{Invitations} Dean's Dedication

My baby boy is being dedicated on August 1st, and I'll be mailing his invites tomorrow. They were printed on a light blue shimmery paper and have a matching shimmery blue envelope. I used dark chocolate brown for the font.


Can you tell I have a slight crush on the scalloped look? I think I need to give it a rest...haha. I just can't help but love the classic yet cute look of them. Once again I used my scallop punch to create the circles.


You can't really see it in the picture but I added the scalloped circle to the invitation using thick double sided tape to give it a raised look. I really like the way they look!


I digitally recreated the scalloped circle with the cross on the wrap labels.


Lastly, I made matching thank you cards, again, using the raised scalloped circle. I'm also in the process of working on centerpiece ideas for the tables at The Rushes as well as menus. I will post those once they are finished. I have a few other Dedication details I will be posting as well!

{Crafting} My Baby is 4 Months Old!

My sweet boy is 4 months old today. It also happens to be his mommy and daddy's second wedding anniversay too. Soooo....I used remnants from my wedding to make Dean's onesie this month. I had a little extra ribbon I used to adorn the baskets I created for the restrooms and our ceremony programs, so I cut, arranged, and hot glue-gunned it on the onesie! Simple! I also used some of the extra paper from our invitations/programs to back the 4 month sign.


Love this baby!


Had to give a little shout out for our anniversary too!

{Crafting} My Baby Boy is 3 Months!

Dean is 3 months old today! He's my big boy now....tear.

I have been taking pictures of him every month as a keepsake, and I decided to handmake his onesies. I started with fabric for months 1 and 2 and then switched over to buttons.

The buttons were a little easier and less time consuming than the fabric, and they are so colorful. If only it wasn't crooked looking ;)

Any ideas for his 4 month shot? Maybe I'll hit up Joann's for some cute ribbon??? Stay tuned....

Happy Mother's Day!

Today was my very first Mother's Day and what a blessing it is to be my sweet Dean's mommy!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOMMAS!

Mommy Calling Cards

I'm thoroughly enjoying my maternity leave and loving the beautiful spring weather we've been having. I've been going to different parks in the afternoon here and there with Dean, and I wanted to have something in my purse with my information on it just in case I want to set up a play date. These are perfect! They're cute, and tiny, and have the necessary info on them. I'll be printing them this week!

COMING SOON:
~ LAUREN & RICK'S WEDDING SUITE
~ BECKY'S "SPRINKLE" INVITES
~ DEAN'S DEDICATION INVITES
AND MORE!

{Cute Kids Stuff} Breukelen Yard

My childhood best friend, Nicole, owns a very hip kids clothing line called Breukelen Yard. On Breukelen Yard's blog, Nicole has some great features including children's book reviews and other fun finds.

Recently Nicole told me she was interested in adding a Friday feature with a new mom as the subject. AND....she asked me to participate! I was super excited and more than happy to help.

My first "Life with a Newborn" post was this past Friday. Check it out at http://bklynyardkids.blogspot.com/2010/04/life-as-first-time-mommy-kate.html. My nephew, Jack, is the feature below mine! He did a children's book review of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It's so cute!

{Decorating} My Baby Boy's Pictures

I finally choose the newborn pictures of Dean that I wanted to purchase, received them in the mail on disk last week, made my prints at Target the other day and FINALLY found a few minutes to get them in frames and scatter them around the house so I can see my boy's sweet face in whatever room I go! Check them out below!

All pictures taken by Melissa Stottman Photography.


{Giant frames in the dining room}

{Family room wall ledges}

{Belly pic in my office}

{Shelf in the kitchen}

{Dean's nursery. I used the old frames as a backdrop for the pictures instead of as frames.}

{Aren't these cute? I ordered three of these little accordian books from Melissa - one for me and one for each of the grandmoms. I gave them as Easter presents this year. They are tiny little brag books for your purse.}

Dean's Photo Shoot!

Oh my...my baby boy melts my heart. I could just eat him up! I LOVE his sweet mouth...

{Pictures were taken at my home on 03.01.10 by Melissa Stottmann Photography - www.melissastottmannphotography.com}.

He's Here!

Robert "Dean"
February 22, 2010 | 9:05 am
7 pounds | 14 ounces |19.5 inches

I'm in L.O.V.E....I know all you mothers out there completely understand this love that I speak of. It's like no other feeling in the world, and you just can't imagine it until you become a mother.

Dean is doing so well! He's my little snuggle bug, and he also loves to keep his mama up all night long! I don't mind being sleep deprived right now because I am just enjoying getting to know my baby and spending time with him. Between me and his dad (and our families), this boy is overloaded with love!

{Shopping} Great Target Deal!

