Natalee Claire

Every year at Thanksgiving I spend some time remembering a dear friend who died in 2003. Natalee Claire was a fabulous and free-spirited friend I made almost immediately after starting college. We lived on the same hall and spent our first semester in a small, tightly knit group of friends. Unfortunately (for her loved ones) Natalee went to be with Jesus over the Thanksgiving holiday our sophomore year. Her amazing, though short, life continues to encourage me and many others, as her love for the Lord and for others left a legacy large enough to last as if she had lived to be 100. This picture is representative of how Natalee lived, but it also makes me thinking of how she must be living now in heaven. So this year, as every year, I am thankful to have known this beautiful girl!

DeBloom Designs...

Remember the gorgeous Pamela who hosted the fun and fabulous pie-baking contest in Nashville two weekends ago? Well I forgot to mention that she is a phenomenally talented crafter. Seriously, check out her blog and online shop here: DeBloom Designs and pic out some fun goodies for yourself or to bless someone with at Christmas!

Jamie Brant...

Would you look at this gorgeous couple?

Back in college I interned at First Presbyterian Church, North Palm Beach. I was blessed to meet these fabulous girls, Jamie and Morgan (here they are with me and bestie, Emily). I got the pleasure of being their small group leader and, after the graduated high school and I graduated college, we remained friends. They were both in my wedding party as well. See Morgan (far left front) and Jamie (far right front) along with me and my other gorgeous girl friends.

It's hard to believe that these gorgeous girls are now college graduates. Morgan is in medical school at NYU (she's a smartie), and Jamie just got marriage and bought a house in Charlotte with her hubbie, Trae. They had an absolutely gorgeous wedding on the roof of a hotel in downtown Charlotte on October 30. I was so blessed that Jamie asked me to be a part of her special day and never minded that I was seven months pregnant and barely able to cram my belly into the dress. Thank god for the other bridesmaids who helped zip it up!

Annaleigh Jane's Domain...

Adam and I were blessed today by baby shower #2, thrown by my darling friends at Emory Law. I, being my usual slacker self, failed to take any pictures, but hopefully some will be coming my way soon. Either way, unpacking all the beautiful gifts we received into the nursery made me realize that it is high time I post some pictures of the progress we've made in there. It's certainly not done, but it's getting close. This big guy is the literally GIANT panda bear from Aunt Ellie and Uncle Dave saving Annaleigh's place in her crib. We were at Zoo Atlanta admiring the baby pandas chow down on some yummy green bamboo the day we found out I was pregnant, so the nursery is black, white, and green as a special way for us to remember when we found out our baby bear was coming! Adam's parents bought us this beautiful cherry crib as our first baby gift. It was the exact one I wanted and will convert to a toddler bed and then full bed as our little one grows up. Here I am at 30 weeks and counting!

Another project I'm tremendously proud of is our changing table/dresser, which I found for a whopping $65 on craiglist, though it retailed for over $500 at BabiesrUs just a year ago. Originally it was dingy and white. With some help from my darling husband, we we able to paint it this fabulous leafy green color, add new iron hardware, and line the drawers with black and white drawer liner. I just recently added the bows to the draw pulls with some ribbon left over from baby shower #1 (thanks Aunt Emily!). For $40 worth of materials, I think it looks pretty Anthrolicious, don't you? As you can see, the drawers and shelves are quickly filling with the gifts that all of our dear friends have been blessing us with. Our little girl is going to end up having more clothes and shoes than her momma if our friends have anything to do with it!

Since our nursery will also function as a guest room when we have out of town visitors, we've kept the double bed in it. My friend Sarah helped me create a more "grown-up" friendly side of the room using some accessories I'd spent the summer acquiring. The print on the shelves above the bed is one we purchased from a street vendor in Rome when we were in Italy for Emily and Nick's wedding last May. It's of the Trevi Fountain. where Adam wished for a baby girl. To the left of the bed will go the antique rocker my mother used with me and my brother, which she is lovingly refinishing for us in addition to making custom bedding for the crib. (She is amazing, I know). Until the rocker is done, Annaleigh's stuffed animals (gifts from too many special people to list) are marking the spot. The bookshelves to the right of the bed are leftover from college, but I sprayed them white and Sarah helped me arrange some special photos and bins to hold books and toys. I think they looks really sweet without screaming to our guests "a baby lives here"!

