Fabulously Fifty!!!

 My mom turned the big "5-0" on May 25th!!! I really wanted to throw a big party for her, but she absolutely refused anything of the sort. She was really struggling with the thought of turning fifty so we all decided to make her big day super special and let her be the center of attention with just our close family. Dad took care of her all morning, breakfast, massage, hair appointment, lunch, shopping, and a pedicure. The rest of us met up with them at Red Lobster for her birthday dinner followed by the movie she really wanted to see...

 Which was suprisingly good, the past couple I fall asleep everytime I attempt to watch them.

 After the movie we headed out to my parents for cake, ice cream and presents.

 She had chocolate on chocolate cake and of course her favorite, tuxedo cake. She got some beautiful flowers from Aunt Judy, Jac, and Karli...and we gave her the gag gift of the first season of Modern Family. Ry and I LOVE that show and have been trying forever to get her to watch it with us, so now she has to. We made her watch a couple of episodes that night, and i think we have officially got her secretly hooked!!

The night before her birthday Ry and I went out to "watch a movie"...after the movie we waited for all the lights in the house to go off so we could bring out our arsenal of car decorations. We knew she would be driving around a ton the next day so we got window chalk, princess and birthday gel stickers and just went crazy on her car. We wrote "honk it's my birthday" on her back window, so you know she got zillions of honks the next day.

Happy 50th, you are fabulous Mom!!! We love you!

Wicked Babymoon

Ry and I have been trying to figure out a good weekend for us to take a quick babymoon before Baby Ray gets here.  Time has quickly been ticking down to where I am not supposed to travel very far from my doctor and our weekends have become very limited. A couple months ago I got a phone call from Ry while I was at work... He said "Meg, Wicked tickets went on sale this morning, I hope you bought tickets today because they are completely sold out already!!" I was devastated because I have been wanting to see Wicked for years now. My sad reply was, "well babe, I know you will take me one day..." then he said, "how about May 10th at 7:30?" I was SO excited and completely surprised!!! Since we have been struggling finding a weekend that we can both get away we decided to make this our Babymoon.

We left for Boise pretty early so we could get a few baby items before we checked into our hotel. We had a great ride up, (only three pee stops,) I was pretty proud of myself. We navigated around Boise and found a Target to finish off our baby shopping list so I could be a bit less stressed about this little guy getting here. We found almost everything we need, and with Ry as my shopping partner it took about a quarter of the time that it would have otherwise. After our quick shopping spree for baby we did a little shopping for ourselves and then headed to our hotel.

We got ready for the show and stopped for a delicious meal at Johnny Carino's. I wore a really cute dress and darling heels (which i'm so disappointed we didn't get a full body shot,) but by the end of dinner my poor feet were already starting to swell. When we got back to the car I took them off, praying they would still go back on once we got to the theatre. I turned the AC all the way up and put my feet up on the dashboard, i know, so lady like. Luckily, the swelling went down enough to get my feet back into my heels.

We arrived to the show with time to spare, so obviously we had to look around at all the vendors of Wicked garb, I wanted one of everything, and ended up settling on a comfy sweatshirt (comfy is all i'm drawn to lately,) needless to say it's currently my favorite item of clothing and it is getting lots of wear.

Words cannot describe how absolutley phenomenal the show was!!! I literally got chills and it took every fiber in my body not to stand up and sing with them. I'm so glad I had flip-flops in my purse for after the show because there was no way my shoes were going back on. Ry and I had a blast together on our short trip and are trying to enjoy every second of our short time left as "just us". Thanks for a wonderful trip Ry, I love you, you are the best!!!

Baby Showers

BABY SHOWER 1

Last Saturday my girlfriends, Jen and Chelsie threw me a baby shower and we had a blast!! Baby Ray got very spoiled and he is going to be one stylish little guy.

 We played some fun games, the one pictured above is the "bottle sucking race" was SO fun, but really hard! My tongue was literally bleeding after this game, poor babies have to suck so hard to get anything.

 

Belly shot!!! 

 My girlfriend, Erika, is due two weeks before me with a little girl for Baby Ray to hang out with. We are both SO ready for our little ones to get here so we have can have mommy play groups and strolls in the park!!!

Baby Ray's crib full of all his presents before I organized them, I told you he is going to be one spoiled boy!

BABY SHOWER 2

 My mom and Mareesa threw me a fun shower two days ago. We had yummy food, fun games, and great company. Once again Baby Ray got very spoiled and has almost all he needs.

                             Darling diaper cake a couple of my girlfriends made for me!

                 Party favors (Jordan almonds with a baby rattle and "it's a boy" ribbon).

 My mom got us our pack and play that has been completely sold out everywhere! Luckily my Grandma found it, and we could not be more excited!

I'm so grateful for all of our family and friends who have given us so much love and support through our little journey in bringing our little cutie here. We love and appreciate you all and can't wait to meet this little wiggle worm!

Belly Pics

I know it has been ages since I have posted anything. Ry and I have been incredibly busy with life as well as preparing for the arrival of our little guy. I can't believe we only have one month left, time has absolutely flown by!!! We have his nursery almost 100% complete, so as soon as it is complete I'll definitely share. Our friend Jen took our maternity pics and did a beautiful job, here are a few of my favorites:

Baby Ray is a...

