Name Game

A while back I posted about our journey to finding the perfect name for our sweet little girl. {You can read about that HERE} Well I just realized I never announced what we decided to do! We have made the decision that her name will be...

Emma Claire Elizabeth

Emma Claire will be her "official" first name, with Elizabeth as her middle name! Due to privacy and security issues I'm not sharing our last name but I will give you the initial! Because what good is a baby name post without showing off her monogram!!! ;-)

The Hubster picked Elizabeth as her middle name, and I like the flow of the whole name. Yes, it is a big name but I'm pretty sure she'll be able to handle it! ;-) I'm excited about our decision and hope that having Emma Claire as her first name when we register her for school will cut down on any confusion. I know with double names there will always be people who don't get it and that's okay! Thank you to everyone for all of your suggestions and input! We really appreciate it!

In other baby news...the nursery is getting SO CLOSE! We only have a few things left to do...

- Hang Curtains

- Put up shelf and a few more items on the wall

- Paint bookshelves

- Hang bookshelves

THAT'S IT! I cannot wait for it all to be done! I'm so excited! And I'm even more excited to share the room with you all!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's that time of the week again! Time to link up with Jamie at This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

What I'm Loving this Week...

{One}

The Handsome Hubster

He's just a big kid! He had SO much fun apple picking...more fun than I think he'll admit to ;-)

{Two}

My Little Shadows

Whether I'm in the kitchen or the nursery these two follow me everywhere :-) Dixie even sits in the bathroom while I shower...I think she knows that something is different about me because she was NOT like this before I was pregnant!

{Three}

My Little Gymnast

If pregnancy alone didn't cause you to marvel at the human body please look at these two pictures....To the left, normal belly...to the right NOT NORMAL! I was sitting in the EXACT same position! The BU marks the center of my body so you can get a pretty good idea of how far to the right she was leaning in the second picture. I was literally amazed at the fact that she could move my belly button so much! I called my Mom and we tried to skype while it looked like this but by the time we were connected she moved back! But my Mom and Dad did get to see her wiggle around on Skype!

{Four}

Fun Fall Activities

Last weekend we went apple picking and this weekend we're going to a pumpkin patch with friends to pick our own pumpkins! :-)

{Five}

Getting Last Minute Baby Things Done!

We have most everything all set up for our sweet little girl! Today is baby laundry day! I can't wait to wash all of her cute little clothes! I have two more "project-ey" things to finish up but her room is VERRRRRY close to being done! I actually hung some things on the wall yesterday, which for me is a BIG thing! I take FOREVER to decide where I want things on the walls of our house. We've lived here for almost 3 months now and I've hung one thing in the living room because I'm still deciding what I want on our main wall! HA!

{Six}

Fall Decorations!

I love the warmth that fall brings to our house :-) I even put out "fall" pictures of the Hubster and I!

What are YOU loving today?

Homemade Crock-Pot Applesauce

I just have to say that there's nothing better than applesauce made from fresh apples! I was somewhat skeptical at first, and wasn't sure how it would turn out...but it was WONDERFUL!

Ingredients

8-10 Apples

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I actually used less)

1 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Wash apples.

2. Peel apples.

3. Cut apples into small pieces.

(didn't actually get a picture of this step...but you get the idea!)

4. Combine apples, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and water in crock pot.

5. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

I let mine cook until it was "mushy" enough for me! ha

ENJOY! :-)

 Oh and it also helps if you have a little assistant in the kitchen...

 Gracie got a little taste of the applesauce as well and she loved it too ;-)

 

An Apple a Day

 Last Saturday the Hubster and I went apple picking with one of our favorite couples! I hadn't been apple picking since the 3rd grade and it was SO FUN! The weather was perfect, overcast, crisp and a little foggy.

 Before we left we chatted at our house for a little bit, Leah made these cute cute fall cookies. 

Are you not so impressed?! I know I was!

All ready to go apple picking! :-)

The guys got really into the apple picking!

Leah found a tiny baby apple!

My hubby is so handsome. This one is the "apple picking commercial shot"!

After we finished in the orchard we got a few of the apples we couldn't find out in the fields.

We got around 12 pounds of apples!

AND we got a pumpkin! I was a happy camper!

