The Long Awaited Shower!

It finally happened! Brooke and Daniel are having a baby girl.  Due to arrive 12-12-12! This little girl has been LONG awaited (6 plus years of so), so of course we needed to throw her the best shower possible!! As soon as we found out it was a girl, Brittany and I started planning early, and it's a good thing we did, because I don't believe we could have thrown this together quickly.  Brittany decided to buy stock in Etsy and take over that department while I attacked Pinterest for ideas.  It was a fail proof plan. We had a couple of hiccups, like neither one of us living in Utah while trying to plan it there, but my mom and sisters were great about helping out.  

The shower was a great success.  Brooke had a great turnout of family and friends, and the food, desserts, and gifts were all fabulous.  We just wanted Brooke to feel like it was the most special day for her and her baby—some things are worth waiting for, and this little one will be no exception.  

Dessert anyone?! 

We were pretty in love with this table, it just screamed indulge me! 

Brittany painted the sign! She is so creative, and she put together these great thank you gifts for the guests, lotion and soaps in these ever so adorable fabric bags. 

The party crew before the shower.  Carol and Alec came out from Irvine, and Brittany and Addie came from San Diego. The rest of the family already lives in Utah and they were able to help in a huge way.  I flew out SOLO for the weekend and had a blast.  I have not flown solo since having Solana (so, 2.5 years). 

The tables were my favorite, they were decked out with pink and peach linens, and we used gold chargers and gold silverware.  I loved the color combo!

The fireplace was perfect for the gift area, and it was very chilly that morning, so it also came in handy.

 

Aren't these parasols gorgeous?! Brittany ordered them in white and then she spray painted them in all different shades of the shower and then stenciled them. They were perfect for our centerpiece display.

Mmmmm....The Sweet Tooth Fairy in Utah did an incredible job on the desserts. I highly suggest it. 

Brooke was the first guest to arrive, and she was pretty excited about it all.  

Grandma to be of Brooke's first baby. 

These two could have not been any cuter together, and it made me miss Solana so much, she would have had so much fun with them.  But we are taking a family trip to Utah at Christmas, so she will get to see her cousins then. 

          Beautiful cousins Calyn and McKenna.                 Love me my Hunter and Alina, they were on                                   

                                                                                       our set up crew and saved us getting it all ready. 

                       

Lovin' that food table. 

Brittany, Mom, Brooke and I.  Are we growing up or what? Britt turns 30 this year! I can't believe how fast time is flying.

          Good thing we had Addie to sample                       These two could be sisters and they aren't 

              the cupcakes, she approved!                                even related by blood, just marriage. Love 

                                                                                                        those auburn girls. 

Brooke got some fabulous gifts.  She said to me "All my gifts were great, I don't even need to return anything!" Now that is one great gift all in itself. 

Yay we pulled it off! Adam had suggested we go into the party planning business, but Britt and I both said nay, its too stressful! Especially when it's family and you want it to be perfect for them. 

But whoever has a shower next (not me!) we are going to just have it catered and hire a party planner! lol

Row Your Boat

We have been trying a new thing this semester, instead of failing on going out on regular date nights each week (like we did last year), we decided to do every other week, and the week that we are not on a date, we do a fun family activity.  So since the weather finally cooled off a bit, we decided to head down the road a whole 5 minutes from our house and take some boats out on the lake. Waller Mill Park is great because you can rent either a kayak or paddle boat or row boat for 5 bucks.  So we picked a row boat since we had Solana with us, and even though we had no idea what we were doing in the beginning, we loved it once we got the hang of it.  I really shouldn't claim that I did anything in this process, since Adam was the one sweating while rowing, and even Solana helped him more than I did, so I really was the lazy one along for the ride. (But I did take photos.) We had a blast for an hour, and the time limit was perfect because Miss Wiggly-Pants was getting bored in the boat and was becoming more interested in playing in the water.  

