Pregnancy Update

 My last blog post had me at 22 weeks...so it was time to update!!  (Thanks for the gentle reminders Jill and Danielle, haha.)  I have done 5 blog posts below this one...just to keep things chronological.  Enjoy :)

First off, Baby Meador is due in 11 days !!  We are so excited/anxious for the next few weeks.  People keep asking me if I am nervous, which is possibly making me a bit more nervous than I was!  I know our life is going to change drastically, but we have been waiting for this day for a long time.  I can't wait to see my daughter's face and have the opportunity to hold her and see Kevin hold her for the first time.  Makes me feel a bit emotional just thinking about it.

This is mostly for my own record...but here are the updated baby bump pictures.  Funny side-note:  I have had several people in the last 2 weeks tell me that I don't look like I am due so soon.  While this is a nice boost of confidence since I feel rather large (as I have to roll myself out of bed in the morning), I find it kind of funny.  Last week, I was working in a classroom with children with Autism.  One of the parents came in (whom I had never met, but have heard numerous stories about since she drives a Mazzerati and lives in Section 8 housing...apparently she recently inherited money) and was asking me about my due date, etc.  She was complimenting me about how great I looked, then in all seriousness, asked me if I was interested in being a surrogate when my pregnancy was over.  I wasn't quite sure how to respond, so I kind of laughed and said, "Probably not".  Kind of a weird conversation to have with someone you just met, right?  She just kept telling me that I looked so great pregnant, and that she really wanted to have a girl, but wasn't speaking to her son's father.  It was interesting, to say the least.

24 weeks

                                    26 weeks

                                    27 weeks

                                    28 weeks

                                    33 weeks

               34 weeks (compare to pic at 26 weeks)

      35 weeks (from my maternity pics, which I hope to have from the photographer soon!!)

                    35 weeks- First official Mother's Day

37 weeks

I had my last day of work on May 31st, so I have the next two weeks (unless Baby comes early) to finish up projects around the house, rest, and patiently wait for our little girl to arrive!  

Baby Shower #2

Baby girl and I were very spoiled to have two baby showers, but we sure enjoyed it!  All the girls before the shower...

 Tracy was kind enough to host the event in her backyard, and Tracy, Danielle, and Andreia did all the preparation for the evening.  It turned out so beautiful and I couldn't have asked for anything nicer.  I love that it was outside and a lot of great women were able to attend.

 The hostesses...Danielle, Andreia, and Tracy.

 So grateful that family was able to attend, and that Daleth made the trip out for the occasion :)

 My friend Joanna is from my new ward.  She has been so friendly to me from day one, and we actually get to work together in young women's, which is really nice.

 Baby Girl was completely spoiled with cute gifts!  My creative friend Sarah made the banner above (which i used in my maternity pics), and I think I am going to hang it on our mantle for when we bring our newborn home :)

Awesome Friends

Although we were so sad to leave our best friends in Florida, we were happy to be reunited with our old friends here in Texas.  When we moved to Arlington, TX in 2007, we were invited to a few events with 3 other couples who were already friends.  We thought we would only be in TX for a few months, but after two and a half years, we were able to become really close with those friends :)  When we "joined" the group, only Matt and Andreia had a child...now they all have 2 kids with a few more on the way!  At least now Kevin and I will be adding a child to the mix!

We decided to have a sleepover back in March, which we had never done before.  It was lots of fun and really made me feel like I was in college again.  We ate pizza, gave ourselves gel manicures, ate cake (for Andreia's birthday) AND then popcorn while we watched a movie till 3 in the morning.  Poor Kevin was at the house too, but spent the majority of the evening in our room, haha.  When I crawled into bed a little after 3, I asked Kevin if we were too loud, and his response was that "you were a little loud, but I'm glad you had fun!".  He's a keeper :)  

 Tracy missed the detailed instructions on the gel nails, so she had a little mishap.  In the end, with Danielle's help, her nails looked awesome.  The beautiful birthday girl below...

 All the girls crashed upstairs (and I pulled the pregnancy card and slept in my own bed so I could get some rest).  We were actually woken at 6 am to the sounds of really loud rain and hail!  Looked like it had snowed outside because the lawn was covered in ice chunks.  Despite the noise, we all went back to sleep until about 10 when we decided to wake up and have some breakfast.  I am grateful for these girls!

