Merry Christmas!

It is truly crazy what difference a year can bring. At this time last year Kevin and I were in Whitefish, Montana (one of my favorite places) visiting some of my family and just having a great vacation. We had been married just over a year and were hitting up breweries, snowboarding and even partaking in some Jager bombs on New Years Eve at the Great Northern (our fav bar). So, it is easy to say that our activities the week between Christmas and New Years are going to be quite different!

Kevin and I were told that we were not supposed to fly after 35 weeks, so it was home for the holidays in Houston. We were sad to be have to miss our regularly festivities in Amarillo, but we actually ended up to have a pretty amazing weekend. Any of yall who really know us, know that we are always on the move. It is rare that we have two weekends out of the month that we are actually home...so it was really a shock to be home this much, We hung around the house, had a great dinner with friends, slept in, shopped, went to some movies, opened some great presents, cooked our very own Christmas turkey dinner and even crafted some projects for Miss Taylor's nursey. All in all, it was quite an awesome long weekend and Christmas. We did of course still very much miss our families, but we know next years Christmas events with an almost 1 year old (whoa!) will make up for it with more excitement than we can imagine!

We did have some exciting events over the Christmas weekend. I had some signs of early labor (I won't go into graphic detail on this blog) and my braxton hicks started kicking up even more...so who knows. It is just the waiting game now, but our bags are packed! It could be today or another month....who knows! The anxiousness is definitely starting to kick in now that we are getting a lot more "GO" signs, but I am still feeling that utter confusion of "HOW WILL I REALLY KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME?!" I hear that you will just know, but then I have also heard that everybody's labor is different! If anyone has any advice, please feel free to chime in ! All I know is that we cannot wait to meet her.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year everyone. I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed 2012!

Melissa

Braxton Hicks and more!

Today has been a long day of feeling really pregnant! I have felt Braxton Hicks a few times over the last 3-4 weeks but yesterday and today I have felt a lot of the signs of the body "prepping itself" for labor. Insanity! I guess this little girl is really going to be making an appearance in the near future. I am getting so excited to meet her. I keep saying I feel like a ticking time bomb though, and that is really how people start to look at you when you look this pregnant! I think strangers are scared your water will break right on their feet or something! Anyways, we are getting very excited about Christmas around the Morgan household, but we may be hunkering down in Houston since we will be past 35 weeks. We are supposed to go to Amarillo... but not sure if its in the cards for this year. Next doctor appointment is Thursday, so we will know more then. But, first up is our last baby class- infant care! Maybe we will actually learn what we are supposed to do with her! Lots of excitement!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Melissa

Maternity Photo Session at Herman Park

We finally got our maternity pics done! Cristin Steger and her sister have started a photography business and it was great to have Cristin come to Herman Park to take our maternity pics/ christmas card pics a little over a week ago. We made it a double preggers photo session with Allison & Chad- it was such a good time! She made me feel really comfortable...even though I was not really wanting to photographed at this point in my pregnancy! I am so glad we have the memories now. Check out their blog if you want some great pics taken :)

Jacquelinemclainephotography.blogspot.com

Thanks again, Cristin!

Here are just a few samples from our session....

Baby Morgan Couples Shower 12.3.11

We are blessed. We have some of the best friends and family that anyone could ever ask for and they came out in full force this weekend to help us celebrate baby girl. Stacie, Amye, Sabina & Allison hosted us a wonderful couple's shower at Stacie and Scott's house and it was such a blast. We basically "dropped off" the husbands downstairs with football and beer to watch the Texas v. Baylor game and all of the gals were upstairs visiting and having a great time. I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to the hostesses-- it was such a wonderful time and meant so very much to us.

