37 weeks

Mom-to-be at 37 weeks

Not the greatest picture, I know. I look tired and very pale. But I was told I was due for an updated pic. So this what you get. I don't think I've changed much from my 32nd week picture. Went to the doctor today. Still not much progress. Just dilated to 1 cm. Some progress I guess, but not much. Just a couple more visits and that should be it I hope! We'll see!

The Best Wedding- Sept. 9th 2006

Ryan and Matt and all their college buddies minus the groom. Ryan was so excited to see them all again. I think it was hard for him to believe it had been 4 years since he graduated LU. I can honestly say they haven't changed a bit. Just a bunch of goofy guys with college degrees out there pretending to be adults.

Ryan and I enjoying the reception that was held at the Hilton in Springfield.

The Bride and Groom, Jasen and Brie Best. Brie looked beautiful and was glowing the entire day! I am so glad these two finally got married. They met at their Junior College in Springfield and started dating the same year as Ryan and I.

Ryan and Brie during the dollar dance.

Ryan and Avery. Could she look anymore like her father? She was such a trooper and even got to sit at the head table for the reception!








Matt, Melinda, and Avery at the church.












Us at the church after the ceremony.

Ryan, Mike, and Matt

Melinda and Avery during the rehearsal dinner held at Brie's mom and dad's house. It was so nice and perfect weather.

Matt, Mike, and Ryan pose for a picture at the rehearsal dinner.

A room fit for a Cade

Okay, so it's not complete yet as we are hoping to get a rocker this weekend, and a couple of the walls are pretty bare. We have block letters in black to spell his name above the crib. But for the most part, here is what little Cade will come home to. Thanks to Gramma Gaye, his bedding turned out just perfect!

My dad built the shelf pictured below and Ry's mom painted and decorated the toy chest. We just love them and couldn't wait to fill them with all his little books and things! Both pieces will be forever special to us.
Here is another wall with his 4-D pictures and a poem I wrote for him

Breakfast at Tiffany's

On Saturday, Sept. 16th, I helped host a bridal shower brunch for one of my very best friends, Melissa Tanner (Soon to be Farley). Everyone was told to wear their "little black dress". A lot of hard work went into the shower by all of Melissa's bridesmaids and everything turned out beautifully. I don't think Melissa could have been more pleased. We borrowed Tiffany boxes from a few people; one of which about 90% of the boxes came from. Thanks Cathy! We also set out pics of the couple, along with favors, and candlabras strung with pearls. We had two cakes replicating a Tiffany's box. It was a very intimate shower and Melissa had the best time. It was so funny to see how overwhelmed she was afterwards. Of course we told her to get use to it, because the wedding is going to be one hundred times worse. So the countdown begins! October 6th is the big day. Love you Melissa and hope it was a wonderful day for you!

"It's going to be a while"....

So yes, I went to the doctor today and Dr. Schneider says those wonderful words every pregnant woman wants to hear, "Not much is going on down there, it's going to be a while." So I expect that it will be late October (possibly even November, who knows!) before our little fella gets here. I know a lot could change between now and then and I've heard everyone's stories. But I REFUSE to get my hopes up that he could be here any day now. In the mean time, I have a shower to help give, a wedding to participate in, and 3 friends having babies of their own in the next month. So I look forward to all of these events as I anxiously wait for Cade. Well, that's all for now. I go back to the doctor in a week and a half. Have a great weekend everyone!

A shower for baby Cade!

L to R: Jessica Youngman, Melinda Guthman, Me, Megan Trower, Erin Parmley, Brooke Guthman, & Sarah Muhs

Over Labor Day weekend, some of my closest friends threw a shower for Cade and me. It was more perfect than I could have ever imagined. The desserts, punch, and fruit were great and each table had a "diaper cake" for decoration. What a great idea! A table decoration that will actually be of use someday! There were about 7 or 8 tables, so needless to say, I have plenty of diapers to last us a while. So thanks ladies! Cade and I got all kinds of neat stuff from everyone. Here are just a few pictures that were taken throughout the night. Of course we loved EVERYTHING we received, but this post would be neverending if I put all of it on here. So here is a little sample. Thanks to everyone for all the great gifts. And thanks again to my friends, sister-in-law, cousin, and hopefully someday sister-in-law for a wonderful evening. Love you all and loved the shower!!!

Blanket that matches Cade's bedroom along with his mobile, baskets, and all kinds of other things to match his room. Thanks Gramma Gaye! His room is going to be so stylin'!!! You're the best!

Toy chest for Cade's room. This was his Uncle Kody's and Grandma Debbie painted it and attached little animals and things to it, along with his name on top. So cute and so perfect for his room! It's already filled with toys and blankets! Thanks Grandma!

This cake was made and decorated by my cousin Sarah. She did an awesome job. I hated that it had to be cut and eaten! It was too cute for words!

Here is one of the many diaper cakes my sister-in-law Jessica put together. Some of the themes included SIU, Lindenwood, Baby Einstein, Golf and a few others. Each one was so unique and done so well. I hated to take them apart! I had no idea Jess was so creative. I guess this means I have some rather big shoes to fill when it comes time to return the favor :)


Some cute little onesies for Cade.

