Hey guess what?! I have a new post!!

DUDE!!! We're parents!!!! yeah.. crazy.. i know.. I guess we need a recap since its been so stinking long since i blogged last...(don't we look just so dang proud!!)
On Friday August 6th: TK and I went to the hospital at 6 AM. and after 11 hours of labor, a kick-butt epideral, a few rounds of UNO, and one hour of pushing... Aiden Dante Sheppard was born at 8:04 PM.
He weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He had brown hair (even though they always covered it up with a hat) and BLUE eyes... and they still are that gorgeous blue and hopefully will stay that way.. unlike his hair (which he still has more of than his dad) that is turning more and more blonde everyday. YUPP!! That's me and my boy. Such a big bundle of awesome!! My love for this little boy grows more and more everyday!! its crazy how much i care for him already....
On Sunday August 8th: our (now 3 person) family went home and showed Aiden his new bed and clean home!! (thanks to grandpa rick!! he put in so much time to cleaning our place, only to give Aiden a false idea of what his new home would typically look like. ha) This is TK getting Aiden ready for the ride home, (obviously) his first car ride!

On Monday August 9th: Dad (Grandpa Rick) left us to return to his own home.. i cried. more than Aiden has, in his three weeks of life, thus far. We miss you, grandpa!!!I love you dad!
On the rest of the days that followed until now: Its been different to have a new little guy in the house but it has been such a blessing!! We've loved getting to know our new son (who wouldn't??!?! i mean, look at that FACE!!!)
TK returned to work at AMC Theatres, and also began a new job for a painting company. Its been a lot of work, little play, and even less rest. But he still takes time to spend with his boy and help out his wife.Yay for Father/Son NapTime :) haha they are both so stinkin cute!! I'm such a lucky girl!!! Aiden has been working on his kung-fu skills lately. He's getting so good at it!! He even managed to break my finger with his Kung-Fu grip yesterday! okay, okay. not really, but he DID wrestle a patch of hair out!
And when he's not taking naps (with or without his dad) or eating/pooping (photo unavailable due to inappropriate content)... he likes to fill his time lookin like a stud, skyping with the family and friends that for some reason refuse to move out here...And me? I've been trying to adjust to being a stay-at-home-mom and know that I still have a very long way to go. Our house is far from in order, dinner is far from being a scheduled event, and laundry is lucky that it hasn't stacked up or else we'd all be suffocating from nasty smells--I'm serious, the fear of my house smelling like baby poop is the only motivation i have had to do the few loads i have.. ha. But regardless of how much time i put into cleaning.. it always seems to go right back to chaos...But hopefully Aiden and I will get into a "schedule" soon enough and I'll be able to get more accomplished on a daily basis and allow my husband to return HOME to a fresh-smelling, well cleaned, apartment with a hot meal prepared, a content son waiting to play, and a happy wife ready with a kiss after his long days out in the hot sun (doing something he hates just to provide for his family. He is SUCH a great dad!!! and husband) one day.. not TOday.. but SOMEday...
So yeah.. that is what our life has been (more or less) for the last 3 weeks! I can't believe this boy has grown so much already!! its crazy!! but he's crazy adorable so i guess its okay...

So hopefully I won't take as long to post next time.. but who knows.. life has been crazy and unpredictable since the beginning of time... i don't see it changing for me anytime soon....

Peace, Love, and CookieDough (which I can eat again now that i'm not pregnant!! woot woot)

Baby Shower

Last weekend my friend, Katie, and my mother-in-law threw me a baby shower! It was so wonderful of them and great to have an afternoon with everyone! Let me just say, our kid is SPOILED!!! he will probably never wear the same outfit twice and has enough noise makers to drive his dad to jump off our balcony!! :) ha.


This is the best pic that we got that shows the belly bump. I was just 2 days shy of 38 weeks here. So.. 2 weeks and 2 days from due date!!


These are just, by far, the cutest pair of little shoes I have ever seen in my ENTIRE life!!! I can't WAIT to have him wear em!!!


And Kenedi came to my shower!! She's so stinking cute. Jeanette called me just yesterday to tell me that when her dad was putting Kenedi to bed, Kenedi started crying because she was sad that I was going to be leaving and that she was going to miss me when I had the baby!! ahhh break my heart!! She's such a sweetie!!!


And as promised, this is a picture of our new crib and changing table all set up and officially ready to go!!! (we had to run out yesterday to buy a new screw because TK had stripped one while attempting to assemble.. ha but its all fixed now and he did an AWESOME job!!!)

Ok. so I suck at life and haven't blogged in years, i know. but here's whats going on. I am officially 2 weeks and 2 days away from our due date. the baby seat is in the car and the crib is in our room. (yes, they are assembled-i know i know, we rock) My ankles have stopped swelling (thank goodness) and a few contractions here and there have just begun to stop me in my tracks. So thats getting closer and we are just getting more and more excited. I have one more week of work and then my dad comes the next weekened :) yay!! hopefully this little one isn't far beyond that!

A couple of weeks ago we went to the beach -- it rocked. We stayed for 2 nights and LOVED it. the water was so warm and we had a total blast (even though TK forbid me to boogie or body board. lame. ha) he's already a great dad. the 4th pic down (from left to right) is TK's dad, his sis Rebekah, his sis Janel, and of course, him. His mom and I were too busy shooting pics and video at this moment.. and then the next pic is him and rebekah acting 5.








