Custom Made :)

In my google reader: kevinandamanda.com

Read: this post
Went directly to:playswithmud
Placed my custom order for a plate like this:AND you should too...if you want. And definitely before November 30th. Because if mention kevinandamanda.com...you will get an extra 10% off your order!

tiny fingers, tiny toes

Callie Girl

It's a girl!

Welcome Callista Jane Braden!

Born Friday, November 13, 2009 at 7:26pm
Weight: 6 pounds, 4 ounces
Length: 19 and 3/4 inches long
Here's Braden holding her for the first time:Our little Callie has been such a good, sweet baby. We are so proud to be her parents! :)Daddy is so in love with his little girl:
We came home from the hospital Sunday afternoon. Here's us strapping Callie girl in her carseat for the ride home:

Happy Halloween, Take 2

36 Weeks, Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!
This is the third year in a row that I've worn my cat ears.
I guess I'll make it a tradition to bring them out every year...it's just too easy! :)

Just counting down the weeks til my due date...less than 4 weeks!
I'm down to weekly appointments at the doctor's office.
I'm 1 cm dialted, little over 50% effaced....not that that really means anything at this point.

Staying busy with "nesting".
Getting anxious to meet our little one and find out if we have a he or a she! :)

32 week maternity photos

We went home to St. Louis at the beginning of the month to visit and for a baby shower :)
My mom took some pics for us...kinda like a mini maternity photo shoot. :) So finally, here they are:The hands in a heart shape over the belly...so cheesy, we had to do it! haha!
Then we rallied up all the aunt and uncles-to-be to get a group shot...of course, it took awhile...
...but in the end, it turned out perfect! :)
Soon I should be posting my 36 week pictures...I can't believe I'm less than a month away from my due date! It keeps going by so quickly.

32 weeks

... more to come! :)

Currently in my shop...

Handstitched argyle notecards Crocheted "Henry Blanket"...on sale now!

Crocheted "Lana Scarf"

All available in my shop

31 Weeks

Here is my 31 weeks belly picture:Things have still been going great! No complaints, except for the 5 pounds I gained in between my doctor appointments! lol! It's for a good reason, but I still freak out every time I step on the scale.

For all of you pregos out there:
A great tutorial on how to revamp and old pair of pants to make maternity pants can be found here. Thankfully, I have been blessed to have a good friend that was 8 weeks ahead of me give me all of her maternity pants...she just had her baby last wednesday! :)...ummm, yeah I guess that means I have 8 weeks to go! ahhhh! YAY!

Feeling LARGE!

Here's me at 30 weeks (see my lovely hardwood floors?)!Seriously, I can't believe how much I've popped in the past few weeks and I'm totally feeling it! I'm finally outgrowing clothes and my appetite is huge! On the flip side, I've also been getting tired alot easier...which is totally fine if that's the only "bad" pregnancy symptom that I'm getting! :) I'll take a better picture next week for my every-four-weeks-picture post.

I checked out a lovely antique/consignment shop today that is really close to our new apartment. It's called "Charlotte's Web", leave a comment if you would like their info. It has a great sale section in the back corner of their store which is where I found this clock for the baby room:It was so much fun just to look at all the old stuff they had...I would've been in there for hours if it wasn't for my stomach growling and saying, "Baby is hungry!". I definitely would recommend checking it out if you like that sort of thing.

In other news, I'm very proud of two of my younger brothers who are trying new things.

Dylan is a freshman and tried out for football at the high school. This is the first time he's ever played football and he is already getting playing time on the field during games! GO DUDE! :)Ty started the police academy earlier this summer and looks like a stud in his uniform. He's really taking it seriously and has gotten intense about his working out and staying healthy...he will be my motivator once I have the baby and need to shed some pregnancy pounds. :)

Oh! And I almost forgot! My dad has taken up reffing soccer! Here's him in his uniform:

Nice socks! :)

Buttermilk Coffee Cake Recipe

I've been in the baking mode (or mood?) lately and last night I made Buttermilk Coffee Cake! So yummy I thought I'd share :) Buttermilk Coffee Cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 beaten eggs
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Grease 9X13 baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside 1/2 cup (for topping). Stir baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg into remaining crumb mixture.
In another bowl combine eggs and buttermilk. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Combine reserved crumb mixture and nuts; sprinkle over batter.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
Serve warm and enjoy! :)

Recipe taken from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

27 Weeks

Not the best picture of me...so let's only pay attention to the baby belly bump. OK? :)
27 weeks along and I've still been feeling great, eating a ton (it seems), and counting down the weeks til we get to meet our little boy or girl. :)

Life has been particularly busy the past few weeks because not only has school started up again, but we also have moved to a new apartment! The main reason for the move was because we were really needing wash machine and dryer hookups in our apartment...you know, all that extra laundry with a baby would make it difficult to get to the laundromat. We love our new place (hardwood floors = amazing!), the location is great (Target!), and I can't wait to get completely settled in and also to start working on the nursery!

Braden's parents came in town to help us with the move and the Feelers and boy Casey came over and were a HUGE help too. All we have left is reorganizing closets to fit things in better and hanging stuff on walls! Oh and the kitchen could use a little more work. Maybe someday I'll get around to posting a few pictures of our new place...

Oh and back on the subject of school, this semester Braden is taking Missiology (Missions) and Ethics and I'm taking (through SWI) Discipleship I and II and Biblical Parenting. I'm actually off to school now to get books for both of us! :)

Nursery Ideas

Lately, I have been searching various blogs, baby websites, and etsy for ideas to decorate our gender neutral nursery. Here's one that I came up with: I downloaded a free font called "Pea Aimee" from Fonts For Peas (thanks Beth, for introducing me to this site). Then typed out the alphabet on a Word document and printed it on some green textured paper that I got from Hobby Lobby. Finally, I put it in a simple (and cheap!) frame which also was from Hobby Lobby. That's it!

Another idea:I bought this cute, wooden star hook from Wal-Mart in the craft section and painted it antique gold. I think next time I make a trip there I'll get a few more.

Then today I came across a great resource website called Feed Your Soul via one of my favorite blogs, How About Orange. They have free, printable downloads that you can save, print, and frame to your liking....just thought I'd pass it along! :) Here's the print I'm snagging for my nursery:So cute!

Anyone else have any good, low-cost ideas to decorate my gender neutral nursery? Please share! :)

Anniversary :)

On Wednesday, we celebrated 3 years of marriage! We went out to dinner, sat in the free seats at The Muny and saw Camelot. Afterward we went to the famous Ted Drewes, which serves the best frozen custard in St. Louis.

We had a great time and now we can't wait to see what happens in our near future as we transition to the role of parents.