Baby Shower for a Happy Little Camper

A few months ago my mom and sister threw me a beautiful baby shower at O'Connor's Restaurant in Worcester. Since Mike and I have really gotten into camping over the past few years, they went with a woodsy, camping theme for our little boy.

O'Connors is one of my favorite restaurants. They did a brunch for us with all the fixings. They even included their signature Butternut Squash Soup, a must try if you are ever in the area.

The decor kept with the woodsy theme. They decorated with vintage camping items and maps and the tables were accented with old-timey toys, burlap and mason jars.

For games, they kept things simple with a mom vs. dad fact guessing game. There was also Onesie decorating that was a big hit. Once decorated, they strung them around the room for some added cozy decor.

The favors were two different types of handmade trail mix. So creative and cute, not to mention delicious!

Thank you to all my family and friends who came out to make Harrison's shower so special!

Welcome Baby!

This post is way overdue! Harrison William was born on January 8th at 9:10 pm weighing 6 lbs 5 oz, 19.5". He came two weeks early.

Harrison is 3 months old now and is happy and healthy. We are so in love! His birth did not go at all as planned and ended in a c-section and a NICU stay. I may share the story at some point but it is still a little raw at the moment, but know that Mom, Dad and Baby are all doing well.

He has kept me very busy for the past 3 months. I'm back at work still trying to figure out how to balance it all. Stay tuned!

Pregnancy Log - 37 Weeks

How far along: 

Long time, no update! I'm 37 weeks and in the 3rd Trimester.

Baby Size: 

Winter Melon

Symptoms: 

Heartburn! Zantac is your friend. Shortness of breath. Baby is really crowding my lungs and I'm getting winded by walking up a flight of stairs or even talking on the phone. It's really bizarre. My nose has also gotten really stuffy this week and I've been snoring.

Sleep:

As I get bigger, it is getting harder to get comfortable. Both my couch and my bed aren't doing it for me. If it weren't for the Snoogle, I don't think I'd get any sleep at all. I'm up twice a night to go to the bathroom. Its pretty much like clockwork at 12:30 and 3 am. 

Loving:

I'm feeling more hungry now than I did earlier in the pregnancy. The kicker is that my stomach is so squished right now I can't eat that much at once. I'm defiantly doing more snacking than I usually do. Also, I have to watch my sodium intake since I have developed pregnancy induced hypertension (more on that later) and since there is salt in literally everything (even milk?!), eating has become frustrating.

Loathing: 

My nose is still hypersensitive and stinky stuff bothers me but I'm not really having any out of the ordinary food aversions.

Maternity Clothes:

For sure. Maternity yoga pants, tank tops and a unbuttoned flannel shirt is my new uniform. Comfort is key. My feet are a little swollen so loose sneakers or my Ugg boots are my footwear of choice. 

Missing Most:

Since I've been watching my sodium, all I want is Chili's chips & queso! Also, french fries. I did miss alcohol a little more during the holidays. A glass of wine or two would've been nice!

Can't Wait:

To meet this little guy! I'm feeling more excited than nervous about giving birth. We had a scare around 33 weeks where I ended up in the hospital for 3 days for observation due to my rising blood pressure. When I first got there it was so high they were talking about delivering him that night which was really scary. Luckily, I stabilized and eventually got to go home. I'm being very carefully monitored with two doctors appointments a week, one with a non-stress test and one with an ultrasound. I feel like I basically live in the doctors office now but it does give me some peace of mind to keep checking up on him.

Feeling:

Pretty anxious. I'm on modified bed rest - I don't have to stay in bed but I have to take it easy and I've been working from home for the past few weeks. Being home alone during the day is pretty boring and there are less distractions so I find myself worrying more, wondering if he is moving enough, stressing about checking my blood pressure. Just general wondering if everything is OK. I'd always thought that with pregnancy the first trimester is where you were the most worried, just trying to get to that 12 week mark, I really didn't expect to feel like that again this late in the pregnancy. It hasn't been all bad though. My family and friends have been really supportive and it's a good excuse to watch a lot of movies and just relax. And I can't say I miss my commute!

Nursery:

Is coming together nicely and is pretty much done at this point! There's just a few finishing touches and decorating things to do to make it 100%. It is looking so cute, I can't wait to share!

A Pink, Blue and Burlap Gender Reveal

As soon as we found out we were pregnant, we knew we wanted to have a Gender Reveal Party. It just looked like so much fun and the perfect way to share with family. The theme was "What Will Baby Bee?" Here's a recap of the night:

It has been pretty warm around here even though its September so we took advantage and had a BBQ with all the fixings.

We decorated with pink and blue accents with some touches of burlap. I ordered the mustache and lip cutouts from Etsy and then we glued them to bamboo skewers to use as a fun prop for guests to cast their vote.

There were definitely more boy votes than girls...

The cake was from Guilty Bakery in Plymouth. They did such an amazing job recreating the design I had found and really brought it to life. They even added an extra layer of frosting so no one could peek through the rosettes.

The baker instructed us on the "right way" to cut into a gender reveal cake, which is to cut straight into one of the sides and tip a piece over. I was so happy that she told us that because it was so much more climactic with everyone finding out at once!

It's a boy!! The room exploded into screams and even a few tears! It was such a great way for our families to share in the experience of finding out the sex of our baby.

The cake did not disappoint. It was a vanilla cake dyed blue with whipped cream and blonde Oreo filling. Oh so delicious!