Look what a cute job they did crafting & decorating! Love it!

i have to point out it said look whooo.. and had a little 2 above the "h" so it said "h2o"...so cute!

party favors- seeds that grow!

guest sign in w/ precious wreath Stacie made

It was such a good time and Taylor (we think that is her name now) was spoiled with a ton of presents and love. It was such a great mix of family and friends too that we had not seen in quite a while.

my amazing hostesses and amigas

soon to be parents! aah!

me, jen, stacie & amye

liz, me, kevin, jason and derrick

part of the eskimo hut crew

 

kevin, me, gaurav & seema



lisa & abbey

mis and bina

my preggo partner in crime (and hostess), alli

kevin and jen

just part of the loot for baby girl...she is spoiled already!

Just wanted to say another big

THANK YOU to everyone who hosted, came to the shower & even those who sent gifts anyways. Yall are too sweet and we are blessed to have such wonderful people in our life.

Much Love,

Kevin, Melissa & Taylor :)

32 weeks...

Today we officially hit our 32 week mark! I am still in shock when I keep telling people that we only have 8 weeks left. That is just totally unbelievable to me. Today she is the size of a squash  and is aleady in head down "birthing" position. She is still the strong kicker and does not let us forget she is in there. I am still feeling good, although my body is forcing me to slow down quite a bit and it is becoming quite humerous to watch me get out of bed or waddle. I've been battling a really annoying sinus infection that I picked up over Thanksgiving, and really wishing I could take anti-biotics about now :)

I had my doctor appointment on Monday, and there was really no new news...which is good because heartbeat was still strong and I was right on track. I was hoping to get an ultrasound to determine her size at this point, but maybe in 2 weeks. I was just getting lectured again how I need to "watch my weight gain" as I have gained 30 lbs so far. My doctor is one of those that is very adimate about not gaining over 25-30 lbs. total. After talking to most of my girlfriends who have had kiddos, it seemed like the "30-40lb" mark was more what they ended up at? Who knows. Her solution was for me to practice "portion control" and exercise 1 hour/ day, 7 days a week. I think I know just where that fool can stick it...

Kevin and I had our first series of childbirth classes at Memorial Hermann this week. It was a 2 part series, 6 hours total, all about signs of labor, labor, delivery and what happens right after. The first class totally freaked me out because it basically just covered natural childbirth techniques. No thank you. So, last nights class was much better as it was acutally talking about epidurals, etc! I think my favorite part of the entire class was getting to see all the new little nuggets in the nursery. They are just precious and I think that makes it just that much more real that we are going to have one of those so soon! Coincidentally, while at the tour I happened to bump into some friends-  Leah & JJ who had just had their 2nd baby the day earlier. Small world! At the end of class I also ran into another old family friend who is a doctor at Memorial Hermann for the NICU. Hopefully we will not need her expertise, but she gave me a great pediatrician recommendation which  is awesome since I really had not made any headway in that area yet. I definitely recommend the childbirth classes to any new parent expecting. Although I do still feel anxious and lost, it does make me feel like I know a little bit more about what can be expected, and not expected.

Thanksgiving break was a whirlwind across Texas...we went to Austin & Amarillo- but it was a great time!

my sister, me and splash (the new fur baby)- austin, tx

the son-in- laws with dad- kevin, kyle and bill

cousin georgie & aunt patty

kevin extremely excited about his thanksgiving plate

little miss montannah (family friend, hollie's daughter)

joella (my sis in law) and my sweet niece, liviya (5 months)

some of the amarillo boys

brothers!

I can't wait for our last couples baby shower this weekend hosted by Stacie, Amye, Melanie, Allison & Sabina. I have such awesome friends and can't wait to see them and all and family coming in as well! How cute is this invitation?

Happy December!

Melissa

31 weeks!

This week I am officially at 31 weeks! We are now scheduled for doctors appointments every 2 weeks, which is just making her and this having a baby thing that much more real! She is at the stage where she is growing 1/2 lb per week... Whoa! Also, I apparently had my first Braxton Hicks contractions on Sunday while trying to take a nap. They just really felt like uncomfortable side stitches you get after running... but on my stomach. Thank you Joella (my sis in law) for clarifying what they were, I had no idea.

