shop til you...pop??

So, this last Friday, I went on a shopping trip to the durrrty Lou with my two friends, Brooke & Bridget.  We go on an annual Christmas shopping trip to STL every December in hopes of getting some Christmas shopping done...without killing other shoppers or getting killed, I suppose.  However, every year, it seems that my Christmas shopping list gets a little neglected by my own selfish wants and needs.  Sure, I knock a few people off of my list, but usually I'm the one that comes out on top with the most gifts!  Yeah, selfish I know...but the way I explain it to my husband is that Christmas shopping is hard work!  It's stressful and other shoppers make it a day from hell!  So, until HE decides he'll do all the Christmas shopping, I'll treat myself to a few gifts for doing all the hard work!

Well, this year was different.  Not only did I avoid some of my favorite stores because I can't fit into anything, but my focus turned out to be buying V some cute clothes!  Yes, I realize she's not even here, but if you could've seen the cute clothes they had for baby girls, you would've done the same thing!  So, not only did I not buy myself a ton a stuff, I found myself taking breaks with the grumpy old grandpas who were either snoozing away or glaring at every teenager that walked by.  (I wasn't snoozing but I did catch myself glaring at some teenagers...)  If only you could've seen me shopping in my prime back in the day.  (*sigh*)  I could shop for 12 hours, without a break, with heels on!  I'm afraid those days are long gone!  With every step I took, I felt the need to pee.  And with every pee break I took, I got thirsty.  It was a vicious, vicious cycle that never ended!  As the day progressed, I could sense a little bit (actually, probably a lot) of a waddle in my step.  I could feel my feet swelling up and a permanent scowl come across my face.  My poor friends might cut me out of the shopping trip if I'm ever pregnant again!  But all in all, I had fun shopping with my friends, buying my little lady some cute stuff and treating myself to a piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory!  Once Christmas is over, the countdown will really be on!  7 weeks to go!

One of my favorite outfits that I bought for V.  :)

i love my family, friends and cake balls...

This past weekend, I was super spoiled by my friends and family at my baby shower.  Seriously, the amount of gifts that we received was ridiculous!  This lil lady is gonna be so loved and so spoiled!  My awesome friends and sister threw me the most amazing shower and I'm so completely grateful for them!  I truly believe that they're just as excited about my pregnancy as I am!  And all our friends and family that came out to the shower just put me on cloud 9.  They all sure know how to make a fat lady feel loved...

In case you're wondering, there are many differences between a baby shower and bridal shower...here are some of the biggies:
1.  Opening gifts can be a bit challenging, considering you can't bend over and you don't have a lap to put the gifts on.
2.  In the middle of opening gifts, you must have a friend fan you because you might die of a hot flash.
3.  Getting a diaper genie is way more exciting than getting fine china!
4.  The bride never really cares about eating the cake at her shower, but cake balls are the best thing that a pregnant fattie could ever indulge in!  In fact, I think I dreamt about them months prior to my baby shower...

Here are some pics from the baby shower:

These are the cake balls...but should be called cake amaze-balls!  

With the Poole ladies!

12 weeks vs 31 weeks

Love these ladies!

With Violet's grandmas.

All my favesies (minus my sissy who couldn't fly in from Boston) that threw me the most wonderful shower ever!  Love you, girlies!  

I also wanted to share some pictures from Violet's nursery.  I must admit, her room is my favorite room in the house!  Every day, I go in and open the curtains and get so excited for the day that I'll get to pick her up out of her crib and just snuggle with her!  

I just love how the curtains turned out!  

Still need to add bookshelves and floating shelves...  

Got this little guy at the shower and I just love him!  

My mother in law's friend made these for the nursery...so sweet!  

She got so many great books at the shower!  I can't wait to read them all to her!

My little Violet will have so much fun playing with her My Pal Violet!  :)

This is just a picture of her first bikini that I ordered for her!  It's so tiny and so cute!  She's going to be one adorable beach babe this coming summer!  

you're all i need to get by

I'm coming to the end of my 30th week being pregnant and I could not be happier!  I'm happy that I'm about 9 weeks closer to meeting my little lady and I'm happy that with the ultrasound we had on Wednesday, our Violet is growing strong and healthy!  According to the ultrasound tech, she already has a full head of hair that is sticking straight up!  I'm just picturing her now...coming out with a full head of black spiky hair!  I can't wait!  If she comes out with a ton a hair, we can definitely give credit to her dad for that.  When he came out (practically a 1 month old), his hair came past his ears!  His mom said he basically needed a haircut the day he was born... We also saw during the ultrasound that V is a thumb sucker and has chubby cheeks...I'm seriously in love...

When I look at her ultrasound pictures, my heart just melts into mush...and the song that comes to mind is "You're All I Need to Get By" (preferably the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell version!).  I'm quite certain there isn't anything I wouldn't do for my V...

You're all I need to get by.
Like the sweet morning dew, I took one look at you,
And it was plain to see,
you were my destiny. With my arms open wide,
I threw away my pride
I'll sacrifice for you
Dedicate my life to you
I will go where you lead
Always there in time of need
And when I lose my will
You'll be there to push me up the hill
There's no, no looking back for us
We got love sure 'nough, that's enough
You're all, You're All I need to get by.

You're all I need to get by.
Like an eagle protects his nest, for you I'll do my best,
Stand by you like a tree, dare anybody to try and move me
Darling in you I found
Strength where I was torn down
Don't know what's in store but together we can open any door
Just to do what's good for you and inspire you a little higher
I know you can make a man out of a soul that didn't have a goal
Cause we, we got the right foundation and with love and determination

You're all, you're all I want to strive for and do a little more
You're all, all the joys under the sun wrapped up into one
You're all, You're all I need to get by.

It looks like she's waving at us!  

She's grabbing her foot...and her foot looks huge!  Maybe that means my little lady will not be a shorty like her mama!  

I've got a thumb sucker with chubby cheeks!  

Another angle of her sucking her thumb...

This is her head and the white fluff coming out of the right side is her spiky hair!  

Her dad thinks she looks like him in this picture...