Japanese Tea Gardens

Although I would love for this baby to come, it has been so nice just hanging out with Eric this week, as he has been off school for spring break. I think this is the first break I have had the entire time off for. The weather has been AMAZING the whole week too - we have just been hanging out, going on picnics, laying out in the sun, going for long walks with Rocco, going out to lunch, etc. On Friday morning, we got up early and went to the Japanese Tea Gardens and the De Young Museum. It is the perfect time of year to go to the gardens, because everything is blossoming! It was so beautiful and it smelt divine - here are just a few pics we took:

Per Request...

I have had a lot of people ask me about the picture frames I made for the baby's nursery - so I thought I would make a post about how I made them. Then everyone will know how! I got my inspiration from Pottery Barn Kids. They sell them for around $200 a pop - I fell in love with them when I saw them, but I knew I could make them myself! Here are ones they have for sell right now - You can pretty much get all of the supplies you will need at your local craft store; they are - a canvas(you choose the size), a solid piece of fabric(about a yard), 1/8 yd swatches of various fabrics(Amy Butler and Heather Bailey fabrics work well), buttons, ric-rac(I ordered mine online so I could get the colors I wanted), iron-on adhesive(about a yard), fabric glue, spray on adhesive, staples with staple gun, an iron, a good pair of scissors and sewing pins. You will also need to get patterns for the shapes you will use. You can look on online, although I had no luck with this. You could also buy a coloring book and enlarge the pictures to your liking. I couldn't find what I liked, so I drew them by hand looking at these pictures from PB Kids - Step 1: Cut your patterns out. Doing it free-hand, I cut a piece of paper the size of the canvas out, drew my pattern and then cut it out. If you are layering, you will have to cut out a pattern for each piece! Step 2: Pick out the fabric you will use for each pattern. Cut a swatch out a little bigger than the pattern. Then cut out a swatch of the iron-on adhesive to match the piece of fabric. Iron the adhesive onto the back of the fabric. Pin your pattern to the front of the fabric. Cut out shape. Repeat for all pieces. Step 3: Lay your solid piece of fabric over the canvas and use sewing pins to outline the shape of your canvas. This way you will know the size of your canvas as you are ironing on you pieces. Step 4: Remove paper backing from each piece as you are about to iron them onto your solid piece of fabric. Start with the bottom pieces, then iron additional pieces on top. Step 5: Once all pieces are ironed on, coat canvas evenly with spray adhesive. Get a second person to help you lay the fabric on the canvas so you get it on straight. Don't worry, if you don't get it right the first time you can peel it off and try again. Once it is on straight, rub/push down fabric - make sure it is pulled taut! Use staple gun to staple fabric to back of canvas(you may need to trim some of the extra fabric off first). Step 6: Using fabric glue, glue on your ric-rac and buttons. If this all sounds too complicated or you are scared of using fabric, scrap-book paper is a great alternative! My friend Regan made these with scrapbook paper and they turned out adorable! You could even paint the canvas if you didn't want to leave the background white. You could also still use ric-rac and buttons if you wanted. I hope this helps - if you have any questions, just leave a comment!

The Nursery

Well, we finally have the nursery done! Here are the pic's of the final product - too bad we couldn't paint the walls, but I tried my best to make it as cute as possible with the boring cream walls!This is one of my great finds on Etsy!I am still waiting on a crib blanket and a pillow that will go on the chair. My mom has them made but I probably won't get them until she comes for the baby. These are "the projects" I worked on while I was in Sacramento - And now a BIG thank you to my Mom for making my adorable crib bedding - and these darling burp cloths! Now we just can't wait to get our little one HERE!

The Stroller...

I finally ordered this beauty... and I am so happy I procrastinated getting it. For some reason the price went down $130 and I am not complaining!

Baby Shower in Sacramento

My fabulous mother and sister threw me a baby shower while I was in Sacramento. The food was super yummy, the decor was adorable and my sister came up with some really creative games.I had to play one on my own - guessing what candy bar was in which diaper. It really wasn't that disgusting to me, but I am sure people were grossed out watching me! Here are some other random photos from the shower:

Opening Presents
My Mom, Sister and I
One of my best friends from Sac, Lindsey and I. She is about 11 weeks behind me and having a little girl!
And finally, but certainly not least, here is the diaper cake my mom and sister made. They made one for my sister-in-law too. They both were SO adorable, I have to post a picture of both of them!Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Mom and Rashelle. The shower turned out great and I really appreciate all the hard work you put into it!

Dear Grandpa...

I really loved coming to visit you in Sacramento. Thank you for playing tug with me and taking me to the river to go swimming. Thank you the most for getting me my stuffed duck. I sure did love the way it would quack at me. I had five fun-filled days of playing with it! But I have to apologize...I got a little carried away!Needless to say, I don't have the duck anymore. I promise next time I will be more careful. Loves, Hugs and Wet Kisses, Rocco

Gus and Rocco's Playdate

While in Sacramento, we met up with Rocco's bulldog buddy Gus. They played and played for two straight hours. They both were so exhausted, but would not stop playingRocco was a little bit of a bad influence on Gus - he would growl, bite and jump on Gus. By the end of their playdate Gus had caught on. We had to take several "time outs" once both were going at it. Rocco felt the need to "dominate" Gus several times by mounting him. I think he feels the need to do this, because Gus is now bigger than him. There was a time when such was not the case!There were a few quiet moments when both decided to rest, but they didn't last long!Thanks Gus for playing; Rocco can't wait till he gets to see you again!