pure posh baby shower!

ah yes, the season of baby showers. my good friend ashton and i work together, so she threw me a work (plus two friends plus my cousin) shower!

how cute???

 you wouldn't believe that this is the first themed party ashton had ever thrown! everything was well put together and thought out. there were three games and they were all fun!

this is her new house! they moved in just a few short months ago.

laughing about ashton's wrap job and dying over tiny baby socks (how can you not?) 

I DIED. DEAD.

i meannn!!!!

kris tie's little baby she made out of playdoh. she later confessed she took some classes in sculpting, haha.

 i can't tell you how happy i was to have Bev there with me. it's been a sad 9 months with my family so far away, i loved having my cousin here to take part in some of the celebrations! she cracked me (and everyone else) up with her three separately wrapped presents that included three different cards that all had something sweet written in it. that woman knows how to go all out, and she does it well.

aw, i could go on and on about this woman. she did such a good job planning this whole shower with cute decor, awesome food and fun games. not only that, but she took all the money that the girls at the salon pitched in for our gifts, asked us what we still needed needed and bought all of it. i'm talking diapers (disposable and cloth), changing pad+cover, bottles, socks etc. although we don't have everything, we definitely feel like we can bring a baby home now. she is 20 weeks behind me in her pregnancy and i can't wait to spoil the crap out of her and her baby with hand me downs, haha! all-in-all, it was an awesome day filled with fun people. i am so grateful ashton took the time and effort to do this for us and our little mystery gendered baby.

35 weeks 6 days (so pretty much 36 weeks)
(i got my dress to wear to the shower and for the maternity pictures....those are next..!)

still feeling pretty darn good! i'm working a few less hours (typically 30-32, now hanging around 25) although i do feel pretty normal at work, the only issue is bending over to pick things up that i drop. i can do it, but the poor baby gets squished in the process. sleep does not come easily and i stopped being able to eat past 8 o'clock because i'd lay down and my dinner and dessert would come up my throat into my mouth, not fun. i think i'd have 24/7 heartburn if not for the miracle pills my doctor prescribed me, i take them morning and night otherwise i'll wake up in the middle of the night with heartburn. i notice the weight gain most in the middle of the night when i stand up to go to the bathroom and my poor feet scream. they swell a little bit at night every once in awhile, but nothing major or very common. the stretch marks around my belly button are multiplying but still staying pretty light. i am still enjoying being pregnant and people have been pretty nice about not saying insensitive things about my size. i still have a few weeks, so maybe people will start telling me i look exhausted and ready (which i almost am :) ) i'm looking forward to the last few weeks before the baby comes to hang out with jon and prepare for the arrival. we are getting so excited!

ashton+aaron

we made friends, ya'll.

jon googled a salon to get his haircut at and met a nice girl whose fiancé was also a former marine! he got me a coupon for $15 off, so i went in and got my haircut from ashton as well. turns out she's as cute and funny as jon described and we hit it off right away. we exchanged numbers and almost immediately planned to go to Main Event to bowl and laser tag, our favorite!!!!!

the four of us all get along really well and it already seems like we've been friends forever.

on august 25th, i went up to this tiny town about 3 hours away with ashton and her two friends amanda and kelsey for her bridal photos!!! it blewwww myyyy mind. there are actually little towns like this, you guys. i was taking pictures to show jon because i was so surprised. we didn't even have cell phone service.

i knowwww the trailer, but look how pretty she is!

the pictures turned out perfect, ashton is so beautiful. there are so many sentimental details about the photos/her dress/her wedding that make it so special. also this was the day i realized that i had to come to terms with the fact that i didn't want cowboy boots, i needed them.

we left the little ranch at like 10 pm and were all starving. my new friends taught me that DQ is "texas' stop sign" because you just have to stop and eat there. ashton was looking beautiful with her make up and hair done so when she got to the drive up window she said to us "they probably think we're in a country band because i look so fancy" and from the backseat i hear kelsey (the sassy one) say "yeah ashton. in a honda." soo funny. 

this was a few weeks later when we tried and failed to go to the fair. 

amanda, ashton and i. 

(i'm borrowing amanda's boots)

ashton and aaron's wedding was on september 7th. 

a perfectly beautiful day at a perfectly beautiful golf club. 

aaron and his mom.

ashton's mother passed away when ashton was in high school. this is her step dad escorting her mom's mom down the aisle. 

the whole wedding party arrived and stood behind the audience until two by two they walked down the aisle. as the flower girl and ring bearer were walking down the aisle, a golf cart pulled up with ashton facing the back. she stepped off the golf cart and didn't turn around until it was her time to have her dad escort her down the aisle. i didn't even see the flower girl because i was so busy watching aaron see ashton for the first time. his eyes were fixed on her and he was trying to hold back tears. he later told me that "she looked more beautiful than i could have ever imagined."

it was the most romantic little wedding ever, i loved every second of it. 

i did it. i bought myself a pair of brand spankin new cowboy boots. i'm not going to lie, i've always wanted a pair. but when it really came down to it and i was picking the ones i wanted, it was the weirdest thing in the world. this new little life of ours is a far cry from the life that we had in san diego. i told myself i'd jump in with both feet (ha) and we are doing just that and are learning to love san antonio and the texas culture more and more.

see what i mean about a far cry? have you ever seen these before!! long horns! i saw them on our drive to take ashton's pictures and pointed them out to the girls and they said "yeah, we're in texas. you'll see those a lot." for some reason i thought it was uncommon to see longhorns, but i guess it isn't.

cows are my favorite animals or at least tied for favorite with cats, horses, and puppies. but don't make the same mistake we did at the wedding-touching, prodding and pulling on the horns. jon was squatting in between the two horns when the cow turned his head to walk away and got jon's arm with one of his horns. luckily it didn't rip his suit but the next day he had a bruise right there. amateurs...

here are the newlyweds during their first dance! it was such a special night, i'm so glad we've met these two and were able to celebrate the day with them. during ashton's speech she let her true colors come out when she thanked her salon sisters for making her look like a princess and then said "yeah, that's right ya'll, i look like a princess!" but the best part was when she said that she and aaron met through tragedy, and that he was the one to "bring my smile back." they are the best together, jon and i love them so much and are so happy that they are married.