My Baby Shower!

My amazing best friends (from left to right--Jamie, Joelle and Angela)! Honestly, these ladies are such a blessing in my life. They have been there for every important moment and this was no different. Thank you so much girls for throwing me such a beautiful and memorable shower.

The beautifully-decorated table where we all sat and had lunch.

The lunch menu

Cute decorations!

The adorable name cards for my guests and beautiful center pieces!

The yummy spread of sandwiches, salads and fruit!

The yummy spa water, wine spritzers and delicious cupcakes! In the center of the table are the favors for my guests. They are little bottles of champagne that have a sonogram picture of Logan on the front with a note that reads, "Thank you for coming to Lauren's shower!" On the back of the bottle is a note that reads, "Lauren is about to POP! Celebrate with us when you hear the news of Baby Logan's birth!" These were such a cute and creative favor; thanks girls!

Logan's first and middle initial hanging on the door to the entrance to the shower! My best friend, Angela, did this and I thought it was such a nice touch.

After we ate lunch and before we opened gifts, we played a game! Unbeknownst to me, Angela had contacted Josh earlier to ask him some general questions about babies. Josh was supposed to come up with the first answer that popped in his head. The game was that the ladies had to write down the number of Josh's answers that I would guess correctly. Now, the answer didn't need to be the correct answer (as many of these are not), I just had to guess what Josh's answer was to each of the following questions. I wound up guessing six of his answers correctly and these are marked with asterisks by them. My favorites are numbers 1, 2, and 10! Wow, do I have my work cut out!

1.) How many diapers does a baby need each day? One
2.) How many diapers do you plan to change each day? None*
3.) How many hours does a baby sleep each day? Twenty hours of sleep
4.) At what age does a baby start sleeping through the night? After one year
5.) At what age does a child stop needing naps? After three years*
6.) At what age does a baby start eating solid food? After one year*
7.) Do you think your baby will be born with a lot of hair? Just a little bit of hair*
8.) How many kids do you want to have? Three kids, 2 boys and 1 girl*
9.) Who'll be the firm parent, and who'll be the pushover? I will be the pushover, and Lauren will be the enforcer*

10.) A newborn should be given a sponge bath until what happens? Until he can hold his breath under water???
11.) What can a baby do up until 7 months that an adult cannot? Breast feed??

An adorable outfit purchased by auntie Marcie. It has a matching plaid visor that I just went nuts over!

Auntie Emily purchased Logan's first monogrammed blanket! The blanket is blue and his initials--LJM--are stiched in white.

Two of my girlfriends--Jackie and Lindsey--were very thoughtful and purchased a pregnancy massage for me at my favorite spa, Burke Williams. Thanks so much ladies; I can't wait to indulge!

My friend Kristy's mother-in-law is extremely talented and was kind enough to make this beautiful quilt for Logan. Since his bedding is Hawaiian-themed, she created a tropical quilt that will fit perfectly with his set.

My amazing girlfriends from work presented their gift in the most adorable way. My gift was made up of two baskets. The smaller basket contained all sorts of baby essentials--nail clippers, creams, ointments, and bath stuff. The larger basket contained many articles of baby clothing, bibs and burp cloths; however, they were each individually pinned on a clothesline. It was the cutest thing ever!

Since my mom knows how often I cook, she purchased this bib for Logan that reads "I love take out".

I had completely forgotten about this book. Thanks Stefanie!

This onesie was purchased by my hilarious friend, Sally. Pre-pregnancy, I was known to engage in many flip cup games (beer drinking game). It is believed by some that Logan may have been conceived during the evening of one of these tournaments; therefore, the onesie reads, "I'm the result of too much flip cup".

A group of my girlfriends purchased my Pack-N-Play filled with tons of baby goodies!

In order to help build Logan's library, my guests brought me some of their favorite childhood stories. This one is from my precious 3 1/2 year-old niece, Ellie, and she signed her name on the back of the book!

