7QT {no. 37} baby showers, baby bumps & birthdays

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I just looked back and my last 7 Quick Takes post was written on December 5, 2014 - clearly it has been too long! So here I am! :)

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In case you missed it, earlier this week I shared about the baby shower my family threw for us in Ohio. At the time, I promised to share about our baby shower in Michigan. So, without further ado...

My wonderful in-laws threw us a safari animal-themed baby shower, with the star animal being the giraffe (one of my favorites).

This crib (our baby's actual crib! yay!) was filled with blankets, toys, clothes & more.

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All the food fit right in with the party's theme. My favorites were probably the adorable safari snake subway sandwich...

...and the zebra snacks. Brownies, chocolate-covered pretzel thins, chocolate covered strawberries & grapes -- all drizzled with vanilla almond bark. Yes, please! 

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One of my favorite features of the party was that at each table there were books (about giraffes, naturally) where guests could leave a little note for our sweet boy. Such a fun idea!

We are so thankful to have so much love in our lives. Our baby is being born into two families who already adore him! What a blessing.

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And here's a link to the post about our other baby shower, in case you'd like to take a peek - it's super cute, too!

{Baby, it's cold outside!}

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While we are catching up on all I haven't blogged about, let's see what else I have missed...

Ah, yes - my sweet husband's birthday, which was almost a month ago! I always love celebrating him.

And tomorrow is his church birthday - the anniversary of his Baptism! So much to celebrate!

Of course, there was Valentine's Day. I made an "I love you" pie instead of my traditional "I love you" cake this year - pictured on the left here.

The picture on the right is our breakfast from Mardi Gras on Tuesday! Yes, I said breakfast. (May I confess: I felt so wild & crazy for serving/allowing this! I guess it doesn't take much for me...ha!)

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And I'd be remiss not to include a baby bump picture! (Especially after my last one on the blog was at 27 weeks!) You may have already seen these over on the 'gram. But if not, here are 35 & 36 weeks:

Linking up with Kelly and many more lovely bloggers!

I hope you all are having a very blessed start to your Lent.
Have a beautiful weekend...

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7QT {no. 34}new projects, chatting on twitter & looking forward

It's Friday, dear friends. Praise God!

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First, a prayer request: Would you please pray for beautiful Kellie and her family? Their sweet Lily Frances was born sleeping on Tuesday. I like to think that our Saint Thomas Gianna has a new friend in Saint Lily Frances, and they are praying and praising together in heaven. May they both pray for us.

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I have been hard at work this week on some upcoming projects for my etsy shop. Here's a little sneak peek at a few of my sketches:

Can't wait to share this new line with you!

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Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away? Is it just me, or does it seem like November is flying by super quickly? If you need some last minute decor for your feast or a gift for your Thanksgiving host, this print would make a great gift. Pictured here in black ink on ivory cardstock, I also think it would look beautiful in gold ink.

{in everything give thanks}

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Were you able to make it to last Monday's Blessed is She twitter chat on prayer? It was so much fun. (You can search #BISchat on twitter to read some of our conversation.). I also found it to be very fruitful and inspiring to hear from other women on how prayer is a part of their lives.

Annnnnd, exciting news - this Monday, November 17, there will be another twitter chat! This time the topic is getting more out of Advent. I would so love to talk to you there. Mark your calendar and join us!

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Tomorrow is our gender reveal party! We are just having a few friends over, but I have had a lot of fun planning some special appetizers, treats and decor. You can count on a post next week with all the party details...including our baby's gender!

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Have you made your guess as to whether there is a little he or she inside? I'd love to hear what you're guessing in the comments! Here's my 22 week bumpdate:

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Monday is guaranteed to be a very exciting day here on my blog. Any guesses why? (And it's not the gender reveal.) Be sure to stop by for a gift, a giveaway, and a celebration!

Linking up with Kelly, guest hosting for Jen this week.

Have a beautiful mid-November weekend!

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p,h,f,r & 7QT {no. 32}

Two lovely link-ups {p, h, f, r & 7QT - be sure to visit them for more!} on this very special Friday...

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'Tis the season for Christmas card photo taking, and Michael and I had a friend take a few shots for us yesterday. We got just a little gussied (prettied up, if you will) and headed off to the park. Here are a couple of outtakes:

Have I mentioned how much I love this guy?

Even when he thinks he's very funny and tickles me mid-picture, hence the swinging mistletoe. :)

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We reached the twenty week milestone with Baby No. 2 this week, and we are so very happy. I simply cannot believe we are already halfway through this pregnancy. Next week we (hopefully!!) find out whether we have a little boy or a little girl in there. Any guesses, dear readers? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.

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Here's my twenty week photo bumpdate in case that informs your boy/girl guess:

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And now for the real...

As you may or may not know, today was our sweet Thomas Gianna's due date. My heart is full of many emotions today...so much has happened in the last nine months. It's all very difficult to express in words. We find our peace in God, which is such a blessing. Michael and I plan to go to Mass together today in remembrance of our first baby. And perhaps we will get a piece of birthday cake, too. To our dear, sweet Thomas Gianna - we love and miss you so. Please pray for us.

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October 31 also means it's the last day to join us in our birthday gift - raising $2,500 for the National Gianna Center for Women. This women's health and fertility care center has been such a gift to us, and we want to give back in honor of our baby. We still have $770 to raise to reach our goal. 

