Happy Halloween and Blessing Day!!

This has been such a great week. So many fun Halloween festivities all week long in beautiful Charlottesville and then Lincoln's blessing day yesterday. The blessing was wonderful. Some of our good friends from work and school who aren't members of the church were able to join us and the spirit was very strong. Ryan and I both bore our testimonies and thanked Heavenly Father for Lincoln and the wonderful blessing he is in our lives.

Lincoln wore the same outfit Uncle Harley cousin Anderson wore on their blessing days. Thanks Kings.

Wendy Harley and Anderson came up for the weekend. We had a great time at Carter mountain and trick or treating that night.

On Friday Ryan, Lincoln and I went trick or treating on the Lawn at UVA. For four years I've been hearing how fun this is and I finally experienced it myself this year. It was packed with a million kids and families all dressed up and in the Halloween spirit. I was a little embarrassed because Ryan actually wanted to collect candy for Lincoln. Obviously Lincoln can't eat candy, so basically it was Ryan, a 28 year old, holding a baby to collect candy for himself. I watched from the wings.

This year we were all Greek Gods. Lincoln was baby Hercules. Scroll down for family pics.

Lincoln was pretty tired from all that trick-or-treating and candy.

We also went to two great Halloween parties and had a blast.

Zoro and Princess

Siamese Twins

Mother Earth and Father Time

KISS

Ed and Jillian from last seasons "The Bachelorette"

Emily and John in 30 years if they keep gaining weight at the rate they did over the past year.

Kelly and Zach from "Saved by the Bell"

And finally the Greek Gods Zeus, Athena and Baby Hercules. Thanks mom for the costumes. Your the worlds greatest seamstress!

Rarely do I cook and never to I cook creatively so I was really proud of my pumpkin bean dip pictured above.

Outer Banks Beach Trip

Ever since we moved to Charlottesville three years ago we've been hearing about how great Outer Banks North Carolina is and every year we've wanted to go check it out but never have. Last week with Toby and Alesha and a huge group of our friends we finally went. I must say it lived up to all the hype. It was beautiful.

One of the greatest parts of all was a the rockin' deal we got on this place. It was so nice fully equipped with a heated pool, hot-tub, game rooms, movie rooms, two kitchens, elevator...it was awesome. A big thanks to our friends who planned the whole thing and did a great job at making it super affordable.

It is the off season so the beaches were barren, but the water was still surprisingly warm.

We climbed up to the top of a light house by our place and the view was spectacular!

Here's the view from the light house. You can see our beach house in this shot.It was Lincoln's first time to the beach and I think he liked it.

One day we went to Kitty Hawk and visited the Wright Brothers Monument. For those of you like me who need a little brushing up on there US History and don't remember who the Wright Brothers are, they were the first people to successfully invent and fly an airplane and Kitty Hawk is were it happened. It was actually really cool. They had little markers exactly where the first plane took off and landed and a nice visitors center with a massive replica of that initial plane. We also listened to a very passionate tour guide explain all about the details how that flight came to be. It was very educational.

Lincoln Flying in front of the replica.

Later that day we hiked up the tallest Sand dunes on the East Coast. Some how they look flat in these pictures, but they were actually really tall. It was cool. There were lots of people flying kites and the weather was really beautiful.

Toby and Alesha treated us to this super swanky restaurant right on the beach for dinner. It was pretty awesome.It was a great way to end the summer.

Upon a Mountain Top

Carter Mountain is a beautiful Orchard up on top of the mountain in Charlottesville. It has a fun little store that serves home-made dounuts and apple cider and all sorts of treats. All year long you can go up and pick fruit whether it’s apples or peaches or pumpkins or whatever. It’s beautiful and so fun to go to with friends and family. Kind of silly, but I always really wanted to have a baby in Charlotteville so I could go up there with him. I'd been up dozens of times with friends and their babies and wished I'd had one so badly for myself, so this time up was really sort of monumental for me. We took Alesha and Toby there and had a great time.

Alesha and Toby got Lincoln the cutest UVA Beenies and Socks. They really spoiled us this trip with all sorts of little gifts. Thanks guys!!

