If you’ve been following along with BFOTD on Instagram this summer, you know that we set off on a crazy 26 day road trip across 11 states. Our first stop was a visit with my parents and friends in my hometown, Little Rock. I think Arkansas is the south’s best kept secret. Folks who only drive through on I-40 or I-30 miss all the beauty and fun my home state has to offer. You can read more about how we funded our road trip here, and about our travels here.
My siblings and I are all spread out all over the country, so when we get together we have to get a picture of the kids all together. As you might imagine, getting 3 kids age 3 and under to sit still and pose is nearly impossible. Sweet Luke hadn’t quite mastered the whole sitting up thing, which made it even trickier. There was a small scuffle over the little blue fish in the middle, but we persevered. Two more cute cousins will be added to this side of the family in April and June.
Even though I’ve lived far away for the last 6 years, my sweet friends from home threw me a baby shower this past weekend. Jed was on spring break, so we headed to Little Rock on Thursday for a little extra quality time with my family and friends. We stayed with my parents as usual, but this time there were 7 dogs at the house as well as 7 people. It was a bit crowded, to say the least. I’ll post more pics of Dogapalooza ’11 later, but for now you’ll have to be entertained with Julie’s (one of the hostesses) pictures from the shower. Crystal, another hostess, hand painted the letters shown above for the nursery. I am in love with them. I can’t wait to hang them (or more likely make Jed hang them) on the wall above the crib. So cute!
Here I am, with my giant belly. This child is growing like crazy and moving like a fly girl on “In Living Color.” Does anyone remember that show? I wanted to be a fly girl so bad.
Check out that spread, y’all. My friends worked so hard and made lots of delicious food for us. We had an incredible brunch of creme brulee french toast, fresh fruit, 2 different quiches, croissants, and brownies, and 2 different cakes. The cakes were beautifully decorated to match the paintings that Crystal created for the nursery. I’ll have pics of both later. Julie created the diaper cake in the middle, which is now decorating the nursery.
Trisha, my mom’s best friend, and her daughter Sarah have known me since Sarah and I were 4 years old. Now she is the mama of sweet Maya, and I’m pregnant with my first. I love that we are still great friends after 27 years.
Marci, Julie, and Crystal put so much hard work into this shower, and I am so grateful for them. They are dear friends that I’ve known forever. Julie and I met very young playing in my neighborhood, then went to junior high and senior high school together. We’ve been roommates in the past and had a great friendship across the miles for a long time. Marci and I met in junior high youth group and became friends and partners in crime soon after that. Crystal and I met in college and were finishing each other’s sentences after a week. I love these girls and they and their families are some of my favorite people in the world. They are all mamas already, and have given me so much great advice. They really get me and it is so important to have people like that in my life. I miss living near them and hope to again someday.
this past weekend we went to little rock to celebrate several birthdays (marci, dad, and joyce) with folks we love. my brother chris and his wife emily were in town as well, with our precious niece in tow. caroline is the prettiest baby ever, though i will admit i’m biased. the best part of the weekend was the quality time with some of my favorite people. the second best thing was seeing the change in my dad. right after christmas he joined a gym and started working out almost every day. he and my mom changed their eating habits to concentrate on making healthy choices. my daddy has lost 36 pounds since the beginning of january! he has struggled with his weight my entire life, as well as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and a host of other weight caused issues. he went to the doctor and all of his levels were already back into the healthy range! amazing! we had to buy him new clothes for his birthday because the old ones were falling off. i am so incredibly proud of him and my mom for changing their lifestyle. they are such an inspiration to me. now if i can just get moving myself…
the proud grandparents – dede and papa john
aunt becca and baby caroline