Thank You Carrie...

Thanks to Carrie's wedding, I'm photographed in a few pictures. I did my best to avoid the lens most of the night but did not succeed a few times. Andrea Murphy was the photographer for Carrie's special day as well. Her pictures are amazing and I thought I would share a few.


Above is one of my most favorite pictures taken of Carrie and John. I just love the look and feel. I hope she frames it for their new home.


Jayme and I were asked to be the greeters and program people for the ceremony. Of course I could not decline but I did make sure to tell Carrie that I would only do it if she didn't mind a whale greeting people. I am 6 months pregnant here and the belly cannot be concealed.

Below is my favorite picture from the night!

(you can click on this picture to increase the size and enhance the special qualitites of this snap)
Please note that Carrie and John are finally making their way off the dance floor to get this staged exit. Yes, that is a neck tie falling off Carrie's shoulders. She was so beautiful and having the most wonderful time. Note: I am so excited that bubbles show up in night pictures!
More importantly, I LOVE this picture because of the crazy woman caught blowing bubbles right in their face. She did not feel it necessary to join the lines with the other guests. Look at that form. My husband is taking this seriously and looks like the best little bubble blower. Can you see him? Lastly, I am NOT supposed to be in this picture but JP had other plans. Yes, off the the left you can see my arm and baby bump. No legs necessary. He's a sneaky little guy. Love him.

Carrie and John went to the Dominican Republic for 9 days. Lucky ducks. Welcome back to reality and Congratulations on your future together!!!

I Love Mobiles.

I think looking at baby mobiles is entertaining. They are just so sweet. There are so many different kinds, options and styles....fuzzy, singing, moving, whirling, abstract and traditional. There are so many I found it hard to decide which one would be perfect for Mr. James to gaze up at while drifting to sleep in his crib. BUT I found it on the Internet. Yes, online shopping again. I am sure many of you are shocked but I know you'll agree that this time it was completely necessary. Would you like to see?

(i know you would....)





It's called "Dances of the Cranes" by Flensted Mobiles. I found it on babyearth.com. I love that website. Anyway, it will hang from the ceiling and constantly "fly". It should be arriving in the mail tomorrow. I hope I love it in person as much as I do on my computer screen and how I picture it in my nursery.

Hello My Little Pot Roast!

Several weeks ago I signed Ben up for weekly emails tracking the baby's results and some stats. Last week, week 27, reveled that baby James was a 2+ pound pot roast. Finally, man terminology! Something clicked inside of Ben and he got a little image and new nickname for baby Hale. I hope the future emails spark more interest and use more manly terms so that my hubs will be more interested than when he was a papaya or eggplant. BUT I will admit, when they compare him to a watermelon, I will be scared. Very scared.


Today Ben and I went to our 4D ultrasound appointment. We understood that this was for entertainment purposes and it was worth every penny! For 30 minutes, we got to see little James moving around, making faces and just livin' the dream. It was truly amazing to see him, in real time, moving about in my belly. The ultrasound tech commented on how much he was kicking and I can confirm that he really has some legs and knows how to use them. He prefers to kick my right rib cage and lung. His staple position seems to be face down, sideways and facing the right side of my body. I cannot believe this little one is growing inside of me right now:





he kicks with these....






and these...



i think he is praying here...




i don't blame him. i would start early too. :)





The little pot roast has chubby lil cheeks and is estimated at almost 3 pounds. (I have packed on a few more so maybe they are a few shy.) He doesn't have hair yet but when he does I hope it will be blonde, like mine. If anyone takes prayer requests, a healthy, blonde baby for me. Thank you.
There are days when I have these moments. They hit me like a MAC truck. "Whoa! I'm having a baby!".... today was one of those days. I was actually skipping around getting ready. Totally a cloud 9 moment. Morning singing and skipping AND happy pregnancy moments are extremely rare around my house so this should be noted on my calendar immediately. It seems more real now than ever. I cannot wait for him to make his appearance in July.

July, please hurry, please.

2 Months Down, Forever To Go...

In honor of my Two Month Anniversary of being Mrs. Hale, I would like to share two of my most favorite wedding pictures. Okay, choosing is too difficult for me because I think Andrea and April did a wonderful job and I love ALL of my photos. Therefore, I'll give you a little more eye candy to look at in honor of my wonderful two months.

My Mother's favorite two bridal portraits:

Two that will grace the walls of the Hale household:

My first two pictures in my work cube:

Two of Ben's favorite shots:

Two that represent my love for my husband of two months:

I look forward to the next two months, two years and two+ decades with Mr. Hale.

Purchasing Pink or Buying Blue???

This blog is WAY overdue but I would like to share a few photos from the Baby Hale gender party. For those of you who aren't aware, you can throw a party for yourself for almost every special occasion. I would like to thank my friends and family for attending all of our recent showers. This one was a bit different though and I am so glad that we decided to have one more party in our honor. Our gender party was on February 22nd at a local pub, McNellie's. Everyone, but me, had a few beverages, good food and some good laughs. Earlier in the week, Ben and I went to the baby appointment to find out the gender of Baby Hale but we decided to have the results sealed in an envelope and delivered to Ann's Bakery. Ben said he could wait but once one other person knew the gender, the ultrasound tech, he had to know. Therefore, I left the results locked in my car until I could make it to the bakery. The lovely ladies at Ann's were so kind in delivering my unheard of request. I asked them to open the envelop, once I left of course, and fill 2 dozen cupcakes like twinkies. The only catch was if the results in the envelope were a girl, make the icing pink, and if they were for a boy, make it blue. They were giddy and agreed. Then fluffy white icing was then placed on top to conceal any color evidence. Everyone, I mean everyone, would wait until dessert to find out the gender. My mother thinks I cheated and looked but I promise you, I was going to wait for the surprise.
Below are my favorite candid photos taken by our parents. (note: they are not professionals)





Ben and I before the baby cakes.
No, I did not wear blue in hopes of a boy. Yes, Ben wore blue in hopes of a baby boy.





Cheers!
Please notice my face. I was scared. You can laugh. I obviously should not play poker.




I am taking a reluctant bite. My husband was taking the biggest bite possible.
Yes, he planned it. He did not want to miss the icing and have to go for another bite before finding out the gender.


HIS IMMEDIATE REACTION:




MY reaction to his reaction:




Can you guess?







blue. James Patterson or "JP" Hale.

We had three leftover cupcakes. Ben and I took them home. Ben ate all three and LOVED seeing the inside color for each and every one of them. He would walk proudly around the house and remind me that we were having "a little warrior". Now he is onto talking about fishing, peeing outside, hunting and athletics. I think it is incredibly sweet and cannot wait for his arrival this summer.