Baby Shower #2

Baby Shower #2 was this past Sunday! It was spectacular! My friends Erin & Chaley hosted it at Urbana Civic Center. It was family & close friends and it could not have been a nicer baby shower.

Here I am before the shower! I am proud of my $14 Walmart sundress....it is non-maternity so I hope to wear it this summer after I have her!


Yes I look like I swallowed a basketball:)


Erin and Chaley got the cutest cupcakes from Sweet Designs Bakery in Mahomet. They were soooo yummy!



Erin's Mom was kind enough to make one of my fav's....Chocolate Covered Strawberries!



Erin's good friend Steven is an awesome baker! He made these adorable sugar cookies. Another one of my fav's...Iced Sugar Cookies!

Chaley made the centerpieces and they are sooo cute. This is the bottom of them and they had balloons tied to them. I got to take home all the items in each centerpiece. Needless to say, I have lots of baby wash, lotion, powder, etc. Such a cute centerpiece idea.

I made the bootie favor again.

Here is a picture of the full centerpiece. The theme they went with was chocolate brown and pink! Very cute!

My Mom's boyfriend Steve dropped her off at the shower since they had to bring the stroller combo. They do not leave the house without their precious little girl, my little sister, Chloe. So this is Chloe, she made an appearance at my baby shower. She left not too long after I got there!

This is Carson, my friend Amy's little boy. He was looking so cute in his Polo shirt & jeans and Lacoste shoes. Carson is 2.

The yummy food table. Jeremy's Mom made turkey puffs. They are a cream puff like outside with turkey salad in the inside, they were sooo yummy! The punch is not on the table yet but it was Rainbow Sherbert with 7-up. Erin made a fruit salad, Chaley brought cheese & crackers and my Mom made candies out of baby shower theme molds. Along with the chocolate strawberries and sugar cookies.

Chaley, Me, & Erin! Thanks again girls!

Again...us girls. Chaley is a Mommy to Brianna, Brody and little baby Holden. Erin is a Mommy to Garrett & Tanner!

This is my cousin Jessica. She is pregnant and due 10 days before me with a little girl named Kenley. Her baby shower is in a week and a half!

This is Christasia. She is my cousin Rachelle's daugther. She came with her Grandma, my Mom's sister Tammie! Rachelle was not able to attend.

Look at all those presents! We got soooo many nice things. We got our stroller with baby carrier, our pack n play, lots of clothes, an umbrella stroller and many many many other things...too many to name.

Here is Baby Darnell's Cruiser! We can't wait to go to the mall and cruise around in this! She already has a shirt that says "Shopping with my Mommy makes me Happy".

Jeremy came later to help me load up everything. This is his reaction...like Oh My Goodness, what are we gonna do with all this stuff!

Thanks again family & friends for such a great shower! Our Baby Girl is so lucky to have so many wonderful people in her life!

Looking forward to the weekend!

I am on lunch break right now and thought I would do a quick post. I am leaving work at 2 today for my Dr. appointment. Looking forward to seeing my Dr. today as I have not seen her since Jan since she has been on maternity leave. I have been getting great care in the meantime, but definitely looking forward to seeing her today. Let's pray she doesn't have an emergency C-section or delivery. However, I don't fault her for that as that may be me some day!
We have had meetings this morning so my time has been very limited and this will be the quickest work day ever!
We have our 2nd Prepared Childbirth class tomorrow from 9-12. I have my huge family & friends shower on Sunday. I am looking forward to seeing everyone.
I am hoping in the near future I will be able to post some nursery pictures. I am waiting on a few items to come in and I have to finish a couple of things for the room and then hope to take pictures. I think it is going to be rather precious. The curtains that Baby Darnell's Grandma Jan made have already made the room super cute!
Jeremy started his Tuesday night golf league this week. He is looking forward to that as well as planning his time off for the Summer. A lot of that will be dependent on when our little girl decides to arrive.
I know time is going to fly by for me as I am already looking at May as being a busy month here at work. I am not planning much of anything the month of June but relaxing. Other than work. I hope to have the Baby's room completely organized and everything purchased that we need in the month of May so June can just be relaxing and waiting for our little girl to arrive. I want to be prepared as much as possible.
I can't believe how much our little girl moves around. And nudges herself in some of the weirdest spots one minute and someplace else the next:) Sometimes she will be moving around and I will tell Jeremy to feel her and he puts his hand on my tummy and she stops. I think she is a little stinker already! She must get that from her Daddy! ha!
Stay tuned on Sunday for pictures from the Baby Shower! I am so excited and so thankful of my friends for putting it on for me and my Mom & Jan for helping out.

Baby Shower Number 1!

