orange gourd-like squash

Sunday we got together with the best neighbors ever - they are such good neighbors that even though they aren't true neighbors anymore they still get the best neighbors ever distinction in our book. 

While we were at the balloon festival on Saturday, they went to a pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins.  They were nice enough to pick one out for me too!  Mine was the biggest pumpkin something about resembling my belly or something.  There was also a pumpkin for Baby Shirley that was baby size.  We had awesome weather to be outside carving our masterpieces.  We had a great time and dinner was fantastic afterwards.  Ohh and I made an apple crisp with some of the apples we picked a few weeks ago - I LOVE that stuff.

We tried to mimic my maternity halloween shirt with our  pumpkin design - how did we do?

Balloon Fest - Take 2

You may remember we tried to go to a balloon festival last spring - the weather didn't cooperate with us then but this weekend was a different story.  The weather was perfect for the balloons to take off.  We saw around 50 inflate and leave the ground within 30 minutes of eachother.  It was pure chaos - people and balloons everywhere.  Did I mention all the people?  The crowd was the biggest the festival had ever had and there were lines for tickets, lines for food (tickets required for food purchases), lines for the port-a-potties, you get the picture.  Lines aside, it was a great afternoon.  At the end of the night there was a balloon glow where all the balloons light up at the same time.  We witnessed the glow from a line, of course, and then got to walk through them as they were all lit up to get back to our camera.  Luckily, they weren't completely done by the time we got back to our seats and we were able to capture a few pictures.

Take a look -

Sunday was our pumpkin carving day....check back for pictures later this week.



Takeover

There's been a baby takeover at the Shirley household.  And the baby's not due to arrive for another two months!  No complaints here - but what did we do before we spent Saturday afternoons putting together a pack and play, a car seat, and a stroller?  What did we do before we spent a few hours on a Sunday organizing a nursery, washing loads of baby laundry, and sorting baby clothes by sizes?  And what used to take up all the space now filled with the previously mentioned car seat, pack and play, clothes, towels, etc?

I don't know the exact answers to these questions but I do know those old answers don't matter. 

The new answers, well those answers, they matter a whole lot.

One last question - aren't these winter socks great for the winter baby we are going to have?



Capturing the Bump

An afternoon photo shoot with my parents.

 Family Shot. 

 The grandparents to be.

Dad and I after church.

Me and Mom in the park.

Goofing off.

All Aboard.

 Awww.

 

All I have to say is - "Woah, when did the bump get so big?"

Classic belly shot.

Loved

 This past weekend we went up to PA for a family and friends-so-close-they-should-be-family shower.  We had a really nice time visting for the long weekend.  My mom, sister, cousins, aunts, nana, friends, etc all helped out and threw a really lovely shower for us.  There was lots of good food and treats galore. 

Here's a picture of the room decorations.

Table favors and centerpieces. 

Making the rounds and saying hello.

Coolest gift ever - the PeaPod. 

This baby is now ready for the beach!

"You think my belly is how big??" 

Mom gave me two of the same thing in different sizes because it matches the colors of the nursery so well.

It was good for a laugh or two about twins!

So I threw my husband a curve ball, in the form of a stuffed giraffe, a cloth diaper, and two pins.

He manged to get the cloth diaper on the four legged giraffe,

 although he fussed about four legs not being a fair test.

I believe his comment was that the pins aren't too sharp when he stuck himself. 

See the puff quilt my aunt made - I can't wait for Baby S to enjoy it!

So it was back to work on Tuesday for us.  Amid the chaos of a crazy fall season, my co-workers managed to surprise me with a baby shower at lunch today! 

Here's the cake they made!  I love all the crazy colors.

One thing for sure is that Baby S is loved and blessed already. 

Thanks to all - you guys are the best!

Apples, Apples, Apples!

We followed the signs.

We followed the rules.

We found apples.

We found lots of apples.

We made friends.

We made comparisions.

We are at home now with lots of apples, a little bit of sunburn,

and one tired girl who really wants apple crisp but thinks it will have to wait

until tomorrow because well she's tired!