What a Wonderful Weekend!

So this weekend was wonderful! It started on Thursday. Brett and I had childbirth class till late so Sarah was supposed to stay with the dogs. When we got home she wasn't there, which I thought was a little odd, but she showed up a little while later with my Best Friend Erin who flew in from California to surprise me for my baby shower! I've been told the look on my face was priceless...apparently it took a little while to register that she was actually standing in front of me in person. The surprises continued when my sister informed me that they had spoken to my boss about me taking comp time Friday afternoon so I wouldn't have to work a full day knowing that Erin, Sarah, my mom and Aunt Chris were out partying without me. Colleen, I'm still shocked you kept it a secret, but I do understand now why you were asking me repeatedly how much comp time I had left :)

So Thursday was a really late night because Erin and I just HAD to stay up talking (but I only had to work a half day on Friday so it was okay). Then Friday afternoon we went out and about running errands and picking up food in preparation for Saturday. Friday night was dinner at Bonefish Grill. Brett was a lucky man to be sitting with 5 such lovely ladies! And then came Saturday...

Saturday was so much fun! Erin took me out for a manicure/pedicure (to get me out of the house on my Aunt's orders) and when we got back the party was already swinging. Here's a glimpse of what I walked in on...

Isn't the clothesline darling? Aunt Chris said it was a surprise all the way from New York! And what party is complete without a cake courtesy of Momma Lock (for those of you who have not been fortunate enought to enjoy a piece of her cake I feel sorry for you!)

We played a few of the traditional baby shower games including guess how big Bethany's belly is...no we didn't really measure...but congratulations to Cathy S. who won that one, her ribbon was just about exact! There was also guess how many jelly beans in the Texas Longhorns baby bottle...Congrats to Erin L...and of course the Dirty Diaper game where you melt the candy in the microwave and then try to guess what kind of candy bar it was...the winner is...Diane! Then there was a new game I had never heard of called "OOPS my water broke." This one was really cute; everyone got a cup with a heart shaped ice cube and within the ice cube was one or two little plastic babies. If your ice cube was the first to melt you were supposed to yell "OOPS my water broke" but you weren't allowed to assist your ice cube in melting in anyway. Anyhow, even though she refused to shout "OOPS my water broke" (so I shouted it for her) the winner was Marina! Congratulations to all of you lucky winners...here is Erin L. and Marina with their prizes...Then began the opening of presents! It made me feel very special to see how much Marley, Brett and I are loved...I could run the list of what everyone got us but I thought I would just share a few pictures...

This is the darling diaper cake that Loretta made for us! Yes, the topper is a dress that says "flirt" which I have no doubt Little Miss will be!

Here is Erin and Erin, my gift passer-outers, I thought it was a really cute pic!

This is the fleece quilt Kelley made for Marley with the ABC's on it. She also made some delicious iced sugar cookies that were a surprise for me!This is the darling outfit from Gymboree that Colleen got for her. I had seen this in the store and wanted it badly! Yeah, I know, the hat doesn't really fit...The georgeous Chenille Quilt that Harla had the Quilter's Guild make for us. Isn't it beautiful!

Erin and Justin, along with the Lockhart fam got us an exceptional bag of goodies but this is a turtle that projects stars on the ceiling for Marley's nursery. How cool is that? You can even change the colors from blue to amber to green...This is "A Bunny Named Bob" made with love for Marley by her Great Aunt Chris. Aunt Chris also co-hosted the shower with my mom and my sister, made the clothesline and gave us the much needed Port-a-Crib that Marley will be sleeping in, next to mom and dad, for the first few weeks.

Diane, Carissa and Rachel gave us the high chair, diaper champ and a plethera of diapers and wipes!Along with my surprise of Erin from California came a hand-made blanket from her mom, Mom Howarth...And here's Erin with one of the many TYR suits that she gave us for Marley for as she gets bigger. Of course it's TYR...do you think we'd put her in SPEEDO??This is my present opening helper Caroline modeling Marley's first Longhorn t-shirt also from Erin...And one of the two "Taggies" outfits Erin got her. These are great...they have tags on them and all different tactile stimulus on the front...perfect for a mom who works in special education!A few other special thank you's to Aunt Sarah who gave us a mother/daughter baby book and some clothes, Grace and Jessica who got us the Baby Bjorn (to which I was especially grateful since I already had many plans for it!), to Uncle Christian and Aunt Natalie who got Marley her bath sling and a cute butterfly towel/wash cloth combo, to Momma Mazurek for the Travel System, Great Grandma Endicott for the fleece cover for the Baby Bjorn, Great Grandma and Grandpa Lindberg for the monitors, and to Momma Lock who made sure we had all the necessary medical supplies, thermometers etc., so that we could exhaust all of our options before calling on her nurse expertise at 3:00 am.

And what would this post be without a Thank You to Marley's GrandNan, also known as Fancy :) She has done so much for both me and Marley since the day we found out that we were pregnant. She has gotten us clothes, much needed nursing supplies, everything for the nursery and this weekend Marley's bouncer, and embroidered burping cloths! I know I'm missing a ton but I wanted to make sure I mentioned how grateful we are for everything she has done for us! Love you Mom XOXO

I also can't leave out Marley's daddy...he was such a great sport when he walked in on Saturday evening and saw the piles upon piles of "stuff" (which we all know he doesn't enjoy nearly as much as I do). Then he bought Mommy and Marley a really huge gift...

Isn't it pretty??

What a wonderful weekend it was! There was so much love and thought put into the weekend to make it special. I appreciate everyone who had a hand in it and spent the day with us!

A few other updates...things are going very well...Marley is minding her mommy and staying in nice and cozy where she should be. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday (35 weeks) so I'll update again after that. I'm fighting a bit of a sinus infection right now but the antibiotics should kick in soon...and for those of you who didn't get enough of my belly from all the baby shower pics here's and updated belly shot...

OH and don't forget...this is the week to vote for Rosie in the Bissell MVP contest. (We find out tomorrow how Jasper did). You can vote for her by clicking the link to the right or by searching for her alphabetically on the website. She is listed under her official name "Texas Rose"