He's the best. . .

I have a pretty great husband. Ok, he's really great. The other day it occurred to me that now that we have Campbell, it would be neat to have something with her birthstone on it. I mentioned it to Derek a couple of days ago and we both decided it would be a great way to celebrate the birth of our daughter. It wasn't going to be a Christmas present or anything, we were just going to get a little something I could wear. Anyway, Derek had been bugging me to open a Christmas present early this year...which was very strange. I hate surprises, so I wanted to open it, but it was even a little bit early for me. He had gone out "running errands" one day while my mom was here helping me with Campbell and gotten me the gift. So today, again, he suggested that I open it again. I said I would. He handed me a big, heavy box. It hadn't occurred to me that Derek is known for wrapping small things in big boxes until that second. So I opened the box and the first thing I saw was a can of asparagus. I like asparagus...but not that much. I pulled out more tissue paper and saw a can of raisins. Again, I like them, but not that much. I looked at him confused, I didn't think there was anything else in the box. I pulled the last piece of tissue paper out of the box and saw a little box stuffed down in there. I pulled it out and thought there was no way it could have been something with Campbell's birthstone. I had just mentioned it and he had gotten me the gift days ago. I opened up the box and sure enough...there it was. The most beautiful and thoughtful gift I have probably ever received.

So yes, my husband is great because he got me this Christmas/Push present (I had no idea he even knew what a push present was?!!). But to think of it before I had even mentioned it...brings tears to my eyes. I of course started crying as soon as I saw it. I am afterall a big ball of emotions right now. I love it so much though and I love my husband even more for being so thoughtful.

......and here's a pic just cause she's so stinkin' adorable.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

I thought I would share some of our Christmas decorations with you!! I really only decorate the living room because a) decorations are expensive and I only have enough to do that room at this point in my life and b) well I dont really have a point b! Derek pulled the tree down from the attic, turned on the Christmas music, put it together and I had the responsibility of putting on the lights and most of the ornaments. I have a new appreciation for my mom now....that's a daily occurrence. Anyway, I pushed through it and got it done. Derek helped a bit with the ornaments. He placed all the special ones, which I am about to share with you!! 

A bat ornament we got when we visited Mammoth Cave in Oct. 09

Campbell's first ornament thanks to Aunt Emily!

Our first ornament we got on our honeymoon in Hawaii!

We got this one while camping in Gatlinburg!

Stockings I hung by the chimney with care!

Campbell's stocking! I hope to get a picture of her as a newborn in it.

This picture is a little scary on many levels, but I wanted to get one last belly pic. 

I don't think 40 weekers like having their picture taken so much, oh well. Well I hope you enjoyed the update. I've decided the next time I blog I will have a child....see ya then!

Belly Pic!

Ok...I realize Im a total blog slacker. I hope to get some more pics from my shower to blog about it, but until then here's a 35 and half week belly picture. I'm getting the pregnancy face (swollen nose and even bigger lips!).

Boyd's Orchard

Ok, well the sign said Boyd Orchards...but I can't get over how obscure that sounds. So, Boyd's Orchard it is. Anyway, after we got 3D pics of Campbell, we headed to said orchard with my mom, sister, and nephew, Levi. I was excited to pick out pumpkins and do all those orchardly activities! The weather was perfect. I think it might have been 75 degrees when just the day before it was above 90. I was ever so thankful...as were my toes who don't take well to heat these days. I wheeled Levi around in a wagon for a bit.

Next we walked around the shop for a while. As I wandered about, I found the samples table. They were sampling pies and some apple doughnuts. Needless to say, the girl at the sample table and I became good friends and we took home half a dozen of those doughnuts. They may be worth a trip back...no lie. Next time I would get a dozen....sigh... After some browsing we went on a hay ride!! Levi was super excited, see?

Cracks me up! This is his 'smile' and that is my sister trying not to laugh hysterically. Here's one of Levi snuggling with my mom. Sweet.

