Last Day of Full Time Work {September 30th}

As of today, I have worked my last full time day as a Speech Language Pathologist before baby comes and hopefully for a long time! I will continue to work PRN during October and then I will take off completely November and December. At the first of the year, I will work PRN as well. Grateful for God giving me and our family this opportunity! :)

Alphabet Wall {Nursery Decor}

Long before we ever talked about having a baby, I knew that I wanted to have an alphabet wall for the nursery. I think it is such a fun way to decorate a baby's room. Matt and I also love to read so it's kind of an homage to that love. 

Here is the way it turned out. 

Here are a few up close pictures of the letters. The "A", "R" and "T" were plain wooden letters that we painted. We then took 4x4 tiles and attached scrapbook paper to them, glued the letters over the top and hung them with ribbon.

The "M" was a wedding gift from a friend and we decided to use it as the center letter since the babies initials will be MMM. Such a special way to start the alphabet wall.

If you have any questions about where any particular letter came from, ask away! :)

Picture Wall {A DIY Project}

We have this somewhat awkward wall that separates our living room from our dining room. For the last several months, I have been talking about putting pictures there using twine and clothespins to hang them. I had collected pictures, had twine and clothespins ready but we had yet to complete the project.

Last weekend, we finally completed it! The funniest part is that is only took approximately 15 minutes total. Matt was a rockstar and I LOVE how it turned out! We've got a little room left for one more row and we will hang baby pictures there soon!

Here are a few pictures of the result:

CardStore {A Review}

A couple of weeks ago, Lauren from Cardstore.com contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in reviewing one of their cards. I LOVE to send cards, especially custom ones, so I was all in. After looking at all of their many, many, many options, I decided to do something a little different.

Each week, I have been writing letters to the Baby and Matt has been journaling to the Baby. So I decided it would be fun to send Matt a card from Baby Morgan.

I chose the card template for Large Grey Bubble Card and I personalized it. Here is how it turned out!

I know it's cheesy but when Matt went to the mailbox the other day and had a card addressed to him from our Baby, he was so excited! 

Thanks,  Lauren and Cardstore for this opportunity. I cannot wait to look more at your website when it's time for Christmas cards and baby announcements. 

32 Weeks {A Pregnancy Update}

8 weeks until due date! WHAT?!?!

**Right at 30 weeks, Matt started reading books to the baby in the evenings. The first night he read, the baby had been pretty still all day and he read a joke book. After that, the baby moved for at least 45 minutes. We figure there was some laughing going on! :)

**On Friday, September 6th, Matt and I were at the bank standing in line and I touched my stomach and to the left side of my stomach near my belly button and I could feel one of little one's feet. I had Matt feel and right after that I was pushing against the foot a little bit and Peach kicked me! It was so cute!

**We have been working on several things these past few weeks:
-washing baby clothes
-finishing painting all letters for the alphabet wall and hanging all of the letters (excuse the crooked picture. Will try to take more and post details.)

-gathering Christmas ornament ideas to make for our family (a few I like)

-starting to pack hospital bags

**Two of my closest friends were both planning (separately) something in lieu of a shower since I cannot get to Louisiana for a shower before baby comes. Well, one was keeping it a secret and the other was unaware and offered to host a Sip and See for us once baby comes. Now, they are co-planning a sweet gathering for us in January so we can show off Baby Morgan to all of our friends and family in Louisiana. :)  My friends ROCK.

** This past week, I was working on a wreath for my mom and the wreath was leaning on my belly. Peach kept kicking it. So funny!

**My Dad and step-mom purchased the carseat and stroller we wanted! Well, they sent us money and we purchased. When we purchased, we got two free video monitors for free which we didn't want to so sold both of them on Amazon and made $100 which we are putting in an envelope for baby clothes! :)

**We heard a good strong heartbeat  (143 BPM) at 31 weeks, 2 days at my appointment. Next appointment is in 2 weeks. Getting so close!

**We attended an Infant Care Class at our hospital and we learned how to swaddle the baby and got some good information from the pediatrician. It was a nice class.

