Baby shower!

 Yesterday marked my 32nd week of pregnancy, only eight more to go! And last weekend was my baby shower. It was small, just family and close friends, but it was so fun and relaxed! The colors were the same as my kids room is going to be, so a lot of the shower decor will find new life there. I have to say, my mom's sunroom is the perfect room for parties! We rearrange the furniture and add different decor for almost every shower and party we have. The snacks were made by my mother and I, the punch was a recipe I found on Pinterest and edited which I will share in another post, most food was made by my mother, one dish was made by my sister's mother-in-law, and as far as decor I will include credits at the bottom. Without further ado, pictures!

These are the prize bags! We found the bags on clearance at Target, and I hot-glued twine and little mini-flags on them to match the larger banners we'd made.

The invitations were SO cute. We found them on Etsy (credit below), printed them at Walmart, and we found this frame again on clearance at Target!

These large poms we found on Etsy (credit below) and we used twine to hang them from the ceiling fan. They came with clear fishing line for hanging, but the garlands we bought from the same shop we ordered on twine so we wanted them to match.

These garlands were the best decoration! They are different shades of orange on twine, and we hung them from the curtains using safety pins.

We made several of these banners and hung them across the doorways and also above the present table. We bought all the paper at Michaels (most on clearance for 20 cents a sheet) and were able to get 3 good sized flags out of each sheet. Then we punched holes in the corners and threaded them onto twine in a specific pattern similar to the one on the invites.

These are the sweets made by my mother and I, and the cupcakes were iced by my sister and I. The marshmallows are dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles, and they're skewered on gray chevron paper straws. The pretzel rods are also dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles. The cupcakes were a special recipe created by my mom (almond vanilla, with sour cream in them which keeps them moist!), and the frosting was a special recipe also.

Me, my momma, and the little munchkin before the party started.

The flowers sent by my husband that arrived in the middle of the shower. :) He's so sweet! They were even prettier when they were all alive. In this picture only the carnations are still kicking.

Some party preview shots!

Credits:

Poms and pom garlands purchased from:                                       Pom+Love on Etsy

Invitations purchased from:                                                            katiedidesigns on Etsy

Gray striped paper straws purchased from:                                     BakeMeAParty on Etsy

Cute matching tin owl purchased from:                                           Ross

Yellow pillows (originally for the kids room) purchased from:             Target

Paper and twine for banners and assorted decor purchased from:     Michaels

The original Punch recipe can be found:                                          here (but we did tweak it a bit for ourselves, more on that later!)

B is for Baby, Blue, and Boy!

That's right! Baby Smith number 2 is a BOY! And not only that, but he has a name. Mr. Talon Cameron Smith is due May 4th. I can't wait!

A lot is changing with us (as always). My job at Target is supposed to be coming to an end at the end of February, mostly because Cameron is back to work at UNFI now (as of last week) and I'm ready to be done! Cameron really doesn't want me lifting heavy things much longer, so that's really the driving force behind it.
Cameron is on his last quarter of school, with only one class. He was trying to finish up last quarter but they canceled a class at the last minute, so now it's the only thing keeping him from being done. At the end of this quarter he will have his AA and be on track to becoming a certified Air Traffic Controller.
In the meantime the poor guy gets up at 5am 3 days a week to drive the two hours up to Auburn for school, then after class drives 2 hours back down to Ridgefield to start work, and doesn't get home until after 10:30 each night. Not. Pleasant. He sacrifices a lot for us, and I couldn't be more proud to have him!

We are in mom's house, again, but are just waiting for our apartment to be finished so we can move in sometime in March! My in-laws own the apartment building, and decided that it was time their 91-year-old resident moved to a retirement home. He's been living there alone for 41 years (and is a hoarder), and they are concerned that if anything were to happen to him no one would know. It's fortunate for us though, and hopefully he'll be happier surrounded by people his own age, with help a ring away. The apartment is currently gutted and not at all pretty, but they are completely remodeling it, so I can't wait to see the end result!

Also in March is my baby shower! It's planned for March 2nd. My mom and sister are throwing it, but we are all 3 planning it, which I love because I love to plan parties! Etsy has been our best friend thus far. :)

Alexis is loving preschool, being 4, and sleeping in her new twin bed! The crib is going to Talon, and she's growing like crazy, so it was time. Cameron and I got my mom's old bed, my younger sister Jewell got our old bed, and Alexis now has Jewell's. It worked out wonderfully!

Also! I am an auntie! :) My first sister to have a baby! Little sis Jenessa gave birth to Kashton Richard Kell on December 7th, and he couldn't be MORE beautiful! A quick pic of Lexi holding him right after he was born:

So that's it! You're caught up for now.

Baby Names!

Talon, Everley, Brynnley, Luna....the list goes on! We can't decide. Help us out!

Boys



Girls



These are for first names only. Once we decide on 1-3 names for boys or girls, we will look at middle names also. Help us choose, which ones do you like?

100 by 30

You may or may not have noticed the new page over to the right labeled "100 by 30". This is a goal list I've given myself of 100 things to do before I turn 30.
I need this...I've never been a very exciting person. Even when I do something exciting, people get bored hearing about it because I can't even explain things in an exciting way. Like bungee jumping. Pretty exciting thing to do, but if I told you about it you'd probably end up saying "Oh, uh-huh? Is that right. How interesting".
But in my heart I am a VERY exciting person. I don't know if it's all the reading I did as a child, or just the nature of my childhood, but I just have this wildness inside of me that wants to get out. Wants to travel the world, create things, enjoy the wonders of life and also endure the struggle of survival.
So in order to sate the wildness inside, I've made a list. Haha! That sounds too funny.
There are a few things I may never get to do, all of the traveling, for instance, is a bit much altogether.
And then there are other things, like getting my license, that are really a necessity. Something I must do.
But nevertheless they are all goals I've set, and I would LOVE to have them all by the time I'm 30!
That gives me 7 years from this August.
And I think, I hope, I can get most or all of these in the next 7 years. We'll see!
Wish me luck!