She's Here!!!

Sophia Grace was born on Sunday, December 6th (before the due date!). She weighed 6.65 lbs and was 19 1/2 inches long.

We are doing amazing! Settling in and getting used to a new schedule. Josh and I are totally in love of course, and we think she may be the cutest kid ever. :) It has been overwhelming at times, but I am sooo thankful for our sweet little girl! We have had a lot of help from family. Next week may be a different story since we'll be "on our own". lol But Sophi is such a good baby. Our biggest challenge has been getting her to stay awake long enough to eat.

Baby news and a final belly pic (also known as irony)

I wrote this post on Saturday - I'm not really sure why it didn't get added, but I'm adding it now for the pure irony that after I typed this I went to bed and my water broke in the early morning. Plus, I like looking at the huge belly that is not there any longer!



39 weeks. If you compare to my last picture (about 6 weeks ago) I am a little proud that I am not even more huge. You know, because I have so much control over all of this. lol

This week has been interesting. My sinuses decided to go crazy on Monday and I have pretty much had a cold all week. (One more reason I am soooo grateful to be off work right now.) So now I am torn between wanting to go into labor as soon as possible and wanting to be able to breathe when I'm there.

Things are not exactly quiet. We have been staying busy - finishing Christmas shopping, buying last minute things we need for the baby, the laundry that never ends, a variety of doctor appointments.

I had my latest check-up yesterday and the doctor said I am between 2 & 3 centimeters and 75% effaced! I can finally tell that the baby has dropped as well. I am really surprised because I expected to be so much more uncomfortable than I am, I didn't think things were moving along. I'm starting to get my hopes up that she will be here before (or on) her due date! But just in case not, they went ahead and scheduled me for an induction on December 16th. It's so nice to have an definite end in mind.

Maternity Photo Session

So, Emily took these amazing photos about 4 weeks ago. I've taken a while to put them on here, but check out my Facebook page for the entire group. I've never had so much fun being in pictures before. :)

And yet ...

I have absolutely loved my first week off of work! I still need to send in billing for the month, but after that I will not be messing with anything court related until January!!! It's crazy how busy I've managed to stay though. Josh wonders if I'm nesting. Possibly. Or just playing catch up to all the things that I didn't do for the last month. :)

I have been

• organizing the baby's room
• washing clothes (ours and Sophi's)
• cleaning baby equipment - the car seat is now ready to be installed!
• packing my bag for the hospital
  
• packing Sophi's bag for the hospital
• trying to clean house, but mostly just the kitchen - the rest still needs a lot of work
• going to many, many doctor and chiropractor appointments
• enjoying time with my hubby who is finally home
• eating a lot of yummy thanksgiving food that I did not have to cook

Less than two weeks to go! We have been telling Sophia every day now that she would rather be early than late. We'll see if she turns out to be a good listener. lol

Showers of blessings

As promised, here are pictures of the wonderful baby showers that we were blessed with. I was blown away but all the support and fun and gifts. :) We are still sorting through everything and it is a fun job.

The first was given by our friends from church. Tracey was gracious enough to let us have it in her home even though she's been busy with a precious new baby of her own. We had family that were willing to drive a ridiculous amount of time just to hang out with us for the weekend. And my sister, Lindsey cooked all the delectable looking goodies that tasted as good as they look. :) We definitely made some memories.



The second was hosted by my sister-in-law Kati (with lots of help from the rest of the family) at the church Josh grew up in. There were a lot of his family able to come join in celebrating. I was again blown away by all the love (even though I couldn't even remember everyone's names!). And Sophi is getting some very special homemade things that I know she will one day appreciate. And for the record, it takes exactly 12 squares of toilet paper to wrap around my stomach. lol



Thanks so much to everyone who was a part. And even if you couldn't make it, I really do appreciate all the support and encouragement we've gotten in the last months. I can't wait to introduce Sophia to you all!!!

Alright!

As of today, I am 37 weeks in. That means a) only 3 weeks left! b) she could technically come any time now and be full term - but it won't be that soon c) tomorrow is my last day of work! How's that for a run-sentence? lol

Because of all the driving I do with my job, my doctor didn't want me to continue working past 37 weeks. I was disappointed by this at first because it means that much of my time off is "wasted" before she even arrives. Of course, I am excited to be done with work for a few weeks either way. And pregnancy has become more ... physically demanding as the weeks go by, so it will be a relief to not have that responsibility.

