Tea for Two

I know I'm blessed. I know I'm blessed beyond all measure, because this past weekend, I got to spend glorious time with my mother and grandparents, just hanging out and Christmas shopping.

Mom got here on Thursday, and on Friday treated me and Bean to Holiday Tea at the Arboretum. Can I tell you a secret? I don't like hot tea. Honestly, I didn't think about actual tea being part of the Holiday Tea experience. BUT!!! I tried every type of tea set in front of me and found a favorite, which actually wasn't that bad.

Also part of Holiday Tea was a brunch of sorts. It was spectacular, and really special. I felt quite classy eating tea sandwiches! I took pictures the entire way through to show you how scrumptious our Holiday Tea journey was!



The china was lovely. I showed Brian this picture and he asked me if all they served were leaves. He does not appreciate lovely china.



Here we are at our tea table. This was right after I was scolded by the tea hostess. The ladies behind us asked the hostess if she would take their picture. She said she could in just a minute, so I turned around and said I would be happy to take their picture. The hostess looked at me as if I wanted to kill her, and said "You know, that's actually my job. I'll take their picture in a minute." Okay....

Might as well make her work a little, I guess. We had her take our picture too!



First course: Tomato Basil Bisque with a Cheese Wafer



Second Course: Turkey on a Cranberry Walnut Bread with Orange Butter; Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese; Egg Salad on Croissant; Cucumber Tea Sandwiches; Chicken Tarragon Salad on Rosemary Bread



Third Course (Dessert!): Pecan Tartlets; Almond Shortbread Cookies; Espresso Puffs with Mocha Filling; Assorted Holiday Cookies; Cranberry Scones with Strawberry Jam and Clotted Cream

This was such a special experience. I'm so glad Mom discovered this opportunity, and took me along for the fun!!

Tea was in the DeGolyer Garden Café & Tea Room on the Arboretum grounds, and afterward, we toured the DeGolyer mansion, looking at all of their Santa displays.



Side note: Mom kept telling me to quit putting my hand on my belly for pictures. She says everyone knows I'm pregnant so I can stop doing this. (She actually yelled this at me as she was trying to take a picture of me in front of a fountain on Arboretum grounds.) I readjusted to a pose without my hand on my belly, promptly lost my balance, and almost fell into the fountain. Apparently, this pose keeps me balanced.

Thanksgiving and Such

For the last few months, I've been mentally preparing myself for the time AFTER the holidays and the mere two months that will remain until Bean arrives. One of those "holidays" is over, and the wagon (or, this overstuffed large mama, if you prefer that metaphor) is rolling downhill.

Sidenote: After eating my weight in goodies this past week, I am incredibly nervous about my doctor's appointment tomorrow which will require me to weigh-in. I am not at all confident that my doctor won't slap me across the face and tell me to hop on a treadmill and to stay there for the remainder of my pregnancy.

Additional Sidenote: I have my glucose screening at tomorrow's appointment as well. Brian has instructed me to stop inhaling chocolate for the following 24 hours in hopes of passing the test.

Additional Sidenote Part 2: No, we are not going to name our child "Bean", contrary to some people's suggestion. We MUST come up with a name for this child soon, lest he be stuck with any of the following nicknames for the rest of his life. The following are what certain people are INSISTING on calling our child until we come up with a name (and perhaps after... I'm not sure if some of these will be given up easily...)

1. Bean (we've called the baby "Bean" since we discovered we were pregnant. You know, since he was the size of a bean.)

2. Newt (Brian thought it would be HILARIOUS to insist we consider "Newton" as a name for the baby. Our friend Jeff caught wind of this idea and has called the baby Newt ever since.)

3. Hammer Jammer (My friend Christy's husband Johnny's nickname is Hammer. At one point, I left the baby name notebook at their house and Johnny threatened to add "Hammer" to the list. Then, at one point, Brian wanted to give the baby the middle name "Jammer", thus creating the name "Hammer Jammer", which Johnny LOOOOOOOVES.)

4. Beau (An actual suggestion from my in-laws best friends, they think that we should just turn the "n" in "Bean" upside-down to create "Beau". A little too country for my taste, but they think it's a fine idea!)

5. Mackie (What my dad and paternal grandmother are calling the baby. We are considering "Mac" for the actual baby name, but dad and Nannie think Mackie's cuter. Brian hates it, so this nickname might actually knock "Mac" out of the running.)

6. Peter Coyote (No, I'm not kidding. My maternal grandmother came up with this. I don't know where she got it. I'm at a loss on this one....)

I think that's it for the nicknames... I thought there were 7, so I may be missing one, but you get the idea. This poor kid's got a lot to live up to!

Thanksgiving was really great. We got to spend almost 6 days in Lubbock with Brian's parents and also got to see my parents and grandparents for Thanksgiving day in Midland. Two fantastic Thanksgiving meals, and I was thankful for my stretchy maternity pants!! Linda (Brian's mom) is sewing our baby bedding for us, and we could not be more thrilled with the way it's shaping up. Here are the fabrics we're using for the bedding (they're actually a lot brighter than this shows, but you get the idea):



We're pairing these two fabrics with a really ultra soft chocolate brown fabric and a bright red corduroy. The quilt has turned out great and we can't wait to see the rest.

This week, we're attending three Christmas parties and getting those out of the way quickly! Gobble gobble and Ho Ho Ho!

Our Little World

I've apologized before for my posts completely surrounding baby topics. I'll apologize again- I'm sorry that all you're getting here are baby-centered updates. Bean is taking over our world right now! But, this blog is a reflection of our life, and right now, he's our life. (And he's not even here yet. This is frightening...)

So. First off! Bean went to his first concert a couple of weeks ago! My friend Christy got tickets to the Lady Antebellum concert and invited me along- they were amazing seats! I just LOVE this group. It was possibly the best concert I've ever been to- pitch perfect. Also, as I was screaming and singing along, Bean was beating on my tummy. Don't know what he thought but he was either having a great time or was miserable.



So much fun!!! Thank you again, Christy, for inviting me!



Okay, sidenote!! I totally had no clue until this minute that there was some freaky guy behind us making a face when we took this picture!!! Check that out!!!

Last weekend, we finally decided on baby furniture!! (For the second time. We had initially picked some out, and then at the last minute decided on something TOTALLY different.) We're really excited to get this set up and in Bean's room. And when I say "we're" really excited, I mean "I'm" really excited. Brian just wants me to stop bugging him about it... ;-)

Here's what we got:

These almost look black in the pictures, but they're a gorgeous dark brown stain. Yeah!! (Brooke, if you're reading this, these are Bonavita, and Baby Bargains gave the manufacturer an "A-" rating. Much better than the initial "F" rating that the Delta cribs had. Just so you know that I listen to you when you make suggestions....) ;-)

This past weekend, I went to a baby shower for my friend Liz, and it was so much fun!! (Not to mention the food was fantastic!) There's something different about attending a baby shower when you're going to have a baby soon too. Maybe the difference was that I was scoping out the goodies she got. Speaking of which, she got some FABULOUS burp clothes that I decided I couldn't live without. Check out the super cool burp clothes on this Etsy site!! I may or may not have immediately ordered five...

Congratulations, Liz, on making it this far with Willa! We can't wait to meet her!

Lastly, here's a belly pic for you. This is at 24 weeks and 1 day.





Happy Monday!