A Look Back at 2010

January

*celebrated my sister's 35th with a cowgirl party

*which meant this little guy needed his 1st pair of boots!

February

*I don't have a picture but we celebrated my Dad's birthday as well as Tray's Dad's

*and the dogs did what they do best, sunbathe!

March

*we enjoyed the Eli Young Band at the Houston Rodeo

April

*we cheered on the Astros, but sadly they lost

May

*celebrated Tray's 29th and my sister's 30th birthday in Kemah

June

*we celebrated our 3rd anniversary in beautiful Destin, Florida

*and enjoyed the Houston Dog Show for the 2nd year in a row. we plan to make it a family tradition!

*we also celebrated my cousin's wedding

July

*enjoyed a mini family vacay to San Antonio

*and caught up with old friends at Tray's 10 year HS reunion

August

*found out we were pregnant!!!

September

*told family the exciting news!

October

*celebrated Halloween at our house and couldn't help but think about Halloween next year!

November

*enjoyed a trip to Austin to cheer on the Longhorns!

*and found out our little blessing is a GIRL!

December

*celebrated my 28th birthday

*and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas!

2010 was a an exciting year!

All About the Name

This is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding of Tray and his Nanny, Lucy LaRue. I'm so glad that she was able to be a part of our special day. She passed away in April of this year and she has been greatly missed.


When we found out that I was pregnant right away we started to talk about names. I already had some picked out for boys and girls, but of course Tray didn't like any of them. We just COULD NOT decide on a boy name, so we were kind of banking on it being a girl! If it was a boy, I think he might have been nameless for awhile because we were having that much trouble! The one girl name I really liked he was alright with, but not completely sold. Of course the more I thought about it, I loved it and started to work on Tray to like it. When we found out it was a girl we started saying her name and decided that would be it. So we had our first name, but the middle name was a tough one. Nothing seemed to "fit." We debated on two different middle names, and possibly no middle name at all. I did not have a middle name and when I got married I took my maiden name as my middle name and liked the idea of my daughter doing the same. Tray's family has a tradition of going by their middle names only, so we met in the middle and decided she would have a middle name but go by her first name.


I was very torn between the two middle names, but one day last week I was blow drying my hair and just thinking about the names and I finally decided. We finally have a full name for our little girl! Her name is Emma LaRue Saunders. His grandmother went by LaRue (like their families tradition) and it was one name that seemed to fit with Emma. Their were several other reasons why that name felt right to me. Most importantly, family and tradition are very important to me and since we have two very different backgrounds I wanted Emma to know about both sides of her family. Tray's family on his mom's side are part of the Chickasaw Indian Nation of Oklahoma and I want Emma to know about that. Having a different and unique middle name will give her the opportunity to let people know about her great grandmother and her family. Also, I myself have always had a "unique" name and with Emma being a VERY common name, I wanted her to have a unique middle name (the other name we were debating was also VERY common). And lastly, there is a good chance that she could be born on Nanny's birthday, which is April 6th.


So that's the story of the name! Emma has been in the top 10, if not number 1, common names for years! Oddly enough, with both Tray and I working with kids, we have never had an Emma, so that made it easy to decide! Alot of names we were coming up with we didn't like because it reminded us of a certain kid. There were a few boy names that Tray would say, "No that kid was lazy" or "That kid had a bad attitude." I'm so happy with her name and can't wait to meet our little Emma!

Christmas 2010

Our Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve at Tray's parents house. Neither of our families have extended family living close, so we celebrate with our immediate families. Tray's family has always celebrated on Christmas Eve while my family celebrates on Christmas Day, so it works out perfectly! I didn't take any pics at Tray's house, but we had a good time with his parents, sister and kids. Tray got exactly what he wanted which included a new fishing reel and I got perfume and the Pioneer Woman Cookbook, among other things. Baby girl got a present too. Tray was trying to convince me that she would be coming home from the hospital in this cap and booties, but I quickly shot that idea down! We're still searching for the perfect coming home outfit. I guess I might let her wear this stuff one day!