My goal was to create a space that would be soothing a tranquil for guests, but still fun for baby. I knew for sure that I didn't want a nursery that was anything you'd

traditionally think of for a baby girl- nothing pink, so baby animals parading across the walls. Adam lovingly painted the walls a very soft grey that has just a slight lavender undertone, and I've accented the black, white, and green with a few touches of plum (throw on the bed, a couple accessories, etc...) All in all, I'm really pleased and can't wait for our little girl to arrive and check it out!

Babies, bellies, mustaches and pies...

What could these four things possibly have in common? Leave it to the Monaghans to work that out! Adam and I were thrilled when our dear friends, Ryan and Pam, invited us up to their Nashville home to have a long awaited reunion with them, their baby girl, Wyndham, and two other college friends, Brendan and Lisamarie. A little backstory- all six of us graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic back in the day, and all six of us got engaged and married the same year. In fact, Ryan and Pam's anniversary is just one week before ours. Ryan, Pam, Brendan, and Lisa were all in mine and Adam's bridal party, circa June 2007.

~~~~~Newlyweds~~~~~~

Fast forward three years, and Ry and Pam are proud parents of this beautiful girl, and Lisa and I are both expecting. It was so much fun to compare baby bumps and get some great mommy advice from Pam. Ryan and Pam are amazing, laid-back parents a great example of how Adam and I hope to be with Annaleigh.

We're really looking forward to the spring when we can reconvene plus two extra additions, Annaleigh Jane, and Brendan and Lisa's little boy, Mason James, who is due just two and a half weeks after Annaleigh! Here Lisa and I are flaunting our baby bumps. Mason and Annaleigh already love each other.

Now what do pies and mustaches have to do with all of this? Well, it's a Monaghan tradition to host a pie baking contest in the fall. The women bake pies and the men judge. The men are given very special disguises (i.e. mustaches) so they can discreetly choose to vote as they please and not feel obligated to vote for their wife's pie. As you can see, our husbands all took the judging process very seriously.

Coming up next... the gorgeous Jamie McCluskey gets married and I am a prego bridesmaid for Halloween!

Baby Shower...

Back in October I was blessed to have some of my dearest friends throw me a baby shower. It felt more like a flood than a shower- there was so much love and so many lovely gifts for little Annaleigh, and she's not even here yet! Three of my friends (Emmy, Kiki, and Jamie) even came in from out of town to join the fun. Em brought her new hubby, Nick, so Adam would have a friend while we were occupied with girly shower activities. It was a fabulous weekend. (Photo: Jamie, Susanna, Kiki, Me, Melody, Emily)

Kristin (Aunt Kiki) is headed to India this spring, so she decorated a sweet onesie for Annaleigh to wear when we Skype to keep in touch. If you can't tell, it says "Someone in India Loves Me!"

On Sunday we all went out for a chilly ride on Susanna's family boat. Even my mom joined in the fun and we snuggled to keep warm. She's excited to be a grandma soon!

Adam, Nick, Kenny, Susanna, and Melody even braved the cold water for some wake boarding. I (wisely, I think) chose to refrain- that water was coooooold! Even so, it was great to get out with so many good friends and enjoy some gorgeous fall weather.

We also got to try Flip Burger on Saturday night, which I had been dying to check out. The chef is a former Top Chef contestant, and these burgers were AMAZING. Nothing like a burger and fries to make a prego happy, right? If you're ever in Atlanta I highly suggest you try. Doesn't everything sound delicious? http://www.flipburgerboutique.com It was!

Until next time...

Ooops...

So... I kind of forgot that I had a blog. Well, I knew I had it, but, per my last post, I'm a terrible procrastinator and just kept putting the updates off. Since the last post my life has settled into a general routine of work and school and work and school. Thrilling, I know. However, I was blessed last month to have many of my dearest friends come celebrate Annaleigh's impending arrival by throwing a baby shower for me. (Pictures to follows soon- promise). I'm in full nesting mode, unpacking all these tiny, frilly outfits into the nursery, washing crib sheets and blankets, and trying to teach the kitties not to sleep in the crib!

Meanwhile, final exams are looming just around the corner, and it's officially time for me to lock it down in the library for the next month and half- I'm sooooooo excited, can you tell? Thus, I will break up my long study days by blogging, so be looking forward to the upcoming posts:

1. My baby shower and reunion with college besties

2. McCluskey Brant wedding extravaganza

3. Trip to Nashville to meet baby Wyn and see the Downing baby bump

4. Pictures of Annaleigh's newly redecorated nursery