Hometown Shower

On June 12th, a group of my mom's best friends and family members threw a shower for Baby Olivia. It was perfectly sweet and girly and completely overwhelming! Olivia is already an abundantly blessed (and spoiled!) little girl. Sadly, I didn't get a picture with the amazing hostesses, but I want to thank Mrs. Cheryll, Mrs. Pam, Sue-Mama, Mrs. Karen, Mrs. Kandis, Mrs. Pat, Aunt Sara, Aunt Donna, and Mrs. Nancy for all their hard work and thoughtfulness! They served ice cream with all the fixings to make a perfect-for-preggos sundae, scrumptious mini cupcakes, and the most refreshing pink lemonade! Cool fact: my mom's friend, Mrs. Cheryll, who graciously opened up her home for this shower for me, is the same special friend that opened up her home for the baby shower for my mom when she was pregnant with me!

Sadly, a few of the pictures are blurry, but you get the idea...

Lots of super cute clothes!

I had a few helpers throughout the day too...
My sister, Anna, and her friend Abbey, my niece, Kinley...
the Porch girls, and the not-so-little anymore, Miss Caroline!

Besides a lot of precious outfits, we did get a few things off our registry, too!
Thanks to Becca and Tyler for our bumbo seat and tray!

One of the sweet ladies that came to the shower, Mrs. Dana, gave Olivia a beautiful handmade quilt that matches her nursery.
It says, "Eat... Play... Sleep... Repeat..."
Check out that baby bump too! Haha :)

My aunt Donna and Mrs. Nancy are so creative and thoughtful... and they wanted to make sure Brian felt included in the shower festivities... They put together the perfect "triathlon-themed" gift for the father-to-be. The doll has running shoes and a swimsuit on, and the bike came with a personalized helmet, water bottle, and Barbie bell!

A few weeks ago, I saw a picture of a hand-painted canvas online that gave me some inspiration for Olivia's nursery... kind of like Royalty/Princess, but the daughter of the King-type, not the spoiled diva-type. On the website, the canvas was in the wrong colors and I wasn't sure if we had enough time to order something custom from the website anyway, so I talked to my mom about hiring the art teacher at Covenant to do something for us... When I opened the canvas at the shower, I was immediately shocked that it was already done... but was even more shocked when my mom told me that my sister had painted it!!! I couldn't speak. Anna is very creative and does impressive doodles with markers, but painting on a canvas?! Are you kidding me?! It's ridiculous! ..and so much more meaningful that Aunt Anna made it for Baby Olivia! I can't wait to find the perfect place for it in the nursery...

Work Shower

On June 9th, one of my co-workers, Amanda, hosted a shower for me. We went to Uncle Julio's.. yum! The girls were so generous, and it really made me so excited for Olivia to get here! She needs to get started wearing all the cute clothes she's been given! Haha :)

The table of gifts mid-opening and the spread

The cutest little Baylor diaper cover and tutu... Sic 'Em Bears!

Erika and Audrey

Lauren and Sherrie

Robin and Ashley

And Amanda... the sweet hostess! Thanks again!

The Only Girl

Olivia is the only girl. That's right, the only one. Out of all the people we know who are having babies in the near future, Olivia will be the only girl. Isn't that crazy?!

First, Courtney is due June 6th with Wyatt Christopher, then Lindsay is due June 17th with Hudson Spencer, next Remy is due July 1st with Tucker Bradley, next Abby is due August 1st with Rhett Mickey, then Jenni is due September 14th with Kade Andrew, then Becca is due September 28th with Casen Tyler, and finally Dani is due October 8th with Graham Brockman.

I'm so excited for all these friends, but a little sad that Olivia won't have a girlfriend to play with when we get together with any of these people.

She'll sure have her pick of cute little boyfriends, though! :)

What's in a name?

So... it was completely last-minute decision, but for Mother's Day,

Brian and I decided to announce Baby Girl's name!

Sometime around July 22nd, we will be so excited to meet...


