Stars and Strikes

We had been trying to plan a grown up date night for a while and finally managed to find a free Friday night to go out with our friends Matt and Becky. Matt's mom was in town and able to watch their kiddos so we headed to Stars and Strikes for a night of bowling! We met up for a yummy dinner and then hit the lanes for a few hours of friendly competition. The last time Linc and I went bowling I managed to score my absolute worst scores ever, so I was hoping to redeem myself this time around! Linc and Matt managed to be the high rollers of the evening, but Becky and I were close on their heels! Either way, we all had a great time and I hope to do it again soon!

Ready to hit the lanes!

Becky and Matt

At 34 weeks, I feel like I am carrying around a bowling ball all day long!
Glad to know I am a bit more proportional than an actual ball!!
* as a side note- I was unable to reach my feet to tie
the laces on my bowling shoes. This is a new first!

The wives of Blue Mammoth
Two words...Karaoke Bowling

Everyone but Linc got a strike on the first turn so he had to buy the drinks!

He still managed to cream us and broke 500 points in the fourth round!

Yay for date night!

"Showered" With Love!

This past weekend my awesome MIL and her friends threw us a baby shower! Poor Linc came down with a stomach virus the morning of the party so our plans to have out of town guests was spoiled, but we still managed to have a great time (or at least I did!!). Saturday afternoon I met up with everyone at our hostess' house for an afternoon of delicious food, fun party games, and some very generous presents! Let's just say that Carter is going to be one seriously well dressed baby and I feel even more ready for his arrival! I was so lucky to have both sides of the family there as well as all of Sherry's friends that have known Linc since he was little.

One of the games was to guess how big my belly was.
Jane Ingols came within an inch!

Sherry made this adorable diaper cake!
Posing with the g-mas- Bella and Hattie!

All of Carter's goodies!

Alex, Candace, and Hattie enjoying some yummy food!


Our hostess for the afternoon was Kathleen Brown
Jenny McClure won the baby food tasting competition!

Carter's library is now well stocked! Everyone was asked to bring
a book (instead of a card) with a message for our little man!


Admiring Carter's new laundry hamper made by Grandma Hattie
and showing off some of his new Cavalier game day wear!

Opening the Skip Hop Funky Farmyard from Aunt Vicky!!

It was the first thing I set up when I got home from the shower!

Sherry- thank you so much for all your support and encouragement these past ten years! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful mother in law and I can't wait for baby Carter to meet his Grandma Bella. I know you are going to be amazing with him and we're looking forward to having you stay once he arrives! You and your friends are so generous and I hope you know how much we appreciate that! I know not everything this weekend went as planned, but it turned out fantastic and I'm so happy we got to celebrate together! We love you! xooxox

A Nursery Project

I have had Carter's 12 week ultrasound photo hanging on the fridge for a while now and finally bought a frame to put it in! Target was having a huge clearance sale this weekend and I snagged two white (and slightly ugly/banged up) wood frames for $1.98. I also bought a few stickers and got to work making them a little more nursery friendly! I had some wraphia ribbon left over from something and made my own picture mats using sheets of scrap booking paper. I am really happy with how they came out! Linc requested that I put a picture of newborn baby Carter in the second frame- so hopefully someone remembers to take a vertical picture of him as soon as he's born!

These frames are now housed on the baker's rack in Carter's room!

I am going to paint something like "Baby's First Photo" on the bottom of this one
but I didn't have the right color paint (or a small enough brush)!

And just for kicks, I had to take a picture of the inside of some of Carter's drawers. We were able to fill the dresser with various odds and ends since all of his clothes are in the closet. I know for a fact that they will never ever be this organized again!!! Remember those diaper cakes we got at the shower? Well, they filled not one, not two, but three dresser drawers full!! I estimate it should last us...about a week ;)

Newborns and Size Ones are on the top

And there is a second completely full drawer of Size Ones!

We also have a drawer full of towels and washcloths.

Carter's Shower

On Saturday my family threw an amazing baby shower at my mom's club! The guest list included lots of friends, both old and new, and extended family. I was lucky that so many people were able to come in from out of town to attend the event and celebrate with us. Candace and I headed over to St. Ives in the afternoon and met up with my sisters, mom, and aunts who were all there decorating for the party. The room looked fabulous and every detail was carefully planned out.

