Week 34: "Up" Shower and Babymoon

This week absolutely flew by, which was a blessing because Austin and I spent most of it in eager anticipation for our trip to Nashville this past weekend! Why is it that when you have something you're looking forward to, time typically drags by?

Austin, of course, worked this week while I was at home nesting. Before this week, I didn't understand what nesting really is. I'm sure it manifests itself in different ways for different people, but for me, I have had the overwhelming desire to deep clean EVERYTHING!!! It totally came out of nowhere. One second I was in the kitchen refilling my water bottle and the next I was scrubbing the drip pans from the stove with a baking soda/dish soap concoction I found on Pinterest. I also took everything off the refrigerator so we could decide what to throw away and keep, but I just wanted a clear refrigerator more than antyhing! It makes the kitchen seem so much more organized and clean! Another moment was the silverware drawer. I washed every piece of silverware (and the drawer divider) and stacked them neatly in each compartment. I think that urge struck when I was putting away clean forks from the dishwasher. Earlier in the week, I dusted every wooden piece on the first floor with Pledge. Craziness.

The great challenge in this nesting business is my physical stamina keeping up with these crazy cleaning sprees. There were definitely some days that I overdid it. I don't think I'll be crawling around on the floor dusting low parts of cabinets again anytime during the next 6 weeks....

The nesting helped the week go by and then it was time for us to go to Nashville for a baby shower!

My lovely sisters-in-law, Leslie and Arica, worked so hard to make the shower special and they definitely succeeded. It was "Up" themed and all the details were perfect!

Arica made this adorable little "Up" house! 

Leslie made this jar look just like the one from the movie- she even traced the writing so it looks exactly like the "Paradise Falls" sign. So cool! The money in it is designated for diapers :-) 

I loved all the food and details! The balloons attached to the basket with the baby doll (for Claudia) was so cute! There was delicious fresh fruit, strawberry cupcakes, mini crustless quiche and cookies. Pink! 

This just looks like it should be in a magazine! Such a beautiful spread and I loved the pink roses in the middle! 

Arica made the awesome "Adventure is Out There" canvas that was prominently displayed over the fireplace! Leslie made the bunting out of beautiful fabric. She even made one (that I'm blocking) that has Claudia's name on it! 

They set up a comfy recliner with these cute balloons where we opened our presents! They also had "Up" playing in the background throughout the party. 

With Gran Gran :-) 

With Grandmomma and Grandaddy

With Arica and Dylan! Don't we look bright and cheerful? :-) 

With Adam, Leslie, Ailidh and Ewan :-) We can't wait for Claudia to meet her cousins! 

With sweet friends, Morgan and Victoria! Glad they could be there to help us celebrate! 

We enjoyed getting to spend time with everyone and felt so blessed by the lovely gifts we received for Claudia.

The second half of the weekend was our "Babymoon"! We wanted to go somewhere not too far away from Jackson but where we would still feel far away from normal. So, Nashville seemed the obvious choice!

Austin took me out on our second date in Nashville, which also happened to be my 23rd Birthday. That date was so perfect and a part of it was walking around 2nd Avenue downtown. On that date, we talked about going to the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant and The Melting Pot together, but we never made it. Before this weekend, anyway :-) 

After sleeping in (which is increasingly necessary these days), we had a delicious lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I had never been and Austin requested for us to sit in the trolley :-) I loved the food and the atmosphere!

Following lunch, we walked around 2nd Avenue until our reservation at the Melting Pot. We rested in the alleyway connecting 2nd Avenue and the riverfront. :-) 

35 Weeks and ready to pop! 

The Melting Pot was so romantic and fun! This picture was taken by the hostess and was posted on their facebook page :-) 

Our delicious dessert! We ordered the milk chocolate to dip everything in. SO GOOD!!! 

Following our amazing dessert, we did something else we've wanted to do since we got married. We checked in as guests at the Opryland Hotel! :-) We went there 2 years ago to look at the Christmas lights and were so excited that got to stay there! 

For the rest of our Babymoon, we enjoyed the pool, relaxing in the room, walking around/exploring the hotel and ordering room service! It was a much needed getaway and we returned to Jackson feeling refreshed and even more excited about Claudia's arrival!