Bling, Bows and Baby's Room

Check out these cutie shoes Lexi got today from my friend Donna and her sweet daughter Courtney. Aren't they PRECIOUS! I can't wait to be able to put them on her tiny little feet. She's going to learn to love bling from an early age.

Also I decided that paying big money for cute bows was not going to be in my budget, so I found some directions online and tried my hand at making a few of my own. I found some OU fabric that was crimson, white and black so I made some bows to match. Soon I'll make a cute OU outfit to go along with it.

I've also been in the beginning stages of planning for Lexi's future room. The colors are going to be light and bright pink and lime green. Nick is going to install a chairrail around the center and paint the top half of the room light pink and the bottom half with a little darker pink tone. My parents bought our nursery furniture (YEAH) and we got it all in last week. We are waiting to put together the crib until we get the room painted, but I am already loving sitting in the glider. It is so comfy. I already think about all the days and nights Nick and I will spend in it rocking our sweet baby girl. It's going to be so much fun putting the whole room together.

Deanna's Shower

This Saturday, my friend Kristen and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Deanna. Her and her husband Mark are expecting a sweet baby boy and we couldn't be more excited for them. Kristen's husband was out of town, so I spent the night with her on Friday so we could get ready. We stayed up until 3 AM, which is way past my bedtime, but we had so much fun planning and getting everything ready for Saturday.

The shower went off without a hitch. Here is a picture tour of the shower:

The food:


The decorations: (some of them...I didn't get many pictures of the room)


The favors:
(They are cinnamon buns with a tag that says "Deanna's Baby Shower: A Bun in the Oven")


The guest of honor with the hosts:


Alright, those are all the pictures I have the patience to download tonight! Enjoy :)

Introducing Baby Lexi

It's a GIRL!!! Nick and I found out Thursday we are having a baby girl. Alexis Taylor Mauldin was doing great during our last ultrasound. All of her measurements were right on track and she made sure to spread her legs during her ultrasound, so the doctor could really see her stuff. In the last few days I have been SUPER busy, so I didn't have a chance to update the blog.

On Wednesday evening, my mom and Nick's mom traveled to Dallas so they could attend the ultrasound appointment with us. I drank a big Coke on the way to the doctor's office Thursday to make sure the baby was extra wiggly. We all headed to the doctor on Thursday and after a LONG wait, we saw our sweet little baby squirming on the screen. The best part, aside from finding out the gender, was that little Lexi had the hiccups. The doctor could tell while she was watching the heartbeat that she was hiccupping but as she put the picture up on the big screen you could see her hopping around every few seconds.

After that we all went to breakfast together, which was so much fun. I got two cute ultrasound gifts. The first, from Nick's mom, was an adorable set of baby girl outfits and the other was a darling pair of bling OU socks from my little sister(Nick really loved those). Nick, his mom and I had to head to work, but my mom stayed in town. At school, I got a sweet baby girl gift from one of my sweet mom's at school and from my friend, Kristen. I wore pink back to school so that all of the teachers and students would know that I was having a girl! After school, my mom and I did a little (OK more than a little) shopping for the baby. We hit some sales at Janie and Jack and Gymboree and picked up tons of precious outfits. Little girls really are so fun to buy for.

What Will You Be?

As our ultrasound appointment is rapidly approaching, we have been so excited at the prospect of finally discovering if Baby Mauldin is a boy or a girl. Because my issues with insomnia, I knew I would have a hard time sleeping the night before, but I didn't realize this would go on all week! I am just hoping our little bean is cooperative and shows the doctor the "goods." When I finally do sleep, I have weird baby dreams (and Baby Mauldin is always a boy). I'm not sure if this has to do with how much my mom has insisted that she has a feeling the baby is a boy, but it has definitely consistently been a boy in my dreams. Despite this, I really don't have a feeling one way or the other.

This is just such a big moment in our lives because it will determine what direction our life will be headed...



Will our house be filled with pigtails and big bows, frilly dresses and Barbies? Will we have a future cheerleader, singer, a fashionista, a diva or dancer? Will she be a sweet angel with a heart of gold or a heartbreaker making her father hate all the boys that ever cross our threshold? Will we teach her to be strong and to have self-esteem, so she is happy with who she is and how she looks? Will she learn to value intelligence, become a lifelong learner and embrace her unique gifts? Will she make loving friends that travel through her life with her? Will we wonder how to survive through the hormonal teenage years and be able to guide her as she experiences the emotional rollercoaster of adolescence? Will we teach her to avoid drama, not be a "mean girl" and how to deal with situations gracefully and with patience? Will we teach her to be independent so she can go to college, work hard to become whatever she sets her mind to, and not be afraid to travel the world and have life experiences. Will we teach her how to love completely, how to pick out the perfect man to marry, and then worry how we will pay for the wedding? Will she grow into a woman who gives more than she receives and always has an open mind and an open heart? Will she be a loving wife, a strong Christian woman and know to count her blessings each day?



Or will our house be filled with trucks and tools, balls and bugs? Will he be a future baseball player, a fisherman, a hunter or an explorer? Will I be able to keep up with all the dirty laundry from his sporting events, playtime and mud pie contests. Will he rough house with his friends, explore the world on his bike and be fearless in the face of challenges? Will he and his friends eat Nick and I out of house and home during his teenage years? Will he learn to respect woman, open their doors and listen when they talk? Will he choose dear friends who stick by him throughout his life and are there when he needs them? Can we show him what it means to be a strong Christian leader? Will we teach him to help others who are less fortunate and to treat all people equally? Will he wear crimson and cream at OU, join a fraternity, learn a foreign language and be brave enough to travel the world? Will he be a CEO, a lawyer, an entrepreneur or a financier? Will he find a girl who he can love completely and become a supportive husband and father? Will he believe that love matters more than money and that family is the most important thing in the world?

We can't find out what path Baby Mauldin will take us on. We will be THRILLED either way, but I'm so excited to finally start to get to know this baby in my belly a little bit better. We'll find out on Thursday what our future holds!