Check out this little man. :)

Last Friday I got to go to dinner with Kortney and Rylan before the Maiden/St. Stephens game. What a FUN time we had at the game and then later at dinner. Rylan is such a joy and is really an INCREDIBLE baby - I have loved getting to share in some moments of these first two months of his life.

Me and Rylan at the game...

Rylan laying on Mama's lap - she is excited about almost being a Grandmommy! :)

St. Luke's Shower

On Saturday, September 18th some incredible ladies from church got together and threw a shower for Baby Caden and me. Barbara, Miss Bink, Miss Paula, and Mary Nelson were the hostesses - and it was truly wonderful. There was not a detail that was left unnoticed. If you have ever been in these ladies homes you know that they put extra love and care into even the smallest of things. Enjoy some shots from the day. :)

The gorgeous table set up - with the whale ceterpiece (the bubbles are glass balls and the "spout" is a fun vase with white flowers)

Precious duckies floating in the punch bowl

Me and the fabulous Nelson women. :) I ADORE this family.

Miss Bink and me - looking cute and matchy matchy. :)

Thank you ladies for all that you did. It meant SO much.

Travelling in style...

A combination of many life events led us to the decision that we were in need of a new car. Chris had been driving a 2004 Taurus - and about a month ago the transmission started to go. Considering Kelly Blue Book only said the car was worth about $2500 at this point - replacing it was just NOT a reasonable option... so that kind of kicked us into motion towards what we should do. Slightly fearful of what a car dealership would actually be willing to give us for his car... we waited for a while... but finally bit the bullet Saturday before last and went to CarMax to have them check it out. When they came back with their offer - $2000 - we were set - the car was going away at the end of the week whether we had a replacement or not.

So that REALLY kicked us into high gear, and led us into a search for the RIGHT new car... we knew we wanted something bigger - we knew we were looking for a SUV - but weren't sure what. Chris looked some on Saturday, I went back with him on Monday, and Tuesday we travelled to CarMax in Gastonia to look at more cars there. FINALLY we narrowed it down to a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe - which we LOVE.

We are so so so excited! The biggest benefit is that there is PLENTY of room for us and our GROWING family. HOORAY!

Falling in love...

So I know that this being a mom thing should be growing on me... and I should be used to it by now. But I can honestly tell you, that nothing we have done during our pregnancy has made it seem any more real that the events of these last two days. Yesterday we started lamaze. After being ten minutes late (EEK!) and spending the evening getting to know other people in the class and learning about preterm and early labor, we finished by laying on the floor and doing relaxation techniques (think yoga breathing without the stretching). Not entirely enlightening, but enjoyable in it's own right. Being with a class of people who are in the same place in life is surprisingly helpful (but I can tell this class is going to be EXCITING to say the least!) Oh the things we find comfort in at this point. :)

Today, however, tops the cake of all of the things we have done to prepare to welcome our little man into this world. Originally we weren't going to get a 3d/4d ultrasound; however, when we did our original anatomy scan when I was 18 weeks the only thing the little stinker would show us were his male parts (if you remember from my post in June) - so while we were excited to know WHAT he was, we couldn't even see the slightest bit of a profile. So after talking about it for quite some time, and finding a SUPER amazing coupon, we decided that it was something we wanted to do. And let me tell you... it was worth it. While the first two ultrasounds we had made it real, because you could see a little jelly bean growing inside of me, and then could tell that he was developing with the second one... this one gives us a glipse into the little man that he is going to be. I am so excited. I hope you fall in love with him as quickly as we did.

I love him. :) I mean, I am probably biased, but isn't he SO stinkin' adorable?!?!? Check out his cute little nose and little lips. Oh goodness it makes me SO excited for the end of October to get here.

Yet again, I am not very good at this...

So as the days flash by and the weeks tick past, I realize that I am having a hard time keeping this blog up WITHOUT having a baby here... how in the world am I going to do this once our little man arrives?!?! As if in agreement he just did a somersault inside of me. Here here mama! No way at the rate you're going!

But this IS important to me, and I DO want to do it... so here is my vow to you (all 9 of you who actually read it)... I WILL do better. My new goal is once a week until the baby arrives, or more if my life is exciting enough to merit it... chances are slim that it will be that exciting... so once a week it is.

