My First Baby Shower

My beautiful sisters, Brandlyn and Brittany, threw my first baby shower on Sunday, July 3rd. It was very well planned and every detail said "BABY BOY"! When I arrived at my sister's house, I was so excited to see a big blue wreath filled with pacifiers, burp cloths, and bibs which all said "Got Milk?". So cute!

All I can know is that God has immensely blessed me with so many people who love and support our growing family and I am so thankful for all of you. We got so many outfits, bottles, room decor, pacifiers, bibs, blankets, pajamas, SHOES (my favorite accessory), and baby toys, as well as other necessities such as diapers, a bassinet, the car seat, a boppy, gift cards and much more!

Here are some of the pictures from the shower and a few I took once we got back home to Fort Wayne.

 This handprinted gift was from my parents. It was a car seat that my thoughtfully creative mom wrapped in my nieces and nephew's handprints. I kept a piece of the paper to frame in Cohen's room.

 Me and Ms. Shelly, my high school small group leader at church. She is such an amazing woman and I've always looked up to her.

 Me and my besties, Jessica and Kendall

 This is me with my sweet and so much fun Aunt Terri. You can really see how big my belly has grown! BTW, I really wish people would quit asking me if I am having twins. I'm not, okay!

 And here is my cake! Brandlyn ordered it to match the invitations. Like I said, every detail was very carefully planned.

 These paintings were such a surprise! My incredibly talented cousin, Teresa Graves, painted these to match Cohen's bedding. Look her up on facebook to see more of her artwork!

My sister, Brittany, made a diaper cake, painted "Cohen Samuel" on baby boy plate, and took photos of some really cool scenery to spell out COHEN. Here is a better picture of that below:

 

 Me and my sweet Mom. She is spending two weeks with me in Fort Wayne when Baby Cohen arrives. Thank heaven for Moms!

 Lots of great gifts!

 Sam's parents bought us this six dwarer dresser for Cohen's room. Thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family, four of those dwarers are full! But no worries, we still have plenty of closet space! :)

Home Sweet Hog Heaven

My beautiful sorority sister and friend, Meredith, married Ryan Pettigrew on July 2nd. What a great way to start off the holiday weekend! I was one of her bridesmaids so Sam and I made the 11 hour journey to Fayetteville, Arkansas. The wedding was beautiful and Meredith was glowing! We also did a few other things while we were in Fayetteville. My favorite (not pictured) was going to Rick's Bakery to get some delicous desserts: red velvet cupcakes, mmmmmm mmmm!

"JENNIFER NICOLE BENNETT"

I finally found my name on Senior Walk! In my opinion, this is one of the best traditions at the University of Arkansas. Each graduate's name is etched in cement on campus. Pretty cool, huh!

The bridal party! Wow, my baby bump is growing and growing....and growing!

We just can't help but throw up the Deltas when we're together.

Here's the bride, Meredith, posing with me and Kendall.

This is one of my favorite poses. We have one from every wedding. 6 down and 1 to go! Collin is getting married this October! Left to Right: me, Kelsey, Collin, Meredith, Stacia, Kendall, Bekah

Me and Sam

 All the TriDelts singing our wedding song, followed by my favorite rush song. We always have a good time getting loud and singing our songs!

I've only just begun telling you about my fabulous week in Arkansas. We still have a baby shower, the lake, and a bachelorette party to talk about so come back soon!

Brittany + Spencer

THEY'RE ENGAGED! This post has been a long time coming and I am so happy for my sister and her new fiance, Spencer. They have been together for five years now and I cannot think of anyone more perfect for Brittany to spend her life with. Spencer is a true southern gentleman and my family has loved him since day one. Those adorable dimples will get cha every time!

They took a trip to the Little Red River with some friends for some camping and fishing and she came back with a very beautiful piece of jewelry on her finger. A canary yellow round diamond surrounded by round white diamonds, to be more specific! IT IS BEAU-TI-FUL! Spencer's proposal was perfect and such a suprise too! I have to brag a little...I was the first person she called to tell! Made me feel so special, but this is not about me okay. Here are some pictures from the day after their engagement.

The happy couple will be getting married next year on MARCH 31, 2012. Woo hoo, let the wedding planning begin!

Chief Valentine

Chief Valentine is my Uncle Scott and Person of the Week. He is Chief of the Little Rock Fire Department and Bomb Squad, a U.S. Marshall, and a wonderful uncle! I'm told he is also a pretty great husband and father too. :)

Hands down, the most eventful part of our Christmas vacation was our day with Uncle Scott at the Little Rock Fire Department. It was an awesome and unforgetable experience.

My Uncle Scott works mostly in Firehouse #1 also known as "The Big House", Little Rock's first and largest firehouse.

Below: Uncle Scott, me, and Sam

Here is the LRFD Bomb Squad truck, complete with all your bomb squad necessities such as bomb detecting robots, special uniforms which are sure to keep your body intact for your funeral (Uncle Scott's words, not mine), computers, detonators, and the list goes on.

