Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Fun!

My little cupcake "helper"

We had an early birthday party for Kaitlynn this year. I wanted to make sure we get it in just in case Mr. Hayden decided to come early. We have less than 2 weeks to go and he's still hanging out in there! I am glad we have her party done, though. This was the first year that she really got into it and it was so much fun watching her with her friends!

The party table

We made some yummy chocolate and strawberry (of course) cupcakes this year with delicious butter cream frosting

Last time snuggling with my niece, Kinley before Hayden comes out to meet her. Hello..."little" basketball in my belly!

Enjoying some nachos, carrots and cucumbers with the ladies. Notice her new pink lawn chair. This was an early gift so we had enough seats for the girls! (Notice in the next couple of pictures that she's REALLY good at saying "cheese" but NOT at looking at the camera!)

Who's 3??

With her best buddy Averi showing off their snazzy new glasses!

Time for pin the strawberry game

Here are a few videos of the fun evening...


After opening gifts we went outside to see her new sandbox from Grandma and Grandpa! If you are becoming concerned with her head twitching...don't be! This is a wonderful new habit she has begun to get her hair out of her eyes even when it's not really in her eyes! I'd like to just grow her bangs out but she won't keep anything in to keep them out of her face. Hopefully she still won't be doing this when she's 30!

My school had a baby shower for us last week. We were so thankful for that and were able to get all of the rest of the things we needed for our little guy! Plus, LOTS of diapers which I'm sure we'll go through fast! Kaitlynn's babysitter (who used to teach at my school) brought her and the other kiddo's up for the shower. She again had a great time helping me open some of the gifts. I think her favorite part was probably the frosting on the cake!
A few weeks ago my best friends, Lindsey, Dana and Joanne had a "mini-shower" and we met for dinner at Olive Garden. It was so nice to have time to chat and to celebrate Hayden's arrival (coming very soon!) Jo was sick and couldn't join us and we missed her a lot. :(
Kaitlynn was there in the beginning before Daddy could come pick her up and Lindsey even had a big sister gift for her. She LOVED it!
Lindsey had an Iowa themed basket with all kinds of little goodies!

Dana even made me 2 diaper cakes. I LOVED them! I might even hang up the wooden tags with his name spelled out above his curtains. :)

At almost 38 weeks I'm feeling pretty good. I've been having a lot of pelvic pain the last month or so. It was horrible for about a week where I could hardly even stand to walk. Thankfully the past 2 weeks have been better and I've been able to move around with out too much pain. Although, I can definitely tell when I need to take a break and shopping at Walmart is now out of the question. :) We have his room ready and most things in place for him to be here. Kaitlynn's getting ready to have her mommy back who can hold her, go for walks, sit on the floor, etc. Unfortunately, having a c-section I'm not going to be able to do those things as soon as he's born. The date is set for March 29th and even though I'm not quite sure I'm ready (who ever is!) we're all very excited!

Nursery is done!

Here are some pictures of Hayden's finished nursery. This nursery was a compromise from the beginning and I think it turned out really well! Matt has always wanted an Iowa Hawkeye nursery if we had a boy. I had always pictured something with brown/blue, etc. I wasn't against doing football or some IA stuff. Thanks to my mom's help, we finally found some fabric that incorporated other colors along with the golden yellow. I think it has finally all come together and the colors mesh well together...I hope! In the end, we both like it so I guess that's all that matters! Enjoy!
The polka dots are orange, yellow and teal buttons.
I just love the bedding my mom made. She did such a nice job!

Pictures I made by cutting out some of the animals from the bedding fabric. Thank goodness we've had so many snow days this winter!
I added a football and some ribbon to this basket.
I added some black ribbon and glued footballs to the curtains today!
It's hard to believe that we have 4 1/2 weeks or less until our little guys is here. We are getting genuinely excited to meet him and bring him home to join our little family!

Showered with Love!

2 Weekends ago, our families threw us a baby shower. We feel so blessed and excited that our children get to grow up with such loving people to grow up around. I didn't get pictures of everyone but these are a few! Note: If you notice Kaitlynn wearing numerous outfits throughout the pictures don't be alarmed! Asha and Mary brought a whole bag of clothes for her and she was trying them on during the shower on top of the clothes she was already wearing!

Here I am with my Grandma Clouse.
My mom and I
This can count as my 32 week belly picture, too!
Checking to make sure her cousin Kinley is okay. She's going to be such a good big sister!
Check out this adorable outfit from Asha. Her boots matched it perfectly!
Lots of helpers! You can also see the IA quilt my grandma made for him.
Great Grandma snuggling with Kinley
Snuggle time for Diane and Kinley
The awesome quilt my mom made with the fabric from our nursery!
Proud big sister with Great Grandma Clouse
Playing with Asha
Sweet sleeping Kinley. They spent the night out my parent's house with us so I got a whole evening of snuggle time with my new niece!
I'm sure we'll have many pictures like this to come in the near future!

I can't believe we only have 5 weeks (or less!) left until my c-section date. Hayden's going to be here SO soon! I'm getting more and more excited as each day passes. We've got the nursery in pretty good shape. Other than a few details we're ready for him to get here!

Cousins/Snow/30 weeks

Ryan and Sarah had their baby, Kinley Ann on December 27th. Sarah was not able to travel at Christmas so we came up to their house on New Year's Day to have our Hardie Family Christmas. Kaitlynn was a little wound up from all the Christmas festivities (over 2 weeks of it at that point!) but we had a good time. Kinley is such a doll and I enjoyed snuggling with her, as well as getting even more excited (and anxious!) for our little bundle of joy to arrive soon.

Proud Big Cousin

The next weekend, Abby and Annie flew in from Colorado. They came to our house for a 24 hour visit with Grammy and Papa Sewing. Cousin Jenna was able to join them, as well. It was so much fun watching Kaitlynn and Abby interact with each other. Abby thought everything Kate did was funny! It was so nice to see them, but wish it could have been for longer.
The big helper at lunch time
She loves her so much!
So cute!
The girls with Aunt Annie. Kaitlynn kept wanting her to hold both girls at the same time. Yes, she totally looks like Annie!
Silly face!
Bath time... This worked out a bit better than our first attempt at a bath together while we were in Colorado. Who knew the little baby bath tubs could float away!?! They had fun this time until Kaitlynn tried to love on Abby which then made her fall over into the water. Bath time was ended shortly after that!
Snuggling with her 2nd cousin, Jenna. It was really fun to be able to spend some time hanging out with her.

We've had a few snow days this winter and we've had a great time hanging out at home. This does mean that I'll have to go back to work at the end of the year for about a week, but I'd much rather do that then have to drive in 8 inches of snow.
All bundled up and ready to go play for the first time this winter!
She loved going down the snow filled slide!
Snow angels
Baby Update:
For the most part I'm feeling pretty good. I haven't had much swelling yet. Thank goodness! I could only wear flip flops at this point with Kaitlynn. I have had a bit more heartburn this time, but not too bad. Sleeping is already becoming uncomfortable so I've moved out to the couch or chair. I guess that just goes with the territory! I can't believe that he'll be here in 9 weeks. I have a feeling that's going to fly by! I will try to post some pictures of the kid's new rooms tomorrow or Tuesday, if we get another snow day!

Here is a 30 week picture for all of my fans...ha ha! I of course took a picture every month with Kaitlynn and have only taken 2 this time around. I'll try to be better here the next 2 months. :)