As for updates since the last time I posted - for ease of catching everyone up, I am opting for list format. Here we go:

1. School is back in full swing and I am actually amazed that I am doing as well as I am. Not to say that I am full of energy and on the top of my game. But overall I am exceptionally pleasant. Truthfully, the only real side effect is that my "mama instinct and voice" have kicked in, which is actually proving to be helpful in the breakfast and lunchrooms at keeping everyone in line.

2. Sleep is something that I am not getting as much of as I would like. This saddens me. I LOVE sleep. However, not being able to lay on my stomach (though I understand and certainly don't want to squish the little guy) is not ideal for me. Also strange things like hip pains (what I am I? 80?), FREQUENT (like yes, MORE than usual) restroom trips, and random middle of the night awakenings are making it so that I am not getting anywhere near as much as I want.

3. Our house is really starting to look fabulous. I am just going to brag for a few minutes here about how absolutely AMAZING my husband is. Over the past few weeks he has hung new blinds in every room in our home. It looks INCREDIBLE. So good, in fact that the pictures I took before, I don't think I am going to post, because I want NEW ones to show you how awesome it looks! Along with that he has assembled furniture (we now have a bookcase in the baby's room) and just been overall incredible.

4. As a continuation of #3 - our little man's room is REALLY starting to come together. Last night we put books on the bookcase, and hung some pictures on the wall. At this point all we really need for the room is a rug, which we are on a quest for. I will post pictures of it within the week (I think I need deadlines to hold myself accountable).

5. We are in the midst of shower season. See, because we are SUCH good planners, I am having a baby 3 weeks after my sister in law gets married. In all fairness, she planned hers first I suppose, but nonetheless, all that we are doing for the next few weekends is attending showers. For the record, I LOVE showers. Not just mine, but all showers in general. I love little snacks and seeing people you love and lots of fun gifts and even the dumb games. So I am excited... but this is what the upcoming weeks look like:

• Saturday - Sept 5th Wedding shower for Melinda and Johnny at Mamaws house
• Saturday - Sept 11th Wedding shower for Melinda at my house (mom and I are hosting)
• Saturday - Sept 18th Baby shower for me at the church (thrown by Barbara, Mary, Miss Bink, and Miss Paula)
• Saturday - Sept 18th (Yes on the same day) Melinda's Bachelorette Party
• Saturday - Sept 25th Baby shower for me with friends (Heather Pollock and Emily Horning are throwing it)
• Sunday - Sept 26th Family Baby shower for Chris and I at our home (we are also using these as a chance to get to show of our fun and gorgeous new home!)
• Saturday - Oct 9th Melinda gets married (YAY!) Also when we are hoping I DON'T deliver. :)
• Friday - Oct 22nd When Christopher believes Baby Kale will make his entrance into the world.
• Saturday - Oct 30th Baby Kale is due

6. We are in FULL swing with Marching Band here in the Kale household. Chris is directing at SSHS and I am excited to attend my first home game this Friday (pending I do not catch any strange illnesses - which is what happened the LAST time I was supposed to go to a home game!) October is when they kick off into Saturday competitions and BUSY BUSY BUSYness - which was perfect timing, yet again, compared to when I am due.

7. We don't think that our due date is accurate. I am pretty sure that the real due date is not Oct. 30th but actually Oct 25th. We go for a 4D ultrasound on Thursday (I am REALLLLLLLLLY excited) and hopefully can see more than about his size.

8. We are cloth diapering. I am PRETTY super excited about this. We are slowly in the process of building our stash. Currently we have six 3.0 BumGenius one size diapers and are in the process of ordering Flip covers and inserts, as well as some Thirstie Duos and prefolds. Christopher is not quite as sold on this as I am, but I just really feel like it is an easy way for us to do our part to help out the earth. The whole process is pretty overwhelming but we are both excited. So nay-sayers don't rain on my parade. :)

9. I am officially there. To the point in pregnancy where people can without question tell I am having a baby. I was really excited to get to this point, however, now I am getting tired of people saying "WOW Catie - I sure can tell you're pregnant!" or "MAN! That baby belly sure is sticking out!" Thanks people, really, I can look in a mirror, I know it's out there. LoL.

10. This is really getting long, which will not happen when I don't go over a month without posting. :) For now, I must sleep (refer to #2). Goodnight blog land. MORE to come this week.