BOY!!!! The ultrasound was truly one of the most surreal things we have ever experienced. He was super active the entire time so it took a full hour for us to even find out his sex. It is such a miracle how fast and fully they develop. We got to see all four chambers of his tiny heart, his kidneys, his brain and spinal cord, his cute legs, arms, fingers and toes, his lips and nose and of course his little boy parts. We have been busy planning and starting to get his nursery in order. We cannot wait to meet this little guy, I felt him move a few Sundays ago and last Sunday (Super Bowl Sunday) was the first time Ry got to feel this little acrobat. We love him so much already and are looking forward to see him in a few short months!!

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas morning this year. I didn't get to sleep in because Ry got up at 6:00AM and made me get up with him, you would think he was five years old. We opened our stockings from each other and then headed out in the cold to Ry's parents' house to share our news with them. They were all very excited for us! We watched Jeffery open some of his presents and then headed to my parents house for Mckaid's phone call from Africa!!!

It was so great to hear his cute little voice, he's doing well and had lots of stories for us. He and his companion finally got rid of the fleas. He's getting used to the curry and even said he is starting to like it, poor Kaid must be starving. He said Christmas morning they delivered a bunch of little gifts and treats to the poor areas, and the kids' faces lit up and were so grateful for the small gifts. He said it was one of the most incredible experiences he has ever had, it's so humbling to hear all about his experiences with people who have next to nothing and are still happy with their lives. He was SOOO excited when we told him we are expecting (i'm still trying to figure out how to upload the video*). He says he can't wait to be the favorite uncle and is definitely planning on it. It was really hard to say our 'goodbyes' to him, we all really miss him and the great spirit he brings to our home. Africa is so lucky to have him for two whole years and get to feel the spirit he brings. He has been asking for more "post" so we all need to be better at sending him letters and help him get through all the trials he faces. We sure love and miss him!!!

After we talked to Kaid, we had some traditional Christmas morning breakfast casserole, it was delicious as always!! Then we headed back up to Ry's parents to open the rest of our gifts and hang out with them for a while. We invited everyone to go snowmobiling and sledding with us Christmas Day afternoon and had a blast. Uncle Scott, Mareesa, Marcus and the Wood family joined us up in the fields for an afternoon full of fun!

 Ry digging into is stocking at six in the morning, and if you look at his right leg, Toby thinks there is a present for him in there too.

 Trying to be awake enough to take a picture, ah so early, that's why I look so pretty!!

 Up so early we got to enjoy a beautiful sunrise... I guess it was worth it.

 Sledding with Liz and her giant chunk of snow she sucked on all day long.

 A great pic of Ry giving rides to all the kids. He is already planning on getting a small snowmobile for baby Ray...he thinks it will start riding at age three, hmmm...not sure how I feel about that.

 Sister picture!! Taking it easy while we watched the boys go off jumps, I think Mareesa is done trying jumps. Last time we went she hit the jump SO hard she flew forty-five and was over twelve feet in the air. As she flew through the air I just kept praying we wouldn't have to rush her broken little body to the hospital. Luckily, she landed her jump, her helmet and goggles saved her face that hit the kill switch and handle bars, and she came out with a few bruises on her knees and shins, but other than that she was ok.

Ry and I taking a little ride together... 

 Uncle Scott enjoyed his time out with us, but next time we'll need to find some snow pants, the sweats didn't keep the freezing snow out too well.

Tyler, Marcus and Ry going off the jump at the same time...

 The sunset and last ride of the night, it was beautiful!!!

Ry taking Liz down to the car.

Christmas Eve 2010...the BIG REVEAL!!!

 We had a fabulous Christmas Eve this year!!! We have been holding our big news in for a very long 15 weeks now, and it was definitely worth the wait to see the reactions we got. We started our traditional Christmas Eve progressive dinner at my parents house. Ry and I got there early because we wanted my parents to open our surprise before everyone else got there. We had an eleven week ultrasound picture framed in an "under construction" frame for my dad and a frame that says "Miracle in the making" for my mom. Their reaction was fabulous, and we got to tell Mckaid when he called on Christmas morning and his was great as well.(**Video to come shortly**). The rest of our Christmas Eve we had our h'our dourves, eggnog, and wassail at my parents, went to my Grandpa Sheppard's to let him in on our surprise, then up to Wood's for yummy salad and fruit, and then ended at my Grandma and Grandpa Miller's for the main course, dessert, singing, presents and of course, the reinactiment of the nativity. Everyone is excited to use Baby Ray next year for our baby Jesus!!

 Grandma and Grandpa Miller's news for their first great-grandchild...they were both very excited and Gma shed a couple tears with the news.

 Aunt Laurie and Grandpa Sheppard, he told us it looks like a little chicken and when we left told me, "bye, mama chicken" it was really sweet!

Excited and proud future parents of Baby Ray!!!

Ry's mom and Mike enjoying the news Christmas morning!! Everyone is very excited, including us. Although this came faster than we had originally planned we know that there truly is a personal plan for everyone, even if we don't think it fits into our personal timeline perfectly. We are so happy and so grateful we could spend time with family this Christmas to share our happy news. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!