It's Time...

One of the latest trends is to have a party to reveal the gender of the expected baby.  Jon and I debated on whether to have a party or not, and ended up deciding to have one.  I had an idea for the theme right away, but that was changed due to the time when we found out what the baby will be.  I knew I wanted something different, something I had not seen many people do.  I googled and brainstormed and finally came up with the theme of "It's Time."  I used clocks as the main decor and used a cuckoo clock as the reveal.  The biggest challenge was finding a cuckoo clock!  They don't sell those things in the stores, so I went to the internet.  I was shocked to see the price of cuckoo clocks!  I finally found a kids cuckoo clock from a company in Europe.  I told my mom about it and she found it on Amazon and ordered it for us.  I was so thankful!  Once the clock came in the party planning was in full force!  A local invitation shop was able to design and print the invitations exactly how I wanted them.  Then I planned out the menu.  Since it was in the late afternoon we served snack/appetizer foods.  Next, I decided to make clock cookies for the party favors.  (I will save those for a separate post.)  Everything came together really well.  It was a rainy day, but a fun and exciting afternoon.  I am so thankful for all our family and friends who came to celebrate with us!  We truly feel so blessed!

Old Wives Tales Board

Smores & Peanut Butter Cup cookies

Bacon Wrapped Potatoes

Caprese Salad skewers & Rotel Cups 

future mommy & daddy

It's a girl!!! Lillian Grace is due 2/25/2013 and we are so excited!!!

Anatomy Scan

We are 18 weeks this week! We had a doctors appointment and our anatomy scan. It was so exciting!! I am amazed at all they can see and find out when the baby is still so small! The baby is 8 oz and about the size of a bell pepper. They were able to see the brain and measure the fluid filled areas. They got a good view of the whole spine and checked for any signs of spina bifida. They looked at the lips and palate, which might I add the baby's lips look big and I'm not sure where those came from. The heart looks good, all four chambers pumping with a strong 155 bpm heart rate! They measured the kidneys, bladder, and stomach. To me the baby's belly looked so round and full! All 10 fingers and toes! We did find out the gender, but that's a secret until
after the party this weekend! Jon and I
are feeling very blessed and grateful that everything looked good with Tiny Cox. We will continue to pray for a healthy full-term baby!
Now for party prepping! A little over 24 hours before we reveal if Tiny Cox is a boy or girl!

Here is a sneak peak of the baby...

Four Seasons

We have four seasons we recognize around our house...winter, spring, summer, and football.  We are definitely in football season now.  Our LSU flag is flying and our new LSU wreath (from my sweet friend, Adrianne) is on the door.  Jon is constantly "researching" so that he can make the right decisions and play the right players each week in his fantasy football teams. (Yes, I said teams...he has three!)  I am a fan of college football over NFL, but I sit and watch most all of the games with him.   I think one of my favorite things of football season is the get togethers.  You all know I love to entertain and have people over.  I also enjoy getting together with our friends at their houses too!  We've been hanging out with some friends on Sundays for Saints games (although Jon is a Cowboys fan).   We went to our friends, Billy & Jennifer's, this past weekend to watch the LSU vs Idaho game.  I was in the mood to bake and decided to make something to bring over to their house.  After browsing Pinterest, I came up with a tiger striped cake!  The picture was super cute and the instructions seemed easy enough, plus I had all the ingredients on hand.  I made the cake mix, halved it, and dyed each half.

Then I alternated each color cake mix in the pan.

I baked the cakes according to the directions.  I iced the cakes with a chocolate marshmallow icing.

Then I decorated the top for the tigers.  I definitely need to take a cake decorating class, or at least, start practicing a lot more.  I have a ways to go on the look of the cake.  I also learned a valuable lesson.  I iced the cake on the cake carrier since I knew we were taking it somewhere.  Well, it didn't like the ride very much, because by the time we were at their house the top layer had slid halfway off the bottom layer.  From now on I will be putting toothpicks in to hold the two layers together.  Needless to say, cutting the cake was a disaster, but it still tasted delicious!!

GEAUX TIGERS!

Old Wives Tales

It seems like forever away until we find out what Tiny Cox will be! I still have a gut feeling it is a girl, and I think Jon is still hoping for a boy. Here are a few old wives tales to help us come up with a hypothesis...

-are you carrying high or low?

low= boy

-is the heart rate above or below 140?

above=girl (the HR is always around 146)

-are you craving sweet or sour/salty things?

sour/salty=boy

-do you have more acne since pregnancy?

yes=girl (this acne is unbelievable!)

-do you sleep on your right or left side?

left side=boy

-have you had morning sickness?

yes=girl

-are you having headaches?

yes=boy (not sure if this one really counts since I had headaches before I was pregnant)

-is your attitude more happy or moody?

happy=boy

According to these I am having a boy! We will see on September 27th!!

The planning and prepping for the gender reveal party is well under way. Here is a hint about the theme of the party...

Embrace The Bump

Wouldn't it be nice to find out you are pregnant and then wake up the next day with the nice round pregnant belly?  Maybe not everyone would like that, but I would.  It has been hard for me to accept the fact that I am gaining a stomach, mainly because it has looked most like a beer gut.   I wasn't the skinniest chick in the world before I was pregnant, but I wasn't caring a monster truck spare tire around either.   This past week I have decided to embrace the bump!  I have been wearing shirts that are fitted and pants instead of loose summer dresses.  It definitely helps that the belly is a little more rounded now.  The 6 pack of beer gut was starting to depress me.  I have been asked a few times if I am carrying twins, but I just smile and politely deny that fact, and am thankful they can tell I am pregnant and not just fat!

This is definitely not a good picture of me,
 but I feel it shows me embracing the bump!
Jon is my belly photographer and he's always making me laugh,
that's why I look silly in this picture.  

Happy Birthday E!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ethan!

I miss you just as much today as I did the day you left us. Thank you for allowing me to experience love that I didn't know existed. You'll always be my one and only E!

TGIM

Yes, I am the first to say Thank God it's Monday! Each Monday marks another week that Tiny Cox continues to grow and develop. This Monday was also the first time, since I've graduated college, that I have had a paid holiday off from work! I have really enjoyed this long weekend! Saturday morning I had the chance to eat breakfast with a dear friend, Kelli (Ethan's mommy). I am so excited to know that she and Nathan are pregnant and due three days before us! How much fun are we going to have! That afternoon my sister made it in town. It's always nice to see her and spend time with her. She lives in Alabama so we don't get to hang out often. Sunday afternoon we spent at my parents house visiting with my sister and grandparents. This weekend was filled with family time, and I'm so thankful for that!
As I said before TGIM, and this Monday marks 15 weeks! We had a check-up with the doctor this past Thursday and everything went well. Unfortunately we did not have an ultrasound, so we don't know yet whether Tiny Cox is a boy or a girl. The doctor did use a doppler to find the heart beat, and that's always a joyous noise to hear. At the office it was 140-145 and was strong and loud! We go back at the end of the month and at that visit we will find out the gender. I am so ready to know! My sweet friend Mary let us borrow her fetal doppler and Jon and I have really enjoyed hearing Tiny's heart beat whenever we want! This morning it was loud and clear at a steady 146. I am still convinced we are having a girl and Jon is really rooting for a boy. We are trying to be patient about finding out but it's really hard! Until then we will continue to have our theories and guesses based upon old wives tales.