 

I took a picture of an apple sign and frankly it's one of my favorite pictures ever. I like how the colors are so primary. 

 

A pumpkin patch believe it or not! 

We ate some good food, had apple cider slushies (which sound disgusting, but are surprisingly delicious) played and pet some farm animals. All-in-all a good trip to the orchard! Before we left Derek and I picked out our pumpkins. He had the bright idea of picking out a pumpkin to represent everyone in our little family so that's exactly what we did. 

 ...and here we all are on the front porch. Me, Campbell, Derek, Ernie and Buster. 

Campbell's Big Debut!

So Derek informed me today that I have been neglectful of my blog....but that's not exactly the case. I just knew good things were coming up, so I was waiting until they happened so I could share them on here!! That's all!

As most of you know, the most exciting thing that has happened lately is that we had a 3D ultrasound done. I was so excited to see our baby girl that I woke up at 5:30 that morning and was in and out of sleep until it was time for me to actually get up. We had the ultrasound done in Lexington at a place my sister had her 3D ultrasound done. The whole way there Campbell was awake and active, which is rare for her. She's really more of a night owl. Anyway, so the ultrasound started and one of the first things the tech commented about was how big Campbell was. I found that very surprising because a lot of people have commented about how small I am, etc. So she moved the wand around some more and the second thing she brought to our attention was that Campbell has some hair!! I never dreamed I would have a hairy child, but my dreams don't really matter when it comes down to it.

See the little white twiggies to the left of her head....yeah, that's hair. I'm still in shock about that. Campbell wasn't super cooperative, not that I really expected her to be or anything. She was already head down and was rather snugly with the placenta. For the most part she had her face smashed against it. We got nice little glimpses of her face every now and then, but it wasn't until the very last minute that we got the best series of her face. First she flashed us a little smile and then stuck her tongue out at us.

 Then, as if she were laughing at herself, smiled even bigger...

 ...and then preceded to cackle at herself. Or at least that's what I like to tell myself.

So precious! I already feel like she has her own little personality. I think she may be a bit contrary, much like her father. Hmmm.....

My Newest Creation

Since starting the whole hair bow endeavor, I have found something else I can do with the felt I was using for the bows. It started when I made my friend Leah a cupcake bow for her little one, Ella, who is due a week or so before Campbell. I cut out the pieces and then hand stitched them to another piece of felt. It was really cute and will make a cute bow. However, I got to thinking....what if she doesn't have something to wear with it. That's when I thought that I could just sew the little emblem to a shirt. I went to my collection of onesies to see what I had to work with.

I have Fall on the brain, so I made a little pumpkin emblem. I found a white onesie and got to stitchin'.... NOT as easy as I thought it would be, but very cute when done. I also had some unisex onesies that looked a little more boyish than girlish, so I made a pink C and stitched it to a green and white striped onesie. Here's what I came up with.

Here's a closer look...

Got a little crooked with the pumpkin, but to tell yah the truth I think it adds character.

Belly Pic!!

29 weeks!! I don't know that I have grown too much, but my belly button is definitely getting more and more shallow. I feel huge, but I know I still have a ways to go. I am just noticing in this picture that my nose looks a little like a pregnant woman's...haha. In my defense I had woke up from a nap not too long before this...

Making Bows!

So Derek tells me often that I need a hobby. I don't get offended because, well, it's true. I do. I hope to start sewing in the near future, but until I get the machine I had to think of something else. So, with a little inspiration (ok, maybe a lot) from some other blogs (ie: http://www.heatherbailey.typepad.com/) I decided on bow making. I mean, I'm having a little girl, so it was only a logical thought! haha. Anyway....I headed to Michael's for some 29 cent pieces of felt and a $5 thing of buttons and was on my way! Well, I meant to also buy the little alligator hair clips too, but got too excited and left without buying them. Oh well, next time.
Once I got home I started snipping and sewing. Within 10 minutes I had made my first 'bow' for mere pennies! Want to see it? Here it is....
Above are the pieces I cut. The finished product......
Derek wasn't too fond of it. However, he doesn't see the practicality of a white bow...but he will soon enough. After making this bow I kind of just went crazy and only pricked my finger about 331 times. Here's what my hard work got me....

