Birthday night out with the gals

Last night was girls night out celebrating out friend Kim's Birthday! We enjoyed a nice dinner at Bonefish. We had a delicious cake from Rick's Bakery and celebrated with some wine and laughs. It was really fun to get together with the girls & share stories and talk. I seriously laughed until my tummy hurt! I love getting together and laughing with my gals!

We are swamped this weekend! Tonight we have dinner with our good friends Chad & Melissa & then their race is tomorrow! We have to be there EARLY so I need get in the sack early tonight. Chad is running 13.1 miles tomorrow and the whole family is going. We have matching outfits for Avery and her cousin Stella and they are darling. My sister in law and I made them! They are adorable! Afterwards the whole family is going out to lunch together! Saturday night we are going to a Razorback party at Rachel & Shane's house to celebrate the HOGS since we can't make it to Dallas with Avery. I have the cutest outfit for her. Her and Bree are going to be supporting those HOGS in style!

Have a great weekend!

Show us your life- BABY GEAR

Okay, so I am pulling a 2 day post! I wanted to go ahead and do this because since I am a new mom to a 4 month old, I feel it's very important to share this information!!! Kelly hit most of the big points, but here are a few of my "MUSTS":

WHAT WORKS (WORKED) FOR AVERY:

Bassinet, (first month, or 2)- Wow, this was a life saver. We were able to have it beside us in bed and I could also push into the living room so I could nap during the day. It's small enough for the baby and easily rockable. VERY HANDY.

Wedge- This hold the baby in place. Although they can't roll their first few months, it is so nice to be able to have so you can lay them on their side and in different positions. I liked the comfort of knowing this was there!

SWING- We love our swing. It's a Fisher Price Swing from Target & is our life saver. It is wonderful.. has a mobile and wonderful music that she loves to listen too!

Bouncy Seat- LIFE SAVER! It vibrates, but it's nice to place her in this while I am getting ready in the mornings. I just put her on my bed with some cartoons and she is golden!

Bumbo- Avery is now 4 months and we ADORE this. It's great to have around when I am cooking so she isn't lying down, she is able to sit up like a big girl on the floor in her seat and watch mommy (of course away from the cooking so I don't drop things on her)... but in my sight!

Carseat/Stroller Set- We have one that is CHICO and love it! I have had several people ask me where I purchased it. We got it at Baby's R US & it's been perfect so far. I have loved it because she fits so comfortably in it & it's VERY easy to place into the stroller. It has a lot of support for her head and was perfect for when she was a newborn.

Bathtub- we got one with a little sling in it so it fit her body perfectly! It has been so nice to this day and she loves bath time!

Monitors- I just have the Fisher Price one's that vibrate too when she makes noise, but I love them! I have them everywhere and they work such a great distance!

Swaddle- we used this for the first month only! You want the kind that Velcro's so you can swaddle them and hold them in place. It was a life saver our first few months!!!

Pack N Play- we use it every night so far. Was wonderful when we went on trips!!!

Stations- this was for the newborn stage. I created stations. Wherever I was, there were stations with everything I could possible need for her. So if I was in the living room, I would have a basket with anything and everything I would need by the recliner so I didn't have to get up. Being a new mom is confusing so having all the little things I could need in a basket helped (thanks momma)!!!!

THINGS THAT DIDN'T WORK FOR AVERY:

*Kelly pretty much summed this one up, but here are a few that didn't work for us*

Diaper Genie- waste of money in my opinion! Good ole' WMT bag works wonders.. but I know this may have worked for others, but this has just been what worked for us!

Bottle Warmers- Just heated HOT water in a cup and went from there. If you breastfeed you won't have to worry about this... but I do a little of both!

Pretty much this sums everything up! Most everything is basic, but all those extras that you worry about as a first time mommy become quite UN-important to the main basics! I sure hope this helps!!!!! Oh, and if any about to be mommies need a hospital list of what to take to the hospital... e-mail me and I will send you a fantastic list!!!!! You will never believe all the things you thought you wouldn't need (nipple shield) that you wake up in the night screaming for!!!!

October 1st.... SEASONS

Well blogger friends, it's October 1st. Hard to believe that it's already time for fall. Before you know it, Christmas will be around the corner. I am for sure having Christmas fever because everytime, (which seems like everyday), I walk into good ole' Hobby Lobby, I see Christmas decor and have to pop down the aisle to take a look. I already have Avery's tree picked out for her room! It's going to be bright and colorful!

