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! 

Picture Perfect

So, todays blog post is a montage of Maternity pictures! I've been super busy today with work, and then once J. got home, he was ready for supper (which I didn't have prepared...that's another story for another day), then we ate dinner, headed to Louisiana Tech football practice (yes, 9 months pregnant....I'm devoted!). We got home, fixed a little bit of Tech Dairy yogurt (R.I.P. Tech Dairy), J. hung a shelf in Ryders room while I caught up on Big Brother, then I folded a load of laundry (trying to stay ahead before Ryder's arrival), and NOW, I'm FINALLY getting around to trying to meet my daily blog deadline.....I hope you enjoy!

Okay, so the first batch of them were taken by my fabulous cousin, Alyce Blackstone. She is a mom of 3 and enjoys doing photography on the side. I was so grateful when she offered to take our pictures. And, it worked out great when we were in Baton Rouge one weekend!

This next series is from one of my really good friends, Amy Hough. Amy and I met at Louisiana Tech, and became very good friends when we were on Orientation staff together. She is a very talented photographer, and has started her business, which she does in addition to her 'day job' as a jeweler in Little Rock, Arkansas. Something that I am so very excited about is that she is trying to make it to Ruston in time to capture Ryder's arrival in the delivery room. She will also be taking Ryder's newborn pictures as well!

I hope you enjoyed the images!

Again, thanks to my 2 wonderful photographers!!!!