We started Christmas morning at our house bright and early at 7:00 am. The puppies couldn't wait to see what was in their stocking!


After opening our stockings to each other we had a good breakfast and got ready to head to my parent's house. I can't remember the last Christmas where my Dad wasn't working, and this Christmas was no different! He got home around 2:30pm and we finally opened presents around 3:30pm. Here he is being silly with his new Cowboys beanie!


Anthony enjoyed playing with one of his favorite gifts! Do you remember the little Tupperware sets that were for little kids? I didn't know they still made them, but my mom found some in Canton and he kept filling up the glass and handing it to me! We got him a Sesame Street drum set that my sister has already called to "thank" me for!


High school and college buddies turned brother-in-laws! This was Tray's SECOND reel that he got for Christmas! Spoiled!

Baby got lots of cute clothes too! These were from my sister Andrea and she got us a cute frame to put her ultrasound pic in.

These were from her other tia, Marilu, or Tia Lulu as she'll be known. How cute are those little Converse?!

My mom got her these goodies and I can't believe how tiny the shoes are! Tray opened up this box of gifts and said he was scared!

These are some accessories that will be going in her nursery. Target has a line of little girls bedding and decor that matched perfectly with the Pottery Barn stuff. I also got a big canvas pic of 2 owls and 2 smaller canvas prints that will look so cute on the wall!


We had a great Christmas and are excited to see what next Christmas will look like!

24 Weeks

Merry Christmas everyone!

24 Weeks Baby Update

Due date: April 16th

Size of baby: her length is about the size of an ear of corn. After our appointment on the 21st we know she is weighing 1 lb 4 oz! She was only measuring a couple of days ahead this time as opposed to a week ahead like she was at our last ultrasound!

How much total weight gain/loss: I was right about growing the most these past couple weeks! I gained 8 lbs. this past month putting me at a total of 25! As soon as I stepped off the scale I asked the nurse if I was in trouble and she said "Nah." She said most women gain the most between 20-28 weeks and that was by far my most weight gain in a month, so she said I was fine and my doctor didn't say anything at all. I'm actually okay with this and I've come to terms with my body and as long as I continue to be healthy and baby girl as well, that's all that matters.

Maternity clothes: majority maternity with some regular leggings and tops. I got some more clothes for Christmas and a giftcard to Motherhood from my SIL, so I'm pretty set for right now.

Movement: this morning I SAW some movement! She's starting to kick harder, especially when I'm laying on my side in bed. I got worried the other night because I had stopped feeling her around 8pm. When I woke up around 2am to use the restroom I didn't feel her move and I always feel her in the middle of the night, especially when I get up. I layed there for a few seconds and then I felt her kick a couple times. Since then I've felt her alot, so I guess she was just having a calm night!

Sleep: still good!

Latest food craving: still no major cravings. In the past 48 hours I've eaten WAY too many sweets, so I need to cut back! Especially because I need to take my glucose test sometime in the next week!

Are you more scared or excited: I admit that it's been a little scary as the weeks go by and we get closer to meeting our girl! And it's not really scared about the labor and delivery or being parents, it's just anxiousness and nervousness about everything. She got lots of gifts for Christmas and pulling out all those tiny clothes and shoes has me nervous more than anything!

Happy or mostly moody: I've been a little bit of both lately.

Last time you cried over something ridiculous: I cried a couple of times this week, but nothing major.

Any pregnancy brain stories: I don't know what it was, but in the past 24 hours I have not been able to talk! I keep mixing up words and saying crazy things like "bind wlew" instead of "wind blew"! (in regards to the wind blowing all the leaves onto our porch) On the way home I was saying something about tree skirts to Tray and instead I said dog skirts. Then when we got home last night I was talking to Boomer and I was trying to tell him Merry Christmas, but instead "Happy Birthday" comes out!

Weirdest dream you've had since being pregnant: not that I can think of.

Worst part of the week: my back pain is better, but I still have the itchy/burning skin. And I've also been extremely congested, but at least I don't have a sore throat or anything else.

