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.

Poolside Belly Bump

We're in St. Louis for the week and enjoying every minute of it! Mostly we're relaxing and hanging out with family and friends.

Here's my sister Kendra and I getting ready for a swim:

Me at 23 weeks:

Magic House

Went to the Magic House on Tuesday. Great fun, lots to do. Here's some picture: After we went right down the street to the Laumeier Sculpture Park which was also pretty neat. It started to rain shortly after, so here's the only good picture we got from there:

Cardinals Game

Monday, July 27th I went with my brother's (Ty) girlfriend to the Cardinals game against the LA Dodgers.Barely fitting into my Cards jersey! lol!

We had so much fun and the Cards won! What could be better? :)

Week 22

I've been feeling great, eating more, and doing alot of research lately...mostly pertaining to filling up my baby registries and reading about the oh-so-scary part of pregnancy: labor/delivery.

Here's the bump, which is getting bigger every week:

Weird things about my pregnant self that I've recently discovered:

1) I swear that all of my brain cells are going straight to the baby...I thought today was July 7th, not the 21st. Wow. (Thanks, Alicia, for not making too much fun of me for that!)

2) I still sometimes freak out when I catch a glance of my naked self in the mirror. I have to stop and remind myself that I'm pregnant and haven't just suddenly put on weight specifically in the midsection.

3) Going back to the lack of brain cells...I still think it's weird for people to ask me how I'm feeling everytime I see them...lol! It's a common question I have to answer now, along with..."Are you really not going to find out? Any names picked out? When are you due? Can I touch your belly?..."

4) Though I certainly don't think it's a bad thing, I have found that I'm becoming more and more like my own mother as each week of my pregnancy passes. I am saying things I vividly remember hearing her say when I was growing up, so funny. (I love you mom!)

5) I put lotion on my belly constantly to avoid stretch marks, even though I'm perfectly aware that there is no real cure or preventative for them. Still, it couldn't hurt, right? :)

Summer (Pregnancy) Wardrobe

Summer is in full swing (actually, it has been for a while now) and as my belly expands (20 weeks along now!), my wardrobe decreases in the things that I am still able to fit into.

One thing that has been a lifesaver is my BellaBand. I love it because it allows me to still wear my regular jeans and shorts, which also saves me $$! I own two of them and would definitely recommend them to expectant moms out there! :)

Also, lately I've resorted to living in long t-shirts and stretchy waistband shorts...and to make it not so boring, I've been finding ways to accessorize...like these:

Summer 2009 by cbraden7 featuring Coach accessories

Boy or Girl?

I set up a poll on the left side of this page for you all to vote whether you think we're having a boy or a girl...the bets start NOW! :)

Drumroll please!

We're so thrilled to be turning to the next chapter of our lives as a married couple to...... PARENTHOOD! TA-DA!

Baby Braden is 19 weeks along and doing just fine. I had an ultrasound yesterday afternoon, so we got to see our little 10 ouncer and (wow!) it was AMAZING! :) I can't wait to meet our little one sometime at the end of November (due date is Nov. 23rd.)!I've had a relatively easy pregnancy so far...just the usual tiredness and nausea. But it's been smooth sailing since I've hit the 2nd trimester...and my tummy is just starting to pop out a bit. Here's me at 7 weeks:

11 weeks:

15 weeks:17 weeks:

19 weeks

I know you're dying to know if we're having a boy or a girl, but just for fun...

WE'RE NOT FINDING OUT!!! :)

24

Braden spoiled me SO SO much yesterday on my Birthday. He had everything secretly planned out and when he got home from work at UPS he revealed everything that we were going to do.

*My special day started out with lunch at Huber's.
*Then off to my scheduled appointment for a massage!

*Next we saw UP (which I've been wanting to see since it came out).

*Then it was time for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants.

So, I guess being 24 isn't so bad...but 25, yeah, I'd like to skip that one...haha! :)