Other 3rd trimester symptoms- The acid reflux has started to set in at times, and I don't sleep through the night anymore with my overactive bladder. I know I sound like I'm complaining a lot, but really I have felt really good! It's been very exciting to have some of my great girlfriends getting pregnant too, to share all of these crazy experiences with. Congrats dear ladies... You know who you are! :)

Now it's off to Austin & Amarillo for Thanksgiving! Can't wait to see all my family and grub on some turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mis

Pinterest Project of the week...tomato cage christmas trees

I am not really sure if I am just excited that it is the holidays, bored because my husband has been out of town all week, or the nesting phase has REALLY set in! Whatever the case, it has made fore some serious projects and organization!

Last week I cam across the pinterest christmas tree out of a tomato cage and was set. So, last night I stopped by home depot and the rest is all history. I think it was quite successful and even more, really easy! Here is the original link that was posted from pinterest.
http://nedesignbuild.com/articles/?p=137

Step 1:
Buy tomato cage from Home Depot outside in gardening dept. I got (2) of the 54 in for each side of my front door. ($5/ each). I then zip-tied the top together to close the christmas tree shape. (zip ties are in electrical section in hardware store and good for EVERYTHING!)

Step 2:
Wrap Garland around tree. I used garland I had bought last year at Hobby Lobby for $3/ strand. It took about 4 strands/ tree. You can skip this step if you just want them to be light up trees in yard! The garland was moldable, so basically stayed in place, but I zip-tied in 3-4 spots to cage to make sure it didn't sag.

Step 3:
Wrap with Christmas lights. I went for basic white lights. The 300 count box for $9 at home depot covered 1 entire tree. Secure to cage in several places with zip-ties again to make sure they stay in place as needed.

Step 4: Add tree topper of your choice...I went with the silver sparkly star because it went with my wreath I already have for my front door. I found these at home depot as well for $7. A bow would also look really pretty....

Step 5: Place in pot. I thought this gave it much more of a finished look and made them taller, and much more stable. I used 2 extra large clay pots (my house is spanish style) that I already had sitting around my yard.

Total cost for me for 2 trees was $44 since I already had the garland and pots. I could have saved $14 if I had just made a bow or already had a tree topper. I took the easy route.

Sorry for the poor photos, they were all via iphone. I will post another pic once I have my entire front porch finished...it is a work in progess and I guess I am already jumping the gun since it is only mid November.

Happy Holidays!

Mis

Darren & Melody's Wedding- Austin, TX

We had a great weekend in Austin. One of Kevin's ski trip buddies got married at the Four Seasons downtown and we had a chance to catch up with some friends we haven't seen in a while. Melody (the bride) had one of the most beautiful dresses with gorgeous sashes I have ever seen, and it looked perfect on her...as I think she is about 5'10 and weighs about 100 lbs soaking wet too, so that makes the perfect model canvas! We had a great time, although it was quite interesting trying to find attractive "formal" maternity attire for the wedding. Had to switch into flip flops after the ceremony, as my 4 inch heels just werent happening and I was making Kevin really nervous attempting to balance. We got a few dances in, and then I was happily ready to chauffer my buzzed husband home by 11:30 and crash out. What has happened to my energy?! Also, big news in my little world..I got bangs. Ha. I get so bored I have to switch it up sometimes to keep from really cutting my hair. They are fun for now, but already driving me nuts...so I am sure they won't last too long. Can't decide if they are really fun and hip or if I look like a soccer mom. Gotta love change though. Kevin likes it because he gets to feel like he has a new "girlfriend" :) So, thank you Holden Allen at Michael Kemper Salon for your awesome hair cuts as always!


Cocktail Hour before Reception @ the Four Seasons



The Morgans and baby girl at 29 weeks!

Matt & Monica Spencer

The Strozowski's



The Bride & Groom



Kevin (and his Movember mustache), Darren (groom) and David

Kevin is out of town for part of this week for work as well...so it looks like it just may be my window (and excuse) to start decorating for Christmas. Yay! I cannot believe Thanksgiving is only 8 days away....I think Harper is really excited too as she is kicking nonstop!

Have a great week!

Mis