Best part of the week: all of the family time we've had and definitely seeing our little one dancing around again during the ultrasound! I wish I could have an ultrasound at every appointment!

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Appointment recap:

We had my monthly appointment on Tuesday afternoon and it was the perfect way to kick off the holidays! We had the ultrasound first and I liked the tech alot better! I had 3 questions and I didn't even have to ask them because she answered them in the course of doing the ultrasound. The whole reason why we had this second ultrasound was because they couldn't get a good look at her spine last time because she wouldn't flip over. This time I was sure to have fruit punch with me to get her active. She was definitely active! We saw her opening and closing her mouth, moving her arms and body, and pulling her legs up in a ball position. However, the one thing she didn't do was of course flip over! The tech was pushing and prodding all over my belly and had me rolling on my side. We decided that she was just being stubborn and the first thing I said was "I know where she gets that from!" (That would be my stubborn, hard headed husband and baby daddy!) The tech said that she wasn't worried about anything being wrong, but she didn't feel comfortable signing off that she had seen everything. She was trying to look at the very end of the spine to make sure everything looked good and there wasn't anything extra. She said that we would probably have another one, but when I saw my OB a few minutes later she said that they would compare the 2 ultrasounds first and if they weren't satisfied, I would have another.

We saw all 4 parts of her heart and all the fluid and other measurements look good. She showed us how she's positioned with her head right below my belly button and her booty on my right side. She's kind of laying in there a little diagonally. Her heartbeat was 146 and she's definitely still a girl! It was pretty amazing to compare last month's ultrasound and this month's and to see all the changes! Her head and belly look bigger, she doesn't look as "bony" and her facial features are more defined! She's already the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

Next up will be my glucose test and then I start to see my OB every 3 weeks instead of 4! I can't believe how fast it is going and I'm really trying not to stress about the weight gain and other things so I can enjoy this experience and remember everything! It helps having such a supportive husband that makes me laugh through all of the "embarrassing" pregnancy moments and still tells me I'm beautiful!

This and That

*We had a good weekend this past weekend. Tray was so excited for winter break when he got home Friday! I worked today and still have to work tomorrow, but then I'm off until January 3rd! WooHoo! We have a long to-do list for the break that includes wrapping presents, cleaning, finish purging unecessary stuff, registering and rearranging and organizing rooms upstairs.

*One of Tray's coworkers got us a gift for baby girl that was so sweet!

Cute towel and baby blanket.

cute summer outfit

4th of July outfit that includes a hat!

*On Saturday we went to my parents house to hang out before heading out to eat for my birthday. Since my birthday is so close to Christmas we usually don't do anything too big besides go out to eat, which is fine with me. I got tons of maternity clothes, make up, a magazine subscription I wanted and other fun things. I wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory to eat, but driving into Houston to the Galleria on the Saturday before Christmas and not being able to make a reservation at the restaurant didn't sound like it would turn out too good, so we had Mexican food instead. Fajitas and free ice cream? Yes please.

*On Sunday I had wanted to take the dogs to see Santa at PetsMart, but at the last minute we decided that while our dogs love to be social, they don't so much have the best social etiquette and we didn't want to be THOSE people with the unruly howling dogs! So instead we decided to head to the mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Before we pulled out of the drive way I told Tray that we were going to be patient and nice. It actually wasn't bad at all and we were able to cross some things off our list. We ate at PF Changs for the first time and we weren't disappointed. I don't usually vary much when ordering Chinese food, so beef and broccoli it was! However, before baby, I never used to finish my food at restaurants. 99% of the time I would have leftovers or Tray would have a second meal. Since being pregnant, I think I've only brought home leftovers a couple of times! I'm not sure how I feel about eating as much as my husband!

