Showers bring May flowers!

Over the past 2 weeks, we have had two very wonderful showers for the boy! They have been so wonderful and the generosity of so many people has made us feel overwhelmed with love. The first was on February 28th in my hometown. It was a very cold, snowy morning but very warm with love inside. It was hosted by 5 of my cousins and my aunt Linda. The decorations and food were so great and it was wonderful to see so many faces I know and love. The shower was held at the church where I grew up. Samuel was spoiled for sure. We got SO many personalized gifts as well as our swing and a lot of other necessities. We received 3 hand made blankets made by family and friends which I am so excited about. The four runner was absolutely packed headed back to Dallas. I don't think anything else could have fit in it. Here are some pics!







Claire was such a big help!

Andrea made us this incredible scrapbook calendar!


On March 7th, my stepmom Dana and some girlfriends gave us a shower here in Dallas. It was gorgeous! Once again, they went overboard and spoiled us even more. The shower was at my dad and stepmom's house. We raked in some more great personalized gifts and so many precious things. I think everyone did completely too much! I am still amazed at the love when I look at everything we already have. We still have a shower to go! Whew!















Unfortunately, we still do not have any of our furniture yet! 14 weeks and counting...ridiculous! I finally decided to put some things in the closet today to get them out of gift bags and feel a bit more organized.




Just a FEW of the special "Samuel" things from both showers. Don't know why blogger flipped the pic.

Looks like all we need now is some furniture....and a baby of course!

11 weeks left!

This pregnancy is flying by! I can't believe we only have 11 weeks left before we get to meet little Samuel Cade! I couldn't be more excited. We are getting closer and closer to the nursery being done as well. A couple of weeks ago, I went to visit a friend for the weekend..and Thad painted to nursery. It looks great! Even better yet, today he installed the chair rail. I am posting some pictures of the finished product. Soon we will have the furniture so I can put everything together and post final nursery pics then. We have everything piled up in the spare bedroom just waiting! I can't wait to get the precious things on the wall and the bedding all in his little crib. We still have to do shutters on the windows and curtains..but you get the idea. The huge armoir in the pics will also be leaving and going downstairs to the office. I am also posting a few hints of some of the accessories we have accumulated. I have gone a little crazy!

We have started our every 2 week appointments...so we actually have another one this Thursday. I'm a little late with my post. Oops! Anyway, last week was great. I do not have gestational diabetes (woo hoo...bring on some more ice cream) and the baby sounds great. On the negative side...I gained 6 lbs in 4 weeks (goodbye ice cream.) He is moving like crazy and I love feeling his every move. I am posting my 29 week belly pic. The first one is me standing normally and in the second I am holding in my dress so you can see this ginormous belly! I love every minute of it!

Florida 2009

Well...I am FINALLY blogging about our wonderful "babymoon." It has taken me so long because blogging on our computer takes me so long. I have to do it when I have plenty of time. Hopefully a new computer soon will fix this problem! We had such a great trip...aside from the cold..not cool...weather we got the first 3 days. We arrived on January 20th and it was freezing and so windy. Of course, our hotel was absolutely beautiful but it was hard to enjoy with all of the wind. Naples is a gorgeous community with amazing beaches and awesome shopping. If you know Thad and I well, you know that when we go to the beach...we veg out and that is it! We usually stay at a really nice resort so that we don't have to leave the entire time. Call it boring..but that is what we love! Well...we had to seriously adjust our way of thinking when we arrived. We actually had to go do some shopping the first 3 days...and trust me...I don't like to shop on vacation, especially when it is the beach. But, it turned out to be great and we saw some things we would have not seen otherwise! The shopping areas are all on the water..and lots of cute boutiques! We got Samuel some great things on a really good sale and ate some AMAZING food. Our hotel was called LaPlaya resort and I highly reccommend it to anyone. It was great for couples but also very good for children...and the beaches were perfect. www.laplayaresort.com

Funny thing happened while we were there. One day after we had been shopping and walking around, we got back to the resort and went to our room. Our room was beautiful...walk out lanai right on to the beach. It is the pic above with the palm tree and little bridge. Anyway, we smelled the worst paint smell ever...and it was strong. Apparently, they decided to paint a couple rooms in our building and failed to ventilate. We immediately went and complained (nicely) and let them know of my pregnancy and how strong the fumes were. They walked over to check it out and completely agreed. Next thing I know, they are moving our things to a ...get this...$1500 /night suite on the 12th floor that was directly over the beach. Three cheers for pregnancy!!!! We were so excited...

The last 2 1/2 days were great weather...and we really got our beach time in. I managed to read the entire Twilight book while on the beach (love, love, love it) and Thad managed to get the perfect tan he always gets...with no sunscreen (so jealous.) Of course we could have used a few extra days to tan..or burn...depending on who you are..but we also have other things to plan and do. I was excited to get home for that!! I think once the nursery is finished...we are ready!! I am 26 weeks along now..but will save the next belly pic for 28 weeks. That way, everyone can be as shocked as I am at how big I have gotten. Like I always say, "everyone grows differently", or so I told the lady at Ben and Jerry's when she asked me if it was twins! Yikes!