Today feels like a fall day. It's windy, getting cooler, and kind of overcast. These days are so great! I light candles, stay inside, clean, and play with my little girl! Which reminds me.... she is officially 4 months old on Saturday! She has grown up before my eyes. She smiles all the time and is just a joy to be around. She has become my best friend. October remindes me of the month my first baby was to be born. Im sure most of my readers new this but I miscarried in 2008 & the baby was to be born in October. I rejoice because I know that he/she is in heaven and one day I will see it's sweet face. But, God is so good and blessed me with Avery and on this October day I am reminded of my princess who is a God send. Im also reminded as the seasons are changing, so do our lives. God plants seasons in our lives for a reason so that we can change, and grow in our walk with Him. I am not a perfect woman by ANY MEANS... I make tons of mistakes and I totally sin... But, I ask for forgiveness and do my best to walk with Him daily. I have found in doing this, he has blessed me in my life tremendously. When I left my Woman's Bible Study Tuesday a girl that sits at my table asked me how I am so happy always, and that early.. because I love life, & love what God has blessed me with! I hope someday when I am gone I will be remembered by my joy of life!

Hope you will think about the "seasons" today as we enter October, and think to yourself what you want God to do in this season of your life.

Final Decor for Fall

Our Fall Decor has been complete for about a 1 week now, I am just now getting time to post! I always add a few touches around the inside of the house while I am home during the day because when I get bored, I play! I like to move things around, add ribbons for a cuter look and just PLAY! So here are a few changes on the inside, and some remaining outside looks as well. I decided to leave our porch simple this year & just added Avery's pumpkins!

Oh ya, and a few pictures of me and my gal from yesterday! Can I just say she is a cutie??

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Family lunch

Today was my Woman's Bible Study at the church. It is SO refreshing! I love it! It was in 2 Samuel on David's sin... talking about "crossroads" that you fall into in life and how we all have a choice when we sin to either walk away from it or continue in it. It is so good to see all my gilfriends and followers of Christ and to talk about what God has done in our lives that week. He is so good... SO GOOD!

After Bible Study Avery and I enjoyed lunch with my sister in law Kara, and my neice Stella, along with our cousin Gretchen! It was so nice to be with the girls today and enjoy time with our sweet baby girls. Kara & I are dressing up the girls in matching outfits Saturday for Chad's big race. Oh yeah... they hubby is done training for his 1/2 marathon and runs Saturday so I will have a huge post on that! The whole family is going and we are exciting to cheer him on! He has trained so hard for it and is ready. I am so proud of my husband!!!

Shabby Chic Bridal Shower

This weekend I hosted a Wedding Shower in my home for our friend Kim, along with her best friend/ my sister in law Tiffay, and Crystal, Tiffany's sister. It was just gorgeous! The theme was very shabby chic and very detailed with blues and browns and a touch of color in the flowers. We added burlap to the tables and had bird nests and little birds placed throughout. We served little chicken salad sandwhiches, strawberries and grapes with a sweet creme cheese dip, little smokies, sushi, spinach dip, petifores & cake. The petifores were brown and had fleur-de-lis on them; also a part of her theme. The cake matched their invitations to the wedding perfectly along with the shower invites which were all ordered from this very talented person you can find HERE. She lives in our town. We ordered the cake from where she is getting her wedding cake to ensure that the colors matched perfectly.

Each guest was to leave a note for Kim & Patrick and place into the bird cage. We made little cards out of card stock in her colors and placed rafia in them. We had splashes of rafia everywhere... it added such a nice touch. We also had pictures of Patrick & Kim around everywhere. We added "white rice" to little punch glasses that I had and added a candle to make a cheap yet very expensive looking filler, and it fit in perfectly with the theme. As each guest left, they took a fleur-de-lis sugar cookie that had an "M" for Marbury.

It was just beautiful and totally Kim. Kim & Patrick got married in Grand Caymon July 23rd and are having a huge wedding celebration here on October 30th with all their friends & family. They are having a small wedding service to include Patrick's adorable daughter Melissa who is seen in a lot of the pictures; and of course want to share that special moment with their families. We are so excited for Kim, that she found an awesome christian man and is living a fairytale that she truly deserves. We were so blessed to be able to throw her a shower that reflected who she is. She got so many nice gifts and all of her table settings from Pottery Barn! The hostesses purchased several personalized gifts for her from our amazing friend Kim, and you can find her wonderful personalized work HERE. She truly is THE BEST!

I added a few pictures of Avery & her cousin at the bottom from over the weekend. They are too cute together!!

Enjoy the fun pics from our FABULOUS weekend....& HAPPY MONDAY BLOGGER FRIENDS!!!