Olivia Lynn Ballard


Isn't it perfect? And beautiful? And girlie? And old-fashioned? :)

We really thought we were going to keep it a secret until she was born. I was worried about people's reactions. I was excited about the idea of having a surprise at her birth. And let's not kid ourselves... I love the idea of knowing something that everyone else doesn't know! :)

Brian and I have thought for a while now that we knew what her name would be, but wanted to make sure that we didn't come across something that we liked more. But Olivia Lynn stayed at the top of our list... and the more we use it, the more we love it.

If we were having a boy, his name would be Owen, so an "O" name for a girl was my first choice. The list is pretty short, and I love the way Olivia sounds and how it looks when it's written! Using Lynn was pretty much a no-brainer. It is a family name on both sides. It looks really pretty when it's written too! :) Haha!

So, thanks to everyone, in advance, for being excited for us!

Our 3D/4D Ultrasound

So... we weren't originally planning on doing one of these type ultrasounds... Not that there's anything wrong with them. They basically just kinda creeped Brian and I out. The fact that technology has advanced in the last few decades to the point that you can literally see what your baby will look like is amazing and, frankly, scary at the same time. But.. due to a miscommunication between us and my doctor following our 20-week ultrasound, we didn't get a sonogram we thought we were going to have 4 weeks later. She told us at that point we wouldn't have another one (assuming that everything continues to progress smoothly) until 36 weeks. 36 weeks?! That's almost full term! That's too far away! Brian especially was disappointed... I think because he doesn't get to feel her or have to watch his body change because of her, like I do. Seeing her through a sonogram helps him connect even more. So, he sweetly asked for an sonogram for his birthday present, and it didn't take any convincing for me to agree to that plan!

So last Thursday, April 28th, we met at First Vu Imaging in Plano and got to see our Baby Girl again... and she was much more cooperative this time than she was at our 20-week sonogram. I stopped by Sonic on the way to the appointment and got a Cherry Limeade thinking that the sugary drink would make her more alert for the appointment and I think it worked! She loves Sonic drinks, just like her mama!

I have no idea how to read this sonogram..
but I'm happy to have one more confirmation that we are having a GIRL :)

Here she is!
All the shadows and blurry features are typical...
They are only able to focus on a small area at a time.

In this picture, she is holding the bottom of her foot up against her cheek.
She even tried to put it in her mouth while we were watching.

Over the course of the 15-minute appointment, we watched her yawn, open her eyes and blink several times, purse out her lips, stick out her tongue, and smile. It was incredible! I just kept saying "This is crazy..." and Brian was pretty much speechless. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was so much more! We text messaged pictures to our families and they were pretty impressed too... I think she looks like my sister's baby pictures, and she'll be pretty lucky if she turns out to be as cute as her Aunt Anna!

Baby Girl Ballard Update

Even right now, as I start to type this update, Baby Girl is movin' and groovin' in my belly... She must have liked those snickerdoodle cookies I ate earlier! It's still crazy to me sometimes, but I love it! So blessed to be part of this miracle happening inside me.

Recently Brian has been working down at the TI office in Richardson more often, and it's pretty close to my office. One day we decided to ride together, and on the way back home that evening, he suggested we stop and get ice cream... Hmm, let me think about it.. okay! I guess we're old enough now to ruin our dinner if we want to :) I loved the logo for this local ice cream shop, and just had to take a picture under it! Doesn't the phrase "Ice Cream Makes You Pretty" make you want to eat more ice cream? It was good ice cream, too. If you're in the Plano area, check out Henry's Homemade Ice Cream!


Once Brian got back from his 3-week trip to Taiwan, I gave him about a week to re-adjust to life back in America... his body clock was off by 13 hours... but then it was Honey-Do List City! :) First on the list: Baby Furniture Shopping! At one point, we went to Pottery Barn Kids, and the picture below is proof that he was a good sport throughout the "torturous experience". (By the way that is a Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack he's sporting... super cute, if I do say so... the boy and the bag.)


