Our Rory Leigh

Two posts in one week?! Is that even possible?!

Well, as I was flipping through some of my favorite blogs, I became inspired to do a post solely dedicated to our first "baby" - our pup Rory...since I'm sure her appearance in this blog will become less and less once baby girl arrives :)

Rory is a mess. She is very much puppy, while also convincing us she very much thinks of herself as a little person. I grew up with little fluffy dogs and always knew I wanted one of my own after I got married. Ricky promised me though that as soon as I got my first "big girl job" (reminder people: we got married right after I graduated ORU!) we could get a dog. Well, that lit the fire under me - in 2 months I nailed the perfect job for me and started hunting for the perfect pup. Somehow-someway - we came across Cavachons. They are PRECIOUS! I was sold! We found a breeder in Missouri and one Friday evening made the drive to go pick up our girl. The whole time, I was sooo nervous that she wouldn't be as cute as she was in the pictures the breeder originally sent us. Crazy I know since it had only been a couple weeks since we were sent the pictures, but honestly - look at these pictures. Could she GET any cuter?! I mean, the only way to go was down, right?! (What an optimist I am).

Lucky for me - she was just as cute as we hoped. Our sweet girl made the 5 hour drive home with us in her bed (in my lap) and proceeded to her crate once we got home. Lo and behold, as many puppy owners know, that first (or first few) night(s) can be a little rough. What did my sweet husband do? He laid out in front of her crate in the living room so she could see him while she fell asleep. (Which only makes me wonder how in the world he is going to handle having a little girl?!)

All that to say - we love our Leigh. (Full name: Loralei Leigh Gilmore Broughton. Yes, I LOVE the Gilmore Girls). And here are just some of the things we love about her:

1. She will NEVER not be excited to see us. Even if we just left the house for 5 minutes, she will greet us when we return like she hadn't seen us in years.
2. She has irrational fears of just about any inanimate object. Santa (including figurines, pictures, carvings...) - Yep. Baskets that her toys are in - Yep. Cardboard Boxes - Yep.
3. The highlight of her LIFE is when she hears her collar being dug out of the drawer. If you say "Rory, you want to go?" and put her collar on her, you better be ready to walk out the door because that girl will go CRAZY trying to wait for a car ride!
4. She doesn't let her disability get her down. Haha yep, you read that right. Soon after we got her, we realized one of her back feet only has 2 toes and an under-developed pad. Sometimes she will limp around a bit if she has pushed herself too hard on it, but she never lets it stop her from playing.
5. She is the best cuddler - she knows how to be the little spoon so well :)
6. She doesn't shed. Can I get an amen?!
7. I am her favorite person ever. I always joke to Ricky that I'm her bff - not sure why she prefers me so much more over him, but I enjoy it ;)
8. Her toy budget is minimum. That girl will play with a toy lizard that we got at Petsmart for $1 until it is literally a piece of fabric. And it will still be her favorite toy.
9. She squawks like a chicken instead of barks when she is excited and she snorts like a pig when she goes on walks with her leash because she strains herself from excitement. Seriously - it sounds like we live with a farm animal.
10. She will always be our first "baby" and helped turn two young newlyweds into a family.

We love you Rory!

Baby Shower Pt. 1

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted... Honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot of exciting things to report over the past month or so, and I hate to blog just to blog. But we'll get a catch up because there are a lot of exciting things ahead!!

Baby is 33 weeks along and doing great. At the last appointment, she was a little under 4lbs and still as active as ever! I am getting soooo anxious to meet her, but also appreciate the 7 or so weeks I have left with just me and hub. Work on the nursery is in full swing, but I feel like we still have so much to do! My wonderful hubs is putting in new baseboards, crown molding, and new doors along with painting, putting together the crib,  etc etc etc so it's taking a bit longer than expected. Once we have something to work with, I will definitely post some pictures! Guarantee - she will probably have the best room in the house. Little princess deserves it!

Hadley and I had our first baby shower last weekend and it was AMAZING! She definitely has a lot of people who love her already! It was crazy to think that many of the same people who were at my mom's baby shower for me were also at my baby shower. I am so glad our baby girl has such a wonderful family and support system in the same people who have supported me my entire life!

A few snapshots of the shower...

Just some of the yumminess that ensued...

A bow station for guests to make bows for Haddie girl. SUCH a cute idea. I love it because that girl will be rockin' her some bows!

Sister/co-hostess threw a gorgeous shower. We love our chevron, can you tell??

Notes on diapers for those fun midnight changings



Bestie with some of the many (pink!) gifts. Erin came all the way from St. Louis to help co-host and I am soooo glad I got to see her!! 

Other hostess Kara and me. This girl is a shower queen!! It may be awhile before we are throwing any baby showers for her, which is good because it gives us time to think of new ideas that she hasn't done before!!

Other hostess Steph and her awesome gift - this girl swears by this thing to help baby sleep!

One of the coolest things - probably ever. My mom had her wedding dress turned into a christening/dedication gown for all the grandkids to wear. All of their names and birthdays will eventually be embroidered on the inside. I've never heard of that before! This dress is BEAUTIFUL and I'm excited that Hadley will get to be the first to wear it!

Another week ahead, but you can't get to Friday without going through Monday first :) Thank goodness little one's growth week are based off Mondays so I have SOMETHING to look forward to. Have a happy Monday!!