Celebrate!

February supplied us with lots and lots to celebrate.

First on the agenda: Aging! I celebrated my 24th birthday this month and for the first time actually felt a little 'blah' about getting older. When you think about it, most birthdays up to this point have some level of excitement attached: 16, 18, 21... But 24 was kind of an eye-opener. I remember turning to Taylor and saying "This means I'm almost 25. Which means I'm almost 30! Gross!" So, how does one counteract the effects of realizing she's getting older? Why, celebrate like a kid, of course! My amazing husband took me to Disney's Polynesian Resort where they host a daily character breakfast complete with yummy food and huggable characters. It was bliss.

My birthday card signed by Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey. :)

Mickey loved the belly. 

Hubby and his kindred spirit: Stitch.

Waiting for our table at 'Ohana.

Immediately following my birthday is, of course, Valentine's Day! This was our first Valentine's as a married couple and it did not disappoint. Taylor came home from work with a wonderful card and beautiful flowers and I spent the majority of the day/night preparing what was nothing short of a feast for my wonderful hubby. We had sparkling cider and spinach & artichoke puffs for an appetizer; followed by a salad (complete with heart-shaped tomatoes). We then dove into chicken parmigiana with capellini; all topped off with some yummy cheesecake for dessert. I was definitely proud of my work and by the look on his face and the gratuitous belching that followed, I think Taylor enjoyed himself too.

Cute card and roses from my Valentine. <3 

So while everyone else's February celebrations may have ended there, mine did not. The wonderful ladies in my ward threw me a Baby Shower! For those of you who know about the debacle that became the original baby shower I was planning on, this was such a huge blessing. I apologize that I didn't take more/better pictures. There was tons of yummy food, blue-frosted cookies, and all kinds of baby boy cuteness. B got TONS of cute outfits and some much-needed necessities like a bath tub and lots of diapers. I'm so grateful to these awesome women who barely know me but are so generous and loving (and, not to mention, SO excited to meet our little man!)

Knee-deep in gifts, getting ready to start the marathon of unwrapping.

We got so much cute sports stuff for our future all-star.

I know I look insane, but the faux Harley bottle was just too cute not to post. 

And last, but certainly not least, perhaps the biggest reason for celebration brought about by these last few weeks comes with two magical words:

FULL      TERM!

That's right! I have hit the 37 week mark of my pregnancy and Baby B now has full medical clearance to show up on the scene whenever he darn well pleases. I can't believe it! Now, keep in mind, that he has been very sternly told not to arrive until after March 7th (reasoning for which will be made clear in the next post) but, as far as his physical faculties are concerned, he is ripe and ready to go! I seriously cannot wrap my head around the fact that he's going to be here so soon... or that I've been pregnant for THIS long... but I am so excited. I'm excited to have my body back to only having one person inside of it and to not have to pee or chew a Tums every 10 minutes. But, more than anything, I'm so excited to finally share him with Taylor. He has been so attentive and so patient through my entire pregnancy and I feel like I get all the reward up to this point. I'm so excited to see him hold his little boy and to finally feel the fact that he's real. He's already proven to be such an amazing daddy as he reads a bedtime story to my belly every single night and talks & sings to B every chance he gets. It brings tears to my eyes when he lays down next to me and gives the baby a play-by-play of the latest sporting event and tells him all about how he's going to be such a great missionary someday and get married in the temple to a great girl like his mama. I really am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man and I hope my children will someday be as grateful as I am that I chose him to be their dad. 

And, don't worry, I didn't forget to include a pic of me and the basketball I'm currently hauling around under my dress.

Here's 37 weeks in all her glory!