Wordless Wednesday...Surprise Work Shower (8/27/10)

37 weeks = Tillman is a "(full) term" baby!

Tillman is term is the theme of the day!  I am glad he has hung out this long.  Although there seems to be some discrepancy between babycenter.com and some folks regarding if Tillman is term or full term. My trusty source, babycenter.com says "your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away."

"If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz."

I don't have an outie-the shirt is just folded weird...

While "Term Tillman" is growing and measuring like a stalk of Swiss chard, I am still growing as well.  Here are some facts about Mrs. Pregnant in the Lowcountry.

-How big is the baby? Tillman's weight was guesstimated around 5lbs last Thursday.

-Weight gain? Ugh...32lbs. I read one of my post from the first trimester about how much is a healthy weight to gain, and it said 30lbs.  Well, I have passed that and still have 3 weeks to go!  Feeling pretty huge these days...especially my legs (not attractive).

-Stretch Marks? Not that I can tell...at least new ones...ugh puberty was not nice to me!

-Sleep? I sleep just fine with 4 pillows, and wake up at 12, 2 and 4 for potty breaks!

-Best moment of the week? A surprise baby shower at work last Friday!  Complete surprise!

-Food and cravings? Cold food...ice cream (Blue Bell Banana Split).

-Movement? Tillman is "tearing it up" in his happy place this week!  He has been super active.

-What I miss? SUSHI-I had a California roll this weekend...just not the same, but got me my fix.

-Belly Button? Just about flattened out.

-Looking forward to? Getting back into my normal clothes and successfully breastfeeding.

-Milestone? Tillman is full term!

Charleston Shower

Cute wreath to welcome all the ladies to the shower.

Mary-Margaret made it! To learn how to make it, click here.

I can't wait to hang it on our door when Tillman arrives!

Check out the bow detail!

Yummy Lemonade and cute preggo mannequin. 

(To order, click here)

Can you tell Mary-Margaret and I follow Pluff Mudd Studio blog?

Cute favors at the door for all the ladies.

My sis-in-law made these little

diaper favors filled with candies.

Catherine hung these cute onsies up to decorate.

She also opened her house for the shower!

Check out her applique and monogramming skills!

The CAKE table!  I love cake and sweets.

Catherine made the cute cup cakes with wonderful icing

and added cute little rubber duckies to top each.

My sis-in-law made the diaper cake! 

Beside the diaper cake is the invite that Jennifer designed!

Here are all the wonderful hostesses of the shower

L to R:

Catherine, Jennifer, me, Julie (sis-in-law) & Mary-Margaret

Freshman year roomies at College of Charleston.

 This group hasn't been together in 10 years!

L to R

Jennifer, me, Sam & Mary-Margaret

Jennifer had everyone fill out a prediction sheet about

Tillman (weight, eye & hair color, career, favorite sport, etc).

I'm reading them aloud to everyone!

Can't wait to see who is right in 25 years!

Gift opening

The prediction book

Thank You!

I think those two words are not used often enough.  As you know from my post last week, I don't feel people are told "thank you" enough when they offer and/or do something for you.  This weekend I had my second shower.  We were back in my home town, Lexington, SC.  This shower was mostly family, close friends of my mom, and church folks.  It was a drop in shower, so people were coming and going while I was opening gifts.

In these type settings, it is hard to tell everyone "thank you" and visit with folks that have come out to see you and shower your upcoming "bundle of joy."  They see you open their gift, but beyond you saying "thank you" when opening the gift, that is pretty much as far as it goes that day.  Because of this type situation, I feel a strong need (only for myself) to write thank you notes immediately after the shower.  I think that writing a thank you note is a must, but sending it a day after the shower show that you really appreciate the gifts and everyone taking time to come to the shower.  Thank you notes is something I rarely "dilly dally!"  Yesterday, I woke up at 7AM and finished them around 11:30AM (of course, I took breaks in between) and dropped them off at the post office at 2PM.

When receiving a thank you note, I think most people think that is etiquette.  However, in order to make an impression upon the giver, one needs to go the extra mile.  If a person receives a note a month after the gift was given, they probably think "well, I'm sure glad she finally wrote that note!"  However, by sending it immediately, people sure are impressed!

Generations

At Tillman's first baby shower in May, Nick two grandmothers attended. Nick and I were so glad that we got this picture of him with his two grandmothers. You never know when will be the last to see someone, and it is at these moments that I think about cherishing every moment as it is our last.


On Sunday, we got the news that Nick's paternal Grandmother had passed away (one on the right...lime and white shirt). We were very glad that we got to see her when she was doing well. I actually spent a long time talking to both grandmothers at the shower while Nick and the guys grilled out.

Although Tillman will not get to meet one of his Great Grandmothers, I am very glad that she knew about him and was excited about his arrival in September. This weekend I went plundering back through the gifts from the shower to find what she had given Tillman. We'll make sure to keep these items to share with Tillman and show him through pictures who is Great Grandmother was.
Life is very precious, and you just never know when will be the last time you'll see someone. Please keep Nick's family in your prays as we lay his Grandmother to rest today.

Ohio Shower

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Nick home, Ohio, and the Indy 500 (click here if you missed that post).  Tillman's Mimi (Nick's mom) hosted our first baby shower along with a cook out.  We had a wonderful time catching up with Nick's family and friends in Ohio.

The table all decorated for the cookout!

Drinks outside in cute buckets!

Decorated with "pee pee teepees"

Gift Table

Since it seems like we're never going to have a girl,

Mimi got Tillman a Madame Alexander "boy doll."

The cake!!!

Cake Cutting (front and side view of the belly)

Nick and his Grandmothers

Gift opening

Cici came to the party! 

(Brandon and Marnie's little girl with her grandma, Chris)

Some of Nick's cousins with their kiddos!

(Cam, Julie, Ella, Debbie, and Ella's little friend)

First Shower Invitation

Nick's mom is hosting a shower at the end of the month for us!  The shower has been planned for a while, but invitation creation was waiting for the results of our anatomy ultrasound.  As soon as she got the news, she knew she could go all blue for this shower!  We received the invitation in the mail last Friday (that is why we "booked it" to Target and Babies R Us to register).  It was really neat to see Tillman's full name in print for the first time.  Before, his name has only been in my head and verbally mentioned.  Getting the invitation in the mail made September 21st seem right around the corner and seemed like Master Tillman was being officially introduced to the family!

Reader side note-No, Tillman will not be the Master of our house (well, at least we won't tell him he is.)  Master is how one formally addresses a little boy.  Similar to how Miss is used for a little girl.