Thank you note BLOCK

I LOVE writing thank you notes! I actually take pride in how they look, the stamp, and do my best to make them as personal as possible! I know many people do this but, I really love writing them. It is one of my dorkisms, Chad thinks it is rediculous how I refuse to let anyone help me or do any work for the note, I want everyone who took their time and money to give Harry a gift to know I really do appreciate them. Chad was in charge of putting addresses on the cards and we decided on labels not only is his handwriting bad but, now I can have a label for announcements. I was writing a few thank yous over the weekend for the many gift cards we received. I am by no means busting on the gift card gift, one of my very favorite gifts and we have recieved a plethera of them! I am 100% sure they will be great for all of those unexpected items that will suprise us! I just have trouble making my thank you notes original and interesting when writing about a gift card. I was writing one to one of my old assistant principals who is a ball of fun and decided to spice some of these notes. I really did send this and realized, how tacky this would be to so many people, or how there could be people who do not catch the joke. Thank goodness most of my blogging friends have senses of humor that could only appreciate the thank you note block! I had to share:

Dear Mr. Myers,
Thank you so much for the generous gift card! Harry will love the margarita mix we bought with it, it will look so pretty in his bottle and I am sure he will be a much easier baby! The cute little pistol we bought is adorable for a baby. Chad had to register it under his name because they refused to register a gun to an unborn baby (what is this world coming to). Don't worry, I am sure he will be great at sharing his toys at day care! The left over balance will be great for all of the unexpected items that will suprise us new parents, like bullets, new make up(for me of course), Chad's new golf balls ect... Thank you so much for your continued love and support, I do miss you over here. Oh and when Harry doesn't sleep at night I will be sure to send him to your office to straighten him out!
Love,
Amanda
and Baby Harry

3 weeks until Harry

Hey DIAPER DAD!

On Saturday night Chad decided he needed to get "dad bag" ready! One of our good friends gave us there old diaper bags (the man would only carry this one). This is Chad's very own bag for Harry's s things. He chose the items he wanted in the bag and would not let me help. I was able to take a few shots, I am sure he will put all the things back in like he wants them! I know he will be the very best "diaper dad" for Baby Harry!

Showers of Friends

Kim CAME! It was so kind to have "my Kim" truck all the way to Bentonville for one of Harry's showers! It was icing on the cake having her there!

My shirt says "Deliver me Oh Lord" Psalm 140:1 and boy am I praying that right now!

Rachel and Kirk gave us my favorite gift (car seat cover)! She is one of my favorite people! All who know her well know how big of a heart she has! She even made sure my favorite desserts were there. She has been so excited about Harry's birth! I am so glad Chad made such good friends in school!

Pettifors and sugar cookies from Rick's Bakery!
Chad loves it when Harry gets anything with a Nike sign on it!
Dezi helped me open all of my gifts at the church shower! I am talking to my friend Holly! She is another one of those friends I just adore and feel she is a God given blessing to me! I prayed God would put girlfriends in my life here and she is more than what I asked for!

Harry and Brooklyn! Best Cousins!

Who will Harry look like?

Giving Thanks 4 Weeks Before Harry

I have tons of great pictures to post but, I thought I would just write a note, so I will remember how blessed we are! Tis' the season to give thanks! I will post pictures a bit later! This blog is by no means to brag, I just want to remember this humble feelings forever! You may see my pregnancy hormones soaking through this blog!
Harry was blessed with 3 wonderful showers over the weekend and we were showered with so much love, support and great gifts! We received every single thing we need and wanted! Our community group is throwing us a shower in 2 weeks and I did not know what to tell them to get us, we have everything we need! EVEN DIAPERS! Chad did the math and we have enough diapers for 4 months.....this could change, we will have to take some sizes back! Do we really know how many diapers is enough? We have over 1000 diapers!
The interesting thing about the showers is they were 3 completely different groups of people!

Our Friday night couples shower were some of our friends Chad has grown up with and their families. These people have taken me in and treated me just like I was part of their family! We always have fun with this group and let me tell you they are SHOPPERS! They are your group of friends that you KNOW will give you the stuff you really WANT, not actually need! We received my favorite things at this shower!

Sunday afternoon was our church family's shower. It was at a dear friend of mines house and 40 of our friends and family attended. I will end up writing 70 thank you notes just from that shower! This church family has taken us in and shown us more love and support than I will ever know. It is humbling feeling to have such excitement from your church family where you were not raised. It has been such a blessing to be involved in such an active congregation. I believe this family has given us (Harry too) some of our closest life long friends. Harry already has 5 friends who will be close to his age, their moms are super cool! We received all of the other things we NEEDED! Usually at church showers you get a lot of stuff you have to take back, not this one, only had to take back 2 outfits...because they were SIZE 5T! I am pretty sure the person who gave that to me assumed I would be receiving so many clothes I would need bigger sizes! One big hit was Harrison's gift to me, YES my baby sent me a diaper bag to the shower, he said he talked his Dad into buying me one of the diaper bags I wanted! It was a fun surprise and a precious gesture! I have 2 of the most generous and thoughtful boys in my family: Harry and Chad! I was so appreciative of the plethora of friends who attended the shower but, Kim coming to support Harry was one of my favorites! I treasure any time I get to spend with her! Chad and I are going to visit her and Adalie tomorrow in Tulsa (we have to get as much time as possible with our sweet Adalie)!