*Since getting pregnant I knew that if it was a girl I wanted a shabby chic nursery with floral print bedding. I couldn't find an affordable pre-made set that I liked anywhere, so I decided to look for fabric. I found some online but started to second guess myself (I'm very indecisive) and was nervous about ordering online and then not liking the color in person. Well, when we were out shopping we decided to look at Pottery Barn Kids. I had looked in there before but I never really looked at the bedding because like other nursery sets I'd seen I for one, thought the set would include unnecessary items that I didn't want like a quilt and diaper hanger, and two, would be super expensive. While browsing all the super cute stuff I found this bedding and fell in love! I love the birds and owls and all the colors! And I can still make it shabby chic with accessories. The best part is that their set only includes the bumper, sheet, and skirt, which is exactly what I wanted! It's way cheaper than I thought it would be and I'm excited to start decorating! Now I can pick out a paint color and go crazy with decorating! And the best part? Tray even likes it, after admitting to me that he actually hated the fabric I was looking at online! Men!

how cute will this pillow be on her glider?!

I'm thinking she needs this chair with her name on it to take pictures in!

*That pretty much brings you up to date on what's been going on in the Saunders household! I still have last minute shopping to do (did I mention I'm also a procrastinator?) that I'm planning on doing Wednesday with my sister. I also need to get pictures from my mom's camera and do a picture post to go along with some of the happenings of the past few weeks. Happy Holidays!

23 Weeks

Here I am at 23 weeks in all my 28 years old glory! Geez! 28 already?! This was taken Saturday night after my birthday dinner. I wore heels for the first time all pregnancy and now I know why they tell pregnant women NOT to wear heels! I think I've grown the most these past couple of weeks so I'm afraid for my appointment tomorrow and I think my doctor may get mad at me! On a positive note, my leg hasn't hurt in a few weeks and I can start walking again. I just did 45 minutes on the treadmill and it didn't hurt at all! (although it's still numb pretty much all the time) On with the updates!

23 Weeks Baby Update

Due date: April 16th

Size of baby: she is the size of a large mango now. It will be interesting to see how much she's measuring at tomorrow's ultrasound!

How much total weight gain/loss: too much! We'll see tomorrow. I feel like my belly is getting bigger by the day!

Maternity clothes: lots. Pretty much the only non-maternity clothes I'm wearing now are bigger shirts, leggings and dresses/tunics. For my birthday I got lots of new clothes that I'm excited to wear!

Movement: every day. Lately, I'll feel her in the middle of the night when I'm lying awake and tossing and turning. I hope her night owl movements and alertness don't carry on once she gets here! Tray thinks that she doesn't like him because everytime I tell him to put his hand on my belly, she stops moving! I have felt a few kicks that I'm pretty sure I would be able to see if I was looking at my belly, so they're definitely getting stronger! I think Tray may see them before he feels them.

Sleep: great. All last week I didn't wake up at all to go to the bathroom. I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm enjoying it! Honestly I haven't been drinking as much water as I need to so once I increase that I'm sure I'll be getting up again.

Latest food craving: I've been eating ALOT of citrus lately! Those Cutie clementines are so easy to peel and I seriously eat 4-5 per day! No judgements please, but I made the personal decision not to get the flu shot, so I'm trying to get lots of vitamin C, plus it's just good! We also broke our Tutti Frutti Sunday tradition, but it's mainly because we got cupcakes while we were Christmas shopping earlier that day!

Are you more scared or excited: I started to work with a 2 month old baby girl and it's so cute to see all the things she's doing and getting to hold her! It makes me think about the things I have to look forward to and that has made it exciting! We're also going to completely clear out the nursery and rearrange the spare bedroom during our time off, so that'll be even more exciting.

Happy or mostly moody: still happy.

Last time you cried over something ridiculous: Tray had recorded this football documentary and we finally watched it this week. Yes, I cried a couple of times during a football movie. It was about Marcus Dupree, probably the best running back in high school history and most recruited athlete. It ended good but the story was sad. I told Tray that I regret not buying that pair of jeans or purse that I wanted back when, but this guy had some major regrets that really put things into perspective! It was really good!

Any pregnancy brain stories: this week I mangaed to pull into the drive way and turn off the car without putting it into park. Yeah, it was still in drive. I always check the mail and then look at it before getting out of the car. Luckily I also always put my parking brake on because our drive way is at a slight incline, so at least that was keeping the car in place!