We need your help to make it! I'll let you in on a little something - the $1,730 we raised so far is from twenty donations. That means those are some seriously generous donors! We are so thankful for them! But of course, every donation - no matter the size - is just as valued. Would you consider making a $5 or $10 donation? Maybe the amount you normally spend on a weekend latte (or your treat of choice)? Thank you so, so much for prayerfully considering.

Click here to give >>>

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Michael and I are going on a little babymoon getaway this weekend. We are so looking forward to some fresh air, open skies, and an extra big dose of the outdoors. That is, unless it snows. And according to the forecast it might. You can expect a post on our special trip sometime soon!

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I'm really looking forward to All Saints Day and All Souls Day this weekend. Special feasts which are especially dear to my heart at this moment in my life. I hope yours are blessed, dear readers.

And a happy Halloween to you, too. Wishing you only treats and no tricks!

7 Quick Takes {no. 29}a science fair, a pumpkin, a bump & a treat

Linking up with Jen & friends for another edition of 7QT!

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In case you missed it, yesterday I posted an update on our birthday gift for Thomas Gianna. We are very thankful to have received one very generous donation since then, so here is today's update:

Still a ways to go! Every little bit helps. Thank you so much for spreading the word, saying a prayer, or giving. You're the best.

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If you live in the Greater NYC area and you are looking for something fun to do tomorrow, come out to Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House, October 11 from 10-4. There will be lots of cool science stuff for all ages, and I'll be there with Michael!

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This sweet little pumpkin brings me a lot of joy, so I wanted to share it with you. Doesn't the stem have so much character? I love it.

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A little photo bumpdate for you:

We heard the baby's heartbeat again at our OB appointment this week - what a beautiful sound to this momma's ears. We also scheduled our twenty week ultrasound - we can hardly wait!

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This pillow came in the mail today. I have high hopes it will be helpful now and in the coming months as I'm getting a little uncomfortable sleeping (I imagine this is only the beginning!). I'll be sure to let you know if it helps!

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Last week I made these:

I like my rice krispy treats homemade, classic, plain & simple - nothing added. It is probably a good thing that I often forget just how easy they are to make! 

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Now I'm off to try this recipe - check my instagram later today to see how they come out!

Have a great weekend!

pretty, happy, funny, real {with an update!}

Happy Thursday! So glad you're here. It's been too long since I've done a {p, h, f, r} post. Delighted to be linking up with Rosie & many more over at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

{pretty & happy}
Have you seen the posts that are a part of Bonnie's awesome Autumn in My Home blog hop? The blog posts are so much fun, and so very lovely. Sharing the beauty of homemaking is such a wonderful idea, so I hope it's okay if I give you a little peek into what autumn in my humble home looks like:

This kind of seasonal decorating brings me so much joy!

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Yesterday I reached an exciting pregnancy milestone, friends: On my commute home from work someone offered me their seat on the subway train. (For those of you who may be new around here, it might be helpful to know that I live in New York City.) His kindness was much appreciated, I must say! I guess I must be starting to show a little more obviously these days. Of course, the person who offered me his seat was an elderly gentleman with a cane! I wouldn't take his seat, since he appeared to need it more than me, but when the young woman next to him noticed what was going on, she offered me her seat, which prompted the gentleman next to her to stand up and offer his seat as well. As the train announcement says, "Courtesy is contagious, and it begins with you!" :)

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And now for the update: A week ago today, I posted about our birthday gift for our first child, Thomas Gianna, who is now in heaven. Here's a little graphic to show how things are progressing:

{$2,335 to go. Please join us!}

First and foremost, we are so very grateful for the gifts we have received. Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who have given. 

As you can see, we still have a long way to go! Would you consider joining us? Or sharing this opportunity with your friends? Every little bit helps! We so appreciate your time, and your prayerful support, too.

Wishing you a beautiful and blessed October day...

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7 quick takes {no. 28}a gift, a bump, a new month & a prayer

Happy Friday, friends! It's a beautiful fall day here in NYC, and I'm hoping it's the same for you.

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If you only have time for a short visit on my blog today, would you please read this post instead? Michael and I have a special birthday gift in mind for our first child, Thomas Gianna, who was born into eternal life after a miscarriage earlier this year. We need your help. Thank you for reading our post!

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As you may know from last week's seven quick takes, we are expecting! I thought I'd share a few bump photos with you from the past few weeks. First up, week thirteen (which we thought was week twelve at the time, but our due date got moved up):

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Week fourteen:

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Week fifteen:

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And finally, this week - week sixteen:

{sorry about the light - we took this picture at night!}

Our sweet baby is growing in there! We are so very grateful.

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I can't believe it's October already! You know I love the fall. The leaves haven't changed color yet here in NYC; they always turn late in the season. I'm looking forward to that! In the meantime, I'm enjoying pumpkin donuts, the autumn harvest, colorful apples and pumpkin cream cheese at our favorite bagel shop. What's not to love?

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Would you please say a prayer for my sister-in-law and her family? Her father passed away earlier this week. Thank you in advance for lifting them up. You all are the best.

Wishing you a blessed first Friday and a beautiful weekend. Michael & I are planning to relax and also spend some time on the great purge/re-organization of our one bedroom apartment, which we plan to stay in with the baby. But that's a post for another day...!

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary and many more lovely bloggers.

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