We also made our way to Lonestar Baby, which is where we found our furniture. I had been looking online for several weeks and had narrowed things down to two different brands/collections that I was interested in checking out. I wanted to be able to touch them and see them, though, and this place had them both in one store. We ended up ordering 4 pieces from the Ragazzi Classico Collection in Snowdrift.. just a fancy name for white :) We got the convertible crib, the 6-drawer dresser, the hutch, and the nightstand. Here are a few pictures from the website.



I've also been trying to decide on bedding for Baby Girl, and it's been an emotionally up-and-down process. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to make the perfect decision, and really thought I was going to mess up. Last weekend I realized that I just needed to make a decision and get the process of decorating started. From the beginning, I thought I was going to use apple green and a few shades of pink... but then again everything else in my house is green! I started to talk myself into thinking outside the box a little bit... I also noticed that a lot of the fabrics I had been looking at seemed better for an older girl, not a baby. I ultimately decided to go for more sweet than cute :)

Originally I found the bedding I chose online at Sweet Peaches, but my mom found it semi-locally at a baby store in Rockwall called Wee Dreamscapes (very cute little store, by the way). On Wednesday, she and my Nana and I drove out to Rockwall to look at it in person. Turns out, they had it on display in their store so it was on clearance, and they offered me an extra 10% off if I would take all the pieces. I was tempted by the deal, but I wanted to see it on white furniture before I made my final decision. They had it displayed on a brown crib, like the picture below. The lady at the store obviously wanted to make the sale, so she completely undressed her white crib display and put the bedding I was looking at on it. As soon as I saw it all together I said, "I'll take it!" :)


We also found the perfect glider at Lonestar Baby the same day we ordered our furniture, but since I hadn't picked out the bedding yet, I wasn't sure what fabric to get put on it. Now that we have the bedding decided on, I need to go back and get the chair ordered. I love that it looks like a recliner, but it's still a glider. We'll be getting the ottoman too.. don't you worry!


I think that about does it for an update... We are going for an 3D/4D sonogram next Thursday, and then we have a regular dr's appointment the following Wednesday. Can't wait to see our Baby Girl again! Here's a picture from Week 27.

A lot to catch up on..

First of all...

IT'S A GIRL!

Wow! Can't believe it took me so long to post that! On March 1st, Brian and I went for our 2nd sonogram appointment. We were so excited to just see our baby again, but couldn't wait to find out pink or blue! The sonographer took lots of pictures and we also have it all recorded on a video tape. Now we just have to get it on a CD or DVD so we can actually watch it! :) She said that she's been doing sonograms for 16 years and she's never been wrong, so we're going to trust her and start getting ready for a baby girl. The rest of the doctor's appointment went well, too. Still having heartburn issues, but I'm managing it with Zantac and lots of cold water. Everything was measuring great and my weight gain was right on track. Here's a little comparison...

Week 10

Week 20

That night we had a party at our house to reveal to our family and friends what we had found out at our doctor's appointment. The week before I had arranged with a local bakery for us to be able to call after we found out the baby's gender and for them to get started on a cake for the party. The outside was to be all white, but the inside would be either pink or blue. We had pizza and salad planned for dinner, but I kept suggesting that we just have dessert first! We finally made it through dinner and took pictures of everyone dressed for Team Pink or Team Blue. It was pretty evenly divided, but Team Pink might have had an edge. Then it was time to cut the cake... The anticipation was mounting and everyone screamed as the piece of cake fell. That moment was so fun and we appreciate everyone being so excited for us! Bring on the ruffles and bows!














The very next weekend I had a conference in Houston for the Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association. I was gone from Wednesday night until Saturday night. The conference was fine, I was able to see several friends (including Courtney Broaddus, who was sweet enough to bring me maternity clothes to try), and I got my continuing education units taken care of for the entire year... but the most exciting part for me was getting to really feel Baby Girl kick! I had been feeling flutters and slight movements for about a week or two before that, but I was waiting for a legitimate kick or poke... and I got what I was waiting for! So awesome... and let's be honest, weird! But as weird as it is, I'm so thankful to have another regular reminder and confirmation that she is continuing to grow and develop inside me.