Weirdest dream you've had since being pregnant: none this week.

Worst part of the week: I've been having 2 pregnancy symptoms that haven't been too pleasant. Back pain and itchy skin. The back pain can get pretty unbearable when I'm sitting on the floor playing with the kids, but thankfully it doesn't hurt when I'm driving, walking or laying down. As for my skin, the top of my stomach has been so itchy borderline burning. I know it's probably just my skin stretching, but I just want to itch it and everyone says not to!

Best part of the week: feeling baby girl move so much, my birthday, and our family got some happy, exciting news that I'll share more about later!

22 Weeks Baby Update

Due date: April 16th

Size of baby: well, it says that baby is the size of a papaya this week...that's almost a pound and about 11 inches. I'm guessing baby girl is probably a tad bit bigger since she was measuring big at the last ultrasound.

How much total weight gain/loss: I'll get the official count on the 21st, but I think I've done the most growing this week so far, so I'm guessing the scale isn't going to look pretty!

Maternity clothes: pretty much 75% of the time now and then lots of tunics and leggings. I picked out some new things this weekend that I'll get for my birthday, so that will be nice. My mom and I were at Motherhood and I tried on the belly on top of my belly and I don't want to get that big! I know I will at the end but it didn't look pretty!

Movement: Still feeling her everyday! I think I may have had my first Braxton Hicks contraction this week, but after looking at the pictures of baby's supposed position in my belly (head down like she's upside down), it could have been a foot! I was walking into Hobby Lobby and all of a sudden the top right of my stomach got ROCK hard and I felt lots of pressure on the area! It lasted for about 5 seconds and then was gone. It was really weird! I thought Braxton Hicks were lower so who knows what it was!

Sleep: not bad, but I keep freaking out because there have been a couple nights where I wake up on my stomach in the middle of the night! As soon as I turn over or on my side I'll feel her move so it scares me that I was squishing her! Either that or she's a light sleeper and wakes up whenever I move!

Latest food craving: still no major food cravings. And I think Tutti Frutti may be a Sunday tradition! Going on 4 weeks...at least it's only frozen yogurt!

Are you more scared or excited: still excited this week. I've bought more things here and there and we went looking for material for the nursery. I also started rearranging some things upstairs so all that has made it exciting.

Happy or mostly moody: still happy, not too moody.

Last time you cried over something ridiculous: I did tear up this week when we were watching an episode of Kendra. (yes I watch that) She had left the baby for the first time and she was talking to him on the phone and then he said "mama" or something like that. It was cute and sad. Other than that, no crying!

Any pregnancy brain stories: this wasn't so much a pregnancy brain moment as much as a "OMG I have to think about another person now" moment. You know how you get the Kohl's $10 rewards all the time? Well I had 2 and decided to use them. I usually forget about them but Tray has used them a couple of times for socks and underwear. I was looking at maternity stuff and didn't find anything I liked so I started to head to the men's department for Tray when I had an AHA-light bulb-HELLO! moment. I could buy baby clothes now! I hadn't even thought about it until I was passing the baby section, so now baby girl has some new onesies for when she comes home and a couple of outfits for later on.

Weirdest dream you've had since being pregnant: no weird dreams this week.

Worst part of the week: I experienced my first leg cramp/charlie horse and it wasn't fun! I've NEVER had one before and last night, at like 3 o'clock in the morning, I was changing positions and stretched my legs out and my calf tightened up so bad for like 10 seconds. It was not fun!

Best part of the week: doing some more shopping and finally getting all of the ornaments on our Christmas tree!

Love, Mariel

21 Weeks

21 Weeks Baby Update

Due date: April 16th

Size of baby: this week baby's a banana!

How much total weight gain/loss: we'll see on the 21st

Maternity clothes: well, I have to admit that I did wear my one pair of maternity jeans like 3 days this week, so I guess it's time for a new pair!

Movement: I still feel her every day, mostly in the morning and evening. Tray still hasn't felt her because alot of the time it still feels like quivers and like she's swimming, but I did feel a definite kick the other day so I know she's getting ready for something!