Today I had my first Baby Shower! My neighbor Casey hosted it at her house and another neighbor Jenny and a friend Emily helped out with it. It was so much fun. This was just a small shower of neighbors, a couple of friends and a couple of family members. I think all but 2 people that I invited were able to attend so there was a great turnout.
One thing I wanted to do was make a little "Thank You" favor for people attending my shower! I love doing little things like that. I made the little Baby Bootie below. The tag says "Thank you for being so sweet! From Mommy and Baby!" They were so easy to make.


The girls must have known that iced sugar cookies are one of my favorite things because they had these adorable iced sugar cookies made! They also had taco dip & chips, veggies & dip, grapes & strawberries, in addition to the cake and nuts. Tea & Lemonade to drink!

The pretty flower arrangment made by the florist here in town!

Here are all my favors. I made everyone take one before they left to go home!

I wanted to get Casey, Emily & Jenny a little gift for having a shower for me. I found these cute cups for Summer with their initals on them. They matched all the decor perfect! I also got them a small bottle of Bath & Body, Sleep lotion, Lavender scent. I love this lotion and it really does help you sleep great!

Here I am at Casey's house. I am 30 weeks! I feel like I look rather big. Keep in mind the dress I am wearing is not a maternity dress and is a size small from Ann Taylor Loft so although it fit, it may have been a little smaller than most of my clothes right now. But it worked out great and was a dress I had before I was pregnant!

Here is the adorable cake! It was sooo yummy! It was made by Sweet Designs in Mahomet! Along with the sugar cookies.

Me and the Grandma's!

Emily, Casey, me and Jenny! Emily brought her soon to be 8 week old twins Thomas and Tucker and they are precious! Casey's baby Miley was also there. I should have taken pictures of the babies but didn't!

Here are just a few of the many gifts we received. Everyone was so generous and we got so many nice things for our Baby Girl!

Here is a cute dress from one neighbor!

Another neighbor had made for us Steelers burp cloths. I will be sure to put a few of these in Jeremy's Man bag!

Notice the bracelet I am wearing...Emily's Mom got that for me! Too cute! It is a Baby Girl charm bracelet!

Yay! We got our highchair!

And a Newborn lounger by Bobby!

I should have taken a picture of the whole gift, but one neighbor, Miranda, has two younger girls. They picked out part of the gift....It was adorable! They picked out this Princess placemat, some dress up shoes, jewelry, boa, gloves, a Princess blanket...there were many other items in the bag as well such as wash cloths, booties, etc but the Princess stuff was a hoot!

My Mom got me a bag to pack for the hospital. Of course it was full of baby stuff. She also got me some Fit Flops I had been wanting. I thought maybe when I am finished with the bag I will give it to our Little Girl and she can use it as her "Going to Grandma's" bag!

My Mom also got her her first pair of high heels. They are hilarious! And actually came from a website called Heelarious! Too funny!

It was a great day and a great shower! I am thankful we have moved to a wonderful neighborhood where everyone is so wonderful!

I am not ready to go back to work tomorrow. I need another day of rest! We had our Prepared Childbirth class yesterday! It was a good class. We have the second week of the class on Saturday along with another Baby Shower on Sunday. My plan is to get the Thank You cards done for this shower this week so I do not get behind on Thank Yous!

Look What Jeremy Did at School Today!

Tonight, Jeremy is attending a Dad's Only class offered by Carle Hospital. I was sitting here paying bills and I get a text message from him...too funny! He texted me his first diaper change! He said the snacks are a lot better at this class than they were at our Breastfeeding class on Tuesday...since it is all Dad's. He said he got a piece of cheesecake! I am anxious for him to get home this evening to find out what he has learned! I just thought it was funny he was so proud of his first diaper change!

Tuesday evening we attended a Breastfeeding class. It was very informative and very helpful. We felt it was well worth attending. The class was packed with soon to be parents. Of course the snacks were healthy snacks such as cheese & crackers, apples, string cheese, trail mix...although there were small chocolate chip cookies...if we are talking about comparing snacks between classes!

Saturday we have our first Prepared Childbirth class. It is two Saturdays in a row from 9 to noon. I am very anxious to see what all we learn in that class. I have been warned that the video they show is of the worst birth experience ever so not to get too alarmed with that.

I am excited Jeremy's Mom started the curtains tonight for the nursery. She plans to bring them over this weekend when they come on Saturday. I am anxious to get the nursery put together, although I am still waiting on the bedding to be shipped. I am hoping within the next week.

At my appointment on Friday of last week, I had to have blood drawn after drinking the nasty orange drink to check my glucose. I am so excited that I passed the glucose test. That is a relief because I have known so many people with gestational diabetes.