My latest Target find: a neutral colored co-sleeper for $40!!! I was doing a little shopping the other day and mosied on over to the baby clearance section of the store. Much to my delight, I found this! Originally almost three times the cost of what I paid, I snatched this bad boy up and headed to the register! It fits nicely in our master bedroom and will be perfect for my little guy.

{Decorating} My Little Fella's Nursery

{View of entire nursery}
{Crib and bedding}
{Clean and simple - love it!}

{Leaning ladder shelf, rocker chair, and Roman shades}

{I will be adding personalized signs with my son's name and birth stats to the empty frames on the shelf once he arrives. The "P" is for Powell :o)}

{Changing table/dresser}

{I will be adding some wall art with my little guy's name that I'm working on currently above the changing table or crib - not sure which just yet.}

{Shelf that holds the monitor. I also added some old windows that will eventually serve as picture frames. Once I have my baby's newborn pictures taken, I will add some photos. I contemplated sanding them and painting them white, but I love the old look of them, so kept them in their original state.}

That's it....it's finished! Well almost. Like I mentioned above, I have a few more touches that I will be incorporating that have the baby's name on them, so I won't post those pictures until he's born. Overall, I was going for a clean, soft, and simple look for my baby boy's room. I love soft colors for a baby because they are so sweet and pure. I think when he transitions into a big boy bedroom one day, I will go a little bolder with my color choices. But for now, this is just what I wanted for him.

Shopping Details:

• Expresso crib and changing table/dresser - SimplyBabyFurniture.com (stylish and affordable furniture)
• White leaning ladder shelf - Target
• White chenille rocker and ottoman - Walmart
• Expresso shelf - Lowes (wish I had gone a little higher quality with this purchase)
• Wall paint - Benjamin Moore for Pottery Barn Kids (color: white satin)
• Bedding - Pottery Barn Kids (white pique set with blue stripe)
• Rug - Pottery Barn Kids (5 x 7 Caine rug)
• White Roman shades - JC Penny (great sale!)
• All baskets & bins - Target, Home Goods, Pottery Barn Kids

{Maternity Shoot} - Baby Bump Pictures!

This past Saturday I had a maternity photo session done with Melissa of Melissa Stottmann Photography (www.melissastottmannphotography.com). I am just a little over 34 weeks pregnant and had a great time doing these! I'll admit, I was a little nervous going into it, but Melissa was great to work with and made me feel very comfortable. At first I didn't think I was going to show my bare belly, but then I decided I was probably only going to do this one time, so why not? My baby boy is in there afterall! Melissa is also going to do newborn shots of my son very shortly after he arrives in February - I can't wait!

It's a Little BOY!!!

{Check him out! He was waving to us this morning!}

{Proof that he's a BOY! The arrow is pointing to his boy parts. It's very tough to see b/c I might be the worst.picture.taker.EVER!}

{4-D ultrasound picture. Totally amazing! You can see his hand up next to his face, his little belly, and his knee is bent to the side. I think he bears a strong resemblence to his Momma!}

We had our 20 week ultrasound appointment today to check the baby's anatomy and find out the gender. We are very excited to be having a little boy....I love little boys :o) Now I can finally proceed with all of my ideas for his nursery! Stay tuned because that will most definitely be a future blog post!

We're Having a B.A.B.Y....

{How cute is our baby???!!!! The technician doing the ultrasound this morning said, "Ut oh, your baby isn't cooperating!" Haha....already misbehaving :o) The baby was moving a lot, and we were able to see the heart beating like crazy and him or her touch their cute little hand to their nose.....awwww!}

{My bump at a little over 12 weeks (pic taken this morning just before leaving for the doctor's office). Bo tries to make me feel better and swears I look no different (and I love him for that, but I know I'm already changing!).}

and couldn't be happier!!!! Bo and I received the great news not even one week after we celebrated our first wedding anniversary on June 22nd....talk about a great gift! There have been so many BIG changes for our little family recently - within the last 3-4 months, Bo and I have bought a new house and a new and bigger car (bigger being the key word), adopted a new puppy (2 days before we received the exciting news :o)), celebrated our first year of marriage, and now we are having a BABY! We are so excited we barely know what to do with ourselves!

For most of July I wasn't feeling well at all, but I'm thankfully feeling much better now! Our baby is due on February 26, 2010, which couldn't be more perfect timing with my teaching job. If all goes according to plan, I will be taking off until the following September when the new school starts....PHEW! I've already got tons of ideas for the nursery and yes, we will be finding out the sex of the baby. I'll take the surprise at 20 weeks (mid-October!) instead of 40!!

I'll be posting more about Baby Boy/Girl Powell in the near future!