Reference: 

Burlap Chalkboard - Michaels

She or He Banner - Ichabods Imagination on Etsy

Mustache and Lip Cutouts - Custom Creative Craft on Etsy

Cake - Guilty Bakery

Blue Mason Jars - Target

Beverage Dispenser - Bed Bath & Beyond

Pregnancy Log - 18 Weeks

How far along: 

18 weeks

Baby Size: 

Sweet Potato

Symptoms: 

I had some nausea in the first trimester but it has mostly dropped off aside from occasional car sickness (if I'm not driving), some minor headaches and heartburn. Overall, I'm feeling better!

Sleep:

It's getting tougher. I've been a stomach sleeper my whole life. When I found out I was pregnant I started to get nervous about it. From what I've read, it is fine to do until it feels uncomfortable, but I've been forcing myself to sleep on my side now to get used to it. The Snoogle is a lifesaver! My main sleep issue is waking up once or twice during the night to go to the bathroom. I'm a light sleeper so I sometimes have trouble falling back asleep.

Loving:

The only real craving I've had was ice cream, more specifically, DQ Blizzards.

Loathing: 

My taste buds have definitely changed. Before the pregnancy I was a die-hard diet coke addict. I drank at least 2 a day. Pretty much right away after finding out I was pregnant, soda started tasting horrible to me, especially diet soda and I found myself in a drink crisis! I've switched to Seltzer when I want something other than water, but it just isn't the same. I guess this is my body's way of forcing me to drink water. My nose is extra sensitive now and people's stinky lunches at work are making me crazy!

Maternity Clothes:

I've bought some, but haven't really worn them yet. Luckily we are in the season of flowy skirts and maxi dresses. I can still wear my regular tops but my pants don't comfortably button. I've been wearing my regular pants with a belly band. With fall approaching, I think its time to invest in some maternity pants.

Missing Most:

Wine, beer and carefree coffee drinking. I've limited myself to 1 cup of coffee per day. I'm usually a 3-a-day coffee drinker so this has been challenging! That afternoon pick-me-up coffee is what I'm missing the most! Not drinking alcohol hasn't really bothered me much. Fall beers are my favorite though and as those hit the shelves it is making me a bit disappointed I'll be missing them this season.

Can't Wait:

To find out the gender! We had our anatomy scan last week and we have the results but we're waiting for a few weeks to do a gender reveal party. The suspense is killing me!

Gender Predictions:

I have a feeling in my gut that it is a boy but I can only seem to come up with girls names that I like. I'm so confused!

Feeling:

It is starting to feel a lot more real now that everyone knows and it's fully setting in that we are having a baby! I'm a nervous person by nature so I wasn't letting myself get too excited until I was out of the first trimester, which was driving Mike nuts. I just can't help it! Thankfully, everything is progressing well! I've even started to feel little faint movements here and there which is exciting! On the other hand, I can get moody pretty easily. I'd compare it to PMS, getting annoyed at the littlest thing and having little to no patience. It is definitely a roller coaster of emotions sometimes and I feel like my mood can change at the drop of a hat.

Nursery:

No movement yet but I'm definitely pinning ideas like crazy! I think I'll get more serious once we find out the gender.

Special Announcement!

Today I'm thrilled to share the news with you that I'm pregnant!

Mike and I are expecting our first baby due in January 2016. I'm 18 weeks along. We are so excited! I plan to share updates here and there on the blog along with my regular posts. Stay tuned!

Road Trippin'

Spring is in full bloom and it's finally the start of camping season! I wasn't really sure if the warm weather was ever going to get here after that horrid winter, but it's finally here! We spent Mother's Day weekend camping at Lamb City Campground in Phillipston, MA.

Before I get into the weekend, I wanted to share a quick update on our camping gear. Over the winter, Mike ended up buying a truck. Once we had the truck at home we really started itching about moving our camper out of our permanent site on the Cape and towing this summer. Once we decided that was what we wanted to do, we ended up trading in our camper for a smaller, more easily maneuverable travel trailer. It was sad to see the old one go, we only got it last August, but we are so excited to tow and go to all different places this summer! We've been seasonal at the Cape for four seasons and we were ready for a change.

For our maiden voyage with the new camper we headed to Lamb City Campground in Phillipston, MA. My parents joined us in their RV and we got two nice sites right overlooking the pond. This campground is only about a half hour away from our house, so this was a nice test run. Our friends have a seasonal campsite there so it was nice to also get to spend some time with them. We got in on Friday night and had a little BBQ and fire with everyone.

On Saturday morning I woke up early and there was an eerie mist lurking over the pond. I love the way ponds and lakes look completely still and reflective early in the morning. So peaceful.

Later on, we went for a hike around the pond. There are trails going all around the pond. The dogs loved it. We kept seeing trail markers that marked the trees with little red hearts.

There is a bearing wall overlooking the pond made entirely of recycled tires, which I thought was neat.

On Saturday afternoon we took all the dogs down to the beach and they all ended up in the water. Piper hates being wet and cold and immediately regretted the decision but Dale loved it and turned into a brown sand monster. We got some use out of the outdoor shower and hosed both of them off before they were allowed back in the trailer. Turns out that thing is pretty handy!

On Sunday morning we relaxed outside for a bit and enjoyed the view then went to the campground's Mother's day Pancake breakfast before packing up and heading home. Overall, it was a great first trip of the season and made me so excited to do more camping this summer! I'll be sharing more about our new camper and our road trip adventures throughout the summer!