Preparing for Cole

Yes, its official, we are not keeping our little boys name a secret.  Cole Joseph has been his name almost since the time we found out we were pregnant.  I think the reason we decided to announce his name and not the girls is because we had no doubt that nothing would change his name...we knew with certainty.

It has taken the full 9 months for me to feel prepared to welcome home my little man and I FINALLY feel ready!!  This past week I had my 38 week appointment and was sure that I was going to walk in and hear I was dialating and he could come at any moment.  BUT..this little guy is coming at his own pace and I am not dialating at all, so we wait :)  The good news is he will be here on January 24th at the very latest when I will be induced.  That means we are only a family of four for a week and a half!!!

Also this week, some friends from church hosted a little shower for Cole.  It was SO sweet and so fun to have an evening where I could mentally just focus on this new little boy!

My sweet friend Teresa planned our evening and we ate at Red Bowl (YUM!)

 

And had the most delicious cake pops!  They were SO good!!  Clare and Elle each had one the next day at lunch and agreed they were quite tasty!

 

I opened the cutest little boy things ever and some homemade gifts with Cole's name on them like a car seat cover, burp clothes, and things for his room.  I am so thankful that even though he is number 3, he has things that are just his own!!

 

I am so thankful for these sweet friends and their love for me and for our family!

 

We had such a great evening!!

 

And of course after getting some new fun things to put you in the nesting spirit, LD and I worked on finishing Cole's nursery over the weekend!!  I am so excited about how it came together.  I mentioned before, but my neighbor and sweet friend Melanie let us use her boy bedding, curtains, etc that she had with her 3 boys and I LOVE it!  It is so sweet and southern!

 

And my friend Kirsten (the most creative girl I have ever met), made me this photo board for his room.  She made one for Clare when she was born and that moved into Elle's room.  Clare has already informed me she is the only one without a photo board, so I think I'm going to have to put in a request to Kirsten.

 

Kirsten also made this cute little box...yes, she hand painted it, and friends all wrote little notes of encouragement and stuck them inside.

 

And then this weekend I worked on this little pinterest idea for over his crib.  I love how it all turned out!!  Now we are just missing our little boy!!!!

 

I am still in slight shock that I am going to go through this birthing and newborn process again, but I feel so ready to take on the challenge!  The girls are so excited and we have 3 weeks of help lined up with my mom, Vanessa and LD all taking a week.  I have never had more than a few days of help, so I am thrilled!!!

 

We cannot wait to announce the arrival of sweet Cole Joseph Jackson :)