Mommy-to-Bee Shower for Hannah & Baby Davis!

My sweet Mama and I were blessed to be able to help host a Baby Shower for my dear friend {from 4th grade!} Hannah and soon-to-arrive Baby Davis.

I've {obviously} been a little baby crazy this year, and I am also a huge fan of a great theme. After searching around pinterest I discovered lots of cute ideas for a "Mommy-to-Bee" shower. Things fell together nicely because Davis's nursery is Yellow and with the Bees we had us a cute summery theme. Hannah built the greatest built-in shelves in her nursery and was very excited to fill them with tons of books. My precious friends Shannon, Bethany, and Susie gave me and Baby Caroline a Book Shower, and it was the greatest! I knew Hannah would love the plan for guests to bring Baby Books instead of cards with their gifts for Davis. So... our theme continued to evolve with "Bee is for Baby" and "B" is for Books!

Meredith and Emily and I were blessed to get to put our brains together to plan a fun morning for our sweet Hannah. Isn't it SO much for fun to plan a shower with other ladies? I'm a big fan! 

 I found the greatest Baby Shower "Game" where you make an ABC book for the Baby. {I am not big on games where you have to force some pitiful shower guest to consume baby food...} 

Each guest at the shower selected a letter of the alphabet and drew something that matched that letter. For example, my Mama started us off with "A" and drew and Apple.... and in sticking with our theme, of course, I drew a Bumble Bee for the letter "B". Several other guests drew a Pizza for "P" and we had a Duck for "D" and Hannah went to Chapel Hill so a friend drew a Tarheel for "T". FUN!

Before the shower I printed each letter of the alphabet at the top of a piece of cardstock to ensure that no guest selected the same letter. Meredith found a scrapbook and decorated the front for Hannah. It turned out SO cute! 

This game works out well for a large shower since there are 26 letters. We had about 5 left over that Hannah took home and can add in herself later. There were a couple of kids at the shower and it was such a fun, kid friendly activity. 

Each guest also signed their picture before placing it in the plastic sleeves so the whole ABC book also severed as a "guest book" for Hannah to remember who came to her shower. Very simple, fun, and great for Baby Davis! 

 I also found these cute printable wish lists that each guest filled out for Davis. Something Hannah can save to pull out later and even share with Davis when he is older. They say things like "I hope you aren't afraid of..." and "I hope you grow...." So simple and personalized from each person. 

 I found the printable here. 

 Miss Emily took care of our party favors and found awesome Burts BEES wax products. We had hand cream and lip gloss and chap stick!

Mom framed the invitation that I sent out in the entry way when guests came in. I found the design for the invites and was able to design them at home and print them out at home. I also used these cute envelopes that I printed out at home too! 

 Pretty sunflowers that we found at the local Farmer's Market! 

 Meredith made these awesome signs for our Mommy to Bee using her Cricut machine. Such a neat and handy too. I'll have to start saving some pennies for one of those!

 Basket for Books that Hannah filled and was able to use in her Yellow and Gray nursery. 

And a sweet sleeping baby getting her rest in before the Par-tay!

 Yummy food! I printed out cupcake liners from the same place that I found the invites and envelopes. Simple, cute Bees! Mom and I stuck a blackberry on top. Delicious! 

 Bee theme chocolate covered pretzel sticks... fruit from Chick-fil-A of course ;).... and yummy huge muffins

 Donut "Cake" Pops from dunkin donuts... 

 Our shower was actually a Baby Shower Brunch and Emily made the BEST blueberry french toast casserole. I'm going to have to work on getting the recipe! 

 Caroline meeting Emily! SO glad she is back from Nebraska to stay this time!

 My little Bee stretching across Gram :)

 Love this sweet summery Bee outfit that Mama found her to help celebrate her soon-to-be-here friend Davis! 

 11 Weeks Old! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this girl and I love our girl time! 

Glad to have a reason to celebrate and we can't wait to meet you Davis! 

Jay's 1st Father's Day & 10 WEEKS!

 We had such a fun first Father's Day! I LOVE seeing Jay with Caroline... it seriously is the GREATEST thing to this mama. Jay isn't typically your mushy, baby talk, sensitive kind of guy, but his love for his daughter just overflows. She is quite the Daddy's girl too :) 

 We had a fun day that started off with keeping the nursery at church, and then we came home and put this chicken on the grill {and I made fried Okra for the first time, and it was a success! We love us some fried okra in the summer time!} 

Then we Caroline and I had Jay open his big surprise... a Fire Pit! We have been talking about wanting one ever since we bought our house for cool summer nights and definitely for this fall. I love a good smore, and Jay loves to build a fire... So all in all we are both excited for some backyard fun! 