This quilt was made by my cousin's good friend and my old neighbor from Louis Wides, Michelle (Mollet) Calvert. She did an amazing job and even put Cade's name on it! Cade received a few other handmade blankets that were all so neat as well. He will have no problem keeping warm or having a place to play!

Busy, Busy, Busy

So it's been a hectic couple of weeks and we are finally home to stay. The past few weekends, Cade and I (and dad for 2 of them) have been to Chicago, St. Louis, and Springfield. I think it is safe to say we are staying put in Carbondale for a while now. All three weekends were great. The first was Melissa's bachelorette party (which I've already posted pics of), then there was my birthday celebration at the Kenny Chesney/Dierks Bentley/Carrie Underwood concert in St. Louis, then our good friends Jasen & Brie's wedding in Springfield. I plan to post some pics from the concert & wedding this week sometime. But for now, it's hard to believe we only have 5 and 1/2 weeks left to prepare for little Cade's arrival! I've had some great practice lately as I have been chasing our godson Owen around for a week and then spent a weekend with Miss Avery on our Springfield trip. Love them both, and can only hope Cade will be as great as they are! Owen is 18 months; so I have quite some time before Cade is his age (but it's still great practice). However, Avery is (well, she is as old as I am pregnant) almost 8 months. She is starting to get a cute little personality of her own. I learned a lot from her and Melinda over the weekend. I think what I learned the most was the bond they share. I can't wait to have that of my own. It was so neat to see them laugh and play. And so amazing to see how Melinda puts Avery first and foremost in her life. As does Sarah with Owen, and Megan with Adyson. It is so neat to see how these little lives have changed their lives so much. I am so looking forward to this life changing experience for myself.

Cade's room is all coming together now. We have just a few finishing touches to make and all his itty bitty clothes to wash and then we should be ready to go! I plan to post some pics of his nursery sometime this week. Well, I must go to bed now. I need some good rest for the week ahead of me-The Apple Festival!!!

A not so traditional, but FUN bachelorette party!

This past weekend I traveled to Chicago (by train) for my good friend Melissa's bachelorette party. We mostly shopped and ate the whole weekend. Then we surprised Melissa with dinner (where I had my 1st glass of wine in 7 months) and tickets to the musical, "Wicked" on Saturday night. Of course she had already seen it twice, but loved it so much that she was determined to see it again. She started crying the minute they turned the lights off to start the show! Now I know why. It was absolutely amazing. I loved it and can't wait to see it again! It was a fun weekend to honor Melissa with all her girlfriends and sisters. The best part was, we felt great the next day! No hangovers!!! Here are a few pics from throughout the weekend.

32 1/2 weeks

Mom-to-be at 32 1/2 weeks

Little Alia

Here is a picture of my cousin Kevin's little girl. Her name is Alia. She is the spitting image of her father. I saw a picture of her not that long ago and asked why Kevin was carrying a girl's backpack or something to that nature. I truly thought it was an old picture of him, but it was actually her! She is beautiful to say the least. And from the looks of these pictures, she has quite a personality too! She is growing way too fast!



Hello to everyone in Texas! We miss you and hope we get to see you soon! Love you all.

Meet Cade Matthew

Our precious little boy. Today we went to our 4-D sonogram. What an awesome day it was. Seeing him like this was unbelievable! What was most unreal was feeling him kick and move around as I was watching him on the screen. It took my breath away. I am more anxious now to meet our little boy than I have been the whole 7 months! He seems to be doing pretty well in there. I'm happy to say he had all 10 fingers and all 10 toes!

He had his hands up by his face pretty much the whole time. I guess there isn't really anywhere else to put them. He looked pretty squished in there!

My favorite picture of all. Here is a shot of our little stinker smiling. What an intense moment. There are no words to describe it. He was probably happy about the Mt. Dew and chocolate his mommy had just fed him!!!

Our trip to Tennessee!

Here we are in front of Unit 1515 at the Fairfield Glade Resort in Tennessee. This was our last morning of the trip and we decided to take a break from loading up the cars to get a quick picture. The condo was a nice size and had a room and bath for each couple (the six of us, plus my mom and dad). My aunt, uncle, their grandkids, Maddy & Owen, and Grandma Avis all stayed at the house my aunt and uncle own near the resort. We had dinner at the condo most nights followed by a board game or poker. As for the board games, we came out even. Boys won one, girls won one. As for poker, well, Sarah took us all two nights in a row. It was her first time ever I think at a real game of poker and she didn't even WANT to play the first night. Of course after winning all of our money, she was more than ready to go for another round. We had a nice, relaxing vacation. For the guys, there was golf, golf, and more golf. For the ladies, there was kids, kids, a little shopping and more kids. Chasing around Maddy & Owen was good experience for me I suppose. Loved every minute of it though. It was a great time and it was nice to not have to be anywhere or do anything. We hope to do it again next year. Here are some pics we took throughout the week.