A week later, Brian left for Taiwan for a 3-week business trip. He left on March 13th and didn't get back until April 1st. It was such a long time! It was difficult at times, but we both made it through, and the time apart made us realize how much we love and appreciate each other. When he came back, I pretty much just stared at him all weekend :) He sent me this pretty flowers while he was gone with a card that said "Missing you from around the word."




I do have a fun story about the day he left though... He got up really early Sunday morning and drove himself to the airport. I slept in until about 10 or 11, then got up and started doing things around the house. About 1 o'clock I realized I was a little bit hungry, so I decided to drive up to Subway to get a sandwich. As I was ordering my sandwich, I realized I was getting a little hot and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I only got hotter, though, and as I stood at the counter handing the lady my credit card, I realized what was happening and told the lady, "I think I'm about to pass out". She just stared at me. Thanks a lot. I started walking away from the counter to find a place to sit down. There happened to be a chair not far behind me, beside the drink machine, and I sat down just as I blacked out. I was only out for a few seconds or so, but as I came to there was a customer in line telling the employee to get me some orange juice. At this point, I was shaking uncontrollably and had broken out in a cold sweat. I did start to drink small sips of the orange juice she handed me and I found myself eating a sugar cookie, although I don't remember how I got that. One of the employees asked me if they needed to call someone for me, and at first all I could say was "My husband is on an airplane...". A few minutes later, I got my bearings enough to call my sister-in-law, Loree. I felt bad asking her to come get me because she would have to bring along her two kiddos, but she lives the closest to me and I knew she would understand my predicament. She took me home and I ate my sandwich and felt more and more like myself as the day went on. I even took Mia on a walk back to the Subway to get my car before it got dark. I learned my lesson, though, and have not gone so long without eating anything. Even if I'm not hungry, I eat something for breakfast and don't eat lunch later than noon. I haven't passed out again, or even felt faint, since then... just gotta keep my blood sugar up!

While my sister, Anna, was on Spring Break and Brian was in Taiwan, she came to stay with me a few nights.. partly to keep me company and partly to give her something to do while my parents were out of town, but mostly for some sweet sisterly time! She is growing up so fast and I love getting to hang out with her one-on-one. She's so funny and so excited about the baby. I can't wait for Baby Girl to get spoiled by her Aunt Anna! Even though I had to work during the days, we managed to fit in some shopping, some movies, a trip to the dog park, and a pedicure. Our friend, Hannah, came to the house to keep her company during part of the time I was at work, and I know Anna loved that too. Love you, Sis!

We haven't made much progress on the nursery, but we have cleaned it out... Now that we know it's a girl and Brian made it back from Taiwan, our to-do list is definitely going to become more of a priority. I am currently deciding on fabric for the bedding and narrowing down my choices for furniture. Once we get the fabric chosen, we can talk about paint colors and decor. I'm excited, but a little overwhelmed by all the choices we have to make. I keep reminding myself to take one thing at a time, and that the "stuff" is not the most important part. It'll all work out!

If you're still reading this, bless you! We've almost caught up to the present... Yesterday, we had our 5th OB appointment. It was just a regular check up, and everything was still progressing smoothly. I have officially gained 15 lbs overall, which is right within the normal range. Obviously, as a girl it's hard to watch the numbers go up on the scale, but I know it's for a good reason and want to do what I can to help our baby grow strong and healthy. I haven't had too many food cravings, but I still don't want to eat some of the foods that I ate while I was experiencing morning sickness. I am wearing all maternity clothes, and sleep is still okay. I do get up every night to go to the bathroom, but I fall back asleep quickly, so it's not too bad. Every time I start to complain about something pregnancy related, I try to remind myself that it'll all be worth it when we see Baby Girl's face! The picture below is a beautiful self-portrait from Week 25. Pardon the mess on the counter... I will try my best to get a good one in front of the fireplace this weekend! :)