Miss Caroline is TEN WEEKS old today. Whew... slow down my love! We went to the doctor this morning for our 2 month check-up and shots {I HATE the shots more than Caroline... it is the WORST to see that sweet face go from happy to screaming in a second. Breaks my heart} Does this get easier with time? Some how i doubt it... 

Caroline is 12 lbs and 10 ounces and 23 1/2 inches long! She is in the 75% for both, and healthy, healthy! 

Chunky Monkey, that is two pounds you have gained in 5 weeks. You are also holding your head up like a champ during tummy time or when you are being held. You also are grabbing at toys on your play mat, and your talking... oh your sweet baby noises. LOVE THEM! You are also starting to smile at me and Daddy, and definitely seem to recognize us when we come into your sight... you are just SO MUCH FUN! We are in love with everything about your sweet, laid back personality!

{Chick-fil-A Style} Father-Son Camp-Out!

To celebrate Father's Day at Chick-fil-A Bethany planned the most AWESOME overnight camp-out for Dad's and Sons. It was really, really terrific! Caroline and I got to go hang out and enjoy all the fun. I snapped a few photos with my trusty iPhone because the whole event was just too great to not share....

There were lots and lots of tents... 

 ... and lots and lots of fun on 4-wheelers and old cars!

{Bethany also got 3 military vehicles to come for the boys to climb on and explore... I missed photographing those, but they were a big hit!}

 There was a bounce castle.... and there were also demonstrations and competitions for changing tires and oil and batteries! 

You know we try at Chick-fil-A of Waynesboro to provide lots of helpful info... we would never want someone stranded on the side of the road while trying to get a Chicken Sandwich ;) 

 There were also LOTS of cute boys! 

 And there was one stinkin' ADORABLE baby!

{She happened to be an attraction for the camp-out as well... J/K! But the boys were very sweet to her!}

Caroline got to hang with her good pal Taylor! 

There was card playing... and we had smores and the movie Dolphin Tale on the big screen... 

And there were cute marketing girls named katelyn on the roof taking photos! 

Then the next morning {while Caroline and I were sleeping!}, after the sprinkler system went off on the Dad's and Son's tents... opps! {Had to make it feel like "real" roughing it camping!} there was Chick-fil-A breakfast and backstage tours through the kitchen! GREAT event! 

Happy Father's Day! 

a few friday thoughts

Happy Friday!


We've had a fun week here...

We spent time on Monday with Grandma! Look at that sweet smile from my girl... she is happy to be in her G-Ma's arms :) 

Speaking of Grandma Lee... we are working on deciding on her Grandma name. Maybe we will let Caroline tell us? My votes are for Lee Lee or Gram. Its a big decision! Any one have suggestions!?

***

We also had a visit from our good friend Katie! This silly Mama didn't even pull out her camera to take a photo, but it was SO FUN to have time with this dear Mama-to-Be! 

Katie - Caroline, Jay, and especially ME are excited for Baby Boy this fall!

***

We also helped Gammy celebrate her birthday! 

Caroline wanted to be able to tell Gammy herself, so she talked me into making a sign and texting this picture to her Gammy. She is one creative, and persuasive girl ;) ha!

***

I made several new, yummy recipes this week. Check these out:

Asian Lettuce Wraps! Find the recipe here. Super easy, and really healthy! We left the green onions out {breastfeeding you know... and Jay isn't a fan of onions anyway} and they were still delicious!  

Sea Salt Cookies... YUMMO! YOU MUST MAKE THESE NOW :) I bet your Father or the Father of your Kiddos would thank you! 

***

Speaking of Fathers, and Father's Day, we have an EXTRA special Father's Day to celebrate here. Caroline and I have been doing some scheming and she finally convinced me of a really fun gift for our Jay. Caroline also has a really pretty dress picked out for Daddy... pictures from our first Father's day celebration to come on monday! 

While I am super excited about Jay's first Father's Day, there is a part of my heart that stings when I think about celebrating without my own Daddy. Will that feeling ever go away? I sorta doubt it... He was SUCH an amazing Dad, and praise God for some wonderful memories. I am working on making myself CHOOSE joy in the memories. 