Halloween Bow!!!!!The were all really simple to make. The Button Bow above definitely took the longest to make (and definitely contributed to my 331 finger pricks) but I think it's really cute. And honestly, how many little girls will you see with this bow? Not many....unless their dads were telling their moms to get a hobby too. I plan to put a lot of them on headbands. I also made a special bow for my friend Emily's little girl Layla. I got the tutorial off the blog I mentioned above. I was able to use fabric I already had and the materials I bought at Michael's. Here it is...
I know these are bows and seem so trivial (and they really are), but Derek was right...hobbies are fun and entertaining!! I'm off to try my hand at a few more...

Mission Organization!

So I had a dilemma on my hands. Campbell's room is literally 10ft x 20ft...in other words, a large closet. It's completely fine with me that it's so small, but as far as where to store things (besides in the tiny closet) had me stumped. I was mainly worried about the cloth diapering situation. I don't want to pile everything on top on her dresser...and as far as putting it in the dresser...it's full of all her hand me down clothes! Sooo, I thought and thought about how I could store them close to the changing table and came up with something that could go behind the door. I know that seems like a strange place, but it's out of sight. Here's what I came up with.
I bought a cheapo shoe organizer made to hang on the back of a door and VOILA!! I would have liked to find an organizer with larger pockets, but I'm also not going to drive all around town looking for one!! I hope it ends up working well for us!

I also found a cute applique set for just $20 at Meijer. I hadn't necessarily planned on using them, but after I saw them I thought they would work really well on the wall behind her bed.
Again, taking commands with a smile. Haha.
Our other little helper.
And...the finished product. Don't think I got super crafty with the decals...there was a picture of how to do it on the package. We followed it down to the last leaf. See the leftovers up in the right-hand corner. They don't look nearly as good!
I would like to find a large C to go above the right side of her bed. It would look something like this.
I guess I will keep my eyes peeled for one!!

My Little Jumping Bean

I apologize for the Two and a Half Men you hear in the background. Those are the types of shows you get to enjoy when you don't have cable. Campbell was in rare form for a few minutes tonight!! I caught it on video and thought I would share it on here!!

jumping bean from Whitney Jones on Vimeo.

Little Library!

Remember the little shelves I got for a steal at the Peddler's Mall. You know, the orange ones?! These...
Well they have finally all been painted and all been hung with care. I can't remember where I got the idea to create a little library of sorts, but Im sure it was HGTV inspired or something. Right now Campbell's library is pretty sad. I think we only have 3 books, but along the way we intend to fill her little bookshelf and alternate books off and on the shelves. Here is the finished product!
The first book Derek picked out for Campbell was a Curious George Collection....
As you can kind of see, the little groves that the shelves have are perfect for nudging the books down into. I'd hate to have them just leaning there and slide off while she's sleeping one day or night. I would surely make a mess in my pants if I heard that in her room at night. Shew....Im nervous just thinking about it! ANYWAY, I'm really pleased with how they turned out. Here's a better view of that whole wall.
While I'm at it, I thought I would post a few more pics since her nursery is (for the most part) done. Just waiting on a few more possible shower gifts and a rocking chair that Derek's mom and sister-in-law are going to paint for me. It'll go right to the right of the swing in the above picture!!
Yes, I stuffed a pillow into the changing pad cover. No, I will not actually be using that as a changing pad. It was for effect.
I turned my Boppy pillow sideways to make a C.

I found a picture of my Pawpaw, Campbell, and framed it in her room.
Yay!!! I love her little room. I always walk in there sporadically just to see it and get little butterflies in my stomach. I am keeping my eyes peeled for something to go above her bed...I'm sure I'll figure something out. Thanks to my wonderful husband for putting up with my sometimes extremely urgent need to do things in her room.
Yeah, him!