Whats good at the movies?!?! Well since TK has the hook-ups we often go out and see screenings of soon-to-be-released films (for free--yay for date night on a VERY strict budget) and I must say, playing right now INCEPTION, DESPICABLE ME, THE A-TEAM and TOY STORY 3 are stinking amazing!!!

If you only go out to see one movie, it should be inception. it makes you think so much, tk and i stayed up till wee hours of the morning discussing it! ha. and now will prob go see it for a 2nd time just to get some questions answered. the acting is great, the filming is amazing, the action is non-stop, and it is so original and mind bending!! wayyyy good stuff.


Despicable me wasn't what i expected. It wasn't as hilarious, laugh the whole time, as i thought it'd be BUT it was wayyy cute. Toy Story 3 was better than 1 or 2 in my opinion. and the A-Team, its just action and humor. You're not looking for the best acting in the world here--it is the A-Team, they had to follow someone's lead. but its still good!

Most Recent Blond Moment:
Although I'm told this is pregnancy brain.. not necessary a defect of my hair tone.. but anywho. I totally went to church wearing a brown dress and black flip flops. first off, i hate wearing flip flops at church!! i love my heels and I miss them like crazy, but i am not allowed to wear those until the baby is no longer throwing off my balance... which will prob be never. :) but anywho. So we were about to be late if we didn't leave at that moment and i was hurrying out the door, not paying attention. Slipped em on and got in the car. It wasn't until we were walking into church that i looked down and saw that i had nabbed the wrong flips!! grrr. way not cool. and way too late to turn back now.

welp, i'm sure that i have made you bored enough (if you even made it to the end..) so i shall leave with that and a short video to make you smile...

peace, love, and cookiedough.

BABY GEAR TAKEOVER

Alrighty. So after having panicked for a good couple of weeks, and finally getting my butt in gear to DO something about it, in a matter of 2 days I was able to gather together AAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL this. (Courtesy of Aunt Brook and a few others, goodwill, and a cute little consignment store) I am no longer stressing.

We now have several essentials. A crib that is (hopefully) going to get here any day now. A baby shower on July 17th and a SKYPE baby shower that is yet TBA. (I am registered at Wal-mart and Babies-R-Us) And more clothes for the first 6 months than I know what to do with!!!

I have organized everything (aka stacked it up all nice and pretty in a corner out of the way) and now just need to make room for the crib and call my in-laws incessantly until they bring it over :) Hopefully this kid knows how much he's loved!!!!

100 things i love (in no order)

1. being in love with my best friend
2. fresh watermelon
3. my family and our eternal connection
4. my religion and the strength it gives me
5. the friendships that i have and cherish
6. memories
7. holding hands
8. making TK smile
9. My childhood
10. Honest Communication
11. Nature.. the trees and greenery ect
12. a baby's laugh
13. flip flops
14. the little guy in my gut that is always nudging me
15. sunny days
16. the (good) power of technology
17. going on a walk
18. a call from a friend
19. skype dates
20. ice cream sundaes
21. mom's strawberry jam
22. mani/pedi's
23. fresh flowers
24. my recipe binder
25. swimming
26. sunsets
27. penguins
28. hoodies
29. fresh fruit
30. wallet full of pictures
31. a brand new notebook
32. my wedding ring
33. "please" and "thank you"
34. happy people
35. white boards
36. photos
37. march 23rd
38. a good nights sleep
39. a sense of accomplishment
40. calenddars/planning
41. genuine kindness
42. may 29th
43. to-do lists/honey-do lists
44. cuddling
45. breakfast in bed
46. an empty sink
47. warm sand between my toes
48. road trips
49. april 11th
50. when people use good manners
51. a clean kitchen
52. going on adventures
53. challenges, especially overcoming them
54. freedom
55. dancing around like a fool
56. trying new things
57. art observing and making art (even though i suck at it)
58. being official (in many different senses)
59. my nieces and nephews
60. my husker keychain
62. getting invovled (also in many different senses)
63. Millhollow
64. my dad's chocolate banana milkshakes
65. baby clothes
66. suprises (so long as there legitamit, i hate KNOWING that a surprise is coming but not knowing WHAT it is. if you can completely catch me off gaurd then great, but saying "i've got a surprise for you" and then making me wait a week is bull.)
67. Detective shows
68. Laughing.. especially to the point of tears
69. TK's Gollum impression
70. Watching the snow fall (and then melt)
71. THUNDERSTORMS/TORNADO WARNINGS
72. Scalp massages
73. date night
74. cupcakes
75. being TK's "Darling Baby Buggy Bumper Boo"
76. Cookie Dough
77. Live music
78. Being outside on a warm day
79. TK's Jokes
80. Pinky promises
81. Honesty
82. neon sticky notes
83. punctuality
84. a new bra
85. driving with the windows down and the music up
86. faith
87. getting all dolled up (even though its rare because it just takes too long)
88. my baby bump
89. bajio's chicken green chile salad
90. walking outside when its dark and yet still warm
91. fighting for what you want
92. husker gamedays
93. the smell of fresh laundry
94. working on the budget (even though it stresses the crap outta me, i like feeling somewhat in control of it all and organizing it and editing the numbers and so on)
95. fresh lemonade
96. being just 2 1/2 months (or less) away from seeing our son
97. country music
98. learning new things
99. feeling useful
100. our life