It's really funny how many things in pregnancy don't seem like a big deal at all until I experience them for myself. Things like stretch marks (oh so many stretch marks!), cankles, the waddle, hot flashes, etc. No, it's not that big of a deal, yes it will be worth it, but still ...

I was going to post a new belly picture, but when I got dressed this morning my camera was still downstairs. And that just felt like too far to go. :) Just take my word for it, the belly is huge.

Overdue (for a post that is)

Thirty-three weeks! We are down to single digits - just seven weeks to go. We have been crazy busy in the last month which makes things go by quickly. I know that when I start my maternity leave (around 37 weeks) it will be hard to not have her here, but right now I'm looking forward to some down time just to get everything ready for her arrival. :) We'll see how that works out.

Pics soon to come of my wonderful baby shower!

Comments needed!

I'm trying to rig this curtain up in the baby's room so that it still lets the light in. I think this might be a winner, but I wonder if it looks a little funky all tied up. I want your opinion! Is this stylish or strange?

Bumptastic

Well, as of today I am 29 weeks (and as of this picture I was 28).

What's new? Sophie is growing of course, and my belly is expanding with her. This has led to the mysterious phenomenon know as the disappearing belly button. It started by stretching out into a gaping hole, then closed into a half moon, and now has become a deep slit. No big switch to a outie yet, but I'll keep you updated.

Also have discovered many, many new stretch marks. Looks a bit like fireworks on the bottom half of my stomach, but at least it's festive. The lines going down my thighs and up my sides on the other hand ...

I am definitely counting down now! I have 11 weeks left until my due date and only 8 weeks of work left.

Collage Catch-up

I didn't want these lovely pictures to go to waste. So here's a little snapshot (okay a lot of little snapshots) at the last month of our lives. :)

We are staying soooo busy right now that life is a little crazy. I'm loving it though. Can't believe September is almost over!

I wouldn't mind to visit

I was just reading online and found out that Universal Studios is doing a Harry Potter theme area of the park. I am probably behind on the times since it is due to open in the spring, but I had no idea this was in the works. And the thing is, I totally want to see it. :) I have never been to Universal Studios, but would jump at the chance to go back to Orlando and visit some Disney parks again. So, let's just add this to the dream agenda.

Found while cleaning out purse ...

14 pennies
5 old shopping lists
4 snacks
2 happy meal toys

a billion receipts

:)

You'll Come

I love cranking this one up while I'm driving. Must say that I'm a little jealous Andrea got to hear Hillsong in concert. :)

"Oh, that we might know the Lord!
Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn
or the coming of rains in early spring."
Hosea 6:3

Continued

Well, what do you know, it just keeps getting bigger. This was taken right at 25 weeks. (once again a week late)

This week(ish) Sophie's heart is supposedly beating loud enough to hear with an ear to the belly. Josh has tried and had trouble hearing much that is distinguishable. I am not that flexible. :)

Apparently, my uterus is now the size of a soccer ball. That, I find easy to believe. Pregnancy is becoming somewhat uncomfortable. I'm not sleeping quite as well, though I suppose that's just practice for the next year of our lives. That, combined with the third trimester closing in (yay!), has made me a lot more tired lately, but I'm not back to wanting to nap every day yet.

I've picked up a few baby girl clothes from yard sales and thinking of her wearing them is a little surreal. Almost down to the last three months!

All in a day's work

Just thought I'd give you a little snapshot of my day

3:30 - Josh gives me a kiss as he leaves for work and I get up for a potty break ... proceed to lay awake for the next hour and a half

5:00 - seriously thinking about just getting up and getting some things done
(short time later) - actually fall back asleep

6:30 - get woken up by all the muscles in my right calf simultaneously seizing up/writhe around - think that it's a good thing Josh was gone or he would have gotten kicked - thankfully fall back to sleep quickly

7:45 - Josh comes home from work and crawls back in bed, which I have not left

9:30 - wake up and get going - I felt I deserved to sleep in a bit

10:30 - proceed to pay bills (one of which was due yesterday - oops!) actually write a check for $0.01 - yes one cent - the check cost more than that

12:30 - leave for this days counties

4:00 - quick stop at the grocery store to get us through the end of the week - very proud to be done and home quickly without spending too much

4:30 - realize that I forgot to buy the noodles for tomorrow's dinner

5:30 - clean up kitchen and start dinner (which I have all ingredients for!)