My sister and mom

The soon-to-be mommies! Tammy (on the left) is due two weeks ahead of me and Kristy (on the right) is due in November.

These lovely ladies (Vanessa with baby Jack, Alexa and Steph) make it easier to get up and go to work each day. I love them so much and don't know what I'd do without them!

Here is a group shot of all the beautiful ladies that attended my shower!

Painting the Baby Room!

Since the last post and finding out that we're having a boy, friends, family and myself have not stopped buying things for baby Logan! The day after our Finding Out Party, I had to go to Babies 'R Us and purchase boy clothing. I couldn't help myself! Everything was so adorable, so let's just say I went on a mini shopping spree!

I haven't registered yet, but I have selected my bedding! However, the bedding was on sale at Pottery Barn Kids and I was afraid that by the time my showers were here, the bedding would be gone. I was explaining this situation to my best friend, Angela, when she admitted to me that she and my other best friend, Joelle, were planning on purchasing my bedding anyway! The bedding is a Hawaiian-tropical theme. I fell in love with it because it has a mixture of blue, green, yellow and red colors. So, we decided to paint the room in a light blue!

Mimi and Tia (my mom and sister) have not stopped buying things for our little one as well! They also went on a mini shopping spree in Seal Beach at an adorable baby boutique there. A couple weekends ago my mom called me and said, "We have to go shopping for baby furniture!" So, it was off to Babies 'R Us and Bergstroms. I fell in love with a glider at Babies 'R Us and my sweet sister insisted on buying it for me. Then we went to Bergstroms and I loved a crib and dresser set there and my mom instantly purchased it. What can I say? I'm a lucky girl and Logan is already so loved!

Once we purchased the furniture, Daddy had to paint the room blue and assemble the furniture. Josh has been so busy around the house with numerous projects, but he bumped this project to the top of his list!

In my 22nd week I began to feel some slight flutters in my stomach! I occasionally feel flutters every now and again, but they're still so slight that I question whether it's the baby or my hungry stomach! The doctor says that's normal and that as my pregnancy progresses, the flutters will be more pronounced and I will definitely know it's the baby.

I'm approaching my 24th week and I'm doing well! I still require lots of sleep in the evenings and as long as my sophomore students aren't driving me crazy, then I typically feel okay at work.

Please enjoy some pictures from painting Logan's room to assembling the beautiful furniture.

Here I am at almost 24 weeks! I definitely have a baby-bump!



BEFORE the painting process


DURING the painting process


AFTER the painting



The finished product with a very proud Daddy!


Josh assembling the crib. It was a lot more difficult to assemble the crib than we had anticipated!


This gorgeous crib converts into a toddler and adult bed!


The beautiful dresser that we will also use as a changing table.


Both pieces together in the blue room!

It's a... BOY!!

On February 17th, when I was 18 weeks along in my pregnancy, Josh and I found out we are having a B-O-Y, BOY! We are completely overjoyed! Since a boy name was the only name we could really agree upon, it's official, our son's name is Logan Joshua Murty!

During our ultrasound, the tech told us she would let us know what the gender of the baby is as well as point out some of its different organs. As she was going over the different organs, she happened to point out the baby's femur (thighbone) and Josh suddenly moved. The tech noticed his movement and that is when she typed onto the screen, "It's a Boy!" Apparently, when the tech pointed out the femur, Josh immediately noticed something else sticking out, so the tech realized that he knew the news and that is when she told both of us.

After our ultrasound, we had already planned to have family and friends over to share the wonderful news. Please enjoy the videos and pictures of our son, our reactions, and the reactions of those closest to us as we all found out...it's a BOY!


Two days shy of being 19 weeks!


Yep, that's right! This picture is pointing out our son's penis! This picture is taken from the angle of the baby's butt in the center. On either side of that are his legs and right there in the middle is what made Daddy jump for joy!


Here is a picture of Logan with his mouth open!