One of the many diaper cakes and some of the presents set up!

Baby Hami napkins!

Each table had a diaper cake centerpiece!

The beautiful aunties- Kristin and Alex
Thanks girls for an amazing party!

So glad so many of my friends could come!
Courtney, Daniele, Becky, me, Halie, Jane, and Candace

Catching up and introducing everyone to each other!

Me with some of the Harvey Girls- Donna and Megan
and Aunt Alex having some fun!

After discussing it with my family, we realized that one of the least favorite traditions to any shower is the part where people open gifts, so the invitation explained to guests to bring an unwrapped gift so we could have more time to party!! Once guests arrived we enjoyed a little time socializing and catching up before moving into the Tapas buffet. The food was amazing and I ate everything (even going back for seconds thirds on the vegetable sushi!). There was a signature "Baby Boy" Mojito and open bar for everyone to enjoy.

I couldn't have any cocktails, but they looked yummy!

Welcoming everyone to the shower and flubbing up my toast...

Getting in some good cuddle practice with baby Leighton!

My sweet friend Courtney (who I have known for 14 years!!)
made the trip from Nashville! The last time I saw her was at her shower in
June when she was as far along in her pregnancy as I was this time!

Kristin and Alex came up with a fun name that tune game that we played while everyone had dessert. Every song had "baby" in the title and it was hilarious to see my mom's friends singing along and guessing the title and artist. The club provided some delicious treats, but nothing was better than Alex's homemade cream cheese stuffed cupcakes!! Guests were raving about them all afternoon and even took home the extras as party favors! Speaking of which, the favor table included items that would be useful to all the guests invited- Baby Hami golf and tennis balls! My clever mom decided it would be better for the favor to be something everyone could use, and pretty much everyone invited to the shower plays one of those sports!

Long time family friend Lynn O'Meally and Aunt Cindy playing name that tune!

Our fabulous party favors!

My gift basket from the Harvey's

This party would not have been possible without all the planning and hard work of my sweet momma! It wasn't until afterward, when we were all sitting around watching football, that we realized we never took a photo together at the party.

Mom---thank you so much for planning this event and seeing it through. You have been so generous with your time and energy during this pregnancy (which I know was not been easy) and I am SO lucky to have a mother like you. I can only hope that I can be as good to Carter as you have been to me over the years. I know you are going to make an amazing grandmother and I can't wait to see you form that special bond with each other. Thank you again for everything. I love you very much!

Introducing...

This weekend my mom and sisters threw an amazing baby shower (post to come) in honor of Baby Hami. We had many friends from all walks of life join us for the party and everyone was so incredibly generous. I had such a great time going through all of the baby's new things today and getting his room organized. Thanks to my sweet family for spending the day with us setting up everything we got and helping us decorate! We could not have done this without you.

Another big milestone this weekend was that we finally revealed Baby Hami's name...so without further ado, I will let the pictures do the talking!

Introducing: Carter Lewis Hamilton

Aunt Kristin hand painted and designed the
name canvases for his room! She is so talented!

We went with a nautical theme using tans, browns, and soft blues.
Kristin is also working on two canvases that will hang above the dresser!

Me and Aunt Kristin in front of her beautiful artwork!

Close up of our sweet boy's bedding complete with minky crib sheet!
Carter's talented and hardworking grandma made it all by hand!

Some of Carter's outfits (organized by size!)

We now have his infant seat, toddler car seat, and high chair ready to use!

So what's the story behind the name?

Lincoln and I have known Baby H's first name since September but we have debated on a middle name for this long! A few months back we were driving to my Grammy's 80th birthday in Hilton Head. While we were eating dinner on the road, Linc turned to me and said "What do you think of Carter?" Since then, we have called the baby by that name and nothing else we ever tried seemed to fit. Because Linc had chosen Carter's first name, he gave me free reign to choose the middle name. After months of testing out every name under the sun, I narrowed it down to three choices. Lewis happens to be my Grammy's maiden name and the front runner for middle name for a long time. I finally decided that nothing else would work and I really wanted to honor her and my mom's side of the family by keeping that name going! I am so happy to have finally decided and to have chosen a name that is very special to both Lincoln and myself.