Then in April, our best friends from Florida came to visit for my baby shower.  Talk about supportive!  Kevin convinced them to come out the Tuesday before the shower, and he took the week off to hang out with them and their twins.  I unfortunately had to work on Wednesday and Thursday, but I took Friday off and Daleth, Zay (her mom), and I were able to spend the day shopping, going to lunch, etc.  It was awesome to see our friends again, we have missed them A LOT!

 Daleth and I before we headed out for our day of shopping and fun.

 Kevin and Andre planned a golfing outing on Saturday, so I had to snap a picture before they left.

 We were sad to see them leave, but the good news is that they will be back again sometime after our baby is born!  And we are working on the "Texas Plan", which involves them moving to our neighborhood.  We are keeping our eyes peeled for homes on the market!

 A few weeks ago, when Kevin was out of town, I planned a little "Girls Night Out" to say thanks to the wonderful girls who planned my baby shower (post to follow).  We had dinner at Red Robin, and the poor waiter was probably wishing we would leave already...but I think we were there for a few hours, haha.  We were having great conversation and we just weren't ready to leave.  When we finally left, we planned on doing a little shopping, but all the stores were closed, so we went for Cold Stone instead :)  It did not disappoint! Once again, I am grateful for the support of these girls and have appreciated their advice and ability to answer my pregnancy questions!

Katelin's Wedding

Back in April, we flew out to California for Kevin's cousin Katelin's wedding.  My doctor gave me clearance to travel up until 31 weeks, which is exactly how many weeks I was when we flew out :)  Kevin and I both took off the Friday before the wedding so we could travel with the family and spend Friday in Newport Beach.  We enjoyed the afternoon at the pier, having lunch at Ruby's, and doing a little shopping.  

 That night, we had a big family dinner back at the hotel where everyone was staying.  I really enjoy Kevin's extended family, so it was a nice evening together.

 Saturday morning, the happy couple was sealed in the Newport Beach temple.  It is always nice to attend a sealing and be reminded of all the promises and blessings given.  (Sidenote:  Kev and I will be celebrating our 7 year anniversary on June 24th!!)  The inside of the temple was so gorgeous, and the temple grounds were amazing.  My only complaint was all the moisture in the air which really didn't help my hair look very good, haha.

 All the cousins and spouses with the beautiful bride. I absolutely LOVED Katelin's dress...she looked perfect :)

 The reception house was at the top of a hill and the whole event was classy and elegant.  Kevin was getting a little artsy with the picture-taking, haha.

 Most of the extended family left on Sunday, but since we were sticking around until Monday, we headed out with Roy, Celine, and the boys to the beach.  We made a pit stop into the arcade at the pier, and of course the boys had to get into a friendly little competition with the basketball game.  They all played multiple times, but I am happy to report that Kevin was the ultimate winner with 54 baskets :)

We had such a great weekend spending time with family, enjoying all the awesome things California has to offer, and being there for Katelin and Ryan's wedding.

Easter

A few weeks before Easter, we were having a YW Presidency Meeting (I am the Secretary), and we were talking about the upcoming Easter Sunday.  We had been talking about having a special guest speaker, and then the President says, "Why don't we have Sister Meador teach since we haven't heard her teach before?".  I have to admit, I was feeling a little guilty because I don't have a whole lot of duties as the secretary, so I had to accept, haha.  And in my book, if you want to have a great lesson, you also need to have a great treat.  So I decided to make sugar cookies, which was A LOT of work.  Luckily the girls loved them, so it was worth it.  And the lesson went well, so overall I guess it was a success.  

 We enjoyed Easter dinner up in Flower Mound with the family.  It was a delicious meal and gorgeous weather, so we enjoyed quite a bit of time sitting out on the patio.

 Kevin is a sugar-head.  He ate 2 of those cookies for breakfast and several more that afternoon.

 Kinley enjoying the fishies from her Easter eggs.  She got that backpack from Grandma and didn't want to take it off, which was adorable!

I love this picture of Kevin and Melanie.  It is nice to be close to family again so we can get together and enjoy holidays and Sunday dinners together :)