29 January 2012

Granddad Turns 60! Yowza!

On Sunday, January 29 we celebrated the birthday of my father in law and Chip's father.....and Elijah's Granddad, Latheal Parish! Mom and Dad Parish had spent a relaxing birthday weekend at the fabulous Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio and came to our home on their way back for dinner, cake and a special birthday celebration!
Opening his card from his soon to arrive grandson, Elijah! 
Birthday card from Elijah!
A special birthday "happy" from Chip and Angela
Birthday table set for five! 
Turkey stuff green peppers! Yum!
Happy Birthday! Celebration Cake! Somewhat healthy and delicious!
Make a wish!
Hunter celebrated with us! It was his birthday too!
The Birthday Boys!

The Annual Halliburton BBQ

Chip and I attended the annual Halliburton BBQ Saturday and, the same as every year, had a blast! Here are some photos from the day.
Having some pregnancy fun with a cardboard cut out of Justin Beiber. No, he's not  really the daddy!
Next year, Elijah will be a lot more visable in our Halliburton BBQ Pics!
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Meghan joined us and we celebrated her new job and promotion at Westin! Yay! Two Westin girls!
Just "monkeying" around. :)

27 January 2012

Fun Day at The Woodlands Mom Expo 2012!

Grandma (Parish) and I (along with Elijah in the belly!) had a great day at the Mom Expo in the Woodlands.  We had been looking forward to this event since Heather found it for me a month ago and I even got in for free because I am a "Blogging Mommy!"  The expo was full of fantastic vendors with great services and products for both Mom and Baby! Here are some of the photos from our day!
We were very excited to see the Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile when we pulled in to the event!
This was one of the first cute things I saw. Too bad Chip gave me strict instructions that I am not allowed to purchase any baby things until AFTER our shower. :)
Such a cute little diaper cake!
Feeling so blessed to have such an amazing mother  in law to share this day
Most adorable "St. Patty's Day" Diaper cake!
A Diaper MOTORCYCLE! Granddad Parish and Chip would love this!
Looks like a toy hoodlum but still totally adorable!
Just cause Mommy was on buying probably does not mean Grandma  is!  She bought this really cook wooden zoo for Elijah! I know he will love learning and playing with it!
I am already looking forward to next year's Mom Expo! I came across some really great parenting and family resources that I am excited to research some more, including a holistic health center in Houston!  More to come as I go through my information and discover what will be useful for our family!

08 January 2012

Cloth Diapering

In preparation for our son's arrival, I have been exploring many different options regarding different choices we will make for Elijah. One of choices has been whether or not to use cloth diapers.  There is an amazing store that we are lucky enough to live near called The Nurtured Family and not only do they carry the best quality baby products that promote a natural lifestyle, they also offer informative free classes on different baby related topics. Yesterday, I attended their monthly class on cloth diapering and I now feel confident that this will be a great choice for our family.  As a bonus, I also learned about cloth wipes which had not been something I considered before but, as our instructor pointed out, the two really go hand in hand.

Some of the benefits mentioned yesterday regarding cloth diapering are:
*Environmental- this one is a given
*Money-you save a MINIMUM of $2500 a year with cloth diapering and often times more depending on      brand and type diaper
*Ease of use - cloth diapering has come a long way from what our parents and grandparents once used. They  have convenient inserts, snaps and are as absorbent at a disposable diaper
*Comfort for baby - what would you rather wear? Plastic and paper or absorbent cloth?
*Less rashes - It has been found that cloth diaper babies have less cases of diaper rash
*odor - this one surprised me. Believe it or not, cloth diaper users found that there is less odor with cloth diapers!

The class went through a number of different brands and styles. The ones that I plan to use are Fuzzy Buns ones sized diapers. The one size diapers have adjustable snaps so they grow with your baby and the Fuzzy Buns brand also had adjustable elastic in the legs. They are what is called "Pocket Diapers" meaning the absorbent inserts are put into a pocket in the diaper allowing you to add a bit more padding if needed.

If even remotely curious about cloth diapering, I highly recommend finding a similar class to gather information. I am looking forward to putting all I learned into practice!

01 January 2012

Elijah's Nursery (so far....)


Elijah's nursery is slowing starting to take shape! We had it painted and Grandma and Grandad Parish gave the great gift of new carpet, so soft for the tiny feet that soon be pitter pattering around! Last weekend we were thrilled to finally put together our son's crib, a generous gift from my grandmother and Elijah's Great-Grandmother, Nan.  Actually Chip and our friend, Dan put the crib together, and I watched and took photos. Here are some pictures of construction of the crib and our sweet baby boy's room so far.......
Chip and Dan putting together Elijah's crib
The finished masterpiece. The guys had it together in only about a half hour! Not bad!
Elijah also got a new fan for his room! Thanks Granny!  (He will be getting new curtains too. Those were there when we moved in)
Our nursery theme is old fashioned Winnie the Pooh. We found some adorable light switch and outlet covers!
Grandma found this one! She has been great at finding old fashioned Winnie the Pooh treasures for Elijah!
We have a few newborn clothes already hanging in his huge closet!
Clothes all the way up to 1 year, mostly gifts from friends and family eagerly awaiting the arrival of our little fella. 
Our boy's bed from Nan,  all ready for him, made up with the Winnie the Pooh set that Grandma found at Kid to Kid! So perfect!