I find it ironic that the pumpkin weights about as much as my "baby weight"...I think the hubster should spend a day carrying this around ;-)

I think my favorite part of the day might have been this...homemade apple turnover, it was DELICIOUS! :-)

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.  For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."  Edwin Way Teale

36 Weeks

I feel like each time I sit down to write an update I just wrote my update for last week! Well I guess this time I did...I was so late with my 35 week post! HA! I just can't believe that next week I will be FULL TERM! We've gotten a lot done in her room, I'm planning on working in there this afternoon and will hopefully take a few pictures to share! :-) The dresser has made it upstairs now just needs to be deep cleaned and some shelf liner needs to be added, then I'll add in her clean clothes! We also bought Emma Claire's swing, which the Hubster put together THAT night, it was pretty cute! He also put together the pack n' play and was itching for more stuff to do! I think HE might be nesting ;-)

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of Baby: almost 6 pounds and about 18 1/2 inches long!

Total Weight Gain: I'm guessing 18 pounds, we'll see at the doctor this week!

Maternity Clothes: Yep, although I have been wearing non-maternity sweaters!

Gender: I've said it before but...she better still be a girl! HA! :-) I've started getting nervous because I won't get another ultrasound to "double check" even though I had more than enough to confirm back at 20 weeks ;-)

Movement: She is still very active! Her little punches and kicks are KILLING my bladder and ribs. Thankfully I can usually move around and she'll move too. She also makes my belly SO lopsided sometimes..here's another picture of that!

This is looking straight down, the hubs took this standing behind me...she is COMPLETELY over to the right. I am so amazed at the ability of the human body sometimes!

What I Miss: Sleeping soundly...and comfortably. Bending over would be nice ;-)

Cravings: Still milk, and now organic milk...I realized that before when I was just having occasional milk that "regular" milk would be fine, but now that I'm drinking it a TON I need to be drinking organic. I actually think I like it better than regular milk!

Symptoms: Oh gosh...pretty much the same as last week: Heartburn, some nausea if she's really active, not being able to sleep, braxton hicks, PRESSURE...

Best Moment of the Week: There were so many!

- Getting her dresser up in her room!

- Going apple picking with the Hubs and Leah and CJ

- Buying her swing!

- The hubster putting the swing together RIGHT after we got home :-)

- Pack n' play is all put together

- Fall decorations are up!
- House is clean!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Getting all of her cute little clothes washed and finishing decorating her room! Also hanging out with friends next weekend...the Hubster and I are hosting a Pumpkin Picking and Carving party at our house! We're going to a pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, then back to our house for carving, dinner and eating some sweet treats!

Baby Bump

I'm going to share two belly pictures this week, just because I'm not sure how many more weeks we'll have left! It actually looks smaller in this picture...

Happy Fall Y'all!

What a welcome change in the weather! Right now it's in the 50's outside and I am LOVING IT!!! Saturday I spent the morning cleaning and decorating the house before our friends came over and we went apple picking! I got out my fall decor that was in storage containers in the garage and got to work. I had a few fall decorations up before but now I feel like our house really feels like it's fall outside! I also love making our house smell like fall! One of my favorite ways to do that (besides lighting a candle or turning on my scentsy) is to boil cinnamon, cloves, and a dash of vanilla on the stove. If you've never done that YOU NEED TO! It smells amazing and I always have people ask what the amazing smell is :-)

To do this I just fill up a pot with water, add in some whole cloves, break up one or two cinnamon sticks, and add in a little bit of vanilla. Then set your burner on low and enjoy!

It does boil down over several hours though, so make sure to watch it! If it boils all the way down you get a yucky burned smell, which is no fun.

My kitchen now has some fun pumpkins and fall picture frames!

Do you remember these candlesticks?

Well now after getting a coat of spray paint....

they are on top of my fridge holding up my "BOO" pumpkins! So now the fridge is festive too!

Football on the TV and fall decorations out :-)

Our side table with a picture of the Hubster and I at Thanksgiving two years ago...it's one of my favorites!

Here's a hodgepodge collage of the rest of my fall decor! :-)

Fall is hands down my favorite season...how can you not LOVE fall?! Great weather, fun candy, warm decorations, wonderful smells, and great food! This weekend the Hubster and I went apple picking with friends (post to come on that soon!) and I now have a half of a bushel of apples to bake with! I am already going to make apple pie, an apple braid, and homemade applesauce! Nothing says fall more than apples and cinnamon!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Linked Up With: My Romantic Home