Baby K's Nursery

When we moved into our house several years ago, we needed a room dedicated to general stuff that didn't have a place just yet.  The problem was - the stuff just never found a home, so it became a storage room.  Yikes!  We knew that as soon as we found out we were pregnant, the transformation would have to begin to make it into a nursery.  And we had our work cut out for us!  (It was really, really bad....I know!)

{Too much junk!}

First thing's first - getting rid of unneeded junk!  We sold, gave away, and/or tossed a lot of items (i.e. stuff from our apartment that we didn't need in our house, old school materials, etc.).  Something that helped us was that if we had not needed it since we moved in, we probably didn't need it at all!  Items that we did need found a more suitable place.

Once the room was cleared out (for the most part), Colin and his Mom painted the nursery a nice grey color.  We knew we wanted to keep the nursery as gender neutral as possible.  The idea would be that our first baby would get 'promoted' (in a way) to another bedroom, and this bedroom would remain the nursery.  We stuck with white and grey for the bulk of the decorating, and just added in touches of pink once we found out we were having a girl.

{Painting the room grey}

I love white nursery furniture and think it looks great with the grey walls and white baseboards and crown moldings.  I found a low-rise crib that I loved, and since I'm short, I knew it would be perfect for us!  I also knew I wanted a dresser that doubled as the changing table, so I was excited when I found one with the changing table set on top.  We found the a rocking recliner that fit me perfectly (for all of the late night feedings!), and ordered it in a comfy grey fabric.

{Furniture}

For my birthday, Colin took me to a painting class.  What I really liked about this place was that we could paint whatever we wanted - not what they were showcasing that night.  His idea was that we could each paint a canvas for baby girl's room - perfect!  Colin painted her initials on a chevron print, and I painted some flowers in bloom.  I bought plain wood frames and painted them white so we could hang them in her room.  It was a great date night AND helped us decorate the nursery!

{Paintings for the nursery}

The last touches were items like a rug to add some texture, a matching lamp and roman shade to block out the sun during nap time, a mirror, and some crosses I had in college on different ribbon.  We also got a bookshelf for books and toys, and some shelves for her treasures, including the A&M baby booties her Daddy got her when we found out she was a little girl.  Every girl should have some flowers, so I put some in a vase for one of her shelves.  Another shelf has a 'K' wrapped in grey yarn with a hot pink hair clip on it (thanks, Pinterest!).  It turned out cute!

 

{Crib with rug, shade, painting, etc.}

{Bookshelf, bow holder, painting}

{Changing table with mirror & crosses;

rocking chair with side table setup}

{Shelves}

 

It was a lot of fun seeing it transform from a storage room to a nursery for our sweet baby K!  Love it!

Baby Showers

Throughout this pregnancy, Colin and I have been so blessed by friends and families who have showered us with gifts to prepare for our little bundle of joy.

Here are some of my favorite pictures that captured these special times.

ABF Shower: Pink Bows & Ballerina Toes -

{Delicious food; burp cloth craft, tutu banner}

{Adorable little clothes for baby girl}

{Me with my Moms & Sister in laws;

Me with the hostesses Erin & Alicia;

Group picture}

Hanks Family Shower: Oh baby!

 

{Price is right game; guess what baby girl will look like}

{Gifts}

{Group picture; 

Me with the hostesses Robbie, Robin, Angela & Ceci}

Work Shower: Amy's About to Pop!

{Cupcakes & Cookies; Flowers; Popcorn favors;

Hostesses picture with Kendall, Lana, Emily & Marcia}

{Decor & Gifts}

MSHRM Friends -

 {Opening gifts at Katie's house after lunch at Fish Daddy's in College Station}

{U-Paint-It fun!}

Colin's Work Shower - 

{Andrew & Colin - Proud Dad-to-Be's; 

Jackie & I - Mom-to-Be's;

Group picture;

Rach, Jackie & I - the Moms}

It's been so fun celebrating baby girl - playing the games, hearing the stories and advice, and eating all of the yummy food!  She'll be here before we know it!

A Trip to the Races!

A couple of weeks ago, Colin and I went to the horse races in Grand Prairie.  My mother in law had told us stories about how she used to go with her family, and I was intrigued, so we planned a trip to the races!!

We had indoor seating (thank goodness!) where we could place our bets close by and had food delivered to us. 

 {Pictures of the track; a race in action}

I'm not much of a gambler, and neither is Colin, but we wanted to have a little fun, so we placed our bets according to the horses' names to test our luck.  All of the best named horses (at least in my opinion) were the 'long shots' of each race, so I stuck to the $2 bet/race.  Big spender, I know.  I didn't win any races, and Colin only won a couple - not enough to off-set our loses though.

{My bets and their odds}

{"And they're off!"

Colin's losing tickets; 

Mike, Gary & Glenda studying the program; 

my losing tickets}

{Colin & I and Gary & Glenda in front of the horse statue}

The track was beautiful, and we had a great time with Colin's parents and cousins who were able to join us.  We may have to test our luck again sometime!

Fort Worth Anniversary Getaway

Given that I was 35 1/2 weeks pregnant on our anniversary this year, we knew a trip was out of the question - or was it?  We had been wanting to go to Fort Worth to check out the stock yards, so this seemed like the perfect chance for a mini-getaway, a 'stay-cation' if you will.  So, the Saturday after our anniversary, we drove to Fort Worth to spend the day.

Colin drove me around a bit to see one of his clients and where he and his colleagues go to lunch, etc. before heading north of town to the famous stock yards.  We found great parking and arrived just as the stampede was starting!

{Fort Worth Stock Yards; Stampede} 

After the stampede, we had lunch at Riscky's Steakhouse before shopping around.  Colin had some ground sirloin, and I had a delicious chicken fried steak, with sweet tea of course!  Delish!

{General Store; Riscky's Steakhouse}

Shopping was a lot of fun.  Everything was so country!  I got a kick out of it.  I've lived in Texas all my life, grew up in a much more rural area, and yet here is where more people dress "country," play country music, etc.

{Fun shopping; street view; inside the shopping center;

 Benjamin Franklin bull; baby girl boot; Colin in jail!}

{Historic building; pony ride; Cadillac; route marker}

After shopping, we checked into our hotel and relaxed for a bit before walking to Reata for our anniversary dinner.  I had some delicious fish, and Colin had the steak and crab option.  The best part was the dessert though!  I had the chocolate bread pudding that was steamed in a tamale husk and served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.  It tasted like a warm chocolate chip cookie - my favorite! Colin opted for a non-chocolate option - the apple crisp.  

 {Colin & I; Reata Desserts}

The next morning, we walked through Sundance Square on our way to brunch at Taverna.  We had some tasty parmesan bread with our mimosas - mine was OJ and 7-up (actually really good!), and breakfast.  Yum!

{At breakfast; Sundance Square - mural & fountains}

After breakfast, we headed back home.  Our mini 'stay-cation' was so much fun, and it was nice to not have to travel far to get back home.  We'll have to try another stay-cation again!