BIG Reveals

Life has been a little busy lately. Catching up on my blog is something that I really plan on doing soon. In the meantime, I'll fill you in on a couple of big announcements in the Walpole household! 

So, baby Walpole #2 is on it's way, but what about a the gender reveal? 

We threw together an impromptuEaster Egg Hunt with family and friends to reveal the gender. My parents happened to be coming in so they were able to join in on the fun! It just so happened that Ryder (with my mom's help) found the 'golden egg'! Here's the egg that they found, and the surprise inside: 

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE being a BOY MOM! I have so much fun with Ryder, and look forward to Ryder having a baby brother that he will be best buds with. I look forward to watching them grow together, and build that strong brotherly bond. 

Now, on to the name. What's in a name?!?! We had a difficult time coming up with a name that just 'clicked'. I found one that I really liked, but J. wasn't 100% with it, and J. found one that he really liked, but I ended up nixing it. Then, one day when I was in PotteryBarn with my mom in Baton Rouge, J. called me and said "I know the name!". He mentioned it, and I smiled. The name that he mentioned had been on my list, but I had not mentioned it to him at that point, as I thought it may be too 'different'. But, we like different names. We always have. So, the BIG REVEAL: 

RIVER BRANTLEY WALPOLE

will be here on August 26th, if not before! We are already in love with this sweet baby boy and cannot wait for his arrival. Let me tell you, Mommy CANNOT WAIT! :) We started working in the nursery this weekend, and I am so excited that things are starting to come together. Oh, and thanks to Rachel at Peek-a-Bootique for the super cute canvas painting! 

In other news, as we have been working around the house, we've moved Ryder to his BIG BOY BED in his new room! He is really excited about it, and can't wait to show everyone his new bed! We did really well yesterday during nap time, with a 3.5 hour nap. Last night, we didn't do so well. It was difficult getting him down, but he did sleep all night until 7am. He wasn't feeling 100% yesterday, and woke up not feeling well. It's gradually gotten worse, and I'm thinking we've got a double ear infection on our hands, so sleeping well is not really in the cards. I hope to have a good progress update on him soon! I'll post pics of Ryder's Big Boy Room when it's finished....still working on details! 

In the meantime, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my sweet hubby, my wonderful daddy, and all of the other daddy's out there! 

The Big Reveal

You've been waiting patiently, and I've been withholding.

Finally, I will let you see the nursery.

But, not before you see the reason why I am so late getting this post up.

We just returned home from the 3oth celebration of 'The Happening'. It's kinda like the 'State of the Union' address, except more like the 'State of the

University' address for Louisiana Tech University, my alma mater. J. and I were excited to be able to be in attendance! Here are just a couple of images from tonights event. We had a great time and always love attending events, and supporting 'our school'. Tonight's guest speaker was Kix Brooks. What a fun surprise! Kix is a proud Louisiana Tech alumni and supports the University. He gave the audience a little mini concert to close out his time on stage. He sang "Red Dirt Road" and "Only in America". It was really great to hear him speak, along with Coach Sonny Dykes, our head football coach, and Louisiana Tech President Dan Reneau giving updates on the university and athletics.

So....here are the long-awaited images of the nursery. Just to tell you a little bit about the nursery, I picked a color scheme, and my mom and her sister, Pati, helped me find fabrics. Mom (with Pati's assistance) made all of the bedding and curtains. Mom and I made the bulletin board in Ryder's closet. The green pieces were furniture that was in my college room that J. and I painted a while back to match my college bedding....in the back of my mind, I always knew I would want to incorporate them into a nursery. The painted canvas above his bed is by my friend Rachel McGehee of Peek-a-Bootique. And the cross canvas is by my good friend Kristy Lonsberry! I'm still waiting on the dresser that has been on backorder from PotteryBarn Kids for over 3 months!!! So, there are still a couple of loose ends, and the items on the shelf are not definite, but I knew that all of you wanted to see pics....and I've only given a sneak peek via Instagram....so, here it is!

I'm so behind.....

I'm pretty embarrassed that I am so behind on my blog posting. Things have been pretty intense preparing for baby Ryder's arrival. And now, we are down to 10 days (or less) before he makes his grand entrance, and you haven't even seen the nursery. You haven't seen the stroller, pictures from my showers, or maternity images that have been taken. And I know this, because, you, my readers have reminded me over and over again!

I am making a vow to blog for the next 10 days to catch you up on all of the fun things that have been going on over the past few months. Disclaimer: If Ryder arrives before then, I am excused for a little bit, but will catch back up within the first week or so after his arrival.

Please accept my apology, and yes, I am setting a reminder on my calendar as I type to blog everyday for the next 10 days.

Thanks for your support and prayers as J. and I enter this new phase of our lives. We are so excited about a new adventure.

It's all setting in.....

When J. got home today, there were 2 packages on our front porch from Potterybarn Kids....

Woo-Hoo!!!!

When J. called me, I was little upset, not because they were there, but because I was told that I would receive a phone call on April 13th to schedule a delivery date/time.

One thing that I love about Ruston is that I don't really worry that someone would steal it off of my front porch, but it's just the fact of the matter. Anyway, my sweet husband waited until I got home before we opened the LARGE box!!! I was thankful he waited, because it was something that we got to experience together.

The first thing that we did once we took it out of the box, was inspect every piece. If you know my husband very well, you know that he pays very close attention to detail. Especially if the box has a gashing hole in the side of it, like this one did. So, once we found that there was no damage done to the crib, we began putting it together.

As the lady of the house, I took out the instructions and began reading them as I let my sweet hubby begin assembling the crib. It definitely took 2 adults, just as the instruction manual told us. So.... since I stepped away from the instruction manual, we got a little bit ahead of ourselves and put all four sides on before we put the mattress base in.

Oops! I just thought I had it under control.

We each were able to get our hands a little dirty,and put some sweat equity into the assembly of the crib. After a wonderful adventure of working together to put everything where it went, we finally did it!!!

The only problem now, is that it won't fit through the hallway and into the nursery. We assembled the furniture in the living room area, because there are still a couple of things that need to get done in the nursery before the furniture can all go in there. That was our reasoning. Which now means we will have to disassemble part of the crib to get it in the nursery.

That is just another problem for another day!

It is...all setting in that we will have a sweet little baby laying in this crib in a few short months. This crib will hold my child, not as dearly as I will, but certainly with care. As he grows from an infant all of the way to his toddler years. May this bed represent growth for my child in more than one way. I pray for baby Ryder that he may grow into a young man after God's own heart.