6:30 - enjoy some great food off the grill with some great friends

9:00 - say goodnight to friends - seriously contemplate going to bed (this happens about this time every night), but play a few songs on rockband instead

10:00 - anticipating a great night's sleep (hopefully!) :)

Practice

Last week, Myra came over and spent the evening with us. This kid is so stinkin' cute! And she's very low maintenance. Myra brought some of her toys along and her Tinkerbell movie.

Side note - Tinkerbell is such a cute movie. I've watched it with Myra before and we were threatening Josh with it all week. :)

But he was lucky and she wanted to watch Ninja Turtles while I cooked dinner.



After we ate, Myra and I had a little nail party. She was excited to do it and sat so still the whole time. Then she asked to do her fingernails too. It went a lot better than the last time I tried to do nails (my pedicure).




The night went by so quickly. We did eventually put in Tinkerbell, but by that time we only watched about 30 minutes before it was time for her to leave. No worries though, I plan to make sure Sophie and Daddy watch some girly movies together - you know in between Ninja Turtles and Transformers.

Getting things organized

Here are a couple of pics of the new place. I've been working on finally finding a spot for some of the upstairs things. Tonight I tackled the closet.


This was last week's ...


There is so much that needs to be done still, but it's nice to see a little bit of progress.

And now that I've finally uploaded my pictures , I'll have more posts to share soon. :)

You Are On Our Side

I realized it has been a long time since I posted a song of the moment. Therefore, I have many to choose from. :) But the winner is Bethany Dillon. I love the message of this song!

The orphan clings to Your hand
Singing the song of how he was found
The widow rejoices
For her oppressors are silenced now

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

The runaway falls at Your feet
You are what he has searched for
The rich man is broken
When he stands beneath a sky full of stars

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

Of gifts, names, and more babies

I found this craft idea online and decided to try it out for a friend of mine. Her baby girl, Isabella, is due in about 5 more weeks, so I put this together for a shower gift.

The colors in their nursery are black, hot pink, and green.


I turned out better than I imagined. I love getting ideas online! Especially ones that incorporate fun printed paper. (Like the animals for Sophie's room.) This may be my new baby gift. There's certainly enough soon to be mommy's for me to get it down. And you know I'll be making some for our baby room too. :)

I love him

Happy Birthday Josh!

Just a few things I love about Josh...

• He plays music from his iphone for Sophie before bed.
• His dimples
• He gives good hugs
  
• He forgives easily
• He is a grill master (yum)
• He reads to me
• His enthusiasm for life
  

Well, it's not an exhaustive list, but why am I talking about him when I could be hanging out with him instead?

The bump

She's growing! And stretching me out with her. This is at 23 weeks (not quite a week ago). I love that how many weeks along I am is now a bigger number than how far I have left to go. It's going by so quickly, but we still can't wait to meet her! Having the ultrasound done somehow made everything feel more real. There really is a baby growing in there. It's a girl. She's a real, little person with a name and her own facial features that I can't wait to make out.


The second trimester is moving along. I'm really feeling great overall. Not quite "normal", but better than I would have expected so we'll go with it.


(Disclaimer: I actually have cleaned the mirror. I used a wipe that said it was for any surface, including glass, but it left yucky streaks all over.)

Wonder Cleaner

Sad that I'm blogging about this? Yes. Doing it anyway? Yes. See the top of this blender? It was passed on to me when my grandmother finished with it. I have no idea how old it is, but it works great. The only things is it looks dirty/dusty. I hate that because I tried to clean it off with cleaning solution, but it just stayed stuck on even after I scrubbed.

Well, I was cleaning off the counter, and it was driving me crazy (even though I'm not a clean freak at all). So I tried something new. And now it looks shiny!



The thing that got me though is that the cleaner that got all the gunk off - baking soda. I had no idea! Just thought I'd share my amazement. :)

Baby's room

I know I've mentioned that Sophie's room and my office will be one and the same for as long as she can put up with it. Right now that consists of my desk and all the leftover boxes that need to still be unpacked. But there is a plan!

Here are the pictures from my project! I am so excited about how this turned out. We don't get to paint or anything, but we can hang things on the wall.

This is the largest. The verse at the bottom says "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to Him be the glory both now and to eternity" 2 Peter 3:18 Josh found that and I think it's perfect!

There are also some smaller animals.
And here is the crib bumper we picked out from Target.


(It's brown if you can't tell) I guess we're going for natural colors. Plus I have a thing for polka dots. :)

Introducing ...