***

Caroline spent this morning with her Dad while I had a class at the hospital. They seemed to have a fun time because half way through my class I got this picture:

Jay told me they were doing some pre-beach week prep work! LOVE IT!

Speaking of the beach... Caroline is headed for the first time 9 days! eek! SO thrilled for this BIG first for our sweet girl. Not that she will appreciate it as much this year, but I am for sure excited... Caroline has also been getting excited for this big vacay week by playing "under the sea"...

LOVE this little fish! 

Caroline is TWO months!

I LOVE this little two month old beauty! Everyone told me how fast the days and weeks and months would go by, but there is no way to comprehend how fast your precious little one will grow until you experience it for yourself. TWO WHOLE MONTHS! wow. 

Caroline, your new experiences from the past month include wearing all 3 month clothes now! You are sleeping about 7 hours a night for mama{even 9 hours sometimes!}. Your hair is getting longer and more curly. It is adorable. Daddy and I both still think it will keep turning more red, but we'll see. You love to "talk" and have the CUTEST noises EVER! 

You still love to be naked, love when bella licks your feet, love naps on Mama and Daddy's bed, and love to be held so that you can look around at the world. You are starting to become so much more aware of the things around you. You have whole conversations with the zebra on your carseat, and you are really enjoying your time on your play mat. Caroline, you still are a champ in your carseat. We took our first road trip last month to Gammy and Papa's house, and you went to your first wedding!

We also went to visit Grandma at her house and I took you to your first women's conference :). Bath time is your FAVORITE time of the day, and you love getting your hair washed. You grip our fingers like a pro and push up on your arms during tummy time like a big girl. 

Caroline, Mommy and Daddy are continuing to fall more and more in love with you each day. Your personality to so fun and laid back. You are SUCH a special gift from God. We are thrilled that you are part of our family forever. 

Just for fun to compare with last month here is Caroline's 1 Month Photo:

Happy 2 months sweet girl!

Caroline talks to Grandma

Y'all, I know I am biased, but my girl is so dang cute, and I just love, love, love her noises and her "talking"! I mean seriously, can you ever really get tired of any baby's coos? ADORABLE! 

Caroline, 8 Weeks old, talking away to Grandma Lee

Happy Thursday friends :) 

our girl

{All Photos taken by Lucy O!}

"The Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save,

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

and He will rejoice over you with singing."

-Zephaniah 3:17

This is the verse the Lord gave me for our girl while I was pregnant. It is truly what I desire for Caroline to know about Him as she grows. It is printed above her changing table, and it is one of the verses I tell her everyday. This verse paints a simply beautiful picture of what God desires to be in all His children's lives... If we will allow Him to... walk with us through each day...save us through His Son... delight in us as his wonderfully made creation... quiet the storms in our lives with the peace that is found in His true and deep Love... and show us what true joy is found in Him when we choose relationship with Him. 

Caroline - I prayed this verse quite a bit before I really knew you... when you were just a baby in my belly... but now, now that I really know the sweet little girl that you are, and now that I can look into your eyes, and kiss your cheeks, I am daily praying that you grow to understand the heights and depths of this verse and that you wrap your life around its truths. 

Over the past month, the Lord has shown me another couple verses that I have also begun praying over your life as you grow...

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God"

-Phillipians 1:9-11

Caroline - Mommy and Daddy pray that you grow strong in wisdom and discernment. We desire for you to be pure in heart and blameless in the Lords eyes through the Grace that you accept in Jesus Christ. We know you will make mistakes, and you will even be our little sinner, because thats what we all are. Our prayer is not for you to do everything perfect... no, our prayer is that you Love Jesus and are found to be righteous through His blood. 

Jesus has a plan for you sweet girl and it will be for your life to reflect His Glory. 

Go get 'em girlfriend... and we will be here to guide you. 

We will pray fervently for you... 

and we are committed to loving you. 

You are our girl.

You are our blessing from the Lord.

{All of these are pictures from our newborn / one month photo shoot taken by our friend Lucy from Lucy O Photograhy! She is so very talented and such a sweet girl. And she just had her own ADORABLE Daughter Edith! Check out her blog and her work... Thank you Lucy for capturing our girl so well! We are in love with all of these pictures}