Four favorite pins: Christmas presents

With Christmas just days away, I'm thinking about one thing: toys. Between all the searching for the perfect nursery furniture, car seats, strollers, etc., I forgot one of the only things kids care about. Undoubtedly, my little boy will have more than he can ever play with piled under the tree for many Christmases to come, but these are of a few of the things that have caught my eye.

1. Melissa and Doug toolbox: When I worked at The Parent Teacher Store in Nashville, I learned of the wonders of Melissa and Doug. I like their classic toy approach, relying on the child's imagination over electronic bells and whistles. This little tool set is perfect because he'll be able to hammer and drill to his heart's content, without scratching the furniture.

2. DIY fabric roads: Little boys come with little cars, and those cars need a place to drive. With these fabric streets, anywhere can be the open road. Plus, they'd be really easy to take places.

3. Books (like My Daddy and Me): One thing I know for sure is that I want to instill a love for reading in my son early on. What better way than with bright, fun books — especially ones that depict a little bear cub's adventures with daddy?

4. Wooden blocks: Whether they're building a tall tower or knocking that tower to the ground, babies love blocks. I love the vintage look to this set and the letters and numbers on them. They're pretty enough that I might not mind seeing them strewn across the floor.

(Psst! You can always follow me on Pinterest!)

Christmas cards past

I love Christmas cards. When Scott and I celebrated our second Christmas, I was giddy at the prospect of sending out Christmas cards. (Our first Christmas came 10 days after we got married. There was no time for cards then.) Since then, I've enjoyed getting our cards together as well as looking back over the past years' cards. In our 2009 card, we were in front of the fireplace of our new house. This year, I'm pregnant with our first child, and next year we'll get to have three names on the card (I'm thinking it will be very baby-centric, too). It's a nice little walk down memory lane.

2008

2009

2010

2011

Life lately, according to Instagram

With Christmas almost a week away and all of the get-togethers that come with the holidays, Scott and I have had a lot of very busy weeknights. Here's a little of what we've been up to lately.

1. Our Christmas tree and wreaths all a-glow. 

2. At work, we all decorated an ornament for the office tree. I made a little penguin man.

3. A view of last week's snow from our front door.

4. More snow!

5. We got our little boy's crib assembled without too much difficulty.

6. Scott also got him his first book — Marcel the Shell!

7. Tacky Christmas Bunco bump

8. We ordered a pizza for dinner last night and used the "romantic" tracker since it was our anniversary.

Now I'm looking forward to a lazy weekend, since all the presents are wrapped and all of my finals are done. The couch is calling my name — along with a pretty tall pile of laundry.

First comes love, then comes marriage ...

Four years ago I was incredibly blessed to say "I do" to the love of my life. Marriage has been a crazy journey with ups and downs, ultimately falling more in love with the person I pledged forever to in the beginning. I know in April when "then comes baby in the baby carriage" will change it all the more, but I am so excited about what parenting holds and am glad to have Scott as my baby daddy. 

As a fun little walk down memory lane, here are a few pictures of Scott and me and our years together. 

Left: Scott meets the parents. (2006) / Right: My social club ring ceremony. We're engaged! (2006)

Left: Engagement photo (2007) / Right: We finally said "I do!" (2007)

Left: Honeymooning in Jamaica (2007) / Right: We graduated! (2008)

Left: Our first house (2009) / Right: Scott is now a master of business (2011)

Left: We'd just found out a couple of weeks before that we were going to be parents (2011) / Right: Now we're anxiously awaiting our little boy's arrival!

I can't wait to see what the next years bring, and I look forward to a lifetime of standing next to this man in all of those pictures!

(P.S. Last year's anniversary post.)

River Market rendezvous

This Thursday is Scott and my fourth anniversary. To celebrate, Scott surprised me this past Friday with a one-night getaway to Little Rock for dinner with "none other than your dashing husband," as my email invitation read. The invitation also told me that my gray Toyota "limo" was leaving at 5:45 and that I was to be packed and ready to go by then. 

My handsome date for the evening//The Christmas tree in the lobby of the Capitol Hotel

When we arrived in Little Rock, we checked in to our hotel and walked down the block to dinner at Ashley's in the Capitol Hotel. Everything we ate was delicious, especially the steak I got, which had to be well done. (As a former medium rare girl whose major pregnancy craving is red meat, I'm always overjoyed to find a place that can cook it to my pregnancy-required temperature and not having it eat like shoe leather.) The next morning, we slept in, went to lunch at the Flying Fish, then did some shopping before we headed home.

It was a great escape to galavant downtown, linked arm-in-arm with my favorite person, and feel like we were city dwellers for a day.

Ashley's window decked out for Christmas//River Market view

Week 20: Breathless

If week 20 had a song, it would either be Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" (you know, because "we're half way the-re!") or the Corrs' "Breathless." 