Sleep: I've had a few nights where I'm up for about 2 hours, but then I've also had a few nights where I don't even wake up to use the restroom, so it all balances out. Although I'm a little confused because now the emails say not to lay on your back and preferably not your right side, so that leaves me with my left side only?! I don't think I can only sleep on my left side for the next 19 weeks!

Latest food craving: nothing much. I have been really into salads lately though. And we had Tutti Frutti for the 3rd Sunday in a row!

Are you more scared or excited: I've been excited this week because we got the glider in and I love it so far! It's also been exciting just being able to talk about her with a name (still working on the full name!).

Happy or mostly moody: much improved over last week! It's been a happy week!

Last time you cried over something ridiculous: I don't think I cried this week, but honestly I can't even remember!

Any pregnancy brain stories: don't think so.

Weirdest dream you've had since being pregnant: I know I had one but I can't remember it.

Worst part of the week: I was battling congestion and a sore throat all week, so that wasn't too fun. Thankfully though it didn't turn into anything and it's gone now. I'm still a little congested, but I think that has more to do with our crazy 80-degrees-one-day-36-the-next weather!

Best part of the week: being able to call baby by a name and decorating for Christmas! Oh and as of today, 12 more days til my birthday!

Love, Mariel

The Nursery

Now that we know that we're having a baby girl, it's time to really start thinking about the nursery and picking things out. I have the basic idea, but I want to start looking for things that will bring that idea to life. Here's what I envision: shabby chic decor with touches of vintage/antique accessories. Everyone keeps asking if the nursery is going to be pink, but I've decided that it will NOT be pink. I have nothing against pink but 1. 95% of her wardrobe is already pink and 2. I know when she's 5 or around that age she'll probably want a pink or purple room, so right now that I can still decide, it'll be a different color. I'm thinking a light turquiose or Tiffany blue or maybe even a sagy green. We'll probably do a chair rail and I think I want stripes on the bottom half with the metallic paint. I also really want some kind of chandelier, but I don't want to get rid of the fan. We'll see how that goes.

Here's what I'm working with.

Entrance to the future nursery that is currently my craft room (aka junk room and office)

I can't believe I'm showing these pics, but this is exactly how it looks right now.

Baby stuff is already gathering. That's the closet to the left.

The closet extends a little to the left and right. Those are the clothes I've bought her so far, but she probably has triple that already between my mom and sisters!

My biggest issue is, where is all this stuff going to go?! We don't have an official office in the house, just a game room which is currently the man room/gym. It does get daily use so we can't put anything in there. I'm thinking I'll have to get rid of stuff and organize really well. 95% of the stuff will go in the guest bedroom across the hall.

Entrance to guest bedroom.

The bookshelf, little table to the left and hamper to the left will go in the nursery. I'm planning to distress the bookshelf and paint it. Everything to the right of the bookshelf is work toys that I've collected over the years and alot of them will now be baby girl's toys. It'll be a tight squeeze, but I think we'll be able to fit the big desk and shelf in here if we move the bed. Still not sure where my cedar chest will go......

This is the crib that we'll be ordering. I really wanted white, but I was scared that it would get dirty easily and start to look nasty.

Like I mentioned before, this is the glider that I got a great deal on for Black Friday. I'm a little nervous that I didn't personally see it or sit in it, but we can always return it. I'm excited because it reclines and glides, so I have a feeling I might be sleeping in it when we make the transition to crib! Hopefully the crib and glider will be the only dark things in the room and everything else will be light. I want to find a dresser to restore and paint white to use as a changing table.

This is the type of bedding I want. Problem is, the baby bedding I've found like this is ridiculously expensive! I'm thinking I'll look for fabric and find somebody to make it. Most of the baby bedding packages come with quilts and I don't really see the need for a quilt. The main thing I want to match are the bumper and curtain. I also might look for a cheap ottoman and recover it with a pretty fabric for the glider. And of course pillows!

So that's where we're at right now. This weekend I plan to start purging and organizing, so I'll let you know how that goes!

Love, Mariel