I feel as if my feet are starting to swell. I have heard that some people's shoe size changes and never goes back to what it was before pregnancy. I am hoping mine stays the same as I have way too many shoes to have to try to buy new ones:)

I have my first baby shower this weekend. My neighbor is hosting it at her house and a few other girls are helping out with it. I am soooo excited. Stay tuned for pictures!

Good Weekend!

This weekend was just beautiful and I don't want it to end! Friday night I went to a purse party at my neighbor's house and Jeremy and I got Monical's Pizza! Saturday I was determined to clean our house! I cleaned the whole house, first and second floors both! It is a chore cleaning this house but I got it all done. Jeremy cleaned both of our vehicles, swept the garage, spray painted some flower pots and a few other things outside. After we were done we went and got groceries. We managed to spend a lot on groceries even though we ate lunch right before! My goodness. We were able to hang outside with some of our neighbors on the nice evening. We ended up having Dairy Queen for dinner! We weren't that hungry and thought ice cream sounded pretty good. Today, we got more things done around the house. Jeremy mowed and trimmed. I made a little Thank You favor for my upcoming shower this weekend. I can't wait to post pictures of it...too cute! I also lined the drawers of the Baby's dressers. I relaxed and read books & magazines, sat outside. Jeremy golfed 18 holes today. Jeremy grilled brats for dinner tonight. I made a yummy pasta salad (Rainbow rotini, brocolli, black olives, grape tomatoes, Kraft cheese chunks, and Sun Dried Tomato Vineagrette dressing) and we had strawberry shortcake (made with angel food cake, strawberries, & cool whip) for dessert. I loved having the windows and doors open this weekend and letting the fresh air come in!
I am not looking forward to work this week as it is going to be busy for me, however, I am looking forward to our first baby class on Tuesday. We have a Breastfeeding class Tuesday, Jeremy has a Dad's only class on Thursday. Saturday we have a Prepared Childbirth class from 9 to noon and Sunday I have my first Baby Shower at my neighbors house across the street. I am trying to not think about the crazy work week and think about the fun baby stuff we have coming up this week.
Hope everyone has a great week!

Update on Baby Darnell!

Today I had a Dr. Appt. Kind of a fiasco of a morning but I ended up getting to see our sweet little girl! I had my glucose test today. I have not heard if I passed yet or not, I am hoping so. After I had my blood drawn I had to go to my regular appointment with my Dr. I have not seen my actual Dr. since Jan as she was on maternity leave so I was looking forward to seeing her. I was waiting and they came in my room and said that she got called for an emergency c-section, would I be willing to see a nurse practioner? Of course I would! I had not been to the Dr. in a month and I wanted to make sure everything was looking ok. The nurse practioner I saw today decided I should have an ultrasound to check the placenta. We did not plan this so Jeremy did not go with me today. He had interviews for an open position at his school and was unable to attend the appointment. So I go down to my ultrasound and then had to go back upstairs at the Dr. office to see the nurse practioner to go over the results. I had planned to be at work by 10 this morning and did not get there until 11:30! Long morning at the Dr. office.
The highlight was seeing our little girl on ultrasound today! Oh my is she precious. She was blinking her eyes and I could see it on the sono! She was also opening and closing her mouth! She was pretty active, but it may have had to do with the fact that I had to drink the nasty orange sugary drink today. I was soooo excited to see her.
Everything is looking great. I am still measuring a week ahead of schedule which I have been my whole pregnancy. Baby Girl weighs 2 lbs 11oz right now. Her heartbeat was 153. The good news is the placenta has moved so I should not have to worry about the placenta previa anymore. Currently her head is down.
I now start going to the Dr. every 2 weeks. I know these last couple of months are gonna fly by.
I have been going to the bathroom more frequently and have been a little uncomfortable. Sometimes when she moves I think she is jabbing me with a foot or something.
This next week we have a Breastfeeding class, Jeremy has a class for Dad's only, and next Saturday we have 1 of 2 Prepared Childbirth classes. On Sunday the 18th I have my first baby shower that I am really excited for.

Happy Easter from The Darnell's!

Jeremy and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter! We have had a great day with family today!

Here is a belly comparison, I have him beat by a long shot!

Jeremy took this of me before we left for our family gathering today!

The doggies would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. The Pug would not cooperate much for a picture!

We enjoyed a great lunch at my Step Mom's Sister's house. It was good to see everyone. We had soooo much food. Ham, tenderloin, lots of casseroles, rolls, fruit, desserts!!! I made Easter cupcakes and deviled eggs!

Gotta love good ol Tupperware!