Officially 6 months preggo!!

It has been an exciting 4 weeks! We had an appointment last week and everything looks great! Other than the fact that it took the nurse about 5 mins to find my baby's heart beat...and freaking out and going into perfuse sweats...everything is fine! He is kicking up a storm these days and I love every single minute of it. I cannot stop thinking about this little dude. We got all of his bedding in and it looks great...now we just need the crib to put it in! His little nursery right now looks like a big mess but hopefully we can get it painted in the next 3 weeks and get some things cleared out. Here is a 24 week belly shot. I had several people at church today tell me that I have officially "popped." In my opinion, and the opinion of my clothes...that happened oh so long ago!

In other news...my good friend Valerie and I got to go see the amazing Celine Dion last week...and it was so great! We had great seats in a box of all places (courtesy of my husband's job) and she was so amazing! If you know me well, you know that if I could afford it..I would totally be a Celine groupy! I would follow her to every concert and sing my heart out. I will also tell you that Samuel loved her as well! He kicked all through out the concert. Thad says it is because he wanted to be at home watching the Fiesta Bowl...but I know the real reason! Like mother like son! Here we are right before heading out! We both were so excited we could hardly stand it!

Lastly, Thad and I are off on our Babymoon as of Tuesday morning...ah woo hoo!!!! We are going to Naples, Florida to get some good beach time in before we are homebound for a while. We thought of many places...but I decided I really wanted to stay in the US...and Florida and southern California are the only places in January that could possibly give you good weather. We were so excited for high 70's until the darn cold front that came through this week. I think we will be struggling to get 70's at all! But we don't care one bit...we have a room that walks on to the beach and some good baby books to read!!
Next week I should have some pics! Take care!

Happy New Year!!

I can't believe it is already 2009! What an exciting year this should be. Thad and I had a wonderful Christmas break but we were VERY busy. Lots of driving! We left on Monday the 22nd and drove all the way to Thad's parents house in Kansas City. We had a wonderful visit and were there for about 4 days. We got to spend some good time with the family and that precious nephew Jackson! We were lucky enough to get some good visits in with Thad's grandparents before we left! We then headed back to Fayetteville on Friday to spend the weekend with my family. It was so rushed but we had a great time! Here are some pics from Kansas City.

This is the shirt that Thad's parents got the boys. It says "What Happens in the park, stays in the park." So adorable!

Baby Schaefer is having a party inside my belly these days. I think he chooses to kick me at night or after a long day of standing at work. He definitely lets me know when it is time to slow down. I just finished ordering all of his bedding and some really cute nursery accessories and I can't wait to get it all together. It is so crazy to think he will be here in a little over 4 months!!! Yikes! So much to do! Here is a sneak peak at the bedding we chose. I also ordered a chocolate brown lamp with blue shade, some monogrammed blankets and a changing pad! Here is an updated pic of my belly at 21 weeks for all of you who care...Mom!

We hope everyone will be blessed with an amazing 2009! The Lord has been generous enough to give us another day...but we can always hope and pray for a great year too! Blessings to all!

What a Wonderful World!!

Today was such a wonderful day! We are so excited to announce that we are having a sweet, little baby BOY!!!!
I can't believe that I am the going to be the mother of a little boy. This makes me so happy inside. The sonogram was amazing...except for the fact that I had to seriously go to the bathroom the whole time. Anyway..TMI! He looked so precious. He was sucking his thumb in one picture and completely amazed by his hands. It was so awesome! To think that this sweet little guy has been growing inside me for almost 20 weeks and is so perfect. God is so amazing! I have lots of sono pics but can't get the computer to cooperate tonight. I PROMISE to have pics up tomorrow so you can see the little man too! We have some really sweet profile shots! I have been feeling pretty good except for some serious emotional outbreaks. If the SPCA commercial comes on the TV where Sara Mclachlan is singing "Silent Night", turn the channel fast. I cried so hard last night...and then looked at Thad and promptly blamed it on these hormones. He then replied "Ashley, you bawled at this commercial before you were pregnant." I guess I'm just a sensitive gal! Anyway, thanks for all of the prayers for this amazing child! We are so very blessed and we give all of the glory to God! But I want to also say a thanks to my Papaw...we miss you dearly and love you!!

Furniture!

Well, last weekend Thad and I made our first large purchase for the little one! We bought the furniture and I can't wait to get it in and set it up in the room. The crib is great because it can eventually convert to a double bed! Unfortunately, it can take up to 14 weeks to get it...so it might be a while. Here are some pics! The dresser in the pic is not the exact one that we ordered...we will get the double dresser which is longer and has more room on top for things other than a changing pad. But you get the idea!

I will have more to post on Wednesday...which is D day!! We will find out at 10 am what we are having...I can't wait!!