Monday was my school shower and boy was I impressed at how much my coworkers support the birth of Harrison! This shower was filled with books, gift cards, and diapers! Harrison will be clean and smart because of the staff at my middle school! It was so fun, the teachers put a lot of work into making it special for me and Harry!

Chad and I sat trying to sleep last night discussing how overwhelmed we are with the love and support Harry already has before his even born. I tear up thinking of all the people who care so much about us! We both have amazing families and wonderful friends!

One person I have realized I love and appreciate is Chad's mom. Sandy has to get the award for the most supportive and caring mom in law! She calls after ever doctor's appointment wanting to know every detail about it! She is constantly buying gifts for us and others. She listens to every detail of things not everyone else cares to hear about, like how I put Harry's curtains and books up. She makes sure we have not only what we need but, what we want. An example of this is that I wanted a shelf from Pottery Barn so bad and Chad made me wait so long it went off the market! She found someone who could make one like it especially for Harry's room! She puts thought into her gifts. She knew we really didn't need anything for Christmas so she offered to hire a house cleaner to come after I start back to work when Harry is here! If that is not a great gift to a new mom, I don't know what is! Well, the best gift she ever gave me was her son, of course! I want to give thanks for Sandy! I love her and appreciate her so much, I know she knows this, because I constantly tell her but, just a little more of a reinforcement of how blessed I feel to call her family!

Since I am the queen of planning, I can honestly say we are ready for a baby! Harrison's room is not COMPLETELY finished, so pictures may not be for a another week or so but, it is gorgeous to me and I am ready for him to come see it! I stood at Kohl's waiting to return an item and there was a baby waiting in line with me. I stared and stared at him just dreaming of having Harrison to wait in line with. It sounds so cheesy and so cliche but, I hadn't felt the huge desire to have him in my arms until today when i felt the relief of having all the items to take care of him confidently. I am so ready for this precious gift from God to be in my arms I can hardly stand it! Now I will be counting down the days! I have been working on my scrapbook (mine is digital, I am not good at cutting and pasting and I basically enjoy doing one from an online sight anyway) and the title is Here We Go Harry: Adventures of Chad, Amanda, and Harry Chapter 1! We have so many lessons to learn and journeys to go on together, I am thankful we have a family of loved ones to help us through them! Thank you to all the people who care so much for us. I pray I am able to show them our appreciation and love as much as they have shown us.

Suprise Suprise

My Bunko group is one of my favorite treats of the month and this month we decided to meet at PF Changs! I was already excited about the food, but the big excitement was that they surprised me with a shower for Harrison! They all gave him sweet cute gifts! Those Bunko girls know how to shop, there was no doubt they would have him in cool clothes! It definitely boosted my spirits to have some of my favorite girls surprise me!

Another big surprise was when my friend Beth surprised us with our car seat! Chad and I pulled in from church last night to find a huge box on our front porch! We raced to open it and there it was! It took us a while to realize who it was from but, we ripped the box to pieces and found Beth and Matt's name on it! I miss her so much, I can't wait until their next visit! Who would have thought Chad and I would be so joyful over a carseat! Times have changed!

I am so blessed to have such thoughtful friends!

35 weeks and a prediction!

Harrison is destined to be an ESPN junkie! He is already a generational Razorback and Cardinal fan before he is even born. Most people who know me, know that I come from a family of sports fans! I am a coaches daughter, my brother is graduating in May to be a coach, I have 3 uncles who are coaches, my granddad, great granddad, and great great uncle are were all successful baseball players, and my husband played college basketball! I would never put the pressure on any child to be an athlete but common sense would tell you that Harrison will be a lover of sports whether he plays or not! I am writing about this because the year of Harrison's birth 2 big things have and are happening to his favorite teams!

Cardinals won the World Series!






The Arkansas Razorbacks are in contention for a National Championship!







Disclaimer: Harrison's mom is by no means athletic nor does she consider herself a big sports fan, unless one of the teams above are playing in front of her (not on TV)or her love ones are coaching or playing in the game then she puts on her game face!

Harrison's future high school was on ESPN this morning as well! They were on for their awesome sports facility and programs! Just another plus on to my theory!

6 weeks left!

We had a first shower on Friday night! It was so nice to have Chad's office celebrate the birth of Harry!
Saturday was special because we met Caroline! Chad was love struck!
Some may think it is too early but, for this Warehouse we are ready for Christmas time!

Welcome to the World Caroline Brenleigh Dean

My brother and sister in law had their 2nd little girl last night at 10:30! Olivia has a sister who is 6 lbs and 13 ounces at a length of 20 inches! We are so excited for them, more pictures to come when we get our hands on her!

And a side note, Harrison had the hic-ups for the first time last night, what a treat it was for his dad and mom! I guess he was overwhelmed with excitement about his new cousin!