Already Blessed!

(This picture is supposed to be at the end, but somehow ended up here. This is everything we received at our first shower - see the end of the post for more explanation.)

First off, school's out for summer! School's out forever (not really, but I cannot say the first sentence without finishing Alice Cooper's song - thank you, Ms. Eatherly/Smeatherly/Smitherly/Dr. Smith for always singing that to us! Only those of you who graduated from Northland got that reference)! I am so glad to have the next couple of months to finish the nursery, relax, and prepare for life to change in big ways! I will also be working on curriculum writing (as usual) - this is the best summer job for me, because I can sit inside at a computer and listen to music without having to manage a classroom of students. I will definitely hold on to that job for as long as possible!

In other news, we had our first baby shower this week! Neal's two aunts from Connecticut and North Carolina were in town visiting his grandmother, so they wanted to give us a shower. I was really only expecting a couple of gifts and dinner, but they went all out! It was so nice to get to visit with everyone, and I can't believe how much they spoiled us and Camden! Here is a picture of all of the family:

(from L to R: Neal's dad, Aunt Connie, Aunt Michael Ann, Neal's mom, Neal's grandmother Stella, me, Neal, and his sister Kendyll)

Neal does not usually go to showers, so I was proud of him for sitting through it patiently (and he didn't even play games on his iPhone - shocking, I know).

More guests at the shower - also very patient as I opened everything. I told Neal that he should help open gifts, but he never spoke up and reminded me to give him a turn. He's not really into opening gifts. Of course, I was teased for how meticulous I was about not tearing any paper or bows and how I pretty much re-wrapped the gifts that came from gift bags. I just like things to be neat and organized!

We even had a cake! It was delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed finishing this for dessert every night this week after the shower. We both felt like we were back at our wedding for this picture - even though we did not really cut this cake - we just pretended. I didn't want to be responsible for choosing the piece sizes.

At the seat of honor surrounded by all of the gifts for our precious little boy!

Close-up of the sinfully delicious cake - I also found out that the majority of our guests (including myself and Neal) at our shower prefer inside pieces of cake, because none of us were crazy about icing. Although, this was some seriously good icing. I think I have raved quite enough about the cake!

Adorable napkins that Neal's Aunt Connie found in North Carolina, and although we were given the extra napkins, they did not survive once our yorkie/shih tzu mix found them on the floor by the shower gifts upstairs. I kept wondering why the dogs were so interested in going upstairs to see all of the gifts for Camden. I thought they were trying to make a bed out of the clothes, but no, our dogs were eating the napkins! When I was finally able to sit down and sort through everything, I found little pieces of blue napkin all over our game room. Peyton (the blond dog) has always had a fascination with paper products, and he feels that is both necessary and appropriate to shred them to bits. This is one of his few vices, but a vice that earns him a spanking and a very stern, "Bad dog!" I was not happy, so I am hoping someone else was able to save one of these, since he managed to chew a piece off of every napkin in the entire stack!

Neal's Aunt Michael Ann is truly gifted at floral arrangements, and she had put several arrangements together around his grandmother's house. This one came home with us, and I absolutely loved the colors and flowers that she chose for this arrangement. I wish she could put together fresh flowers for our home everyday!

If you saw the photo at the top of this post, you know that Camden's great aunts and grandmother really had fun shopping for him! We now have a fancy swaddle and soothe bouncer, several sets of super soft pj's, a food processor, freezer trays for the baby food that we will be making (more on that later, but I am very excited about this!), socks, swaddling blankets, washcloths, and so on. I couldn't believe how much they bought for him! He is going to be one very blessed, spoiled little boy!

Also (in health news), I have been noticing more aches and pains lately, but those are to be expected. I am also having to get up in the middle of the night more often which I know is preparing me for when Camden is actually here. I will post 24 week belly pictures with my next post. I actually thought that I wasn't really getting bigger this week, but then I put on my favorite pair of maternity capri pants yesterday and noticed that they are much more snug than they used to be, so I am definitely growing - which means the little guy inside of me is growing, too! He also moves very regularly - usually after a good meal or when I am laying or sitting down to relax. Those movements are so comforting!

Tomorrow, we leave very early in the morning to drive to Alabama to visit my grandparents and then we will travel up to Nashville to visit our good friends Brantley and Adrienne and meet their new daughter Ainsley. I can't wait to see everyone! Happy Memorial Day and happy summer off to all my teacher friends!