On the one hand, we're at the half way point and (hopefully) have more weeks behind us than ahead of us to meet our son. We've been slowly getting the nursery ready (the crib and bookshelf are assembled, and we have bedding just no mattress) and making other plans for his arrival, like when to start taking the birthing classes at the hospital, etc. I'm hoping that, in all the preparation, April will sneak up on us. 

And then there's the matter of breathing. The stairs I climb every morning to get to my office have become my Everest. When I get to the top, I'm huffing and puffing like I'm about to blow some unsuspecting pig's house down. Also, the joint task of standing and singing at church has become a little more difficult. 

This week I learned that our little guy is a night owl. After a few days of not feeling him fluttering around, I was surprised and relieved to find him kicking around at 3 a.m. Saturday morning. He was having a grand old time kicking and flipping. I told Scott that it probably didn't bode well for our future nights' sleep. 

Four favorite pins: Christmas crafts and baby boy wishes

My Pinterest has been dominated by two things this week: Christmas and my baby boy. Here are four of my favorites from this week.

1. Burlap Christmas wreath: I keep saying "I'm going to make a burlap wreath!" and have yet to accomplish it. I love how it is so interchangeable with the seasons, like with the addition of the Christmas colored flowers on this one. Plus, I would look really cute with some Razorback decorations next fall.

2. Baby cardigan — with elbow patches! I've found that little boy clothes are either emblazoned with monsters and dump trucks, kind of frilly looking, or have some kind of ironic statement on them. I just want a little boy, you know? This cardigan fits the bill. It's not too grandpa and still has a cute boy look about it.

3. Name pennant: I love these personalized name pennants for the baby's room. It would be so cute in a little frame collage over his crib or changing table. Plus you can pick the colors so they coordinate with the space.

4. Pinwheel baby mobile: Another thing I've been on the hunt for is a simple mobile for over the baby's crib. All of the ones I had seen prior to this one were over-the-top cutesy stuffed animals or ultra modern. I think this one provides visual interest both the baby and his parents can appreciate.

Maybe this weekend I'll finally get around to making that wreath. Probably not, but it never hurts to have a positive attitude about it.

I've been Tebowed

If you had asked me a couple of years ago to share my thoughts on Tim Tebow, I would've said I didn't like him. I don't really think it was any fault of his own; he just so happened to be wearing the wrong color jersey.

Since I was little, I was taught that we did not like the Florida Gators, and it is a banner I still carry to this day. Tebow was the guy throwing their touchdowns, causing his team to be ranked over mine, and winning the Heisman trophy over Arkansas' Darren McFadden. Therefore he was to be disliked. 

Lately, Tebow has been in the news — less for his performance as quarterback for the Denver Broncos and more for his outspokenness regarding his faith. Most are speaking out against his displays of faith on the field, mocking him and ridiculing him for his beliefs.

It's made me reassess my former opinions of number 15, realizing they were incredibly petty in the first place. Tebow is an incredibly genuine person, in my opinion. He doesn't point his finger to the sky in feigned gratitude on Sunday only to get pulled over for a DUI on Tuesday. When he was at the University of Florida, he took his coach, Urban Meyer, and his family on a mission trip with him, an event Meyer notes as a life-changing event for his family.

With Tebow at the helm, the Broncos have be on an inexplicable winning streak, causing his critics to turn up the volume. In our Sunday morning class yesterday, someone noted that it's not because Tebow has been setting throwing records or making incredible plays. I'm not saying that, if Jesus is on your side that you will suddenly be Super Bowl bound, but I think it has given him another avenue to show Christ. He never takes the credit for himself. He's always giving praise to his team, for their skills and persistence, not show-boating like a lot of big name quarterbacks.

This quote from Tebow when faced with the voice of his critics — one of his own teammates — is one of the things I want to work on in my life.

That's an incredible attitude to have, one we should strive to have in our daily lives. Are we telling Christ we love him as much as we should? Are we giving him the glory in good times and in bad? Look for opportunities to shout out your love for Christ this week.

Life lately, according to Instagram

Recently, I've become obsessed with the Instagram app. It's a fun way of snapping little shots throughout the day I might feel silly pulling out the camera for. Here's a little of what has been going on lately. 

1. Baby Santa hat and booties for next year's Christmas card 

2. Scott had the Sleep Sheep set up like this when I got home a few weeks ago. He said that the sheep knew the baby would be a boy. He was right!

3. The crib is here! Now for the assembly part. 

4. Apple cider on a cold night.

5. Scott surprised me with a new Christmas tree Tuesday night. He's definitely a keeper. 

6. My feet are slowly being eclipsed. 

Have a great weekend! We're finishing up decorating for Christmas and getting started on the nursery.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Instagram!