Family day at Busch

This summer while Adam was taking summer school classes and working a couple of jobs, I thought it would be best to get a season pass to Busch Gardens and Water County.   Water Country closed when summer ended, but Busch is open through October and then opens again for Christmas time. So I have been trying to get my money's worth and go more.  But this time was extra special.  Adam got a special deal through school and got a day pass! So he finally got to go to a theme park! He hasn't been to a theme park in like 15 years.  And of course it was his first time taking Solana on any rides so he was thrilled! 

Maybe Solana is tired of posing for pictures, because she has developed this reflexive "Cheese" face that really says, "I'm just gritting my teeth to appease you for a moment."

Nobly riding her pink carousel steed.

 

                                                                          There's the animated silly girl we're more used to!

She's also a pilot, giving her best "Top Gun" thumbs up!

 

After much persuasion, I convinced Adam to ride the giant swing thing that spins around in circles.  Solana loved watching him fly through the air.  Adam said the only thing he could think about was predicting his trajectory if all of the cables snapped.

After all of the rides and fun, Solana could barely keep her eyes open for the afternoon showing of "Pet Shenanigans."

But eventually she pepped up.

The best part of carnivals, theme parks, etc is getting a funnel cake!

Solana especially enjoyed squeezing and posing in this hot, antique phone booth!

Baby boy Prestidge

We are so excited to announce that we have a baby boy Prestidge on his way! He is due February 3rd, and we are thrilled!! Solana guessed it right (she was firm in her prediction that it was a boy for weeks), and Adam and I were very surprised.  This pregnancy felt the exact same as Solana so I just assumed it was another sweet girl.  The pregnancy was off to a rough start, and when I say rough, I mean we found out I was pregnant in the ER.
Here's the quick version (the long version is drawn out throughout the summer and it does not bring back fond memories)
Sunday evening as I was reading stories to Solana at bedtime, I felt something burst inside my abdomen, it was extremely painful and I was very confused as to what was happening.  Solana could see my pain and ran to get Daddy. I could barely move—I just crawled around the house trying not to cry, but the pain became so bad that I just let myself cry it out.  Adam hurried and put Solana to bed, and then we sat on the sofa debating what to do.  I did not want to go to the hospital, and I was just hoping the pain would go away.  But after waiting awhile, we finally decided to head out to see what this was all about.
In the urgent care, after waiting forever, an old lady doctor with a curt accent stomped in and looked at me and said, "Did they give you a pregnancy test?"
I responded, "I don't know."
Without looking up from her paper, she snapped, "Well they did.  And you're pregnant."
It was definitely an unexpected and anti-climactic way to find out, plus, it did not come with any resolution for my abdominal pain.
From urgent care to the ER, they had discovered that I was pregnant, and that either a cyst had burst on my ovary, or I was having an ectopic pregnancy. We knew nothing about either one....and since we had also found out we were having a baby, we were all kinds of confusion in the middle in the night.  After lots of tests and ultrasounds, they still knew nothing.  They finally brought in an OB/GYN from the OR who specializes in high risk pregnancies.  He was fabulous! He told us this "If your having an ectopic pregnancy, you could die if we don't terminate it right now, but my gut says it's a burst cyst on your ovary, so you decide."
No big deal, right?
After much thought and prayer, we decided to risk it and trust the doctor.  I was sent home on complete bed rest and Adam was given strict instruction about my health and the risks involved.  After a couple of days, I went back for more tests, and to our relief, it was a cyst that had partially burst! The bad news was that the cyst happen to be on the same ovary that was supplying hormones to the baby, and the baby was not getting enough. (oh this haunting cyst!) So I was put on hormones for my first trimester, which I'm happy to say did not have any side effects.  It was just such a pain to take. I also continued to have the cyst burst which was extremely painful, until it was finally small enough that I did not feel it anymore.
Well I am happy to report that at our 20 week ultrasound, he is 100 percent healthy! We did not tell anyone because of the risk of loosing him, but we are happy that all is well in baby land.  So that was our summer....lots of doctor appointments, lots of nausea and only some sickness.
I guess this was the semi-long story, sadly this is the shortest version I could write up.

Here is the happy big sister to be!