Well, I took my sweet time about it. But these are the "pictures" of our precious daughter. I would like to introduce you to Sophia Grace.

I could have watched her moving around for hours. It's so great to be able to say she and her now. And the ultrasound tech was very sure, so we're not planning on any surprises there.

She's not quite sucking her thumb in this one, but that is her hand up near her mouth.




This is the bottom of her foot, with her hand over nearby.

I'm in love. :)

The Pedi-don't

I decided to give myself a pedicure this week. My sister and I used to do it at home. Put in a chick flick and soak our feet. Then apply lotion and a fresh coat of polish. Refreshing.

I love the version where they do it for you of course. But since I am cheap ... I decided to do it myself. I did, however, buy a "foot mask" and a new shade of nail polish. I need a little pampering after all. :) So, the foot mask is supposed to stay on for 10 minutes. I set up with a towel in front of the television because I didn't feel like staring at the wall for 10 minutes. Didn't think a few things out though.

step 1 - rub "mask" into feet.
step 2 - realize that if I put my feet down some of it will come off
step 3 - realize that I have this gunk all over my hands now
step 4 - crawl on elbows and knees to the bathroom and wash hands
step 5 - realize that I have no idea how long it has been
step 6 - crawl back to office to get towel and phone (clock) on hands and knees
step 7 - crawl back to bathroom and somehow hoist myself up on toilet seat (lid down)
step 8 - prop feet up on side of tub
step 9 - relax
step 10 - wash feet
step 11 - get around to the polish the next day because that took way too long

It was quite the adventure.

Preggo Post

Okay, you belly vultures. I know you're lurking out there because even though you don't comment, you ask me when I'm posting another pic. :) Josh took this for me on Sunday - 20 weeks + a few days.


This has been an exciting weekend for the baby. I have been feeling some movement since about 15 weeks. Usually, I could feel some kicking about every other night when I laid down to go to bed. Well, that changed very suddenly. Saturday was the first time I remember feeling the baby kick during the day and he/she has taken off from there. :) It's been fun. I'm sure I don't feel every movement, but probably about four times a day now I can feel the munchkin rolling around.

And I'm not the only one! Josh got to feel the baby kick for the first time on Monday. It was such an awesome moment. I'm sure that there will be a time when I don't appreciate getting a kidney punch from the inside, but right now I'm loving it. :)

They get me every time

So, I am watching the season finale of the Bachelorette online. I have a complete love/hate relationship with this show. Actually, I don't even love it - it just draws me in. They definitely have a good plan in bringing back people from past episodes. I am not even interested in the seasons that have bachelors I've never heard of, but they reel me in when they bring back people that I liked. I even know who she picks since it aired last night, but I'm still watching. *sigh* It would make it better if I had chocolate right now. Hmmm Guilty pleasures.

Happy Birthday to me!

Sunday was great! I turned twenty-four which is pretty much the same as twenty-three in case you wondered. lol We thought about driving to the big city to eat at Olive Garden, but I decided to stick closer to home and try to be frugal. (Although, I'll probably jump at the chance next time we're close by.)

Josh and I went to a local park/nature preserve. It was gorgeous. We walked around (slowly) and saw the sights. I love the sound of running water. This is my favorite pic. We went in the evening so it wasn't too hot and then had a picnic for dinner. I definitely decided we need to do this sort of thing more often. It was so nice.


Josh also gave me a beautiful necklace. And since we were already at Target, we decided to go ahead and purchase the crib bumper I have been eyeing for the past month. :) And did I mention I also got to take a nap?

I got two other great gifts. One was a big kick in the gut when I was getting up. I think the munchkin was wishing my a happy birthday too. ;) And then, we were sitting in church next to Lyndsay and Yemi. Yemi reached for me and let me hold here just long enough for a hug. It was so cute. She laid her head on my shoulder and patted my arm and then was ready to go back to mom.

Cruisin'

Okay, so it's a couple weeks late, but I finally uploaded some pictures! Here are a few from our outing in Louisville. The lady that Josh works for treated a group of us to a trip up the river. It was a hot day, but we sat up at the top of the ship and got a great breeze. It was fun and relaxing (and free!).

Currently working on

I had some inspiration this week for a project for the baby's room. I've already started and am very excited with the way things are turning out. I'm sure you'll be seeing pictures soon, but I'll give you a hint - it involves patterned paper, forest animals, and mod podge.

