Happy 4th Wedding Anniversary! :)

Happy 4th Wedding Anniversary to my best friend and husband, Doug!

As I said on my Facebook post this afternoon...

"4 wonderful years of marriage to a great man and a baby girl on the way this month. Happy Anniversary to a spectacular husband and soon (VERY SOON) to be Daddy! I love you, Doug!"

XOXO,
Kate
(fbc)

A Favorite Quote...

"Life breaks all of us, but

 some become strong in the 

broken places."

-Ernest Hemingway-

Adios Baby Showers! ;-)

Well...Baby Shower season sadly came to an end this past weekend, as my two sisters, Valerie & Erica, and my Mom threw a lovely baby shower for Baby Smith and I at my sister's home in Naperville, IL. :-) They did a wonderful job and were so generous with Doug & I. It was great to see so many of my relatives...aunties, cousins, etc. and to just enjoy the day. Thank you so much Valerie, Erica & Mom!!! :) :) Apparently, I was having such a good time that I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few below.

I am now nearly 36 weeks along with Baby Girl Smith (time sure does fly!) and motherhood/fatherhood and all the life changes that come with them are rapidly approaching. Doug and I often talk about how much our lives are going to change in the moment when she is born (understatement of the day--LOL!), but we are just SOOOO very excited to meet her and begin to discover who she is. :) We can't wait to see and meet you Baby Girl!

Our niece, Jenna

My Cousin Isabella & Auntie Joy

Opening presents :) I can't quite understand why 'jazz hands' are my default--LOL

Liam & my sister, Valerie, obviously having a good time :)

New Maternity Photos!

Baby Smith is definitely coming soon!

Doug's sister, Kelly, took these couple maternity shots of Doug and I almost two weeks ago after my last shower. The photos were taken when Baby Smith & I were at 33 weeks (now we are at about 35 weeks! Thank you Kelly--you did a fantastic job! We love these and will treasure them always.

P.S. Special Fun Fact: these photos were taken at the location in Barrington, IL where we were married almost 4 years ago. :)

PICTURES GALORE!

Pictures from the weekend!

Baby Shower #3 for Baby Girl Smith given by Doug's side of the family in the North Suburbs of Chicago (Thank you, Allison for being such a fabulous party hostess!! Ahh-mazing details..loved everything!) and our nephew, Liam's, 2nd Birthday party in Naperville, IL. It was a train themed party that was too cute!

I have lots of updates to share on this blog eventually here. For today though... just pictures. :) We also took maternity photos this weekend (Doug's sister, Kelly, took them of Doug & I), and I will post them in a couple of days after I clean them up a bit if your interested:) Baby Smith is growing!

Ultra-Creative Baby Shower Invitation :)

Cute, eh?

Gorgeous table details at the shower

Love this...a "Take Out Candy Bar"

Doug's sister and my sister-in-law, Kelly, Doug's Aunt Marcy (Frud), myself at 33 weeks, my sister-in-law, Allison (the hostess!), my future sis-in-law, Laura, my Mother-in-law, Kathy, and Doug's cousin, Katy (Frud's daughter). Did you catch all that? (wink wink)

My sister Valerie and her son, the cutest birthday boy ever, Liam!

Liam enjoying his Train themed birthday party !

My cousin, Isabella, and our niece, Jenna playing on the trains and looking adorable in those train hats :)

ONU Reunion/Baby Shower #2 :) :)

"Faithful friends are gifts from Heaven. Whoever finds one has found a treasure."

Baby Smith is one blessed girl! We enjoyed another amazing baby shower this weekend hosted by my best friend, Erin, and her Mom :) Every detail was amazing --just take a look at those deserts!!! The shower included so many of my favorite people in the world--my very best friends--all together at once, which was amazing. I had the BEST time, but I have to admit I was very sad for the day to be over and to see everyone go after the day had ended (definitely shed on few tears on the car ride home). All of us live in different states now (two of my best friends flew in for the shower) or different cities, and it is hard to get together these days. I miss all my dear friends everyday (tears again), and I love you all enormously. Thank you SO much for celebrating Baby Girl Smith with Doug & I. :)

MUCH Love,
Doug, Katie (Kate, Wave), & Baby Smith (Baby Wave)

P.S. Here are a ton of pictures in no particular order from the shower this weekend--ENJOY!

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It's Baby Shower Time!

This last weekend I had a wonderful time at my first baby shower hosted and attended by my Madison friends (Special thanks to Kelly, Tracy & K.C. for hosting!). It was a cute & sweet tea party themed shower--LOVED it :) Here are a few photos from Baby Shower #1. Thanks again, ladies! Baby Girl Smith & I are grateful!

Love,
Kate

Invite to Baby Shower #1

Gorgeous diaper cake! I just ADORED how they coordinated the colors with our nursery!

Cinsy, K.C. & Marisa

Meredith, Marisa, Tracy & Maria

Baby Shower games! Marisa (who is due just over a week before me) measuring my belly :)

Enjoying our 'tea party' lunch--yummy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOUG!!!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, Doug!

Doug's actual birthday was Monday, July 20, and we finally had a chance to celebrate alone tonight with dinner at 'Samba,' a local Brazilian Steakhouse (definitely Doug's kind of meal!). :) Between myself and my side of the family, Doug has had 4 birthday cakes so far (yummy) which he was always surprised by, and he will have one more when we celebrate with Doug's side of the family in a couple of weeks. Hey, it's fun to make birthdays last a while :)

We also had a very busy full weekend in Decatur visiting my 92 year old Grandma and Dad. It was a lot of fun!

Of course...here are some pictures from the weekend and from some of the celebrations for Doug! :)

Happy Birthday, Babe!!


Birthday Cake that my Mom made him on Friday night to start the festivities :-)

Birthday celebration at my Grandma's House in the Chicago suburbs after Doug's class on Saturday.

Having breakfast with my 92 year old Grandma, Marguerite, and I in Decatur.
We celebrated over pancakes here!

A cake that I made Doug, which did not turn out as planned. Apparently, there was a large earthquake within the cake and it spilt in half! LOL.

Just for FUN

 I love fun, different and inspirational cards, and I thought these two below were too cute not to share with you.   I found them at an eclectic hip gift shop called "Moxie." Here's the link if you want to check it out! :)  ENJOY!

Pictures! 4th of July & Baby Smith's Crib Bedding :)

Happy Belated 4th of July to you!!

My sister Valerie, brother-in-law Steve, and our nephew & Godson Liam stayed with us all 4th of July weekend--it was a great visit and a lot of fun! :) We are really grateful for family that we can just 'hang out with' and enjoy. :) Thanks again for coming, Val, Steve & Liam! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend are below--ENJOY! :)

How cute is this guy??!! Our nephew, Liam :)

He's getting BIG--Almost 2 years old!

Steve, Liam & Valerie--The Crawfis Family--outside the State Cap :)

Doug & Steve having fun & playing 'Corn Holes' while attending to the Bar-B-Que



I have been busy doing the last couple weeks doing a whole lot of things to prepare for Baby Girl Smith--preparing the nursery, hospital classes, finding a pediatrician....you name it! Today I FINALLY painted her room (with Doug's help, of course!). I think I spent WAY too much time picking out the perfect color pink (which is nearly identical to the paint in the photo below)to go with the baby's bedding and a color that would best FLOW with the neutral colors of our house. I'll take a picture of the room when it is finished, but below is also a picture of the bedding we chose in a staged room. Yep, I am doing Light Pink with Black & White accents. I think it is pretty & chic--I hope Baby Smith likes it (wink) ;-)

Hope you had a great weekend & are enjoying your week!
HUGS,
Kate :)