A frontal view of our baby, Logan! His eyes make him look like an alien in this picture.


A video of Josh and I sharing the news and find out why the ultrasound tech was already laughing at our son! We played this video for our family and friends at our Finding Out Party.

Josh and I decided that we wanted to share the special news of our baby's gender in a memorable way, so we decided to have a Finding Out Party! (A Finding Out Party is where you reveal the gender of your baby). After Josh and I found out the good news, we invited our friends and family over to share the special news over desserts, champagne and coffee. We asked everyone to show up in the color (blue or pink) depending on what they believed we were having. We had so much fun and some of the outfits (Mike) were awesome! Thank you so much to all of you who came to share this special moment with us; we love each of you so very much!


Those family and friends who believed we were having a girl. Sorry everyone, maybe next time!


Mike, who has two daughters of his own, was certain we were having a girl, and he wasn't afraid to show his pink-spirit!


The WINNERS--our family and friends who believed we were having a BOY!

In order to make the big announcement, we decided to put a special note that read, "It's a Boy!" in an envelope. Each person that attended the party received an envelope, but only one special person received the note that shared the gender of our baby. I didn't know which envelope contained the message, so I randomly handed out an envelope to each person. My mom snagged one from my hand and unbeknownst to both of us, she happened to grab the one with the secret message. I guess it was fate for Mimi to know the special news before the rest of our family and friends!




Auntie Kristy, Uncle Jared and my cousin, Brandon, opening their envelopes.


This is right after my mom read the news aloud. If you look closely, you can see my mom's happy expression in the background. Even though Jamie thought we were going to have a girl, she is thrilled that we are having a boy!


All of us ladies are overjoyed with excitement about the news of a BOY!


Jamie, Emily and I sharing a celebratory hug!


My aunt Linda is excited to become a great-aunt!


My best friend, Joelle, had to work on the evening of our party, so we made sure to call her on the phone and share the exciting news. She was thrilled!


Logan's Tia (my sister, Amy) and his great-grandma, Olgui!


Me and my girls! (from the left--Kristy, Emily, Jamie holding Angela's daughter Lillie, and Angela)


My best friend, Angela, recently gave birth to her daughter, Lillie. We are both so excited that Logan and Lillie will only be 8 months apart! I'm sure they will be very close friends, and who knows, this could be Logan's future girlfriend! (sorry Mike)


The proud parents of an expected baby BOY!


Thank you great-grandma Olgui for the comfy clothes and cute bibs!


Logan's first preppy outfit! Thanks Auntie Ang, Uncle Mike, and Cousins Ellie & Lillie!

Hello everyone! This blog is shorter than the last one, but hopefully, just as exciting! This week will mark my 16th week and I am doing very well. Since the last time I wrote, my queasiness is gone, my appetite is up and my pants are much tighter! The last time Josh and I visited the doctor, we were lucky enough to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! I still can't believe it. I've included a small clip from our last visit and a few ultrasound pictures. However, we are very excited for our next visit on February 17th because I'll be 18 weeks along and we are going to find out the gender of the baby! I'll definitely update all of you with that exciting news once we find out!

15 weeks!



I know this ultrasound looks like a big, blurry blob, but it is a zoomed in picture of the profile of the baby's face! If you start from the top left corner and work across to the right, you are looking at the baby's forehead, the eye socket (slightly sunken in), down to the nose (sticking out--hopefully mine and not Daddy's), and then the lips that slightly stick out. I love this picture because if you look at the right side of the picture, you are looking at the baby's hand and it looks like he/she is waving at you!



This is the baby's profile. For those of you like me who have difficulty reading ultrasounds, the big round thing on the right side of the picture is the baby's head!



This is an ultrasound of the baby staring directly at you! The two brighter circles that are close together in the center of the picture are the baby's eyes.



This short video is the first time we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat! It is so amazing to think that inside me there is a tiny person with a tiny heart. I still can't believe that my body is creating another little body with its very own organs!