This is pretty much the extent of our Easter decor. My Longaberger baskets with some cheap plastic eggs:) I need to find a little bit more Easter decor for next year. We do have an Easter tablecloth on our table.

Baby Girl got a gift at Richard & Barbara's house! She will be so precious in this little outfit. 5 month old Canaan got her the little hair bows!!! How sweet!

Here is a sneak peak at one of the projects I have done for her nursery. The pattern matches some of the pattern in her bedding. Although I realized I need a few more frames which I purchased this frame at Ikea and I can not order it online. So there may be another quick trip to Ikea in my future.

Today we experienced a first! We had our very first golf ball in our yard from the golf course. We have yet to have anyone hit a ball in our yard until today! The golf course has been really busy today. I was surprised to see so many people out on Easter Sunday.

I had to post this picture of my friend Chaley's kids. She texted this picture this morning and I thought it was so cute. Especially little Holden sitting there like a Big Boy with his Easter Basket. I told her I want her to adopt me for Easter next year cause her kids got sweet Easter Baskets!

Finally...a Blog Post

Wow! I have been a total slacker in updating our blog. Between the weather being so nice and not being on the computer much to being tired when I get home from work, I have not felt much like blogging.
Exciting news, I am entering my 3rd trimester! Things are going really well. I can feel I am getting tired again easily. Although today, Jeremy and I were pretty much non-stop and I had a lot of energy. Below is a pic Jeremy took of me before work this past week.

I feel rather large! Ha! I mean, not like I am almost 8 months pregnant or anything! Baby Girl is moving around all the time. I will pull my shirt up in the belly area in the evenings and Jeremy can see her move from across the room. I sometimes feel like a foot may pop out of my stomach! Our next appointment is this Friday, April 9th. After this appointment, I will begin going every 2 weeks. I have a feeling the next 2 months are going to fly by. We start several baby classes and have a few baby showers in the near future.
We have been working on getting the Baby's nursery together. I am doing some small projects to make her nursery extra precious and extra special! I am quite proud of myself!
I have been feeling really great! Everyone asks about cravings. It goes in spurts. For a while I had to have a glass of milk with every dinner. I have not been wanting the milk as much, although it still tastes great when I drink it, but rather having a glass of OJ with every breakfast. I can chug a glass of OJ in a matter of seconds:) I love chocolate right now. Although I try not to eat a ton of it every day. Right now I love the Napa Almond Chicken Salad at Panera. I love how one of the Panera's in Champaign has a drive-thru. I can go there on my lunch hour and bring it back to my office and eat it. It is extra great on an Asiago Cheese bagel. A girl at work introduced me to this and said she loved it when she was pregnant! Well Thank You Mrs. Hubbard, I now love it when I am pregnant!
I have loved these little sherbert cups pretty much my whole pregnancy (once I got past the nausea and could actually eat). They are soooo yummy! I like how they are like the little kiddie cups you serve at kids parties because it helps with portion control. Not all stores carry them but our County Market in GC sure does!

We are looking forward to our upcoming showers and seeing family & friends. I have also been an organizing fool lately! I want the whole house organized before the baby comes. Jeremy and I actually took a load of stuff to Goodwill today. We are both trying to get things done here and there before she gets here. I think I have started the nesting faze early as I feel like I could organize the whole house. My mind is going a 100 miles a minute thinking of what all we need to do the next couple of months.
Jeremy was sick last week and was sent to his "Refugee Camp" aka the Guest Bedroom. I did not want to get sick and the poor guy felt horrible. So he has been sleeping in there to avoid getting me sick. Our dogs have been enjoying this as they either get to sprawl out in half of my bed or half of his bed. Hopefully tomorrow he can come back to his normal sleeping spot. Speaking of dogs....we have had an extra one around the house the last couple of weeks. Meet Little Orphan Angus. Angus the Pug has been staying with his Uncle Jeremy & Aunt Kim. Angus belongs to Jeremy's sister who is currently residing in London. Because they just moved to London end of December, Jeremy's parents have been keeping Angus until they can figure out how to get him to London. Well, Jeremy's parents are now visiting London so we are keeping Angus while they are gone.
We have been calling him Little Orphan Angus because he is between homes at the moment. Might be a little confused on his true home. Poor guy! I am sure he is ready for his Grandma and Grandpa to get back as Lucie has pestered him enough during his stay. He has been no trouble, he just sheds a lot, like all pugs do!

We are looking forward to Easter tomorrow with my family. I am making deviled eggs and Easter cupcakes. We plan to Skype Jeremy's family in London tomorrow morning. Hope to get a good picture of me and Jerm tomorrow and plan to post!
Have a great Easter Sunday!