Sam tried on the bomb suit, which weighs about 100 pounds once it's all said and done. He also got to drive the robot and detonate something. I'm not sure what it was but he was 100% safe with the experts on board, no worries.

I just wanted to put on the mask. It was VERY heavy and made me look like a monster.

Okay, so we're in the bomb squad truck and all of a sudden something starts beeping really loud. It sounded kind-of like Morse Code and somehow Uncle Scott understood it all and he said, "I gotta go." And he asked us if we want to go on a fire run! Ummm, YES! We hop into Engine 1 - the big ladder truck - and we were off!

I have no clue how they drive those big trucks, but Firefighter Lance did a perfect job!

And I was busy trying on fire fighter accessories in the back seat.

Mom and Sam joined in too. We all got to wear these headsets and talk to the fire fighters!



We basically went to the end of the city, but another Little Rock firehouse was first on the scene so we didn't see any fires. I think a smoke alarm went off but there wasn't a fire. So back to the station.

I forgot to mention, Uncle Scott doesn't ride in the fire trucks. He has his own vehicle especially for the Chief. It's obviously not as cool to ride in. :)



As soon as we returned to the fire station the beeps started again so we got to go on ANOTHER fire run! This time it was across from Park Plaza Mall. I was just dying to see someone I knew while we were driving, but no luck. It was still so much fun riding around and seeing the cars move out of the way for us!

Once we got back to the station, Sam and I climbed in the back of the ladder truck to take a picture. There is a driver in the front and back of this truck! That's a big truck.

Sam had been waiting all day to slide down the ladder, but the guys made him turn around his "Ohio State Buckeye" hat first. Haha.

We had such a great time at the Fire Station! Thank you so much Uncle Scott and the other LR fire fighters for such a fun and exciting day! Most importantly, thank you for being heroes and risking your lives for our safety every day.

Love, Sweet Love

I'M NOT EVEN GONNA EXPLAIN WHY MY BLOG IS NOT UPDATED. Let's move on and accept the fact that I just can't figure it out.

So, Christmas in Arkansas was great and let me show you just how perfect it was in pictures...

 Nieces & Nephew...always one of the best parts of my visit!

 Hanging out with my sister

 Our family's dirty Santa gift exchange is always a crowd favorite! As is Elli's smile that will just brighten up your life like sunshine on a rainy day!

 And the sassy Elli is just as wonderful as the sweet one!

 Uncle Scott & Dad are all smiles for the holidays!

 The fake, and not so fake, smile you give when someone has taken one too many pictures for the night.

Brandlyn & Aunt Terri

 Uncle Scott and I traded dirty Santa gifts. I got Lowe's and he got Starbuck's. Obviously a trade needed to happen.

 My brother and sisters. I always make it a point to snap a sibling picture everytime I am home!

One day they will be thankful for this, trust me!

 Dad and Aunt Terri

 My cousin, Braye, and my brother, Ryan. We were so sad Tiffany and Scott couldn't make it home for Christmas. Scott is an athletic trainer for Oklahoma State University's football team. They were in a bowl game so we missed the Parker's by ONE day! Tragic.

 The Frensley's. Always showing off their PDA because they are just so dad-gone cute!

 Also a personal favorite, Brit and Spence. Y'all know Spence already! He is my whiskey pong partner and Brit's boyfriend. Always ready to have a good time!

 The Sackett's. Always adorable. :)

 Ryan & Kathleen. She has a golf scholarship and she is just as sweet as she is beautiful.

Sam did not get a nerf gun for Christmas. This gift was Hunter's gift, which Sam so generously set up and then shot at everyone. He even shot Mom! Seriously.

 Brandlyn found the Christmas Pickle. Darn her! I never find it!

 Elli's sass came back that night. I was beginning to miss it.

Mom hearts Vera Bradley.

 And we love those ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS! Dad now has five Razorback boat fenders to ensure he is looking good while supporting his team on the lake. Ahhhh, the lake. I CANNOT wait for lake season! But back to Christmas now...

 Family Photo. I don't care if the toys are out and there's stuff all over the coffee table in front of us. Get in the picture! Just try fighting me on this. I dare you.

Seriously though, why does taking a family photo have to be such a big "to do" for my family?!

 Dad and Mom had this frame made with a photo of Hunter killing his first deer. Now y'all, this is a big deal down south (and in other parts of the country I'm sure) so don't go getting all judgemental just because you don't hunt.

 Elli & Aspen got new bicycles for Christmas...

 ...and Uncle Sam won the Uncle of the Year award for taking the girls out for a ride in the freezing cold!

Sam (husband), Blaine (cousin), Nick (cousin), and Hunter (nephew).

They had an epic Nerf battle outside that could put the war between the states to shame. Eventually they all turned on Sam, because well obviously he is from the north. {Glad you get my joke now.}

Now here is something I am especially proud of! My incredibly artistically talented sister (I love adjectives), Brittany, painted this beautiful Santa Clause. This picture I took does not even do it justice. The detail is amazing.