I've also decided that the boxes in this office/baby's room are driving me nuts. So, I'm slowly clearing things out - very slowly. It's still a mess, but I've seen some progress. Since I've taken over the closet in this room, that also includes sorting through and storing clothes that I'll never be able to wear again I'm growing out of and won't be using this year. Hooray for vacuum space bags.

Next project will be buying shelves for the basement and sorting things out down there, but I'm not quite ready to think about that yet.

In preparation for the new Harry Potter movie, Josh and I watched the last five movies this week. (Not all at once though.) We are now caught up and ready to see the Half-Blood Prince on Friday night. We're fans, but not enough to stand in line opening day. :) I'm sure Friday will be crowded enough.

What projects are you working on?

Warning: Objects in mirror may appear larger than real life

Well, Baby H has definitely had a growth spurt since last time. This picture was taken a few days ago. 18 weeks! I do feel like the stripes accentuate things, but baby is also getting bigger. I've officially given up on any pants that do not contain elastic - mostly wearing maternity clothes these days. I've been so blessed to already have lots to choose from!

Our baby is now approximately 8 inches long and weighs half a pound. In the next few weeks that weight will double! He/she is probably showing off by yawning, swallowing, sucking, hiccuping, and making faces. :)

I feel pretty good these days! I can feel the tummy stretching and have occasional headaches, but otherwise feeling fairly normal - well, a lazy kind of normal. I'm about 99% sure I've felt the baby move, but it's still very infrequent. Well, they're probably moving all the time - just don't feel it very often. I'm looking forward to feeling some little hello kicks during the day.

Our next appointment is August 5th. Ultrasound! We cannot wait to see our baby again and get to find out if it is a boy or girl. I will be so excited to call it by a name. ( I really despise saying it all the time.)

Favorites from the Kitchen

Okay, so I like food. These are a few recent discoveries that have been very good to mama and baby. :)

This stuff is good, but rich! I put it on fudge swirl cupcakes today. Next time I'd go with straight chocolate. Yum


These are THE best fruit snacks I have ever had. The only ones I really like actually. They have been perfect for me to take in the car or keep in my purse and snack on when I need food like yesterday.


I love this stuff. I haven't been very adventurous with what I put it in, but everything I have tried was made better. :) Today, I discovered that it makes tomato soup mah-velous. And I'm not a big fan of tomato soup. Chalk it up to pregnancy I guess. It sounded good and hit the spot.



I would not recommend eating this. In fact - DON'T. However, it has made my life soooo much easier. I am very grateful to have an apartment that has a dishwasher, but apparently apartment dishwashers can be tempermental. I discovered at the last place that the Cascade Action Pacs were the only thing to get the dishes clean. I've been using them here and they don't work so well. So we tried this and eureka! (insert sigh of relief) The only downside is I had stocked up on the other when they were on sale last. :( Anybody need some action pacs?

Holiday weekend

Last week was a very long week for me. My husband was away Monday through Sunday making some money for our little family. So, on Thursday I escaped the empty house and went to Ohio.

I had a great trip and while we were there, we threw a little family shower for Whitney and Emery.

Of course the weekend also included lots of visiting, eating, and a little bit of lying around watching cable that we no longer get. lol I found this picture when I got home. Still not sure who the culprit is.

I also loved holding Emery while she snoozed. I thought it was really funny that she insisted she lay on her arm. I tried to move it so it wouldn't go to sleep, but she moved it right back.

Welllll

I decided I should post a blog. Because I like reading blogs. I check them everyday. I don't write everyday though. You wouldn't really want me to. They would all be like this one .... pointless.

Don't get me wrong, it's been an interesting day...

I spent a whole hour trying to work with tech support for one of my companies.

I went to the bathroom at least 10 times (so far).

I started a load of laundry.

My husband brought me lemon-berry slush from Sonic (Wasn't that sweet?)

I talked to Krystal for a while. (My favorite part was when she asked Dylan - Didn't I take those away from you? and he so sweetly replied - Yes. So much honesty and zero guilt.)

Unfortunately, I am not witty or deep. So, this is all you get.

And our own little one...

So, there's the baby bump. I am now at 15 1/2 weeks. Things are going really well. I don't crave naps at 10:00 in the morning any more (which is a relief).

This is our ultrasound from 13 weeks. The picture turned out poorly, the real thing was so amazing. We'll have another in about 6 weeks to find out what we're having!