**Our shipment of SunBaby cloth diapers came in this past week too! Kinda looked like drugs arrived on our doorstep. :)

**As of Friday, September 13th, I am no longer wearing my rings. They still fit in the morning but I am getting a little bit of swelling in my fingers as the day progresses so I'm not going to wear them anymore. My doctor said "Don't worry everyone knows you have a significant other"! ;-)

**On Saturday, September 14th/ Sunday, September 15th, I started to get reflux and it woke me up in the night. IT WAS AWFUL! I'm sure for many people it's just like normal reflux but I NEVER have it so it caught me off guard. Hoping to find some remedies for it ASAP! :)

Picture is 30 weeks, 6 days

31 weeks, 2 days 

**On Sunday while in church, the baby moved the whole time. Peach already loves church! 

Christmas Came Early to Mr. Morgan

A couple of months back, Matt mentioned that he would like a grill. Mom was either there for the conversation or I mentioned it to her and she said that would be a great Christmas gift from she and my step-dad. Well, being the fun and awesome person that she is, she couldn't wait until Christmas. So this week, I took Matt on a surprise trip to The Home Depot to pick out his grill! He was one excited guy! 

He was on my scent about the treat so I had to throw him off with ice cream! :)

 

Matt picked out a basic charcoal grill and we both agree that it's just right for us. He even got a few accessories to go with it. 

Getting it all put together...

Ta-da! 

For dinner, we had grilled veggies in foil packets and New York Strip steaks. It was delicious. It was one of the only time that we've had steak since I've been pregnant because I prefer medium well not well done. Matt, however, cooked my steak well done and it was DELICIOUS!!! 

A man and his grill! 

The finished product. YUM!

Reading to Baby!

About a week ago, Matt decided that he wanted to start reading to our baby. It was such a sweet thought and of course, I was all for it. Since then, we have read every night. So far, Matt has read the following books:

But No Elephants by Jerry Smath

Cinderella

Nuts to Nightingale by Jacquelyn Reinach

Stork Spills the Beans by Richard Hefter

Xerus Won't Allow it by Richard Hefter

The Giggle Book by Stephanie Calmenson

Stork Spills the Beans by Richard Hefter

Zip Goes Zebra by Richard Hefter

Who can Trust You, Kangaroo by Richard Hefter

Moody Moose Buttons by Richard Hefter

Lion is Down in the Dumps by Richard Hefter

Pig Thinks Pink by Richard Hefter

Kiss Me, I'm Vulture by Richard Hefter

Turtle Throws a Tantrum by Richard Hefter

No Kicks for Dog by Richard Hefter

Yakety Yak Yak Yak by Richard Hefter

Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty

Hippo Jogs for Health by Richard Hefter

Rest Rabbit Rest by Jacquelyn Reinach

What's so Great about Nice? by Jacquelyn Reinach

Wait! Wait! Wait! by Jacquelyn Reinach

Fish and Flips by Jacquelyn Reinach

Goose Goofs Off by Jacquelyn Reinach

Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble by Cynthia Rylant

Pete Seeger's Storysong Abiyoyo

Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers by Laura Numeroff

Come Out and Play, Little Mouse by Robert Kraus

Pershey the Rabbit by Brenda Eldrid

Dr Seuss's ABC

I hope to keep up with what we read and update this list as I am able. Those written by Richard Hefter or Jacquelyn Reinach are part of the Sweet Pickles series which was one of my favorites growing up.

Apple Picking {Year 2}

This past Sunday, Matt and I went apple picking at Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock, NC. We went last year for the first time and enjoyed it so much that we wanted it to be a tradition. Last year, we went a little later in the year but since Baby is on the way, we figured we should go early while it was still easy for me to move up and down hills etc.

We happened to pick a really hot day to go and we literally only lasted about 45 minutes picking because it was so hot! The nice thing was that there were not a ton of people there so the lines were not unbearable. We picked the apples we wanted and then we bought the rest. We ended up with Gala, Golden Delicious and lots of Honey Crisp. We had a good time despite the heat. There is another local farm by us so we may venture there before the end of the month to get a few more apples.


First things first. We had to have apple cider doughnuts!

Ready to pick! W

Official Apple Picker since I couldn't reach up very far!