Diapers, Donuts, and Best Friends

We are getting closer to Baby K's arrival; Wednesday marked 33 weeks. Our friends and family have been so generous to help us get prepared! It still seems strange to me to see my name on a baby shower invitation, but isn't it so cute?!

The theme was diapers and donuts -- and we had plenty of both! I am so thankful to Megan and Sarah for hosting such a sweet shower! We sometimes joke that Megan has tried to 'steal' Sarah as her friend, but both are such special people to me; it's only natural that they too would become great friends! Over the years, we have had many fun nights with our guys and kiddos. We have had fun girl-time, too! Meg and Sarah put a lot of time and thought in to all the little details, and as moms themselves, I don't know how they did it!

Cast your vote: Pink or Blue?

To my surprise, Megan had asked Boomer some questions before the shower, and then she asked me the same questions. Surprisingly, I guessed a lot of his answers! We both said that I would be the one to say 'no', and we both felt our preparedness was at a '6.' Good thing he got the due date right! His answer for 'boppy' is pretty funny!

I realized as I looked around the room that there were special women from so many different circles of my life: childhood, graduate school, post-college, work, and family. How blessed I felt to have them all there to celebrate Baby K! It is amazing to know that these friends already love this tiny human inside of me and are just as excited as I am to meet him/her!

Can you spot the difference between the two pictures? Hint: there was a photographer swap!

Wake Girls (plus Julia, minus Christina!)

Matching baby bumps!

The hostesses

Baby K and I are so blessed to have these women in our lives. As the anxiousness and nervousness comes from time to time, I remind myself of the strong support system that is surrounding me. So many loving arms that want to hold Baby K, so many ears ready to listen to my worries and triumphs, and so many hearts that will share in raising this precious gift from God!

Future Deac (...if Tuition Goes Down!)

We had another 'first' this week: Baby Kennedy's first Wake Forest football game!

Baby K has already been to several sporting events, but this was the first time cheering on the Demon Deacons. We 'tailgated' beforehand at McDonalds with Meg, Zack, the boys, and Grammy, and then we made our way to the stadium to see Wake take on the Delaware Blue Hens.

It was the perfect temperature for football, and Wake won! We all got a laugh out of Zander's reaction to the Deacon riding out on the motorcycle. Zander loves motorcycles, so we thought he would be excited, and perhaps we built it up too much! All of the noise and hype music scared him just a bit -- needless to say, there were a few tears! He recovered quickly, and after that, he cheered "Go Deacs!" throughout the first half, until it was bedtime for both Zander and Maddox. Hopefully Saturday's game will be the first of many games for Baby K and its cousins!

Earlier that morning before the football game, Boomer and I went to Infant CPR class. Things are gettin' real! Boomer has been CPR certified for many years from working at the YMCA, but he was a good sport going to the class with me. He kept me laughing, that's for sure! It was very helpful to learn CPR, and I am praying that we never have to use it!

I also had another doctor's appointment this week, and again it was a good report (whew!) The baby is measuring right on track for 32 weeks. According to the website I've been reading, at 32 weeks, the baby is the size of a half-gallon of milk! I snapped a quick bathroom selfie before my appointment:

Home Sweet Home

Baby Kennedy was showered with love on Saturday! We traveled home to Morganton for a very special shower given by my best friends. The seven of us girls have celebrated many milestones together, and being with them again this weekend reminded me of how blessed I am to have these girls in my life. It was also very special to be home in Morganton. With Mom and Dad now in Kernersville, my trips to Morganton are fewer and farther between. Saturday was only a day trip, but I loved being 'home' for that little bit of time. There is no better small town in September than Morganton. Surrounded by the mountains and feeling the cooler weather of fall, there's Friday night football and then the downtown festival. Kernersville is beginning to feel more and more like home, but nothing will replace the town and the people of Morganton.

