and Dana is still couped up on the couch, trying hard not to take his pain meds.  His cheek is swollen and he is doing whatever he can to get through the day.  I've been trying my best to find different ways to comfort him and keep him fed and hydrated, but he can barely put anything in his mouth...my poor guy!  I hope he's almost at the end of feeling so bad, I miss dinner time with my love.

So it is official, I am now 6 months on the dot, meaning I am now entering into my third trimester.  Can you believe it?  I can't either!!  Whoa!  The days of waiting around are now over and it is preparation time.  Once the crib arrived and was put together, I worked hard at getting the baby decorated exactly the way I wanted. 

The pregnancy itself has been going very well.  On most days it is really even hard for me to believe that I am pregnant because I have been feeling so good and really do almost everything that I did before I got pregnant.  The only daily reminder is feeling the kicks and flutters inside.  I switched to taking my vitamins at night, which seems to have helped in my not getting sick anymore, its been about 2 weeks now that I haven't had to run to the bathroom because I thought i was going to lose it. 

This little baby has already been getting spoiled, especially by all of her grandparents.  She's gotten everything from clothes and toys to all the essentials, including our new stroller (thanks Mom and Dad Nevins for the stroller).  It makes us feel so special to know that although we are so far away, everyone is thinking about us during this special time.  And, in just a week and 2 days I will be headed on a plane ride to Milwaukee to begin the baby festivities, where my mom is throwing me a baby shower.  The time is approaching so quickly and I just am so excited! 

Here is a picture of my 6 month baby bump:

And, as of right now, the baby is suppose to be about 2 1/2 pounds.  It's hard to imagine what that would be like, but I just keep thinking about my little boy when we first got him.  Rocky weighed in at 2 1/2 pounds as a pup....I have a little Rocky in my belly :)