Poor Lincoln....we had him staring straight up into the sun in this shot.

U2 Concert

When Ryan told me he was going to invite his sister Alesha and her husband Toby to come visit us and go to the U2 concert all the way from Boise, Idaho, I was doubtful that they really would but to my surprise they accepted the invitation! Not only did they come spend a week with us out East, Alesha drove all the way from Boise to Charlottesville with Ryan. I was so relieved when she offered because I was incredibly nervous for him to do it by himself. Thanks Alesha!!

The concert was awesome! It was outside at the UVA football stadium. The stage and screen were unbelievable.

US and Alesha and Toby

We meet some of our law school friends there and sat with them. I love these guys. We had so much fun with them. From left to right - Desiree, Chuck, Danielle, Brad, Ryan and me.

Ryan also found some Med school friends. I'm pretty sure half of Charlottesville and UVA was at the concert.

Lincoln's Nursery

A boy this cute deserves an equally cute nursey. I tried my best and here's what I came up with.

I love Lincoln's nursey. It is my new "happy place". And to think Ryan wanted to keep his bikes and desk in there. That was one battle I had to win. My mom was incredibly instrumental in the whole decorating process so a big Thanks to you mom! Kate inspired the Lincoln letters by making the second "L" for me and I think they turned out great. Mom painted the table blue, and those are Lincolns tiny little hands and feet from the first week he was born.

Remember how stressful it was trying to hang those shelves mom! But look how great they turned out. The rocking chair is the only thing that doesn't really match....but I got it for free on loan from a friend for the year and it's super comfortable and works great, so I can't complain.

The piggy bank is my favorite!

I love the rug, bedding, and big blown up pics of Link. Can you spy him in this pic? I love how he's smaller than the monkey.

I love you Link a Bink!!

Loving Lincoln

Lincoln has finally arrived, and I am head over heals, over the moon, completely in love with him. He is a perfect gift from heaven, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I'm very emotional these days, and if I look at him too long I start crying.

I am so grateful and humbled by the opportunity to be his mother. When I think about the world today and all of unknowns that lie ahead for him in his new little life I feel scared and overwhelmed. He is so innocent. I just keep thinking take it one day at a time and do my best, and it will all be okay.

On a lighter note....my sister Wendy is an amazing blogger and has posted a fabulous post about the details and pictures of the big event, so I'm just going to refer you all to that and promise to blog more regularly in the weeks to come. Click Here for her blog.

Here are a few more recent pics though. I LOVE YOU LINCOLN!!!!!!

I am Loved.

This week I have felt so loved and special. I truly have the GREATEST mom, sisters, and friends in the world. On Thursday I got a huge five foot tall box delivered to my work and inside was a ton of presents from my mom for my nursery. She hand-made all of baby Harris's bedding including a bumper, blanket, bed skirt and a bunch of burp rags! She also included a stuffed monkey, glass piggy, cool funky rug and multiple bed sheets. Is she not amazing? It really made me more excited than I ever have been for this baby to arrive. I love all of it!




Then on Friday one of my very best friends Angie threw me a baby shower where I was visited by so many wonderful friends and showered with fabulous gifts. Thanks to all of my friends who came and helped with food, and a special thanks to Angie for hosting the party and being so supportive through-out all of my pregnancy drama the past couple years. I love you Angie!

(Abby Warden made these fabulous, festive cup-cakes! She is so
talented in the kitchen. Thanks Abby!)
Wendy came down for the party too. She is the third person who I owe a huge thank you to! She spent the weekend completely helping me organize, shop and plan for Baby Harris. She was such a big help and we got so much done. It was nice to have her tackle Babies 'R Us with me and give me advice on what I really need and don't need. I feel much more prepared, and it's all because of her. She has also been such a huge emotional support over the past couple years. And thanks to Ali and Lisa for the baby monitor! I love you both and felt your love from afar.

Wendy's gift was super thoughtful. She gave me her 9 "must haves" for a baby, all personalized with notes and explanations of why the particular product is the best.

Thanks everyone for a wonderful week of love and support.

We never got any standing profile pics this weekend to show how big I've gotten since last time, so Wendy took this today....32 weeks!