I didn't make it easy on my girls with not knowing the gender, but they pulled off the most beautiful gender-neutral theme of 'up, up, & away', with hot-air balloons in yellows, greens, and blues. Coley made the most delicious cake, and even Kelly's husband, Matt, helped with the table decorations, making the cutest mason jar hot-air balloons.

 
And if the decorations and food were not enough, there were so many gifts!

Friends and family came from near and far. There were so many special women in the room; many of them are mothers that I have looked up to over the years. It was fun to hear their stories of motherhood -- what a fun, crazy ride I have ahead!

Shawna was one of my first friends when moving to Morganton -- BFFs since 3rd Grade!

Surrounded on both sides by pro-moms, Meg and Liz have two little ones of their own! They were cracking me up with their stories!

The sweet hostesses

The Garland Girls and our moms

I am already praying for the people who come in to Baby Kennedy's life, and I pray that he or she is surrounded by uplifting, loving, and faithful friends like I have been blessed with. Of all the gifts I received on Saturday, the reminder of friendship is the greatest one!

One last picture from the weekend, Forbush pulled off a big win Friday night against the cross-town rival Starmount, snapping a 10-year losing streak! Mom and Dad went with me to cheer on the Falcons, and here's a quick photo from the few minutes that Boomer sat with us. (He stays busy during the games!) Forbush is now 3-1 and will take on East Wilkes next Friday. 

A Labor Day Miracle

We've been enjoying a labor-free Labor Day weekend! On Friday night, we were back at Forbush for their second home football game of the season. Before the game, there was a faculty tailgate, and I had the opportunity to meet a lot of Boomer's staff. The community at the school is really awesome. They have quickly welcomed Boomer and me into the Falcon family. Unfortunately Forbush lost to North Wilkes, and the Falcons are now 2-1. Next week Forbush travels to Starmount HS, the cross-county rival. It should be a big crowd!

On Saturday, we headed to the lake for one last weekend of grilling, boat-riding, and dock-sitting. It was beautiful weather! The temps were in the 80s, a nice relief from the hotter days we've had this summer and a hint of the cooler days to come this fall. We were a small group -- just Boomer's parents, Boomer, and me. Whether just a few of us or the whole Kennedy clan, the lake is such a nice escape. Boomer will usually still do a little bit of school work (there's always work to be done!), but mostly we all unplug and enjoy the family time. Sunday was Boomer's parents' 34th anniversary. It was fun to hear stories about their honeymoon and their first years of marriage. Cathy told us about how Boomer came 4 weeks early -- he's always been eager and impatient! :) If this baby is anything like its father, perhaps we should be ready for an October baby, just in case!

And now for the name of this blog post! Earlier this week, Boomer lost his college ring. Of course a class ring is very sentimental. We were both sick over it! He doesn't wear the ring all the time like his wedding ring, but he does wear it most days to work. When he takes it off, he may put it in his cup holder in his car, on the kitchen counter, or on the dresser. After spending several days of tearing the house apart and looking in all the usual (and unusual!) places, the ring seemed to have disappeared. I even called Balfour to see the process for replacing the ring. They had no record of the ring, and it all seemed hopeless. As a last ditch effort, I decided that I would look through the trash. Yes, the trash! We didn't take the trash out to the curb this week, so we had two bags of trash. It was a dirty job (and Boomer was quite skeptical!), but I thought it was worth a try. After going through the first bag, no luck. My hopes were pretty low as I started on the second bag. Getting towards the bottom, I heard a little 'clink'. Amidst K-cups, paper towels, and snack wrappers, there was the ring!

I really think it is a miracle that we found it! Even for small things like rings, God is so good to answer our prayers!

P.S. We think maybe I am the one that threw it away! Last week, I was cleaning out Boomer's car (what a nice wife I am!), wiping down the dashboard and throwing away any trash, and we think the ring was in the cup holder. Instead of bringing the ring in the house and setting it somewhere safe, I may have thrown it away with the other trash! We don't know for sure if this is what happened, but if it is...I'm blaming it on the pregnancy brain!